The classroom had been packed with students bustling out of the room. Another class had just ended and they were all eager to leave after sitting for an extended period of time. I simply greeted whoever made eye contact with a smile as I made my way to the professor. Her name was Professor Julianne Davidow and I had taken her in my first semester of college. The class that I took with her had been a FIQWS class titled creative expression. However, the class that I was observing was “Writing for Engineering” in room 301Z. The room was right next to my current english class and the room followed a similar structure. I tried to wrap my head around a writing class for engineers and how it would look. There were so many questions that went through my mind about how the class would be structured or what they would talk about. I just did not know what to expect. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to connect this observation to the social atmosphere created at The City College of New York.

People started coming into the class a few minutes before it was supposed to start and sitting in what I assume was their unofficial assigned seats. Many of them would sit down and start talking to the person next to them about things that they were confused about. As students continued to file in I noticed that the class was male dominated. I only saw three female students in the class and two of them sat with each other while the other one initially sat by herself. As the class started the professor walked into the classroom and instructed everyone to get into a circle. This caused everyone to move around the room sluggishly while still talking in faint whispers. The class officially begun at 2:05 pm after everyone had organized themselves.

The professor started off by collecting assignments as also posed the topic of persuasion to the entire class. This is not what I expected for an engineering writing class, I thought it would have been more scientific or mathematical. I noticed that there was a variety of reactions from the students within the class once the topic was proposed. There were some students that were listening intently while others looked very bored but they were still a bit engaged. I believe that they then transitioned into an independent activity during this time so I took the opportunity to note some things that intrigued me. Many students chose to sit with others that they physically identify with. There were two students that had glasses as well as two students who had similar hair and dress style that sat with each other. People tend to gravitate to people that look like them or that they know they can identify with. This made me think about myself in social situations. Does this play a role in who people choose to interact with?

The  moment of silence that had been filled with my wandering thoughts was interrupted when the professor brought the class together again for a group discussion. She encouraged the students to share their responses to the activity by sharing hers as well. She shared her personal perspective referencing her parents when it came to the topic of persuasion. This caused the students to push back in regards to her argument about the topic. As the class progresses the professor begins to roll out the future assignment but I noticed something interesting. The professor begins explaining something and the student goes, “ I don’t understand what you mean, it does not make sense.” The students are more outspoken and blunt with her than the students were in my class last semester. I began to think about how this behavior would play a role in how students interact socially. My brother-in-law is an engineering major and he has the same outspoken mannerisms so perhaps it had to do with their chosen major.

The class time is now getting closer to the end and students begin to fidget a lot. They were shaking their legs, playing with their fingers, or twisting in their chairs. They could have been bored and trying to keep themselves engaged or maybe anxious about getting out of the classroom. Some even went as far as to put their jackets on about five minutes before the class was supposed to end. The little behaviors connect and contribute to the subcultures at The City College of New York. Whether it had to do with their attitudes or their movements, all these little things shape the way we interact with our environment and shape it. This is how a lot of the social atmosphere is created in college. During class students make connections that influence who they spend time with outside of the classroom and what they do in the social setting of The City College of New York.