To My Immigrant Parents

The following post was written by Ojuswani Phogat, a third-year student at UMBC.  Positionality Statement: The letter below is a message from me to my immigrant parents. It is reflective of only their experiences and mine but is being shared with you all with an understanding that the immigrant experience can be a wild, scary, intense,…

Microaggressions: an attack on belonging and identity 

Image description: shows student, Jane, smiling in front of a UMBC building Positionality Statement: This post is written by Jane DeHitta, an adult learner in her final year at UMBC, who works as a student staff and social work intern at the Women’s Center. I am a first generation Filipino-American student who seeks to be…

Creating Online Accessible Spaces

Content Note: This post is written by Sara Stewart, a sophomore and student staff member at the Women’s Center.  I am a non-disabled student, who, in my reading, work with CSJ, and personal reflection, hopes to be a better ally to my disabled family members, friends, and community members.  I wish to recognize where social…

Learning to be anti-racist: Calling IN white people and non-Black people of color

That’s why I’m writing this. Because the burden we are placing on Black folks in all a manner of places right now, needs to be lifted. It is crucial that we center Black voices and words and prioritize creating and maintaining safe spaces for Black-identified people to feel.

Black lives matter. You matter. Endlessly and always.

The images and text below were originally shared on the Women's Center social media pages. We're re-sharing here to amplify the message and hold ourselves accountable to doing the work of our mission to advance gender equity and prioritize critical social justice and anti-racism.  There are few things that offer peace in this time, so…

B-I-N-G-O spells SCOUT…with the Women’s Center

Last semester we launched everybody's fave, the Women's Center Scouts! And it was really, really popular. Like really popular and if you missed out you're probably feeling a little sad right now. Well, don't be because we're rolling out the Women's Center Scouts Spring Challenge! BINGO!!!! We still have the Women's Center Scouts, but this semester…

Sitting with discomfort: a social justice imperative

Over this semester, one of my mantras has been “sit with discomfort.” This has meant sitting without clear or particularly good answers for very desperate, hurt people turning to me for help and support. It’s meant holding space for tense and harmful conversations that I really don’t want to have with students. It has meant feeling inconsolably angry with a best friend. And it’s meant not having a dryer for two months. Nope, none of those things feel good, but being able to slow down and contemplate a state of anxiety has allowed me to reach new levels of knowledge, awareness, and perspective.

Announcing the Women’s Center Scouts!

Girl Scouts. Radical Monarchs. Lumberjanes. Pawnee Goddess. And now… Women’s Center Scouts! Time and time again, Women’s Center staff get the question, “How do you join the Women’s Center?” Our response is “Easy! Come and hang out in our lounge! Come to events. You don’t have to join.” To which we get an “Oh. Okay.”…

Women’s Center Knowledge Exchanges

In the last few iterations of our roundtable series, we’ve noticed that the classroom is, in many ways, replicated in the Women’s Center. Yes, we have beanbags and we gather together in a big friendly circle to discuss topics one might not cover in class, but structurally, we were learning in the same exact way.…

What are Pop Culture Pop Ups?! The Golden Globes: Black Out and Oprah

A blog post written by student staff member, Sydney.   It's official! The Women's Center has a new ongoing event starting this spring semester. What is it you ask? Pop Culture Pop Ups! You're probably wondering, "What the heck is a Pop Culture Pop Up?" Well, that's what I'm here to explain. If you frequent…