In Class: First Paragraph

While walking around the TCU campus, whether it be someone's first or one-thousandth time, one will instantly see the quality of the building on the campus. TCU invests lots of money into its campus, more so than most universities. One building in particular, however, stands out among them all: the TCU recreation center. This is a building on campus that is set apart from all others: it is diverse, unique, state-of-the-art, and appealing to all students on campus.

Upon entering the rec center, there is somewhat of an overwhelming feeling that is induced upon first sight. Walking in from the main entrance, you can immediately see the volume of activity going in the recreation center. There are machines everywhere, a huge weight room, various basketball and racquetball courts, and indoor and outdoor pool, a food shop, all creating endless possibilities of what you can do for the time you decide to be there. As you proceed to get your ID scanned, you decide that you wish to go into the weight room. This is no high school weight room, but a weight room on par with most high-tech facilities comparable to Lifetime Fitness and 24-Hour Fitness'. There are rows upon rows of cable machines, multiple benches, a complete dumbbell set that can easily accommodate 25 people at once, two sections to work abdominal muscles, a complete straight-bar and EZ-bar curling rack, as well as two cable machines to work muscles specifically in the back. This is a weight room where you can work every muscle imaginable in the human body.

In Class: Writing Workshops

Writing workshops are something that I have found both very beneficial and quite pointless depending on the circumstances and classes they occur in. The most beneficial workshops that I have been involved in happened mostly during my junior and senior year of high school in my AP English classes. In these classes, many of the students were on similar levels of thinking and writing ability that I was at, which made for a nice atmosphere to participate in group workshops. This was helpful as I received relevant feedback, interesting insight, as well as good advice for proper revision for various essays throughout the year (my senior AP Lit class was heavy in volume of writing so there were usually workshops weekly or bi-weekly). In other classes in high school, namely non-AP classes, I found that writing workshops were absolutely pointless. Most of the kids who would "revise" my paper either had nothing to say about it at all, or they would give me comments that had nothing to do with my paper and were absolutely irrelevant. In general, I would prefer to revise my own paper and then have my peers who I trust to revise my paper, but I am not totally opposed to group writing workshops. On the whole, this class seems pretty diligent and smart, so I trust that the advice that I receive from my peers would be both relevant and helpful in the long run. +

In Class: Observing the Rec Center

Because I have been in the rec center very frequently, there wasn't too much that I was unaware of, but I did begin to notice more about the little things that TCU does to make this rec center stand apart from other rec centers, both public ones as well as those at other universities across the country. TCU clearly invested millions of dollars in this facility, and each year there seems to be some new addition. Through doing this, it creating a clean, nice, attractive environment that students will naturally feel inclined to go to. Besides the lavish machines, equipment and facilities in the rec center, TCU also uses smaller objects to almost subconsciously attract students. One of the ways that this is achieved is through the promotion of TCU throughout the building. Everywhere you look you can see TCU logos, ads for sporting events, or even news about what's going on at the school. TCU is the one thing that is common among all students here, because this is where our current home is. We are all students together, and this is a place that embodies it. Through this, we are able to recognize this as our rec center that is unique to us. Another thing that the rec center does do to create a more inviting atmosphere is through their promotion of various clubs and intramural sports throughout the semester. One thing that TCU does well is to inspire students to be active in many ways on campus, and one of the first things you see when walking into the rec center is a huge ad for all the fall intramural registration deadlines. The rec center inspires activity, and TCU's main goal through investing so much into it is to get us, as students, to be healthy, fit, and active.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in the Rec

As I have learned through observing and going to the rec center in the past few weeks, I have become increasingly aware of the diverse and multiple purposes that the rec center serves among the TCU community. While looking at ethos, pathos, and logos, it has helped me to better understand the purpose of the rec center itself.

Ethos: As the book describes, ethos involves emotional appeals, which are especially powerful tools for influencing what people think and believe. Ethos strives to establish credibility and character. In specifics to the TCU rec center, I feel that ethos is created through the establishment itself. As in most things and buildings here at TCU, there has clearly been a lot of money invested here. This is without a doubt one of the nicest gyms that I have been to, and I am sure that most people would agree. Because of the quality and the amount of machines, weights, basketball courts, pools, game rooms, class rooms, and other various places inside of the rec center, it suggests that this is a legitimate place where one can go to be fit and healthy.

