Campus Engagement 2

Campus Engagement 2
Event: Taking Up Space: Middle school Girls Response to (Cyber) Bullying
4/16/12

                I attended the middle school girls response to bullying presentation not only because I needed campus engagement, but also because in my personal life I work with and mentor middle school girls and felt this to be extremely important. The purpose of the research the YWLP is doing is to research the relationship between anti-bullying instruction effects in a local mentoring group. They also aim to find out what factors impact how middle school girls define the problem of harassment and bullying. There were several shocking statements made in this presentation. One particular off putting but too true statement was that discriminatory language among friends is generally accepted in middle schools. I am pretty sure that this statement is true multi-generationally as I have experienced it myself. As a nanny to four kids, two of which are middle school aged, I am very concerned with this type of talk and discourage the use of that language across the board. The presentation also stated that nationally, teachers, parents, and administrators aren’t sure who is responsible for taking action on the issue of cyber bullying. My answer to that would be: All of them are responsible. Every single person in a child’s life should be personally responsible for their wellbeing and happiness to an extent. If there is something teachers can do in the classroom to address bullying, it should be addressed. If there is something an administrator can do to punish the act of cyber bullying, it should be done. Every parent should be mindful and watchful over the activity that their child does on the internet. Talk to the kids, know the signs of a child victimized. Another interesting point Dr. Santana rose was that girls who put themselves in leadership positions are more confident and less apt to fall victim to bullying. All I could think of is how I was in student counsel all through middle school and high school. It gave me confidence and a sense of purpose. It also gave me control to address issues and be close to teachers, advisors, and administrators. I always felt protected and I think it is largely due to that. I will be interested to see the final results of the research done on how girls define their rights, how they act prior to and post mentoring or instruction, and finally how the strategies taught had an impact on how the issue is handled. The fact is that girls and boys ARE being (cyber) bullied. Conversely, girls and boys ARE (cyber) bullying others. I feel personally that not enough is being done to prevent, counsel, and protect kids when it comes to bullying and it needs to be acknowledged and solved.

Word Count:451

Activism Log

                  This week was the countdown to d-day and the day itself. Last week I took up all my collections from my hygiene supply drives at my churches. I had several donations of supplies themselves and several monetary donations. I went to the dollar store and purchased 70 dollars’ worth of lotion, shampoo, conditioner, hair clips, and things of the like. I met with Dr. Santana on Wednesday to give her the supplies and plan for Saturday’s Women to Women Conference event in Apopka. We decided that rather than plan a specific duty for me for that day, that we would have me as a floater and I would work where I felt most needed. After arriving at the Community center I was told that we were expected to have 68 children in need of childcare from infants to 12 years of age. We found out that generally people my age are terrified of infants, but I found that my particular skills as a nanny and a childcare professional would best be served with the infants. Mrs. Tina and I cared for five infants ages 5months to 1 ½ years old all day, a job I was thrilled and comfortable with but challenged by a language barrier, even though the children were extremely young. The teamwork shown by the other volunteers and myself helped our event run almost seamlessly. Every person lent a hand when there was need. This event was not about us, it was about serving the female farmworkers and gaining perspective and awareness of the need that is very near to where we call home.

                I had so much fun at this event, I will probably volunteer next year again even as a graduate. From an activist perspective, I would like to hold more events like this to lend any aid to these women possible. This week in class we discussed the environmental issues involving women. The women who our event served are those working out in the environment with the produce who are exposed to the toxins and pesticides used on the crops producing the food we eat. They are the ones who are directly affected health wise by these environmental issues. “The people most affected by poor physical environments in the United States are people from communities of color. Many women of color and poor white women are in hundreds of local organizations campaigning for healthy living and working conditions in their communities which are disproportionately affected by pollution from incinerators, toxic dumps, fertilizers, pesticides, and hazardous working conditions in industry and agriculture.” (Lorber) The book refers to this common trend as “environmental racism” a term which I feel is extremely accurate. These women are undereducated, underpaid, and most of the time don’t have access to  healthcare to treat the illnesses they develop from these toxins. The issue of environmental justice is extremely present in Apopka, Florida, my backyard which means it is definitely present globally and should be addressed.

