“Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss,” is printed on eye-catching pins on the third floor of Anderson Center. Laughter and chatter fills the floor as students come to the Women’s Resource Center’s (WRC) open house. This event took place on Friday, September 10 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. At this event, students could make buttons, get a wide array of free items and learn about what the WRC does for the campus. 

The goal of the event was to both raise awareness of what the center provides to students. 

“We talked about the resources that we provide,” Senior sociology and women’s studies major Casey Anderson said, “And just let the students get to know us student workers as well as our new graduate assistant, Reona [Nowden, a grad student from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities studying Maternal and Child Health].”

This is Anderson’s first semester working with the WRC as the Communications Specialist.

The center provides many resources to students.

 “The big ones are free tampons, and pads, and then sexual health products such as condoms, lube, dental dams and pregnancy tests,” Anderson said, “menstrual cups, reusable pads and other similar products [are] in our office as well.”

In addition to showcasing what they provide to students, the event had a pin maker allowing those who came to make as many buttons as they wanted. A wide variety of magazines, papers and prints for people to make were also provided. 

“There were so many fun buttons made,” Anderson said, “And it was such a good time to get to know some of the new faces on campus.”

There were freebies, including menstrual product bags, condoms, pens, stickers and pre-made pins. These items are still available for people to get at the WRC whenever they want. The WRC may have women in its title, but it is open to any and all students who seek out support from them. 

The office is open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Thursdays, and every other weekday it is open 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Outside of the hours that the office is open, there are also sets of drawers by the office doors with various items for students to take. Alongside these products are many sources about a wide array of issues or topics that students may want information about.

“I would suggest stopping by to reap the benefits of those,” Anderson said. “You can also stop in and our staff can help you with any other resources you might need.”