Every Thursday night at UNC, the campus ministry organization, Cornerstone, meets for Christian fellowship and worship. The Cornerstone Director's name is Miles. He is the one who discusses the the Bible in very real terms that are easier for today's generation to understand. A lot of times, when people read the Bible, they have a hard time on how it applies to real life. Cornerstone provides more insight and has resources to help with this problem.
Even though Cornerstone is a Christian organization, it is not only preached to those who believe in the religion. Even those who are not Believers are more than welcome to attend and to learn more about Christianity. However, most of those who attend are Christian because they are still learning about the faith as well.
Cornerstone could be considered a microculture because most of those who attend do share a common belief: Christianity. Therefore for most, their lief styles and behaviors would be different than others.
This has really added to my experience as a college student. I have grown in my faith and have found fellowship and worship on UNC's campus.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Response to Confederates in Attic Chapter
As I was reading the chapter from Confederates in the attic, I couldn't help but think of how far away from the truth it seemed to me. Yes I know I could be wrong about it, but after 18 years of living in the South, I have yet to meet anyone so obsessed with the "War Between the States." It's not like evereyont who live int the South is like that, which is what I felt the author misrepresented. I'm not saying that the author is telling lies. I'm sure there are people like that in the South. What I'm saying is that I hope in the chapters to come the author did a better job of representing the South. Because everyone who lives in the South is not like that.
As I kept reading further and further into the chapter, I honestly did begin to feel offended. And I could only think, no wonder UNC was sued. Especially if they said the book was a good representation of the South. Otherwise without that preconception, I don't mind reading the book because it is a new view point from some Southerners that I never knew about. I never knew people were still so obsessed with the Civil War. Yet to me it seems like they're doing themselves a misjustice by focusing that much of their lives on the Civil War. Yeah , I know the world is not prefect, but there are things in the present that can be nice and can allow one to bear the "horrible" present, as a character in the chapter stated.
As I kept reading further and further into the chapter, I honestly did begin to feel offended. And I could only think, no wonder UNC was sued. Especially if they said the book was a good representation of the South. Otherwise without that preconception, I don't mind reading the book because it is a new view point from some Southerners that I never knew about. I never knew people were still so obsessed with the Civil War. Yet to me it seems like they're doing themselves a misjustice by focusing that much of their lives on the Civil War. Yeah , I know the world is not prefect, but there are things in the present that can be nice and can allow one to bear the "horrible" present, as a character in the chapter stated.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Observation # 3
For my third and final observation of bus riders using UNC-Chapel Hill's campus buses, I decided to get the whole experience by riding the P2P around 10:45pm. Before I could even enter the bus, I had to wait outside the bus to let some of the current bus riders off because there was only one door unlike the two doors that other campus buses have. As I was standing there, I heard a girl on the bus yelling to some of her friends who were leaving, "See ya bitches!!". Already there was a different atmosphere compared with that of previously observed campus buses. Even though there were not that many people on the bus at the time, soon many more would follow. Yet being so, I made my way to the back of the bus. Honestly, I was afraid of someone noticing me writing and doing homework at the hour when many others were probably on their way to Franklin to party. So I was afraid of being made fun of and wanted to be out of the way so not as many would see me. But it also allowed for me to observe the majority of the bus without people noticing too.
The first thing I notice once I sat down and could being my observing was that there was music being played in the bus. Music that was probably from the radio. This was more than likely what allowed for people to talk so freely. Yet a group of 4 girls were being uncontrobably loud and obnoxious. My conclusion was that the music made no difference to welcome them to talk; the alcohol they drank earlier did. With this being said, the bus was obviously more laid back and chill than the buses that ran on campus during the day. Yet also like the other campus buses, the people who did not choose to talk, fell silent, texted on their phones, stared out into space, or just did whatever they could do to not make eye contact. Another commonality was that everyone, the silent, and potentially drunk, thanked the driver sa they left the bus.
As the P2P was making it's rounds, it seemed to me to be driving too fast and being reckless for a bus. I know it made me motion sick and possibly a boy infront of me who had his eyes closed for a period of time. It could have either been from being tired, or being motion sick as the bus whizzed around corners. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the later.
The first thing I notice once I sat down and could being my observing was that there was music being played in the bus. Music that was probably from the radio. This was more than likely what allowed for people to talk so freely. Yet a group of 4 girls were being uncontrobably loud and obnoxious. My conclusion was that the music made no difference to welcome them to talk; the alcohol they drank earlier did. With this being said, the bus was obviously more laid back and chill than the buses that ran on campus during the day. Yet also like the other campus buses, the people who did not choose to talk, fell silent, texted on their phones, stared out into space, or just did whatever they could do to not make eye contact. Another commonality was that everyone, the silent, and potentially drunk, thanked the driver sa they left the bus.
