Advertisement Project

As usual I had no idea what to do when we received the advertising assignment. My acting is pretty terrible and I’m not very artistic so the choices of making a video or drawing an advertisement were ruled out right away. After thinking about the other options I realized it would be best to ask for the alternative writing assignment and go from there. At first I thought about analyzing the anti-smoking ad described in my previous blog post but I think it would be too simple and I would have a hard time squeezing a four page paper out of it. I went to youtube and typed in interesting commercials. One of the first videos that popped up was the Dos Equis advertisement about the most interesting man alive. I think this particular ad would be fun to analyze and at this point I’m leaning towards writing my paper on it.   

Stereotype in an anti-smoking advertisment?

 Recently an anti-smoking advertisement caught my attention in one of my roommate’s magazines. The picture depicted dead black people laying side by side in a giant menthol cigarette pack. I’m not trying to make the point that anti-smoking ads are bad, but I thought it was a stereotype that all the dead bodies in the giant menthol pack were African Americans. The most interesting aspect of this add to me was that most people consider anti-smoking advertisements as good. However, this one supported the stereotype that black people smoke menthol cigarettes. Since this stereotype is shown in an ad that promotes a cigarette free lifestyle does that mean it’s okay? If a Kentucky Fried Chicken ad was made public that supported the stereotype that African Americans love fried chicken wouldn’t it be seen as inappropriate? I do not think it’s alright for advertisements to show stereotypical images just because the general public thinks the message being presented is positive.  

Research Paper Worries

Writing a research paper for the most part is foreign territory for me. I feel like the only research project I can remember any detail about was assigned in my cultural geography class sophomore year. The project was to bring in five items that originated in the country we chose to research. Most of us brought in some kind of food our country was known for. Not much writing was involved besides a brief explanation about the things we brought in to represent the country we researched.  If I remember correctly my write up was even in bullet points. I don’t know what to expect from the upcoming research paper other then I may have to go to the dreaded library for the first time because of it. My biggest fear is I will not be able to relate to the subject I am researching and just have to push my way through it like the last paper we were assigned in this class since I really couldn’t think of a reading or writing experience that changed my perspective or influenced me in a dramatic way. That’s all for now have a good rest of the weekend everybody.

Civic Engagement: The University as a public Good (Critical thinking #2)

The Steps a University must take to insure cultural diversity in Cantor’s opinion is to “build on themes of diversity, not only in admissions and in recruiting, but also in creating living and learning communities that will produce a citizenry that is both engaged and informed.” (p.93) This statement means that universities should encourage and support cultural diversity not only through who a college admits but also by creating an environment where students get the chance to explore different cultures in order to better understand them. Personally I think that Cantor’s idea is to force diversity on students which shouldn’t be a university’s job. Cultural diversity can separate people because of difference instead of bringing people together through common interests or similar values. I believe the university’s responsibility is to provide a solid foundation for young people and educate them in preparation for the real world.

What multiculturalism and diversity mean to Western Michigan University

Part of the Western Michigan University mission is to “Incorporate participation from diverse individuals in decision-making” This is important to the university because having several different outlooks can help us better decide what the best course of action is for any situation. Whether we are managing funding for school organizations or considering the minimum grade point average our athletes need to obtain to participate in sports, many different views need to be considered. If we all had the same point of view many important aspects would be overlooked. Multiculturalism is defined as the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation. At western the Division of Multicultural Affairs is an organization set up primarily to help students succeed, however, it also promotes cultural awareness to help us better understand cultures and customs unfamiliar to us and learn the benefits of those foreign cultures.

Dealing with Peer Review

Peer Review is a helpful technique used mostly in writing classes where classmates read each other’s papers in order to make corrections and give feedback on what they read. Dealing with someone reading your thoughts and experiences could without a doubt make most people uncomfortable. Here are some ways to deal with peer review. Remember that usually the writer is their own toughest critic, the reviewer is just there to help and probably isn’t judging you by what’s on your paper. Relax during peer review and keep in mind the only reason this is being done is to help you get a better grade. Stay focused and listen to what your reviewer has to say. Make sure their comments get written down so you can incorporate them into your paper. Finally, ask your reviewer to read your paper out loud so you can hear how it sounds when someone else reads it and pick up on where they stumble or get confused. Again peer review is an activity to help you, not put you on the spot so keep an open mind and use the criticism you receive to improve your paper.

Blog Assignment One

It was freshmen year of high school and I was sitting in my third hour typing class. The teacher smelled like cigarettes and looked to be eighty years old. “Log onto your machines” she said, she always called the computers machines. I logged on with the help of my student ID card because I was too lazy and stubborn to memorize the student number on the back of it. We all clicked on the short cut to the typing program and the first thing that popped up was a message welcoming us to the class and stating that our typing would not be timed for the first week of class so we should focus on keeping our eyes on the computer screen and not on the keys. I thought this was funny how were we supposed to know what keys we were hitting if we weren’t supposed to look at the keyboard? I Clicked on lesson one and began typing my eyes going from screen to keyboard every five seconds.

            I continued typing this way ignoring the teacher’s comments that I had to force myself to not look at the keys and let my fingers learn where the letters were located. Soon I realized my classmates were considerably faster than I was at typing. How did they do it? It dawned on me that their eyes stayed on the computer screen while their fingers automatically found the right letters on the keyboard. Wow who knew that was actually possible.

            I passed typing with a C plus that semester which my parents weren’t happy about. Even though I hate to admit it looking back I learned something more important than how to type correctly in my third hour class, I learned that listening to a teacher is usually the best course of action in a class. That sounds lame but at least for me, it’s true