Friday, January 17, 2025
What can an ocean spill of millions of LEGOs teach us about cooperation?
, a regents professor in the at The , has found a way to make public health messages more relatable and accessible to the general public.
One of Walters鈥� recent articles, 鈥�,鈥� appeared in the Dallas Morning Newsopinion section. The article tells the story of nearly five million LEGO pieces that were accidentally dumped into the ocean in 1997 when a container ship was struck by a wave off the coast of England.
Since then, the LEGOs have been traveling the seas, with a piece finally washing up on a beach in Galveston, Texas, in 2015. Walters draws a parallel between LEGOs and human connections, describing both as 鈥渄esigned to snap together.鈥� The article encourages readers to approach New Year鈥檚 resolutions by involving others, highlighting the power of collaboration and cooperation.
In the last two years, Walters has published several opinion articles, or 鈥渙p-eds,鈥� in media outlets like the Dallas Morning News and Austin American-Statesman. The articles have covered topics ranging from drug overdose and suicide to social media and voter polarization. While he writes from the perspective of a private citizen rather than as an HSC employee, his views are shaped by his professional experience and passion for public health.
鈥淢y favorite thing is to use pop culture to explain public health topics. People may not immediately connect LEGOs with health goals, but most can remember playing with LEGOs as kids. It鈥檚 a great story hook. And the story about the 鈥楪reat LEGO Spill鈥� was irresistible. I wrote the first paragraph a year before I ever used it,鈥� Walters said.
Walters focuses on storytelling to engage readers. In one op-ed he used Western movies to explain political messaging (鈥溾��). In another, he used movie villains to challenge people to learn from others鈥� experience (鈥溾��). On July 4, he published an op-ed showing how Ben Franklin used newspaper writing to galvanize public opinion for the American Revolution (鈥溾��).
Compared to scientific articles, op-eds tend to be shorter, use personal stories and make direct recommendations.
鈥淭he writing style is different. Newspaper readers want something that is newsworthy and interesting to read. You also have a lot fewer words to work with,鈥� Walters said. 鈥淏ut the upside is that newspaper articles can reach a much larger group of people than scientific journal articles.鈥�
While Walters values publishing in academic journals, he recognizes their limitations.
鈥淧rofessionally, it鈥檚 important to be publishing journal articles,鈥� Walters said. 鈥淏ut it also feels like you鈥檙e speaking to the same group of people again and again. These people might steer science, but maybe not public opinion.鈥�
Opinion articles, which are published by many newspapers, are a relatively accessible way for people to share their views with the public. However, the submission process can be competitive. The Dallas Morning News website says they receive as many as 300 submissions each day, but publish just a few.
Walters notes that even among published articles, readership can vary greatly.
鈥淭here鈥檚 about a tenfold difference between the most- and least-read op-eds. So, you鈥檙e not only competing to get your article in a newspaper, but also to get people鈥檚 attention,鈥� Walters said.
In the last year, Walters has shared his insights with several professional groups. He encourages people to focus on things they are passionate about and to use stories to make their point.
鈥淣ewspapers want fresh perspectives on current events,鈥� Walters said. 鈥淵ou should be able to make a clear recommendation about what should be done. If your suggestion is to do more research, it鈥檚 not going to work for an op-ed.鈥�
For those seeking other ways to share their perspectives, Walters also recommends letters to the editor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an easy way to spark a conversation about something you care about.鈥�
From - Community by Sally Crocker