Merry Christmas

I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but I just wanted to say I had a great time with all of you this semester. I learned a lot and was inspired to embrace my feminist roots and carry on the work of those who have gone on before us! I hope everyone else was inspired to make a difference in the lives of others. Even the small things count; in many cases it is the small gestures of kindess that make the biggest impact. Thank you all for a wonderful experience. I hope you all do well on finals and then are able to breathe a little easier, enjoy Christmas, and get ready for another semester at GSW!

our group did our presentation on wednesday, and it went really well. our group worked really well together and we thought our presentation was going to be short because most of us were nervous and i know i dont like to talk infront on a class but it actually lasted 20 minutes and we had a video.

In Awe. Pure Awe

For the Tuesday and Thursday night class.

The groups that went tonight - you left me in awe. Your honesty was only surpassed by your humbleness. Your stories were so personal, so deep - that I could not believe you felt comfortable enough to share them. Personal battles with cancer, domestic violence cases, and countless stories that truly need to be told in our ever changing world. Thank you for allowing us in your lives tonight. After tonight, I knew that this class was worth all the laughs and tears throughout the semester. Each of you are now a hand print on my heart, and I thank you so much for letting me in your lives. I hope our friendship doesn't end with this class.

This blog needs to be kept open for us to keep in touch. I know that in the coming weeks and months, our lives will change - our stories will become deeper - and we can be there for one another whenever we need that second opinion, someone to keep us stable, accountable - someone who can be that shoulder.

Again, thank you for being an inspiration to me. You all will be with me forever.

Your friend, Tyler Willis

Time to Rock and Roll!

Group 7 is set for our presentations tonight, and we are excited to share our experience with our class. It is definitely something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I am also excited about the next "health spotlight"! I have received a couple of phone calls from people who saw our ad in the paper and was interested to know when the next one was. I also got a call from RCI director, Gayle Alston. She was interested in possibly speaking about how caregiving impacts women's health. Also, we had our event where I live--at the Starlight Place community room. My property manager organizes events for the community and they are also held at the community room. She was so excited when I asked if I could hold the event there. She asked if we were going to do it again sometime in the future. So, there is definitely a desire and need to do this. So, I just think that it should continue, maybe once per year. I'm willing--how 'bout it awesome group seven??? ;) I enjoyed the presentations on Tuesday, especially the "self-defense" group's. Looks like you guys had as much fun as we did! I know we all will benefit from taking this class. I also liked the "body image" group's concept. The only thing is--I didn't have a bad experience in the dining hall. The stuff was good (to me), and they had a variety of choices, some healthy and some not. My mother (also a student) was with me and she enjoyed it too. Maybe that day was just a good day, I don't know. We chose the salad bar, it was fresh that day. We only went that one time, so I really can't comment much on it. (There is just one dining hall on campus, right?) I guess the point of our project was to emphasize the importance of making good choices for your health. That will mean that a person will have to choose the salad instead of a burger if he/she wants to live longer. And, it is not always about quantity of years. It is about quality of life. No one wants to life out their days battling obesity and the diseases caused by obesity. I was on YouTube reveiwing some of our videos, and when mine was done playing, a video popped by another Aisha (not me), and I played it because I liked her name :) Anyway, she was talking about how her university dining hall resembled a mall food court. They had a Burger King, a Sbarros, and a KFC. I agree--there should be better choices. But, when it boils down to it--the choice is yours...

(If you want to see that youtube video, I think that you can put in "Aisha in PR" in the search box. BTW, PR stands for Puerto Rico.)

AY Alaman

Random Post

I spent a lot of time thinking about this before I posted it, so please - don't think I'm just saying this because I'm a "worry freak."

I know that at the end of our class (TR 7:30 - 8:45), a lot of us started to have conversations about the random difficulties that we all incurred, but honestly we all need to think about the actions that could happen if we send a letter to the school. If we include any names in the letter - it could be jobs lost, her reputations ruined, etc etc etc. We as students could also have some type action taken against us. If we really want anything to happen, I think that if we all came together as a class - discussed what happened to each group - write down what happened, then call and ask the president if he'd be interested in hearing about it...... then that could be easier on the entire situation.

I just know that if we send a letter to the school calling people out, then there definitely will be some type of reaction -- and I personally do not want anything negative to come from such a positive class.

Tyler Willis

Our group was responsible for the Body Image Project. I think that our project went very well. However, some things did not turn out the way we expected. The results from our survey were interesting to me. All of the participants were college students and this shows how they view their own body image.
Since we are sending the results from our comment box to Cody King and the Dining Hall Administration, I hope that we see results in the near future. It seems to me that the food is getting worse than it was last year. Hopefully they are willing to take the comments into consideration without it hurting their feelings.
I think that our presentation we smoothly. We presented all of the results from the surveys, comment box, and movie night. I was impressed with the participation that we had for all of these events.
I learned so much last night during our presentations. I really enjoyed the self-defense presentation becasue it could be useful in everyday life. I also enjoyed working on this project with Michelle and Joe.

There was a blog I posted the first week of Nov. but I cannot find it (not so good with computer stuff) so here is a retype of Nov. 9th...
We were at a great star and we had at least changed our idea three times when i finally came up with the great idea of doing a youtube.com video of the campus folk at G.S.W on their ideas and views on feminism.
The group loved the idea!!
and we were off worrking on the proposal! We each have our own little parts in the project and at the same time when we meet we get together and help out each other on all of our responsibilities...
We were off to a great start and well prepared to propose and show our press release at a pretty early point and time! yay!

Presentation Follow Up

Our group was responsible for the Body Image presentation that we presented on Tuesday, December 2nd. Overall, I think our presentation went well; I felt that we held the class's attention and our presentation was effective in getting the point across. In hindsight, we should have reworded our second survey question, as it seemed to lead the surveyed persons to a certain conclusion instead of really letting them decide for themselves. I also would have liked to have gotten more comment sheets, but we did have a little trouble finding cooperative participants. Also, some of the people who filled out comment sheets seemed to be trying to get rid of us by simply saying "yes, the food is healthy." I think if we were to do the project in another way, then the results would show that more than 64% of the dining hall's patrons would think that the food was unhealthy. As for the movie night, I think it worked out very well; we got quite a few participants, but not enough so that the small room we had reserved would be too full.

Overall, I think our project went well, and I am in the process of typing the letters I will send to both the dining hall and Cody King, who will ensure that the results of the survey will reach the school's administration.

Analysis of results

Our group was responsible for the Body Image project that was presented yesterday, but I thought I would include a brief analysis of our project's results on the blog for everyone to access at their own leisure.

For the survey: Men rated themselves an average of 7.7 on a self-esteem scale of 10; women rated themselves lower, only an average of 6.5.
For the second question, when asked if they would date someone who did not have a supermodel body, 91% of the men said that they would, while 9% said that they wouldn't. For the women we surveyed, 93% said that they would date someone who did not have a supermodel body, and 7% said they would not.
For our third question, whether men are portrayed positively or negatively in the media, 55% of men said positive, and 45% said negative; 53% of women said that men were portrayed positively, and 47% said that they were portrayed negatively.
For the final question, whether women are portrayed positively or negatively in the media, the men were split equally: 50% said positive and 50% said negative. The women, however, see themselves portrayed in a different light: 91% of women we surveyed said that women were portrayed negatively, while only a meager 9% saw them portrayed positively.

For our comment box, 64% of those who filled out sheets said that they dining hall food was unhealthy, while 36% said that it was healthy. Most who called the food unhealthy made comments about too much grease, lack of an adequate salad bar, and fewer carbohydrates.

For the movie night, we had 11 participants. Everyone who showed up to the movie seemed to enjoy it, as the comment sheet we had showed; no one thought the movie was bad. We also showed a variety of videos from the Dove campaign for real beauty website, and everyone also seemed to enjoy them; we had planned for the movies to play in the background, but everyone was watching them intently. I think our movie night was a resounding success.

Group Participation

I think each member did the best they could with every aspect of this project. We can all find things we could have done better. I think our group communicated well with each other, and we chose the part of health we were interested in. I am sorry I was not there when our presentation began. I left work a little after 7:oo p.m., and I arrived at the Methodist home at the very end of Brooke's part. The girls were very responsive to my part.

