Effective Arguing

No matter what the subject, everyones opinion differs in one way or another. The deliberation process showed us this. The opening scenes of the deliberation process gave the impression that everyone would vote guilty and send the boy down death row. Then, surprisingly, Mr. Davis spoke up and stated that he thought the boy could possibly be not guilty of the murder. He used logic and and reasoning to show reasons that the boy could not be guilty. He was able to use the common knowledge about the noise of the train to rule out the ability to make out what the father was saying when he was yelling. This information was familiar to all the men at the table because of the environment they had grown accustom to living in. He was also able to use the knowledge of the old mans gimp leg to prove that he could never have made it to the door in the short amount of time that he claimed in court. Mr. Davis made an effective argument not by saying he was for sure right, but by saying that he could not be proven for sure wrong. He stated points that didn't completely let the boy off but gave him a small window to why he might not have committed the crime. He said that if the boy could be proven for sure guilt then he would vote the same as the rest of the table. No one could prove him wrong for sure and due to this the boy was found not guilty.

Idea for Paper

I have thought of some different things to write about but I am not sure which one i want to go with yet. My first thought was to be a young African American child watching Martin Luther speak and wondering if his message would ever be spread and taken seriously. Another thought i had was to write as one of the student protesters and at a protest that i have not chosen yet. I am leaning towards writing about that student protest topic. After watching the video it looks like it would be interesting to write about and that i could also bring out some thoughts and opinions i have towards the way students look at administration and how they feel about some of the things that take place. Again i say i am not fully sure i will write about these topics but they are what interest me at the moment.

Convocation

The freshman convocation was held for the new students of USC Upstate to see what our college has been through to make it to the level it is at today. Many changes have been made and hard sweat shed to ensure that everyday we can further our education. With all the students piled into the auditorium we sat through the lectures and slideshows to help give us a better understanding as to the college we have chosen. I found the convocation somewhat boring but there were different parts that got my attention.

I was honestly surprised that the convocation was taken seriously enough to cancel classes during the time it was held that day. While learning about the founders and history of the school is important to our understanding of how it got here, I feel that being in the usual classes would have helped us much more. The auditorium was hot and tightly packed with people. It was uncomfortable and not my first choice as where to spend an hour of my day. When I first sat down I expected a very long and boring lecture and half expected to fall asleep very soon. I was surprised to see that the speaker was able to crab my attention with several different things.

In the lecture, the parts about sports and statistics taken of the high levels of academics were somewhat interesting to me. Yet what really got my attention was the slideshows about the successful people to come out of USC Upstate. It gave the reminder that there is a chance for everyone here to become successful like they are. Maybe someone here now will invent a product to help with the heart or to further treat cancer. It showed that there were endless possibilities to what we can accomplish if we put forth the effort and hard work.

The convocation was definitely something I would have rather slept through or used the time to do my homework. Especially, since it was during my only break between classes for the day. I am glad that I got a chance to see what future plans there are for us and the school and the successful people that this school has produced. Yet I can honestly say I don’t think I’ll be sad if we never have convocation again.

Finding a Personal Truth

I would agree that it is humorous for an adman to be the author of a writing such as " Illusions Are Forever ". They are most known for their habits of misrepresenting the truth to make it appear as they need. In his writing Chiat states, " I believe in technology, for all its weaknesses, will be our savior ". I believe Chiat is showing us his point that technology is one of the very few ways left for us to share our ideas without them being corrupted by people in power. The people in power he refers to are people of authority in politics and people who have the ability to share " news " with large groups of people. Chait believes that the internet holds the key to sharing ideas and beliefs with other people around the world. Media is typically thought to be the usual way to share information and news.
When a select group of people are allowed to tell the world about occurrences around the world there will always be slight changes in the truth, not a huge change but just enough to make you think and believe what they want. This technique is often used during political elections and matters that deal with religion. Chait points out that the internet is our way to communicate our own ideas with other people of little authority around the world. Political and media figures all have " truths " that are set for us but the most important thing is finding our own personal beliefs in which we can fully support and believe with no doubt in our minds. Despite the usual perception of advertisers, I agree with what Chiat is saying. Chat rooms, blogs, and forums are all examples of ways we can use the internet to connect with other people and open new doors to ideas that we have never thought of. I believe that technology is our savior from the " truths " that are set for us and our way search to find our own personal truths.

My Least favorite Class of All Time

My senior year of high school, twenty other students and I were on course to take English 101 and 102. Right before the year began, Abbeville High School ended the class and we were all moved into Advanced Composition Honors. As you might have guessed, this class consisted of a lot of writing. Each week, the teacher would select a new topic and we would write about it. We were assigned at least one or more papers for the class each week. For me, writing is just not a very fun activity to partake in. Never the less, we were forced to complete the papers and finally got through the year. I dreaded going to that class each day and it is probably my least favorite class of all time. Yet I can not deny that after taking that class my writing is much better and I can put together a paper more effectively than before.
The teacher did an excellent job job of making me think about the topic and taught me to look at it from as many different perspectives as possible. In the class I learned different styles of writing and that you can write a tremendous amount from the even the littlest piece of information. As the year ended I could tell that there was much more of my personality in my writing and my opinion showed more than ever. Even though it wasn't my favorite class ever, the experience changed me into a much better writer and showed me what good writing is.