The K-State Women's Center works to promote a safe and equitable work and learning environment for women and all people through advocacy, presentations, academic classes, training, and referral. Social justice is our unifying mission for a variety of individual and community efforts. Since 1973, this office has supported the well being of K-State women by providing advocacy and promoting gender equity. More recent initiatives involve campus culture change efforts such as nonviolence education, the Empty Bowls Project, and programs for men. Over 200 K-State men and women from all majors comprise W.A.R. (Wildcats Against Rape), a student group dedicated to raising awarenessofcampus sexual violence.

[http://www.k-state.edu/womenscenter/W.A.R.htm]

We work with the K-State Campaign for Nonviolence (CNV) on many justice-related projects such as Movies on the Grass , Noontime Yoga and Evening Meditation for faculty, staff, students and community members & the SafeZone project, a campus-wide volunteer organization created to improve reporting of sexual assault and other discriminatory or hateful acts and crimes, as well as to provide allies for GLBT students, faculty and staff with concerns.

On the academic side, we work with the College of Arts and Sciences on the development of its new 15-hour Nonviolence Studies Certificate Program. The P.E.E.R.S. (Proactive Educators for the Elimination of Rape and Sexual Violence) class is taught by the Women's Center director and is founded on the belief that students can effectively educate each other on issues concerning rape and sexual/relationship violence. PEERS is offered as a two-semester, 3 credit seminar, providing in-depth training about the cultural, psychological, medical, criminal, and legal system aspects of sexual assault, followed by opportunities to present to organizations, living groups and classes.

The Women's Center sexual assault advocate provides 24-hour assistance for K-State students who have been victimized by violence or who are threatened by biased, hateful, or criminal behavior. Staff members work with individuals who are filing complaints under K-State's Policy Prohibiting Sexual Violence and with offices and agencies on and off campus who can help students with law enforcement, legal, medical, and academic concerns.

The office in 206 Holton is open to all faculty, staff, and students; a Women's Center/CNV Kiosk is located in the K-State Union Monday through Friday from 10-3 for more information.

Mary Todd, the director, took the job over from Susan Allen, who was named Director of Nonviolence Education for the university in 2007.

Todd coordinates the response to victims and oversees the center's programs and services. Allen, director of the Women's Center since 1996, now works with members of the campus and Manhattan communities on nonviolence issues. "We continue helping those who have been harmed by violence," Allen said. "Sexual assault and crisis response is our traditional role, but we can't stop there. Our larger goal is to help prevent violence, in part by creating the expectation for a nonviolent campus culture and in part by teaching the skills and strategies of nonviolence."

"It is a great comfort to advocates and those involved in the safety of students to know that there are others working for a deeper cultural move toward nonviolence on the campus," Todd said. "Susan's lasting contribution to the Women's Center and to K-State has been to implement what we know about violence prevention--that a culture based on nonviolent principles is the only way to reduce violence in the long term."