It is the last week of the class and we are rescheduled to present or project tomorrow.. I must say I am a little worried because the projects before us have presented pretty awesomely!!
My group has met up today, going over how we will be presenting and how to step up our presentation.
SInce our video is on youtube.com and people have actually taken a look at it i really hope that gives our group a one up.
I am praying for an A!! We worked hard and long on this!
Its been fun

Health Project

I'm not as pleased as I thought I'd be with the near-final results of our project. As far as implementation goes, I think we did everything we reasonably could, but it seems that everything we tried to do was cut short. The petition that I wanted to begin in order to coerce insurance companies into adding birth control to their list of covered medications was stopped dead in its tracks by an email from the president of the local branch informing that such a petition would have no effect on the company's viewpoints. As wonderful as the girls were at the Methodist Children's Home, I felt that they were unreceptive of our topic. This is understandable, I suppose: what teenage girl is very preoccupied with health issues which affect primarily older women?
I was informed today that the Hawkinsville Dispatch would not print my article about insurance discrimination, because I am not a regular contributor to the paper, nor am I on the payroll. Seriously- how am I supposed to get the word out if no one wants to hear it?!?!
I'm frustrated beyond belief, because the end of the project is upon us, and I feel as though I've accomplished nothing as far as my personal activism goals where my portion of the project was concerned.
If I had it all to do over, Ithink I'd have chosen a more appealing topic- something that widely concerns women in my age-group, in order to gain a more enthusiastic interest from those involved.

Notes from Presentation give at the Children Methodist Home

My part of the presentation was on HIV/AIDS. I used a flyer from the Sumter County Health Department supplied to them by the Office of Pubic Health and Science. One of the sections talks about"You are more than just a body". Since we were at a Methodist home for Children I shared two scriptures with the girls. The first scripture was Matthew 24:43 which states:

"But know one thing, that if the householder had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have kept awake and not allowed his house be broken into." New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Revised 1984.

I told the girls that HIV/AIDS is similar to the thief mentioned above, the question they need to ask themselves is "Will they keep awake an not allow HIV/AIDS to rob them." Staying awake means being aware of the consequences that comes with the choices we make about sex and our bodies.

I talked to the girls about the information I found at the CDC on their HIV fact sheet. The HIV fact sheet gave several risk factors they are:

• Biologic vulnerability
• Lack of recognition of their partner's risk factors
• Inequality in relationships
• Having sex with older men who are more likely to be infected with HIV.

The girl ages at the Methodist Home range from 11-18 years of age. I shared some of the facts on the flyer such as:

1.) Almost 1,000,000 teens become pregnant each year.
2.) Abstinence not having sex---is the only 100% sure way to protect against pregnancy and STDs.
3.)Teens are more likly to have problems during pregnancy.
4.) Babies of young teen mothers are more liklely to be born with serious health problems
5.)Sexually transmitted diseases are at epidemic levels (STDs).

Some of the questions the Teen Talk flyer suggest teens ask themselves about sex are:

1.) When I get married, will I be glad I waited to have sex?
2.)Would my parents approve of me having sex now?
3.) If have a child, am I responsible enough to provide for its emotional and financial support?
4.) If the relationship break up, will I be glad I had sex with this person?
5.)Am I sure no one is pushing me into having sex?
6.)Do I know how to tell my partner I don't want to have sex now?
7.) Am I absolutely sure my partner is not infected with an STD including HIV/AIDS?

As I asked each question, I tried to get a response from the older girls. The older girls were kind of afraid to speak in front of the houseparent, several responsed. I did not strictly speak about HIV/AID, although I tried talk about issues relevant to the subject such as good communication with parents and ways girls end up in certain situation that may lead to an unwanted outcomes.

I ended my part of the presentation with another scripture 2Samuel 13:1-19 which states "And Amnon began the hating her with a very great hatred, because the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her." I told the girls this character represented how when indivdual allows his or her emotions to get the best of him or her it could lead to unexpected and unwanted consequences. I told them to stay positive, and to keep their minds on uplifting things. They listened attentively.

Listen to Your Body

I was so happy with our presentation tonight. I think it was fun, interactive, and educational. The other groups did well, too. I was so shocked to learn that 80% of doctors do not know that heart disease is the number 1 killer of women. It would not be uncommon for laymen to not have this information, but healthcare professionals?! That is disturbing. It further reiterates to me that when we feel like something is wrong, don't stop until someone listens to you. It is your body. You are in this skin everyday, not the doctor, and you know when things are not right. Never fail to get a second or third, or fourth if it takes it, to get the care you deserve. As Ivy said tonight, women are often blown off for overreacting, but this should not stop us from getting the care we need and deserve. If we do not listen to our bodies and seek medical advice, it may be too late.

project

so we went to talk to the girls at the childrens home at the church last tuesday, and it went fairly well. we definetly thought they were going to be younger girls and they ended up being 13-18. they were not really into our discussion at first, but after a few minutes they were talking and asked a few questions. we even got the girls to play four square and we gave them jump ropes for our exercise portion. i thought they would think the jump ropes were kind of lame but they were actually into it. overall i think it went over pretty well and tomorrow we do our presentation in front of the class

Positive Body Image Final Entry

So yesterday we presented our project in front of the class. I have just completed my final revision of my evaluation of the project. Overall I feel that our project was very successful and lives were touched, both ours and the girls. The girls at the Boys and Girls Club were great to work with and I feel like our presentation made a difference in their very impressionable minds. I hope that in the future (preferably when I finish school) I may be able to volunteer in a facility like the Boys and Girls Club. It really makes your heart feel good to know you can be a part of someones life in that way. Thanks Dr. K! :-)

~Robin Stinson~

Happily Ever After

Hello Everyone,

We are still collecting dresses and tuxedos for our Happily Ever After project. I am really talking to the men, because we have received a lot of gowns, but we haven't received any tuxedos or suits. So men, we really need your help on this. You still have time. We decided to extend the time frame on this. If you have any questions please contact one of our group members.

Thanks a bunches,
Latoya Mills


Nicole
Latoya B.
Sharda

Finished project

Yesterday we finished up the last touches on what has been a very successful project this past month. It has been amazing to ear some of the comments I have gotten about it. Some people would say "you mean heart disease kills more women than breast cancer?" Yes! It does, in fact it kills more women than ALL cancers combined. Can you believe that? I couldn't until we did the research. Women are just blind to what could really end up killing them and its sad that more people dont try to open up their eyes. Especially health care providers, you would think their would be more information and help women could receive. I think everyone could benefit from learning more about the disease, because even if your not a woman, it could be affecting your mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, aunt, or just a really good friend. Please everyone try to get involved. I plan on furthering my activism even after this class is over. Go to womensheart.org to find out more information for yourself.

Lauren Willis

Presentation

We will present our information tomorrow night in class, and I am so excited. We have some great photos of the self defense class we are eager to share with everyone, as well as a few techniques we picked up. I hope everyone will find our information interesting and empowering.

Oh, and FIRE!!

The Finished Project

Well our group presentation is tomorrow night and we put the finishing touches on our presentation over the weekend. I feel that with our project to promote awareness about heart disease among women went really well. By hanging the flyers and information sheets around campus as well as in the community helped to spread our important message to the public. Our flyers informed everyone of our GO RED day, which was November 20th. It went so well!! We passed out red ribbons in front of the game room to several people. It was also so rewarding when people would stop and say "I wore my red today!" It was awesome! However, you can't help but want to do more to help educate women of this disease. The research that our group did for the project astonished me. I really think if everyone knew the facts the we discovered while researching would save so many lives. Hopefully, our project was able to inform women of their risk of heart disease! But if you want to find out more information, you can go to any heart organization web site or wear red on February 6, 2009, which is the national wear red day!!!

the end of the group project

So it is the end of our group project. I wish i could have done more for the shelter but i am happy with all the donations. Even though we had our problems we pulled through it. To my group members I so Happy we got the chance to work together. I do believe we hav e helped out many women with our work. I have to tip my hat to the people that do charity work on the side of their everyday life. It is a lot of work doing this.

Public Speech

Lindsey's father came to the school and spoke to a group of ladies about Domestic Violence. It turned out to be really good and educating. He discussed the many different causes and who that's affected by domestic violence. He mentioned many different cases and forms of abuse that most people wouldn't even think was abuse. I know I myself didn't think these certain cases were considered abuse even though I had been experiencing it all. I spoke out on my case of domestic violence to the group that was there and it was like a shocker to them because I was so young. They made it known that they would have never guessed that I had been apart of that type of relationship. I just told my story to make it known that this doesn't just affect old woman and woman in relationships ...it affects all!

