Christian Best

Robert Arnold

UWRT 1101

30 October 2015

Ethnography Report (Stage One)

College freshmen are probably some of the most interesting and confusing creatures in

this wonderful world of education. When I think about college freshmen, I get the image of a

butterfly in my mind. I say this because the growing process of a butterfly closely relates to the

growing process of a college freshmen in my imagination. The process begins with a normal

caterpillar learning its way around and just trying to survive. Then that caterpillar starts making

its cocoon, where he is just relaxing and changing. After time a beautiful butterfly comes out and

it’s ready to explore everything this world has to offer. In my opinion, college freshmen are the

exact same way. We are all under our parents’ supervision for 17 or 18 years, just trying to

survive under their rules and regulations; we do what they tell us to do, follow the norms, and

behave as we are expected to. Then around senior year and the summer before college we all

assume the position in our cocoons and we follow the unspoken rule: “just remain calm, cool,

and collected because we’ll be out of here soon”. Then we assume the title of “college freshman”

and the freedom sets in and the never-ending party begins.

“I haven’t been to class in forever.”

“What’s your major?”

“What’s the moves this week?”

“Have you seen your advisor yet?”

“You trying to T’ Up this weekend?”

“How much work do you have to do?”

These are some of the common and frequently said phrases heard from college freshmen,

especially those that attend UNC Charlotte. After watching and observing different groups of

freshmen I have come to the realization that there are two main categories of freshmen: the

“party all the time” freshmen and the “I have to study” freshmen. Of course everyone came here

with at least a little intention of partying, but there are also those that remember that a degree and

a career is the goal.

“What’s the moves this week?” “Are you ready to T’ up?” These are the questions that

typically come from those party freshmen. These are the individuals that skip classes every week

and fail assignments on a regular but they are always “on the scene”. They always look forward

to Thursday nights because that usually begins the weekend of “turn up” and that is when the

party starts. You hear these freshmen come stumbling in at different times of the morning,

yelling and screaming about how much fun they had that night but you won’t see them in class

the next morning. And if they manage to make it to class the next morning, they are the ones that

you will see sleeping in the corner of the classroom.

Even though we have those party kids, one can’t forget the other category of freshmen:

the freshmen that remember their priorities. While observing I also saw these freshmen, these are

the freshmen that put their studies before everything. These students are also up at different times

of the morning but for a completely different reason. They are the ones that you see up at 2:00 or

3:00 in the morning so they can finish assignments before their next class. These are the students

that are typically looked at as “socially awkward”. They are the ones that arrive to class 20

minutes before the professor and already has everything on their desk. These are the students that

ask “what’s your major” when they meet someone new. These are the students that use their

freedom wisely and remember why they came to college. Of course like every other freshmen

that would love to “turn up” every weekend but they won’t allow themselves to get behind in

their work.

I found it interesting that in this ridiculous sea of college freshmen, one could still see

that there are two main groups of college freshmen. There are those that use their freedom to

party and slack off but still intend to pass and receive a degree in four years. Then there is that

group that puts their heart and soul into their schoolwork and manage to party whenever they can

fit it around their studies. It is very intriguing to see what these freshmen butterflies use their

freedom to explore.