The a capella groups are probably the most popular and prestigious student groups. While there are about seven groups total, the three most popular are the Kokosingers (all male), the Chasers (co-ed), and the Owl Creeks (all female). Rosse Hall, the auditorium, is always packed for their concerts. These groups are very hard to get into because they only take a couple new members every year, and there's always some hurt egos/feelings. People go to events even if they don't know anyone in the club or play. There's always something going on here, and you often have you choose between a couple events. Academic departments and the student lectureships committee bring lots of different speakers to campus. Some are more widely attended than others. This fall, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke and EVERYBODY went to that. At the beginning of the school year there's an activities fair, at which the village center closes down the streets so that organizations and clubs can set up tables. Students can find out more about clubs and sign up for auditions.
In February is Phling, an all-campus semi-formal. It's usually held in the Great Hall of Peirce Hall, which has been compared to the great hall in Harry Potter movies. Student bands and cover bands play, and there's a "casino" set up, too. Halloween weekend, the fraternities throw a huge party in Old Kenyon (a dorm). Everybody goes. Shock Your Momma is thrown by the men's swim team if they win the national title (they've won for about 25 years consecutively). At Shock Your Momma you'll probably see some naked people as well as some wearing t-shirts that say "Bush supporter." Summer Send-Off is an all-campus outdoor dance and music party.
The allstu (all student email) is used for soliciting a ride, as a lost and found, or to spout opinions on whatever is going on politically or in the news. It's common for people to find rides to the airport using the allstu, and often they end up driving with people they've never met before. If someone's going up to Cleveland for the weekend, he'll often send an email the week before asking if anyone wants a ride.
Most students leave their doors open. Freshman year, I lived in a hall in which people were always walking by. My roommate and I left our door open, and people popped in and out all the time. Socially, I didn't find my niche until this year (my senior year). I've always had friends, but not a close group that I felt I could count on. Freshman year, I tried to find that niche and hung around with the people who lived on my hall. But those people didn't turn out to be my good friends. I wish I'd made more of an effort to get to know people in all of my classes early on in college, because it's harder to do later. Two of my best friends now are girls who went to Exeter with me last year; we got to know each other over in England. Another is a girl who lived on my hall freshman year but whom I didn't talk to a lot until this year. The other is a junior, and we met through her boyfriend (who used to date my old roommate-- awkward!).
I like Greek life here because it's not an overwhelming presence. It's there if you want it, but you don't have to be involved. I'm not in a sorority, but I know a handful of guys who are in fraternities. Freshman year I went to some of the big, loud fraternity parties. I didn't have much fun because there was bad beer, I didn't know a lot of people, and it seemed like forced fun. Wednesday is a big party night, for some reason, besides the usual Friday and Saturday nights. Now that I'm a senior and can go out to the local bars with friends, we do that every couple weeks.
This year, I've gone to lots of small parties that friends have thrown in their dorm rooms/apartments. I like those a lot more than the bigger parties because they're more personal and I feel more comfortable. There are better opportunities for conversation, too. I like to get together to watch movies with friends one of our dorms, as well.
People who don't drink usually hang out in smaller group settings or with groups like Hillel or other clubs they're in.
When you get sick of being on campus, you can drive to Columbus with friends and go to the mall or a restaurant. There's not much to do in Mount Vernon (the city next to Gambier), but you can catch the free shuttle into town if you want to go to Walmart or eat Chinese. Most people stay on campus on the weekends; there's not a mass exodus to get off campus because there are always tons of events going on.