UPUA Election Day

pennstateupua.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 probably won’t stand out in my memory a year from now. Actually, it’ll probably fade into relative obscurity in two weeks. But today, however, as I’m writing this, I am obviously able to pick out and distinctly remember today’s details. I overslept; I had a bagel and a strawberry smoothie for lunch; I presented and watched social issue movies in LA101H. I was also constantly stopped on campus by campaigners and reminded to vote today in the UPUA (or University Park Undergraduate Associate) elections.

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Wait, what? That’s a thing? And elections were today? Okay, it’s entirely my fault that I don’t know more about our university’s student-run government. I mean, I think I know just about as much as every other freshman. And by that I mean I’ve heard TJ Bard (the current president of UPUA) speak and knew of its existence. Irresponsible, I know. This kind of bothers me. I want to do my civic duty. I want to be able to help ensure that the people responsible for representing the entirety of undergraduates have good ideas and ways of accomplishing those ideas. I wanted to vote, as I told campaigners in passing as I was rushing to my classes.

But one thing stood in my way. I knew nothing about the candidates. I couldn’t make an informed decision about who to vote for. And I definitely didn’t have the time to run around to everyone stationed on campus to hear his or her spiel on their intended actions should they be elected.

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As much as I wanted to stop and chat with candidates, I couldn’t. I wished that I had heard about this before election day. As I said before, part of it is my fault as I wasn’t as conscientious as I could have been. But those running for office should understand that, and act accordingly by campaigning and getting their ideas heard ahead of time in order to build a voter base. You wouldn’t run for president and simply expect people to know who you are or what you stand for. I know it must be hard on such a large campus to reach everyone. I know it’s a lot to handle on top of classes, but rhetorically speaking, I wasn’t persuaded by any candidates. Not in such a short amount of time. In order for rhetoric to work, you have to have the public’s attention in the first place. And I definitely knew nothing about the UPUA elections until this morning. As much as that plate of free cookies appealed to me when I was rushing in between classes with no time for a snack, it wasn’t enough to get me to vote randomly and somewhat irresponsibly for those I knew nothing about, socially or politically. In order for campaigns and their rhetoric to be truly effective, time must be allotted to allow for the spreading of one’s message or ideas. 

Advertisements' Influence on Art

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I live in West Halls on the University Park campus, so I often walk along Fraser Street. The other day when I was walking back to my room, I noticed some graffiti on one of the pedestrian crossing signs. A pair of wings had been added (after all, "Red Bull gives you wings."), as well as a little tiny Red Bull can in the person’s hand. Funny? Yeah. But creative? Not so much (okay, well, maybe in the sense that in was integrated into the sign). Graffiti can be used as a way of expression – it can be an art form. And the whole point of art is to express your emotions for your own benefit or to share your feelings with the world.

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            So doing graffiti without the goal of self-expression leaves you with what? Political or social commentary? Or perhaps we just live in a society where consumerism is so prevalent that it has infiltrated our forms of artistic mediums? For example, Andy Warhol’s silkscreen of Campbell soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles are a prime example of an extremely famous print with a product in them. Is the materialistic, capitalistic society going to completely take the individuality and creativity from art? We live in a society where we see thousands of advertisements everyday and are constantly pressed to buy, buy, buy. Products are even endorsed in television shows and movies. Films used to be considered works of art (and still sometimes are), and these too are now infiltrated by product placement. We all can recognize the rhetorical power of advertisements in that sense, but we never take into account this persuasive power can have on modern art.

 Is this the fate for art? Influence by products? I hope that creativity will always been able to overcome capitalistic ventures. Or perhaps we will see a new form of art emerge in advertisements and commercials. It is not uncommon for graphic designers and artists to work for large companies to produce eye-catching ads. In any case, advertisements exercise rhetorical power on far more than we initially realizing, influencing even forms of art.

