Introduction

As a university in the state of Texas, we have our own type of culture. We love our traditions, football, the color burnt orange, and throwing up the horns in every picture we take. However, subcultures are prevalent in many aspects of UT. Subcultures can be defined as a cultural group within a larger culture that differ in a variety of ways. Our main focus for these blog entries is to uncover different subcultures in the different dorms around campus. We did this by utilizing interviews and observations to understand the different atmospheres and environments that appear in six different residence halls at the University of Texas. In our observations we looked at different aspects of the dorms like dining halls, study rooms, causal resident life, and hang out areas. The three of us all live in different dormitories, so we each observed these interactions in our specific resident halls as well as one other dorm on campus.


Definition: 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subculture


"Subculture." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Dorm #1: Duren

Today was November 10, 2013 and I observed the atmosphere and environment of the on campus dorm, Duren. Upon entering Duren, there was an immediate feeling of quietness and reservation that would have been hard to break. There was no one in the lobby area. I then proceeded to walk around and observe the hallways and living areas. The hallways were completely silent as well and there weren’t many people walking around in the halls. The main layout of Duren was strikingly similar to a hospital and the environment as a whole lacks a feeling of coziness. Overall, there were two main subcultures that I observed that were extremely present within this specific dorm. The first subculture I observed was one that consisted of ethnic minorities that were highly reserved. It was evident that these people found personal space, quietness and academics more important that social interaction. The norm for this subculture was to sit at a study table as a group and not talk; if there was conversation it was in a whisper among themselves. The second subculture that I observed was a greekife subculture. It was evident that these students cared much more about their appearance and social status than personal space or academics. This subculture holds different values such as partying and pledgeship, which takes place outside of the dorm. The students that fall into this subculture spend most of their time at their sorority and fraternity houses, and only utilize Duren as a place to sleep. There are different factors that have contributed to the formation of two different subcultures such as the lack of a dining hall and comfortable hang out room. Overall, there was such a strong divide between these two subcultures to the point at which the staff felt the needed to try and facilitate social interaction by holding events for Duren residents.

Here is an interview with Duren resident, Trey Bass:

Q: What is one statement you have about living in Duren?

A: “It is a fine living establishment.”

Q: If you could change one thing about Duren, what would it be and why?

A: “I would paint all the walls a shade of olive to create a more homey environment.”

Dorm #2: Scottish Rite Dormitory

Today I spent the afternoon observing Scottish Rite Dormitory (SRD). Sitting in the ballroom of SRD I was overwhelmed by a friendly, joyful and bubbly atmosphere. SRD is an all girls, private dormitory. The external appearance of SRD is extravagant and beautiful, almost intimidating. Inside SRD the architecture is intricate, with wood floors, flower arrangements and chandeliers. The dining hall is on the bottom floor of SRD, and it is well known as a place of socializing and having “real” conversations. SRD always has fancy food, such as shrimp and chicken fried steak. Through the different observations it was very evident that SRD had its own type of subculture. The residents of SRD are almost all white upper-class girls that are either involved in sororities, spirit groups, campus crusade or YoungLife. The joke on campus is that SRD is for the “Spoiled Rotten Daughters”. The dominant values in this dorm are Christianity, social life and finding community. The norms of SRD include hanging out in the ballroom together almost always, studying as a group, eating as a group, and taking lots of pictures. If a resident of another dorm were to walk into SRD they would feel intimated and out of place.

In an interview with an SRD resident the following statements were made:

Q: What is one statement you have about SRD?

A: "SRD is the best place on Earth, why would you not want to live here?"

Q: What is your favorite part about SRD?

A: "I like all the girls because its like one big slumber party."

Q: What is your least favorite part about SRD?

A: "They turn the froyo off on Friday at like 3..is that a joke."

Dorm #3: The University Towers Dorm

On November 12, 2013, I observed the University Towers dormitory, which is an off campus dorm located on West 24^th street. The dorm is 4 blocks away from campus, and it takes about 4-5 minutes to walk to campus. Towers is offered to both freshman and sophomores, but is mostly leased by freshman. The dorm has a cafeteria, fitness room, rooftop lounge, study rooms, and a front desk. Since there is so much offered to the students, many people do not leave the area. There are 10 floors, 9 of which are designated to living. The dorm rooms have three rooms- two bedrooms and a living room. Both of the rooms have a bathroom and a full closet. There are four people that live in a room. Typically, the types of people that live in towers are the out-of-state students who are involved with Greek Life. University Towers has a reputation to be the “party” dorms since it is dominated by a bunch of frat stars and sorority girls. On the weekends, you can walk down any hallway and hear music blasting and girls and boys partying from 10pm-2am. Even on some weekdays there will always be some rooms having parties. Since there are three rooms within a room, it is very easy to have others come and hangout because the living space is so large. Even though Towers has this reputation, the dorm offers multiple study rooms that residents can rent out for 2 hours in order to focus on work. University Towers dorm culture is a Greek life subculture. Most dormitories at Texas are not like Towers, but that is because dorms are subculture within the larger culture, UT.  

An interview with a Towers resident:

Q: Would you consider Towers a party dorm? Why or why not?

A: Yes. No matter what time of the night it is, there is always music blasting from someone's room.

Q: Do you think it is difficult to focus and do work in Towers?

A: Not really. Although Towers is considered the Party dorm, the study rooms are very useful. You don't have to walk to the library late at night when you can have your own room in the dorm

Rooftop lounge

Fitness room

Cafeteria

Dorm rooms

Dorm #4: The Callaway House

Fall of 2013 was the first time students could live in The Callaway House because the renovations were finally done. Callaway is very similar to Towers in the sense that it is an off campus dorm with having “suite” layout rooms. Since Callaway was just built this year, the styles of many of the facilities are modern, eloquent, and appealing. The nickname for this dorm is “Hotel Callaway” because that's what it looks like. The lobby has 24/7 front desk service and security guards. The lobby also has a game room, Movie Theater, and a computer room. Callaway also has a full fitness room with multiple machines to workout with, a rooftop pool, 5 floor parking garage, and multiple study rooms. There are two types of subcultures that I observed in Callaway. The first one is the in-state frat boys and sorority girls who like to party, and the second one is wealthy girls who want to live in an up-scale dorm. Although the second subculture is of girls not in Greek life, they do enjoy partying. You can find people hanging out in Callaway at all hours of the night in either the rooms, Movie Theater, game rooms, or around the pool. Although Towers and Callaway have many similarities, they are their subcultures because Towers is mostly out-of-state students, while Callaway is in-state students. 

Pool area

The exterior 

 
Movie theater

The lobby