My feelings about going to Spectrum’s location (2/26/09)

What location(s) are you planning to observe?
I am planning to observe the normal meeting place for Spectrum (the Student Center Multipurpose Room).
What are your assumptions about the location?
I have already visited this location once before so my ideas about the meeting place were mostly set.
What do you think you will see?
Some of my original assumptions about Spectrum’s spot were that it would have drawn pictures and pictures of drag shows on the walls. However, when I got there I found that this was (as the title of the room suggests) a multipurpose room. It is used by many other groups of people so there is one large table with many chairs in the room. There is a place to put computerized things (like power point) on a screen and this was most definitely utilized by the group.
Who do you think you will encounter and be able to talk to while observing?
I think I will see many people who are members of the group although I do not think each one will be there because I am attending a random meeting and students often have other meetings or things that prevent them from coming. I think that most (if not all) the officers of Spectrum will be there. I also think that anyone who is part of the group is willing to talk about it (even if they might not be so comfortable with me putting their information in a paper).
What do you think insiders already know about the space?
I feel that insiders find this place to be fun and not only a place to meet new friends but also a place to connect with family.
What may outsiders need to learn about the space in order to better understand the subculture?
I’m not sure if there is much to learn about this particular place because it is shared by so many people. However, Spectrum is working on getting a room of their own.
Do you think you need to be careful about colonization as you do your research and write your paper?
Yes! I feel I do because it is easier to take an outsiders view of a culture like this.
What can you do to prevent colonization from occurring in your paper?
I will try my hardest to always keep colonization in mind while writing this paper. However, whenever I get peer responses, I will ask them to pay close attention as to whether or not I do this.
-Julia St. John

Sense of Place (2/26/09)

For years before my family moved into our brand new house, my parents used to complain every season about having to go in the attic to get down decorations. The three girls in my family (including myself) did the same. This was mainly due to the fact that my father, sisters, and I were the ones who actually had to go in the attic to get the boxes down and put them back up. My mom’s job was to take everything out of the boxes, out it up for the season, and the pack it back up so we could put them lovingly back into the attic. This job was mostly complained about because the attic was cold above our garage with no heating or air-conditioning. This meant that no matter whether we were getting Christmas decorations down or summer wreaths, our body temperatures were always at one extreme when we ventured up there. In order to get into our old attic, both cars had to be removed from the garage and a rope from the center of the ceiling had to be pulled for the unstable wooden ladder to come down. The first person to climb the ladder had to turn on the solitary light by pulling a string at the top of the ladder. Once one succeeded in the ladder climb, danger was not over. With low ceilings and nails sticking out from those ceilings, if you were not constantly on your guard, you were sure to get hurt. There was one small window in the attic but it brought in little to no light (especially seeing as most of our adventures up there were at night). The floor of the attic had been covered in boards because if it hadn’t been, we would have fallen through to the garage below. Boxes were always piled everywhere and it didn’t help that the season we wanted was usually in the back because the boxes hadn’t been touched for an entire year. There were, of course, other things in the attic besides boxes: an old rocking horse, lots of dust, a red metal shelving unit, the occasional dead mouse, etc. I remember complaining about these escapades to the attic, but looking back on it, it was part of where we lived and the decorations have come with us to our new house and even though we no longer have an above-garage attic, they, just like the memories of the old attic, will stay with us forever.
-Julia St. John

Final touches on paper 2 (2/22/09)

I have sent an e-mail to a few Spectrum members seeing if they have the time to set up an interview with me but as the due-date for this paper is drawing near, I am losing faith on whether or not I will be able to put the words of an insider in this paper. I have, however, completed many other corrections that were suggested in my Thursday meeting with Miss Murray. Another thing that helped with small, grammatical errors was the peer edit assignment that was due for Thursday. Although there were not many, I have about five words that were either the wrong word for the sentence (it’s unfortunate Word doesn’t catch those kinds of mistakes) or making works plural when they should be singular. I have also edited my works cited page to hold the correct information and correctly cited our textbook in my paper as well. The only thing I feel I need to do now is work on my two to three minute presentation for Tuesday’s class.
-Julia St. John

