Students
<http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/sep/07/students-lobby-for-breast-pumping-o
ptions-on/?partner=RSS> lobby for breast-pumping options on campus
via Daily Camera Stories <http://dailycamera.com/news/> by
[log in to unmask] (Brittany Anas) on 9/6/08
As a college student and new mom, Tess Harkins would rush to her car in
between classes at Front Range Community College so that she could pump
breast milk.
Front Range students take up issue after class discussion
By Brittany Anas <http://www.dailycamera.com/staff/brittany-anas/> (Contact
<http://www.dailycamera.com/staff/brittany-anas/contact/> )
Sunday, September 7, 2008
As a college student and new mom, Tess Harkins would rush to her car in
between classes at Front Range Community College so that she could pump
breast milk.
It was either the parking lot -- or a cramped bathroom stall on the campus,
she said.
Harkins, the mother of a 10-month-old boy, is among a half-dozen Front Range
students who were enrolled in a summer psychology course and are now
lobbying community college leaders and state legislators for changes that
would make it easier for students and instructors to breast pump while on
campus.
A course discussion about the benefits of breastfeeding -- and the barriers
that prevent more mothers from doing so -- motivated the students in the
growth and development course to take up the issue on the campus, according
to students.
"We all decided that we wouldn't want our food prepared in the bathroom,"
said Harkins, who transferred this fall to Colorado State University, where
she is studying social work.
A new state law that went into effect this summer requires Colorado
employers toprovide break times for nursing mothers, to provide suitable,
private spaces for them to pump at work, and to not discriminate against
them for doing so. Those in the Front Range course would like that law to
extend those protections to full-time students who are breastfeeding.
Harkins said that she and her classmates think a private room with a chair
and an outlet would be suitable. The students are scheduled to meet with the
student-government leaders later this month.
Sunda Friedman TeBockhorst, an adjunct faculty member at Front Range, said
she encouraged her students to push for better accommodations by offering
extra credit if they did so.
"I was really impressed with their dedication and willingness to make things
happen," she said.
Friedman TeBockhorst, who also is the mother of a toddler, said that
colleges are increasingly relying more on adjunct faculty members to teach
courses, and those who are nursing don't have private office space to pump.
Maya Bunik, chairwoman of the Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition said that
returning to work is one of the biggest reasons new mothers quit
breastfeeding.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or
[log in to unmask]
_________________________________________________
Dia L. Michels
Platypus Media -- Books for Families, Teachers and Parenting Professionals
725 8th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-546-1674
Toll-free: 1-877-PLATYPS (1-877-752-8977)
Fax: 202-546-2356
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www.PlatypusMedia.com
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