Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

The students on my dorm floor were extremely open; we hardly ever locked (or even closed) our doors, and we were always in each other's rooms. I know most other people were not that close with their floor mates (a lot of them never even met some of their floor mates), but my experience was pretty unique. Sports are practically non-existent. Lewis & Clark's been trying to give athletes a bunch of scholarships to get new athletes here and revive our school spirit, but most of the kids brought in by that pretext end up leaving within the first year because they feel isolated from the rest of the campus. There are no sororities or fraternities, and the biggest campus-wide parties we have take place in a small house down the street. People really enjoy drinking here, and that seems to be a lot of people's weekend activity. You can always go downtown and hang out there, but as far as on-campus entertainment on the weekends, things are pretty dead until about the last two weeks of the year.

Students do nothing except get drunk and rape each other.

I cannot describe what the most "popular" groups/organizations/clubs/teams on campus for the simple reason that the word "popular" is not of L&C nature. The people there don't really subscribe to that way of thinking. The groups are pretty much evenly divided. The althletic events have had a reputation for having low to no attendance. However, many have said that has changed a lot with the underclassman. Many events happen on campus. The most attended are usually the speakers and theater events. A couple of the most attended events this year were the Solomon Sparrow Electric Whale Revival (a slam poetry group) and the Blue scholars concert. Most students leave their doors open, but that will vary hall to hall and student to student. And i met one of my closest friend on the optional Pre-NSO(new student orientation) hike trip. One of my other closest friends i met during the academic fair where all the freshman learn about the different departments and the various courses they offer. I met another one of my closest friends because he's my roommate, which is another thing L&C is good at. They place roommates really well together. And there are parties almost every weekend, giver or take a few weekends a semester, but it's all pretty chill. There's no pressure to party, but it's there if you want it. And if you don't want to party, there's plenty of stuff to do on campus usually, and if nothing campus catches your eye, there's always free transportation to downtown that runs till 2 or 3 am on the weekends. And if you can't find anything Downtown, you probably should be in bed, because there's ALWAYS stuff to do in Portland. And the only tradition that i can think of is the Naked Mile..and yes, it is just what it sounds like. People run a mile with no clothes on.

Theme parties sometimes (i.e. Animal-Fantasy Party), athletic team house hosted parties, keggers, weedfests, etc. People always leave their dorms open, Guest Speakers that are internationally recognised are a constant, the dating scene is tough, where isn't it tough? No frats, no sororities, no lame people. Everyone is a chilla.

I was on the track & field team and was associated as being a track girl, but I liked that. Other than that I don't think I'm associated with one group necessarily, but I think that is also a personal issue because I like to float from group to group. There are these things called "LC goggles" where peoples' "dating standards" are apparently lowered because the girls outnumber the boys, and the odds make girls feel like they have to settle. I don't necessarily agree, I'm just stating what I have heard. People party every weekend. I mean.. it's college let's be honest. Most of the bigger parties are off-campus though, but are within walking distance at housing nearby. Frats/sororities do not exist at LC, but I think that is fine because with such a small amount of students it is "clique-y" enough without more segregation among a new kind of category. There is plenty to do without alcohol of course. Downtown is always pleasant to just pass the time in the city. There's a bowling alley in Tigard. There are various malls within driving distance. A stroll down 23rd at night is full of characters. There are plenty of sushi restaurants and various cuisines. Catch your favorite sports event on Tuesday night for cheap buffalo wings at Buffalo Wild Wings..

Mmmmmeh... too lazy to write at the moment...

The dating scene fucking sucks at this school. There are a LOT more women than men on campus. People don't really go on dates; they mostly hook up. It isn't that hard to find someone to hook up with at a party, but there's a very small chance that a straight woman will find a relationship with a man on campus, but not vice versa. Most women figure out pretty quickly that they should try Craigslist, Portland State University, or go to bars/coffee shops downtown if they want to actually date. The guys don't have to work very hard for relationships, so they never dress well, often get high beforehand, and generally have the attitude that if it doesn't work with this girl, it will work with a girl who is so desperate that she has lost her standards. They are correct. The phenomenon of LC women abandoning their standards for physical attraction, good sex, and overall being treated with respect is called "LC Goggles." If I had known about this, I might have seriously reconsidered going to Lewis & Clark.

The people on your floor become like your family, and you'll probably be friends with most of them. Doors are usually open, depending on what day it is. Athletic events aren't super popular although I think there is a good turnout for basketball games/football games. In the early hours of the morning I'm probably awake procrastinating or something. Apparently there is a naked mile run around campus that happens around prospie weekend but I haven't seen it or I missed it. Most people party on Friday or Saturday nights... that is when they are the loudest, but sometimes on Thursdays or random days. There are no frats/sororities here. Off campus there is tons to do as Portland is just a half hour bus ride away.

Having a social life on campus was hard to figure out at first. You have to think about how to balance work and fun more carfully than in high school, but once you get it figured out there is a ton of fun to be had on and off of campus.

The ultimate frisbee team seems to be popular. There are three a capella groups that are student run and their concerts always get a big turn out. College Outdoors is an organization on campus that has various outdoors activites throughout the year, including over breaks. My roommate went on a trip to the Grand Canyon with them, and I hiked in the Redwoods of Northern California. Their trips are pretty popular. I'm in an a capella group, which I really enjoy, because I've finally found people who enjoy singing as much as I do. There are certain dorms where the doors are always open, like the art-themed dorm called Platt. It really depends on where you live. There definitely are people who date, but because my year is 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} female, there's definitely a lot of guys who are trying to hook up with as many girls as possible. And the girls can get kind of desperate. There are off-campus parties every weekend which are usually close enough that you can walk there. And there's always people drinking in their dorms, because usually as long as you're not too loud, you won't get written up. If you do get caught drinking in dorms, you have to meet with a campus living coordinator. Nothing really happens, basically. A lot of people go downtown on weekends to coffee shops, Powell's bookstore (really great bookstore), clothing stores, restaurants, and clubs. There's two clubs people go to, one is really sketchy and the other is an all ages gay club. There are a lot of concert venues and people often go to concerts. They're usually indie bands, but I've heard about a few big people like Ben Harper playing in Portland. Saturday Market is also really popular-- there's lots of stands with crafts and jewelry, as well as food stands.