Kenyon College Top Questions

I'm in the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Fraternities are not the same as at big schools--they are very friendly and their parties are open to the campus. Students in dorms leave their doors open usually. Guest speakers often come. Sports are not very popular here, unless students actually play them. Well, I at least have never been to a sporting event yet this year, because I don't have much interest in watching Division III competition. Although, our swimming team is outstanding. Fraternities host most of the large campus parties, but they're always open. I personally drink most weekends, and most of my friends do. But there are movies and comedians and other activities on Fridays and Saturdays for those that don't.

Social life at Kenyon sucks. It's intense, cliquey, catty, and isolated - worse than high school or middle school. Kids are very active and friendly, but the party scene is boring after two months because of lack of options. There are weekends when there nothing going on, which I thought was the opposite of college, though you could drink seven nights a week. Average is going out three. I met all of my closest friends freshman year through parties, hanging out, dorms, etc. You just have to get out of town at least once a semester, and if you don't have a car, I feel bad for you. Living in Amish country is quaint, but after a while, you want more. Looking at percentages is deceiving: fraternities are very important on campus, but there is no real alternative for girls (a few local sororities without much presence due to housing inequivalent to the boys'). For a relatively Greek school, the party scene leaves a lot to be desired, and everyone is thankful when they are 21 and can finally go to the two bars in town. Dating scene? Dating doesn't exist at colleges where everyone already knows each other, unless you're already sleeping together. If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I'm probably walking home from the library or hanging out in someone's room watching tv or a movie or talking. I'm probably asleep. I'm not sure what events there are on Saturday nights for non-partiers (I DO have friends that go out and don't drink), but there are some groups that have like pajama party movie-viewing things. I've never been. Outside of the party scene, lectures and a capela concerts are well attended. Sports games are sometimes - depends on the weather and the team (boys soccer does alright, no one watches football). Apparently we have a great swim team? Some fun traditions are the Halloween party, Philander's Phling (all school semi-formal), and Summer Sendoff (big all-day party and concert in the Spring). I go off campus around once a week to eat dinner, shop, run errands, see a movie, and try to keep my sanity.

I'm involved in the archery club, which is both where I made a lot of friends and met my boyfriend--it's a great way to blow off steam on a Friday afternoon! I know lots of people that complain about the dating scene, and maybe I just got lucky, but I know lots of happily dating people--it's easier to find compatability at clubs and organizations than at parties, I think. There's usually a big party or two at the south end of campus every weekend, but I've never gone--I'd rather hang out with my friends. Getting off campus to the nearby town of Mt. Vernon means taking the shuttle, always an interesting trip!, but it means visiting lots of other restaurants, some big chain stores, or the movie theater. Sometimes it's just great to get out of the bubble. Middle Ground, one of the cafes on campus, is a great place to hang out, but sometimes it can be hard to get a table.

As Bob Dylan once said about Kenyon, "If I went here, all I would do is go out into the woods and drink." Bob, you are right on the mark.

Some sports are popular, like swimming and basketball, but not much else. Anything involved with the visual and performing arts is really huge. Fraternities are popular here as well since they throw all the parties every weekend. Partying is the biggest activity on the weekends and on Wednesday nights. Drinking is huge here. Most people don't seriously date; they tend to hook up with one person frequently (aka "Kenyon dating"). Every year, there's a school dance called Phling, and if both the men's and women's swim teams win the national championship, there's another school dance as well called "Shock Your Mama." You can guess what happens there. Last weekend, I played Twilight Imperium with my friends for thirteen hours. It was pretty sweet. Off campus, most people either go home, visit friends at other schools, and go into Mount Vernon and Columbus to shop and eat.

Kenyon has a huge number of groups on campus, though usually they are fairly small and/or informal. Hillel is a little bit more organized because we have two fabulous house managers. The Kenyon community is very open, or tries to be. It's pretty rare that students steal from other students, but it isn't unheard of that kids from the nearby town do so. There was a pretty big uproar recently when the college decided to introduce swipe cards for the doors, even though any student card will work on any dorm.

