Kenyon College Top Questions

kenyon is perfect for the right kind of person. most of the complaints are about administration. i agree with a lot of the complaints that kenyon is heading in a new direction. the campus feels different to me than it did when I visited, and that says a lot. maybe its the people, or perhaps it's the administration, but i dont feel very connected to the 'big picture' here. absolutely there isnt enough conversation between students and the administration. what little there is isnt often taken serisouly by students, either because they've lost trust in the administration, or they simply do not care. also, we aren't as progressive as other schools, as a community. sure, we can yell at each other when we don't want our dorms locked, but we have no solutions to make kenyon better for future students.

The school is way too small, and it is crucial that they build new dorms to fit more upcoming students. No one seems to know about Kenyon, so it should make haste to advertise a bit more. The professors are smart and enjoy collaborating with students, although they sometimes can be dull and highly ambiguous. Sadly, the frequent complaints are about the state of the food and its outrageous prices, and about the tension between students and the administrations.

The best thing about Kenyon is the campus. It has many gorgeous old buildings, new buildings, and plans for buildings in the future. I love that I can walk anywhere on campus in fifteen minutes or less. The one thing I'd change is the location of the dining halls. Fortunately, this will be corrected when the Pierce renovation is completed. I think Kenyon's size is just right, although it can seem too small after a breakup or fight, because you see everybody so often. I split most of my time between my room or a friend's apartment, and the physics building (I'm a major, and with three labs this semester I almost live there!) Gambier is very small, but I love how it blends in with the campus. Students know, and are friends with workers in the local market and the bars (we have two bars now). Gambier would be ruined if any chain, such as Wal-Mart, moved in. While driving the ten or fifteen minutes to Mt. Vernon can be annoying, I like that we are separated from it. Although I do not always agree with the decisions of the administration, I do believe that they are doing a good job of keeping Kenyon a competitive and safe school. This year, the largest controversy has been the decision to put locks on the campus dorms. Currently the dorms are open all day and night, so that anybody can enter them. This is very convenient for students, but is a large liability for the school. The board of trustees has decided to install a proximity card system, and are currently in the process of deciding when the doors should be locked. There is a lot of Kenyon pride, but we don't show it very well at sporting events. People care the most about Kenyon's attitude and reputation, and pull together to support the good on campus and protest the bad (such as vandalism at the beginning of the year).

Kenyon is a very small and friendly community. The size can become suffocating at points, but after being at the school for a semester, one is thoroughly inundated with "Kenyon Culture." Kenyon is certainly a unique school and many of the events and folkways that occur here could not happen at other schools with larger populations and increased exposed to the outside world. We take pride in our bubble and sometimes may be carried away by small issues that appear odd to an outsider. The biggest recent controversy was the decision of the administration to add swipe cards to the outside of the dorms. Students were outraged because they were only consulted a few times (amazing considering most schools do not consult students about board decisions.) Additionally, this security precaution is viewed as diminishing the Kenyon community, where students hardly lock their door and leave personal items sitting around without fear of having them stolen. You recognize almost everyone on campus and their is clearly a bond among students, the few residents of Gambier, faculty, and staff. Living here is almost like living in a time warp.

The sense of community and belongingness is amazing here. There is a great support system, whether it is fellow students, professos, advisors, etc. Many people that I have told I was attending Kenyon had no clue what I was talking about. So, I come to conclusion that many EDUCATED folks have heard about Kenyon, while a few others may have heard of it. There is isn't much school pride, however, everyone on campus has some type of Kenyon apparel. And the most frequent student complaints are the internet connection/bandwidth, the showers, the cafeteria food, and the weather.

Best thing: The KAC I'd change: the state that it's located in .. OHIO BLOWS!!! Kenyon is waaaay 2 small you can't hook up with someone on Friday without seeing them on Saturday People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them to go to Kenyon What?? Kenyon? Where is that Africa??? WHat!!! OHio ... no way man! What?? You don't have a Wal-Mart in your town?? I spend most of time in the library or at the KAC COllege town?? Hahah WE ARE THE TOWN! biggest recent controversy: Someone broke the vending machine during the black out..there was glass everywhere SCHOOL PRIDE??? HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA hardly any kids go to the games the football guys are great about supporting all the teams.. but hardly anyone goes to their games it's a shitty situation if you ask me A couple of my friends took my sledding Virginity it was awesome! The most frequent complaint is def. the food... AVI wants us to eat homegrown food but can we please start with edible.

