Beginning Paper 1

Things to accomplish:
-- A detailed description of the subculture and site you will be studying this semester including some of the behaviors, insider phrases, rules, rituals, and locations that distinguish this subculture

• The Studebaker East Dorm on Ball State University Campus
• "Stu Easy", quiet hours, no smoking, door decorating
• floor meetings, waffle night

-- The reasons you wish to study this site and subculture

• I am a part of it.
• Learn the different behaviors and how they are different from other areas of campus.

-- The prior knowledge, assumptions, biases, and preconceptions you have about this subculture and site

• Boy/Girl dorm
• Tend to be noisy
• A lot of drinkers
• Love to have fun

-- The issues, problems, or larger concerns involved in this subculture and site

• Unknown right now

-- The people you think would be "key informants" for your paper, why you think they would be “key informants,” and questions you hope they can address

• People are definitely the key informants since my paper is about life inside the dorms.
• They are the ones living the life.
• They allow the dorm life to define how they live at Ball State.
• How has dorm life changed you?
• How has dorm life affected your grades?
• How has dorm life affected your relationships with others?
• How do you think dorm life will affect your schooling at Ball State in the future? And why?

-- Describe your first encounter with the people at your field site, whether it is by email, another online method, phone, or in person (you should make contact and conduct an informal interview with at least one member of the subculture)

• Unknown at the moment

I plan on starting interviews later on this week to answer some of the questions that I have and need for this first paper. I will be interviewing students on the fourth floor mostly because that's the floor I live on. Students on the other floors will be interviewed when I run into them, so I'm guessing that it might be handy to start carrying a notebook and pen with me to jot down notes. It will be interesting to see how this subculture of Ball State lives their lives differently from other people on campus :D