Yale Daily News

On Nov. 15, the Women’s Center opened the doors of its Durfee Hall location to students for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

From 4 to 9 p.m. on weekdays, any student can visit the Center, which offers free menstrual and sexual wellness products, a library of books and an archive of the Center’s 50-year history. The Center will also host events and lectures, and it will provide funding and meeting space for a coalition of student groups focused on issues of gender and sexuality. 

“We’re really excited to be back this year,” said Melissa Wang ’23, Women’s Center board coordinator. “A lot of students on campus, especially first years and sophomores, don’t really know what the Women’s Center does, or haven’t really been able to interact with it, especially having never been to the physical space. I’m really hoping that, with the reopening, more people come in or hear what we’re about and find it a welcoming space to be in person.” 

The Women’s Center has maintained an on-campus presence throughout the pandemic, hosting office hours and events over Zoom and moderating a Discord room where members could come to talk. 

However, Wang said that it was hard to build community virtually, especially when many students were reluctant to attend more Zoom events than they were already required to. 

“It really can’t compare to having a physical space, with couches and food and books,” Wang said. 

But the process of reopening came with additional challenges for Women’s Center leadership that prevented them from opening the space earlier in the semester.

Several members left the Center’s board last semester, requiring the remaining staff to recruit new board members before they could begin the process of hiring and training additional students to staff the office. 

“I think the name of the Women’s Center sounds very official, but all the … cultural centers and things like that have adult staff and people who work there full time who work on getting it up and ready,” said Wang. “As a fully student-run organization, the timeline has been a little rough.” 

The Women’s Center officially reopened with an event on Monday evening, which invited all students to see the inside of the Center and partake in snacks and craft-making. 

The event marked the new staffers’ first day of work at the Center, and the first time it was completely open to the public since March 2020. 

“It was so fun,” Women’s Center board member Jo Flynn ’24 said. “I was very afraid that there wasn’t going to be a big turnout because we’ve been closed for so long. But there were so many people there and everyone had food and hot chocolate. We turned on lamps and turned off the overhead lights and it was very cozy.” 

Flynn emphasized the importance of the Women’s Center as a place for all students to come to work or spend time, even outside of formal meetings or events.   

In the newly reopened space, Wang explained that the Women’s Center hopes to provide resources for students and organizations and host events, ranging from art nights to guest speakers from the New Haven community. 

Wang added that the Center is in the process of becoming a “more politically radical” space, increasing its involvement with mutual aid organizations in New Haven and prioritizing political education and organizing. 

“I think it’s good to have a space like the Women’s Center that’s dedicated to political action and liberation in a way that’s really approachable,” said board member Claire Barragan-Bates ’25. “It’s a place where students on campus who maybe don’t know that much about political action are able to have informal conversations without feeling super pressured or anything. Really, it’s a space that is all about inclusivity and all about education, and anybody who wants to learn more about that can talk to staffers and board members.” 

Inclusivity is a priority for Wang, who emphasized that the Center is open to people of all genders, not just women. 

Wang explained that the board members are involved in a continuous conversation about whether or not to change the Center’s name to more accurately reflect its mission.

“Every semester, especially when new staffers and board members come on, there have been people asking like, ‘Hey, why don’t we change it?’” Wang said. “We’ve had those conversations, and the consensus is that we would like to change it, at least among the board members now — I can’t speak for past and future board members.” 

However, Wang explained, it is difficult to find an alternative name that sticks, so board members have yet to delve into the logistics of changing the name or engage in conversations about the change with Yale administration or alumni. 

Flynn, who is responsible for maintaining the Center’s archives — which include newspaper clippings and pictures — reflected on the history of the Center.  

“We collect the things in our past, even the things that we’re not super proud of, and have that on display,” Flynn said. “We acknowledge it, even though we don’t feel too attached to keeping those values. You don’t have to preserve the past by not leaving the past — you can just talk about it.”

The Center, Barrigan-Bates recalled, was founded by some of the first women to matriculate at Yale College after it went co-educational in 1969. 

But Barrigan-Bates emphasized that the Women’s Center’s long history is an ongoing process, one that current members can experience and become involved in by spending time there. 

“I think it’s really key that we’re continuing to keep it up and running because it really is the legacy of gender minorities at Yale,” Barrigan-Bates said. “I think that’s something that a lot of people don’t realize, but it’s something I really value about it.”

The Women’s Center is located at 198 Elm St.