On Thursday, September 27th, the Women’s Center at UMass Boston held its fall open house. The event was organized by Women’s Center Coordinator Jill Ferreira. It was attended by staff, faculty, and students, both male and female. Even Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Patrick Day dropped by to greet students and lend his support.

            Until the open house, The Women’s Center had not held any events this year, but it is an open, welcoming space. The walls are covered in posters, and a small library containing books like Against Our Will, Our Bodies, Ourselves, and The Frailty Myth is available for reading. A large, mixed-gender group of students who showed up to the open house say that they regularly spend time there and discuss gender issues.

Bridget Mutebi, one of the Women’s Center regulars, said she was “glad to see everyone.” She explained that before Ferreira renovated the center this fall, people were far less interested in spending time there. The walls were bare, and “people just walked out,” or they would come in to sit quietly and study. She reports that other students would “treat it like a library,” but now photographs of famous women and students’ grandmothers are on the walls and Jill or her friends are there to engage newcomers in conversation. Now, Mutebi says, more students come to the Center, and “they think about it.”

            To get in touch with the Umass Boston Women’s Center, visit them on the 3rd floor of the Campus Center, or email Jill at womens.center@umb.edu.