Party Foul: Ethnography on Party Culture and Health Risks

8/12/2019 Party Foul: Ethnography on Party Culture and Health Risks

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V I N AY S R I N I VA S A N

PARTY FOUL: HOW SOCIALFACTORS AFFECT POMONA

UNDERCLASSMEN INNAVIGATING THEIR RISKOF FALLING ILL AT SCHOOL


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BACKGROUND

College is a pretty high risk place for disease to getaround base this off the physical.

Not really a something that is abating Could there macro-level factors at play affecting

how underclassmen navigate their risk of falling ill?

Physical Risks:Proximity,

CommunalSpaces,Sharing


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PRIMARY QUESTIONS

What motivates people to go to parties and socialgatherings at the risk of falling ill (or infectingothers)?

What are students perceptions and behaviorsassociated with illness risk at college, and what dothey think of their peers risk?

How large are the roles of psychological stressors

and social pressures in governing how studentsnavigate this risk of falling ill (or infecting others)?


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METHODS/REFLEXIVITY

Interviewed 11 Underclassmen(?) from Pomona Lasted 15-45 mins Semi-structured

Formal Participant Observation at Two Parties fromTwo different Perspectives as well as more informalopportunities

Disease?

Experiences as member of studied population Ironically didnt fall ill till this past weekend.


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FINDINGS

Academics are the largest stressor, but its social stress that motivates people to go out

People care about their own health, but they dont

really think too much about getting sick Familiar Problems: Social Risk Trumps Viral Risk in the

College Setting


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I DIDNT WANT TO BE LABELLED AS

THE MONO GIRL

Interacting factors first year desire to make/maintainnew friends, social expectations about first weeks ofcollege, all or nothing emphasis on beginning of year

The first week of meeting people I get mono.. I was likeTHIS SUCKs. I dont want people to know me that way. Ireally didnt want it to hold me back in any way, in anypart of my college experience, so I was like well, Imgoing to go out anyways .

Result: Goes out while infected with Mono, puts self atrisk and disrupts others abilities to navigate own risk

Ballroom, hallway not isolated


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SOME POLICY POSSIBILITIES

Emphasis of first yearinterlocutors oninfluence of olderstudents in

dis/encouraging partyattendance turntables

Attack extreme view ofquickly closing socialwindow less necessity

Incorporate forms ofharm reduction


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LIMITATIONS

Inexperience with Ethnography General, large project crammed into small study

with arbitrary constraints Logistical Mishaps

Documents

Party Foul: Ethnography on Party Culture and Health Risks