Women's Resource Center
Mission:
The Saint Mary’s College Women’s Resource Center is dedicated to creating a campus environment that empowers women to envision and engage in a life that maximizes their academic, personal, and spiritual growth. The Women’s Resource Center uses a collaborative model and provides five main modules of service including: education, outreach, support, empowerment and referrals. It seeks to enhance the Saint Mary’s learning experience by fostering a supportive, inclusive environment for women and men of all backgrounds, ages and belief systems, while promoting and practicing acceptance and collaboration. It strives to give students the knowledge and tools to recognize and challenge sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, classism, socialized gender roles and homophobia and other forms of oppression and ‘isms’ that affect women and men negatively. Although St. Mary’s College of California is a safe campus, the Women’s Resource Center acknowledges that, by virtue of being a part of the larger society, the campus is not immune from issues like sexual assault and dating violence. In response, the WRC is committed to proactively educating and providing resources and referrals to students affected by these issues. The Women’s Resource Center is committed to including men in the movement to end violence against women.
Philosophy of service:
The WRC is committed to empowering women and men to succeed. We work collaboratively with departments and centers across campus to ensure that students utilizing our services have a holistic experience. We offer advocacy and support, which compliments, but does not replace, the services of the Counseling Center. We commit to offering students one hour of individual time with a staff person each week for consultation, advocacy and referrals in addition to the groups, programs and outreach initiatives we offer. We operate out of our homegrown EMPOWER Model.
Empower:
Engage both inside and outside the classroom. Find activities such as writing workshops, groups and clubs that you are interested in and pursue them.
Motivate/Mobilize/Mentor Stay motivated. The Women’s Resource Center is here to support you and help you explore the tools and resources necessary to work through the challenges of life. Whether you’re dealing with an unhealthy relationship, a self-esteem issue, an overwhelming class, or a friend who has been affected by sexual assault, we will help you identify all variables that are in your control to make the problem at hand less overwhelming.
Practice what you preach: Stay true to yourself. Live your ideologies.
Overcome stereotypes/obstacles:
Be willing to challenge yourself and let others challenge you. Leave your comfort zone.
Wait When we try new activities, we’re sometimes tempted to give up quickly. When we have a bad experience, we’re tempted to give up rather than find out what went wrong. Resist the temptation to give up quickly or easily. Avoid making hasty decisions.
Empathize Imagine the world from the eyes of your peers, surrounding faculty and staff members. Be open to learning at all times.
Reciprocate Humans crave for reciprocity in all social actions. WRC has a staff committed to serving students. We encourage students to learn how to reciprocate by showing up at appointments, following through with commitments and notifying us with a phone call or an e-mail when unable to follow through.
For more information, or if you would like to get involved with the WRC, please contact:
Sharon Sobotta
WRC Director
(925) 631-4193
ssobotta@stmarys-ca.edu
Joanna Snawder
Coordinator of Sexual Assault Awareness, Outreach and Education
(925) 631-4193
jsnawder@stmarys-ca.edu
