Women's History Month continues! Check out our fantastic lineup of events, as well as events hosted by partners across campus. GO.UIC.EDU/WHM

Banned Book Club: The Bluest Eye
Thursday, March 12

Bloom Feminist Collective Kickoff Art Build
Thursday, March 12

PERSIST(Σ): Beyond the Binary: Reimagining Gender Equity & Belonging in STEM
Monday, March 16

Women in Business Conference: Courageously Authentic
Tuesday, March 17

Short Reads Book Club: That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story
Wednesday, March 18

Missing and Forgotten Women: Lost in the Shadows
Wednesday, March 18

[ID: A list of events in white text on a purple-blue gradient background. At the top is an open book with "Women's History Month" written across its pages and the UIC circle logo at the top, with images from various event posters behind it.]

Thursday, March 12 - TODAY!
2-3:30pm | 251 SCE
Audience: UIC Students, Staff, Faculty

Join us and Student Leadership and Civic Engagement for a session of the Banned Book Club!

In honor of Women's History Month, we'll be reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye.

Free copies of the book for the first 16 to register!

[ID: Three people sitting on the ground, reading and discussing books. Above them is the cover of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Next to and below that are details about the Banned Book Club event.]

Thursday, March 12 - TODAY!
4-6pm | WLRC, 1700 Student Services Building
Audience: UIC Students, Staff, Faculty

Bloom Feminist Collective is an emerging, intergenerational space on campus. We aim to build an educational collective for skill-building and learning based on intersectional feminist principles.

Come join us for our kickoff art build event, and to collaboratively dream and design Bloom's future!

[ID: A blue composition book with colorful stickers on the cover, including a rainbow, a red flower with "UIC Bloom" in the center, and the WLRC logo, and details about the Bloom Feminist Collective Kickoff Art Build event.]

Friday, March 13
2:30-4pm | Student Center East, Illinois Room
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

Join us for commentary from national legal experts; community stakeholders; and UIC faculty, students, and alums.

Light refreshments will be provided.

[ID: A word cloud of terms related to diversity, equity, and inclusion with flames rising in front of it. Above and below that are details about the Mission Betrayal event.]

Monday, March 16
1-2pm | Zoom
Audience: UIC Students (all levels)

Being authentic matters! Join engineering alumni as they share how culture, identity, and community support growth and belonging. More details coming soon!

[ID: Six people standing in a line with their arms around each other's backs. Above them are details about the PERSIST(Σ): Beyond the Binary: Reimagining Gender Equity & Belonging in STEM event.]

Tuesday, March 17 & 31
5:30-7pm | WLRC, 1700 Student Services Building
Audience: UIC Students (all levels)

New members of UIC sororities/fraternities: Sign up for a Campus SaVE session to discuss healthy relationships--and the connection between boundary violations, bystander intervention, and gender-based violence prevention education. Choose from these dates:

[ID: The silhouette of a campus building, with "Campus SaVE Act, Est. 2013" and an open book below it, all on a teal background.]

Wednesday, March 18
2-3pm | 1-360 Daley Library
Audience: UIC Students, Staff, Faculty

Join us and the UIC Library's Undergraduate Engagement Program for a reading and discussion of the fun graphic novel, That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story by Huda Fahmy, in commemoration of Women's History Month!

Free copies for the first 20 attendees!

[ID: Two sets of hands each holding open a book. Above that is the cover of That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story by Huda Fahmy. To the left are details about the Short Reads Book Club event.]

Wednesday, March 18 | 11am - 12:30pm
Monday, April 6 | 12-1:30pm
Latino Cultural Center
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

Join us for some hands-on gardening and learn how Heritage Garden interns are connecting horticulture with environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice. 

[ID: Two photos of Heritage Garden interns tending to gardens at UIC, surrounded by info about the Heritage Garden internship.]

Tuesday, March 31
12:30-2pm | WLRC & Zoom
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

In celebration of his new book, Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming, we are thrilled to welcome activist and writer Eli Clare to UIC!

Join us for an afternoon of reading and interactive small group discussion about dreaming liberation. We will engage in both silly and serious ways with dreaming as a skill we can learn and need to practice together.

[ID: At the top are icons for captions, ASL, and physical accessibility, and a large book cover image for Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming. In the center are details about two events with Eli Clare. In the lower right is a photo of Eli Clare with a foggy beach behind him.]

Wednesday, April 1
2-3:30pm | B01 BSB
Audience: UIC Students, Staff, Faculty

Join us to hear from Nate Chang Sawyer, the inaugural CCUSC Community Mental Health Intern, about their experience piloting the role this year, explore how the non-medicalized framing of mental health has expanded access and care for students, and collaboratively envision the future of this initiative. 

