conclusion

This was my first time using blogs in English class to communicate and share ideas with classmates. and I thought that was really successful. Although I failed to post something on a blog everyweek, I thought it was a really good opportunity to communcate with classmates especially for people who does not like to talk much in class. Another advantage of the blog project was that I not only improved my English writing by writing everyday but also by reading others' posts, I learned about many advertisments, politics and social lives of the US.

Where my paper is going.

My paper is going along fine. Since our last post, I have been to the councelling center for Law at the Lincoln Building's room 270 where I was able to obtain lots of useful information on the different kinds of majors offered at the University of Illinois for someone who is interested in Law. I was also able to obtain information on the differenkinds of classes offered for students to obtain this major. In the beginning of this project, I started ooff with the question of what posssible Law majors are there and whether the path or major you choose can make the differenc in deciding what Law school you get into or whether your sucessful. Since I planed to major in Psychology, I also wanted to focus on what impact this major could have in the future as I went to Law school. Would the things I learned in this area of study be helpful in some of the skills and traits which are necessary for a lawyer. Through my research, I have found much more than I expected. I was able to find information on why it is that people tend to take the paths which they take. I also have learned that the University of Illinois offers up to 57 different majors for pre- law students so there is a lot of flexibility in the area in which you choose. I also learned that the major which students typically choose, relates to the kind of Lawyer which they want to become. In my case, I found out that Psychology who most be use by a criminal lawyer or family conflict lawyer, one who handles divorce or custody. I haven't really been able to find books other than the ones that are instructional and advisory but I have been able to advise from students both in pre-law and those in Law school. This has been an interesting project experience since I am learning some of what I've always wanted to know. - AveMaria Okolo

Comments about Blogger

Who would’ve thought that searching almost anywhere was a skill required? Obviously, it has been important for our continuous blog posts on the class blogger. Yes, I can say that I have done more analyzing than ever before. The many different posts have opened my eyes to many things. Not only has it been improving for me, but it also seems the same for fellow students in the class as well. It was quite intriguing to look into the interests of others while exploring those of my own. The blogs were sometimes the spot to even brainstorm potential topics, not particularly for this class but maybe another. Writing is one thing, but looking at visuals seems to increase my writing much more. We simply started with the 10 things I observe. This particular blog post has been a way to transfer those subjects in my subconscious mind to my conscious mind, in a sense. Then from there, I was basically a mini investigator looking for the most interesting yet hidden things that existed. At first, I wanted to choose topics not so obvious, but over the weeks it has become completely natural to write. My objective became to analyze a subject that I supported or one I wasn’t so much a big fan of. It wasn’t simply writing in a journal; it was more like improving my academic writing. I didn’t feel pressured to use “impressive” writing that may not make any sense what so ever or just wasn’t my writing style. This was a pretty smart idea, and it should be continuously used maybe for your other classes, Jon:)

~Krystal Wilson

Conclusion

Due to my sense of optimism, I try to find something “good” in most situations. The question at hand is do I believe that the blog was helpful? I can honestly answer this question with a yes not just because of my optimistic views, but because I see a difference in my writing overall. I can say it was helpful as a result of my writing improving tremendously within this class and in others. At first I though the blog assignment was just another assignment but later I found joy in doing in. I enjoyed writing a blog so much that I even began doing it independently. I believe writing a blog was helpful to me because it was good practice to just freestyle and create work that could be informal, fun, and most of all creative. The blog assignment also introduced me to reading my classmates writing and learning how other people think, analyze, and interpret things. In essence the blog was quite interesting. To particularly focus on the work that I have done I can say that I tried to “think outside the box”. I was calmer and relaxed to write because it is so different than traditional academic writing. I have written about various advertisements, thing I observed in the world, buildings on campus and off, political cartoons, and the comics that is found in newspapers. The first blog was designed to get us thinking about this blog project, so we wrote about ten things I notice mainly on campus and in the area. I like the way the first assignment was specific because it allowed us to be creative when given a prompt as well as when writing freely. One of my favorite blogs is about advertisement which I would have believed was the most cliche. It wasn't though, I found an ad on the internet and analyzed it in detail. I used this same analyzing and detail throughout the semester. Now that the blog has ended I can reflect on the accomplishments and be encouraged to continue write for my own leisure.

-Tawana Daniels

My Time On The Blog

This blog was a cool thing this semester. I liked the fact that we all had one blog page because I have never done this within another class before. The only problem is that I struggle with analyzing things such as pictures, readings, and advertisements in a rhetorical matter. Within this aspect, I wish I were a better writer, and better at noticing more than what I visually in front of me. I just think that when I am not highly interested in something, I tend to do average. I have tried to break this chain because my senior year English teacher in high school and my first semester Rhet teacher have told me that I write better when I tend to relate the topic to myself. Also, I think that the idea of the particular blog posts we had to write about had more to do with general ideas, instead of the main focal points of this class. Even though, I was not as enthusiastic about writing in this blog, I had a good time reading what my classmates wrote. It gives me an inside look as to how my peers process their thoughts into their writing. I think that the future students who will take this course will appreciate the things that they will learn, and carry it with them forever. I will do the same. Overall, great teacher + great class = great semester!

-Farrah Janvier

Final Comments on Blogger

I really enjoyed writing blogs for this class. Not only was a fun experience, but I also got to see real life applications of the writing and the English world used in everyday things. You always hear people ask, "When am I ever going to use this?" when it comes to some facets of school work, but by doing a blog every week, it made us aware of our surroundings and how writing is used in all aspects of life. You couldn't be oblivious to the outside world, but instead had to pay attention to your surroundings to see how text was used on an everyday basis. Another reason I enjoyed doing the blog was because it gave me the opportunity to learn more about my classmates. Searching for text every week showed what people's interests are and what they pay attention to whenever they are outside of school and the classroom. It also allowed me to take interests in what others found intriguing about text. Some posts about what people had found over the past week were quite eye-opening. Some of the posts, I would never have realized writing was part of their post. I recommend continuing to use this aspect of class for your future classes. It isn't a lot of extra work because you just have to pay attention to the outside world and it can be done by simply looking around when you are walking to your next class. Text is everywhere in this world and is very important. This blog allowed us to act on our curiosity and form opinions on the meanings of the text we had found during our explorations.

-Thomas Callahan

That's Blogtastic!

I think that this part of the course was something the entire class could have gained so much from, but not all of us (myself included) chose to do so. I'll admit that most of my blogs were pretty rushed, and that my favorite was probably the first one I wrote because I actually thought about that one for a substantial amount of time before I wrote it. I do not think that has to do with your emphasis on the blogs or teaching style at all. I think it had more to do with my general issues with academics this semester, which coincide with many freshman on campus. Many factors around the university cause academics to sort of be pushed to the side during this first year, but in general most come out of that slide to find a medium that is beneficial for all parties. I think that we could learn a lot from an activity such as this. Maybe that is because I enjoy writing, anytime I put thoughts down on some sort of creative medium usually results in a better understanding of the topic as a whole, as well as my opinion on such a topic. The visual aspect was great as well because it is something not everyone thinks about, and it was a message that grabbed me throughout the course. Rhetoric does not end with words, everything around is can be considered rhetoric in one way or another. In other words, great activity, great class, hopefully more students appreciate it in the future.

Sincerely,

Brad Vonck

Coming to an End...

As I looked at the previous posts I had done throughout my semester; I noticed that I had improved on analyzing a certain subject. Even though I still continue to struggle with sometime making a valid rhetoric analysis. Still, I believe that these exercises I learned how just not to talk about what was going on in the photograph, song, or short video clip. Just by being able to write about what we see and what that means has helped me during the writing process of my paper. Now, I am able to explain how give a clearer explanation in my writing. Since I am exercising my writing skills about 3-4 times a week. I really liked the new addition of the blog compared to last semester because it allows me to look at an image in the world and analyze it. I liked how we did not have any real direction in the blog, but we were just told to come up with a deeper meaning then just describing it. Like what is the purpose of this building and how that affects society.
Overall I truly enjoyed this class; I liked how that I started to improve on my writing. This is the first time that I felt that I got good critisim on my writing and I'm learning how to change that. I believe that the writing assignments, reading assignments, and papers were sometimes better it was only for my own good. Thanks for making writing as fun as possible with the paper topics. THANKS AGAIN JON!

