Jamie Garcia

Jamie S. Garcia

T. Kubal

Soc 122 M/W 3:30

Event 1: Listening Table/ March 4^th    

            As a class we decided on using a portion of our funding to purchase a small article in the Fresno State News paper to promote our tabling event during March Fourth. Additionally we purchased snacks and beverages to be served during our tabling to entice a crowd. On ST.A.R.T's personal social media account on Instagram we posted small image with details on the event as well.

During class time and on the day of we were able to decorate and design our poster boards. That was filled with information regarding our topic. For example; the rising cost in tuition over the past thirty years, as well as, statistics of the average house hold income in comparison to the average tuition rate. Additionally, we posted a link, and a description of our cause's petition. The petition was calling for the rate of tuition to be frozen at the cost during first year of enrolment for five years or upon a four-year completion.

                

We had a great number of people interested in our cause, especially interested in our petition. Many voiced their own concern and or discontent with the rising tuition rates. The attention of the treats and beverages, and the presence of the other social movements attracted a large crowd. The presence of the other movements possibly attracted viewers who may have not been interested before, but were attracted secondarily.

I believe our table received the most attention during the tabling as well as the march around Campus. Our clear slogan and catchy name was easy for people to remember and repeat. We chanted out to the crowd: "Freeze tuition, Sign Petition". If our movement had the ability to provide internet access via tablets or laptops would have given passers by or attendees the ability to sign our petition immediately, and could have capitalized on the momentum of the day, before students wandered off and forgot or lost interest.

Before our tabling even I comprised a power-point with the information our movement had gathered, some statistics, a few catchy images, and the fliers for our documentary viewing (original fliers where provided by our treasurer Alyssa), as well as some other information. Those power-point slides were printed and added to our poster board during the tabling. I organized and distributed tasks to the members of our group before and during the movement, and collected our materials at its end. I designed and created the group name, and slogan, as well as their marching signs. Additionally I added the power-point slides and images from the march to our social media account on Instagram.     

Our event gathered a lot of attention, both during the tabling and during the march. I believe students were made aware of facts and realities about their own tuition, that before they may have not considered or known. Those facts in my opinion altered their view of the tuition crisis currently facing Fresno State Students. Had our movement been better prepared and had been linked with groups more experienced in the movement, I think our petition could have become a hot topic amongst our student body, if not at the very least gaining the attention of the administration.

 

Event 2: Social Media Account – Instagram

The social media account set up for ST.A.R.T was an Instagram account. On this sight users are able to upload and share videos and pictures with their followers, on an immediate update, or are also able to view to people who look up their account. We publicized our account by adding our account name Instagram@fresnostateSTART to every flyer we handed out, each chalking, and any information we handed out or made public. We gathered a lot of followers from out interactions during the tabling on March fourth. The account got more hits with each flyer and chalking that we made seemed to gather more attention to our account. We also made the effort to follow fellow Fresno State organizations, like many of the clubs, and local fraternities and sororities.

The activity on our account was mostly post from the power-point, providing information about tuition, and our position on its rapid increase. The further along in the semester began to ad additional photos, more of them where action shots. Like our group attending the tabling, the March and later events like handing out flyers and chalking. Most of ST.A.R.T's member's had their own accounts and were able to follow the account, but it was hard to get large number of followers like some of the other clubs on Campus. I attribute that to the lack of publicity ST.A.R.T gained through out the year. And its relatively newness as a group on campus. We made every attempt to gain attention for the account, but it didn't seem to do well in comparison to other local clubs. Perhaps we should have tagged (linked) people in the pictures we posted in order to gain more attention to our account and therefore our movement.

My personal involvement with this aspect of ST.A.R.T, was that I made the account, and provided the log in and password to each of my group members. Additionally, I followed a majority of the local clubs
and organizations at Fresno State, and uploaded a majority if not all the pictures to the account. However, Jarod took many of the pictures and sent them to me later. It was a collaborative effort to keep the account up to date.

In terms of altering the public opinion of tuition cost at Fresno State I believe the Instagram account may have done the least. I think its most beneficial attribute was its ability to keep followers aware of the progress and events being held by ST.A.R.T., as well as providing a steady stream of info.  

 

Event 3 and 4: Informational Flyer/Chalking

            We pulled slides and information from the power-point and other resources to add information to our fliers, and printed out full page fliers of our Documentary Viewing. Fabiola and Jarod were able to make additional copies of the Fliers. Fabiola made something like a pamphlet, with key points and links to information about tuition and our accounts and petition. As we walked around campus chalking and talking to students we were able to hand out the pamphlets and fliers. We borrowed chalk and tried to pick locations were the most amount of traffic would walk past them. With the brightest most attractive colors I could find, I wrote the most attention getting facts, our group could come up with or pull from our fliers. For instance, "the tuition for a student at Fresno State is approximately 30 % of the average income of a California residents total yearly income".

  

            We were able to attract attention from students as they stopped and read our facts written in chalk. We were able to talk to them briefly and or hand them a pamphlet or flyer. On a few occasions we were able to get pictures of this interaction with fellow students. Unfortunately the interactions we did have were often brief, and we didn't have the ability to fully disclose our intentions with them, or persuade them to sign our online petition. I think out interactions would have been better received during a time when fellow students are more open to spending time listening, when they have breaks between class and are able to spend time listening. Rather then later in the afternoon as we walked in between the hallways and walkways around campus.

            While we were passing out flyers and handing out information we gathered attention, but its interaction was so brief I doubt there was any great alteration in opinion of Fresno States current tuition cost.

 

 

 

 

Event 5: Documentary and Discussion

            In order to publicize our fifth event, as a group we handed out fliers at all of our events, with the details and location of our documentary viewing, as well as our mission statement. Additionally, we did some chalking the day before, as well as posting it on our social media site – Instagram. As an event it was quite easy to set up. The room for the viewing was previously booked for us, and we had to pick a date convenient for our group. Finding a documentary or movie discussing our specific topic was a little harder to come by. Often the content of the documentaries was not in accordance with our group's views/ mission statement. Fortunately enough we were able to get some advice from our Professor and he was able to aid us with some documentaries that fallowed along better with our cause.

            Unfortunately for our group, Jarrod and Myself were able to attend the viewing for our social movement; due to conflicting schedules our other group member's were unable to make the viewing. There was however a decent turn out of other students, about the same amount showed up for our documentary, as for others, as I had witnessed.

            I believe our documentary viewing would have had an improved turn out if our group as able to promote it better to our fellow students. If we were able to tie into a bigger event that gathered a lot of attention, perhaps our small movement would have gathered a larger audience. Also, it was the intention of our group to have our viewing immediately after the March 4^th movement, in order to maintain momentum, and stay current in the minds of our fellow students. That however wasn't successful and another date had to be chosen, a date that I believe was to far after the march, for us to capitalize on.

            My specific involvement with this event was that I distributed fliers to my fellow students promoting the event. Again I uploaded screen shots of our even to our social media site, reminding our followers of our up coming event, and I was able to attend the screening and participate in the discussion afterwards.

            It was clear from the discussion after the viewing that the documentaries and the event had informed and altered the opinion of those who viewed it. Many felt a new sense of concern over their tuition; as well as a newfound interest in the disbursement and allocation of our tuition money.