Activism blog # 2

 

Activism: During this week our group hosted a donation drive for the Harbor House, which is a domestic violence women’s shelter. Some of our group members decorated boxes that housed the supplies that were donated to the women.  Other group members were picking- up boxes and dropping them off to the Harbor house. I was able to contact other donations sites on campus to pick-up and drop-off these donations boxes to the wellness center.  It was very crucial that I got these donations in by Friday, since the drive was going to be done by Saturday. It was very chaotic contacting the offices to pick-up the boxes, but I was able to accomplish my goal. It was great to see so many donations that were going out to these women in need. Although, I was only able to help out a little this week, I still felt like my job was very important. I know that after I finish working with MVP, I will definitely be a part of this important organization.

Reflection: The donation drive that was hosted this week, made me really think about our consumption of our resources. Many of these women count on the donations that are given to them for their daily living. Many of these items such as toothpaste, sheets, & clothes many of us probably have more than enough of these resources at the convenience of our homes. This idea of what we consume on a daily basis, relates to the article we read this week entitled, “Consumption.” The idea of consumption ask the question of how much resources do we utilize on a day-to- day basis. When I ask myself this question, I was shocked to think that I use more than I actually need. One thing the article talked about was how people “learn to assess their real financial needs, how to budget, and invest to achieve financial independence on a sustainably reduced income” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey). The result of doing this impacts their lifestyle on the environment by using less energy, products, and waste. Many of us cannot live on the idea of less is more, because we like to live a fancy lifestyle.  Unfortunately, the women who are in domestic violence situations have to think about the idea of less is more, because their needs are bigger than their wants. This really has impacted me in my daily life to live one less resources.

Reciprocity:  These past weeks working with MVP has taught me a lot about time management, when it comes to school and service learning hours. I have also learned a lot about these women in domestic violence situations that has made me want to be an advocate against domestic violence.  Through our WST class I learned a lot about how domestic violence plays a part in working atmosphere and the environment. This made me realize how domestic violence really impacts everyone’s daily life and not just the victim This service learning project has honestly opened my mind up and made me really think about the world around me. Although, I might have played a small part in helping the donation drive this week, I feel like I helped many women in domestic violence situations. I really enjoyed my time with MVP and I hope to continue working with them in the future.

 

Works Citied

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Rey. “Consumption." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 567-573. Print.

Campus Engagment 2 / Quiz

For my second campus engagement I volunteered with Vox (Voices for Planned Parenthood), which exist to educate students about reproductive health and rights. This year Vox was out in the polls to encourage students to vote no on amendment 6. This amendment interferes with a women’s right to choose, placing a woman’s personal medical decision in the hands of government instead of her own. Although amendment 6 was the main aim of Vox, they were more focused on getting students to go out and vote. There were many locations on campus that Vox gathered at such as the gym, arena, and the student union.  I was located right near the student union, where I canvassed outside to the students. What I learned from canvassing was that many students didn’t want to vote or were very enthusiastic to vote. Many students felt that there vote would not make a difference, which is why they chose not to vote. It was a very interesting to hear that a lot of students were unwilling to vote this election year. When we went out canvassing we had a sheet of paper that asked students who they would be voting for. Through this sheet we learned that most students knew who they would vote for and some were still undecided. Vox also helped the student see the ballot questions ahead of time, to help students know there answers before they went to vote. By doing this, we helped a lot student’s save time in long voting lines. Sometimes we would get very opinionated students at our table, who expressed their political stance. Vox did support Obama and took a strong political stance on amendment 6. This made a lot of republican students very angry, where they would quickly turn away from our table. The enthusiasm of all students was shown this year as many found different ways to get students informed by rollerblading around campus with flyers, handing out pins, candy, & shirts to get students encouraged to vote. The dedication of students showed me how important it is to vote. I believe that our former feminist & black leaders fought for our rights a long time ago, so that we would be able to vote. We now have a voice to speak up and we should use it to vote. It is a crucial time to vote and we should know that it is our natural born right to vote.

