Category Archives: RCL

We have all done it. You can deny it, but I am sure at some point you have been guilty of this. You walk by a person you think you may recognize and you pretend to not see them, intensely look at the ground, or do something on your phone in order to avoid the possibility of an awkward encounter. In high school, this would happen to me quite often as I walked down one of the narrow hallways, and the only other person in the hallway was the girl that I knew in first grade then never spoke to again walking towards me. Do you say hi? Do you smile? Do you avoid eye contact altogether? You both know that you have seen one another, but neither of you speak a word.

You would think at such a large place such as the University Park campus, incidents like this would never occur. Wrong. It seems that you always tend to run into the same people on campus out of the thousands of strangers that you could possibly see. For me, it’s not that I don’t want to say hi to a person, it’s just that I may have met him or her once and fear the they won’t even remember us ever meeting. With so many different club meetings, classes, and events you meet new people in college every single day, and you never know when you are going to run into them again.

One of my new goals for the next semester is to be courageous and just give a simple “Hi!” or a smile to a person that I may recognize. What is the worst that could happen? They may not remember me, but oh well that’s only a minute out of my life that I may feel slightly embarrassed. I have realized that college is full of these “awkward” moments, and I should just embrace them rather than trying to avoid all uncomfortable situations. College is about stepping completely out of your comfort zone, and if I can’t even give a simple “hello” to an acquaintance I will never grow or change in the way that I believe I am capable of throughout these four years.

You log into your Facebook account, Twitter account, Instagram account, and the list goes on and on, and what do you see? An endless list of tweets, posts, pictures in regards to the 2012 Presidential Campaign, some informative and some downright ridiculous. For me, it was just my Facebook page that was overloaded with people ranting and raving about the election (I haven’t gotten too into the more advanced social media, Facebook works just fine for me). I think throughout this election more than any other, Twitter was an incredible influence. Twitter is solely based upon the idea that people just type whatever is on their minds and tweet it so virtually the whole world can see. On Twitter you have celebrities, candidates themselves, and everyday citizens like you and I constantly tweeting their support for a candidate or downright insulting them. When people scroll through their Twitter feeds mindlessly, it is natural that you are going to read through a couple, and I truly think that sometimes people’s opinions can be swayed. Although many Americans have strong and firm beliefs, and in fact will do anything to guard these beliefs, there are so many uninformed citizens in the country that can easily be swayed one direction or another by simply seeing that their favorite actress tweeted in support of one of the candidates.

In my experience with reading several of the status updates and posts on Facebook, I think I was more disappointed with my peers behaviors and words than anything else. I understand that they may have been trying to portray their stance in a public way, but if you are trying to do that, insulting others beliefs simply makes yours seem less respectable. At times I feel college students can speak and act too quickly without realizing the impact that they can have on so many people. With social media especially, your words can reach thousands of people in an instant, and you can also insult thousands of people in an instant. What I’ve learned from this election is that in order for you to be active in our society, you have to fully understand the effects your actions can have and the gravity of certain situations. Yes, we have the power to make our voices heard, but we must then speak in a positive and intellectual manner in order to ever see change.

A close up image of a young boy’s face appears on the screen, with his sad eyes looking straight at you. All the while, the melodramatic music is playing in the background while the speaker tells you the horrible story of the struggles that this boy faces on a daily basis.

I am sure you have all seen a commercial similar to this one advertising for UNICEF. This commercial uses pathos throughout the entirety of the commercial. First, the speaker (who just so happens to be Alyssa Milano) holds up two quarters in her hands telling you that this is all it will take for you to change a child’s life. She then introduces you to a young boy, and begins to tell his story: that he has lost his both of his parents, he and his brother must fend for themselves at an extremely young age, they are drinking water that may kill them, and they rarely have food to eat. While she is telling you these awful details about his life, heart wrenching pictures are shown on the screen displaying the young boy always with a serious and forlorn expression on his face. By telling you one individual story of a child who needs help, UNICEF is trying to cause you to form an emotional connection with this one child so that when you donate your money to their charity you feel as if you know where your money is going.

The pathos used throughout the commercial is also evident in the way Alyssa Milano speaks throughout: in a very slow and serious manner, always putting the most emphasis on words such as “die” or “starve” to ensure that the audience realizes the severity of what these words actually mean. In the end of the commercial, she again holds up the two quarters this time with a little more passion and force, explaining that just two quarters can change a life. This tactic makes you feel as a member of the audience watching the commercial, that you have the power to help a child in need by just giving up some change that you surely have laying around.

The question is, does the commercial employ pathos to too much of an extreme degree? Throughout the commercial, a few facts and statistics are provided, and there is video of the UNICEF workers providing and distributing the medicine to sick children. I think the purpose of the commercial is ultimately achieved; however, I personally think the way that Alyssa Milano speaks is almost so dramatic and serious that it may make a person just feel guilty for the poor child in the commercial and that they are a bad person if they cannot donate to this cause with a few measly quarters.

College students are busy people. From classes to clubs to to Greek life to service involvement to socializinge, each day seems to be busier than the next. With all of the opportunities that surround us here at Penn State, clubs, restaurants, and student government desperately vie for our attention and time. I know you have all seen the countless Blood Drive signs, the people outside the HUB with little flyers waiting to pounce on you as you exit the building, and the papers and advertisements that seem to act as wall paper to any and every open space throughout campus. As we are rushing from class to class or hurrying to the dining hall before lunch hours are over, we may surpass these numerous posters and flyers; however, one advertisement that I am sure you all have read at one point or another is The Stall Stories. Although a very weird concept, The Stall Stories provide useful information as well as interesting cultural events that are held on campus. They are easy to read and the wording is concise enough that I am always able to take away the most useful information. It is amazing to me that the housing stuff is even willing to interrupt our private time using the bathroom to try to communicate with us, but I think it is a very smart and creative idea which also takes into consideration the time constraints put on a college student. I find The Stall Stories to be a great way to build upon the community within our dorms and our floors; they encourage events that promote a multicultural experience and events that persuade students to play an active role on campus (such as the beam signing that occurred tonight in the new residence hall in south). I love sharing something that I learned from Stall Stories with my roommate to find out that she read it too! It may sound a little nerdy and a little weird, but I actually enjoy reading The Stall Stories, and I think that they have a positive impact on residential life at Penn State.

In my first RCL post, I wanted to elaborate a little bit on our discussion about the film “Do the Right Thing”. The movie is exploding with controversy, and I feel that we discussed in class mainly the racial issues and the implications of people’s words and actions throughout the film. I think another large component of evaluating rhetoric and civic life is how people interact with each other and how people view themselves. Each character in “Do the Right Thing” is more intriguing than the last, and each character also has a different dynamic with the many other people throughout the community. For example, we see Sal as the friendly but stern pizza shop owner who is happy to serve the people of the community if they don’t cause him any trouble; however, we also see a very different side of Sal when he interacts with Jane. The scene where Sal hits on Jane made me question my previous judgement of Sal and his role in the community. Up until that point, I respected him as a character because his actions were loyal and true. I think a lot of the conflict that arises in the end of the film, not only deals with the rhetoric used but also the relationships formed within the community. Another interesting relationship that wasn’t even brought up in our conversation in class was that of Mookie and his girlfriend. Their relationship demonstrated the struggle that so many people of their community faced. She was obviously not too thrilled about taking care of a young child on her own while Mookie was barely making enough money to support them. From relationships like these, we can see clearly the issues that people faced within the community and how unrest was already rising even before Radio Head was murdered by the police. Although rhetoric is a vital component in analyzing what ultimately happens in “Do the Right Thing”, I believe the people are the root of the entire movie.