Ohio University-Main Campus Top Questions

Social life at OU revolves mainly around the many bars in downtown Athens and the off campus party scene. However, there are many other activities at OU which do not include drinking. Camping at Hocking Hills and Strouds Run is a popular activity. OU also has a large number of student organizations that regularly plan and take part in events around campus.

i never lock my dorm room door.

I met my closest friends here on a freshmen trip called "New Adventures," a program run by Outdoor Pursuits where about 28 freshmen go on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota. Twenty-eight isn't a lot of people, so many people don't really even know about it, so I definitely consider myself lucky to have gone, because the trip was AMAZING and, having met a bunch of new friends, my first couple of quarters here were very fun. I've since met other people, but I still keep in contact with my Boundary Waters gang, and at least three of them remain some of my best friends here. My experience with dorm life has been so awesome. I live on South Green, which is in my opinion the best place to live, in a substance-free dorm called True House. You might think that because we're substance free we're a bunch of squares or something, but you'd be dead wrong - we have tons of fun, and trust me, we find other ways of getting into trouble besides smoking pot or whatever it is people do. But the cool thing about dorms on South are the "mod" set-ups, with a smaller number of people in the mod sharing a common room...it makes it seem so much more familial. My House has become home to me, and the people in it are my family away from home. If you want to know what I'm doing at two in the morning on a Tuesday, I'm probably hanging out with them.

There is a very healthy social life on campus, but I don't participate in that very much. I leave my door open, as do the rest of my mod, but that's as social as I get.

In my dorm, we all leave our doors open and we hang out all the time.

The most popular groups are the Greek ones-there's a pretty big Greek population on campus. Football and basketball are the most popular sports, depending on the season. I'm involved in a service fraternity which provides community service, plans service trips (New Orleans, Boston, Orlando, etc.), attends conferences and just has a damn good time. It's about 50/50 with students leaving their doors open. It depends on the opportunities they've had to meet each other. Athletics are definitely popular; guest speakers depend on the target group but are popular within said groups; theater-not so much. The dating scene isn't all that big. A lot of people have significant others but you don't hear about "dating around" or "casually dating" a whole lot. I think that's true for society in general, though. I met my closest friends in Alpha Phi Omega and on staff (I'm an Resident Assistant). If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably watching TV, waiting to fall asleep. Traditions/events: Homecoming, street fests, Relay for Life, annual 5ks, Halloween. People party pretty often-there's at least one every weekend that people know about and the bars are packed Thursday-Saturday. Greek life is important, like I said. I'd say about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus is Greek. Last weekend I worked on Friday night and went camping all day Saturday. Sunday was a catch up day (both on school work and sleep!). There are a lot of things to be done on a Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking-people watching!, movies, etc. Off-campus, I go to Stroud's Run, go home for a weekend, etc.

There are a lot of activities on campus for students to participate in, and I really think it is impossible for anyone to not find friends here. We truly have ALL types of people here and I think it is easy to make friends here.

it's definitely a party school, but what school isn't.

My favorite thing to do when I have free time is to go explore Athens. There are awesome little shops and restaurants everywhere, it's so easy to fall in love with Athens if you go out and see it for what it is.

Social life is the one of the most important things to people on campus. Arguably more so than school itself. People go to football games and basketball games. There are constantly parties going on and crazyness in the streets. People in the dorms are usually social although there are the choice few who don't talk to the people around them at all.

I'm still really new, so describing social life is a bit hard, especially because I'm not that social myself. I happened to get into a dorm with my best friend from high school, but other than her and a guy I met through her, I don't have many friends. The only really group-related extracurricular I'm doing is the church choir at St. Paul's.

The most popular teams are hockey and field hockey. I am involved with club softball. The girls are great and they do a great job of running the team. I met my closest friends in my mod and my major. If I am awake at 2 on a Tuesday (highly unlikely b/c of my 8 AM) I am either doing homework with my boyfriend or I'm in my mod having a deep conversation with my modmates. Last weekend I went partying with my Athletic Training "family." I can do a lot of things on a Saturday night that doesn't include drinking! Things like, working out, working, playing pool, taking a walk up town, going to The Ridges, camping, SLEEEEPing, go to the movies, etc.