- Sophia Damtew

Final Post

The blog assignment is perhaps one of the most fun and out of the box assignments i have ever had in any of my writing classes. This I say with all truthfullness. many aspects of these little assignments made it enjoyable for me. for instance serching through the internet to find one interesting image gave me the opertunity to see plenty of images that either i found hilarious at the time or that really shocked and made a deep inpact upon me. an example of this would be the street sign blog that i posted which was related to imigration which was kind of funny I admit but wrong in so many ways. another aspect of the blog assignment I enjoyed was actually writing my opinion on what I thought it ment and how I thought it was relevent. this allowed me to exprece myself and think critically about things i normally would just ignore. the final aspect that really made the blogs worth while was reading what other people had found. Actually i think this was my favorite part of the entire class.

-Fernand

Semester Blog

Doing a blog every week was tough for me. I like the idea of the concept that everyone can read everyones, and somewhat get to know eachothers personality a little bit. The part of this assignment that I didn't like was finding interesting images with rhetoric. I think it would be better if there was some type of prompt. But not a prompt from a reading. Maybe just a prompt that says go here and look at this or go to this website and give us your thoughts. It was tough for me to find interesting images because the only camera I have on campus is a disposable camera...not great for posting online. I often found myself just looking for images online instead of getting out there on campus and looking. I think that the internet makes it too easy compared to finding our own images. I really did like posting on a blog, but I would like to post about a different subject. Overall I think the blog post should be kept in this course.

Isaiah

Final Blog

I have kind of mixed feelings about the blog assignments. I feel like they were good in the fact that it was a different kind of writing, more informal and you didn't have to worry about having to do structured writing which is big for me because I hate to do that. I think it helped me quite a bit in actually analyzing pictures, text, or anything you see visually and actually dig a little deeper and really find new ways to look at things. I think it somewhat carried over into the classroom setting and into our papers. On the other hand it was kind of hard for me at first to find good visual text and have something to write about. Traditionally it has been hard for me to be good at analyzing anything that isn't really straight forward. Sometimes I found it hard to come up with very much to say about certain visual text and spend alot of time trying surfing the net or walking around to find something worth writing about. However, I do feel that this was a good experience for me and helped me become a better writer.

-Will

Blogger Reflection

When we first started to do the blogs on Blogger, I was lost and didn't what to do and as a result, I waited until someone posted something up and look what they had done then find similar things. I realized it does help me in terms of discovering the meaning or the messages hidden inside the picture or message itself. However, although I can try to see or understand the deeper message inside, finding a way to express it and write it on Blogger is a whole different story. Sometimes I know what the images or pictures are trying to say but I just can't seem to find the right word to describe it. But overall, it is fun and interesting seeing what people put up but I just don't feel that Blogger is effective enough. It does get you to think critically and by having us put up a weekly post helps us to think of it critically and also how to put it down on paper. However, I just find it tedious and never seem to look forward to it. Maybe that is because I have to go out and find the actual blogs myself.
Thinh

Better Writer

Have the blogs affected my ability to interpret the visual materials? Yes definitely. I believe that by doing small blogs i improved my skill of research and explication. One of the reasons for that is the fact that blogs forced me to look at objects from a critical perspective. I remember doing this one blog where i was looking on an image of 8 year old kid with machine gun and a teddy bear backpack. I was fascinated with the external conflict between those two items. I found that there is more to visual art than meets the eye. But what i regret and contemplate oftentimes as foolish is an extent to which we had to look into details of things and reconstruct them instead of accepting them for what they are.
Did blogs made me a better writer? I don't know. There is more to being a writer than the ability to write, in my own personal view. I know though that blogs gave me practice necessary in order to achieve that destination.
What i like above all is probably the process of publishing a blog. Starting from scratch and building a cohesive argument, providing visual and textual support. I look back and see the evolution of my writing. Then i can look on what i have improved on, and what i have to strengthen. And overall it was a fun easy experienced that did not require me to sweat my ass of with all the other classless on the back of m mind :)
Valera Chekmazov

"Bling"

by: Jackie G.


In our society there are quite a few unwed mothers/parents out there. Even though this is as common as a leaf falling from a tree now a days people still seem to be completely amazed by it. I actually found this image on another bloggers page ( . this is the website in case you want to check it out yourself), and this person seemed to be completely disgusted as am I, from the billboards context. This is what the other blogger had to say "I ran across this billboard during a recent trip to north-central Iowa. I don’t think there are words that can describe how I feel about its message or its design, so I present it to you as a “moment of Zen” if you will." I'm just shocked to know that this is not a phony billboard and that they actually send these types of messages out to people. This image makes pregnancy seem like a horrible thing that a woman should be ashamed to be. NO ONE should be able to decide for a man/woman when the right or wrong time to have sex is. The government especially should not be able to make those or even advertise those types of decisions.

Virtual Haircut?

One day when i was on Youtube looking at new videos, i came across this one!  I used it with my headphone and it sure does make you feel like you are getting a haircut.  As the person talks, you feel or have a sense of where they are.  I listened in carefully and figured that they manipulate the sound, basically have background music or the kind of background noise one would hear at a barber shop on one side of the ear then amplify the person voice talking on the ear but not too much that it hurts the ear.  It also made me realize that one can mimic the sound of a plastic bag being put over someone's head by using static noises.  If you guys have time..Check it out!  -Thinh

campus

The university of Illinois campus, oh what a beautiful and huge place. There are just so many buildings all of them having their own purpose and their own interesting background information. So for me it was kind of hard to chose three buildings to walk around in yet I was able to finally make that decision. The first building I looked at was the kranet center. The second building I looked at was altgeld hall. Finally, I looked at isr. Let’s see what I found out.
The first building I checked out was the kranet center for performing arts. As soon as I entered the place seemed very eloquent because of the type of people that were there that day. I saw many people dressed in suits and ties all around. Another thing I noticed was the lighting of the building made it seem “artsy”. As I walked on I entered a place were plays are preformed called a studio it was very compact like nothing I had seen before I wondered to myself how exactly where plays put on here. Then I went to an actual play house which I saw the play Henry IV. I also saw the place where costumes are made.
The second place I visited was altgeld hall where I went into the bell tower located at the very top of the building. From what I saw everything up there looked very broken down however I was told that the walls there were sound proof so as not to disturb class. I also was asked if I wanted to play the bells of the bell tower however I declined.
Lastly I visited isr aka the engineers’ dorm. Here I noticed a pretty large lunchroom compared to the rest of the dormitories. Also the dorms here are townsend which is all guys and wardall which is supposed to be all girls but is coed only on one floor due to limited spacing. In the basement of wardall is a small library where I saw only 1 person reading a book no one else was there. I talked to librarian there she said it’s because not many people know of it.
In conclusion I feel that doing this type of hands on research is very entertaining and more engaging for us students. Hopefully we will get to do this on all upcoming papers aswell.

Fernand

As I walk around campus....

