Clothesline Project Display: Sexual Assault Awareness Month (4/16)

On Tuesday, April 16th on the Commons Main Street from 10-4pm, the Women’s Center will be displaying the Clothesline Project in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This display includes t-shirts with messages from UMBC community members over the years related to their experiences of sexual assault or relationship violence. This can be a powerful experience for passersby.

Women’s Center staff, UHS Peers and Relationship Violence Awareness and Prevention advocates will be staffing the Project to help answer any questions you may have about the display.

For additional information, feel free to contact the Women’s Center at 410.455.2714 or email womens.center@umbc.edu. Information regarding the event, including an event flyer, can be found at: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/womenscenter/events/17294

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. University Health Services and The Women’s Center have teamed up to put together a list of events for the month. Please refer to the flyer below and make note of some events you would be interested in attending. We appreciate your support!

You must be logged into my.UMBC to view the flyer.

Women’s Center Returning Student Scholarships for 2013-2014 Now Available (Due 4/5)

Are you an undergraduate student 25 or older? Do you have 60+ credits?

You may be eligible for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship for Mature Students or the Bryson-Neville Scholarship for Returning Women. Find both applications, for full details regarding eligibility, at the Women’s Center website: http://www.umbc.edu/womenscenter/resources_and_referrals.html (scroll down to the “Scholarships” section). Applications are due on Friday, April 5th by 4pm.

We have moved to an online submission form, so please pay attention to instructions carefully, especially regarding the electronic signature. Hard copies may still be submitted directly to the Women’s Center if you prefer that option over online submission. Please be sure to follow all of the instructions in order to be considered an eligible applicant.

As a reminder, all returning women are invited to be a part of our Returning Women’s Forum, and to attend meetings that are held in the Women’s Center every Wednesday at 10am during the spring semester. An evening meeting will also take place on Thursday, February 28th at 5pm in the Women’s Center for both returning women and men. For more information about this community, feel free to contact the Women’s Center using the information below. To be connected to the community outside of meeting times, please also consider joining our Facebook group. Request an invite at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/461437163919458/

For additional information or questions, call the Women’s Center at 410.455.2714 or email womens.center@umbc.edu

A Healthy Baby Girl (2/18-22)

The Women’s Center and GWST’s 6th Annual Korenman Lecture Presents, A Healthy Baby Girl.

1963 Filmmaker Judith Helfand’s mother was prescribed the ineffective, carcinogenic synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol (DES), meant to prevent miscarriage and ensure a healthy baby. At twenty-five, Judith was diagnosed with DES-related cervical cancer. After a radical hysterectomy she went to her family’s home to heal and picked up her camera. The resulting video-diary is a fascinating exploration of how science, marketing & corporate power can affect our deepest relationships. Shot over five years, A Healthy Baby Girl tells a story of survival, mother-daughter love, family renewal and community activism. Intimate, humorous and searing, it is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the relationship between women’s health, public policy, medical ethics and corporate responsibility.
(Running time: 57 minutes)

Showtimes:
Monday (2/18) & Wednesday (2/20) 1:00, 2:30, 4:00, & 5:00
Tuesday (2/19) & Thursday (2/21): 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, 2:30, & 4:00
Friday (2/22): 11:00
Film Discussion: Friday, 2/22, 12pm
Facilitated by: Dr. Dawn Biehler from Geography and Environmental Sciences & GWST Affiliate Faculty

The 6th Annual Korenman Lecture is March 6th at 4pm. The speaker is Sandra Steingraber.

Contact GWST at 410-455-2001 or elle@umbc.edu for more details.

Jess Myers, Women’s Center, on the Marc Steiner Show

Jess Myers, director of the Women’s Center, appeared on the “Marc Steiner Show” on Tuesday, January 8 to discuss rape and the fight for women’s rights, from India to Ohio.  Meyers, along with guests Allison Kilkenny of Citizen Radio and The Nation and Winston Ross of Newsweek and the Daily Beast, discussed a recent case from Steubenville, Ohio, where high school football players and their friends live tweeted the rape of a sixteen-year-old girl.

