COMMENTARY OUTLINE

Topic: School Spirit

1) Introduction to topic
a) School spirit, and lack thereof
b) What it means to the university
c) How it affects the students
d) Thesis

2) My perspective
a) Spirit team/dance team
b) How being a freshmen affects my school spirit
c) What I see going on at events

3) Student’s perspective
a) Comparing UCF pride with other universities in the US
b) His take on free events
c) What he has seen in his time here at UCF

4) Spirit and athletics
a) Lack of pride in our football team because we are not a top nationally ranked team
b) Very few students show up to watch other team sports
c) Making use of the football lottery
d) Amount of students tailgating prior to football games vs. number of students who actually go to the game
e) New football stadium

5) SGA’s steps to more spirited university
a) Having more free events
b) Getting all the students involved with activities on campus
c) Creating lasting traditions, such as the Spirit Splash during Homecoming Week

6) Conclusion
a) Why school spirit is important
b) What students can do to improve school spirit and pride on their own

c) How to truly “Bleed Black and Gold”

COMMENTARY LETTER

Dear Chelsea,

Hey girl! So I’ve been noticing some interesting things about UCF, and I wanted to write you to see if the same things were going on over at FSU... As you know, I am part of the Spirit Team here, and so I am always pretty much on top of all the different activities going on around school. I kind of expected everyone to be so gung ho about school spirit once I got to college, but I don’t really feel that way any more now that I am actually here. There are definitely certain people who are more than spirited enough for the whole school, but then there are other students that I see who could care less about being a part of the school. There are over 50,000 kids at UCF, and I would expect a whole lot more of them to be excited about showing off their school pride. Do you see the same kind of thing going on at Florida State?
The student government at UCF plans so many events for all the students to try to get them more involved, but the only way to get people there is to have free food. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the free food. I just think students should want to take part in their schools activities without the benefits of free items. Student Government does way too much work for student involvement for it to all just be wasted. There are always different organizations loitering around the Student Union trying to get others to join. Most of the time kids just walk right past the groups and completely ignore the people trying to talk to them.
And get this… for every home football game SGA has a lottery for free student tickets, and our student section at the games is STILL not filled! I know that UCF football isn’t as great as other schools, but that’s no reason to skip out on a football game. Especially when it could possibly be free for the students! Going to the football games is just part of the college experience. If I wasn’t on the dance team, I know I would definitely be putting my name in the lottery every week so I could have a chance to go for free. And even if I didn’t get it, I would buy a ticket. I know that the football team at FSU is much stronger than here, but do you think that the strength of the team would change the turnout of the number of students at each game? I mean, even if I didn’t like football, I would go to the game just to watch Knightro do his thing down on the field. He is by far the coolest mascot of any university.
What are some traditions your school has? For a school as young as UCF, we have a lot of spirit traditions. My favorite one is the Spirit Splash during our homecoming week, which is the one day of the year everyone is actually allowed in our Reflection Pond. There should be a pretty good turnout to that event.
Let me know all about FSU and how the school spirit is there, I would love to see the comparisons between the schools! Thanks for all of your help! Can't wait to hear from you, Chels!


Sincerely, Julia

COMMENTARY INTERVIEW

Interview with UCF junior, Kevin Kulbacki

1. Do you think the students at UCF have enough school spirit?

No, I feel that the average UCF student goes to most events solely for free stuff, like T-Shirts, and not because they are loyal to UCF athletics.

2. What else could SGA and other organizations do to increase school spirit?

I think that SGA could work on creating new traditions at UCF, similar to Spirit Splash, that could get students pumped up and excited for UCF.

3. Every football game has a lottery for free tickets, why do you think it hasn’t ever been completely filled?

I think that many students this year feel that our football team is not nearly as good as when we won the CUSA Championship a few years ago and don't want to see a team that is not absolutely amazing. Our fans will only be happy when we are the best.

4. How does school spirit at UCF compare with other universities?

I think that UCF is pretty average in terms of school spirit. It by no means matches any of the other true Southern School in which college football isn't just something to do, its a way of life. I also feel that we are much more spirited than most Northern schools.

5. What do you think is the best tradition in UCF school spirit?

Spirit Splash is by far the best tradition at UCF!

6. How does the amount of school spirit compare to when UCF did not have its own football stadium?

I think our fans have become spoiled by the on-campus stadium. Back when we played across town, people would drive out to make a day of a UCF football game. However, now that the stadium is on-campus, I feel that UCF football and tailgating has become more of "just something to do" to most students

7. How do you know what you know?

I have first hand experienced UCF school spirit for 3 years and last year surveyed students about UCF school spirit

8. Who are you to the subject?

I am a junior at UCF who has been very involved in UCF activities through UCF student organizations, individually, and through working with UCF athletics. I have seen first hand how spirited our student body is through all aspects

9. How is this event connected to other events?

Everything to do with UCF and the student body is related to school spirit. If UCF wins in one sport, then school spirit gets a boost. If we lose then the opposite occurs.

10. What if things were different?

If UCF had better sports teams, then school spirit would be far increased. Also, if we had more traditions then the students would get more interested and more involved in the school.

