"We take care of a lot of Harvard women-students and staff-who've been abused, battered and need counseling. Harvard should take on responsibility for its own." -Cambridge Women's Center Trustee Betsy Warrior

THERE is a room in Agassiz House called the Lyman Common Room. It is a room primarily for women, yet it is not a women's center. Criticized by some for its shortcomings and praised by others for the achievement it symbolizes, Lyman is a room not of commonality but of contradictions. It is ironically both the result of, and the impetus for, a movement urging Harvard to provide women with a place of their own.

The Lyman Common Room opened its doors in early October. Formerly a seldom-used ballroom, meager funds transformed the space into a cafe-like area complete with couches, television sets, bulletin boards and books. Staffed from noon until midnight, the Common Room is a place where women can relax, hold meetings and obtain information.

Radcliffe's administration is enthusiastic about the response the Common Room has received and has tentative plans to expand the services offered. "Lyman is changing quite a bit everyday," says Radcliffe Dean Philippa Bovet. "We're getting good feedback from alumni and staff and we hope to add more furniture and art work."

Radcliffe Assistant Dean Rosa Shinagel, who runs the Lyman Common Room, says that there are plans underway for a computer service which will enable staffers to type in a key word and receive a printout of references and counseling services. "If a woman comes in asking about pregnancy, for example," Shinagel says, "We'd like to be able to provide her with a list of quick references and phone numbers."

Shinagel cites students, alumni, staff and women scholars as the beneficiaries of the Lyman Common Room. "The room is multigenerational-for all types of women and for men too." Ironically, the group that Shinagel lists as Lyman's top priority-students-are proving more and more unhappy with the results of the Lyman Room.

Questions Left Unanswered

Both the Radcliffe Union of Student's (RUS) Women's Center subcommittee and the newly formed Women's Center Resource Group are spear-heading the fight for a genuine women's center. These groups claim that the Lyman Common Room is not an adequate response to their past proposal for a women's center and should not be considered as such despite ambiguous statements made by Radcliffe President Linda Wilson.

In September, President Wilson issued a press release that referred to Lyman as a "center for women." The statement is seen by many students as a dangerous definition fueling the popular misconception that Lyman is an actual women's center which satisfies the conditions of students' demands.

"The Lyman Common Room is a Radcliffe Center, not a women's center," RUS Co-President Annie Blais says. "It is not a women's center because it is not a force for feminist social change, is not run by a representative body of its constituents and has no budget."

Blais says that although Lyman is needed by Radcliffe to foster a sense of community among its students, alumni and fellows, those involved in the Common Room are "confusing student support for Lyman and abandon the fight for a women's center apart from Lyman."

Blais says that although Lyman is needed by Radcliffe to foster a sense of community among its students, alumni and fellows, those involved in the Common Room are "confusing student support for Lyman with a desire on our part to merge with Lyman and abandon the fight for a women's center apart from Lyman."

Graduate student Sophie Volpp says that as a member of the Lyman Common Room Task Force, she and other students had hoped to contribute to the room's organization. But the student group, Volpp felt, was only a token voice. She highlights Lyman's hiring procedures as evidence that Lyman planners did not have women's issues foremost in mind.

"An integral part of any women's center is the feeling that it is a safe and a viable option for help and referral. There were 20 people hired to staff the room, two of which were men," Volpp says. "This could create problems for women who want to discuss issues of sexual harassment. We want a professionally staffed center, multiple meeting and office spaces, and programming money. Although Lyman serves an important function, we haven't really gotten what we want yet."

Women's center advocates stress Harvard's failed responsibility to female faculty, staff and students as a primary reason why Lyman does not address the need for a women's center. "Harvard is not contributing any money to the Lyman Common Room," Blais says. "Aside from the issue of finances and space, we would be effectively releasing Harvard of its responsibility toward women if we accepted the Lyman Common Room as the answer to our demands for a women's center."