Women’s Resource Center at Cornell Renamed as ‘Gender Equity Resource Center’
“Shifting our language to ‘gender equity’ is responsive to the experiences of historically marginalized communities”
Women get sidelined once again in the name of gender equity.
The Cornell Chronicle reports:
New name for Women’s Resource Center reflects expanded support
As part of an ongoing goal to better meet the needs of both women and students who identify outside the gender binary, The Women’s Resource Center was renamed the Gender Equity Resource Center on August 7, 2023.
The Gender Equity Resource Center, still located on the second floor of Willard Straight Hall, continues to promote a campus community of belonging for women, as well as for students who identify as trans, nonbinary, agender, genderfluid and genderqueer. With the change, the ongoing commitment of the center to support all gender-marginalized students at Cornell is now reflected in its name.
“The new name continues a conversation and framework for discussing and responding to the issues impacting women and other gender-marginalized communities,” said Marla Love, Robert W. & Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students.
“Shifting our language to ‘gender equity’ is responsive to the experiences of historically marginalized communities and actively welcomes the involvement of all people committed to gender equity, not only women. The center invests in supporting our students’ intersecting identities, which shape their experiences both at Cornell and beyond.” Love’s office oversees the Centers for Equity, Empowerment and Belonging in Student and Campus Life – the organization that houses the Gender Equity Resource Center – which has also undergone a recent name change.
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Comments
Literally trying to erase women
So Men can go pick up condoms there? We actually need to eliminate all these special identity needs offices on campus. They are discriminatory in nature. Services should be provided to all students. No need to create separate enclaves on campus.
Progressive definition of a woman: Anyone who likes to wear lipstick and high heels.
“Shifting our language to ‘gender equity’ is responsive to the experiences of historically marginalized communities”
Who scream incessantly, while women whimper silently.
Willard Straight Hall (main student union) is located right next to Gannett Clinic. I wonder if they do gender transitioning there these days.
Years ago, the student government recognized that women had different needs than men, for example, sanitary napkins, etc, which were funded for the women’s room (and later also the men’s room.) The idea of a “safe space” where women could hang out in a student union building was also not a very controversial idea. However, the Women’s Resource Center was never based upon the idea that women at Cornell were “marginalized” or a separate “community.” About $10 per student in fees are allocated to the Women’s Resource Center, and it was historically a female student run operation.
By converting this safe space into something targeted to “historically marginalized communities” Cornell is diminishing the services to women (who now make up 54% of the student body.) There are already two female-only dorms – Balch and Lyon Halls.
Has anyone conducted a customer survey of students to see what they perceive to be their own needs? How many “students who identify outside the gender binary” are there? Is forcing non-binary students into the Women’s Resource Center the same as forcing Lia Thomas into the women’s swim meets?
“There are already two female-only dorms – Balch and Lyon Halls.”
Well, they can’t let THAT continue. It’ll be fixed right way!
Balch was built using a bequest limited to a dorm for women. Lyon was a men’s dorm for about 80 years and its conversion to women-only has no rational basis. The top two floors are excluded because they house the meeting room and president’s suite of Quill & Dagger.
Other than fraternities, Cornell does not offer any male-only dorms. I guess men do not need “safe-spaces.”
If you have what it takes to get admitted to Cornell, here’s an unsolicited suggestion:
1. Take a one-year Leave of Absence
2. Go to Hungary or Poland or Japan or South Korea or somewhere else and learn their language
3. Perhaps work p.t. as an au pair or ESL instructor
In your absence Cornell and your peers will continue achieving not-a-whole-lot-that’s-very-constructive.
But you will be , potentially, doing and accomplishing amazing, amazing, amazing things.
💪