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The Rice Thresher
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by RACHEL M. KRAUSE THRESHER STAFF The Women's Resource Center celebrated its fourth anniversary and distributed Impact awards to outstanding members of the Rice community at a ceremony held Feb. 11 in Kelley Lounge. The ceremony opened with a welcome by Associate Director of Student Activities Mona Hicks. Then, three generations of Rice women shared their perspectives on the role of women during the years they were here. Camille Simpson (Rice '48) recalled that the male-to-female ratio was six to one at that time. Speeches by her daughter Kathryn Vidal (Brown '73) and granddaughter, Camille Vidal, a Will Rice College senior, followed. Women's Resource Center Student Director Ellen Lansden then recognized the contributions of the seven current resource center coordinators and introduced the newly elected coordinators. She then announced that next year's student director will be Jones College junior Emily Wender, who is currently studying abroad. Hicks and Lansden presented the Impact awards. The criteria for the award include demonstrating service and involvement in student life at Rice or the larger community, increasing the awareness of women's issues, and serving as a role model in the empowerment of women. Graduate Student Association Internal Vice President Andrea Frolic and GSA External Vice President Kristin Griffith received awards for their work with the association. Honored faculty members included Women and Gender Studies Professor Lynn Huffer and Dean of Continuing Studies Mary McIntire. Huffer feels that her "Introduction to the Study of Women" and "Gender and Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies" classes are "two visible ways that advance issues of feminism." "I try to make my classes connect with the lives of the students," Huffer said. "I see women and gender studies as the academic arm of feminism and the Woman's Resource Center as the student activities arm." Huffer was also an organizer of the ad hoc committee advocating same-sex domestic partner benefits for faculty and staff. Teveia Rose Barnes (Baker '75) was the alumni recipient. She is the executive director of Lawyers for One America and serves on the Rice Board of Trustees. Former Police Chief Mary Voswinkel was recognized for her 22 years of service to Rice. Sandra Bertell, a Rape Aggression Defense instructor and Civil Engineering Department Coordinator, has touched the lives of hundreds of Rice women through her work with RAD, Hicks said. Director of Multicultural Affairs Catherine Clack also received recognition and was praised by her nominators as "a woman who is dedicated to diversity and women's issues." Eight undergraduate students also received the Impact award. Will Rice junior Eden King was recognized for, among other things, coordinating the Peer Health Information and Support Program. King regards the PHIS hotline as an important service for both men and women. "I'm not the most political person as far as women's issues go, but I do try to be a good role model," King said. "I also put effort into helping new students adjust to college through my work as an O-Week coordinator." Janet Huang, a Will Rice senior and president of the Society of Women Engineers, shared her experience with trying to improve the organization. "On the Rice campus, it is hard as an engineer to make a difference because of the workload it involves," Huang said. "I've tried to devote a lot of my time making SWE a larger organization, even if it means some of my work is compromised." Other undergraduate recipients were Student Association President Anne Countiss, a Hanszen College senior; Pride President Amanda Goad, a Sid Richardson College senior; Advance Chair Kamakshi Raimondo, a Baker College senior; Rice Student Volunteer Program Chair Shilpa Sarang, a Hanszen senior; Will Rice senior Elizabeth Jackson, who was credited with raising awareness on women's issues through athletics; Hanszen sophomore Merritt McAlister, the founder of a support group for non-heterosexual women; and Lansden. "The women being recognized today are role models for any gender," Hicks said. - back -
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