Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tentative Research Topic on Dorming Benefits
Hello! My name is Amanda Sedlmayer and I am a freshman here at Rutgers University. I am very eager to begin this class and learn from everyone about the pertinent and crucial topics facing higher education. For my research topic I would really like to outline the benefits to living on campus as a college student. Many students miss out on gaining independence, learning the value of living on their own, and managing time efficiently. From my observations of students who commute to college, there is stress involved with getting to class on time and struggles with the time in between classes. I also see a dilemma that commuting students are not as involved on campus in extra-curricular activities and do not meet as many peers and advisors as students who live in the dorms. There is plenty of networking opportunities and more awareness on informational meetings for students who live on campus. Living away from home also gives students the advantage to learn more about accountability for their own actions, how to refuse bad habits and how to work better with others among one living space which could make a difference once out in the work field. The only dilemma I see with this topic is finding tangible evidence and statistics to back up my point of view. I find it very interesting and I have personal experience motivating me to write about this topic. Again, I hope as a class we can learn a lot from one another and ourselves especially since this is a hybrid class! Thank you.
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This is potentially an interesting area for research. And I think our discussion next time will be very helpful to your topic, as we will be looking at Michael Moffatt and Rebekah Nathan -- two anthropologists who lived in the dorms -- and watching The Expos Five, which shows students trying to get their work done in mixed dorm environments -- some conducive to learning, and some not. Our readings suggest that the dorms may not promote academics, even if they do have some of the socializing benefits you mention (or can have those benefits -- since many students struggle and never pull it together and get organized on their own and too often fall under bad influences). I think you have to recognize that it is a mixed bag: dorms have both positive and negative effects. It is also a topic with policy implications, and a whole discipline of Residence Life management has grown up around how best to manage students in housing. In my view, Residence Life too often distracts from academics or sends the message that "college life" is equally important to academics, so that the two have to be "balanced" -- as though they were equally important. That is not a healthy message if you want to do well in school and if you are dedicated to success in some of the more difficult majors.
ReplyDeleteI recommend you get ahold of both Moffatt and Nathan's books as there are several chapters that could be helpful to you in thinking about your topic.