Good job

I enjoyed working on the group project with my members. The event at the Methodist Home went well. I tried my best to not talk about women's health to the point that it went right over the young girl's heads, but everything turned out wonderful. I mainly learned that it is never too late to take care of yourself, especially when you are younger. The things a young person intake will affect them later on in life. I enjoyed looking up the statistics, even though that was a little depressing, but at least the part about what to do about health issues was more on a positive note. Once again, I appreciated working with my group. GOOD JOB!!!

our project

We finished our project tonight. Overall I think we did a great job and i am ready for the presentation tomorrow.

Tonight my group and I finished the last touched on our presentation to the class that is due tomorrow. I am not as nervous as I was for the other assignments that were due for this project, but I'm sure that will change by tomorrow. I just hope everyone pulls through and we are able to inspire our classmates.

The group and I tried to post our P.S.A. on youtube and facebook but the video would not load properly. I tried everything I could think of to make the video work. Does anyone know what the problem could be?

Insurance and Women

As I was doing research for my portion of our group project, the subject of which is insurance discrimination against women, I came across several facts which should be of interest to you- most of you being of age to purchase your own health insurance. These are just a few of the outrageous ways in which insurance companies discriminate against women:

1. There exist no federal guidelines determining insurance costs in the individual market. This enables private insurance companies to raise prices for women, often citing that “women have greater insurance demands than men.”

2. Often, women pay up to 50% more than men of the same age for the same coverage. Upwards of 140% greater charges have been reported in states such as Missouri.

3. In some cases, women can be denied coverage entirely if she’s the victim of domestic violence.

4. Most insurance companies charge outrageous surcharges for maternity coverage, and a recent NY Times story spotlighted how a C-section can be classified as a pre-existing condition that leads to higher premiums or a denial of coverage.

5. There is not a single health-insurance company that lists Invitro-fertilization among its covered procedures.

6. One of every ten women who work full-time do not have health insurance.

7. The survey also reported that 41 percent of uninsured women did not fill a prescription due to costs, as did 17 percent of women with health insurance. Additionally, 26 percent of women admitted to skipping or reducing a dose of their medication to make it last longer.

8. Most insurance companies do not cover oral or other birth-control methods, but will offer a small grant on elective abortions. In the same vein, most insurance companies will cover partially, if not entirely, anti-impotence medications such as Viagra.

9. Insurers rarely cover reversal surgery for tubal ligations, and women who have undergone mastectomies are often only partially covered, if at all, for breast-reconstruction surgery.

If you are an uninsured woman, the SWHR offers information on the following programs:
* The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Provides free or low-cost mammograms and Pap tests for women over the age of 39.

* Maternal and Child Services. Provides health care for low-income women who are pregnant with children under the age of 22.

* Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Provides education on nutrition and child care for low-income, breastfeeding, and postpartum women. WIC also provides health coverage for children under the age of five.

***If you do not qualify for government-sponsored care, you may obtain care through free clinics, prescription drug assistance plans or temporary state insurance—to name just a few.
For more information on women's health research and assistance programs, contact the SWHR at (202) 223-8224 or the National Women's Health Information Center at (800) 944-WOMAN.

What do i tell my friend?

Im so excited im home for the Holiday!
I ate alot..my body image was the last thing on my mind ( go Turkey dat).
The most exciting part for me was to meet up with my high school friends who actually
stuck with me. Wednesday night i had my cousin and a friend from church come over, we were all Haitian, tall as heck ( 5'9...5'11..and 6'0) and skinny not by choice but thanks to genetics. We were watching some african movies and there was a skinny character and she went through hell just because she was skinny, she was called a prostitute and a skinny hungry B*, but she would be considered fine in America. That scene enabled me to bring up my project to my cousin and friend and we discussed it. While we were talking my friend from school asked if she could come over, so i said yes...she came we had fun and about 30 mins later she said she was leaving and i asked her why and she said she felt out of place.
I accompanied her to her car ( where we caught up on what was new with our college life) and she told me the reason why she felt out of place was because she was surrounded by beautiful tall and skinny friends....
Now i felt like crap because in my mind i thought she felt out of place because we kept on switching from english to french to creole and she didn't understand. I never thought that such a beautiful girl as her would feel out of place because of that.

A Youtube Video on HIV/AIDS

This video gives basic facts about HIV/AIDS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUacu2LeFCM&feature=related

Follow up on the movie night (aka blog 2)

Our groups movie night showing of  "A League of their Own" was a success. We only had around 11 people show up outside of our group, but I think that was about all we could have fit comfortably for a long movie in the room we had reserved. Everyone that was there seemed to really enjoy the movie as laughs were heard across the room throughout the night. Some of the comments we received afterward really showed how much they got out of the movie. I was very pleased to see that they did get the message. Also the dove videos before the start of the movie were a hit. It was nice to see them all staring at the other monitor to see how dove was trying to help the issue. I learned a lot from our surveys and comment sheets. I learned that the truth scares institutions(the dining hall) when really it may not be that bad. I don't want to reveal the results until our presentation. But i must say i was surprised what came out of it. I hope that our group can add a little extra effort to turn in the comments to the dining hall or the appropriate officials. I was also pleasantly surprised by the survey results. While some of the stereotypes that we were suspecting came out, there was also some good hearted answers. I learned that while the stereotypes need help there are some people out there that they aren't reaching so there is hope for the future. I also attended the P.S.A. announcement. I really enjoyed to see how another group took the same issue. I enjoyed how it really built on what we were trying to accomplish. It was very interesting to see the results of our survey pop out onto the screen. As I did feel that they were similar in the sense of what people would say in front of a camera and what they would write on a sheet of paper. Well I have learned a lot through this experience and it is one that i will never forget. I hope that some day even this small step we took here at GSW will make a difference in the students that we did talk to and the way they lead their life and the lives of their children. 

I just wanted to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences with my group for our project. It has been fun collecting these dresses, despite the fact that no one has actually contacted me. Thank goodness for the people in Americus (and in class!) that have donated their formal wear. I can't wait to see everyone's presentations in class the next time.

Working Away! - Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Ok so Wow! Look at everyone just blogging away about their projects, I'm really sorry that i wasn't able to make it to any of the events I've been a little busy...we are moving! But that hasn't stopped me from working with my group on our project. On the 24th we met at sharons house and did our stories that you will be able to see in our presentation. We are also going to meet December 1st, at my house! Well I'm really not sure what else to say but we will be working away on our project, i'm also bringing a vegan style chocolate cake on the 4th yum!!!

Almost the end...

Wow, this project has turned out to be a wonderful experience. So far I have learned a lot about body image, and was able to connect with my classmates. I feel like I have a better understanding of body image than I did when I started this project. I also feel as if my own view of myself has changed. Now, when I look into the mirror I try not to pick out flaws and just focus on the positive. I realise that the media is the one influencing me to judge my appearance. Also, I meet some really cool people during the process of the project. Normally I would of just gone to class and then go back to my dorm room. Because of this project I was able to connect with my classmates.
Hopeful our group's presentation of the P.S.A was able to impact others. I feel as if my own friends were impacted in a positive way, because we had an interesting discussion about body image after the premier of the video. I just hope more people were able to take away a new outlook after watching the video.
Although I am nervous I am also excited about the presentation to the class. This was such a fun experience I want to be able to share with others the fun our group had.

Thanks for listening:)
Jessica

Blog 2

This has been a very fun project. I have enjoyed working with my group as well. I have read over some of the other blogs, it is good to know that ya'll are doing well in your projects. I am really excited about the presentations.
I have learned a lot about body image through this project. I knew that alot of women always struggle with their own body image. However, I did not know that children as young as fourth graders were on diets. I think the Love Your Body Campaign is a great way to get increase positive thoughts in women. This has made me look at how I view myself. I have learned a lot of information that will be useful later in life.

Blog 2

My group's topic is women's heart disease. I have learned so much from the project. I didn't realize how serious heart disease was before now. Being a woman the topic has really hit home. I would like to be able to continue being active with awareness even after the we are finished with the project. We just held our on Wear Red Day last week but national Wear Red Day is actually in Febuary so I plan on participating with that as well. My group plans on letting everyone know a little more about that the day we present our project.

today my group (amber beverly and melanie) are going to the girls home to discuss our health issue topics. my topic is benefits of exercise and we are going to start around 7

Personalizing the Project...

