Week 3: The Advertisement Phase

       During the third week of our action plan, our group compiled the posters and signs we made and distributed them throughout campus. We used the facts from thetruth.com to help express our concern for smoking habits. We chose to use this site because they appeal to young people rather than middle aged to older people.
       We believe that by targeting the younger generation, we can stop the habit before it becomes a life-long issue. By using relate able material such as games and straight forward facts, we think students will take the time to read our signs. As a blunt and direct generation, we appeal to things that are not sugar coated. We used this as our way to be as forthright as possible with our signs and facts. While reading our signs, you will notice we do not try to hide any facts or make the issue sound less important. 
       We also made sure to credit our source of thetruth.com for the facts we used. Not only did we want students to know where the facts came from, we also wanted to provide them with a source to find more information about smoking. This website tracks the revolution our generation has started to end smoking for good. As you may notice from our signs, we and the truth want to #FINISHIT for good.
       During the next week of our action plan, we will monitor the success and impact our signs have had on our college campus. We aim to minimize the amount of smokers on our campus, and one day eliminate smoking indefinitely. 

Stop Smoking Campaign: Week 2

http://www.liveitwell.org.uk/ways-to-wellbeing
/better-physical-health/stop-smoking/

Smoking is a large problem in our area, and throughout the world. Because this issue effects our community in such a large way, my group has taken on the task to better educate the public on the dangers of smoking. Before carrying out our plan of action, we first gained permission to display posters inside the building on campus. By displaying these posters, we hope to raise awareness of the life threatening effects smoking causes. After gaining permission to continue our plan of action, we progressed our campaign into week two.
During week two of our action plan to minimize smoking on our campus, our group composed posters and signs to advertise our campaign. From the week one, we gained permission to place our signs throughout campus. We produced 100 signs to be placed indoors in heavily populated areas on our campus. These posters were made with bright eye catching colors and thought provoking slogans. We have used 25 facts to be repeated 4 times each. The facts were found on the popular website thetruth.com. This non-smoking company is sponsored by MTV to help raise awareness about the dangers of smoking. Below are a list of the phrases that can be seen on our signs and posters.

1. Stop smoking or stop breathing
2. Keep calm and stop smoking
3. In the US alone, cigarettes kill around 54 people an hour
4. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of PREVENTABLE death in the US
5. Tobacco companies' products kill about 40,000 people each month. That's more lives thrown away than there are public garbage cans in NYC.
6. Every 6 seconds, someone in the world dies from a smoking related disease
7. penis Penis. PENIS! Got your attention? Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction in men as young as 20
8. Methane is found in dog poop and in cigarette smoke
9. Benzene, arsenic and cyanide are all poisons. They're all in cigarette smoke too
10. Urea was found in cigarettes. Urea is also found in Pee
11. Tobacco products kill 113 people from secondhand smoke every day
12. In 2010, 52.4% of US smokers quit for at least a day
13. For approximately 50 years, tobacco companies falsely denied that smoking causes lung cancer and emphysema
14. Only 9% of teens still smoke. That's less than the number of land lines still in use
15. Tobacco kills about 30 times more people than murder
16. fact 21
17. In the US, tobacco kills more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs, and fires combined
18. In just one year, 24,000 kids lost a parent to tobacco related disease
19. In 2008, more than 48 million Americans has successfully quit smoking
20. Nicotine is as addictive as heroine, cocaine and alcohol
21. Sunburns can cause wrinkles; so can cigarettes
22. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and exposure to second hand smoke in infancy increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
23. Majority of big tobacco companies purposefully target children
24. Tobacco companies manipulate nicotine levels to keep smokers addicted
25. The picture below.

http://whitegoldsilver.blogspot.in/2013/04/
smoking-facts-smoking-statistics-quit.html

We believe by displaying these funny and serious posters around our campus, people will begin to see the hazards smoking causes. We hope these signs are to be taken seriously and impact our community in a positive way. We will monitor the outcome of these posters after placing them on our campus during the next weeks of our action plan.

