Date of Award
5-2026
Language
English
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Anthropology
Advisor/Committee Chair
Sean Rafferty
Abstract
This ethnographic study compares student culture and behavior at two upstate New York universities — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a private STEM-focused institution, and the University at Albany (UAlbany), a public research university. Through two rounds of participant observation conducted in each school's library and three semi-structured student interviews, the author examines how institutional type, admissions selectivity, campus environment, and resource allocation shape student social dynamics, gender experiences, and overall well-being. The author argues that differences in student behavior reflect not only individual student dispositions but broader institutional decisions about who is admitted and what social infrastructure is supported.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Fujita, Lilianna, "Bound to Status: A Comparative Study of Public and Private College Libraries" (2026). Anthropology. 45.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_anthro/45