Group Seven (Aisha, Sharon, Amneh, and D'ete) took last night to briefly film our personal stories as a part of our project. Every woman, regardless of age has been affected in some way by the many health issues we all face. We are no different. In just talking with my group prior to filming this, I learned that we all have had (and are still facing) some terrifying health scares. We have been personally impacted by our own diagnosis or those of the women/young women close to us. When we did the seminar, we also found that many of the participants were either cancer survivors themselves, or they had family members who have battled this disease. But every person there had a personal story to share. I have found that this area has a high rate of cancer. I would like to know what environmental factors that are possibly contributing to this. (???) It was also very inspiring to work with Sharon, who has an incredibly positive outlook. She also has a firm belief in God, as I do. She has kept a smile on her face--even through all she is having to face. Being diagnosed with cancer was a devastating blow to her, but she has shown us what perseverance looks like. I didn't expect her to make the yard sale we had because we all met at my house at 6 a. m.--and it was dark, cold and damp! But she, and the rest of Awesome Group Seven were there bright and early and ready to roll! We have had some great laughs, very funny moments, and have thoroughly enjoyed this project. One of the other bloggers thanked Dr. K. I would like to do the same. THANK YOU DR. K.! This project has really opened my eyes. This project has also sparked a desire to do more activism! I would like to continue in some aspect of wellness awareness events for this area. I would like to thank everyone who made this project a success--especially my group members who did such a great job from start to finish!

Sincerely, Aisha Y. Alaman

The outcome of the Premiere

We had our premiere for our PSA last Thursday where we had refreshments, watched the PSA and passed out flyers about body image. Everything turned out great. The PSA was really good and I think it sent out a clear message about Positive Body Image. And I would also like to think everyone who came out to see and be a part of our PSA.

Americus Newspaper

Our project sparked the sheriff for a photo op moment, so we'll be in the paper for our self-defense course & our teddy bear/cell phone donations. I just want everyone to know that I will definitely drop some of y'alls projects and the entire class projects of November. Dr. K will definitely be getting her name in the paper, too. I'm just hoping they ask questions about why we did this project and what not, and not just a picture for the sheriff... ya know? We'll see - if it's just a picture, trust me I'll make them interview us.

Congrats everyone on a wonderful November of activism!

Future Generations

After having a weekend to let the experiences of Friday truly sink in, I have come to treasure those few hours that my group spent at the Boys and Girls club. The girls were so young and they looked so innocent, but I know that even in their young age they have already had to face people telling them that they are not good enough and that they are not valued. I love the fact that my group was able to look them in those same innocent eyes and tell them that they are treasured and important. We were able to break the bondage that the familiar lies had trapped them in and we were able to offer truth.
Along with the presentation of truth, we were also able to tell them why they should fill privileged to be a young woman. Even in their youth they were able to proudly proclaim reasons such as "they get to wear cute clothes" and "they get to always go first in line." They understand that being a woman is a good thing and it is something in which they should be proud. I was able to address they younger generation and tell them how special each one of them are and how they each have different things going of them. I honestly believe that if they could grasp that concept then they will never be held back by the lies of society and culture. Each one of them would take pride in the face that they know who they are and that they are proud of how they look. Because of this I see a generation rising up who does not look for afermation from modles or boys to tell them that they are valuable; they have already discovered that fact on their own.

Implementation In Progress!

My group (Amber's group) will be presenting a seminar about women's health issues at the Methodist Children's Home on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7:00 p.m.

Project:Feminism in progress

This past week my group and I have gotten a lot of work done. We have interviewed a few studenets and faculty @ G.S.W for our youtube.com video and Ashley has done a great job in being in charge of reviseing and editing the video (She is the best one with computers in our group). We have posted the flyers and at the same time completely finished our project besides presenting it to our class.
I must say I am very proud of the video have accomplished it should be quite interesting. This group project has went alot smoother than most group projects I have done in the past especially since I am an art student. Group projects just do not work with artists.
I am hoping a lot of people will watch, blog and enjoy our video!
I think the most interesting part about interviewing our peers at G.S.W. is alot of reactions about the idea of being on youtube dispite the fact that it is for a good cause. One professor in particular took it way out of proportion besdies the fact that she turned us down, saying she does not know what we would do with the video when we simply specified that it for a feminism project in a positive women's studies class. What a waste of our time...pointless and unnessisary!!! But on a positive and much more helpful note there was one woman who was apart of the staff at G.S.W that was very supportive and told us she very proud of what we had been doing.
What an experience!

I wish that I could have participated in the Self Defense class, but with my wedding on the 8th and being out of town the week after, plus working on getting my groups yard sale together, it was not going to be possible for me to travel to Americus to participate.

Thanks to everyone who have donated to our Prom Drive. We have gotten some gorgeous dresses so far that these girls will absolutely love!!

Nicole Sproul

They stole my heart

As soon as my group got to the boys and girls club on Friday and we were instantly met with challenges... "the kids won't get here until 4pm," "I know we told you to prepare for six girls but there are eleven," and so on. All we could do is grin and hope for the best and that is exactly what happened. Stephanie brought some friends along and they ran to the store to get items to make up for the lack of goody bags that we had. Her friends were such good help. They added to the conversation with the girls, took pictures, and basically did the behind the scenes things that we as group members didn't have time to do once we started presenting our body image workshop material.
Another challenge that we had to meet was the age of the girls. They were much younger than what we had origionally thought they would be and we all had to "improvise" and Stephanie s lovingly has taught us to do. Mine was particularly had to adapt because I had planned to talk about fitness and body image to young women who were already going through puberty and all of the changes that that process includes. The girls that we had looked like they had not had their adult teeth for longer than a year. I had no clue how to talk to them alot body image and even such topics as eating disorders. I actually thought it would be a little unwise to bring up anorexia or any of the others. So, I decided to focus on the aspect of fitness that involves being active on sports teams or choirs. Basically anything that had to do with getting out of the house and not only moving around but also interacting socially with their peers. I spoke on how there is no "one perfect body" and that they are unique and perfect in their own way. They should take pride in how they look and how they are healthy. I hope that in some way, through the chaos of attempting to change material five minutes before addressing the group, that what I said really resonated in the hearts of the girls. I hope in made so type of difference.

WOW! Great time at the Body Image Workshop

We had a blast with the girls at the Boys and Girls Club in Americus. The girls were absolutely wonderful. They were so attentive and such active participants in our program. They listened well and had a lot to offer when we presented them with our questions. We took pictures and made name tags and scrapbook journals. I feel that overall we made such a positive impact on these girls. All of the members of our group felt that it was very informative for both us as well as the girls! We had a great time.

Self Defense Class

Last nights self defense class was a blast. I have to say that I was, at first, a little worried that no one was going to show up because of the Open House thing going on downtown, but to my surprise, the turn out was great. The instructor Robert Littlejohn was very informative and very funny. He taught us so many techniques and how to use everyday things you would find in a purse like a set of car keys, and surprisingly, a credit card. I feel like this project was much more than just a project, it was a way for us to help our community. More importantly, to help women protect themselves if the situation ever occurs that they need to use these newly learned techniques.

~Ashley K.

FIRE!

I must say I was very pleased with our project! I went into this semester dreading the project thinking it was going to be really hard, but all it took was four minds to get together and come up with this empowering self-defense class! I was very excited after we got going with the project, but something in the back of my mind kept telling me that no one was going to come. Much to my surprise, we had a great turn-out. Everyone learned basis defense tactics that I hope will never have to be used, but if so, I hope it will save your life! We collected over 100 stuffed animals that I will turn into the agencies to use and we collected about 25 cell phones! I was pleased and I can't wait until our presentation in class. I think everyone will enjoy our "show"!

Lauren

I know I just posted a really positive blog about my group's project, but felt compelled to post this after I read Amneh's blog. This is in response to her disappointment with no one from class showing up to their project but I decided to post a new blog in hopes that more of you would read it!

Amneh,

Well, I live an hour and a half away and commute to school so it was not financially possible for me to add an additional day to my driving expense. Otherwise I would have been there. I am sorry I could not attend because you tackled such an important topic.

If it was possible for me to attend or do something to help another group's project, I did it. I donated dresses, wore red (and was surprised more of you did not, I mean how hard is that to do), let one group video me, and went to the PSA about image, all while working diligently on my group's project, tending to my mother who had surgery, doing projects and work for my other classes, and raising three young children.

I, like you, was disappointed that other class members did not try hard enough to show support for other groups. I am not familiar with the other WS class, but to my knowledge we only had ONE girl from any of the other groups show up to our self defense class. I do not know her name, but I thank her for taking time to come to a FREE event. All it required was time and a willingness to learn.