11. Why is this important?

It shows that in order to increase school spirit, UCF must establish itself and its sport teams in order to get the student body to really show some true school spirit. That is the only way they will ever live up to the slogan "I bleed Black and Gold."

COMMENTARY ANALYSIS

METROSEXUAL MATRIMONY

JULIA RICE, SAMANTHA SALERNO, ANDREW MATA

1. What is the trend or situation on which the commentary focuses?

The commentary focuses on grooms becoming more involved in their weddings.

2. Does the author give the reader an interesting introduction to the issue? Why or why not?

The introduction to the topic is very interesting. The author gives insight to how much the groom really cares about the wedding, giving examples of what the groom did for his groomsmen such as the manicures, and white-gold bracelets, and his $1,800 tux.

3. Does the author explain the context of the issue? How in-depth does he or she go? What do you think this signifies regarding the intended audience of the commentary?

The author gives people’s opinions throughout the article and quotes people, and doesn’t really go into the depth of the issue. The introduction goes in-depth with the story of the groom getting ready for the wedding, but the rest of the article is based on opinions. The audience probably is focused on what the grooms and brides think about the fact that grooms are getting more involved in wedding planning. It is intended to inform the audience of what these men are thinking.

4. What are the possible causes of the trend or situation the author explores?

A possible cause is that because the women were so involved in planning their wedding for a long time, men have risen to the occasion and are now involved just as much if not more than women. Also, now that women are becoming more concerned with their careers, they are taking less time to plan for their weddings. This is making the men have to take on a new role of being the wedding planner.

5. What examples or observations does the author give from his or her own life to back their belief that these are the possible causes?

The author doesn’t give any examples from his own life.

6. What is the author's stance on the topic?

The author does not really have an opinion on the topic. He just gives examples of stories he has heard about. It seems like the author thinks it is funny that grooms want to take charge of their weddings.

7. What significance does the author see in this trend or situation?

The situation is significant because the author is stating that times have changed, and men are becoming more and more actively involved in wedding planning. This change could cause problems between the bride and groom when it is time to plan, or it could settle problems if the woman doesn’t want to be involved in planning.

COMMENTARY DEVELOPMENT

The state of Florida is attempting to pass legislation to ban abortions, and “establish and protect a human being’s ‘personhood’ from the moment of fertilization” (centralfloridafuture.com). Within this bill, they are hoping add in the prohibition of all types of birth control. This includes pills such as “the morning after” pill, and anything else that will stop the fertilization between the sperm and the egg. While I think it is wrong to abort a baby at any time, I do not agree that the government should be able to regulate how you use your birth control. These other pills are just used as safety nets. When reading the article about the amendment on CentralFloridaFuture.com, I came across a few comments that gave me more insight to the topic. One writer said that if they are banning anything and everything that can prevent the sperm and egg from fertilizing, then the government might as well ban condoms, because they create a barrier disallowing this fertilization to occur. Another concerned reader wrote that if the government is doing this to try and save money, it is going to do just the opposite. The money that would normally be used for the pills and contraceptives would then go to support for raising children. Since it would be the state of Florida’s legislation, it would take effect in all colleges as well. No college pharmacy or drug store would be allowed to sell birth control or condoms to their students. This would increase the amount of students partaking in unsafe sex, and would probably lead to an increase in the number of young parents with unexpected children on the school campuses. I do not believe that Florida should pass this amendment.

COMMENTARY INVENTION

• School taking precautions to stop the spread of the H1N1 Swine Flu
• State amendment to “establish and protect a human being’s ‘personhood’ from the moment of fertilization” (centralfloridafuture.com); banning all types of birth control throughout the state of Florida, including college campuses
• Student organizations giving away free items/food to get others involved

MEMOIR FINAL

FOREIGN EXCHANGE TO TURKEY

Waking up at six a.m. to start my day usually isn’t my thing, but for this, I was ecstatic. I was finally getting a chance to venture into a world unknown to me. I was headed to Turkey with my Foreign Exchange student, Ferda, to complete the second half of our exchange. Even though I was so eager to try out this exchange, doubt flowed through my mind. Was I really ready to go to a foreign country all by myself? I had never been anywhere without a family member, and I really didn’t know what to expect. The whole plane trip there I kept questioning myself, and thinking prejudice things. At fifteen, could I really experience and enjoy a trip like this? Everything seemed to go downhill once I began evaluating myself.

After seventeen hours of flying, we were in Istanbul, Turkey, and I was exhausted and cranky. Ferda received news that our last flight from Istanbul to Izmir was delayed a few hours, so she called her aunt in Istanbul, and she lent Ferda and me her car and driver for a tour around the city. Before I arrived in Turkey, I imagined it to look like the Aladdin movies, and have sand dunes everywhere with exotic architecture and what not, but my first glimpse of Istanbul was nothing like that. Picture your perfect paradise on a Greek island, with blue oceans and cloudless skies; that is was these western Turkish cities look like. The sights I saw were unreal, and I began to slowly peel off the judgmental thoughts I had about the country. Istanbul is one of Turkey’s largest cities; all along the mountains you could see the millions of houses and other buildings. There were brilliant mosques, crowds of people, and the last thing you would expect… beautiful beaches, with sparkling, clear waters. As we drove over the bridge connecting Asia and Europe, I thought to myself how much I wanted to get back into my own bed and fall asleep, but I was overwhelmed with this amazing feeling, and I just couldn’t get rid of it. All I can remember thinking was “Wow! I am really in Turkey. How crazy is this?!” I was a tremendously nervous for my adventure in this peculiar country, but I was ready for it to start.

