Marist College Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Rebecca

The most popular groups at school are probably campus ministry, the dance club, the theatre club, the music department, and the booster club. There are a large amount of clubs on campus and even though there are clubs that have more members than others there is a club or organization for everyone. There are sororities and fraternities on campus but only about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are members. Marist is mainly a bar school on the weekends but if you don't drink the student activity committee screens new movies every Friday and Saturday night and there is a mall and movie theater near by along with on campus plays, bowling, and 24 hour diners.

jamie

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Sarah

HAH! This is a hilarious question because it asks, "If you're awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, what are you doing?" Personally, if I was awake, I'd have to get up in like 3 hours for crew practice, so it'd better be worth it. I'd be studying. The majority of the student body you can count on to be celebrating Tipsy Tuesday at The Loft, a local bar. Kids whip out their fakes and go and get pissed drunk nearly every tuesday night. I've woken up to drunk friends slamming on our bedroom door, waking us up, when they come back. There's really nothing to do off campus. Poughkeepsie is a really sketchy area. Fraternities are only there for parties. They dont seem to have any other presence. Athletic events are somewhat popular, our football teams sucks, so nobody goes to that. Soccer people go to, and basketball people go to. Students do in fact leave their doors open but most people arent outgoing so unless you walk up to them, they will NEVER extend themselves to you.

Gene

Needless to say, there has been a palpable amount of friction between myself and our "Catholic-tradition," and not my favorite kind ;]. I can say though that while Marist may not be a "gay-friendly" college, it's at least a "gay-tolerant" environment - as evidenced by my involvement with LGSA, "The Laramie Project," and "Angels in America." http://quidprojoes.blogspot.com/2009/12/happenstances.html

jamie

The greek life on campus is small but they do a lot. They run Relay For Life and many other charities, the frats have houses and have parties, and they have greek week in the spring. Poughkeepsie has a ton of bars, some are 21+ while some are 18 to get it. Taxis will take you there for $2 a ride. Sports teams also have houses and will have parties. Junior and Senior housing isn't dry so they can drink in their dorms. Marist also sponsors events like concerts, coffeehouses, plays, and trips to the city for cheap. There really is never a dull moment here.

Susie

Clip from the biannual production put on by the Marist College Dance Club

Susie

Clip from the biannual production put on by the Marist College Dance Club

Danielle

I am involved with the ambassador program which promotes Marist to others. I don't do this because it looks good, I do this because I want to. I really love Marist and I think it is an excellent school. I love to share my experience with others in a hope that they will make a excellent college decision like I did and so that they will be happy with where they end up. The Marist community, the school as a whole, is more than I could have ever asked for and I love every minute I am at the school. I am also a participant in intramurals; I play volleyball on a team with some of my friends. A lot of people participate in Intramurals; it is a great way to meet new people and have fun with your friends. I am also part of Athletic Training club which I enjoy because it is associated with my major.

Alyssa

Many people consider Marist a Bar School. Greek like exists, but is not as common as it is at other schools. There are parties every weekend, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are also exciting nights. However, College Activities provides many activities on weekdays and weekends such as Movie Events, Comedians, Concerts, and other forms of entertainment. Five times each semester, students are able to attend a Broadway play (ticket, and bus fare) for only twenty-five dollars. There are also sporting events which draw in crowds (some more than others.) There are plenty of social opportunities at Marist for students that enjoy the nightlife, and the students that prefer to stay on campus.

Kelly

Like every other college campus, of course there is drinking; however, if on a particular night you do not feel like going out, there is ALWAYS something to do. The Student Programming Council and the College Activities office schedule events for what seems like EVERY day of the week! There are constantly comedians, coffeehouses, open mic nights, hypnotists, interesting lectures, bingo, murder mystery dinners, and tons more to do every week... and most of it is free! Food is provided at many of these events as well. They sponsor trips to go into the city on Sundays to see matinee performances of some of the top Broadway shows. The $25 charge covers your ticket AND round trip bus transportation that leaves Marist and drops you off right in front of the theater. The tickets are ALWAYS in orchestra, or first or second row mezzanine. Amazing opportunity. They have ski trips during the winter, as well. Up and down Rt 9, there are tons of restaurants, shopping centers, bowling, movie theaters ($5 a ticket at Roosevelt Cinemas), and more.

Taylor

The most popular team on campus is definitely girls basketball, the games are fun to go to and are usually packed. I am not involved in any sports, but I am involved with other groups on campus. The dorms are so fun, I live in Champagnat this year and I really like it. The rooms are pretty big and the people are nice. At the beginning of the year, and even now, people leave their doors open and we just go in and out of each other's rooms. So I am really close with a lot of the people on my floor; but my other close friends I met the first couple of days just by sitting at random tables in the cafeteria. A lot of people go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays here, but you don't have to go out to have fun. I only go out like once a week, if that, and I still have a lot of fun. Last Friday, for example, a bunch my friends and I just hung out in my room, watched Shrek (we were going to see the musical in the city on Sunday), and just hung out until about 2 or 3 in the morning. Then on Saturday we went over to a house party for a couple hours and just came back to the dorms. The college tries to put on events every Friday and Saturday night so that people have other things to do besides go out to house parties or clubs. Since Poughkeepsie is sort of sketch, the only things people really do off campus are go to the clubs and go to the mall. Marist has mall trips on Fridays and Saturdays that go to the mall and to Stop & Shop; buses leave every hour and you can just leave whenever a bus comes.