As I walked around campus, I pushed myself to try to take notice of some of the buildings which I hadn’t seen before. I tried to take note of some of the buildings which once sparked my curiosity. Some of the buildings which struck me as interesting to explore were the Art design building, Altgeld hall and the Granger Library. It seems like a random selection of buildings but they were just buildings which I happened to hear so much about, yet never really saw for myself, so I decided to go on and check them out. Here’s what I found.
The first building I went to check out was the Grainger library. At first when I was walking towards it, what intrigued me about the campus was the fact that it seemed like it was built on a whimsical, secluded fairy tale land since the walkway to get to it had a bridge and some ponds surrounding it. The land which the library was on seemed as if it was secluded and exclusively for a certain group of students since it was quite distant from the other buildings on campus. It seemed like it was built as a sort of getaway spot since it had a bridge way which to had to cross over a river in order to get to it. This gave me the sense that is was like a right of passage to engineering students. What’s also cool about the structure of the building is that it does look quite creative, so that once you cross the bridge it seems like you enter another world or a portal to another imaginary campus away from the structure of the regular campus. The very site of the engineering quad seems to encourage the attitude of creativity and the imaginative nature of the engineering career and its aspiring students. The inside of course, followed this idea of creativity with balconies overlooking tables of silent hard working students, and long chandelier lamps. It did seem to look like a regular library though, except for the sense of warmth that lights up the room with the huge glass windows which let in sunlight on all the levels. Through this visit I finally got to see what it was about this library that everyone kept talking about. I always thought that it would be limited to engineering students, yet that couldn’t have been further from the truth. As everyone has always told me, the atmosphere is quite welcoming to all students and it does seem like one of the best place on campus to study.
The second building I took a look at was the Art design building. I have always seen it there next to the law library and wondered whether it incorporates any elements of design or creativity to it. From the outside of the building, I noticed that it has a pretty simple looking structure, with nothing designed or artistic about it. I always found this ironic since the only thing that seemed to capture my attention about it was the cube in front of it which was inscribed with symbols and tilted at angle. I expected that an art and design building would have more of a high-tech creativity to it on at least the outside of it so I wasn’t expecting a not so eye catching building. The inside seemed just as uninspired in its design as the outside since it seemed to have a grungy, old feel to it instead of the modern artistic one I thought it might instead have. The thing that seemed to save the building for me was the display of art found at all of the floors of the building of students. Another thing which I found cool was the way the building is connected to the actual Kranhert Art Museum. This seemed to convey the message to me that the Art and Design building is the starting point for student, yet eventually they might possibly excel to the higher artistic level of having their art displayed in an actual museum, which must be the crowning achievement for an artist. This seems to convey the message that to art students that the future of reaching this achievement is at their grasp with hard work.
The third building was the Altgeld building which I heard so much from friends of mine which were taking math. I always thought it was one of the most attractive buildings on campus because of its castle like qualities and the fact that it is where the sounds of the campus bell are rung. One of the things I found interesting about this building besides the stone work which makes it appear to look like a castle, what most people might not notice about the building was that it has the inscription at the top of it saying “law building”. Maybe it was the original law building before it became the math building which everyone is so familiar with. On the inside of the building are some standard class rooms some with green boards and a library all of which seem to evoke memories of the hallways seen in high school and the bells heard from the tower of the building. I could also notice from the inside of the building, the fact the building is one of the oldest on campus, from the paintwork and unleveled flooring. Some things I found interesting about it was its upper level lecture halls which seem hidden by the weird numbering of the classrooms. I also found the design of the winding staircase since it had a classical look to it which seemed to add to the buildings antique, castle like look. What I found weird about it was the fact that it appeared to look more like a law building than it did a math building since it had a sense of prestige and antiquity that I would expect from a law building and lacked thing like precision and specifically detailed designs and elements of mathematics such as measurement and logistical images like puzzles that might be found in a mathematics building.
From most of these buildings, I got a sense of the area of study which each building conveyed and what it might say about the students which often occupy them as well as learned something new about different buildings on campus which I’ve heard about and have now experienced.
-AveMaria Okolo

Building Exploration

The three buildings I decided to explore are the Institute of Genomic Biology, Smith Memorial Hall, and Roger Adams Laboratory. For scientists, and musicians these buildings are like “ home” , for me they were foreign places. My intended major is broadcast journalism and I avoid subjects similar to these as much as possible. My strengths do not include science and math and music is not a talent of mine. So I explored completely new and exciting places. Lets began with the first building I looked at which is the Institute of Genomic Biology.
Part of the building was old and traditional like other buildings around campus, but rest of the building looked like it had been renovated or just built. It is beautiful on the outside and inside. I’ll let you be the judge , the picture of the building is just above the text on the right side. I already felt like an outsider or intrude rand felt like I didn’t belong. I attempted to enter these large double doors when I realized the doors were locked. That particular area that I was trying to explore was only for people with card access. So that led me to the basement. There was a café and many labs downstairs. There were two people sitting at round tables and when I told them about the project, the woman gave me information about the building. Later I found out that the information I received was not accurate. She told me that the building was not completed and opened to the public. When I researched the building I found that it is actually opened, so that leads me to questioned why she lied to me. I figured that she either didn’t want me to be there or just genuinely didn’t know. The furniture in the building was contemporary and modern. Overall the building seemed secure and safe. The conclusion that I formulated was that the building design is modernized and new because this type of science , Genomic biology is new in the sense that it is not one of the most popular sciences. The building is attractive which draws people near to find out more about this major. This building is the one I found most interesting, but not the one I want to write my paper on.
Smith Memorial Hall as a large auditorium theater, classrooms, and studios. The most intriguing part for me was the organ. It was unlike any traditional organ you’ve ever seen. It was large and unique. The sound of the singers and various instruments distracted me from the sight of the building. The sound was so loud and strong that it could be heard from outdoors.
Lastly, Roger Adams Laboratory was slightly disappointing. I was expecting to see different scientists, and researchers with white lab coats and test tubes working on an exciting experiment instead I found a variety of things. There were flyers of events that were occurring in Roger Adams Lab that weren’t even science related. Then when I went into a lecture hall I realized that African American Studies were being taught. The only exciting thing I observed in Roger Adams Lab was that it is serves as a multi purpose building that once was a nice lab but has slowly been replaced by other good laboratories. It’s original intent and purpose is deteriorating. I learned many things from my experience, but one important idea that I will share is to beware of who you talk to and always check the facts when exploring these various buildings.
-Tawana Daniels

For this project I visited three buildings that I thought would be interesting to talk about for this project. I chose to do agricultural related buildings because those would be the ones I will most likely visit in the future. The three buildings I visited were AESB, Ansci building and Turner hall. The first building I went to was AESB. This building doesn't look very fancy from the outside, it has no elaborate entrance like most buildings do. When I went walking around I noticed that all the pipes and wiring were exposed in the ceiling and along the hallway. They were all painted and looked nice but it was just weird to see them in a building at the U of I. The classrooms did not seem very big to me nor were they very decorative. I did notice that there were big pads on the walls probably for acoustic reasons. When I went downstairs I noticed that this is where most of the laboratorys are located. It was kind of noisy as there was a welding class in progress. The people in the labs were wearing old clothes and they looked to have dirt on their clothes. I guess when you have hands on experience in these labs you do get a little dirty.
The second building I went into was the Ansci Building. When I went into this building it had kind of a more significant entrance than the entrance of the AESB. The hallway was kind of weird as the classrooms were in a different configuration than most buildings. Along the walls where were various pictures of animals and information on these animals. I also noticed a trophy case that had pictures of livestock judging teams and their accomplishments. There were several trophies and ribbons that the team had earned.
the last building I went into was Turner hall which is the crop sciences building. I thought this building had a pretty neat entrance as you walk down a corridor to get to the main door. There was glass along each side of the corridor where people were working and studying. It looked like there as a lounge for students and faculty along the left side. When I got into the building the hallways seemed pretty narrow. there was lots of people in the halls waiting for class to be adjourned so they could enter their prospective rooms. The rooms looked fairly large with lots of people in them. When I left the building in another exit than where I came in I went through to large black doors. The doors had a big yellow sign on them that said "caution 2 way traffic." The doors seemed kind of out of place because they were heavy and paint was chipping off both of them. I thought to myself why don't they just get rid of these doors because they don't serve a purpose its dangerous.
I learned alot by going through these buildings. I think this will help in my analysis for my paper
-Will