Word Count:494

References
Lorber, J. The Social Construction of Gender. 5th. 1991.

Campus Engagement 1

Campus Engagement- 4/12/12
Global perspectives
Event: Author Sarah Lacy
Topic: Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos

               I attended the campus engagement event on global perspectives. The speaker of the portion I went for was author Sarah Lacey. She spoke on her book Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos. I enjoyed this event. Sarah Lacey was a very engaging speaker who is clearly passionate about her work and research on business from a global perspective. A story she spoke of which stuck with me was the story of an African boy named Jean who lived in a remote village whose father owned a successful sugar trade business. He due to unrest and genocide in his country, Jean and his four siblings were orphaned at a young age. Jean’s two older brothers spent all of their parent’s fortune quickly on alcohol to deal with their grief, leaving Jean and his younger sister to fend for themselves. Jean was only 14 but he was very observant and a quick learner. He found a way to enter the free market and capitalize on buying and selling key items that the people in his village desperately wanted and needed. By the age of 16, he was profiting well from his business and found other ways to provide goods/ services to solve people’s problems either through goods, ideas and business. He was able to send his younger sister to the top academies in the UK and became so well to do that he would never have to want for anything for the rest of his life. Entrepreneurs are born, not made. This story was inspiring in a different way than just the warm and fuzzy stories some other speakers gave because it was a story of the unexpected underdog who counted for nothing. Jean was orphaned, poor, left raising his family and he made it to the top on creativity determination and ideas; not schooling or status, but hard work and dedication and a fierce drive for something better out of life. This speaker made me step back and consider my many “first world problems” and put me in check. If someone is successful with all odds counting against, there is no excuse for giving up when things get a bit sticky and complicated given all the resources I have access to. Sarah Lacey made it a point to say that some of the most successful entrepreneurs are those who are inspired by something…a book, a parent, a teacher, an event, most are undereducated but determined almost to the point of complete tunnel vision to make their ideas into something real that will benefit people. I agree with her, whether you are an entrepreneur or not, people should find what inspires them and let it be the driving force, pushing you to your goals and ambitions in life.

word count:465

Service Learning Proposal

Service Learning Proposal For Women To Women Conference

By: Taimar Branch, Julie Sautner

Feburary 16^th, 20012

Professor- Meredith Tweed

WST 3015-0001

Community Partner Profile:

Community Partner: The Farm Worker Association of Florida 

Contact: Dr. Maria Santana

Community Partner Mission Statement: “to build power among farm worker and rural low-income communities to respond to and gain control over the social, political, workplace, economic, health, and environmental justice issues that impact their lives” (Farm Worker Association of Florida). http://floridafarmworkers.org/index.php/about-us/vision-a-mission

Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: The association was founded and organized by farm workers in 1983, who wanted to acknowledge and act on the needs of other farm workers in Central Florida. “The founding purpose of the association was to organize farm workers more effectively in their struggle for better housing, wages, and housing conditions”( Farm Worker Association of Florida). http://floridafarmworkers.org/index.php/about-us/our-history

Community Partner Needs: 

In correspondence with UCF Women’s Studies Program; the Farmworker Association of Florida is hosting an annual “Women to Women” conference. This conference is an educational event for migrant female farm workers. To help make this a successful event, volunteers are needed to provide their time and skills to these women in need.  The identified needs are as followed:

·                                      There is a need for volunteers to help gather donations of hygienic supplies for the women’s gift bags: shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, sunblock, toothpaste and brushes, hair combs, brushes, clips and head bands.

·         On-site childcare is also being provided for the women who have children under the age of ten. Volunteers will provide this service of childcare, which would allow the parents to fully focus on the day’s informative event.

