S.I. Model OpEd Presentation

1. S.I. Model OpEd Presentation By: Cassie Graves, Carly Snyder, Catherine Waters, and Neil Mason

2. Vocab & Allusions Afflict: to distress so severely as to cause persistent suffering or anguish New York State Board of Parole: The Board consists of 14 members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. These members make release decisions for inmates by interviewing inmates and parole officers. The Board also has the right to revoke paroles. Parkinson’s Disease: a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Symptoms include difficulty walking, thinking and handling emotional stress. The most advance stage of the disease is dementia. Congestive Heart Failure: the resulting symptoms of the heart working at a less efficient rate. Such symptoms include: fluid builds up in the arms, legs, ankles, feet, lungs, or other organs, and the body becoming congested.

3. Vocab & Allusions (cont.) Incarcerate: to put in prison Federal Parole: Federal parole in the United States was a system that existed prior to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Under parole, prisoners were eligible for release before their sentences were complete. Federal parole has been abolished, but the parole statutes continue to apply to prisoners who were grandfathered in. Whittle: to carve (as in wood) Retribution: Punishment that is considered to be morally right and fully deserved.

4. Vocab & Allusions (cont.) Vengeance: a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Infirmity: a bodily ailment or weakness, especially one brought on by old age Bureau of Prisons (BOP): a United States federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system; established in 1930 to provide more progressive and humane care for federal inmates Recidivism: a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior (in this case criminal behavior)

5. Vocab & Allusions (cont.) Geriatric: Of or relating to the aged; an aged person Compassionate release: a legal system that grants inmates early release from prison sentences on special grounds such as terminal illness or a child in the community with an urgent need for his or her incarcerated guardian Jettison: to get rid of Retrofitting: the addition of new technology or features to older systems

6. Structure of Argument • Clear beginning, middle, and end • Provides a “hook” and develops argument throughout • Explicit Thesis • Aging prisoners should be released from state and federal prison systems • Located specifically in the last paragraph • But threaded throughout article with multiple rhetorical questions • Organized to build evidence that supports thesis

7. Persona • Woman • Jamie Fellner • Well-educated • Elevated level of diction: incarcerated, vengeance, infirmity, etc. • Specializes in Criminal Justice • New York State Board of Parole, Bureau of Prisons

8. Audience • Legislators/judges/parole boards • Part of the Human Rights Watch • Wants to make this change happen • Well-educated • Uses “retribution” and “geriatric” • Readers of the NY Times • Interested in current U.S. events • “Attorney General Eric Holder gave his answer to this question on Aug. 12 when he announced new compassionate release policies for the Bureau of Prisons.”

9. Purpose • To bring awareness to a legitimate problem within our prisons • Appeals to pathos: “I try to imagine…” • “...extraordinarily costly” • To propose a solution to the problem • Released to families/nursing homes, jettison mandatory sentencing laws • Primary - to assert, Secondary - to prevail

10. Argument • Explicit Thesis: “In the case of frail and incapacitated prisoners who can safely be released to spend what remains of their lives under supervised parole, release is a far more compassionate, sensible course.” • Support: • “Keeping the elderly and infirm in prison is extraordinarily costly.” • “Recidivism studies consistently show declining rates of crime with age.” • “...officers are not trained to manage geriatric prisoners. Nor are there enough of them to give the extra attention such prisoners may need...”

11. Diction & Tone • Elevated level of diction, distinguished vocabulary, formal, yet conversational register • Sympathetic: • Phrases like “nursing homes with bars” and “they... regret their past crimes and hope... to make amends” • Factual/Logical: • She quotes statistics & presents reasonable questions for the reader to consider • Repetition of “infirm,” “incarcerated,” and “compassionate”

12. Syntax & Overall Structure • Parenthesis • Adds additional information • Rhetorical Questions • Allows audience to sympathize with her argument • Personalizes argument, makes readers think about what Fellner is asking

13. Discussion Questions 1. Fellner makes several appeals to pathos, including a personal example of her father. How does such an appeal affect her argument? Does the emotional aspect of the article change your opinion of the article? 2. How does Fellner use rhetorical questions to shape her implicit argument? Do you believe this rhetorical strategy is effective? Explain why or why not.

14. Discussion Questions (cont.) 3. Fellner emphasizes the extra costs associated with elderly patients. Why is this argument appealing to readers? What aspect of American culture is emphasized in this cost-related argument?

15. Works Cited • "Afflict About Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/>. • Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/>. • "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. • Press, The Associated. "N.H.L. ROUNDUP; Flyers Win Their Third in a Row." The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Dec. 2007. Web. 18 Aug. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/>.