Connection

By Valera Chekmazov,

Arent they beautiful? I ask myself that question all the time but especially lately when i have been exploring the campus. I first began looking at the Union building. You know that article you assigned us about student centers really helped me to grasp some of the connections between structure and communication. I went to the union early in the morning and found about dozens of people sleeping on the comfortable leather couches in the main lounge. That is extraordinary, i believe. Personally i don't care about fancy building and stuff like that, but seeing those homeless kids (lol) lying there together really touched my heart. It is as though that building really brings them together. Personally i will not write my essay about this particular edifice, because i promise to myself not to write about popular subjects ( and Union is a popular subject). I rather chose to explore farther.
Then i went to the Busy Evans Hall. It is the all girl Hall that is located close to the Kranert art museum. it is a crippy place from what i thought. In feels like being inside a mausoleum. The rooms are crammed and the doors are located on the four different sides of the dorm. I actually had a problem getting through the building, and ended up asking for directions. The cafeteria is awesome though. I found that it is open really late and all kinds of food can be found there.
Last but not least, and most important for me is the six pack. You may ask why would you write about the place that you live in? Well i am not taking an easy way out, actually i feel that six pack is a perfect subject for my research. Not only that the building provides a substantial amount of information to fill in the pages, but the structure and the architectural design also don't lag behind. I am focused mainly on this structure and have a great feeling that i will write strictly about this place.

Exploring Campus

Brad Vonck

Walking around campus today, I went through three buildings. I visited the Natural History Building, The Union, and The Spurlock Museum. Being pressed for time this afternoon I went to the Natural History Building and Spurlock for the majority of the time between my classes. The Natural History Building reminded me of basically a "newer" English Building in its layout. I say newer because the smell of new paint and obvious remodeling signs are prevalent throughout the first floor. The building is also considered a museum as well as a building that houses discussions and lectures. Many exhibits line the halls dealing with various subjects of Natural History such as fossils from the ages of the dinosaurs to a library of various samples of unique and exquisite rocks. This building stuck out to me as I walked the halls because I know one day soon I will be walking these halls on my way to a class. It will seem far different then, due to the consistency that I will be in the building as opposed to now, my first time entering it. I won't realize how unique all the exhibits are, but maybe now that I realized this fact, I will remember to take time out of my day during those times to look at those same exhibits one more time.

I also went to the Spurlock Museum. We are very fortunate to have a museum like this on campus, with its vast libary of artifacts. I was interested in this building once I ironically enough decided to skip the first assignment in my history class last semester. Located near Krannert, the building is marvelous, it is a combination of old style and new architecture, the most modern formation is the use of glass windows which gives it its modern look. The inside is very diverse in its contents, ranging the entire globe in a variety of times and events. One new exhibit coming in the end of this month is dealing with music and art of the post World War II era, which reminded me of this class and some of our journal entries. Although I couldn't investigate this further due to time constraints, the building is one that I plan on venturing too alot to complete my analysis of it.

I finished up my exploration by visiting my local stopping grounds haha, The Illini Union. This building is the one I will end up doing my paper on because of the shear history it has alone. I was sitting there eating lunch today, realizing that this is the same Union that many of our nation's finest men and women sat in as well, it brought alot of pride to me and my university. Moving past the food court, I think everyone should venture upstairs to the RSO Offices and see how grand of an involvement our student body has on this campus. Working for ASB I have spent many days up there, and being a freshman it truly aided in my transition from high school to college. I remember coming into the Union as a junior and even at times this first semester, and being overwhelmed with many aspects of the University. Now I feel at home, and the Union is like a second home to me down here. Many fun activities as well as the hub for the student body. It truly is the heart of campus.

Brief Campus Building Reviews

In Sociology, I learned that schools are part of an agent in socialization; this means that the school teaches you how to act properly within a society. In a school students have common beliefs, values, and norms. Schools vary from culture to culture, but the general idea is to get some sort of education for your future career. The top three buildings that I had were The Undergraduate / Grangier Library, Lincoln Hall, and The Union. When I read other peoples responses last week I saw that I would had picked a lot of common places. So, I decided to explore each building, but I knew that I had my mind set on the college of Law building particularly, the library.
The College of Law Library has a sophisticated feel to it; it much rather resembles the Main Library with its décor. A lot of fancy and wooden art work. I thought that this part of the building was interesting because it is rather newly remodeled. On the first floor when you first walk in you are exposed to a fancy library. There are long wooden desks where multiple students can get do their work on; plus, with each seat there is a desk lamp. The desks are in the middle with books shelves circling around from it. On the second floor I saw it is full of more Law Books and many desk cubicles for students to study. I really like this library because it is quiet and by the décor of the building it makes you feel smart. I found this funny because I noticed that a building determines how you are going to react.
The Next building I went to was the Union; there is so much to say about the Union…I noticed that the Union and the College of Law Library have the same décor. I found it cool how the college still tries to keep its décor relatively the same so the theme of the red brick colonial style continues. I particularly like the Courtyard Café because this is one part of the building where it breaks away from that style. Inside there are many seats booths and television; in this part of the building you are encouraged to socialize. Also, there is a stage that many play on. The vibe of the room is relaxing, when I go to the Union it is considered a break of my day, here I can do work, but still talk to my friends.
The Last Building I observed was the Main Library; I go to this library a lot, but I wanted to differ it from the College of Law Library. What makes the Undergraduate Library unique from all the other buildings is because it is underground literality. There are two floors; on the first floor this is where a lot of people talk and work on projects together. Inside the building the style of it is kind of old. Students do their studying on plastic desks and wooden chair. Next, you are constantly surrounded by many old books. On the second floor, is a quiet floor; if you need to concentrate more on an assignment go here. The second and first floor are similar to each other. Nothing in specific stood out to me to be that great.

-Sophia Damtew

My Mini Tour

Being a freshman at the university, there are various buildings I have not been within quite yet. Most of the buildings I have been in were pertain to classes or other related things, of course. While being a student, it never hurts to explore a bit of the unattended since you’ll be here for four years . So, the three buildings I visited for this mini tour was David Kinley Hall, Harker Hall, and the Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory. Following is a little list of things that I noticed throughout my brief visits:

While visiting David Kinley Hall,
• When approaching the building, it almost has the same formation as other typical buildings on campus.
• Bypassing the first floor, I noticed lots of exits…like one exit every four classrooms, although that’s a bit exaggerated. Glancing from the inside out, my eyes were drawn to these very peculiar heaters on the wall. Normally, a heater is within the inside of the wall or aligned in the corners like a tall filing organizer or something of that nature. But, these shiny heaters lay on the walls like gymnastic pallets seen in some gymnasiums.
• This is obviously a business building which is clearly indicated on the second floor and on the business quad.
• Traveling up or down the stairs, your hands grasp very fancy and classic railings.
• On the third floor, some classrooms are secluded in a cave-like sheltering.

While visiting the next, Harker Hall,
• Here lies an apartment complex in the main quad of the campus. To be a building a part of or with close proximity to the main quad, it stands out from all the rest. Inside, the hallways resemble hotel hallways by the shape of the lights, equally separated doors, etc.
• The building is very secure with various areas where an I-card or some staff card is needed to get within certain spots.
• The lounge has an old fashioned coordination; color pattern oriented of green, velvet red, and brown. Upon the walls outside the lounge or front desk, there lies a mural of president award nominees and/or winners.
• One other thing is that there seems to be an unlimited number of printing rooms…I wonder why so many?

