In Class: Ethics

I brought in a Coca-Cola bottle. I chose this because I believe that it makes an ethical appeal. They, like any company are promoting their product. The main color is red which attracts the attention of your eye. Coke's commercials are also very bright and cheery with young attractive people and have the occasional polar bear. But by promoting their product, they are promoting something that doesn't have any real nutritional value. That's what I think is the scary thing and brings up the question: Is Coke being ethical by selling such a product that does nothing for us, and by commercializing it in such a possitive way? Coca-Cola is know for disolving metal, decaying teath, and cleaning car engines. The Coke trucks that carry the concentrate have to be marked with hazardous material signs. This does not sound like something that I would want to put into my body. But yet Coke goes ahead and sells large amounts of their product all over the world. To get more people to buy it they offer rewards called Coke rewards where you can redeem prizes with codes online with ever purchase of their product. On another note, Coke is also being question about their ethics with sweat shops in places like Columbia.

My Public Space

I've decided that I want the TCU Bookstore to be my public space. I've decided this because it a building that looks very inviting with its big windows and doors on the corner of two busy streets. This building is obviously meant for college students, but I am wondering how many other people use this space and what draws them in. The Bookstore doesn't only have books, but also school supplies, TCU merchandise and a Starbuck's Cafe.
I expect to see a lot more college students there than adults. I would think that many students would be drinking Starbuck's coffee and either studying or hanging out with a friend or two, but of course I can't forget about the teachers and other adults that also love a Starbuck's drink. I also expect to find the majority of the people buying TCU merchandise to be students. In the Barnes and Noble section, I expect to find a large range of people as there are novels, magazines and also children's books.
As a TCU college student, I am a part of the target audience. I, however, do not use this space often. This is because, though the bookstore is a convient place to buy things, I think that it is too overpriced. I don't really have any preconcieved ideas about what I will find other than what I've said above. I'm excited to get started on this project so that I can find out who uses this space at various times of the day and what they use it for. Maybe I'll even find something that draws me in more too.

In Class: Public Space

So my first idea for a public space was to go to the BLUU. But then I started thinking ab0ut how big of a space that the BLUU is and that I might need to narrow my area down. So I thought that I would sit on the first floor on the north side. I figured that this would work, but then realized that with all the entrances to this building that it could still be very hard. There would be large amounts of people going places that I would never know since they could be going to the cafeteria, a meeting hall, just meeting up with friends, or the little shops on the first floor. So, then I thought that the student room on the second floor on the south side might be a good idea. I've been in there twice when they prepared meals for the kids on campus, but never since. So I kind of wonder who even utilizes this space. I also thought about the computer work room on the first floor; the area that sticks out of the building and has a round shape to it, but I've never been in there before. Then someone mentioned that I might use the bookstore as my public space. I guess that that would be kind of fun, at least the cafe area, but then again, so would the section of school supplies and also the area that has all the TCU logo stuff. So maybe I'll try that. I really don't know yet. I thought about doing the Coliseum breifly, but no one really goes in there unless there is a game. The only people that are there are the people who have offices, the athletes for practice, and the occasional athlete that uses that path to get to another building. And of course you would have the occasional maintanence worker too.

In Class: My Day

I am tired. I have a long day too, but when my day is finally over, I get a break. I'm a little worried for my next class. I don't really understand the material yet. I'll get through it though. I am looking forward to lunch time. I'm going to Dutch's to meet up with my church group. It's exciting. I don't seem to hang out with them at other times during the week though, but then again, I don't really have the time to hang out with anyone during the week. Then I have to go to practice, the last one before a big match this weekend. We're going to Nebraska. It's going to be cold, but I really do enjoy the cold. I'm from Indiana and am excited every time that I go home for Christmas. I'm always hoping that there will be snow when I go home so that I can go sledding. It's always so much fun to go sledding. Most people think that it's just too cold to go sledding, but if you have ever gone down a big hill and then had to climb back up it with a sled, you will realize that you will actually be extremely warm in your heavy coat and cold weather gear. I usually have to shed my coat and just stick with the hoodie I have on when I sled. But anyway, our match is against UNL. I'm excited to go; I've been doing really well in shooting, but it's just the hastles of traveling and things that I don't enjoy. Then there is also all the homework I have to take with me and hope that I have the time and energy to do enough of it before I get back to school. That's the only problem I guess. I would like some down time. Some time to relax before I have to start my week up again. Sleep. It's something that I really enjoy and wish I could get more of. Then there is also working out. I'm not required by my team to do any work-outs. But, I know that if I can get my heart rate down and have good core muscles that it will be all the better. I just really hate working out. It takes so much time (not really) but I think so. But I've been forcing my self to make it to the rec and go jogging.

