There are no popular groups on campus really...but everyone knows about the football team I guess because of homecoming, but every group is equally ignored by most people on campus that are not in that club. The Thursday Night Group is the Environmental acitivist club and they are the most visible group on campus I suppose. I am involved with a dance group called Kusika. I only joined during second semester, but I had a wonderful time! Although it is difficult to juggle extracurricular activities and school work, every student manages to do SO much more than they probably should be. Students leave their dorm rooms open constantly. I am one of the only people in my dorm who locked my door every single time I left for class. There is very little fear of theft on campus. Athletic events are popular for other athletes or friends of athletes, but a Williams student can survive their entire time at Williams very easily without ever attending or caring about any athletic event of any kind. Lectures are amazing, wonderful and constantly happening. Theater, dance and other visual arts are important to the people involved with them and their friends/family, but not really for people outside of them. There is virtually no dating scene at Williams College. People hook up at Williams and then they go out for a month and then they break up and continue to hook up as friends. There are a few "married couples" (i.e. couples that seem to be attached at the hip/have been together for a long time) on campus, but very, very few people seem interested in relationships. I met my closest friends in my entry, which is basically my dorm. If I am awake at 2 am on a Tuesday I am most likely working or I am in the common room watching TV and promising myself that I will go start working in 5 minutes...right after this commercial...after this show is over...10 more minutes...
Homecoming and mountain day are every year. Mountain day is a wonderful tradition. Every third friday of Semptember (or something) people come running through your dorm banging on pots and pans to inform you that it's Mountain Day and there are NO CLASSES! It's a fun-filled day of singing, hiking and apple cider. It's a very wonderful day. I love Mountain Day because as a tradition it truly celebrates the beauty of the Berkshires and the community at Williams College. Most people go out two nights a week (Friday and Saturday) if there are no midterms or finals, or only once a week or not at all if there are midterms or finals. The amount that someone drinks or goes out dancing is totally dependent on how much work they have the next day and what events, concerts, parties are happening that weekend and how good they sound.
Williams does not have any frats or sororities, but the acapella and athletic groups on campus are pretty substantial replacements. People who are on the same team or in the same singing group spend a lot of time together so they bond and often party together.
On any given Saturday night, there is not much to do besides drinking and/or dancing. Although this is a sad fact for non-drinkers, they try to find things to do and the school tries to supply events like concerts, comedians, lecturers, etc. I almost never go off campus unless...I actually never go off campus. The only reason to leave campus is if you really need something from Stop and Shop or Walmart that cannot be found on Spring Street. People also tutor at the local high school off campus or work for various community service organizations in neighboring towns such as Pittsfield or North Adams.