Service Hours Journal Entries

Hannah Langsdorf, gb4276

Make a Difference Day at Carver Stem Academy: 10/17/17 8 am - 11:30 am

1. During my service experience, I took a shuttle bus with other volunteers to the Carver

Stem Academy, which was an older looking elementary school. Once we checked in, I

was assigned to a classroom that needed to be painted. Others were assigned to help

board up vacant houses in the neighborhood surrounding the school, and various other

tasks. The trim of the classroom was covered in mold and mildew, and we scrubbed the

mold off and repainted it. A man came in while we were working and scolded us for not

wearing masks and gloves. He kept saying we didn't know what fumes we could be

breathing in, that it was a very old school and it's better to be safe than sorry. I thought

about the children that went to this classroom, and about all the students, and wondered if

they were breathing in toxic fumes everyday they went to school here. I wondered if

being in such an old building was harmful to them, if they would develop health

problems because of it. That made me feel dreadful and a bit helpless, to know there was

little I could do to change this, besides volunteering to beautify the school. As we were

working, a janitor came into the classroom and kept thanking us over and over again for

coming in to help the school. This made me realize the school likely couldn't afford

painters or other workmen to make the changes we were making. He seemed very

enthusiastic about the changes, and I could tell he cared a lot about the school.

2. While we were scrubbing the mold off, a fellow volunteer remarked that although we

were scrubbing most of the mold off, it would probably come back, because the building

was so old. It occurred to me that the building probably had major infrastructure

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 problems, and although our help in "beautifying" the elementary school was welcomed, it

wouldn't solve deeper issues the school faced. Cleaning and repainting the trim in that

classroom definitely brightened it up, but our work could not change the fact that the

school was old and in great need of repair. Our work could not change the fact that the

school probably couldn't afford the repairs it so desperately needed. I felt some despair

knowing there were larger forces at work, and that our volunteering could only help the

school and it's community so much. Regardless of this, our work beautifying the school

will hopefully increase moral and give the students and faculty optimism. I felt hopeful

knowing there were institutions like Americorps, Wayne State, and others who

participate in improving the conditions of this school and others like it.

3. Some volunteers boarded up vacant houses in the neighborhood around the school, to

discourage people using them as places to take drugs. In doing so, this demonstrates that

taking drugs (and furthermore, using vacant houses to take them in) is considered socially

deviant behavior. Most people do not take drugs in abandoned houses, and it is

considered socially unacceptable. This behavior is discouraged by boarding up these

houses, making it more difficult to use them to take drugs in. Boarding up these houses is

thought to make the community surrounding the school safer, especially for the students

walking to school from these neighborhoods. Robert Merton, using strain theory,

would argue that this social deviance of taking drugs in abandoned houses is caused by

the drug users experiencing inequality and not having an equal opportunity to reach the

expectations of our society ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 205). (The expectations being

to not do drugs, especially not in vacant houses.) Another theory, the broken windows

theory of deviance, may also help to explain this behavior. In broken windows theory,

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 people are affected by social cues when deciding whether or not to engage in socially

deviant behavior ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 215). Not boarding up the houses and

leaving them open and exposed could be seen as a social cue that it's more socially

acceptable to use them for drugs. However, boarding up these houses could be seen as a

social cue that it's less socially acceptable to use them for drugs. Drug users will be less

likely to use boarded up vacant houses for drug use, as opposed to exposed vacant houses

with no boards.

4. Currently, I am not volunteering in areas like the Carver Stem Academy, but I would like

to. I would like to volunteer with Americorps (who organized the volunteering event) and

impact communities in Detroit in meaningful ways like I did today. Being aware of the

problems these communities face and actively helping to alleviate them will allow me to

understand why these issues (bad infrastructure in schools and lack of $ to fix it, vacant

houses used for drugs) arise and how we can prevent them.

Belle Isle Stewardship Volunteer Workday 11/18/17 9:00am - 12:30 pm

1. During this volunteer workday, I worked with other volunteers to remove invasive

species from Belle Isle. After Laurel showed us how to identify them, she showed us how

to use clippers to cut the larger plants down, and add some herbicide to the base to ensure

it wouldn't grow back. We covered a larger portion of the island than I thought we would.

