Cornell University Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Ryan

Cornell is rich with tradition, and I love it. As a member of the Big Red Band, I get a very unique flavor of that tradition. I'm section leader now and have been heavily involved since freshman year - most of my closest friends are in band. Suffice it to say that the first thing that will come to my mind in ten years when I think of Cornell will be the band . . . we are a family, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. As for things to do for fun, there's no shortage of events to attend or groups to join. Alcohol is definitely a visible social influence on campus, but I have friends who don't drink and who still have a lot of fun. That's one great thing about Cornell's size - it's just large enough that you will always be able to meet new people, and yet you won't have difficulty finding people who have similar interests as you.

Rebecca

Hooking up and drinking till all hours of the morning. The rest of the time we are at the library.

Christine

I am part of 2 clubs on campus that are devoted to helping prospective and incoming students to Cornell. Students are pretty social and like to leave their doors open. Athletic events are usually well-attended. I met my closest friends through my residence hall. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I am most likely studying. People party quite often, usually there is something going on every weekend. Fraternities/sororities are the main social outlet at Cornell. There are plenty of campus hosted events on the weekends that don't involve alcohol.

Kevin

The social life is dominantly surrounding the fraternities with a third of the undergraduate population participating in Greek life. All of the big parties are thrown at fraternities. Collegetown and its bars are also a big part of the social life if you're above 21 or have a reasonably good fake. Collegetown Bagels is everyone's favorite 2 AM munchie spot.

carolyn

the greek like at cornell is very important to the social scene. without frat parties, students under 21 basically have nothing to do. i didn't enjoy cornell's social scene until after i was in a sorority and had mixers and could interact with other people in greek life, which are mainly the people who actually go out

Alex

I'm mostly caught up in stuff for my extracurriculars. I don't really drink or party on weekends, so I mostly just chill with friends in Collegetown. We'll typically watch movies or just stay up really late talking or playing board/card games. Sounds a bit nerdy, but I stand by my belief that alcohol does not make get-togethers fun. The people and the environment make chilling fun.

Samantha

People party, people have fun, people study. Cornell has the perfect balance between being a top-tier academic institution and having an extremely active student body- both socially and community actively.

Zoe

Because I am involved in theater, I have always gone to see alot. There are always plays going on, whether at the Schwartz center, at Risley, or at some other venue. This was my favorite activity to do and go see. In terms of "partying," you can basically go out every single night of the week, and there is always something going on, even if it's just going to the bars. People like going out a lot here, maybe because they do so much during the day that they feel they need to relax and drink at night. But if you don't want to drink, there's still a lot to do , like go to an old/obscure movie at Cornell Cinema, go hear live music at The Nines or The Haunt, or just hang out with your roommates. As I said above though, fraternities and sororities, are very big here, something I wish would changed in the future.

Cathy

The Greek life is HUGE on campus. I am involved with a sorority and that has opened up a different type of social scene for myself. I am also involved in various other organizations that open up different social scenes also. In the dorms, students generally lock their doors. I lived in the townhouses my freshmen year, and I left my door unlocked (because Cornell is generally a safe campus). Athletic events - if the team is doing well- are very popular. Guest speakers are also popular if it is someone that people are interested in (ie. Jon Stewart, Mike Huckabee, the Dalai Lama) Dating occurs quite often in Cornell - it's not too hard to meet someone =) If you're awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, there are several things that you could be doing: 1. studying at a library. 2. hanging out with friends (i.e. exploring the Arts quad, chilling in a lounge, watching a movie etc). 3. out (collegetown, bars, fraternities, parties etc). Dragon day is a big tradition hosted by the engineers and architects. Homecoming is a huge event that most students go to. Relay for life is also a big event that students go to. People generally party 1-2 days out of the weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). I believe that fraternities and sororities are important in getting to know more people and becoming more involved with the school (and gaining school pride), but it is not the only thing you can do on campus. There are sports teams, religious organizations, cultural organizations and more that you can get yourself involved in and have fun with. A saturday night that doesn't involve drinking: go to the movies, go to a show/play/event, hang out with friends, go out to eat. Anything!!

