HEART Campus Conversation
Contact: Katy Griffith, katy.griffith@email.edcc.edu
Figure 1. Poster of the campus conversation on 1/31
Figure 2. Poster of the campus conversation on 2/7
Posters of the events are taken from students.edcc.edu/servicelearning/default.html
This event was sponsored by EdCC Healthy Relationships Team (HEART) & Center for Service Learning. These group conversations are held on Wednesdays in Lynnwood Hall. I joined two conversations on 1/31 (4:30-5:30 pm) and 2/7 (3:00-4:00 pm). The speaker was Katy Griffith, the project director of HEART. The goals of this event were to provide a private platform for students and campus staffs to share their experiences or opinions and to get feedback from the expert on topics related to relationships and society. The first session was focused on stalking and domestic abuse. The second session was about the trending #metoo movement. My duty at the event was to participate in the conversation by paying full attention to the speaker, respecting people’s opinions, sharing my perspective on the topics, or asking questions.
Figure 3. Griffith explaining ground rules during the session
Figure 4. Group conversation in a circle
This service learning experience showed me the psychological aspect of the society and the importance of knowing these things to better fit and protect ourselves in every day’s life. It made me more attentive and aware of the people and what’s happening around me. They shared stories and first-hand experiences on things I never thought could happen in real life. Griffith also explained the boundaries between what was considered normal and what actions crossed the line. I think it is very important to draw a line between those two considering most people are clueless in the gray area between what’s right and what’s not. This is where science plays a role in the society: educating people. Many people are victims of abusive behaviors but never really mind about it because they are used to it until it becomes a normal thing for them. By having a better understanding of the situation, we can know how to protect ourselves better and seek help sooner. Start now and spread the knowledge because one small movement can trigger a chain of reactions, like the #metoo movement.
Humans are a complex and unique species, but they have several traits that can also be found in other animals. Technology, society, cultures, and many other external factors allow humans to have many choices at almost everything. They become very picky and specific at what they like best, maybe more than other animals who don’t have that many or any choices. For example, humans are very selective (nonrandom) at choosing their partner and mating. Also, the reasoning behind it varies from every individual, even those in the same population because everyone has their own interest and standard. It is simpler in other animals because at least in a population they seem to have a certain preference, which creates sexual selection in a population. However, the various preferences have its own benefit, such as the diversity of traits at one place because one is not highly preferred over the other. Then, they do not exhibit sexual dimorphism between genders because they have roughly equal contributions to reproduction. Especially after several waves of feminism, males and females have very similar roles and equal rights, which makes them harder to distinguish in terms of roles and contributions. Lastly, humans fight for power and authority over the other like many animals do. This is the main cause of abusive relationships: desires of power and control over their partner. It is a trait common to most animals, but the question is to what extent. The most important things I learn from this service learning are being able to have self-control and respect towards each other.
Biology is interdisciplinary because it relates to many aspects of life and connects them together. It is truly a form of life science in a way that it explains many phenomena in life. Part of it is due to its broad area of study, instead of being focused on one subject. Biology also has many specialization and branches, such as physiology, anatomy, ecology, micro, etc. By bringing different knowledge and information together, biologists can come up with a big picture of what’s happening by taking everything into account and connecting the dots.
Questions:
1. What are the benefits of having a solid knowledge of social problems?
2. At what age should children be exposed to the dark side of the society? Is it good for them to know all of these? Will they have any fear or trauma toward the society?
3. What is the role of social media in spreading information or triggering worldwide reactions? How do social media change humans interaction?
What are some ways we can do to prevent social problems, such as stalking and domestic abuse?
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