2. This was a fun volunteer experience, if very tiring and wet. (It rained that day.) I learned

a lot about the jurisdiction of Belle Isle and its history as a park. How it used to be filled

with so many more people, but now is very underkept and many once-beloved areas of

the park are in serious need of repair. I felt glad to be making a difference to improve the

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 park so others could enjoy it, but saddened by the general disarray the park seemed to be

in.

3. Belle Isle itself, and all its buildings, facilities, roads, and even trees and wildlife that

make up the park, are all part of material culture ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 82).

However, although the material culture of Belle Isle once emanated luxury and leisure,

this is no longer the case. Because of social forces around Belle Isle, namely Detroit

declaring bankruptcy and the state of Michigan seizing the park as state park property

because Detroit wasn't able to maintain it, the landscape of the park changed. Belle Isle is

a prime example of how social forces can shape and change our material culture over

time.

4. Before this volunteer experience, I knew little of the history of Belle Isle, and what led to

its change and current state of disarray. Volunteer workdays like the one I participated in

contribute to re-beautifying the park for all people to enjoy, and help return Belle Isle to

its former glory.

Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 11/21/17 4:15 - 5:40 pm

1. During my service experience, I helped to both prepare and serve meals to veterans. The

kitchen staff seemed glad to have a new person to help, and I got the feeling they were

frequently understaffed. Dinner that night was chicken liver, and a lot of the veterans

were apprehensive about trying it. Having never had chicken liver before, I was feeling

apprehensive too. But the cook insisted it was really good, and had me try some, and she

was right, it was delicious.

2. Overall, I felt my presence there was welcome, and that the work I was doing was

directly helping the veterans. I feel more open to eating liver, and I am realizing that not

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 everyone has the option to be picky about food – sometimes what's served is what you

have to eat. I was surprised by the variety of ages of the veterans, I thought they would all

be older.

3. Although my service focuses on veterans, what stood out to me most in this session was

the differing opinions (of both the staff and veterans) about eating chicken liver. Many

veterans flat-out refused to try it, others were willing to, and still more were familiar and

comfortable with eating it. The cook explained to me that growing up, her mother always

made chicken liver for them, because it was cheap and nutritious. She seemed shocked

that so many people were disgusted at the idea of eating it. I thought a lot about the video

we watched in class about eating insects, and I found the reactions to eating insects

similar to the reactions of some of the veterans at eating chicken liver. The cook was

raised eating chicken liver, and therefore considers it a perfectly acceptable food to eat.

However, the others were not raised to think of liver as food. This just goes to show that

food is something socially constructed - what one person may consider food, another

may consider inedible, or even disgusting.

4. From this volunteer session, I've learned that my idea of veterans differs from the reality

of veterans. I didn't realize there was such a range of ages, furthermore that so many

veterans were in need of housing and food. I think knowing this will give me a broader

perspective on veterans, and make me realize the issue is more complex than I realized.

Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 11/26/17 4:15 - 5:45 pm

1. In this session, I learned more about how the Detroit Veteran's program worked.

Specifically, that some of the veterans we served lived in the building, in dorm-like

rooms. However, many others came from their own homes, or else did not have a home.

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 This night, the cook expressed frustration, because some of the veterans were not eating

the meals she had prepared for them. (If a veteran was absent for a meal, a dish was put

in a fridge for them to eat later.) She had to throw away several meals because they had

not eaten them in time, and she was very distraught that so much food had been wasted.

2. Like the cook, I felt upset at the wasting of food too. Most of the veterans seemed to

really appreciate and entirely eat their meals, so I was puzzled why some of them had let

their meals go to waste. Later as I was preparing a plate for one veteran, he asked for

small amounts of food, as he had lost his appetite. A staff member told me later that it

was because the veteran had been having some flashbacks (PTSD), and didn't have the

appetite for a full meal.

3. This session made me realize that although we all try to not waste food, for many people

it is not only wasteful, but a criminal act. This may depend on how the person was raised.

If one is raised in a household with plenty of food, they may be less bothered by the

wasting of food. However, someone raised in a household with a scarcity of food, who

has learned that food is not always available, might value the food more and have more

disapproval when they see others wasting food. For the latter group, always eating all

your food and not wasting any would be a norm. Whereas for the first group, they may

usually eat all their food, but no one around them would be in shock if they were pickier.

