<p>Well, the crackdown has begun, and I've definately narrowed down my list to a set number of colleges (six). Now it's time to find out what's behind the statistics: So is there anybody who has gone/is going to Wesleyan that can tell me what the general atmosphere like? Such as, is the feeling among students one of general brother/sisterhood, or is it an 'every person for themself' sort of attitude around on campus? Anything else would be greatly appreciated. ^^</p>
<p>There's definitely not an every person for themself sort of attitude :P Generally, people might appreciate the sentiment of using "every person..." over "every man..." because our reputation for being a bit PC isn't that far from the truth. That said, it worried me at first, being a bit anti political correctness myself; however, I came around a little, and now I understand why certain things are inappropriate to say and merely promote negative perceptions of other people. That doesn't mean you can't tell a blonde joke and have people laugh though, don't worry. And it's not like everyone is super-PC... more like a small minority that is rather vocal on campus.</p>
<p>That, however, was a tangent, so back to the subject: The atmosphere is (clearly) rather liberal. I say liberal, but I don't mean just politically, because contrary to popular belief I know plenty of conservatives, who are generally at least socially liberal: students are interesting, quirky, laidback but passionate (it IS possible :) !). I feel like you could start up an intelligent conversation with just about anyone on campus.</p>
<p>Due to the size, everyone on campus feels part of the same big fuzzy Wesleyan community. The campus is so... utterly Wesleyan... that I got fuzzies just by visiting the campus yesterday. :D The architecture is eclectic, from all sorts of generations of architecture.</p>
<p>Representative of Wesleyan is Foss Hill. It's the big giant hill smack dab in the middle of campus. In the early fall and spring, everyone in the world is sitting there in beautiful weather - reading, doing homework, playing guitar and singing, socializing. The hill overlooks the field below (where students play football and baseball, depending on the season) so you can watch while sitting on the hill, enjoying yourself. In the winter after it snows, so many people go sledding down the hill that last year, it turned into a sort of giant sheet of ice. At the top of Foss Hill is a small graveyard, where it's rumoured Joss Whedon got the idea for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" by seeing a hot girl walk through the graveyard from his window. Foss Hill is the place for people to meet, talk, and be a big happy community.</p>
<p>The school is small enough that you kind of know everything that's going around on campus, and you have certain characters (Wescelebs) who everyone knows, and have that definite community feeling. But it's big enough that it's still exciting and you meet new people from time to time.</p>
<p>Basically, just about everyone I know loves the school, and mostly because of its independent, quirky, laidback community atmosphere (Along with brilliant professors, etc :P). I love it, and while I could imagine having a good time at other schools, I can't imagine having such a superbly amazing time anywhere else.</p>
<p>Haha, I kind of remembered the alleged PC-ness of Wesleyan, so I made sure to include the "every person" thing.
Thank-you for reminding me why I first came to love Wesleyan in the first place. If I do happen to go there next fall, I definately make sure to bring my guitar.
That was really helpful, btw!
Also, are the dorm rooms generally quiet enough to study in, or is there a reason why the library is so big? Haha.</p>
<p>I never had trouble studying in my room (in Fauver), but I guess I'm not that easily distracted. In fauver, each hall has an official designated "study room" with desks and places to plugin your laptop. It's a nice feature. If you want a quieter dorm, the Butterfield complex was designed to be "riot-proof" and thus remains fairly quiet and good if you need that sort of thing. There really are plenty of places to study outside of dorms though - Both Olin Library and SciLi (the science library) are very central and popular locations, with main floor areas, more private locations in the stacks, and even some rooms designed for small groups to hold study sessions. Pi Cafe and dorm lounges (and in the nicer months, Foss Hill) are great places to study if you want to be distracted by interesting going-ons every once in a while.</p>
<p>Thanks! Quite helpful. ^^</p>
<p>I love being PunC.
It's going to be an interesting four years ;-)
I will bring everyone to love the Chapelle show with his renditions of the racial draft and Black Bush.</p>
<p>Mmmmm, yellow cake!</p>