Category: Uncategorized

Civic Artifact Concept

I will be honest; I struggled to find a Civic Artifact. Sure, it can be easy to think of a few basic civic duties we may have such as recycling or voting, but what image or object creates a poignant depiction of the civic (or not so civic) in our own lives. So, I thought long and hard. Then, the idea kind of bumped right into me.

Yes, I am doing my blog post on bumper stickers. A few thoughts came into my mind of driving down a highway, behind beat-up Volkswagen or truck passionately displaying the driver’s political views. On the other hand, sometimes I see those with a stick figure family portrait on the back of their mini-van, or support for a specific activist group. Then there are those who are adamantly against bumper stickers, deeming their cars too classy for such nonsense. Either way, there is much that can be said on a bumper sticker, and therefore, much to be said about them.

For my project, I want to consider why we use bumper stickers, and if they are an effective method of promoting an issue, policy, or just telling people what football team you like. I plan on delving into just a few of the more recognizable or controversial stickers and seeing what their deeper mean may represent. Is it civic to just say you “Love Your Pit bull”, or does it taking saying “My Dog is a Rescue” for the bumper sticker to achieve a higher purpose? Is keeping an Obama ’08 sticker nostalgia, or is it simply someone who was too lazy to update their car for the new election? Hopefully, I can clarify some of these ideas, and bring some new insight to something that passes us by every day.

Experiencing Passion

One learns through experience, or so we are told. For me, much of my high school career was spent in a small, private school shaped bubble. Although I always wanted stretch my limits and try new things, the opportunities were not always as readily available. Here I am now at Penn State. The choices are endless, and there is a plethora of things to engage ourselves in. To explore and experience as much as possible, my roommate and I decided to create a college (and a smaller freshman year) bucket list. In my Passion Blog, I hope to address and check off just one of our points of interest.

I love athletic activities. I know, that does not sound all that unique in the grand scheme of the American population. One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that with sports and exercise, one often gets into a sort of “funk”. We declare ourselves to be solely hockey fans, or long distance runners, golf experts, or yogis. What if we took a step outside of our typical fandom? What if we attempted a new exercise routine?

In my Passion Blog I hope to infuse two ideas. One of the points on our bucket list is to attend as many as possible (if not all) of the spectator varsity sports on campus. This means I plan to go not just to football or volleyball, but to lesser viewed sports. Plan to see posts detailing proper audience participation at a fencing match, or the scoring system of rugby. On the other hand, just to keep things interesting, I plan to alternate posts between spectating and making moves myself. Every other post will be an experience review of a workout class available on campus. Maybe it will inspire you to participate in one, too, or you will just be entertained by my sweaty attempts at cycling. I am still working on my title, but knowing myself, it will most likely be a pun. Stay tuned for more!