Grinnell College Top Questions

Mock Trial and Model UN are both popular. There are many music ensembles, including Collegium Musicum, a medieval and Renaissance group that I happen to play harpsichord in, three a cappella groups, three large choirs, a symphonic orchestra/band, chamber ensembles, and Javanese Gamelan, which is a group that studies and plays the music of the island of Java. There is an improv troupe and a theatre troupe that writes its own plays, as well as 3 official theatre productions each year and a dance ensemble. There isn't Greek life here so the most popular parties happen at the Harris center, and many are themed. We really get into theme parties here at Grinnell! Frequently the Harris center also shows films. Every weekend you can probably find a concert of some sort. Athletic events are not super popular, but people do go to basketball games because we are apparently pretty successful at basketball.

IF you're not liberal, your gonna have a hard time. If you don't like getting shitfaced, your gonna have a hard time. If you are either awkward at dancing or don't like it, your gonna have a hard time. The problem is that although it is quote on quote diverse, the social scene really isn't. IT's as singular as you get. Saturday nights consist of going to the one college party on campus...Harris, which is getting shitfaced and dancing to techno every Saturday. Those who don't are studious freaks who do nothing but study. If you are neither of those, your in an alienated gray area. Since there's nothing to do in the town (wal-mart, which sells ammunition, is an hour walk but that's it), students compensate with politically charged initiatives and high school kind of stuff like extra-curriculars such as mock-trial. IF your not an extra-curricular guy, your in trouble. Nothing to do on campus, nothing to do outside of it. Without extra-currics, YOU WILLL DIE OF BOREDOM!

Grinnell students like to leave their doors open and then complain when someone's laptop inevitably gets stolen. The climate is generally unsupportive of dating relationships, and much more conducive to awkward one-night stands. It is not uncommon on weekends to find a string of wild parties held in dorms across campus but if you elect to live in substance-free housing people are generally respectful of the policy.

Our environmental group, FTP, is quite large, as is yoga. Student Government Association is pretty big. Students leave their doors open when they're there, and also don't really lock their doors a whole lot. It's Iowa. Some of our athletic teams are good. There's usually a decent turnout. Not the whole school or anything by any means. There are a ton of yearly parties that occur that are big for community building, like 10/10, Disco, and Block Party. We don't have fraternities or sororities.

Social life at Grinnell is what you make it to be. Grinnell has a social culture that it likes to keep alive. Major parties or social events are passed down through organizations, so the leaders who take over each year know what is expected. Such as the campus unity party is put on by the men's Frisbee team each year. The 2 am pancakes during hell week, the week before finals two weeks before the end of the semester, are always made by the Grinnell College Cristian Fellowship. Love you body week is organized by Feminist Action Coalition. The MuliCultural Talent show is put on by Concerned Black Students. And, this list could continue for all the organizations on campus.

Socially, Grinnell is a good fit for students who don’t mind getting a little wild and rowdy. People say we embody the quote “work hard, play hard.” Since there are no fraternities or sororities, campus parties are sponsored by clubs or by interested students (who are reimbursed by the student government.) Again, the Grinnell twist is an integral part of our traditional parties. One favorite is called Mary B. James (named for the dorm with the same name) in which girls (Mary) dress like boys (James) and vice versa. Surprisingly, almost everyone on campus cross dresses, even the most feminine girls and the most masculine guys. Another party with a twist is Fetish, where the party requires you come dressed as a “fetish.” Grinnellians also get really into the party 10/10, which has a much-debated history. It’s big party that travels around campus, and involves an all-campus shot (of whichever liquid you chose, alcoholic or non-alcoholic) at midnight. Of course, parties like Disco, 80’s, and Halloween, are big too. In my experience, many Grinnell students drink. However, clubs sponsor dry (no alcohol) parties as well, and alternatives to the pre-parties, where there is almost always alcohol. And even if you don’t want to go to an alternative party, if you are not interested in drinking, it is totally okay and no one will pressure you.

Here is our choir (the Young Gifted and Black Choir of Grinnell College) singing this wonderful and inspirational song by Youthful Praise. This video was taken on Sunday April, 19, 2009.

There are no sororities or frats at Grinnell. Parties mostly take place in Harris, where they're open to everyone, and then break up after. The campus feels very safe. The girls across the hall left their door unlocked the whole year, and had nothing taken or bothered. Some people don't drink- they're respected, and that's fine. There's always something to do on the weekends. Bob's Underground Cafe is open, a movie could be playing in the Harris theatre, there are restaurants in town, or just chilling in a lounge is normal. In addition, Iowa City is an hour away in one direction, and Des Moines is an hour away in the other. Guest speakers normally lecture during the week, and usually they're interesting.

