Monthly Archives: November 2012

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?

My group decided to make our controversy about the current drinking age. As college students, we are all surrounded by a drinking culture, making this a very relevant topic. We haven’t decided to focus on college campuses in our research, but we may end up doing something along those lines since college campuses are where most underage drinking occurs.

In our presentation, we plan to focus on three main framing questions. First, does the current law effectively prevent underage drinking? Second, does the law decrease dangerous alcohol-related behavior? And third, would lowering the drinking age result in more responsible decision-making?

I’m going to be interviewing a police officer and the main coordinator of SPA Late-Night (the activities held at the HUB from 10 pm – around 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays to give underage students something to do). I’ll also be researching general Pro/Con opinions and supporting material.

I think our topic will be very interesting if we can get a good amount of supporting material and footage. From what I’ve learned so far, there is both scientific evidence and data that support both sides of the argument, which is very interesting. Many people who are against lowering the drinking age cite the reasons why it was changed in the first place. Those who support the change cite European models as good examples.

I plan on finishing my interviews early next week so we can start to put together our videos as soon as possible.

Fa la la la la la la Rhetoric

With the holiday season quickly approaching, we as consumers are being inundated with rhetoric – it truly hits us from all sides. In newspapers. On television. On the radio. On the internet. In our inboxes. In our mailboxes. It’s everywhere. Every retail company is trying to persuade us to go make our holiday purchases at their stores. To be honest, this is one of the only parts of the holiday season that annoys me. It feels like people begin to forget the true meaning of the holidays, and instead focus only on how to get the newest toy for the lowest price.

Around this time of year, my favorite Christmas movie to watch is Miracle on 34th Street (the original, not the remake – obviously). I’ve loved the movie since I was young, but as of late, I’ve begun to appreciate the rhetoric implemented throughout the film. If you haven’t seen it, (first of all – go see it right now) here’s a brief synopsis: there is a little girl, Susan whose mother works for Macy’s. Susan’s mother has told her child that there is no such thing as Santa Claus, but unbeknownst to her, she ends up hiring him last minute to “act” as Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After enormous crowd response, she also hires him to be the Macy’s Santa for the holiday season. Throughout the course of the movie, Susan begins to believe in the magic of Santa and all that the Christmas season represents, as does her mother.

But where is the rhetoric? Kris Kringle begins to tell Macy’s customers where they can find the presents their children really want, even if Macy’s doesn’t carry them. At first, the corporate heads are pretty upset (their own Santa is losing them business!), but a very please customer tells a manager about how she respects Macy’s for caring more about the customer than their holiday sales, saying she will be doing a lot more shopping at Macy’s. Seeing that this “tactic” works, Macy’s spreads the idea to their stores across the country, and soon other retail stores begin to do the same.

It is a classic example that companies will do whatever will get them their business, including broadcast their more caring side. Today, companies still present themselves as very caring to get business, especially around the holiday season. In fact, Macy’s has instituted a Believe campaign, urging children to bring their letters to Santa to Macy’s stores. For every letter the company receives, they donate a dollar to the Make-a-Wish campaign, up to 1 million dollars.

While Rhetoric sometimes gets a bad name for the usually-greedy motives behind it, sometimes it really can make the world a better place. And isn’t that what the holiday season is about?

At-Home Exercises

Hopefully everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving breaks and had an abundant amount of good food and good sleep; I think we all greatly deserved it. I’m sure exercising wasn’t the first thing you thought about when you were at home, and that’s alright. It’s okay to take a break from the gym once in a while! But when our one-week Thanksgiving break turns into a four-month summer hiatus , it’s probably a good idea to get some exercise in. But what if you don’t have your own personal White Building in your basement?!? That’s alright too! There are plenty of at-home exercises, and I’m sure you guys don’t even realize you’re doing them!

