social scene at duke?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>I visited Duke on freshmen orientation. and i thought i'd feel a good social scene...but it looked sketchy. </p>

<p>It seems like the administration is trying to kill the party scene, and pushing it to parties off campus which seemed shady. And the frats have no housing, which seemed weak. Plus the campus seemed very quite (maybe because it was mid day). </p>

<p>Is Duke's social scene dying? Can someone give me an accurate description of the social scene. It seems to me that it would be fun freshmen year but by junior and senior year there wouldn't be much to do. And Durham seems pretty beat to, so do Duke kids go to Raleigh to go to the bars/etc for the city scene? Any insight on anything I haven't mentioned would be great. Thanks a lot.</p>

2

<p>I definitely disagree with that...I do NOT at all think the social scene is dying! In terms of going out/partying, here's what goes on.</p>

<p>1) Frat parties. Despite not having houses, fraternities and selective living groups do have parties in their "sections" of the dorms. Yes, it is unconventional and at times frustrating, but it's how Duke does things so you get used to it. It doesn't seem at all like Duke is trying to push this off campus...there's usually something going on every weekend, particularly in the fall. You are right however that this is mainly a freshman thing to do. I found that by sophomore year, I had no interest in frat parties, and when I went everyone was just like "hey..are you a freshman?" and that got old real fast.</p>

<p>2) Club Parties. Frats/SLG's/Sororities will host "crush" parties, club parties for various reasons, etc etc at clubs off campus. Metro 8, George's, Shooters are the most popular ones, and they are within walking distance (if you have a large group) or a short (few buck) cab ride from campus. There are a lot of freshmen at these parties as well, but many sophomore/juniors too, and I'm not ashamed to say I've been to Shooters once so far, my senior year. So yeah if you want to dance and whatnot there are definitely parties for that. </p>

<p>3) Off Campus Parties. These tend to be somewhat more exclusive, particularly at the semester pushes onward. If you're in the "in" crowd some of the off and on campus frats will host their biggest parties in their off campus houses. It's really not "shady" at all...more like an incredibly good time. My advice is certainly to take a cab wherever you're going, but it shouldn't cost more than a few dollars.</p>

<p>4) Tailgate. Every football Saturday, all Duke students of all ages come together for tailgate. Most students wear just completely random costumes, and, I mean, i don't think you can really understand until you go to one how awesome it is. But trust me.</p>

<p>And once you turn 21...</p>

<p>5) Bars. There are a lot of bars on Main Street, the road East Campus is off of (usually a cab ride is necessary, as by this time you're most likely off campus and definitely off East unless you're an RA). There's Satis which is PACKED on Thursday nights, the Joyce, The Fed, Alivias, Devines (which lets in under 21 as well with cover...)...all of which are just small little places to hang out, have a drink with your friends once you're of age. There's also a pub crawl every fall for charity which is a ton of fun! This is a great social scene, in my opinion, because it's really just seniors (and graduate students) at many of these places so you feel more "adult." </p>

<p>But yeah, I don't think the social scene is dying at all. There's tons to do when Thursday-Saturday nights come around, and you'll certainly find a niche of friends which will aid in keeping things fun when you need a break from homework. Campus is never really what I would call quiet...always people around usually, especially places like the plaza. You may have a hit an in between class time. (ie 1:15-4:05 TuTh many students are in class for atleast part of the time!)</p>

<p>In terms of going to Raleigh and things like that, I was just in Raleigh Saturday night to see Carolina Ballet, and it doesn't seem any more "city-like" than Durham. No one on the streets at night, etc etc. I don't think students really ever go to Raleign to go out. Chapel Hill, definitely on occasion.</p>

<p>Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions!</p>

3

<p>thanks for the response lol! </p>

<p>tailgating for duke football...i can imagine it would be fun but when thinking of duke my mind goes straight to bbal...although the acc is at least decent this year in football</p>

<p>you make durham sound a lot more active and social...i got the impression that duke students dont really go into Durham and it seemed beat down...so when i heard off campus parties i assumed they were in the ghetto lol...where exactly are these parties and are they nice lol? my friends in Rutgers (i live 3 min away form the collegE) will go to off campus parties but their shady and in very poor, wierd areas that rent cheap to college kids...are the parties you mentioning anything like this?</p>

<p>im probably ed'ing duke...and im definitely looking foward to joining a fraternity...im not sure what you mean by the in crowd in college but im sure it ties back to the frats lol... </p>

