Women's Resource Center Herstory

The Women’s Resource Center at San Diego State was established in 1974 by a coalition of women’s organizations on campus. Intended to serve as a link between the campus and the larger San Diego community, the Center offered a variety of programs and services for women students, including lectures, films, and workshops on topics such as career building, nutrition, entrepreneurship, and family issues. It also served as a resource and referral center, connecting women students with health clinics, support organizations, help centers, bookstores, legal services, and cultural programs. Informal peer counseling and referral counseling was available for students in need on a regularly scheduled basis. The Center maintained a small library of materials written by and for women, as well as consulting files of pamphlets, brochures, and flyers from a variety of organizations for women. Funded by the Associated Students, the Center had a small paid staff, as well as interns and volunteers. In addition to a film festival for women, the Center ran an annual Women’s Health Fair and Take Back the Night events, and coordinated a standing Rape Task Force on campus. 

After a period of dormancy, the Center was reinvigorated and became the Andrea O’Donnell Womyn’s Outreach Association (WOA) in honor of a Women’s Studies major and Center student leader who was murdered by her boyfriend in 1995. 

In July of 2014, a state audit found that SDSU faculty and staff were not properly trained to address sexual violence. Shortly thereafter, several high profile sexual violence cases took place on and near the SDSU campus. In response to this, the Womyn’s Outreach Association coordinated a march in protest of intimate partner violence. During the march, students walked down “fraternity row,” where a fraternity acted inappropriately and disrespectfully toward the marchers. As a result of these incidents, “Concerned Students of SDSU Members” presented a list of demands that included the opening of a Women’s Resource Center, and providing ongoing support, funding, and staffing to sexual violence programs. In 2015, the WRC opened and was temporarily housed in the Center for Intercultural Relations. In February of 2015, the WRC had its official grand opening!

Today, we are thrilled to honor the legacy of the Women’s Resource Center, and the students who worked hard to create a campus where women and marginalized folks could thrive.