Pathos: Pathos, as we have learned, is an appeal to emotion. The TCU rec center does an exceptional job of appealing to emotion, and this is where it does its best job of drawing in students. The rec center attempts to draw in the students, and everyone that enters the gym, through creating at atmosphere that will encourage everyone to be active in some way. Through being at the rec center, that first step is accomplished, but while being there, in an almost subconscious way there are elements that push the individual to be fit. One way this is accomplished is through the music. Most people do not notice the music at first, but music played at the rec center is usually upbeat and fast. Studies have shown that people can work out faster and increase their heart rates while being active and listening to music with more beats per minute. Pathos is also created through the main visual argument here, which are the murals throughout the rec center. These murals are of people being active, and struggling, but accomplishing the task they are set to. These inspire people to work hard to achieve a certain goal, whether that may be to move up a weight class, lose a few pounds, or simply to be fit and maintain good health.

Logos: Logos is an appeal to logic. To me, logos is the least dominant of the three rhetorical devices in the rec center, but I feel that it is most evident through basic observation of the rec center, as well as using common sense. This ties in with ethos, but through simply being inside of the rec center, you can tell how many purposes it fulfills, as well as how much money has been put into making this a state-of-the-art facility that is inviting to the whole student body at TCU.

In Class: Logos Artifact

The Logos object that I brought today is a poster of the 2009 TCU Football team, which highlights going undefeated and lists the scores of all of the twelve games played throughout the regular season. Because the poster is large, I used a picture of the same poster that I have on my room from this website: http://store.cstv.com/store_contents.cfm?store_id=422&dept_id=-164&product_id=162677&sportCatID=15.

Logos stresses arguments based on "facts, evidence, and reason." My example stresses facts and evidence. The fact that my poster claims is that not only is TCU the Mountain West Conference Champions for the 2009 football season, but it also states that they went 12-0 to secure a perfect season in regular season play. This establishes the legitimacy of TCU as a football program and a contender for higher recognitions in the realm of college football. To support this fact, the evidence of going 12-0 is shown through the list of all twelve opponents TCU faced and the subsequent score from each of those games. The reading stresses that "people today usually prefer arguments based on facts" when compared to other forms of logical arguments. The quickest way to grab someone's attention, in most cases, is to advertise facts that will stand out. Specifically for this poster, to the person who sees it who is unaware of TCU's success on the football field, this will enlighten them to their success and serve as persuasive enough evidence to back up the claim being made through the poster.

Unit 1 Proposal

For my Public Space Analysis, the place I am choosing to use is the TCU Recreational Center, a place with which I am very familiar to. This is a place that every student (hopefully) is at least exposed to, while for others this may serve as a second home. The TCU Recreation Center is a place where more than just running or lifting weights goes on, this is a place where the TCU Swim and Dive team practices, where TCU Women’s Volleyball matches are held, where a group of friends can play a pick-up game of basketball on one of the three courts in the main gym, where a student can lay out at the pool, get money out of a Wells Fargo ATM, or even attend classes, which are held for a variety of majors in the Rickel Wing.

This space is appealing to me because of the variety of activities that go on here, as well as its importance to me as a student here at TCU. I have been to the rec center on a regular schedule the entire time I have been at TCU. This is a place where I can go to clear my mind, to get a break from studying or to get away from some of the stresses I inevitably face as a college student. This is a place that appeals to everyone, and it can serve many purposes to the students, faculty, and community of TCU.

While observing the rec center as a bystander, I want to pay more attention to the small details that I may not have noticed before. These things include, but are of course not limited to: signs, lighting, colors, noises/music, objects (and reasons for their location), the atmosphere, décor, and architecture/structure. I also want to observe the people there at different times of day and their mannerisms. I have been to the rec center in the early morning, mid-afternoon, evening, as well as late-night, and at each time of the day there is a different crowd of people there, which should make for an interesting written observation.

