Women's Resource Center to open to the campus

After a year of planning, Oberlin's new Women's Resource Center (WRC) is ready to open its doors to the public.

The Center, located at 124 Woodland St., will be operational beginning at its Open House March 8. It is the result of collaboration on the part of students, administrators and faculty members since January of 1997.

According to the WRC constitution students drafted last Fall, the purpose of the Center is "to serve as a central location for anyone interested in gender issues and concerns pertaining to women. The Center aims to be a source for information, education, support and outreach for the Oberlin College community."

Sophomore Kim Tolman, a member of the WRC policy board, said the Center will serve as a place for students to go to study, hang out or have discussion groups, to start with.

"We just give space and money to people who need it," Tolman said. So far, she said, the WRC has sponsored eco-feminist Carol Adams' recent talk at Oberlin and has given money toward the women's self-defense classes taught on campus last semester.

Board members also plan to do outreach to different groups on campus, such as Abusua, Asian American Alliance, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Union and the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), according to Tolman.

Once the College approves the budget proposal submitted by WRC board members, policy board Treasurer junior Susan Dennehy said, the Center will have more flexibility in its activities.

"We asked for a total of about $30,000 from the College, including money for books for our resource library, travel money to sponsor people going to conferences, speaker money and programming and capital costs," Dennehy said.

She added that board members also hope to get funding to hire an intern and add seven student work-study positions for the Center.

For the rest of this semester, board members will take turns staffing the Center.

Although the Center will only be open two hours a day on weekdays and four hours on weekends for the remainder of the year, policy board members have high hopes that it will be operational 40 hours a week beginning next Fall.

The policy board currently consists of five student members, Associate Dean of Students Bill Stackman, Assistant Director of the Student Union Tina Zwegat and Associate Professor of Sociology Daphne John. All were elected to the board and are in charge of administrative decisions for the Center.

A programming board is open to all students interested in giving input and suggestions for activities the Center can sponsor, according to Tolman.

Members of the policy board have a wide range of goals for the Women's Resource Center.

"My vision at this point is to see the Center become a place where lots of people on campus can feel comfortable hanging out and can really get something out of it and use the resources it provides," Dennehy said.

Tolman has more specific goals in mind.

"One goal I personally have is to get information about emergency contraceptives out on this campus. It seems like a lot of people don't know there's an emergency pill you can take up to 72 hours after you've had unprotected sex or if a condom breaks," she said.

She added that the Center will eventually have "a cohesive reference section and referral guides" to various informational centers around the Oberlin area.

Zwegat has been a member of the policy board since late last Fall. "I think I got involved because there's this vacuum Oberlin has had for awhile," she said. "I think it's very favorable that the WRC is getting so much support institutionally. It's wonderful to have a safe space for women and men to go to discuss gender issues."

Stackman became instrumental in getting plans for the Center off the ground since his arrival in Oberlin last January. Part of his job description as Associate Dean of Students was to help students build an administration-supported WRC.

"By the time I got to Oberlin, students had been voicing concern for awhile over not having support for women or a center to provide resources for women, and really for all students," Stackman said. "Personally I was a little surprised coming here that we didn't already have a Women's Center, especially given the history of Oberlin. I was very excited to start working on this project." Stackman facilitated an Experimental College (ExCo) course in Spring '97 for students to research Women's Resource Centers on other campuses. Stackman and the students then compiled their data into a mission statement of goals and objectives for Oberlin's Center.

"Our goal is to provide a safe, comfortable environment where women can bond together formally or informally," Stackman said. "We'd like it to be a catalyst for bringing various groups on campus together to develop issues related to gender identity."

Sophomore Cassie Seiple, another policy board member, was enrolled in the WRC ExCo class. "Since the ExCo I've been really interested in the potential of the Women's Resource Center to forge connections between different groups on campus," Seiple said.

"I was really excited that we finally got a house from the College as a location. We were promised space last semester, but it took until early December before we were given the house on Woodland. The College has been really supportive in fixing up the house and furnishing and painting it," she added.

Dennehy said only the four rooms and kitchen of the first floor can be used currently for the Center, since the upstairs has no fire escape and is therefore a safety hazard. A blank wall boards off the house's second story, but Tolman said it won't be blank for long.

The theme of the Center's Open House is "Make your mark on the Women's Resource Center," according to Tolman. Students literally will make their mark with paint markers on the blank wall, as they will each be able to write part of the WRC's mission statement on it. A suggestions box will also be available for visitors to provide input.

Gathering place: The Women's Resource Center is down the street from Philips. Staff members hope it will serve as a place for students to discuss gender issues or find information. (photo by Heidi Good)