Laura Sheets, finance coordinator for the Campus Women’s Center, would like to clear up a myth — the Women's Center is not just for women.

"We are here for all students, our purpose is to serve students," Sheets said. "Men are welcome, we have comfortable couches."

In addition to the comfortable couches, the Campus Women's Center provides a variety of services, resources, events and programs that are open to anyone "who is affected by the lives of women-identified individuals," Sheets said.

"The Campus Women's Center was founded in 1983 to confront the multiple oppressions women-identified individuals face," Sheets said.

The center, located on the fourth floor of Memorial Union, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day.

"Outside [the center's] doors, there are free brochures, condoms and rape whistles that are available until the Union closes," Sheets said.

The center has eight paid undergraduate students who serve as coordinators for the center, Sheets said.

"There is a 15-hour-a-week commitment, and we have an application process where we try to reach as many pockets of students as possible via e-mail, flyering and other advertisements," Sheets said.

Sheets added that the Campus Women's Center is unique in the sense that they do not have a supervisor and all of the decisions are made collectively among the student coordinators. The coordinators are trained extensively in areas including crisis management and images in the media, and one of them is always in the office to answer phone calls, Sheets said.

Eight office staff, 15 support group leaders and 70 volunteer babysitters for student parents on campus makes up the bulk of the students who volunteer for the center.

The Campus Women's Center also offers internships to students wishing to get course credit in the area of women's studies.

"There is no limit to the type of internship you do at the center. We allow people to pursue their passions and encourage them to do so," Sheets said.

Susan Friedman, a professor of English and women's studies, said the Campus Women's Center is important for students because it gives them a place to talk about issues they care about.

Friedman has visited the center in the past and said she liked how energetic the volunteers were.

"It's a warm room with a lot of people hanging out," Friedman said. "There were chances for friendship with people who have similar concerns — I particularly liked that students were organizing programming, and it made me feel wonderful to be a part of it."

The Campus Women's Center is considered a safe space for students to talk about things concerning them, Sheets said.

"We're not therapists — we're undergrad students that are trained extensively," Sheets said. "We have about six or seven passionate support groups that are facilitated by trained volunteers, they are free and confidential with topics like 'Supporting the Supporter' and 'Sexual Assault Survivors.'"

In addition to the support groups, the Campus Women's Center holds events like Women's Music Festival every year with the help of ASM grants and other organizations like Promoting Awareness and Victim Empowerment and MultiCultural Student Coalition, Sheets said.

"Women's Music Festival features artists who have positive messages about women, it's nice to see them come to Madison," Sheets said.

About 30 people visit the center each week, but most questions come in the form of e-mail.

"E-mail is our main source of communication, we get about 100 a week, usually we refer people to our resources or a support group," Sheets said. "Anyone who comes in will leave with resources and answers."

For the 2007-08 academic school year, the Campus Women's Center received $83,845 in student segregated fees, which is spent compensating the eight student coordinators, programs like Women's Music Festival and providing free printed resources.

This semester, every UW student pays $429.08 in segregated fees. A portion of this fee funds various student organizations throughout campus, as well as University Health Services and the ASM Bus Pass. Look for future features on other organizations that students help fund.