Steven Hopkins

Knox I think is different from a lot of schools because of the tight-knit nature of the Knox community. Galesburg isn't exactly brimming with culture, so there is a definite "Knox bubble" between us and the townies that the administration seems to support. This is somewhat understandable given the notorious crack-houses within five minutes of campus, but oftentimes students spend an entire term without going more than 10 minutes off campus. Everyone isn't going to know your name, but everyone is going to at least recognize your face. The Knox experience is quite different from the typical college experience. Because being anonymous is not really an option, neither are things like ditching class frequently, hooking up and dumping random girls at parties or anything else incredibly destructive. Professors know your name, people recognize your face, and it's quite easy to get a reputation, good or bad, very quickly.

The administration is a mixed bag. On the one hand, there's very little red tape at Knox. Signing up for classes takes maybe 15 minutes, declaring/changing majors is easy, and the off-campus program is very well-run. Unfortunately, it feels at times like the administration works autonomously from the student body. Last year, there was a big controversy with the swearing-in of two campus safety officers as policemen, ostensibly for "security reasons", but the general consensus on campus was that it was part of the administrations efforts to step up enforcement on underage drinking/drugs. Students were adamant in their rejection of this proposal, signing petitions, posting signs around campus, and showing up in large numbers to meeting discussing the proposal. The college essentially told us to fuck off, and pushed the resolution through despite student opposition. It wasn't so much that the resolution was passed, it was that is was made clear that the administration didn't give two shits what the students thought.

However, alcohol/drug enforcement is still relatively lax (you need to be doing something stupid to get busted), and Knox has held on to its largest and highest-risk tradition; Flunk Day. One day in spring (Students are not told when, leading to rampant speculation until the actual day) at 5AM it is announced that all classes/on-campus jobs are canceled and there's a huge festival including a number of activities. The two biggest parts of the celebrations are discouraged but not enforced by the administration. Generally, when you're woken up at 5AM, you get incredibly drunk and jump in an impromptu mud-pit in front of one of the dorms. 300 plus drunk college kids jumping into a mud pit would not fly at other colleges, but Knox's small campus and understanding administration allow what's guaranteed to be one of the best days of the year and a lifelong memory for anyone who experiences it.