Stop Smoking or Stop Breathing

For many years, people have suffered an addiction to smoking. Smoking has become a popular drug choice for teens and young adults. By smoking, teens feel “cool” and welcomed by their groups of friends. Although this drug may give you friends, it may also give you unwanted diseases. Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than five million deaths per year. With this amount of people affected, smoking should be a main focus by many. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States. This obsession has affected strangers, friends and neighbors in our communities. Although cigarette usage has decreased dramatically, this issue is still impacting many lives.

           In the past ten years, research has increased to study the effects of tobacco usage. These studies aim to raise awareness of the dangers smoking can cause. One major contribution to the developments of these studies is the nonsmoking organization Truth. This organization has paired with the popular teen network MTV in hopes of minimizing the amount of non-smokers across the nation. By creating ads that relate to teens and young adults, they have created a conversation throughout the U.S. on how to end smoking. Rather than shaming smokers, Truth focuses more on finding ways to end smoking indefinitely. Since 1998, Truth has conducted research and studies to raise awareness of the dangers smoking brings. According to Truth, only nine percent of teens still smoke today. This number has dramatically decreased since the invention of cigarettes in 1895. Through print, web, and commercial ads, Truth and MTV have shared this fact along with others to inform the public of the risks smoking involves. You can follow Truth’s progress on their website, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. This action based company has greatly impacted tobacco sales and will continue to spread information about cigarette usage.

           While smoking cigarettes has been proven to be dangerous, the toxins released into the air can also be hazardous to the people surrounding the smoker. This toxin can also be referred to as second hand smoke. Although this type of smoke is not as dangerous as smoking itself, it can

still cause many harmful diseases and problems to the body. Second hand smoke is a serious health problem and has caused close to 50,000 deaths per year. This type of smoke exposure can cause serious health problems and even premature death to children and adults who do not smoke. Second hand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic and can pollute the smokers nearby environment. Since this issue is so dangerous, smokers should beware of the places in which they choose to smoke. While smoking the danger not only lies with the person consuming the smoke, but the people in the surrounding environment. Smokers should be more aware of this when choosing places to smoke.

           As a daughter of a parent who smokes, I feel that smoking is selfish. You are putting your life, and the lives of others at risk because of your habit. This habit can be detrimental to you and your family. If a smoker was to be diagnosed with a smoking related disease, their entire family will suffer. I constantly think of the things my parent might not get to do with me or experience if their life was cut short due to smoking. This addiction affects more people than just the smoker and should be treated as a drug addiction. Although a smoker can quit, it takes support and encouragement from friends and family. With the help of others, I believe each smoker can quit and eliminate the danger they are putting into their body.

           Truth and other anti-tobacco companies have taken major strides to eliminate smoking. With knowledge and support, I believe we can permanently end smoking. These companies have given us the knowledge and tools to extinguish smoking throughout the nation. The conversation has begun on how to minimize smoking and I believe our generation can eliminate it for good.

Create Your Own Footsteps

Why follow in someone else’s footsteps when you can create your own? This is a question I have asked myself while reading articles about Into the Wild. Into the Wild is a real life story of Christopher McCandless and his journey to Alaska. Throughout his trip, Chris met many people and visited countless places. As his story turned into a book, and eventually a movie, people became fascinated and wanted to retrace his steps. To learn more about who these people are and why they took these adventures, I looked at articles written on their behalf.

           In the first article I read, the author wondered if the trail to the “magic bus” could be cursed. An Oregon newspaper, The Oregonian, recently investigated the attempts to reach the famous bus. Since the premiere of Into the Wild, numerous rescues have been made and some quests have resulted in a tragic ending. A group of three hikers were airlifted out of the wilderness in 2013 because of an injury one hiker sustained. Another group of hikers were airlifted to their car on their way back from visiting the bus. These hikers were stranded after the river they passed days before had suddenly become impassable. While comparing the reenactments to the original story, I found obvious similarities. Each explorer experienced the same struggles throughout their journeys. Although many people are attempting this journey far more prepared than Chris did, they seem to have comparable outcomes. Since there have been so many failed attempts to reach the bus, is it possible that the bus is unreachable?

