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Where
Are You Comin' From, Where Are You Goin' To:
Are You Gonna Go? "Are you gonna go to the Kappa party tonight?" "Gonna go to the game Friday?" Are You Gonna Go? represents a request for information about events--not simply about an event itself, but about the likelihood of other persons' participating in it. This seemingly ordinary question performs an important function for a community, since individuals are seeking to understand how significant an event is to other community members. Is this the party to show your Face? Is an upcoming function not the place to show one's Face, since few fellow community members plan to attend? Are You Gonna Go? is also an entrée statement for discussion about events themselves, including expectations about the event and who will attend, what has happened at the same event in the past, etc. Olympia, a junior who spends a lot of time at the Union and who is involved in numerous organizations including the BSU, seemed very aware of important community events:
Chris learns about campus events through Word of Mouth "90 percent" of the time, even though he also finds out about events through his position as an Residence Hall Assistant. He explained that "You'll be walkin' around and somebody'll say, 'Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that?'" Since community events are usually sponsored by Black organizations, such as Black fraternities and sororities, the BSU, and the BBA, Black students may participate in the events as producers/organizers/performers rather than solely as attendees/audience members. Remarked Olympia:
Community is affirmed through the cycle of the school year
with annual functions and events that students can look forward to. By
affirming that the rhythm will continue, that an event is still community
territory, a person ensures that he or she will stay "in time."
Students find out about events themselves by asking What's Goin' On, the
subject of the next section.
Next> What's Goin' On?
Placing and Black Students' Discursive Construction of Community Copyright (c) 1996, Corinna J. Moebius |