Write Stripes

Campaign Finance Reform
Jessica, Paul, Brandon, Beth

We think that the best way to attract college students' attention is to make sure that we explain and advertise the issues we are trying to gain interest in in a way that makes all the issues highly relevant to the students. Many students do not understand fully how these issues affect them directly, however if we could take our issues and explain them in a context that shows the effect they would have on the clemson community directly, than the issues will be more relevant to the students and the students will care much more than is we only showed how the issues would affect the country in general. We also think we really need to concentrate on reseach, we can not make these projects seem like just opinions of a English class we have to show that we have concrete evidence and sources to back up the things we are saying. These things may not be the easiest to succcessfully do, it may be hard to make students understand exactly how these issues can affect them and be relevant to their lives, but we believe that if we work on these two things I think that we can get the students to really get excited and care about the issues in the upcoming election.

Campaign Finance Reform
Beth, Paul, Brandon, and Jessica

The five main points which we want to convey to our target audience (voters in Clemson and around the country) are; 1) the history of Campaign Finance Reform, 2) the legal controversies about and the legal aspects of campaign finance reform, 3) the major players in the upcoming 2004 presidential election, 4) the sources of these candidates funding for their campaigns, 5) the candidates official stance and voting record on the issue of campaign finance reform.

The issue of campaign finance reform is significant to voters throughout the country for several reasons: first many voters know little to nothing about the history and the laws surrounding campaign finance reform, however many of the laws inacted to regulate this issue have had a great impact on other aspects of our lives. Secondly, very few voters know what sort of corporate ties the candidates have and how this has affected their voting records, which in turn affects American voters. Where the money is coming from for these candidates campaign is an important issue, because ultimately money will play a huge role in the upcoming presidential elections. Campaign finance reform affects a variety of different issues, from what is considered free speech to who may participate in the presidential elections.

One approach that will be effective with college audiences is using snippets of information geared toward an attention span of the short persuasion (thanks, tripp). Because we will use radio psas and fliers, they will not have to have any initiative to find the information; it will be readily presented to them. We will use these to hook the students so that if they want more information, they can go to the website. One issue to address that will be brought to the Clemson student's attentions is that if the state government is required to spend money on certain primary education for unfunded mandates, less money will go to the colleges. Many college students may also be interested in how it will affect the colleges in that if the act succeeds, colleges will become more competitive (good or bad). One point is that if a student comes from a poorer region, that region will (supposedly) get more money in the future. This could affect little brothers and sisters which might be relevant to some people.
Kelly Grogan, Tripp Floyd, Katie Abole

For your second post (which is also a group post, as you will remember)identify some issues, topics, or approaches that are particularly relevant, compelling, and effective with college audiences. If you need to (or want to) break this down into different demographic groups. Begin to discuss what this (the identification of what you need to do or say to appeal to your audience) will mean to your project.

For post on 9/16.
I see four unrelated topics that somehow need to be linked together. I do feel that if the main page is well done then this will not be as big of a problem. Obviously, there has to be more than four links on the main page. If the main page gave a summary about the upcoming elections and what to expect, I could see these four separate topics as subcategories. The pitfall that I foresee is that if this project is not organized it will be very difficult to follow. It will look like four very different websites linked from one page. The way to prevent this is to make sure the main page somehow links all the projects together (more than upcoming election topics). Finding the common thread between these topics will be one of the hardest tasks to be completed.

Group Patriot Act: Curtis, Matt, and Robert

I will give this a shot I guess. I think that 5 whole points is a little bit of an overshot for our project. I really think that we would be doing a good job if we got the student body to just understand that the Patriot Act is a bad thing. If we can accomplish that one task I would actually be happy. But in doing so I guess we are going to have to cover a few major points. The way I see it panning out, we would like to vover each section of the Patriot Act that deals with surveillance, online security, and online privacy. The things that we want to emphasis on each of these is what the section is, why it is important to students, what the history of the section is and if there are any similar bills that were being discussed prior to September 11th 2001. This is really all that we should need to show all of the students why the Patriot Act is generally a bad thing. I am convinced that this will show that the bill was rushed through congress and that it does not address the better interest of Americans. This will be emphasized by showing all of the side effects of these sections and showing how the bill is being used today.

