USC Upstate closed its Center for Women’s and Gender Studies in May.
It was one of the measures taken by the university in order to save a total of $450,000, and no one can deny that saving money is an important objective.
In response, a group of students as well as teachers took up hand-made signs that said, “It’s not a good time to be a woman at USCU.” Closing down the center saved the school $45,000, but as another protest sign pointed out: “Promoting peace, opportunity, and justice for all = priceless”.
It is sad enough that women need a designated place to talk about issues such as feminism, but it is worse still for it to be closed down without consulting the women on the faculty.
Women’s voices are being silenced on the very issues in which they should be heard above men.
Another one of the topics often discussed at the center is sexual orientation, and earlier this spring, a lesbian comedian was scheduled to speak at the Bodies of Knowledge conference.
State senators responded to this by saying that this was an attempt to indoctrinate and recruit gays on campus.
This is exactly why the students at USCU need the center, although Chancellor Tom Moore said the center didn’t close to avoid the brunt of political pressure.
The fact that state senators — people who are supposed to have the interests of their constituents in mind, whatever their orientation — would even think this way is alarming.
People need a safe space to explore their sexuality, and their place in the world as humans. They need to be told that, if they’re gay, they weren’t “indoctrinated” — sexuality isn’t a cult.
The power structure in the world is naturally tipped toward the male perspective, but women have managed to carve out niches for themselves, like the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.
These centers are an endangered species in a patriarchal society, and they need to be protected just as much as the leatherback turtle or the mountain gorilla.
This decision comes after the South Carolina State Senate proposed requiring the school to spend $17,000 teaching about the Federalist papers, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the same amount of money they spent on the book “Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio,” a book with gay themes.
The House of Representative said that they came to this decision as a compromise, and following that curriculum was teaching “the study of and devotion to American institutions and ideals.”
While it’s difficult to criticize students learning about the foundation of our country, there’s something about the language of the decision that bothers me, especially coupled with shutting down the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.
Every small step forward counts tremendously, and by the same token, so does every step back.
It may seem unimportant. After all, it’s just one women’s center. It’s just one book.
On the other hand, it’s also representation. It’s comfort for someone who falls outside the norms of society, proof that there is a place out there for them.
When you look at it that way, these are the very things that should be encouraged, not shut down.