Crayola Acts According to Kairos

West Halls quad
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This past week has fortunately, gloriously, been filled with great weather. And as evident by the amount of sunbathers and Frisbee-players spread across campus in various quads, we all took advantage of these warm days to escape our cramped dorm rooms and soak up some rare, warm, March rays. One days as I was sitting outside eating lunch with some friends, the topic of lazy summer days and getting a glowing tan came up (of course). And this led to sassy comments about my complexion. Yes, I’m extremely pale. We had only been outside for about twenty or so minutes when the observations about how I was “practically glowing” and turning slightly pink began – about how I was like the pale peach Crayola crayon. “The flesh one,” someone said. Wait. A pale, white-peach crayon being referred to as flesh or skin-tone? That was slightly unsettling.

            This comment and realization immediately led to a discussion about how this was somewhat racist, as not everyone had a peachy, pale skin tone. Thankfully, Crayola changed the name of its “flesh” crayon to a “peach” crayon in 1962 – right in the middle of the Civil Rights movement. Talk about acting in the kairotic moment. Right when people were striving for equality and acceptance, regardless of the color of skin, Crayola rectified its oversight of classifying white as the universal skin color.

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America has thankfully only made more positive progress on the grounds of equality since then. And once again, utilizing kairos, Crayola has reacted to acknowledge the celebrated diversity in the modern world, and to instill and reinforce this value of acceptance in children. Now available for purchase is a set of “multicultural” crayons, including the colors black, sepia, peach, apricot, white, tan, mahogany, and burnt sienna. According to the Crayola website, these colors are available to “give a child a realistic palette for coloring their world.” This infiltration of political-correctness in not only politics or media but also children’s’ toys makes me proud to live in a society that is constantly working towards complete equality and away from bigotry and ignorance. 

Temple Run Y U SO ADDICTING?

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            Two words: Temple Run. Two words, that describes a free game downloadable from iTunes to which I am entirely addicted. Two words that incites competition among my friends and my roommate. Two words, that are the cause for my lack of attention in my larger lecture classes. We see this phenomenon of addiction to computer and smart phones games constantly in society. Anyone remember Farmville? Or Petville? And now we have Temple Run, where the sole purpose of the game is to keep running. You have to jump and turn and slide under things, all the while trying to collect coins, beat objectives, and not dying at the hands of obstacles in your path or the odd monkey-like creatures chasing you.

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           A lot of people play these games because they are free, and we are bored. Or maybe we play because we like to procrastinate. But then they keep us hooked. I’m not going to lie; I went through a Farmville phase. And now I can’t seem to give up Temple Run. It sucked me in because it was free; because I was bored; and because it had quickly gained popularity. I was curious; I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Temple Run, or at least the hype about it, was persuasive. By it’s very ability to gain public attention, it continued attracting more downloaders. And it’s kept us playing, even though it is quite possibly one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever encountered. It’s addicting. It’s simple enough that anyone can play and, seemingly, anyone can win, therefore holding onto its popularity. On top of that, it plays upon human nature: it incites friendly competition, something we all love, which fuels further play time. I was almost bored with the game when my friend passed my high score. He sent me a screen shot of it with a message saying, “Better step your game up.” Well, that was a challenge. And I like a challenge, especially if I can win. As easily and as quickly as that, I was playing Temple Run again all due to my innate, human love of competition.

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This games or apps have amazing rhetorical power to influence people to download (for free!) and play and play and play. They can easily gain downloaders, easily keep players, and even gain money through the advertisements. So good job, Temple Run, I’ve been hooked, and I know it. But I beat my friend's score, so I don’t mind. J

Law and Morality

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            Our legal system works because people know there will be consequences for their negative actions. There are set laws in place – we know not to break them, because it is both morally and legally wrong. It has been in place for centuries – it is clearly not a new or misunderstood system. Though complicated at times, society is has a clear grasp on the general structure and functions of courts.

This isn’t to say that we don’t have crime in America. We most certainly do. But imagine if people knew that they could get away with anything. Corruption and misconduct would be rampant. Or would it be? Hypothetical situations and questions that arise from them, such as the behavior of humans in a lawless society, will forever be a debated question. Do humans have a high enough moral code to keep social order when law enforcement, or even laws themselves, is absent? 

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I think the fear of punishment in a legal sense is certainly enough to keep people from breaking laws. The rhetoric of law is extremely impressive, but I think that the morality of human beings is somewhat stronger. Most people would not harm others or steal, etc., just because they can.

