University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

-Boulder is GORGEOUS and it's so easy to get around. -I'd change the self-righteous attitude of the permanent citizens (non-college). -It's huge and I love it. -People react to me as if I had the plague - they stereotype me as either a party kid or a hippie. These people are from my hometown though, and they are all conservative CSU types. More liberal or urban people think it's a very respectable school. -In class or in the student center. -College town -the administration is a joke. they send you running around in circles while they are covering their asses from some scandal. -Either Ward Churchill or Coach Barnett. Or the kid who was stabbed in the neck first day of classes this fall. -There is A TON of school pride :) -Boulder is a very different town. It's more like the People's Republic of Boulder, where everyone is entitled to speak their mind and say their piece, but no one is interested in listening. -Getting tear-gassed on Halloween weekend freshman year. -The Administration is horrible.

One thing people always associate Boulder with is marijuana. Yes, a sufficient amount of CU Students smoke, but not everyone. 4-20 is crazy up in Boulder but you don't have to be a smoker to have fun at CU!!

Boulder is a beautiful town and perfect in location. It is located with the flatiron mountain range (more like one, but pretty) visible from campus, roughly 20-30 minutes from downtown Denver (perfect place to party in the "big city"), and only 1 1/2 hours from the best sking in Colorado. The school itself as an AMAZINGLY georgous campus and it is set right in the center of the town. Nearly everything in the town is in walking distance and if it's not then the town has the top bus system I have ever seen. The town has a unique atmosphere and it is defanitly a college town! However, everyone is friendly.

CU boulder is a large and active campus. Many students come here for the Rockiy Mountains; skiing, biking, camping, etc. Many come here for the laid back, liberal atmosphere. It is a large school, so finding a group or club is essential to meeting people and "finding your place". The town of Boulder is large, has everything you could need in terms of shopping and entertainment. It is considered a suburb of Denver, but it's its own city too. When I tell people I go to Boulder, their immediate response is "oh, so you have a good time there right?" and yes, we have fun, but as an engineer, I am confident and proud of the work and my courseload.

The best thing about Boulder is the proximity to the mountains. Not only is Chataqua Park located about 10 minutes walk from campus, but a lot of ski resorts are less than 2 hours drive. I would ban all fraternities if I could, they chapters in Boulder continue to negatively affect the reputation of Boulder nationally due to the yearly controversies they cause. I spend most of my time on campus at the library, but during the Spring there are numerous fields that are great for studying or just hanging out. Boulder is a college town. Normally I don't concern myself with the administration, but just recently the election of Bruce Benson to President has rather diminished my opinion of those making decisions at the school. Aside from this recent election, every year there has been at least one incident involving local fraternities and damaged properties, alcohol related deaths, and sexual assaults.

The best thing about Boulder is it's personal feel. Even on a campus of approximately 30,000 students it is easy to feel connected and important. In the History Department classes are small. I have only had about 2 or 3 classes that had over 100 people in it. The average class is about 40 students. Professors are accessible and happy to facilitate a personal relationship with any student who seeks it. I found this to be remarkable at such a large university.

The best thing about Boulder is that it is an icon of hope. If I could, I would change the attitude of some people - so apathetic! CU is a big school, no doubt, and I would never change that size. Coming from a small town, it is great to see so many different kinds of students on campus. When I tell others that I go to CU, they ask me about pit, about Ward Churchill, about frat guys, about football team scandals...they seem to have no idea that CU is on the cutting edge of science, technology, architecture...that it is the best public institution in the state. When I am on campus, I am in the UMC - no exceptions. It is where I work, eat, study, hang out and go to events. CU has affected Boulder significantly. It is the #1 "singles town", has tons of bars, and an incredibly active student body. Boulder's admin is not bad. I have worked with them a lot, and what I have found is that they speak in dollar signs most of the time. Talk money, and they will listen. It is tough to get to some important figures. But, if you are professional, patient, and have tanglible goals, they will take you seriously, student or not. The biggest controversy of late is a tie between the selection of Bruce Benson as the new CU system president and the Campus Press (school newspaper) printing articles that have been interpreted as racist. Basically, this comes down to the main issues of (1) Do the regents care at all what the students think? and (2) Is it really OK to protect racist statements under the first amendment? The response to these two issues on campus has been wide and strong. I am very, very proud to attend CU. However, there are some that are ashamed of it because of all the bad press. It sucks, because CU has given me so much education and wisdom, but all anyone can focus on is the damn football team raping people. Boulder is ten square miles surrounded by reality. It is on the forefront of envronmental policy, is clean, friendly, surrounded by happy people, and always speaks a message of hope. It is NOT the "real" world. I will always rememeber Boulder as the best time of my life. I learned to live on my own, to pay bills, to go out to the bars, I met billions of amazing people, and I gained necessary life experience. I love Boulder - SO MUCH. Students complain about diversity. That's really about it. Boulder is really white, and it needs to consider the interests of underrepresented communities better - especially in terms of how expensive it is to live here!

I love the outdoors and all the activities that are right at your door in boulder. The school has a student group for every activity too so its so easy to find a group of people that like to do what you do and there is always something to do. I would change how few students seem to care about the details of the school and how it works, i think with so many student groups the big picture gets overlooked. I love the size of my school, but i chose a larger school on purpose, its certainly not too big though. as far as Davis goes Boulder is everything Davis wishes it could be, and most other people love boulder or have heard about how great it is. I used to spend most of my time in the rec center because of club sports but now i spend a lot of time in the UMC because its where everything happens and where all the clubs are based. The costume shop in the theater department is also a haven of mine because the people are great and the work is so different from everything i do in the rest of my day. Boulder is such a college town through and through, the bar seen, University hill its all very college. Boulder's administration is pretty good most of the time, but I dont feel that they truly listen to the students opinions as much as they pretend to, or maybe its that they don't give the student opinion enough weight. Faculty are a different story though I find it is very back and forth, they are either very with us or on a completely different page. Recently the students have been fighting the choice of Bruce Benson as president of the university because of his opposite values to that of the school, but he was chosen anyway. Another large controversy that seems to go on is dealing with publications in the campus press that push the drama seeking agenda of the editor even though they are not in accordance with how the students feel, but we do feel that it gives us as a campus a bad name as the campus press is supposed to speak for us.

The best thing about Boulder is the endless list of outdoor activities that newcomers can dive into. American Gladiators held tryouts in Boulder on campus because it is one of the the fittest places in America. You can climb the flat irons you can go skiing or snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, camping, even longboarders have many challenging hills to bomb here. One thing i would change has been changing and that is the reaction of the administration to the April, 20th protest of national Marijuana laws. 4/20 has been a big protest here for a while and has been subject to attempted undermining by the administration every year. except last year, when they actually let NORML and SAFER put up tables and registration tents at the protest. people often react with "party school" comments when i tell them i go to Boulder but its only a party school if the individual attendee wants it to be. i know plenty of serious students that don't party every night and i know just as many that do. the thing about such a big school is that the people that party and cause a commotion are the people that will be heard about and therefore represent your school with their actions. My favorite memory and the school pride both go into this "GO CU FOOTBALL WOOOO BEAT OKLAHOMA AND COLORADO STATE AND NEBRASKA!" The most common complaint is the administration trying to censor students and faculty in an attempt to shape CU's reputation but like i said they are starting to give in to the students shaping the school into whatever they want. (4/20 demonstration)