Grinnell has a very large list of activities for a small school and better yet, anyone can be involved. Beginners are always welcome to anything. If you have an interest and its not available, the school will fund you to start and lead a group dedicated to that interest. There is anything ranging from intramural sports to improv. Many people would say that the ultimate frisbee team is one of the most popular groups on campus. On the weekends, there is so much to do that does not involve drinking. The college brings professional music and performing arts groups to campus and students see all shows for free. New release movies are also played on campus and student music group concerts abound. There is also a game room in the student center and there are so many odd-ball events going on that you can choose between things like dive-in movies at the pool or observatory open house nights. On the other hand, even though there is no Greek life at Grinnell, students are always up for a good time.

Grinnell is in the middle of Iowa, so the number of things to do in the town of Grinnell is sort of limited. However, every weekend there is a party at the Harris concert hall that is free and open to all students. The college also does a really good job of bringing musicians, lecturers, etc to campus so that even though Grinnell is in the middle of nowhere, there are still a lot of interesting things to do and see on campus, and all of it is free. There are no fraternities/sororities so everything on campus is basically open to everyone. And every weekend the school puts on fairly recent movies with free popcorn and has a weekend wellness activity for students that don't want to drink.

Partying. Hahah. A little of everything happens of campus. There are the students who party on Wednesday nights, those who only party on the weekends, and those choose to remain sub-free. But whatever you choose is fine. If someone wants to remain sub-free, there's no pressure otherwise. And although some students choose to party on the weekdays, they still keep their grades up. Since there are no sororities or fraternities all students know and can attend all parties. The biggest parties on campus are Fetish (dress up in wipped cream or whatever you desire), Disco (grab some polyestor), 10/10 (a traveling party that happens on oct 10), and Block Party ( starts right when finals end in May). Being one who didn't not party in high school, I was shocked by the amount of partying on campus. And if I had prospied, it probably would have scared me away, which is a shame because I love Grinnell! So don't let partying scare you away!

We are very good at finding our own fun and finding joy and beauty in seemingly simple things. The lounges are really nice. There are events every weekend. We have our own "club"; the Harris center features parties each weekend. It is very easy to obtain alcohol on campus and the school features a self-governance policy, the students are trusted. There are annual parties that everyone loves. There are lots of clubs and groups and it is very easy to make your own. It is pretty easy to get to Des Moines and Iowa City (the latter is really fun).

Some popular groups include: a cappella choirs (men, women, and mixed), theatre (independent and school-produced), basketball and other sports, among many, many others. Life on campus is very trusting - most students leave their doors open and your hall community is typically very tight. There is no greek life on campus, but there are various sports and themed houses near campus.

Work hard, party hard. The party scene is all on campus, very few people go out to the town bars. The parties are heavily rooted in tradition, which makes them very fun. We have a lot of great theme parties, for which we don ridiculous apparel almost every weekend. There are no fraternities/sororities, so most of the parties take place in dorms or our dancehall or pub. I am very glad there are no fraternities or sororities. In terms of house parties, they typically are thrown by sports teams. 5 or so members of a team will get a house and throw large non-exclusive parties. The dating scene can almost be incestual. The school is so small that, soon enough, people are stepping on a good friends toes because there are only so many "good catches." The school brings in at least 3 great speakers every week (and some bad ones). We get usually 5 very good concerts a year, and a number of others. Whenever I get around to going to the events offered around Grinnell, I am always pleasantly surprised. I hardly go off campus.

Ultimate frisbee is huge -- it's not a varsity sport, but I'd say it's more popular than most of Grinnell's varsity sports. We're awash in activist groups: international human rights, environmental, political, LGBT, etc. You name it, we've probably got it. Grinnell is one of those "work hard, play hard" schools. There's a lot of partying, ranging from the usual -- like beer pong -- to the Grinnell-specific, like Harris parties. The Harris center has a large room that usually serves as performance/special events space, and almost every Friday and Saturday night this room holds a Harris party, most of which are themed and/or costumed. They're open to all students, are free, and are really popular. They consist mostly of dancing and drinking. Some Harris party themes have become annual tradition -- every year there's Disco (the biggest and most popular of all Harris parties), Underwear Ball, Fetish, Halloween, and '80s night, to name a few. We don't have fraternities/sororities, and that's important. Most people I know came to Grinnell partially because of the absence of a Greek system. We try to do away with all forms of exclusivity and elitism at Grinnell (not that we always succeed). We don't get off campus very often, and this has lead to the phrase "the Grinnell bubble." We're a very tight-knit community, which I love, but we do become somewhat cut off from the surrounding world. Going home can be a bit of a shock.

