There is no way to name the best thing about Knox. I could name any number of things, from the sense of community, to the wonderful faculty members, to Flunk Day. Even though Knox wasn't my first choice school by a long shot, I can't imagine being anywhere else, and I recommend a Knox education to anyone who thinks they might like a place like Knox because I truly believe Knox is a unique place for people to create an identity.

If I had to change one thing, I would probably wish for better food, but no matter where you go, you're going to get sick of the food, and the "Caf" does offer the materials to make some pretty delicious food if you are willing to get creative. Our new Dining Services Director is also taking big strides to make new options which he often cooks himself, and wants to get the students involved in the decisions, so I expect that will get much better as time goes on.

When I tell people that I go to Knox, I get one of two reactions. Either they have never heard of it and have no idea where it is, or, they know someone who went there and therefore react very positively to the idea. One of the main things that attracted me to Knox was that every person I met who'd gone to Knox or knew someone who did said that they absolutely loved it. They LOVED it. I never even met someone who said they just LIKED it. That excited me.

I spend most of my time on campus either in my suite with friends hanging out or doing homework, or in the Center for Fine Arts, where most of my extracurriculars are held. When the weather's nice, I spend as much time outside as possible because the campus is gorgeous in the fall and spring.

Galesburg is far from a college town, which was one of my biggest aversions to coming here in the first place. However, I rarely find myself needed to go off campus to find entertainment. There is always a lot going on right here on campus, and when I'm not attending one of those things, there's always homework. If I do feel the need to get away, Peoria is a 45 minute drive, and it's also very easy to just take the train up to Chicago. Group trips to Target are always a blast as well, and there are 5 dollar movies on Tuesday nights at the town movie theatre, with free popcorn and drinks included.

Knox's administration is very approachable, as well as very dedicated to doing the best they can for the students. The Deans at this school are all wonderful people, who genuinely want to give you the best for your money here, and are there to help you through both academic and personal struggles. At Knox, the students really do have a voice.

The biggest recent controversy on campus has been a debate about whether or not to continue to have Greek life on campus, or whether the current Greek system should be capped so that it doesn't continue to grow. Both faculty and students have been debating the issue for a while now, and it is still an ongoing discussion. While Greek life on the Knox campus is profoundly different from the stereotypical Greek system of a large university, some people don't think it's positive effects on the student body outweigh what they see as negative effects, so a lot of research is being done on what the Greek system does and does not do to make Knox a great place to get an education.

There is a lot of school pride here, and I love that it's not school pride that's focused on a sports team or anything like that; we have genuine pride for the institution that is giving us our education. I love it here.

There are many things unusual about Knox. We have a purple track... one of five in the country supposedly. We also have one of the few remaining college carnivals: a day called Flunk Day which happens every Spring Term. It is a surprise day, starting around 5:00 a.m., when students are woken up by a group of Seniors known as the Friars, and a day of festivities occurs in place of classes for the day. Another unusual thing about Knox is the ability of students to be consider equals with their professors. For example, I have had dinner with several of my professors, and have no qualms about going to see them and talk to them about class or about life in general. That kind of comfortability with the faculty and administration was not something I expected to encounter in college. Another interesting tradition is Pump handle. It begins with the President shaking one of the Dean's hands, and then another Dean shakes both of their hands, and a line forms, so by the time everyone has passed through the line, you have shaken the hand of every student and faculty member at Knox.

One experience I'll always remember was my first night at college as a first-year. There is an event called "Play Fair," in which the entire first-year class is brought together on the lawn at night and you play a bunch of ridiculous games to get to know each other. What's wonderful about it is that you are there, at a time when you're vulnerable and uncertain, yet you're standing there with your entire class, doing ridiculous things together. There aren't that many colleges where you could get your entire class together in front of one building to play games together.

Academics at Knox are a big part of what makes the Knox experience so memorable, and a large part of why Knox was included in Loren Pope's book: Colleges that Change Lives. Every professor I've had knows my name, and will say hello when they see me in passing.

My favorite class was "Women, Culture, and Society," taught by Kelly Shaw. Not only were the readings interesting, but the students were allowed to talk for the better part of every class period. Kelly was informed about the subjects we were discussing, which was helpful because she could provide us with facts and information we wouldn't otherwise have, but otherwise it was up to us to make class time worthwhile, and we always did. I never once missed one of those classes; it was the reason I woke up in the morning.

If you come to Knox, you've got to be prepared to work hard. Some people might think that we don't work hard because we only take three classes at a time and we take those classes two or three times a week, but the lack of class time compared to other schools is made up for by the work load, and the fact that each term lasts only 10 weeks. It is a very concentrated learning environment, so there isn't a lot of room to slack off.

I haven't seen much competitiveness in my classes at Knox so far. I think Knox does a good job of making sure every student has a voice, and every student has access to what they need to get the education they are looking for, so there is not really a need for competition among students for grades or the attention of the teacher.

Some of the most unique classes I've seen offered here at Knox are The Holocaust in Theatre and Film, and Jane Austen and Bridget Jones. There are always new classes being offered for a term by visiting professors that promise to be a unique experience unlike any other classes you might take in your typical schedule.

I am a double major of Music and Gender and Women's Studies. The Music Department is a very prestigious department at this school. The choir and the jazz ensembles in particular are very well-renowned, and the faculty who teach music lessons are all very wonderful people. There's something for everyone who wants to be involved. The Gender and Women's Studies department is one of my favorite departments on campus, because the faculty are all great people, and every class I've taken in that department has been extremely beneficial to me in some way. Those are the classes that I can tell have had a profound effect on who I am, which is what drew me to the major.

