<p>I found this article and its description of the fraternity/sorority scene to be disturbing. Is this really what the social life is like at duke? Sex</a> & Scandal at Duke : Rolling Stone</p>
<p>My S is at Duke and really this article has been discusse and is really overblown. If you want a wild party …you probably can find it anywhere- Duke, Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard etc. If you like ahanging out with other types - intelectual, internationals or others you will find that there too. Everyone at every school finds their freinds and comfort zone.</p>
<p>That article inevitably gets dragged out every year…</p>
<p>That’s exactly what Duke is like!
I have a friend who goes there and he won’t shut up about the foam parties and all the chicks he meets at bars like Shooters…</p>
<p>You again, 174IQPartier?..</p>
<p>Laughing - Consider the source. Get all your college info from Rolling Stone. Sorry but Duke is a large school in a College town (just down the street from UNC) so some students will party but all will learn.</p>
<p>174: I’ve got a friend who goes to MIT who says that all the guys walk around starkers in their dorms and that he sees guys giving each other BJs at parties all the time. That’s exactly what MIT is like!</p>
<p>I heard that Dartmouth doesn’t really exist!</p>
<p>Actually lockn, hate to break it to you, but it does. My roommate is in Dukes and Duchesses and he was supposed to give a tour to a group of HS students today. He waited around, then 30 minutes after the tour was supposed to start, the guy called and said they were in Dartmouth instead! So it must exist :)</p>
<p>They’re probably in on it.</p>
<p>NOT in a college town. 15 minutes from chapel hill.</p>
<p>let me reiterate, durham sucks.</p>
<p>a comical piece of sensationalism that tried to cash in on the lacrosse hoax of a few years back. even the writer, said, well, it’s not really about duke; it’s about a certain demographic anywhere. you can do the same story about binge drinking at princeton or over-the-top behavior at dartmouth, or…pick your school.</p>
<p>Anyone else here hear the hatchet story while visiting?</p>
<p>More than a grain of truth. Bars are open to under-21 and drinks galore in both bars and restaurants (the local sushi place serves martinis for cheap to freshmen), on-campus parties in the middle of the day on a Saturday, free-flowing with beer and vodka. Greek scene a ridiculous social hierarchy, parties and pressure to go out all the time. The scene is not healthy. If you’re at all susceptible to diving in headfirst into a social maelstrom because you’re young and away from home for the first time and it seems like everybody’s doing it and still making fine grades, don’t go. If you can keep your head on straight and are self-disciplined and self-assured, you’ll be fine and can leverage to the hilt the magnificent opportunities at Duke.</p>
<p>Honestly, i think a party like that would be the ****</p>
<p>Uhhhh, say what, collegeorama?</p>
<p>From your previous posts, it seems that you’re a parent, not actually a student. No offense intended, but since you’re removed from the campus culture, it’s unlikely you’re understanding what it feels like to actually be on campus.</p>
<p>First of all, I’ve never seen a middle-of-the-day house party. Tailgate happens, sure, and so does LDOC, but on your average Saturday afternoon, kids are not going to be partying. Ridiculous social hierarchy? Yes, if you care about that sort of thing. I don’t. So yeah, I party occasionally when I feel like it. I’m not a part of Greek life, but some of my closest friends are. But they don’t care about the “hierarchy” either and as a result we all have a great time. </p>
<p>The parties are there if you want them, but if you don’t want to party or have better things to do, then great. Quite honestly (and despite what it may seem at first), no one cares if you go out or not. This isn’t high school where everyone’s expected to conform. There certainly are the hard-core partiers but if you don’t party, those who are hard-core about it simply don’t care.</p>
<p>In addition, your first year is spent on East Campus, which is dry. As in, no hard-core parties happen there because the RAs will crack down on them. Therefore, as a freshman, you actively have to seek out the parties by taking the bus to West or walking to Shooters/George’s/whatever. If you don’t want to party, you’re not going to have to. I spent several weekends watching a movie in the common room because I was tired (Lilly Library across the quad has like 10,000 DVDs, all free for students) or just hanging out/talking with friends. Seriously, if you go into college not wanting to party, trust me when I say that you will find amazing friends who have the same beliefs as you. And if you do want to party, well, there are a lot of great parties here too.</p>
<p>I’m not as far removed as the miles might indicate, and I’ve seen first hand the Saturday mid-day section party. Sophomores cleverly t-shirted as “party monitors.” Like I said, for kids with heads on straight who can withstand the peer pressure, it might be fine. For others, the scene is dangerous and unhealthy. Administration looking the other way…most parents not asking and most students certainly not telling. I wish my student were somewhere else!</p>
<p>collegeorama that is one of the more ridiculous things I have heard (in the sense that you don’t have a mature understanding/full grasp of life here), I’m not one to really respond to much on here, but I have to just say
“cleverly tshirted party monitors” are more serious than you think. They gotta stay sober and they gotta make sure people aren’t dumb. A LOT can be on the line for a selective living group (fraternities included) and the pledges/sophomores are given the task of making sure bad stuff doesn’t happen
Understand the nature of WW3 and the fact that it is Rush. This means that the fraternities are pulling out all the stops to get the best pledge class they can. Dsig has needed it especially after one really bad year (though they’re are coming back in full force).
Most fraternities do something similar to that, it may or may not be unique to Duke but i Do know the girls have an awesome time doing it, Not because they feel pretty because they are asked, but rather because they just have a good time with a few girlfriends. </p>
<p>Drinks galore, the fact that you even used that wording indicates your unfamiliarity. Obviously some kids slip through and can get drinks one way or another, but I have had and witnessed drinks taken out of hands, being told no or being kicked out. </p>
<p>There’s NOTHING wrong with a party in the middle of the day on a Saturday (if by that you mean 4ish). It’s a more relaxed atmosphere if anything and not the night time atmosphere. Free flowing with alcohol… oh well it’s a party</p>
<p>Ridiculous social hierarchy for the immature. With juicycampus gone people really don’t care (the few that ever did). Girls get upset about the sorority they get in for like a day, then get over it and have fun. At the upper echelon of coolness there may be some self segregation, but its not like the “people left out” would have fit in or wanted to be a part of some of that bs. </p>
<p>Ignore Rolling Stone, Ignore Collegeorama, check out duke for yourself. You can do whatever you want here, greek, independent whatever. If you try to be someone you’re not here you will cry and have a crappy time when people don’t fall for it, but be yourself and you will find friends, whether it be staying in or going out.</p>
<p>From a greek underclassman</p>
<p>My student is also greek freshman. Very unhappy I paid the dues. Nothing about the scene is supportive or healthy. I will not name the frat party I witnessed; but party monitors were not sober. Bad things did happen. Police escort back to dorm. A mess.</p>
<p>Well people do have to mature and grow up sometime…you can’t look over their shoulder and protect them forever.</p>