The Women’s Center at UMBC turns 25 this year! We’re excited to share our important milestone with UMBC’s 50th Anniversary and will be celebrating throughout the year with the rest of campus! We were inspired by Special Collections archival project Archives Gold: 50 Objects for UMBC’s 50th and decided to do our own digging into the Women’s Center archives. Over the course of the year, we’ll be sharing 25 “Then vs Now” archives to celebrate the origin and evolution of the Women’s Center at UMBC.

This week we’re featuring the history of The Clothesline Project at UMBC. 

The Clothesline project is still fresh in our minds with April, which is Sexual Assualt Awareness Month, not being in the too distant past. The Women’s Center had a calendar full of events, including a full-day display of The Clothesline Project

Assistant Director Megan Tagle Adams at this year’s Clothesline Project.

So what has the Clothesline Project looked like in past years?

The Clothesline Project in 2013

The Clothesline Project during V-day in  2001.

Editorial in the Retriever Weekly, fall of 2000

The Clothesline Project at UMBC gives voices to the experiences of survivors, victims, family, and friends who have been affected by violence. Through the years, The Women’s Center has provided materials for those who identify as survivors to decorate t-shirts that are then added to the project display. This is a national campaign created to address the stories of survivors and the violence that exists all around us, metaphorically ‘airing dirty laundry’. The clothesline is also a historical means through which women discussed domestic violence with other women, signaling the need for help with specific codes on the laundry lines. Traditionally there are specific colors indicating different kinds of survivor’s stories, but The Women’s Center has given space for survivors to use any colors available to add to the project.

What are the memories you have of the Women’s Center over the years that are meaningful to you? What does the Women’s Center mean to you today? Share your memories and pictures with us in the comment section below!

Stay up-to-date with our 25th anniversary on social media using #UMBCWC25. Share your Women’s Center experiences and memories with the UMBC community using #UMBCWC25 AND #UMBC50!

The Women’s Center at UMBC turns 25 this year! We’re excited to share our important milestone with UMBC’s 50th Anniversary and will be celebrating throughout the year with the rest of campus! We were inspired by Special Collections archival project Archives Gold: 50 Objects for UMBC’s 50th and decided to do our own digging into the Women’s Center archives. Over the course of the year, we’ll be sharing 25 “Then vs Now” archives to celebrate the origin and evolution of the Women’s Center at UMBC.

This week we’re featuring the history of Women’s History Month Calendars and Programming!

This year, with added support and funding from the Provost’s office, the Women’s Center was able to celebrate International Women’s Working Day and A Day Without a Woman with a keynote addresses delivered by Loretta Ross, a human and women’s right’s activist. Her keynote lecture was entitled Human Right’s as Women’s Rights.

Women’s Center Staff and community members with Activist Loretta Ross on March 8th. We’re wearing red in solidarity with A Day Without a Woman. 

This year was indeed a special celebration of Women’s History Month, but regardless of whether we hosted a keynote event or not, the Women’s Center has been marking the celebration of Women’s History Month over our 25 years of existence. Below are some calendars from Women’s History Months passed.

Women’s History Month 2001

Women’s History Month 2011

What are the memories you have of the Women’s Center over the years that are meaningful to you? What does the Women’s Center mean to you today? Share your memories and pictures with us in the comment section below!

Stay up-to-date with our 25th anniversary on social media using #UMBCWC25. Share your Women’s Center experiences and memories with the UMBC community using #UMBCWC25 AND #UMBC50!

With Mother’s Day still in the air and with UMBC’s 50th Commencement quickly approaching, the Women’s Center is reflecting with immense pride on all of the UMBC mothers and parents who have passed through our doors, used our services, and who have walked across the stage to receive their diplomas.

Our moms and parents, whether they are a part of the Returning Women Student Scholars Programs, use the lactation room, or just come in to the Center to hang out, exemplify the eponymous “grit” that is so integral to UMBC’s identity. UMBC moms balance an enormous amount of responsibilities as they work to advance their careers. From partners to full time jobs and from children to parents in need, moms returning to UMBC face unique challenges and require unique support.

Being a parent and being a university student are often identities that are invisible. As most traditional students create their schedules and hope to get into a class with their favorite professor, UMBC moms and parents are striving to create a schedule that enables them to balance family, school, work, and their own self-care. The Women’s Center is a place where we strive to honor the complexities of being a parent and a student through supportive and dynamic services. Our moms and parents have access to scholarships, professional development workshops, our lactation room, and 1-1 support services.

This Mother’s Day the Women’s Center is proud to recognize the mothers and parents who are a part of the UMBC community and who we are honored to serve everyday. As this year comes to a close, please consider making a donation to the Women’s Center in honor of our 25th Anniversary. Your gift goes on to support UMBC moms and make our services even better. 

Give today, and help us support our UMBC moms, parents, and returning students.

Check out the stories of two of our graduating Returning Women Scholars on UMBC News:

Erin Callahan and Natacha Ngea.

This past April was our most powerful yet. In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Women’s Center coordinated the annual Take Back the Night event, which 265 UMBC community members attended (click here for a photo round-up). The Clothesline Project reached another 183 people, and 10 new shirts were created by survivors of interpersonal violence.

The Women’s Center’s mission to support survivors extends beyond April. This year, the Women’s Center has trained 103 students, faculty, and staff in our supporting survivors workshops. Jess and Megan have also devoted over 25 hours of 1-1 support meetings for survivors and those dedicated to supporting them.

As this school year ends, please help us continue cultivating a survivor-responsive campus. We are only $450 away from making our 25th Anniversary GiveCorps goal for the 2016-2017 school year!
Give today and help a survivor access the support they need.