In the eighth week of school, we started with feeder 2.1 being due and now by the end of the week, feeder 2.2 is in the works with a rough draft and will be due Monday. The peer-review sessions in the class after the submission of a rough draft have shown to be very helpful and engaging for everyone. Specifically, this week has taught many people the importance of taking very detailed notes and introducing people to coding their observations. Furthermore, everyone in the class has had an opportunity to dive into the specific subcultures of their choice. This has expanded my perspective of groups of people that I never would have thought deeply about. Specifically in my project, I am analyzing the subculture of a local coffee shop at the beach which has revealed to be very interesting. The dynamic of the close-knit community is very unique with the beach being a major factor of interest for people. Another person in my group has analyzed the subculture of a refugee camp and gathered evidence from people such as little kids which have provided very raw evidence of what the people experience on a day to day basis. As the unit project comes to an end, it will be very exciting to see how everyone’s projects turn out and learn more about other people’s subcultures that they have researched. Overall, I can see the work of not only myself but others expanding and becoming better.
The stress of the upcoming weeks is very prominently felt through everyone on campus and off-campus. The impending midterms have most people on pins and needles as the stress levels have spiked. I think the shift to online classes has added another level of stress for people as meeting with other students to study or finding tutors is extremely difficult. Furthermore, as our fall break has been taken away, I think that has also added to the intensity of people’s anxiety as it feels as if we have been working nonstop since August. However, the University of North Carolina has released that on the upcoming Friday, October 9th, we will be having a mental health day. Most people seem to appreciate this decision as many people’s mental health seems to be getting worse through the strain of classes and lack of social interaction.
Also, there has been a lot of chatter recently as to whether the classes will be in person for next spring, but I attribute much of that to wishful thinking. As of right now, I do not believe that there are any definite answers to the questions as no one knows if the pandemic will spike over winter break or not. It has been admitted that we will no longer have a spring break which, similar to the redacted fall break, will make the spring semester feel very long. Another big question that many people are facing is not only the living situation for next year but also the living situation for the spring semester. Many people have already moved into apartments and now have year-long leases; however, other people are still waiting to see if dorms will allow students to live in them next semester.
Finally, a bit of normalcy has returned with the changing weather and college football. Over the weekend, UNC battled against Boston College and successfully came out with a win. This next week will be a very exciting one as UNC comes to face Virginia Tech and will be allowing students into the game. It is starting to feel like autumn now with the cool weather and noticeable change in attire as students are now seen replacing their t-shirts with flannels and shorts with long pants.
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