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Those who do disregard the law, and therefore our society’s scruples and moralities, would most likely not care to follow such ethics in the first place. However, some situations cause people to act against their principles and ordinary behaviors that society encourages. If someone is starving, stealing to feed themselves and their family takes precedence over their values. The desire to survive overcomes all else. Guilt will still occur though, reinforcing the idea that standards can rule behavior, and the negative action will possibly be redeemed if and when possible, by some form of repayment. Though the legal system is extraordinarily important in influencing people’s behavior, so is their moral code.

The Rhetorical Power of Music

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            When I’m having a bad day, and I’m ridiculously stressed and tense, sometimes all I want to do is head back to my dorm, crawl into bed, and listen to some music. Music has the ability to take you to another place unlike anything else. It is able to calm, excite, sadden, or enliven. My roommate is incredibly musical (she plays the saxophone), and though I’m not talented when it comes to playing instruments, I am entirely obsessed with music, regardless of genre. We both love listening to music, and it’s constantly blasting from one of our computers. It’s at the point where we can understand how the other person is feeling by what artist is playing. It’s not unusual for one of us to walk into the room and state something like “It’s an Adele kind of day.” And immediately, we can gauge how the other person might be feeling just based on the type of music they feel expresses their emotions. Music is a form of communication, a mode of expression.

Some "We Are The World" singers
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 It is absolutely amazing to me how much influence a single song can have over one’s emotions. All it takes is one song, so powerful it can actually influence your feelings. A pumped up, fast-paced song can easily accelerate an already content mood to an extremely happy one. Music even energizes me; I have a special playlist on my phone specifically for songs I listen to when working out. A sad song can sink a mood lower, and emphasize a point, like the Sarah McLachlan song on the animal abuse commercial. Music can express views about the world we live in outside of just the melody. Lyrics, whether in a pop song, a ballad, or a rap, can be used to draw public attention to a social problem. There are countless examples of songs written to not only address a contemporary issue, but also help solve it. For example, “We Are The World” was rerecorded featuring 80 artists to raise money for relief effort and the rebuilding of Haiti. Music is an extremely strong rhetorical tool, whether it simply makes someone feel better, or attempts to change the world. 

How I End Up Shopping... A lot

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            I like to shop. Like, a lot. Stereotypical? Yes. Frivolous? A little. But I have an excuse! Advertisements. And sales. Sales are my downfall. This isn’t to say I spend inordinate amounts of money – I don’t. I’ve always been a smart shopper; I know how to budget my money well and how to stretch it to get the most possible. But I also end up buying more and spending more than I anticipated. I blame this almost entirely upon the advertisements that draw me in to spend, spend, spend. (I definitely have to put some blame upon my self). My email is constantly bombarded with promises of “Buy One Get One,” “50% Off,” and “Free Shipping on Orders over $50!” And more times than I would like to admit, I am drawn in. I click the email, and am instantly bombarded with pictures of smiling, happy, beautiful people and bright letters announcing sales. I know what advertisers do. I know they want me to feel as if I like and know those people, like I want to be like them and dress like them. I know they are preying upon human nature to make a sale. I’m not an uninformed consumer; I know these things. And yet, it still works. Advertising has great power over us, whether we recognize it or not. We see products displayed in the best, brightest ways possible. It is easy to become convinced that our lives would be easier or better if we only had that new phone, or that cool shirt. 

American Eagle Jeans Ad

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And it’s easy to buy today too – it’s literally a few clicks away on the Internet, or a five minute walk to downtown State College (or a quick drive to the mall). Advertising has become even more effective merely because of convenience. It’s so easy to get the idea into our heads that we want something, and then from there it’s just a swipe of the debit or credit card. I realize its necessary to be wary of the effect of advertisements. On the other hand, I realize there are numerous ways to be smart consumers, who don’t throw money away on things they don’t really need. Finding a balance between reckless spending and frugality is key. Advertisements with sales promoted can be both a weapon against you, to cause you to overspend, and alternatively, a benefit, to save you money. It just depends whether you’ll be sucked into the alluring rhetoric of advertisements, or if you shop smartly (and still hopefully get that item you’ve had your eye on)!