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United Campus Ministry papers, 1970-1972

1971-08-03 Other Ways Page 3

WOMEN'S Center:

   A group of Iowa City women has written a proposal for a Women's Center to be located on campus for the use of University ___ town women. The proposal will soon be presented to the administration for action and, with luck, the Center will have a home and start in the fall. The proposal is 15 pages long, but here's a try at worthwhile condensation:
   The need for reinforcement an encouragement in the course of learning new information and behaviors means, in the case of women, a need for a place where self-respect and self-fulfillment are not deprecated...The one place we know of was the temporary Women's Center, started by a few Iowa City women, which was closed by the university in the Spring.
   Some of the proposed interests and services of the Center include: 1) an information facility; there is a very great need for a library of women's material (...various aspects of the politics of the feminist movement, info on birth control, abortion, and the legalities of marriage and divorce). 2.) A well organized Speakers' Bureau to arrange speaking engagements for women's groups wishing to hear experiences and view of other women. All women would have an opportunity to speak to groups, as this is part of the philosophy of the women's movement--we have no "leaders": each woman has her story to tell, her own integrity ...3)A room equipped for chil care as a necessary service to mothers which would permit women to participate in Center programs with greatest convenience and peace of mind. 4) Organizing consciousness-raising groups. These are the basic units of the women's movement, composed of women who wish to explore to what extent their difficulties and frustrations are personal problems and to what extent they are the result of being born female. Meetings of the various groups could take place in one of the larger rooms of the Center. 6) Classes could be created to meet the needs of women. Eg., simplemechanics of plumbing, carpentry, auto and small appliance repair taught by women. 7) A women's Health Information Center established within the Center. Once a week a female gynecologist could attend and answer questions. 8) A Woman's Counselling Center staffed by women trained by Crisis Center women. 9) A Women's Advocate staffed by a female law student to counsel and defend women.
   To these ends the Women's Center is asking the university for a house on campus rent free and budget of $2,855 for maintenance and office, programming and honoraria for women offering services. The Women's advocate position (modeled after a job at the University of Michigan) carries the proposed salary of 46,000. A member of the Women's Center staff would live in the Center rent free in exchange for miscellaneous Center duties.
   In keeping with the goals and traditions of the women's movement, the administration of the Center would be composed of a collective and rotating governing body.
   If you're interested in the Women's Center and perhaps wondering how to help or just wondering, call: Cheryl Yackshaw (337-4997), Donna Davis (at Action Studies 353-3610) or Linda Brown (at Student Activities 337-9802).

In the radical feminist view, the new feminism is not just the revival of a serious political movement for social equality. It is the second wave of the most important revolution in history. Its aim: overthrow of the oldest most rigid caste/class system in existence, the class system based on sex--a system consolidated over thousands of years, lending the archetypal male and female roles an undeserved legitimacy and seeming permanence."
Shulamith Firestone

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WOMEN'S Center: A group of Iowa City women has written a proposal for a Women's Center to be located on campus for the use of University ___ town women. The proposal will soon be presented to the administration for action and, with luck, the Center will have a home and start in the fall. The proposal is 15 pages long, but here's a try at worthwhile condensation: The need for reinforcement an encouragement in the course of learning new information and behaviors means, in the case of women, a need for a place where self-respect and self-fulfillment are not deprecated...The one place we know of was the temporary Women's Center, started by a few Iowa City women, which was closed by the university in the Spring. Some of the proposed interests and services of the Center include: 1) an information facility; there is a very great need for a library of women's material (...various aspects of the politics of the feminist movement, info on birth control, abortion, and the legalities of marriage and divorce). 2.) A well organized Speakers' Bureau to arrange speaking engagements for women's groups wishing to hear experiences and view of other women. All women would have an opportunity to speak to groups, as this is part of the philosophy of the women's movement--we have no "leaders": each woman has her story to tell, her own integrity ...3)A room equipped for chil care as a necessary service to mothers which would permit women to participate in Center programs with greatest convenience and peace of mind. 4) Organizing consciousness-raising groups. These are the basic units of the women's movement, composed of women who wish to explore to what extent their difficulties and frustrations are personal problems and to what extent they are the result of being born female. Meetings of the various groups could take place in one of the larger rooms of the Center. 6) Classes could be created to meet the needs of women. Eg., simplemechanics of plumbing, carpentry, auto and small appliance repair taught by women. 7) A women's Health Information Center established within the Center. Once a week a female gynecologist could attend and answer questions. 8) A Woman's Counselling Center staffed by women trained by Crisis Center women. 9) A Women's Advocate staffed by a female law student to counsel and defend women. To these ends the Women's Center is asking the university for a house on campus rent free and budget of $2,855 for maintenance and office, programming and honoraria for women offering services. The Women's advocate position (modeled after a job at the University of Michigan) carries the proposed salary of 46,000. A member of the Women's Center staff would live in the Center rent free in exchange for miscellaneous Center duties. In keeping with the goals and traditions of the women's movement, the administration of the Center would be composed of a collective and rotating governing body. If you're interested in the Women's Center and perhaps wondering how to help or just wondering, call: Cheryl Yackshaw (337-4997), Donna Davis (at Action Studies 353-3610) or Linda Brown (at Student Activities 337-9802). In the radical feminist view, the new feminism is not just the revival of a serious political movement for social equality. It is the second wave of the most important revolution in history. Its aim: overthrow of the oldest most rigid caste/class system in existence, the class system based on sex--a system consolidated over thousands of years, lending the archetypal male and female roles an undeserved legitimacy and seeming permanence." Shulamith Firestone [image]