The Women and Gender Resource Center celebrated its 30th birthday Tuesday to commemorate the progress the center has made since its establishment at The University.
The celebration included an open house where staff members took visitors on a tour and explained the center’s mission and history.
“I’m very proud to work here,” Nesha Smith, a victim advocate at the WGRC, said. “I’m very proud of the work that we do, and I’m hoping that we get to be around for a long time and can continue to provide these important services.”
The Women and Gender Resource Center, originally named the Women’s Resource Center, was founded in 1993 after student activists pushed for a place on campus where women or those facing interpersonal violence could find help. It also currently addresses gender inequity on campus.
Elle Shaaban-Magaña, the current executive director, has been a part of the center for about 20 years.
“I think it [the anniversary] gives us an opportunity to reflect on successes, engaging the campus and community, reminding folks that this space should be a space for everyone on our campus,” Shaaban-Magaña said.
The center provides free counseling services to people at the University facing interpersonal violence: students, faculty and staff members; it also offers these services to Shelton State Community College students. The WGRC also provides services to anyone who experiences abuse on campus, including any family members who have been affected by abuse.
Many groups of students showed up to participate in the tour and to enjoy some of the food that was provided. Some students attended the event to earn Greek Points.
While Katharyn Dohney, a freshman majoring in art history and psychology, originally attended the event to earn Greek Points, she found the work the center does to be intriguing.
“It was one of the events that sounded interesting to me and because I didn’t know what it was,” Dohney said.
Another first-year student attended simply to get involved and to learn more about the campus.
“It’s really nice here [at the WGRC]; everyone seems really nice,” Phin Fleming-Smith, a freshman majoring in anthropology, said.
