Bradley University Top Questions

Social life is fun as can be. Just do not go to any large parties. The "Task Force" that you will hear much about your first semester is likely to show up and give you a 400-some dollar drinking ticket. I escaped them twice now, which is luckier than most people are.

If you don't drink, there's no place for you. If you aren't in greek life, there's no place for you. You'd be better off investing in a deck of cards for solitaire than trying to find something to do on the Bradley campus. In any case, your liver will thank you.

The social life is definitely thriving. People tend to party mainly on Thursday through Saturday night. I am not much of a partier myself, so it is possible to have a good time and not get sucked into that scene. As I said earlier, the President is cracking down on some of the campus parties due to underage drinking and past incidents that have lead to tragedy. As far as clubs and organizations go, I wasn't much of a joiner. I tried to make up for it towards the end of my junior year, but some of the organizations - business fraternities and such - and a little pricey. As of now, I am sure that those students that did get involved benefited greatly from it, but I view them as a little overrated. I have never been asked by an employer what activities I was involved in. It has never been the determining factor of landing a job...even though that is what advisors and professors seem to believe. There are all kinds of restaurants to get some dinner, movie theaters are all around, the civic center always has some kind of concert or show, there is usually a baseball game you can catch at the minor league ballpark - Chiefs (a Cubs affiliate) bowling, dance clubs, riverfront activities during the spring, summer, and early fall months. There is always something to do that doesn't have to involve alcohol.

I met my best friend through my soroity. I didn't meet her on Bid Day but she recognized me when she was someplace and didn't know anybody. I didn't know anyone there either and wasn't having fun, so we left and made friends that way.

Bradley has lots of good sports programs which I all hate and despise because sports is lame. Frisbee is also popular, and I hate that too. The only group I'm actually involved with is the Linux Users Group, which meets every other week to discuss the Linux Operating System. It's a great place for anybody who runs Linux or is interested in switching. Most students close their doors, but I always leave mine open. Athletic events seem to be fairly popular as there are always ... people ... cheering outside my window blahblahblah Bradley blahblahblah whatever. Like I said on multiple occasions, I hate sports. I don't know anything about the dating scene, somehow. If this were more anonymous, I could tell you some bizarre stories, but I won't. It's weird, I've been at Bradley for an entire year and I don't feel like I've made ANY friends. This is because everybody usually falls into one of these categories: 1. Different interests 2. Getting wasted 3. Doing drugs 4. Furthering their relationship all over my couch while we're supposed to be hanging out and they're not even dating anymore. If it's 2 am, I'm in my room, by myself. Actually I spend almost all of my time either in class, in the shower, or in my room, by myself. On weekends I can either do homework with my sober friends, avoid my sober friends, or be in my room by myself. People party every weekend, without fail, and often on Thursdays too. What can I do on a Saturday that doesn't involve drinking? I can sit in my room, by myself, or with two sober people trying to make out. Guess what I usually do. I do nothing off campus, least of all at night, because according to my parents, Peoria is a vile city full of gangs, rapists, muggers, and rape gangs, and I have not the self-motivation to question them. I do spend absurd amounts of time in the CS lab doing nothing in particular though. Interestingly, it seems you're not allowed in there past 11 pm [I have key-code access, so I can get in past hours with no supervision], so I'm not allowed to sleep in there.

My freshman year, my floor was not chummy at all. The doors were always closed and I never really got to know anybody on my floor. I always hung out on the floor below mine and got to know all the guys on that floor pretty well. We are very proud of our basketball team and the games have great attendance...they are so fun to go to! Every semester, ACBU brings a big name to campus; this semester we had Jack's Mannequin. In the past, actgs have included Motion City Soundtrack, Black Eyed Peas, and others. Fraternities and Sororities make up about 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body....and while I am not Greek, every single one of my friends and my boyfriend are and they love it.

Men's basketball is huge. I'm more involved with music ensembles, such as symphonic winds, jazz band, and choir. Bradley's music ensembles are all wonderful. Theater is also awesome, and I know a lot of students enjoy the shows the theater students put on. Dorm floors usually have friendly atmospheres. Of course there are problems between a couple of people here and there, but overall everyone gets along. There are plenty of parties. Not much of a partier here...actually I don't party at all. But I always here about them. I haven't brought my car to campus, so I'm not sure about all there is to do in Peoria. There's the Rave movie theater, bowling, and there's a theater in the Student Center. Movies there only cost a dollar. Dingledine always has music concerts going on and the theater is always putting on shows.

Bradley has a million different groups/clubs/organizations, I really think there is something for everyone. Bradley is a Basketball school. Mens Basketball is what draws alot of attention to the school in the first place. Also Mens soccer in the fall is popular. Sadly, we do not have a football team. Living in the dorms at Bradley was a great time. Dorms alternate guy/girl by floor, and it's the best. Generally people prop their doors open with bricks when they're home and not busy, it's just a fun atmosphere. Greek life is a HUGE part of the university. Bradley has a total of 7 sororities and 15 fraternities. Joining my sorority is how i met some of my closest friends at school. I would say that the majority of the partying does happen, but is not limited to, the fraternities. You can usually walk in to one and find something going on. Although the dorms are dry, there have been quiet a few parties in select rooms. Also like I mentioned earlier, downtown is a great place to go to the bars, or farmington road as well. People party all days of the week. It just depends on what their schedule allows. And of course thrusday, fridays and saturdays are the big days for drinking. Recently there are things that Bradley has come up with as an alternative for drinking of the weekends. They offer new movies for a dollar in the theatre and I believe they are starting a late night club, alcohol free of course.

There is pretty much a group on campus for anything you could imagine. If what you're looking for isn't there, it's not unheard of for students to create new groups. I met my closest friends in the dorms and in groups that I'm involved in. People drink a lot on Bradley's campus because there's not a whole lot else to do.

I am in APO or Alpha Phi Omega, which is a co-ed service fraternity. We participate in and hold many service events every semester, but we also hold leadership events and several friendship events every semester. One example of this is an IDP, or Instant Date Party. Everyone in APO is invited to go somewhere after chapter for free and they can bring a date. You don't know it's going to happen until chapter is over and it is announced. If I'm up at 2 am on a weeknight, I'm usually studying. Or talking to my friends who are also up "studying".