Women's Center Gains New Location, Expanded Purpose

The center, an advocacy group for female students at UNC, moved from its former office on Airport Road to a temporary location on Franklin Street last week.

By next year, they will move to their permanent on-campus location at West House, which is currently occupied by the Institute for Arts and Humanities. The move will occur as soon as the institute is ready to move to its new building, which is under constructed.

"We are so thrilled to be here," said Diane Kjervik, director of the center. "Everyone can find us now."

Kjervik said the new location, 134 East Franklin St., Suite 215, will be more accessible for women on campus. She said the provost's office recognized that the center needed to be on campus and made the move happen.

Senior Tia Ford, the volunteer coordinator for the center, said the new accessibility is the major advantage of the move.

"For the most part, the new location is more convenient and more accessible," she said. "Now, more people can walk to come and find us."

Kjervik said that along with the accessibility factor, the new office provides more space, which she thinks will expand the resources the center can provide.

"With this much space, we will be able to have meetings in a conference room, possibly provide a library and also have room for a safe space," she said.

A safe space is an area reserved for people that have suffered a sexual assault and are recovering.

Along with the safe space, the center is planning a few other new initiatives as well.

"We want to create a better leadership development program for undergraduate women, and we want to build a mentorship program in which juniors and seniors can be linked to their models in the community," Kjervik said.

While focusing on their new objectives, Kjervik and Ford said the center also will continue to work on the programs they have done in the past.

"CWC does Women's Week, which is the last week in March, and co-sponsors other activities on campus with other organizations," Ford said.

Women's Week is a weeklong event with women speakers and different women's advocacy activities, like Take Back the Night, a march and rally against domestic violence and sexual assault.

Kjervik said the center will continue to be advocates for women.

"Our new mission statement says that CWC promotes an equitable and empowering environment through education, support, advocacy and diversity," she said. "We celebrate women as shapers of the world."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.