People Watching

This is exploration #22 and can be found on page 73 of our textbook.

Have you ever wondered what seating arrangements can reveal about people? For this exploration, I took the time to study just that. Here is what I found:

This is a “map” of the Trojan Center cafeteria area. You know, the Market Place, with all the booths and tables? This is an aerial view of the area. The left side is the wall of windows. The right side is all booths. The top is the entrance to the Spectrum Lounge, and the bottom is the entrance to the FOOD! The star shape in the upper left is where I was sitting. It represents me. Not because I’m a star, but because it’s a different symbol to show where I am! Circles represent females, and squares represent males. The different colors show what color of (as close as I could replicate) shirts the people were wearing. Got it? Good. Let’s analyze.

First, observations:

There were 11 females in the area, including me. There were two girls wearing the same color shirt, but they were not near each other. Most girls were grouped together. At my table, there was one other girl and also another girl at the next table over who was conversing with us. There was a group of four girls in the corner, and two girls more in the middle of the room. Only one girl was sitting alone, presumably working on homework. There was also a girl in the booths but was not alone and instead with her boyfriend.

There were nine men in the room. One guy was wearing the same color as me. Some other guys had similar or possibly same colored shirts, but not next to each other. All men were collected together in groups or at least one other person.

No distinct patterns have presented themselves. Or have they? From the look of this map, it looks like, when given the choice, people like to sit across from each other and not next to each other. Is this because it’s awkward to sit next to the other person, or they want to look at each other while talking and not have to turn their heads, or is it because they want to people watch in different directions? There could be a million different answers.

There is one pattern observed here that might seem stereotypical. At the corner I sat, everyone (except me) played video or card games, even while sitting there at the table. The people in the bottom left corner wore athletic clothing and were mostly cheerleaders, softball, basketball, and volleyball players. The people in the bottom right corner seemed to be louder than everyone else. And the people in the top right were quiet and sat in peace while eating and working on homework.

So, it can be said that our Trojan Center was pretty diverse but separated. Everyone seemed to sit in their respective corners. Where people sat in the room defined what the person does/likes. It’s not a stereotype, it’s an observation.

I say that we should break out of our corners! College is the only time we are able to meet so many different people with different backgrounds and learn who to better communicate. Communication is something that we can carry through our entire life. For any job, it’s a necessity. So, break out, and don’t let the Trojan Center fit these stereotypes.