Last but not least, while visiting the Chemical& Life Sciences Laboratory,
• I found the huge windows very attractive; it grasped my attention by its slight modern look and also the fact that it was a laboratory because I haven’t been inside one of them. I wanted to get a grasp of what was commonly seen on television.
• Once on the upper level, I loved the view. It was different to get a lovely view of the campus on a sunny day like yesterday; it was a nice outside atmosphere. Also, it still felt as if you were on the first floor because the floors weren’t as distinguished to me. Looking out the enormous windows, I found that the building is split on the 2nd floor and wondered if there was a way to get to the opposing side from the other side. I began to search but I was only confusing myself.
• Once in the research area, it seemed like I was a sniper of some sort. The halls aren’t as hectic and jammed with students like other lecture halls and classroom buildings. The noticeable researchers were probably wondering who the young girl was swiftly peeping through windows and backing away. I was scared because I didn’t think I was supposed to be that close. There were very huge caution signs everywhere of course. Some of the researching rooms were blocked (those with a laser in use). One of the rooms did resemble the typical chemistry labs illustrated on TV or throughout other visual images; those with lots of chemicals, wires, test tubes, burning equipment, and so on.
• Upon the walls were lots of postings of formulas and calculations. I became a bit dizzy trying to skim those equations.:)
• Towards the end of the hallway, the windows are a bit smaller and are probably an area where those researchers can go to take a break from the complex work they’re indulged within throughout most of the day. It’s a spot just to relax and still view a minimal amount of the campus.

Yeah, this is probably a lot, but I found it quite cool going into other buildings. It was something out of the ordinary from traveling to and from some of the main buildings I am always within. It was a great field trip especially with the weather being so nice lately.:)

~Krystal Wilson

Campus Buildings*

The University of Illinois is not only known for the "diversity" of its student body but also for the beautiful campus that we all grow to love and appreciate. When you first arrive at school you may think that the only buildings are on the quad and neighboring streets but then you start exploring and realize that there are so many buildings on campus and that maybe...just maybe during your first semester you may get lost..:D! Okay so my first stop was to a building that I should have gone into way earlier in the semester, La Casa on Goodwin and Nevada. Although this building may look small on the outside, on the inside it is very spacious and filled with lots of people and activities. Walking in there was the "Sala"(the living room) then, a lounge area where they hold discussions. Walking towards the back there is an office room where I'm guessing meetings take place. When you go upstairs there are a couple more meeting rooms and the office. The enviroment is not only really pretty it is also very inviting! So go visit! The Second building was the ACES library. Even the shape of this building is unique because it is shaped like an octagonish shape. Then you go in an there is a lobby on the first floor and an elevator that only goes up to the 2nd floor...? Which was pretty weird...but than there was another elevator that took you up to the fourth. Anyway there are books all around in standard library form, but the shelves are set up in a domino arangement. Its very bright in there, and the windows in the group offices are these huge circle windows that just overwhelm the room. The third building was the Architecture building that has HUGE doors when you go in!! That building seriously makes you feel so small...its scary! When you walk in everything seems really neat and tidy almost like you dont want to touch anything. So those are the three buidings that I visited for this activity. And if you havent visited them than make sure you do so before you leave campus!!
--Jacqueline Gonzalez

There are so many buildings on this campus that I have not been into. I decided to go on an adventure and go into the following buildings: Chemical Sciences Laboratory, the Music Building, and the Foreign Language Building. I found something unique about every one of these buildings. Even though I may not go into these buildings because they don’t relate to my major, I found something interesting about all three of these buildings.

The first building I went into was the Foreign Language Building. It’s a building that caught my eye from the first time I walked on the quad. The brick exterior is unique from any other building on campus. Not only did the brick appeal to me from the outside, the brick lining also continues in the inside of the building. They didn’t wall paper, paint, or do anything to the walls on the inside. My favorite part of the building was the library on the 2nd floor. I was walking by the small offices on the 2nd floor when I walked by a room and nearly passed it when I realized I just passed the Foreign Language library. It was very small and unlike any of the other rooms on that level because of the couches and tables inside. Even though I am not taking a foreign language, someday I might go to the building to study in that library on the 2nd floor.

The second building that I explored was the Music Building. There were so many entrances to this building that I thought I was going to get confused and not remember which was the correct exit to Goodwin Avenue. I knew I wasn’t in an ordinary school building because of all the lockers everywhere. Everyone that walked into the building was carrying an instrument and put their instruments in those lockers when they came in the building. I really enjoyed the balcony that I could walk out onto. There was nothing out there, but the fresh air was something that could be enjoyed as a break from learning.

Lastly, I explored the Chemical Sciences Laboratory. I walk by this building everyday, and I didn’t even know what it was. There are 5 stories and coming off the elevator, they all look the exact same. You can tell it was a science building because of all the high tech equipment in the rooms. There was a lot of “Laser In Use” signs lit up as I was walking around. It took me awhile to find the overhead walkway that you can see from outside. I finally found it on the 4th floor and I really liked it because you could see both Goodwin Avenue on one side, and you could see the main quad on the other side. From now on, whenever I have time in between classes, I am going to go explore other buildings that I haven’t been in.

- Thomas Callahan

Car Emblems- What you don't always see..

When you see an attractive car or maybe even just a spoiled one, the first thing we tend to look at besides the body and paint job of the car, is its model. In order to find out the make or model of the car we must look at the emblem which identifies it. I have always wondered what the significance behind some of the car emblems I have seen, might be. Whether it comes in the form of a circle with two connected W's for a Volkswagen, or an upside down “Y” in a circle for a Mercedes, these emblems not only contribute in identifying the car and representing the car, but they also contribute to the implicit message behind the car. We don’t often think about what the emblem of a car might represent or symbolize just by glancing at it but perhaps we can speculate that such car symbols can carry a deeper rhetorical meaning if we are to examine them more closely. For example, the symbol of jaguar is of course a jaguar, yet the symbolism behind this simile of comparing to their car to a jaguar is probably to show that it is as fast or as powerful as a jaguar. Even deeper then this meaning with knowledge of this car, we could also infer that the symbol of a jaguar could represent the fact car is in fact special and of high value since it as rare as the jaguar species. The maker of the car might be trying to send the message that it is not a common car and that it is a car which sets its self apart from others.
What about the common circular or oval emblems which we see from cars which range from range from Mercedes to the Toyota’s or those of a Nissan, Volvo or Lexus. The oval and circular emblems might not serve the purpose of just circling the shapes in the emblem; it might also be a symbol of something else deeper. We can conclude that perhaps with the circular or oval designs, that these shapes imply that the car might be is unstoppable as it keeps on going like a circle or oval. More specifically for example, a car such as a Lexus which contains a 45 degree angle sign encompassed in a circle could also convey the statement that the car is made with accuracy and precision, the car must be perfect. Never looked at it that way huh? My point is that a deeper rhetorical message lie behind the emblem found on cars. We don’t ordinarily try to make interpretations of these symbols, yet is we take the time to look a lot closer we just might find out a little more about the car than it’s make.

-AveMaria Okolo

I've Got Ads in Odd Places

Last season, the Chicago Cubs (My Team) sold the rights to the outfield doors of Wrigley Field to the popular sporting equipment company Under Armour. Under Armour proceeded to advertise their logo throughout the season on the mentioned doors of this historic baseball landmark. Many baseball purists were bothered by the ownerships lack of respect for the history of the ballpark, however I disagree with those purists. The ad first and foremost brings more revenue to both sides, essentially being a win-win situation. The Cubs make money by selling off the rights to advertise on the doors, while Under Armour receives the attention they desire from both the ad itself and the controversy it causes. And really, the ad does not change much when it comes to the environment and history of Wrigley Field, the same goes to the Budweiser sign on the roof of the building behind the ballpark that was put up a few years back. These advertisements are classy in the sense that they are respecting the game of baseball by not drastically altering the landscape of this historic ground. However, interim Cubs owner Sam Zell is disappointing a much wider audience by putting up the naming rights to Wrigley Field for sale. This is a poor advertisement choice, due to the enormous amount of history behind the name. Whichever company chooses to advertise by purchasing the naming rights to the stadium will suffer the similar fate of U.S Cellular, who renamed the White Sox's Comiskey Park to U.S Cellular Field. Of course, the fate of Wrigley Field means alot more then anything having to do with the White Sox :) but thats just me talking haha.

