<p>EDIT: Argh, should have looked back one page--didn't see there was already a thread on this!</p>
<p>Looking to major in English and maybe also study something along the lines of art, history, languages, film studies, and international studies. Both Wes and Midd have amazing teachers, a tightly-knit community, and strength in my areas of academic interest. I understand that Midd is generally stereotyped as "outdoorsy and preppy", while Wesleyan as "eccentric and hippie". Both ultimately seem to me mellow and fun-loving, though. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Please refrain from being biased--as great as Wes is :P</p>
<p>I loved Middlebury and hated Wesleyan (but will be attending neither). Have you had a chance to visit? The campus atmospheres are really quite different.</p>
<p>I haven't had the chance to visit (I live in Hong Kong and it's just too unviable an option to miss out on so many days of school). Why did you love Middlebury and hate Wesleyan--how would you describe their atmospheres?</p>
<p>The housing situation is completely different at each school. At Middlebury they have been constructing a lot of new dormitories and dining halls to make room for an expansion in the student body -- and, to frankly take the place of fraternities. But, there seems to be something sterile about it all. Not everyone is happy with the results.</p>
<p>At Wesleyan, fraternities still exist but have been supplemented by a system of theme houses and senior houses, utilizing local housing stock; it provides just the right combination of independence and oversight; there seems to always be something going on; and, yet Wesleyan doesn't seem to suffer from the same drinking culture that pervades other New England colleges.</p>
<p>I'd hold that chill and fun loving is a good way to describe Wes--not quite mellow and fun loving, but close. I LOVE the atnosphere here: lots of cool, super engaged people working hard but also enjoying themselves as much as possible. </p>
<p>PS. Our Film Studies department is one of the best in the country, far moreso than Midd.</p>
<p>I agree with Xmatt, I am the mother of a junior that was in Clark. $4,000 damage done to elevator, the bad part is they spread of cost of repair among
each resident of the dorm that is damaged if no one comes forward to claim repsonsibilities.</p>
<p>On another note, John Wesley obviously loves Wes as do we all, I would not want my student any where else, the experience academically and socially is amazing. As with any other college its going to be that very small
percentage that cause problems. John Wesley, I don't think it's in the true
spirit of Wesleyan to dig up negative incidents from other colleges every time
someone says something negative about Wes.</p>
<pre><code> John Wesley has been on this board ever since my student was a junior
</code></pre>
<p>in high school and posts comments daily. I don't know his identity .... if
he's connected with the admissions department or is an alum. As with
any board readers should be very wary of who is making what posts and
for what purposes.</p>
<p>There's plenty of drinking at Wesleyan. I think it's less clandestine and rambunctious among people my age than among freshmen, but it's still pretty significant. I live in a woodframe house and I think alcohol has a LOT to do with the awful condition the street is in on Sunday mornings... Solo cups strewn everywhere, etc.</p>
<p>Polarbearmom -
Anyone can shoot their mouth off about what they think another campus is like; I've been to Amherst fairly recently. Haven't been to Williams in a while. Don't you think it's useful sometimes to have a concrete source cited in a post? I'm certanly not going to refrain from reading college newspapers, if that's what you're suggesting. </p>
<p>But, Matt's response does raise another troubling issue and that is, why does the Argus not report more or these incidents, if they are in fact occuring with regularity at Wesleyan?</p>
<p>I think the Argus doesn't report petty vandalism because it isn't all that newsworthy or unusual for a college campus. It DID report the recent spate of racial epithets which were written in bathroom and on whiteboards in Clark and some of the academic buildings, since that was a campus-wide uproar (of sorts). In fact, just today it reported the all-too-frequent strewing of Foss Hill with garbage when a lot of people gather there, although that isn't really vandalism per se.</p>
<p>My opinion on the topic - drinking is certainly a larger part of the culture here at Wesleyan than I'd expected. This is largely because before I arrived at Wesleyan, I'd heard that it wasn't significant in social life at all... but it is. Many of my friends who came to college not drinking at all now drink at least a little bit, socially. As an RA, I can also attest to the fact that parties in the dorm tend to include alcohol - I would say it is more commonly used than marijuana (like at most schools) contrary to popular stereotyping of Wesleyan.</p>
<p>That said, there's something about the scene that is certainly very different than the drinking culture at other liberal arts colleges. I think the big difference is where drinking tends to happen (more "pre-gaming" with friends in people's rooms, and then going out to parties that are dry and don't serve alcohol - this makes it very easy to go to parties without drinking, even frat and house parties, and without anyone thinking anything of it, or to easily avoid drinking if you have friends that do without any stigma - there is little to no peer pressure, despite drinking's popularity). You don't see people drinking out of a funnel until they feel sick. They tend to drink responsibly and not too much on a single weekend. To be honest, I think one of the main reasons drinking is so popular at wesleyan is that the entire campus suffers from a slight case of awkwardness, and drinking is an attempt t</p>
<p>Similarly, the culture of doing really really stupid things when you are drunk is looked down upon - not respected. I think vandalism depends on what you define vandalism to be - I think most students consider chalking or tagging the Butterfield tunnels completely legitimate (as do I). As for inappropriate vandalism, this does happen. People can be pretty stupid. However, this IS reported and dealt with when it does happen, and while extremely worrying, is probably less prevalent than at other similar schools.</p>
<p>I'd like to thank both madjoy and xmatt for their imput. This was a discussion worth having, especially given that my assumptions were very similar to Mad's before she actually arrived on campus. :)</p>
<p>I think the point is that drinking and smoking do happen, but you're fine if you don't do it. I know people who are 'straight-edge' and have tons of fun. That being said, I've hung out with friends and not partaken in any drinking and still had lots of fun.</p>
<p>It's college, kids are going to drink. The peer pressure cycle here isn't quite as bad as I THINK it is in some places, and that's why I like it.</p>
<p>^ Uh... I don't know about that. Albeit, I was there on 4/20 (national pot smoking day), but it seemed that EVERYONE was doing something (getting high, tripping, etc). That really turned me off. It wasn't the only reason why I didn't choose Welseyan, and probably wasn't even the main reason, but it was a big turn off for me.</p>
<p>^It's interesting you say that... I don't do drugs or drink, and I loved that on 4/20 (and throughout Wesfest) I didn't feel any pressure to do anything like that, and I had a wonderful time.</p>