By Alyssa Velasquez
Menstrual products, food and housing resources were provided at Riverside City College in celebration of Women’s History Month.
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper and Ariana Grande’s “God is a Woman” blasted through the speakers in the background at the Riverside City College Women’s Day event on March 16 on Terracina Dr.
Adela Gonzales, a student ambassador from the Foundation for California Community Colleges (CCC), organized booths that centered around recognizing women and their achievements throughout history.
She spoke about how far women have progressed to gain a voice in society and the importance of Women’s History Month.
“The idea of the event is to empower women to succeed in today’s society by providing the various resources and encouraging women to apply their passions to remind us we are strong and resilient,” Gonzales said.
Campus engagement centers, outside vendors and resource programs participated in the event. The campus’ Basic Needs Resource Center provided applications to students who may be eligible to receive free, fresh produce on campus.
Student worker Katrina Hill said the resource center is able to provide any food-related or housing opportunities to support women attending college.
“The message we want to convey today to our students is our booth provides additional help and support for those who are attending RCC regardless of race and gender.” Hill said. “If (women) ever need help, they do not have to feel like they will be discriminated against.” Free feminine products, flowers and lunch boxes were given to attendees.
RCC student Ingrid Xia attended the event to seek out potential support services that are available.
“The booth that I was most interested in was Planned Parenthood because of the idea of advocating for women’s bodies and health because it’s not being taken seriously,” Xia said. “It’s a great resource to help women use their voices to promote this controversial topic.”
Staff, faculty and students promoted their clubs and organizations to increase the number of women members. The Foundation for California Community Colleges sponsored the event, which provided access to information on resources supporting women’s rights.
