Bye Bye Panthers for PP, Hello Drury VOX!

1. In just a sentence describe your Summit Experience this past year?

- This year I have learned more about teamwork and event preparation by working with Planned Parenthood.

2. What aspects of Summit do you feel will be beneficial to you as you continue your Drury experience?

- I feel I have gained a better sense of team organization. Summit will definitely help me be a better leader in the future as well as follower. I have learned to listen and how to let others bare some of my responsibilities. I have also learned a lot about handing different life situations like stress, money management, and overall professional presentation.

3. What was the greatest thing you learned from living in Summit Park?

- The greatest thing Summit has taught me is in the realm of event planning. Since our group was new on campus it was a great exercise within my major of public relations and advertising. Our events weren’t attended by large crowds and it sometimes left us pessimistic. However there is a Voices of Choice chapter starting on Drury’s Campus in the next years which means that there is a place of Planned Parenthood on Drury’s campus, and people heard our cause.

4. What impact do you feel you have made on the community along with your agency and why?

- I feel like our Summit apartment has opened up the Drury community’s eyes to Planned Parenthood. Crystal always talked about how Drury was sex shy and no one wanted to take condoms even though they need them. We were able to find creative ways to get people to take condoms without feeling embarrassed be it through trick or treating, or reindeer ornaments, or kinky crafts. It was also a rough year for planned parenthood, so it was important that Drury had our summit house rallying supporters for the future.

5. If you would have not had the chance to live in Summit, how would have this changed your experience at Drury?

- I think that if I were not admitted into summit I wouldn’t have learned how to balance my life as completely. It has been a struggle to be able to put volunteering at the same importance level as my education. I also feel that Summit has taught me how competitive student organizations around campus are. It is impossible to plan events that don’t clash with something else on campus. I now have a huge admiration for organization heads for working as well as they do together despite being in different organizations.

6. Looking back at the Summit Experience over the past year what would you have changed and why?

- I think I would have changed how my house functioned as a group. Since we had 8 people it was impossible to plan events that everyone could go to. That being said, as an event planner, it was also impossible to plan enough events to get everyones hours in. I think it was overambitious for us to try and plan mostly our own events instead of filling in where Planned Parenthood could use a couple volunteers. We learned more in second semester to ask Crystal where she needed a couple volunteers to help instead of assuming we could plan all of them on our own. Also, since we were more focused on bringing Planned Parenthood’s presence to Drury’s campus we didn’t take the time to team up with MSU’s Vox Chapter as much, and so now the Drury Vox chapter will be meeting them the same time we are.

7. What is some advice you would give to future Summit groups?

- I would tell future summit groups to plan their events faaaaar in advanced. Also, public relations is extremely important. If you want students to care about your specific cause, make sure you market yourself well and get a broad audience.

Vox: We can help you get Naked!

What accomplishments have happened with your project over the course of this spring semester?

- The spring semester has been extremely busy for Planned Parenthood. With the recent government spending cuts Crystal has been close to impossible to contact. We have teamed up with the Women and Gender studies group for a couple of events like their Feminist Happy Hour. We also teamed up with Vagina Warriors to get petition signatures for the birth control matters campaign. This semester there hasn't been a lot of even planning we have done, however our presence on campus has still be known.

What has been the greatest experience this past month volunteering with the agency?

- We just had our first Vox meeting which was really inspirational. There were a lot of great ideas thrown around and we were able to meet several of the teachers interested in Planned Parenthood involvement on campus. It was really great to meet more people who wanted to bring Planned Parenthood to the Drury campus and know that when our Summit house splits next year there will still be an organization we can help Planned Parenthood through.

What has been your greatest challenge this past month volunteering with the agency?

- all of the politics currently surrounding Planned Parenthood have made it difficult for our Summit house to get in touch with Crystal. There have been many lobby days in Jefferson City which we were unable to attend and thus our planning meeting has been continually pushed back.

- Also a lot of the ideas we had planned for the Spring semester are being pursued by Allies during their pride week.

What projects or activities do you still have planned to finish out the year?

- We are looking to joint he MSU Vox group in there event "Taking Back the Night" which will feature the DJ Makeout! It is an empowering night for women and children who have been abused. Several victims will be honored as well as awareness on discrimination and abuse will be addressed. This event will take place on April 27th and will be at the MSU Bear Paw/ North Mall.

- We are also teaming up with Jenn Kearbey to created Drury's own VOX chapter for next year. Currently we are hoping to get a movie night together for the end of the semester to tell students Panthers for Planned Parenthood will be becoming VOX. We are also looking at associating VOX with Naked Juices and setting up a table outside the library selling naked juice with a condom due to the recent uproar the CX has recieved.

