WRC Fosters Growth for the Men and Women of BC

A comfortable, warm environment fosters the growth of women and men in a particular institution. Boston College has established an organization to achieve that growth through the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) in hopes that every individual on this campus experiences greater intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and social development. Located in McElroy 141, the WRC has a full-time director, three graduate students, and seven undergraduate students who are all strongly passionate about furthering the success and achievements of each student at BC. Contemporary social topics are discussed through multiple educational programs that are designed to empower and enlighten young adults, created and supported by the director of this on-campus resource.

Katie Dalton, the director of the WRC, invites any student throughout the academic year to visit McElroy 141 to engage in a wide variety of services that accelerate the learning and progression of the student body. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, both men and women are encouraged to drop by and speak to different individuals about social topics, issues that pertain to their lives, or to ask for any relevant collegiate advice. On Mondays, free cookies are handed out upon entrance, and the WRC is vibrant, lively, and full of intellectual conversations that bounce from one individual to another, from men to women.

Many men and women have found peer support in year-round discussion groups such as Mosaic, Think Tank, and UnCovered. UnCovered is an underappreciated offering in which students gather and discuss a variety of issues, such as feminism, gender identity, and sexuality. Think Tank itself provides awareness to UnCovered through its weekly discussion meetings. Each semester, members create an action project that deals with topics that were brought up throughout the months. Most members who actively participate in the WRC said their experiences have been positive.

Keun Young Bae, A&S ’13, is one of the seven undergraduate students who willingly and lovingly participate in and direct many different activities and groups within the WRC. As the director of C.A.R.E. Week, Bae encourages students to actively partake in many of their activities. Love Your Body Week, which will be the second week of November this year, raises questions about worldwide issues such as eating disorders, body image problems, and self-perception conflicts. Different organizations around campus have collaborated with the WRC to bring social awareness to theses topics.

Bae believes that her love for the WRC stems from the community within the organization. She is able to freely explore feminist ideas that are applicable to the world today. The community becomes interpersonal. “The Women’s Resource Center is greatly needed in today’s society because sexism is still prevalent,” Bae said. “An example of this is displayed through rape jokes stemming from society’s lack of seriousness in such occurrences.”

Students can learn more about the WRC by “friending” them on Facebook, following them on Twitter, reading their blog posts on Tumblr, and checking them out on Pinterest. Volunteers are always welcomed and greatly appreciated, especially with many events on the horizon such as Love Your Body Week and the Clothesline Project. Every person is welcome and appreciated at McElroy 141, and students are encouraged to stop in and take a breather from their hectic weeks.