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This study was undertaken to understand where and how students at California Lutheran University utilize third spaces on campus. Third spaces are spaces that are away from the home and work that serve as places to build comfort, retreat, and community. On college campuses, they are also places that serve as a retreat from schoolwork. They can be coffee shops, restaurants, student unions, or take other forms. To study usage of third spaces at California Lutheran University, we distributed a survey to 114 participants that consisted mainly of close-ended survey questions, with a single matrix and three open ended questions. We wanted to see if the usage of third spaces was affected by a student’s class standing, and I further wanted to study if race (specifically being Hispanic, Latinx, or Spanish origin) had an effect on the usage of third spaces. The data showed that there was no statistically significant correlation between class standing and usage of third spaces, with the exception of the Habit, which was skewed towards underclassmen students. Furthermore, the data showed that there was no statistically significant correlation between being Hispanic, Latinx, or Spanish origin, and the usage of third spaces.

This study investigates the relationship between autism and gender identity: how ASD impacts one's conception of their internal gender identity, as well as one’s perceptions of societal gender norms. The research is based on data collected during a semester-long participant observation study of a subreddit (r/ASD) for those who identify as having ASD. Findings reveal that participants think that they experience gender differently than neurotypical individuals. Differences in experience extend to both questioning their own gender identities and also societal understandings of gender. Participants’ posts and comments revealed many gender experiences that differed from cisnormative constructs of gender. Many identified as being a gender other than the one correlated with assigned sex, or they felt confusion/apathy towards their gender identity. This study expands on existing literature around the relationship between ASD and deviations from gender norms. By analyzing firsthand accounts of self-identified autistic individuals, this study explores this intersection through personal narratives, in contrast to the majority of published research on this topic which uses quantitative methods that often fail to capture complexities, reducing diverse experiences to statistical data. Study results can be used to assist those with autism to recognize that they are not alone if they deviate from gender norms. It can also assist medical practitioners or therapists to gain better insights on the complex perspectives of their patients. It may also be helpful to friends/family of autistic individuals, as it can help them to understand and better support their loved ones.

The primary focus of this study was to learn about the alcohol use of 2nd generation young Latino males born in the United States. This group is especially interesting to study because 2nd generation young Latino males have not been studied or observed by researchers as much as immigrant or 1st generation young Latino males. The main purpose of my study was to learn about alcohol use among 2nd generation young Latino males in order to gain a better understanding for their reasons for using alcohol along with learning about the effects it has had on them. To answer my research question, I conducted a qualitative study that included 5 in-depth interviews with young Latino men in their 20's from the Ventura County area. What I found was that this was not only due to cultural influence, but also due to their social class status and their environment. All of my interviewees provided an interesting perspective on how their culture, social class status, and environment had all blended together in a way that encouraged and reinforced alcohol consumption for them as men since they were young. This led them to binge drink more often and to rely on alcohol as a stress reliever. They also pointed out that this isn't just a Hispanic cultural phenomenon, but is seen in all cultures and typically in lower income areas where their environment strongly reinforces alcohol consumption for many reasons.

This research study is about third spaces on college campuses and observing the ways in which college student’s utilize and socialize within third spaces. Specifically our research group wanted to see if there were any differences in the ways in which college students utilized third spaces on campus. Together we initally hypothesized that upperclassmen will socialize and utilize third spaces around campus more frequntly than lower classmen. My individual hypothesis seperate from our group hypthesis was that I predicted that student athletes will use and socialize in third spaces less frequntly than non-student athletes. To obtain our data our research group first created a survey full of multiple choice and open ended questions that we distributed to students on campus to fill out using the snowball sampling method. In total we were able to collectively obtain over 100 respondents to our survey and analyzed the data that we had received. What we found was that our data ultimately concluded that there were no significant findings that indicated that college upperclassmen and lowerclassmen utilized third spaces on campus differently than one another. What we did find though was that there were certain spaces on campus that our data indicated that all students seemed to utlizie and socailize in perferrably the most.  

College student socialization and college student experiences, attitudes, and opinions are subjective. In our survey research, we used convenience and snowball sampling to test if there is a correlation between a student's class standing as a lowerclassmen or upperclassmen college student and their socialization habits, experiences, and attitudes. I wanted to explore if there was a correlation between the socialization habits of commuter students versus the socialization habits and experiences of resident students. Our findings seek to increase and help further our understanding of college students' socialization habits, experiences, and attitudes. The data concludes that since upperclassmen students are not more likely to socialize than lowerclassmen students, there is an inverse statistically significant relationship between both variables. Lowerclassmen students were more likely to socialize through on campus events and utilize third spaces than upperclassmen students. However, I concluded that while commuter students are not always less likely to be involved in campus activities than resident students, commuter students are less likely to utilize community spaces around campus.