Ashanty Barrios 10/20/13 English 106 A.

Halliday 1st Draft Research Essay

Here at Purdue, one finds themselves always on the move, rushing from one place to another trying to complete homework or playing sports and such. To make life easier, Purdue has a convenient mini-mart type place called On-The-Go which is very convenient for those with a very tight schedule that would still like to enjoy good food but dont have time to stop at a dining court. While they are more limited with their food choices than the dining courts, they seem to get mixed reviews from students. In this essay, we will draw conclusions from observations at the Earhart On-The-Go and several dining courts to see what each group of students has to say about these two places. The first group observed will be those that, from past experiences, Ive noted frequent the Earhart On-The-Go location every morning and in the afternoons. The second group observed will be the students eating in the dining courts, usually in the evenings for dinner. The goal here is to determine what makes these two communities alike and what are their major differences. The following observations were done in a week, from Monday October 14th to Saturday October 19th. The times for the observations ranged from as early as 9:45 in the morning to as late as 7:00 pm depending on my class schedule. There are several dining courts that will be observed as well, and they are Hillenbrand, Wiley,

Earhart, and Windsor. Ford dining court was not included due to an inconvenient proximity to my dorm and classes. Earharts On-The-Go was chosen because it was the closest to my dorm and I go there every morning so it would make observing easier. Let us begin with Mondays dinner, which took place in Hillenbrands dining court. The observations lasted from 5:45-6:30pm and I was accompanied by three of my friends. It was moderately packed and the tables around us were full with groups of four to five people. Many of the people around us, boy males and females picked spaghetti as their main course and also had mashed potatoes and a chocolate chip cookie. However, the females for the most part accompanied their food with a small salad. Almost all of the people drank soda rather than coffee or juice. Most of them talked about how much work they have coming up that week. On Tuesday, Earharts On-The-Go was observed at 10:45-11:00am. This time period of fifteen minutes for On-The-Go was used for every breakfast observation due to scheduling and having to go to class. Most of the people were rushing to get food and head to their next class. Unlike the dining court, they had headphones on and did not interact with others as much. Their meals usually consisted of a soda, a chicken wrap, and candy. For lunch on Tuesday, I observed from 12:20-12:40 am at Windsors On-The-Go. Here, the people were more social than at Earhart but not by much. The food they chose here were mostly salads and veggie wraps. While they were still in a hurry, they did not just rush in and out. Some of them stopped and talked to the people they knew.

Dinner on Tuesday night was a very different situation. From 6:00-7:00pm, Wileys dining court was madness. There were several groups of people that walked around for long periods of time trying to find a table. Here, everyone had their own group of about 4-6 people. There was a lot of socializing going on and people took their time as they ate. They tended to go for the bratwurst and sweet and sour chicken accompanied by a soda. One interesting thing to note however was the portion of the girls meals. They generally ate less food if they were going to have dessert, which was devils food cake. Wednesday for breakfast at Earharts On-The-Go was similar to Tuesday morning. Since it was earlier (from 9:45-10:00am), people preferred the muffins, oatmeal and yogurt with coffee instead of sandwiches. Many people also walked in with their pajamas and/or were very grumpy since it was early and they hadnt had their coffee (myself included). Minimal interactions were made amongst people even if they knew someone there. For dinner at Earhart on Wednesday at 6pm to 7pm, popular items were cheeseburgers for the males, and stir-fry for the females. Here however, the girls went in groups of about 2 to 3 people to get dessert, which was pound cake with strawberries. It was not as crowded as the other dining courts but many of the people there were in large groups of more than eight people. Thursday morning from 10:45-11am at Earharts On-The-Go, people began using more than one swipe, usually getting plenty of candy or numerous side items like the very popular gummy bears. Lunch at Earharts dining court from 12:2012:50, practically everyone got chicken tenders as their meal. Most people were eating by themselves and were using their phone. They did not stay for long and

usually only had one plate of food. Thursday at Hillenbrand dining court at 5:506:45pm, most people sat in groups and discussed their plans for the evening. There was mixed reviews about the brownie cookies from the surrounding tables. The guys mainly ate the New York Strip Steak and the girls ate the polish sausage with veggies. A couple began talking to the table next to them about just getting J-Cole tickets. Also, a girl sitting by herself made friends with a random guy that asked if he could sit with her since their were no tables left. On Friday morning at Earhart, it was packed! Everyone for the most part used three meal swipes. Many people only got candy, and Ramen noodles were a popular item that day. Most of the socialization that occurred was between roommates debating what to get for their room and excuse me and pardon me. A girl also dropped her pile of food and a guy helped her pick it up and they continued to talk while in line. Many people seemed unfriendly and grouchy from waiting in the long line. Wiley dinner at 6 pm to 7 pm was surprisingly not that packed. Many of the people around us talked about their plans for the night and the coming weekend. There were more males present than females and orange chicken with yeast rolls was a very popular item. A group of guys tried to impress a group of girls by talking about working out and partying and they got up and left. Dinner on Saturday at 5:50 pm to 6:40 pm at Wiley was the last day for my observations. It was not as packed as many other days, but the people their looked like they just woke up from a nap. A group of girls were gossiping about the night before and many people drank coffee with their food instead of soda.

Overall, the people who ate at the dining courts showed to pick items that are not normally offered at On-The-Go even though they are offered at the dining courts. They socialized more with each other and were more often than not, in groups of 2 or more. The people at On-The-Go typically did not talk to others while getting their food and for the most part had a sandwich, soda, and candy with their meals.