Editing Spectrum artifact paper (2/21/09)

The other day, I had my very first meeting with Ms. Murray and found that what I thought to be an alright paper was missing quite a few details. One simply fixed “error” was that my paper had no pictures in it. I had not given much thought to this before seeing as the paper already more than met the page requirements and because I was looking at what their page looked like all the time so it didn’t occur to me to let others actually see samples of it. The next thing we talked about was that although my paper had a page-of-a-paragraph (something that will need to be cut a few times) of description on the artifact, there was no analysis. Along with adding that, I will also need to think of a better thesis statement that encompasses the whole of my paper. I asked about my works cited page and found that although I was not quoting Spectrum’s website verbatim, it still needed to be cited. Some other things that were suggested were to add an interview and avoid contractions. All-in-all, I most definitely think this short meeting was very beneficial and will help my paper immensely.
-Julia St. John

family story (2/17/09)

There are many stories that my family is, rather embarrassingly, more than willing to tell. Most of the ones that automatically pop into my head are about me because I not only hear them but was there when they happened so can recall the emotions and factual happenings clearly. However, going further back in my family, there is a story that my father tells when someone asks him a good way of revenge. His story begins one summer when he was in his twenties at a summer theatre camp. At the camp, not only work for the end-of-the-summer performance was done, but there was also lots of free time as well. During this free time, there was one guy (as my father tells it) who used to take extreme joy in hiding it unexpected places and scaring the women of the came when they happened to walk by. At first, the women were mildly amused but after a while asked my dad to think of a way to get back at this guy for constantly frightening them. That night, my dad and a friend hid under the man’s bed before he went to sleep. Of course, the man’s wife was lovingly in on the plan so she more than happily stepped out of the room for a moment when someone asked her to. As my dad and his friend patiently waited under the bed, the man got ready, turned off the light and unknowingly hopped under the covers. After a few minutes in total darkness my dad and his friend started to take slow, deep, loud breaths. My dad recalls how he could hear the man above him shift uncomfortably lower under the covers. Then, all-of-a-sudden, my dad and his friend took their hands, reached around, and whapped the bed (and consequently the man) above them. He screamed and sat straight up while the entire theatre troop came in laughing. My dad said it took a few minutes for the man to regain color in his face and start talking normally again but he never scared anyone else for the rest of the summer. I’m not quite sure what this story tells about me or my family. But I do know it is a fun one to tell and if I were in the same situation, I might have to use it on a mischievous guy. I believe the story not only helps people figure out ways of revenge but also tells people not to scare others in the first place. I think this story accurately tells how my family is fun-loving and willing to help people in need.
-Julia St. John

start of artifact paper... (2/16/09)

There are not many objects that the Ball State’s gay community uses specifically for meeting. There are perhaps places to hang out, parties to attend, speakers to hear, but as far as physical objects go, I can think of exactly zero special to this group of individuals. Then I found out that artifacts are not necessarily items that one can hold but are generally “material objects that represent the culture of that site” (_143 book_). So then I started thinking about what members of Spectrum used on a daily or weekly basis. Their website was the first thing I thought of because it was the first thing I looked at when initially starting my research on the subculture. It helped me, an outsider, to learn both general and specific knowledge about the subculture, find out about meetings I could attend, and learn a little more about possible candidates for interviews later on. The site is very helpful and creative; it is obvious that Spectrum has put a lot of time and energy in making it what it is today.
-Julia St. John

In Class Interview (2/12/09)