March showers brings super awesome April Planned Parenthood Events

Since it's been raining Panthers of Planned Parenthood have been inside planning this semesters next upcoming events. Last week was the monthly Planned Parenthood meeting. We learned about the Feminist Happy Hour which Dr. Kenny and the women and gender studies gang was planning on conducting at Farmers Gastropub. This was an event where pictures were taken of women with a frame surrounding their face that read "This is the face of a feminist". This was to promote womens rights and Planned Parenthood decided to get involved and bring in the aspect of women's reproductive rights.

Recently Crystal, the grassroots organizer at Planned Parenthood has been going to lobby days in Jefferson City to fight back against the government funding cuts for Planned Parenthood. While she's been busy doing that MSU's Vox has been planning the event "Taking Back the Night". This is an event that will be held on their campus. Guest DJ MAKEOUT will be playing music for a dance party that night along with petitions being signed, and general awareness of Planned Parenthood raise. The tickets are estimated to be around $8 and will go towards helping Planned Parenthood now that our funding has been cut.

Other action plans that we are trying to become active in is stationing at the next art walk and getting more poeple to sign the Birth Control Matter petition that way.

Overall I think the upcoming weeks and months should be pretty exciting. If you feel the need to make a difference and haven't signed our petition yet try and visit us at one of our events.

Roe V. Wade

To ring in the New Year Planned Parenthood put on a benefit event celebrating the Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortions. The Panthers for Planned Parenthood tagged along to lend support at this event, providing chips and dip, as well as a veggie tray, and working different booths throughout the night.

At this event Crystal gave an opening speech introducing the celebration as well as welcoming specific guests. The entertainment of the night were 5 poets who gave different reads correlating with the theme of the night. One poem that was read was written by a woman giving a narrative of having undergone several miscarriages. This poem was particularly moving because the reader had difficulty reading the complete poem because she was so involved. Following this poem was the announcement that Charlie Norr had been chosen as our champion of choice this year.

Charlie told the story behind his support for planned parenthood. He discussed how when he was first married he was working for the military and barely making 30 bucks a month. His wife badly wanted a child but was unable to bare one for the first several times that they tried. Their doctor recommended starting her on birth control in order to better indicate when she would be ovulating and unfortunately birth control was 10 dollars at the time. This was a third of their monthly money and they simply could not afford it. Charlie turned to planned parenthood. Ever since they have helped him and his family out he has been helping them out.

Prior to the entertainment Panthers for Planned Parenthood and VOX members sold raffle tickets to be entered for specific prizes such as Roller Derby tickets, gift cards to The Grotto, and a $40 gift certificate to a local tattoo parlor. Buttons, shirts and bumper stickers were also on sale at this time. One woman who bought 4 bumper stickers remarked how her job had transfered her to Springfield from the East Coast and she was unsure weather or not there was even an active planned parenthood which she loved to support. She was glad that Crystal had planned the Roe v. Wade event and was able to meet with other Planned Parenthood supporters.

Doing work with Planned Parenthood has really opened up my eyes to the diversity that lies within Springfield. Although there are moral issue which surround the community service our Summit house is performing, I am still very grateful for the opportunity because I have seen so many supporters of the organization we are working for.

This week Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. the Panthers for PP will be working a booth outside the Vagina Monologues performance getting signatures for the current petition to make birth control free. Hope to see you there.

If you have questions feel free to contact us.

AIDS free December

What events have taken place at the agency you have volunteered and how have you assisted this month?

- To end November and welcome Drury students back from Thanksgiving break on a relaxing note the Panthers for Planned Parenthood held a Juno night in Lay Auditorium where we served Sunny D and Twizzlers while handing out condoms, lube, and general information about Planned Parenthood. We also had a copy of their most recent petition for free and prescription free birth control. Then December 1^st was World AIDS Day and Planned Parenthood contacted us telling us that if we were planning an event they would send us 1000 condoms along with post cards for students to sign and fill out that would be sent on their behalf to their government representative stating that safe sex education is a priority and should become one within school districts and that we care that the youth are being educated. They also mentioned that available contraception was a priority in keeping the world AIDS free. We successfully got 50 postcards signed and will be continuing to have those at our events as well as the petition. At this event we made reindeer to hang on a Christmas tree with condoms in their mouths for people to take. Overall the event was very successful.

As we end the semester what have been your best experiences and toughest experiences with your partnership agency?

- I think that one of our best experiences with our agency has been the most recent World AIDS Day campaign where we were able to respond to Crystal’s needs instead of hosting an activity we planned on campus. So far the difficult part of our summit house is that we are not an organization that can simply head over to Planned Parenthood and volunteer several hours and come back. We joined Crystal as Drury members trying to get the stigma with Planned Parenthood settled on Drury’s campus. This means that we have to plan the activities, get the supplies and figure out a way to make it work smoothly. When Crystal was able to get us involved with all of the other Planned Parenthood education groups on different campuses to spread awareness on World AIDS Day it felt extremely rewarding.

