Women’s Resource Center’s 10-year milestone

As the San Diego State University Women’s Resource Center marks its 10th anniversary Friday, it also celebrates a legacy of advocacy on behalf of women and gender expansive individuals stretching back five decades. 

The center hosts an open house from 2-4 p.m. Friday to commemorate its February 2015 opening. 

“The Women’s Resource Center advocates for gender equity and student success through efforts to create a campus culture rooted in intersectional feminism, empowerment and holistic student support,” said director Elzbeth Islas. “This 10-year milestone highlights strides made in this endeavor and gives us the opportunity to honor the legacy of feminist activism — dating back to the 1970s — which led to the creation of our current university-supported community center.”

A previous women’s center on campus opened in 1974,  providing referral services, information and educational events out of Aztec Center, the current site of Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. 

After closing in 1977 amid concerns over a duplication of services with other organizations, the women’s center went through cycles of re-opening and closing. When then-SDSU President Elliot Hirshman approved a student group’s demands for the opening of a Women’s Resource Center on campus with ongoing support, funding and staffing for sexual violence programs, it opened its doors in fall 2015 under the leadership of then-coordinator Jessica Nare.

This new iteration of the Women’s Resource Center was temporarily housed in the Center for Intercultural Relations before moving in January 2016 into its current location, a cottage adjacent to the Pride Center on the southeast corner of Lindo Paseo and Campanile Drive. The Women’s Resource Center space includes two gender-inclusive restrooms, a lactation room and a kitchenette. 

Among the center’s milestones in its first 10 years include the creation of the Brave Project, a training program on sexual and gender-based violence; the Women and Gender Equity first-year experience program, the Pregnant and Parenting Students Initiative and the hiring of a one-year STEMinist coordinator through the CSU STEM Vista Program.

“The WRC is committed and excited to bolster student parent support, sexual violence education and survivor advocacy, as well as feminist professional development,” Islas said. The center’s opening 10 years ago was also motivated by the need to raise visibility to concerns about sexual violence and to push for prevention in the community. 

“By expanding upon our current initiatives such as PPSI, the Brave Project, and our various student leadership opportunities, we will further our advocacy for a society that fosters inclusion, belonging and liberation for people of all genders,” Islas said.

Students who have been involved with the center said its impact on their educational and co-curricular experience has been invaluable. 

“I’ve come to realize that spaces like the WRC are what empower students to succeed,” said Aurora Valdez, who attended the center’s programming as an undergraduate and later served as a Women and Gender Equity program mentor as a graduate student. “Within the walls of the WRC, we find community, confidence, and inspiration. It truly takes a village, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to find those resources. That’s why being able to walk into a warm, welcoming place like the WRC is invaluable.”

Queena Tran, who graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in women's studies and a master’s degree in post-secondary educational leadership with a specialization in student affairs in 2018, was involved with the center’s formative years. She said the work the center has done has profoundly impacted SDSU.

“When asked what my proudest moment from my time at the WRC is, I couldn't give you one answer,” Tran said. “I am proud of every single achievement, every protest that got us here, every healing circle, every empowerment group, every program, every march, every idea and every resource that comes out of this space. Being such a small piece of the foundation and seeing what you all have created makes me proud."

Islas said the resource center’s mission is as relevant as ever.

“In the words of intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde, ‘When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid,’” Islas said.  “I firmly believe we need community now more than ever. Our collective strength is our greatest tool to work toward a more equitable future, and the WRC provides a space for people, especially those who exist in the margins, to find community, hope and empowerment.”

To learn more about the Women’s Resource Center and its programming, visit its website or the Women’s Resource Center Instagram.