Congratulations
Congratulations Heading link
Congratulations
It’s the end of the semester; for many UIC students, it’s also the end of the academic road they have traveled for at least four years. We celebrate all our students who have made it through the pandemic to this milestone, especially student-parents and those who are the first in their families to graduate from college. We will certainly miss Susan Cisneros, GWS major and WLRC program assistant who is leaving us this semester. Susan has been integral to student outreach since Spring 2023, bringing such wonderful energy, creativity, and feminist wit to being in the center and to every task that she undertook. We are eternally grateful for students like Susan who find their way to WLRC and make this center their home. They remind us about why we exist on the campus in the first place.
No justification
As the bombardment in Gaza continues, UN Women has called for an investigation and accounting of the ways in which sexual violence has been enacted against women and girls in Israel in the recent war. Ms. Magazine has also offered a curated list of stories that address sexual violence as a method of war and the ways in which women have organized to bring attention to this matter. In collaboration with campus partners, WLRC and CAN have done numerous programs over the years to keep awareness about the relationship between sexual violence and war at the front of our minds, e.g. the screening of The Apology this semester. On multiple occasions and in as many ways, I have stated that WLRC condemns all forms of violence, including war, genocide, and sexual violence. There is simply no justification for gender-based violence, nor should gender-based violence be used to justify any other kind of violence. The center’s programming and services are consistent with this understanding: not only do we facilitate conversations and spaces that center survivors of violence, we provide confidential advocacy and crisis support for all students, faculty, and staff at UIC who have experienced gender-based violence, without regard for background or identity.
We recognize how deeply triggering the current conversations about sexual violence may be for survivors. This is a period of unspeakable pain and grief, and I ask that we continue to hold space for those who are suffering, especially the most marginalized among us.
If you are a faculty member or graduate student who is interested in exploring programming that engages critical feminist analyses about the relationship between sexual violence and political disputes, let us know. We are happy to collaborate.
A book and a couch
After a rather full and taxing semester, many of us are looking forward to sitting down with a good book. You may have a growing pile that is demanding attention. Or, you are still searching for that one good read. If the latter, we are happy to recommend a few. Etaf Rum’s Evil Eye, Hala Alyan’s Salt Houses, Lisa Hsiao Chen’s Activities of Daily Living, Jami Nakamura Lin’s The Night Parade, and Tricia Hersey’s Rest is Resistance are some top choices.
Holiday Hours
The center will be closed beginning December 15, 2023 and reopen on January 8, 2024.
This is the last newsletter note for the year. May the coming days bring us more justice, more peace, much needed introspection, and rest.
Until we meet again, take good care of yourselves and each other.
Natalie Bennett