The following is me interviewing Brad and his answers…

What is your name?
“Brad Maushart”
Where are you from?
“Guilford, IN”
What grade are you in here at Ball State?
“I’m a freshman”
What do you like to do in your spare time?
“I hang with friends. I like going to parties and late night, that’s a good time. I play basketball and volleyball. I go to the sporting stuff. Homework takes up a lot of time. And, pull pranks on other people in my dorm building, all the time.”
Do you collect anything?
“I love hats. I guess I collect hats…ish. Not serious about it. Not more than that really.”
How much time do you spend doing things that are not school affiliated?
“Seeing as I don’t spend enough time on my school work as I should, other than sleeping, I’d say about 75% or 80% of my time is spent doing other stuff.”
What does your typical weekend consist of?
“Typical weekend? Let’s see. Weekend starts Friday night. Friday, I usually hang out a little with friends then go to a movie or a party. Then Saturday, I wake up late/sleep in, go out to eat for lunch (sometimes we go out for food but usually to the Atrium or WW), then we usually either go to a sporting thing like a basketball thing or something, then we usually go to late night then a party. Sunday consists of sleeping in, again. And then lunch, maybe, sometimes we have a basketball game, sometimes we don’t. And then homework.”
When do you usually leave campus and for how long?
“Usually don’t go home at all unless it’s like a big holiday thing. Sometimes I go home for a wedding or special occasion.”
Do you often go home on the weekends?
“Negative.”
What kind of music do you listen to?
“Anything but country”

I thought Brad was an excellent interviewer. He had plenty of questions prepared before hand and sometimes, when the occasion would arise, he would ask questions that were not on his sheet because of the answers I would give.

Observational notes (2/22/09)

There are seven links (home, about, images, events, exec, resources, and contact us) on the Spectrum website that one can click on to get to a different page. The links are either in pink or yellow bubble letters. The “home” page tells about the meetings each week and gives the Spectrum weekly newsletter. The “about” page gives information to outsiders as to what Spectrum is, its history, the constitution, their bylaws, and how their speaker panels work. The “images” page gives links to pages with images which are separated into categories/groups; Homecoming 2008, Fall 2007, Spring 2007, etc. The “events” page displays a colorful calendar for the current school year and the major events Spectrum will hold during it. The “exec” page shows pictures of the 2009 Spectrum Executive Board along with links one can click on to contact each one. The “resources” page suggests places and people to contact to the members of Spectrum to use if they are feeling down. The final “contact us” page gives more information about how to contact the executive board and how to contact anonymously to a general Spectrum person.
-Julia St. John

Megan's artifact (2/10/09)

Observational Notes…
Megan Stephens’ phone is black with some silver parts to it. On the outside, there are ten buttons and does not flip open. Also on the outside, there printed the words; “Verizon,” “LG,” “Schneider,” and “Kreuznach” to help others know who the artifact was made by. On the front of Megan’s cell phone there is a touch screen that is activated by pressing any button. On the back, there is a camera for taking pictures and 16 holes to hear out of if Megan wishes to set her phone on speaker. At the top of the artifact, there is a small hole with a picture beside it telling its user that headphones can be put in the whole.

Personal Notes…
This artifact reminds me of the fact that new technology is constantly being made for consumers to buy. I know a few things about this artifact mostly because I have one of my own. Of course, mine is a different kind, with a different name, and different personal settings but the basic principles are still the same. Each phone can connect to the internet, send text messages, receive phone calls, etc. I don’t really have any assumptions about this artifact other than I assume that it goes to long without being recharged, the battery will die.

Interview…
What is your artifact?...”my cell phone”
Why is this artifact important to you?... “Because it connects me with all of my friends and keeps me away from boredom”
What do you use this artifact for?... “Text friends, call my family, take pictures, check my e-mail”
Do you use the artifact every day?... “Yes, all day every day”
Did you purchase your artifact?... “yes I did”
What kind of materials are in/on your artifact?... “Battery, stickers, finger prints, plastic, technical shit”
Do you enjoy your artifact?... “Yes, I get a lot of joy out of it”
Will you ever part with your artifact?... “No, unless I get a new version of it”
Where do you usually keep your artifact?... “Any pocket”
How often to you use your artifact?... “Pretty much all day texting”

Theorize…
Metaphor: This cell phone is a string that connects people to their peers/family.
If I wanted to learn more about this artifact then I would probably go online to the Verizon store. I would either type the name of this specific phone into their search engine or e-mail a professional with any questions I might have.

