My Thoughts On Comments

Comment threads on websites allow anyone to get on their soapbox and share their thoughts about topics. These opinions range from credible and coherent to ridiculous and badly in need of spellcheck. Piggybacking on my last "Controversy" post, I will be analyzing comments found on another Sigma Alpha Epsilon racism article.

Questions

1.  Does this commenter seem to be expressing fear/anxiety about something or does s/he seem to be expressing a fantasy/wish about something? How can you tell?
2.  What kinds of beliefs and values do you think this commenter holds? What are you basing this on?
3.  For the 2 credible comments only: Why does this commenter came across as reasonable to you?
4.  For the 2 comments that lack credibility only: Why does this commenter come across as lacking credibility or trustworthiness for you?

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Washington Post

 1. Anitabe seems to have fear about the extent of racism in the fraternity system and in society as a whole. His/her statement that "things get ugly when they start showing their true colors" assumes that there is a hidden culture of racism that has been uncovered by that chapter's drunken antics.

2. The commenter seems to value equality and the truth very highly. He/she also seems to believe in straightforward reality, as he/she calls out people who are "naive and post-racialists."

4. This comment lacks credibility because it makes the unfortunate assumption that all black people avoid drunk whites all the time. This statement overgeneralizes the interactions between the two races; it is unfair to say that whites and blacks act in this manner in every situation. It also dissolves into an ad hominem attack at the end, making the comment even more untrustworthy.

Washington Post

1. The statement that "blacks go out of their way to avoid whites socially" means that this commenter is either making an awful joke or expressing a fantasy that there is no desire for blacks to interact with anyone white. This is a fantastical comment that can easily be proven false.

2. Tennisfan seems to value stereotypes over the truth and diversity. He/she expresses a belief in race separations and a widespread disdain of whites among blacks.

4. This comment lacks credibility because of the gross generalizations that make up over half of the post. It seems as though Tennisfan wants to be the spokesperson for the entire black community. His/her "facts" are not grounded in reality to any extent.

Washington Post

1. MNUSA seems to fear that the fraternity system as a whole fosters bad behaviors. By expressing that he/she doesn't want his/her son to join one, he/she intimates a fear for the integrity and character of the future generations.

2. With the mentions of "immaturity" and "entitlement," MNUSA seems to value good behavior and honest morals in young men. He/she also seems to believe that any institution that goes against these morals is not something worth acknowledging or participating in.

3. Due to a lack of generalizations and an avoidance of condemning language, MNUSA's comment seems reasonable to me. The commenter shares valid opinions that are based on the evidence shown in the article and the antics of fraternities that have blanketed the news.

Washington Post

 1. The fear apparent in SisuInSF's comment is that fraternity members and alumni are receiving undue criticism and disdain because of the actions of a few. He/she seems to worry about the reputation of the Greek system as a whole, as there are many brothers that stand to lose a lot if the whole Greek system is being condemned.

2. SisuInSF seems to value justice and the rights of the individual. It is apparent that he/she believes in the avoidance of group judgement and the ability of any individual to make their own decisions.

3. This commenter appeared reasonable due to his logical comparisons and calm manner with which he approaches the opinions of others. Had he resorted to anger and name-calling, he would not have been so trustworthy. He also brings up the self-righteous punishment of those who don't agree, which is something that is scorned in free and civil society.


Reflection:
It was interesting to read Thomas and Addie's thoughts on comments as they wrote about the same controversy. Their's was a hot button issue so many of the comments were emotionally-driven and lacking credibility. Browsing the comment threads, I found that people's opinions on the issue were as far and wide as the different methods with which they stated them. The most effective on either side, however, were those that avoided anger, name calling, and broad generalizations.