Our group's main goals are to educate students about basic AIDS information and statistics about worldwide prevalence, the costs of AIDS treatment, information about the Pharmacutical companies that currently make AIDS drugs, prevention research and treatment funding, and the candidate's stances on AIDS research, treatment, education, and prevention funding. All five of these basically go together in order for college students to know about the seriousness of AIDS both in America and around the world. Students also need to be aware of how expensive this treatment is and what options those who suffer from the disease have for treatment. Also, students should be aware of the costs of AIDS research and treatment because as taxpayers we are helping front the cost, but also because this disease effects everyone in some way or another. Finally, the positions of the candidates are important for the students to know so that they can make an informed decision when voting about which candidate is going to do the best job to help stop the spreading of the disease, fund research for better treatments and a cure, and help curb the costs of treatment for those worldwide who are suffering from teh disease. All of this information is particularly important to Clemson students because we are the next generation to have to care for AIDS patients as well as the age group that are currently transmitting the disease at the highest rate.
Marcie Eubanks, Kristian Grodon, and Ashley Krajewski

One of the most surprising things I have learned about AIDS treatment so far is the treatment costs and how far people will go to get government help for treatment. For example, I found it shocking that for those patients who are unable to afford their treatment but are too wealthy to qualify for medicare that it is not that uncommon for the patients to simply quit their jobs. This way, their income is small enough that they can qualify for medicare coverage for the expensive treatments. It just never crossed my mind that people would have to go to this sort of extreme to get treatment. Like Kristian, alot of the statistics on AIDS arent very surprising simply because it is such an important topic and we have studied it so much throughout our education. I'm sure that once we start into the meat of our research about the candidates I will learn more surprising things about how much funding they feel is necessary for research, prevention, and treatment.

I agree with Curtis that the most surprising thing I've found about another group's project is about the inablitiy of most states to meet the federal requirements. Education is obviously a huge issue in this country and I'm eager to learn more about No Child Left Behind.

Our group would like to communicate to the Clemson campus the basic requirements of No Child Left Behind, the progress of the act, proposed funding and funding in reality, pertinent viewpoints, and how the primary candidates stand in regards to NCLB. Knowing the basic requirements of the act will give the Clemson students an idea of the ideals and goals of the act. The progress of the act will offer an illustration of the potential impracticality of the act and its effectiveness. This knowledge will also give Clemson students and idea of the efficiency (or lack thereof) of our goverment and its policies. Funding is an important issue because it is at the center of the resistance to the act because many of the mandates for the states are unfunded or under funded. pertinent viewpoints will give and idea of the reality of the act and how it actually affects students and educational workers. Finally information on the positions of the candidates, in connection with the above information, will give Clemson students a better idea of who will be the better candidate for the office. Additionally, this information is particularly important for Clemson students in that the success or failure of NCLB will directly affect the quality of future students and graduates of Clemson University. Also, the children of current students will be affected by the repercussions of the act.
Kelly Grogan, Tripp Floyd, Katie Abole, and Kelly Rogers

So far, there are not too many surprising things that I have learned about my topic. Since I am a Health Science major I am interested in such things as AIDS awareness, because I believe in the importance of prevention. AIDS is having such an impact in the world because the lack of communication around the world about the disease, which makes our project just that more important. Places like the United States have the money and desire to inform its people of the AIDS virus; however, other places such as African and Asia are in a dire need of AIDS prevention and education that meets the education level and cultural level of their people. Although, our groups target audience is not Africans or Asians, college students are the next best target because we are the future and it will be up to our generation to find it important enough to make the necessary changes in order to stop the spread of an extremely preventable disease.

