Activism Plus 1

1.) CODEPINK SL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Womens%20Center/105/20/29 

CodePink is a women's activist group. Their reason d'etre is to put an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to stop new wars and to redirect resources towards life affirming programs such as health care, education and green jobs. While originally created to bring women together, they welcome anyone to join this cause in affirmative action. The group itself was started in 2002, however since then it has merged with the virtual world Second Life

2.) CodePink makes their statement known in various ways. There is a meeting place in Second Life with audiovisual devices for presentations. There are Second Life meetings several times a month in the Women's Center (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Womens%20Center/145/112/23). There are news letters available for download, pictures, commerative walks and freebies. There is also a conference room situated on an island, with many other rooms available for various uses.

3.) The interactivity begins with the presentations and lectures that take place on Second Life. The newsletters avai

lable link to the CodeP

ink website. This is the website that facilitates the donations and marches and is where users are directed to from the CodePink Women's Center (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Womens%20Center/105/20/29). 

There is also a CodePink SL blog (http://codepinksl.blogspot.com/) which is updated with pictures of past events both which have occurred both in Second Life. Past talks in Second Life are also covered, and the dates for future talks are also updated in order for users 

to remain engaged in the CodePink SL activism. 

The blog also links to user's member pages and their opinions regarding the issues being dealt with in CodePink, as well as other pictures posted by other users from past events and talks.

(CodePink SL meeting room)

(CodePink SL group member)

(CodePink SL Newsletter)

SGK for the Cure of Breast Cancer:

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

This group helps support the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Foundation through awareness and donations. It DOES NOT represent their foundation. However, we are passionate about what the SGK foundation does and we donate 100% of contributions to the foundation through their association with Applebee's of Midwest City, OK. Please contact Gen Mgr Eric Lewis @ 405-733-8024 if you have RL donation questions or contact Alistaire Diesel in SL. Thank you! =)

4) EVALUATION:

Codepink SL does an exceptional job organizing their movement. Their investment in the land to provide a common meeting ground and information hub for both group and non-group members. The land has many interactive and informative pieces, from free shirts to their latest news letter. Codepink SL not only has a land within SL (where they provide information, organize rallies and group events), but they also provide information outside of SL. With their use of an active blog space, they are able to encompass a wider audience. Both their SL land and blog provide observers with their RL experiences (example: pictures from RL rallies). Whereas the SGK for the Cure of Breast Cancer Group is limited to the group itself. The only connections outside of SL is a phone number where people can donate to the cause. Because of this, it is limited in its impact. Thus, this group's weakness is the lack of interactivity and presence (no land). It is hard to spread their word when the only indication of the cause is the group name "I Support The Cure". 

5) Our cause on Second Life would be called University Student Rights, and would exist as a forum for students to share ideas and grievances about their University.  Namely, students from Brock University could participate to actively work against the budget cuts being imposed on our educations.  The group would act as a voice against the institutions that are neglecting the well being of their students and are choosing to monopolize on our monetary commitments to the University while taking away what that money is supposed to get us.  Further, the group would act as a creative forum for University students to participate in, seeking new and creative ways to act against the institutions and discussing success rates of different styles of campaigns.

Our voice would be heard via Second Life in a number of different ways, detailed below:

1. Group

    As with all groups on Second Life there would be the option to include "University Student Rights" above the head of the avatars that are group members.  This would serve as an excellent method for recognition online.

    We would use our status as a group to send out updates on the University landscape; what students are struggling against what, which institutions have ignited change in their predetermined strategies, etc

2. Conference Times

    An effective method we noticed online is the creation of specific times to come together and discuss the cause at hand, we would do this with students, likely on a monthly basis as the University lifestyle imposes a number of timely commitments as it is

    These conferences would provide the opportunity for students to air their concerns, hear the opinions of others, and discuss activism success stories

    The purpose of these conferences is to offer a forum for discussion of these issues, showing students that they are not alone and that together they can retain the rights that they deserve as paying individuals

3. Newsletter

    Mentioned above, this would be sent as a message to group members and would also be available for download at our location in SL

4. Physical Location

    This idea was such a great one and was really brought to life by CODEPINK SL, the location serves as a meeting ground for SLers who are invested in the cause, so even when we are not meeting for a conference, discussion and advice giving can still take place

5. Interactivity

    Offering the opportunity to speak at conferences, enabling the sign above the avatar and providing an interactive space are all ways that we intend to showcase our cause

    Perhaps an annual or semi-annual event to raise awareness for the problems that face today's University students could take place, showcasing what we are working to fight against, noting the change in the educational landscape over the past decades, and why we need to fight this change and maintain the University as a hub for learning and not a business

Between all of these efforts we would be capitalizing on the effective use of many strategies being employed by other online activism groups.  The cause is timely and we are all deeply invested in it, for this reason we think that we would be excellent candidates to get it started.