Kenyon College Top Questions

Shout out to the swim team! The lords swim team is pretty famous for winning 34 NCAA championships and having the longest winning streak in NCAA history. A lot of students are on sports teams, though, and all the teams seem to be close-knit. There are a variety of frats and sororities that are also very close. The sports teams and greek life organizations throw great parties, often held in the Old Kenyon basement, that the whole school is invited to and encouraged to attend, and no one cares whether you're drinking or not drinking, which is great. Our a cappella scene is absolutely stunning, and there are a variety of other musical groups you can participate in, too. There are lots of clubs and committees, so whatever you're in to, I'm sure you can find a club/sport/committee/organization to be part of at Kenyon.

Everyone is involved in something and has at least one activity they feel passionately about. As a two sport athlete and double major I didn't have a ton of spare time but I still worked on campus, was on the junior/senior class council and volunteered at the humane society, wiggin street elementary school and hotmeals. Frats and sororities are important to those involved and also to pretty much everyone that likes to party. All greek parties open up to the student body so they are a great place to dance, meet people and drink free beer.

the frisbee team has become more popular, along with frats. athletic events are not popular at all. the dating scene is almost non existent, with the occasional drunken hook up that happens to turn into something more. I met my closest friends in my dorm. people party every weekend and every wednesday. if you don't drink, don't expect there to be much else to do, because the social life is strongly centered around getting drunk every weekend.

Athletic events are a joke. Freshman year Homecoming weekend was on the same weekend as reading days-- when many students leave campus and go home. Theatre is a big deal. Kenyon has a great theatre programme and the theatre kids are VERY much into honing their craft. Really, they are on the ill thespian jumpoff. Parties at Kenyon involve heavy drinking. When the beer runs out, the party's over. period. Fraternity life is quite present, as they pretty much control the party scene. Parties are free, and every weekend, without fail, some fraternity is throwing a party. Be it registered of unregistered. These parties can be fun, but sometimes the music choices can be questionable. Party nights are Fridays, Saturdays and Wednesdays. Wednesdays are serious business. There's always a party, and sometimes the parties can be more live on Wednesdays than on the weekend. It's weird, but it's the perfect day to get silly. Every year we have the winter formal Philander Phling, Shock your momma, and Summer sendoff. At all three events, people get really shitty.

Students playing golf with tennis balls on the Science Quad.

A Kenyon party, with singing

Theatre is wonderful. There is a lot of opportunities to take part in a production even if you aren't involved in the drama department. Shows are put on by individual students in the smaller student operated theatre called "the black box." These are easy to audition for, very relaxed, and a lot of fun! The theatre department tself is a little more political and intimidation - for someone who just wants to participate, it is hard to get in over serious theatre majors who know the faculty directors etc etc. There are a lot of traditions, like Phling, which is like a spring dance (spring fling - but I am not from the US so I have no idea what that is), the bug dress up Halloween party which EVERYBODY goes to and is so much fun, other themed parties take place throughout the year too, and loads of semi-formals for the different greek organisations. I personally am not much of a partyer or a drinker, so i doubt I am the best person to ask about that. I think there is too much partying and drinking, but of COURSE I am going to say that! I have already talked about some of the different campus organisations, but there are so many more, like the women's centre, the different singing groups and musical groups/bands, film clubs, political clubs, ballroom dancing, martial arts, etc etc. I really enjoy going to the movies in the athletic centre on Fridays. There is a cinema-like theatre where the film society play movies every Friday evening. There are plenty of dry events that are held on weekends too.

I don't know what groups are the most popular, I only know what I do. I"ve spent some time working with campus literary magazines but for the most part I run ArtClub which organizes and puts up student art shows around campus. I've also spent time working with the screenprinting club which is sort of underground at the moment, but we print for different campus organizations, or really just making whatever we want for fun. Frats are important if you want them to be, honestly I never go to the parties but certainly enough people do to make a life of that, though of course the other possibilities really are endless. If I were awake at 2am on a Tuesday I'd either be writing a paper, camping in the woods, swimming in the kokosing or running around with a friend, maybe building something.

Clubs, IMs, and fraternities are popular on campus. These organizations are by no means mutually exclusive. The fraternities tend to be the social scene on campus and are not exclusive at all, they are probably the friendliest people on campus surprisingly. People drink but its not out of control, except for the first few weekends when freshman girls think they can drink as much as freshman football players. But after a few bad hangovers everything mellows out.

My friends lived on my hall Freshman year. I did not get along with my roomate so I spent a lot of my time in their rooms. All eight of us found a way to room in the same hall the next year and now we share a suite together. At Kenyon you will make life long friendships. At the end of each school year, we have an all day event called Summer Send-Off. DUring the morning and afternoon, activities are held on Ransom Lawn for the members of our community (face painting, jupiter jump, sand art balloons, etc.) Towards the evening, various schoolbands plays. It culminates in the performance of a famous band. (Student do tend to drink all day and night on this event.)