Students facing problems involving gender-related issues can look forward to a new peer counseling and information center sponsored by the Student Association Welfare Office.

Julie Stege, SA Welfare Adviser, said she is organizing a “Social Awareness Center,” which will provide “a structure for supporting men and women who are struggling to develop their own identities while rejecting old sex-role stereotypes.

“The center will provide a small library of books, magazines, pamphlets and fliers dealing with gender-related problems in the post-sexual revolution era,” Stege said. Students will be able to read the materials in the welfare office or borrow them for short periods of time, she said.

“The center will also provide volunteer peer counselors trained by Counseling and Student Development. Students who volunteer will undergo extensive training in gender-related issues, which will involve a commitment of one or two weeks during this semester,” Stege said.

Stege also said the counselers will talk to anyone who walks in but will also have the ability to provide appropriate referals to those experiencing serious problems.

“The center’s underlying theme is, through experiencing our own individuality, we are able to have a richer life,” she said.

“These days a lot of problems people have in their relationships stem from conflicts. In particular, many people are experiencing conflicts between what social conditioning has taught them about traditional sex roles and what they have learned through their own experiences,” she said.

Stege also said these conflicts appear in job-related situations. “Traditionally, women have thought about careers in terms of bringing up children. This usually meant women did not consider the possibility of having their husbands pitch in.

“These days, more men are leaving the nine-to-five workplace in order to have additional time with their families. This means women have other options open to them in selecting a career,” she said.

Stege said the center could be used as a forum for discussing feminist issues. “The term feminist has been confused these days. A lot of men are joining the feminist movement in order to fight for equal rights for women. However, feminists are also concerned with the oppression of men as well as women through conformity to old sexual stereotypes.

“We’re concerned with helping people break out of traditional sexual stereotypes and not trying to impose any ideology on anyone,” Stege said.