TUBIOLI+CLUE+project+part+2a

Clue Project 2a Donielle Tubioli Back (to personal page)



 __** One on campus space: The Soccer Fields on Upper Campus **__

I decided to approach this part of CLUE by taking a closer look at a public space that we may all know and see, yet it may not always be noticed. I have noticed through recent data of time diaries that college students don’t always focus solely on their classes. In fact, students participate in much more than others may think. Like mentioned in the reading of “My Freshman Year” as well as personal experience we are aware that there are many things to get involved in on campus including Greek Life, intramural sports, clubs such as DASL (developing ambitious student leaders), work study positions (working in the library), and the list goes on and on. For this particular part of CLUE, I would like to introduce you to one of the fabulous activities Bloomsburg University offers, Intramural Soccer.



**In case you were wondering... **

Intramural sports are basically fun, less competitive sports. They are for those students who do not have time for practices or far away games. It is the idea of having fun, and doing a sport you love or maybe doing a sport you never played before. Intramural sports are focused more on games instead of having practices daily. Students are able to create a team of their own, or join a team that may need players. Some intramural sports can have teams with a mixture of males and females, while others are strictly for one gender. Games take place depending on the team you sign up for. There are two choices: Monday, Wednesday games or there is the other option of Tuesday and Thursday games.


 * I attended and played in my first intramural soccer game on Wednesday, September 21st at 6:00. During my observations I noticed… **
 * ** Students came prepared, ready to play, and excited to be there. There were two referees which were also students. On the team were 9 students. There were also several students there to support the teams playing. On the other team there were 12 students. These players were also very excited about playing. When I first got there I noticed that many girls did not know eachother prior to this game so they all had to introduce one another. Even though students first met eachother, during the game the students passed to one another. There was a lot of positive encouragement from the teammates and every student on the team got a chace to play. If one was tired, another player subed in for them. On the other team I noticed one girl who never played soccer before. Although it was her first time ever playing soccer she was cheered on by her teammates as well as helped to get her to understand where to go on the field and what to do. The team I was on actually won the game but at the end all of the students shook hands and said "good game" to each player. It was a very supportive, fun, and positive environment to be around to observe.

**After the game I decided to stick around to ask students on my team their reasoning behind playing intramural soccer…**

Student one Student two Student three
 * Used to play in highschool
 * Favorite sport to play
 * Wanted to be active
 * Wanted something that was flexible and could work around her schedule
 * Like game of soccer
 * Stay active and fit
 * Not as time consuming
 * It is fun
 * Love the game of soccer
 * Meeting new people
 * We do not have to be as committed

Example of a Team schedule for Intramural soccer

What does the data you collect suggest to you about college life? Looking at the data I found including the observations and the interviews I could infer that many students join clubs or in this case intramural soccer for the "fun of it". Many students just want to be a part of something that is fun for them, a place they could meet friends with common interests, doesn't take up a lot of time, as well as something that they do not have to be completely committed to. In the book," My Freshman Year", Nathan explains to us how she noticed that most of the time students did not want to be a part of activities such as Greek Life because it involved too much of their time. A lot of times with certain clubs, students must attend each meeting otherwise they are no longer considered a member of that club. With Intramural Soccer, students can be a part of a team, but if they don't show up for the games it is not like they are kicked off the team. Students like to have this flexibility in college because it allows them the opportunity to be a part of many other clubs on campus.