Knox College’s latest slogan proclaims, “We are Knox.” Who is Knox, exactly? Says one freshman, “
We are a quirky school with a long history of various and unique traditions.” Knox isn’t as worried about fitting in as it is eager to stand out from the higher-ed pack with its small, tight-knit community of intellectually curious, offbeat personalities. “
The one thing that brings us all together is how different we all are,” writes a sophomore. “
At Knox, I have always felt free to be myself, however weird and wacky that might be.” Part of the unity comes from school-wide traditions like Pumphandle (on the first day of classes, every faculty member, administrator, and student forms a giant line and shakes the hand of everyone else) and Play Fair (an ice-breaking day of silly games for incoming freshmen). It also helps that Galesburg, Illinois, the town that Knox calls home, offers few escape options for Knox students. “
Galesburg is in the middle of nowhere, and the campus is not situated in the safest of neighborhoods,” says a sophomore. “
There really isn’t anywhere to go even if you do leave campus.” With Peoria nearly an hour away and Chicago a three-hour drive from campus, students have learned to stick close inside the “
Knox Bubble.” But Knox students value the attentive, supportive environment and “
the close relationships you form with everyone,” including “
professors, suitemates, people [they] work with, etc.”
“
Though it’s small and your every day common person probably hasn’t heard of it, Knox’s name carries a lot of weight in the academic and professional community,” says one sophomore. Its liberal arts curriculum emphasizes deeper understanding and interaction with class material, and students are encouraged—expected, practically—to take an active role in class discussions, lab work, and even designing their courses of study. “
One characteristic Knox requires of all students is curiosity,” writes a senior majoring in biology with a minor in photography, and a number of Knox students design custom-tailored interdisciplinary or independent majors. “
Most professors are dedicated, fair, and enthusiastic” and are on a first-name basis with their students, taking an interest in them and their studies long after the semester ends. There’s definitely no grade inflation at work, as professors are notorious for marking work “
much more difficultly at Knox than elsewhere,” which
“can be a negative or a positive, depending on how you look at it.”
Knox operates on a unique 3-3-3 trimester system, in which students take three classes per term for three terms a year (including time for a welcome six-week holiday break). “
The workloads can be quite rough,” according to one sophomore, “
but the trimester academic system keeps things manageable.” While the majority of Knox students might aspire “
to be movers and shakers who will be able to make a difference (even if it means we will be eating ramen for the next ten years),” the school makes an effort to connect in-class contemplation to real-world career options. “
Knox focuses on learning for its own sake but also has job placement and viable marketing techniques to make sure, regardless of your major, you have numerous opportunities upon graduation,” writes a recent alumna.
Didn’t quite fit in with the cool crowd in high school? At Knox, you wouldn’t be the only one—in fact, “
a large percentage of the student body comes from the outcast high school role, so there are a bunch of ‘oddballs’ here,” says a senior. “
That said, the typical, popular high school prep would probably feel incredibly out of place.” Many students identify as liberal and consider themselves inclusive and open-minded—in fact, says one LGBT undergraduate, “
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.” Since the majority come from nearby Midwest locales, they can be what one student calls “
the most open-minded and closed-minded people I know,” especially when “
right-wing political or conservative religious ideas are expressed.” But the small size of the student body makes tolerance of one another a necessity, according to a senior: “
Knox could fall under the Cheers theme song (‘Where everybody knows your name…’), because the size of the campus really does lead to an overwhelming awareness of everyone on campus.”
Because off-campus entertainment options are limited, Knox students tend to stick close during their down time. With alcohol and mild drug use fairly prevalent on campus, “
we party hard, but we tend to do it responsibly,” says a sophomore. Up to a third of students go Greek—it seems strange on a campus as left-leaning and all-inclusive as Knox, but students say their frats and sororities are less exclusive than their state-school brethren. “
Despite its size, the Greek system is largely a positive presence on campus and is not elitist,” writes a senior. The administration has scrutinized the system recently, leaving Greek students feeling misunderstood. Frat parties do dominate Knox nightlife, while other students choose to party in dorm suites, catch a movie, attend an on-campus event, or check out a student theater or art event. This “
sports-challenged” school has spirit, but most of it is reserved for non-athletic events. “
To tell you the truth, most people don’t care at all about sporting events—more people attend the theater shows than football games,” says a freshman.
One of the best days on the Knox calendar is Flunk Day, an annual spring-term surprise that gets students out of bed at 5 a.m. to start drinking, participating in carnival games, watching bands, and taking a full, school-sanctioned day off from academic pursuits. The exact date is kept a secret, leading to “
rampant speculation” and numerous Flunk Day scares until the day arrives. But once it does, Knox students go crazy getting their kicks out. “
Flunk Day is better than Christmas,” contends a freshman.
Knox’s academics, student body, and social scene make it a unique experience for the right kind of student. One freshman advises: “
Knox is a pretty crazy place, and it definitely takes a certain kind of student to flourish here. Our cheesy tagline on the folders we give to prospective students is, ‘Are You Knox?’ But, in retrospect, it is a pretty important question. You must be self-motivated to succeed here and creative in order to fully experience everything the school has to offer. Definitely visit before you make your decision, and talk to students; we are generally friendly, if a little awkward, and it will give you a better idea if ‘You are Knox.’”
