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!