march forth descriptions

Following are about a dozen reports describing participation in the March Forth event, from students in the deviance classes.  

Name: Edward Begonia (ebegonia325)

Assignment: protest

Date Submitted: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 11:33:39 PM PDT

            </span>Due to other classes as well as work, I was only able to make it to the march itself, rather than the entire event, which included an open mic, music with the Raging Grannies, dancing with the Rise-Up Dancers, a raffle, and information on causes that are in need of awareness today. There were a lot of tables there that had information for the causes, which include; Animal Rights, Education, Environment, Pretrial Expansion, Sweatshops, Hunger, Peace, Women's Issues, Sexual Violence, and more. I arrived about fifteen minutes prior to the beginning of the march, and I took a look around and talked to some of the booths there about these causes. It was really great to see so many people come together for different causes. Of course, if it were only one cause, there is a possibility that everyone won't show up because they can't all come together to support just one cause. We were all gathered in the free speech area on Fresno State campus.</p>

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Once the march began, we formed a large line that spread about 75 yards long. Everyone had at least one sign, and from what I saw, a couple had two signs. Everyone was representing different causes. I was representing and marching for animal rights. The sign I was holding said, "What do we want? Animal Rights. When do we want them? MEOW!" We walked all around campus, from Shaw to Barstow. I was pretty shocked that the people participating in the march were actually into it. A lot of the time, when something like this is going on, it looks like people are there because they have to be, but in this march, people were actually shouting out for their cause and were really into it. The only downside that I found in the march was that there weren't very many people walking around campus at the time we marched. We just choose a bad time, when students and faculty were busy in class or not there at that time.</p>

What I noticed about the effect we had on the people that were able to see us, was attentiveness. Everyone was looking at us trying to see what was going on. As we marched through campus, I saw some strange looks, maybe confusion. I could tell that everyone was trying to read the signs. Maybe they looked confused because all of the signs said something different. Maybe they weren't confused, just interested. As someone who is on campus everyday, you don't see a large group like ours marching with signs very often. Once we got to Shaw, all of the people driving were looking at us. We even got a few honks. It's hard to tell what people were thinking, but no one was rude, or nobody shouted anything negative at us. Honestly, we didn't get a lot of people coming up to us asking questions. I think that this is because people are scared to come up to that. I know that I would be. If I saw a large group marching with signs, I wouldn't approach them, in fact, I may even try to avoid them and walk the other way. However I didn't see that either, people avoiding us.</p>

Because this is not something you see everyday, I believe that we broke a social norm. It was exhilarating, being apart of such important causes. Even though some people give us some strange looks, it's worth the cause. One could only wish that someday, people wont look at such a powerful way of supporting causes to be seen as deviant, or conflicting with the social norms

Name: Jordan Franco (dieseljordn)

Assignment: protest

Date Submitted: Sunday, March 9, 2014 8:11:02 PM PDT

The March Forth event was a fascinating experience to be a part of. I carried a sign that promoted ending hunger and displayed a fact about how many people go hungry. Before deciding to participate, I was hesitant about being a part of the actual march, but when I realized how many classmates and other students were going to be involved, it was easy to join in. The attitude of excitement and an air of rebellion were contagious. Similarly, I was hesitant to actually carry a sign, but during the moment, I was happy to take one. Being involved in this march was definitely a breach of norms. Simply being one of the people marching around in protest, anyone witnessing could immediately identify you as a sort of rebel or deviant. I think it was that element of visibility that made us feel uncomfortable at first, but once we realized the cohesion of our group, we became more comfortable, beginning to wave the signs high and shout back at onlookers. Before the event, I expected that most people would just stare curiously, but I was surprised by how many people (particularly along Shaw Ave) shouted at us. Some just made hoots and honks, but others even yelled "go to class!" It didn't really bother us that anyone was shouting, and it seemed to egg us on. It was also nice to have familiar faces and friends among the crowd of marchers, because the sense of unity between us made us feel more comfortable in this otherwise awkward activity. When we wrapped up the march, the energy levels were at a high. Dr. Kubal in particular seemed very pumped up and glad of the turnout. After the event, I found myself talking about the march and sharing the fact that I participated. We had a fun time, and I thought that was really interesting given that we were so hesitant to begin with.</span></p>

Jann Blase   The March Forth event was a good, and fun experience for my first semester a  t Fresno State. There were many booths with different issues such as women's abuse, hunger, animal abuse, and a table which promoted healthy lifestyles. Each of the booths had many facts and resources for each of the issue. The issue that I got involved with was animal rights. It saddens me that many animals are neglected and abused by their owners. One statistic that stood out to me was that 32% of animals are abused. Animals depend on humans to take care of them and it is unfortunate that they are treated the way they are. The booth that was presenting information about animal abuse had lots of information about different statistics and places to take animals where they do not kill them if they are not adopted in time.

