In today’s society, it is no secret that celebrities and people in power influence the public. Whether it is a positive influence or a negative influence, celebrities hold a certain authority over people. Recently, Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin started a new trend not in the realm of politics but in the fashion industry.
Palin’s eyeglasses which are made by a designer by the name of Italee, have been a hot item as of late. Palin, who wears the style “34 grey” has been setting a fashion statement lately as many women have been looking high and low to secure their own pair of Palin glasses.
While Palin may be setting a new trend throughout the country, many students do not believe that famous people necessarily influence the way we act, dress and think.
“Celebrities don’t really influence me to do certain things because I don’t really care what they do. Just because they wear it doesn’t mean I have to,” freshman human resource management major Samantha Francis said.
Other students share similar opinions in that when famous people engage in negative behaviors, it often times reflects negatively on them resulting in a lesson learned for the public.
“All of the celebrities go out, they get drunk, they get D.U.I’s they are so bad it makes you realize that you can learn from their bad examples,” freshman elementary education major Ashley Edel said.
While celebrities may not be so influential in their behavior, students agree that famous people start fashion trends similar to Palin’s eyeglasses. “I saw pictures in a magazine of celebrities wearing leggings with denim skirts awhile back and from seeing that I wore them too,” freshman undeclared major Megan Krouch said.
Edel agrees with Krouch who said, “I started wearing Ugg Boots after Paris Hilton wore them so in that way, I was influenced.”
Another aspect of society where celebrities are influential is politics. Especially with the upcoming election, political opinions are at an all time high. “I was influenced to vote when Brooke and Robin from the real world came here [to Cabrini] to talk about politics and the upcoming election,” Krouch said.
With programs such as “Rock the Vote” celebrities are able to voice their political opinions in order to get the younger generation to vote. “In politics, a lot of celebrities do commercials which try to get people to support whoever they are supporting,” Edel said.
While Palin has a temporary trend setting streak going for her, famous people do not necessarily impact the public’s way of life. “Just because the celebrities say something does not mean we all should go along with it because everyone should have their own opinions and not always go along with what the famous people are saying is right,” Francis said.
