The University of Texas packed with guns?

Starting in August 2016, Texas legislation is allowing students and faculty to carry concealed firearms within the campus boundaries of the University of Texas at Austin. There have been several campus shootings in the past decade and the real question is if allowing multiple people to carry firearms around school campuses is the correct approach to handling the threat of an armed criminal? I believe that the Texas government should not allow people any form of firearms in campus.

First off, allowing licensed gun carriers on campus would change the atmosphere of the classrooms. Professors and students who are aware that one of their peers had a concealed firearm would psychologically fear that the gun wielders poses more power than them. As stated in The New York Times, “professors would fear inviting students into their offices to talk about a failing grade if they think that students are armed.”  The idea that at any moment even student could pull out their weapon and threaten others who are unarmed should not be the situation the University of Texas should deal with. The implementation of guns is meant to make everybody feel safe but instead, these concealed firearms allow fear to strike others.  

Texas government should commit more resources and funds to increase security measures and law enforcements. Security measures such as increased cameras, telecoms, and metal detection in campus buildings allows potential threats to be detected and dealt with quickly. By increasing the amount of police patrol within the University of Texas campus, more professional forces would be used to combat attackers. Law enforces are apt and highly trained to deal with shooting incidents and therefore work cooperatively and limit the amount of casualties within a shooting.

The second amendment ensures that Texans will continuously have their gun rights. But times have changed since the America Revolution. Mass school shootings were nonexistent in the 18^th century. Is it right to completely abide to a law that was created centuries ago that was based on the American founding father’s conflicts? Times have changed, similarly Texas should change their thoughts on approving gun control within the University of Texas. 

Are fantasy sport websites corrupt?

On October 16, 2015 The Dallas Morning News posted the article, “Of course daily fantasy sports is gambling,” by Mike Drago. The blog highlights the business and corruption of unregulated fantasy sports websites, websites where people can gamble daily on their favorite teams in hopes to score big bucks. The author uses logos and references multiple sources throughout his blog to actively inform his audience about this online monopoly.

Mike Drago wrote this blog mainly to inform sports enthusiast and the general public about a growing business that is essentially immune to government laws. The author uses the appeal of logos to inform his readers what fantasy sports gambling is. Once readers understand how these gambling sites operate, Drago explains how effective lobbying from major sports associations has exempted fantasy sports from online gaming regulation laws. Being a student who’s in Texas Government, I was surprised to see a real life instance of lobbying and how influential these lobbyist were in legislation. From the general public’s point of view, this lobbyist influence would be threatening because there is nothing that can inhibit these online websites from taking money from others. Drago does a good job at highlighting the threat these fantasy sports websites have on politics.

The author uses embedded links to other sources to help build credibility in his argument. The author uses information from outside sources such as The New York Times, BostInno, and ESPN to show that his opinions and research are not based on his own thoughts. What’s worth noting is that all these sources appeal mainly to the general audience also. The author uses these references to explain scandals, politics, and investigations revolving around fantasy sports. By providing evidence from other sources, Mike Drago shows that his ideas are trust worthy and factual.

 Mike Drago is an assistant editorial page editor for the Dallas Morning News. Before becoming a part of the Dallas Morning News, Mike was the vice president of a marketing and public relations firm and also worked as a reporter and editor for 22 years. Much of Mike Drago’s blogs and editorial talk about business and public relations. With that being said, “Of course daily fantasy sports is gambling” shows to be an honest and truthful blog about recent American public relations. Overall I agree with Mike Drago’s ideas and anticipate any other public relations opinion he will post in the future. 


(A picture of a FanDuel advertisement and how this fantasy sports website tries to appeal to people.)

Is It Time For Gun Regulation?

On October 4, 2015 The Dallas Morning News posted an article called, “Why do we keep allowing crazy people to have guns?” In his discussion about the current state of gun control, Tod Robberson addresses the issue politicians have in decisively approving any gun regulations. Throughout the whole article, Tod Robberson shows liberal political views because he seeks to find equality and peace through gun regulations and inhibitions. Because of his views, Robberson’s article appeals mainly to other liberals and gun control supporters.
The author uses a combination pathos and logos appeal to persuade his intended audience. Pathos is used in the introduction of Tod Robberson’s article in order to guide readers to sympathize for mass shootings. This article was strategically posted to follow up the recent Umpqua Community College shooting to effectively support gun control. Politicians have been debating gun control over the past few years, and because this shooting took place, gun control advocates can use the Oregon shooting event and the author’s thoughts as leverage to debate over the government’s inability to control gun violence. After appealing to his audience in human and sympathetic terms, the author uses logos to effectively persuade the readers. Facts, diagrams, and maps are used in the article to highlight how the United States conservative view on guns is correlated to the highest homicide rates by firearms compared to other nations. All data obtained by Robberson is from valid and credible sources which ensure readers that Tod Robberson discussions may speak some truth. Overall, as a person who believes in freedom to possess guns, Robberson’s appeals made me understand and support tweaks in gun regulation.
Looking over other articles post by Tod Robberson, the author is shown to be a person who effectively gather facts and develops his ideas to persuade his audience. As an editorial writer for the Dallas Morning News, Tod Robberson is definitely a credible source people can refer to when making political decisions.

(A picture of a map from Mass shooting tracker indicating places in America where mass shootings have taken place in 2015.)