The Yale Women’s Center, a student-run, feminist group on Yale’s campus, has been directed by Yale College administrators to “maintain broad neutrality” in its programming to “ensure that all students feel welcome,” according to a recent report from Yale News.
The student-run group receives funding from a dedicated endowment held by Yale, as well as the general Yale College budget. Student board members are considered Yale College employees and The Yale Women’s Center is one of few student organizations with a physical space on campus. For decades, the center has provided students with feminist programming, conferences, and women’s health resources.
“The Yale Women’s Center was founded in 1970 when a group of the first women undergraduates staged a sit-in, occupying a space of their own. At the time, their feminist demands were considered divisive. But what is divisive changes over time.
Since its founding, the Women’s Center has continued to be a feminist space on campus, working towards collective liberation,” wrote an anonymous student. “Neutrality would contradict our purpose and compromise our daily functions.”