How do you see your group project evolving into the Spring Semester now that you have one semester under your belt?

- I believe that next semester now that we have figured out some effective ways to get students attention and have obtained some petitions involving planned parenthood we can working toward creating larger events and possibly creating a student body group so that Planned Parenthood will continue to be supported by the Drury community.

What skills have you gained or improved this semester that came directly out of being part of the Summit Leadership Experience?

- I have gained important time management skills. This semester it has been imperative that I balance my homework with my volunteering. It would be awful if I was given a responsibility and let down my entire summit house. I was also able to step forward and contribute useful ideas as well as watch these plans become realities. It really helped me to see the amount of work it takes to not only be the group planning activities but also putting them on.

As we end the Wellness Program and Stress Free Now Component what have been the highlights (low and high) of this program and what would you suggest for the future if this is continued?

- The Stress Free Now Wellness Program has added a good amount of depth to my knowledge of distressing. Prior to the classes my methods were to pause for a second, and maybe go for a run. I had never explored message, acupuncture, tai chi, or yoga before. Some of the online activities were considerably lengthy to practice five times a week. When it has come down to the week before finals I am going to have a hard time finding thirty minutes to just meditate. While this has made me realize that meditation can be extremely helpful in de-stressing, it has also moderately stressed me out trying to find a full 30 minutes to dedicate to meditation. I responded really well to the yoga exercises as well as acupuncture and am excited about the message. Tai chi did not make a terrible amount of sense to me and was not as rewarding as the other activities because we were given such a short period of time to learn it. However, even if it did continue I think that it wasn’t something I was passionate about or believed I enough to continue doing.

What are you looking forward to over the winter break?

- Over winter break I am looking forward to sitting down without a text book or laptop in my lap. Having zero homework seems impossible as this semester comes to a close and I am looking forward to a couple days of not thinking and making Christmas cookies. I’m also excited to catch up on sleep and do some reading.

For Beard Lovers Apleanty....

Keep yourself safe now that No-shave November is in full swing!

These past couple of weeks have been some busy ones for us here at the Planned Parenthood Summit House. So let me run over some of our accomplishments thus far:

Last week the gang headed over to our local Planned Parenthood (located on E Battlefield between National and Campbell) to participate in their monthly volunteers meeting. Here, we were introduced to several of the MSU planned parenthood student group members (they call themselves VOX, Voices for Planned Parenthood), as well as a member of APO and several planned parenthood volunteer coordinators including Crystal, who we've been working with.

At the meeting we discussed our upcoming project with V Warriors and Allies here at Drury tonight which is the Safe Sex Campaign, promoting students to make artwork inspired by safe sexual practices as well as kinky toys. The VOX representatives talked about their upcoming event for World AIDS day which is December 1st. They are having a benefit show on November 30th with the DJ Makout. It will be an 18 and up event that night. APO is also hosting an event on December 1st that will be a candle vigil in founders park from 5-6. There was also a PROMO representative there that talked about their upcoming trivia night that is to happen on December 6th. It will be 50s themed, from 7-9:30 at the Unitarian Church and will cost $15 for an individual and $75 for an 8 person team. They are looking for people to sponsor a round, which last year planned parenthood made a bunch of sex ed questions for a round that didn't count towards the score but the winning team got condoms and other planned parenthood goodies.

World AIDS day is right around the corner and we will be teaming up with Allies and V warriors again to remind you to et yourself tested and practice safe sex.

We also went out and bought some supplies for the safe sex campaign. Friday Night the group got together and made brown paper grab bags with condoms, coupons, and information in them for students to take at the information table.

We've also been busy planning Juno night which due to POL had to be moved to November 29th now. We're throwing around different ideas for food. Some say taco bell, some say sunny D and twizzlers... but we'll just have to see where we end up on that front closer to the date.

As for tonight: we hope to see everyone at our safe sex campaign in the fsc ballroom. There will be music, kinky crafts, sex inspired art, photography, as well as us at the information booth. Drop on in between 6 and 8. Even if you don't want to keep your artwork the V warriors would love it to have on display at their annual production of the Vagina Monologues.

Also stay tuned for our Facebook page to be coming out any day now created by the lovely Kevin Rogan (website designer extrodinare, ect. )

No Way! November

The great month of October has been mildly inactive as far as Panthers for Planned Parenthood has gone. We've taken some time to talk with our advisor as well as to meet with our Planned Parenthood liaison Crystal. She was nice enough to throw together a care package for us with condoms to hand out, petitions on birth control to have people sign, signs to hang up announcing planned parenthoods involvement on campus as well as sparkly pink planned parenthood t-shirts so that we could represent.

