RCL HW #7

Watching the Editing video helped me realize some things about what need to be done with our video. The section on adding music will assist us in adding the background music to the video. Once all of the pictures and voice over is put in, the video will need music and knowing how to fade it in and out and control the volume will help. Saving frequently will also help because as we are editing, we won’t want to lose any of our work. This advise will help a great deal as we make progress with the video so we don’t have to backtrack mid-project. Watching the video and reading the information as a whole will help us in the process of making our controversy video.

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, one can see it as a chance for civic engagement. Seeing family and friends you may not see often, you’ll have plenty to talk about. I know with my family, plenty of debates and varying views are thrown around. With these different personalities all coming together to celebrate family, one can’t avoid a colorful conversation about topics such as politics, sports, and popular culture. No matter what your family converses about, having everyone around is something to love. This is something that I really cherish during Thanksgiving. Watching movies together, or football, seeing cousins, aunts, and uncles, Thanksgiving is a time for conversation, family, and food. So no matter how you spend your Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoy it!

RCL HW#6

For my TED Talk, I spoke about the Bad Habits of College Students. Due to the fact that I would be talking to college students about college students, I made sure that I kept it relatable. I also tried not to sound like I was lecturing, nor judgmental. While planning my talk I planned on using heavy amounts of pathos, along with some logos. I used pathos to make the speech relatable and really hit home with the listeners. I was speaking to college students about college students, so I really tried to make the content accurate and applicable to the listener’s everyday lives. I used logos by stating somewhat obvious points about what college students do on a regular basis. The content was something known to the audience, but not necessarily thought about on an everyday basis or in the light that I was portraying it. I also tried to add in the conversational style that all professional TED talks have. Also, I kept my Power Point very bland and simple to keep it from being a distraction to my audience.

I feel that my execution could have been better than it was. Although I got the general ideas of my talk across, I failed to fit the details and information that I had planned. Whether it was the small time frame or my struggle to remember exactly what I wanted to say, I wasn’t able to fit some things I had planned. I did, however, incorporate a fair amount of dialogue that gave my TED talk the conversational style it required. My execution was accompanied with a simple, easily understood Power Point. I could have strengthened my talk by preparing for a longer amount of time. Although my idea was thought of in a timely manner, my amount of rehearsal was lacking in that I only could for 2 days prior. Had I been rehearsing for longer, I would have been able to fit in what I wanted while keeping my presentation smooth and mistake free.

My ability to speak in a comfortable, conversational style really worked best for my TED talk. Although I had a lot of hand gestures, my posture made me seem like I was being very informal and comfortable. I kept the facts and statistics to a minimum, and only used them to put things into perspective when needed. For the most part, I spoke off of facts and personal experience which also added to the conversational style I was attempting to portray during my talk.

In hindsight, however, I seem to have various mannerisms that may have distracted my audience. When I was attempting to remember what to say I would either blatantly look at my outline in front of me, or look up, in an attempt to concentrate. Also, I moved my hands a lot as I spoke and moved my hand when I clicked the button to change the slide. I had a blatant lapse in memory again. Even though I regained my train of thought, for a moment I let out a sigh and stopped speaking to regain my thoughts. This really put a damper on how smoothly my talk was going. Overall I felt my speech could have gone more smoothly than it had, but I got my points across clearly, while keeping the TED talk style.

PSU Rap Battle

Yup, that’s a thing. The PSU Rap Battle happened this past week and one of my friends competed. Because Rap is a big genre amongst our generation, this was a big event. It took place in the Forum with a plethora of characters attending. Me and a bunch of my friends went to see how lyrically gifted our University is. The event was hosted by an up and coming rapper from Pittsburgh named Crystal Seth (take that as you will). Although the audience didn’t like my friend, we all enjoyed the event. Long story short, one of my friends in the audience really PO’d the crowd by shouting during the battles and being pretty rude in hindsight, even though I was laughing. But I digress, the event brought together a group of people from many different backgrounds, races, and lifestyles to enjoy one genre of music. It was an enjoyable experience and I sincerely hope another one happens soon.

HW #5

The strongest idea I have to have as my topic for my TED talk is how the government picks and chooses what they regulate and let us do. Put simply, the government seems to choose what they allow us to do, to a degree, via their regulations. Examples of this could be how they allow cigarettes to be advertised, what they allow kids to eat in school, or taxes on alcohol. I could develop logos by stating facts and figures that the audience my know, but haven’t thought about in the way I am implying. I could also develop pathos because the audience may be able to think of examples in their own lives that this could be applied. Overall, I wish to point out to the audience some laws and regulations that may be the government’s way of telling us how to live.

