Ring Dance Monologues: Jepson teacher moderates forum on discussion on values and messages of University tradition
Feb. 19, 2009
Traditions are meant to be analyzed and questioned, was the message Ana Mitric left students with during the “Ring Dance Monologues,” a forum of reflections on Ring Dance, the annual ball for junior Westhampton students held at the Jefferson Hotel.
At the event, women are presented before their class as they walk down the hotel’s grand staircase, where their academic accomplishments are announced. The ceremony is followed by food and dancing. Most women wear white, bring a male date and are escorted down the stairs by their fathers.
Mitric, assistant professor of leadership studies, led the discussion, asking students to think about the various aspects of classism, sexism, patriarchy and heterosexism at play during Ring Dance. She told students the forum was only the beginning of a dialog about how the event could be made more inclusive.
Most students at the meeting said they didn’t know the event’s purpose was to celebrate academic achievements, as stated on the Web site for the Westhampton Student Government Association.
Ring Dance is publicized as one of the most memorable and special occasions during Westhampton students’ time at college, and a great deal of time and resources go into creating an exceptional experience. But, as revealed by students during the monologues, themes embedded in the tradition leave lower income, racial and sexual minority students feeling excluded from a celebration that is designed to promote junior class unity.
Eight students presented monologues. One student read an entry from the Web site during her monologue.
“The date generally stays with the rests of your guests,” she read. “He may want to socialize with others at the event, but we hope he will be waiting quietly for your announcement and descent down the Grand Stairs.
“That sentence is just beaming with inclusiveness. … Not all of the junior women identify as heterosexual; in fact, you’re looking at one who doesn’t.”
She pointed out how members who organize the event try to make it more inclusive, but because the majority of people conform to tradition, those who do not feel left out. “I don’t like to ruffle a lot of feathers,” she said. “I prefer silent protests … so I didn’t go.”
Emily Neuberger, a leadership studies; psychology and women, gender and sexuality studies major, said she had asked her mother to escort her down the stairs as well as her father. Though her mother declined, she appreciated the invitation and wanted to be included in Ring Dance as much as possible.
“I was well aware of the underlying issues at play,” Neuberger said, “sexism, classism, patriarchy, submissiveness, debutante — the list goes on and on … My aim is to show how thinking about issues like sexism, classism and other related issues can be beneficial to the entire Richmond community.”
Another student talked about how much fun she had at Ring Dance, and how happy she was to have asked her family to be her date. “Ring Dance was, for me, the peak of my experiences here at the University of Richmond,” she said. “It is such a unique tradition that gives you an opportunity to pause for a moment and reflect on your Richmond experience.”
One male student gave a monologue about the experience of dressing in drag for the event, and how he was able to discover a new side of himself.
Another student said she initially decided not to go because her father had passed away. In the end, she and her best friend decided to go as observers.
The final monologue was by a current student reading a letter from a former WCGA president who encouraged students to cherish the tradition because it provided a link among all Westhampton students and alumni.
“Just as our Richmond community is constantly evolving to become more inclusive of all groups of students, I would hope that Ring Dance could continue to evolve so that all women feel that they too can be part of this very special event. This is the challenge that I propose to our student government and future classes at the university. See the value in the tradition, but also look to the future and see how we can make changes for the better.”
About 30, mostly female, students attended the meeting. “[Ring Dance] clearly means something different to everyone,” one student in the audience said after hearing the various monologues.
Gil Hickman, professor of leadership studies, noted the power story had in understanding the issues students could face, and said each story had a nonconventional aspect to it.
Abby Rodriguez, a leadership studies and Latin American and Iberian studies major with a pre-med concentration, suggested changing the location of the event because the upscale Jefferson Hotel gave students the impression that they needed to spend a lot of money to attend.
“The setting makes it an expensive event,” she said, “and so people have to get expensive things to go with it.”
Glyn Hughes, director of Common Ground, Kate O’Dwyer Randall, acting university chaplain, and Juliette Landphair, dean of Westhampton College, were among those in attendance.
Randall recommended compiling the various narratives into a book for students to see the individual perspectives ahead of time. “Can we celebrate at all if not all are able to celebrate?” she asked.
Generra Peck, WCGA president, said she had been aware of these problems during the past couple years, and that she was looking forward to continuing the discussion about what Ring Dance could look like.
Mitric had considered changing the event’s title to “Ring Dance Dialogue,” she said, because she wanted the possible changes to be part of a discussion.
Positions varied during the discussion — from those who loved the tradition and the unity that the event provided for the junior class, to those that wanted Richmond College students to be celebrated as well. At the end, students expressed their commitment to keeping the discussion alive among their peers.