By Rachel Braeuer
Photos by Leah Bjornson
At the end of the Rotunda Hallway (or at the beginning, if you’re coming from residences and West Mall) lies the SFU Women’s Centre, a pro-feminist, sex-positive, pro-choice, trans and intersex inclusive, anti-racist space. It’s a second home to some, a place to microwave lunch for others, or somewhere verboten for others.
“I was definitely hesitant to come into the space, and mainly because I didn’t really know what existed beyond that door,” explained Biftu Yousuf, a fourth-year criminology student who is now a collective member and volunteer at the Centre.
Another volunteer, Stephanie Boulding, also remembers her hesitations: “I said ‘I don’t have time to do this!’ and then I started doing it, and it turned out I did — I made time.” While spelling her name for me, she signs it.
The Women’s Centre collective meets from 2:15 to 3:45 p.m. every Monday this semester in room TC 3013. “Collective makes the decisions — we’re a consensus-based decision making group,”said Negin Alavi, another collective member. Everything the Centre does is agreed upon by all collective members. If a consensus can’t be met, then it doesn’t happen.
Not surprisingly, when you think of the Women’s Centre, most people immediately think of Nadine Chambers, the Centre’s volunteer coordinator. “Nadine is the glue that puts our decisions into practice and reality,” Alavi explains.
Despite only having part-time hours with her official title and being a part-time student herself, Nadine is a constant around the Centre, so “people end up thinking she owns the space — she must have an incredibly amazing title, and profit immensely,” Alavi concludes.
When I ask about Nadine, the room lights up while she herself casually backs away. Later she reveals that she actually had another meeting to be in while she was there making sure everything was going great. The stories the collective members share with me second that this ever-busyness with her is a regular occurrence.
Yousuf, is a single mother, volunteers with three different organizations, is a full time student, works part-time, and trains for and runs marathons for charity; yet, despite her busy schedule, she explains how Nadine’s schedule still puts her to shame.
If you ask Nadine about her involvement with the Centre, she’ll be quick to tell you she just sees out the wishes of collective. She chalks up people seeing her as the flagstone of the Centre to her visibility, while flipping a stray dread over her shoulder.
Despite their efforts, many seem to misunderstand the role the Centre and its volunteers play on campus. “Some people, haven’t actually been in the Centre because [they’ve] got this ‘version of it’,” explains Boulding, who emphatically adds she wants to tell them “Come, join! Walk in! Just say hi!”
Alavi agrees and explains how she wishes people understood how important a role male allies play in the Centre. She also wants “people who don’t identify as feminist, but who are interested in learning more, to come here. And I want them to know they won’t be judged . . . we’d be happy to clarify and give more information.”
For Yousuf, it was the first time she came into the office that sealed the deal. “[Nadine and I] sat right there” — she points to the small love seat in front of Nadine’s desk — “and I was like, ‘wow, this is the beginning,’ and it just went from there and it’s been amazing since then.”
If, after reading this article, you’re still afraid to walk through the doors and find out what the Centre is all about, know this: at an appreciation event collective members, volunteers and local community activists got together at Tamam, a local Palestinian restaurant.
The laughter of the group was so loud, the area the group was in had to be closed off from the rest of the patrons. A good third of my interview is just laughter, and the rest is peppered with sarcasm and witticisms.
“This one time, Bill Murray came to the Centre . . .” is only one of many stories they shared with me.
