Cornell University Top Questions

If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I'm either crying over an impossibly hard chemistry problem set, or crying because everyone else is out drinking and I'm in my room missing my family.

The most popular thing about Cornell has to be greek life. Greek life dominates a lot of aspects of life. There are the IFC frats, which are the predominantly-white instituted frats who throw parties. There are the white sororities (forgot what the name was). They are not active what so ever in campus. I do not see the difference between them or any white frat. Then there are the MGLC frats and sororities. These are multicultural fraternities and sororities who foster the true value of brotherhood/sisterhood. They have different rituals and they don't try to shower you with gifts because after all, you are joining their organization, not hte other way around. The dating scene is awkward. There are a lot of hook-ups at cornell during parties but lasting relationships are hard to find and if found are rarely let go. One of the things to look forward to at cornell every year has to be slope day. It is about the most reckless thing alive. People party pretty much anyday they want but it is predominantly on thursdays through saturday. Cornell's life revolves around getting your work done during the week and partying hard on weekends.

I don't think there's a single most popular group. There are a few hundred organizations, and everyone finds a few that they're really into, from the newspaper or radio station to volunteer organizations to the fraternities/sororities to sports teams. Students in dorms absolutely leave their doors open. My best friends from college are the ones I met in my dorm. It's very common to spend your evening just wandering into a neighbor's room and chatting, watching a movie, etc. General athletic events aren't such a big deal, but hockey is huge. People stand on line for two days or something to get tickets. But if you're not into that, that's fine, and you won't be the odd man out. Chances are you can make it to a game (you should) by getting a ticket from a friend once. Guest speakers like Jon Stewart are obviously popular, and political and more academic figures draw a surprisingly large audience. On-campus theater definitely sells well. Go to a few shows at the Schwartz theater. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the talent of your fellow students or the people they bring in from around the country. Dating? What's that? There's generally hooking up at a frat party and then maybe starting to go out after that. A few times relationships start the old-fashioned way, but I think that's rarer and rarer - not just at Cornell, but everywhere. There definitely are relationships, though, and people don't frown on that. There are opportunities to go on dates, it's just the casual dating scene doesn't really exist. If you're up at 2 on a Tuesday, chances are you're doing work. Thursday, you might be out drinking, but possibly working. Annual traditions - slope day, the last day of spring classes where a big band comes to perform on the hill. dragon day, where a rivalry between the architecture and engineering schools comes to fruition. certain fraternities and sororities have annual charity events that get everyone else involved. then there are big parties, like Sigma Pi's foam party. every college has its own little thing, too. People study hard and party hard. You don't have to be a drinker, and there's a huge part of the school that's not at all involved in the Greek scene or bar scene. But there's also a huge part that is. Even the people who don't get involved in the Greek life end up drinking on their own, or smoking, er, uh... Saturday night activities can include the theater, a bunch of chamber orchestras, the patio at Collegetown Bagels in nice weather (lots of fun for the non-drinking and drinking crowds), the indy movie theaters in town, musicians at the State Theater downtown, and just hanging out with friends!

I think that students in dorms do a good job leaving their doors open, especially freshmen. There's no reason you cant make friends by going door to door or just leaving your door open for people to come in, especially during the first couple weeks of the fall semester. I lived in a program house my first year at Cornell, which is where I met all of my closest friends. It was a really good environment, and all of us still spend most of our time together. I think that the party scene is very big at Cornell, and it's one of my favorite parts of the school/weekend. However, you can always go to the movies, bowling, laser tag, or even have the gym all to yourself. Just be creative and you'll think of something.

I am in a club for United for Peace and Justice in Palestine, which brings speakers and films related to the Palestinian experience to campus, to balance what we feel is a very one-sided view of the Middle East on campus. Israel related organizations, such as the Cornell-Israel Public Affairs Committee and Hillel, are among the wealthiest, well populated, and influential organizations on campus. This creates a situation where Palestinian speakers who come to campus always must deal with a barrage of very uninformed questions that see the political situation in Israel/Palestine as simple and about two sides that clash. Knowing that this isn't the case, it is disheartening to see students get so radicalized so easily.

Greek Life is huge (see above) and it is linked to partying, dating, friends, charity, etc. Students do leave their dorms open, and I am friends with the majority of the 30 students in my hall. Athletic events are mildly popular. Football is not big at all, but hockey and basketball have loyal followers at each game. On a Saturday night, you can go to an a-capella group's show, go to the Herbert F. Johnson museum for a party or event, or see a movie for $4 at Cornell Cinemas.

greek life is the way to go...if you want to be seen on campus, greek is the only way to do it. none of the other clubs except maybe the studnet gov really matter. all the popular peopl e at cornell are greek

- In engineering, many students are involved in project teams like CU Satellite (CUSat) Team, Automotive X Prize Team (AXP), Formula SAE, etc. - Popular athletic events inclide Hockey, Basketball, Football. - We often have guest speakers come to Cornell. Last year, we had Shimon Peres (ex-Prime Minister and current President of Israel) come to Cornell and talk about Middle East politics. Two years ago, Bill Nye the Science Guy came to talk about Global Warming. These are just 2 examples. We had numerous guest speakers from companies like Google, Microsoft come and talk about what they do and how what they do affects the world.

Greek life is huge. I know alot of people in either a sorority or fraternity. On-campus clubs and organizations are also extremely popular. I think everyone is involved in at least one, 5 or 6 in my case. Volunteering is a big thing here, and thats amazing. Dorms are social in some cases, less so in upperclassmen dorms. Freshman year I knew my entire hallway of 80 kids. Men's ice hockey is huge, I'm a season ticket holder. My best friends come from various areas. A few are in my major or in Engineering. Others I lived with freshman year. A few others I've met in classes or through other friends. I know people from every aspect of my college life, and its awesome. If i'm awake at 2am on a tuesday, I have a prelim coming up, or a problem set due Wed. that isn't done. Slope Day is the best day of the year, lots of drinking starting at 9am and performances by big names. Frats are good for parties, sororities are good for socializing. Not essential tho. Last weekend, I went to a house party on Friday night, hockey games on Friday and Saturday night (one of which was the famous Harvard-Cornell Game) and then stayed in saturday night to sleep and do homework all Sunday. Thats typical here, to do one night out and work the rest of hte weekend. Off campus, there is a mall with a movie theater.

sports teams are huge on campus, and so is greek life. i am in kappa delta sorority and a cornell tradition fellow. i always left my door open. some do, some don't. certain athletic events like hockey and basketball are very popular. it's very hard to start dating at cornell. guys suck here. its 2 am on a tuesday right now and I am writing this survey, while trying to do work, while trying to plan big/little week. there's nothing to do on a saturday night that doesnt involve drinking.