Skirts, PDA, and Wrestling? Why would someone in their right mind even write about these? They don't have anything in common!
These are all the topics of opinion editorials that we had to read for Writing 150. All were pretty interesting and here are some thoughts!
First, the articles about skirts and PDA were petty on the surface. However, considering the audience, the writers' opinions were timely, even though they were written five to seven years ago. My main question in regards to "A Mini-Skirt," is why the author preferred to focus on the women's side of the Honor Code, when men's dress code is violated just as often, if not more. Sure, skirt/pant length is easy to judge and justify - aka, men get "bad thoughts"- but scruff on a man is still against the Honor Code. The author failed to focus on both genders when arguing that the Honor Code should be followed, which makes her argument somewhat lacking in ethos. Then, the PDA argument.
While skimming through it, I enjoyed seeing a fresh look on the PDA problem on campus. However, while looking for actual arguments, the author seemed to argue in a bit of a fallacious way. In my opinion, good opinion editorials (see what I did there?) often look at both sides of an issue. That was a major strength of "A Mini Skirt.." However, "A Kiss-less Campus" failed to recognize that certain 'restrictions' on BYU grounds make it impossible for PDA to never occur. While I'm not saying overt PDA is a good thing, grouping "prolonged kissing, making out, cuddling, [and] fondling. . ." in the same category seems like a bit of cherry picking, in which she picks the most obnoxious forms of PDA, mixes it with an innocent one, and calls all tasteless. Several other fallacies include: appeal to probability (it's happened to her occasionally, Helamen Halls ex., so it must happen everywhere to everyone, ) and the moralistic fallacy (a couple was making out on the couch AND I felt like I had to apologize to them, when they were doing the wrong act.) But enough of my ranting.
The final opinion editorial, "Wrestling's Dirty Secret," exposed a nasty and less reported side of a classic sport. This article did a wonderful job of exposing the secrets behind weight loss, the abuse of coach power, and proposed several solutions to what seems to be a vexing problem. This article held all the qualities of a good opinion editorial and is one worth reading again.
First, the articles about skirts and PDA were petty on the surface. However, considering the audience, the writers' opinions were timely, even though they were written five to seven years ago. My main question in regards to "A Mini-Skirt," is why the author preferred to focus on the women's side of the Honor Code, when men's dress code is violated just as often, if not more. Sure, skirt/pant length is easy to judge and justify - aka, men get "bad thoughts"- but scruff on a man is still against the Honor Code. The author failed to focus on both genders when arguing that the Honor Code should be followed, which makes her argument somewhat lacking in ethos. Then, the PDA argument.
While skimming through it, I enjoyed seeing a fresh look on the PDA problem on campus. However, while looking for actual arguments, the author seemed to argue in a bit of a fallacious way. In my opinion, good opinion editorials (see what I did there?) often look at both sides of an issue. That was a major strength of "A Mini Skirt.." However, "A Kiss-less Campus" failed to recognize that certain 'restrictions' on BYU grounds make it impossible for PDA to never occur. While I'm not saying overt PDA is a good thing, grouping "prolonged kissing, making out, cuddling, [and] fondling. . ." in the same category seems like a bit of cherry picking, in which she picks the most obnoxious forms of PDA, mixes it with an innocent one, and calls all tasteless. Several other fallacies include: appeal to probability (it's happened to her occasionally, Helamen Halls ex., so it must happen everywhere to everyone, ) and the moralistic fallacy (a couple was making out on the couch AND I felt like I had to apologize to them, when they were doing the wrong act.) But enough of my ranting.
The final opinion editorial, "Wrestling's Dirty Secret," exposed a nasty and less reported side of a classic sport. This article did a wonderful job of exposing the secrets behind weight loss, the abuse of coach power, and proposed several solutions to what seems to be a vexing problem. This article held all the qualities of a good opinion editorial and is one worth reading again.
So, that's it, thoughts and questions on several opinion editorials. Enjoy!
When I read "mini Skirts" I just thought her feminine bias was because she was a girl. I tend to notice girls violations more than guys because i'm a girl as well. That doesn't mean that guys don't violate dress code, but maybe there's another op ed on that subject.
ReplyDeleteInteresting insight into these op-eds. It's also refreshing to see some of the debate going on between classmates, isn't it? I like what both you and Amy had to say on the subject!
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