Women’s Center turns one

The Boston University Women’s Resource Center has come a long way in its first year, students said.

About 50 students crowded into the WRC’s room in the basement of the George Sherman Union on Friday for the festivities, which included the unveiling of the WRC’s new ad campaign, ‘I Am the Women’s Resource Center,’ and a slide show of photos from events over the past year.

The birthday party marked the start of Genderfest 2009, a two-week long event featuring an art exhibit, poetry reading, film screening, workshops and lectures focusing on gender issues and sexual assault awareness.

‘ ‘Last year I helped the WRC with their opening,’ Student Activities Office liaison Shannon Pittman said. ‘It’s crazy how much it has grown. People are more aware of it and it is a great resource.’

When introducing the slide show and ad campaign, co-directors Sarah Sullivan and Emily Partridge said the WRC has come far in the year since its inception.

‘We started with the paint barely up on the walls, no computers and no volunteers,’ CAS junior Sullivan said. ‘Since then, we’ve been open for 1,600 hours, trained 15 volunteers, and held around 50 events including concerts, films and lectures.’

Partridge, a CAS senior, and Sullivan unveiled posters of the ad campaign.

‘[It] showcases the diversity of the WRC’s programming, what we do and the people we reach,’ Partridge said.

The WRC is the only solely-student run women’s resource facility in the country, Sullivan said.

CAS sophomore and public relations coordinator Anna Ward said aside from sponsoring events aimed at women and gender issues, the center has a library of 400 donated books, provides information for victims of assault, offers a quiet study area and facilitates space for other organizations, such as BU Bikes and the Feminist Collective, to meet.

College of Communication junior Tyler Sit said he is part of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning Ministry, one of the groups sponsoring Genderfest with the WRC. He said he came to acknowledge the WRC’s presence on campus and the impact it has been making.

‘Last year’s Genderfest was successful,’ Sit said. ‘People came and talked about sexuality and religion and how the community reacts to people coming out. People from the LGBTQ Ministry come to the WRC events because it doesn’t just focus on women but also international and political issues associated with gender and sexuality.’

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, who came to the birthday party, said the WRC is a ‘fantastic’ resource to the BU community.

‘The Center is pulling people together from all walks of life,’ he said. ‘There is a great spirit and great energy here and they have created a wonderful space here.’