Hi everyone - I am Davidson College Class of 2020 graduate. I know that Davidson can be a bit of a black box, so ask me anything! I am always happy to give prospective students a window into my alma mater.
I’ve heard that there is a significant “stress culture” at Davidson. Is this true in your experience?
What is life like at Davidson for LGBTQ+ students? Are their clubs/orgs active? Is the proportion of students large enough that there is an adequate dating pool?
I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as a “stress culture” but I know what you’re implying. The amount of work can be daunting at times, and one certainly needs to have very good time-management skills. A large amount of work carries with it a certain amount of stress, but Davidson students are always up to the challenge and I found that it builds a sense of camaraderie among your classmates. Finals season is downright hellish, but at the end of the day everyone knows that they’re all in it together - you’re never alone. In a masochistic sort of way, you learn to love the work-hard culture.
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I am queer so I can answer this question quite well. Since Davidson is a small school there aren’t too many queer students, but proportionally there will certainly be more queer students than at most colleges. if you’re looking to surround yourself with a large queer population you’ll definitely want to consider a bigger school or a LAC known for its LGBT population, such as Vassar. But, campus culture is very inclusive even in hyper-masculine places such as fraternities and sports teams. Dating is a numbers game - if one is planning on being promiscuous in college than you may run out of candidates. There is a very active organization called Queers & Allies that hosts many events, and another organization called You Are Not a Stranger Here (YANASH), that hosts meetings for closeted and questioning students. The location, times, and nature of the meetings change often (and are kept private) in order to respect the fact that most of the students are not out. Queer students also attend these meetings to support closeted and questioning students.
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Thank you, that is very helpful information!