Soon enough, it was time for us to head back to the airport for our final flight to Izmir, Turkey. Thank God this was only a 45 minute flight; I began to think that I would be stuck in the sitting position forever for all the flying. Once we arrived in Izmir and picked up our luggage, Ferda and I headed off to find her parents. Her dad, Macit, and mom, Shenaz, were waiting eagerly for us at the “Arrivals” exit. As soon as they saw us, they smiled happily and started running toward Ferda. I then felt the first wave of homesickness, and all I wanted was to go back home and hug my own mom and dad. Of course, Macit and Shenaz also gave me a big hug and tried to make me feel like a part of the Şaşzade family, but nothing they did would take away this horrible feeling in my stomach.

Because the Şaşzade’s were staying at their summer home in Çesme, we had ANOTHER hour long drive. By the time we arrived home, it was way past midnight, and I was more than ready to go to bed. The next morning, well, afternoon, considering I woke up at 3 p.m., everyone was already awake. And by everyone, I mean Macit, Shenaz, Ferda, Shenaz’s parents, and two of Ferda’s cousins, Cem and Kerim. I was not ready to meet my entire host family just yet. This sent another overwhelming shock through my body. I was already off to a bad start, I thought. I was completely homesick, and all I wanted to do was call my mom. Every time someone would attempt to talk to me, I would get tears in my eyes. When I was able to speak with my mom, I let it all out, and the tears streamed out of my eyes. “Mom!” I cried, “I just want to come home. I hate it here. They’re all so weird! No one ever speaks English unless I ask them a question. I’m sick of it. Please! Just let me come home already!” My mom finally put a stop to it, and said to me, “If you keep crying every time we speak, I will NOT talk to you until you get home in three weeks. I’ll be checking in with Macit to make sure you’re getting along with Ferda and actually trying to get an experience out of this. I paid way too much money for you to just waste your time in Turkey.” That was enough for me. Once I heard my mom wouldn’t talk to me, I never let another tear fall.

Over the next few days, Macit and Shenaz did everything in their power to include me with their family, and make me feel at home. They thought I was too skinny, and so they would place a meal in front of me any time I was just sitting around. I knew I would never go hungry with these people. Food was one of the first things to start opening my mind to the new culture. Everything they ate was so different from American hot dogs and hamburgers. I surprisingly really enjoyed the Turkish food (desserts and a sandwich called a “Kumru” became staple parts in my diet).


I was fortunate enough to be hosted by an upper-class family, and so we were able to take many trips around to historical sites in Turkey. My favorite two, which really opened my eyes, were Ephesus (a major city in ancient Anatolia) and the Virgin Mary’s home. They were the most breath-taking places I have ever been. I actually saw where the Virgin Mary lived after her son was born. These excursions taught me a lot about the Turkish culture and history. I was really starting to open up and appreciate everything about the beautiful country.


During my time in Turkey, I was able to meet many of Ferda’s friends, and actually become very close with three of them, Idil, Ipek and Aylin. I was very wary when meeting new people here, not knowing what to expect when I was introduced. Almost all of the teenagers I met here knew how to speak English, which made my whole experience much easier. I learned that Turkish and American teenagers are very much alike. We’re interested in the same things, like music (they mostly listen to American Rap!), partying and clubbing, shopping, going to the beach, all of those sorts of things. I was so surprised that we were so much alike, even though we were from complete different cultures, and on total opposite sides of the world. I was never taught much about Turkey, or even the Muslim culture, so I just kind of grouped them with Middle-Eastern Muslims, with all the women wearing headdresses, covering their whole body, and everyone being ultra-conservative. I was proved wrong when I made all these new friends.

Three weeks later, it was over. Even though Ferda and I didn’t get off to a great start in America, we became as close as sisters during the second half of the exchange. She helped me a great deal in overcoming my irrational fears and made sure I was okay every step of the way. It was the last thing I expected when we first met. As I walked to my gate in the airport, Ferda turned to me and said, “Julia, you don’t even know how much I will miss you! I love you so much!” She then began to cry, which made me cry as well. I replied, “I will miss you even more Ferda, you are one of my best friends. Seriously. I love you too!” All of my previous judgmental notions about Turkish people were replaced with real life experiences and true knowledge. I grew very close to the Şaşzade family; I still talk to Ferda every week. What I thought would be three weeks of Hell turned out to be the best time of my life. All I needed to do was let go of my prejudices and open my mind to new, and somewhat intimidating, ideas. Ever since I got back home, it is all I can talk about, even now three years later. I feel so blessed that I was able to have an experience that turned my whole life around, and I hope that everyone has a chance to do so one day.