Even though we had a great turnout, I was highly disappointed with how apathetic our class members were. By the lack of support to fellow classmates and their projects, it shows that most of us were only looking out for ourselves and our grades. The whole purpose of this project was to encourage us, women of all ages, to get involved with our community, our school, and the feminist movement. Maybe Dr. K should make that a requirement when, and if, she makes this type of assignment in the future.

FIRE!!

WE HAD SO MUCH FUN LAST NIGHT!!! Our self defense class was a huge success last night. All our hard work really paid off and we all learned some great techniques to defend ourselves in the event of an attack. It was so great to see women of all ages - college students, women from the community, young girls, and even faculty - all together for our project. It was not even about this being a project for class. It was about empowering women and giving back to a community that has invested so much in the lives of its citizens.

Robert Littlejohn was not only knowledgeable, he was funny and kept the crowd laughing as we learned self defense techniques. We all had the opportunity to do some hands-on moves and learned how really basic items we all have with us everyday can save our lives.

We are so excited and cannot wait to share some of the things we learned with our class.

FIRE! ;)

Premier and self defense class

The premier went well. To my surprise we had a really big turn out. The film was pretty good and the people in attending seemed to really enjoy it. Later that night i went to the self defense class. It was about a hour long and very interesting. I learned that you can cut someone with a credit card. Also when you walk to your car at night put your keys in between your knuckles and if someone tries to attack cut them. The class was really good and it should be offered as a class at gsw.

Today was Wear Red Day and it turned out pretty good I think. A lot of girls in Ivy and I's sorority wore red. I also saw a lot of people on campus wearing red today. I hope yall did! We sat out in from of the game room from about 2-2:30 giving out red ribbons and talking to people about heart disease. Some people even stopped and took pictures with us. The guys in the game room were really getting into it and getting people to come "wear red" with our ribbons. Josh Curtin came by and had on his red shirt. Our group (Lauren, Ivy, and Erikka ) has been meeting once a week to prepare for today. We made flyers and put them up around campus and at businesses around town. We attempted to have our press release in the ATR but there were some communication errors. We held a group informatial session with the Kappa Delta sorority where they all took quizzes to find out their risk for heart disease. I hope everyone's projects are going great.
**Lauren W.**

Self-Defense Course

Tonight was amazing. We had about 40 people to turn out, and we seriously had about 100 teddy bears and a good amount of cell phones and charges. It really was wonderful to see everyone actually get in there and do some of the techniques and their smiles were wonderful. I learned a lot - but I'll wait till the presentation night to talk about it. It was such a great experience, and he offered to make this a semester thing - so next semester.... new project:


WE'RE STARTING A GROUP ON CAMPUS!!

Stay tuned to hear about it all.... it's going to be a lot of fun.

Body Image for Preteens

Tomorrow is our big day. Our group had our final meeting to finish the plans for our Body Image Workshop at the Boys and Girls club. Our presentation/workshop is from 3-6pm on Friday November 21, 2008. We hope to have approximately 10-15 girls during our time at the club. We are all very excited about our individual parts. We hope to get as much out of this workshop as the girls do. If we could make a positive impact on the life of one girl then we feel that our goal has been accomplished.

Premier...

I was nervous showing our video about body image, but everything turned out well. We had a good turn out, and feedback on the comment and sine in sheet. It was so much fun filming everyone, and I think that showed in our video. I just hope some people walked away from our presentation with a more positive outlook towards their bodies.
Although everything worked out well during our premier, there was little group discussion after the film. I tried really hard to ask though provoking question, but most of the audience were non responsive.
If you didn't get a chance to come out to the Premier of Good Enough the group will be posting the video on YouTube and MySpace, and a link will be provided for the blog.
Now the groupis going to be working on the presentation to the class. I'm sure it will go smoothly, because everyone in the group is willing to put forth effort.


Jessica :)

Women's Health Spotlight/Yard Sale

Last Saturday, November 15 was Group 7's (Sharon, Aisha, Amneh, and D'ete) Women's Spotlight Health Seminar/Yard Sale. It was very informative. The topics were hypertension, heart disease and breast cancer. Most of our participants had a personal story to share about their own experiences and issues with health. Our speakers were Marnie Cagle and Valerie Grimes--both Registered Nurses, as well as Billie Gatewood, Founder of the Pink Pals--a support group for women diagnosed with breast cancer. They all really did a great job. We learned some startling facts and figures concerning women's health. I think all of us left that day saying, "I am going to start taking care of my health". That was the goal--to get our participants thinking proactively about their health. We also served "healthy" refreshments to further reinforce our purpose. All in all, it went well!

Aisha Y. Alaman

Love Your Body Campaign

We had a pretty decent turnout for our movie night that was held on November 18 at 7:30. We enjoyed snacks and drinks as we watched "A League of Their Own". Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie and gave us good feedback from it.

Samantha

GO RED!

Our project is to help raise awareness among women about heart disease. Heart disease is the #1 killer among women, which most people do not know. To implement our project we decided to have a GO RED day to help raise awareness. The national GO RED day is Febrauary 6, so for this semester we made our red day for November 20, 2008. In order to get our message out we hung flyers all over campus and in local businesses as well as making a facebook group. Our group also held an informational meeting with the Kappa Delta chapter on campus. We provided the members with information of the warning signs and symptoms of the disease.

Reminder: FREE Self-Defense Course

Tonight at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. - SSC Conference room.

We've been getting a lot of calls from people who have seen our newsletter in the various papers, which has made us quite excited. Hopefully we'll have a decent turn out.

Have a wonderful day!
Tyler Willis

domestic Violence

I went to the group who had their project on domestic violence, and i was schocked at the statistics that were giving although they were from 4 years ago.
If you didn't go and knew about it, you missed out!
Come and support our group tomorrow at 4 in oaks II third floor

Deuces

Reminder!

The Premier of the P.S.A. video entitled Good Enough will be held on Thursday, November 20th at 4:00 p.m. in Oak's two third floor multi purpose room.
Come out and show your support for a positive body image.
There will be free food and drinks!

bloggin'

Ok so this will be my first post since we've had the Health seminar and yard sale. So the seminar went great! I'm not really going to tell to much about it because all the great details will be in our presentation and i don't want to spoil it. So yeah the yard sale is another story, it was raining the day we had it...didn't go to well. We had great speakers at the seminar, two very experienced nurses and the founder of the local Pink Pals group. I will admit i learnt alot at the seminar, somethings were very useful too i also picked up alot of reading material. I was a little disapointed to not see anyone from class or Dr. K but i can understand it was a saturday and it was early in the morning :P My mom didn't even show up! On campus I've seen alot of flyers for the other events, i'm not sure but maybe if we had, had our seminar on a later date more people would have came but oh well. After the seminar it made me want to take a step toward better health, i even donated money to a health organization. I'm really not sure what else to say...
I will say though that since after this experience i have became more aware of health and will go to the doctor regularly, even though i seriously don't like doctors.
I hope everyone's projects are going great and are a big hit i can't wait for presentation day!
I will definately blog more i need more ideas though also more people need to blog i want to comment on some. :) -----Amneh Elyaman

REMINDER!!

Hey Everyone! This a friendly reminder that our group will be having its movie night TOMORROW, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2008 at 7:30 pm in Oaks II on the 3rd floor! We will  be showing "A League of their own" and serving refreshments along with some of the results from our survey's and comment box sheets. We hope to see you there!!! 

Michelle, Joe, and Samantha

Supporting the group with the Prom project

Hey everyone
As i was going through the diff. projects blogs, i noticed the one about the Prom yard sale. I won't be able to make it, but something came to mind.
I have 4 Gorgeous dresses, that i only wore once, i think 2 of them were bridemais dresses ( but are prom type too) and i would love to give them to someone, and make them feel beautiful, and give them the opportunity to feel that they a " positive body image".


So if you know anyone that would love to go to prom but can't afford a dress, let me know( i will gladly Give them free of charge). I will be going home for thanks giving and if i get an answer by then, i will bring the dresses down and even take pics and post them on my face book.

my proportions : im 5'9....150 pounds...lean/muscular....36 B....single...( lol j/k)...but for real yal give me a holla on that!

Deuces
Gheri =)

Outside the box

As Michelle has already informed you, we met with some opposition to our plans in the form of the management staff of the school's dining hall. In response to this, we have decided to go to Josh Curtin for help and get one the tables outside of the dining hall in order to get as many comment sheets as possible filled out. Technically, the dining hall has no influence on the hall outside of its doors, so they cannot stop us this time. We will also probably be walking around campus with surveys and comment sheets in order to get as large a sample group as possible. If you see us around campus and have not yet filled out a comment sheet or survey, please feel free to come get one!

