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Rodes Jarman

Shiela Fielding

WRTC 103

February 26rd, 2018

Stop the blame

The PSA defending alcohol’s role in sexual assault on college campuses is more

complicated than it seems. I created it to visually portray the argument made by Daniel Luzer in

his article titled Is “Alcohol Really To Blame For The Prevalence Of Sexual Assault On College

Campuses” in Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints In Context database. The main claim of the PSA

states “It’s not alcohol, it’s us”, meaning that human behavior is truly responsible for sexual

assault, not alcohol. The purpose of this is to raise awareness of the real source of the sexual

assault issue among college students, with male students being the target audience. It does this

mainly through the “It’s not alcohol, it’s us” headline at the center of the PSA. The line grabs

attention of the viewer not only through its size, but through its language and the words

“alcohol” and “us” strategically colored red to contrast the black and white background.

Besides the headline being the focal point of the ad, the topic is extremely relevant to college

students which provides the extra incentive to give their attention to the PSA.

The colors of the PSA play an essential role to the ad. The entire picture is black, white,

or grey, except for the main two lines in the middle that have significant words in red to grab

attention and emphasize them. The language is simple and easy to understand for most readers
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so that the red words “alcohol” and “us” carry more of the messages weight. The background

image consists of only men drinking at a bar. This plays to the topic of drinking at a young age

and targets men as the main audience. The word “us” sits over a group of young men, drawing

the connection that “us” is in reference to college men who the PSA is especially calling on to

be responsible. A quote from Luzer’s article is included at the bottom of the ad to give some

context and add a statistical element, which Luzer heavily utilizes throughout his article (Para

17). On the other side of the blacked out lower section of the ad is the link to a non profit

organization for men against rape, encouraging people to take action. The mood of the PSA is

serious as the topic is a significant social issue among universities everywhere. A somber mood

benefits the ad because the issue resonates with the majority of college students who have

been or know someone who has been involved in sexual assault making them more likely to be

called to action.

The main headline “It’s not alcohol, it’s us…Stop blaming the drinks | We are all

responsible” is the most persuasive aspect to the PSA because it uses the most vivid language

by directing responsibility onto the reader. The ad also uses the rhetorical appeals to persuade

the audience. Ethos is present in the ad through the inclusion of a quote from Daniel Luzer’s

article. The quote gives a broad overview of his argument while using statistical evidence which

is seen throughout the article and establishes ethos for the author. The main idea of the PSA is

logic, or logos. Alcohol simply cannot be the reason for the high numbers of sexual assaults

because it is people responsible for morally choosing to assault someone, not the alcohol. This

argument uses logic to shift the blame away from alcohol and onto the actions of the aggressor
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who is physically, and more importantly, morally responsible for the assault. The last rhetorical

appeal used in the ad is pathos. The PSA plays to emotion because it is a serious and relevant

problem. Many people viewing the ad have encountered sexual assault at some point in their

life, whether it was a personal experience or knowing someone who has been attacked. This

relevance makes the PSA more personal and significant which connects to the emotion of the

viewer making it more likely that they will be influenced and take action for change.

Works cited

Luzer, Daniel. "Is Alcohol Really to Blame for the Prevalence of Sexual Assault on College

Campuses?" Sexual Assault on Campus, edited by Jack Lasky, Greenhaven Press, 2016.

Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010984212/OVIC?u=viva_jmu&xid=c9ba0ce1. Accessed

13 Feb. 2018. Originally published in Pacific Standard, 18 Nov. 2013.