The Red and Black

Issue date: 9/30/08 Section: News

Media Credit: LESLEY ONSTOTT Students and faculty of the Institute for Women's Studies complain about the poor condition of the Benson Building on Lumpkin Street. [Click to enlarge]

Rats in the walls, leaking roofs, possible asbestos and damaged walls are some of the issues that women's studies students say they encounter in Benson Building on Lumpkin Street daily.

These are some of the complaints cited in a petition started by members of the Women's Studies Student Organization in an effort to "Get Women's Studies out of Benson!"

"A lot of faculty and students suffer headaches and sinus problems after spending significant time in the building," said April Greene, a senior from Tunnel Hill and the creator of the petition.

"All women's studies majors know the condition of the building. We also want the administration to know that we make up a good part of the population, whether as majors, minors, certificate students or just a student who takes a introductory class to fulfill graduation requirements," Greene said. "We want [the administration] to know we will not be relegated to South Campus in this terrible building."

The women's studies program has been housed in the building since 1999.

"This is not an adequate learning environment, you hear people removing dead vermin from the walls when you are in class," Greene said.

The women's studies building has one classroom, two faculty offices, two staff offices and a small library. Getting to the building is a problem because there are no bus stops nearby, Greene said.

The program employs 10 core faculty, six associate faculty members, seven part-time lecturers and more than 60 affiliate professors - which can include professors teaching courses that relate to women's studies - according to the institute's Web site. But not all faculty and staff work from the building.

"IWS needs a good physical space to make that work optimally. It is a testimony to the strength of the people involved that they have accomplished so much with so little," said Patricia Yager, an associate professor of marine programs and affiliate professor of women's studies.

The petition was started Saturday to move women's studies from the Benson Building into a more suitable facility.

"The women's studies issue is something that is high priority for us to relocate, they need approximately 4,000 square feet, it's just a matter of finding the right space," said James Dorsey, director of real estate and space management. "We have 13 million square feet on campus and it's full. It's a high priority, but on the other hand, what do you do - push out other [departments] for them."

The petitioners said they would like the program to move into the newly vacant art building on North Campus., which houses a few ceramics classes, Greene said.

The University hasn't decided where to relocate the ceramics programs, and the visual arts building is being used as a temporary locations for a few departments, Dorsey said.

"There is a long-term plan to move a college into that space, so moving a small department like women's studies doesn't make the most sense, unless it was a for a temporary basis," Dorsey said.

By press time the petition had 270 signatures.

"We are going to keep going until the administration sees that we are really passionate about this," Greene said.

Read the petition here.

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