This shows an inequality in food distribution – some people can afford to be pickier

with foods and more wasteful, whereas others cannot afford to be so choosy, and must eat

whatever they're given.

4. I could be less wasteful with my food. I have grown up in a household that generally

always has food available, so throwing away food is something I have done for most of

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 my life, unfortunately. But at the Veteran's Housing Program, food is highly valued and

that makes me want to be less wasteful, and only take what I can eat, not be so picky. If

everyone behaved less wastefully, we would save a lot more food and likely feed more

people as a result.

Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 11/29/17 4:00 – 7:00 pm

1. By this session, I was starting to understand how things worked. Rather than just serving

meals, I was allowed to chop vegetables and taught how the dishwasher worked. That

night, they made "Dirty Rice", which one of the cooks seemed very proud of, and kept

telling us it was a New Orleans recipe. (He was from New Orleans.) I served dirty rice

and stayed pretty late helping with the dishes. By this time, some of the staff (and

veterans) were starting to remember my name.

2. This was a good session. I was given some of the dirty rice to try (another new food for

me), and it was as good as the cook was raving it was.

3. In this session, I felt I was starting to become a part of the group of people who regularly

volunteered/worked at the Veteran's Housing Program. Which, because it is a group that

"exists as a means to an end", is categorized as a secondary group ("You May Ask

Yourself" pg 163). I can only be a member of this secondary group at the Veteran's

Housing Program if I continue to volunteer there, "affiliation is contingent" ("You May

Ask Yourself" pg 163). This group is a secondary group also because it is instrumental,

meaning it exists to fulfill a particular purpose, in this case, to feed Veterans.

4. Primarily, I learned how to cook dirty rice, which (as the cook kept telling me) is a very

easy and simple recipe, perfect for students like me who don't have much time on their

hands, or groceries. I hope I'll learn more interesting recipes from volunteering here.

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Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 12/1/17 3:00 - 6:15 pm

1. This day wasn't as busy as other days I volunteered, probably because it was a Monday. It

was a fairly ordinary volunteer session, with meal preparation, serving, and dishes. Fairly

ordinary, except one veteran had gout. He was feeling so ill that he couldn't get out of

bed, and we had to package a meal for him and have one of the veterans deliver it.

2. Learning that one of the veterans had gout, and furthermore that many of the veterans

had gotten diseases/illnesses frequently made me wonder why they were more prone to

these things. Maybe it's because so many of them go in and out of homelessness, making

them more vulnerable to the elements, wearing down on their immune systems.

Furthermore, if they can't afford to have a house, they probably have no kind of

healthcare at all, and no defense against illness and disease.

3. Although the veteran who had gout was currently in housing (as part of the Veteran's

Housing Program), perhaps he hadn't had housing in the past. Or like some veterans, had

been in and out of stable housing conditions since they came back from their service.

This constant flux of stability (and access to health resources) is probably a major factor

in why these veterans are prone to illness/disease. Regarding the connection between

health and income, (as an example of reverse causality) the textbook offers two

explanations. Either that getting sick causes people have less income, or that having less

income makes people more likely to become sick("You May Ask Yourself" pg 51-52). In

the case of the veterans, I would argue that having less income causes their sickness, not

the other way around.

4. In order to fight against the prevalence of veterans getting sick, I could encourage them to

use hand sanitizer before lining up for meals. (There is a dispenser, but I rarely see them

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 use it.) Perhaps if I kindly suggested it, less veterans would become sick. Although there

is only so much I can do, the issue of veterans being more prone to diseases because of

homelessness is a complex issue.

Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 12/6/17 4:00 - 7:00 pm

1. Another pretty ordinary day at the Veteran's kitchen: helping with meal prep, serving,

and scrubbing some particularly grimy pots and pans. However, one of the veterans got

into a fight with another veteran. It wasn't a physical fight, but they swore and yelled at

each other. I think they were arguing about food. The cook was upset because she didn't

want me to have to hear that, but I told her it wasn't a big deal. She kept shaking her head

and saying how some of the veterans act so childishly. She also said that they shouldn't

argue because they were all "brothers", in a sense. Regardless of whether they had come

from the Army or Marines, they were all veterans and should therefore get along with

each other, she proclaimed.

