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.