 

Straight Talk

This Monday 3 members of the LGBTA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies) came to my frat to talk to us about their stories and tolerance in fraternity houses. Without going into any personal details, the 3 were a homosexual man, a pansexual (I’ll explain later), and a heterosexual woman. A pansexual person is someone who finds both sexes attractive but does not identify themselves as “male” or “female”. The concept was foreign to me but the program was very informative. They told us their stories about their struggles with coming out and being accepted and told us how to be more sensitive with these subjects. Overall it was a very laid back and casual talk with some very cool people.

I liked this program because it really gave us something to talk about; this includes ways to be more tolerant, and how to watch what we say in public. To my understanding all organizations on campus are required to have a “straight talk” but not all actually do. I’m glad we did because it really opened my eyes to what some of these people are going through because I can’t relate. It gave me something to seriously think about and talk to my friends about as well. Should your organization have one, I stress to you to open your mind and your ears to the LGBTA, you won’t regret it.

HW #4

For my Paradigm Shift Essay, I was thinking about doing mine on how Americans view cigarette smoking. This would be a good example of paradigm shift because from America’s early years until the late 20th century, cigarettes were seen as normal and having no unhealthy qualities. Today, however, we see ads bashing cigarettes and their unhealthiness, as well as warnings on all tobacco products. I think it is interesting how such a prominent change could happen in a culture that was basically built off of tobacco production.

How has the view of cigarettes changed over America’s history?

Is there a pivotal point in history when the paradigm shifted?

What caused such a dramatic shift in views?

How is our culture affected by this shift?

Are there people who still have not “shifted”?

 

Canning Weekends

So as most of you know, this weekend is the 2nd canning weekend of THON. This seems like a great way to get civically engaged with those in your given organization. Heading out on a Friday with some people you don’t know too well may seem scary, but going in with an open mind seems to be the key. Unfortunately I can’t speak from experience, but from what I have heard, these trips seem to be a great way to get to know people.

One can’t forget, however, the reason we all go canning; For The Kids. Doing a charitable thing is always great, but doing it with other people can be an awesome bonding experience. Having a single cause amongst a group has always been something to bring people together. So if you haven’t considered canning, please do. It will  be a great time and it’s for a great cause.

Homecoming Ticket Trade

So if you haven’t heard, the great people who run ticket sales at Beaver Stadium over booked the student section…again. Surprising, I know. But because of how big this Saturday’s game against Michigan is, they are in dire need of more room. Wanting people to give up their ticket, incentives have been offered for doing so.

The one is half off your season ticket for next football season. That’s about $100 for those who don’t know. That is a crazy off, and I could see a lot of people wanting that. The second is a $200 donation to THON in your name. I think this one is particularly awesome because you are doing something good for others. The third is on field access for next season’s Purdue, Wisconsin, or Illinois game. Offering a once in a lifetime opportunity is also a generous incentive for students who give up their spots.

While this is meant to solve the over-sold ticket problem, I doubt many people will give up their tickets to the biggest home game of the season. I’m excited to be at this game in person and not many incentives could keep me from going. This is even more important to me because it will be my first PSU homecoming. I like that they are giving something out to those willing to do so, I just know that I won’t be taking anything.

 

Floor Dinner

So this week, my RA Nico wrote on his white board that we all had to meet in front of his room at 4:30 on Tuesday. Confused, we all met up in front of his room asking each other why we were there. To our surprise, when he opened his door, Nico had Chipotle’s web site up. He told us that we were having a floor dinner that night and that we should order what we want from Chipotle. My floor is a fairly close-knit group, so this was a great thing for us.

Now, even though we are close, this dinner really bonded us that much further. I was surprised at how comfortable we were with each other and couldn’t be happier. Having a floor dinner with each other made us sit down, and talk with one another. The atmosphere was amazingly comfortable and because we are all laid-back, we loved every minute of it. We also got to talk to the members of the floor that we normally don’t have a chance to.

This bonding experience was like no “ice-breaker” our RA could have thought of. Though most of us are close with each other, the floor dinner brought us that much closer. If you aren’t close with your floor, or want to get closer with them, I suggest a floor dinner! It is a great way to find out more about the people you’ll be living with for the next year.