Letter: YSU campus lacks safe place for women

By AMANDA TONOLI

atonoli@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Despite a letter some Youngstown State University professors wrote to administrators describing a need for a safe space for women, some female students say they already feel safe on campus.

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Some Youngstown State University professors wrote a letter to administrators complaining about the lack of a Women’s Center as a safe space for women.

Sophomore student Khiara Price said she feels safe on campus because of what’s around her.

“There are emergency phones and people riding bikes,” she said. “There’s always someone around, so you are never really alone.”

But a letter to President Jim Tressel and Provost Joseph Mosca written by Megan List, YSU assistant professor and Women’s Initiative director, says YSU has no safe space for women, noting there was a Sept. 6 investigation into a sexual assault that took place in Lyden House student housing.

“In August 2017, the Women and Gender Center Initiative was promised ample funding and a central space to create a Women’s Center at YSU,” the letter says. “The YSU administration told us that we would have a space no later than January 2018. In January, we were informed this space would be ‘delayed,’ and it has remained in such a state ever since.”

“This absence of actions shows us that you are not prioritizing the commitment to make our campus safe,” List said in an email to Mosca.

“Implicit in this choice, you are not making it a priority to reduce the sexual assaults on campus, or the amount of sexual harassment to our students, staff and faculty. This is unfortunate. We hope in the forthcoming weeks, as we make our case to the wider community, that you and the president will reconsider your values.”

Tressel said the Women and Gender Center Initiative is something being discussed “in the large realm.”

“A lot of it is in regard to what our strategic planning for our diversity and inclusion plans are,” he said. “

The Women’s Gender Center Initiative is part of that overall picture and part of the larger discussion. ... There are a lot of initiatives we would like to work on and have a part in creating for the entire community to serve the needs of this campus.”

In a statement Thursday night to The Vindicator, Mosca said: “Senior leadership is in the process of discussing the Women and Gender Resource Center Initiative [WGRCI] to determine a direction and a consequent plan.

“Part of that discussion will include determining how the WGRCI aligns with other diversity and inclusion initiatives such as the Culture of Community. I have asked Dr. List for a copy of the proposal for the center in order to further inform our discussions.”

Students told the newspaper Thursday that they feel safe, however.

“There are always people around [who] I can trust, and the staff here are really nice and helpful,” freshman student Leanna Wolcott said.

Freshman Katee Maxwell said she doesn’t see anything to be afraid of.

“I don’t walk around at night, and I don’t feel threatened by anyone,” she said.

Maxwell said she doesn’t go to parties where “sometimes girls are getting drunk and putting themselves in a situation and men take advantage of that,” and therefore she doesn’t have to worry about those situations.

But List maintained, “We have needs on campus and women are struggling to find support.”

And feeling safe is a support necessary to a successful education, she continued.

“We need a safe and supportive environment to maximize students’ abilities to learn,” List said.

“Without it, there could be a decrease in overall performance of our university.”