A theatrical performance about the life of Alice Paul, a leading suffragist and women’s rights activist, was hosted in Wilson Auditorium on Monday, Sept. 17.
The event was sponsored by the Political Science Department, Office of the Provost, and “Stand Up and Be Counted,” the University’s voting campaign; and featured props to create a scene of Paul being interviewed by reporters in a nursing home, with Paul later ‘transforming’ into her younger self to tell her life’s story.
“Each year, we celebrate Constitution Day, September 17, with an event that brings students together to learn more about the U.S. Constitution. Professor Joseph Patten, proposes an event and the provost office, along with the department, sponsors it,” Laura Moriarty, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, explained. “This year we [had] a theatrical performance celebrating the life of Alice Paul. Ms. Paul and others are credited with securing for women the right to vote; a fundamental right that we must all protect and exercise regularly as we continue to fight for equal rights for all.”
Taylor Williams, Esq., has been portraying Alice Paul since the late 1980’s, when she was first approached by the woman who ran the American Historic Theatre in Philadelphia. Williams said that she was always aware of Paul, and that she was active in the Women’s Movement in the 1970’s. “I remember seeing her artifacts in a shop window on Walnut Street and thinking, ‘These have to belong to Alice Paul,’” she said. Paul’s life and work are what have inspired her to portray this role for over three decades.
“Alice Paul was a significant force in securing suffrage for U.S. women, pushing the more staid suffrage organizations to take their fight for the right to vote to the public through direct action,” said Katherine Parkin, Ph.D., a professor of history and gender studies. “She and her colleagues endured tremendous suffering, were arrested and force fed in the nation’s capital. She described her treatment, being tied to a chair with sheets, being held down and having tubes forced into her mouth. Women had been debating and implementing strategies to achieve suffrage for more than 65 years, and Paul’s approach was to use more radicalism.”
“One of the great things about having ‘Alice Paul’ here on campus is that it is a reminder that many of the rights we have today is because heroic people like Alice Paul were willing to engage in civil disobedience and to endure violence and prison in order to bring about positive change for future generations,” said Joseph Patten, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Political Science and Sociology, and an associate professor of political science.
Williams recognizes this legacy of Paul, stating that it is rewarding to continue it through theatrical performance. Moreover, she explains the political implications that women like Paul still have today. “It’s so relevant right now; we are at a political crossroads, are we going to go forward with ideas, like equality, that Alice Paul has put forth or are we going to go in another direction,” Williams said. “It gets people thinking about the direction of our country.”
“I hope that students recognize that those pushing on the edges of revolution often have the effect of making the more moderate forces look reasonable,” said Parkin. “Otherwise moderates, in this case acting like ladies, were not making any headway in their fight for rights.”
Rocco Puzza, a sophomore political science student, said that he enjoys the fact that the University offers events like this one so that students can better understand the long fight for women’s rights in American history. “There’s tons of things that I can learn as we learn way back in time, women didn’t have as many rights as men did, and they fight for that a lot more so I applaud them for that,” he said.
“I hope [students] will follow Professor Patten’s advice and vote. That’s what we got: we’ve got the power of the ballot. But, as Alice Paul says, ‘if each of us will do one small thing—put in one small piece—we will make a great mosaic of equality,” said Williams.
PHOTO TAKEN by Nicole Riddle