Wesleyan University Top Questions

Wesleyan is, in the strongest sense of the word, a community. And, while I only have my own experience at Wesleyan to refer to, I feel that this school’s size – about 2,700 undergrads – allows for an intimate sense of fraternity while affording just the right amount of anonymity. The administration-sanctioned line I used to give on tours was, “Wesleyan’s just small enough that you can always go to a party and know someone, but it’s big enough that you can always go to a party and meet someone new.” Which, I realize typing that, is the corniest fucking thing to say. But it’s also fairly true. As far as school pride is concerned, I think there is certainly a sense of Wesleyan pride that exists here. But, as opposed to some of the larger academic institutions in this country, that school pride is not rooted in some fascist submission to a bunch of roided-up God-men whose academic excellence is milked dry by greedy boosters and university administrators in exchange for a trophy. Rather, the pride students feel about Wesleyan’s comes from their commitment to a community of mutual learning, maturation, and fun. People look out for each other here: they hold the door open for each other in the library, they study together for tests so everyone can do well, they hold your penis while you pee if you’re too drunk to do so yourself. That’s community. Last year, as a junior, and again this year as a senior, I organized something of a prank dubbed “Undies in Olin” (Olin Library is the main library on campus). I, along with a friend, sent out an email to about 100 or so people on campus asking them to be in the library, studying diligently, while we walked through with our tour. The one catch… they would be in their undies! I know, right! Kids…in the library…IN THEIR UNDERWEAR!!! COLLEGE!!!!!! Anyways, over 200 kids showed up in their underwear, and the feeling in that main room as I looked out over my semi-nude peers, as we rose in unison and sung the fight song at the top of our lungs – which barely anyone knows besides the shout of “Go Wes!” at the end – was something I will never forget. No matter how many drugs I do while I’m here.

The best thing about Wesleyan is that the infrastructure and administration really encourages student initiative - the campus is really owned by the students and you can feel that. Granted, there is always something about the administration that the students are taking issue with, but overall I think that students have a lot more control and freedom at Wesleyan than they would at most other schools. I think that Wesleyan is a really good size - small enough to feel as if you recognize most people that you see, but big enough that I was still meeting new people during my senior year, and I never felt socially stifled. Being from the Midwest, most people either haven't heard of Wesleyan, think that I went to Ohio or Illinois Wesleyan, or that I went to Wellesley. I'm pretty sure that over half of the time that people say "oh, that's a good school," they are actually thinking of Wellesley, but whatever. Middletown doesn't have a lot to offer, aside from a lot of really good restaurants and a killer roller rink. This doesn't really matter, though, because there is always a lot going on on campus. Every weekend there are concerts, plays, parties, movies etc. Almost everything that happens on campus is either free or just costs a couple of dollars.

I really liked the size of wesleyan, I transferred AWAY from a huge IVY LEAGUE school because the size made it hard for me to find any students I really connected with. I was very lonely and uninterested in what was going around me, and Wesleyan was the complete opposite. I immediately found people that are still my close friends. I loved being able to walk out the door and always see a familiar face. My favorite time of day was lunch hour, and eating outdoors with a bunch of people I loved. I spent a lot of time on campus working on extracurriculars. My work study at the Costume Shop, performing in plays or with my improv group, or seeing my friends shows and concerts. I loved driving to Marshalls, Goodwill, or the movie theater, or going out to eat at Typhoon. Downtown was always accessible, with or without a car, and I was never really wanting more of a "city" atmosphere because there was always stuff going on on campus.

Best things about Wes are the folks and the professors. I wouldn't change anything. It's the perfect size. When I tell people I went there, there either say, "You mean the all girls school?" or "Ohhh. So you're a liberal smartypants!" I spent most of my time on campus on Foss Hill, and quite a bit of time off-campus at the restaurants in Middletown. The biggest controversy when I was in school was chalking. I'm pro-chalking. It was a chalking that made me want to go to Wes. In fact, if I can recall the specifics, it was a chalking of an arrow pointing a fire hydrant, followed by the exlamation, "I fucked your mom." I loved that it could be interpreted so many ways--Is my mom a fire hydrant? Did the fire hydrant fuck my mom? Was it the ant on the fire hydrant that perform the alleged fucking? It was so Dada and irreverent. That's when I fell in love with Wes.