RCL #4: Issue Brief

Stress Scheduling: The Problem with Scheduling College Courses

Introduction

There is no worse feeling than having a weight on your shoulders that you cannot lift. Many college students across the country speak on scheduling college courses, and why it can be a burden and stressor to many. Penn State, being a large institution, has scheduling policies in place that do not accommodate for the number of people trying to take the classes required for their major. Kids are unable to schedule the classes they want or need due to the overwhelming amount of students compared to the limited spots. Many factors go into choosing classes, and some of them have to be eliminated from a student’s decision as the classes fill up. Stress builds up as the day gets closer and freshmen have it the worst. Almost no classes are available and it is a race to see who can get the remaining good ones. Students coming in with AP credits have an advantage and scheduling a late NSO date leaves students with selective options. This is impacting Penn State students and the process can be adjusted to make it a better event for everyone. The Office of the University Registrar could make scheduling changes to limit stress and aid in availability to accommodate the amount of students.The counterplan being suggested involves students only being able to rearrange their schedule after everyone has completed the task. Doing this would help kids to know the chances of getting into a class and not be so frantic with rearranging their potential schedule right before.

Problem

Scheduling classes can be one of the most stressful events in college for students attending. The lead up is overwhelming and kids are unsure if they will be able to schedule the classes needed for their major. Why is this an issue when every kid must fulfill certain requirements? Even College seniors sometimes cannot get the classes they need in order to graduate because of the scheduling problem. Scheduling is done in waves based on the amount of credits one has. Therefore, the seniors with the most credits go first and it files down until the freshman with the least credits. This filing system is effective as the website does not crash and the kids who have less classes left to take pick first and it goes from there. The problem is that scheduling ultimately comes down to luck in many cases, and this is unfair and stress causing. Oftentimes many people are required to take the same classes and when everyone’s trying to get in, there are not enough spots and it is upsetting to have to redo a whole schedule on the spot while others are taking all of the places. Students do not know if they are going to be taking the classes they desire even though they are paying for them. Many factors go into the decision as seen below, and students can’t fulfill what the need from them when classes are so limited at times.

 

Plan

There is currently a system in place for student scheduling that is supposed to make the process easier on everyone. The classes available for the semester are put out by the Office of the registrar based on room space and what is popular. Public Safety decides how many students can be in one room at a time, so the school must follow those guidelines and that cannot be changed. In regards to the students’ end, they are given a date at which they can begin their scheduling and have freedom to change things until a few weeks into the semester. As previously mentioned, the date given corresponds to the number of credits one has, so the most credits go first and then on. Students can schedule as many classes as they like once the date hits. There are often preset plans for each major that a student can follow as they are required to fulfill certain requirements to graduate.

Counter Plan

The policy changes being mentioned are to help the greater good of the college community. The major change that would take place would be a schedule lock. This policy would cause schedules to be locked in place once they are in until all students have completed their scheduling. It can be very difficult for students on the later dates to make their schedule when so many classes have only a few seats and they can be filled all the way up until their exact time scheduling opens. It seems unfair that some students have free rain of scheduling while others are still waiting for weeks for their turn. This would allow all schedules to be locked in place with the amount of classes that person needs, and then they can change things as needed once everyone has a schedule for themself. Another change would be students being required to list a general idea of the classes they will be taking the next semester so the school can better accommodate for the number of kids wanting to take a single class. It is hard to navigate the process when students are constantly dropping and adding classes, sometimes 30,000 students before you have the chance to begin. These changes would eliminate the stress a student goes through and give more guidance. Some other recommendations include needs forms and scheduling advisors who specialize. Students could have forms to fill out which allow them to enroll in a class early that they know they absolutely need and could fill up fast. There also could be advisors who specialize in only scheduling for kids who get overwhelmed and make sure they are on the right track along with their traditional advisor.

Conclusion

Overall, scheduling can put a toll on students’ mental health because of the race to get classes and the unknown variables. Kids are unable to schedule with confidence because so many others are scheduling on the same date or already took up the classes they need or want to take. People are unable to personalize their schedule how they want because not enough spots are available and with such a big school, you never know when more will fill up or open. The policy solution being suggested calls for change in a few areas. The main difference would be students making their schedule and not being able to change it until all other students have gone. Other minor things include forms of probable classes and forms for needed classes. Lastly, more specialized counselors would be available for those that get too overwhelmed with the process and need aid when deciding on classes when little is still available. If all help with this issue, the policy could be enacted and all students could have a little less stress than they already do. Almost everyone has gone through the struggle together and are fighting for the last spots, when people could work together. If awareness is raised about making scheduling changes, it could impact seniors   graduating classes and freshmen who got a late NSO date, bringing the whole community together to fix a common problem.

