Natsumi IKOMA
Steering Committee Member, CGS; Senior Associate Professor, ICU
【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the fifteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】
A nursing room has finally been set up on campus at ICU. This is one of the outcomes of a panel discussion titled,"Let's Talk About Parenting on Campus," held in the conference room of Dialogue House on January 31, 2012. CGS steering committee member Natsumi Ikoma reports on this event, which was attended by 30 students, staff, and faculty.
CGS has been working tirelessly over the years to make ICU more supportive of students, faculty, and staff who are parents. We are finally seeing some progress. At the end of March 2012, a baby change table was installed in the multi-purpose toilet in the university cafeteria, and in May, the ICU nursing room opened in the Honkan building. We sincerely hope that these facilities will be of use to students, staff, and faculty, and we will continue to work toward a more parent-friendly campus.
A key event in the lead-up to these changes was a panel discussion titled, "Let's Talk about Parenting on Campus," held on January 31, 2012. It was organized by CGS to provide a platform for a discussion of childcare support on campus. Participants included former and current students, staff, and faculty who voiced their opinions and shared their experiences of being parents while studying or working at ICU. Staff from relevant departments at ICU also participated. We were delighted to see many more participants than we had expected. In particular, the participation of pregnant undergraduate and graduate students brought to light a problem that had hitherto been ignored.
From the panel discussion, it became clear that different people have different ideas about what constitutes the ideal childcare facilities. Furthermore, even though the university does not have an unlimited budget to build a parent-friendly campus, certain measures are actually viable. We also realized that besides the improvement of facilities, the provision of support networks and information/advice on childcare is particularly important for pregnant and parenting students. CGS will take the lead in developing these support measures.
As a result of this panel discussion, CGS submitted five urgent demands to the university regarding (1) baby change tables, (2) an on-campus nursing room, (3) an on-campus nursery, (4) a contract with an NPO childcare provider, and (5) a student maternity leave policy. Proposals (1) and (2) have been accomplished, and (3) and (4) are currently still under consideration. However, the university has informed us that (5) is not viable at the present time.
Eventually, we intend to call for an on-campus nursery, but we have to proceed one step at a time. The new nursing room is therefore a useful means of monitoring need and usage. A small classroom in the Honkan building (where the majority of classes are held) was converted into a nursing room. It has a sofa, an armchair, a baby bed, a baby change table, a cabinet, a microwave, and an electric kettle. There is also a mat on the floor for children to play on. The existence of such a facility on campus is reassuring, like a safety net, for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as full- and part-time faculty. We wish to express our deepest gratitude to all those involved in helping to set up this nursing room at ICU.
Related Document
Report: Talk session Let's Talk about parenting on campus (PDF format)