Social Feel/Campus Life at Brown!

<p>Hi, I have some quick questions about Brown’s social life and campus activity! I know that Brown is a great school, but it might I’m having trouble determining how good of a fit Brown is for me personally. My biggest questions are:

  1. I’ve always heard Brown is very liberal. How true is this? If I’m a conservative southerner, will I find it hard to fit in at this university?
  2. Are there jocks at Brown? From the sense I got, there isn’t a lot of emphasis on sports at Brown, as opposed to some other universities like UMich, UNC, Northwestern, etc. Is there any jock appeal? or crazy sports fans here?
  3. Do students stay on campus the majority of the time? Or is going off campus quite common?
  4. Lastly, does Brown hold any special activities to unite students? Like dance marathons, midnight breakfasts, etc? And are freshmen housed together? </p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

<p>Good questions, I hope a current student or recent alum will come along. Meanwhile here are my impressions from my visits, observations and daughter from CA.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yes, like the majority of colleges Brown is liberal. I’d say it has a student body similar to Yale. There is an activist element to a portion of the student body. Some are apolitical or moderate. There are conservative students too but they would be a minority. Some students run a conservative review and there is a Republican club. The administration has publicly said they are interested in diversity of opinion. If you like enough things about Brown, try a visit.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes. Brown fields many teams and recruits athletes. There are Olympians and contenders. No it is not big sports in the way the large publics you mention are, it is ivy league they compete in. My daughter was on varsity teams in HS but didn’t participate in college. As for spectator opportunities I don’t know that it is a big thing, maybe someone will comment.</p></li>
<li><p>It seems students stay on campus the majority of the time and you will be in the Brown bubble. The small city is right at hand, though. The geography is such that the college sits over it on a hill a bit in its own world–I love that. My daughter went to Boston to see friends once in a semester or so. A couple NYC trips in 4 years . She would bicycle to Newport though, with friends, which is quite a long ride on a bike trail, you can bus it one way too.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes there are events. I remember a bunch of bounce houses for freshman. My daughter got a concussion on a giant slip n slide set up on the lawn one year. Midnight Halloween organ concert. Spring weekend is a big deal everyone attends, and big headliners for the concert. I recall her going to some dances. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Yes freshman housing is together. The dorms are different ones than I knew of. My daughter did a subfree housing freshman year, but she didn’t prefer it in the end and it wasn’t necessary, dorms are not zoo scenes there. </p>

<p>Good luck with your search.</p>

<p>Also you may be interested in this:</p>

<p>Political Theory Project, a research center known as a home to scholars to the right of the norm at Brown, and the sponsor of lectures and events that feature a range of political views.
<a href=“Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics | Brown University”>Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics | Brown University;

<p>Can you elaborate on being “conservative?” Political views? Social views? Religious views? I know plenty of people who identify as politically conservative at Brown. The important thing is being open to other views, especially as someone who may have been in the majority in the past and now may be in the minority.</p>