The most popular student groups, activities and teams on campus are Greek life, the Student Programming Council, College Council, Wonderful Wednesdays, No Strings Attached a cappella group, the Indian Cultural Exchange, Korean Undergraduate Student Association, the mens' soccer, baseball and basketball teams, Karma Bhangra dance group, and AHANA dance group.
I've been a part of the Student Programming Council since I was a freshman, and now as a senior, I'm the president. SPC, as we're known, is responsible for planning all the university-wide student events, including concerts, comedians, carnivals, field days, trivia nights, etc. In the past we've brought artists, such as Big Boi, Wiz Khalifa, NERD, Third Eye Blind, Matt and Kim, One Republic, Girl Talk, Super Mash Bros, B.O.B. and T.I. We also give out the most free t-shirts and food to students throughout the year. We plan the biggest events on campus, like Homecoming Week and Dooley's Week, dedicated to our unofficial skeleton mascot. These weeklong events usually include a couple of concerts and a comedian. Being a member has been one of the best and most fun experiences I've had at Emory.
Student government groups, like the College Council and the Student Government Association, bring educational speakers like Soledad O'Brien, Spike Lee and Cornell West.
Athletic events don't get too much of a show at Emory. Few students usually attend sporting events, but the most popular among them are the men's soccer, baseball and basketball games.
Dance, theater and cultural groups are also a big source of Emory student activities. There are at least two dance shows per semester, as well as at least two theater productions per semester. Tickets usually sell out quickly so students buy them in advance.
Emory also has a really great student activity called Wonderful Wednesdays where student groups gather in the center of campus at Asbury Circle every Wednesday for a few hours to publicize future events, promote their clubs or just to hang out. There's usually free food and there's always music playing. The tradition stemmed from the 1970s when the then president of Emory cancelled Wednesday classes in hopes that a mid-week break would encourage students to study more. Classes were reinstated some time later and Wonderful Wednesdays came back in 2005, thanks to the work of a secret society, as the weekly club gathering it is today. It's almost impossible to avoid stopping and hanging out for a while at WW.
Social life at Emory gets a bad reputation because we're known as a smart school, but most students generally go out every weekend. Students in Greek life tend to party and go out the most about 3-4 nights a week to frat parties or local bars. Students who aren't in Greek life often go to house parties or local bar areas around Atlanta. There's a lot to do in Atlanta and on campus if you're not Greek. To show a little bit of that variety, last weekend I went to a Christmas-themed frat party one night and the next night I went to a small, local bar that encourages its patrons to play board games while they drink. Tuesday and Thursday nights are also really big going out nights at Emory.
There are fewer weekend activities on campus that don't involve drinking than those activities that do, but there is a lot of university-sponsored late night programming on Friday and Saturday nights, like karaoke, food fairs and movie nights in our cinema. Students can also go off campus through our shuttle programs to museums, parks, malls or the aquarium, which is really popular in Atlanta.
Greek life is quite big at Emory, more than most people who don't go to Emory think, but it's not as big as it would be in a state school for example. I have as many friends in Greek life as I do outside of Greek life. Most of my current close friends lived in my hall freshman year but I've also met many more close friends through my sorority and through Greek life. In the residence halls, it seems that most students in older dorms leave their doors open more than students who live in the newer dorms that have been built throughout the last four years. In any case, it's really easy to meet people at Emory, whether it be through your residence hall, Greek life, student clubs or through mutual friends.