Knox College Top Questions

There are a ton of clubs on campus. If you don't like any of the current clubs you can always just create your own, which is pretty cool.

Most popular groups on campus are fraturnities and sororities, performing arts, and student senate. I was involved in all three of the above. Students will leave their bedroom doors opened, but for safety reasons, all dorm doors are locked regularly, and only propped open on rare occasions. Athletic events are not too crazy, but the basketball team was really good when I was there and so the stadium was always packed. Guest speakers were also very exciting and I would go to them often. Knox also would have comedians and musicans come in too. There was always a theatre performance going on. Students even in their freshman year commonly direct their own small performances, and they are very popular with the student body. The dating scene is really just like highschool. As silly as it sounds, with 1200 people, everyone knew everyone elses business! I met my closest friends at orientation, in the dorms, in the cafeteria, and in theatrical productions. If I was awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I was definately cramming for a test. Knox is fun, but their academics are tough and challenging. The biggest tradition is Flunk Day, where the admin surprises students by calling off classes one morning and has a beer garden, a petting zoo, a mud pit, and other outrageous activities throughout the day. People party every weekend, with typically multiple activities during the week, like going to see the jazz band at a local bar or just hanging out having a Lost marathon in your dorm. Fraturnities and sororities are very important but you don't have to be in one to be welcome to all of their events and parties. I was friends with girls not in my sorority and had many friends at all of the fraturnities. I felt safe going to a frat house on saturday night by myself, for I always knew 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the people there and everyone was very welcoming. There are always plenty of activites without drinking; and many parties did not emphasize drinking, but dancing. There were always costume and dance parties that were totally fun and there was no pressure to drink. There is also a coffee shop off campus that would have open mike nights and student groups would have activities and BBQ's that didn't have alcohol. I went off campus twice my entire time at Knox, once for a concert, and once for a movie, because there was always something to do, and my homework definately kept me busy.

The campus is really safe. Greek life is popular, but not something you have to be a part of to fit in or find your niche. Knox is a great place to get involved - lots of clubs, organizations - there is osmething for everyone. If you like to party, you'll be able to find a place to do so on campus! If you don't drink there are things to do for you too! Off campus there are not a lot of options...but I've never been bored on a weekend.

FLUNK DAY!! is one of the best traditions ever. It's like the whole school gets drunk and high and classes are cancelled for that day and theres like games and activites on campus.

To adopt a quote used to describe another college, "[Knox] is pretty boring. You need to do a lot of drugs." Galesburg isn't exactly a mecca of culture, and with Chicago 3 hours away, it sometimes feels quite stifling. The administration is good about bringing in speakers, but that doesn't solve the problem of what to do on Saturday night. The vast majority of the students drink, but a lot of times there aren't any good parties to go to, so sometimes students get destructive. There's a definite pot subculture on campus as well. It's not uncommon to see three or four students walking across campus discreetly passing a joint around. Harder drugs are a little harder to come by, but if you want to find them, you can. Outside of pot and booze, a lot of kids trip either shrooms or acid, and after that a small percentage use coke or X. Another big problem with Knox is that anywhere you can get food on campus is closed by 1AM, which is quite frustrating.

Knox is not a sports college. Theater is pretty popular, some shows have had to add shows because they ran out of seating. Dating scene: 1200 students = Good luck with that. Guest speakers: There's a lot of attendance, good speakers. Jazz Night: Listen to students and/or professors play jazz at a local bar (21 not a requirement) Some students leave doors open, mainly in first year dorms. Most of my friends were made because I transferred here to be with someone and her friends became my friends. I hear that orientation throws you in with a bunch of people, and its really not hard to make friends. Annual Traditions: Prairie Fire - woo, mascots! Flunk Day - no explanation, you have to live it yourself Commencement Speaker - usually pretty awesome people MGLBTACC - conference for GLBT at another college, not the whole school, but its fun Rootabaga Jazz Festival - just what it sounds like Greek Life: In my opinion, there are too many. It gets really obnoxious to see posters EVERYWHERE and getting TONS of emails about recruitment or events. Knox is a large Greek school. Saturday Nights (alcohol or not): Frat parties, LARPing, hang out & watch a movie, play a game, go off campus, really that's it.

I work for the admission's office and so I often interact with prospective students. One of the biggest questions I get is "what is ther to do in Galesburg?" My answer is alsways the same. There is so much to do on campus that there is really no need to go off campus. From sports to parties it is a great time had by all. Plays and music, forums and speeches, there is always something going on. I am in a colony, Gentlemen of Quality, which has hopes of becoming a fraternity next year and we put on events and go to events as a group. It is awesome.

