Draft #2
Audience plays perhaps the biggest role in determining how a community tries to reach it in the most effective way it possibly can. In some ways, that could be seen as a hindrance. However, audience helps pinpoint the way a community should be communicating, as there are so many modes of it to choose from. While audience mostly determines mode of communication, community mostly determines audience.
A community I was a part of for all four years in high school was my school’s Academy of Law and Government (ALAG). ALAG is a program specifically geared towards providing the students who join it with as much relevant information through specific classes for whatever law and/or government career goals they have.
ALAG is a revered community for me, and not simply because I was involved in it for a lengthy amount of time. It holds a special place in my heart for what it gave to me. It gave me something I think truly makes one consider a community as such: a sense of belonging and kinship. I spent those four years with the same students who have similar aspirations as I do, the same students who are interested in similar things as I am. They were willing to dedicate themselves to the program just like I was. ALAG was a way for me to take multifarious steps in the right direction towards pursing what I want to do with my life. It afforded me opportunities I do not know I would have been able to have had I not applied for the academy towards the end of eighth grade.
The audience for this group of students is mostly made up of the students themselves. Aside from fundraising and what can really only be called recruitment presentations to nearly unsuspecting incoming high school freshmen, ALAG's communication is almost solely to its members.
One specific mode of communication ALAG utilizes to reach its students is monthly lunch meetings in which the elected president updates all the attending individuals on what is currently happening within the program, what is going to happen during that month, and any upcoming major events. These meetings were especially effective as compared to other modes of communication because one aspect of it showcased just how much those who plan the meetings understand its audience, and that aspect was the promise of free pizza.
The meetings usually start with slices of pizza being handed out to every member that shows up and signs in. After everyone has had a chance to settle down and tuck in, the president reads whatever is on the agenda before letting people leave if they choose to. Holding the meetings during lunch and offering food in exchange for showing up draws students in; keeping the meetings as short and concise as possible makes sure they do not try to sneak away before it concludes.
The most attended general assembly is the one in which students are able to vote for ALAG’s board of representatives. Every member that shows up gets the chance to vote for several positions, including a president-elect (chosen as a sophomore who then works closely with the current president in their junior year until they take over in their senior year) and representatives for each grade level. This assembly, and the election, are advertised through campaign posters put up around the school, announcements in the morning, and repeated mentions from the ALAG teachers.
Unlike my sophomore year in which my class chose the future president of ALAG, the election the following year had three candidates for the spot. I cannot remember if previous years also had this happen, but that was also the year that I vividly recall the candidates having to stand up in front of a good portion of the academy and give a speech about why they should be chosen for president-elect. I remember being almost in awe at listening to fifteen- and maybe sixteen-year-olds giving speeches that sounded as though politicians who had been doing it for years could have written them.
The assemblies that host the ALAG elections are also familiar with its specific audience. The promise of voting and the sight of campaign posters are enough to draw in members that maybe never attend a meeting, free pizza of several flavors aside. The speeches help people decide who they want to vote for. Not everyone in the academy is in it for politics or for government, but by being in it we all develop a respect for democracy and a drive to participate in it because its importance is emphasized not only by discussing what had to be done to get the government to where it is today, but what it means to be involved and how involvement is the only way to effect change. Regardless of how small-scale that change is, it still gives us the sense that we are changing something. For a lot of people in ALAG, that is why we joined in the first place.
The elections have the same audience as the academy, but it uses different modes of communication. Campaigning mostly consists of posters that are hung up around the school. This mode is slightly less personalized to the academy’s audience, though it is not less effective. The posters are simple, displaying the name of the candidate and what they are running for as well as a slogan and, if there is room and depending on the position, some campaign promises. They are usually colorful and large enough to be eye-catching, strategically placed to get the most attention.
Like all communities, ALAG tries to communicate with its audience in the most effective way it possibly can. What the program uses to try to convey whatever message it wants to get across is centered around its audience made up of its members, also keeping in mind that its members are teenagers. Designing how it attempts to reach those students around that, ALAG is able to share what it needs to share.