As we are doing this project, I am learning that people are aware that there is a problem, that they realize the media is essentially skewing reality in order to sell products, but no one seems to want to do anything to change it. This saddens me somewhat, but it also makes me want to work that much harder to get people fired up and angry about this abuse of power.

something brought to my attention

I was in dinner yesterday ( after my group and i had questioned a few people on Beauty) , and a group of guys who i questioned earlier called me to their table, and told me that I was just the person they were looking for because of what we were asking them ( in case you do not know my group and i are working on a Positive body image PSA, where we are trying to pass the message that every shape and size is beautiful).
So this one dude told me that he beleives that there should be a MEN's studies class because physical "Perfection" I quote not " Beauty" is a major concern for young men too. His question was " Don't you think it's unfair that We women blame men for creating a MODEL look for women and make a big deal out of it, while women are doing the same thing to men, and no one says anything about it?". My answer was a bit shallow but i said that he was looking for a problem that wasn't there men have much more opportunity then women and looks don't even come into play for them as it is for us. He wasn't too happy.
Was i wrong??

Self-Defense Fliers

I was not able to be a part of Tuesday night group where Tyler, Bridget, and Ashley posted fliers on campus, but I was able to participate last night by targeting local businesses. We tried to think about where to put the fliers so that they would reach a wide range of people in both high, middle, and lower class socioeconomic groups. We also tried to put an array of fliers so that they would reach many cultural groups. We posted fliers at Monroe's, Goodwill, a loan company, The Doghouse, The Fish House and Fish Market, The 98 cent Beauty supply store, Al's, George's, A barber shop, Wal-Mart, BBQ place, Pub 280, Pat's place, etc. All those people were more than willing to help us out and I was extremely surprised that they were as excited about this project to bring about change as we were. Some people asked questions and were really interested in the facts about the cell phone uses and stuffed animals. They had no idea that these items were used for such a great cause. I gave out my phone number to a lady who had lots of old cell phones and I told her I would be willing to come pick them up from her. We spoke to some people that knew the instructors and they were excited and made us feel like they will also attend.

I also have given an old bridesmaid dress to another group project.

This is way more exciting than any of my other classes I am taking this semester. I almost wish this was a permanent study group or organization! Thanks Dr. K!

Self Defense Project

Just wow.

Yesterday our group went around the community to post flyers up, and unfortunately I could not begin the process with them - work and other reasons - but when I came to, all I was hearing was positive comments about how businesses were rushing to put the flyer up as soon as they walked in the building. I'm hopeful that the project will bring about change in our community, but more importantly show that "kids" today are still willing to be voices of change in college.

So many times we all are summed up into either one of two cateogies: greek or drunk. Whenever I'm out and about, I'm always asked whether or not I'm greek - or if I drink....... because apparently that's all college students do. I'm excited not only for the postivie things to come from our course, but more importantly to give the students here a little voice in a big world.

Thanks Dr. K - you're inspiring a class to get behind social change!


~Tyler Willis
a feminist

Thanks Dr. K!

First of all, I would just like to thank Dr. K for getting all this started! I don't know about everyone else, but we are having so much fun talking to people in the community about what our class is doing. It feels so good to give back and make a difference, if only a small one, in this community. While we were doing research for our project, we found some startling statistics about domestice violence. This is not something that only affects one particular race or class of people. This is something that plagues everyone, everywhere.

We hope that our self defense class will empower women and give them a few techniques to defend themselves against attacks. I don't know about you, but I will feel a lot safer Christmas shopping alone after this class.

I was able to participate in some other projects as well, and I loved it. I donated some dresses to the Prom Night project and today I was able to help the group doing a PSA by giving them a sound bite about what makes me beautiful. It took me a minute to find an answer to that question because on a regular basis I don't consider myself beautiful. I thought for a moment about the qualities I like best about myself - intelligence, speaking my mind, loving who I am, and making a difference in the world - and realized that maybe I am beautiful even when I don't feel like I am. What a great project! I can't wait to see the finished product.

Let's Make it Special

Please remember about the Yard Sale this Saturday, November 15 from 8:00 AM-until to support my groups Prom Drive. We want make the community aware about the issues that some of our local youth face every year during Prom Season. All proceeds from the Yard Sale will go to assist these local youth!

Let's help make this a night that they will remember forever!!

Thanks,

Nicole

Reaching out to the community

Ok, so our group met up today so that we could go around the community to put up our fliers. We went to many places, some of which I do not remeber the names of, but we went to the Dawg House,the Fish House, Pat's and a couple of other restaurants. Some other places that we went to were the Windsor, Goodwill and of course Walmart. We were excited to see that people were glad that we were doing the free self defense class and said that they would love to help and donate cell phones and stuffed animals. We chose these places because they are of course high traffic places and because they are also places thay you would see students from GSW and SGTC hang out along with the rest of the community. Today I feel like we did a good job reaching out to the community and I feel that this event is going to be amazing and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

Fun times!

Wow, I really enjoyed going around campus filming the P.S.A. I didn't think I was going to have as much fun as I did, and I still feel like we got a lot accomplished. It was interesting to hear people's different opinions, but I did find one constant statement. Almost everyone we interviewed said that intelligence was an important aspect for a beautiful woman. I think that this is great! This statement was something I was not expecting to hear from the majority of the people we interviewed. Also, I want to thank everyone for taking time out of their day and participating in our video. Now, the group is going to focus on the editing process, premiering the video, and the presentation to the class. I hope everything keeps on running smoothly.


Although no one showed up to our Interest Meeting, I still feel like there will be a good turn out for the premier of our video.
We will be premiering the video in Oak's Two 3rd floor multi purpose room on Thursday November 20th at 4:00 p.m.
There will be free food and drinks (yummy)!

PSA Shoot

Today we shot our PSA. We found lots of people who had different ideas. We will be premiering our PSA on next thursday in oaks two third floor. BTW there will be free food. PLEASE PLEASE COME AND WATCH OUR PSA!! Thanks

Everyone come

So everything is settled we are having our domestic violence talk November 19th at 7:30 p.m. FREE FOOD!!!!! Mike Phillips will be speaking and a few other poeple will also talk. Please everyone come and join us in the multipurpose room in oaks 2. We need your support. we are also collecting items still and we need a lot more. If you would like to donate please see me or Lindsey, Gelisa, Allie or Asia. Clothes of all sizes, shampoo, soap, deoderant, lotion, combs, etc. So please everyone help out

Thanks for reading,
Sarra :)

PSA for 11/13/08

Today we started our PSA for Body Image. It went really well and we ended up with alot of people and great information for our presentation. We are going to premiere the PSA next thurs. in the multipurpose room in oaks 2 third floor and would love for everyone to join us. We will have refreshments as we are watching it as well. So i hope everyone can make it. I am not very sure about the time so i will get back and let ya'll know at the beginning of next week.

11/11

Today we had a group meeting and an interest meeting. Once again no one showed up to our interest meeting. So we are going to randomly ask people what they like and what they think a person should look like. So if you want to be in a PSA please respond to this post.

Self Defense Project

Today, Tuesday 11-11-2008, we covered campus with flyers. We posted flyers in the English, History, Fine Arts, Library, Education, Fin Aid, Campus Safety, Student Support, Education, Nursing, Jackson Hall, Science/Math, and the Nursing buildings. (that's the order we went, lol)

Thursday we're planning on covering the SSC with flyers, and also reaching out to the community.

---- But I really would like to take a moment out and say that our group as expected multiple problems with actually getting our location on campus. I've got email after email of me being as polite as I could, only to be shot down by someone in power. I really would like to hear how everyone else is going with securing locations, putting flyers up, getting the word out.... has anyone else had these kinds of problems? If so, I really think that we should make the school aware of our problems, and how administration needs to realize this is a college - and that students would like to hold events without being in school related organizations. Is there anyway that we could collectively come together and write a paper to send to the school president?

~Tyler Willis

Updates filled with disappointment in our school but We WILL overcome!

