Personal Literacy Narrative

 Can also be found in my ePortfolio.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xh3oLMVlETUk9sc3zpQPnB0oBxTYVejotnLmqyMIVF0/edit?usp=sharing

ePortfolio

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B40Ut_YEKfbPTC1wY1FQLWZnNTQ&usp=sharing

Homework Stuff

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bTVwrbz8CAkgpyYS_iKeh2rF8vncMOxkvFma3FXtc8g/edit?usp=sharing

Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1goBekT6OW3-ZkM3jyT7be2VLemsUOyj4OJfpRPQJX_g/edit?usp=sharing

My Recent Visit to Downtown Oakland

         This February, my mother and I had to drive my sister and her friend to a Panic At The Disco concert in downtown Oakland. Since driving back home and driving to a friend’s house were both unavailable to us, my mother and I were granted with the opportunity to explore downtown Oakland around midnight while my sister and her friend attended the concert.

         Oakland isn’t exactly the best of neighborhoods to begin with. According to numerous polls and surveys, Oakland has gained the distinction of being one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. Luckily, nobody in our group ran into any trouble during our visit.

         After dropping off my sister and her friend, my mother and I began to look for places to eat. My cousin (who attends college not too far from Oakland) recommended we try a place called Forge Pizza, in Jack London Square, right by the bay. After having to wait in the wind and rain, we finally got seated and got our food. The place was designed sort of like an off-the-beach style pizza place, and if I recall correctly, even had seafood options as toppings for your pizza. Overall, I liked the food and the laid-back atmosphere at the Forge

         After we left, we found one of those telescopes where you have to put money in them to work. We put some of our parking meter change in and began to look for stuff across the bay. I found the new span of the Bay Bridge, as well as AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. However, we were unable to locate Candlestick Park, the now former home of the San Francisco 49ers.

         When it was finally time to leave, we were surprised that there was very little traffic for how big of an event the concert was. My mother and I found my sister and her friend within 10 minutes of the concert ending, and quickly got back on the road. The freeway system in the Bay Area is already very confusing, but when rain and idiots who can’t drive in it are added to the equation, it becomes a much more frustrating experience. Eventually, we made it through the maze of freeways and got ourselves home in one piece.

         Overall, I would say the experience wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. On first thought, downtown Oakland late at night sounds like a very shady place to go. After going down there, it still is, but as long as you keep yourself out of trouble, you should be fine. I still wouldn’t go back there late at night, maybe if it were earlier in the day I could be convinced to go back. If I were given a ticket to anywhere in the world, I would probably use it to go to North Carolina or Indianapolis, because there is a lot of racing history in both places. Indianapolis is one of my choices because of the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious IndyCar events, is held every year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. North Carolina is my other choice because it is basically where NASCAR began, and there are many NASCAR race teams as well as NHRA race teams that call North Carolina home.

Should College Athletes Be Paid-3D Object Presentation

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ELtFuB0BNJs96zf--BHO18AqYQfLtD7xVqOgh-Jy6DE/edit

Genre Analysis-Final Draft

Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Introduction

            Every year, thousands of student-athletes will graduate from high school, some that feel they are ready to jump immediately into the pros and start making money. However, most professional sport organizations have banned them from going straight to the pros out of high school. With these kinds of rules in place, these student-athletes are given a decision; they can either sit out until they are eligible, or they can continue to play sports in college. Most chose the latter, to keep their skills fresh and intact, instead of sitting for two or more years of not doing anything to preserve their skills. Colleges make millions, sometimes billions of dollars off of these athletes, by way of merchandise sales, television license deals, endorsements with uniform suppliers, and many other forms of income, with approximately 0% of that income going to the players that make the income possible, which leaves many people asking, “Should college athletes be paid?” For this report, I read and analyzed three different genres: A report from a college law school, a cartoon from an online website, and a video from a sports television show.

Genre 1: Report from Washington Law School

            The first article, called The Myth of the Student-Athlete: The College Athlete as Employee, is a report by Robert and Amy McCormick, and was published by the University of Washington Law School. The report starts off by explaining that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, the governing body of college sports) has referred to the athletes that play their sports as ‘student-athletes’ instead of ‘employee-athletes,’ to give the illusion that “that these young men and women are learning important life lessons by engaging in intercollegiate athletics.” (McCormick, College Athlete as Employee 73) By labeling the athletes as students rather than employees, McCormick explains that this “[has] enabled them (the colleges) to reap a fantastic surfeit of riches…and related benefits of the athletes’ talents, time, and energy—that is, their labor—while severely curtailing the costs associated with such labor.” (College Athlete as Employee, 74) Later on, McCormick notes “many students… even graduate assistants... who are enrolled in classes and… teach and perform services… for their universities,” (College Athlete as Employee, 96) are employed by the college, and these students which perform these services receive payment. McCormick even lists common laws, as well as National Labor Relations Act legal standards which would qualify athletes at colleges and universities as employees, which would make them eligible for payment. McCormick sort-of concludes the report by makes the point that “Employee-athletes are not primarily students and their relationship with their universities is an economic one,” (College Athlete as Employee, 130) stating that the colleges earn large amounts of money from the athletes’ work in sports, rather than their work in the classroom.

