Female leadership in UCSB has taken many forms over the history of the university.  In regards to leadership with in Associated students, women have been active in the majority of boards, committees, and councils.  Below is a spotlighting of various leadership roles and a timeline of important events and actions as they pertain to the rights of women.

A new precedent was set in 1959 when Kitty Joyce became A.S. president for the 1959-1960 school year.  Before Kitty Joyce, Frances Boynton and Eleanor O’Boyle were Associated Women Students presidents in 1943 and 1944, respectively, stepped in as A.S. presidents mid-year after the male A.S. executives were called to serve in the Navy.  Spring of 1989, Andi Blackshaw was the first woman to make a bid for the A.S. presidency since Caroline Tesche’s lost to Gary James in 1981.  Thirteen years after Joyce’s presidency, Abby Haight served as external president in 1973-1974.  It wasn’t until 1974-1975, when Mike Chavez and Kathy Tuttle both held top A.S. positions.  In the Spring quarter of 2005 Chaz Whatley became the first African-American woman elected by the student body as Associated Student President.

A coalition of feminist groups declare UCSB Women’s Week. The festival features a a series of events and demonstrations on the topic of women’s rights. The organizing coalition issues a list of demands in association with the events, which include the creation of a Women’s Studies Department, the end to the $15 contraception exam fee, and the hiring of two full-time gynecologists at the Health Center.

Women’s Commission is established to advise Legislative Council about issues concerning women and provide an educational forum for students. We deal with all issues from sexual harassment to Women’s Health.

Red Alert citizens committee initiated in Isla Vista in response to increased sexual abuse of women during Halloween.

C.U.N.T.S. the clandestine feminist group Creative Underground Network of Truthful Sisters (CUNTS) forms. C.U.N.T.S. was a militant feminist group organized against sexism, the rape culture, and the "perpetual hard-on that crushes our [women's] spirits" on the UCSB campus.  C.U.N.T.S. initially formed to protest College Letters & Science Provost David Sprecher’s romantic involvement with his college staffworkers. Several of the staffworkers file a grievance and allege that Sprecher’s inappropriate relationships created an extremely uncomfortable work environment. The CUNTS campaign includes a poster featuring a nude, headless statue bearing a slogan to the effect of, “This the Way Your Provost Sees You, and Your Chancellor Doesn’t Care.” The Provost steps down officially to “return to teaching and research.” 

1992 

Pro-Choice Rally: Students stage a pro-choice rally to protest the Supreme Court’s hearing of a case that might have threatened the legal precedent draws 400 people at Storke Plaza.

Students at UCSB were encouraged to show their support for civil rights and reproductive freedom during a talk by Gloria Steinmen, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Maxine Waters, and Lois Capps at I.V. Theater. The event was sponsored by Associated Students Office of the External Vice President of State-wide Affairs and Voters for Choice.  

The 1st annual Women of Color Conference at UCSB.  This conference was created with the intention of providing a day of celebration, education, and communication amongst the varying ethnic communities of UCSB.  The day long conference included workshops on the struggles of Hawaiians by Ku’ ulei Minchu Manaupau, caucasus break-outs for women of color, white allies, and male allies, speakers Maythee Rojas and Tiffany Willoughby Herard, art and poetry sessions, and a showing of Daughters of the Dust at Campbell Hall.

April 19. 2012

Thursday, April19 students gathered at Anisq'oyo Park in Isla Vista for a rally and march protesting against rape and violence. The organization putting on the event, Take back the Night, works throughout the year to make more people informed on the issues of sexual violence, especially in Isla Vista.