USAC initiates new women’s program
By Lauren Gabbaian
April 17, 2005 9:00 p.m.
Women and men of a variety of different backgrounds and
organizations, and with varying degrees of enthusiasm for the
feminist movement, gathered Sunday to discuss the state of
women’s rights locally and internationally as a part of the
first annual Women’s Collective.
The program, presented by the Undergraduate Students Association
Council office of the general representatives and attended by
students in organizations ranging from Women and Youth Supporting
Each Other to the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority to the Latin American
Student Association, featured general discussions and workshops
geared toward educating and planning solutions.
“This initiative is directly connected to how we want to
outreach to (UCLA) women’s groups on a larger scale,”
said Anneli Villarin, USAC general representative.
“It’s a way for us to think globally and act
locally.”
Workshops interspersed throughout the program brought up new and
more specific topics for discussion.
Heidi Arbisi-Kelm from the Center for Women and Men led a
session on domestic and intimate partner violence, highlighting the
need to organize in support of the cause before the violence can
stop.
In another room, Georgina Wakefield, a leader with Queer X Girl
student organization, spoke about the role of queer women in the
overall picture of gender equality.
The final workshop featured UCLA history professor Ellen DuBois,
who encouraged participants to focus on the activism and
victimization of women on an international scale.
“We have to continue to cultivate our international
activism, and we have to stop looking at women of foreign cultures
as victims,” she said.
Other discussion included sex trafficking, queer acceptance and
a diversity requirement.
The program ended with the group coming to a consensus as to a
single issue about which they all felt strongly: women’s
health from both a local and international perspective.
More specifically, the group aims to improve health services for
women on campus and to support the federal fight for abortion
rights.
Jenny Wood, a general representative, feels the coalition should
be institutionalized to be able to address such issues on a more
regular basis.
“I think that by seeing all these organizations come
together, we can inspire people to create a (stable)
organization,” she said.