The most surprising thing I've learned comes from The No Child Left Behind group. It is hard to believe that so many budget cuts occur within the educational school systems, yet they promote acts such as NCLB. How are child suppose get proper educations if the funding is not in place. Honestly, I have not heard too much about any of the other topics but I am sure that as each group continues to perform research many new issues will develop that will definitely surprise me.

This week the posts should be done as a group (which will mean you have to identify yourselves in the posts--just "sign" them at the end if you would so I can give you credit when I assess them at the end.)

For your first post this week, I'd like you to identify the 5 things that your group wants to get across to your intended audience. After you identify what they are, say something about why those particular points are the most relevant and why they are particularly important for your target audience.

In agreement with Matt, the most surprising thing that I discovered so far on our topic the patriot act I & II is that a lot of students do not know what the patriot act stands for. Before we started to research this topic I was one of those students. I find it astonishing to ask a student what is the patriot act and to see their look when they are told what the patriot act is. I feel there would be much more concern if everyone knew how their rights are slowly getting stripped away. I feel this project will be a good effort in getting needed knowledge out to the public concerning the patriot act. Especially since it is an act that affects everyone, not just a certain group or class.
The most surprising thing I have found out concerning another group's project is that only 12 states could meet half the federal requirements. I did not know that the country as a whole was doing so poorly in education. Maybe it is true that the requirements are far too high??? And in my opinion how does the government address this issue, by cutting the funding to education. Makes a lot of sense, right? You may ask, with figures as low as they are how does education lose priority. I'm eager to see what this group comes up with.

I agree with Beth in that we really do need to do more work on our individual projects before we are able to get a good picture of how this group project is going to come together. However, maybe we could set up loose guidelines or formats for each group to follow so that our individual group pieces are not too different from one another. Again, I feel that we would need to know more about each other group's progress before we could really set any format for each group to follow.

Replying to Matt's post on the Patriot Act, I think that ignorance regarding the Act's provisions is a serious problem, and no doubt reflects a widespread ignorance among voters. Like Matt also mentioned in his post on the "two major parties," most people just seem to vote for the same party year after year, without paying much attention to what legislation is actually passed or what their elected representatives are actually supporting. What I wonder, is would these people act any different if they were informed about the reality of legislation like the Patriot Act, or would they just shrug it off and say "well, I can't possibly understand it as well as those politicians can, so I'll just trust my party"? What I'm saying is that ignorance and indifference may not necessarily have a causal relationship... they may both be the product of a nation that has grown entrenched in its process of political elections: "S/he's a *Democrat/Republican*, so I'll vote for her/him!"

In response to the lack of knowledse of political parties outside the Republicans and Democrats, I think a lot of it has to do with our tradition as a nation. We have always been a two-party country in one form or another, and that is just what people are used to. As far as coverage for other party candidates, while they do not always get to participate in debates, they do make their positions known to a large following in most case. That being said, the major party candidates are often forced to incorporate some of these positions into their own platforms in order to gain the support of the third-party contingent. So while it soes not seem completely fair that not all parties are fully represented, the concerns and proposals of smaller parties are not altogether ignored either.

I think that the most surprising thing that I have learned about the No Child Left Behind Act is the large difference in the amount of funding promised to back this act, and the actual money given so far. I don't have numbers but from what I've read, it is a big difference. Bush has been backing this act fervently, and he hasn't let it drop from public view, but it still is not given the attention it deserves if the act is going to be successful. As Kelly was saying, many states cannot meet the standards, and I read in a recent article on cnn.com that the schools that can meet the standards ("passing" schools) are required to take transfers from failing schools. The districts are required to provide transportation for these students, and although they are supposed to receive funding, they haven't but they are still required to provide the service. It's very strange.
As far as pooling the group projects into a collaborative project, I think it will be hard. Our groups chose very diverse topics in order to appeal to a diverse student body, and the number of ways to tie them together is limited. However, I agree with Beth when she says that it might be too early to tell much about how the website is going to turn out without more research.
Responding to Jessica, I don't understand why they don't let the independent parties debate either. I think that for as many times as Nadar's party has had a candidate in the elections, they would give them a chance to speak. Independent parties are very important anyway, even if they don't win, because they can take voters away from the other parties and for as close as the last election was, this was a very important influence. I really would like to know what other parties support, but since they aren't always out there like the republicans and democrats, then I tend to forget about them.