We have started the tidbits of our project that will lead up to our big movie night. I must say that some of the answers we are getting in the survey's and comments thus far surprise me greatly. I am learning that not as many people as I thought are unaware of the problems, but there is still work to do before we overcome the issues that are before us. The survey process is going very well. I think that the results will be quite enlightening. We put up posters in some of the vital places on campus in hopes that we will get a good audience. The disappointment that I reference in the title of this blog comes from our comment box. Today, I went to go re-tape the poster in the dining hall to find that it and our comment box had been removed. I promptly asked to speak to the manager about it. Before we even submitted this idea we were sure to get permission from a manager to place our comment box in the dining hall. That certain manager gave us permission to place the box in there for one week. When I told the head manager this he informed me that he did not know of this agreement and that there was no way that we could leave our box there. He told me that the company has "sensitive feelings" about what is placed in their establishment. I wanted to tell him that the students have "sensitive feelings" about what goes into our stomachs. This tells our group that the dining hall is afraid to see what the students really think. Because they said that the only way that we could do a comment box as we planned is if THEY run it. I don't want them running it as i know that some people have had negative comments removed from their so called comment board. We will overcome this obstacle! We will be going around while we eat there and still ask the students for their comments or maybe set up something outside of the cafeteria to show the cafeteria's disregard of the student's feelings. The manager said we could still give him the results. I have learned that you must fight for what you believe in, and I will not succumb to their level. 

Reminder!

P.S.A interest meeting on Tuesday, November 11th at 5;30 p.m in Oak's Two multi purpose room.
Hope to see everyone there! :)

Health and Fitness

I am part of the group that is having a body image workshop at the boys and girls club on November 21st. As the date gets closer I become more and more ready to share the message of having a positive self-image with young girls. The society and culture that they are surrounded by constantly screams at them that they are not enough or that they are too much (in size). That is why for my section of the workshop I have chosen to focus on health and fitness of young girls. I work at a gym and I am constantly exposed to the benifits of healthy exercise. I want to share with the girls ways that they can gain a positive self-image by living a healthy lifestyle. It is my goal to present the information in a way that is very positive instead of "don't do this" and "don't do that." By offering a positive approach to this type of a lifestlye, it is my goal to encourage the young girls to take part in it. By becoming awear of the benifits of healthy eating and proper exercise, hopefully the popularity of eating disorders with deminish and the girls will be able to embrace their beauty for who they are and not who society dictates that they are.

Here's the list I have compiles of project dates etc. If I've left someone off, please let me know.

Women’s Studies Group Projects

November 9th: Informational meeting about Women and Heart disease at the Kappa Delta chapter meeting.
November 13th: Shoot video for “Good Enough” at 4:30—Oakes II 3rd floor multipurpose room.
November 13th: Barbara Dykes, author of I Thought It Was Love, speaking about domestic violence. 7:30, English 203.
November 15th: Women’s Health Spotlight—7-9 Yard and Bake Sale; 10-12pm presentations—Starlight Place Community Center
November 18th: Positive Body Image event: “A League of Their Own” Movie night at 7:30 in Oakes II common room.
November 20: Go Red Day. Support awareness of Women’s Heart Disease
November 20: “Good Enough” PSA premiere at 4:00—Oakes II 3rd floor multipurpose room.
November 20: Self Defense Class—6-8pm—SSC Conference RoomNovember 21: Body Image Workshop at Boys and Girls Club—3-6

Positive Self Image Project

I am part of the group that is promoting a Positive self image for young girls ages 11-13. Our group is going to spend some time with the girls at the Boys and Girls Club of Americus on November 21. We are very excited about our project and we know it will be a success. We are going to be talking to the girls about health, excercise, fashion and overall positive image. We are also giving the girls a little goodie bag and having fun doing a little craft project with them. I believe it will be a positive moment in the girls lives and I am looking very foward to this.

Women's Health Spotlight/Yard Sale

Ok so for everyone that doesn't know Group 7 (thats Aisha, Amneh, D'ete, and Sharon) in WMST Tue & Thrs we are having a health seminar! November 15th 10am-12pm all he information is on the picture but if more information is needed contact 229-331-1930.

We are also having a yardsale that same day from 7am-9am all the money is going to charity!!!!




Everyone come if you can!

EVENTS!

I would like to invite everyone to our movie night on November 18th at 7:30 pm in Oaks II on the third floor.  We will be showing "A League of their Own" starring Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell, and Madonna. We hope that you will come out and join us in comfortable clothing as we watch the girls take on the sport of baseball! We will also be showing some posters featuring the good and bad ways that women are portrayed in the media today. Our project is the Love Your Body Campaign, and we hope to show everyone that you should love yourself for who you are. Snacks and drinks will be provided. 

We will also have a comment box located in the university dining hall as of this upcoming week. We would love it if you would fill out one of our slips about the food. We are surveying through this comment box how healthy students feel the food is. If you do not think it is healthy we would like to know why. All comments are anonymous and will be turned into the dining hall for consideration at the end of our project. 

The last portion to our project is a survey that our group members will be walking around with. We want to poll the campus to see how students right here at Georgia Southwestern perceive their peers body images. We would like to present our results to the students during our movie night. If you see one of our group members(Michelle Morton, Joe Barron, or Samantha Cason) please fill out a survey and receive your gold ribbon. We want all of our participants and their friends to know that we think they are "golden" just being themselves. 

PSA

The women studies group focusing on a positive body image is keeping it's plans for the PSA announcement and it looks like we have a lot of cool and interesting people who want to participate. If you are curious and want more information please come to our interest meeting on November 11th at 5:30 p.m. We hope to see everyone there!

Our group also created a Facebook group in order for more people to hear out message. If you would like to join or just check it out click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34531523498

It appears to me that the project proposal went well and I feel like the group was able to relate our message clearly. I am glad it is over with because I was stressing out about the meeting and papers.

Our group would like to invite you to attend a domestic violence awareness meeting. There will be a special speaker, BarbaraDykes, present at the meeting. Barbara is the author of I Thought it Was Love and a victim of domestic violence. The meeting will take place on Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 7:30pm in room 203 in the english building.
There will be coffee & doughnuts available for all.
We hope all of you can make it to the meeting!

Women's Health Issues

Hello Everyone!!!

This is Beverly, I am a part of Amber's group, and we are going to do a women's health related forum which involves issues targeted at young women. These are important issues which face women today; such as HIV/AIDS, heart health, exercise, and even insurance discrimination. We are currently in the contacting phase, either the Methodist Children's Home or the Boys and Girls Club to see if we can use their facility to address their young people about these issues. At this point, we are in the negotiation process, and more info will be posted soon, for anyone that may want to attend!!

Self-Defense Project

There's been some drama between me and the school person whom I've been emailing about trying to find a location for our project. I wish I could post the emails between the two of us, but I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I've felt completely blocked by this person to find a location on campus for our project, in which would bring great public recognition to our campus, but thankfully we've got it all sorted. Thanks to Bridget knowing some of the people on the "inside" we've successfully secured a location on NOVEMBER 20, 2008 FROM 5 TO 8 P.M.

Ok, so today (Thursday 11-06-2008) Bridget and I (mostly Bridget though) got the pamphlets printed - I'll make some more copies though, because 50 was not enough, at all. So, I'm thinking that next Tuesday (11-11-2008) our group is going to come together to pass out the material on campus and in the community. We're going to put some (probably 100 or so) pamphlets in the campus mailboxes, and then go litter the community with all of our stuff. We're going to spend a few hours putting stuff up, and we'll take photos to put in our project presentation.

I'm still a little "turned off" about the whole idea that a student who wants to put on an event, cannot unless they know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone else.... it's ridiculous.

~Tyler

Just a Reminder ...

We are so excited about our project! Not only is Self Defense such an important issues for women, but it is going to be a lot of fun. We have professional instructors who are going to teach us some basic techniques and they're bringing along the Redman suit!! So come join us Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. in the SSC conference rooms. The event is FREE and open to the public as well, so bring along a friend.

Can't wait to see you all there!

domestic violence informative tlak

hey everyone this is Sarra and my gorup is having a domestic violence talk. We think it will around November the 19th. We are still working out the kinks in it so bare with us. if the dates change we will post it up. We are trying to get Detective Michael Phillips to come and speak. I would love if everyone showed up I think it will be around 7 p.m. Like I said pretty much everything is TBA but i will let you all know when it will be and at what time.

Love Lots...
Sarra

Group Project Update

My group and I are planning a Yard Sale for November 15, 2008 to support our Prom Drive. All the proceeds that are raised at this Yard Sale will go towards the Prom Drive. I have also contacted a friend of mine who is the General Manager Chick-Fil-A in Albany and she is donating coupons for us to provide to those who contribute to our Yard Sale. If you know of anyone who would like to donate items for the Yard Sale, please have them contact any of the members of our group.

