When Karima Rizk '03 returned to Dartmouth after taking medical leave, she returned as a mother of a three-month-old son.
Discouraged by the lack of support at Dartmouth for students who were starting families, she worked with deans and the Women's Resource Center to begin the Pregnancy and Parenting Resources Clearinghouse.
The purposes of the PPRC are to provide information on pregnancy and parenting and to support the networking of people in those circumstances. Rizk is currently assembling a collection of alumni willing to be resources in such a network.
Support, Not Politics
Rizk said that in her experience many students have been directed towards abortion methods by health care providers who have not considered the possibility of the students' desires to become parents.
"We don't want people to feel like they have no choice but to terminate," said Giavanna Munafo, spokesperson for the WRC.
Munafo described the PPRC as a "clearinghouse of information." She stated that its purpose is not to direct students into becoming pregnant or carrying their pregnancies to term, but neither is it to encourage abortions.
The WRC "is not pro-life or pro-choice," said Munafo. Munafo said that the PPRC will be there to help students become aware that it is possible to stay at the College while parenting. "We want to get the message out," she said. "We're not saying that it's easy."
Although no statistics were available to support or deny the claim, Munafo suspected that the pregnancy rate on campus has dropped over the years due to increased sexual education.
"Our goal is not necessarily to encourage more undergraduate students to have children," said Munafo.
Nor does she think that its presence will be a contentious issue. "It seems rather benign to me" she said.
Community Needs
Although the PPRC will not be able to provide financial support for student-parents, they will help to provide information regarding outside access to Federal programs, such as Women Infants and Children, which subsidizes the cost of nutritious food, and other programs native to the Upper Valley.
Rizk said that the perception is that, "No one in Hanover goes on welfare," saying that when she was having financial difficulties, a person from the Office of Residential Life covertly handed her a brochure for the WIC program.
"For a school that touts diversity and equitable education for all, I felt like not a lot was being done to accommodate my needs as an undergraduate student here," said Rizk.
Currently there are two undergraduates raising children at the College. Last year there were four. The numbers of undergraduates who may access the resources provided by the PPRC, but the percentage of graduate students working towards their degrees while raising children is considerably higher.
Although it was originally begun to support the needs of undergraduate students, the PPRC is making efforts to become an available resource for Dartmouth's graduate students as well, a population that might have more need for such a program.
Robin Allen '92 has a baby due in November. She works at the Tuck School of Business where her husband is a student. "A third of my husband's class of 220 is married," she said. Members of his class entered Tuck with 35 children, and more have been born during the year.
Allen said that her pregnancy was planned, but she has still accessed Dartmouth resources in securing childcare. Waitlists at childcare facilities are long, especially for infants.
Allen searched for possible childcare centers through the Childcare Resource Office, headed by Susan Lloyd. The CCRO is a clearinghouse from which people in the Dartmouth community can seek affordable childcare options. Before the creation of the PPRC, this was one of very few resources available for pregnant and parenting students.
"As a percentage of the student body we're not talking about large numbers of children, but for the students population that does need childcare it's a very difficult situation," said Lloyd.
One of the current goals of the PPRC is to compile a list of reliable and safe options for emergency babysitting.
Along with information regarding childcare and resources to help students cope with the difficult decisions involved in a pregnancy, planned or not, the PPRC has already begun to collect clothing and toys for infants and young children, available to anyone who needs the assistance. The closets are accessible at the WRC.
A Hopeful Outlook
Rizk seemed very pleased with the direction that the PPRC is headed. Discussing the student population's need for this support, she said, "When they come through and they find themselves alone and overwhelmed this'll be there."'
The PPRC is a program facilitated by the WRC and supported by the Office of Student Life. Funding is limited to a small resource library and a paid intern who will run the program. Currently Rizk is serving in the internship.