I'm involved with the xcountry team, a tightly knit group of people who party/eat and run together. For the most part student leave their dorms open, except on east campus where the doors don't naturally stay open. The school really tries hard to bring a lot of speakers, perforance groups to campus whihc is cool. We have a speaker every thursday. There isa big split in the student body between kids who drink and who don't drink. Personally I party on the weekends, but I've heard that there are limited things to do for people who choose not to. However, I've not heard of people feeling pressured to drink, its just a personal choice that is respected by other students.

Oddly, one of the bigger groups on campus is Dag, a recreational medieval fighting group--foam-sword fighting! It's got about 40 members and is tons of fun. Belly dance is also a huge group, as are some of the independent theatre clubs. Most religious traditions will have at least one club, and there are also many social-activism groups of all descriptors. This is partly because it's very easy to make a group at Grinnell--you just need two people interested, and you go sign up. In general, people are very open; doors aren't usually locked and are most often wide open. There are all-campus parties every weekend, with several major events, including the Winter/Spring Waltzes, a fancy-dress party with live music and cheesecake! Alcohol is available at events, although funded by students; but there is never any pressure to drink, and not drinking will not exclude you from social circles. In keeping with this "openness", Grinnell has no Greek life, although there are several "project houses" at the edges of campus, open for student groups to live in each year. Also, for those interested, I think it's something like 65{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of Grinnellians marry other Grinnellians--we just get along that well!

There is a group/activity/club at Grinnell for everyone. Tons of people are involved in intramural sports or social activist groups. The most popular (and most respected) sports are basketball, track, cross country, swimming, and soccer. Frisbee is insanely popular. But, I wouldn't say athletic events are all that popular over all. Lots of people graduate without having ever seen a single game. I'm involved in theater, and the great thing about it is that you don't have to be a major to be cast in Grinnell productions because a lot of them are student-run. Also, theater attracts all sorts of people--athletes, singers, political activists--you really aren't defined by one activity. The dorms are very close-knit communities. Student almost always leave their doors open, and floor/dorm parties are frequent and fun! People often study in the hallway, and it's rare to find a person who spends a ton of time in their dorm room. Because Grinnell is a wet campus, it's common to see alcohol in the dorms. On a typical Friday night, you'll probably see a beer pong game underway in a dorm hallway, and a party in a dorm lounge. There isn't much of a dating scene at Grinnell. People don't really "go on dates." It seems like people are either casually hooking up or in a committed relationship. But there are lots of opportunites to meet people. Grinnell is really unique because is tends to party as a community. For example, there are several parties (10/10, Waltz) that are progressive in which different dorms host different parts of the party. On nights like 10/10 (the weekend after the first campus job paycheck), you can literally see almost the entire campus travel from one dorm to another. Each weekend there's a college sponsored party in a big multi-purpose building called Harris. There's free beer and lots of dancing. The party has a different theme each time, and the most popular ones are Disco, Fetish (dress up as a fetish), and Halloween. Basically these parties are an excuse to show some skin and drink. Students at Grinnell don't go off-campus much because there's so much to do on campus--there's a free movie theater, parties, guest speakers, free athletic events, free theater and music performances, free concerts--really anything you'd want. There aren't many bars in town, so most people drink on campus. There's even a pub on campus. I met my closest friends in my dorm freshman year and in my classes. The dorms aren't separated by year, so a lot of my best friends aren't the same age as me. If you're awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you are most definitely studying. There are no fraternities or sororities at Grinnell. In fact, that whole college lifestyle is pretty looked down upon, and there isn't really even anything at Grinnell that compares to it. Drinking is really common, but there is lots to do that doesn't involve drinking. People will often cook in the dorm kitchens, watch a movie, go to a concert, or just hang out. Actually, lots of people who don't drink still go to parties and have a good time because you aren't really looked down upon if you don't drink.

The people at Grinnell are really down-to-earth, and completely friendly.

If you like to get drunk, then we provide! If you don't like to drink your days and nights away, we do have other activities. The cool thing about Grinnell is how easy it is to start a club, and procure funding. Find a friend, and you have a club. 2 semesters ago, we formed a kite club with 3 people, ended up with $800 funding by filling out a page of forms. That's how easy it is. The ease of finding funds also allow a lot of clubs to bring high profile speakers over all the time, as well as concerts and stuff.