<p>Well, I wake up, and on any given typical day, I do the following in an arbitrary order:</p>
<p>1) Go to class
2) Go to the gym (some days I can't do this)
3) Go to the office to do research
4) Depending on the day, participate in some activities/ECs
5) Do homework/read
6) Depending on the season, do my sport
7) Eat/talk with friends
8) Do other random stuff (like paint stuff or make bowls)</p>
<p>Pretty ordinary actually. I'm not as big on the fratting like I was freshman year actually.</p>
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As a white person, would it be awkward to join the Chinese Cultural Society? I'm really into Asian culture stuff and I'm learning Chinese... but if the other members were to look down on me for being a white in an Asian club, that wouldn't be very fun.
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<p>There are quite a few non-Chinese (yes, including white) members of DCCS. You'll fit in.</p>
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Yes, but the difference between Dartmouth students and people from the other Ivies is that those people turn Facebook into a tool for activism, campus news, and just generally disseminating message about important events.
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<p>I've noticed that too but I don't think it's that meaningful a difference. I have experience coordinating events using Facebook (in non-Dartmouth contexts), and my sense is that they're just about as useful as blitz re promotion. I would say that the noise to signal ratio on Facebook is about as high as it is on blitz, if not more.</p>
<p>I profoundly disagree John. The fact that someone took the time to create a rather dispensable image for Facebook picture profiling is quite indicative of that extra effort or passion. I also disagree with your latter statement, for the simple premise that people can "pledge" to join groups or go to events on Facebook, and the conspicuous reminders definitely help in recruiting people for events (I would say that one is more motivated to attend something if he already said that he would on Facebook, than if he only received a single reminder about some activity on Blitz).</p>
<p>Oh please - Facebook-specific pictures are rare. Most people I've seen just put up posters that they use in real life to promote the event. I would agree that a major deficiency of blitz is its text-only format, though.</p>
<p>The main advantage of Facebook for organizing events is that you can mass message people who have agreed to go for the event. (You can do almost the same thing on blitz if you really want to - it's interesting that public events with lists of RSVPs generally don't seem to do this.) Other than that, I think you're just idealizing it because the grass is always greener on the other side - just because it's public doesn't mean it significantly reduces flaking. I've seen tons of people who just agree to come for an event because their friends invited them, but without really meaning to.</p>
<p>Also, as I said, the noise to signal ratio is quite high on Facebook - people get invites to add apps in the same place as they get invites to events and whatnot. Without email notifications I don't even bother looking at events I get invited to.</p>
<p>You're also (I think) overlooking the fact that with much larger student bodies, other institutions have a larger pool of people to draw on for members (and thus higher chances of getting enthusiastic and effective leaders), and also a larger pool of people likely to attend their events. Sure, highly specific things like blitz contribute, but I think the most influential variable in terms of absolute turnout and participation is just the size of the student body. After that, you have the fact that Dartmouth culture centers around athletics and drinking, which is why sports teams, the Ski Patrol, the DOC and Greek societies are so big here - they're just what most Dartmouth kids prioritize over cultural groups or niche hobbies. Blitz is really an insignificant thing to be whining about if you want to whine about sucky ECs.</p>
<p>It's more important to look at whether you're a good fit for the culture of the school if you're worried about student life - specific things like blitz aren't much to worry about. And if you're in doubt about the culture of the school, pick the school with a larger student body for the higher variability. This blitz vs Facebook thing is a red herring.</p>
<p>I still disagree with you, but you're right that we're splitting hairs here. I also didn't discount (but never mentioned) the fact that because Dartmouth has a smaller student body, EC involvement is invariably going to be lower, comparatively speaking. However, you perhaps overlooked one school that has a comparable student body size, also has an active Greek system, has much more difficult (and hence, time consuming) academics, but still definitely has superior extracurricular groups - MIT. I think the bigger picture lies in what you've just pointed out - the culture here at Dartmouth, which centers itself around drinking, athletics, and partying.</p>
<p>That sounds good. ahaha just kidding. But I think college can be more than that if a person makes an effort, even if it is predominantly just that.
bnguyen, I used to live about an half an hour away from Saigon. I really miss going there..: (</p>