Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Extra Credit

An event around campus where I saw rhetoric being demonstrated was at the End Rape on Campus March that took place on April 13th. This event took place during our class time so I was not able to see the speakers but they demonstrated rhetoric in the fact that they tried to persuade people to look at rape and sexual assault from their point of view. I was only able to come to the end of the march but I believe this was a powerful example of rhetoric for many reasons.
One of the main reasons I found this march so important was because it brought attention to a topic that many people do not like to discuss. It broke the decorum or rules around talking about rape and sexual assault in public. By bringing this issue to campus and making it known to students it brought light to an important issue. PREVENT does a great job to educate students on sexual assault and topics like that but by having a large march in the union it is hard for people to ignore this topic.
Another use of rhetoric I saw were many people made signs like “#WeBelieveYou” and “End Slut Shaming and Victim Blaming”. These signs left a powerful message that not only showed this is an issue but that the victim is not alone in this. I think this was a very powerful message that raised a lot of support for people who have gone through sexual assault to know they are not alone. In a way this motivates people to come forward and share their story to help other girls. Another way this march was a motivator is that it motivated people to take action. By drawing attention to the problem sexual assault creates it motivates people to do something about the problem.

The march that took place on campus was a great example of rhetoric being used to try to get people to change their mind on a big issue. I hope this march makes a big impact on people to reframe how they view sexual assault and rape. 

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