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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Educational Forum Held to Press For UIUC Campus Women’s Center |
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by meridith kruse
(No verified email address) |
04 Dec 2001
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Members of the Women’s Direct Action Collective (WDAC) sponsored an educational forum at Allen Hall on December 3rd to discuss plans for achieving a Campus Women’s Center at UIUC. |
Educational Forum Held to Press For UIUC Campus Women’s Center
Members of the Women’s Direct Action Collective (WDAC) sponsored an educational forum at Allen Hall on December 3rd to discuss plans for achieving a Campus Women’s Center at UIUC. The event was co-sponsored by numerous organizations, including: 85% Coalition, ACLU, Campus for Choice, Champaign County Health Care Consumers, Champaign County NOW, the Illinois Disciples Foundation, Panhellenic Council, Planned Parenthood, the Progressive Resource Action Cooperative and others.
The event began with organizational representatives explaining why they feel a Women’s Center would be beneficial. Reasons for the center included increasing the accessibility of rape crisis, counseling, and health services for women and transgender persons on campus, improving the ability of organizations to collaborate, creating a center to serve multiple purposes so that individuals seeking counseling could enter with less stigma compared to “counseling only” facilities, housing computers, a library and study space, and overall creating a safe, accessible environment. WDAC members pointed out that Campus Women’s Centers already exist at several Big Ten campuses, including: University of Minnesota, Michigan State, Northwestern, and others.
After the panel presentation the meeting was opened up to ideas and concerns from the audience. Students expressed excitement about the possibility of a Women’s Center, but also shared their concerns that women of color would not be equally included in the planning and continuation of the space, that transgender persons might be excluded from a “women-only” spaces. Many wanted to know what WDAC was doing to ensure that a diverse group of women and transgender persons were active in the planning process.
Responding to these concerns Brooke Anderson of WDAC stressed that tonight’s education forum is only the first step in an on-going campaign to demand that the UI administration create a Women’s Center. In the future, the development of the campaign should come from the efforts of diverse groups of organizations and individuals. Mary Lee Sargent of 85 % Coalition stressed the importance of reaching out to diverse groups and taking the time to build relationships. Brooke encouraged those interested in lending their ideas and efforts to the campaign to contact WDAC at 217-352-8721. More information can be found at WDAC’s website: www.prarienet.org/tbtn. Also, WDAC holds its meetings every Tuesday evening at 7:00PM at the Illinois Disciples Foundation (women and transgender persons only). |
