Rhetoric in Class

This week in English class my professor brought up a small issue he observed in the decorum of the class. He mentioned things like eating in class, phone use, and side conversations. When he began this conversation it made me think of how I and some of my classmates might be failing in our rhetoric when it comes to class. Rhetoric is generally defined as the art of speaking and writing effectively. When I say effectively I mean to speak or write in a way that helps persuade people to believe the point you are trying to get across.  I have realized that rhetoric plays a part in many things in my life and I think its time I start paying attention to the way I am portraying myself. In class I need to make sure that my rhetoric shows that I am serious about my education and make sure I remain giving my professor my undivided attention so that he sees how serious I am about the class.

The Movement to Stop Joseph Kony

 This week in English class, one of my classmates mentioned the KONY 2012 video. I’m sure that by now the majority of you have watched or at least heard about the movement to stop Joseph Kony. Kony is a guerilla leader in Uganda and head of the LRA (Lords Resistance Army), which is made up of captured children of all ages who were taken from their families and forced to adapt a new lifestyle where murder, rape, and no mercy are a usual occurrence. There is a group called Invisible Children, Inc. that is currently fighting for the capture of Joseph Kony and an end to his armies all together. They made this video where they introduce and explain who Kony is and what the LRA is. They also have devised a plan to bring attention to this problem and bring justice to the children and families in Africa. The video itself is very moving, but the message is dire.

There has been much negative feedback towards the KONY 2012 video and their mission itself. Many are saying that instead of worrying about what’s going on in Africa that we should worry about what’s going on here in the United States and I don’t disagree with those people. Many are saying that no matter how many posters they put up or how many people they alert of the LRA and Kony, the problem will persist and only grow. I think these people are missing the bigger picture when it comes to KONY 2012. What the Invisible Children Inc. group is trying to do is raise the awareness of what’s going on in Africa and persuade people to write to their government so that they can then send help over to Africa. They aren’t saying that each person individually is going to make this change; they are simply saying that Africa needs some support. I enjoy seeing that Americans, especially the younger generations are eager to help and spread the awareness of Joseph Kony. When have so many people from our generation come together for anything? The fact they can find a greater cause to support and reach out to shows how we still have the chance to change other things here in the United States. If as a whole we can come together and persuade our government to send aid to help capture Joseph Kony, imagine what we can come together and change after that. I don’t think people realize the power they hold when they come together as a group and work towards a greater cause. I feel like this video, this movement if you will, will be the beginning of change.

"KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice."  - Invisible Children Inc.

The Importance of a Bayan Learning Group

This week in English class we discussed various activities we were going to do in order to introduce people to the Bayan Learning community Southwestern College offers and to show people the importance of adopting a learning community at school. We not only plan on reaching out to the Southwestern College student community but also to high school and middle school students who one day may be attending this school and may want to join this group in the future. This is a project we are doing as a class and are dividing the work into individual tasks.

We plan on doing this in a few different ways.  We plan on hosting and event on campus at the college that will attract SWC students to the Bayan community. We hope to be able to have musical entertainment and food and hope to have many people learn about the Filipino American based classes in a relaxed atmosphere. We are looking into going on campus to various middle and high schools to inform them of this group SWC offers and the importance of it.

I plan on using my experience in the class to reach the various audiences on a personal level. I hope to share my experiences with them and hopefully they’ll be able to relate to me. What I think is the most valuable thing I’ve taken from working with this Bayan group is the importance of having a group of peers at school or out of school who you can confide in and that you know will support you through your career, whether it be educational or not.