RCL #3 (spring): Deliberation Evaluation

My group’s deliberation topic was in regard to general education classes required in college education. We all worked very well together as a group and got the project done in a sufficient manner. The project consisted of four parts, and the presentation allowed for a class deliberation. 

Everyone’s kindness and willingness to participate worked well for this deliberation. Regarding my group, we all agreed on topics and tasks, and everyone contributed to the final result. If we thought something should be changed, we all felt comfortable expressing our opinions and were open to ideas. 

The deliberation itself also went smoothly due to the class’s confidence. People were very open with each other and the presenters in what they thought was a good or poor idea. Most of the time, it was clear which approach was the strongest, and the feedback was helpful.

Making the video caused the most struggle, as there were lots of moving parts, but even that did not pose a problem. We held a discussion that could lead to a compromise and find a natural solution for the type 2 problems of gen-ed classes. The post-deliberation questionnaire was also helpful in seeing results and knowing what could have gone better. 

One thing that could have been clearer was the project’s instructions at the start. Once it was explained to us in detail, everything was clear, and the criteria were obvious, but we were a bit unsure in the beginning. The whole idea of the deliberation was not abundantly clear when I read the details of the project without it being discussed with me.

Another issue that could have been changed was the idea of picking a suitable type two problem. My group initially had a hard time understanding what a type two problem is and how to make sure we were choosing one that fits the mold. We also jumped into approaches too fast, not stating a clear problem statement before moving on to other parts of the project.

Overall, the deliberation felt like a success, and everyone was respectful of what they said. The group worked well together, and everyone pulled their weight when it came down to it. Deliberations effectively solve type two problems and are an excellent way for people to connect with each other on a fun yet respectable level. Thank you everyone who participated!

RCL #2 (SPRING): topics

I am excited about the topics I have chosen for my passion and civic blog threads. For my passion blog, I plan to dive deeper into the fashion world, precisely the rhetoric regarding fashion. By looking at different styles shown on red carpets and runways, I can point out ways a designer or star chose to show their beliefs through clothing. I have always been interested in fashion, waiting to see what famous people wear to events and watching “Project Runway” when I was younger. It will be interesting to look into the statement these people make in some of the clothes they wear and how it shines through.

On another note, I will be switching it up for my civic blog and talking about sports, specifically college sports. There is an ongoing debate on whether college athletes should be paid, and while I have an opinion on the matter, I am interested in learning more about others. Whale college athletes are currently not allowed to receive a salary, a rule made by the NCAA; the NIL is paying them for doing other things. Athletes are being sponsored, and some are making vast amounts of money playing their sport, mainly football, even though it is technically not allowed. Both topics will be exciting to look into this spring!

TIB OUTLINE:

  1. Introduction
    1. attention getter = A quote by JD Roberts states, “When there is no consequence for poor work ethic, and no reward for good work ethic, there is no motivation” (Bct Mastertemp)
    2. context/ethos = Some of you may have dedicated your entire life to something, and some of you just go with the flow being in the class, though, I assume you all work hard and have been rewarded one way or another for it
    3. Thesis = Through my life experiences starting since I was a young girl and till now, I have grown a strong belief that people should be granted things because they deserve it, not because of their status or quotas.
    4. Preview = From watching the news, to college applications, to THON dancers, I have grow this belief and grown from it
  2. Body
    1. College applications, the news, school and sport banquets (CAUSE)
      1. How many people have heard not getting into colleges they are more than deserving of attending? I’m sure everyone has seen the sadness on their friends and families faces when receiving a rejection letter they didn’t see coming. It seems outrageously unfair when someone above a 4.0 gpa with many extracurriculars does not get into a school you would think was a shoe-in, but others did get you whom you did not expect. People work hard and are not being rewarded and it has happened to me on multiple occasions.
      2. I have watched the news and school and sports banquets where people time and time again are not getting what they deserve, but others are in their place for no good reason.

