Knox: The Big Picture
I love the Knox student body. There really is no "typical" Knox student, and the one thing that brings us all together is how different we all our. At Knox, I have always felt free to be myself, however weird and wacky that might be, and people appreciate me for it. My first week at school, I met many of the people who would become my closest circle of friend randomly sitting in a circle in a sidewalk junction in the quads throwing a ball to each other. This group continues to meet weekly over a year later.
One complaint I have about Knox is the town. Galesburg is in the middle of nowhere and the campus is not situated in the safest of neighborhoods. I do not feel comfortable leaving campus by myself at night and there really isn't anywhere to go even if you do leave campus. Although we are only a few hours to Chicago, you won't get there as often as you might like to think you will. This can get pretty confining.
Knox Academic Life
Knox classes are amazing. They are small and interactive. Unfortunately, many students are not as intellectual and motivated as one might think they would be at this sort of institution. However, this is not across the boards true, and should not detract from the academic appeal of Knox. Most professors are dedicated, fair, and enthusiastic, and you are given ample opportunity to do hands-on lab work and create your own courses of study if you so choose. The workload can be quite rough, but the trimester academic system keeps things manageable and keeps the pace of study moving quickly--a good thing for people who burn out on classes halfway through a semester.
In the Biology department, everyone knows my name--I take classes here, I assist with laboratories, and I can drop by a professor's office or the greenhouse just to chat with the staff. I love the familiarity and support this leads to, and the feeling that my professors are not authority figures but peers who respect me in my own academic right.
Knox's Student Body
One complaint I have about the Knox student body is that different groups of students move very much in their own circles. Although I do feel there is no "typical" Knox student, we have our cool kids and hippie kids and weird kids, etc. At times it can feel like being in high school again. The Greek kids and Jock kids (many of whom coincide) sit on the opposite side of the cafeteria from the hippie liberal kids almost uniformly and there is not much interaction between the two groups. People of different ethnicities or countries of origin hang out almost exclusively with each other. I keep getting the feeling that I may only think of Knox as a liberal hippie school because those are the people I hang out with and there is another whole Knox world out there who would have a completely different picture of the school social life than I do.
Knox Student Activities + Social Life
People on campus are pretty sociable. We are a small enough campus that you can't leave your building without stopping to say hi to someone you know or chat with a friend. Residence halls are divided into suite of 8,12 or 16 students with a common area onto which all rooms open, and common areas are the center of activity in many suites. Dorm room doors are almost always open and the atmosphere is trusting enough that most students leave their doors unlocked or open even when they aren't in the dorm.
The Knox gender ratio is fairly balanced and by sophomore year it seems that most students have a campus boyfriend or girlfriend. Many form very close, long-term relationships, and the rumor goes that 70% of Knox students will marry someone from Knox.
There are many active clubs and Greek organizations on campus in which students can become involved. Fraternities dominate the party scene, as there are few other venues for parties on campus. Drinking is common on weekends, but tends to occur within the confines of small groups of people in dorm rooms or suites and is usually not extremely excessive. The administration turns a fairly blind eye to drug and alcohol use if it is not disruptive, but I get the sense that they are trying to become more restrictive.
Apart from drinking, there is not a lot to do on weekends. There are often parties you can go to, whether or not you're drunk, but many people choose to pre-game for these. There is nowhere off campus you would really want to go, even if you were over 21. The best option that does not involve drinking would be watching movies or hanging out with your friends in the Gizmo. It would be really nice if there were more campus-sponsored activities such as concerts and movies in which students could participate on the weekends.
Knox Naked Truth
Knox is a good school, and I am glad I chose to come here. However, I do not think we are particularly exemplary in any way. The social scene is okay but not great.
Academics are good, but the typical student seems to be one who is really smart but not that motivated and not likely to bring academic concepts and ideals into their daily conversation and life.
Many students are frustratingly midwestern, which can be hard for someone who came from one of the coasts.
There is nowhere to go in town.
There's not that much to do on weekends if you don't party.
The campus is not that politically motivated or active.
There are tons of clubs and organizations you can become involved in and it's easy to start your own if you don't see something you like.
If you're the very high academic achiever type who wants to spend all their time studying and doesn't party, this might not be the place for you. If you are a staunch conservative, don't like homosexuals, hippies, atheists, and liberals, this might not be the place for you. BUT...Bottom line: you WILL probably fit in here, and you will probably quickly come to love it. I don't know anyone who really hasn't found a place at Knox.
