Student Comments about Experience with Women's Studies Courses    "I took my first women's studies class as a junior at Austin Peay. After only the first week, I was disappointed that I had not taken one sooner. My professor was wonderful and the class was more excited and involved than any other class I've taken. It forced me to look at the world, and my personal surroundings in a completely different light than I had ever been allowed to explore. Women's Studies is the only class that I actually looked forward to and the only class that made me upset to miss. It inspired me to decide to devote my professional life to working with women. I now volunteer at the local domestic abuse center and I plan to open my own shelter some day. Even as a senior, if Austin Peay allowed me to major in Women's Studies, I would change my major and stay here until I finished the course work. These classes taught me to really value being a woman and my femininity and to fight against the injustices that I encounter. Women's Studies lit a fire and passion inside of me that I never knew existed. It changed my career choice and widened my view of women and their importance in this country." "Women's Studies classes have given me a place where I am not as intimidated about speaking my mind as I am in many situations. These classes have taught me to see the world in ways I normally would not. In many of these classes we learned through interaction with others. It is a class in which everyone's input is valued equally as opposed to one person disposing all of the information and students taking notes and spitting it back out. Dialogue is important in these classes. I learned a lot about myself through learning about other people. I feel that these classes are important as a haven from the classes that are more geared toward male perspectives. I've taken three women's studies classes as electives and as part of my English major and I've loved all of them." "The Women's Studies Program is not only a class or a program, it is a family. We look at women's topics in a new and interesting way. It has helped me in many ways. It has made me more involved in the school and it has made me do better. I try to have a least one women's studies class a semester because I never want to miss the class. This class and program is more important than what the school is advertising. I believe at least one women's studies course should be a requirement or core class. For the men it will make them aware of the history and social problems. For the women it makes them aware and proud of their own history and culture." "This is my first women's studies course (Critical Studies in Women in Literature). This course is important to my education because I am learning about women writers. In previous English classes, women writers were not the dominant or even equal focus of the literature class. By studying women writers, I learn about the struggles that women have had to go through to become a writer, educated, and independent. Learning about the feelings of other women validates my feelings as a woman. Also, learning about other women writers makes me appreciate my heritage as a woman. It makes me realize the importance of being a feminist. If I didn't realize everything that women have gone through to become equally respected women, I wouldn't realize the importance of my actions as a woman in the 21st century." "I have never thought about things that I have been forced to think about in our readings and discussions. Bottom line is that I am now aware of emotions that I did not know existed in my mind."