·                                There is also a fundraiser being held, which will raffle off two year passes to Bush Gardens, Aquatica or Sea World priced at five dollars a ticket. The volunteers can be responsible for the sale of the tickets which would increase the intake funds amount that would benefit the association and future events.

The Proposal: 

                   The following is a proposal to outline the needs, motivation and practicality for a service learning project to benefit The Farmworkers Association of Florida . The following proposal contains why the Farmworkers Association of Florida would benefit from this Community Outreach project, an outline of the work I plan to do to profit their cause, the why this should be included in a course on Women’s Studies, and a timeline of events. This proposal will be flexible to meet the needs of the both the Service Learning project and the community partner so everyone benefits in the end.

Need for volunteers for the Community Outreach Program

                  The Farmworkers Association of Florida again, serves to acknowledge and act on the needs of other farm workers in Central Florida. The founding purpose of the association was to organize farm workers more effectively in their struggle for better housing, wages, and housing conditions. 

                 There aren’t a whole lot of opportunities for the migrant farmworkers of Florida many suffer due to poor sexual health, hygiene education and other personal health issues. More specifically and most importantly, the Women to Women conference serves to  cater to those needs and shortcomings in the areas of hygiene education and personal health education for migrant female farmworkers of Florida. So students involved in this will be beneficial in providing the free childcare, fund raising, raffle sales, supply collection etc. Without the use of volunteers, the execution of the Women to Women program really wouldn’t be possible.

Plan Proposal:  

               Throughout the remainder of this semester, we will be diligently working to collect supplies that fit every need of the Women to Women conference.  In order to do this, I will be teaming up with churches in my local area to run and organize supply drives to collect hygiene products such as shampoo, conditioner, headbands, brushes, combs, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, washcloths, and also recyclable grocery bags to carry all of these supplies in. Each woman participant will be taking them home.

 If sufficient amounts of supplies are not being collected between churches, I plan on tabling outside of grocery stores in my local area (Publix, Walmart, Whole Foods) to bring awareness to people about the cause the Women to Women Conference serves, and asking for any donation monetary or supply wise they could make toward the cause. This will also be an opportunity to sell raffle tickets 5 dollars apiece for the chance to win 2 year passes to Busch Gardens.

Rationale for Women’s Studies:

               The Farmworkers Association of Florida and more Specifically the Women to Women Conference, serve to help and prosper the migrant (women) farmworkers of the state of Florida to not have them held back by the patriarchal system, but to educate them and provide information and support to help move them past the boundaries that patriarchy, prejudice, and in some cases lack of education and resources our society places upon them. I feel that this cause most relates to the Third Wave of Feminism, which seeks multicultural inclusion and represents women from all walks of life. So that women of various social locations, including the scopes of race and social hierarchy, should receive assistance likewise from the gains of the movement of the Third Wave Feminists.

Action: 

                I have been communicating with Dr. Maria Santana the UCF Campus Coordinator of the Women to Women Conference through email to find out what the needs dates and deadlines of this event are. I will be in weekly contact (face to face or email) with Dr. Santana and her Women’s Studies class who are facilitating the bulk of this event to keep on track with the vision and needs for this event, and keeping them up to date on the supply drives I will be running and the status of the raffle tickets.

Timeline: 

Pending approval of this proposal and aware that this timeline may be revised if need be:

2/25/12- Begin supply collection drives and raffle sales

-       During this time execute and continue weekly collection and continued reminders of need

-      During this time continued raffle sales solicitation in my classes and around my community.

3/31/12- 10:00-2:00 Women to Women Conference in Apopka Fl, at Church of the Holy Spirit (will be there from set up to clean up times may be adjusted)

                                                            Works Cited

 http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/p/third_wave.htm

 http://floridafarmworkers.org/index.php/about-us/our-history

Word Count: 1046