Letters from the Women’s Center: Let Us Begin …

By Colleen Weldon

Dear Forum Readers,

Since this article will mark the beginning of the Women’s Center’s weekly contribution to this publication, I feel it necessary to begin by introducing who I am, who my colleagues are, and what the Women’s Center’s mission is for this upcoming academic year.

My name is Colleen Weldon, and I am a senior whose interest in women’s issues originated with my major studies — political science.

Lindsay Souza, my colleague and fellow political science major, will be spearheading the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) for the Center this year. The WLI is dedicated to promoting women’s active participation in politics and in other traditionally male dominated fields. The program is committed to encouraging women to pursue active citizenship. And also, it encourages women to tailor their professional presentation and business etiquette skills, so that they feel confident, empowered, and strong enough to actively seek out leadership positions for themselves.

Kate Sims and Megan Graham, both globalization majors and members of the Class of 2009, will be leading the Women’s Center’s social programming for the year. Goals for this year’s programming include establishing closer ties within the community through interactions between students and local migrant women and, as always, promoting awareness about women’s emotional and physical well-being, safety and sexual health.

Plans for having a nutritionist and yoga instructor help women on campus maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle are also in the works. Details for the program are forthcoming to our organization’s website (which can be reached through a link on the Gettysburg College’s homepage), and will also be sent via the student digest.

The upcoming month is going to be a very active one as far as the Center’s programming is concerned, so please mark your calendars with the following dates!

On Oct. 18, there will be a “Feel Your Boobies Bash” in Harrisburg, to promote breast cancer awareness for women. Hopefully, if we get a good response from the student body, we will be able to arrange transportation for those students who wish to attend and support this cause.

Additionally, on Oct. 22, the volleyball team will be sponsoring “Dig for a Cure,” a program to help combat breast cancer, during their match against McDaniel at 7 p.m.

On Oct. 25, our new self-defense program, “Angels with Attitude,” will take place in Plank Gym 100 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be plenty of goodies and lots of fun tips on how to best protect yourself in dangerous situations.

Before the self-defense program starts, Nancy Bocskor, Newt Gingrich’s former legislative assistant, will be giving a lecture entitled “Path to Passion Driven Leadership” for campus women in the Lyceum at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20. She is a prominent political figure, engaging and a highly knowledgeable speaker. We strongly encourage everyone interested to attend!

Please feel free to email us (our alias is on our webpage) with any suggestions for the Women’s Center’s programming. Everyone is welcome!

The Women’s Center is above all an organization designed for women, but we also encourage others to get involved. We are looking forward to cultivating our relationship with other constituencies that we have not partnered with in the past; such as Greek life organizations, our wonderful alumnae, and many other new clubs and organizations on campus.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you think we can help you sponsor an event related to promoting women’s advancement, wellness, or humane issues.

Lindsay, Kate, Megan and I are looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible this year and we hope that at some point everyone on this campus can find a way to benefit from our programming. We look forward to hearing from you!

Stop in and visit any day you like; our office hours are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.

Colleen Weldon is the Chairperson of the Women’s Center.