Research Sources: Dorm Life

At first, I thought about writing about Hayden Lawn, as well as how there is so much around it.  It would have been a great topic, but there was one problem.  It is near impossible to find any kind of scholarly article about it!  I searched high as well as low, resorting to sources about lawn care, but I was not satisfied with what I found.  Instead, I will be talking about dorm life, the benefits of living on campus, as well as something that has far more interesting information on it than a plot of grass certainly does. 

I would like to explore more about dorm life, because I have heard about many studies done that speak about the benefits of living on campus.  Not to mention, seeing as how I myself am both a resident on campus as well as part of RHA, a student organization that is specifically for residents.  I believe that it would be very beneficial to not only myself, but possibly other members of RHA as well; to inspire them all to work even harder for the benefit of the residents.

The evaluation process will be related to the atmosphere within the dorms, as well as the functionality of the community.  Seeing as how there are more aspects to dorm life, the aforementioned two are the most basic, as well as necessary for determining the success of the students.  I could try and delve in deeper, into the interpersonal relations between roommates as well as suite mates, but that would only complicate the project, in addition to being rather unnecessary.

Some sources that I have found include the book Chic U by Christie Garton, pages 30 through 57, an article in the Arizona Republic by William Hermann titled Living Up the Dorm Life (665 words), Dorm Life With New Puprose (962) published by The Frederick News-Post is another article.  Lastly there is one last scholarly article, published in the New York Times, by Susan Jo Keller by the title of Dorm Life 101 (1438).  From these sources, I will learn more about the benefits to dorm living along with relations between dorm mates within one’s living community.

Rather than exhausting this topic further, I am just going to blather on about my day.  So far, I woke up, had breakfast, ate part of a giant Rice Krispie treat with this amazing guy.  My friend and I gave him a card and the monstrously giant sweet treat for his birthday.  It was quite delicious, but we all know that it most certainly is not nutritious.  I love my friends so much, they are the fucking shit.  If celebrities walk on the red carpet, we walk on toilet because we are the shit.

Evaluation: Miss Congeniality

I see what you [I] did there!

Even though “Miss Congeniality” is an old movie, it is still a favorite for many.  The other night, I had a movie night with some friends, and we decided to sit down to watch that movie.  Remembering that I have an assignment in which I would evaluate and review a movie, book, or show, I payed closer attention to the different aspects of the movie.  A new perspective opened up to me as the movie played.

Gracie Hart, played by Sandra Bullock, is one of the most unfeminine women in the world; even the guys respond to her as if she herself is one of them, and not of the opposite sex.  She epitomizes everything that isn’t related to the Miss America beauty pageant;  Gracie relies on brute force and her high intelligence when it comes to just about anything. Despite her lack of womanliness, and good manners in general, she is chosen by her colleagues to go under cover as a contestant in order to catch a terrorist.  Gracie’s transformation, aided by a staff of ‘professionals’, is astonishing, but it is only surface deep.  Swapping her messy ponytail and baggy clothes for a more groomed look and short skirts.  She herself is still the quick tempered agent, commenting as soon as the painful transformation process was over that, “I am in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven't slept all night, I'm starved, and I'm armed! Don't *mess* with me!” to all of her male coworkers.  You would think her credibility with them would remain the same, regardless of the significant change in appearance, but alas, you are mistaken.

Isn't she beautiful? :)

At the beginning of the movie, Gracie got herself in some trouble during a mission.  Losing some credibility amongst her fellow coworkers, they still treated her as they always did before; like one of the guys.  When she transformed into the beauty, they suddenly stopped with the jokes, and started treating her like a lady.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it when a guy holds the door open for me, but if he suddenly stops treating me how he used to before an appearance change on my behalf, I’d be annoyed.  Does suddenly having more femininity in appearance justify such a change in behavior on the behalf of her male friends?  I don’t think so.  They should have been treating her as such long before the transformation, or at least continue treating her as one of the guys.

Where is she hiding the gun? :o

Though Gracie is treated more like a lady, she also begins to lose more credibility still.  She is intelligent, perceptive, and actually knows what is going on behind the scenes of the pageant.  Do her superiors believe in her enough to actually make sure that her hypothesis of someone plotting to do off with the crowned winner of Miss America? No, they brush her away as if she herself had become one of the ditzy contestants.  I bet that if she had been in her baggy clothes and tangled hair, they probably would have stuck around for a little longer, and made sure that the mission truly was finished.

I believe she is thinking, "Really now?" with a dose of sarcasm

The interactions that happen within the movie are humorous, and I still find it enjoyable to watch.  However, I do not appreciate how degrading it should be to all powerful women that the heroine in this movie went from high to low, just because she learned how to put in some effort into her appearance.  It is a slap to the face that this movie showed such immaturity within the male characters perspectives’, and if such a thing were to happen in real life, I would have less respect for those men.

I apologize for going over the length, but I believe that every word I wrote was necessary to get my point across.  Analyzing this movie opened my eyes to a completely new perspective of it, and I hope it did for you as well.