Sexually implored themes

This is a very interesting way in which to sell this product. Physical Culture, the personal problem magazine, consists of most topics people find quite intriguing. Marriage and sin, sex and drugs are the core examples of those many topics. The personal problem magazine more than likely dishes out ways to hinder and/or approach some issues faced throughout the course of life that some individuals love to hear about. It’s all about getting the advice, but who is this special expert giving out the advice? With these topics, it sort of reminds me of the horoscopes approach to get everyone to believe the things that are told throughout the captions. Not only are the topics attention grabbers, but the young lady enormously posted on the cover adds more to it. The young, half-dressed woman with popping eyes and the commonly attractive red lipstick makes the sells for the best. I mean, sex always sells. All of these things are enclosed and only for a minimal price of 25 cent. Yes, this is obviously an old-fashioned magazine because we don’t get magazines for those prices nowadays. Here, they are getting the best of both worlds. If a naked or at least almost naked woman were to appear on the cover of every single magazine, the price wouldn’t really matter for some. This way and probably many others are typically seen in most propaganda. Whether it’s alcohol, underwear, perfume/cologne, sexually implicit or explicit images will be the most noticed.

~Krystal Wilson

OBAMA

I found this image while searching online for some fresh writing material. I went for political theme because i believe it is important to see what other people think about the current race. As i came around this i looked at it and though "Juvenile". But then as i began to analyze the image i came to understand something implicitly stipulated. To dress Obama, a well mannered and eloquent speaker into what would be considered a "ghetto" outfit is an outcry of racial injustice. Is Obama an African American? What is an African America. Does this image really represent what is considered being an African American? I don't know answer for this question but it is really interesting to think if you can call Obama black. I think the artist was trying to ask us if we really want to have a president like that. I cant be sure by this picture is defenitly racist. And what does it means to be black? This image really says a lot about stereotypes. By putting a single image in contrast with a culture is a bold statement. I feel somewhat disappointed to see that whoever posted this sees African Americans in their entirety like this. On the other hand i find it hilarious to see some humor in this. To see Obama as a gangster is really funny, because that is the totally opposite of what he is.
Valera

Absolut

--Jacqueline Gonzalez

We have all seen the usual billboard ads that seem to attack us on our path home on the highway. This one caught my attention on the news because it has life size home items/furniture pasted onto the billboard. Absolut is a Vodka brand that most of us wouldn't really associate with the word "home", but when you think about it Absolut is actually becoming a word used more and more at home. One thing that has never really made any sense to me is why do we allow there to be advertisement for liquor while advertisement for tobacco is banned? Yes I know that there are very serious risks involved while using tobacco like cancer and addiction. But alcohol is addicting too! And although there are other causes involved in alcohol related deaths the truth is that the drug alcohol is still involved. Even though this particular image doesn't necessarily represent any alcoholic consumption the ad still has clues in a less obvious manner. First of all the floor for the ad is shaped in the form of a Absolut bottle. Than there is the point that the ad is telling New York that they should drink absolute with its simple headline. I believe that if we really want to stop the total deaths each year that have to do with alcohol consumption that we as a whole decide to ban advertisement for alcohol because well were not all 21 and as we've all noticed people pay attention to what they see on tv. If you want to know a little bit more on this subject check out this website. but dont limit your search to this cause there are a million more just like it! http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/alcohol.htm

Powerplant

This advertisement is very interesting. When I realized it was a billboard that had solar panels on it I was very interested. It’s neat how they are using what they are advertising. I like how it makes perfect sense to power the lights of the billboard by solar power. The text makes the viewer interpret and think about solar power. It shows that solar power actually works. The text is lying when it says it’s not a billboard. Putting think text on here distracts the reader from the billboard itself and makes them think of the solar power. A lot of times you see an ad that wants you to buy something, but you don’t how and how well it works. Saying that this is a power plant makes the small amount of solar panels seem to be more than they are. If the text just said “This billboard is powered by solar power,” it would seem like the solar panels are that great. But when it says it is a power plant it seems that these small amount solar panels are in the same category as a “power plant.” This makes the solar panels sound like they are just as good as a power plant. This text really makes the solar panels sound great and really make the ad sell.

Isaiah

Inflatable Ads

Are inflatable ads really necessary? For some products this may be an effective way for advertising. However, I feel like some products just don’t need that extra advertising. An example is Pepsi. Pepsi products are so well known that I do not understand why millions of dollars are invested in more advertising. Some advertising is always good to just ensure that people are aware of your products but there is a such thing as overexposure. I feel that I am being overexposed.
Pepsi products are very distinctive. The red, white, and blue logo is unique and gives a sense of patriotism. When I think of Pepsi, I think of a drink that is versatile among various cultures and a part of America. It’s the ultimate drink, soda, cola, pop, what ever name you prefer. I remember watching older movies and I noticed that people would always drink Pepsi or its rival, Coca Cola. But in recent years Pepsi is major in the popular culture among youth, and it is also involved in sports. Pepsi products are advertised around sports arena’s, and by many celebrities on television. There are tons of visual ads from commercials to printed media in newspapers and magazines. Now inflatable balloons with the product is an option.
I feel that some successful corporations and industries are just never satisfied. With some of their revenue they can easily pay workers more money, or donate to a charity and scholarship. Why waste more money on endless ads. Most people are aware of Pepsi products and prefer them over others as evidence of their success but owners obviously feel that the public has not seen enough. It’s not enough to be able to look up and see a huge billboard with Pepsi all over it, now you can look a little higher and see inflatable advertisements.There are plenty of inflatable ads though, see this link, to see more If I am going to continuously be exposed to ads it will be nice if I can see a new product instead of one that I am so familiar with and see all the time.

-Tawana Daniels

One of my favorite bands of all time is Sublime. Recently, I went to go see a concert by a band called “Badfish” which is a tribute to Sublime. Sublime’s lead singer and guitarist, Bradley Nowell, was killed almost twelve years ago by a horrible drug addiction. He overdosed on heroin after years of fighting his addiction. Sublime never hit the big stage until after Nowell’s death, but they are very popular today. The other two members of the band provided a tribute to Bradley Nowell, and as one of their logos for the band’s tribute, they made the above shirt. They are trying to make people aware of the growing drug problem across the world. They lost one of their band mates, and more importantly one of their best friends because of drugs. By printing these shirts, they are persuading people that drug use is not something to experiment with. By posting the picture and the year that Bradley Nowell died, they are effectively appealing to the emotional side of persuasion. They are showing people that a great career as a musician and also a life can be cut short by the use of drugs. I am one of the biggest Sublime fans that you will ever meet, and it is a shame that one of my all time favorite bands can no longer perform because of a horrible drug addiction that killed one of their band members. While some people may think that it is “cool” to go smoke marijuana or shoot up heroin before a rock concert, they should remember the life of Bradley Nowell. It isn’t necessary to do drugs or drink alcohol to enjoy the concert. You should be able to go to a concert and enjoy the music that the band is presenting. That should be enough to get you “high.”

-Thomas Callahan

Sex Sells!

The media is sex crazy! Through television, billboards, and the internet; I feel that you are being consciously being promoted sex. You typically see half-naked women who are holding an object that they are advertising. I am not saying that this method is wrong, but I want to figure out why sex sells and why does your economy accept this. First off, it is not only degrading to woman, but it gives the wrong idea of women. It makes it seem as if they are only sexual objects. Media today has become comfortable with nudeness. I think people like sexual images even though they know it is not real. It represents an unreal fantasy like the possibility if I buy this item then maybe I will look like this or people will perceive me with this. The media is promoting sex; it has been statistical shown that so have eating disorders in the United States. Girls begin to think that guys will only find me attractive if I look a certain way. I know that this topic has been talked about a lot, but I want to find out the deep down reason why we are so sex crazy? How did this happen because it did not just happen one night, but overtime. I know that the time has changed and women and men become more comfortable with our sexuality, but why have we gone to such an extreme. If we do not try to reduce the amount of sexual images that younger and younger kids are being exposed to then I believe it will lead to unhappy children; followed by depression, eating disorders and etc.

