Campus vibe at Denison?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Denison University
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<p>I am a parent starting to develop a list of colleges to seed my daughter's college choice list. Denison University is one I'm exploring--but I'm getting the sense that it has a reputation for being something of a party school, dominated by frat boys. To what extent was that ever true and to what extent is it true now? Frankly, partying is fine--IF the student body is overall interested in learning. (I've got nothing against people who drink the occasional beer--I certainly did.) Just wondering: What's the feel of the place? </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>P.S. My first CC post!</p>

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<p>Congrats on your first post. Welcome. That being said, I have no idea where you get that idea. The frats are no longer on campus. The former frat buildings are now dorms. There is still some drinking but probably no more than most other schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info Erin’s Dad. Guess I was operating on old info.</p>

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<p>Indeed, there was a day, now long gone due to a very specific event that has broad-ranging impact. About 15 or 20 years back, the stars aligned to enable a DU president to recommend discontinuing frat residence at DU. The campus had, and the buildings remain, a number of large, diverse and impressive frat houses that have since been purchased by the U and converted into residential units, some w/ designated purpose (special interest, single sex, etc.) That event in combination w/ several other major strategic initiatives …targeted merit aid, enhanced recruitment programs, residential requirements, construction of upper class dorms, eliminating sorority residences, reducing frat presence to meeting rooms, enhanced wellness, honors, EC activities, etc. …
has made a monumental shift in campus realities. Reputations are much tougher to shift, and always lag reality. </p>

<p>This and other realities led us to perceive in our search, rightly or wrongly, that DU is a bit of a hidden LAC 1 value, much stronger in its faculty, admin leadership, peer students etc …than the perceptions, even of alleged “experts” and peer reviewers indicate. </p>

<p>With some exceptions, experience seems to support such. It’s far from perfect. Still lots of kids w/ too much $$ available to them, too little real integration, too much deference to keeping faculty happy at the expense of students, too little socio-political diversity among faculty (or at least too little apparent to the public), too little expectation of athletic programs across the board, etc. …but issues like this prevail at every institution. So the search requires recognizing those things, keeping them in perspective, especially with the issues you and your student deem most critical.</p>

<p>btw, I could be, and many will confirm, I’m not the DU expert. These are observations of a place admittedly we’ve heavily invested our most valuable, precious resource in …and I’m not talking about $$. You might well conclude I’m both ignorant and biased. But I’m not blind nor a pushover when I’ve determined I bought a lemon. </p>

<p>That is one of the frequent traps …marketers call the phenomenonon post-purchase justification or rationalization. We can’t stomach the idea that we misjudged or such a major purchase.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Whistle Pig, for your helpful perspective.</p>

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<p>I second Whistle Pig’s observations! Except for the part when he says he’s not a DU expert – parents of students ARE experts in what is happening to their children, including whether they are happy, challenged, safe, etc. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Just saw our DU son over a long weekend at his brother’s college, which he loves to visit. But he couldn’t wait to get back “home” to Granville on Sunday. If home is where the heart is, then Granville doesn’t need the quotation marks around it anymore.</p>

<p>Btw, his fraternity experience has only increased his positive DU vibe. One of the things I like about DU, however, is that students would have a hard time in physically or socially isolating themselves with just their fellow fraternity/sorority members, or with just their own gender for that matter.</p>

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<p>Esquette makes many valid, clear, insightful points, several of which lead me to edify my own. Our dd feels very much the same about DU. Cannot wait to get back (altho she did experience a period of adjustment, including the reality that DU academics were NOT cruise-controllable, at least for her. But she’s figured out they demand much of her, and they are definitely stretching her mind and her confidence. Wonderful seeing both.) Her life is there, and it strikes us as a pretty neat place to call home. btw, as I’ve noted elsewhere …we probably enjoy going to Granville-proper more than she does! But it won’t always be that way, and homecomings and fall visits are idyllic in this lovely place.</p>

<p>And despite my description of the events precipitated some 20 odd years ago pertaining to Greek issues, she has joined one and it has been a far more constructive, valuable, and contributing factor to her experience than we imagined. She is active in it, has many friends both within and outside the organization, is learning thru her involvement (including finances of it all …she pays for that one exclusively), and more. For us, the real message re: this aspect is that there is a real, significant presence of these organizations that is kept in balance with many checks, allowing for mostly positives coming to bear on her experience. And you know, I’m confident and pleased in speculating that students who determine NOT to participate in this aspect are neither shunned nor inclined to reverse-snobbery. I just get no sense of a schism that often prevails on campuses between Greek members and nons. I may be naive.</p>

<p>Far more important and challenging @ DU seems to be the racial integration. While I don’t sense animous, neither to I sense a genuine mixing of groups. Individuals, I’m confident, as always happens among youth, make their way and beat down prejudice, regardless of color, creed, etc. But as on many, I dare speculate, most campuses, DU is not nirvana in this regard yet. But even so, there are some strategies that seem productively progressive in this tough area.</p>

<p>Perhaps others can expand, correct, observe?</p>

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<p>Thanks, again, everyone who responded to my query. What’s the etiquette here vis-a-vis checking in on one’s posts? Is one expected to drop in and acknowledge respondents? Just askin’.</p>

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<p>It’s all good. No need to thank anyone for posts, but appreciated nonetheless. And we are always interested in hearing your questions and impressions!</p>