Colgate University Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Andy

Colgate students party a lot. You can find a group of people going out pretty easily every day except Sunday and Tuesday. Other than that, just go to the Jug at 12:30 and you'll see just about everyone. The Greek system is a big part of the party scene. People tend to pre-game in their dorms or apartments, stop somewhere along Broad street for a party, and then go to the bars downtown. It is very easy to buy beer and get into bars, even if you're underage. The school offers a lot of activities for those who don't drink, from movies to competitions, but the small town can get old pretty quickly. I'm sure that boredom accounts for a reasonable amount of the drinking. There are plenty of clubs and organizations that focus on any number of activities. No matter what, you will be able to find a group of people to be friends with through clubs. Going to athletic events is especially popular, especially football and hockey games. All in all, there is always something to do and someone to do it with.

Michael

Good.

Chris

As a drummer, playing in a band for all four years of college has provided me with much opportunity to play for all sorts of parties and activities. There is not much to do on a Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking.

Devin

The jug that is all

Alex

There is no school spirit for Colgate sports events, or at least not the ones I care about. We like hockey. That's pretty much it. If we're ever playing Cornell at anything, there will definitely be people at the games. Otherwise, I feel like the spirit around the sports teams is pretty apathetic. Because we're in the middle of nowhere, the school always makes sure to provide things to do on campus, and there usually are. There have been all kinds of interesting speakers and concerts. We're actually getting the Dalai Lama on campus in April; it's going to be fantastic. Partying is definitely the main focus of student social life. The schedule is this: You go out every day except for Sunday and Tuesday; Thursday can also be a day off if you really need it. The parties here are good if you know where to look, but if you don't look, you can easily ignore them. I don't drink, and it hasn't stopped me from having a good time here at all. The balance between work and play is very well maintained at Colgate. Spring Party Weekend is a huge tradition at Colgate. It happens in late April every year. I haven't actually been to one yet, but it is supposed to be the best weekend of the entire year. We get really good bands each year, apparently. This year we have OK Go. The Jug is the seedy bar in town; it's extremely popular. If you're eighteen, you're allowed in on "Freshman Nights," which are Mondays and Thursdays. Nineteen year-olds can get in whenever they want, which lends some mild significance to an otherwise useless birthday at Colgate. Many of the club sports at Colgate are focused on getting drunk; "pubs" seem to be a frequent occurrence no matter what sport you're in. It's mildly unpleasant if you aren't into that, because it prevents you from getting to know your teammates very well; the bonding seems to go hand-in-hand with the drinking. That has really been my only issue with the social scene at Colgate, though.

Nikki

Club sports are very popular at colgate. I participate on the women's club soccer team and we practice 3 times a week in the fall and have a lot of fun together. We have games on Saturdays or Sundays and usually we start off with a lot of freshman but as the season continues we usually get the same core group showing up each day. On fridays we scrimmage and the start our weekend off with some fun at one of the senior's apartments. Another group I am involved with is kappa Kappa Gamma. We have a lot of social events and I met a lot of my friends sophomore year when I joined this organization. The rest of my friends I met freshman year in the dorms because a lot of us happened to live near each other. It is really easy to find your group of friends at Colgate because it is so small and you can seek out the people most like you who you want to become friends with right from the start. There are a lot of "random hookups" at Colgate because the Jug is a popular bar where students go to drink and dance and the often find someone to go home with for the night. People go out almost every night of the week except for Tuesdays and Sundays. You can find something to do any other night of the week. Wednesdays are the biggest night of the week and there are a lot of frat parties or social events for your sorority/fraternity. Spring Party weekend is a fun tradition that happens every year where all of the frats have big outdoor parties and everyone is outside walking from party to party and there are a lot of BBQs and fun activities. Everyone is so happy that the long winter is over and we all try to enjoy the outside as much as possible.

Kirsten

There's really no dating scene, like I said earlier. Mostly just random skeezy hook-ups and a few prized couples here and there. People party a lot and the social scene seems to revolve around Greek life, which seems unnecessary at such a small school. I'm involved in greek life, and the largest affect I've seen it have on people is give them a snobbish sense of entitlement and create a strict, hostile social hierarchy.

Pat

You really have to get involved in something. Anything. There are a ton of groups and activities available on campus, so just find something you'll enjoy. If you can and you're willing to put in the time, the varsity athletic teams are really great. The bonds you'll make with your teammates after surviving brutal workouts together are powerful stuff, and it's really cool to be able to compete at this kind of level. The clubs and intramural sports are amazing too, though. Personally, I've found the karate classes to be a great way to let off some steam and have fun. I've sampled a few of the other martial arts clubs available, and even picked up fencing. Then there's the Outdoor Education program, if conquering the wilderness is more up your alley. Most of the groups are pretty small, like the school itself, but you're going to have a good time and make some friends.

