As students flocked back to classes on Jan. 20, Women’s Studies lecturer Jessica Nare was busy prepping for the official opening of the Women’s Resource Center at San Diego State.
After the official opening, an open house was held on Jan. 22 welcoming students, staff and faculty to explore and learn about the organization.
Though the WRC has been an active presence on campus since last fall, this week marks the opening of the physical facility.
“It was challenging to do outreach before the WRC had physical space,” Nare said. “We had some events in the fall and they were very successful. We had great turnout. But now that we have a space, we can go out and invite people to get involved and spend time with us here.”
Despite the name, the WRC isn’t just for women. The staff is also turning its attention towards LGBT issues, intersectional issues and issues related to racism and inequality. Additionally, they welcome students who are trans or gender non-conforming.
The WRC’s approach to many of these issues focuses on prevention and education, rather than intervention.
“I think a really important part of having a women’s resource center is building community and having a positive space for women on campus to spend time in,” Nare said. “We’re also doing things on pay inequality, on healthy relationships, working in the non-profit sphere, lots of conversations about feminism, those kinds of things.”
The center is located next to the Pride Center on Campanile Drive. Though they aren’t “officially” connected, Nare said the two organizations have similar goals and are closely aligned in their mission.
“SDSU has done a great job of serving marginalized students on campus, and I think having a women’s resource center is a piece of that bigger mission to support and engage students,” Nare said. “We’re sort of joining the Pride Center and the Center for Intercultural Relations to serve that mission.”
Mentioning many of the cultural issues that women face, such as representation in positions of power, Nare said having the WRC on campus can provide students with the education and tools to help them be successful after college.
Samantha Nordin, a biology and women’s studies senior, is one of the student assistants working in the WRC. After taking a course taught by Nare, she was excited to get involved with developing the center.
“I got to watch this whole place come together,” she said.
As one of the assistants, she helps plan many of the center’s events.
“We have a ton of really cool events that are focusing on great speakers and writers, feminists from all different backgrounds,” Nare said. “I think the main thing we want to communicate is that this is a space for students, we want people to come and hang out here.”
The Women’s Resource Center is located at 5121 Campanile Drive. For more information, call 619-594-2304 or email wrc@mail.sdsu.edu.
