At Clemson, as is typical of any public university, the student body is comprised of people from diverse backgrounds, regions, religions, beliefs and values. These different people have different interests, different views and different definitions of having a good time. To prevent ostracism, these different people come together under common interests and form groups and societies to further their ideas, strengthen their beliefs and propagate their agendas in an effort to increase participation in their cause. This is where rhetoric comes into play. In order to garner the interest of freshmen and transfer students new to the university, the leaders of these diverse groups use the art of persuasion to win new students over to their cause or society. Thus the plethora of flyers, signs, posters and announcements that can be seen as soon as I step out of my dorm. Let's look at a few in detail.
First, on the steps leading up to my hall on the third floor, I find a CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) flyer advertising weekly Bible studies held on the first floor of the neighboring dorm. Its simple design is accentuated with the symbol of the cross, calling out to all "believers" that they can find good company and similar viewpoints on Christian topics by joining in this activity. The further statement that the study is limited to freshmen guys works well in my freshmen dorm, suggesting that no one who attends the studies will feel ostracized or uncomfortable around students years older than themselves.
Next stop: post office. Of the many ads lining the walls, one that caught my eye was a flyer representing EcoRep, the campus housing's environmental organization. The letters are in green type contrasted against a stark white background with the recycle symbol, but the most persuasive part of the flyer is its picture. Situated in the lower left-hand corner, a person's hands hold the sphere of the earth, indicating not only the fragility of our planet but also the great responsibility we have of maintaining the beauty and wonder of our world, "making a positive impact", in the words of the organization, "for a better future".
It would be a travesty in any discussion of college organization rhetoric not to mention the Greeks. Found on one of the many columns of ads located in the student union, my favorite society poster was created by the Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority, encouraging freshmen girls to come out to their "rush". Using the analogy of flying in the poster, the catchy line at the top rhetorically asks, "Why settle for less when you can fly with the best?"Underneath are pictures of airplanes and first-class seats, and the information about where to meet is given in terms of "departure" and "take-off": "Fly Gamma Sig! Always First Class." But the thing that caused me to remember this particular ad the most was it's final line on the bottom: "Take off with us and be oh so fly like a GSig." This line summarizes the airplane theme and also gives its readers something to remember: a play on the words of the song "Like a G6" by the Far East Movement.
Clearly students have learned to be both creative and informative in their rhetorical advertisements as they try to gain as many followers as possible. Sounds good to me. The only question I have now is, where do I sign up?
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