SEEKING: advice, opinions, observations about Colby’s social life and campus culture
I am a senior in high school who was recently accepted to Colby RD along with two other liberal arts colleges (Hamilton and Lafayette). Since getting in, Colby has been my top choice. I visited campus twice, and after both trips I left with really good impressions about the friendliness and outdoorsy/active nature of the students, the top-tier environmental studies program and overall academics, the beautiful and expansive campus, the location in Maine, and the seemingly close-knit atmosphere of the community. I’m very fortunate to be accepted to such an incredible school, and I am still excited about possibly attending.
However, I’ve developed some concerns about the non-academic elements of Colby after having recently had a conversation with a friend who is a current freshman. During a long and really informative phone call, she shared many of her gripes with the social climate at Colby. Her conception of the social dynamics at Colby was something along the lines of this: a significant part of the population is composed of WASPy/wealthy student-athletes who tend to drink heavily/party often, act in very cliquey ways, and join underground Greek organizations off of campus. She then mentioned a specific incident that occurred at Colby this past year, in which a party with a racist/offensive message was thrown by a group students who are allegedly in one of these underground fraternities. She confessed how shocked and disappointed she was and how she felt misled about the general campus dynamics and student body atmosphere at Colby. While she’s been able to find a solid group of friends who are down-to-earth, socially conscious, outdoorsy, and not wildly affluent, she kept talking about how the demographic at Colby is deeply divided between students like her friends and wealthy, “white Northeast prep-school party types” who claim membership to underground fraternities. Apparently, this divide has only worsened as campus administration and fellow students have tried to combat it.
I am taking her observations with a LARGE grain of salt because it is grossly generalized, relatively pointed, and as a result not very fair; nonetheless, this description left me with conflicting perceptions of Colby—specifically regarding the understanding that Colby doesn’t have [official] Greek life. Growing up in an admittedly affluent household in CT and having two older brothers who were members of fraternities during their college years (one at Hobart and another at W&L) and didn’t look back fondly on their experiences, I definitely have an idea of how stifling and frankly problematic the sort of wealthy, conservative lifestyle found in many fraternities can be (of course these facts have become more and more obvious as frats start to die off on many campuses across the country). Again, one of the reasons Colby was so appealing right from the get-go was the fact that it, along with other NESCACs that I considered, abolished fraternities and sororities long ago. And while I recognize that Colby has traditionally been one of the more preppy, old-money affluent, and homogenous LACs (I somewhat got this sense during my first visit, as well as from friends describing the school), my second visit led me to feel optimistic that this stereotype has faded to a degree. At this point, though, I am struggling to gauge whether or not the campus culture/student vibe is truly right for me (especially having heard such starkly different perceptions from a current student, perceptions that seem to be shared and validated by others). I’d really value any further insights/opinions, either from current students, alums, or parents, about the campus culture or general social life at Colby. What do you make of these portrayals? Is actual change being made to rectify the issue of underground fraternities and any associated behaviors? In your view, how grave or even existent are these problems? Is Colby unique in this situation, or are other LACs/colleges without Greek life enduring similar challenges (i.e. Hamilton or others)? (Sorry for the rambling post, and thanks in advance for the responses.)
*I should probably mention that I take no issue with political conservatism; though I am more of a progressive, I would definitely appreciate being in an academic environment with a breadth of ideological backgrounds. When I describe frats as conservative, I am referring to the ways by which frats often promote extremely traditional and often harmful (i.e. hypermasculine, obnoxiously wealthy, sexist/racist/homophobic/etc.) behaviors. This is by no means a characterization of all frats, and I know not to generalize such a massive institution in that manner. Rather, I am speaking from knowledge I’ve received from family members, friends, social media, etc., as well as my personal inclinations about Greek life.