The group I am involved in is called Spectrum. I am a straight alliance, and support everything they do. Most of first semester we spent trying to get the president of the university to give staff involved in same sex domesticated partnerships the same benefits they give straight couples. Now that we have a new president we probably won't get this accomplished for another 4 years because they won't want to jump into such controversial subjects this soon.
Personally, I think we should just keep informing people and not give up. Since we are the ONLY state funded school in Indiana not to offer this, I think it is a realistic goal.
I plan to:
1. make time to attend more of Spectrum's meetings
2. ask the members about their ideas of how to get the word out
3. make a creative/ interesting public literacy document to inform others about this subject
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I completely agree with your project, and have even considered joining myself. With the support of the other members of the group, you will hopefully be able to get the word our more easily. I love your persistence, too! As long as you have a plan to inform people, it should be a strong project. A weakness may be that the new president may limit you and not be willing to do as much as you. As long as you keep trying and doing what you believe in, I think you will do well. For public literacy, try making pamphlets with facts about how same sex domestic partners are denied benefits they should be entitled to. You biggest hurdle will probably be persuading your audience to change their mind about the subject. Maybe try making pamphlets illustrating how same sex domestic partners are very similar to heterosexual couples, so the audience can have some common ground with the group in question. Great project, I definitely support it!
ReplyDeleteYour proposal is a very good idea. I think it that is really is important that the professor with the same sex partner should be getting the same benefits as the ones with the opposite sex partners. You need to explain more why the president do not want to jump on this important issue on campus. Hand out pamphlets or brochures to explain about what this issue really is and talk about how the other school have it and ours is the only one that doesn't. Also take time to explain what spectrum really is.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to hear that others feel the same way as I do about this subject. I haven't actually told anyone in Spectrum that they are my group for this service learning project. I think they will be very excited to hear about this news. Many of the members are very creative, and I hope they can help me figure out some more ideas of how to get the word out. Explaining what spectrum is is a good idea, too. I guess I usually just assume everyone knows what it is and what we stand for. Also, comparing hetero and homosexual relationships is something else I did not think of.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas!
Well when i was reading your blog i was like wow we just learned about all this in my sociology class like a week before. They talked about it a little more that is why i can understand where you are coming from. It is a life decision that the people make and i think that they should get the same benefits because if they do not aint there something against that in the law books or not? You should get some of the group members to go sit with you at your table to talk to and explain to some of the people that come to your table. It always helps to have some others to explain something you are puzzled by.
ReplyDeleteAs always I think this is a great idea. You have a unique perspective and from this I believe you can reach out and pull others in. I could see where students could be confused with this group. Make sure to make it a point that you don't have to be gay to join this becuase I could see some naive students seeing it this way. Some suggestions of mine include a possible petition at your table for students to sign saying they support equal rights. Also in your flyers maybe you could provide testimony from your roomie on how much this means to her? Thanks for all of the suggestions you sent my way and hopefully this helps you. If you want to chat about ideas anymore feel free to call and maybe we could do lunch? haha :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my proposal. The slide show was a great idea, but I was not able to bring my computer to school that day. I just couldn't bring myself to find those sad pictures of the fur farms, so I didn't use any graphic images. I used cute pictures instead, and it caught a few people's eyes. Thanks so much for your suggestions!
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