Social Tactic #4

Jerrod Goertzen

Soc 122

START

5/9/2014

 

Social Movement Tactic #4: Chalking

 

            I have never done chalking before in order to spread word or information on something, but after talking to others and doing it in a previous event, I found it can be a very useful tactic. I feel like after doing it ourselves for our social movement we did have some success with it.

            Our group circled around campus writing out statistics and information on the sidewalk. Using multiple bright colored chalked and a list of twenty facts, we focused on heavily walked pathways around the sociology buildings, we chalked over around the library and Kennel book store and also out along the walkways a little past the large fountain area. During this time we would catch multiple taking a look at things we wrote and on a few occasions actually speaking up and agreeing with our statements and stance. This part was very nice too see and hear because even if it is five, ten or twenty and more people that become at least a little more aware and informed, that is a difference that our group made.  I thought a nice touch also during this time was handing our flyer to people that would either stop or were just walking on by. These pamphlets contained a link to the two movies our group showed, various facts and links to sources.  I'd like too think they were at least semi-affective and achieved in getting some people more aware of an injustice. An injustice that is creating a very large financial problem in our country and young adults. On the pamphlets and chalk messages, we labeled our group name START and our Instagram link, in the hope of obtaining more followers as well were we posted pictures of things we did as a group and facts.

            Things I would have done differently maybe would be dispersing the group a little more, could have covered more ground in the same time. I wish we could have found more facts pertaining to Fresno State itself and the problems with rising tuition but it was difficult finding a whole lot of recent information. I also wish we had been able to find more comparative facts, as I think these give the largest chock factors for most readers. Overall, as I mentioned in the beginning, I felt like our group had some success running this tactic mixed in with handing out a pamphlet.