"Gossip Girl"

Week 5:

           This week I decided to do my research in a span of two days instead of just my normal one. On the first day, I ventured into Dead Hall around mid-afternoon to a peaceful and studious setting. The few people that were in attendance were the ones that actually wanted to get work done in study hall. I started to assume that these people would come in and leave the same time everyday because they knew if they were to stay just a little while longer they’d be stuck into the craziness of Socialize Hall. As these people left, the masses would begin to come and disturb the peace.

            The second day I went to my site a night, and just like the week before, Socialize Hall was very live. I started to notice how the different men’s and women’s teams would intermingle, but never different teams of the same sex. Many of the athletes were on this social media app which for our purposes I’ll call “Gossip Girl,” where other students could anonymously post whatever they wanted to a page that the whole school could see it. Many of the night goers of socialize hall use this app religiously and started to take things to the next level when deciding to talk about other teams they weren't so fond of. I can see many students, not just athletes, getting into trouble with “Gossip Girl” in the future.

            I've come to the conclusion that Socialize Hall goers don’t necessarily go to get work done, but to fulfill their appointed amount hours of “study” they need for the week. Actually being able to study, would be a plus for both the minority Dead Hall goers and the people there just to clock in.

            I've realized how week after week I see the same patterns and tendencies of the people at my field site. This is why next time I will try to focus more on using my senses other than sight and what I hear going on. In order to be able to get a better feel for my fieldwork I think I’d have to completely immerse myself and actually interact instead of just watching everyone.