Women's Outreach

Chair: Maria Centeio

The Women's Outreach Committee is committed to enriching women's undergraduate experience at Harvard. The opportunity for female students to build relationships and gather advice from more experienced women and each other is a critical part of our educational experience.   

WOC creates forums in which these types of interactions are possible. We accomplish this through networking with other women (both on campus and off), collaborating on initiatives that affect women, and hosting various events intended to inspire the student body and enhance our perceptions of ourselves. We also host "in-reaches" or intimate discussions, panels and classes for our membership. From our fun events, to our more serious ones, we celebrate the experience of women at Harvard and have a great time in the process. 

Women's Week 2009

The Seneca and the Harvard College Women's Center spearheaded a week featuring events sponsored by different student organizations aimed at promoting women's issues as well as community among women's groups. 

Women's Community Fair

The Seneca and the Harvard College Women's Center co-sponsored Harvard's first-ever Women's Community Fair on December 5th, 2006.  Over 30 organizations, from the Undergraduate Council to sports teams to sororities, were present to recruit and talk with women interested in joining new activities.  The evening's activities included food, refreshments and a raffle.  This is hopefully the first of many annual women's fairs that aim to promote community among different women's groups as well as opportunities for women looking for new activities. 

Harvard HPV Awareness Campaign

Inspired by the FDA's approval of GARDASIL, a new vaccine that protects women against 4 strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), The Seneca partnered with the Harvard College Women's Center and 13 other groups to collaborate on an information-based campaign to promote awareness of HPV and encourage women to make informed decisions about whether or not to get the vaccine.  The campaign included informational posters and emails, as well as facebook groups and tabling.  A key part of the campaign was a postcard petition to encourage Harvard University Health Services to reduce the cost of the vaccine.  Campaign organizers met with the Director of UHS as well as the Director of Medicine to talk about subsidy options and plan to continue the campaign in the spring of 2007. 

Negotiating Nutrition: The Scoop on Snacking at Harvard and Beyond

On October 18th, 2006 The Seneca had the pleasure of co-sponsoring a nutrition event with Harvard's Eating Concerns Hotline and Outreach.  Negotiating Nutrition brought in Harvard professionals to talk about nutrition in a college setting and strategies for making healthier decisions when faced with fast food and dining halls.  The goal of this event was to provide the student body with access to resources on campus (such as ECHO and Wellness Center nutritionists) that are often overlooked as well as to promote healthy approaches to nutrition and weight concerns.