[ID: Pale blue graphic with yellow bubbles announcing the title of the event and two short event description sentences. An orange fox and a duck sits atop two of the bubbles. A basket full of fruits and leaves is in the center. Text at the bottom reads "Let's keep envisioning what we want for the future!"]

Ramadan is February 18 - March 19, 2026

Ramadan Mubarak / Ramadan Kareem! As we are in the midst of this holy month, we're grateful for the resources our colleagues at the Arab American Cultural Center provide to help us learn and celebrate. If you are looking for a quiet space to pray, WLRC can provide space and prayer mats during our regular business hours.

[ID: Info about Ramadan in white and orange text on a magenta background.]

Meet Nate Chang Sawyer, CCUSC Community Mental Health Intern!

As the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) community mental health intern, Nate offers different kinds of 1:1 student support including but not limited to:

- mental health/therapeutic support
- connections to resources and mutual aid, and
- advocacy support while navigating institutional barriers and academic ableism.

As a Taiwanese-American graduate student with lived experience of mental illness and psychiatric disability, Nate’s work is centered on collaborating with fellow students to imagine and build structures of collective care inside the university.

There are no costs or session caps. Meetings can be scheduled via email (nsawy@uic.edu) for both in-person and remote. Nate’s office is in 4080 BSB.

[ID: Info about services provided by CCUSC Community Mental Health Intern Nate Chang Sawyer.]

As the academic year progresses and many of you and your families are being impacted by the actions of ICE and their abductions, WLRC and the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) want to underline our ongoing support to you all. Remember that there are multiple pillars on campus to help you stay resolute in completing your studies.

As you continue to fight the good fight, know that you are not alone in the urgency you are feeling. Our space is open to study, gather in community, and check in with

staff. We are here to support your academic success through the end of the semester and beyond. We will continue to find courage in our solidarity and community, fight injustice, and build spaces of love and care.

Additional Campus Resources:

[ID: "Persevering through the Semester and Beyond: A message of support for our students" surrounded by monarch butterflies and school supplies, all on a purple background.]

Survivors, we are here for you!

Please reach out to the Campus Advocacy Network any time you need support, information, resources, answers, and/or advocacy related to safety, healing, or gender-based violence (sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, harassment, family abuse).

Our services are free, confidential, and open to all members of the UIC community.

To connect with an advocate:

We can help you

We're also here for allies! Please reach out to us if you are in a role where you may need to support survivors on campus (instructors, mentors, advisors, student leaders, friends, or colleagues) or have questions about resources, mandated reporting, and more. 

[ID: A grey t-shirt with "Someone you love is a survivor" painted on it in red and white. Red and black hearts are scattered around the words.]

If you are a student leader, instructor, or supervisor, please consider inviting CAN to speak to your class through our Don’t Cancel Your Class! program, or request a training for your department, college, student organization, or other campus unit. 

[ID: Three students participating in a dating timeline activity on a tabletop.]

Faculty, please include info about us in your curriculum and syllabus:

"If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, or harassment, there is help available. The Campus Advocacy Network provides free and confidential services to UIC students, faculty, and staff who have experienced or are experiencing interpersonal violence. 

Pregnant and parenting students are also welcome to contact CAN for resources, information, and support.

If you would like to speak with an advocate, please email CAN at can-appointment@uic.edu, call (312) 413-8206 and leave a voicemail message, text (312) 488-9784, or fill out CAN's Ask An Advocate form online at can.uic.edu/ask. To learn more, visit CAN's website at can.uic.edu."

[ID: A CAN team member standing next to a presentation screen and facilitating a discussion on how to respond to a disclosure of gender-based violence.]

Gerber/Hart Library and Archives: Lavender Noire Project Internship
Apply by March 16
Help grow the Lavender Noire Project collection, a Chicago-based grassroots archive dedicated to recording and preserving Black Queer histories.

Obama Foundation: Voyager Scholarship
Apply by March 17
Supports students who have a passion for helping others and experience serving their communities.

UIC Institute of Government and Public Affairs: Charles P. Wolff Internship
Apply by March 29
Provides exposure to public policy research, public engagement, event management, and our network of scholars across the University of Illinois System. More info.

UIC United Faculty: Apply for the Student Fast Fund
Provides grants of up to $500 to students in emergency financial situations. 

UIC Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy: The History and Future of Palestine
Thursday, March 12 | 4:30-6:30pm, Student Services Building Conference Rooms
Join us for a lecture and conversation with Dr. Rashid Khalidi and Dima Khalidi on Palestinian experiences of and resistance to colonialism and imperialism.

