Rice to host women's conference
Rice will be hosting a women's conference, called "Rice Women -- Celebrations, Challenges, Possibilities," on campus Feb. 9-11. Planned events include academic lectures, discussion groups, film screenings and art shows.
Scott Biddy, director of Alumni Affairs and a conference organizer, emphasized that the conference is not only for women and added that he plans to attend.
Caroline Schaeffer, a conference program committee co-chair, said the weekend will bring together people who might not normally interact to create "a dialogue with lots of interesting viewpoints." Schaeffer added that the committee "made a real point of addressing a very wide range of topics."
President Malcolm Gillis said, "I hope lots of non-females come so they can understand more about the issues of women's concerns."
Maryana Iskander, Student Association president and a conference organizer, said the weekend will "bring together a lot of people who have similar interests." She said a primary goal was to "promote an academic discussion of gender issues," which is "something Rice needs to do."
Biddy added that conference organizers wanted to give students, faculty, alumni and other community members a chance to know each other. He said he expects participants to share their experiences as women at Rice and as alumnae.
Helena Michie, an English professor and conference program committee co-chair, said she has worked on ways of involving audiences in discussions. She said there will be a series of panel discussions in which participation is encouraged.
Michie has also organized the academic component of the conference, which will "showcase the talents of the faculty on women's issues." Lectures will cover some of the controversies in feminism and current topics in gender studies.
The idea for a conference on women's issues came up last year in the SA Senate. At the same time, Martha Smith, a Rice alumna, approached the Alumni Office about the possibility of having a conference. Smith attended the 1963 Rice Women's Conference as a student. The 1963 conference was the last Rice has held, and "alumni remember it fondly," according to Michie.
Gillis said he is "extremely pleased to see this joint venture between students and alumni."
A Women's Center
A highlight of the conference will be the grand opening of the Rice Women's Resource Center.
Schaeffer said the center was conceived "to create awareness of women's issues on campus."
Schaeffer described the mission of the Women's Center as multi-faceted. Its goals are "communication, community building, diversity awareness, education, enhancing women's leadership skills and service to the Houston community."
Schaeffer stressed that the center hopes to address the needs of the entire community, not only women. The Women's Center will offer counseling and books and will soon have a TV and video collection.
The center's mission statement describes it as a "central location for people and groups with an interest in issues facing women." Women's Center Director Mona Hicks said the center will serve as a clearinghouse for other programs rather than replace them.
The Women's Center is working with several groups on campus, including Students Organized Against Rape, the Graduate Women's Interest Network, Advance and the SA Commission for Women. The center will help these groups centralize information and publicize group activities.
Hicks said the center's first goals will be dealing with the issues of sexual abuse and sexuality as well as instituting outreach programs. She said she hopes the center will expand in the next few years to become a "gender center" and embrace a wider set of questions about gender relations.
The center will issue a monthly newsletter outlining its projects. Hicks said work will be done on developing focus groups for freshmen, athletes, graduate students and possibly other groups.
The Women's Center boasts strong community support, according to Hicks. She added that she expects this support to lead to future outreach opportunities.
Schaeffer explained that the Women's Center began as "the vision of a lot of people." She added that it has become a reality in less than two years because of the support given to the idea by so many people.
The SA held its first meeting on the subject of a women's center in August 1994. Surprised that Rice had no women's center, Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho said he was "determined to get something going."
He made "a major allocation of funds" to start the center. When Hicks arrived this year, she said she knew "this year was going to be the year something tangible was going to happen."
The Women's Resource Center will be giving awards to "Outstanding Rice Women" during its grand opening.
The women receiving awards were nominated for being role models on women's issues; the recipients include undergraduates and graduate students, alumnae, faculty and staff.
The opening of the Women's Resource Center in the office in Kelley Lounge will be Feb. 9, 3-5 p.m. The center will be open starting the following week from Monday through Thursday, 12-4 p.m. and Tuesday, 7-9 p.m. and by appointment. It will be staffed by Hicks, Schaeffer and Melissa Jacobs, a Lovett College sophomore.
The center also holds a monthly steering committee meeting which is open to the community. Registration information for the women's conference is available at the residential colleges and the Alumni Affairs office. The registration deadline is Monday.
Costly Conference
The women's conference is an expensive proposition, according to Iskander. Food, served at Cohen House, is the most expensive part of the conference.
Other expenses include the purchase of materials and the subsidy of a movie rental.
Conference participants will help defray the costs. Registration fees for non-students are $85. About 100 non-students are currently registered.
Students can also register for the conference; the cost is $15. However, students who do not want to pay the fee can register for free if they opt not to eat the meals provided, according to Iskander.
The Alumni Office, Student Association and Program for the Study of Women and Gender are also sponsoring the conference.
This item appeared in the News section of the February 2, 1996 issue.
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