Becca

Marist is huge on planning activities for its students. They organize to have comedians and bands come and perform on campus, a shuttle to run students to the mall almost every weekend, and (my personal favorite) Broadway trips to the city. You can have transportation and your ticket all for the great, college kid friendly price of $25! They are to big name productions and the seats are great. No nosebleed seats. Off campus, there are plenty of night clubs that are VERY popular on the weekends.

Chris

People go out to bar or house parties 2 or three times a night on average. There are also the occasional party animals that venture out 4 times a week and those who don't go out at all. There is a party for every night of the week if one really wants to go.

Katie

Marist has so many activities and clubs. There are club sports and regular clubs for any interest you may have. I am in a sorority and a club that promotes the welfare of animals. There are clubs to suit everyone’s' interests. Athletic events are pretty popular. Football and basketball games are probably the biggest events at Marist, and we just recently got a brand new field and stadium so the games are even better. There is always something to do. There are concerts every year, people go out on the weekends, and you meet friends through classes, your dorm, and the activities that you join.

Chrissy

There are so many clubs/organizations/teams etc. at Marist. Whatever your interest is, there is most likely a group for you to join. All the students at Marist are friendly and usually leave their dorm's doors open in order to talk with different people in the dorm. On weekends and weeknights, there is always something to do at Marist. On many weeknights, you can find students attending club meetings, going to the gym, hanging out in dorm rooms, or attending athletic events like basketball, football, or soccer games. On weekends, Marist runs many different trips to NYC, the mall, ice skating, etc. They also run different concerts throuhgout the year that are less expensive and open to all Marist students. At night, there are many things to do that do not include drinking. Any student can find a fun time at Marist on the weekends!

Andrew

Like I said before, if you're bored here at Marist then there has to be something wrong with you...

Parker

The two biggest clubs on campus are Campus Ministry and the Dance Club. These two organizations have a variety of members. I'm involved in the dance club and I like to see how many people join no matter how strong their dancing background is. There's room for all levels. I've met my closest friends through my extracurricular activities. There are tons of things to do on a Saturday Night that don't involve drinking. For example, the college often sponsors a movie night where they show a movie that hasn't yet been released on DVD. Speakers and performers are also present along with productions that the theater majors will put on. Off campus there are several small movie theaters, fun coffee houses, and restaurants that aren't too far away.

Kelly

There is a large variety of clubs and organizations to join depending on your interests. Most students are invovled in at least one club/organization. Greek life is not very big at Marist, although there are a few fraternities/sororities. On the weekends, most people go a to a friend's house or go out to the bars in Poughkeepsie. College activities hosts movies on the weekends that play in the Performing Arts Room if you want to relax for a night.

Jen

We have sororities and fraternities that are both chartered and not chartered with the campus; some students leave their rooms open but I wouldn't suggest it when living in the town houses since it's an open campus. Safety first ;) I've kept the same friends since I came into Marist and still making more so it's definitely a social place. Some people pass by you and smile just to smile which is really nice-it can brighten your mood. I love the Broadway trips ($25 for your ticket AND transportation, great seats too). Relay for Life, Miles for Medals, and Walk Against Hunger are popular. Tuesdays are club nights, but I party with friends in our house or theirs since I hate crowds.

Ryan

With over 80 clubs and activities, and its location in the heart of the Hudson Valley, Marist offers students all kinds of incredible opportunities beyond the classroom. I LOVE the intramural sports I am a part of, but the school offers something for everybody.

Brandon

Social life at Marist is pretty good overall. Your typical choices for a weekend would be a frat house, sports house, bars, clubs, etc. Marist is a HUGE bar school...that's usually where people hang out. The popular bars are Backstreet, Darby's, Hatters, etc. Sometimes if people don't feel like going out though, they will just play beer pong in their suite and have a few people over. If you aren't into the alcohol scene, chances are you will become bored very fast and not find weekends to be fun anymore.

Susie

Students here know how to have fun, but also realize the importance of doing well in school too. There are fraternities and sororieties, but only about 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are involved, so it's not a big part of Marist life. Marist is division one in MACC conference, so sports like basketball and football are pretty huge on campus. Students almost always go to the games and are actively involved in sports teams, both through the school and intramural sports. On the weekends student typically take a break from the busy week, and sleep or hang out with friends. Weekend nights always offer something to do, and a majority of students go out to a campus party or to a local bar on the weekend nights. There is also a lot to do in the area surrounding the school if you aren't into partying or drinking, with movie theaters, malls, and great restaurants in the area. Marist always sponsors alot of events -- like comedians, and concerts-- for the student body each year.

Raymond

There is no denying that a lot of students go out drinking on the weekends, but there's a lot of stuff you can do at Marist if that's not your deal (or if at least you're not into doing that all the time). Our biggest organization on campus is Campus Ministry, which is all denominational. Campus Ministry has many sub-groups like Catholic Students association, QUEST (for Mainline Protestants), Jewish Students Group, CCF (Campus Christian Fellowship), and small non-denominational peer discussion groups like Men's Spirituality and Women's Spirituality. Throughout the year, we also have retreats (both denominational and non) across the river at the Marist Brothers' retreat house in Esopus. Our most popular one is the overnight which occurs in the spring and builds a lot of close connections between students. Students within C.M. are generally very spiritual but at the same time unjudgmental. On the weekends or random nights throughout the week when you have nothing to do at 1 am, you may find yourself doing a run to the Palace Diner with your friends and then coming back to your dorm to play video games or watch a movie.