A Place of Empowerment

Walking into the Women's Resource Center on Bloomsburg's campus, one immediately feels secure and comfortable. Tucked away on the first floor of Schuylkill Hall, it is available for students to talk, learn, and relax every weekday from 10am to 4pm, with extended hours until 8pm on Tuesdays. As you walk in, to the left sits a desk with a sign in sheet, belonging to the bubbly and welcoming grad assistant, Tom. A blue bulletin board behind the desk contains eye-catching material on how to improve your body image, how to empower yourself and others, and information on the campus club, W.I.S.E (Women Inspiring Strength and Empowerment). Across the room, a comfortable couch and two cushioned chairs surround a wooden coffee table, facing a television. Adjacent the couches is a small, quaint kitchenette, stocked with snacks up for grabs. Colorful flyers and pamphlets line the walls, with a range of topics from upcoming cultural events on campus, to career development, to body image, to sexual health. Titles jump out at you - The Real F-Word: Feminism, Date Rape: Breaking the Silence, Empower Yourself to Empower Others. Books discussing women's issues lie on the tables next to the couches, asking to be read. I sign in and wait to see the director, Monica Johnson.

Monica is a petite woman, with long brown hair and eyes that strike you with reassurance, comfort, and empathy. When speaking with Monica, you know you are being received with nothing but acceptance and kindness. Her demeanor, voice, and the way she communicates gives you the sense that you are in a safe place.

A young woman and her friend also wait to be seen, and Monica appears, emitting a positive and compassionate energy.
"What can I do for you today?" she inquires.
I sense that it must be a sensitive topic, so I remove myself to the kitchen while the young woman shares her situation. Monica invites her into her private office to talk, emotion already showing on the young woman's face. They talk for a while, and when they emerge, the anxiety and worry present in the young woman has been replaced with gratitude and relief. This is the effect Monica has.

figure 1: (see note)

Monica invites me into her back office, passing many more informational pamphlets on display, a collection of books available for check-out (Figure1), and artwork depicting womanhood and femininity. "My mom always told me growing up that all we can try to do to start out is to affect our little circle. And if everybody does that, it just gets bigger and bigger. So when I saw inequalities, I wanted to try to change them – even if all I could do was influence what was around me," she recalls. In the big scale of things Monica's little circle may seem insignificant, but to many young women of Bloomsburg University, the significance of her little circle of positive energy is immeasurable.

There are many different aspects of the Women's Resource Center, but the most common issue dealt with is assault, whether that be sexual assault or domestic violence. A safe place to talk about these things is crucial in any given college town - where reckless behavior and alcohol can contribute to the rate of rape and violence. Monica informs me, "What I usually see is people who have had some kind of assault in their life. Whether it was while they were in college here, or visiting another school, or sometime in their past. It’s usually a referral to other resources, I refer them to places in town or to the counseling center here. And that’s because I’m not a counselor, we're not set up for any type of long term counseling. And I want them to go somewhere they can actually have those needs met." The resource center is a necessary conduit for victims to find help dealing with any type of violence they've experienced.

While the Women's Resource Center primarily deals with issues of violence, it's purpose and importance goes much deeper than that. Monica reflects, "I feel it sort of has an image as a place you go if you’ve been assaulted. And while I want people who have experienced that at any point in their lives to know that they can come here to get help, I also don’t want that to be the only thing associated here. Because I think that could be a deterrent as well. People might not want to come if they have the idea that people will see them walking in and assume they’re coming here because something has happened to them. I want them to know that we offer things beyond that, I’d like it to be known as a place for women to gather, a place of empowerment, a place where they can get information – about all their various needs - such as

Figure 2: see note

career needs, sexual health needs, general health needs, assault or any kind of abuse. It's a place you can come with your friends, where you can relax." The serene atmosphere invites anyone that needs a safe place to resort, anyone that needs a safe place to talk. The Women's Resource Center exists here to make students, of any gender, feel secure and comfortable. Positive ideas plaster the walls - messages of self-love and healthy body image are present even in the bathroom, where a note on the mirror states "YOU ARE... cute, beautiful, unstoppable, amazing, smart, worth it, irreplaceable.." (Figure2). This is a place to learn to love yourself and your brothers and sisters, and feel strong and safe. Sanctuary can be found at the WRC.

Perhaps the most important thing about the Women's Resource Center is that it is a place of dialogue. It's a safe place to discuss issues of sexuality, race, gender, and anything and everything between. In Monica's words, "If we’re afraid to talk about these things, there's no way that we can change them." The WRC takes initiative to create and encourage dialogue on serious topics such as the reputation of Feminism, Hook-up culture, racism, and issues of sexual assault or domestic violence. They wish to uplift and empower women, men, and victims of any type of assault or oppression.

The WRC isn't just dedicated toward helping women and discussing issues of equality for women. It is representative of equality for everyone. To fight sexism, one must simultaneously fight other oppressive structures such as racism and homophobia. These structures are tightly intertwined, and we need to support each other. Monica explains, "It's important that we look at all the different perspectives that might not be our own, because we have to remember that everyone is living a different experience. If we don’t try to learn about each other’s experiences we can’t really be the most effective helpers possible for each other. We’re all each other’s allies. Here at the Women’s Resource Center we try to work closely with the Multicultural Center and with the LGBTQ Center to really support each other’s programs and to recognize how we all tie together – and then how that can spread to the student body at large." The inclusiveness and all-embracing mindset present here at the Women's Resource Center inspires. A place of acceptance and compassion like the one found here is something needed very badly in the harsh world we live in.

Most questions regarding the WRC are posed by our male student body. Tom, the male graduate assistant sheds some light on that. "It's not just women that don’t know that this is here, you know, men also. And they feel like they might not be able to come here - just because it’s called the Women’s Resource Center, doesn’t mean that men can’t come here as well... It’s not only not being aware of this existing, when they do hear about it it’s just like a natural “oh okay I feel like I’m not welcome there,” but it’s quite the contrary." The resources offered here at the Women's Resource Center are not geared toward just one sex - but all sexes. Monica and Tom have taken initiative to make sure this fact is known. Tom informs me, "We’re spearheading a men’s group here on campus, it’s just going to be a men’s support group of sorts. We’re actually calling the group Man Up, and we’ll be just kind of discussing some of the societal pressures that get put on men, the expectations. We’re also going to get feedback from the males that are coming into the group, like what do you guys want to talk about? Because one of the downsides of males not coming in here as much is we don’t know what’s concerning the male student body or what kind of issues we could help with." Getting in contact with the male student body is an issue that's very important to the staff of the Women's Resource Center. In order to grow as a society, we must grow together.

Anyone, of any gender, race, sexuality, will be welcomed with open arms at the Women's Resource Center. Here you will discover somewhere you can find refuge, somewhere you can always find someone to talk to. Despite the name, men and women can seek comfort, guidance, or even just a break from the hustle and bustle of college life here. It's a place to have dialogue, to grow, to learn - full of people that want to help create a safe, open-minded, and accepting campus. It's doors are open, and it waits for you to take advantage.