Blog Post #4

I plan to touch on each of the appeals to prove that army ROTC is worthy of studying. My ethos appeal will come from my visits and first hand observation of the relationships within the military that are left unaddressed. My pathos appeal will be in my description of certain values I saw in the men: the encouraging words, smiles, and laughter. This appeal will be especially relevant as I discuss the obstacle course activities. My logos appeal will be derived from my secondary sources as well as a statistic of the number of colleges that offers this program. The logos and ethos appeal will also be found in my on location pictures. I think that my use of all three appeals would be most effective because the audience will be able to understand a couple of different things. They will first be able to be informed of what ROTC actually is (logos). Then they will be able to see what my experience was like there, through my descriptions as well as pictures (ethos). Finally they will be able to feel the relationships and emotions I observed in the community though my observations (pathos).

Blog Post #3 "Research Memo"

For my secondary source I have chosen the University of Kentucky’s official Army ROTC webpage. This webpage is full of information about the history of ROTC as well as their partnerships in some schools, fundraising, how to get involved, and even student success stories! In reading about the history of ROTC I can become more familiar with the program and its goals in order to evaluate any consistencies or differences I can find between seeing the location for myself and reading about it. For example, the website mentions training is aimed at teaching the soldiers what it takes to be “a leader for life” and when I visited the site the exercises preformed were aimed at leadership. I can now think about my space as it has come to be the success that it is now: “ the best leadership courses in the country.” Learning more about the facts of the program will allow me to derive my sense of the environment and culture the area creates. The website also contains photos I will able to use for my benefit in understanding.

Citations for the 2 places I have taken information:

"About Army ROTC." Army ROTC. University of Kentucky, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.

"History of Army ROTC." Army ROTC. University of Kentucky, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

Prompt #1

I have chosen Army ROTC as my cultural site. When I first decided to study this space immediately there was a huge intimidation factor involved. When we think of out military men and women we think of them in uniform marching in prefect succinct shouting words that mean nothing to the untrained ear. I picture myself walking in and feeling as though I was an intruder disturbing the order of such a prestigious profession. Even the thought of talking to a man or woman in uniform made me nervous! With all of this on my mind I had no clue that when I walked up to the entrance I would hear laughter and the bouncing of a basketball of the rim of a basketball hoop in the middle of what appeared to the a gym like area with cement floors. I looked around and saw men in uniform and also t-shirts that were bright yellow. The fan in the coroner of the gym was running and even though it was loud you could still hear the murmur of conversation amongst the room. I immediately find the closest person to me to explain my reason for being there and immediately he welcomed me into the space telling me I was free to hang out until the man I had contacted got there to so he would know I was there.  (Michael Marchetti.) As I waited I observed. A banner reading “Inspiring Strength in Others” hangs from the ceiling as well as a giant American flag. Also on the ceiling were four individual banners reading:  selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. All off the words were extremely meaningful. What looks like gymnastic equipment hangs down (like the loops men put their arms in and hold their weight up) and appears to be different activities for a miniature obstacle course. Everyone is talking or watching the basketball being shot time after time. I was amazing at how relaxed the environment felt. It began to make me think that there was more to the military than being always on point. That maybe it wasn’t always about correctness and order. As I am continuing to observe the man that I had told of my scenario calls to me and tells me that Michael Marchetti has just walked in. I proceeded to get his attention and tell him of my mission there. He welcomes me and then introduces me to the man in charge of the leadership activities for the day. He informed me that they would be doing a FLRC (field leaders reaction coarse) that day out on the lawn by the student center and that if I had any question about anything to ask him. He also told me that the ROTC members would be broken up into teams and with that team they would be preforming different activities: physical or mental. He explains to me that the seniors and juniors were the men and women in uniform and that they would be helping him lead the underclassmen, the men and women in the t-shirts, throughout the different courses. He makes a note that the underclassmen aren’t very familiar with each other yet and the course will hopefully help them to build the relationships they will need to withstand the training. He tell me that the purpose of this FLRC is to teach them how to work together and learn to trust one another as well as learn how to be a leader. They were so welcoming and friendly that my nerves went away. They proceeded with their schedule by calling role in the orderly fashion we picture in the movies with the chanting and the particular motions For example, when one would leave the line they would step back and take a stutter step then proceed out to the field as their name was called. We made our way to the field where there were different activities set up all around. There was a station with a puzzle (a mental challenge), a station in which 2 men or women would carry a third on a blanket (a physical challenge), a station with cinder block that has to be maneuvered across using only 2 planks, and more. There was time allotted for each station. Some were timed missions that required the participants to work together to get the job done. The men and women in charge were encouraging communication and teamwork. They talked about confidence and its importance. The men and women are challenged mentally and physically throughout the different challenges and throughout I was able to take notes about each activity. After all of the courses were completed the men and women gathered around in their groups for an AR session that I am told happens each week after the learning program. AR stands for “after action review” in which the men and women talk about what they got out of the experience and what the will take away. They even discuss what they did good and bad and what they could do differently. After the AR the group heads back up the gym talking and laughing the whole way up about the crazy activities they just preformed. Throughout my 2 hours with ROTC I saw personalities and good times being had. It makes me consider that although the military is a profession of preciseness it is also a culture of the relationships and enjoyment when they aren’t in serious mode. Under the surface, the military likes to have fun and goof off. They are people just like you and I.

Blog Post #2

Choice number 1: The Johnson Center

            The Johnson Center would be my first choice because I love the gym. The gym would be something that would not bore me easily and I would enjoy learning the ins and outs of the place. (Especially the classes they offer.) However there could be many students who also are interested in this facility.

Choice number 2: The Study

            The Study would be my second choice because of all of the wonderful things I have heard about it. Also, being an engineering major, I know that the study would be a place I will need to be extremely familiar with anyway. It does concern me however that many student will choose the study or that there may not be a depth to it to direct a semesters worth of work to it.

Blog Post #1

“By resisting conditions of scotosis, we can analyze, teach, and speak out about the ways discourses of consumption and production or justifying changes in out world”

-       Mathieu “Coffee”

As much as we would all like to deny it, we each have suffered from scotosis. Scotosis can be a hard concept to grasp; however, simply put, it can be defined as selective blindness.  For example, on a lazy Saturday afternoon we will browse through our local Target without putting a single thought into how the items made it to the shelves we are glaring at. The key is early diagnosis! The sooner we recognize our thoughtlessness the sooner we can become critical thinkers in our world. This new curiosity we could acquire would create unimaginable opportunities for learning and understanding.

“We know intuitively that loneliness and being alone are not the same thing. Solitude can be lovely. Crowded parties can be agony.”

-       Marche “Facebook”

            Loneliness and being alone are not the same thing. Think about that. When we picture someone who is lonely we assume it is because they are typically by themselves. Alone. This idea does not hold true however when considering the amount of time you and I spend alone. Does this mean we are lonely? This concept is fascinating to consider that one can be surround by people and still feel lonely and likewise somebody by themselves feel satisfied. It truly strikes a curiosity in discovering who is truly lonely and who is not.