Fauntleroy 1

Kevin Fauntleroy
UWRT 1101-037
Professor Connie Douglas
Overseeing the Mini-City of UNCC
The ethnography will be on the observations made of college students in the Student
Union on a regular week-day afternoon. The observer is very intrigued by the observations in
The Union because there was so many people in the vicinity and there were so many different
things going on at once. The observer will also be comparing the flow of traffic and things going
in The Union during the afternoon as opposed to the evening. Theres a social component that is
different compared to the other so the observer wants to explore and explain to you what that is.
Though there are still students in and out of The Union at the different times, time and the
students daily schedule plays an important role about what is happening or who is set in The
Union.
The Union is located in the middle of campus across the street from the academic
buildings and on a hill with a parking deck connecting to it and another parking lot right next to
it. Inside The Union, there are several different facilities to be used by students and open to the
public. There is a movie theatre that is free for students tucked away to the right when you walk
in from the front entrance, a pool (billiards) room with TVs and many couches to sit in, a quick
mart to buy snacks, drinks, and actual food similar to a 711 or Eagles Gas Station. There also is a
Wendys, Momma Leones, and a Bagel Shop in the back of the union going towards other
housing and Starbucks immediately to the left from the front entrance. Not surprisingly, there is
a Barnes and Nobles but surprising, a barber shop/ hair salon (everything in the previous list and

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this one all on the first floor). Upstairs is Crown Commons dining hall for students to eat a buffet
style breakfast, lunch, or dinner and a Bistro to dine at when feeling fancy and want spend a
pretty college penny. Amongst all this there is a middle floor between the main floor and the
second floor only for seating and to do homework if necessary in a circle around the union. This
is where the observations were performed for this ethnography second floor seating area in a seat
facing a beam so viewing both sides of the union is easy. As described the area of observations,
there are many different aspects and activities to the building so observing the entire area is so
much for just one person but doable.
The observations were a week apart and completed in a two-day duration in total. The
first day observation was done in the afternoon to observe the fast-paced flow in The Union and
the second observation was done during dinner hours to observe the not-so-fast pace occurring in
the Union. Starting with my afternoon observation that took place on October 20th between 3:30
and 4:00, there were many different students doing many different tasks. Many students in line
outside the door of Starbucks waiting to get coffee before their next class, many in the pool room
playing billiards and interacting with some new and some old faces, two gentlemen in the Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity working a stand to buy tickets for entrance into a club they were going to be
hosting on the Thursday coming up as their job, many students sitting around The Union on their
computers doing homework and/or listening to music and several students on the main floor
sitting around, chatting with friends while they have a break in their schedule. They were just
catching up with each other and asking what has been going on with one another. The observer
overheard was many students talking to each other about how the semester and classes are going
for them so far and how they are coping with the work load. There was so much going on at this
time because it is in the middle of the day and a lot of students are done with classes, so they

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have time to enjoy the atmosphere of The Union. The atmosphere at night was very different
opposed to during the day.
While the observer was taking the observation in The Union at night, noticed was that the
vibe in there was very calm and no heavy traffic coming in and out of The Union. Many of the
fellow college students did not have any backpacks or school supplies with them and they were
going to have dinner at Wendys or Crown Commons the dining hall. Also, many of them were
wearing athletic clothing and heading to the SAC to work out or play a sport as exercise; or just
sitting around The Union, chatting with other students. Since for many students their classes
occurred in the mornings and either finished during the same time or in the afternoon, their
leisure time is in the evening time. Its their time to get away from the constant focus of
schooling and do something that they enjoy whether it be eating, working out, and hanging out
with friends. The development of a healthy lifestyle comes into play with all the aspects of
college; the right balance of sleep, food, exercise, work, school and recreation is crucial (Stress
and College Students, UF|CFC). But since classes are done and the main flow is in The Union,
students prefer to be in their apartments/homes/dorms relaxing by themselves which eliminates
the majority of the flow of traffic and activity going on.
As expected, a students college schedule has a lot to do with their social life choices and
how they handle the workload that comes with college. They have to become adjusted to a
schedule that fulfills their needs academically and they maintain their mental composure. Stress
is often caused by general unhappiness and a sense of aimlessness or lack of purpose (Stress and
College Students, UF|CWC); which has a lot to do with students late night studying and
frequent days of pulling all-nighters. Stress-related factors additionally play a large role in
college student sleep deprivation. The study, concluded on 1,125 students, found that sixty-eight

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percent have trouble falling asleep due to academic and emotional stress, resulting in later
bedtimes (Sleep deprivation soars among college students, The California Aggie). It is almost
impeccable to avoid stress in college, so what do college kids need to stay intact? Fun or free
time to relax! Without it, it would make college life very stressful and intense for college
students and hard to achieve their overall goal: obtaining a degree in their major of choice! At
my university, that is what The Union is for since there are so many different points of interests
and speculations in it. Youre supposed to come here and take a load off and not worry so much.
Thats why college has so much more to offer than just courses. If it didnt, how many people do
you think would actually choose to live on campus or even finish school? Not that many.
To give an effective conclusion, many students personal ways to handle the stress of
college and their actual class schedules affects what they are doing during the day and at night
and affects the flow and pace in The Union. So as you see, observations in The Union during the
different times of day showed a significant difference of results from one another when it came
to the students and what they were doing at that time. The Union is a very popular place on
campus with very large human capacity to withstand the abundance of students and their modern
day interests. Without the mini world within the college campus, all students would have to find
a completely different set of activities that interests them, coincides with their work schedule and
depletes their stress level.