Kris%ne

 Balderston  
Literature  and  Society  
Dr.  Sherry  
9/29/10  
Problem  
  College  is  about  social  life  and  academics  

  How  do  college  students  create  a  balance?  

Proposed  Response  to  Problem  
  Summarizing  studies  of  college  culture:  
  My  Freshman  Year:  What  a  Professor  Learned  by  Becoming  a  

Student  by  Rebekah  Nathan  (2005)  

  Coming  of  Age  in  New  Jersey:  College  and  American  Culture  by  

Michael  MoffaP  (1989)  

  Interpre%ng  ethnographic  data  

  Describing  the  culture  of  college  life  at  Bloomsburg  University  

Background  
Studies  of  College  Culture  
  Who:  
  Rebekah  Nathan  and  Michael  MoffaP  
  What:  
  Performed  ethnographic  studies  of  their  colleges  by  enrolling  as  students  
and  living  in  the  dorms  
  Why:  
  To  create  an  understanding  of  college  culture  through  ethnographic  studies  
  Where:  
  Nathan:  “AnyU”,  MoffaP:  Rutgers  University  
  When:  
  Nathan:  2005,  MoffaP  1989  
Background  
  Nathan:  
  Compared  to  students  decades  ago:  

  “Today’s  public  college  students  are  both  studying  a  liPle  less  and  socializing  
less.”  ₁  (Nathan,  2005,  p.  33)  
  This  means  more  students  have  jobs  and  are  involved  in  clubs  

  Student’s  social  networks  are  important  to  college  students  

  Many  rela%onships  are  typically  formed  early  in  college  or  through  a  
common  ac%vity  

  Student’s  balance  socializing  and  going  to  class  and  most  mul%tasked  

  An  example  is  watching  TV  while  doing  homework  

 
Background  
  MoffaP:  

  College  is  a  combina%on  of  social  life  and  academics  

  Students  referred  to  extracurricular  learning  as  “social  learning”  

  4  in  5  considered  extracurricular  learning  more  important₂  (MoffaP,  1989,  p.58)  

  All  but  10%  considered  extracurricular  learning  contributed  to  their  matura%on  

in  college  (MoffaP,  1989,  p.58)  

  This  means  90%  of  the  students  thought  this  type  of  learning  allowed  them  
to  make  real-­‐life  decisions  and  work  through  real-­‐life  problems  

  Many  students  consider  social  learning  more  important  than  academics  

What  About  Bloomsburg?  
  Do  the  students  at  Bloomsburg  care  more  about  social  
life  or  academics?  
  How  do  the  students  at  Bloomsburg  create  a  balance?  
Method  
  Interpret  ethnographic  data  by:  
  Visi%ng  dorm  rooms  

  Surveying  people  about  a  typical  day  

  Observing  a  public  space  on  campus  

  Interviewing  people  “unlike  you”  

Findings  
  Dorm  Rooms:  
  Dorm  rooms  could  show  if  the  student  was  more  social  or  academic  such  as  by  neat  vs.  messy  or  books  vs.  
entertainment  
  The  picture  on  the  leg  shows  a  futon  in  a  student’s  room  
  The  futon  suggests  the  person  is  social  and  has  an  invi%ng  room  for  friends  and  hallmates  to  come  in  and  hangout  
  The  student  with  the  futon  was  more  likely  to  have  friends  come  over  and  therefore  worked  less  on  school  
work  
  The  pictures  on  the  desk  suggest  the  person  loves  to  be  reminded  of  friends  and  family  all  the  %me  
  The  student,  even  if  they  were  alone  in  the  room,  was  surrounded  by  pictures  of  their  favorite  people  and  
places  
  The  picture  on  the  right  shows  another  student’s  room  
  The  room  is  clean  and  organized  and  this  suggests  that  it  allows  the  student  to  focus  academically  
  The  students  I  observed  who  were  focused  and  diligent    with  their  school  work  had  clean  and  organized  rooms  
  The  students  who  had  messy  rooms  were  distracted  and  unable  to  concentrate  on  their  school  work  
  There  are  also  books  on  the  bed  showing  the  student  was  recently  doing  homework  or  studying  
  This  suggests  that  academics  is  important  and  comes  before  their  social  life  
 Ac#vity   Time  Spent   Ac#vity   Time  Spent  
Sleep   7  hours   Sleep   7  hours  

Class   3  hours   Class   5  hours  30  min.  

Findings  
Lunch   40  min.   Lunch   1  hour  

Homework   1  hour  30  min.     Work   1  hour  30  min.    

Friends   5  hours   Homework   2  hours  30  min.  