During the first week on campus in your first year here, you are taken out to dinner by the faculty member who is going to be your advisor, at least until you declare a major. It was really great to get to spend some time with a Knox professor at his home in Galesburg within a few days of being on campus. I know many professors who take their students out to dinner or will meet with them over coffee to discuss some work they may want advice on. At the beginning of this year I met with a friend of mine at the home of two of our professors, had dinner, and spent the entire evening involved in six hours worth of stimulating conversation.

As more and more students are interested in Knox, the requirements for admission are getting more and more difficult, but I think overall Knox does a good job at knowing who is right for this school and who is not. As far as graduation requirements go, you are sure to have a well-balanced education when you leave Knox. I feel like I will truly have a liberal arts education, because the graduation requirements force you to go outside of your major and take certain courses in other departments that are focused on completely different aspects of education and life than the courses you would take if you just focused on your career path. That is one of the things I love about taking classes here. You are strongly encouraged to do things outside of your major, which is what makes this campus so diverse. There are neuroscience majors in the choir, and there are football players who write poetry and are involved in the theatre department.

I've found the Knox student body to be very accepting overall. Not everyone is open-minded, but for the most part people want to get to know other people based on their individual characteristics, regardless of the ways in which they are similar or different. I think there is some work to do as far as incorporating everyone all the time because people find comfort in the groups they identify with, so integration of people from certain groups with people of other groups is still a challenge, but overall people are accepting of who other people are, even if they don't necessarily have things in common with them. As a lesbian, I've found Knox to be one of the most accepting places of the LGBT lifestyle of any place I've ever spent a good amount of time.

If I were to profile the kind of student who would feel out of place at Knox, I would say that a student who is unable to accept differences in other people would feel very out of place. For example, a student who is so set in their ways as to feel uncomfortable around people with other ideals, values, and lifestyles, would not fit in well here. People of all persuasions are welcome, but not if they are so strict in their ways as to want to impose them on other people.

I'd say different types of students definitely interact, but I'd like to see more of it. We're much better off than a lot of campuses, but we have some work to do in that department.

A large number of Knox students are from Illinois and the Chicago-land area, but not as many as people think. There are also a lot of students from all over the country, and lots of international students. We seem to be getting a lot of students from the Portland area lately, as well, probably because Knox provides an environment similar to that of Portland, but is far enough away to provide a different setting.

Knox gives out a LOT of financial aid, so there is a wide variety of financial backgrounds among students here, and that is something that doesn't really matter among Knox students. I don't even really know who comes from what financial background here, because it doesn't come into play regarding who hangs out together or anything like that. Everyone here has equal opportunities, so money is not important.

Students at Knox are pretty politically aware, but not all of them. We've got a good amount of very politically and socially active students here, but we've got our fair share of politically agnostic students. There are republican and democrat clubs, but the campus is primarily liberal and left-minded.

I don't hear much talk about what people will earn one day; at Knox, I think it's more about what your are passionate about and what will make you happy in your life, than about how much money you'll make, and I really like that.

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.

I have heard that all students at Knox are a bunch of weirdos. I have also heard that everyone at Knox is gay. I hear lots of people talk about the 'Knox bubble,' where students and faculty tend to shut themselves off from the so-called 'townies.'

Are Knox students weird? Maybe. I think some colleges that claim to have diverse, unique students end up attracting students who are all individuals in the same way, meaning that they are all unique compared to the people in their hometowns, but together they all end up with the same interests and opinions. What I love about Knox is that people are very unique, but in very different ways. We've got a bit of everything here, and I've found that each individual student I've met here has a very diverse set of interests and ideals, and most everyone is open to discussion about their opinions in a constructive way. Is everyone at Knox gay? Hardly. Knox is just a very open, accepting environment in many ways, which is attractive to people with diverse lifestyles because they are less likely to be chastised for them here at Knox than at many other colleges and universities. With regards to the 'Knox bubble,' I do think that there are some negative effects of the type of community that Knox advertises. People at Knox love the close sense of community we get here, and with that comes a tendency to react negatively to seeing people from Galesburg on campus; it creates in some people a negative attitude about the less fortunate "townies" who live in Galesburg and are not as fortunate to have gotten an education from a college like Knox. This attitude does not exist for everyone, but it is often reflected in Knox students' reflections on the town, and also on the attitudes expressed by people from Galesburg, who think that the students are a bit exclusive and self-righteous. We are currently taking steps to alleviate these tensions by incorporating Galesburg into Knox functions and taking some Knox events off-campus.

I really think there is no better place for me than at Knox, and that it isn't because of one defining factor; the culmination of all of the good things about Knox makes it, in my opinion, one of the best places in this world to get an education. I know now why all the Knox alumni I met before coming here were so enthusiastic about their experience here. Knox is not just a place to go to school; it changes your life and shapes who you are in a way that I think is truly unique.

We always say that at Knox, if you want to do something, you can do it, and that's really true. It's so easy to get a club started if there isn't yet a club for one of your interests, and it's easy to talk to your professors. It's also easy to design your own major or do your own research with school funding, if you just talk to people. At Knox, it's all about making things happen and getting the most out of everything you do here. I'm sad I'll only get to be here for two more years.