The campus is very active and there's ALWAYS something going on, whether it's impromptu or a planned event hosted by the college. Greek life has a significant role on the campus, with five fraternities and three sororities. Though Greek life has a presence, it's not a dividing factor if you don't make it out to be. I'm in a sorority and I still have many non-Greek friends. Being a part of Greek life is probably the best decision I have ever made (aside from deciding on Knox!) and I thoroughly enjoy being a part of it because it's very different from the stereotypical fraternities and sororities. I never thought I would ever be a sorority girl but now I can't imagine my life without it! But if Greek life isn't your thing, there are plenty of other things to do on campus. There are house parties basically every weekend and drinking is a popular weekend (and sometimes weeknight) activity. However, there are also activities that don't involve drinking. Many people simply hang out in their suites on the weekends or go to concerts, plays, and other activities that the college sponsors. It's so easy to make friends on this campus! Some of my closest friends are those that I lives with freshman year. The suite arrangement makes it really easy to make friends because you automatically know 7 other people. You also make friends with people from your clubs or sports. I think this atmosphere is due to the fact that most people come to Knox without other people from their high school, so no one knows each other--you're all in the same boat!

If you're awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, you're doing homework. Or at least you had better be doing homework. I learned that the hard way when I thought that Flunk day was the next day.

Parties are pretty prevelant here; the campus is located in the middle of a small town surrounded by cornfields. This can definately lead to bordem, and bordem can definately lead to drinking or taking drugs. But, the scene is pretty easy to avoid if its not your thing. Your freshman year, frats parties are pretty central to the social scene, but again, it is easy to find something else to do. Movie nights are big around here; our library has a great selection of films. Knox does a decent job of bringing speakers to campus, but they usually present on weekdays, so students do make their own fun on the weekends. If you can, bring a car! Not much is within walking distance, but a car can get you to Peoria or other larger cities, and if you have a car, you can avoid taking taxis to the movie theater or Target (they get really pricey).

Some of the most popular groups on campus are the choir, which has around 60 students, and the Greek organizations. Intramural sports are also very popular, as is Student Senate and a lot of the human rights organizations like SASS (Students Against Sexism in Society), etc. My involvement with choir has been one of the most positive experiences on this campus, because having a group to be involved with is a great way to get acclimated to life in college. We also go on tours every year over spring break, which is a really great way to get to know each other. Last year we went to Chicago, and this year we went to Spain. Students in the dorms here tend to leave their doors open a lot, but it depends what area of campus you live in. I live on the first floor, and everyone in our suite still leaves their doors unlocked and usually open as well. I feel very safe on this campus. There is generally a good turn out for sports events and guest speakers; guest speakers get more attendance than sports, though. Theater is also very popular here; our theatre department is very strong, and people of all kinds show up to theatre and dance shows. I find that there are enough people interested in just about anything you could think of on campus, that you'll get a solid amount of people coming to various events. Knox is a small campus, but I haven't found the dating scene to be difficult. One thing I've heard complaints about is that because this is a small campus, word gets around quickly about things, and it might be hard to avoid someone you have a bad break-up with. I met my closest friends through choir, and people I spoke to during orientation week. I had established my group of friends within a few days of being here, and it changed somewhat over time, but some of my best friends are people I met within the first week on campus. If I'm awake on a Tuesday morning at 2:00, which I usually am, I'm doing homework. Always. Some nights I'm up until 4 or 5, but the average is about 2. The traditions that happen each year on campus include: Play Fair, a big event for the incoming first-years to get to know each other and play games; Pump Handle, where every Knox student, faculty, and administrator shakes each other's hands within a period of a couple of hours; Flunk Day, when classes are canceled and students experience a day of games, carnival rides, and a foam pit, among other festivities. People party on a varied basis. There are parties going on every weekend or every other weekend, but people's partying schedules vary based on their class schedules for the term and how much work they have to do. Sometimes fraternities host big theme parties, but for the most part, partying happens on a much smaller scale, among groups of friends hanging out on weekends. Fraternities and Sororities are popular on campus, but they aren't that big of a deal, because there is no pressure to join or not join. They are there for people who are interested, and not an issue for people who would rather not be a part of it. Parties are not exclusive based on Greek or non-Greek, or even based on which fraternity or sorority you are involved in. They are a good way to create a social network, but it is very easy to find a social group at Knox that is not based on Greek life. I have many friends who are in various sororities and fraternities, though I do have a specific fraternity at which I spend a lot of time hanging out, because many of my friends ended up joining that fraternity. However, that does not mean I do not hang out with people from other groups. The system exists, but it is not as prevalent in the lives of the students as it might be at a bigger institution. Last weekend, I spent my Friday night with three friends of mine, sitting on our mattresses which we pulled out into the suite, watching DVDs of Looney Tunes cartoons that we checked out from the library. We bought a bunch of snacks from the C-Store and had a sleepover. On a Saturday night, you can find plenty of groups of people who aren't drinking, and if there are people who aren't drinking, they aren't going to pressure you to drink. I've never had a problem telling people I didn't want to drink; people are accepting of your choices. If you don't drink AND you don't want to be around drinking at all, you might run into problems, but people aren't going to bother you about it. There are often theater productions or movies being shown for clubs on Saturday nights. There is also a giant TV in the lounge of one of the dorms, which is for public use, so people often set up movie nights, etc. Music artists come to Knox occasionally as well and play in small settings like dorm lounges or in the recital hall. I've never had a problem finding something to do, and I often find there are too many things I want to go to, all happening at once! And if not, there's always homework to do. I've had many Saturday nights that consisted solely of homework.

