Free speech on college campuses has been a problem that varies around the United States. The problem with the excluding of free speech on campus has resulted in protests, students having to transfer to different colleges, teachers losing their job, and censorship of T-shirts and newspapers. America’s premier editorial cartoonist, Michael Ramirez, effectively uses pathos and ethos to discuss the challenges of free speech on college campuses.
Additionally, Michael Ramirez appeals to pathos in his cartoon by graphically showing a man bleeding from his head laying on the ground with a jacket with the words 'free speech' on the back. There is also another man standing over the man with a shirt that says 'college' on it and holding a blood stain sign over his head that says 'tolerance' on it. Seeing that the cartoon is essentially saying that college tolerance of free speech is scarce and highly unwanted on their campuses, causing students to be silenced of their opinions.
Again, Ramirez appeals to pathos by using his style of cartoon to gain his reader’s attention. “'An editorial cartoon is not just a funny picture', says internationally known editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez. 'It is a powerful instrument of journalism, sometimes sharp and refined, its message cutting quickly to the point, and other times, blunt and overpowering, seizing the readers’ attention with its dark imagery'” (MichaelpRamirez.com). Readers can feel the emotion and meaning behind the cartoon.
Also, Ramirez appeals to ethos as he is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner in 1994 and 2008. Ramirez has almost won every major journalism award in America, including the 2005 National Journalism Award, the 2020 and 2018 National Headliners Award, and many more awards in his life. His work has been featured on the news such as CNN, Fox News, etc., and in prestigious publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc. Being a widely known journalist and having as many remarkable awards leaves his credibility exceedingly high.
Using ethos and pathos in his vivid cartoon, editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez has shown that free speech on college campuses is a problem that needs to be fixed. From the sign bloodied with the word 'tolerance' on it, with the man lying in his own blood with the jacket that says 'freedom of speech'. Ramirez is showing that free speech is dead on campuses and needs to be improved. Students should be able to speak their minds without any consequences.