Jason

Students in dorms do not leave their doors open and it drives me nuts! At the beginning of the year this year I gave every door on my hall a note inviting people to a group dinner so we could meet, and it did WONDERS for the hall chemistry. Last year there were people on my hall I never even saw, and this year I know who everyone is, and even a little bit about each. Weekends are a struggle if you do not drink. Most non-drinking activities are over by 10:00, mostly because the organizers arrange it that way to allow them to 'go out' afterwards. It can be very frustrating. If you drink, or are comfortable around and enjoy being in an atmosphere where most people are out of their heads then you'll be just fine.

Kathlin

Sports are very big - overall, we are a very fit campus.

Lauren

"Tell us about a group you’re involved with." Masque & Triangle: An umbrella group for several student performing arts groups, M&T works to fortify and promote the performing arts on campus. We have about one hundred members on campus and abroad. French Club: Now that it hosts a film series, the numbers have grown. There will be a trip to Quebec, which is a new event for us. The core group of attendees is rather small, and the meetings are pretty informal. Residential Life: I worked as an RA in a freshmen dorm, and I loved every minute of it. ResLife has a less-than-scintillating reputation because many feel that there are huge problems with the admin aspect of it, but the RAs fare better. "Do students in dorms leave their doors open?" Only when they're in. That said, the students in my dorm (Andrew Hall) kept them closed because the suites are micro-societies in their own right. "How popular are athletic events? Guest speakers? Theater?" Somewhat, fairly, and fairly. It all depends on how well the event is publicized and whether or not the rest of the student body is busy with its own group and activities. "Tell us about the dating scene." Practically nonexistent. Lamentably. "How did you meet your closest friends?" They lived in my dorm, or I met them through theater-related events. "If you’re awake at 2am on a Tuesday, what are you doing?" Chatting with friends and other such mischief. "What traditions/events happen each year?" The Greek organizations have their events, the famous Colgate-Cornell hockey game is a good one, and the SACC takeover of the cafeteria nights. "How often do people party?" Everyday but Tuesday and Wednesday for the freshmen, and the weekend (and sometimes Thursday) for everyone else. "How important are fraternities/sororities?" For me, not very. A little under half of the student body is affiliated with the Greek system, while a fair percentage of the other half holds quite the disdain for the Greek system. "What can you do on a Saturday night that doesn’t involve drinking?" Hang out with friends, go downtown and laugh at drunk kids, attend a concert at the Barge Canal Cafe, or just go to parties and don't drink. The Designated Chaperone & Driver rarely has a weekend off. "What do you do off campus?" Drive through farm country, or take an hour to drive to the Carousel Mall in Syracuse.

Matthew

Most popular: frats, sororities, athletic teams. I'm involved with Men's lacrosse - best experience of my life. Athletic events need to be more popular than going to a tailgate to drink/socialize. THere's no school spirit. The dating scene is difficult because the school is so small. 2am Tuesday - studying. traditions: Spring party weekend, tailgates. graduation weekend. people party a lot, especially when it is warmer out or something is going on. Fraternaties and sororities are not important to me. Last weekend I had a game and had a social function with the team afterwards. Without drinking, you can still "party" or go to movies. Off campus: I live, sleep, party, socialize.

Doug

If you're awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you're probably doing a paper due on Wednesday at 9:20am. If you're awake at 2am on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, you've probably been drinking and you're now having 2 slices and a water for $3 at "Slices" while waiting for the Cruiser (Colgate shuttle service) to take you back to your house/dorm. As for special events, Spring Party Weekend is a biggie. At least one major musical act, a bunch of crazy outdoor frat parties, outdoor movies, fireworks, a ridiculous theme...and a 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are drinking from Thursday afternoon thru Saturday night. Then you have spring semester finals.

Rory

IM sports are huge. Colgate was ranked the second most fit campus by Men's Health and this seems to be true. people stay up late. athletic events are popular on nights when kids aren't out drinking. you will find people going out every night other than sunday and tuesday. frats have a huge impact on the social scene, for they throw the biggest and most exciting parties, whether they bring in a band or not. saturday night with out drinking, you could smoke which is a lite way of saying there is not much else to do other than go out and party.

Allyssa

There are actually hundreds of student groups to get involved in at Colgate. Everything from sports, to volunteering, to singing, to political activism can be found. If somehow the club you want isn't already here, it is very easy to start a new club.

Maddy

Greek life is a lot more important than the admissions office makes it out to be. If you are a part of it, there are so many more social opportunities. However, those social opportunities are with a select group of people so if you're not interested in hanging out with them, you can find a lot to do beyond the greek system. Drinking is a pretty big part of life here on campus.