  Surveying  students:  

  Surveying  students  about  a  typical  day  could  show  more  about  how  they  spend  their  %me  and  their  balance  
between  social  life  and  academics  

   Student  1  (Leg):  

  The  first  student  I  interviewed  spent  five  hours  hanging  out  with  friends  and  only  an  hour  and  a  half  doing  
homework  

  The  student  spent  more  %me  hanging  out  with  friends  than  on  homework  which  suggests  social  life  is  
more  important  to  them  

  Student  2  (Right):  

  The  second  student  I  interviewed  was  in  class  for  five  and  half  hours,  did  homework  for  two  and  half  
hours,  then  worked  for  an  hour  and  a  half  

  This  shows  the  student’s  priori%es  are  academics  and  work  

  Students  do  priori%ze  academics  and  others  are  required  to  spend  %me  doing  school  work  because  
their  job  takes  up  a  good  amount  of  %me  
 10   11  
2  
5  
Tables 2  
7   4   2  

Findings  
Drinks 2  
4   3  

6   4  
Desserts
Food
  Observing  a  public  space:   Commons

  Observing  a  public  space  on  campus  could  relate  to  iden%fying  students  who  are  more  

social  or  academic  

  I  went  to  the  Commons  at  lunch  and  observed  a  majority  of  students  were  ea%ng  with  

friends  or  roommates  

  There  were  some  students  sikng  with  one  other  person  but  no  one  was  sikng  along  

  This  shows  students  enjoy  ea%ng  with  friends  instead  of  ea%ng  by  themselves  

  The  biggest  group  of  students  at  a  table  could  suggest  that  they  are  more  social  

  I  found  when  it  comes  to  ea%ng  lunch  or  dinner  students,  social  or  academic,  enjoying  

making  %me  to  eat  with  friends  

Findings  
  Interviewing  people  “unlike  you”:  
  Interviewing  people  who  you  think  are  “unlike  you”  allows  you  to  learn  about  how  they  par%cipate  in  
college  culture  
  I  thought  the  two  students  I  interviewed  were  only  focused  academically  because  they  always  read,  
went  to  class,  and  were  working  on  school  work  
  I  found  they  were  actually  more  social  and  made  %me  to  fit  in  their  school  work  
  I  asked:  What  is  your  favorite  thing  about  college?  
  Student  1:  My  favorite  thing  about  college  is  learning  more  about  myself,  mee%ng  new  people,  and  
the  freedom  
  Student  2:  My  favorite  thing  about  college  is  being  away  from  family,  freedom,  independence,  and  
clubs  
  Both  student’s  answers  involved  friends  and  mee%ng  people  instead  of  classes  or  academics  
  Also  both  students  listed  freedom  
  This  suggests  they  enjoy  the  freedom  college  brings  such  as  deciding  how  you  personally  balance  
social  life  and  academics  
Conclusion  
  The  culture  at  Bloomsburg  is  social  life  and  academics  

  Students  consider  both  important  

  Academics  is  important  in  earning  good  grades  and  a  degree  

  Social  life  is  important  to  create  friendships,  rela%onships,  and  networks  

  Some  students  aPend  just  for  the  social  life,  others  for  academics,  or  for  a  balance  of  social  life  and  

academics  

  Nathan  and  MoffaP’s  studies  of  college  culture  agree  social  networks  and  academics  are  equally  important  

  The  data  shows  the  students  who  had  jobs  were  more  focused  academically  because  they  only  had  

%me  to  focus  on  school  work  

  Students  who  formed  rela%onships  early  were  usually  more  into  their  social  life  to  keep  up  their  

network  of  friends  

  Student  who  were  able  to  mul%task  could  focus  both  academically  and  make  %me  for  their  social  life  
Conclusion  (cont.)  
  A  student’s  schedule  can  suggest  how  they  would  spend  %me  on  academics  or  social  life  

  College  is  a  chance  to  make  new  friends  and  create  social  networks  while  learning  and  earning  a  degree  

  Students  need  a  healthy  balance  of  social  life  and  academics  in  order  to  get  the  most  out  of  college  

  The  data  I  collected  suggests  a  majority  of  students  at  Bloomsburg  create  a  balance  
References  
₁MoffaP,  M.  (1989).  Coming  of  Age  in  New  Jersey:  College  and  American  
Culture.  New  Brunswick:  Rutgers  University  Press.  
₂Nathan,  R.  (2005).  My  Freshman  Year:  What  a  Professor  Learned  by  
Becoming  a  Student.  New  York:  Penguin  Group,  Ltd.