To close out Women’s History month, this week’s Campus Celebrity title goes, not to a person, but a center. The RIT Center for Women and Gender captures this week title by providing women and men at RIT the ability to come together and learn how to work and grow stronger together in an educational environment.
Originally titled the Center for Women, the organization was created in the 1998-99 school year. After winning a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Center was able to begin dedicating itself to creating an equal and safe environment with no biases.
The grant was apart of the campus grants to Combat Violent Crimes Against Women. The center still receives this grant.
Fall quarter of 2010 saw the center change its name to the Center for Women and Gender. Some of the main reasons behind this change was the fact, there will never be a time where men and women do not work together. To better the treatment of women in education and work environments, men need to be included in learning and understanding issues that women encounter that men may be faced with.
Also, as one of the strong values of the center, the new name does not exclude anyone. The new name is inclusive to all and does not discriminate just as the center teaches people not to discriminate.
The center provides counseling services that are entirely free to the RIT community. From confidential intervention to relationship counseling, the center is open to helping any issue women and anyone may be facing at the time.
Statistics, rumors and stories can make RIT out to be a male-dominant and controlled campus. However, once you actually begin to experience the campus, you see how incredible and influential so many of the women at RIT truly are. The Center for Women and Gender are one of the services helping to create the environment for these women to continue to grow and succeed despite all challenges.