Reading Response #5

For my argumentative essay I chose to research the practice of affirmative action and show the flaws of the system and how unjust it is. I chose this topic because as current college students it is important to understand the potential repercussions that affirmative action may have on our admission, as well as future students’ admissions. I outlined the background of affirmative action first, mentioning that it began as a program to employ minorities into middle and upper class jobs in a time when segregation was still a huge part of the culture. I mentioned that affirmative action entered the college setting in the seventies and the way that it has since been practiced among various universities. My main argument against affirmative action is that it is a racist practice, both against Caucasian students as well as minority students. Another argument I pointed out in my paper was that while the system is meant to increase diversity on college campuses it may do just the opposite and lead to isolation and misunderstanding. At this point in my paper I gave reasons that some people still support affirmative action, including that excellence is present in all ethnicities and so should be reflected in colleges around the country today. I brought up a solution for affirmative action in the top x percent program that has been implemented in Texas and in Florida, and that if this program is to work we need to begin to reform education in the high school setting. I firmly believe in the abolishment of affirmative action in any shape or form, but most specifically in college settings, perhaps mostly because that is the stage that I am at in my life.

            In thinking about a way to appeal my argument to a non-academic audience, I was stumped. My issue is, after all, one that deals with academics and my interest for this topic came from an academic place. In considering an advertisement in an academic setting I picture a white background with large, plain black font in the upper section of the page which states something like, “Accountability is a priority.” Underneath that I may place in a smaller, italicized, but in red a quote about the Top 10 program used in Texas schools. This would present the problem as well as a solution on the same page. However, for teens- especially those who are young and have not even considered college yet- this advertisement would make absolutely no sense and would get passed by. Also, could you see this advertisement in a magazine like Seventeen or Teen People? Absolutely not.

            I also had another thought that may appeal more to a younger audience, as well as to make them inquire about the procedures of affirmative action. I would have a yellow (more of a pastel canary yellow rather than golden) background with cartoon adolescents lined up in a row of every race and ethnicity. Underneath each student would be their SAT/ACT score, and under that it would say either “University: Accepted,” or “University: Unaccepted.” There would be a various assortment of these underneath each student, with most of the minorities being accepted into a university regardless of the score listed above. On top of that row of students I would have in bold black font, “Who are you really competing against?” and then underneath the row I would have a profound statement such as, “Affirmative Action: How does it affect you?” While this idea sounds racist, the argument in my paper as stated before is that affirmative action is unfair and racist against all ethnicities in the long run. This idea also needs a lot of work so that I can effectively appeal to different feelings within a nonacademic audience, but this will be my starting point.

            I feel like this exercise of designing an advertisement based on an argument that I have researched thoroughly has really made me understand the importance of the presentation of rhetoric in different mediums of advertising. Also on a more shallow note I learned that simply the shape and pattern of an advertisement has just as much effect on an audience as the message that the advertisement is working to convey.