I think that Jessica brings up a good point when she mentioned the many other various political parties and how she was surprised at the abundance of them. These other parties really don't get too much coverage and the average person doesn't know much, if anything about them. There are so many people in the country that are hardcore republicans or democrats, but if you ask them why, they don't even know. These will always be the people that vote for someone strictly based on their party. With this in mind, it is important for people to know about these other parties, and what they stand for, which my in fact sway the popular vote one way or the other.

The most suprising thing that I have found out so far in regards to my part of our Campaign Finance Reform project (beth and I are in charge of the candidates part of the project) is how many different candidates and parties there are in the race for president. There are so many more parties in this country than just the democrats and the republicans and yet those are the only parties that you ever really get a chance to here about. Everyone knows the stance of those two parties and their candidates but how many people know what type of platform the Libertarian party candidate is running on. These parties don't get a chance to debate (a perfect example of this is the exclusion of Nadar in the 2000 presidential election debates) I know that at some point there has to be a cutoff, but I think its really a shame that more people don't get to hear other parties views, because frankly I'm sick of both the democratic and the republican parties.

Ok, i'm a little behind with all the work I had to do this week, but here's my response to the first blogger...I dont really see it being very hard to integrate all of these topics, even though some of them, like AIDS and the Patriot Act, really arent directly related. They may not be similar topics, but they do have rising implications for voters and for college students (who are our focus group). I agree with everyone else that having a main "voter information" page is the best approach. This way, if someone is interested in the Patriot Act, for example, they can go to this page and look at that information but also see that there are other issues on the page. This could get their attention and make them want to look at the other issues as well.

As far as integrating all of the topics, I feel that all of the groups should make an effort to discuss how their issue is important to college students. Also, if the group can, they should discuss the candidates and how they stand on the issues. This would give one thing in common with all of the groups. Each group can put in its own information regarding their topic, but all of the groups are linked through the candidates and their positions.

I think the biggest potential pitfall is just intergroup communication. I think it might be difficult for those people who have to communicate with their own group and the larger group of leaders. I think that as long as we all communicate well with each other about what is expected and help each other stay on track we shouldnt have any huge difficulties.

Our group project is on the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II. The most surprising thing I found so far was discovered in our preliminary polling. Our group found that out of all the people we talked to they either had no clue what the Patriot Act was, or knew what it was, but nothing about it, this being the rare case. It's not all that surprising, considering our discussion of apathy on the college campus, that most people were not informed about the act, although, when you consider how important this act is to every idividual, it does come as a shock. There are many sections of the act that a lot of people feel directly and heavily infringe upon peoples rights. This act is something that, if passed, will affect everyone in some way or another, as it will give the government the power to do many things that they were not able to do before. Maybe if people were more informed about it they would be more concerned with it?

I think that in some ways we're approaching this all wrong. I don't think that we can design the website too much yet; I don't know about the other groups, but mine has hardly scratched the surface at beginning to research our projects. How can we know what overlaps our topics might have if we don't even know what exactly we are all going to present yet? I know it's nice to get some of this out of the way, but I fear we might be overplanning. I think it would be most beneficial for us all to work more on our individual projects, so we have something to bring to the table when we meet as a class. Right now it is only hypotheticals on what we can do, and it may change radically once we get started, making this whole process a colossal waste of time. I think a preliminary idea of how it should be set up is good, but don't worry too much about how exactly it will fit till we know what we have to fit. Let's wait until we have the puzzle pieces before we try and make the picture.