"Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you it's got about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before."

-Senator Clinton, June 7th, 2008 (near the end of her campaign for president in 2008)

Presentation Poster

Great job, Erin and Kira!

Weekly Activism Log for Service Learning-Week 4

1.Activism:

This week focused on marketing YWLP. Particularly designing a flyer, papering campus, and speaking in classes about a meet & greet to recruit new big sisters. I contacted Maria, the fantastic director of the YWLP program on campus, throughout the week. I was successful (after a fair bit of dismaying outcomes with Microsoft Publisher) to create two versions of a flyer for the meet & greet (the theme is a clothing swap!). A pitfall was that I put the incorrect e-mail address to direct inquiries and so when the day came to paper the campus with flyers, we relied on a different flyer that Maria had made. I had the chance to see the inside of more bathroom stalls than I ever had before, for I posted many of the flyers on the inside door. In the next week my hope is that current big sisters in YWLP will pass the lovely flyers to their interested classmates, thereby spreading the interest.

2. Reflection:

As I continue to see more of the workings of the YWLP, a sense of community does help encourage me to feel passionate about the feminist cause. As I see women working together (they do tend to collaborate), I see the process as very effective. I have stepped inside of the YWLP office many times this week, and each time some project is being worked on. I have witnessed a positive self esteem activity being planned for YWLP, and women encouraging each other about classes. I feel like a community can help a cause and a person to excel. Even if the stereotype is that women always collaborate (or can only do this) to be successful, I feel that the collaborative efforts of teams as a source of leadership should be utilized, although not solely. Maria herself seems like a strong woman leader, in more of a typically communal style. She always kindly listened, encouraged, and inspired me to be creative.

3. Reciprocity: 

Not only do I now have a superb group of powerful individuals that I know, who support a million amazing events/programs (Take Back the Night, Let’s Talk About Sex, Vagina Monologues, YWLP), but I also feel like a strong part of the feminist movement. I was welcomed in as a fellow defender of women, another strong voice who is now filled with much more knowledge about how easy stereotyping happens. I feel that the more people know about women liberation, the more it will spread until we as women will have more equality. I have felt encouraged, inspired, and lead by strong women over the course of this service learning project, and I feel a firmer basis of strength in myself as a woman because of it. In this particular project I got to practice good communication, creative computer skills, a bit of my susceptibility to error (the e-mail incident), and some public speaking practice! Now that I know programs like YWLP and all the other programs that put on events this semester are out there, I am inspired to be involved in them, or at very least keep my feminist candle burning bright to inspire those around me (women and men) and the next generation.