Over Thanksgiving break, I spent a ton of time with my dogs, and we went on lots of walks around the block. Where I live, that’s almost a one mile loop, but I don’t feel like I’m running a mile while my crazy yellow lab runs full speed ahead. Going for a bike ride is another great way to exercise, and if you go with a bunch of friends, it can also be a lot of fun! As winter break approaches, think of going to a mountain and taking a ski or snowboard lesson. Even if you’re just beginning, you’ll get a great workout getting up every time you fall (trust me). Or, hike up the biggest hill in your town with all of your snow gear on and sled to the bottom. If you’re not sweating after that climb, please tell me your secret. Of course, in the summer months we can swim, hike, kayak, and play tennis or other favorite games. These are all excellent ways to exercise, and they’re so enjoyable, you don’t even feel like you’re working out. Most importantly, these activities get you outside. While gyms are convenient, they do lack the fresh air and sunshine that accompanies exercising outdoors.

So, if you’re away from the gym for a little while, don’t fret. There are ENDLESS activities that will provide you with great exercise, and they’re right outside your door.

puppies are tired after long walks too

 

Group Projects and Rhetoric

I think any time there is a group project, it is absolutely essential that every member of the group employ rhetorical strategies. While essential, collaboration can sometimes be difficult. It can be challenging to mesh together the ideas, creativity and different styles of all group members. Communication is the most important part of any group project and this is no different.

As the weeks progress and we move along with our project and its content, it will be important that we work together as an effective group. Group members will need to split the workload to accomplish tasks, so we must all be on the same page as to how we would like to go about working on our project and what we ultimately want the final product to look like. I know I’m not the best at working with computers, so I will need to rely on group members who are more adept at working with technology. Similarly, I feel like I am good at presenting information and making sure content is clear and conclusive.

Hopefully, we will be able to work as an effective group to accomplish all of our goals for this assignment!

Getting Through the Week

I’m not going to lie, having this project assigned right before Thanksgiving break certainly was not helpful timing. I don’t think anyone in my group has the mental capacity to focus any more before getting to just relax. Isn’t it crazy to think our last “holiday” was labor day? In the second. week. of. classes. I, personally, think its cruel of Penn State to deprive us of a fall break.

Anyway, try as we might, my group did not accomplish a whole lot as far as the project goes. Hopefully after break we will all be rested and ready to conquer this group multimedia project!

Talking to some members of my group, we think we will focus on a topic that is closer to home than far away. I felt I was more able to connect to the examples we saw because I could relate to them as an individual. As a Penn State student, I know all about State Patty’s and, even though I wasn’t an official student during the scandal, I was devastated during the Sandusky scandal and the firing of Joe Paterno. Many members of my group felt this way, so we will probably end up going with something that everyone in the class – or at Penn State – can relate to. We thought about discussing the stress of being a college student and whether or not so much pressure should be put on students today.

Though we haven’t picked a definite topic, I feel like my group has a pretty good idea of what direction we are heading in. I look forward to working on this project, I’m sure everyone will contribute to the group to make the project spectacular!

Step Right Up..

Its a good thing the semester is almost over because I am running out of gym classes to attend! Today I went to a Step class at the White Building, and I have a mixed opinion of the class.

Basically, when you walk in you build your own little step platform, which is cool because you can make it as tall as you want. The taller the platform, the more you will work out your legs stepping up and down for forty-five minutes! This was cool because everyone could determine what level they were at and how hard they were willing to work during that class.

The class really was stepping. We stepped up and down and up and down, and while there were several different combinations involving hops and kicks and knee-lifts and spins, I found myself watching the clock, waiting for the class to be over. It just became a little boring after a while. Perhaps if the class was a half hour instead of forty-five minutes, I would have been able to remain entertained throughout the workout.

As far as difficulty, the class wasn’t too hard, but I did feel like I got a good cardio workout. Like Zumba, there was fun music and combinations, but the more muscle-stressing stepping made me feel more productive than just flitting about at a Zumba class. Everyone in the class had a better idea of what was going on than I did (which is normal), but I still felt like I could keep up.

In short, I enjoyed the class and would consider attending again. If you’re looking for a workout that works your upper legs while providing some cardio, this class may be the one for you!

