Never been to the Women’s Center?

When we think of community service or civic engagement, we often think of serving someone else’s community. Even thinking about our University strategic plan which refers to “knowledge in the service of society,” I find myself thinking of society as something outside of Duke—maybe it’s greater Durham, or a developing country.... It’s not my own community, selective living group or friends. But in many ways, our own communities are ones we’re especially well-equipped to serve, and furthermore, they need us just as much as we need them.

As an intern at the Women’s Center, I consider myself part of the ongoing struggle for gender justice at Duke. And by gender justice at Duke, I mean that people of all genders should be able to take full advantage of what the Duke community has to offer and that the Duke community should offer them the same things (like safety, support, leadership opportunities, respect and housing, to name a few). I am one of 10 undergraduate student interns at the Center who focus on different areas from gender violence to gender justice in general, and I am one of a much larger (and growing!) number of students who participate in the wide variety of opportunities the Center provides.

Duke’s Women’s Center truly has opportunities relevant to every student. And I actually mean every student. I actually mean you.

Hey men! You may be surprised to hear that the Women’s Center is home to an all male discussion and activism group. Every week, a group of men gather to discuss our place in the fight for gender justice with a group called “Men Acting for Change,” or MAC for short. We meet every Thursday at 7 p.m. The group is open to newcomers throughout the year, so come to a meeting and learn what we’re up to.

Hey women! If you are interested in great discussion and developing community among female peers, come to the Women’s Collective (dukewomenscollective@gmail.com) on Fridays at 5 p.m., and if you are interested in discussing the intersection of your experience with race and gender as a woman of color, check out EMBRACE events.

Also, the Women’s Center is once again offering the highly successful “Elect-Her” program on Feb. 4, which teaches female students valuable skills needed to run for elected offices—and win. The program aims to address the great disparities in gender representation in elected offices at all levels of government in the United States by helping women gain experience in office. If interested, register online before the end of tomorrow, Feb. 1.

Hey everyone! You may have already heard about the Develle Dish blog or maybe even posted comments. If not, go to http://dukegroups.duke.edu/develledish/ and see what other Duke students are saying about a variety of topics, including dating versus hookup culture, porn women like, moving personal stories and interesting points of view.

When it comes to trying to make our community a more just place, there may be no more urgent place to start than in confronting sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The Women’s Center is working on two fronts to reduce sexual violence. Not only does the Center provide confidential counseling and crisis services for gender violence survivors of all genders, but it also works to prevent future gender violence.