WeDesi at UIC: Holi Fest
Thursday, March 12 & Friday, March 13 | UH Lawn
Join us for an electrifying two-day celebration of Holi, the festival of colors, joy, and togetherness!

UIC Social Justice Initiative: Disappearing Acts: A Sonic Response
Thursday, March 12 | 7-9:30pm, Chicago Justice Gallery
Join us for a powerful sound performance featuring a lineup of experimental sound artists responding to Soledad Fátima Muñoz’s solo exhibition, We’re Not All Here / No Estamos Todes.

KAN-WIN: Introduction to "Comfort Women" Survivors
Wednesday, March 18 | 2pm, Zoom
Join us to learn about the fight for justice for "Comfort Women" survivors and how you can get involved. 

UIC IMAGE Study: Me, Period Documentary Screening
Thursday, March 19 | 4:30-6:30pm, Malcolm X College Student Center
Featuring Black mothers Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tabitha Brown, the film explores the beauty and complexity of how we navigate sensitive conversations about our bodies and our periods.

CAASE: Criminalized for My Survival
Friday, March 27 | 5:30-9pm, Women's Justice Institute
Join us for And So I Stayed documentary screening & panel discussion. The film shares stories of incarcerated, abused survivors and how the legal system gets domestic violence wrong. 

Working Women's History Project: Honoring Marty Goddard: Pioneer in Combatting Sexual Violence
Saturday, March 28 | 10:30am - 12pm, Hull-House Museum
Join us for a panel discussion in which we explore the life and motivation of the woman who created the "r*pe kit" in the 1970s. Designed to preserve forensic evidence of sexual assault that would hold up in court, this kit became an essential tool for women to confront their assailants. 

Feminist Majority Foundation: National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
March 28-30, Arlington, VA
NYFLC is a weekend of learning, organizing, and community-building with truly extraordinary feminists; from long-time movement leaders to emerging student organizers.

Brave Space Alliance: Trans Day of Visibility Open Mic Night
Sunday, March 29 | 7-9pm, Bookclub Chicago
Sign up to share a piece that speaks to you and your talents or simply join community to celebrate our trans creatives!

Healing to Action: Apply for Healing Generations Leadership Program
Apply by March 31
Designed by and for survivors, Healing Generations is an 8-week program where participants learn about gender-based violence and related topics while also building skills to organize against gender-based violence as a community.

UIC Women in Engineering Programs: Women in Engineering Summer Program
June 13 - July 8 | Apply by April 4
WIESP is a free program that offers 11th- & 12th-grade students an opportunity to learn about engineering through hands-on projects and corporate partner visits. 

UIC Counseling Center: Parenting Student Support Group
Thursdays | 12-1pm, Hybrid
Come as you are to connect, share experiences, and receive support from your peers. This support group is open to any UIC student who is a parent or caregiver in any way.

UIC Law Pro Bono Litigation Clinic: Free Name & Gender Marker Changes
Students assist transgender individuals with changing their names and identification documents, prepare necessary court documents, and appear in court on behalf of individuals at hearings. Includes court and document fees.

UIC Library: Upcoming Events
Check out events from the Undergraduate Engagement Program and other departments within the university library!

CAASE: Upcoming Events
The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or support sexual exploitation through prevention, policy reform, community engagement, and legal service.

Resilience: Upcoming Events
Resilience works to end rape culture and empower sexual assault survivors through advocacy, education, and healing.

Check out what's happening at all our sibling centers this week!

Founded as a direct result of campus activism, the UIC Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) work collectively to produce knowledge and shift university culture, validating the multidimensional lived experiences of historically and currently excluded communities.

Informed by social justice frameworks, the Centers support students, faculty, and staff as they build a strong identity and sense of belonging, becoming change agents for a more just campus and society.

The Centers connect our communities and design intercultural and engaged-learning opportunities, student mentorship programs, cultural programming, advocacy, collaborative research, and community partnerships.

Through these efforts, the Centers expand the educational and transformational mission of UIC.

In light of actual and potential threats to our communities, both here at UIC and throughout the Chicago area, it's important to know what our rights are when interacting with immigration and other federal law enforcement officers.

WHAT TO DO

UIC's administration has shared official protocols for such interactions on campus.

If you need assistance or suspect ICE presence anywhere in IL, please call the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Hotline: 1-855-435-7693.

[ID: Details about ICIRR's Family Support Network Hotline: 855-435-7693.]

CAMPUS RESOURCES

UPCOMING TRAININGS & EVENTS

We are here for you and will continue to share resources and information with our campus community.

UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center
& Campus Advocacy Network

1700 Student Services Building (MC 363)
1200 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607

(312) 413-1025 ∙ wlrc@uic.edu ∙ wlrc.uic.edu

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