STEP is offered at the White Building on the following schedule:

  • Mondays: 12:10 and 5:45
  • Wednesdays: 5:45

Sick People Don’t Like To Exercise

Guys, I’m sick. Like there’s an elephant in my head,  constant chills, can’t get out of bed, sick. So, I really didn’t want to go exercise this week. In fact, though some may tell you otherwise, exercising when sick isn’t always a good move. For example, if you’re running a fever (or have chills, etc.) exercising can actually make you sicker. It raises your internal body temperature, which is already too high, and makes it more difficult for your body to fight back. So, if you’re feeling really awful, don’t go exercise more than you have to.. just don’t.

What can you do to help your body when you’re feeling under the weather? Luckily, theres a lot of things to help make you feel better! And believe me, I’m making my way down the list now. The first major thing is to stay as warm as possible. Now that it’s getting colder outside, this means you have to bundle up! I wore my nittany lion ears to class today. NO SHAME. On the same note, don’t do more than you have to. Try to do your homework or study from bed, and get as much rest as possible. Finally, the foods and drinks you put into your body can either help or prevent you from feeling better faster. Eating clear-broth soups keep you warm and replace the fluid you lose when you’re ill. Bananas are easy to digest and and they give your immune system a great source of potassium. Fruits in high Vitamin C help your immune system to stay strong and run more smoothly. The probiotics in yogurt and antioxidants in applesauce are both good for a recovering body as well.

So, if you’re feeling a little sick (like me), don’t fret. You’re certainly not alone – tons of people get sick this time of year. And as long as you’re taking good care of your body, you should recover in no time.

100 Days ‘Til THON

Today marks 100 Days until the largest student-run philanthropy in the country.. THON. If there is one thing that Penn State students are a part of that qualifies as an example of civic life, its THON. THON is a group of students, hundreds and hundreds of students, coming together for a greater good. What could possibly be more civic than that?!

As I was walking through the HUB today on my way back to my dorm after Chemistry, I couldn’t believe how many people were crowded inside the building. The HUB is almost always crowded at this time – most students are going to or coming from class, some are eating lunch, and there is nearly always some organization passing out fliers. But today was even more crowded than normal – I couldn’t even make my way down the steps. There were people cheering and yelling and dancing around. There was a merchandise sale and cameras everywhere, and everyone I saw was wearing their 100 Days ‘Til THON shirt.

At first, I was admittedly a little irritated. I was cold, I felt sick, and I just wanted to be back at my dorm. But then I realized, THON is a celebration! And marking the 100 Day Countdown to the event should be a celebration too. THON is the perfect example of students coming together for something good. Raising money to support people who are going through an incredibly difficult time is something to be so proud of. I know I’m certainly proud to go to a University that is so actively engaged in civic life.

In a world where it seems more and more people care only about themselves, THON proves that there is still good in this world. And that is why the 100 Days ‘Til THON festivities are my civic life highlight for the week.

TED..

I am one of the lucky few who no longer have the dread of presenting a TED Talk looming over them. I gave my talk on Tuesday and couldn’t be happier that the experience was over. I was nervous the whole time and shaky for at least ten minutes after I finished. Since I normally don’t get nervous when I speak, I was shocked at my reaction. But yes, dear friends, it was nerve-wrecking and I’m more than pleased that that five minutes of my life is behind me.

I liked the topic that I chose for my TED Talk and I thought all in all my content was good. I always talk too quickly when I’m nervous, so I know I probably was speaking at the speed of light, but I hope everyone in the audience could keep up with and understand what I was saying and that they enjoyed my presentation. Still, I’m happy we have the opportunity to redo the TED Talk, because I’m worried my nervousness got the best of me.

You may all be wondering why I’m so nervous. WELL. I completely underestimated what standing in front of lights and a camera would do to me. I tend to be very outgoing, but those cameras freaked. me. out. And the fact that the lights were blaring down on me? Ohmygosh. I was shaking so badly I don’t know how I didn’t fall over. It must have been a combination of the new type of speech and the cameras and being worried about how long my speech would be that got in my head.

The TED Talk wasn’t all bad though. It was cool to experience a new way of giving a presentation, and I can say that I have never presented a speech anything even remotely like a TED Talk. I have much more respect for the speakers on the TED website; I truly don’t know how they make it look so simple.