Action Reflection #1
Prepared by Yuzo Ishikawa
As part of the action of my project, I created a poster in hopes of raising awareness of the fact that not all the everyday products we buy and use are not completely safe. I hoped to make students at Serra – who constantly exposed to dangerous chemicals in electronic products, water bottles, and perhaps cosmetics – aware that not everything is safe. Many water bottles contain Bisphenol-A, which may disrupt the hormonal system of the human body. Certain chemicals in almost all cosmetic products – such as parabens – have breast cancer causing properties; in fact, this may be an issue Serra men must know, considering that their girlfriends are constantly using make-up. In order to show increase awareness, I listed picture of some products that may be hazardous to human health. Students must learn that these chemicals exist in the products because the government and industries are careless in preserving consumer safety.
Although I do not know if this poster has been successful in spreading the message yet, I hope that it will be successful. As steps for improving this poster, I may consider making a much bigger poster and adding statistics on the levels of dangers and the kinds of products that may be harmful. In doing this project, I have learned to be more cautious of the products I buy. Even though the labels may tell me that they are “safe,” industries are known to manipulate data to prove their supposed safety. In the future I hope to take part in the ongoing research that cast doubts on the real safety of the products.
Action Reflection #2
Prepared by Alexander Mayorkis
The action I took was to make a petition concerning the effects of harmful chemicals in everyday products and the necessity for the regulation of ban of them. I chose the petition because it would spread knowledge and awareness of the issue while gaining support for the cause.
I hoped to achieve a greater level of awareness among the Junipero Serra community of the harm that certain chemicals in everyday products can be causing. I also wanted to educate the students who were very surprised to learn how little the American government in doing in respect to this topic. The results were rather mixed. Some were very enthusiastic to learn while others did not care or were sarcastic in there response to it. As seen in the petition, some did not take it seriously and wrote false of inappropriate phrases in the boxes meant for signatures. For the most part, it seemed successful and at least accomplished educating a portion of the participants.
In the future, I might be good at spreading knowledge and educating people about certain social justice issues. Justice issues which I encounter in the future I could spread awareness about by speaking to individuals and prompting some form of response in them, even if it is as minor as a signature of their support.
