Place: First floor hallway, Prothro-Yeager Humanities building on Midwestern State University campus

Time: 10 minute intervals between classes

Purpose: To observe student behavior and interactions in this small isolated environment

Taken as a group, many older adults view college students as a homogenous group – young, like-minded, modern, talkative, and often silly.  Watching a particular hallway in the Prothro-Yeager Humanities building on the campus of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas disproves and yet, also proves a few of these assumptions to be true.  With a short ten-minute interval between class ending and starting times, it could be expected that students might be rushing from and to their required places, however, most seemed unconcerned with time, or for that matter, space.

This hallway in particular is a short hall of only four classrooms; however it is also a corridor to the main hallway through the building. At least a hundred individuals tread this hallway during the ten-minute timeframe observed, making it busier than many streets in the town.  Out of this number of people, it is surprising how few actually communicate with each other.  While groups do develop within the hall (more on that later), most passing through barely acknowledge the presence of others in their environment.  Listening to headphones attached to a number of different electronic devices, many walk along unhindered by personal contact with the world around them.  Though unconnected with the “real world” around them, most glide through the crowd without causing even a ripple from their entrance and exit.  They seem like ethereal spirits merely visiting the scene.

Other individuals, not on headphones, walk along steadily while gazing at the floor itself or at some distant point unseen by others.  They avoid eye contact with any single individual, but watch intently ahead while maneuvering the crowded hallway for openings and passages. Some appear to be withdrawn, studying internally on some heavy mental burden requiring all their concentration.  Most are completely unobtrusive, but will occasionally notice another and hold open a door, step aside to allow someone passage or meekly smile at a passerby.  They may, however, suddenly notice a group of their immediate peers and screech to a halt to form a grouping in the center of traffic.

These groupings can be fascinating to watch.  Varied by reason for the grouping, they do seem to most often form by race, nationality, or ethnicity.  They form from the crowd in an instant and halt progress of traffic immediately in their vicinity.  A single person standing on the side of the hall may be joined by two or more students suddenly, and then the flow of traffic becomes a log jam.  All those not invited into the grouping must stop, change direction, back-track, or otherwise get out of the way.  These groupings form in such delighted conversation upon meeting that those around them may feel ashamed at either wanting them to continue or at not being able to be a part of the group.  Either reasoning prevents anyone in the surrounding area from expressing resentment at the obstruction and all simply select other paths.

Differences occur in the execution of the between class dance based on class time and day of the week.  Mondays bring fewer students – especially to early classes – and more interaction.  Students appear to notice each other more , open doors to let others through ahead of them, and speak – yes, actually say “hello” to each other.  Could this be caused by spending time away from academia over the weekend,, being among family (such as moms who remind them of their manners), or the effect of fewer students battling through the same area?  It would be very interesting to spend more time in different locations over several days and class change times to compare and contrast the activity by class subject areas – business vs. humanities or engineering – and services available in the building – just hallways vs. a building with a coffee shop.