I would definitely consider myself a part of the target audience of the rec center, as well as all of my peers as well. This is a place where TCU wants to promote the need for good health among the community. In the world today, it is so easy to contract diseases or viruses, get out of shape and gain weight, and simply lose motivation to be active. The rec center makes a strong effort to support well-being among the student population through various activities, and the main goal is for our student body to be healthy.

Because I am familiar with the rec center, I do have pre-conceived ideas about it, but they are not negative at all. Because I do have some pre-conceived notions, I do think it is important for me to observe that which I have not noticed before. Through observing the more minute details of the rec center, as well as the inhabitants through different times of the day and week, I feel that I will gain a better understanding of the rec center and its larger cultural influence.

In Class: Ethos Artifact

The ethos object that I brought to class is my tennis racket. Ethos establishes credibility for whoever presents an argument, so I chose to bring an object that adds to my credibility as a tennis player. Anyone can claim to be a tennis player, but one who obviously participates and knows the game of tennis will be able to demonstrate these skills on any given basis, with or without a racket. By bringing my racket to class today, I wanted to establish my credibility and legitimacy of a tennis player. My tennis racket has natural wear and tear, and through examining it, you can tell that it has been worn down through regular use. My goal through this is to gain the trust of everyone who I present myself to, which is crucial in creating an effective argument. In order to win over the audience and for them to buy into an argument, it is essential to gain their trust. This particular racket has been my main racket for the past few years, and is one that I have found most success with while playing. I find it important in tennis to feel comfortable with your racket in tennis, and it is equally important that you find the right racket to complement your style of play. There are rackets designed for power, as well as rackets designed for finesse. My particular racket is designed for finesse, because I find efficiency and accuracy more important in my game than power and speed. Tennis is one of my passions, and easily one of my favorite sports to play.

In Class: How Understanding Pathos Will Help in the Public Space Analysis

While thinking about this assignment, I think it is necessary to understand all three emotional appeals. I am still leaning towards writing about the rec center, because it is a place, to me, that has multiple facets to its purpose and to who it attracts. The TCU rec center is a place that evokes a lot of pathos due to the high volume of people who frequent it on a regular, or even sporadic, basis. You can go there at any point in time, and the people you will see there will all be there for different purposes, but the rec center is what unites them all. You have the workout enthusiasts who are determined to become fit to run the upcoming marathon or half-marathon, you have the high school athlete who is trying to get "bigger" for no purpose but to look good for the ladies (who will likely make fun of him for trying too hard anyway), you have the basketball players playing in the gym during their offseason, preparing for future opponents while running the court during the nightly pickup games, and you have the average student just looking to stay in shape to avoid gaining that fearful college weight. The rec center is a place that brings in such a diverse range of emotions that it really is fascinating. Nearly every person at the rec center is there for a different purpose, and while there, it evokes all sorts of emotions from its inhabitants.

In Class: Pathos Artifact

The pathos article that I brought to class today is an advertisement that I found for the Red Campaign online. The purpose of this advertisement is to promote the objective of the company, which is fighting to eliminate AIDS in Africa, while also showing the wide-scale involvement that has been seen thus far in the campaign. The picture is of the continent of Africa, completely red, with the phrase "GIVE (RED) SAVE LIVES" on top of it. The part of this picture that stands out the most is the corporate logos within the individual letters. For example, the Nike logo is in G, Starbucks in I, Apple in R, Hallmark in D, Dell in A, and so on. Clearly, these corporations are all sponsoring the fight against AIDS. This picture to me says a lot about the culture in which we live in. Although AIDS is not as large scale of a problem in America as it is in Africa, we as a society still care about the well-being of those in other countries. In the past few years, the Red Campaign has grown innumerably through advertisements to celebrity endorsements, and it is advertisements like this one, that show how many other people and corporations support the cause that drives people who aren't involved in the cause to find a way to help out. Even the smallest donation makes the largest difference, especially if that small donation is multiplied by thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people. These days it is so simple to donate to a variety of charities that there is really no excuse to not helping out in some way.