Storyline
Trump has rolled back Obama-Era protections for birth control coverage via employer mandated insurance.  Exceptions to coverage already existed for religious organizations.  Now, any boss can deny a woman birth control on the grounds of religious or “moral” objections.  Some women use birth control for reasons unrelated to pregnancy protection, like ovarian cysts, acne, or heavy menstrual cycles that increase risk of anemia.  It is none of our boss’s business, though,  if we, our partners, sisters, cousins, or mothers want birth control for pleasure or birth control for medical conditions.  These violates the rights to privacy, equal protection, and freedom from sex discrimination.  Trump’s actions also set a dangerous precedent to allow employer subjectivity about covering ANY health issue that the boss deems to be counter to his or her morality, from AIDS medicines to fertility treatments to diabetes resulting from the “deadly sin” of gluttony.   
​Therefore, we are taking an activist stand through gaming. For stage 1 of this game, we have created an augmented reality (AR) game that is based on the concept of an "Easter egg hunt," Easter eggs being a tradition leftover from spring fertility festivals. After downloading the AR app Aurasma onto their phones, players go to the student health center to get instructions from a peer educator. Players are instructed to find 4"x6" images of 7 forms of birth control. Each image has a "surprise" embedded in it via AR, like a plastic Easter egg has something inside. After finding all 7 images, players return their tally sheets to the peer educator to get an 8th image of Tomas Jefferson in a pink pussy hat -- icon of the 2016 Women's March -- standing in front of the Jefferson Memorial with a flying diaphragm heading to cover the architectural dome of the monument. --the interior of which proclaims the American right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Though this last image of a dressed up Jefferson and his memorial, players learn how to take action on this important issue of losing access to birth control. Oh yeah, and they get free condoms from the peer educator!

In phase II of this project, we would like to partner with Planned Parenthood to make this game a fundraiser. Pay $1 to download the augments and instructions to PLAY! But then get serious.





How it Works
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Download Aurasma (an augmented reality app) from GooglePlay or App Store onto your phone. It’s free!
https://www.aurasma.com

  1. Sign up to follow the Aurasma account of Parwad.  
  2. Sign up for an account.
  3. Search “Parwad” -- “Parwad’s Public Profile” select the profile, then press Follow.
  4. Return to Aurasma Start Page.
  5. Click Purple button at the bottom... 
  6. Go to the Student Health Outreach and  Promotion (SHOP) and tell the peer advisor you want to play the AR game. 
  7. The peer advisor will give you a list of 7 forms of birth control.  In the manner of an Easter Egg Hunt, your task is to find designated images of each of the 7 forms.  Inside each “Easter Egg” is an augmented reality “surprise.” 
  8. Check off each of the 7 forms of birth control from this list as you find it:
 ___ male condoms
 
___ female condom
 
___contraceptive vaginal ring
 
___birth control pills
 
___ intrauterine device (IUD)
 
___arm implant
 
___diaphragm
 
9. Return the completed list to the peer advisor to get your 8th image and some fun free  goodies!





Goal of the game

Raise awareness about the president’s attack on accessible, affordable birth control. Motivate people to action. 
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Janitors