The amount of attraction the bus and its surrounding towns have experienced since the release of the movie has dramatically increased. This new attention has caused major problems in the area. In an NBC News article, the local town and police force talk about the amount of traffic this phenomenon has caused. The local commerce has received multiple e-mails from people

wishing to visit the unmonitored route made famous by McCandless. The former chamber president, Neal Laugman, stated in this article that with no cell phone service, unpredictable weather, clouds of mosquitoes, and an extremely dangerous river, there is expected disaster. When asked about their awareness of the hikers, Laugman stated, “We don’t know they’re there until it’s too late”. The people of Alaska simply want visitors to take caution and be well prepared if they are attempting this near impossible quest. Because many people have ignored these dangers, they have walked into the wild unprepared and susceptible to the inevitability of failure. The people of Alaska do not see these people or their adventures as crazy or insane, but they do see their decisions as irrational and unwise. To limit the amount of tragedies on The Stampede Trail, people should be well prepared and know the dangers they are entering.

           In an article written by an Oregon newspaper,The Bulletin, they investigate the recent disappearance of Dustin Self. Dustin, a 19 year old Oklahoma native, has not been seen in more than a year. The last known contact with Dustin was a text message to his ex-girlfriend saying he was lost. The text message also explained hallucinations he was experiencing. For one month after these messages were sent, no one saw or heard from Dustin. After the family received the news of their son’s disappearance, they began their efforts to find Dustin. While looking for him, a foreman of a ranch discovered his truck on a seldom-traveled road. Found in his truck, were material items investigators believe he intentionally left behind. Finding these things led Dustin’s parents to believe he was alive and in search for a different life, just as McCandless was. Before disappearing, Dustin told his parents he planned to go “off the grid” for a year. In a letter left behind, he changed his plans to be gone for more than two years. His parents are certain he is alive and simply living in the wilderness, inspired by Chris McCandless. Why is Dustin so influenced by Chris? What made him leave so suddenly? Why did he change his plan from one year, to two? Why did he text his ex-girlfriend? Why was he hallucinating? Will he come back after his adventure? For now, these questions will continue to linger and Dustin’s story will remain unknown.

           In the final article I read, an Oregon television network, Keloland, covered the most recent production of Chris’ story by Animal Planet. This station conducted a film in which they retrace the steps of Chris McCandless. This documentary revisits each person he met and the places he visited. The film focuses most on Wayne Westerburg, one of Chris’ closest friends, and the town in which he created a temporary home. Throughout the film, viewers are taken to the local Cabaret that Chris frequented with Wayne. There, Wayne told stories of “Alex” and how he impacted his life. When asked how he deals with Chris’ fans, Westerburg responded, "Everybody asks me all the questions. Like I said to them, if I knew there was going to be this many questions that would go on for a 20-year window, I should have taken a lot better notes”. This documentary was released in 2012 on the 20th anniversary of Chris’ death. As a fan of both the book and the movie, I am very interested in watching this documentary and plan to do so soon.

           Chris McCandless’ story has impacted many more lives than I could imagine. He inspired people to reach outside the cultural norms and to follow their dreams. As an educated and bright man, he lived his life the way he wanted to; uninterested in how people viewed him. Although I admire Chris for the decisions he made, people should not admire him in the way that they do. In my opinion, the people who worship Chris and his story are simply too afraid to live their own lives. I believe Chris chose to create his own path for a reason. Chris did not want to live his life as an average American or follow the path already traveled. He chose not to conform to the inevitable but to live the way he felt most content. By retracing his steps and following the path he chose to live by, people are simply continuing the cycle of a predestined life. This is the main reason why I disagree with fans recreating his journey. I believe if Chris was alive today, he would not want us to follow in his footsteps; he would want us to create our own.

