What did I get myself into?

I am a member of Theta Chi fraternity. After seeing this video, I started wondering what I really got into. One of the "actors" is a Theta Chi, the other is from Phi Kappa Tau. Observe:




See what I mean? Now, imagine that person being in the same fraternity as you! When we got our hands on this video, we didn't let Todd down for a month. Not only that, we also to have Phil. Nobody knows what to think of him. Sometimes he's "emo" sometimes he's more of a communist.
Granted, this was Breaking The Silence 2007. But still! He's wearing girl's pants!!! Phil is straight, too. We have no idea what to think of him!

Most of the people in Theta Chi are abnormal in some way or another. We have just about every major covered! No Theater majors, though. In fact, Theta Chi is pretty much the powerhouse of the Greek System. We control SAS, the Cooper Center, the Library, the Math Dept, Computer Services, Student Ambassadors, Weary Center, and Intramural sports. And, we have several members who are active in band, chorus, and just about every student organization. I think the only thing we don't have a hold on are PA's and minor on campus jobs like for the departments.

We are also known to the community more-so than the other fraternities because we are always doing service projects: Highway clean up, sponsoring, and just the other day, we aided with the blood drive, and most of the members donated blood. That's about 30 pints! Now, that may not seem like a lot at the time, but it's about 90 lives!

The guys here are all awesome in their own way. Some for brains, some for humor, some for the way they can't attract others. But, they all have something to contribute to the fraternity. I have my near limitless patience and kindness, and new perspective.
I'm glad I joined them, oddities and all!!

Rhetorically Red

Red. We see this color everywhere, everyday: Streetlights, stop signs, clothing, blood, many restaurants, Christmas and St. Valentine’s Day, and even some internet hyperlinks. Given the variety of situations that the color red is in, one would have to assume that it means and appeals to different people. But, why does it appeal to different people? We will cover the myriad of appeals that red symbolizes. From pathos, to examples, to logos, red has a variety of meanings.

When it comes to pathos, the emotional appeal, red easily stands out. To an innumerable amount of people, red can mean different things. Some view it as an angry, hate-filled color. Others find red to be a kind and loving color. Those that view it as angry see blood and gore. Hence the term “So angry they see red.” On the other hand when red is a kind color, it is symbolic of hearts and love. This is why the predominant color of Christmas and St. Valentine’s Day is red. You see red cut-out hearts and ornaments and you don’t think of hate and blood and death. You think of love and peace and happiness.

Red is actually a favorite color to many different people. This is due to the fact that it symbolizes or reminds them of something they love. Paula McGlone, from Ireland, says that most of the UK sports teams have red on their clothing. Her sports club colors are black, and she loves the color red. Max Funky said his favorite color is red because it reminds him of the many video games he plays. Kim Knight likes red because of its vibrancy.

“It gets you energized and moving,” Knight stated.

Mandie Ruzicka also likes the color red. “I don’t f*ing know why I like the color. It’s just a f*ing good color! I just f*ing like it!”

I, too, like the color red. Many people say that it accents my facial color, which is usually either pale or blushed. When I have a pale tone to my face, people say it makes me look a bit darker. When I am flushed, red apparently pulls that color out of me, making me look angry or embarrassed.

In contrast, there are people who hate the color red. Kelli Means thinks that “it is an ugly color, like brown. I look bad in the color red. It’s too close to pink, which is another color that I absolutely despise.”

While skin tone may not have to do with emotions specifically, it does have an indirect attachment. If you see someone wearing red, you will most likely automatically assume something about them. Hey, they are stylish, or They do not look good in that color. You may even think that a person looks sexy or ugly, or even suspicious in the color red. The color may not purposely strike a specific emotion, but the thoughts that are spurred are based upon the emotion, or cause the emotion themselves. Thinking someone is sexy or ugly is not an emotion, but it founds the emotion of lust or hate.

There are many examples of the color red. Streetlights and stop signs are seen everyday in towns that have them. You see red shirts almost everywhere you look. Many restaurants contain the color red in their logo. Streetlights and stop signs. When you see them, it means stop. When you note the red on a passerby’s clothing, it’s because that person wants to stand out.

Red is such a catchy color that many restaurants use it in their logo to be prominent: McDonald’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Wendy’s, Raising Cane’s, and Red Lobster. All of these dining locations have the color red as a part of their logo, and they are all famous restaurants. Coincidence? I think not. Yes, there are those places that don’t use red in their logo: Long John Silver’s, Cracker Barrel, Village Inn, Runza, and Perkins. How many of these restaurants pull in the revenue that matches the former?

Shopping centers also try to focus upon the color red: K-Mart, Shop-Ko, Target, PetSmart, and our own Westfield Mall. All of these stores contain red, even if it is just a small segment of the logo. The former companies all pull in millions of dollars a day, easily. They don’t even compare to Wal-Mart, however. And, even this store contains the color red in its logo. I can think of very few shopping centers that don’t contain red in their logo: Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, and American Eagle. None of the latter stores can accumulate the revenue of the former, even though they are national and international corporations.

