Since 2006, AU’s Student Government has talked about creating a women’s resource center. The SG has also discussed starting an online veterans’ network. Next year, both projects will be completed. The Women’s Resource Center will open its doors in January 2010. The Veterans’ Network will launch next fall. The SG and the university should be commended for making good on a long-term promise. However, the creation of these centers raises questions about which special subgroups warrant their own university-funded resources.
Sarah Brown, the director of Women’s Initiative, said AU needs a women’s resource center because our campus needs “a full-time advocate for issues affecting women on campus.” The center, to be located in the Mary Graydon Center, will combine the resources of the Wellness Center and Women’s Initiative. It will also house a library of books on women’s issues and a counseling center.
Skeptics might question the necessity of yet another university-funded project that only benefits women. All of AU’s male students will be paying into the same fund that will create and maintain this center, but they won’t reap the same benefits as women will.
There are already several university-funded institutions devoted exclusively to women’s needs issues. Think Women’s Initiative. Think the Women and Politics Institute. There are also places where women and men can go for health-related issues. Think the Wellness Center. Think the Student Health Center. Do women really need another place to go to get their needs met? Maybe.
Even if the new Women’s Resource Center does go above and beyond what AU’s current women’s groups do, a question of principle still lingers. How many more special subgroups deserve university funding? Wouldn’t there be a way to address everyone’s needs without further segmenting this campus? Maybe not, but these are questions worth asking.
Certainly, if any special group deserves its own resource center, AU’s veterans do. One can argue that veterans may have very specific needs that aren’t easily addressed in the Student Health Center or the Wellness Center. In fact, one wonders why a physical women’s resource center is more of a priority than a physical veterans resource center. Student Government President Andy MacCracken said a veterans’ center is a possibility for the future, but it’s not even a sure thing. Are AU’s priorities where they should be?
There will be many students on this campus that will benefit from the creation of both the Women’s Resource Center and the Veterans’ Network. But students should ask questions about the purpose of any new campus project, especially when they’re funding it.
