Practice Observation: East Campus Commons

     East Campus Commons or ECC is a dining hall at Bridgewater State University. I sat in an observed the dining hall last week to see what the community was like and how the use of media and technology was used. I realized that obviously people go to ECC mainly to eat, but many people finish eating with 10-15 minutes but sit around for another half hour or so chatting with their friends and other people in the dining hall. It is a place to socialize and see your friends around campus. The people are very friendly that work there. I also realized that this is the dining hall that teams usually come to eat because there are longer and bigger tables to fit everyone. The team that I observed sat there for at least thirty five minutes after they had finished eating just talking with one another.
     This particular dining hall uses technology as a way to check out people when they are buying dinner. They have a computer that automatically calculates your balance of meal swipes/ dining dollars after every meal. This makes it a lot easier for the workers and school to keep track of people's meal plans. There are also mini screens at each food station that tell the student the ingredients for each food item. This especially helps the people that have strict diets such as vegetarians or vegans. It is easy to see what they are putting in their body.
      ECC has two televisions on the right side of the dinning hall. There are a lot of long tables that people sit at with a lot of their friends or teams to watch tv. There is a different advertisement in the center of the table every day, too. From sorority meetings to different events happening on campus, there is a little flyer that will tell you the details.

My Identity

Identity Doesn't Just Stop At Your Name:

A person’s identity does not just stop at the name they are given at birth. That is the way most of a person’s peers will identity someone right away but there is more to it. The way a person choses to represent themselves to society and what they actions include are what makes up the bulk of their identity. To me, my identity is consistently made up of my family, friends, and underneath it all is softball. Some things are more important to me than others, but all of them play some sort of role in my life. The center of my collage is a picture of my dad, my sister and me. They are the most important people to me in life and I have no idea where I would be without them. In the circle around them are the other people in my family. This includes my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. I am very close to my family so they are another huge part of my identity. They have all taught me how to be a strong and independent person. The outer circle consists of pictures of my friends. These include friends from 1st grade to freshman year of college. They are all important people to me and have helped shaped who I am. The people you surround yourself with are also another huge part of your identity. The softball field is the background because I love the sport. Family and friends come first but there is always softball behind it all. I couldn't imagine not playing which is why I chose to continue my career at Bridgewater.

     

         Alter Egos: Avatars and Their Creators by Julian Dibbell is an interesting piece of writing. It made me put more thought into what is really behind video games and the people who play them. Many people, including myself, are really quick to criticize video games because they are thought to be no good. However, not many people really think about what's behind the games such as one where the player creates an avatar. Jason Rowe was a character I read about from Texas. Just from the picture of him in real life you can tell he has many physical disabilities. He is in a wheel chair, has some sort of breathing apparatus, and is very young. He created his avatar with a name of "Rurouni Kenshin" and he is dressed in a full metal body suit. He is a big and strong looking avatar. 

       When Jason Rowe is playing his video game the only thing other people see on the other side of the screen is his avatar. That makes him look like a big, strong, and mobile man when in reality he is not. Avatars are a way players can live a different life virtually and do things they are not able to do in real life. I think it is special that Jason Rowe found some way to feel powerful in his life, even if it is through a video game. He could make his avatar look like whatever he wanted the rest of the world to see him as. The other opponents won't even see what he looks like in real life. There is always something more behind the reason people do things and this is a perfect example of how a little boy can live an easier life virtually. 

Jason Rowe                       Rurouni Kenshin