<p>anymore information would be great...btw how far are the closest beaches/ski resorts?</p>

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<p>The Durham area around Duke is very active and social, as for the rest, it's just like every other city. The thing to remember is that Southern cities are not like NYC, philly, Boston, etc. which is packed in and urban. Cities in the South (along with parts of Cali) define the term "urban sprawl" where land is flat, cheap, and highways are abundant and where a significant portion of the people are spread out and live in suburban developments. Only at places like area colleges and surrounding areas can you get high enough population density for a large, concentrated social scene.</p>

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<p>thats a very good point...being that i visit nyc a lot i might be a bit jaded but durham sounds a little more appealing...from what i was hearing before duke students just avoided durham...</p>

<p>im thinking of bringing a car down...how much of a pain is parking and is bringing the car worth it? and does anyone know any of the "in" frats that loveduke was referring too?</p>

6

<p>Parking is not a pain for freshmen as the lots are actually quite close to most dorms, just don't expect to drive it around campus as parking is a nightmare on west.</p>

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<p>haha thanks i can imagine...anyone else know anything valuable lol???</p>

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<p>Come down for tailgate sometime this semester. All your fears will be set to rest. Just plan ahead because you most likely won't sober up to make the drive back home until the next day.</p>

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<p>haha im down....long as were not drinking natty ice...</p>

<p>wait till duke plays unc (i dont think they have...i cant beleive were actually talking about acc football...), that would be a ****ing upset lol</p>

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<p>ugh the problem with the Duke/UNC football game (as usual) is that it's the Saturday after Thanksgiving! Many students are flying home, and I doubt many will be flying back right on Friday to go to tailgate Saturday AM, so it's probably gonna be a bit of a disappointment...especially for us seniors who are looking forward to an awesome "last tailgate," but in theory it probably won't actually be the LAST one.</p>

<p>There's a tailgate this weekend and November 8th! Both of which should be fabulous! It's literally my FAVORITE thing about Duke!</p>

11

<p>Are there many sororities? frats? Do their members dominate the social scene?</p>

<p>Did frats lose their houses because of the lacrosse thing?</p>

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<p>Reciting my tour guide facts...20% of men, 40% of women in sororities. I think that's a really good size because the whole scene then becomes an "its what you make of it sort of deal." Your greek organization can be your entire life, BUT if you're not greek it has really no impact on your social life at all, from my standpoint. I have friends in all different sororities and fraternities, and have never felt restricted in terms of what parties I can do to, yada yada. This is for two reasons:</p>

<p>1) Only frats live together on campus, sororities don't. And even the frats just have sections of the dorms.
2) Rush is deferred, so it's in the spring. This allows you to get really grounded, meet a ton of people so you're first friends aren't automatically your brothers/sisters.</p>

<p>So yeah, in that sense, the parties you're going to be going to are "frat" parties, but the on campus ones are largely open. I've never felt members "dominate" the social scene at all, unless you're talking about the real upper echelon of the "social climbing elite." Which, I mean, I have a fine time not being a part of.</p>

<p>I don't know of any frats that lost theirhouses because of the lacrosse incident specifically, maybe more just general partying and dissatisfaction of neighbors? But yeah I believe most frats still have an off campus locale, whether a house or a block of apartments.</p>

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<p>Is there a social life if you don't drink and don't like loud parties?</p>

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<p>Oh gosh, yes of course. You'll find on any given night, for everyone who goes out to a party, there are just as many if not more people who go see movies in Griffith, rent a movie at Lilly, library, just hang out with friends, go out to eat, etc etc. It may just take you a little longer to find your niche is all.</p>

<p>But yeah, there are always things going on on campus in terms of shoes, speakers, movies, and my favorites nights are nights just sitting on the couch with my friends eating tons of ice cream, watching TV and talking.</p>

<p>There's also Brightleaf Square and Ninth Street which have a few cute restaurants/coffee places to hang out.</p>

<p>Every college definitely has its non-party scene, but you have to seek it out more.</p>

15

<p>Definitely agree with above, finding the social scene outside of drunken parties isn't as easy as walking into a rando frat section on a saturday night and picking up a natty light. But once you have your group of friends then it's easy to get together and do stuff, especially if you decide to block together after freshmen year.</p>

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<p>bump? anyone else??</p>