Call Number:

003

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

4.88 linear ft. (11 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Women's Center records (HCF.003) Quaker and Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1970-2019 (inclusive)

Creator:

Haverford College. Women's Center

Form:

Photograph albums, minutes (administrative records), and Correspondence

Abstract:

This collection contains records created by the Women's Center at Haverford College. The materials begin in the 1970s during the creation of the center and extend through to 2019. Included in this collection are materials about the history of the Women's Center and coeducation at Haverford, log books kept by the staff members, posters about their events, publications they created such as Herstory and newsletters, information sheets about sex and other topics, and some photographs.

During the 1980-1981 academic year, Haverford College began to admit female first year students. At this point Haverford was still a male dominated institution, even though they had already begun to admit some female transfer students and students from Bryn Mawr College, the women's college located nearby. In 1979, the president of Haverford College appointed a Committee on Women to evaluate the college and submit suggetions for changes necessary to smooth the transition of admitting female first year students. In the academic year 1980-1981, a group of female Haverford students banded together to campaign for the creation of a Women's Center. It was created in 1981, despite some concerns that such a center would segregate women from the community. The first and long term director of the Women's Center was Marilou Allen. Along with student staff members, Allen made the Women's Center both a physical meeting place for community conversations and an event planning body focusing on women's issues. They published a newsletter called "Vicissitudes" and hosted events such as lunch discussions, ERA letter-writing campaigns, lectures, concerts, and workshops. The women's center was located for years in the basement of the Dining Center, until it was moved to the Campus Center in 1994. As the twentifirst century progressed, the mission of the Women's Center changed, and their name changed to reflect that. The apostrophe was changed to an astericks in order to emphasize that the Women*s Center was a resource for all members of the Haverford community, regardless of their sex and gender. As of May 2018, the mission statement of the Women*s Center reads: "The Haverford College Women*s Center is a safe, inclusive, intersectional space open to folks to all genders. As a safe space, we believe in cultivating trust, accountability, transparency, support, empowerment, and a commitment to growth. We provide resources, education, outreach, and programming to the Haverford community. By modeling an accessible feminist collective, we seek to build solidarity among women, feminine-identified folks, and all marginalized communities." Some of the reoccuring events and activities that the Women's Center has put on throughout their history include: Sexvember, Take Back the Night, Speak Out, Herstory, Senior Women's Brunch, and the student hotline.

This collection contains records created by the Women's Center at Haverford College. The materials begin in the 1970s during the creation of the center and extend through to 2019. Included in this collection are materials about the history of the Women's Center and coeducation at Haverford, log books kept by the staff members, posters about their events, publications they created such as Herstory and newsletters, information sheets about sex and other topics, and some photographs. There are also materials about sexual misconduct that contain politices, fact sheets, and personal experiences with sexual harrasment and assault.

There are materials in this collection related to sex and sexual violence. They are labled "Sexual Misconduct". These materials include both informational handouts as well as personal accounts of positive or traumatizing experiences.

This collection is arranged chronologically. Materials pertaining to sexual misconduct are at the end of the collection. Oversize event posters are stored separately.