Founded in 1974, the Women’s Center was established to:
Dismantle, from a feminist perspective, all forms of oppression, including but not limited to those based on ability, age, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation.
Advocate for an equitable environment free from violence and harassment based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.
Create an anti-racist, non-sexist, queer-affirmative space where all people can feel valued and safe.
Facilitate and strengthen connections among people across lines of difference through programming and educational campaigns.
Integrate an appreciation of Women's Gender and Multicultural Studies across the disciplines.


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Changing lives one signature at a time!


Felipe and Juan dream of building a family together -- but that dream will not become a reality as long as Felipe lives under the stress of deportation and Juan lives in fear of Felipe being ripped away from him, as stated by GetEQUAL organization. Felipe sent out  Please take a stand with Felipe by signing. Here's Felipe's story, "I'm a queer person and part of the LGBTQ family, and I am also an undocumented immigrant. In 2001, when I was 14 years old, my mother became ill and made the very tough decision to send me to the United States to live with my sister and seek a better life. As a 14-year-old boy, I didn't fully understand my situation, but I did understand that I had no way to "fix" my immigration status -- I overstayed my tourist visa because I very simply had no other options.
I went through high school studying hard and working hard, and I struggled with "coming out" as both queer and as undocumented. Through all of the struggle, I was lucky enough to find and fall in love with an extraordinary man, Juan, who I married last May in front of my friends, family, and adopted family.Will you stand with Juan and I? Will you join our family? If you agree that these principles are vitally important to families like mine, please sign your name and share your own story about why inclusive, comprehensive immigration reform is important to you. We want to hear your stories and share those stories with decision-makers like the eight Senators who are writing a bill at this exact moment!"

Like many folks in the LGBTQ community, Felipe dream's of one day being a father and starting a family with Juan. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for that to be ensures or achievable with the current status at hand and the situation this couple may face. As long as he lives under the constant stress of deportation and Juan lives in fear of losing his husband the barriers set on this couple can be assumed as unbearable. President Obama just gave an important and visionary speech about immigration reform, and 2013 might finally be the year that we have a shot at passing a comprehensive bill -- but we must fight hard as a community to make sure that bill is inclusive and fair. 

 Here are the priorities for immigration reform for GetEQUAL:
- A direct pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States
- An end to harsh enforcement that leads to massive deportations and cruel separation of families
- The full inclusion of LGBTQ couples so that binational same-sex couples can stay together as a family, regardless of immigration status
- A change to the rules for seeking asylum so that LGBTQ immigrants -- especially our transgender sisters and brothers -- can find support when they leave oppressive countries instead of more repression in detention centers. 

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