Service Learning Log #2

Activism

            This week, my partner and I met after class on Tuesday and went to the Barnes and Noble bookstore. We asked them if they allow organizations to table inside and the manager told us that they do not. However, she told us that we should try the student union or the free speech lawn. We walked over to the student union and I saw a fellow classmate who has previously tabled. I asked her how we can table outside of the student union and she said that we just claimed one of the tables and we were set. We will also be sending Maria Roman (program contact) an e-mail about our Service Learning Agreements and subsequently send them to her for approval. Our success was that we finally narrowed down our locations for tabling to the student union and the free speech lawn. We were disappointed about not being able to be closer to the bookstore, but we will have to deal with what we have.

Reflection

            These past two weeks have shown me that feminist activism is harder than it looks. From the planning aspect of feminist activism, I have learned how difficult it is to put on an event no matter how small or big it is. The proper location has a lot to do with the success of any event. Our efforts this week relate to class because YWLP helps girls change at the micro level, which leads to changes in the meso and macro levels (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 93). As these middle school girls love who they see when they look in the mirror, they will be able to change the nation. The figure on page 93 in our main textbook effectively outlines what each level consists of (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 93). This chart represents, in effect, each step that girls have to go through to make effective changes in the country. The YWLP website also offers ways for the Little Sisters to do this by encouraging them to activist projects of their own which I thought was wonderful (YWLP).

Reciprocity

I feel the same way this week as I did last week. I enjoy helping young girls prosper and grow in their leadership skills, etc. Our attempts to raise supplies have had problems and the main one is an effective venue. Because of our technical issues, I am trying to re-evaluate how we are going to be successful. One problem is that our project differs from some of the others. I know that VOX holds bake sales, etc., but they are trying to sell something and we are trying to get donations which requires more initiative on the part of others. These personal dilemmas relate to the feminist perspective because nothing is fast or easy. People do not change their minds overnight about feminism and it does not take one day to fundraise for supplies. It takes extensive work and effort to accomplish extensive goals.

Works Cited

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5^th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.

Young Women’s Leaders Program (YWLP). University of Central Florida. Web. 25 February 2011.

Word Count: 491