Casey

While frats and sororities are a decent part of social life on campus,I have tons of friends who are not involved with Greek life and are always busy and having fun on the weekends

Sarah

I'm in a sorority and I love it. I never expected to rush, but I would highly recommend it. Greek life here is great for those who are in it, but there's a whole world of people who are uninvolved, which works for them. Take advantage of events that happen on campus. Amazing, well-known within their field (or the world) people are here all the time. Since I've been a student, I've seen a lot of well-known bands, Stephen Colbert, the Dalai Lama, Frank Warren of Postsecret... pay attention to what's happening, and you'll love it. The club fair at the beginning of the year is the best way to find out about what's going on on campus.

Jordan

Some dorms are more social than others on North Campus (where the freshmen live). Apparently the all womens' dorm (Balch) is very quiet and people do not leave their dorms open. few people seem to date, mostly only if they are exclusively seeing each other already. If I'm awake on 2am on a Tuesday, I am studying. People party Thursday-Saturday for the most part. Greek life is very prevalent- frat parties are a popular weekend activity. Saturday nights without drinking you can see a movie, go out to dinner, etc

Quinn

The Greek system dominates all

Will

30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is involved with the Greek System.

Kara

Always something going on, lots of greek life, people want to party

Andy

The greek system dominates the social scene, to the detriment of those who do not join it. I spent freshman year going to frat parties, like most everyone, but wanted nothing to do with the greek system when it came time to rush. Bars close at 1 AM (or did while I was in school) and were also dominated by the greek system. House parties in collegetown are house parties; they're as cool as the people who show up. If you have cool friends you'll have cool house parties to go to. Each year on the last day of classes is slope day, when all the students skip class to sit on the big slope on campus, drink, smoke, and hang out. Although by the time I graduated they had neutered it into a quasi-high school dance with ID and bag checks, fences, guards, and entrances. Not like the good old days, but still fun. Also, Dragon Day is an annual tradition where the architecture students build a giant dragon, parade it around campus, and then burn it. Why? "Why" is not a question that architects bother with very much outside the classroom. Also, the engineers would build a phoenix and attempt to rival the dragon on the parade, or destroy the dragon before the parade finished. Also, no reason given. A number of violent incidents (engineers versus architechts -- glasses everywhere!)led the administration to also bring this one under control by involving Ithaca's finest in the parade plans. Despite sounding really, really stupid, the architechture school is one of the best in the world so the dragon is usually flat out sick. I'll do a survey of drugs on campus since I doubt anyone else will. First, alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. While I was there, the administration started passing out "zero-to-three" paraphenalia, zero-to-three being the average number of drinks consumed by a Cornell student while drinking, according to surveys. The program included really cool free mini frisbees, which my friends and I used for a long time. Of course, statistics can be tricky things (if each year, you make $1,000,000 and your roommate makes $0, you have an average household income of $500,000). Drinking pretty much breaks down the way you'd expect: nerds don't stop studying to drink, greek system kids don't stop drinking ever, and everyone else falls somewhere in between. Choose your friends to suit however much drinking you like to do, and you'll be fine. Unless you end up in one of these Darwin awards stories like the idiot my freshman year who got so drunk he fell out of a third floor window and broke his leg. AND, the window only opened from the bottom so you couldn't fall out of it! Dunce. One thing you will learn at Cornell, as I did, that there are different kinds of smart, and even if someone is good at math, they still might be a complete ass outside the classroom. Next: weed. Naturally, the climate is authentically cold (in February, anything over 20 degrees is a nice day), and some nights there's just not a good enough reason to venture out, and sitting around an apartment watching DVD's leads inevitably to marijuana. Which leads inevitably to DP Dough (if you don't know, ask somebody). As with booze, suit the friends you make to the amount of this you want to do. Now we get into the real fancy stuff: cocaine and ecstacy. Cocaine is not my thing, but I had friends who used it occasionally. The wealthier frats had plenty of it around although it was usually a hushed up operation, either because they didn't want to get caught or because they didn't want to share; probably both. Ecstacy was around, of course, but you had to hunt for it; generally a good place to start was down at Theta-Delta (aka Theta-Delt, aka Theta-Drug), but that's five year old intelligence, so who knows? Maybe that house is all country clubbers now. Halucinagenics -- LSD and Mushrooms -- were around, too, if you moved in the right circles. There was a campus hip-hop group I really liked and I remember seeing one of their shows when a friend told me that the DJ was tripping acid for the first time; he was performing pretty well, all things considered. I also remember there was one really bright student who was into mushrooms and once parked her car in the middle of campus and ran two miles back to her house in collegetown, naked. Later that year, she was tripping mushrooms and fell over a railing, plunging five floors to her instant death. The Hotel school is only a couple hundred kids, and everyone knew her; the loss was very traumatic. Drugs are dangerous. But, so is getting out of bed. All of this is about who you make friends with. No one is going to foist drugs on you and if you don't want it you really can do like Nancy Regan says and Just Say No. Make your own decisions.

