Hypothesis update

The microculture that I chose is the smokers who gather around the flag pole on the UNC campus. I have been walking past them since the beginning of the school year; however, I have always just ignored their existence like most of the other students on campus. The flag pole is a very common place for students to gather around, because it is one of the few places on campus where smoking is not prohibited. They are generally a group of students who prefer to smoke in groups in order to socialize rather than by themselves.

I plan to observe the behaviors of the smokers at the flag pole, because I want to know how they interact with each other, and respond to the behaviors of the others outside of their microculture. My main concern is finding out why they choose to gather around the flag pole instead of anywhere else on campus. According to the rule, the smokers are prohibited to smoke within 100-feet of all campus buildings. Yet, why do most of them choose to smoke around the flag pole? My hypothesis is that smokers prefer the flag pole area to smoke, because they can socialize with people they share common interests with. This hypothesis could be supported by observing whether smokers who choose to smoke around the flag pole socialize with each other or not.

Studying this microculture can broaden the views of the larger UNC community, because not many people understand the views of the smokers. So many people tend to ignore people who do not have similar views or interests as them, but one can learn to appreciate others by understanding the reasons for their behaviors. Most importantly, studying this microculture can provide one with a better understanding of the smokers as human beings and their beliefs and values.