academic article

I read an article written by Michelle Steinbacher entitled "Watterson to be part of ISU's largest housing renovation. This article interested me because it talks about, not only the renovations to the dining center, but also about the renovations to the dormitories which is something my freshman class got to witness and live through first hand. Surprisingly, the renovations made to Watterson Towers was an extremely controversial topic.The renovations made to Watterson began in 2005 but were not completed until just this past semester. The renovations to the dining center were completed in 2010. In relation to my ethnography, I have been unsuccessful in finding any information of the Southside residence halls or dining center having ever been renovated. As far as the article goes, the renovation that Watterson Towers underwent was a 29 million dollar operation. That amount of money is surreal and the controversy surrounding this production stemmed from the countless amount of ways in which the money could have been used differently. The objection of this renovation was to give students a unique dorm life experience unlike the typical institutional feel they would have at other universities and even the other dormitories here at Illinois State's campus. Many faculty, board members, and even parents did not think this should be priority for that mass amount of money. All in all, the renovations were an excellent touch to our campus's tallest dorm building and an excellent addition to students' living situations. Likewise, it was these renovations that most likely account for the preferences noted in my ethnography to Wattersons' beautiful atmosphere compared to Southside's rundown feel.

Observation Notes

For project 3, I am doing an ethnography to observe the differences in Watterson dining center and Southside in Feeney's dining center. I felt that the two different dining centers have very different atmospheres and therefore, the behaviors of students are very different in each. Watterson is known for its beautiful renovations and wide selection of food options. Southside is known for basically the opposite of that. I have observed each dining center at some of the prime lunch and dinner times to try and watch the behavior of as many students as possible during each observation. I have observed each dining center three times during these times that I thought would be most crowded. As I predicted in my earlier blog post, students who walk into Watterson dining center to eat typically act more formal. They have a destination in mind, get the food at that destination, find a spot to sit, and eat their food. In Southside, however, students do not typically have a destination in mind. They wander from food bar to food bar to weigh their options and decide what they want. You typically see very many students standing around and walking around aimlessly trying to decide what they want. Because of this, many students see their friends standing around and doing the same thing making the dining center a very social place. It is not unusual to see large groups of students standing in a circle in the middle of the dining center while other students walk around them figuring out what they want. Likewise, because Southside is a much more confined space, it is extremely likely to run into more people you know that it is to run into friends at Watterson which is very spaced out and much bigger of an area. Another thing I have observed is the amount of students in Southside who choose to carry their food out compared to the number of students in Watterson. There was a massive number of students who chose to carry out from South side compared to those in Watterson.  This is most likely because students have the option to go right back up in their rooms with their food whereas many students who dine in at Watterson live in different dorm buildings and would not want to walk all the way back to eat their food. Especially when they don't have the option to simply walk downstairs if they get hungry again. Likewise, students take much bigger portions while dining in at Watterson compared to South side because they probably don't want to have to walk all the way back if they decide they want to eat again within a short period of time. These are some of the main and most obvious observations I have seen so far in my research.

Preliminary Ideas

For project 3 I have two potential ideas. My first idea would take place on campus and my second idea would take place off campus in my hometown. The first idea is to compare ISU students' behaviors while eating at Watterson dining center from their behavior eating at Southside in Feeny. The direct observations would be easy because there are a plethora of students in either dining center at any given time. I believe there will be many differences between students behaviors based on a number of different reasons. Watterson's dining center is set up much differently than Southside's. Southside offers two different types of meals every single day while Watterson serves generally the same type of food everyday with one "homestyle" meal that changes daily.Watterson has many more options, but they remain the same options every say. In contrast, South side offers a few of the same foods, not as much of a variety, but also different options every single day. Therefore, I feel like when students enter the Southside dining center they do not know what they are going to eat for that meal whereas students in Watterson most likely have a set destination. I feel the atmosphere of each changes the students behavior while entering the dining center, choosing their food, as well as sitting and eating their food. I can interview student workers at each dining center to get further insight as well as interview students who eat at both dining centers to see if they notice differences as well. For my second idea, I will observe children in the children's "play place" area in Orland Square Mall which is near my house. I want to research gender differences in toddlers. I will observe how boys play differently from girls, how and if they interact with each other, and how parents treat boys compared to how parents treat girls. I feel like there will be a lot of differences, especially ones that we normally would not notice. I think each of these direct observations have the potential to make a good ethnography.