Jeff

Popular groups: uh... ask someone else. My groups: COVE, the volunteering group. Doors: Yes, doors remain open. Athletic events: I'm not a sports-goer, don't ask me. The occasional hockey game is pretty neat. Dating scene: OK, here's the lowdown: get drunk, go to the jug, hook up. From here there are two options: 1- avoid awkward eye contact on the quad for the rest of the semester, or 2- remain in friendly contact in what is called a casual relationship. Keep in mind that this is the cliche here, and it's not entirely true. Yes, this scenario happens, but many students do find themselves in exclusive relationships. Friends; Met most of them in classes. Tuesday: Working on a physics assignment due the next day. Traditions: SPW baby! Party: On average, I say once a week. It's hard to go out both Fri and Sat. And a minority of students party on weekdays. A small minority. It's not uncommon to go a few weeks without partying. This is the truth. Frats/Sors: Yeah, they're important, I guess. Last weekend: Partied. Movie. Sat night w/ no drinking: Hang out with friends. Go sledding. Off campus: Go eat pizza. That's about it.

Blake

Most popular organizations are the ones that try to provide alcohol. Less popular ones are the groups trying to make a difference on campus and in the world.

Ryan

Work out all day every day. Parties almost every weekend. You stay up light at least once a week.

Rory

hate to say it, but you're either out at the frats drinking or on the hill with the dorks playing guitar hero and going to bed at 11. Frat culture is HUGE here, people just say it's not because you can't actually rush until Sophomore year.

Lindsay

Lots of drinking, but for people who want to do something else, they'll eventually find some non-drinking friends to hang out with.

Jesse

There are alot of clubs and acitivities on campus that you can be a part of. I am part of the Breast Cancer club, Students for Environmental Action, Young Democrats, and I tutor other students. Sports are big here, and you can be Division I or play club sports. Alot of people go to the men's hockey or basketball games but I don't think the other sports games are as well-attended. They bring in alot of cool guest speakers, like this year the Dalai Lama is coming to speak. I know that alot of the upperclassmen date but most of the freshmen are interested in hook ups. There is alot of drinking that goes on (it's a small town, there's not much else to do) and I know that some of my friends who don't drink have problems with that because the dorms can get really rowdy at night in the weekends depending on where you live. On weekdays people mostly go to bars like the Jug but on weekends there are more frat parties so you have a choice. I personally go out 3 or 4 times a week to bars or frat parties. I would really recommend that you either be very accepting of drinking here or that you drink because there is not much to do besides drink on weekends besides stay in your dorm and hang out.

Sarah

The hockey team is the most supported varsity activity. Going to those games are SO much fun. It's an experience. Community service is relatively popular. Probably the most popular genre of activities are club sports in general and intramural sports. I play on the Colgate Ultimate Frisbee women's team, The Vibe. I am a captain and I adore it. We started it sort of haphazardly by just playing with the guys until we had enough girls to need a separate team. So we've been recruiting for the past two years and the team has unfurled in front of our eyes. It's been an amazing experience on multiple levels. I joined Frisbee freshmen year on accident. I was looking for a field hockey team, there wasn't one at the time and so I was dragged down by a friend to the frisbee field. I adore the people on the team. We travel around the east coast to go to tournaments. I've never done anything like it before. It's a relaxed bunch of people, but somehow there is still intensity within the sport. I hang out with these people outside of practice. We've become very close and I've met many underclassmen through this as well as upperclassmen. I think in general, club sports unite the different grades in a very unbiased way. It is a great way to prevent the Colgate social crowd from becoming stale. Dorm doors are left open and that was my favorite part about freshman year. That is how I met some of my best guy friends. It creates a fun and close atmosphere. There's nothing like it. Dating scene is what you make of it, but in general it's pretty weak. I met my closest friends all over the place--mostly through other friends. I met one of my best friends on my Wilderness Adventure and another in my FSEM, so you really keep your friendships even as you make new ones. Awake on Tuesday morning? Either working furiously, procrastinating, or creating some kind of inside joke and deliriously giggling like a school girl with my roommates. Spring party weekend is an important tradition. Partying is prevalent, but it's amazing. You go as hard as you want to; peer pressure is not an issue. You go out when you want to and when you can. Most people enjoy it, some don't and that's fine too. Some people go out 5 nights a week, others once a week, some once every few weeks. It depends on your preferences. There is the work hard play hard ethic--this shows up more in greek life or in teams that like to party together--both are just cohesive groups that like to enjoy themselves in that way. Greek life does not dominate the social scene--it enhances it. If you aren't in a sorority or a fraternity, your social life by no means drys up. You just have to find other ways and other activities to do. Last weekend I went to Florence because I"m abroad. I met up with 5 of my sorority girls who are studying in other places in Europe and it was so much fun and so nice to see familiar faces and good friends. Normally, I probably would have gone out at Colgate or hung out with my friends in someone's apartment. I probably would have gone to the Jug, the only and amazing dance club in Hamilton. I love the Jug and I miss it. You can do all kinds of things without drinking. You can go to the same parties without drinking. No one cares if you don't drink. You can go to plays, movies, watch a movie in the dorm/apartment, just hang out with friends, go an adventure with friends to places in the surrounding area, concerts in Syracuse. Off campus: hiking, bike riding, shopping in Syracuse, skiing, cross country skiing, snow shoeing. I dont do much off campus, but I"m sure there's a ton more to be done.