-Sophia Damtew

Don't forget your names, folks!

If you left yours off either comment to your post with your name or edit it and repost. Thanks!

The Rhetoric Behind Cereal Boxes

Usually when we pour out a box of our favorite cereal into our bowls, we don't always take the time to examine the writing and picture graphics on the box since we are just focused getting breakfast and beginning our day. This week as I was at home, I had a little bit more time to take notice of this. As I looked up in the kitchen cabinet at the choices of cereal which were there I saw that there was Raisin Bran, Honey Nut Cheerios and Captain Crunch. I noticed that for some reason, even though I usually prefer Honey Nut Cheerios, I was more compelled to take the Captain Crunch since it seemed to stand out to me more than the other boxes. This made me take notice of the fact that I chose the cereal not because of the taste but the appeal of the box. We think that we might choose certain foods based on tast yet often times we instead might choose based on looks. From this observation I wondered what could be the rhetorical and persuasive message which is communicated to people as they choose from an array of cereal brands in the store. We might often think it is the taste that motivates them to buy the cereal yet I have come to realize that it might be other wise.
Have you ever stopped to notice the images of the bowl of cereal in which the small grains of cereal have been drastically enlarged. What about the boxes with a picture of the cereal next to a glass of orange juice and decorated with cuts of strawberry and blue berries? What about the ever popular children's cereals which are often bright and colorful? All of these images, believe it or not, can be seen as forms of rhetoric which persuade us to consider the cereal. Cereal box designers are aware that the must first capture the eyes of the buyer by convincing them visually that their product is delicious even before they taste it. So what could be the message which cereal box designer are trying to communicate from these types of box designs. Well, the drastically enlarged cereal and serve as the designers way of enticing the consumer by magnifying the appeal of the look of cereal to show its flavor and seasoning giving us the impression that this cereal must taste as good as it looks on the box. The designers method of adding fruits and drinks around or on the cereal might not just be a way to decorate the cereal. It might also be a way to show or suggest that the cereal can be a part of a balanced diet, if eaten as shown. Finally the image which captures so many children's attention... the colorful cereal and cereal boxes. These images are made to appeal to children in particular by catching their attention through these bright and colorful images. It is also a way of communicating that the cereal is fun since these cereals usually convey funny cartoon character such as "Captain Crunch" or the "Lucky Charms Leprechaun". These designers also use these images to appeal to the feeling s of those that eat the cereal. Perhaps it was the fact that I was in a fun and relaxed mood from being home all week, which might have motivated me to choose the silly Captain Crunch when I usually go for the simple and serious Cheerios.

-AveMaria Okolo

signs

Everyone knows that traffic signs are pretty much a universal thing. For instance whenever we see a red octagonal shape we know that it means stop or when we see an upside down triangular shape we know it means yield. However, sometimes these signs can be confusing to a person and the one I found while browsing the web is one of those cases. The image shows a sign with a family which seems to be running along the street. We can assume that it is a father, mother and daughter. If we take a look at the location of the sign we can tell it’s on the side of a pretty busy highway. I did some background research and found out that these traffic signs appear along Texas’s border with Mexico. So what can be inferred other than “be careful Mexicans are crossing the border don’t run them over” there is no better type of rhetoric with pictures than this. We already know that the debate on immigration has been a long lasting one that is basically a double edged sword. Deporting families who have been in the United States seems like a bad thing to do because the reason for them coming here is to look for a better life. It would be hypocritical of Americans who have the right to life liberty and happiness to deny these aspects to other people in search of the same. On the other hand closing border down completely would be kind of like having a modern day Berlin wall. So as you can see things can be communicated to use with pictures and not just words. This is what is so fascinating about rhetoric.

-Fernand

Persuasion in Numbers

You would have to be blind to not notice the insane amount of flyers across our campus this semester. Ranging from sheets like this one above located on the bulletin board of our lovely English Building, to the banners draped from balconies on apartments and frats alike, the amount of political support is seemingly endless. Whether we are speaking of a collegiate election, or an election of enormous scale such as our national presidential election, this tradition of "strength in numbers" when it comes to signs and flyers is universal, but why? I believe it is because the amount of creative signs will stand out to the average person. Thus, that person will be intrigued to learn more about the candidate being promoted. Creativity is more important then the shear volume of signs. As you have probably noticed walking around campus, the more well designed signs stand out from the vast array of flyers posted on bulletin boards throughout the halls. Now, the person will not vote based on the signs, but they will at least be drawn to learning more about that particular candidate. Although the signs may not be a direct persuasive tactic in the quest to lock up voters, it definitely aids in sparking the interest necessary to win any type of campaign.

Brad Vonck

Just Do It

Upon my search for an advertisement I found this cool photograph that caught my attention. The setting of the picture is dirty; you can tell by the walls that use to be white and the ground that is full of dirt and debris. Also, there is a young African-American boy whose face is back is towards us. He is not properly dressed; he is only wearing kaki shorts that have not been washed in weeks and is bare foot. I assume that he is poor. Plus, it looks like he is urinating on the wall. There is also a stray dog that looks like he is watching the boy urinating on the wall. The dog’s ears are pointed straight up; you can assume that he is curious in what the boy is doing with its head titled slightly to the left.
The most important part of the photograph though is on the dirty wall are the words “Just do it” and with Nike sign right below it. The significance of the words being place there just shows you that no matter what country you go to, big companies will try to advertise their company anyway possible. Many companies move to their companies from the United States to third world countries for cheaper labor. When I saw this picture I thought of this as a story. That this poor young boy was on a break using the bathroom while working to make shoes in a Nike factory.
This advertisement of Nike makes me sad because instead of charging cheaper labor they should help out the community. The factories that many young kids work in are the worst possible conditions with long hours and hard work. To see this breaks my heart and reminds me of how lucky I am to live in the United States and I am able to get an education to be something that I want to be; unlike these kids who are forced to work.

-Sophia Damtew

Most touching commercial seen recently

This weekend while searching the web, I came across this commercial for Porsche. What made it stands out is, for some reason, I thought back about pathos, logos, and ethos and think about what aspect the commercial was trying to get in touch with. The commercial is a rather long one stretching out to three minutes compared to regular thirty seconds commercial. It tells a story about a boy who looked out a window from a classroom one day not paying attention to his teacher saw this Porsche Carrera. The irony that i found is that the Porsche is very clean, spotless and have this showroom shine, and although the young kid is in the class room, he can still, remarkably, hear the exhaust note.  What that does is that it created this image of Porsche's car, of its beauty and performance.   He then became obsess and draws it out, but one would notice that at that young of age, the quality of the drawing seems to be too advance. He then visit a Porsche dealership where he was surprisingly greeted by a salesman who showed him the new Carrera when he asked. This alone convey that Porsche, although indirectly through viewers experience that it isn't cheap, still treated this kid with respect even though he couldn't afford it. Continuing from the commercial, the kid go on and sits inside the car and before he leaves, he asked for the salesman business card and say that he will see him in twenty years. The commercial touched me on the pathos, emotional side. Making me remember about the time when i dreamt of a car. That feeling is hard to describe in writing but in general, it connects with other viewers just like with me, to create an awe.