However.... We've been having difficulty with the community around us and two of our house members bike's (including mine) were stolen from our porch along with the package from Crystal. She announced she had left it on our porch and an hour later when we got back from classes it was gone.

So we shall go to her next time in order to prevent interference.

With that said we've made great headway on the month of November so we can stay active on campus. Teaming up with the V Warriors as well as Allies on the tentative dates of November 15 through 18 in order to promote safe sex through artwork. Our plan is for our house to create some fun art pieces using condoms and paint and dental dams and lube and to promote people to take condoms from us to create their own art and take pictures with them. This will prevent people from becoming embarrassed by taking condoms from our table when people are watching because they can say that it is for the sake of ART!

We'll make sure to post some of those pictures in November when we've made our artwork. Also we'll attach our Juno night onto the end of this week and probably do some promotion for signing the birth control petitions that planned parenthood is collecting to send to our senators.

As far as October goes, you need not worry! We're planning some safe sex fun for the weekend of Halloween. Currently we're throwing around ideas of hiding condoms for people to seek out as well as trick or treat fun at the Planned Parenthood house, so watch out for that post and some possible e-mails we may send your way.

Happy Fall Break Everyone!

Amanda

Teal Time

Symptoms of the SILENT KILLER

- Bloating

- Pelvic or abdominal pain

- Urinary urgency or frequency

- Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly

Women who have these symptoms almost daily for more than a few weeks should see their doctor, preferably a gynecologist.

need a gynecologist: Planned Parenthood does exams as well as referrals.

There is currently no early detection test for women with ovarian cancer. Regular pelvic exams and tests to not cover testing for ovarian cancer.

Know your risk

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

The ovarian cancer community’s color is TEAL.

In order to educate Drury on the deadliest cancer of the reproductive system and the leading cause of cancer death among women WEAR TEAL!

If you don’t have a teal shirt: paint your fingernails and toes teal

If you are still lacking teal the members of Panthers for Planned Parenthood will be handing out teal ribbons at the FSC during lunch on Wednesday.

Looks like a fun week!

See you there

- Amanda

Making the Difference.

My name is Amanda Combs and I am a sophomore advertising major. I am also involved in the Drury orchestra as well as the Drury/ Springfield Civic Orchestra.

This year I am living in the Drury Summit Leadership housing development working in partnership with Planned Parenthood. We call ourselves Panthers for Planned Parenthood. As a freshman living in Sunderland last year I had my own room and shared a bathroom with one other girl (which happened to be Stephanie). Looking into my housing options I became really interested in the Summit housing development because it was a chance to become involved in the Springfield community. Our summit house chose to work in partnership with Planned Parenthood in order to educate the Drury campus on sexual health. There are many risks involved with sexual practices as well as general sexual health that many college aged students are not fully aware of and sometimes ignore. We hope to prevent the spread of sexual diseases and promote testing for preventable illnesses, as well as helping students identify their risk for hereditary illnesses with unknown causes.

I hope to gain a sense of purpose from our Summit project. Planned Parenthood is often associated with the social stigma that their sole purpose is for abortions. The Planned Parenthoods in the Springfield area do not even perform abortion services. I hope to help Plan Parenthood gain a more respectable title on the Drury campus as well as promote Drury students to gain a comfortable nature in regards to knowing facilities they can go to in order to receive the care that they may require.

In September our house plans on spreading awareness of ovarian cancer around campus by painting the campus teal. We will tie teal ribbons to trees as well as handing them out to students. In September we would love for everyone to bring out their favorite teal attire to support Ovarian Cancer Awareness.

Know your risk.

Amanda

Welcome!

Hello hello.

Tonight was our first Panthers for Planned Parenthood meeting. We created this excellent blog!!!

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and we plan on getting turquoise ribbon from Hobby Lobby and creating ribbons for awareness. We also found out that there is an organization that paints toenails turquoise for ovarian awareness and we thought this might be a creative and fun way to get other Drury females to join us in our pursuit to spread awareness about Ovarian Cancer. We might aim to do a toe-nail polish party with a gynecologist answering anonymous questions that girls may have. If we can't get this to work out as planned we will hopefully still find a way to incorporate turquoise toes into our curricular.

In other news: we recently discovered that there is a condom called "proper attire" condoms which the proceeds go to planned parenthood. Hopefully we will be able to purchase these from a local planned parenthood to pass out on the Drury campus to promote safe sexual practices!

September is shaping up to be a busy month! See you all around

- Amanda