Muhammed Mohamed

English 1102- Weaver

SAR Paper

Date Due: I’m sorry it’s late

mmohamed23@student.gsu.edu

Summary

Shorter University is a Christian university that proudly claims they are “transforming lives through Christ” (Shorter University),  and that is their slogan. It’s also the first thing you see on their homepage. The university is looking for students who want a spiritual change in their lives or students who want to go to a Christian university but can’t afford it. The university claims that they change lives for the better spiritually and are very affordable. 

Analysis

On their website, Shorter University’s strategies are imagining Ideal Readers. The website pushes the fact that their college will help you reach your fullest potential due to their Christian environment and financial aid. The website is structured so that the ideal readers would benefit the most from it. They target an audience that they believe lacks a spiritual connection, has a strong faith in Christianity, and may not be able to afford college. The website also targets spiritually connected people to christ by promising a “Christ-centered community committed to helping you unlock your fullest potential” (Shorter University). The website also targets people who are easily enticed by rankings and numbers. They provide several rankings that they exceed in many categories compared to other colleges. 

Shorter University also promises a highly welcoming student body, faculty, and staff, according to their website. The student body “helps new students feel a part of the Shorter community from the moment they step on campus” (Shorter University). Shorter University is using an audience strategy. The website is written to an audience looking for a Christian college where they can feel at home and be assured that they can afford it. People with less income and strong faith in Christianity are the ideal student for Shorter university’s website. 

On the website, there is a section dedicated to their athletics. Shorter University’s ultimate goal and slogan, “transforming lives through Christ” (Shorter University), is also a big part of their athletic department. The website encourages students to be diverse in their interests in athletics. They highly encourage people to do and reassure them “Our student-athletes are held to the same high standards of conduct and academic excellence as non-athletes, further evidence of our commitment to their success” (Shorter University). This is another example of Shorter University using an audience strategy. They have this section on their website for an audience with a strong faith in Christ and who want to pursue a career or athletics. This is also an example of imagining Ideal Readers. In this section of the website, the most likely to be persuaded are the audience who have a strong faith in Christ and want to pursue a career or athletics.

Shorter university’s website is confident that you feel at home if you decide to live on campus. The website claims, “Residence Life at Shorter University is an integral part of your education and university experience… we believe that every corner of the campus can be educative. The lessons learned through relationships and interactions in the residence halls are of immeasurable value” (Shorter University). This is another example of Shorter University using an audience strategy and imagining Ideal Readers. They have this section on their website for an audience who wants the experience of living on campus. This will most likely persuade the people who believe that interactions with people and relationships are essential for a great college experience. This also targets people worried about not having a proper living area surrounded by people of the same faith while in college and people who believe that interactions with people and relationships can be beneficial academically.  

Response

I think it’s excellent how Shorter University can link and relate so many topics to faith because, ultimately, it is a Christian university. Their slogan was the first thing that caught my attention was the slogan “transforming lives through Christ” (Shorter University). When I saw that Shorter University feels strongly about deepening their student’s connection with their faith and Christianity because it can make them better students and people, it left me wondering how a student that doesn’t believe in Christianity and has a different faith would feel at this college. The first response to this question would be, “why would they go to a Christian college in the first place” but on their website, they promise “Shorter University admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs…” (Shorter University). Would a student of a different faith feel at home at this college like they promised any student would? I wouldn’t attend this school because I am not a Christian, but I wonder how the experience would be if I did. Religion is a big part of my academic self. I give very high value to my religion, which is why I wouldn’t attend this college because our faiths differ from each other. 

Source: University, Shorter University. “Shorter University.” Shorter University, www.shorter.edu. Accessed 3 Mar. 2022.