People watching in the student union was a very eye opening experience for me.

I learned a lot about how different cultures interact with each other. Unc Charlotte is an extremely diverse campus. And the student union is what I consider the hub of the university. Sitting in the lobby for an hour I saw around five different ethnic groups, and Im sure numerous religions were represented in that room. As far as literacy practices, each group of people was doing something different. Some were studying, some were socializing, and others just sat quietly. But as we mentioned in class today, every person in the groups had a role in their conversation. There was a leader, funny man, etc. These roles, although to the group were unnoticed, played a crucial part in my perception of each member. For example I judged people solely on what role they played in the group. I perceived the leader and funny one to be more outgoing and laid back. As opposed to the quieter members. For the most part everyone moved with a rushed gait. It was as if every person had their own agenda and that was the only thing on their mind. Most came in the door and either went straight up the steps or made a dash for the food court in the back. But there was a small number of students who lingered at the door and casually walked around the lobby socializing with seemingly random people. Some benefits of this experiment are that we got to learn how other people behave. Because I have never really paid attention to how groups act in the union. It helps you better understand how different races, etc. act. But a drawback is that it makes you stereotype these people.