LEAP 4

Instagram link to pictures:

"Guns Out"

Introduction

“Guns Out” is a rally to support gun-free college campuses around the country (dosomething.org). This rally is important to me because I stand against guns on campuses. I believe guns make students scared in situations and possibly even give them a negative feel about going to that specific college. Having guns on campus is a very dangerous thing to be allowed especially in an environment where there is a lot of stress and things to agitate a student. My goal is to spread awareness to people and just to simply get my two words in college students’ heads.

Production Process

During my production process, I wanted to create a visual that stood out to the viewer and not just another picture that people skip over. Within my Infograph and Instagram posts, I wanted to give the viewer pictures that may be sensitive to some because those pictures affected me in a way that I think should affect everyone else who sees it. In my Instagram post, I incorporated a video of a victim speaking out against the shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida. The girl is very emotional and is getting her point across that if the person who attacked the school were holding a knife, there would have been a lot of less damage done than with the gun (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/emma-gonzalez-parkland-buzz-cut). Even though the shooter was in possession of a semi-automatic weapon, it was legal where they lived. This goes to show that if a person can do something like this in a high school, why wouldn’t someone holding a pistol that is allowed on a campus, snap one day and do the same thing. In my infograph, I used the “Cocks Not Glocks” movement as a reference because it was a great point to why carrying guns on a college campus in Texas is completely all right and encouraged by people of the state. This movement was based on a law, which is considered unorthodox and illegal to carry a dildo around on campus. This protest became wildly known because a group of students began handing out dildos to students to prove a point about gun laws. If a student can carry around a 9mm Glock around their college campus, why can’t a student carry around a piece of plastic shaped like a penis? This law in Texas seems to be a topic that is very opinionated and faculty at the University of Texas are now taking a stand against these laws that allow students to carry pistols because they feel scared. These teachers are rallying together to protest and support “Guns Out” because they do not want to feel scared to teach in their own classroom ((https://www.mystatesman.com/news/crime--law/campus-carry-problems-far-austin-what-does-that-prove/mp3HvGMaHHNFB2kNUkVbqJ/). The UT faculty is taking a stand against the law put into place allowing students to carry because they are scared for their own lives especially in a college environment. College students experience a lot of stress while attending school so why should they carry guns. Stress can cause students to do things they normally wouldn’t and with the student in possession a firearm, the chances of them using it without thinking may go up (https://aftvoices.org/disarming-all-the-reasons-we-should-keep-guns-off-campus-d691c51cfc2d). Also, a student who may partake in alcohol and drugs also raises the chance of students doing something without thinking about it greatly. This can lead to accidents occurring that should’ve been avoided in the first place. Along with teachers being scared of students carrying a gun, you have to think of what the students who don’t carry guns have to worry about. What if you go to college not knowing your roommate in the dorms and they carry a gun with them everywhere they go and leave it out for you to see. If I was in that persons shoe who does nor carry a gun, I would be terrified. This is a topic where you have to look at it from both sides and realize that all students in states that allow this law may not have the same opinion about it.

Reflection

Throughout COM 416, I have learned many skills and techniques to find what kind of propaganda is most affective and least affective. I’ve learned that the most affective way to get information across to someone is through emotions and things they can relate to. The reason I used things like a video of a girl talking about the shooting in Florida and a student talking handing out dildos on campus is because these topics are sensitive and spark different emotions in different people. When I first started researching this topic, I felt as if I needed to take a stand too because if guns were allowed on my campus here at URI, I would be terrified. Through my four years here, I know and have personally seem how violent students can get and if guns were involved, I can only imagine things that could happen. Through these emotions, I learned that people are more likely to take a stand like I decided to do when researching different topics to do my project on. It’s also something that I did not know I had strong feelings about. The use of emotions, especially fear, comes into play when talking about delicate situations like this because in order to stop these things, we must take a stand on the laws that prohibit these things. I do support the use of people carrying a gun with a concealed carry license but as for carrying a gun on a school campus, I cannot agree with that because as a student I know I would be extremely opposed to the law. I side with the teachers on this cause, if I was in a classroom with 100 other kids and half of them were carrying a gun, I would feel uncomfortable and it would impair my learning ability. COM 416 has taught me that propaganda comes down to people usually having an opinion but then gets persuaded towards which side they think appeals to their life more. Propaganda works best when it relates to the person because they can see how it can affect their self if it has happened or could happen to them. I learned, to grab someone’s attention you also must not be afraid to speak your voice. Your opinion is what you believe in and if you don’t believe it, how will the person you want supporting you believe it as well.

Conclusion

“Guns Out” is a campaign that I will forever support because I think it is something more people need to realize as a problem for students. Guns allowed on a college campus can be extremely terrifying for some students, especially the ones that do not carry a firearm. Carrying a gun into a classroom is not only scary to other students but the teacher as well. This law must be looked at again because some people do not feel comfortable with being around so many students with a deadly weapon. My propaganda campaign is to show and inform people around the country the affects it may have on a person that does not support this law. I want my Instagram pictures and Infograph to have an impact on people’s emotions in order to get them to keep looking at the information I provided in order for them to take a stand with me.

Works Cited

Autullo, R. (2017, July 22). Campus carry: No problems so far at UT-Austin. What

does that prove? Retrieved May 7, 2018, from https://www.mystatesman.com/news/crime--law/campus-carry-problems-far-austin-what-does-that-prove/mp3HvGMaHHNFB2kNUkVbqJ/

A. (2016, June 01). Disarming: All the reasons we should keep guns off campus.

Retrieved May 7, 2018, from https://aftvoices.org/disarming-all-the-reasons-we-should-keep-guns-off-campus-d691c51cfc2d

Dwyer, K. (2017, May 25). You Can Now Protest Gun Violence by Taking a Selfie.

Retrieved May 7, 2018, from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/gunsout-dosomething-college-campus-guns-campaign

Finger, A. (2017, December 07). College Students Want to Keep Guns Off Their

Campus. Today We're Giving Them a Way to Make That Happen. Retrieved May 7, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dosomethingorg/college-students-want-tocollege-students-want-to-keep-guns-off-their-campus-today-were-giving-them-a-way-to-make-that-happen_b_9396442.html

Guns Out: Advocate. (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2018, from

https://www.dosomething.org/us/campaigns/guns-out-advocate

Hoshikawa, K. (2018, March 28). Emma González on Why She Shaved Her Head.

Retrieved May 7, 2018, from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/emma-gonzalez-parkland-buzz-cut