I have never participated in a protest before so it was definitely a new experience. It felt great participating in such a great cause. I will admit I did have anxiety about doing the protest because I was not sure on what to expect. When I have witnessed protests either in person or on television, many people are upset and crowds are filled with angst. However, the march was not like that whatsoever. There was a big crowd of people with sign marching and those who were not part of the protest noticed. It was also a wonderful feeling walking down Shaw and the people who were in their cars who supported some of the causes honked their horn for support. Even though it may not have been anything too big, there is that tremendous feeling everyone who participated made a difference to at least someone. The march was out of the norm since many people would not want to participate. Some people gave the crowd looks as if we were crazy, but it was all for a good cause. I am extremely proud of myself for taking part in something I would have not thought of doing before.

Name: Sabrina Dominguez (scdominguez06)

Assignment: protest

Date Submitted: Monday, March 17, 2014 3:14:07 PM PDT

During the protest it was interesting to see people look at a different views rather than the protest just focusing on one thing. Although it seemed to confuse people a little because of the way the protest was set up i feel as if that more people were involved because of how many different caused the protest was representing. If there were more people out during the protest i think students would have enjoyed seeing everyone for standing up for different causes and it would become more relatable to the students instead of a specific population of the students. I think the people involved had a lot more fun and interest because of this to although a single issue protest may get a point across better since all of the signs may have not been able to be read. If there was a united front it may have made a little more sense to, but all in all it was a great expierence to be able to be apart of something like that and i wouldnt count out doing another one just because of how much i enjoyed this one and how relatable it was to the entire student body and people in general.

Name: Stevens Herrera When I went to school on the day of the protest I noticed that people were setting up booths about differnt thing we could protest. I got there at 12 and the protest started around 2 pm. A couple of minuets before the protest we were told to pick a topic that we wanted to protest about and make a sign for it. The topic I decided to do the protest about is to stop animal crulity. Once I picked that I created my sign using two pieces of construction paper and a wooden stake. Once it was completed I decided to place the stake into my backpack. This helped me to not carry the heay wooden stake with the sign on it. At 2 the protest started and we walked all around campus. There were some people who decided to voic out their opinions about their topic. The walk around campus was long but in the end I had a lot of fun and gave me experiance on what its like to protest.  </p>

Name: Erik Bruza (embruza)

Assignment: protest

Date Submitted: Thursday, March 6, 2014 9:35:30 PM PST

<p>Going to the protest was very interesting, something that I definitely would not have done under normal circumstances.  So it was absolutely something that I would consider deviant for myself.  One of the biggest things that impacted me were the raging granny's because they got up on that stage without any sign of embarrassment, they really believed in what they were singing about.  Even when people were passing by giggling or ignoring them, they did not care as long as people were noticing them, and listening to what they were singing about.  I especially loved the dance though, they were out there really enjoying themselves for a great cause.  Once the picketing started I was out of my comfort zone, but it was really cool to see the turnout, I did not think that that many people would show up.  By the end I was proud of myself for being a part of the protest, it was a very interesting experience that opened my eyes to some new things and who knows maybe I will try to do it more often for causes that I really believe in. 

The protest was a new experience for me. This definitely broke the norm as I never did any   kind of protesting before. I was glad that I was able to get this opportunity to protest on important issues. It felt good to get involved with the community and make some noise. The overall atmosphere at the site, where we made signs and where tables were set up with different causes was very easy going. There were few people there that I already knew from class. This made it easy to just jump right in and make conversation with others. I usually don't have a problem of just mingling in a group of people. Everyone was very friendly and inviting. What seemed to help was that it was an outside gathering and there were refreshments. Food usually brings people together of all walks of life.   

Another norm breaker was fighting for animal rights. I have never been passionate or close to any kind of animal or pet. Now that I have my own Chihuahua and have come very close to him, I see how important he is to me and my family. I truly believe that animals should have rights.  The other interesting topic was the fight to protest for the victims of violence/rape for young girls. These two topics I feel strongly about and want to make a difference. 

