Oh How I Hate Ohio State

Today in my English 225 class, we had a discussion about persuasion and tactics that are used to persuade an audience to follow a certain belief or leader, or buy a product. The example used in class was Hitler, and the propaganda he used to gain followers of his socialist party. By greeting citizens, shaking hands with women, and holding babies, Hitler made himself approachable to German citizens and promised to unite them as people under one nation. He instilled a sense of German pride, and strived to create a sense of uniformity among his followers. In the movie Triumph of the Will, visual rhetoric was used to exemplify this unity. These images included showing men bathing each other and scrubbing each other's backs, lines of men wearing all the same traditional German uniforms, and an aerial view of tents fashioned into neat rows. With this type of propaganda, it is easy to become swayed into following the party. After all, who would anticipate at the time that in just ten short years, the same leader who was advocating peace and strength would slaughter six million Jews? I admit, if I had been living during that time, I would not have predicted that massacre and would have seen the best in the leader who was trying to earn my vote. Generally, I am not one to be a heretic and lead a movement against someone that the majority of people support.

However, a parallel was made to the Obama campaign. Obama possesses several of the same public speaking traits as Hitler and uses this eloquence to gain the trust of Americans. If someone told me that in two years, Obama would be responsible for a world massacre, I certainly would not believe it. At this point, my instructor pointed out that working for a political campaign can cause someone to become so caught up in that politician's view, that he starts to become blindsighted and denigrate any opposing point of view. For instance, if an ardent Obama supporter saw someone with a McCain bumper sticker on his car, he would probably become enraged that someone would not support his point of view and not understand how anyone could possibly support McCain. In his mind, Obama is a much better candidate, and this should be apparent to everyone. This brainwashing can result from associating with groups of people who all share the same political stance and feed off of each others' fervor.

I can apply this idea to the university level as well. Going to a school as renowned as the University of Michigan, of course I am going to feel a sense of pride for my university. We are the leaders and best, one of the top 20 universities in the world, and are in the top ten nationwide for several graduate programs, such as medicine, law and business. What is not to love about this school? Aside from Michigan’s reputation, coming to Campus Day and other informational sessions influenced my decision to attend Michigan for the next 4 years. The campus buildings were beautiful, the extracurricular activities were endless, and students looked like they were having the time of their lives. By showcasing these points about Michigan, the university is successful in recruiting thousands of students.

However, another part of going to Michigan is having a rivalry with Ohio State. It is a consensus among students that Ohio State is to be hated, especially in football, but it is generally all in good fun. However, there are some students that are so caught up in Michigan pride that they will stop at nothing to bring down anyone from Ohio State. These are the types of people who vandalize a car that has an Ohio State bumper sticker, or scream out profanity and throw objects at an Ohio State fan during a football game. In fact, this year during the weekend of the Notre Dame football game, my friend had some guys from Notre Dame staying at his house. One of the Notre Dame students’ cars was completely demolished after the game-tires slashed, spray painted with obscenities, keyed. It was outrageous, and this wasn’t even for the team that was our greatest rival. A little rivalry never hurt anyone, but is it really worth taking it to the point where someone gets hurt? The propaganda that Michigan has historically displayed in bringing down Ohio State has caused some students to blindly hate anything and anyone affiliated with OSU without even thinking why. Although nowhere near as serious, this brainwashing can somewhat be related to the propaganda that Hitler used to gain trust, to the point where his followers did as they were told without ever questioning why. I have nothing against a rivalry; if anything, it helps to unify the students of Michigan against a common cause. But I do not think it is necessary for a student to become so caught up in a superiority complex that comes with going to Michigan, to the point where he is verbally or physically abusing those from Ohio State or other rival schools. That in itself would make Michigan look disrespectful as a university and chip away part of its excellent reputation.