I wish people on my floor section would keep their doors open more often. I'm a social person and I keep mine open for people to say hello. I wish others would too, and I think they would meet more people in the residence hall. Especially during the first weeks at school

As I mentioned before there are many organizations that students can become involved in. I'm currently serving as an executive member of tRAC (the Resident's Action Council) which serves as the student advocacy and programming organziation for the nearly 7,800 students living within the residence halls on campus. Becoming involved with this organization has allowed me to work directly with a variety of administrators from Univeristy offices including housing, student affairs, residence life, and facilities. I actually met my fiance through my involvement with the Department of Residence Life and Off Campus Living and also met the majority of my friends through my career in this field. This goes to show you that if you choose to get involved in campus organizations YOU WILL find people interested in the same things you are and make some lifelong friends.

I have no idea

Greek organizations are very popular. I'm not really into that though, so I don't care. I don't have time with classes and working two jobs to be involved when organizations. Football is very popular (even though OU sucks at it). But it's really the only sport that gets advertised which sucks for all the good teams (like women's basketball and volleyball) who get recognized nationally yet our own students don't even know about them. The dating scene is centered around the bars here. With nearly 20 of them, how can it not? I know some people who get drunk every night of the week, never come to classes (except on exam days), and never study....needless to say, they don't do well. The university tries it's hardest to come up with activities that don't involve drinking.....they are usually lame.

Most Popular Student Org: intramural sports. Students in their "residence halls" leave their doors open. It's an easy way to let your friends and neighbors know you're home, and it's a great way to meet new people. Athletic events. Students go. Could be better? Football- they leave after 1/2 time, once the band has played. Speakers, frequently unattended. Unless it's some big name. My closest friends were the people I lived with on my floor, and below. I only remained close with one person from high school. 2am on a Tuesday: I was NEVER up this late. I had 8am classes. Traditions: Halloween, bar "riots" during the time change, freshman march up Richland before school starts People party every day. More on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the weekends. It's college. It happens. Greek life isn't for everyone. It's okay. It's only about 11-12{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body. You know they're here, but they're not overbearring. Last weekend- my parents came down. We went to a movie and had breakfast at Jana's. Saturday nights: Midnight movies, Athena Grand, Ping, Billiards in Baker. Off campus: bowling and grocery shopping

People sure do like to drink at OU (how else could they have gotten the reputation as a party school?). However, that is not the only thing a student can do on campus, especially on the weekends. Uptown on Court Street (the main street of Downtown Athens), there are restaurants and a movie theater showing some of the latest in independent films. Movie buffs will particularly enjoy that aspect, as there are a few theaters to choose from. Additionally, OU has its own film festival and the School of Telecommunications hosts its own 48 Hour Shootout in the winter. Teams have 48 hours to write, film, and edit a film before showcasing it to a full audience. I did this in February of 2008 and it was a rush all weekend. It was certainly stressful trying to complete the film on time, but every moment was worth it. Greek life is important to people who enjoying partying and getting drunk - often. But not everyone gets involved with it and can find a number of things to do, such as going to Ping Center to work out. A massive workout facility, Ping Center offers students the ability to do pretty much anything: lift weights, go running, play basketball, badminton, racquetball, ping-pong, or go take a chance on the climbing wall. OU is "only" part of the MAC, so it would be rare for a team to be playing for a national title. However, football and basketball are popular with the students, especially basketball. Nearly every game boasts such a raucous student section that the Convocation Center where the team plays has become known for having such a strong home crowd. The games are exciting to watch, and students get in for free with an ID.

Campus Crusade has a big following at OU, but is very conservative in it's approach. Students in the Residence Halls are pretty lose about security. They lock all the outside doors, but that doesn't stop people from coming in behind other people with keys. A lot of people date the people in their same hall. Athelietic events are decent. We've had a pretty sad football team for a long time, but we've started to get a lot better with our new coach. Basketball is a lot of fun, our student section, the OZone, is a blast!!! Hockey, a club sport @ OU, is also a great thing for a Friday or Saturday evening. Weekends at OU are a lot of fun! For the responsible, non-drinkers, Baker Unviersity Center always has fun stuff. Laughter After Dark on Fridays brings national comedians in every week at midnight. The midnight movie shows in the theatre too. Free food is everywhere. There's always tons of people hangin out and playing pool on the first floor.

Doors are always open in underclass dorms, unless you live in a mod on south. Kinda desolate over there. Many great guest speakers/concerts (THE FRAY!!) I met my friends in the dorms and at work. Very very nice dating scene, great people on campus overall. Not a whole lot to do on the weekends besides drink, unless you take advantage of programming in Baker Center. Comedy, concerts, speakers, and always midnight movies. Halloween happens every year. About 10000 people show up for it, with like 50000 people total. It is a must atleast once in your life.