Women's
Resource Center continues to educate, assist
CSULB students
By
Gerry Wachovsky
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Women's Resource Center at Cal State Long
Beach continuously works to inform and educate
students about women's issues through various
services, workshops and programs sponsored
by the center.
According
to its Web site, the Women's Resource Center,
"is committed to assisting women in
accessing their educational, professional,
and personal growth through a diverse and
interactive program of services, advocacy,
and education." The center also sponsors
special events
focusing on women's issues, offers self-defense
programs for women and even has a crisis
intervention center.
Interestingly,
the center does not focus solely on women.
"We provide services to both men and
women regarding women's issues," Barbara
Sinclair, the office manager of the center
said. "We are also committed to facilitating
women's full participation at the university
and beyond." The only women-exclusive
program is the self-defense class offers,
due to the fact that the center of strength
is different in women and men.
"We
work for advocating
complete educational and
professional equity for women," said
Lynne Coenen, assistant
director of the center. Coenen also noted
that the center would like to "have
women fully participate in all aspects of
society,
regardless of barriers like pregnancy, the
raising of children, and workplace attitudes."
The
center offers a wide
assortment of services to
students including walk-in peer counseling,
referral services, a crisis intervention
center with a trained and full-time staff,
and a library featuring 1,500 to 2,000 volumes
of periodicals, videos and books.
In
addition to the services the center offers,
it also holds affinity groups, where women
of a certain nationality can meet and discuss
issues of common interest. Affinity groups
of the center include the SisterFriends
group for African-American women, the Asian/Pacific
Islander women group, and Latinas Unidas.
These groups, Coenen said, serve as an "opportunity
to network with other women and meet other
women on campus."
The
Women In Careers Conference is perhaps one
of the most popular programs the center
holds, and is co-sponsored by the College
of Liberal Arts. The conference features
many women speakers who tell stories of
success and serve as inspiration to the
many women who attend.
Other
popular programs include Women's Equality
Day, where the passage of the 19th Amendment
granting women the right to vote is celebrated,
and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, observed
in October. Women's Coffee, an event that
meets every Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30
p.m., gives women a chance to socialize
and discuss issues in a casual and relaxing
environment, and begins on the second week
of school.
The
Women's Resource Center is located in LA3-105
and is open Monday, Thursday and
Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday
and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. For
more information, call the center at (562)
985-8576, or visit its Web site at www.csulb.edu/centers/wrc/.
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