Women's center should not be misued

Editor,

I was disappointed on Monday when I found that the lactation center was being used for student testing in one of the departments. Since the Women’s Resource Center has been helpful enough to provide private rooms on campus allocated specifically for mothers who are nursing or pumping, I feel that these rooms should remain available at all times for that purpose alone.

I had just gotten out of class and had 15 minutes left to use the lactation center before my next class, which was the only center available in the area where I was that day. Instead of making the room available for me, I was placed in a conference room next door that lacked sufficient blinds for my privacy, and was given what seemed like a time-limit.

I couldn’t help but wonder why the student who was testing was not placed in the conference room initially so that the lactation center would be open to me or other nursing mothers. I felt rushed and uncomfortable in that situation, and I believe that was not the individual’s intention at the moment. However, it is difficult already to be a mother and go to school full-time even with the resources provided by the Pregnant on Campus Resource Table and the Women’s Resource Center, but to see that the accommodations provided for mothers are being misused is discouraging.

Students who are parenting should be encouraged and recognized for their endurance to finish their education. I hope in the future, departments who have agreed to have a lactation center in their building would grant and accommodate mothers with this vital resource. Lastly, I would like to thank the Women’s Resource Center publicly for this resource.

Sincerely,

Sade Patterson

Mother, UNM student

Students for Life vice president