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USU Women's Center helps campus women survive school By
Erika Doty Finals week is a labor for most students at Utah State University, but it was especially difficult for single-mom Lynette Hall. She was 7 months pregnant. At age 30, Hall is a full-time mother and a full-time student. Every moment is like gold to me, Hall sighed as she rolled her eyes and explained that she has three daughters under the age of nine. Hall's story is not uncommon. After attending high school in Ashton, Idaho, she attempted a few semesters at a few colleges, but then quit school to get married and raise a family. However, about six years later, Hall found herself with two daughters, divorced, waiting tables, and "craving knowledge." "I would read the encyclopedia after work just to learn and gain knowledge," Hall said. Hall realized she needed to "get serious" about her life. With her parent's emotional and financial support, she moved to Logan and began attending USU. She completed her first semester two months before her third daughter was born. Going back to school was a "scary step" for Hall, which is common for most women who decide to get a higher education after being out of school for several years. Hall and many other women would not be students at USU if it weren't for the USU Women's Center on campus. The Women's Center at Utah State University provides many helpful services for women returning to school with a gap of five or more years in their education. Day care services, peer counseling and group support systems are just a few of the services available at the Women's Center. It also contains a library of books and articles concerning current topics facing women and men in society. The center also offers guest lecturers, workshops, conferences and seminars addressing topics of current interest. Opportunities for social and academic interaction are offered through informal gatherings initiated by students, faculty or community residents, according to a pamphlet about the Women's Center. One of the most popular services the Women's Center provides is financial assistance. In 2000-01 school year, the center provided over $72, 000 in scholarships to 79 re-entry women. Hall was one of the recipients of this scholarship money, donated specifically to her from an anonymous donor. Each year the women's center averages just under 3,000 walk-ins requesting information along with about 2,500 phone calls. The center also provides lectures, workshops and seminars dealing the changing status of women and gender-based issues. Janet Osborne, the director of the USU Women's Center, explained that one of the most important aspects of the Women's Center is the peer counselors. After Hall's first year at USU, she became a peer counselor for the center, helping new re-entry students "get their feet wet." Taking only 10 credits this semester, she donates two hours a week to the center. The counselors are women who are successful re-entry students. They volunteer a few hours a week to the center, depending on their schedules. The counselors help the re-entry students register, show them around campus, explain financial aide options and give advice on how to keep their lives organized and stable while going to school. "Most of the women that come back to school are either single mothers, or mothers with extremely busy schedules," Osborne explained. "It's just nice to talk to someone who has been there before." "I sit down with them [re-entry students] and show them the ropes--how to register, funding and apprehensions," Hall stated. "I let them know that it is possible." There are currently 21 peer counselors who volunteer a total of 210 hours a semester. They help over 70 students become comfortable with the academic routine again and get them adjusted to Utah State. The Women's Center is not unique to Utah State. Colleges and universities across the country have similar centers and programs set up for women returning to school. Montana State University's Women's Center is set up like Utah State's, but many of the women's centers don't have services or funding set up for re-entry students. These centers focus more on services for all women on campuses dealing with issues such as sexual harassment or even just support groups, workshops, and lecturers. Some are just simply centers focusing on the feminist movement. Though the focus of USU's Women's Center is to assist re-entry students, its doors are open to everyone. The center also provides assistance to men as well as student studying gender issues. Hall has been grateful for the Women's Center. Without the emotional and financial assistance it gave her, she might not have returned to school at all. "[Even though] I was seven months pregnant during my first finals week at Utah State," Hall commented. "School was the only thing that kept me stable besides my children. It kept my focus off of the magnitude of my situation." Three to four nights a month she would stay up through the night studying or completing projects for her landscape architecture courses. "It is really hard to achieve balance between home and school. If one of them [the kids] gets sick, a wrench is thrown into our schedule." Hall will graduate in May with a degree in landscape architecture and environmental planning. She hopes to move out of Logan after graduation. "Ideally I'd like to go to Europe, but the children don't want to up and move all the way to Europe. But San Diego sounds good." Hall is finally heading in the direction she wants. "I have never been happier in my life," said Hall. The USU Women's Center is on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center in Room 310. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Telephone: (435) 797-1728.
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