State Patty's Day

"State Patty's Day is an event created by students and designed with the intent to consume alcoholic beverages."  


I don't know if anyone else finds this statement a little funny.  It's almost ironic because the writer is writing very formally to reach an informal audience.  I found this annoying and thought that it'd be more productive if she attempted to relate to us, rather than basically saying "Don't do it."  Administrators should try and think of productive ways to appeal to the audience of the students in order to make them not want to participate.  Rather, than simply attempting to kill this tradition.  Most of the advertisements I have read about not participating in State Patty's Day are poorly written.  They have no meaning.  No motive to not participate in the holiday.  How do they think those advertisements are appealing to the students? 


Everywhere you go around campus there's something saying that Penn State does not support this holiday.  Whether they support it or not, rather than trying to stop it, they should make other fun events on that day for the people who don't want to participate.  I've seen events about doing volunteer work instead.  What audience is that appealing to? Certainly not the students who are excited for this day.  They should come up with fun activities rather than saying "Hey don't have fun, oh and do community service."

"No more than one guest on State Patty's Day."  Rather than making rash rules, administrators should take time to analyze the audience being affected  by these rules.  Careless things may happen on State Patty's Day but silly rules like "No more than one guest" aren't helping.  I found that the more productive route Penn State has chosen is by attempting to interest students in other events.  This is a more proactive way of attempting to get young people from being irresponsible, rather than implementing rules.

While these rules may be effective in keeping alcohol out of the buildings, it won’t keep it out of the hands of the students.  Therefore, administrators should try to understand the audience who they're trying to reach, and consequently make productive changes rather that making rules rashly.  

Resolving with Rhetoric

This week I was filling out an application for the Presidential Leadership Academy at Penn State and I was asked to write an essay about the "Arab Spring." Considering I have not updated myself on current events, I researched the topic. The severity of this revolutionary movement shocked me.  How could all this be going on and I haven't heard anything about it? But as I analyzed the disputable origin of the topic, I realized that rhetoric could be a step toward resolving this great turmoil.

Here's my summary in order to update yourself on the topic:

Sparked by the bold protest of one Tunisian man, the fire of the "Arab Spring" was fueled by inflation, unemployment, and lack of freedom of expression. Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, the President of Tunisia, promised to take action. But this action wasn't referring to ceasing the effects of inflation, unemployment, and lack of freedom. Rather, it was a reference to simply stop the protests, which ironically represents an effort to eliminate these great sufferings that fuel the despair facing the Arab world. Therefore, the dominant factor that resulted in this array of protests was not the spark felt by the fire of the first protestor, Mohamed Bouazizi; but rather, the impact of the government's absence of action.  Feeling pressure to take action themselves, protestors press on. The Tunisian people’s uprising protests led the rest of the Arab world to question their government’s authority. Ben Ali fled his own country from these horrible attacks. How can the people feel safe when even their own leader is hiding from what they have no choice but to face? "The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity," Obama said. But instead through the lack of government reassurance, great turmoil has been caused. Although there has been change sparked by these protests, peace will not come until democracy rings throughout the Arab world. If one country obtains democracy, another is going to press harder, with stronger protests, which will result in the Arab spring’s impact being long-lasting. This impact will consist of more violent attempts but it will eventually result in a sense of unity among the Arab world through the need for action and freedom.

The lack of communication between the government and the people prevent democracy from forming. People are becoming impatient with the government not acting or even speaking of a plan to form democracy and be at peace.

This image displays the revolution as a roller coaster- which is exactly what it is.  People are scared and consequently acting rashly over and over again.  The governments are attempting to solve the situation by simply stopping the protest and trying to quiet the dispute of their people.  But the protests will only become more frequent.  They must except that there is turmoil among their people in order to resolve the situation instead of avoiding the argumentative issue at hand.  Rather than assessing this issue head on, the governments try to simply prevent the protests by stopping them through military forces, instead of trying to understand their people.  Obviously the protests are a sign that this isn't a productive way of governing.  Avoiding arguments are common among everyday disputes, but I didn't realize that it could be the source of a long-lasting political issue.

Umm.. Ethos?

Fifty-two.  That's the number I reached until I lost track of the endless stream of "ums" flowing from my professor's mouth.  Psychology is a rather interesting subject, but when a professor chops it up with "ums," well it makes it much less appealing.


I have great respect for the credibility of a professor.  But that credible respect is only kept if the professor comes across as intelligent.  Sure, they're well educated and maybe they're an expert of their profession, but it makes them sound unsure of their own credibility when they soil a lecture with the "word" um.  It is important to convey your intelligence through appearance, but also through your word choices.

Once I dig myself out of the pile of "ums" my professor has thrown at me, I see that she knows a lot about her profession.  Therefore, I do believe she is credible and a good professor. If she could just find a way to avoid that horrible sentence-chopping word, then her class would be much more pleasant and I would gain more from her lectures.  Sadly, however, I've found myself losing the purpose of the lecture and focusing my attention on my professor's poor public speaking skills.

A good orator should execute pathos, ethos, and logos through their speeches.  However, without reaching a credible relationship with the audience, they'll be too far out of you're reach to even come close to achieving pathos and logos.  Trying to instill ethos into a speech doesn't have to be challenging.  Using commendable vocabulary, speaking clearly, and researching the topic can achieve ethos.  And of course, having a degree or some background in whatever your talking about helps too.


