By Viviana Arboleda Unigo Campus Rep at Emory University
University is located just ten minutes from downtown Atlanta, where most of the nightlife and restaurants are located. Emory’s upperclassmen usually frequent downtown Atlanta. Freshmen are not allowed to have cars, so they usually stay on campus. Emory has a great transportation system; an environmentally friendly shuttle that takes students to Emory’s surrounding area, so freshmen have the opportunity to go to nearby restaurants. For entertainment, freshmen usually go to frat parties on Frat Row, or to a nearby bar called Maggie’s Bar and Grill, which is open until 4:00 am every weekend. The majority of Emory students go to Maggie’s simply because everybody is there, it’s opens until late, they aren’t strict with ID’s, and the alcohol is not very expensive. For upperclassmen, getting to know Atlanta is much easier because most of them have cars and are not underage. Atlanta offers a variety of night clubs and bars, and all types of restaurants, like the Atlanta Diner and Bluepoint. There are many delicious restaurants surrounding Emory University. There is a pizza place called Everybody’s and a Mexican place called Los Loros, famous for its burritos and margaritas. Also, two Emory students decided to create a web page that compiles all of the restaurants in Emory’s surrounding area, with their menus, address and phone numbers. Once HungryEagles.com became famous, so did students ordering delivery to campus. Freshmen became in the mood to order food every night of the week. A few years ago, a group of Emory students, led by Mark Graham formed a group called MisEdukated. MisEdukated had a goal: to throw parties every week in local venues around Atlanta, for the sole purpose of uniting Emory students. Misedukated rents famous clubs like Pure or Compound for the night so Emory students can go and “disturb that night,” as their slogan says. Misedukated is a hit, because every week students have the opportunity to go out dancing all night and meet up with all of their friends. The group became a success, mainly because of their marketing skills. They promoted on Facebook and handed out flyers at school. Misedukated also provides buses that leave from campus that take students to the clubs they are hosting in order to prevent drunk driving. Misedukated also promotes clubs for students 18 and up to encourage freshmen to go out and enjoy Atlanta’s nightlife. For those who do not like dancing and clubs, bars are extremely popular among Emory students. There are two nearby areas packed with bars in Atlanta: Midtown and Buckhead. Most of the bars are located in Midtown. There are the extremely laid back bars like Moondogs as well as trendy ones like East Andrews. Another famous district in Atlanta is the Virginia Highlands. A few years ago, Emory didn’t have any classes during Wednesdays; faculty believed that students needed a break in the middle of the week. By having free Wednesdays, or “Wonderful Wednesdays” as they were called, students would do better in school. So going out on Tuesday nights became a hit, and the Highlands was the place the go. Emory also hosts a variety of events on campus for those students who prefer to stay in. One of the main events throughout the year is Dooley’s Ball, where everyone gets to dress up and dance their night away. Emory also hosts events called Screen on the Green, where they put up a big screen and play a movie. In the end, there is tons to do at Emory University, four years is surely not enough time to do it all.
While for some freshmen, you might want to know some things you wish to know before starting at Emory University.