 The action I took to breaking the norm for this get together was to get involved in this walk and protest for important causes. I felt that the experience was not just the extra points to earn, but it truly made a mark in my heart. I feel passionate for animal's rights and for the victims of violence/rape. So, there I was getting involved in something I had never taken part of before. There were others that knew ahead to what I was going to do and they did not understand why I wanted to do something like this. Clearly, they do not know what a protest is and what it means to me to join. People are so busy or so into the norm of things that they are missing out. If we would be able to get more people to hear our causes, then this would be a great start to make changes in our community. 

The expected public reaction I thought for the actual march was going to be just quiet and that no one would look and listen to us. I was wrong. There were people who were there asking questions and seemed interested. During our march, we heard cars passing by and honking for our protesting in agreement. I thought this was awesome. The public accepted us and our causes. There were others who felt the same way as we did. When we united as a group in whole, we caused others to look and listen to what we had to say. It felt great to be heard and belong to something important.  

My thoughts about what the experiment taught me is about how norms shape behavior is the norm can keep one's behavior the same, or unchanged. I see that how I changed the norm for me made me see what I am capable of doing.  This is getting out of my comfort zone and stand up for what I believe in. I was able to discuss these important issues with others and get their feedback. We all had common interest of getting people to hear us and do a protest and march for cause. I know that we are all very busy people and it was great that we made the time and effort to show up and be active in this protest. 

I participated in the protest on campus. I helped make signs for the first hour, or hour and a half. While I was making signs I was learning quite a bit from all the different protests that we had there that day. I myself supported our protests for animals and women's rights primarily. But, I know that there were also protests supporting many other important causes as well. While I was making signs, one of the professors that were helping with the event was telling me a lot about each of the different causes. I don't remember her name however, or but she gave me some interesting facts about each cause. I don't remember a lot of the specific statistics, but most of them are what I used to make the signs. I was also there while the Raging Grannies sang. I thought they were a really effective voice. So many women who really know, and understood what it has been like for women in their past, and now the present. It was quite a breach of my own norms. I haven't really ever been one to act out against society. And, I don't mean that I only walk along a narrow path that society says I can. I mean that I've just never been very involved in any protests. But, I will say that I did definitely enjoy stepping outside of my own comfort zone. I really felt apart of the whole process, especially because I made those signs. I got so much information from all the different causes we had there that day. I can specifically remember one sign I made for someone that said that it costs about $48,000 to incarcerate an inmate. That's just one person! It's outrageous. One more fact that I can remember that I put on a poster was that one in five women report being raped or molested. This was another outrageous fact I can't help but remember! For some reason, these pieces are like linked to that event in my mind. My favorite part was definitely walking during the march. It felt good to be in a big group doing the same thing, in the same kind of situation; fellow students, and walking around our own campus, seeing other students reacting to us. I think it made it a little bit more difficult to be as outside of the norms because we were all supporting different causes. We did definitely create a presence on the campus, and it did create the real feel of a protest march. But, I definitely think if we were supporting the same cause we would have felt more consistent as a group. And, it could have amplified the our effect on the campus, and the effect on ourselves.

Justin Martinez

Sociology 121

Extra Credit Paper

I participated in the march on March Fourth in the free speech area at Fresno State. I decided to protest sweatshops with a couple of people that I had met on the booths. After skimming through all the booths, enjoying some snacks, watching some delightful music by elderly ladies, it was time to march. During the march we received a lot of attention from all of the students within the university. At one point the march touched on Shaw Avenue. At that point many people joined out cause and honked. Others, from what I saw, gave us confused looks. Others just decided to ignore us. While for the most part it was great, I thought that the theme of the march could have been more centralized towards one specific problem. A lot more people would of understood what the protest was about. But all in all, the march was fun and it was the first protest that I have ever participated in. It felt good to exercise a right that we take for granted yet many people in the world die for.

Julieta Ramirez

Soc. 143

THE MARCH

I am in the deviance class and I had never been part of a protest or a march, and I thought that this was going to be a great opportunity for me to do something I always wanted to. When I got to the student patio I saw that the students had begun to set up their tables and were working on their posters. At first I felt out of place because I didn't know anyone, I had seen most of them but I hadn't engaged in any conversation with any of them before. I was doubting weather I should stay or just leave and go home because I was not feeling well, but I decided that I wanted to do the march. I introduced myself to Josh he was trying to organize the table for the environmental group. Since no one from his team had shown up I decided to help him with making some posters and organizing the table. Being a part of that event helped me meet so many fellow sociologists, we had interesting conversations and some of them educated me on what their main societal concerns were, it was an overall awesome experience. The elderly ladies that were singing were very entertaining; I think one of their songs was talking about a female reproductive part and how much taboo existed when referring to it.   My favorite part was the march. Although it was pretty hot and I wasn't feeling 100% it felt so good to be a part of something that turned heads. When the group began to walk on Shaw Ave. and we began to get attention from the people that were driving and heard all those honks in favor, it just felt like I was doing something positive. I like to get involved and I'm looking forward to being a part of more functions like this one. 

March on Tuesday March 4, 2014

I participated in the sociological fair in the free speech area on March 4. I felt it was very informational; I went to each table to learn about each of their topics. I learned about the women's organization and their goals they set out and their accomplishments. I also learned about the sweat shop table and their efforts to bring awareness of the tragedies in sweat shops. There were many more tables who were advocating for important issues such as animal abuse, tuition costs, and so much more.   

 I was also able to see the two entertainments that were there; The Raging Grandmas and the flash mob for women's power and awareness. I thought the Ranging Grannies were great and talked about great issues such as the congresswoman who used the word "Uterus" in one of her speeches and was frowned upon because it was a female body part. I loved the song they sung for that issue and thought it was pretty funny. I also enjoyed the flash mob and thought it was well put together and very meaningful.

I participated in the march on March 4th; I thought it was pretty interesting. I thought that it was going to be more intense but it turned out to be more of a peaceful march. There wasn't many people around when we marched as a group but when there happened to be people, they usually gave confused looks or laughed. When we walked on Shaw amongst the cars, we got the same reaction from the people there; mostly confused looks or laughing. A few people honked or yelled in support but other than that, there wasn't much interaction. Overall I thought it was an interesting experience and I would like to do it again.

Patrick Sanchez

Sociology 143

3/4/14

Extra Credit: Protest

On Tuesday March 4, 2014 I took part in the events that were being brought for by Professor Kubal and some students from the Sociology Department. I was lucky to enough to get out of class early so I was able to make it there for the table booths, the entertainment and to participate in the march. During my time at the event I got to check out all the tables and learn some interesting things the students have come up with to protest against. One table was about the hungry and the guy I spoke with talked about food insecurity which I thought was interesting because it was something we had just learned about and spoke about in class. They had some ideas that could help with the situation and he gave me a flyer of a place where they will be giving out food to the community.

Some of the other booths were about sweatshops and how they were against them, about women's rights/protections in which they talked about women suffering from abuse and the agencies that are there to help them. Another one was about student tuition and how it is extremely high, I thought all of these booths had good propositions. Then there was the performance from the elderly ladies, which was a song they sand and then later there was a dance routine they did. It was really nice. Then there was the march which took about 40 minutes I would say, and was actually better than I expected. The sign I held said "Hungry for Justice", I felt like the march was a really good experience. Nobody bothered us nor did we bother anybody so I felt like it was pretty successful. There was a lot of people attending so I feel we did well with the large number of people.

Jessica Mason

3/10/2014

Soc 143

Dr. T Kubal

Extra Credit

On March 4th I had the privilege to participate in the March Forth Protest. This event was to bring awareness to the various organizations as they fight for change. I particularly enjoyed the dancing and speeches as they strived to make the public aware of the issues in the community and on campus. The organization that I chose to team up with was START (Students Against Rising Tuition). I chose to support START throughout the rally and protest was in part that rising tuition fees continually affect us as students. I also participated I the march around campus as I held that said "No Justice, No Peace". I really enjoyed the event as it caused me to reflect on the many protests and marches that went forth years ago in order for me to have my freedom as a woman and an African-America. While marching we didn't receive much of a reaction other than a few honks from drivers passing by, as a new student to this campus it was an overall great event as I was able to network with my peers. It was good to see the students inter-acting with each other.

Ricardo Torres

Professor Kubal

Social Movements

03/19/14

Protest 

The protest that took place on March fourth generated awareness for many issues. Various groups gathered and took part to raise awareness for issues they felt strongly about. As a student in social movements I was also privileged to be a part of this protest and experience. At first there is disarray no one knew what to expect; however, shortly after arriving I was put to work gathering materials and relaying messages. I started to see the immense amount of effort and organization needed to make something like this work; it was fulfilling being a part of this process. Once my group arrived we started generating conversations with passersby many of whom were not aware of how serious problem sweatshops were. Informing them and letting the world around me know my issue mattered made me feel a sense of accomplishment. I understand now that with effort and careful planning I could organize something similar for any number of social issues that I feel need to be addressed. This was a very good experience for me and I'm glad I was a part of it.