-Julia St. John

Practice Observation (2/10/09)

The object that I randomly put on my desk was a hair tie that I usually put around my right wrist. It is black and smaller than most hair ties normally are. There are a few parts on it where one can see that the object is fraying from abundant use but it still serves its purpose. There is one part on my hair tie that holds the two edges of the circular band together with some sort of adhesive that looks like dried glue. I wear this object around my right wrist because I feel odd without something there. (If I am going to a formal place, I will most likely take the hair tie off and replace it with a bracelet.) Hair ties are normally used to hold a female’s hair back but I rarely actually do this. If I recall correctly, this particular hair tie was purchased at Target in a package of about ten.
-Julia St. John

Artifacts! (2/9/09)

Artifacts are hard to find! However, I believe that I will use Spectrum’s website as the one I use for this assignment. It is a place that every member can use/look at to find out information about the subculture. Every week, the topic of the next meeting is posted, who (if anyone) will be speaking at it, and what they will be speaking about. There are also useful pieces of information about the subculture on there. For example, places kids in the group can go to get help with any issues are posted, kids who hold office in the group are posted, and general information about the group is also posted. At first, I didn’t think the site could be a true artifact because I thought they all had to be something one could physically hold in their hands. However, after talking it over with my group (and Ms. Murray), we decided that it will work for the work I need to get done on the next paper.
-Julia St. John

Answers for Spectrum (1/3/09)

Here are the answers for the questions I asked/posted...

Define Spectrum in your own words…
We are a family. We support each other in every aspect. Spectrum serves as safe environment for students to explore their sexuality/sexual identity/gender identity and just be themselves.

What prior assumptions/biases do you feel people have about this group?...
I think that many people who don't attend Spectrum believe that every person who attends the group is GLBT (which is not true, we have many straight allies). Also, some people think that Spectrum is a group for hook-ups/dating site, but this couldn't be further from the truth. We do many educational/informative activities during our meetings and we try to reach out to the BSU/Muncie community to educate them about GLBT issues.

Why did you decide to become such an influential part of this group?...
I fell in love with the organization my Freshman year, met a lot of great people and wanted to become more involved.

What do you think is the main reason for people ridiculing people from Spectrum?...
I think a lot of people just don't know much about the community and don't care to know much and therefore won't take the time to get to know someone from the community. If people get to know someone who is GLBT they are much more likely to be accepting and tolerant.

What are some major issues/concerns you’d like to see fixed with Spectrum?...
I would just like to see the misconceptions dispelled.

-Julia St. John

Miley World...

Let the record show that although Julia suggested a Disney site, Daniel picked this online subculture!

This is a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus website

You have to pay to be a member of this site (a holiday special is now in place for $30)

Upon paying you get membership for a year, and an “official fan club Miley world fan club card”

Rituals: going on the site, listening to her music, watching her TV show

Members: most members are pre-teen females who admire Miley

We would definitely classify this group as a subculture because: you have to pay to get in (so only the people who really want to be there will be), the site has chat boards, you can upload your own videos/pictures, there are uploaded news images of Miley to tell you more about the site and what’s happening in her actual life

-Julia St. John
-Daniel Potash
-Holly Oehme

My message to interview (1/2/09)

Here is a copy of the message I sent to the president of Spectrum asking questions for an interview. I will prob post the answers he gave in another post another time...

Hey, in my English class, we had to pick a Ball State group for the semester to write a few different papers about. I choose Spectrum and for the first paper, am required to interview someone. I know you are the president of the organization and therefore I’d be very grateful if you would answer a few questions and allow me to use your answers in my paper. I have tried to talk to you for the past few days, but seem to always come at bad times when you’re not in your room so I have posted to questions below. If you’d rather not answer them, that is definitely alright, but if so, then it would be wonderful if you could get back to me before Wednesday night (the peer response draft is due Thursday). Thanks again.
-Julia St. John
Define Spectrum in your own words…
What prior assumptions/biases do you feel people have about this group?...
Why did you decide to become such an influential part of this group?...
What do you think is the main reason for people ridiculing people from Spectrum?...
What are some major issues/concerns you’d like to see fixed with Spectrum?...