"Only when we build bridges can we create changes that involve both men and women."

- Heather Oakes

Sacagawea, the young Shoshone who helped lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, is the embodiment of the overarching theme for Women's History Month: "Outrageous Women."

Sacagawea not only led a group of men, as translator she spoke for them. Adept at multi-tasking, she helped forge a new route to the Pacific coast while caring for her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, yet she was overlooked for the governorships Lewis and Clark received, because as a Native American woman she was a double minority.

Today women continue to break ground and, according to Women’s Center Program Coordinator Heather Oakes, "Outrageous Women" focuses on female pioneers who went into unknown territories. Women's History Month will engage several different fields and highlight women who are on the cutting edge.

Oakes recently spoke about Women's History Month, women's issues and the Women's Center, a place for women's advocacy and the first stop for sexual harassment, domestic violence, eating disorders or body image issues on campus.

Q. What was the premise for establishing the Women's Center?
A. The Women's Center was established 30 years ago as part of a general movement at universities to create a safe place for women, focusing on women's empowerment and self development, and to be a resource for safety issues. Men in college outnumbered women during the 1970s, and there were barriers to women's achievement caused by both internal and external factors such as self-esteem issues, as well as differences in education. For instance, studies have shown that by the time they reach puberty, boys get more attention in the classroom while girls become silent. These issues surfaced at the same time the women's liberation movement was getting off the ground, so women's centers were an outgrowth of that movement.

Q. How have circumstances changed during the past three decades?
A. Women have come a long way in society, but comprise only 1 percent of corporate CEOs, and there's still a wage gap between men and women. Women also continue to juggle responsibilities and multiple roles that men don't necessarily have to face because women still do a majority of care-taking in society, and women still tend to be silent in the classroom. CIRP [Cooperative Institutional Research Program] data, which comes from a nationwide freshman study, has found that women have lower self-esteem than male students, so even when they achieve the same grades or test scores, women feel they're not as good. Women consistently rate themselves lower, and that's why we focus on empowerment, self-esteem and developing women's leadership abilities.

Q. How are these struggles compounded for minority women?
A. Minority women have a whole other level of challenges. We work with the Latin American Student Organization and Lambda Theta Alpha, a Latina sorority, and we coordinate programs with different student groups that incorporate a multicultural perspective and deal with specific issues targeted to minority women. We want to provide programs beyond the white woman's perspective because it's important to get representation from different kinds of women.

Q. How many men on campus get involved with the Women's Center?
A. We don't get too many dropping in, but a lot of men attend our programs, especially the ones we coordinate with Wellness Education, including Violence Ended Week, and programs on healthy relationships and dating. Several men also are members of WAVES [Women Achieving Victory Equality and Solidarity], a student organization that creates gender equity and social justice. At the Women's Center we focus on helping women achieve their best, but we must also appeal to, and work with, the male population on campus. Only when we build bridges can we create changes that involve both men and women.

Q. Tell us about "Outrageous Women."
A. The Women's Studies Program and the Women's Center thought it would be interesting to focus not just on women who have achieved something, but on women pioneers. Programs this month focus on women who are doing amazing things in the arts, young third-wave feminists who will become the next Gloria Steinems, and women's achievements in science and technology. It's a fun theme and it’s always great to revisit women who are really pushing the limit, breaking the mold.

For a complete listing of Women's History Month’s activities, call the Women's Center at 973-655-5114, or go to What's Happening.

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