Colin Miller Ethnography Sarah Davis November 22, 2013

A Council Observed
The first wee of !ollege is one of the b"siest an# most e$!iting wee s of someone%s lives& 'efore that wee was even over st"#ents were fin#ing ways to get involve# with the s!hool an# any organi(ation they saw fit& The Moore )all Co"n!il was no #ifferent& *ithin a month of s!hool the !o"n!il was alrea#y organi(e# an# planning towar#s the f"t"re of o"r resi#en!e hall the !o"n!il has fo!"se# a lot on holi#ay events to ma e Moore )all a more f"n living e$perien!e, along with ways to prepare for "p!oming finals& + !omm"nity !an be #es!ribe# as a gro"p of people that !oe$ist an# wor together towar#s a !ommon goal& The !o"n!il is a perfe!t e$ample of a !omm"nity in that sense& Their p"rpose is to !ome "p with, then implement their i#eas to ma e Moore )all a more en,oyable an# better pla!e to live& They are a very #iverse gro"p of people having a fairly even split of gen#ers, an# ra!es& )owever a!!or#ing to -i!e .resi#ent /"stin 0aiser, 1 The demographics, particularly skin color have not made any significant effect or influence on anyones role on the council, I mean our president is black, however the females do bring a bit of a more creative outlook to events and decorations. 2 Ea!h lang"age or #is!o"rse !omm"nity has its own #istin!t way of intera!ting within itself& The Moore )all Co"n!il is no e$!eption to this& The way the !o"n!il intera!ts within itself is a phenomenon that !o"l# only really be "n#erstoo# if it was as ast"tely observe# as this assignment as e# of me& The !o"n!il fo"n# this perfe!t fl"!t"ation of !ompletely !as"al an# b"siness3oriente# parliamentary pro!e#"re& The biggest observation 4 ma#e was that there was an obvio"s feeling of !omfort between all of the members to the point where they new that at any point in time it was a!!eptable for them to voi!e their opinion on the !"rrent topi! of #is!"ssion& *hen as e# abo"t the #ynami! of !hange between !as"al an# formal 0aiser sai# 1As far as structure, we are good at keeping the parliamentary procedure going, and keeping it professional, however sometimes we tend to veer off of what we are supposed to cover and the friendship shows in our conversation more than it should.2 )owever 4 observe# that while parliamentary pro!e#"re was always being hel#, the tones "se# were of frien#s !onversing rather

Than !olleag"es #is!"ssing b"siness& + pattern 4 noti!e# in the #is!"ssion was very often that the !onversation wo"l# shift from open brainstorm to one3on3 one between the pit!her of an i#ea an# the .resi#ent who wo"l# as for an elaboration or plan of a!tion to implement the given i#ea an# p"t it into effe!t. The !onversation flow wo"l# fl"!t"ate between the brainstorming of events, s"!h as a mi#night brea fast, or a #orm room #oor #e!orating !ontest, to the presi#ent as ing everyone%s opinions& This observation le# me to the belief that the !o"n!il was not !on!erne# with mere brainstorming, b"t they so"ght after i#eas that alrea#y ha# a plan of e$e!"tion alongsi#e them& This 4 reali(e# was a metho# "se# to wee# o"t the half3!oo e# i#eas an# bl"rt o"t answers& The pattern 4 re!ogni(e# also le# me to the reali(ation of the obvio"s hierar!hy& 5reg the presi#ent, not only ran the meetings, b"t #efinitely ran the !o"n!il& 1Yes, our president Greg especially calls the shots during the meeting, calls the motions, organi es the flow of conversation, and when I chime in I am making decisions towards the topic without taking over the idea.2 /"stin sai# this when as e# if there was a signifi!ant hierar!hy& 4n my notes 4 a! nowle#ge# how often 5reg wo"l# !ons"lt with /"stin before ma ing a motion of !oming to a #e!ision& Something that was a little tri! ier to noti!e was how yo" !o"l# tell who was an insi#er, an# who was an o"tsi#er& )owever #"ring both observations, #espite the short se!on# one there were o"tsi#ers at both& Every time an o"tsi#er gave inp"t 6whi!h was very fre7"ent in observation 18 yo" !o"l# see how "nrefine# an# not very tho"ght o"t it was& The insi#ers have grown to be e$perien!e# an# new what wo"l# wor in whi!h sit"ation, an# what in# of i#eas wo"l# fail& +n agen#a is han#e# o"t at the beginning of every meeting an# that #efines the str"!t"re of every meeting, as well as giving the presi#ent a referen!e as to whi!h #ire!tion the meeting nee#s to be #riven ne$t& The agen#a is an itinerary of sorts given the !hronologi!al or#er of topi!s to be #is!"sse#& 4t eeps the !o"n!il more organi(e# as well as eeping them from getting off3topi!& Similar to how ea!h meeting is !ommen!e# a motion has been ma#e to a#,o"rn this ethnography an# 4 se!on# it, an# then raise my han# in favor of the motion& 4n the short time 4 spent observing the Moore )all Co"n!il 4 learne# more than 4 ever !o"l# have imagine#& 4 was able to witness a p"re phenomenon of fifteen frien#s being able to !ome together, p"t their personal relationships to the si#e an# be!ome a !omm"nity for the a#van!ement of a !ommon goal& They even #i# all of this while being able to have f"n, an# eep the #is!"ssions !ivil& 9bserving the !o"n!il an# st"#ying their !omm"nity has given me a whole new !on!ept of seeing more than what is in plain view, an# being able to fin# the meaning behin# even the most insignifi!ant #etails& Doing this ethnography #evelope# me as a rea#er, an# a !riti!al thin er&