If you want to get involved on campus, there are a lot of great ways. Though they are mandatory, chapels are wonderfully lead. There are a lot of wonderful Bible studies you can be involved in (especially freshman year) as well as a prayer group on Thursday nights. There are a lot of great clubs, though I know of few people who actual attend one. Some include Live2Free (women's rights/domestic violence issues), Mosaic (diversity), and SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise- a business/community service club). A campus favorite is Delivery Boys and Entourage- both comedy groups that travel to youth camps during the summer and act at events on campus during the school year. The only difference between the two is that Delivery Boys is a group of males, and Entourage is a group of females. Last but not least is the welcome group for freshman and transfers--frontline. Frontline is AMAZING! Frontline is how I met one of my best friends (and through her I met two of my other best friends). I also became very good friends with my frontline leaders. Frontline is a great way to break you into the Vanguard community and get you a little more comfortable. DON'T skip it if you end up coming to Vanguard. You WILL regret it. Atleast that's my opinion
I'm not involved in any campus groups at this moment, though I am thinking of beginning a club soon.
Whether doors are open or not depends on what dorms you live in. Huntington and Laguna (the towers) are very social and most everyone will have their doors open. The other dorms like Catalina are a little more lax so a lot of people shut their doors, though everyone is still super-sweet and friendly (I actually like Catalina more because of this- I'm a really chill person, so I like the relaxed feel here).
Almost no one goes to athletic events. It's a sad truth.
We have quite a few guest speakers in chapel, but not otherwise.
We do have a theater, and the theater dept. puts on WONDERFUL plays. Not enough people go to them though. It's sad. Many of Vanguard's extracurriculars are under-represented.
The dating scene is complicated. Most people are either at boyfriend/girlfriend status or single. Almost no one just dates around like normal people. Here's an interesting fact: the girl to boy ratio at vanguard is 3 to 1. So there are ALOT of single women.
Vanguard has a lot of great events. Some are pretty lame, but a lot are really fun. GYRAD (stands for Get Your Roommate a Date) for example, is really fun as is HABU (Hook a Brother Up)--GYRAD for the dudes. Woofest and Mr. VU (contest) are also very entertaining and well known.
Most of the people I know don't really party. There's a lot of people that go clubbing, though I don't know how wild it gets. Drinking is against school code though and most are pretty good about following that code.
There are no fraternities or sororities.
Most people are gone on the weekends so campus is pretty empty. If you are on campus on the weekends though, there's so much to do. Self Serve Frozen Yogurt places (FroYo) are very popular and there are SO many. If you have a Disneyland pass, Anaheim is only 20 minutes away. Newport beach is even closer, and very beautiful and relaxing. A lot of people hang out at target, which is kind of weird I suppose, but it can be fun if you go with the right people. Also nearby is Tewinkle park, the OC Fairgrounds, Woodbridge Dollar Theater, and South Coast Plaza (mall). Me and my friends have a lot of fun hanging out in the dorms, though, as well.