Commercials often misuse ethos.  Here is a great example.

Having a background of Ashton Kutcher's films, one may understand he might not be found diving around a fashion show just to get a picture of a woman's shoes.  However, he may attract viewers who are fans of his acting.  But Nikon should keep their audience in mind.  Are they looking for a bunch of teenage girls obsessed with Ashton to buy their product?  I don't believe so.  I would think that someone looking to buy an expensive camera would be more curious about the actor's picture-taking skills than his looks.  I presume that type of audience would be more engaged in a commercial that actually focuses (no pun intended) on the camera itself.  Or perhaps a well-known photographer who can vouch for the product would also be more appealing to the geared audience.  Misuse of ethos can result in a poor connection with an audience.  And without connecting with the audience you might not have great success in what you are attempting to achieve.


Last year, I was preparing to make a speech for one of my classes.  As I became more nervous my friend cheered me up with this clip.

My first piece of advice: Don't do what this guy did!  Watching a silly clip like this made me more relaxed.  Public speaking doesn't have to be as scary as everyone makes it.  Take control of ethos, pathos, and logos and you'll be surprised at the connection you'll make with your audience.

Kairos- Take a Risk

Kairos is "an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment."

For many people the word kairos may simply be a term to be used in rhetorical situations.  However, for people who have participated in The Kairos Retreat Experience, it is a lot more.  Being the retreat's leader, I explained to my peers the importance of the term Kairos.  Having been on the retreat before, I had experienced its true meaning first-hand.

In many situations today, we miss opportunities for various reasons.  Whether it be laziness or the simple fear of being embarrassed, these opportunities have passed without ever being taken advantage of. At retreat, we would reveal in our small groups some of the most intimate feelings that we had been holding in.  Consequently, we bonded like we never imagined.  These bonds would have never occurred if we didn't take the risk of being vulnerable to our peers.  I explained to everyone that if they had things that they wanted to discuss then this was their time, their kairos.  With that mindset, 30 completely different people learned to confide in each other as if they were a family.  Whether you were a jock or a nerd, it didn't matter, because at Kairos everyone had an equal opportunity to open up.  We learned that we're all people, and that we can get through even the toughest times with the support of one another.  This was the most beneficial application of "kairos" that I could have experienced.

Letting go of insecurities opened up a window for new friends, new memories, and an overall life-changing experience.  Seizing a simple kairotic moment brought a group of people together and made them a family.

However, being on two retreats I have seen people who let the kairotic experience slip by.  They were too afraid to reveal such intimate thoughts.  But even when you feel unsure about an open door, sometimes its worth the risky walk through, because you never know when that door will open again.

After the retreat I realized that Kairos is everywhere.  Doors open and close in our lives constantly, and whether we walk through them or let them pass by is up to us.  Seizing kairotic moments help us to live without regrets.  Maybe you'll regret never telling your friend how much you care about them before you both go your separate ways to college.  Maybe they'll question the friendship you had and this may consequently lead to losing touch with each other.  Perhaps it's awkward to say how much someone means to you, but when that final opportunity arises, take hold and don't lose your grip for the simple fear of being misunderstood.

 

I Believe In To Do Lists

                                                       I Believe in To Do Lists

There’s nothing like waking up to a blank piece of paper in the morning.  My mind races with possibilities.  And in my mind, none of them are any more out of my reach than this piece of paper next to me.  I grab the paper, and quickly jot down anything and everything I want to do today. 

Growing up as the youngest child and the only girl in my family, everything seemed so big and out of my reach.  My mom would tell me “Your time will come” as I watched my brothers make one accomplishment after the other.  This excited me and I couldn’t wait to have a million things to do like my brothers.  I entered high school and finally, it was my time: my time to express what I had been holding in, my time to do everything I watched my brothers do, and more, my time to do anything that I had ever desired.  The possibilities were endless and I couldn’t have been happier.

My teacher handed me a book the first day of class- my first planner.  I wrote down assignments, aspirations, club activities, birthdays, and anything that I felt was important.  Looking at my planner materialized my goals.  It showed me that they weren’t just in my head, but that they were in my reach. 

Discovering new goals each day was inspiring.  I wanted to achieve more and more.  Captain of the lacrosse team, diocesan scholar, leader of my high school retreat, a part-time job; nothing made me happier than being involved.  My dad told me that I couldn’t handle it all.  He said, “Remember, just because someone says you can’t do something, doesn’t mean you have to prove them wrong.”  I didn’t believe in that statement at all.  In my mind, it wasn’t about proving him wrong. It was about proving to myself that I could do anything I wanted if I gave it my all. 

Constantly having something to do makes each day worthwhile.  Not one day seems meaningless when there is a goal to be reached.  I believe that I owe my determination to my “to do lists.”  They taught me to treat each day as an empty slate.  They taught me to believe in endless opportunities and second chances.  They taught me to appreciate each day.  But most importantly, they taught me to never say can’t.  My “to do lists” give me the foundation in which all of my beliefs are based.

I finish jotting down my ideas and I look at my messy paper.  Even if it is something far-fetched, I’ll write it down because once it’s on paper, it’s no longer just a thought… its real.