Abstract

College is regarded as an important time in one's life. Society even portrays it to be a rite of passage into adulthood because "everybody goes to college." Therefore, it is instilled in children's brains all throughout grade school that one must go to college in order to be regarded as a high achieving citizen. However, aspects of college do not fit into the definition of Rites of Passage. Rites of Passage are coming of age rituals that are identical among each person. In college, one focuses on the self and self fulfilling happiness and success. Everyone has different priorities. Therefore, college is portrayed as a rite of passage but is failing to provide graduates with the proper transitions and success of adulthood.

Evolution of Paper

When I first addressed my paper I wanted to take the stand that college is a liminal state between adulthood and childhood and that what happens in college is not clearly defined. Now, I still want to say that what happens in college is not clearly defined, however I am focusing on college as a rite of passage. When I first thought of college as a rite of passage I insisted that it was, because I have been hearing my whole life that I had to go to college. Now, I am trying to examine if college is a failing rite of passage, if all rites of passage are failing, and if the college rite of passage is a privatized and self project.

Visuals

I chose this picture because it marks a time that people usually spend four years working towards. Wearing cap and gown and tossing the cap after graduation marks the completion of a stage in one's life.

Blog 12 Outline

Is College a Liminal Period/state and how does it serve as a rite of passage to the society?

I. Admission/Beginning

i. Leaving the home, breaking free from adults

ii. What should I expect/ why should I go to college?

1. marriage-to secure a good mate

2. education-to be seen as a higher rank in society (provides opportunity to be better

then our parents

II. Ambiguous/Liminal Period

i. I am not a child, not an adult

1. What responsibilities do I have to myself? to my family?

ii. Unique (or not so unique) rituals during college years/what are the tasks

1. set out by family (ie: dad joins fraternity, son joins same fraternity)

iii. What is expected during this time?

iv. Rebels

1. Time to do "whatever I want"

2. Are people more liberal during college

III. Re-assimilation/Graduation

i. How does it 'change' you?

1. Are you really changed

2. Does it really make you an adult?

ii. Graduation marks a rite of passage into society

1. Who says this is what makes you a good person/potential mate

2. Why does McCandles rebel against mainstream society to prove that college does

necessarily make you an adult.

Blog 11: My case

My case addresses the mysteries of the thoughts and motivation of college students. It questions whether or not college is a positive transformation from childhood to adulthood. College can be seen as a liminal period between childhood, and adulthood where expectations of those in college can fall into both those of children and adults. However, some argue that college is simply buying more time to be a child, except without all the rules that are present prior to the college years. Without many rules and laws to follow, this allows college students to define their own autonomy and explore different cultures and experiences. In an ideal society, students would want to go to school and focus soley on thier studies. However, as I am doing this blog in the computer lab I can see many cell phones sitting on top of notebooks, and many screens that display facebook rather than a paper. Could many of my fellow classmates only be attending college because it is expected in society to finish college to be seen as an adult. Therefore college can be seen as an aid or inhibit one from becoming an adult.

Blog 10: The Debate

The debate that is framing around my paper addresses the function college plays in the passage to adulthood. Some, such as Michael Moffatt argue that college role in determining one’s actions such as defining the autonomy of a student. Also, he shows that college students have a different attitude when there is a lack of influence from parents, and there is an increase of influence from peers. This lack of influence may be a negative effect on college students. The Columbia University article supports facts that substance abuse and drinking alcohol is a society rite of passage. In college, it is acceptable to drink and smoke everyday, however many college undergraduates support the saying "its only alcoholism after graduation." This example of undergraduate cynical ism supports the prolonging of growing up. Is college infact a rite of passage created by society, or is it a time when college students embrace the change? Theses issues frame the question whether or not college is a beneficial rite of passage into adulthood, and how the actions of college undergraduates helps them grow up.

Blog 9: Help!

I think the most challenging part of my paper is framing my argument and putting it into words. I think I found some good key terms such as "liminality", "autonomy", and "rites of passage". Although I think I am headed in the right direction, but I believe I am far from drawing conclusions and making a viable argument. I am having trouble drawing conclusions and the conclusions that I do find are confusing. Also, I am unsure what exactly I am going to do for a primary source. I believe I am going to do interviews. I am also going to look into those movies/books you suggested.

Blog 8: Conversation

The social structure of college poses many questions such as "How does college produce a sense of self-satisfaction," "How does the college atmosphere create a pseudo-environment in which people can find their 'real' self," and "How does college function as a liminal period in which students are more focused on a quest for identity, rather than perfecting and learning skills that will be applied in the work force." This suggests that a defining reason in college selection and choices reflects a self-fulfilling prophecy. Arnold van Gennep discusses stages and social structure in his book "The Rites of Passage." Although he focuses on religious rites of passage he points out that "So great is the incompatibility between the profane and the sacred worlds that a man cannot pass from one to the other without going through an intermediate stage" (Gennep 1). He also states that "as we move from higher to lower levels of civilization, the differences among these grouped become accentuated and their autonomy increases." When applied to young adulthood, the intermediate stage between being a child and adult is occupied by the time in college. Because attending and completing four years of college is a self-fulfilling rite of passage. It is liminal because at this timeframe, the college student is perplexed between two stages of life. Students have four years to use as a blank slate to define who they are. This changing of worlds can be brought into converstaion with Michael Moffatt because he stresses the different "zones of autonomy" of the college student. He also stresses the importance of authority that is weighed over a college student. Furthermore, while assessing a psychological view, Education is an atmosphere full of potential. However, Frank G. Goble points out that one is not fully aware of their strenghts and talents. He is building this concept off of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This can be applied to college and brought back into conversation with Moffatt and Gennep because college is a rite of passage, and the needs of attending college are for fulfilling the self prophecies.

