<p>This question has probably come up times before, but why not ask again?</p>
<p>What's the social scene at Wesleyan like? Are parties (especially drinking/drugs prevalent?) Would a non-drinker, not too big partier, non-athlete fit in at Wesleyan? What's "fun" at Wesleyan like?</p>
<p>There is way too much to do. </p>
<p>Every Wednesday through Saturday night, there is a movie in the gorgeous new Center for Film Studies. Martin Scorsese called it one of the best places in the country to watch a movie. The film series includes everything from recent blockbusters to totally obscure art films. The film series is generally quite popular.</p>
<p>Also, pretty much every weekend there's some sort of student production in the '92 Theatre, the student-run black box theatre. </p>
<p>There are lectures every week, recently one by Janis Karpinsky, the general in charge of Abu Ghraib just before all the prisoner abuse started. </p>
<p>There are improv comedy, stand-up comedy, and a cappella concerts ALL the time.</p>
<p>The Outing Club leads hikes and other outings every weekend, exploring the local area.</p>
<p>Program houses do things like conversation hours, lectures, potluck dinners, movie nights, other get-togethers... </p>
<p>There are sporting events. The football/baseball and soccer fields are both right in the middle of campus, and the hockey rink, swimming pool, track, and basketball/volleyball courts are are all super close too. Some Wes teams are really good and a lot of fun to watch.</p>
<p>There are tons of bands on campus at all times, playing in houses during parties and in official concert venues too. Wesleyan has been home to quite a few very famous musicians, and there are always people hanging out just hacking around.</p>
<p>Middletown has a laser tag arena. There are also monthly dance parties at Vinnie's Jump and Jive, a downtown establishment. There are tons of great places to go for dinner in Middletown, and also a multiplex movie theatre should the offerings in the Film Series not be to your liking.</p>
<p>And then there are parties at the frats and senior houses. These can be incredibly fun, drinking or no. Yes, they are prevalent, but by no means the only social outlet. Being a non-athlete is the norm here, although the fitness center is so gorgeous that you'd be silly not to work out at least occasionally. </p>
<p>"Fun" at Wesleyan is whatever you feel like doing. Everyone really just does their own thing, whatever it might be. It's absolutely fantastic. You would have to try REALLY hard to bored.</p>
<p>Sounds good, jumble-j. Just out of curiosity, how often do you go to NYC or Boston on a weekend, in a given year? The proximity to those cities seems like a big plus compared to some of the more isolated LACs.</p>
<p>Personally, I go off campus for the weekend to Boston or NYC about 5-6 times a year. This semester has been above average so far, actually, I've already been to both and also to DC. There's so much happening on campus that it can be really hard to tear yourself away. It's always tough figuring out what weekend you'll miss the least amount of important/cool/fun events at Wes!</p>
<p>It definitely is really nice to be able to get to NYC so cheaply and easily (Metro North is really great), and Boston is even a lot quicker to get to if you have a car or a friend who drives. If none of those is an option, there's an Arts Bus to NYC once or twice each semester that leaves right from the CFA on Wesleyan's campus and returns the same night.</p>
<p>jumble-j, who ARE you? :P</p>
<p>anyways if you check in with wesleying.net during the school year (i.e. not during breaks...which is now), we post all sorts of student events so you can get a feel of what there is to do in a typical week. unfortunately we can only post dry events, so keep that in mind :)</p>
<p>is there anything going on next friday (march 23). I might be visiting then.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is travelling too far from the original topic, but what is the queer scene like at Wesleyan? I applied to a number of women's colleges and had a lot of fun visiting, and it was one of the things I'm looking forward to in college, finding normal, cool people "like me." I haven't really been able to gauge that aspect of the coed schools though...</p>
<p>I hear the queer scene is quite prevalent at Wesleyan, so much so that there is even a name for Wesleyan lesbians (Wesbians). Sorry if that's offensive, but I've just recently heard it on a website. It must mean something though if that group is numerous enough to have its own nickname.</p>
<p>bananaphone: Next Friday is still spring break, so campus will not be very lively at all. There are a few sports teams around, and senior thesis writers, but that's about it. So, not a whole lot of people, but probably lots of sledding on Foss Hill. </p>
<p>Boudicca: One of the great things about Wesleyan is that friend groups form completely without regard to sexual orientation. Of course there are groups of queer kids that like to hang out together (the rugby team is notable for a high population of queer women, although there are definitely other gender identities and orientations present on that team), but for the most part, people just have friends, who happen to be attracted to various genders of people, and it's a nonissue. I don't know if that really answered your question... if not, sorry!</p>
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<p>Wow, that sounds amazing. You'd think that should be the case elsewhere, but as much as we'd like to think so, the reality is that it's not. Kev, I'm very much like you, btw. I abhor the drinking/partying/drug/casual sex scene. Which schools are you considering?</p>
<p>Wesleyan is seriously one of the greatest places on earth, and I can honestly say that having never been.</p>
<p>Oh and by the way, I've only ever heard "Wesbian" as an ironic term... so don't put too much stock into things you hear on the internet...</p>
<p>What is life like for those who play a varsity sport at Wes? Is "being a non-athlete the norm" as was just mentioned? There are at least 18 varsity teams plus many club and intramural sports so it seems that a large number of students are involved in athletics at some level.</p>
<p>An athlete at Wesleyan wears so many other hats that people underestimate how many of them there actually are. Figure, if <em>only</em> twenty people go out for a varsity team (obviously, there would be some overlap like lacross and football) -- that's 13 % of the campus, right there. Add intramural and club teams (does Ultimate count?), and you're talking, maybe 20% of the campus, a figure I would not find difficult to believe.</p>
<p>I mean, a lot of the sports teams are pretty close-knit groups who continue to socialize outside of their time together at practices and contests. I was on the crew team freshman year (I was a walk-on and I wasn't on varsity, but still...) and was one of the few who didn't hang out with the team all the time. </p>
<p>I'm not saying this is bad or that the crew people weren't good guys. It's normal for people to make friends based on shared interests/experiences. But that tends to be how it is with sports teams.</p>
<p>It really does depend on the sport, though, and the gender of the people on the team. For whatever reason, some of the men's teams end up more insular than the women's teams in several sports.</p>
<p>However, although you can probably find a men's crew party on most weekends, a cross-country party, a swimming party, all of those people also have friends not involved in their sport. So it's not like you'll only ever see the people on your team.</p>