When you hear about a college kid camping out in Walmart, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that he has either prank or politics on his mind. Recently, Walmart's been under fire for everything from sexual discrimination, outsourcing, and absentee healthcare plans - it seems about time for a liberal minded undergrad to just flat out invade the place.

But this scenario isn't what happened with Skyler Bartels. The Drake University sophomore from Harvard, Nebraska did hang out in a Walmart for a couple consecutive days, but his visit was more like a stroll through Central Park than a march on Washington.

He wasn't out to prove anything about the way Walmart does business, and he wasn't conducting research for school. There was no thesis, no hypothesis to be tested, and not even any time taken to look around the supercenter before making house. The Skyler Bartels experiment was really just a product of curiosity. He wasn't prompted by the masses of Walmart expose sites like walmartwatch.com or even the recently released documentary film The High Cost of Low Price. Bartels, a light hearted and amiable personality, says his extended stay at Walmart was really just a good-natured look into whether the store had everything he needed to live there. " It was just to see how easily you could actually make out there and how readily available the items in the store were – to see if you could make it a day, or two days, or a week.."

So what's Skyler's verdict? "They had everything! The only couple of things they don't provide you with were a sleep area and a shower. They have food places (Subway) and places that you can get your hair done. If you need something outside of Walmart you can get it at Walmart anyway."

Sure beats living in a college dorm! In fact, Skyler said he actually enjoyed the experience despite the store's shortcomings. "I was comfortable with Walmart at the end of it. I was at the point where I could sleep comfortably on the toilet!"

He gave himself a good run at testing his endurance, his resourcefulness, and his creativity. But what started out as merely an offbeat way to kill Spring break became a sort of accidental insight into the sociology of a superstore.

It turns out that Walmart is a great place to meet some very interesting people. Bartels chatted with a nun while she shopped for fried chicken in the frozen food section. He received video game advice from a man eager to show off his skills in electronics. Bartels was even approached by an army recruiter, who through just a brief aisle side conversation was able to tell Skyler that he "has what it takes."

It sounds as though, despite its alleged short-comings, Walmart is filled with some happy folks! But Bartels says there is another side to Walmart's trademarked smiling face. "There were a lot of people who were short with me. There was an individual nearby when I first noticed birds in the produce section. I sort of joked about how Walmart was open to anyone, and he rolled his eyes and gave me sort of a low growl!"

Bartels says that Walmart's littlest customers had the biggest impact on him. He was shocked to hear the language coming out of children throughout the store. "I started to really notice the dynamic between kids and parents, which has changed drastically since I was younger. I would never swear at my parents and they would never swear back at me. Kids are really starting to get a mouth on them!"

He's been offered a book deal, which doesn't sound like a bad idea for the aspiring writer. It's likely that he'll be using his experience in future creative projects, but Bartels hasn't made any definitive plans; he insists that lack of sleep caused him to forget taking half of his notes. Regardless, Skyler Bartels seems to have learned a lot from some of the best people-watching anyone has been able to experience, and in the process, his take on Spring Break has become incentive for us all to "roll back" and take a closer look around.

Elizabeth Licorish

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