There are so many activities to choose from on campus. And the social life is bumpin.

Many of us say that nothing ever happens at Knox. That's not entirely true. Things happen, it's just that you never hear about them until they're over. Signs on campus and notes in your mailbox aren't as affective as people think they are. Right now is Flunk Day season, complete with the rumors and the scares. It's exciting, but a little annoying. Not a lot of people enjoy being awakened at 5am to find out that it's NOT Flunk Day. But it is nice when Flunk Day actually comes. The day off is a blessing to most people.

I came into Knox thinking that I would never go Greek, but the sororities/fraternities on campus are /very/ different than the kind you'd find at a state school. The girls aren't cliquey or superior. Instead, they are philanthropically oriented, active in the Knox community, and just excited about hanging out together. Sororities don't live together either, which limits the amount of catty-ness that is inherent in gathering any group of girls together in one place. Fraternities on campus host parties usually every other weekend, and they do live together at houses. Each frat has a different feel, but again, they're all a lot more relaxed and diverse than the kind you'd find at a state school. Even though I started this out talking about Greek life, it really isn't that dominating on campus. Half the people involved, you'd never know were Greek just by looking at or talking to them. Students in the dorms leave their doors open, and if usually people in suites or floors get to know each other really well. A lot of friendships are forged there. If you want to party, you can party. If you want to just hang out, that happens a lot too. What you're going to do on the weekend really depends on the people you associate with.

Social life is centered around the fraternities. Each has its own following. But fraternities at Knox College are not like other school's systems. Knox's greek life is non-threatening and overall very open to other people. There is no "brother's only" mind-set all people are welcome at the parties.

There's not much on a weekend that doesn't include alcohol. Knox is extremely gossipy. So no matter how you spend your weekend (or weekdays for that matter), other people on campus will know exactly what you did after the 10th round of beer pong last saturday... Students do prop doors open, but we're not supposed to. Galesburg is an extremely sketchy town (filled with plenty of unemployed sketchy individuals) and things will get stolen. Athletic events are only popular for die-hard fans. Knox knows that the "prairie fire" isn't amazing...so not too many students tend to go to games. If I'm still awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm either studying or going out to steak and shake with friends.

People on campus are pretty sociable. We are a small enough campus that you can't leave your building without stopping to say hi to someone you know or chat with a friend. Residence halls are divided into suite of 8,12 or 16 students with a common area onto which all rooms open, and common areas are the center of activity in many suites. Dorm room doors are almost always open and the atmosphere is trusting enough that most students leave their doors unlocked or open even when they aren't in the dorm. The Knox gender ratio is fairly balanced and by sophomore year it seems that most students have a campus boyfriend or girlfriend. Many form very close, long-term relationships, and the rumor goes that 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of Knox students will marry someone from Knox. There are many active clubs and Greek organizations on campus in which students can become involved. Fraternities dominate the party scene, as there are few other venues for parties on campus. Drinking is common on weekends, but tends to occur within the confines of small groups of people in dorm rooms or suites and is usually not extremely excessive. The administration turns a fairly blind eye to drug and alcohol use if it is not disruptive, but I get the sense that they are trying to become more restrictive. Apart from drinking, there is not a lot to do on weekends. There are often parties you can go to, whether or not you're drunk, but many people choose to pre-game for these. There is nowhere off campus you would really want to go, even if you were over 21. The best option that does not involve drinking would be watching movies or hanging out with your friends in the Gizmo. It would be really nice if there were more campus-sponsored activities such as concerts and movies in which students could participate on the weekends.

There is always, always something going on. The best and most talked about tradition...easy. Flunk Day. End of story. (It will be, I guarantee it, your favorite day of the year. For the rest of your life.)

There is always enough to do if you are involved and make a little of your own fun. You can do the whole greek party scene, but it is just as easy to have your own parties or not to party at all.