Alex Franolich Rhetoric Blog

Course Requirement: Extortion 1. Good statistics 2. Convincing argument 1. Use more sources 2. Use some personal anecdotes Off-Campus Purchases 1. Good examples of proposal working elsewhere 2. Good use of anecdotes 1. Use more statistical analysis 2. Don't admit to lack of knowledge Nuclear Power 1. Stated opposition 2. Offered something 1. Didn't really offer a way to fix the problems 2. Not compelling

Problem: Lack of accessibility of University of Iowa buildings and classrooms. Why is it a problem? Because everyone deserves and needs and education in order to live a good life, and if the building or classroom you're trying to get to is inaccessible to you and only you, you will not be able to achieve that education. At the University of Iowa, several buildings and classrooms are either totally inaccessible or just incredibly difficult to access. Take, for instance, the EPB, the very building you're all in right now. Who knows where the elevator is? I don't mean the wheelchair lift that only goes from the back of the building to the basement level; I mean an elevator that will take you from the basement to the top floor. Because I definitely don't know where it is. *examples of other buildings with this same problem, testimonials from those who use things like elevators/ramps/lifts/bionic bus/etc.* But why should the abled care? Why does it matter if another pe...

We're supposed to explain a problem and convince the class that our solution should be used to combat the problem. There will be a visual aid, too.

Oscar: Overall, it was a decent paper, though rather short. You could definitely go more in-depth in the data analysis section, especially in terms of answering your hypothesis/thesis. Your formatting is good throughout, and your discussion section was very nice. William: A very well done paper, though there are a few places in the language that can be improved. A lot of repetition of phrases and sentence structures make for a slightly confusing read. Other than that, though, everything is really good.

Diversity in the Media: Is Representation Important? Alex Franolich University of Iowa Abstract While there have been several studies on the effects of diversity in the media on various minority groups, there have been much fewer studies done on those in the majority (white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied Americans). This study’s goal is to rectify that. A survey was sent out with questions regarding the surveyed’s ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, and able-bodiedness as well as their stance on representation in the media. These responses were split into two groups: the majority (white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied) and the minority (anything else), then their responses were evaluated accordingly. Overall, the study found everyone to agree that diversity in the media is good. Whether or not diversity was handled well was up to debate between a “Yes” and a “Sure” for both groups. This shows that the majority’s mindset truly has changed within the pas...

Introduction Mainstream media ― from books to movies and everything in between ― once ruled by heterosexual white able-bodied men, has, in recent years, begun considerably increasing the representation of minority groups such as women, people of color, queer individuals, and those with disabilities. In order for this representation to continue, though, the majority group must approve of the minority presence. While the media may be more diverse than ever, it is still very much controlled by those heterosexual white able-bodied men. Many of these men do not believe diverse representation to be important, and several others present diversity in an unfortunately negative and minimalistic way. I believe that diversity is an intrinsic part of popular media as well as something that should be sought out for reasons other than fulfilling a quota that the creators do not care about anyway. The media should allow every-day diversity to infiltrate its historically prejudiced conten...