Women Issues

Women's Resource Center

Interviewee: Director of Women's Resource Center at CSULB

1.) What is Women's Resource Center?

R- The Women's Resource Center is primarily based on three elements-1. Service 2. Education and 3. Advocacy; within service, WRC helps students with peer-counseling, it also helps if the students needs sometype of materials (i.e.-books, periodicals, related to women issues). Education will more for group discussions that we have (i.e.- sexual harassment, eating disorders, sexual assault, which rape could be included as well, feminism, etc.). Last but not least Advocacy falls within the help students might need. In some cases students might come here and would talk to about their problems, and we will try to help them or guide them in the right direction for the proper help. If there's one thing that we like to do here, is to be able to get students connected with the proper resources that we can offer, I always like to try and solve the problem, (if possible) within the center, and not go past me.

2.) Are these services only offer to students, or is also open for the public?

R- Mainly this program is only for college students, more for the women, but like I said, men are also welcome to come. I always get people from the community who call me and ask for advice or for help, and I always try to help them the most that I can.

3.) How long has the Women's Resource Center been open?

R- This center was open in 1973.

4.) How did this center come about?

R- This center practically started with a few students and a table. This was at the student union, and a couple of girls were outsidewith this little table, and a poster that read "Women Information". This was primarily if students needed to ask quetions regarding us women, and because of this, later on students actually requested for a such center to be open and installed permantly on campus.

5.) Do students need an appointment to talk to any of you here, in the resource center?

R- No, we pretty much accept walk-ins.

6.) Are there any meetings being held here in the center?

R- Yes, we do have group discussions here, but if its going to be a big event that deals with the WRC then we normaly tend to use the Beach Auditorium, due to the small room that this center has.

7.) What kind of discussion groups does this center offer?

R- We have a Latinas Unidas, which is program pretty much formed by latinas who would want to talk about issues that concern latina women. We also have Sisterfriends and Lesbian chat- sisterfriends is primarily within the African-American women, and Lesbian chat, is used for women who would like to talk about the different issues they might have.

8.) Is this resource center only for women?

R- No, this center can be also for men. What we teach when they come here, if looking for a place to volunteer, is mainly that we teach them how to organize a program, for example if they need to do a project that will require the organization of a possible event, then we would guide them, and teach them how to do it.

posted by LP @ 6:42 PM