If I would to name and define all the different norms out there, I could most likely be able to write a book- that is how many that are out there! There are definitely group norms at SJSU. The two biggest ones I can think of are those who are part of Greek Life and those who are part of Athletics. Those who are part of a sorority and/or fraternity, have that norm that they are all about partying with their brothers and sisters and they each have a philanthropy they have to live up to and contribute to each semester. Truth is, those who a part of one of these organizations, they still have to balance being a college student and maintaining their duties being in their sorority or fraternity. It is not always easy and fun either. For those who are part of Athletics, they have the norm that they have it made. That once they come to SJSU, they have everything handed to them. They get priority registration, they get to miss classes, they like to party hard too, their living the dream. The truth is that norm is false because although there are perks to being an athlete, the downside for every athlete, is they still have that role of being a college student of getting their work in on time, some are on scholarship and some aren’t and they still have to pay for tuition and books just like every other college student. They have to balance school and their sports team, and I personally give each athlete a lot of credit playing college sports. I’m sure it is fun and rewarding but it can be exhausting at the same time.
I am a Peer Health Educator on campus and we are the ones who educate those on campus and in campus organizations on alcohol, drugs, stress, sexual health, violence prevention, chronic diseases, body image and put on different events each semester and conduct class presentations and workshops. I do hang out with fellow peer health educators off of being part of the group as well; however either way, the group norm we have is that we are expected to never drink or say things that contradict what we teach. Truth is, we never tell students in our presentations and events “don’t drink, don’t have sex or encourage it.” We serve our purpose that if you choose to take part in drinking, or being sexually active, then do so safely.” We provide tips, ideas, show the good and bad, and encourage students to stay on the good side of alcohol, and provide resources to get help if needed. I identified these norms because I can see it in peoples’ expressions and questions on what we do in PHE and how we have to conduct ourselves and what is expected of us, outside PHE. I am not saying we all drink or sexually active in PHE, I actually do not go around asking all of my fellow phe’s what they do in their personal lives and for those who were in it or are still in and I’m close friends with, they at least have the resources and knowledge of what they choose to engage in prior before. I adapt/adapted to these norms by never placing pictures on facebook when I hang out with friends( I actually do not drink, I won’t have a full drink until the day I turn 21-that is my vow I made to myself) and I am always careful what I say to people and what I put on my statuses and make sure anything I say is never offensive to people because being in the group I am in, we are all about promoting living a healthier and more happier lifestyle and last thing I want to contradict myself or others around me and make them feel uncomfortable.
First I just wanted to give you credit for keeping that vow to yourself that you will not drink until you are 21. It is not often that people make that kind of committment to themselves, especially when young! I think it is great that you identified censoring your social networking page in order to stay consistent with the norms of your position as a Peer Health Educator because you want to lead by example, and would not want those familiar with the PHE group to doubt your dedication and beliefs. Can I ask you how you got involved with this? Great post!
ReplyDeleteHey there little miss daisy. First of all I want to say good job on your first post for this week. I think you did a very good job discussing norms and the ones that affect your life personally. I was to say great job on keeping your vow of not drinking until you are 21 years old. As we all know many young teenagers and young adults start drinking while they are in high school and sometimes middle school because of the peer pressure they receive. It takes a lot of courage and strength to do what you are doing so I say good job. In response to the norms that you talked about with athletes and Greek life on campus I thought you did a really good job explaining that on top of the norms that you discussed they have responsibilities that they have to keep up with. Good job on your work with the PHE and great post.
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