Graffiti artists ‘Kick Butts’

Analysis:

This Grand Rapids Press story is based upon a local school’s participation in a national campaign called Kick Butts, where students learn about the realities of smoking and tobacco use. What does the Press headline “Graffiti artists ‘Kick Butts'” imply? How do readers negotiate the word Graffiti? This first few sentences are connected to the headline, with a comment from one of the students and the mentioning of some of the slogans students created. Why did the Press writer chose to begin the story with this focus?

The rest of the story does provide an overview of what Horizon’s School did during the day. There was mention that “Horizons teachers incorporated the event into the day’s curriculum,” with 2 examples of what teachers did, although it failed to mention the classrooms that were dealing with health issues and historical examples of tobacco advertising. The story also mentions that a speaker was at the school and the story does cite the speaker. However, ask yourself is it clear from the article what the speaker presented that day and what the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy does? The article then closes with a mention that another student was video taping the day with plans to make a documentary. This student is also cited in the story and mentions that he is a smoker.

While the story does provide a fairly good overview of the day it does not provide any clear reasons as to why the school chose to participate in the Kick Butts event. The story also limited the responses of both students to a personal account of tobacco use as opposed to, or in addition to, what they thought about how tobacco companies target youth.

Story:

WYOMING — The so-called “smoking ward” at Horizons Community High School has a new look that might discourage students from lighting up.

As part of the 12th annual Kick Butts Day — a national event sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids — students at the alternative high school armed with spray paint left their mark Wednesday.

They sprayed anti-smoking messages, such as “Don’t Smoke” and “Quit Puffin’ ” on the concrete behind the school — an area where students often congregate to get their nicotine fix.

One graffiti artist, sophomore Jahan Trimble, said his grandmother’s smoking led to her need for an oxygen tank. He said he has never been a smoker and doesn’t plan on picking it up. “I want to be an athlete, and that’s bad for your lungs,” said Jahan, a basketball player and wrestler. “You get tired quick.”

More than 2,000 Kick Butts events were planned across the country.

Horizons teachers incorporated the event into the day’s curriculum. In Ed Arnold’s science class, students researched the effects of smoking on the environment, such as those produced by the pesticides used on tobacco crops.

And math teacher Sharon See presented statistics that alarmed students. For example, the American Heart Association claims 4,000 kids ages 12 to 17 start smoking each day in the U.S. Of those, 1,500 become lifelong smokers.

Jeff Smith of the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy told students that tobacco companies foster “brand loyalty” at an early age through strategic product placement in ads, movies and video games. “I wasn’t coming in to preach to them,” he said. “I was coming in to tell them how media targets them from very early on.”

Horizons senior and four-year smoker Joe Richards recorded footage of the day’s events and plans to create a documentary to be shown next month. “A lot of people say they can quit when they want, but I see a lot of them struggling when they try,” he said. “I know I did.”