Service Learning Activism Log #1

1.      Patricia met with the president of VOX - Cristina Calandruccio. Unfortunately, I could not accompany her because I had a class that interfered with their meeting. Patricia reported back to me however, and informed me that they discussed Men's Health Week and the HPV awareness event being produced by Rachel Collins. Patricia and Cristina also discussed the movie event we had planned to host and came to a mutual conclusion that the event should be held in an on-campus setting (renting a room). In order to get a larger turn-out, we would find it effective if you encouraged your students to attend by offering extra credit. Successes: I still ended up meeting Cristina when I went to meet Patricia at the library, which I was very content about. Aside from that however, a success was changing our setting to a more effective environment. Pitfalls: Not being able to go with Patricia to discuss the event. Next week we should get the ball rolling by renting the room on-campus and make a Facebook event and invite our friends to attend.

2.      Our Service Learning project directly correlates with the last reading we were assigned from the textbook Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives; “Women’s Health,” pp. 211-224 for the reasons that it discusses how reproductive health reflects on women’s perceptions of themselves. This topic is brought up numerous times; “Sexually transmitted infection can affect how a woman feels about her body and her partner and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease or infertility” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 215). Our event will be effective because sex is a popular topic for almost everyone and raising awareness about healthier sex will only encourage people to be responsible with contraception and help maintain relationships with foundations on respect; “…factors that limit women’s ability to influence their ability to influence their partners to wear condoms…include the power dynamics between men and women, women’s assumptions about what it means to be a ‘good lover,’ and their ideals of giving and sharing” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 215).

3.      Reciprocity: This is the first time I’ve ever been able to actually label myself as an activist and part of the progressive community and it’s really refreshing to be able to surround myself with people who have similar viewpoints as me – makes me feel a little less cynical.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspective. 5th. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 211-218. Print.