This piece is a final draft of my re-mediation project. This project took the form of a speech, and acted as an address from our President, Mark Schlissel to the undergraduate student body. As I wrote this piece, I envisioned President Schlissel on a podium in the Hill Auditorium, with the room filled with eager students.  The context is current day Michigan, at any time of year. However, I do envision it to have happened last year, set just after the results of the Campus Climate Survey were results so that they address seemed more relevant and salient for the students who attended. 

 

I was inspired to do use this form because I found that this is a speech that’s long overdue. I think I could’ve benefited from exploring other types of media, but this just seemed so pertinent to my audience, and better said through the mouth of someone with the utmost authority and respect. Additionally, I wanted to explore this medium because it’s one that I find much enjoyment in using. That said, it’s different from a traditional essay because it’s not as long, and I had to pay close attention to the spoken word. Shorter sentences needed to be used next to each other to give those shorter sentences power. But, those longer sentences couldn’t be too long, or else the listener wouldn’t have been able to follow the thought of the speaker. Additionally, there has to recognizable ethos, pathos, and logos, because the listener needs to feel effected by the words as they’re spoken, there needs to be a tangible argument being built, because there’s no way for a reader to see the words, re-read them or digest their meaning after they leave the mouth of the speaker. In this way, speeches are not very forgiving—they’re only alive as they’re being spoken, and only after through transcript.

 

That said, This is a final draft, and is set to run for about four minutes, and would be perfect if it was set in a ceremony with multiple speakers.