Campus Engagment 1

For my first campus engagement, I attended Corban Addison, A Walk Across the Sun: Abolishing Modern Slavery, which was held on November 1st. I was exposed to the lucrative business of human trafficking for the first time, when guest speaker Corban Addison, called to my attention how this form of slavery still exist in the world. I was astonished to learn that unfathomable form of slavery still exists around the world. Through exploitation of young girls in highly sophisticated, organized crime business of human trafficking is a worldwide problem. Corban brought to my understanding that, human trafficking victims are held against their will through acts of coercion and forced to work or provides services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercialized sexual exploitation. The arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with little to no payment or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, in which the victim is not being permitted or able to pay off the debt. What made this more interesting to me was the fact that the people who buy these young girls are upper-class American men. These criminals are making a business transaction with people who have corporate or executive jobs, not to mention men who have families. This just painted such a vivid picture in my mind of how serious a problem sex-trafficking is around the world. Corban Addison book, “A Walk Across the Sun,” is a narrative that entertains, but also calls attention to the problem of human trafficking. The events in the book begin with two young Indian girls being abducted into the sex trafficking business, and their fate is left at the hands of a lawyer. The lawyer then makes it his mission to rescue these girls from the ruthless criminals. Addison writes in a very understanding way for other women who have been victimized by human trafficking to understand that they are not alone. After listening to the Corban Addison, I found the similarities of his zeal embodies the lawyer that had to help the girls in “A Walk Across the Sun. Corban Addison has made it his mission not only to bring awareness to the problem, but to seek out a reasonable solution to end human sex-trafficking. He explained in his speech how there are two problems that surround human trafficking, which are that people must demand change to stop human trafficking and that this problem is not seen as a priority. People must realize that they themselves are the solution to stopping this world-wide problem. If we realize that we are the solution we will be more willing to demand change by speaking-up against it and talking to our government officials. Also once we demand change it will be seen as a priority that needs to be stopped. We also need to realize that the government has the money to stop this issue; they just don’t want to invest the money to do so. However, if we make our demands, this problem will be seen as a priority that needs to be stopped. Human trafficking is a lucrative business and the fastest growing criminal business in the world that needs to be put to an end. By the end of Corban’s speech, I realized that slavery does have human face, which is little girls around the world, who need us to help them fight the injustice they cannot.

 

Activism Blog for Service Learning

ACTIVISM:

The community partner that I decided to work with is MVP, which is a domestic violence organization that aims to bring awareness to sexual abuse.  This week we ended up meeting with the director, Abigail Malick, to plan events that are coming up for MVP. Before we began the planning for MVP, some my group members and I had to meet up for a training session. In this session we understood what MVP was and how it goes about informing people about the organization, which is through an interactive group session.  In this training we got to discuss how we felt about domestic violence and some of our ideas for events that MVP could hold.  One of the activities we performed this week was an informative table in the Student Union to bring awareness to students about domestic violence. Another activity that  we will be holding is a drive with the harbor house that will bring supplies, such as clothes, to women of domestic violence. The success that we have had is being able to meet up as group and discuss how we are goint to get things accomplished. However, the only pitfall seems to be getting more events to be hosted. Other than that, this service learning experience has been an enjoyable one for me and I am happy to have my group members to share it with.

 

REFLECTION:

In the process of planning and informing people about domestic violence through MVP, I have realized how important the issue is in our society. Domestic violence affects not only the victim, but the people around them.  This is currently being demonstrated in the Central Florida area, as 11 shooting have recently taken place in the work place due to domestic violence. “Approximately 24% of workplace violence is related to personal relationships, which involve situations where an individual gains access to a workplace and commits a crime targeting an employee or customer who is a current or former intimate partner"(Connections Between Work place and Violence).  Typically, we think that domestic violence is something that can happen behind closed doors; unfortunately, there is an increase in domestic violence related crimes at the work place.  “Just last week a Central Florida man gunned down his former partner while she was at work at hotel in Orlando’s popular tourist corridor. While in the lobby he also shot and killed one of her co-workers. From there, the gunman drove a couple miles down the road to another area resort where he shot and critically wounded his former partner’s best friend” (Johnson). This tragic incident not only affected the victim, but friends, families, and employees. The explanation of violence against women is provided on a macro- level and a micro- level. In a macro-level perspective, the economic system disempowers women, because some women earn less than men.  This is why in a violent marriage or relationship women find it difficult to leave their partner, because they financially depend on their partner. Thus, in this case macro-level inequalities are present in violence at the micro level. This idea clearly relates to our book reading “Making a Home, Making a Living,” as it discusses how the comparable worth of women in a work place is less than men. Women need both comparable skills and knowledge in the workplace in order to compete with men. Also women are held to such a low standard in the work place that they have to fight for equality. When domestic violence enters the work place where women are already seen as unequal, it makes them an even greater victim of inequality both at home and at work.  Women have to constantly fight the toils of inequality in both a domestically violent home and a disempowered economic system at work. This is why organizations like MVP are necessary because they not only inform people, but the fight the injustice done unto women in domestic violence situations. This organization lives out its mission by educating, inspiring, and empowering men and women, just like me, to responds to domestic violence.

RECIPROCITY:

Through planning events and talking with the director I have learned a lot about the organization. I have understood how communication is key when try to get things accomplished in a group setting. I have also been able to learn a lot through my group members and this organization and about being organized. By contacting organizations and planning events I have been able to improve my communication skills and organization skills. I hope to continue growing through this experience, and helping women of domestic violence.

 

WORKS CITIED

 

    Johnson, Vicki. Domestic Violence Creeping into the Workplace. http://www.ronsachs.com/domesticviolence.shtml

 

   Kirk, Gwyn , and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Making a Home, Making a Living. 5th ed. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 207-210. Print.

   http://www.workplacesrespond.org/learn/the-facts/what-is-workplace-violence