As the P2P was making it's rounds, it seemed to me to be driving too fast and being reckless for a bus. I know it made me motion sick and possibly a boy infront of me who had his eyes closed for a period of time. It could have either been from being tired, or being motion sick as the bus whizzed around corners. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the later.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Observation # 2 Bus Ride
Today I decided to ride the U, one of UNC campus's buses. I got on at Franklin Street with a few other riders. I was the first one on and I was seated in about the middle of the bus. So I was able to see eveyone who got on the bus behind me. The bus was loaded in silence with eye contact being made only for the purpose of looking for avaliable seats. The new comers looked to see where empty seats could be found away from the riders already boarded so that everyone was evenly spread out. Once everyone is seated they space out, look out the window, text, or just do their own thing, not paying anyone any attention. It's actually an awkward silence if one is not used to it, or doesn't realize it's the norm. When someone uses a cell phone, the people on the bus and especially those around them consider it annoying. Therefore, a person talks on his or her cell phone with courtsey and in a lower vioce tone.
Small talk could be heard in teh back of the bus but it didnt' last for long. People leave from the front of the bus sometimes to say thank you to the bus driver or because it's the closest exit from their seat; otherwise riders usually exit at the back door. The majority of people got on the bus at the student union and off the bus in front of hinton james. Yet everyone remains quiet when exiting the bus.
Small talk could be heard in teh back of the bus but it didnt' last for long. People leave from the front of the bus sometimes to say thank you to the bus driver or because it's the closest exit from their seat; otherwise riders usually exit at the back door. The majority of people got on the bus at the student union and off the bus in front of hinton james. Yet everyone remains quiet when exiting the bus.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Hypothesis Update
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large campus that can require a great deal of traveling to get to classes. The campus is spread out over North, South, and Middle campuses with approximately a mile’s walk between North and South campus. Many of the students, especially freshman, are housed on South campus and have to travel up the “hill” everyday. To help this problem, the university has the option of the Chapel Hill Transit bus system that runs from roughly 7am to 8 pm. This system, involving many different routes, helps the students to travel across campus.
After riding the bus and observing the students who chose to take it, I made some observations. For instance, when the bus is on North campus, the bus is rarely full; but when the bus begins to head towards South campus, the bus becomes full to its capacity. Therefore, I conclude that the students housed on South campus choose to ride the bus more often than students housed on North or even Middle campus. Also, I observed that the bus rides are extremely quite; no one talks to each other. Being a freshman student who frequently rides the bus, I constantly come into contact with this problem and at times those behaviors seem snobbish. However, this quietness is probably because the students ride the bus without their friends; and since they are by themselves, they would rather sit quietly than to talk to a stranger. Since most of the bus riders are reluctant to talk to strangers, they avert eyes their eyes to avoid making any contact.
An experiment addressing the norms and behaviors of bus riders would be beneficial to the UNC campus as a whole because it would allow for more insight into the university’s students. After further exploration, one might be able to understand why the students act the way they do and find that the reason has nothing to do with snobbish behavior. In conclusion, I propose that the majority of students who ride the bus are housed on south campus and probably freshman. These students ride the bus by themselves, which accounts for the bus rides being so quite.
After riding the bus and observing the students who chose to take it, I made some observations. For instance, when the bus is on North campus, the bus is rarely full; but when the bus begins to head towards South campus, the bus becomes full to its capacity. Therefore, I conclude that the students housed on South campus choose to ride the bus more often than students housed on North or even Middle campus. Also, I observed that the bus rides are extremely quite; no one talks to each other. Being a freshman student who frequently rides the bus, I constantly come into contact with this problem and at times those behaviors seem snobbish. However, this quietness is probably because the students ride the bus without their friends; and since they are by themselves, they would rather sit quietly than to talk to a stranger. Since most of the bus riders are reluctant to talk to strangers, they avert eyes their eyes to avoid making any contact.
An experiment addressing the norms and behaviors of bus riders would be beneficial to the UNC campus as a whole because it would allow for more insight into the university’s students. After further exploration, one might be able to understand why the students act the way they do and find that the reason has nothing to do with snobbish behavior. In conclusion, I propose that the majority of students who ride the bus are housed on south campus and probably freshman. These students ride the bus by themselves, which accounts for the bus rides being so quite.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Hypothesizing Microcultures: Riding on the Bus
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large campus that can require a great deal of traveling to get to classes. The campus is spread out over North, South, and Middle campuses with approximately a mile’s walk between North and South campus. Many of the unfortunate freshman are housed on South campus and have to travel up the “hill” everyday. To help this problem, the university has the option of the bus system. This system, involving many different routes, will help students travel across campus. After riding the bus and observing the students who chose to take it, I made some observations. For instance, when the bus is on North campus, the bus is rarely full; but when the bus begins to head towards South campus, the bus becomes full to its capacity. Therefore, I conclude that the students housed on South campus choose to ride the bus more often than students housed on North or even Middle campus. Also, I observed that the bus rides are extremely quite; no one talks to each other. However, I have decided that this quietness is probably because the students ride the bus without their friends; and since they are by themselves, they would rather not talk to anyone than talk to a stranger. I have also noticed that since most of the bus riders are reluctant to talk to strangers, they avert eyes their eyes to avoid making any contact. Based on how much trouble students go through to avoid people, it would seem that they are shy. However, this is based upon a poor assumption.
In conclusion, I propose that the majority of students who ride the bus are housed on south campus. Those students ride the bus by themselves, which accounts for the bus rides being so quite.
In conclusion, I propose that the majority of students who ride the bus are housed on south campus. Those students ride the bus by themselves, which accounts for the bus rides being so quite.
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