Release

Filmmaker Angela Shelton Featured at 22nd Annual Sexuality Week
Director, producer, writer and star will present her new film as part of Feb. 3-15 event

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 2, 2005) -- Angela Shelton, writer, director, producer and star of “Searching for Angela Shelton,” will present her film on Tuesday, Feb. 8 in the Campus Center Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. as part of UAlbany’s 22nd annual Sexuality Week. Through the film and accompanying discussion, Shelton aims to bring awareness to child abuse and violence against women. Shelton’s focus is to inspire survivors to heal and stop the chain of abuse in their lives, as well as give them the tools to succeed. She brings a message of hope, inspiration and a new way to look at turning the life of a victim into that of a survivor not only surviving but living a profoundly enriched life.

Coordinated by the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program of the University Counseling Center and funded by the Student Association, Sexuality Week is being observed for the 22nd year at UAlbany. The event will run from Thursday, Feb. 3 through Tuesday, Feb. 15.

During the two decades that Sexuality Week has been in existence at the University at Albany, college students across the nation have been faced with critical issues and choices. Concerns related to gender issues, HIV/AIDS, relationships, identity, and reproductive health have remained at the forefront across time. In recognition of these issues for students, the content of programs within Sexuality Week reflect these key themes. In this way, the program hopes to meet the needs of students as well as to provide a retrospective and prospective look at the issues.

All programs will be presented or supervised by individuals with expertise in the topic area.

Other highlights include singer and songwriter Meredith LeVande, who will present an interactive lecture and slide show titled, “Women, Pop Music, and Pornography” on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. in Campus Center 375. The presentation reveals the large corporate ownership of pornography and its interest in portraying women in ways that promote pornography.

Project SHAPE (Sexual Health and Peer Education) members will host a series of exhibits in the Campus Center lobby from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 7-10. The exhibits will include information as well as handouts and brochures on topics such as contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and breast and testicular cancer. A series of lectures have also been planned to discuss these issues in greater detail.

The program wraps up with three performances of “The Vagina Monologues,” by Eve Ensler. The show will run on Feb. 16 and 17 at Page Hall (downtown campus) at 8 p.m. A third performance is scheduled for Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall (uptown campus). Coordinated by the Albany Vagina Women, a group of UAlbany students and alumni, “The Vagina Monologues” at UAlbany have raised more than $12,000 for local rape crisis and domestic violence shelters in previous years.