Even grocery corporations contain the color red. Safeway, Affiliated Foods (a grocery store corporate chain) Bag ‘n Save, HyVee, and Super Saver are five national companies that include red in their names. Albertson’s is the only grocery store I know of that doesn’t contain red in its name, or logo.

Red even appeals to one’s logic. When you see red while driving, biking, or walking you know that you are to stop. This only applies to red that is involved with road laws. You may walk past a person wearing a red shirt, but you don’t stop…unless you plan on talking to them. Stoplights and stop signs signal for a driver to stop driving until the light turns green, or you look and it’s safe to cross past the sign. While it may be the law that states one must stop at a red sign, it also point to one’s logic. You see a stop sign and think red while driving means danger, or warning. Maybe I should stop and look both ways before driving into this intersection. So that’s what you do; you stop. When walking or biking and you come to an intersection, you see the light on the other side says “Don’t Walk.” Your logic tells you that you better not step out into the street unless you hazard wanting to get run over.

In the end, red can have a multitude of meanings under different contexts. It can affect the emotions, meaning anything from lust to hate. Red is a vivid color, one that catches the eye, which is why so many retailers use it. It even appeals to one’s logic when it comes to stoplights and stop signs. www.about.com is a great website about the color red and its origins and hidden means. It gives some “red language,” definitions of the color, matching color combinations, and design patterns (like feng shui) using the color red. Now, when you see the color red, what are you going to think? Oh, red shirt, I should stop. Or, Ooh! A red shirt! I think that is a nice shirt. I should tell him/her! I’m banking on the latter. Otherwise, you won’t be moving when I’m around. I love red shirts and I wear them all the time. Yes, people do stop, but they do so to read my shirt. This is due to the fact that most of them have some witty saying on them. Hmm. I wonder what color I should analyze next. I think I’ll go with blue.

Little addiction

Humanity seems to revolve around this substance. What is it? Coffee. Why? What is it in coffee that makes so many people go crazy when they are on it... or off of it for too long? I personally found this Bumper Sticker off of Facebook hilarious because it's so true about a majority of my friends! A white, porcelain coffee cup on a saucer has spilled over onto the table. The coffee, loaded with creamer, is a shiny gold color running off the end of the picture, while coagulating, much like blood would. At the bottom of the picture are the witty words:

NOOOO!

NOT THE COFFEE!

I NEED THAT TO LIVE!

What I want to know is: why do I find this ad funny? What is it about this Bumper Sticker that appeals to me? I believe that Logos, and Pathos are major factors as to why this picture appeals to me. Examples and Cause-and-Effect seem to be the main strategies in attaining people to look at the picture.

Logos, a play on one’s logic is pretty obvious in this bumper sticker. The logic behind this witty picture is that I’m going to die now that I don’t have my coffee. This strikes MY logic because it makes me think that too many people are dependant upon the stimulant. While others might not think what I do, it is obvious that the creator of this sticker is clearly addicted to coffee. It makes me think that if there are more people like that in our country, then we are all, for lack of better term, screwed!

If you are a coffee drinker, you will know that coffee isn’t usually a gold color. Instead, it’s black. Unless, you put cream of some sort into it to change its coloring. Even then, coffee is a more tan or beige color, as opposed to the gold. This makes me think that the spilling of coffee is like the spilling of money you can’t get back unless you are willing to lick the table for it.

The coagulation of coffee, like blood, is probably no coincidence. Blood is essential to survival. If you don’t have enough blood, you’ll die. I find that this sticker illustrates that effect through the clogginess of the coffee. Coffee is becoming an everyday necessity, like blood. There has even been a new saying, “I have too much blood in my coffee system.” This saying, by one of my friends, strikes me as hilarious. She is about as big of coffee drinker as Kara, if not more so! Although, my other friends' grandma's doesn’t spike their brownies.

I view this as a major analogy to many aspects of life. The first being blood, as stated above. It could also stand for air or water. If you have neither, you are doomed to die a slow agonizing death. The coloring of the coffee could also represent money. People can’t really live without money. They may be able to survive in life, but they can’t afford to LIVE! To me, it also means that if you keep buying coffee, you are spilling your money out in front of you.

One Cause-and-Effect comes to mind when I examine this picture. This is: I am going to die now. I don’t have my coffee to sustain me, so now I will die. That almost makes me sad. I have so much more to live for! This sticker states that to not have coffee is to die. Well, not having oxygen, blood, or water is to die, also. You don’t see too may people complaining about that though, do you? Well, not to mention they are too weak to talk…might be a problem.

A final factor in this Bumper Sticker is its appeal called Pathos. The play of emotions. Reading this sticker, one can glimpse the agony, frustration and anger. When one loses something they need, they will be in agony, of course. The frustration is about the coffee, which is apparently a necessity in the life of the creator. And, certainly, anger. I mean, who wouldn’t be angry when they spilled a cup of delicious, golden, coagulating coffee? I would be so mad. I don’t know what I would do!