I like the campus a lot. It is very open and pretty, especially South campus. The athletic center is very good - it has a range of things to do and it's still new, so all the facilities are state-of-the-art. I like the size - I don't know everyone who goes here; it's always nice to meet new people who happen to be acquainted with friends or people who are completely outside your circle. Fortunately, the small campus gives Kenyon a more community feel - there are less cliques and more openness than at my high school, which had about 700 more people crowded into a smaller space. I think I would change the administration. Although I do not know them very well (or perhaps because I don't), I find it hard to connect and agree with things that they do. I do not feel respected by the President of Kenyon and some of the Deans. People Nugent has hired seem to view college students as young children. I feel a huge disconnect between the administration and the students. I also feel like there is some disconnect between the staff and the administration. This does not create an aura of trust. Kenyon may have problems accepting change, but this is not necessarily a bad thing - the administration, however, seems to think it is. Any project they want to initiate that the students do not is blamed on our inability to change, even if the students have a legitimate argument. For example, the administration has felt pressure from parents to put in swipe cards to get into the dorms and possibly the academic buildings. They claim that it is for our safety; it could prevent bomb threats and incidents like Virginia Tech (VT had swipe cards, however). Obviously, swipe cards are not going to prevent bombs or bomb threats. Kenyon residents hold doors open for other people, which could give someone with a bomb access. Swipe cards are definitely not going to protect students from bombs placed outside the building, either. The moral here is that if someone wants to gain access to a building for good or ill, they will. Swipe cards are easily stolen, lost, or bypassed. This is logic, not inability to accept change. -the swipe card issue may be more about liability than anything else. If something does happen, Kenyon leaves itself vulnerable to attack if it does not have swipe cards. This is a logical reason, even if the people who attack are not being logical. If the administration would just admit this, I think Kenyon students would be less annoyed. At the moment, we feel lied to and belittled. Overall, I do not think Kenyon students are happy with the administration. We believe they are taking Kenyon to a place we don't want to go - we want to remain unique, but it is hard when the charm of Kenyon is being wiped out by modern-style buildings, conservatism, and an era of mistrust. However, I may be a little annoyed because the tuition is so high, which I (perhaps mistakenly) blame on the administration. If I am on campus, I usually am in an academic building or one of the study lounges. I also like to go to the garden at the Brown Family Environmental Center when it is warm out, which has wireless internet access, so I can do work and be outdoors. Gambier is mostly Kenyon - there is access to food, books, school supplies, mail, etc., but unfortunately to buy more exotic things (like non-Kenyon clothing), we must travel to Mount Vernon (a five-minute drive). I prefer this, though, because it means that I am not tempted to buy too much and going to pick up something simple like an air freshener turns into a road trip with your friends.

Kenyon has taught me many lessons I think it's in a unique position to provide. For example, if I were at a school in a city, I doubt I would have learned how to entertain myself. If you cannot interact comfortably with people without a drink or two in your system, this may not be the place for you because we educate through interaction. I feel safe here, which liberates me. And as much as I get bored occasionally seeing the same people constantly and with the middle-of-nowhere Ohio setting, I'm grateful for its people, who compensate for these. I have found about 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students to be friendly, bright, and approachable. There are people here who get caught up on their image, particularly pretentious cigarette-smoking English majors, but they are still redeemed by and large because they are kind and genuinely interested in other people. I make an effort to get to know the professors I respect and they are a great part of my love for this place: I walk their dogs, house-sit for them, go out to coffee or lunch with them, and am invited to their houses for meals with their families. They are professional and appreciate their role and its boundaries, but I still feel comfortable speaking to them about substantial topics. As for Gambier, it may not be thrilling, but it is beautiful and navigable, and I like that. If I need exotic food, there's an Indian restaurant 10 minutes away. If I need to shop for food, there's a Kroger. We have a beautiful gym, but when it's cold, I hate walking down there.

The best thing about Kenyon is the sense of community. I first got a taste of Kenyon when I came here for a two-week writing program the summer before my senior year of high school. Even though there weren't many students around at the time, I loved the fact that everywhere I went people smiled and said "hi" to me. Gambier is super small (only 350 full-time residents), and the village doesn't have a single traffic light. Everytime you go outside you see someone you know. Students share post office boxes with other students and run into professors while checking mail at the post office, and you'll inevitably go to dinner at a professor's house at least once during your time here. People are here because they genuinely want to be here. Students are curious, ambitious, and open to seeing things from a different angle. I've never met anyone here who hated Kenyon, and that enthusiasm is contagious. As a result, students and professors care intensely about the current state and the future of the college. When something doesn't seem right, students get talking about it. Recently there's been some controversy over the possibility of installing a proximity card lock system on the dorms. As it stands right now, the dorms have never been locked. Each dorm room has a lock, of course, but you can walk right into any building here. Overall, Kenyon and Gambier are extremely safe. I've walked home alone at night and not felt scared or threatened, there are blue light emergency phones all over campus, and security vans are always patrolling the streets. However, the administration says that installing locks on the dorm is a liability issue. Students are concerned that having the locks will take away from Kenyon's character and its trusting environment. Instead of just whining about it, students held a protest when the trustees came to campus to discuss the locks. Lately it seems like there have been more issues than ever with the administration. There's been turnover in some of the higher-up offices, and I suppose that naturally you'll get people who are unhappy with the "new regime." I think the biggest problem with it is that sometimes it doesn't seem like the administration really talks to the students or informs us about its plans until after those plans have been put in place. Kenyon was also in a news in 2004, when students stood in line until 3am to vote in the presidential elections. The village had only allotted two voting machines for students and residents, and some people stood in line for ten hours. That's a sign of Kenyon students' devotion. I went to a high school which doesn't send many students to liberal arts colleges. When I tell people from Euclid that I go to Kenyon, they usually say "What? You go to school in Africa?" (Amusingly, Kenyon's bookstore sells a shirt that says "Kenyon is not near Uganda.") However, Kenyon is pretty highly regarded among liberal arts colleges and the academic world in general. On campus, I like to hang out at Middle Ground, the cafe/coffeehouse. It's a great place to study or meet up with friends, and they make incredible breakfasts.