Report:

Our group had five members so we were able to delegate tasks pretty well. When we first decided on our protest method Jasmine decided to make the design for the flyer, John was in charge of taking pictures and documenting our strategy while Ruby, Nathan, and I were on the front lines approaching people and handing out flyers. We decided to do this at the Ikenberry because it’s the main dining hall on campus and therefore the best place to reach the largest amount of people. When we arrived at the Ike to implement our strategy we noticed a large poster at the entrance urging people to be more conscious about food waste. This surprised us because it aligned perfectly with our protest.

I think our biggest challenge as a group was the crowd of people we targeted. Handing out flyers to hungry freshman who were on their way to eat was not the most fun experience because, as the other group in class showed, people don’t enjoy being approached by random people handing out flyers. The last thing a hungry student wants is to be stopped and lectured about food waste moments before making it inside the dining hall. However, we were able to convince a good amount of people to take our flyers and hear our elevator speech on the importance of reducing food waste. Surprisingly, most people were nice and receptive!

We chose this strategy because it was the best option for us given our limited resources and time constraint. If we had more time and more resources we would have implemented another one of our strategies such as contacting the dining services to see if we could coordinate the excess food to be sent to a food kitchen or homeless shelter. The main lesson I learned as a result of this project is that protesting is not easy. It’s time consuming and requires a lot of effort. People are usually grounded in their habits and opinions. It’s difficult to convince people to change a habit that they’ve carried with them their entire lives. However, it was a fun to educate people who otherwise would not have been aware of this issue.

Food Waste Manifesto:

Pride. Envy. Wrath. Lust. Sloth. Greed. Gluttony. The 7 deadly sins that can never be forgiven. Here in America we embody all of these and more. As a nation we are fat, lazy, selfish, and above all extremely wasteful. We produce an overabundance of food and refuse to think twice about filling our plates and oversized stomachs to the brim only to end up throwing most of it out. We turn a blind eye to our bad habits because we live in a comfortable bubble of excess. We are okay with our vices because the hungry children and families are nowhere to be seen. They are far away on another continent in that infomercial that airs at 3am when there is nothing else to watch on TV.

As our population continues to grow, so do our waist lines and wasteful habits. Americans produce enough food to feed nearly half the world’s population and we waste over a third of that amount. It’s a shame we’re able to continue this disgusting habit while millions of people go hungry on a daily basis around the world. It’s easy for us to justify our wasteful tendencies because we are short sighted and live in a country where we suppress our problems and insecurities with food. We take more than we can eat and dump the rest because we only care about ourselves and what’s directly in front of us. We don’t know what it feels like to go hungry, but millions of people do. Our excessive food waste is not a symbol of our wealth or prosperity. It’s not cute. It’s reprehensible. It’s disgusting. It’s wrong. It should be illegal. Restaurants, schools, and individuals should be held accountable for wasting large amounts of food. Next time you decide to stuff your face with food make sure you lick the plate clean.

DIY Video:

Infographic:

Sources:

Hunger in America

https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf

http://www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/

I believe unisex restrooms are unsafe and should be banned. I believe the safety of our women and children are what’s at stake here. Unisex restrooms gives men with bad intentions (CRIMINALS) the chance to get one step closer to reaching their prey. Unisex bathrooms will allow men to enter women’s bathrooms without being questioned. We can’t allow this to happen. Trans gender bathrooms are also a rejection of Christianity. No one has a right to question any of God’s decisions. God gave us our physical bodies and the gift of life so who are we to question his judgment? What’s next, changing races? Changing species? I won’t allow my children to think it is okay to question the way they were born. Sometimes in life what you get is simply what you get.

The Civil Rights Movement was a collection of social movements that took place across the country, mainly in southern states, that aimed to end the political and social inequalities faced by African Americans in the United States. Blacks in the south faced disrespect, racism, and an overall lower quality of life was widely regarded as the norm not only by the general public, but also by the prominent business owners and politicians who had the power to enforce the racist laws that were in effect until the mid-1960s. The goal of the Civil Rights Movement was break down the social and political barriers that separated African Americans from the rest of the nation. Martin Luther King, the movement’s most prominent leader, was known for encouraging nonviolent protest tactics. He encouraged strategies like marches, sit-ins and other public demonstrations that directly confronted opponents of their message in peaceful ways. They relied on the large number of people involved with the movement to make powerful statements. These peaceful forms of protest helped draw national attention to the movement’s message because it forced people to confront the racism and disrespect that society had towards blacks.

As I mentioned, the CRM used many conventional strategies that contributed to the movement’s success. However, the strategy that interests me the most is the movement’s decision to wear formal attire, or their “Sunday best”, when participating in public demonstrations. Their primary target audience was the group of people who held political and social power. This included politicians and business owners, but also the average middle-class white American who watched the movement unfold on their televisions. Therefore, the protestors dressed in professional clothing in order to draw parallels between them and their target audience. This is similar to the golden rule of interviews: dress for the position you want, not the position you’re currently in. This also created a contrast between them and the mobs that frequently attacked their demonstrations.

By dressing their best, protestors aimed to break down the social and racial barriers that placed them at the bottom of society. Dressing above their social status encouraged average Americans to view them as equals. This tactic also helped separate them from the groups of angry mobs who often attacked black activists. People were more likely to empathize with protestors who were peacefully enduring harassment while dressed respectfully. Aside from making a social/political statement, the dress code also helped unify the activists involved in the movement by using clothing as a symbol of solidarity among protestors.

This strategy was significant because it helped narrow the gap between themselves and the people they wanted to influence. These were the business owners, politicians, and other people who had social and political influence in society. These were the individuals who had the power to enforce the oppressive laws that were in place. Not only was this a tactic to appeal to the people in power, but also to the average middle class Americans who were watching the protests unfold. This strategy has also been used in many modern protests. For example, protestors against the killing of Trayvon Martin wore hoodies as a reference to the sweatshirt he wore when he was shot and killed. Clothing, when used strategically, can serve as a powerful tool to facilitate social and political discourse.

The top image is George Wallace, former Governor of Alabama who was one of the public figures that opposed the Civil Rights Movement. The bottom image is Martin Luther King, Jr. during one of his speeches. I tried to use these 2 images to show how CRM leaders used clothing as a way to bridge the gap between themselves and their target audience.

In a comical way I wanted to show how clothing has a huge impact on how others interpret and perceive your message. I can’t imagine anyone taking MLK seriously if he chose to wear a party hat and a clown nose during one of his speeches.

The photo on the left shows MLK and a group of protestors dressed professionally during one of the famous Selma to Montgomery marches. The photo on the right shows BLM protestors who were protesting against the killing of Trayvon Martin. The hoodie was significant in this case because it was what the police officer used to justify shooting Trayvon. These two images show how clothing not only has the potential to make a powerful statement, but also helps create a sense of solidarity among protesters within a movement.

In this photo the BLM protestor is shown wearing a dashiki which has great significance in the African American community. The dashiki is a traditional African garment that celebrates the culture and heritage of African Americans. It represents acceptance and pride while symbolizing resistance against racial inequalities faced by blacks in the US.

Less restrictive: The second amendment asserts that all citizens have an individual right to possess firearms as a means for self-defense.

More restrictive: Individuals who are of good mental health and who have not previously been convicted of a felony may carry concealed low-rate weapons as a means for self-protection.

The Sit-In