Myers discussed the conversations that she expects to have with students about the case and the culture surrounding it.

“There’s an interesting dynamic between how we educate, in my experience, students, on issues of misogyny when some people get it and others don’t.  And how try to find that middle ground where we can have conversations and discussions without people feeling like they’re being challenged in ways that they can’t understand their role.  I’m curious to see what conversations we will have around this when the students come back,” she said.

The full segment can be heard here.

World AIDS Day Awareness and Recognition Begins (11/26-11/30)

With this year’s World AIDS Day approaching on December 1st, the Office of Student Life’s Mosaic Center, University Health Services, and the UMBC Women’s Center have announced a partnership which aims to raise awareness and education about HIV/Aids, beginning today, November 26th, through November 30th.

Events for the week include:

-Free & Confidential Rapid HIV Testing on November 27th & 28th, from 10am – 4pm in     The Commons, Room 329.

- An HIV/AIDS Brown Bag Discussion on November 27th, from 10am – 11am in the Women’s Center.

-The World AIDS Day Health Fair on November 27th, held from 11am – 1pm, on The Commons Main Street.

Staff and faculty participation is encouraged. To find out more about these and other events planned to help awareness of World AIDS Day, please visit the Office of Student Life’s Mosaic Center group page on myUMBC here. 

Last Minute Election Talk (10/30)

UMBC’s Women’s Center will be hosting a last-minute election talk from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm on October 30th.

Topics such as referendum questions, seat information, and the overall importance of voting in Maryland will be covered. In a statement, the Women’s Center encourages anyone interested to come with any questions or concerns they have for “an open, judgment free conversation about the election… we can try to answer the questions you have!  There is only one week left, it’s time to figure out where you stand!”

Film Showing at the Women’s Center (11/5-9)

The Women’s Center will be showing a film the week of November 5 which deals with the stereotypes regarding disability in contemporary society.

The Alice Elliott-directed documentary Body and Soul: Diana and Kathy tells the story of two women dealing with issues of disability (Diana with Down’s syndrome, and Kathy with cerebral palsy). Diana serves as caregiver to Kathy through the course of the film, and model a grand experiment in in-dependent living,” according to the synopsis provided by the center.

The length of Body and Soul: Diana and Kathy runs to 40 minutes. Showtimes are as follows:

Monday (11/5) & Wednesday (11/7) 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 & 4:00 pm
Tuesday (11/6) 1:00, 2:30, & 4:00
Thursday (11/8): 10:00 am, 11:30 am , 1:00 & 2:30 pm
Friday (11/9): 11:00 am

Film Discussion: Friday, 11/9, 12 pm

For more information about the film visit www.umbc.edu/womenscenter or call us at 410-455-2714.

Women’s Center October Film Series: Miss Representation (10/15-10/19)

Join the Women’s Center for our October film series. We’ll be showing Miss Represenation to help our community gear up for the November elections. A discussion led by Dr. Hussey from Political Science will take place on Friday, October 19, at noon, in the Women’s Center. The film times for the week are as follows:

• Monday (10/15) and Wednesday (10/17): 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• Tuesday (10/16): 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• Thursday (9/27): 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
• Friday (9/28): 10 a.m.

For additional information or questions, contact the Women’s Center at ext. 5–2714 or womens.center@umbc.edu.

Relationship Violence Awareness Month Calendar of Events

October is Relationship Violence Awareness Month. In honor of this, the Women’s Center and University Health Services work together every year to highlight programs and events happening throughout the month related to relationship violence. Please visit our group page for additional information and to download the calendar of events: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/healthed/news/17017.

Our capstone event will be the Clothesline Project, Resource Fair and Vigil taking place throughout the day on Wednesday, October 24. Save the date and we hope to see you there.

For additional information, contact the Women’s Center at ext. 5-2714 or womens.center@umbc.edu.