College and University lives are accompanied by numerous social norms, values, and traditions that are distinct developing a subculture of its own. Life in high school was completely different from what students experience in college life. Through guidance and motivations, one has a clue that there are both positive and negative norms that characterize life at college. Negative norms are be listed as drug abuse, binge drinking and skipping classes for unreasonable excuses. The mode of dressing could gradually change and time management was still a factor that got manipulated along the way. After becoming a student in college, individuals are determined to maintain the positive values and norms they norms grew up with. However, the subculture itself presents a different perception towards life since it is the first time living away from home characterized with so much freedom ( Glynn, Huge & Lunney, 2009 ).
The social norms in the college expected every college student to maximally exploit the freedom away from the parents. Freedom introduced new social norms that dictated how one could spend their time in college. The need to embrace college life and live the real college experience could attract either negative norms or positive ones in relation to how they are handled. The norms on changing dressing codes were the most influential norms. College culture is characterized by creativity, which students tend to incorporate in the dressing codes (Todd, 2011). The freedom would allow some dress codes that students were expected to conform to after enrolling for their courses. For instance, wearing pajamas in public was not a big deal in college lives. In addition, many students could wear holey t-shirts and flannel pants to class. There was no rule on the official dress code and as such, many people were left to make their own decisions as to what they considered appropriate for school.
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The food and diet schedule in college was expected to change. Evidently, it changed where one could have no diet schedule. Eating could take place any time of the day with different varieties being included in the diet. Bread could be the staple food for the whole college experience. Diversification of food choices was a story of the past since ramen and pizza was the only option for a diet change. Cupcakes could be taken for desserts preparing for the daily bread. Despite the freedom presented to the college students, balanced diet could not be highly considered unless in very rare cases where the parents’ money could afford.
Relationships and interactions with fellow peers induced new social norms that seemed very right in the college dimension (Todd, 2011). For instance, midnight trips and parties could make college life enjoyable, with snacks, ice creams, and cakes as the enticing goodies. However, a lot of caution could be made on the kind of group one could join for peers. People would peers getting into drugs and alcohol abuse through the bad company. It was still a social norm that required a lot of care when interacting with fellow peers. Friends who had gone through college life introduced a social norm of spending massive amounts of time in bed. The bed could be the center of every activity in the college life. For instance, when the classes were over and no social activity taking place in the college, the bed could become the dining room table, the entertainment studio, learning desk, and a yoga studio as well. This could be the experience throughout college life especially for those who lived in the hostels.
In college, students were expected to conform to social norms and values related to social construction that could greatly shape their lives in accordance to numerous experiences. Social construction in this aspect could include meeting students from different social backgrounds, cultural backgrounds and even from different nations. There were high expectations of learning new cultural values that could in return increase my CQ knowledge. Social norms characterizing college life helped students in shaping different ways in which they would conduct themselves ( Glynn, Huge & Lunney, 2009 ). The stereotypical image created by the society reflecting college life had some truth in it as most of the experiences required wise decision making. A majority of college students could end up in day drinking and frat parties that could affect their college performance.
Social norms in college were completely different from the norms that one grew with back in society. The freedom from parents gave more chances to try out new experiences and giving in on what the college life could offer. The social norms exercised while still under parent’s care could not find a place in college life. In college, there was no restriction on the people you could mingle with, no restrictions on the dress code to be on and there was no one to monitor the activities that peers could engage in. Moreover, college social norms were a mixture of different norms from different cultures. Therefore, in order to cope up with each other, these college social norms could solve all the existing differences ( Glynn, Huge & Lunney, 2009 ).
Although there were some aspects that could familiarize the college social norms with the norms students grew up with, the reality built by the stereotypical image of how college life was still existed (Todd, 2011). The distinct college social norms would still exist for different generations to come since it helps peers to transit into the ways of the world and grow their thinking abilities through diverse cultures presented in college life.
References
Glynn, C. J., Huge, M. E., & Lunney, C. A. (2009). The influence of perceived social norms on college students' intention to vote. Political Communication , 26 (1), 48-64.
Todd, J. E. (2011). Social norms and the behavior of college students. Teachers College Contributions to Education .
