We all know about George Washington, Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin. But who are Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Deborah Sampson and Florence Nightingale?

Stumped? The Women’s Resource Center has answers.

The Women’s Resource Center, located in the basement of Stevenson Hall, is a place where students and members of the community can find reading materials about significant women in history. The Center also provides women with referrals to different agencies to solve difficult problems they may be facing.

The Resource Center is run by the Women’s Advocacy Council and members of the council work at the Center voluntarily.

“The Women’s Advocacy Council promotes equitable treatment for everyone,” Melanie Mills, professor in the speech communication department and coordinator of the Women’s Advocacy Council, said. “We serve women who have specific needs and want to receive help somewhere.”

Mills said the the Resource Center refers women who have encountered domestic violence or rape issues to the Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service, another organization located on campus. Women who face discrimination issues in the work place can also go to the Resource Center for a referral to a different agency.

Along with the referrals, the Center provides the public with resources about women, mostly reading materials, Mills mentioned.

The Women’s Advocacy Council also brings numerous speakers to campus to speak on female-related issues. And the group is known for sponsoring the “Take Back the Night” march and various Women’s History and Awareness Month activities in March.

Mills feels that it is very important to acknowledge women in history through Women’s History and Awareness Month, which is celebrated in March.

“I teach ‘The Changing World of Women’ senior seminar, and at the beginning of the class, I ask my students to name women in history, and they can’t do it,” she said. “Historical women are not a mandated part of education, not even in teacher education. How can we expect teachers to teach it if they don’t even know about it?”

Mills mentioned that her favorite activity during Women’s History and Awareness Month is the Women’s History Program.

During the program, several Eastern students impersonate various significant women and perform for area grade schools.

“These performances give students a learning experience that they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” she said.

The Women’s Advocacy Council actually stemmed from the Women’s Studies Council.

The Women’s Studies Council was responsible for putting women’s issues into Eastern’s curriculum, Mills said. Once the Women’s Studies program at Eastern was established, the Women’s Studies Council transformed into the Women’s Advocacy Council.

The Women’s Advocacy Council meets at 2 p.m. every first and third Thursday of every month in the Women’s Resource Center. However, due to the various Women’s History and Awareness Month events, the Council will not meet this month.

The Women’s Advocacy Council is comprised of about 30 Eastern faculty members.

Although no Eastern students are presently council members, Eastern students are more than welcome to join.