Some say he’s wise, others say he’s crazy, I say so what? In March of 1992, Chris McCandless went on an adventure into the wild. He risked his life to follow his dream of exploring Alaska. Because Chris decided to live his life the way he wanted to, he has been scrutinized and accused of being insane, stupid, suicidal and more. After reading Into The Wild for the fourth time, I came to a sudden conclusion; who cares why Chris went into the wild? Why are so many people interested in his story?

Chris began his life pleasing his family and living the way he was told was correct. After graduating college, he decided he did not want a life full of money, work and greed; he wanted an adventure. Chris wanted to explore Alaska living in the simplest way possible, so he did. Before leaving, Chris packed his life away, sold most of his possessions and began his journey.

22 years ago, Chris McCandless walked into the wild. Since Chris did not prepare for his journey to the fullest extent, many people believe he was insane or wanted to kill himself. I do not believe that these statements are true. Although he should have better prepared himself for the harsh weather and scarce food, Chris truly believed he did not need material possessions to live. While he was in the wild, Chris lived a very happy life and was satisfied with the decisions he had made. Because Chris made his own decisions and deliberated each outcome, I do not believe he should be viewed as incompetent or dumb. Should we judge a man who chose to step outside of the norm and focus on a life he wanted to be proud of?

On the other hand, some people view Chris as a hero. I also do not agree with this statement. Although I do not believe Chris was insane or wanted to die, he should have better prepared himself for the obvious obstacles he would face. Chris read about the terrain, weather, food, and overall living capabilities of Alaska and still did not prepare to his best ability. He also did not do anything specific that should be praised. Chris simply lived his life the way he wanted to and took an adventure outside of the everyday American life. Should we praise a man who chose to find himself outside of his family and the society he’d grown to hate?

Chris did not harm anyone, steal anything, or otherwise do anything to hinder the lives of others on his adventure. Because this is true, I believe we should not label Chris as insane or crazy for the choices he made. Rather than focusing on a man who simply lived, we should be focused on the problems our world faces today. With murderers, hunger, natural disasters and economic ruin, why is a man who took an adventure into the wilderness a focus today? If Chris was alive today, I do not believe he would want the world to be focused on his life. Having a book written about him and studied by school children is almost the opposite of what he was trying to do with his life. I think he would rather us create our own lives the way we want them, then study the reasons why he chose to live his.

After reading this book several times, I have begun to question why we are still talking about it. Why should what he did with his life be anyone else’s business? He was happy with the way his life was, so why should we care? Why are we still talking about a man who went into the wild 22 years ago? Although he impacted many lives, including mine, he did not do anything extraordinary. Is it such a strange concept that someone lived differently than the way you would want to? Many of these questions can simply never be answered. Without Chris here to explain every decision he made, we will never truly know his reasoning. Because of this realization, I have chose to stop asking questions about others’ lives, and start living my own.

Who is Kelsey York?

Is she good at math? No. Can she play an instrument? No. Can she dance like an awkward white girl? YES! She is a small, brown eyed, dirty blonde princess from Acworth Georgia. Born and raised in North GA, she is filled with Buc Pride for toonaville! (the slang term for her high school). She graduated from Allatoona High school with 360 seniors, the smallest senior class in her county. She graduated with a 3.4 and a gold metal in community service..... not that anyone really cares anyway. She spent most of her time with "her boys" at wrestling tournaments and matches. She managed the team for 4 years and was nominated Manager of the Year her senior year. When she wasn't scoring or running tournaments, she played lacrosse. She loved this sport for 6 years and lettered every year in high school. Now that shes in college, she spends most of her time sleeping, eating, and hanging out with her Phi Mu sisters. She's found a new home in Jacksonville with her sisters and friends and hopes to make the best memories of her life. Her life is ever changing and progressing with every decision she makes.