Sociological Field Description: ASU Food Court and Sand Volleyball Pits

In a recent trip to Tucson, Arizona I had an opportunity to visit the University of Arizona campus.  A location of particularly dense and diverse social activity was an open sand volleyball area surrounded by student housing, a parking structure, the student dining complex, and one of the main roads passing through campus.  It was a fairly large open area with plenty of empty ground in addition to the sandpits which were specifically designated for outdoor volleyball.  There were also a tremendous amount of bike stands which were mostly occupied.  There was a lot of turnover in the bike stands during the short time I was there and a lot of variety in the types of bicycles which gave the impression of a strong bicycling culture on the campus.  Being a college campus that may have been because it was an affordable means of transportation and one that worked well on sidewalks and narrow streets when most of a student’s travel was in the area of the campus, or it may be because of a genuine cultural preference for bicycling in the area.  Possibly this would be thanks to the climate.  Even in late November after dark, it was very warm and a lot of students wore clothes that would have been just as comfortable on a hot, sunny day.

The volleyball pits themselves were obviously important to the location as well.  Both nets were occupied the entire time I was in the area and others were standing around waiting for their turn to use one.  From the conversation I learned that locals, as well as students, used the courts year-round, making the location a nexus of social interaction that included participants from outside the obvious social group of students, keeping in theory with the sociology theory.  The student dining complex also encouraged outsiders.  Though there was a conventional cafeteria, most of the traffic made use of the many shops offering different kinds of food, much of it from franchises.  It more closely resembled a mall food court than a student dining facility.  The variety of food available attracted people with different purposes.  Some came to eat, some came for dessert or a drink which they sometimes stayed and enjoyed and sometimes took on their way.  It was also a place where many gathered just because it was a gathering place and they neither played volleyball nor used any of the food facilities.

The nearby student housing increased through traffic quite a bit which kind of confused the demographic of students who actually stayed in the area for their own reasons.  It was normal for passers-by to stop and talk to one or more people on their way through, though, so it apparently is a location that helps maintain social contacts for those who have any reason whatsoever to go near it, whether they are using it or just taking advantage of the fact that it attracted familiar people.  The overall demographic was fairly diverse in some ways and extremely narrow in others.  Nearly everyone I saw was college-age or at least very nearly, somewhat older.  Ethnically and culturally there was a lot of variety though.  There are many different styles popular among young people today and many of those were represented.  There were so many different looks comingling that it would have been hard to say that any one of them was out of place.

Most of the interactions among the people in the area were friendly and casual.  The volleyball players had some competition, but they were agreeable about it and losing teams seemed to be almost as cheerful as winners.  Strangers were also openly accepted, often allowed to play with teams of people who obviously knew each other previously.  It was easy to go up to random groups or individuals and carry on a brief conversation.  The atmosphere of the entire area was open and inviting.  It seemed to be a place devoted to recreation and relaxation because even in such close proximity to the school there was very little evidence of studying.  The area served as an almost purely social environment in which participants were open and engaging with each other simply for the pleasure of social interaction.