If you're awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you're either studying or cruising Facebook even though you know you should be studying. During the week, it's school all the way for the majority of students. I would definitely describe Kenyon as a work hard, party hard school. It gets so stressful that if you didn't party hard, you would explode. The fraternities and sororities are the main groups that throw the big parties on campus, but there are also plenty of smaller, more intimate options if you know the right crowd, and there's also absolutely no pressure to join Greek life. If you ask a frat guy why he joined his frat, chances are he'll say something about brotherhood, camaraderie or family that sounds like some bullshit from a brochure, but it really is true. That's one thing that impresses me about Greek life at Kenyon--it's not just a means to an end (the end being drinking). If you don't drink, there's usually some sort of goofy school-sponsored activity like karaoke, sumo wrestling, or a trip to Columbus for bowling or a movie, but I get the impression that those aren't too popular. Most people who don't drink hang around the dorms and goof off with their friends, watch movies, etc. You can definitely have a good, chill time if you decide to stay in on a Saturday night, but honestly, most people don't stay in. Off campus, there's Mount Vernon, a medium-sized town in comparison to Gambier, about 5-10 minutes away from campus, and there's a shuttle that runs every hour taking people to Wal-Mart, fast food, the movie theater, or to a mexican or chinese restaurant. That's fun every once in a while, especially since Wal-Mart is a great one-stop shopping spot, but I honestly don't go into Mount Vernon that often. Unless you really get restless, or are craving Taco Bell, it's really not necessary. We love our bubble!

When I was at Kenyon, I only locked my door when I went away for break. I think that's changed, but it's definitely indicative of the culture at Kenyon. Athletics are severely unpopular at Kenyon. There is no dating scene, just a hook up scene. Most of my closest friends lived on my hall freshman year -- we lived together until we graduated. The rest were on the paper with me. At 2 am on Tuesday I'm probably doing some reading or taking a trip into Mount Vernon for some tacos. Traditions include Phling (big party in February), Freshman Sing (embarrassing but necessary), Summer Send Off (wake up at 9 am and start drinking, dammit!). People party a lot if they want to. There's always a place to go. The fraternities are a fairly big part of campus life because they provide parties, but they are never exclusive and can definitely be avoided. Freshman year, frat parties were pretty necessary, but not as much later on. Sororities are a joke. Off campus there isn't too much except your bare necessities: walmart, food, the like. Columbus isn't too far and is a really cute city. There are different things to do Saturday nights if you aren't drinking, it really depends.

The thing I love most about Kenyon is that whatever you want to do, as long as you're not hurting yourself or others, it's cool. If you want to stay in and watch movies and eat pizza with friends, that's great. If you want to go to parties, there are always some raging down South. If you want to join a band and play (or go to!) gigs, there's probably a free concert. Because we are small, the attitude is get as many people involved as possible, so things are usually cheap and doors in dorms are open. If you're bored, you're not trying.

There's a well-known phrase on campus that "football is to The Ohio State University what writing is to Kenyon." That's completely true. Students are more interested in intellectual or collaborative pursuits than they are in "typical" college activities. That's not to say there aren't parties: the swim teams famous end-of-season "Shock Your Mama" party was mentioned in an issue of Playboy Magazine. Essentially, Kenyon students work hard and party hard. The a cappella concerts are packed full to the point of standing room only, and most everyone has stayed at the library late enough to hear the "geek bell" (the closing bell) at least once a semester. Theater is very popular, and there's always at lest five campus-wide events going on every night--and more on weekends, of course. Unlike most colleges, there's not a whole lot to do in the nearby off-campus areas, so the students create their own entertainment. Frats and sororities are not a major part of life, but they are often the ones throwing the free campus parties. I'll never forget how I met some of my closest friends my freshman year. During freshman orientation--which takes place three days before the rest of campus arrives--there was a huge storm and the power was knocked out for over 48 hours. My hall gathered in the darkness with flashlights and laptops and passed the time watching movies, scaring each other, getting to know one another, and running back and forth to other dorms. It was like summer camp, and I couldn't imagine a better way to start my Kenyon career. We were a community from the very start.