Status Update

“Transmissions from Camp Trans”
-Claim: Trans Camp is a place for lesbians to just be themselves and not worry about the strains the world puts on them for being who they are.
-Rogerian Style

“Dark Webs Goth Subcultures in Cyberspace”
-Claim: Goths are just like everyone else.
-Classical Style

“The Truck Stop as Community and Culture”
-Claim: Truckers share a bond and have values and morals. Despite what many believe, they are a tight knit community.
-Toulmin Style

“House for the Homeless”
-Claim: Homeless people have hope and love to live life just like everyone else.
-Toulmin Style

My essay: I visited my fieldsite at least three times and have gotten many different views from many different standpoints. I'm still not sure what claim I would like to make but I have a very good idea. I have research sources. All I need are a few interviews and I should be ready to start my rough draft.

Fieldsite Observation

What was goin on?
-Many people were get out of their cars and walking into the hotel or standing outside and talking.

How did the members interact with one another?
-The celebs pretty much stood outside with their entourage and talked and the "girls" walked into the hotel.

What details, surroundings, behavior, did you have questions about?
-I was just pretty much in shock that I was even there in the first place. I knew why my friends and I were there but the only question I had was, why did we come in the first place?

Find at least one person at your fieldsite and ask them about something you did not understand.
-I understood everything.

Fieldsite

Reminder: Cannot visit fieldsite until Tuesday. Will post blog on Wednesday.

Act V

-This fieldsite works for examining this subculture because you get a chance to actually interact with the inmates and understand them as themselves and as their characters.

-We observe that even in this subculture there is a system of hierarchy within the cast. We also observe the way in which the inmates transform into their character and the connections they have with the parts they "play."

-One value of this subculture is being true to one's character. The inmates clearly value the connections they have with the characters they "play." Some of the norms are the rehearsals the inmates have.

-An interview technique used in understanding the subculture was realizing why certain players played certain parts. The researcher also chose not to find out the crimes of the inmates until the end so as not to judge them while interviewing the subculture. He also asked them their ideas and opinions of the play and its characters in order to receive different feedback on the play.

Getting Started

Search Terms:
white sororities
life of white sororities
white sorority traditions
white sorority lifestyles

"Fraternitites and Sororities, Black and White"
Shaunice Alston
3/7/03
"Life and Style" Magazine

This article was wxtremely engaging because it expressed the differences between white and black sororities and fraternities. It said that the purpose of joining a black chapter is to become a part of that lifestyle and always be a part of it and that the purpose of joining a white chapter is to socialize. The article pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of goining a white chapter and joining a black chapter. The article was very helpful because somewhere in my research paper, I would like to describe the differences between white and black sororities.

Starting Subcultures

Topic: White Sororities

Sources:
Dillon, Sam. “Sorority Evictions Raise Issue of Looks and Bias.” New York Times 25 Feb. 2007. 13 Mar. 2008 .

Ferguson, Carla. “Black student gets bid to white sorority at University of Alabama.” Noteworthy News 11 Sep. 2003. 13 Mar. 2008 .

Hoover, Eric. “New Scrutiny for Powerful Greek Systems.” The Chronicle. 8 Jun. 2001. 13 Mar. 2008. .

Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. Hyperion, 2004.

Simoneaux, Tracy. “Going Greek in the South.” The Daily Reveille. 31 Mar. 2004. 13 Mar. 2008. .


Reflection: I thought the article “Sorority Evictions Raise Issue of Looks and Bias,” was interesting. Its focus was on the way sororities pick and choose who becomes a part of their chapter. The article discussed how sorority members would drop anyone who does not have a specific look or can fit a specific roll. They only include girls who have a certain appeal, such as slim, blonde hair, or are in a relationship with a fraternity brother, hoping to attract more pledges using “attractive” people. All those who do not fit the mold, such as the weight requirement or the ethnic background, were kicked out. This article can assist me in writing my paper because a can point out the way sororities look to us ignorant outsiders and the way they behave in reality. It will help me compare and contrasts non-sorority member’s beliefs about sorority life and the actuality of sorority life.

Who Am I?

The author of my article, Margena A. Christian, proved to be extremely difficult to find information on. The first web site I started at was Google. I typed in her name and about seven websites popped up that actually pertained to her. The first web site I clicked on to find information about her ended up just being a web site to look for articles people have written. The second web site I went to required me to join the web site if I wanted to find out any information on my author. It also allows anyone who joins to be able to contact that person through the website. I chose not to join because I really didn’t need to contact my author. The third link I looked at gave me information on the wrong Margena Christian, and by that time I was getting really tired of looking for information about her. So all I was able to find out at that point was that I am from the same place as her, Illinois. And at this point I also only found out the month and year in which she was born. Just as I started to get excited that I might actually find a bio about her, I clicked on a link and it led me completely off base. That website allowed you to do a background check on the person you are searching for, a history of their addresses for the past twenty years, and find out who their family and friends are. Dang! I wasn’t trying to put a hit on her or anything! I just wanted to know a little bit about how she got to where she is today or at least find a reliable website that did that. Ethos appeal relies on the credibility of the author and if the author is not creditable, you cannot trust what they write about, let alone include it in your writing. I didn’t find one creditable website during my whole search. There were plenty of disadvantages to where I chose to look in that all the websites led me astray. So anyway, my only option left was to join that website where I would have to set up my own profile in order to look at anyone else’s and that was not going to happen. The only advantage to that was that I probably would have found information on my author had I done it. And anyway, I’m already on facebook. That’s enough.