2. I admit, I was a bit startled by the fighting and arguing that broke out, because it was

between two large grown men. I'm not accustomed to seeing fights between grown men,

or hearing much cussing. But when the cook compared their quarrels to that of children, I

found it less intimidating. My brothers have silly meaningless fights all the time, just like

these grown men were. I thought it was charming that the cook said the veterans were all

like brothers.

3. And the reason the cook described the veterans as being "brothers", is because they all

belong to the same subculture ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 88). These veterans belong

to a subculture for several reasons. One, they have similar lingo, key words and

phrases unique to their group ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 89). If an outsider heard

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 this lingo, they most likely wouldn't have the faintest idea what the veterans were talking

about. Another way these veterans form a subculture is that they're all from the Detroit

area, distinguishing them from other veterans in America.

4. I don't think there was much I could have done to prevent the fighting amongst the

veterans. However, thinking of them like brothers, all belonging to the same subculture,

makes me better understand their behavior.

Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 12/9/17 3:10 – 6:10 pm

1. This volunteer session was on a Saturday night, so there were more veterans to serve than

usual. It was one of the busiest days volunteering. By this point, many of them had

started to recognize me, and expressed surprise and delight at my coming back.

Unfortunately, one of the veterans I hadn't seen before made a few distasteful sexual

comments towards me, which was something I was not used to or expecting.

2. The night was pleasant if not for the sexual comments. It made me uncomfortable and a

bit violated, because I had started to feel at home in the veteran's kitchen. And this felt

more up-close and personal than the usual cat-call I and every other woman are used to

dealing with. All the veterans I had met thus far had been very polite and kind to me, but

this veteran crossed a line. I remember feeling flustered and confused, hoping he'd stop

saying things to me, but still pretending I found them funny because I didn't know how

else to react.

3. The textbook describes sexual harassment as "hostile environments in which women

feel unsafe... singled out" ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 311). I think this is a pretty

useful definition for me; in that moment the Veteran's kitchen felt like more of a hostile

environment than a safe one. I also felt the veteran was enforced a gender role on me; as

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 a young woman, it seemed he believed it was okay to speak to me as though I were a sex

object. And furthermore, that I belonged in the kitchen. Perhaps this veteran believed in

structural functionalism, and believed the role that women played was solely to

procreate with (and please) men. I would have to disagree.

4. The next time, if it happens, a veteran (or any male) makes a sexual comment, I will act

differently. I will not laugh and pretend it's hilarious like I did today. Because sexual

harassment is not a laughing matter; it is damaging. I will frown and shake my head, or

not acknowledge it at all. Maybe I will scold them for saying such things, or tell them it's

not flattering, please stop.

Meal serving at the Detroit Veteran Kitchen: 12/10/17 3:00 - 6:00 pm

1. At this point, I feel very at-home in the Veteran's Kitchen. I knew where all the supplies

and dishes were located, and spent a lot of my time showing a new volunteer how things

were done. Most veterans recognized me, and I felt free to talk and joke with the staff.

And because we had extra help from the new volunteer, clean-up didn't take as long as it

usually does.

2. This volunteer session was fun; there was a lot of joking around (and of course hard

work too). The new volunteer was from Wayne State as well, so it was nice to be able to

talk to someone my own age. But she was also the first volunteer I had worked with that

wasn't over the age of 40. I wondered why that might be, since Wayne State is relatively

close to the Veteran's Housing Program. I think it's because their website is a bit difficult

to navigate, and perhaps the program just isn't very well-known.

3. During this volunteer session, I talked a lot with the other volunteer about the stress of

finals. She expressed having some role conflict: difficulty both spending time with

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 family who had come from out-of-town and studying for finals. However, if she had said

she needed to quit school to spend more time with family, that would be an example of

roll strain ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 132). Our statuses as students are achieved

statuses ("You May Ask Yourself" pg 133).

4. After talking with the volunteer, I felt glad to be away from home so I am not distracted

form my schoolwork. I advised her to put school above all else, but to take small breaks

with the family when needed.

Citations
Conley, Dalton. You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist. W.W.
Norton, 2017.

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OPTION #2: Bumper Sticker w. Ad Campaign
The advertisement below (created using Piktochart) is meant to be simple and sweet, simply

asking us to give back to veterans, and volunteer to help them at the Detroit Veteran's

Housing program. I kept the color scheme to red, white, and blue, keeping a patriotic theme.

I tried to make it simple and to-the-point.

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