Dan

You can do basically anything on campus - you can work on a team building a race car, get entrenched in the pretty omnipresent Greek life, sing in one of the numerous a cappella groups, or do something even more specialized. If the opportunity's not there, you can create it. So that's pretty great. I really enjoy the activities I do; I've acted in a Schwartz Center play and a Risley one-act that a friend directed and the theater opportunities are a lot of fun, with so many resources to draw on. Chorale is as low-key as you can get for a choral group (one rehearsal a week), but you can obviously get more deeply involved if you want, and WVBR is easily my favorite thing that I've been involved with while here. Where else can you run a commercial, independent FM station with your friends? The experience may prove to be useful, to boot.

Kendall

Working at WVBR has been an awesome experience! Everyone over there works hard to pump out the highest quality radio content! I love being a part of the station!

Alex

People party a lot depending on how much work you have. Parties i have been to you don't really need to drink, I've never seen anyone forced to drink. If you don't like to drink you can also go to other events like movies etc.

Parker

Basically, anything you might want to get involved in on campus, is available to the student body. There are tons of speakers. This year alone we have had: Stephen Colbert, Kevin Smith, Tracy Morgan and Jerry Stiller. We also had the Dali Lama, John Ashcroft, the Associate Editor of the New York Times and a former advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. This year, our convocation speaker is Maya Angelou. There are also great concerts here: T-Pain, O.A.R, Broken Social Scene, All American Rejects. One of the coolest things about Cornell is on the last day of class we have SLOPE DAY. Slope Day is where we have a HUGE concert on the slope! Last year we had T.I and this year Gym Class Heroes and Hot Hot Heat will be here. Another great part about Cornell, especially in your first year, is that ALL freshman are located on North Campus. Whenever you go to the dining hall, or to Nasties (a late-night eatery that is hopping at 2AM on a weekend) While there are always social opportunities to drink, there are also sober ones too! We have "Late Night-Battle of the Foods" where local restaurants donate food for the students.We have two movie theaters on campus, a bowling alley and a museum. If you're looking for a "dry" activiity on a Saturday night, you don't have to look far.

Cecilia

If I'm awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I'm either crying over an impossibly hard chemistry problem set, or crying because everyone else is out drinking and I'm in my room missing my family.

Skylar

The most popular thing about Cornell has to be greek life. Greek life dominates a lot of aspects of life. There are the IFC frats, which are the predominantly-white instituted frats who throw parties. There are the white sororities (forgot what the name was). They are not active what so ever in campus. I do not see the difference between them or any white frat. Then there are the MGLC frats and sororities. These are multicultural fraternities and sororities who foster the true value of brotherhood/sisterhood. They have different rituals and they don't try to shower you with gifts because after all, you are joining their organization, not hte other way around. The dating scene is awkward. There are a lot of hook-ups at cornell during parties but lasting relationships are hard to find and if found are rarely let go. One of the things to look forward to at cornell every year has to be slope day. It is about the most reckless thing alive. People party pretty much anyday they want but it is predominantly on thursdays through saturday. Cornell's life revolves around getting your work done during the week and partying hard on weekends.

