<p>Alright this feels ****ing lame, similar to that scene in Office Space where they try to learn about money laundering through the dictionary, but I'm desperate. Where are the parties at UMD? I'm a commuter and I've had trouble getting to know people, and as such I don't really know where the parties and all that are. </p>
<p>I was at another school before UMD, and while it helped to know people, there were usually a couple houses that were sure to have parties going on during the 'party day' and on the weekends. No invite needed or anything, just walk right in.</p>
<p>How is it at UMD? I'm getting sick of either staying at home on weekends or hanging out with my friends who don't go to UMD.</p>
<p>The party scene at UMD sucks. Your best bet is to visit the fraternities (satellite houses, not the ones on frat row). Most people go to the bars because they’re too lazy/cheap to throw their own parties.</p>
<p>The party scene at UMD does not suck, it’s just centered around house parties/dorm parties. It’s mostly all the roommates invite friends who in turn invite people, who sometimes invite some more people. So yeah it helps to know people.
But you can usually find something on frat row or the houses behind it. Again it helps to have the address of the party before starting out.
Yeah a lot of people go to Turtle’s and Bentely’s and Cornerstone, but very few people only do that. Most people hit a bar maybe twice a month.
Most of the people I know (I mean, it could just be my friends) prefer drinking with a small group (4-10) in a dorm room over a frat party (which is way more likely to get busted) so I definitely see where you’ve had trouble finding things. It helps to get tight with a couple people first, then you drink with them and start meeting their friends and friends of friends, etc.</p>
<p>Haha, this reminds me of this one time freshman year, when my friend and I were bumming on Route 1. We saw a big crowd of people gathered at the bus stop and wondered, “Where are they going?” </p>
<p>Well, what better way to find out, than follow them…? </p>
<p>So, we did, feeling a little self-conscious because we were in jeans and t-shirts and chowing down on Panda, and they were wearing glittery tube tops and heels. Anyway, they let us right in to the house with the whole gaggle of them. Was a pretty decent dance party.</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s a bit easier as a girl, but generally if you just wander around Old Town (that’s the neighborhood south of frat row, near the sorority houses, Bentley’s, Cornerstone, etc.) or other student-populated neighborhoods and see a big crowd outside of a house, you can just walk right up and walk right in, whether it’s a satellite frat house or just somebody throwing a house a party. Sometimes they charge guys $3-5.</p>
<p>Really, though, how would it be any fun at all to walk up to a random house and hang out with a bunch of super inebriated people that you don’t know? I guess this is what a lot of freshman (who am I kidding, undergraduates in general) do, but generally they’re at least with a group of friends. Why don’t you get involved with some clubs and things on campus and start trying to make connections that way. I know for a fact that a lot of campus groups hold events, throw after parties, in general form the basis of many people’s social lives around here. Also, do you have a job? Getting a job on campus is another way to make friends.</p>
<p>If you’re tired of hanging out with friends that don’t go to UMD/sitting in your room on weekends, I don’t really think the solution is to go out to random parties…it’s very hard to meet people that way…</p>
<p>I agree with Gina, there are a ton of parties every weekend, but traditionally they are dorm or house parties. </p>
<p>This fact is why commuters have a hard time getting that TERP feel. Kids living in dorms know where the dorm parties are because it isn’t hard to follow the noise on the campus. House parties are known because many kids move off campus in their soph/jr yr which means an old room mate told them, or the new room mates old friend told them.</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to get involved in organizations on campus so you can meet people socially. By knowing kids from a social point and not just well they are in my class issue, then your social life will change.</p>
<p>If you only attend UMD from a commuter standpoint, than it will be that way also from a social view too.</p>
<p>I also agree with gina, our DS doesn’t go drinking in town, unless it is for a big game. Otherwise, his social circle is going to dorm and house parties. I think the only reason he goes out in the town is for his weekly Chipotle run. Yet, I know every saturday night he is at a party or hanging out at one of the houses of his friends. </p>
<p>Halloween is a big deal at UMDCP. If all else fails start asking kids in your classes where the good Halloween parties will be. From there the ball will start rolling.</p>
<p>I also had a difficult time with clubs at MD. It’s hard to know which ones are the really social active ones and which ones are kinda not the best forum for meeting people (and I’m sure it depends on what your interests are and all that). Even after one meeting you can start getting people’s numbers and FB and start making contact with them/sharing interesting things with them between meetings.</p>
<p>A lot of the people in the “activist-y” clubs will hang together and form a group - TerpPoets, C-Roots, SDS, Feminists without Borders, UMD for Clean Energy, etc. </p>
<p>Outdoorsy clubs often go on weekend trips together, so even if you only go on one trip that is a great way to meet people. Ex. the surf club travels to Ocean City, Outer Banks, the Terrapin Trail Club is constantly going hiking or trail cleaning or rock climbing or backpacking somewhere. At least once a week I’d say.</p>
<p>Also, sometimes 1 meeting won’t give you the feel of the group. You really do have to stick it out and stay constantly involved, sometimes over 2 semesters, to really get a feel for who’s in it and who you can connect with. And don’t let the fact that you barely talked to someone at a meeting prevent you from initiating some contact w/ them…</p>
<p>Word on TerpPoets: They’re definitely a group that hangs out together, and they are welcoming. But most of the students are writer’s house students and that’s why they know each other to begin with. However if you’re interested in writing I totally suggest getting involved with that and Stylus (the literary journal). Everyone is really open and friendly. (i’m in Writer’s House and Stylus, was going to join TerpPoets but my lab meets during their meetings. Probably joining spring semester.) Plus if you write for fun you end up with a great support system for that.</p>
<p>There are no parties. That was UMD 5 years ago. Its changed. But I feel you on it being hard to get involved in clubs… and the greeks? how do you even go about trying to join them. I never see them on campus. theyre never promoting and the good ones are all white (not that its a problem, but damn).</p>
<p>UMDCP is a big campus. Come Friday night it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to follow the the droves of students going somewhere. UMDCP is not like other campuses, their frat row was even used in the movie ST Elmo’s Fire because they are all next to each other in spit eye distance. Hard to miss the noise coming from frat row!</p>
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<p>This is the second thread where you are bringing up race. Did you actually go to these frats and look at their fraternity yrbook? Were they all 100% lily white? Are you saying, not one of them had a minority? That is what the statement I quoted from you said…the good ones are ALL WHITE.</p>