Nicole Hogsed (Sproul) 229-854-4018
Latoya Mills 928-1390
Latoya Barnett 229-894-9978
Sharda Lewis 478-231-8938

PLEASE GET GET OUT AND VOTE TOMORROW!!!!! THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY!!!!!!
Chris, Megan, and Brittany

come and fillout a survey!!

hello all!

if you are not doing anything, please come to the cafeteria around 12-ish to fill out a voter survey for chris, megan, and I's group project. some of you might not know but we are trying to get all of the women on campus involved in this years presidential election. we are handing out surveys to see how many actually plan to vote after the information we have given out at the rally last week. please come show your support! it will only take 12 seconds! promise!!!

Self Defense Course

We are hosting a FREE self defense course Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at the intramural gym on campus. The class will be led by local self defense instructor and a member of the Americus parole office. We encourage everyone to attend and learn some techniques to keep you safe during the upcoming holiday season. Come and bring the women in your life ... your mom, grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin or your friends!

We are also collecting stuffed animals and cell phones to donate to local law enforcement agencies to help victims of domestic violence. Please see myself, Ashley Koch, Lauren Turner, or Tyler Willis to make a donation, or just bring it with you to the self defense class!

We look forward to seeing you all there!

progression on the participation of women voters on campus

for those of you who dont know, chris, megan, and i are doing a political based project for our group project. we basically are trying to influence all the young women on campus to have a voice and participate in November's presidential election. By educating these women on the suffering and sacrifice that the women in our past have endured, we figured that it would lay on their hearts to not let their hard work go in vain and to take advantage of the opportunity that they are presented with that was not always available.
So far we have done two events. The first was handing out flyers in front of the cafeteria during lunch that encouraged women to vote and to also tell them about our voter rally that we would have the next week. The following week, Chris, Megan, and I set up an "information booth" outside of the cafeteria during lunch on Thursday. Everyone knows Thursdays is fried chicken day so there were plenty of people walking by. As we informed females that walked by about the suffrage movement, we also handed them a flyer that showed the platforms on both presidential candidates, so they could be informed when they actually went to vote. My group and i have made great progress so far and we are excited to see how many women on campus actually voted after the election

Hi everyone,
I'm very excited about this group project and I think the group members are working well together! So far my group has decided to have a fashion show that supports a positive body image, and powerful women that do not define themselves based upon the medias wrong outlook of beauty.if you are interested in participating in this fashion show please feel free to come to one of our interest meetings held on October 28th and 30th from 5:30 to 6:30 in Oaks two third floor multi purpose room.

Hope to see you all there!

Update:
Due to the lack of people at the informal meeting the group and I have decided to film a PSA announcement informing the student body about having a positive body image instead of having a fashion show. If you are still interested in participating in our project, and would like to tell the student body what makes you beautiful please leave a comment below with your information or you can call 678-643-1203.

Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.

Project-Happily Ever After

Hello All,

This is Latoya M. and our group project involves collecting prom attire, such as: dresses, shoes, accessories, tuxedos etc. We are collecting these items so that we can make sure that someone (boy and girl) have a great prom for next year. We started collecting the items on October 15, 2008. Please take time to look in your closets and pull out some of that old stuff you no longer wear. You can bring the items to class or I will come and pick it up. You can contact me at 229-928-1390. Also you may contact my other group members: Sada, Latoya B. and Nicole.

Also we are going to be having a yardsale on November 15, 2008, so you may also donate some of your old things to Happily Ever After and we will sell them at the yardsale and the proceeds will go to help with their prom.

Thanks in advance!

Group Activism Idea

I'm sure you all have your group project decided and working on it, but I thought I would pass this idea along to you all anyway. Pantene has a campaign called Beautiful Lengths where they make free wigs for women suffering from cancer. This helps them have a bit of normalcy in their lives. It's a great program and I am planning to donate my hair as soon as it is long enough. (There is an 8 inch minimum). Usually it is done individually, but there is information on their site for planning an event where women from who want to donate get together and do it. If you're interested, here is the website www.beautifullengths.com.

Killing Us Softly 3

HI all--Here is a link to the video that we watched in class about advertising. There are others, but this is the most academic and the presenter is a professional.


http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=killing+us+softly+3+part+1&emb=0&aq=2&oq=killing+us+s#

Megan Seely

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwiXvnVQmIo

Project

Our group has already done some work and we have a self-defense instructor lined up for FREE and we have already done some leg work on collecting old cell phones for domestic violence victims. If anyone in these classes have old cell phones, please let Dr. K know and I will be more than willing to meet you somewhere in the Americus area to collect them. More to come....

well i finally made it on here. im new at this guys bear with me. -Lauren

Check This Out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iEBQ_Ox7CM

Okay- last post of the day, I swear!

I came across this while looking for something else on Wiki-How-To. This is the bogus b.s. that the media and idiots in general are feeding adolescents in our society. It's a bit laughable, but in a tragic way. Also, note the author's poor grammar.

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Girly-Girl

Hello Dr. Kuipers,

I have accepted your invitation.


Audrey

Feminist Fairytale

We should have all been read this fairy tale as children:

Once upon a time in a land far away land, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess came upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.
The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am. Then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother,where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so."
That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself: "I don't freakin' think so."

Don't let John McCain fool you!

Not Every Woman Supports Women's Rights

August 29, 2008

Statement of NOW PAC Chair Kim Gandy on the Selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's Vice Presidential Pick

Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a cynical effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary Clinton voters and get them to vote, ultimately, against their own self-interest.

Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman. Sadly, she is a woman who opposes women's rights, just like John McCain.

The fact that Palin is a mother of five who has a 4-month-old baby, a woman who is juggling work and family responsibilities, will speak to many women. But will Palin speak FOR women? Based on her record and her stated positions, the answer is clearly No.

In a gubernatorial debate, Palin stated emphatically that her opposition to abortion was so great, so total, that even if her teenage daughter was impregnated by a rapist, she would "choose life" -- meaning apparently that she would not permit her daughter to have an abortion.

Palin also had to withdraw her appointment of a top public safety commissioner who had been reprimanded for sexual harassment, although Palin had been warned about his background through letters by the sexual harassment complainant.

What McCain does not understand is that women supported Hillary Clinton not just because she was a woman, but because she was a champion on their issues. They will surely not find Sarah Palin to be an advocate for women.

Sen. Joe Biden is the VP candidate who appeals to women, with his authorship and championing of landmark domestic violence legislation, support for pay equity, and advocacy for women around the world.

Finally, as the chair of NOW's Political Action Committee, I am frequently asked whether NOW supports women candidates just because they are women. This gives me an opportunity to once again answer that question with an emphatic 'No.' We recognize the importance of having women's rights supporters at every level but, like Sarah Palin, not every woman supports women's rights.

###

For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

ummm....a little lost here guys

what in the world am i supposed to blog about......what in the world is a blog anyway?

a new email from NOW

Hey Tyler!



Ok – I think it would be great if you wanted to start an actual chapter in your area that would be very involved in campus AND community life. That sounds really awesome. So, in order to start this up, you will need to pay a fee of $10. To get all the guidelines and chapter information, I want you to go to our web site and then click on the chapters bar to the top right side of the screen. Then click on the link that says “for chapters”. You will be asked for a login name and password. The login name is “*****” and the password is *****. Once you get there, you’re going to find LOTS of resources for chapters including took kits, ideas for actions and a document about how to start your own chapter. This document is located under the toolbox section and it’s called “Starting Your Own NOW Chapter – convener kit”.



So, this is a huge document that should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about NOW, setting up a chapter and rules and regulations. Give that a read and poke around a bit on the chapters only web site because you should find some NOW-related inspiration for actions and issues. Once you’ve read that, I’ll be more than happy to assist you with anything else you need, including a package of National NOW Times, brochures, stickers and the whole works.



As far as male feminists .. hmmm… it kind of depends on your interests and goals for your community. One that comes to mind immediately is Robert Jensen who wrote “Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity”. You might also want to check out “He’s a stud, she’s a slut” by Jessica Valenti and “The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf ( I know, not exactly male authors but great reads just the same). Basically, though, you have to really sort of narrow it down by what’s really affecting your community. For daily reads, I would check out feministing.com and our web site. Sometimes The Nation puts out really great articles about feminist issues, too.



So, give that manual a ready and write me back with whatever questions you have left over! Thanks for your enthusiasm, Tyler – it sounds like you’re going to be a fantastic leader.



Lynsea