Shelby

I don't think there's a single most popular group. There are a few hundred organizations, and everyone finds a few that they're really into, from the newspaper or radio station to volunteer organizations to the fraternities/sororities to sports teams. Students in dorms absolutely leave their doors open. My best friends from college are the ones I met in my dorm. It's very common to spend your evening just wandering into a neighbor's room and chatting, watching a movie, etc. General athletic events aren't such a big deal, but hockey is huge. People stand on line for two days or something to get tickets. But if you're not into that, that's fine, and you won't be the odd man out. Chances are you can make it to a game (you should) by getting a ticket from a friend once. Guest speakers like Jon Stewart are obviously popular, and political and more academic figures draw a surprisingly large audience. On-campus theater definitely sells well. Go to a few shows at the Schwartz theater. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the talent of your fellow students or the people they bring in from around the country. Dating? What's that? There's generally hooking up at a frat party and then maybe starting to go out after that. A few times relationships start the old-fashioned way, but I think that's rarer and rarer - not just at Cornell, but everywhere. There definitely are relationships, though, and people don't frown on that. There are opportunities to go on dates, it's just the casual dating scene doesn't really exist. If you're up at 2 on a Tuesday, chances are you're doing work. Thursday, you might be out drinking, but possibly working. Annual traditions - slope day, the last day of spring classes where a big band comes to perform on the hill. dragon day, where a rivalry between the architecture and engineering schools comes to fruition. certain fraternities and sororities have annual charity events that get everyone else involved. then there are big parties, like Sigma Pi's foam party. every college has its own little thing, too. People study hard and party hard. You don't have to be a drinker, and there's a huge part of the school that's not at all involved in the Greek scene or bar scene. But there's also a huge part that is. Even the people who don't get involved in the Greek life end up drinking on their own, or smoking, er, uh... Saturday night activities can include the theater, a bunch of chamber orchestras, the patio at Collegetown Bagels in nice weather (lots of fun for the non-drinking and drinking crowds), the indy movie theaters in town, musicians at the State Theater downtown, and just hanging out with friends!

Ryan

I think that students in dorms do a good job leaving their doors open, especially freshmen. There's no reason you cant make friends by going door to door or just leaving your door open for people to come in, especially during the first couple weeks of the fall semester. I lived in a program house my first year at Cornell, which is where I met all of my closest friends. It was a really good environment, and all of us still spend most of our time together. I think that the party scene is very big at Cornell, and it's one of my favorite parts of the school/weekend. However, you can always go to the movies, bowling, laser tag, or even have the gym all to yourself. Just be creative and you'll think of something.

Maurice

I am in a club for United for Peace and Justice in Palestine, which brings speakers and films related to the Palestinian experience to campus, to balance what we feel is a very one-sided view of the Middle East on campus. Israel related organizations, such as the Cornell-Israel Public Affairs Committee and Hillel, are among the wealthiest, well populated, and influential organizations on campus. This creates a situation where Palestinian speakers who come to campus always must deal with a barrage of very uninformed questions that see the political situation in Israel/Palestine as simple and about two sides that clash. Knowing that this isn't the case, it is disheartening to see students get so radicalized so easily.

Jane

Greek Life is huge (see above) and it is linked to partying, dating, friends, charity, etc. Students do leave their dorms open, and I am friends with the majority of the 30 students in my hall. Athletic events are mildly popular. Football is not big at all, but hockey and basketball have loyal followers at each game. On a Saturday night, you can go to an a-capella group's show, go to the Herbert F. Johnson museum for a party or event, or see a movie for $4 at Cornell Cinemas.