Blog 7: 2 Annotations

Moffatt, Michael. “Coming of Age in New Jersey.” Rutgers University Press. 1989

Anthropologist Michael Moffat lives on a dorm floor and observes and documents the attitudes and lifestyles of college students. He particularly focuses on the culture of college and the purpose of higher education. During the “Orientation” (Page 6), Michael Moffatt even points out that the purpose of college is mass producing and supporting social networking and that most of the college experience is spent working on social skills. This book provides an insightful look of how Rutgers college students create a sense of a community. He also discusses the autonomy of college and defines it as “experiencing experiencing college one's own way, independent of the influence and intentions of adults" (Moffatt, 34).

Gennep, Arnold von. The Rites of Passage.

Arnold Von Gennep argues that “The life of an individual in any society is a series of passages from one age to another and from one occupation to another” (Gennep, 3). College is a distinctive experience on one’s quest for identity. Gennep argues that these stages in our life define who we are within the society and we are all components of the society.

Blog 6

Potential Question:
How does the liminal college experience shape the person in finding the unachievable balance of academics and a social life?
How does college provide a sense of self-satisfaction?
How does college help people find satisfaction among society and personal desires?
How does the college atmosphere create a psedo-environment in which people can find thier "real" self?

Blog 5

Five Scholarly Sources:

Anderson, Pauline; Williams, Jenny. Identity and difference in higher education: "outsiders within". Ashgate, Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Burlington, VT. 2001, 197.

Bruffee, Kenneth A. Collaborative learning: Higher Education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 1993.

Haywood, Bruce. The Essential College. XOXOX Press, Gambier, OH. 2006

Rodriguez, Sandria. Giants among us: first-generation college graduates who lead activist lives. Vanderbilt University Press, Tenn. 2001

Stivers, Richard. The illusion of Freedom and Equality. State University of New York Press, Albany. 2008

Rutgers RIOT (Blog 4)

The Rutgers RIOT seemed to be a helpful tool for finding data. Although some of the information seemed a little trivial, the website was still helpful in areas where students are still confused. It clarified all of the information that was thrown at us during the library session. I choose the 'selecting key words' module and it taught me that changing words slightly effects the amount and relevance of the articles that are found. I also practiced evaluating sources which taught me to be careful of the date and author of the articles. It also emphasized the importance of using "and" instead of "or". As a teaching device, the program is beneficial. The animation contributed to the program by making it more interesting. It should be publicized so more people know about all of the resources that the libraries provide for the students.

Librarian Questions (Blog 3)

1. What is the latest editions of magazines/newspaper that the library has?
2. How many people go to the library each day? Do you ever think they go there for a "social" aspect? How many people check books out each day?
3. What is the maximum number of books one can check out?

Blog 2

I really do like the idea of "liminal" college experience. I want my paper to focus on the social aspects of college and how college education plays a role in society. Also I want to focus on why college students do such bizzarre and unusual things. The standards of the college community and much different than the "real world" community. Students often change personalities and attitudes in the different contrasting environments. This includes at home, at the lecture halls and libraries and in the dorm. For example, why do people feel like college is the appropriate time to "experiment."
Here are a couple of pieces I found interesting:

http://http://www.theticker.org/about/2.8219/vermont-considers-lowering-the-drinking-age-1.2140236
In this article they consider lowering the drinking age and that Cornell University offers medical attention due to alcohol related instances without penalty.
http://http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/positive-friends-can-lead-to-a-longer-life-83786577.html
I really liked this article because it encourages a positive friendly environment. This can be applied to colleges and Moffatt because he stresses that the deans want a friendly community.

College- Liberation

Although college is seen as "the best years of one's life," and a time when liberation and imagination emerge, many of the actions and trends are conformations to society. Expectations and competition consume much of a college student's life. For example, in class we were discussing that one would not converse about poetry or physical chemistry at a party. Even though we are here to learn and liberate our minds, society still has expectations of college students. These expectations become an arm's race of who goes out the most AND the highest grades. Finding one's ideal perfect balance of school and social life at times seems impossible as if it were balancing a chemical equation. Expectations and desire have conflicting ideals in college and one can face each day fulfilling whichever ideal is more appealing without guilt. There are minimal restrictions, and the university feeds off of each other's ideas. This leads to protests and organizations that strive for a liberation of their desires. This may be why people feel college was the "best time of their life" because dreams were pursued and wants were fulfilled. However, the structure of society usually consumes the college student at the conclusion of the four years. College life fades as one reflects on the best years of their life.