College Culture

Not only has anthropology taught me how to better observe other cultures, but it has taught me to investigate my own culture, or various culture groups that I fit into, with a new perspective. In doing so, I am beginning to recognize the college life as its own culture, filled with its own set of norms and abnormalities that may be quite different from that of the “real world.” Because I live on campus and do not have a car, I do not often leave campus, and if I do, it is to set locations. As such, I am living in a city that I probably would not be living in if I were not going to school here, and I have no idea where anything is off-campus. Thus, everything I do is on-campus, causing me to live in a world largely separated from the rest of society. College culture utilizes time in a unique way. Where when I was living at my house I had a set curfew; many activities in college do not start until after when my curfew was. Socialization as well as homework time is pushed back later in the night, and I am able to wake up later than when I am elsewhere. Space is also experienced in a new way. Since I am living with other people, I am constantly sharing space with others and only occasionally completely alone, and even that requires more effort than when I am home. I am learning how to change the method in which I use space to better fit this environment. Likewise, campus food is different from food elsewhere. Students walk into the Commons or Plaza to receive food already prepared. Granted, the food may not be what the student is used to eating, but the student did not have to do any work to get it. These are just a few examples of how college has created its own culture, made possible by students rarely ever having to leave campus.