Rory

greek life is the way to go...if you want to be seen on campus, greek is the only way to do it. none of the other clubs except maybe the studnet gov really matter. all the popular peopl e at cornell are greek

Misha

- In engineering, many students are involved in project teams like CU Satellite (CUSat) Team, Automotive X Prize Team (AXP), Formula SAE, etc. - Popular athletic events inclide Hockey, Basketball, Football. - We often have guest speakers come to Cornell. Last year, we had Shimon Peres (ex-Prime Minister and current President of Israel) come to Cornell and talk about Middle East politics. Two years ago, Bill Nye the Science Guy came to talk about Global Warming. These are just 2 examples. We had numerous guest speakers from companies like Google, Microsoft come and talk about what they do and how what they do affects the world.

Sara

Greek life is huge. I know alot of people in either a sorority or fraternity. On-campus clubs and organizations are also extremely popular. I think everyone is involved in at least one, 5 or 6 in my case. Volunteering is a big thing here, and thats amazing. Dorms are social in some cases, less so in upperclassmen dorms. Freshman year I knew my entire hallway of 80 kids. Men's ice hockey is huge, I'm a season ticket holder. My best friends come from various areas. A few are in my major or in Engineering. Others I lived with freshman year. A few others I've met in classes or through other friends. I know people from every aspect of my college life, and its awesome. If i'm awake at 2am on a tuesday, I have a prelim coming up, or a problem set due Wed. that isn't done. Slope Day is the best day of the year, lots of drinking starting at 9am and performances by big names. Frats are good for parties, sororities are good for socializing. Not essential tho. Last weekend, I went to a house party on Friday night, hockey games on Friday and Saturday night (one of which was the famous Harvard-Cornell Game) and then stayed in saturday night to sleep and do homework all Sunday. Thats typical here, to do one night out and work the rest of hte weekend. Off campus, there is a mall with a movie theater.

julie

sports teams are huge on campus, and so is greek life. i am in kappa delta sorority and a cornell tradition fellow. i always left my door open. some do, some don't. certain athletic events like hockey and basketball are very popular. it's very hard to start dating at cornell. guys suck here. its 2 am on a tuesday right now and I am writing this survey, while trying to do work, while trying to plan big/little week. there's nothing to do on a saturday night that doesnt involve drinking.

Adam

WVBR...Already said a ton.

Alice

Greek Life is very popular. About a third of the student population go Greek. Most people in the Greek system know each other; they know a lot about each other's business. It's a great outlet for social life. It's a little harder to meet new people if you're not in Greek life. I'm a tour guide on campus. I love being able to talk with prospective students and share my perspective with them. As a tour guide, you're very visible on campus. You really have to love Cornell. I'm also a DJ with WVBR, a radio station run by Cornell students. It's a great activity that allows me to have fun and take a break from schoolwork. During freshman year, people in most dorms will keep their doors open. People want to socialize at all hours of the day. Friends will often just walk into each other's rooms to talk or watch movies. My best friends are people who lived in my hall freshman year. A good amount of people are just looking for hook-ups and booty calls. They don't want anything serious. A lot of people are also in serious relationships. There seem to be two groups on campus: those who just want something casual and those who are practically married. There are also the engineers who don't seem to attract anyone. There are people who party every day of the week. During junior and senior year, people will often go to the bars in Collegetown on random days of the week. The most popular days to party are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays--you'll usually find something. There's a core group of partiers who go out every weekend. The average person probably goes out two to three weekends a month. Cornellians are all about a balance between work and play. Slope Day, which is the last day of classes, is a campus-wide party. It's an excuse for students to get drunk at 9 AM. There's a musical artist who performs on Libe Slope, and everyone either dances or passes out on the slope.

Anna

Greek life is really big, and our sports are getting better (esp. basketball). Some people do, but I don't think I'd recommend it unless you're in the building. With so many undergrads, there are usually enough people at sports events that are really pumped. It's similar at parties. We pull in a pretty good array of guest speakers. This year we got Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sandra Day O'Connor, among others. I wish I didn't have class during some of them. I'm dating a guy I met while gorge jumping, through a guy I knew before Cornell. It isn't that hard to make friends, especially during O-week. Studying or wasting time. Slope Day, a ton of other ones. It feels like every night, someone is probably partying right now just because it's pledging season, but with so many people it isn't hard to find someone to drink or study with. I went to AGR, and studied my ass of for the Chem prelim. You can go to the Observatory I think, but they are really good about planning stuff to do. It seems like every weekend is a dance party at RPCC. I don't usually go off campus unless I'm going to a house party or visiting relatives. Sometimes I'll go to the Commons, but it's hard to find a whole day to spend in Ithaca. I <3 CTB