Participant Observation

Andrea Garcia

SOC 176

Participation Observation

On Tuesday March 4^th I participated in the March Fourth on March 4^th, it was a multi-issue protest that was held on campus for student to come by tables and see all the different issues that face our campus and the community. Various groups were advocating for different issues, such as Women’s Rights, Animal Abuse, Lower school tuition, Food Recovery, Sweat Shops, and Prison Realignment. This wasn’t my first time participating in a march for issues that face our community and campus but this was my first time participating in more than one cause at a time. I enjoyed looking at all the information the different tables had on their issue, seemed very informative for those who don’t know much about the issue. I thought it was a good idea to have all the groups presenting to have it in the Free Speech area because a lot of our campus students and faculty walk through that area and people seem curious to see what activity is happening on our campus. The tables handed out different types of information, like flyers and they had good statistics and websites too look up to get more information if you were interested. Majority of the ones presenting or behind the table were college students, they had on their backpacks or just coming from class, but there was someone always there to answer any questions you had and were very knowledgeable for what they were advocating for. I was able to see two Sociology professors attend the March Forth protest, which included Dr. Kubal and Dr. Jendian. There was also one elderly lady that was able to March with us, she was from the Raging Grannies, which was also very interesting to see them protest for the wonderful cause they sing able in their performances.

Once the march was up and ready to start everyone who participated was able to hold up a sign for whatever cause they had in mind or whatever sign was generally available. There was about fifty to sixty students, plus two Professors and one member from the Raging Grannies who marched. When I was observing the students holding up there signs there were some interesting strategies on the way to utilize all the signs that were available. I saw some students stick their signs in their backpack and had an extra hand to hold another sign. What was great about this protest was when we were walking all through the campus and even the street on Shaw there were students that stopped by from whatever they were doing to read our signs and cheer us on in our protest. Cars were honking at us, for me I thought of that as a sign of respect and agreement for our march and the different issues we had on our signs. We were notifies that not all the student on campus were able to read our signs because either the sign was too small or the lettering on the signs were clear enough to understand. It would have been great to have other students who got out of class to participate in our march but many of them had class or just weren’t too sure if it was okay to join us along our march. I enjoyed how supportive the students on campus were reacting to our march; many students cheered us on or would even give us high fives and would say “keep up the great work”. The atmosphere was a bit different when we got on the street of Shaw, there were some cars that would honk at us for showing some support but majority of them weren’t too sure what to do because of the lack of knowledge they had on our issues or because they were driving too fast to see what our signs had to say. Once we got back to original destination those who participated on the March Forth on March 4^th all seemed very accomplished in what we were advocating for. Students, faculty, member of the Raging Grannies all had a sense of feeling proud and felt we made a difference even if it was just marching all around campus it was still a very good experience when it comes to making a difference in our campus and the community. I would definitely do another advocacy march again if the opportunity arises again. The goal of this activity was to bring awareness to our campus mainly, our students should have some sense of what is happening and try and get involved in some way so issues like this can be eliminated in an institution that increases awareness and knowledge to the world. We are all receiving higher education so we should use that to our advantage to bring that to our community and those who don’t know this issue is happening in our campus, students and neighborhood.    

Participant Observation

Julieta Ramirez

           

Participant observation

(The March)

Space: the students at Fresno state gathered up in the student patio area. It was in an opened setting and the students and faculty were able to come and go as they wished. The students were there to support a social cause. The day was great for being outdoors although it got a little hot once the protest began.

Objects: The students had set up about seven tables with some cardboard posters and other information that stated what they were advocating. The students were also able to make posters that had an important social subject on them; they were going to use these flyers to protest during the march. There was also a microphone located in on a small stage in the patio, and there were refreshments next to that same stage.

Actors: There were about 60 to 70 students and other guests that attended the event. Some of the people in this event were elderly but the majority were in their mid or early 20’s. In the people that attended the event there was a mix of backgrounds, some were American, Mexican, African American and others were Asian. The event was out doors and so many of these people were wearing casual clothing, jeans and tees.

Activity: A the beginning of the event the students were a little uncoordinated and were trying to locate they tables. Some were getting refreshment while others were making posters for the protest. For the most part these people were interacting with others. Once they all had gotten settled and aware of what they were doing they began to inform and educate others that came to their table with questions.

Events: During this event everyone was cooperating with each other. Most of the people were eager to tell others what it was that they were advocating. Most of the students were busy making posters and helping others with setting up their tables. The older people were sitting and enjoying some of the refreshments.

Time: The event was structured and seemed to follow a timeline of events. The event began by having the students gather and then setting their information table. Then some began to make posters for the march and others were informing people about what they were advocating. This followed by each group giving a small speech about what it was that they were advocating; once everyone was done we began to march through a designated path, ending the protest back at the patio.  