-Thinh

With the recent scare of a meningitis outbreak there has been lots of talk on how to protect students from spreading it to each other. I found this picture on the UIUC homepage. I found that this is a very interesting way to get your point across. The picture has a black background with white words that really sand out when you look at it. The black background to me is a sign of death, which is what meningitis will lead to if it isn’t caught quickly. This is a great example to get the point that this is a very serious disease and can have the most serious consequence, death. Most people just blow it off and don’t go see a doctor when they get sick, and with meningitis that’s the worst thing you can do. So the University is putting together a plan to help inform the student body what to do to keep you from getting this disease from your friends or dorm neighbors. There have been signs posted on almost every entry door to most buildings on campus that have a list of things to do to keep yourself from getting this deadly disease. The tone and the way the words are constructed really portray this disease to be very deadly. The fliers have large bold letters that grab your attention when walking through the door. Just the fact that they are on the door grabs your attention because not many things get posted on entrance doors to campus buildings. There is a list of things not to do in order to keep students from sharing drinking glasses, toothbrushes, and even kissing can spread the disease. There is also a list of things to do if you come down with symptoms of meningitis which include contacting a doctor immediately. I think that the University has done a good job in keeping the students informed and aware about how serious this disease is.

Guilt Trip?

Most of us are used to seeing ads that promote popular products and places but not many of us really go out and buy/visit those things. When I came across this ad online I started to think of who this ad was really meant for? This image consists of a scruffy looking older man, tired and frustrated. The producers of this ad really tried to make this look like he was a homeless guy and it only made me mad to see that there could be ads that are, well mean! In my opinion this ad is offensive to me and I'm sure that it could be to those it is "supposedly" trying to help. From my prospective the ad makes it seem that we dont do enough to help the homeless. From their perspective it makes them look uneducated (because of the grammar issues). There are many homes/shelters out there for the homeless, although I understand that it is nothing that this country really has undercontrol it is a something that we take serious and try to help. And from my knoweledge I didnt know that all homeless people were uneducated?! Many may be living on the streets now but each one of those people did have sometype of education before so I dont believe that it is right for an ad that especially is trying to help the homeless of their cities to promote. By trying to make us as the audience guilty, they actually make themselves look like idiots.

--Jacqueline Gonzalez

Truck Ad

When I looked at this billboard, I had no idea what the advertisement was advertising. I think that people think that text can say everything they want but the interpretation can often be taken completely different. I think that the text in this ad just makes the viewer wonder what the billboard is selling. My first thoughts when I saw this was that it was an ad to sell tough trucks. It’s like the “Built Ford Tough” saying. I think that this is actually a ad to just promote safety. Often, the images overtake the text but maybe this is how society is changing. People don’t want to read anymore it seems. I would say that this holds very true because I have noticed how much tougher it has been to find interesting text in around in my life. Everything is images or visual. Text has seemed to lost its punch. But I do think that when the text is worth reading that it has value. Seeing this text made me realize that text is there to clarify images. I think that images use to be to clarify text but times are changing and I think that this is due to television.

This billboard is just a poor advertisement to me. The text is just not well used and in think that this is why text is losing it power to images. I think that the advancement in cameras. Images catch peoples attention more that text and its much easier to produce images with digital cameras and that’s why text might be tougher to find for me for this blog post.


Isaiah

Conscious vs Subconscious(advertisement)

As everyone knows we are exposed to many advertisements daily. Sometimes we consciously see them and other times it is completely subconscious. I question which one is more beneficial to advertisers? The way in which ads are presented is a major factor for their effectiveness, but location is as important. Advertisers are so creative and clever that they put ads in places that one wouldn’t even imagine. Ads appear on buses, literally on the sides of buses. Then when you get on the bus and look upward you will see a long row of ads across the walls. As you wait for the bus in the shelter, ads appear all around it and when you get off the bus more ads are visible. This is only an example of how ads are seen in various places during a simple commute via bus. Driving is a completely different story. Ads can be seen in many places while in the car. I would think that would be kind of dangerous for the drivers. When advertisers discovered putting ads on large billboards on and off the expressway, I hope the intended audience is not the drivers. I consider the dangers of drivers being distracted by extremely large billboards that contain a variety of things. You know billboards are distracting because they were designed to be interesting, eye catching and memorable. When I think of billboard ads, I usually imagine a new car being displayed with little caption because people on the expressway don’t usually have time to read an ad, even the passengers because the car is moving to fast. At glance it is important for the audience to know what product is being advertised. Well, the ad I found is everything that I mentioned previously. It is eye catching, memorable, intriguing, unique, and most of all distracting.
The ad contains a man that is dressed in soccer apparel and advertising addidas. Sounds simple, right? Well the ad is 3D and extremely large. Do you think you can picture this yet without having the visual? Lastly, this huge 3D man, that is dressed in soccer apparel is not on a billboard on the expressway he is curved around the expressway. There is absolutely no way you can miss it! You can probably even see it miles away which only makes the person curious to know what it is and pay closer attention when approaching it. So to answer my initial question in the beginning about explicit and implicit advertising. I think I personally am more affected by the explicit ads that I consciously view like this addidas ad.
-Tawana Daniels

Tiernitos Bus Ad

Tiernitos, a Heinz product, is very well advertised, I may say, on this bright purplish-pink or magenta bus. I was skimming through some advertisements and this one was a bit different. The first thing I did was go to dictionary.com or a Spanish dictionary to look up the word. Although I couldn’t find the meaning of it, I still was very much focused on the animated ad. The real yet cartoon resembling man with his four hunger-enthused dogs, are the most intriguing thing about the bus. He literally looks as if he is going to tip off of the bus trying to keep up with those “thirsty” dogs. The loud color plus the extra of the ad persuaded me much through analyzing the bus. The seller was very creative with his peculiar way of selling his or her product. It is typical to notice lots of advertisements on the sides or backs of buses as they ride by and throughout many streets. These are places where an advertiser can catch more attention from its intended viewers. Most of the time, the ads are on high billboards on the side of highways or other rural areas. An individual would normally have to be in some hectic traffic or at a prolonged red light to notice some of those advertisements, unless they are in New York, I guess. But, Heinz decided that they wanted to draw as much attention possible by placing the ad right up close for anyone, whether walking the streets, sitting at a stop sign, or waiting for a while at a bus stop. The ad’s proximity is eye to eye. For any advertiser, their goal is to reach all their viewers in various ways in order to grasp more hits for their product; this seller is one its way to the top. These dogs make me wonder what this product is and what is so tremendous about it. From the angular view, I believe they are donuts, and they surely look tasty. Great promotion Heinz!

~Krystal Wilson

Recently, while I was shopping for new shoes, I went to a Reebok store. I ran into these all white, Reebok shoes, with a black sole and a Boston Red Sox logo embroidered on the sides of the shoes. The shoes were advertising the Boston Red Sox, who just last fall, won the World Series for baseball. If you bought these shoes, you were proclaiming that you were a Red Sox fan, or maybe even a fair weather fan, which means you only cheer for the team that is winning. Now I thought that the shoes advertised the Red Sox, but the Red Sox logo could also be advertising the shoes. If you were a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan and you saw these shoes in the store, you would probably buy the shoes because of the emblem on the side of the shoes. The logo is selling the shoes as much as the shoes are advertising the logo. Reebok is persuading you to buy these shoes not based on comfort, but based on your emotional appeal to a team that you cheer for. They are supporting the Red Sox and in turn, the Red Sox help to sell their product to make money for their company. Red Sox mania has taken control of many baseball fans. I’ll tell you one thing though, I thought it was a nice looking shoe, EXCEPT for the Red Sox logo on the side of the shoe. Because I am in no way a Red Sox fan, I would not buy these shoes because they are supporting a team that I despise. I would never be caught wearing these shoes. I guess the logo had the reverse effect on me. Maybe if it was a Cubs logo or Chief Illiniwek. That would make the shoes more appealing to me because I would not only be supporting the shoe when purchasing them, but I would also be supporting one of my favorite teams.

-Thomas Callahan