Becky

FRATS! freshmen year people leave their doors open. Up on tuesday--probably can't sleep or doing work. Spring Party Weekend! Greatest weekend every year in April. Everyone gets drunk for 3 days straight and we go to concerts/a million open parties. Great times. Last weekend my sorority had a closed party with a frat and it was a themed party. The sororities usually have two of these kinds of themed parties a week. The other night I went to an open party at a frat. Nights end up at the "Jug"--a "bar"-like place where everyone is extremely intoxicated so that everyone just dances and makes out with random people

Eric

Dorm room doors are always open. Athletic events vary in attendance...Basketball attracts maybe 3 fans while Men's Ice Hockey attracts the whole school, especially when we play Cornell (Sucks!). We have lots of traditions that are really important to people here (torchlight, burying of the hatchet, etc.). Fraternities are overrated.

Eileen

People here are generally warm and friendly, leaving their doors open to welcome in others. You meet friends primarily from through your living situation (dorms for freshman and sophomores) and through classes. There's a strong social scene, and people party on any given night of the week excluding Tuesdays and Sundays. Yet the library is always packed until it closes at 2am, so you're either doing work or you're out. There are tons of events going on daily, from class films to theater productions, athletic events to lectures. Students are busy people and fill up their schedules with tons of meetings- everyone's involved in something, but for most, it's many things, and the busier the better. This is a reflection of a Colgate student's passion for everything- classes, community service, exercise, extracurriculars and parties. Fraternity and sorority life is not imperative to a social life here, but it surely helps. If going out isn't your scene, movies, music, dance and theatre performances are offered on weekends. There's always something to do- it's choosing WHAT to do that's difficult.

Katrina

All teams are popular. Outdoor Ed is my numbe rone team. My door is always unlocked and people come in when they desire. Part hard work hard. You will pretty much find a party every night, especially on weekends with frats and then Jug later. If I am awake late it is usually because I am studying or talking with friends or at the jug... walking back up before bed. Saturday night is either watch movie or drink. ALmost every weekend I am off campus in the adirondacks or skiing at a park. Or climbing at little falls. If not I usually sleep.

Mark

One detractor from the Colgate social scene is the absence of serious dating. I have a serious girlfriend, however, I am definitely in the minority. A lot of emphasis is placed on the "casual hookup" which kind of goes hand-in-hand with the popularity of the party scene.

Charlie

The most popular events are Dancefest and Mr. Colgate. Though I've never been. There's plenty of events for everyone though, whether it's a football game or classical music concert. WRCU is the biggest group I'm in. It's our totally student-run radio station, with over 100 DJs. The biggest thing about any group is that it's really easy to get involved and easy to take a leadership role, even if you don't think of yourself as the leadership type. People leave their doors open when they're home if they live on a hallway. Suites are a bit different. People tend to be quite social. Events depend on the success of the team. Speakers tend to be pretty well attended, as does theater. People don't really go on dates. There's two cultures, a hook-up culture and a long-term relationship culture. Which you're in is totally up to you, and rejection of the whole system is an option as well. I met my closest friends through living together, radio, and friends-of-friends. 2 am on a Tuesday? Studying. Though Tuesday and Sunday nights are the quietest nights socially because most people have class the next morning. Some people go out Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, though that's pretty rare. Most people only party on Friday and Saturday nights. Traditions: other than official things, like the torchlight procession of seniors the night before graduation, etc., Dancefest and Mr. Colgate, as well as the Colgate-Cornell hockey game. Greek life is a perfect balance. It's there for those that want it, it's not overpowering for those that don't. I've never been to a Greek event, and I'm ok with that. Last weekend I had a horse show at 8 am on Saturday, so not too much! If you don't drink, there's regular movies in town, as well as a midnight movie and free films from the school. There's usually some sort of concert, plus club events and banquets. If you live in substance free dorms, you'll have a lot of friends that don't drink, and you can just hang out with them. Parties don't always necessarily have alcohol. Off campus, there's movies and bars in town. Usually students are so busy with on campus activities they don't have time to get bored.