Project 3 Genre Analysis

This genre of writing seems unlike anything I have ever been exposed to. However, it seems like it will be a relatively fun activity and assignment. After reading "Scenes of Writing", I have learned how people use observations to determine how they will behave and communicate in a situation. Observing how other people are participating in, leading, listening, and reacting to a discussion will affect the way in which you participate, lead, listen, or react to that discussion. These types of things, referred to as rhetorical choices, are things we do constantly throughout our days without realizing we are doing it. Likewise, the more familiar you are with a scene of writing or the more you understand your scene of writing, the easier it will be to communicate your ideas to others. A scene is a place where communication happens among groups of peoples with some shared objectives. In class, we observed the 2nd floor of Stevenson as our scene. In our observation we discovered communication happening among groups of students who shared the objective of waiting for their next class or killing time. For Project 3, we will choose a different scene and observe what types of communication among different groups with some shared objectives. This is going to determine how different types of people behave in different types of situations and why. I am excited to pursue this project and begin my observational research. This genre of writing can help us understand what influences, situations, and scenarios affect us in different ways and why. It is important to know what influences people the most and what situations or circumstances change peoples' behaviors the most. I believe people determine their behaviors based off of others and I predict that throughout this genre of writing I will discover what behaviors are considered the norm in certain circumstances but that the same behaviors can be considered abnormal in different circumstances.

Project 2 Analysis

I actually really enjoyed Project 2. I was able to write about something I am very passionate about but I had to do it in such a way that was totally objective. This meant, I got to physically construct an argument based off of real life evidence that I have been arguing for my entire life. Now, when I ask someone to refrain from using the R-word I have seven pages of objective research to back me up. It was, still, very challenging to keep the paper objective. In my original peer review, I was told the paper still sounded somewhat subjective and had some subjective lines. This was something I definitely struggled with because it is a topic I have strong feelings and opinions about. I even went over my first draft multiple times to make sure it didn't sound subjective but of course, it still was. I think I was successful in my revisions which was something I had trouble with on project 1. I did more research and added a lot of new information and evidence to my final draft. I think I was very effective in my writing process. I had very strong and valid points all of which were backed up with several pieces of credible and reliable evidence. I did extensive research on something I considered myself already knowledgeable on. I also think I was successful in writing in this genre. Like I said, I struggled trying to keep the paper objective, but in the end I felt I was successful in doing so. I was proud of my finished project. I enjoyed the creative piece as well. I think it is something small that holds a powerful message. I really liked my final piece.

Critical Statement

I am writing Project 2 on why the "R-word" is unethical. For my creative piece I am going to take the word "retard" and turn it into the word "respect". As you will read in my paper, the campaign Spread the Word to End the Word devotes their efforts to eliminating the word retarded from everyone's vocabulary and to pledge to make the new "r-word" respect. I feel that the word retard is extremely unethical and derogatory and I have been spending most of my life tyring to convince others of the same thing. Not a single one of my friends or family members would dare use the word in front of me because they know a 20 minute lecture would be coming there way shortly after. This project gave me a chance to explore this opinion objectively and to find evidence that actually supports it. I am choosing this type of erasure for my creative piece (erasing the "tard" from "Retard" and turning it into "spect" for "Respect) because I too believe many individuals need to learn respect and understand why using the r-word is disrespectful. My intended affect for this creative piece to make others realize that is is disrespectful and unethical to use the word "retard" or "retarded". They are potentially hurting many other peoples' feelings by doing so and they are demonstrating a serious lack of respect. This creative piece matters to the world because it can prevent a lot of harm and a lot of tears and even a lot of self-esteem issues if ignorant individuals become informed of what their words are doing. After doing all the research for this project and writing my research paper, I have found that I am definitely not the only person who feels so strongly about the misuse of this word. It started out as a medical term and has now changed to a derogatory slang word which, like most slang, is hurtful and direspectful. Many important people in today's society also feel this way and because their voice is more powerful than mine, they are advocating change. Even the President of our United States has served as an advocate for the omission of this word in our everyday vocabulary and I think that in itself is really saying something. I hope my creative piece is a powerful and subjective visual aid to complement my paper and my research.