"Peer Review"

The peer review in class on Monday was extremely helpful. It is always an advantage to any writer to have their work read and criticized so that they know what their strengths and weaknesses are and where they may need to improve in their writing. I learned that the strengths in my argument were my transitions from different points and that my arguments throughout my whole paper seemed to be concrete and back up my overall argument well. I learned that something that could improve my paper is using a personal experience to demonstrate my argument. Having peer review also lets me see strengths in other people’s writing that I may not have in mine or catch mistakes in their writing that may also be in mine. Peer review gives us the opportunity to hear constructive criticism on our writing and can only help it improve. The only negative thing I have to say about peer review is that I do not think we have enough time to efficiently review on another’s papers. I kind of felt rushed and may not have given or received complete and in-depth feedback on my and others paper due to the lack of time. But overall, I liked peer review because now I know how I need to improve in my writing.

"Logical Fallacies"

One of the biggest logical fallacies shown in the movie, “PCU,” is the depiction of social groups. In the movie, we see a preppy social group, a vegan group, a womanist group, an African-American group, and a rebel group. In real life, college does have its separate social groups but they are not nearly as elaborate as the ones depicted in the movie. We do have sororities and fraternities but the people in the sororities and fraternities socialize with other people outside of their sororities and fraternities. In the movie, the groups did not even bother to talk to other students who weren’t in their social group. College really isn’t like that. Students interact with other students regardless of their social status. In the movie, it seems like the students are defined based on what social group they belong to and judge each other that way. The fallacies in the movie depicting the social groups are extremely over exaggerated.

"Death of an Innocent"

I do believe that there a still characters like Chris McCandless in society. Although society has changed a lot in the past fifteen years, there are still people who hold tight to dreams such as McCandless’s. But with society evolving every few days, it is probably a lot more difficult to pursue such goals. Not only has society severely changed in the past fifteen years, but is has also expanded. Chris McCandless just wanted a quiet and peaceful place to go and be apart from the rest of the world and its temptations. There are not many places nowadays where a person can go and be completely away from society.
Admittedly, with new upgrades in technology, society is making it extremely difficult for anyone to focus their thoughts towards anything other than economics. Most of society does not concern itself with why people do bad things or why we have people starving in such a prosperous-looking economy. Instead we concern ourselves with what new technology will help us speed up the process of life. In short, society’s goals ore focused on technological economics as opposed to ethical economics.
Chris McCandless’s aspirations surpassed the aspirations of many Americans, then and now. I believe that there are people who share the same thoughts and beliefs and Chris McCandless. I think there are individuals who choose to “live off the land” and not interact with the rest of society. But I also believe that those individuals are few and very far between. Wishing for a better world and wishing to help those in need is a want that millions of people share but are hindered to act because of the world we live in. I think the brave people, like Chris McCandless, are the ones who do not let society prevent them from following their dreams and accomplishing their goals. I do believe that there are adventurers who, on the occasion, get “itchy feet” and need to get away from society and clear there minds or find themselves. These individuals may share the same goals as Chris McCandless but may not take it to the extreme he chose to take it to. They may let someone know where they are going or have some means of communication with the rest of the world in case something happens. They also may bring food with them, which in this case, it would not be the same as completely letting yourself be taken away from society. And if their life was in danger, they may have chose to kill a few trees and wildlife in order to live, unlike McCandless. So, I fully believe that characters like Chris McCandless still do exist in society but not to the same extent. The evolutions in society in the past fifteen years have definitely changed most of society goals, pointing them toward the economy. And those who think like Chris McCandless, may be thwarted by the changes in society to act as Chris McCandless, to a certain degree if at all.

"AIDS and Advertising"

This ad does not appeal to consumers at all. United Colors of Benniton is a clothing company, and the AIDS epidemic has nothing to do with clothes. I believe many consumers were turned off by this ad. As a whole I think the ad forces people to think about AIDS and completely forget about clothing. The consumers aren’t considering buying clothes anymore. Instead they will be realizing what a big issue AIDS is around the world. Most people’s initial reaction to those infected with AIDS is a negative one. We assume they must have made some very poor decisions sometime during their life, whether it to be infidelity, promiscuity, or drugs. Most of us do not consider that some people are born with AIDS or may have come in contact with someone who has been promiscuous or has done drugs. Furthermore, we do not stop to realize the devastating effect AIDS has on its victims, as well as those close to them, such as family and friends. This ad forces people not to think about the negative cause of AIDS but of the lasting effects it brings. The ad also makes consumers wonder how many people are affected by this disease and understand that it really is a global problem. I think the idea of the ad was to get people who support AIDS campaigns the buy the clothes because the producer of the clothes also supports AIDS campaigns. I think most consumers will see past the picture and realize the underlying message: buy United Colors of Benitton. In truth I believe the ad should be presented like this: BUY UNITED COLORS OF BENITTON (to support AIDS). The real point of the ad is to get the consumers to buy the product by making them think they are buying for a good cause and supporting a huge issue. It is an evil but extremely clever scheme. The ad definitely appeals to pathos. When looking at the ad, you can see the pain the family in the picture must be going through. The producer of the clothing wants its consumers to feel sorry for the people in the ad and feel obligated to help by supporting the AIDS campaign by buying their clothes. I do not think that this is a honest way to get people to buy clothing. The producer of the clothing is using a real problem just to make profit. Anyone who is looking hard enough at the ad can see the real underlying message. It is kind of like subliminal advertising without words. Some consumers can see what the ad is “saying” and some cannot. Clothes are completely forgotten as soon as your eyes look at the ad. People start to question the connection between clothes and AIDS and realize that there is not one. Overall, the ad does not appeal to consumers in the way the company may have wanted it to. The ad brings to light a controversial issue, AIDS, and suppresses a trivial one, clothing.