WRC Outlines Role 

To the Editor:

The Women’s Resource Center would like to clarify the nature of our relationship to the events of the last two weeks. The WRC is a department. It is part of our mission to create and maintain safe and supportive spaces for people working for change. In keeping with this, it was during an open WRC community meeting that serious concerns were expressed at seeing repeated historical patterns of racism, homophobia, sexism and classism determining what is prioritized by the members of our College community. The possibility of forming a larger coalition in an action meeting to respond to these concerns was raised. It must be made clear, however, that the action that was taken (the posters that appeared around campus, the meeting that was held, and now the mediation that has taken place) was not initiated, carried out or overseen by the WRC. 
As first-year Julie Dulani and sophomore Brianna Cayo-Cotter emphasized in their opening statement at the action meeting, the women involved in the planning of that meeting were acting on their own initiative and did not represent the WRC. While the WRC remains dedicated to supporting women in their daily lives and in their struggles against various forms of oppression, it is not appropriate for us to take on a leadership role that overshadows that of the members of our community. As a resource center it is our job to provide the space, support and resources that enable members of our communities to take action; not to act or speak for these people. It would also be a mistake for the WRC to present itself as a homogeneous group or to claim to represent the views of all the members of our community. So, while we openly support the women involved in this struggle, we do not take credit for their work.

–Ananda Timpane
College junior