The Inauguration Arguments

President Obama, in his inauguration speech, gives many arguments about what Americans need to do to turn this country in the right direction. Early on in his speech, he lets us know that he has taken the oath of office "amidst gathering clouds and raging storms". By saying this, he is informing us of the situation that we are in. I would also say that he is trying to appeal to us emotionally as he paints a picture of nasty, stormy weather as we are not only in the middle of a war, but also an economic crisis. Both of these things sit heavily on the hearts and minds of Americans. He continues on with emotional appeal as he talks about how we need to make decisions to change the direction that America is going. In doing this, he tells us what has gone wrong; "Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shattered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many". Again, all of us are affected by these things. After President Obama tells us what is going wrong, he informs us through an argument of future that "the challenges...will be met". In this way he offers hope to all Americans. Then, later in his speech, Obama reminds us of our inalienable rights; "All are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness." This statement is an argument of fact for all Americans as it is similarly written in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It is something that we can all agree upon, a kind of baseline for the American public to come together. Obama also gives an argument of the past as he states what the people before us have done, from the settling of our nation to the major wars we have gone through. He wants to remind us that the people of our history were very ambitious for a better life and that we must carry on that ambitious attitude. Part of his speech is to convince us as he doesn't want us to worry about if the government is too big or small, but just that it works. He wants us to put our trust in the government; in the people who run it. I think this speech is a wonderful inaugural speech at this point in our history. It contains many arguments, many of which reach us on the emotional level as much of America is going through a period of hardships and wondering when it will end.

In Class: Argument

At first I really only viewed an argument as a sort of opinion where you have two sides fighting each other. Now, after reading the text, I realize that everything can be seen as one. One of the arguments I would not have expected is an argument to inform. It doesn't seem like much of an argument to me. It's pretty basic, a statement or fact about something. Like you need to go this way to find the hurricane or tornado shelter. Everything that people wear can be seen as an argument about who they are and what they stand for too. It's interesting to look at the small picture and try to see how it fits in to a larger picture, and what argument it is making. It is interesting to see how many arguments we think about in our everyday lives. We go to the supermarket and then have to decide whether we are going to buy our food based on price or packaging. Do the colors draw our attention? Does the price scare us away? Do we buy something just because we remember hearing about the brand name on a commercial or in the ads and coupons? When something says that it is better for you than something else, is it really? We have to use the information we have to decide if the argument that the company is giving us is a valid reason for us to spend our precious money.

In Class: Football

The argument that I brought in is about how TCU has an amazing football team even though we aren't in a good conference. It says that people have learned to start looking past conferences and just look at the teams that others are playing against. That is how football should be. We should be able to see the talent in a team and rank them respectively. It also comments on how the BCS is an unuseful way to really choose the best team. I picked this article because I'm a TCU football fan and agree with the author. TCU is good enough to be in a better conference, but then again, how much does a conference matter these days after what we have seen this year?
So yes, I'm greatly looking forward to next year to see another great TCU football team play. I'm also interested in seeing if there will ever be a better system for ranking and choosing the best team of the land. Standing in the student section of the stands is such an experience! Everyone is cheering and the whole place is just going crazy.

A little about me

Hey everyone! My name is Erin. I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana. I found my way to TCU because of the rifle team. I am currently a junior math major at TCU and am also working on a radio/tv/film minor. In my spare time, I love to hang out and watch movies; the action genre is my favorite.
I'm in this English class because it is required, but I am really hoping to get some more writing skills from it. As I enjoy math, I don't really enjoy English or writing, but I want to use this course to work on this weakness of mine. I definitely don't write much as it is not required for the classes in my major.
In respect to the argument my blog is making, I based the colors on the shades that I like. Blue is my favorite color, while purple is necessary for TCU. The title to my page means that I am definatley a TCU frog while being from Indiana. The image is of me shooting as that is the biggest part of my life. I hope to compete on the international level on a regular basis soon and even make the Olympic team.
I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus.