<p>How have these gone over with the students. What has been their impact on the campus social life?</p>
<p>My son (a junior ) is very interested in Union and this is one of the features that seems attractive to him.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore and lives in his Minerva house. They are beautiful and centrally located. They have not, however, been successful in becoming the center of the campus community. They are great, however, for kids who prefer a small group environment. A lot of small activities go on each week. Freshmen can't live there.</p>
<p>They were set up as an alternative to the frat system which the college would like to exert more control over. Personally, I think it was a pipe dream to think that Minerva houses would cause de-emphasizing of the fraternities.</p>
<p>Some schools like Colgate simply ordered the frats to sell them their buildings, so that they would be now on-campus, and subject to the rules of the school. One held out and the issue was locked up in the courts, last I heard.</p>
<p>Colby, who already owned their buildings, simply got rid of frats years ago.</p>
<p>Frats are and remain an important part of Union life. There is nothing wrong with them, assuming of course, things are not taken to the extreme. If you have been to Union and have admired the Admissions building, you are admiring my old fraternity house.</p>
<p>A lot of schols nationwide have de-empasized frat life and/or moved them off campus. Reasons for this are both liability and attempt to de-emphasize drinking. aisng the drinking age to 21 has made things tough on campuses. Rather than stopping the drinking, it has just pushed it to hidden locations. I think the net effect has been negative for quality of life.</p>
<p>Re: Liability, we have to face facts. A generation ago my father would have killed me for overindulgence as they pulled me out of a coma in the hospital. Today, our generation would have a lawyer waiting to inteview our kids.</p>
<p>Minervas are certainly not at the center of campus life, but kids do use them for specific things. For example, my son will go for Monday Night Football (they serve wings) and I am told one Minerva is popular for kids to get together to watch Lost. Minervas organize little trips like to Proctors for shows or comedy and some kids do that. They are considered nice places to live as well. However, weekend parties are still dominated by frats, some of which have their own houses and some of which are now housed in dorms.</p>
<p>Like everyone said Minervas haven't been a huge success but they are still a great idea. The houses are very nice and you can apply to live there once you are a sophomore. Also, they are given a budget each year by the school and are always looking for ways to spend it...events/items for the house. It's a great way to get funding for an event, club, etc. if you have an idea. They are always encouraging people to come forth with ideas because they do have a good amount to spend.
Also, they are good places to watch movies or cook. Most of them have big screen tvs, nice living rooms areas, pool tables/air hockey, and nice kitchens with free coffee and newspapers.<br>
Minervas throw a lot of events...speakers, dinners, parties (with and without alcohol), movie nights, specific tv shows, etc. and most times there is free food.
This year the school tried to start Minerva Lunches where West College Dining Hall was closed and there were free lunches at your minerva houses every Thursday. It was an attempt to get more people into the houses but the food wasn't very good and it was easier to just go to Dutch in the campus center and buy something. This term, they only hold the lunches one a month. </p>
<p>basically, minervas are a great resource and there are many opportunities to take advantage of them but will never replace frat life on campus. so while they haven't really changed the social life like Union may have wanted, I would say they have gone over well with most students...of course there are still the upperclassmen and frat guys who hold grudges against minervas but they really are a nice part of the school. i can't really imagine what it'd be like at a school without them...</p>