Goal: The main goal of the event was to involve students in a protest and be a little deviant by doing so. It was also in part to get the attention of those that were watching and ask or simple look at what we were protesting about. I personally had never been in a march before and I can say that it was a great experience.

Emotions: Most of the people were excited to be a part of the event. Others did not seem to want to take part in the march but once they saw the enthusiasm they began to take part in the activities.

Talk: For the most part everyone was engaged in some kind of conversation. Most of the conversations being held were informative and well educated. Some of the students seemed to be more educated in the subject and so they carried the conversations while others would fill in at times. Everyone in the event seemed to have a good time holding conversation and educating others. During the march some of the people were yelling and chanting advocating their social issue.

participant observation

Fabiola Reyes

                This week, I conducted another participant observation technique as my research method. I was involved in a protest for the first time. During this event, there were different social causes like; Animal rights, Education, Environment, Pretrial Expansion, Sweatshops, Hunger, Peace, Women’s issues and sexual violence. We all meet in the free speech area in Fresno State. This area is located outdoors; there are a couple of trees providing shade for the students who are participating in the event. Although, the space is spacious, most of the students were very close to each other, and limited to the amount of space, because everyone was placed in one area. There are tables for each group, the tables are placed vertically.  They have posters and information about each cause. As the goal for the event is to educate and persuade others to agree with their causes. The groups used different items to accomplish this like;  large  white boards, glitter sticks, clip boards, different color markers, chairs, tables, dry erase boards, pan flips,  poster, scissors, staples, raffles, refreshments. The people participating in this event were students; most of them appeared to be 19-29 years old, they were all dressed very casual; jeans, shorts, t-shirts, sweaters and sunglasses.  When I arrived, I began working with my group S.T.A.R.T (students against rising tuition).  I made some signs that read, “S.T.A.R.T getting involved” with black large bold letters. When I was finished two African American students came over to our table, with a smile I said, “hi” they both replied, “Hi.” One was wearing jeans with a pink tang-top the other was wearing a dress with black and white stripes. They both appeared to be in their early twenties. I talked to them about tuition and how it effect’s the student’s especially middle-class society. I asked them what their major was and one answered, “nursing” she pointed at her friend and, said and hers is business” then; I asked if they can sign a petition to lower the cost of tuition without hesitation they both said, “yes”. I gave them information on tuition and information about our group.  Then I told them, “thank you for participating in our event with a smile. A few minutes later, I walked around to socialize with other groups. One of the groups I spoke to was against animal cruelty; I asked one of the members from the group about finding a shelter for my dog. She appeared to be Hispanic and in her twenties, she had bright-red lipstick and light skin. She answered, “There are different shelters around Fresno that don’t kill animals, here’s a list of all of them, I hope this helps” she smiled after saying this and, I smiled back  and said , “thanks”. During the event, I noticed most females from each group were explaining their issue.  During the event everyone seems happy the groups are smiling and socializing with each other and the different students who come to their tables. I noticed most of the participants were socializing within their own groups as well as others. Therefore, the atmosphere had a loud setting. There was a mixture of males and females. However, I noticed most of the students were Hispanic and white. Nevertheless, there were a couple of African American and Vietnamese participants. After a few minutes, each of the groups had to read their mission statement. Some of the participants clapped and others didn’t.  After this, the attention was on the Raging Grannies. They are a group of older activist women in their 60’s and 70’s. They were dressed with clothing from this time period. They happily sang political songs many of us laughed after hearing specific parts of the songs, as they were humorous. After they were finished, we all clapped for them. And we got ready for our march; there was about 50 students walking with different posters and signs.  Many of us placed the signs on our backpacks or raised them.  We began walking around campus.  I wanted to yell out a chant, but I was too embarrassed as no one was chanting. Nevertheless, we got some attention from the public two or three cars honked their horns. When we were walking down on Shaw a gray 1998 Toyota honked twice, we all yelled with smiles yea!  And continued walking, the march was over around 2:45. This was a great experience for me; it felt really good to express my personal opinions. It gave me a better understanding of why people protest and organize marches. I will definitely work on making my voice herd to utilize the right of freedom of speech.