Genre 2: A cartoon from a website

            The next genre is a cartoon from The Week website. The cartoon depicts two athletes carrying the NCAA and professional sports, which are represented as a limousine. One of the athletes asks the other, “No money, no gifts, no cars, no endorsement deals… tell me again, why are we doing this?” (The Week) The other student-athlete responds with “For an education, but I’m not feeling too smart” (The Week). The cartoon is referring to the rules that many professional sports organizations have put in place, which requires athletes to either attend college or sit out for a couple years before they can become professional. Most students choose to go to college, and are offered scholarships from different colleges. However, this cartoon shows that many athletes are feeling dumb for missing out on the ability to go professional and earn all the money, endorsements, cars, and gifts since they have been forced to go to college so they can ‘earn an education.’ In fact, many feel that they are being forced to work for free, much like slaves, to carry the load of colleges and professional sports, and earn them money.

Genre 3: A video clip from ESPN

            The final genre is a segment from ESPN’s Recruiting Nation. In this particular segment, Dave Telep, Craig Haubert and Paul Biancardi are the three analysts that are presented with Kansas coach Bill Self’s comments that players should be paid. Dave Telep starts off by saying that there is enough money generated from colleges through media deals and conference alignment that colleges now have the ability to pay athletes. He says that “it’s the right thing to do, but… it’s not gonna happen” (Telep, RecruitingNation). Then, Craig Haubert argues that “People under-value the expense of a college education” (Haubert, RecruitingNation RecruitingNation). He argues that many people are forced to take out a loan just to be able to go to college, and once they graduate, they are stuck with a huge amount of money that they have to pay off. He says that student-athletes are able to bypass having to take out a loan because all of their college expenses are paid for by the college. Finally, Paul Biancardi starts his piece off by listing all the people affiliated with college athletics that get paid, and says that all the athletes get is their education is paid for by the college. He says that since the athletes are the ones earning the money that colleges get from the athletics, that they should get some of that money.

Similarities

            All three of the genres were made to provide an opinion on the subject, since it has been in the news more and more, and has become almost a national debate subject, like gay marriage or legalizing marijuana. Two of the three of the genres use an image, whether it be moving, like the video, or static, like the cartoon. All three of the articles take on a serious tone, and don’t stray far from the topic of whether or not athletes should be paid. I feel that the analysts in the ESPN video and the Doctor and the author of the Washington Law school report are the most credible to speak on the subject. Even if they work in the field of law, where they would know the rules on this type of stuff, or they analyze college sports and everything associated with it, they are still more credible than a cartoon drawer who is just throwing in his two cents drawing for a website.

Differences

Of the three genres, I felt that the ESPN video had the best format or layout. They used a quote from a college coach, and then had three college sports analysts debate the topic. The cartoon is just an image format, so you click on the link and you see the image. The report was an 87-page long pdf document, which used literally hundreds of sources to create. The three genres also are designed for different viewers. The ESPN video is designed for someone who looks mostly at the sports side of the subject. Although it doesn't stick to one side of the argument, it does provide evidence that supports either side. The cartoon pertains more to someone who would perhaps be reading about the subject, and then decided to do a Google search for more information about the subject. The law school report is aimed more towards anyone who is doing some sort of research on the subject, as well as lawyers who are trying to build a case if they were to get the NCAA to change the rules.

Analysis

            Of the three genres, I think the ESPN video was most effective at getting their message out. Even though the analysts didn't all pick one opinion, they still presented their opinion, gave supporting evidence, and stood by their opinion. Yes, they weren't all on the same side of the argument, but that is really the nature of a debate; there are going to be people on both sides of an argument. The least effective genre was the cartoon, mainly because the writer didn't back up their opinion with supporting evidence. However, with a cartoon, the artist is going to be limited to what they can fit into the space they are given, so I don’t think a cartoon or an image would be the best genre to use for this subject, or really with any subject which would require supporting evidence to be presented. The law school report was somewhat effective, as it utilized a large amount of evidence to back up the writers’ opinion that student-athletes are employees, and therefore, should be paid. The one problem is that it is an 87-page long report. Not many people have the time and/or the patience to read through a whole 87-page document. However, most college reports must be very lengthy, and have pages and pages of supporting evidence in order to prove their point to the professor, and receive a passing grade.

Conclusion

            To conclude, there are dozens of articles which can be found that discuss the topic of college athletics and payment. It seems extremely unfair that these student-athletes spend hours upon hours training for these sports. Then, to go out and be the product for a billion-dollar industry, these student-athletes are not legally able to see a penny of it. The main counterpoint is that the athletes are also students, and it would be unfair to the other students attending the college/university if these athletes were to receive something in return, besides a higher education. Many writers have gone out and argued for each side, presenting great evidence as to why or why not these student-athletes should be paid.

Works Cited

Bagley, Pat. "College Athletes' Heavy Load." Cartoon. The Week. N.P., 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.

McCormick, Robert A., and Amy Christian McCormick. The Myth of the Student-Athlete: The College Athlete as Employee. Vol. 81:71. Washington Law Review Association, 2006. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.

RecruitingNation: NCAA Athletes Payment Debate. Prod. ESPN. Perf. Dave Telep, Craig Haubert, and Paul Biancardi. YouTube. N.P., 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.