My Controversy

Greek life is no stranger to criticism at the local and state level. The University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, however, made national headlines in March when a video surfaced of members singing a racist song.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/12/racism-sae-chapters_n_6857500.html

The Huffington Post article states that in light of this video, other chapters of SAE are being investigated to find out if those campuses are engaging in similarly offensive behaviors. SAE chapters located on University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University and Louisiana Tech University campuses are under even greater examination, with school officials looking for a "cultural issue" in the fraternity as a whole. Fraternity leaders recognize that the reputation of SAE has been irreversibly tainted, but they also express a desire for open communication on issues such as diversity. This controversy piques my interest as I participated in sorority recruitment at the beginning of this year. I was amazed to hear all of the turmoil surrounding the fraternity system at the U of A, and I find that this article enhances my understanding of what gets these chapters into hot water with their schools.

Calendar Reflection

Six hours seems like a terrifyingly long amount of time to do homework for any class. I mean, you can basically watch Finding Nemo 3 times in that time span! To make things a little less scary, I'm going to do my best to space things out over the week.

Bliss, Jonathan. "3402567108" 8/28/2015 via flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I feel like I did myself a huge favor by scheduling the majority of my courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This gives me ample amount of time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays- when I only have 1-2 classes- to get my homework done. I feel better about my productivity when I have huge blocks of time to devote to something. Luckily, I'm putting off getting a job until at least the next semester, giving me a chance to adapt to the new rigors of college. I'll use the study rooms in Arbol as a place to really focus on my coursework, without the distractions of my dorm or hall mates.

The more I look at my weekly calendar, the more confident I am that I will have no problem completing the tasks of English 109H. I haven't over-booked myself, and I'm not a procrastinator by nature. Hopefully college won't change the latter :)

Reflection: Reading everyone else's worries and aspirations for the coming semester, I found out that the majority of us overachievers are having doubts about our abilities to fit all of our responsibilities into our schedules. But as I told Charles, I think that as we adjust to the culture shock that is college, getting homework done won't be such a big deal. Reading Chloe's post, I realize how luck I am not to be burdened with the extra responsibility of a job at this point. Hopefully, next semester will prove more conducive to getting a job.

My Writing Process

My mother always tells me that I'm lucky because writing is not a torture to me. When she went back to school to get her MSN, she joked with third grade me, saying that she wished I could write her papers for her! In this post, I'll describe my personal writing process and analyze its effectiveness.

PublicDomainPictures. "rubber-duckies-14614_640" 8/27/2015 via pixabay.CC0 Public Domain

1. What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

I can say with certainty that I am a heavy planner, and have been as long as I can remember. It makes my brain extremely happy to be able to organize my thoughts in pencil on a piece of paper. I think this comes from my general desire in life to have all my ducks in a row. Planning out the objective of my writing, the main points I want to make to achieve that objective, and any other relevant details assures me that I'm doing the assignment correctly. Without an outline, I feel like I'm drifting in a sea of unknowns.

2. Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?

I definitely find myself able to think about my writing "in all sorts of places" once I have set something to paper. If I have at least a base for my writing, the content comes to me organically without a whole lot of focus or strain. I do however, contrary to the archetype, revise pretty heavily after I've written the first draft. I always see opportunities to make things sound better or make more sense.

3. Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

I would consider mine a successful approach because I'm able to produce writing efficiently once I've planned it out. The big problem I encounter, however, is when tasked with a timed writing or other situation where I'm not given the luxury of time to brainstorm, I get flustered and tend to feel lost. It is important to me that I keep on working at the skill of relaxing and just writing without a detailed plan of attack.

4. Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

As I mentioned above, I'm always aware of opportunities in which I need to just write and not get bogged down in thinking too much. I suppose I'll always feel that inclination in me to flesh out the work before I write, but I hope to balance that with a more on-my-feet approach.

Reflection: After perusing the blogs of others, I've realized that procrastination is the epidemic of our generation! Just kidding, I love all you people that can function under that kind of pressure. As I told Annelise, my body would just shut down under the strain of doing things last minute. But I do realize that I have a lot to learn from last-minute writers, mainly the ability to produce work without substantial planning first. I feel like the real world will throw this at me a lot in the future.

It really was reassuring to read that Mark also feels that the quality of his work goes down when he's not given enough time to plan. With all the timed writes that I had to do in high school, I started to feel as if I was the only one who stressed out over the lack of outline time. Now I only have to remember Mark when I feel crushed by the pressure to perform in a short amount of time.