Participant Observation: March Forth on March 4th

Michelle Rodriguez

Dr. Kubal

Sociology 176

March 9, 2013

Word Count: 1,779

Participant Observation: March Fourth on March 4^th

                    The qualitative research method I used this week was participant observation. The event that I participated in was the March Forth on March 4^th event held on the Fresno State campus from 12:00PM-3:00PM. I used the comprehensive principle, when taking notes and documenting what I observed and heard. The variable I used, which pertained to the participant observation I did, was “RPRTST3” which states, “Would you or would you not do any of the following to protest against a government action you strongly opposed? B. Go on a protest march or demonstration." I ran my dependent variable with the independent variable “race." In the results, I found that 20.2% of whites, 30.6% of blacks and 23.5% of people who responded as other would definitely protest against a government action. I think the reason for this is that people of color are the ones who continue to be oppressed the most, thus they are more likely to act in things that affect them. I feel that students might also fall into this category, to a certain extent, as they too are forgotten due to their lack of voting. I feel though that this is slowly changing for the better, which this march could have helped in changing attitudes. My participation in this event was from 2:00-3:00PM, which was the time set for the march. During my participation, I took notes on my phone, keeping the comprehensive principle in mind.   

The space in which the march took place, which I completely walked, was very vast. The march starting point was at the free speech area at Fresno State. There were about fifty to sixty people who took part in it. When the people had gathered, Dr. Kubal rallied us to get together, and then we began our march. We walk from the free speech area, past the fountain, toward the Joyal Administration building. We kept walking toward Shaw and Maple Ave. When we got to the intersection, headed left, and we kept on walking the sidewalk until we got to entrance, located to our left. We walked back toward campus through the parking lot, coming out by the Smittcamp Alumni House, before turning left toward the Joyal building. Once, we were past those building, we turned right, walking in between the Peters business building at the Conley art building. Next, we took a left when we got to the end of the business building and kept walking until we got to the corner, where we turned left before crossing the street. We walked in between the Science I and Science II buildings. We continued down that route until we reached the Social Science building, where we then turned left. We finished our march by walking in between the Family and Food building and the library, by the peace garden, where we came to a halt at the place where we began. So, the space was very vast, that of the Fresno State University campus. It was a very open and spacious that took place outside. Due to its location, the sun was shining very bright, making it hot for the people marching.  

               The objects I observed were many. At the free speech area, there were refreshments for those who were going to participate in the march, or for those who wanted some. During the march, some of the things that I jotted down were, of course the people who were involved in the march, people who were not in the march, the signs that I and others were holding, and backpacks/bags. Other objects that I saw were tables, set up for people interested in the various issues people were marching about, and booths set up by different organizations on campus, and buildings all throughout the march. Furthermore, there were traffic signs, cars, and parking lots, as we continued to march all throughout campus.  The cell phone's people held, were important objects, as people used them document their experience.

               The actors who took part in the march were students. They were evenly divided in terms of sex and were young around 18-24, and it looked to be pretty ethnically diverse, although there were several older adults who participated. Most of the students whom I recognized were from Dr. Kubal’s class. There were two faculty members who participated, Dr. Kubal, who organized the event and Dr. Jendian was also in attendance, showing his support by being in the entire march. The attire of the students was casual. Most of the students were wearing jeans, T-shirts, or dresses. They also carried either backpacks or bags with them, as, they either had come from a class or were headed to one afterwards. I was part of the march. I am a Mexican, 22-year-old female. The reason I came out was due to the announcement made in my sociology 176 class, by Dr. Kubal as well as the announcement posted on blackboard. He offered 40 extra credit points to those who participated in the march and wrote their papers on it. Due to the semi-convenience (I missed one of my classes), I decided to attend.

                  The activity that we all participated in was the march forth for march 4^th march around campus. Other than the main activity, which was marching, the other activity everyone partook in was holding a sign we had an interest showing. The signs that people held were all very distinct, they were on several issues the students felt important to make and have at the march. The different issues that were covered were about animal rights, fossil-fuel divestment, student fees, prison realignment, sweatshops, food insecurity at Fresno State, and justice/peace/equality. I was holding a sign that stated, “Save the Planet” with a drawing of the earth on one side. On the other side is stated that students should be against the use of fossil fuel. There were many signs that highlighted many issues, one of my favorites stated, “Hungry for Justice." Other signs I really liked said things like, “CSU Apparel should be Sweat-Free” and “Students Against Rising Tuition."  Another activity within the larger one was of people taking pictures of the march. Through this observation, I noticed that toward the end of the march, we were not all together and there were gaps in our line. 

               The time in which the march, the part which I and about fifty to sixty other people participated in began around 2:00PM and ended around 3:00PM. The march began with student roaming around, trying to figure out what to do, while others were grabbing signs. It didn’t really become ordered until Dr. Kubal gave instructions. It was then when people began to bunch up together so that we could begin the march. The majority of the time was spent walking around the campus, showcasing the different issues on the signs. I feel the time could have been better timed, as many students were in class, which meant our audience was rather limited. The march ended as we came back to the starting point, leaving our signs on the platform of the free speech area. Most of us ended the march by signing the sign-in sheet, in order to receive our extra credit.