These growing views lead me to a story that happened only weeks ago at a club meeting

    1. THON dancer (EFFECT)
      1. Club did not give the dancer spot to the boy who deserved it
      2. Instead gave the spot to a girl on the board just because she was on the board
      3. I took it upon myself to submit an extra dancer application and express how I felt even though no one really stood by me
      4. I felt that the person with the connection who worked to become a dancer deserved the spot, no someone who was in a greater position

In Closure……

  1. Conclusion
    1. Through my experiences with schools and clubs,
    2. I have grown the belief that hard work and dedication is deserving of reward, while other things should not play a factor.
    3. This moral will be with me through all of life
    4. I’m sure it will happen again in my experiences, but I have to keep fighting for what is right

RCL #1 (SPRING): IDEAS

I will brainstorm ideas for my new spring blogs and my “This I Believe” speech in this blog. The first topic I am brainstorming is for my speech ideas. I have many morals and standards that I hold myself to daily. When thinking of a moral that has a story to go with it, I thought about my firm belief in bettering oneself.

Every year I grew up, I cared more and more about my appearance and personality until I hit high school, when I realized I could do so much more for myself. I believe in people doing everything in their power to become a better person in every way possible. Recently, there has been a movement to love yourself no matter what, with which I agree, but some people have started holding themselves to a lesser standard because of it. I started doing many disciplined routines I had not done before so this would not happen to me. You should not let any aspect fall apart, or you will fall apart and not be a better person for yourself or those around you.

The second idea, which I like better, is my belief that people should be given things that they earn and deserve, not because some aspect of them puts them ahead or prioritizes them over others. Hard work should be rewarded in all aspects of life; that is only fair.

My example story would be regarding the THON dancers for a club of which I am on the board. A boy who ran to be a dancer had a close connection to THON and deserved the spot more than anyone else who ran because he worked for it and knew someone dear for whom he wanted to dance. He did not get a place. Instead, one of the other club board members got a spot as a dancer because they were on the board. I knew this was not right, and I took it upon myself to contact people for an application for another dancer because I knew he was more deserving.

For my passion blog, I considered doing celebrity fashion that makes a statement. Many celebrities wear outfits that they believe make an impact and show their stance on a situation, and I would like to explore that. My second idea would be the rhetoric regarding wars that have taken place. I like to examine how wars were depicted in different countries at differing times.

For my civic blog, my first idea is college sports and how college students getting money is affecting things. Some college athletes are being paid vast amounts of money, and I would like to see how it changes things. My second idea is U.S. foreign policy, as I have always had an interest in that and would like to dive deeper into how the United States is handling things with so much tension in the world.

RCL 7: Doctor’s feelings

The image I chose is one I have come across a few times and greatly impacted me. While you might see little at first, minimal background knowledge of the image is needed for the impact to be significant. This image shows a doctor outside of a hospital after failing to save the life of a 19-year-old boy.

This image argues that doctors are real people with emotions that sometimes get to them. Doctors can be considered workers who are just doing their job, and that’s it. It can be challenging to understand how it must feel to be a doctor, to try your best to save a life when it’s hopeless.

This image has an impact due to how it was taken and the atmosphere. It is not a staged photo and is very authentic. The scene is gloomy and dark, which causes a sad aura. It is a bit blurry, which shows it was taken at the exact moment of the event, and you can almost feel the emotion coming from it. 

It can be inferred that the doctor is on top of, or outside of, the hospital building and is in agony. He is bending down and holding himself up with the wall. The arrangement of the photo allows the viewer to understand how upset he is. 

The doctor’s coat shows that he is a doctor, and the story behind the photo evokes such emotion from him. Doctors save people and don’t, but will often remain composed as they are taught. They must tell people crushing news and keep going on with their day. 

The image uses lighting, emotion, and an in-the-moment approach as visual rhetoric to argue doctors’ feelings. Anyone’s life is meaningful, but losing someone young is more impactful than anything, and this image shows that in every way. 

The picture may not have been intended for rhetoric, but it ended up getting spread around on social media with the caption about the doctor not being able to save a young boy because it carries so much despair. 

For most of my life, I was under the impression that doctors did not care much and were doing their job. This picture helped me learn that that is not true. They may not always be able to save everyone, but they try and are impacted to a great extent. Being around sad situations daily must be extremely difficult, and I will forever appreciate their work for people worldwide.

RCL6: The Legalization of Marijuana in the United States

The story I will be telling revolves around the growth of marijuana use in the United States. The periods being covered range from the early 1900s until the present times. Marijuana, or weed, has become a widely used substance in America in the past century, and there is an ongoing debate on if it is a good thing.

This is an important topic to be discussed because of the massive growth. Marijuana use has jumped significantly in recent years, and we still do not know much about long-term side effects. Not only has it grown in usage, but the government has been behind this growth. Knowledge of this substance can help you stay informed of the harm it can cause and why the country is allowing it. 

