Microculture Hypothesis

The microculture that I plan to observe is the homeless people that are out on Franklin Street. This group of people are usually always on the benches outside of Starbuck’s or next to the bus stop. They tend to all stay together and converse among themselves. I have never really had contact with this microculture before, just walking past when I’m trying to get somewhere on Franklin Street. They pique my interest because they seem to be such a close knit group that even when times are hard they still have their friends, who know exactly what they are going through, to help them out. Students and citizens of Chapel Hill don’t really pay them much attention as they are walking past, except for the occasional man or woman who will give a dollar or two the homeless man playing the guitar. My hypothesis of this microculture is that in their presence, people feel uncomfortable around them and go out of their way to avoid them. They are such an isolated group that there are hardly other reasons for their lack of interactions with the community. The reason why I would like to do this study is to understand the social aspects of the microculture itself and how they react to people avoiding them. How much do they care about individuals avoiding them? This study could be of importance to the community because the homeless people are Franklin Street, they sit outside everyday and there hasn’t been a day when I have been on Franklin Street that I haven’t seen a homeless person just sitting or talking to his or her friends. I think they need to be better understood in order for people not to judge them so much in the future.