Uwa Fitness Observation Essay

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Observing college students in their natural habitat during the summer can be very tricky. Campus is a ghost town at The University of West Alabama. Of course, the administrative offices are busily preparing for the upcoming semester, but the on-campus student population is relatively low compared to fall and spring semesters. The low summer enrollment numbers nationwide are part to blame from the limited financial aid a student can receive in the summer. In order to receive the best results from the observation, I picked a place I knew students would congregate. The UWA fitness center has a steady flow of students between the outdoor pool and the general fitness area. The first step to any observation is to take in the surroundings. My observation …show more content…

One student scanned my fitness center card, which gave me access to the pool and the fitness center. Two lifeguards were sitting pool side in matching red bikinis marked with “lifeguard” across the chest. The lounge chairs were occupied by teen and college aged girls. During the observations time, no men were at the pool. Most people at the pool were laying in the chairs catching rays, but a few were floating in the pool to cool down. The girls at the pool were grouped in pairs. The fitness center was the complete opposite. Everyone was doing their own activity with very little human interaction. Music was blasting over the speakers in the gym, but everyone had personal earbuds. I wondered what people were listening to. The machines were full of students and community members. The gym is a very odd place to observe interactions. Everyone in the gym are participating in similar activities, but yet not one is having conversations. A simple head nod or smile is the main form of communication. Men would occasionally pump fist with each other and women would wave or give a simple “how are you?”. I got the feeling people came to the gym to take a break from the real world. The cardio machines were the most visited section. I feel men are more concerned with sculpting muscles when women are more interested in feeling comfortable in their body. In general, more

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