Evan

There is so much going on, and plenty for everyone, whether you want to party 24/7 or talk in philosophical groups. I'm personally involved in a project team called Cornell University Solar Decathlon in which a group of students design and build a home entirely powered by solar electricity and then take this house down to the National Mall in D.C. where we compete. I am also very involved in a national Christian organization called the Navigators. There are many other Christian groups as well as MANY MANY more religious organizations that represent most anything you can imagine.

Ti

Greek Life is huge, but so is the university as a whole, so those not involved won't feel isolated. Events- hockey is the biggest sport. Getting season tickets is a huge ordeal in which physical harm is a real possibility. Guest speakers and theater-- we have a lot of events, but I don't sense too much of a craze over them. Friends- my closest friend and I lived on the same floor freshman year. we also pledged the same sorority, which helped keep us close. Freshman year after rush, people really grow apart when they pledge different houses. 2am Tuesday night--trying to relax before another big day of walking in the snow Traditions- Dragon Day- battle of the engineers and architects Last weekend- attended two frat mixers, a philanthropy event, chapter meeting, and met with friends for late night food in collegetown. Saturday without drinking--Cornell Cinema shows various new, old, and foreign films. Also, every so often there are Cornell sponsored events (Battle of the Late Night Foods, for example, where representatives from different area restaurants provide food for students on a Friday night). Off campus-Ithaca Commons offers restaurants and quaint little shops, but only fun once in a while. Pyramid Mall is hardly a mall, but its the closest thing we have to one in Ithaca (also includes movie theater). Syracuse mall is a little over an hour away. Also, if you're here during good weather, you can enjoy the Finger Lakes and related outdoor activities

Cameron

There is a huge social scene. Every weekend there are either parties, concerts, games, performances or speakers. Basically, there is something for everyone to keep occupied with. Most of the social life that involves partying and drinking does center on the Greek scene, especially for those who are not of age. However, if you are not into drinking, there is still ton's for you to do on campus or even off campus. There is a movie theater that can be easily reached by the bus system. Bowling is open late. There are quite a few restaurants that are open till 3 am if you want to just eat and hang out. There are huge traditions that happen every year. One is Dragon Day (architecture students create a huge dragon and bring it down to the engineering quad where the dragon faces off with the engineers' phoenix). Another is Slope Day (which takes place on the last day of classes for the spring semester). This is a huge concert/party on the slope. We also have Slope Fest with activities that do not involve drinking. There is Welcome Weekend (first weekend after school begins) that contains 5 nights of activities ranging from a carnival to casino night.

Alexandria

We love going to concerts that feature Hangover, Class Notes and etc. Yeah, those are the names of a handful of A Cappella groups on campus. If you are not a fan of musical events, there are also many theatre productions and sports games. Once in a while, we have a speaker coming down to Ithaca. I remember the long lines waiting for the opening of Dalai Lama's presentation. One piece of advice from me: don't do too many things at once.When you first come to Cornell, there are so many opportunies. At that point, you have to pick and choose based on where your passions lie. Right now, I am invovled with EARS, which is a trainning program for anyone who wants to become a counsellor or improve their communication skill. My roomate is a editor-in-chief of the economics magazine. The dorms on North Campus, where the freshmen live, vary a lot. The all-girl dorms are very roomy with gigantic closets and individual sink whereas the co-ed ones are more cramped. Overall, the dorms are very safe. We can generally leave our doors open and not worry too much about stuff being stolen. The partying scene is huge on campus as one-third of the students are part of the Greek system. On weekend, people who don't stay in to watch movies usually head down to the frats and get drunk. The parties generally starts on Thursday night and goes on until Saturday night. (Even the brothers need to study for their upcoming tests on Sunday night!)