This topic interests me because of what my parents have said about it versus what I see now. They not only call it ‘pot,’ but they also know little about it and say it was not around when they were in high school in the 80s. I have noticed a growing number of people my age being involved with smoking weed and can get it very easily.

This craze started at the beginning of the 1900s when Mexican immigrants brought marijuana for recreational use, which was not a thing in the United States before. The substance quickly started to get banned in many states until the decriminalization of weed starting in 1973. 

The full legalization of marijuana began in 1996, starting with California. At this time, it was only legal for medical purposes. In 2012, the substance was legalized for recreational purposes in many states. Now, more information about weed has been collected, and it has been linked to mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. There is also a big scare about it being laced with fentanyl and more issues about the research and selling of the drug.  

The book I picked out from the Penn State library is called In The Weeds. It is by Clayton J. Mosher and Scott Akins, and the book was published in 2019. It covers all of the governmental processes regarding the banning and legalization of marijuana in different states. The book also goes on to cover the areas needed for improvement and the issues arising from this legalization.

This is a vastly growing substance in the United States that has many differing areas to cover. The government has expanded the use of marijuana and it has affected the people in the country. The paradigm-shift is ongoing and a lot has happened regarding it in the past century.

RCL5: Gentle Parenting

The Ted Talk I picked to analyze is said by Becky Kennedy and is titled “The Single Most Important Parenting Strategy,” which I have linked above. She is a parenting psychologist who helps parents with issues they may encounter when raising kids. 

The central theme of Becky’s speech is the idea of repairing any arguments you may have with your children and self-reflecting. She states how all parents yell at one point or another but that parents need to relax and think. Kennedy believes apologizing is not the best option, but instead, trying to repair the relationship by talking and reflecting. 

I linked this Ted Talk to the idea of gentle parenting and how that has been a paradigm shift in recent history. Parents used to be strict with their kids and would yell and occasionally lightly hit them as punishment for their misbehavior. Kids were also hit with a paddle in school. In today’s day and age, that would be shunned and completely unacceptable. The shift in thought over this type of punishment has been immense over the past decade.

This has been a shift in both thinking and actions because it changes how people think about parenting and how they act on it. Parenting used to be viewed as a thing where it was your kids, so you could do whatever you wanted. It was also harsher because that seems to be the only way for kids to behave. Now, people think that gently talking to kids and being nice is how to make them behave, and it is ‘terrible’ to be aggressive when punishing your child.

This speech was very knowledgeable and focused on one specific topic. Becky talked about the psychology of kid and parent relationships and how people have trauma from being yelled at from a young age. She also made the strong point of parents having self-blame that leads them to be depressed and think they are a bad person. She says to take responsibility and be open; this is another shift because parents used never to take blame and would parent the kid to not step out of line instead.

The speaker had strong hand signals and used her voice well to portray emotions. She was clear and kept the speech interesting the whole time. She was a bit over the top and dramatic at points, but that could work in her favor most of the time. The speaker was energetic and gave a speech to teach people something, not a presentation with slides next to her describing an object. Overall, there has been a paradigm shift in the idea of parenting and this speech was an example. 

RCL4: Opinions on Gas Prices

This sticker caught my eye as I was scrolling through political bumper stickers. Maybe because it is white on a black background or has a cartoon aspect when most were just a nominee’s name, but the viewpoint was apparent as I looked at it. 

While this sticker shows a specific debatable view, it also endorses a political view, which is why I thought it would be perfect to analyze. When looking at this bumper sticker, What it is trying to portray is obvious. The saying on the sticker reads, “thanks Biden,” and hints at the rising gas prices the United States saw in many areas around the country. 

Now, what is stated is different from what the sticker means. It is not meant to thank Biden but to thank him sarcastically. It implies that the gas prices are too high and would be lower if someone else was in office. 

The cartoon depicts a cartoon person trying to pull the empty gas arrow to full. This expresses the struggles of getting gas at the moment and how the expense was too much for some people’s income to handle. The cartoon allows the bumper sticker to be slightly lighthearted while expressing the person’s views. 

The commonplace and ideology of the American people was that gas prices had risen significantly, but the two political sides claimed it happened for different reasons. The political view of the person with the sticker is related to the pipeline shutdown. Stopping the pipeline inhibits the United States from producing oil for gas and causes us to rely on other countries. 

