Reflections on Observations and Fieldnotes

My choice of site is the U shaped concrete bench that people hang out at outside Overlook South and I'm specifically studying the vape culture located there that honestly has me intrigued beyond belief. From what I have witnessed so far, it appears to me that vaping is an exclusively male dominated activity. Any females that I see approach usually ask for cigarettes, which I do not understand if vaping is supposed to be better for you than actually smoking cigarettes. Everyone who I so far have witnessed vaping turn out to be very sociable and approachable, considering I'm friends with them.

This leads me to a general question of,"Does vaping make you appear more friendly and approachable?" From what I personally have witnessed so far, yes. As I was observing the culture and tallying how many people passed through the area, I discovered that out of the 137 students that I saw pass by, 67 of them were African-American, 55 were Caucasian, and 15 were either Hispanic or Middle Eastern. This gives me the question of ," Do Hispanic-American and Middle Eastern-American students not like this school, since there's so few of them?" I am going to continue to observe the site and learn as much as I possibly can about the communities that go to this school, as well as vaping.

I participated in the culture via discussion about various things college students talk about (Sports, different mods for vapes, weed, classes, etc.) and when we got onto the subject of vaping, I told them about how I was doing my ethnography paper on vape culture, and they were all too happy to start explaining to me what vapes actually are, the different flavors, everything. It was mind boggling. I have not tried to vape yet, but I am willing to try anything (for those of you that know me, you know this is true) and I have high hopes that it will be a great experience for me.

I plan to go at random intervals of the day to my site because the same group of people with additions here and there are always at the U, and I really am curious if vaping is a male dominated activity. It is also so I can become friends with them and integrate myself into the community, so I may both learn from firsthand experience vaping with them and become friends with them during my four years of schooling here at William Paterson.