               The goal of those who participated in the march, was to complete the march and for a lot of us to receive the extra credit that was offered. My personal goal was to receive the extra credit being offered, as I have already participated in marches, and thus know the importance of them. I feel this is a great event for students who have not had the opportunity to partake in a march. It shows people that issues might be pushed forward on official’s agendas. The march should have highlighted this important idea (unless it was done earlier, and I just missed it). The march allowed students to showcase important issues that are happening locally and nationally. It allowed students to partake in their right to free speech while bringing awareness to issues that are of concern to many. The only reason that the march might not have occurred would have been if a person in authority tried to stop us from marching. I don’t feel this would have happened as we were not disturbing anyone, and we stayed on the sidewalks.

               The emotions of the event were pretty mellow. I didn’t feel any strong emotions from the students, which showed their displeasure for the issues.  I was rather excited to take part in the march, but towards the middle, I was rather bored. I didn’t really feel that we had a bid impact on the campus or other people.  Furthermore, there was no call to action (that I know of) which would allow people to get involved in issues they found particularly interesting. I think some people found the experience to be enjoyable though, which is good as it might prompt them and make them more willing to partake in these types of events.  The only time that it was rather fun was when we were walking down Shaw and got a couple of beeps from the cars, which got people to cheer.  I wish that we had something to chant, or that there was more order, as I think it might have helped fuel people’s interests and emotions.

               The discussions that occurred during the march were pretty quiet. There were many casual conversations, some that had to do with the march and others that were not. I heard people talk about the different courses they have, and the homework they still needed to complete. I overheard others say things like, “It’s sooo hot”, “When is graduation”, “What is ASI doing”, and funnily enough “This was my exercise for the day”. I personally had several conversations with the people next to me. One conversation I had was about the lack of involvement from other organizations on campus. I feel it would have been better if I saw more collaboration. Another conversation I had was about ASI, I told a fellow student, “I hope I get to go to the meeting that’s coming up”.

Something that I could have improved on was taking more notes and in having conversations with more than three people.  I feel I could have gotten more information from other students on the march. Overall it was rather interesting, and it was nice to see that a faculty member came to support the march.  Furthermore, it was awesome to hang out with people that I knew and discuss important things that are happening on campus. It allowed us to communicate about different events that we can participate in, especially the ASI issue and the meeting that was coming up.

              

SDA 3.5: Tables General Social Survey Cumulative Datafile 1972-2012

Mar 09, 2014 (Sun 07:07 PM PDT)

Variables Role Name Label Range MD Dataset Row RPRTST3 WOULD YOU GO ON A PROTEST MARCH-DEMONSTRATION 1-4 0,8,9 1 Column RACE RACE OF RESPONDENT 1-3 0 1 Weight COMPWT Composite weight = WTSSALL * OVERSAMP * FORMWT .1925-11.1207 1

Frequency Distribution Cells contain: -Column percent -Weighted N RACE 1 WHITE 2 BLACK 3 OTHER ROW TOTAL RPRTST3 1: DEFINIETLY WOULD 20.2 210.3 30.6 47.2 23.5 17.4 21.7 274.9 2: PROBABLY WOULD 24.1 251.0 25.0 38.5 30.1 22.3 24.6 311.8 3: PROBABLY WOULD NOT 31.0 322.8 26.1 40.2 20.6 15.2 29.8 378.2 4: DEFINITELY WOULD NOT 24.6 255.9 18.3 28.2 25.8 19.0 23.9 303.1 COL TOTAL 100.0 1,040.0 100.0 154.1 100.0 73.9 100.0 1,268.0 Means 2.60 2.32 2.49 2.56 Std Devs 1.07 1.10 1.12 1.08 Unweighted N 1,034 164 66 1,264

Color coding: <-2.0 <-1.0 <0.0 >0.0 >1.0 >2.0 Z N in each cell: Smaller than expected Larger than expected

Summary Statistics Eta* = .09 Gamma = -.14 Rao-Scott-P: F(6,594) = 2.02 (p= 0.06) R = -.06 Tau-b = -.07 Rao-Scott-LR: F(6,594) = 1.98 (p= 0.07) Somers' d* = -.11 Tau-c = -.05 Chisq-P(6) = 13.55 Chisq-LR(6) = 13.31 *Row variable treated as the dependent variable.