Biden stopped the pipeline for environmental reasons, and conservatives did not agree with it. This leads to conservative people putting stickers like this on their cars. The ideology of the American people tends to be that conservatives care about foreign relations and not relying on other countries’ goods for the good of the economy, while liberals care about the harm oil could do on the environment.

This topic is political and can be debated by the two sides. People use items like bumper stickers to express their views to other people and try to get a quick message across. I believe this sticker is effective because it has short wording, and the cartoon is easy to understand without being too political or aggressive. 

Bumper stickers show the freedom of speech the United States provides for us, and we should be grateful that we can express our views to the world without repercussions.

RCL3: Balenciaga Scandal

When thinking of a poorly done ad, I thought of the Balenciaga scandal in 2022. When Balenciaga released the ads above as part of their holiday ad campaign, it uprooted many people. There was a popular hashtag saying to cancel Balenciaga, and people were throwing away things they had bought from there. The stores were being boycotted, and celebrities were cutting all ties. 

I am here to directly discuss the ad and why it was so negatively viewed. As you can see, the ad depicts two children holding teddy bears wrapped in bondage and on a couch and bed. There are Balenciaga pillows and other designer-brand items scattered throughout. The colors of the ads are mainly pink, purple, white, and black, and they remind me of Halloween. 

A significant issue makes this a terrible ad that caused people to turn away instead of buying the items as intended. The ad is wildly inappropriate and does not appeal to anyone for the most part. 

It appears as if the brand is sexually promoting very young children. The visual elements of the child standing on a bed holding a teddy bear in bondage-like clothes are uncomfortable for viewers. The one ad appears to be in the child’s bedroom with an odd layout of jewelry and sunglasses. It is also inappropriate that one of the ads in the duo had wine glasses (which is cut off in the picture above) and is hinting towards alcohol. 

Children being depicted like this is frowned upon and inappropriate for any audience. It makes it seem like the company is for child pornography, which is illegal and a horrible thing in general. I can’t imagine what they were thinking and who they were targeting with this ad. 

The intended audience is people of the higher class buying designer items. This would not persuade people to buy this brand but rather avoid it, which is exactly what happened when no one would go into the stores or buy anything from the brand. It made people very upset and did not do the job of persuading in any right.

I believe Balenciaga mistook what the ad portrayed as a play on high fashion. They must have been trying to do something different and get people’s attention, but it came off as aggressive and highly inappropriate. Their runway show at Fashion Week also had this theme, but with adults walking, it was not seen in that light. They must have been trying to make the ad innovative, but it ended up being just another terrible ad.

RCL2: Vietnam Vs. WWII

The two artifacts I chose are invitations to civic engagement regarding war. The first artifact is titled “Stick ‘em up!” by Edmond Valtman. This political cartoon was created in 1964 and published by The Hartford Times right before America joined the Vietnam War. The second artifact is from November 15, 1942. This propaganda poster was created by the Office of War Information and is titled “Americans will always fight for liberty.” 

The first artifact being discussed calls people to action against the Vietnam War. The cartoon portrays Lyndon B. Johnson holding nuclear bombs in Vietnam, holding a sign about America being the mightiest nation. There is also a Vietnamese soldier in the cartoon with Gorilla warfare written on him and holding a gun. 

This artifact wants people to go against sending troops into Vietnam because people thought it was not our war to fight. America could not go into another country and drop nuclear bombs like we did during World War II, and the Vietnam soldiers fought very differently from us. People thought we were sending out troops to die because they would be fighting hand-to-hand aggressive combat in the jungle. 

This cartoon uses ethos to mock the president and the country. We may have had potent weapons, but we could not use them, and LBJ is portrayed as a cowboy coming in to “save the day.”

The second artifact is shown in one showing pride from WWII. This poster was made to encourage the war effort and call people to action. It makes the US seem very united and robust with military men from current times and also the past. Many Revolutionary War battles were fought during 1778, and it appears people are dressed to represent George Washington and our victory. 

Ethos is used here to encourage people and give them a sense of belonging. It shows what the United States has done to obtain liberty and what we will continue to do together. 

I chose these two artifacts because I have always been interested in both wars. I knew that the public had different views when sending troops into Vietnam versus sending troops overseas to help fight in WW2. They are adequate options to compare and contrast because they are the same topic of war but with different messages. 

The artifacts contrast very much in color and meaning, and I wanted to dive deeper into the ethos and logos that both put out to the world. I will use The WWII poster for my speech and compare and contrast both in my essay.