SE Residence Halls Improvement Final Post

Before this project, I really hadn’t done any applied work without some form of guideline or step-by-step procedure.  The most hands-on work I had done were chemistry and biology labs.  So, to get out in the world on my own and try to make some kind of scholarly project out of improving the world was disheartening and confusing.  I spent a lot of time thinking, running through the processes which I was about to complete in my head.  I wanted to challenge myself; not just write another research paper, but prepare myself for the real world and gain experience interacting with people to make actual impacts.  I realized I should take the project as an opportunity to improve myself, not just the world I live in.  In doing so I hoped to create a confidence within myself to create larger change in the future.

The focus of my project was the disrespect towards the environment and ignorance that occur in Sellery and Witte Halls.  I decided upon this topic because it is one which I am passionate about, being a witness to its effects last year as a resident.  Though my floor was named the third worst floor on campus, I knew that the decision could not have been clear-cut; I witnessed a number of instances on various floors.  It made me feel confused as to what could cause residents attending such a great university to act out in such terrible ways, and what could make them laugh about it year after year.  They would literally laugh about smashing glass bottles or splattering hot sauce on the walls; what could be funny about that besides the smell and the fact that the janitor would have to go through hell cleaning it up?  There isn’t even any “gotcha” moment.  And they would shake the floors with bass music during quiet hours, when people were studying or trying to sleep; what is the point?  These were the kinds of issues that struck me deepest, but I also thought about all the wasted water, electricity and recyclable material that was disrespectfully utilized in one way or another as mentioned in my previous post.  I knew something needed to be done.

My project aimed to strike at the core of these issues and force people to question themselves, but also needed several guidelines and assumptions to enhance my chances of getting responses and making an impact.  The first assumption I made was that if I presented a survey to a group of residents in their floor study area, they would all agree to take it.  After all, the forces that drive them to disrespect are mostly peer pressure and the need to impress each other, so I figured I could use that attribute to my advantage.  However, the second assumption I made following this thought process was that if the survey was too long or had too many free answer questions, the participants would agree that they did not have the time to fill it out.  To solve this problem, I made the survey in a short, conclusive format with four multiple choice questions and two free answer questions which somehow appealed to their assumed attitudes.  Here is the survey:

I also had to catch the students at an arbitrary time of no particular preoccupation with studying, so I chose a Tuesday evening around 8:30.  I hoped that in doing so, I would further reduce the chance of rejection.  The final problem I thought of was the possibility that participants would not care if the survey was for a class project, and so I told them that the survey was to “improve Sellery and Witte,” which is not really a lie.

While the planning took a considerable amount of time for this project, the most difficult part of the process for me was finding the courage to actually enter the dormitories again and walk into peoples’ study areas uninvited.  Entering the first room was definitely the hardest thing I have done in a while, even though only two people were present.  However, as time passed I saw people I knew and my courage grew.  I avoided certain rooms which had people watching a movie or engaging in some other kind of group activity so as to not receive negative reactions.  Some students I did survey ended up talking to me about some disrespectful things that have been going on around their floor, and I gave them suggestions for improvements.  Most of the time, the suggestions were met with laughs and ridicule, but some students listened to what I had to say about electricity and water.

The results of the multiple-choice portion of the survey were largely inconclusive.  The means of  the scores for the four questions were all around the 3, or the “neither agree nor disagree” option.  However, when I took out the surveys which were obviously filled out hastily and had the same number circled for every answer, the statement “My floor makes a conscious effort to recycle” significantly leaned toward the “disagree” option.

As for the written answer questions, the reults can be explained with these two pie charts.  The first graph refers to the first question and the second graph refers to the second.

In addition to the survey and graphs, I took several pictures demonstrating the disrespect in the two buildings.  Here is one picture that particularly shows disrespect to the environment.  What you are seeing is vomit in a recycling bin on a Tuesday night.

 

Through this project, I believe I learned how to more effectively improve the world more than I actually improved the world.  I do believe that I did make an impact on the people I surveyed.  I think that they will remember the incident for quite a while.  It also felt good to actually get out in the field and initiate an interaction to draw conclusions later.  The process seemed like a very effective way to affect change, and I am excited to do it again in the future for other world-improving projects.

Southeast Residence Halls Project

The on-campus freshman dorms, in particular Sellery and Witte hall, are uncomfortable spaces full of disrespect and immaturity.  Many of the residents just throw their trash down the chute without even caring whether it can be recycled.  They also take advantage of the free electricity and water utilities to leave their stereos on constantly and take half-hour showers.  On my floor last year, some people threw empty bottles at the walls, defecated in the showers, urinated in the drying machines, and even purposely clogged the sinks and showers and left them running, flooding the halls and making the janitor and other residents resentful just for a few laughs or memories of freshman year they can look back on with “pride”.

The cramped living conditions and inefficient recycling systems lead to a large amount of waste that I believe mainly stems from the frustration of residents with walking down the hall to get water for cooking in a small, dirty bathroom sink and dealing with people in their hall that they can’t get away from.  Also, the ideas of consumption of alcohol that movies and other media have put in their heads lead them to make stupid drunk decisions such as vandalism.  I am going to make an effort to encourage students that their living conditions really are not that bad compared to many people, and that they should respect their environment.  Also, I want to encourage them not to vandalize the halls because it puts stress on everyone else.  Finally, I want to encourage them to recycle and not just throw their junk down the garbage chute to go into a landfill.  To do this, I plan to make posters and talk to residents by sitting with them in the dining halls and asking them questions.  At the end I will randomly select residents returning to the hall to see if my efforts made a difference.