The Observer, November 18, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11
Free Speech Zone: All students should feel welcome at Center
To the Editor:
I was distressed to read that Marianne Hinde feels unwelcome at the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women. We pride ourselves on our hospitality and welcome everyone in the campus community, including women and men of all political persuasions. I urge Marianne and any other student who feels unwelcome during a visit to the Center to speak to me or Dana or Ginnette so that we can address their concerns.
We were pleased at the editorial in the previous issue and agree that there are likely many women – and men – on campus who might use what we have to offer. But we are indeed used by many. In our first year of operations, 3000 persons (duplicated count) attended our sponsored and co-sponsored events. In the second year the number jumped to 9000. We receive about 50,000 visits per month to our web site www.case.edu/provost/centerforwomen.
As for sex, sexuality, abortion, and pregnancy, we provide resources and workshops for all. Our workshops on sex and sexuality routinely include a discussion of the choice of abstinence. Our brochures in the Center cover contraception, abortion, adoption, healthy pregnancy advice and resources, and birth issues. This week we co-sponsored the forum, What your Mama Never Told You, featuring a physician, midwife, and doula discussing birth options for women. I might add that most of our programs are not related at all to abortion or the politics of abortion and these issues don't come up in the conversation.
We do not reject anyone's ideas about "what it means to be a woman." Our values statement, part of our strategic plan, reads: We honor the experiences of all women, champion diversity, create spaces for open dialogue, and promote social justice. One of the things we do in all of our forums and workshops is to help women (and men) express what they think, what they need, and decide for themselves what it means to be a woman or a man, and how to relate to themselves and each other as compassionate human beings in a complex world.
Dorothy C. Miller
Director, Center for Women
