Reading Response
Nathan continues to describe things that seem commonplace to students: dining hall habits, community in dorms, and diversity. She spends a lot of time describing a freshmen seminar class where incoming students are required to read the same book and discuss it with peers. Marquette uses the same program at orientation. Why do you think this doesn't work to form a community? Is it a good idea? What other ways can students form a community at a new college?
I think the community at college must be found on your own, not created by the school. Making students all take a class on a book they do not want to read will obviously not work. Students will find community through organizations, work, and sports. I think a lot of the community at Marquette can be found through the basketball team. It is something that unites everyone on campus in a fun way.
I don't feel included just because I read the same book as everyone else. I feel included when I am chanting “We are Marquette” and watching a game with the same amount of enthusiasm. I find community in my friendships on my floor, not because my RA planned a movie night. Life happens when you're making plans. Just planning out a community does not form it. Just because the RA programs failed does not mean the floor had no community. Maybe Nathan did not feel included because she is a 50 year old woman and not your typical college student.
Something Nathan does not consider is what are the students doing besides making time for movie night. Sometimes finding a community in your dorm falls on the back burner. School and work are more important. These students have probably found a friend group and a sense of community somewhere other than their floor.
Nathan says, “The proliferation of event choices, together with the consistent message to ‘get involved,’ and the ever available option of dropping out, creates a self-contradictory system.” What does she mean by this? Nathan argues that too many opportunities pull at each other and spread students thin. College students are adults. Any adult is faced with endless possibilities, but as adults they can focus their talents on a few things they find important. It’s about priorities.
Nathan also cites a 1990 report from the Carnegie Foundation which says, “Not only has cultural coherence faded, but the notion of commonalities seems strikingly inapplicable to the vigorous diversity of contemporary life.” Does this apply to all schools and workplaces, or just colleges? Can you still be an individual with a real sense of community? Students in college want to define themselves. Some through what school they go to, but others by what they want to do and what is important to them.
With 158 student organizations on campus, Nathan uses her ethnography to say students are met with almost too many options, but not every organization applies to every student. Some are honor societies, future career organizations and teams. If this list was further narrowed down into categories, the readers would see there is a far less overwhelming number of options for students.
Reading the article “Writing Ethnographic Field Notes” helped me understand Nathan's tendency to state the obvious. She is trying to give the most accurate depiction of what is going on all around her. Something common place for us is something completely new to her. If this was a book about life in Madagascar we would probably appreciate her detailed writing and analysis. I did find her analysis of the interest survey put out by the RA very interesting. I have received numerous surveys of interest in programs, but nothing comes of it. Students are busy and RAs can not please everyone with their programming. I also gained a lot of advice for collecting my own observations.
I think the community at college must be found on your own, not created by the school. Making students all take a class on a book they do not want to read will obviously not work. Students will find community through organizations, work, and sports. I think a lot of the community at Marquette can be found through the basketball team. It is something that unites everyone on campus in a fun way.
I don't feel included just because I read the same book as everyone else. I feel included when I am chanting “We are Marquette” and watching a game with the same amount of enthusiasm. I find community in my friendships on my floor, not because my RA planned a movie night. Life happens when you're making plans. Just planning out a community does not form it. Just because the RA programs failed does not mean the floor had no community. Maybe Nathan did not feel included because she is a 50 year old woman and not your typical college student.
Something Nathan does not consider is what are the students doing besides making time for movie night. Sometimes finding a community in your dorm falls on the back burner. School and work are more important. These students have probably found a friend group and a sense of community somewhere other than their floor.
Nathan says, “The proliferation of event choices, together with the consistent message to ‘get involved,’ and the ever available option of dropping out, creates a self-contradictory system.” What does she mean by this? Nathan argues that too many opportunities pull at each other and spread students thin. College students are adults. Any adult is faced with endless possibilities, but as adults they can focus their talents on a few things they find important. It’s about priorities.
Nathan also cites a 1990 report from the Carnegie Foundation which says, “Not only has cultural coherence faded, but the notion of commonalities seems strikingly inapplicable to the vigorous diversity of contemporary life.” Does this apply to all schools and workplaces, or just colleges? Can you still be an individual with a real sense of community? Students in college want to define themselves. Some through what school they go to, but others by what they want to do and what is important to them.
With 158 student organizations on campus, Nathan uses her ethnography to say students are met with almost too many options, but not every organization applies to every student. Some are honor societies, future career organizations and teams. If this list was further narrowed down into categories, the readers would see there is a far less overwhelming number of options for students.
Reading the article “Writing Ethnographic Field Notes” helped me understand Nathan's tendency to state the obvious. She is trying to give the most accurate depiction of what is going on all around her. Something common place for us is something completely new to her. If this was a book about life in Madagascar we would probably appreciate her detailed writing and analysis. I did find her analysis of the interest survey put out by the RA very interesting. I have received numerous surveys of interest in programs, but nothing comes of it. Students are busy and RAs can not please everyone with their programming. I also gained a lot of advice for collecting my own observations.
Second Reading Response
Interviewing can provide necessary detail and personal experience to strength en any research. Qualitative research can use interviews to make meaning and gain insight from the interviewees experience. Qualitative research allows researched to analyze elements of a situation that quantitative research cannot.
Surveys and questionnaires provides less insight than an in depth interview, but can provide a broader range of information and feedback by allowing access to a wider range of people. As a journalist, I wonder if an in depth interview can blur the lines of ethics. What makes a question leading? Are you provoking certain responses by asking things a certain way? Is the interview one sided? How can you gain insight as a researcher through one person? Is this interview the whole truth?
Something I will keep in mind while interviewing will be to avoid any leading questions to avoid being partial as much as possible. I want the most unbiased and correct information possible. I want everything in my research to be done as ethically as I can. I will conduct myself as professionally and as much as a real researcher as I can.
Another important aspect to interviewing will be doing my homework before the interview. This interview will not be my only source of information. I will research about advising and the history of the advising center before coming into my interview.
I will research the person I am interviewing before meeting them so I can make the interview environment as friendly and comfortable as possible. The advice on questions I took from the reading are:
Surveys and questionnaires provides less insight than an in depth interview, but can provide a broader range of information and feedback by allowing access to a wider range of people. As a journalist, I wonder if an in depth interview can blur the lines of ethics. What makes a question leading? Are you provoking certain responses by asking things a certain way? Is the interview one sided? How can you gain insight as a researcher through one person? Is this interview the whole truth?
Something I will keep in mind while interviewing will be to avoid any leading questions to avoid being partial as much as possible. I want the most unbiased and correct information possible. I want everything in my research to be done as ethically as I can. I will conduct myself as professionally and as much as a real researcher as I can.
Another important aspect to interviewing will be doing my homework before the interview. This interview will not be my only source of information. I will research about advising and the history of the advising center before coming into my interview.
I will research the person I am interviewing before meeting them so I can make the interview environment as friendly and comfortable as possible. The advice on questions I took from the reading are:
- Familiarize yourself with what has been written about the individual
- Conduct general background research
- Make good use of your time
- Preparing in advance is a sign of respect for the interviewee's time