Soufian Carson
Dr. Weaver
Eng 1102
1st April 2022
Major Project 3
Summary: Salisbury University is a university located on the Eastern shore of Maryland. The university is more focused on student engagement and entertainment, due to the university presenting the nearby beach as a reason to attend and using language such as “catch a wave” to set a friendly tone with applicants. Testimonials from students are included as well, to further set the “welcoming” mood. Overall, the university is like a friend inviting the applicant to a large social club.
Analysis: The university employs pathos and the Imagining Ideal Readers strategy to persuade its target audience to attend there. Salisbury is a university catered towards a student really eager to live the “college experience”, a student’s life in college where they have fun interactions, enjoy the environment, and whatever the student may deem as enjoying themselves throughout their college years. The university sets its intention to provide the “college experience” clear with the text, “Salisbury is a right-size school with a powerful sense of community. Our beautiful 200-acre campus has a positive energy – and is a welcoming environment that feels like home” (Salisbury). A student looking for a positive college experience will be inclined to apply due to the friendly tone of the university, as they can feel as if they are right at home, and can avoid a dead college campus. Dead college campuses can cause students looking for the “college experience” to feel out of place, unmotivated, and mundane during their college career. After all, especially for full-time students, college is something that students devote a large part of their life to, and a large portion of students looking for the “college experience” mental health can be taxed if a student has little amounts of positive social interaction. Overall, Salisbury appeals to the emotions the student looking for the “college experience” may look for during their academic career.
Salisbury strengthens the idea of providing a positive social environment by presenting other amenities, such as the beach, and another section titled “Student Life” describing the activities present at the university. In the section titled “Student Life”, Salisbury states, “Life as a resident at Salisbury offers a wide array of recreational and social activities. Our students enjoy nationally competitive club teams; intramural sports; access to fitness, aquatic and tennis facilities…” Salisbury appeals to every kind of student interested in this university, allowing everyone applying to feel welcome. In general, the university’s invitation for the applicant that Salisbury is a university where they can express themselves with like-minded individuals (Salilsbury) furthers the welcoming tone that is set at the beginning of the website. The university displays how they have a diverse community as well, citing that they have a wide range of backgrounds (Salisbury). Minorities applying can feel comfortable that they may meet someone of the same or similar ethnicity or nationality there, allowing them to feel welcomed and ease the social anxieties that a student looking to live the “college experience” may feel, such as not fitting in. Unlike high school, college has a wide range of types of students, ranging from students older than 65 attending, to international students, to students who commute and have little involvement in non-academic areas of the school. As a result, it is more difficult to find a group that a college student can easily relate to and connect with, but Salisbury offers a place that a student can find themselves and their people.
Salisbury has other elements further down the webpage, intended for students who’ve been interested enough to progress further. Salisbury provides direct links on the homepage to clubs, sports, residency programs, and student government as a sense of confirmation among applicants looking for the college experience. Additionally, students are required to stay on campus for four semesters (Salisbury), which guarantees a substantial student presence at the school. This requirement inclines students to attend and participate in the school’s events and extracurriculars, fortifying the two strategies used on the website to draw students to apply: Imagining Ideal Readers, and pathos.
Response: I would not go to this school, even if it was within five miles of my house. The requirement of having to stay at the campus for two years disgusts me, as I am a person who does not like being chained to some sort of requirement. However, even if this requirement was removed, I would still not attend. The overall environment that the university is trying to push, the “college experience” is not something that aligns with my values. I am not interested in doing college sports or hanging around in an environment that encourages drugs, sex, and/or parties of any form. Overall, the idea of the American “college experience” is something not appealing to me. I do enjoy having social interactions with people and having fun, but in a reserved, laid-back setting that I prefer. I am not an introvert who hates people, as I do go out with my friends often, but I feel that simple things such as intramurals and going out to eat are best for me and my friends. GSU helps facilitate my social preference perfectly, as it is a school not too focused on student life but still in a relevant location, Atlanta, allowing me to meet like-minded individuals. While Salisbury does diversify their target audience, they only target those eager enough to let themselves stay for two years at a college dorm, basically the extreme end of the spectrum. Therefore, I would not attend this university,