First Research Assignment

I approached a student around my age who was walking through campus Saturday afternoon after our class broke for research. I asked her if she had a few minutes to talk so I could interview her for a class assignment, and she willingly agreed. She told me her name was Kate and that she was a communication major from Vancouver, WA and that she had lived in Washington her whole life. I chose to talk to her because she seemed like she would be a good representation of an average University of Washington student and I wanted to get her opinion on the recent events surrounding race in our societies and others.

I started by asking her about the general issues of race in the United States, and her opinions on the greater issues facing the United States around race, such as what is happening currently in Baltimore and Ferguson. She was very open about discussing her perception on the issues and the role of the media, while she did not have a strong opinion on the actual morality of the actions. She said she thought that the media has a lot to do about how the events surrounding race are being portrayed. This is partly why Kate didn’t feel comfortable forming an opinion around the issues, especially because she feel as those there are legitimate understandings on the issue from many different viewpoints. She does think that since there are so many innocent lives lost, both police and civilian, race is definitely an issue that needs to be address in our society.

However, Kate said she hadn’t had many incidences in her life in Seattle or Vancouver around race, mostly because of the demographics of her communities. Although she couldn’t think of any specific examples of her witnessing prejudices taking place, she knows that they are prevalent in this area, even though there is not a lot of diversity. When I asked her about issues surrounding race and immigration over seas, she said she had little to no knowledge about I but she does think its important to focus on, especially because she is from an immigrant family. Kate’s family immigrated from Scotland, so she has some connections to those who migrate to new nations, but she did feel a disconnect due to the fact her family was white and spoke English.

I heard more than I thought I would from Kate, and she was very open to speaking to me about her opinions on race and the issues surrounding it in our society. However, it’s kind of uncomfortable to ask about minorities, especially due to all the issues and conversations surrounding race currently in the United States. It is also sometimes a taboo topic, especially outside of the classroom atmosphere I am usually exposed to these discussions in. I think the fact both Kate and I are students it made the barriers a little less severe. Answering questions to someone that has a reason to be asking them and for a purpose I think makes people a little more comfortable. As a student, I know that being stopped by people on campus can sometimes be annoying and I don’t always want to take time out of my day to talk to them, so I’m not sure if I could have even gotten her to stop and talk to me if I wasn’t a student or doing it for a class assignment.

I thought this assignment was a good starting point for getting ready for this summer in Berlin. While I felt very comfortable completely this assignment on the UW campus, because it’s an area within my comfort zone, I’m sure once we arrive in Berlin, in an area I am unfamiliar with and where a language I don’t know very well, the experience will be quite different. My frame of reference, as a 21 year old from Seattle, Washington that is typically surrounded by academics in a college setting, will play a much bigger part once I get to Berlin and may make my understandings of their issues a little morphed. However, I just need to focus on checking my frame of reference and how my perceptions and understanding of the world come into play.

For my observation, I chose to sit near a tree in the Quad, a place I frequent a lot while on campus. The Quad is one of the most prominent areas on campus, and draws a lot of attention from the rest of the community, especially when the cherry trees bloom in the spring. However, the cherry trees are no longer blooming and instead the trees are green and full, which contrast nicely with the mostly blue sky scattered with clouds. Because it was a weekend, the few sounds came from the students walking in small groups or alone to the library and the wind blowing through the trees. The wind brought smells of the grass and the flowers surrounding the quad that are left from the spring bloom. The quad is a place that is familiar to me going into my fourth year at the University of Washington but I do like how the senses are introduced to new things throughout the year and the seasons. Like many others, spring is my favorite time of year at the quad and it does bring feelings of pride and happiness that I’m in at this college, as well as comfort.