Social Life vs. AcademicsKristine Balderston
Literature and SocietyDr. Sherry
9/29/10
ProblemCollege is about social life and academics
How do college students create a balance?
Proposed Response to ProblemSummarizing 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 Moffatt (1989)
Interpreting ethnographic data
Describing the culture of college life at Bloomsburg University
BackgroundStudies of College CultureWho:
Rebekah Nathan and Michael Moffatt
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”, Moffatt: Rutgers University
When: Nathan: 2005, Moffatt 1989
BackgroundNathan:
Compared to students decades ago:
“Today’s public college students are both studying a little 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 relationships are typically formed early in college or through a common
activity
Student’s balance socializing and going to class and most multitasked
An example is watching TV while doing homework
Background Moffatt:
College is a combination of social life and academics
Students referred to extracurricular learning as “social learning”
4 in 5 considered extracurricular learning more important₂ (Moffatt, 1989, p.58)
All but 10% considered extracurricular learning contributed to their maturation
in college (Moffatt, 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?
MethodInterpret ethnographic data by:
Visiting 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 left shows a futon in a student’s room
The futon suggests the person is social and has an inviting 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 time
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
Findings Surveying students:
Surveying students about a typical day could show more about how they spend their time and their balance
between social life and academics
Student 1 (Left):
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 time 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 priorities are academics and work
Students do prioritize academics and others are required to spend time doing school work because their
job takes up a good amount of time
Activity Time Spent
Sleep 7 hours
Class 3 hours
Lunch 40 min.
Homework 1 hour 30 min.
Friends 5 hours
Activity Time Spent
Sleep 7 hours
Class 5 hours 30 min.
Lunch 1 hour
Work 1 hour 30 min.
Homework 2 hours 30 min.
Findings Observing a public space:
Observing a public space on campus could relate to identifying students who are more
social or academic
I went to the Commons at lunch and observed a majority of students were eating with
friends or roommates
There were some students sitting with one other person but no one was sitting along
This shows students enjoy eating with friends instead of eating by themselves
The biggest group of students at a table could suggest that they are more social
I found when it comes to eating lunch or dinner students, social or academic, enjoying
making time to eat with friends
Tables
Desserts
Food
Drinks
Commons
4
6
3
4
10 11
7
5
4
2222
Findings Interviewing people “unlike you”:
Interviewing people who you think are “unlike you” allows you to learn about how they participate 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 time 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, meeting 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 meeting 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, relationships, and networks
Some students attend just for the social life, others for academics, or for a balance of social life and
academics
Nathan and Moffatt’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
time to focus on school work
Students who formed relationships early were usually more into their social life to keep up their
network of friends
Student who were able to multitask could focus both academically and make time for their social life
Conclusion (cont.) A student’s schedule can suggest how they would spend time 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
References₁Moffatt, 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.
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