<p>I am deciding between Bucknell and a few other schools right now. On my recruitment trip, my host told me that at bucknell “the students work hard and party harder” and proceeded to take me to a party. I am not a partier at all and I don’t drink. Are there other social options for athletes who do not drink (or any students for that matter) to have fun on the weekends with other like-minded people and not be isolated by their teams??</p>
<p>I am a current freshman at Bucknell, and I’m not going to lie, Bucknell is a party school. Since we are so greek heavy and not near many big cities, a lot of kids will go out on the weekends to frats or other parties simply because there aren’t a lot of other things to do. However, frat parties are still fun even if you don’t drink at them and just want to hang out with friends and dance.</p>
<p>That being said, I’m not a partier either, and there are still plenty of things to do on the weekends! Lots of students will just walk into town and have dinner in a local restaurant and see a movie at the campus theatre. There is a regular bus to the Susquehanna Valley Mall, where you can go shopping or see a movie, etc. About once a month, a bus also runs to NYC. The activities and campus events committee usually has lots of other fun things to do as well, such as comedians, hypnotists, open mic nights at seventh street cafe, and similar activities. If you look, there are plenty of ways to entertain yourself on the weekends.</p>
<p>I’m a senior at Bucknell, and I have to agree with rmb041. A good majority of students get involved in Greek life when they are eligible sophomore year. The “work hard and party harder” culture does hold true for a lot of students. Sometimes I get the feeling that students who don’t drink/party have to hide the fact they abstain lest they be seen as “uncool”. I remember a particular moment during my freshman year when I walked into my dorm on a Friday night with my backpack and encountered a group of drunk students in the stairwell; one girls snidely remarked “Hey look! It’s library boy!”. I actually hadn’t come back from doing any sort of academic related work, but rather I had left my backpack in a friend’s room in a different dorm. But the fact that I looked like bookworm would elicit such a comment really irritated me. Now, I’m not one to make generalizations based on one incident, but it’s hard not to get the impression that some students are here at Bucknell just to attend a $200,00 party. </p>
<p>The prevalence of partying at Bucknell doesn’t mean you won’t receive a satisfactory education. The majority of my professors have been great instructors, and I have a learned a great deal in my 4 years here. But be warned that when you’re outside of the classroom, you’re more likely hear two students talking about what happened at a party the night before than something intellectually stimulating. </p>
<p>There is something called CHOICE which is a program that houses students who abstain from drugs and alcohol. A lot of students in CHOICE will stay true to their values through their four years at Bucknell. Often times CHOICE students will stay dry until they reach the age of 21.</p>
<p>I think you have to assess how much a partying scene would put you off. If you think a partying scene would interfere with your academic goals, then coming to Bucknell probably wouldn’t be the best option. But if you can block out the party culture, then I think you will benefit from attending classes at Bucknell. There are definitely Bucknell students who don’t wish to party and have flourished academically and found a close knit group of friends. And as rmb041 mentioned, there are multitude of non-drinking/non-partying events sponsored by the University that you can attend. </p>
<p>It’s late and I’m tired…good night!</p>