Evans 1
Jamee Evans
Yoder
Sociology 101
7 February 2021
Unit 1 Reflective Essay
In every culture, there are some ideas that are considered merely “normal” for society.
These ideas have different names: values, beliefs, mores, or more stably, laws, and the opposite:
taboos. At the University of Idaho, these norms are deeply set into the mindsets of both the
students and faculty. Simple ideas like where to wear a mask, or simply being on time for class.
Some norms however are simply less strictly enforced than others. Some specific norms are
having freshmen live on campus, wearing vandal merch as opposed to neighboring schools, and
going to Fraternity or Sorority parties during Covid-19.
The first norm, making freshmen choose on-campus housing, is more specifically
classified as a “law”. This is something that U of I has chosen to uphold and enforce as a rule
that all freshmen must obey. There are reasons for this of course, as there are for all laws, federal
or otherwise: Freshmen are more likely to be in a safe and more scholarly focused environment
while on campus where all necessary resources are readily available. Food, school, counseling,
campus security, mailing services, and the like are all there for those living on campus. This also
limits the likelihood of freshmen being scammed or being put in possibly dangerous situations.
While freshmen are still adults, many of them have just barely turned eighteen, and U of I faculty
probably feels a sort of responsibility towards them and their safety.
The second norm of U of I of having Vandal’s merch as opposed to neighboring schools
is more likely to be classified as a folkway. Folkways tend to be a less serious norm that doesn’t
Evans 2
make a big difference if violated. In this case, it depends on which school is being represented in
place of U of I. If Gonzaga or WSU instead of U of I merch is worn, it’s only a big enough deal
for someone to make a joke out of it. Though, if it’s BSU’s merch since Boise’s not a state, the
outcome is hard to determine. It definitely depends on which group it’s worn around, different
subgroups of U of I students would react differently. This kind of reaction comes from the pride
in the school that goes back generations. An alumnus is more likely to advocate for their college
rather than their high school because of how big a part the institution played in their lives.
The third norm, having frat parties during a particularly hard time such as Covid is less
specifically geared towards U of I, though it is detrimental to the students’ views towards each
other. This would be classified as taboo. Though not as terrible as, say, murder, the amount of
“shade” that fraternities get because of their partying during this trying time is just about as bad
as it gets on a college campus. At one point even the faculty of U of I was drawing attention to
the problem of these parties defying the regulations set nation and state-wide.
All of these demonstrations of norms illustrate that not only does U of I have a culture of
its own, but it has its own social intrapersonal punishments for violations of norms, taboos, and
the like.
