Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Women’s Center Turns Twenty

This fall the Georgetown University Women’s Center is celebrating 20 years since it first provided a unique forum to support, educate and empower women of all cultures, races, sexual orientations, genders and ages, according to its mission statement.

Laura Kovach, director of the women’s center, emphasized the importance of having the center on campus, touching on Georgetown’s Jesuit identity and the idea of cura personalis.

“The fact that Georgetown has sustained a women’s center for 20 years speaks to how Georgetown cares about its students, not just women but the entire community,” Kovach said. “Care for the whole person includes gender, and the GU Women’s Center has worked over the last 20 years to make gender equity a reality and to provide resources and space to support the entire Georgetown community.”

Having a women’s center comes a long way from campus relations when the first women stepped on campus. While the NHS has admitted women since 1903, the College did not integrate until 1969. The women’s center did not begin until 1990, however, 21 years after the campus went coed.

The center provides guidance and logistical support to student groups on campus, such as Take Back the Night, which hosts events that serve to raise awareness about issues of sexual, domestic and gender-motivated violence.

While the center focuses primarily on supporting women in the Georgetown environment, its events are often aimed at the entire community.

“We do recognize that women need to be in spaces with other women to share stories [and] experiences and support one another — however, there are times and spaces where we must address gender equity issues with the entire community,” Kovach said. “Both women and men are encouraged to utilize our resources and program with us so that we can continue to reach as many community members as possible.”

The center also works with student group GU Men Creating Change, which works to prevent sexual assault against women.

“The Women’s Center has always been supportive of GUMCC. When we weren’t an official [Student Activities Commission] group, they funded events and offered their office for our meetings. The staff is always friendly and supportive, I think because they recognize that we are ultimately working toward the same goal,” said Jackson Perry (COL ’12), co-chair of the group.

In the last few years, the center has seen a lot of changes.

“The center has grown in many ways since I started [in July 2008]. We launched the Women Advancing Gender Equality fellowship, Woman to Woman for faculty and staff and have sustained a successful Women’s History Month program,” Kovach said.

“The Women’s Center is a place that is equipped to handle any and every issue that could possibly be related to women. And although the name suggests that it is just for women, I see men in there all the time, men who want to get involved and play active roles in helping women. Students benefit from a place that is geared toward the whole body because of its many resources and connections to places like the Health Education Services, CAPS and the greater D.C. area. The Women’s Center is the catalyst that ensures that all needed services are available to women,” said Melissa Mays (COL ’11), the co-president of GU Women of Color, which sometimes co-sponsors events with the center.

The 20th anniversary celebration kicked off in the spring with a speech by Lilly Ledbetter, the namesake of a 2009 federal law that solidified fair pay for women, and a celebratory reception for the anniversary with Theresa DeGioia (COL ’89). The celebration continues this fall.

“Another goal is for Georgetown to help us fund a full-time programming coordinator position in the GU Women’s Center,” Kovach said.

The center continues to put on events throughout the year and will hold “Inside the Athletic Closet: Sexism and Homophobia in Sports,” on Oct. 25.

Students who utilize the center often feel very connected to it.

“I think that the WC is a safe space for women to come in and talk about a variety of issues – relationships, sexual abuse, school and career – and it acts as a strong supporter for gender equity on campus . It has helped me develop as a woman leader and an advocate for social change on campus,” said Claire Charamnac (SFS ’11), a WAGE fellow.

“When I walk into the Women’s Center, I feel safe and it is a place that I can come to talk or just relax, if need be,” Mays added.

“Equality for women at all levels can only happen when we engage men to think about and discuss how they understand gender equity issues and how they think about themselves as men. The responsibility for equality should be placed on the shoulders of our entire community and not only on the shoulders of women,” Kovach said.

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