Brown University Top Questions

Athletic events are not so well attended, but guest speakers are common, well attended, and generally really really cool. There isn't much of a dating scene. People are usually single and occasionally hooking up with people or in seriously committed relationships. If you're awake at 2am on a tuesday you're probably doing homework. Or listening to music, watching tv, playing guitar hero, and generally avoiding work. Occasionally, on a great Tuesday night, you'll be playing beirut. Generally, people go out between one and three times a week, unless you're a senior in which case its more like 3-7 nights a week. Fraternities are definitely a part of Brown's social scene, but only 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students live in one and you can avoid them entirely if you want to.

athletic events are usually not very popular. i know this because i am on the swim team. occasionally people manage to get the campus excited for a single event and everyone will go but it's not often that this happens. frats/sororities are not important but you can make them the center of your brown experience if you choose to join one. i met my closest friends on the swim team.

Students are involved in all types of groups, a lot of them are into arts; painting, singing, acting, dancing... Students here take advantage of the cultural happenings on campus, they go to plays,concerts, dance shows, etc. Sports teams tend to stick to their groups and don't socialize much with the others. Internationals tend to mostly socialize with internationals, too. I met my closest friends in my international dorm. Everyone in my dorm keeps their doors open at all times and you're always welcome in their rooms. People love getting to know each other and as cliche as it may sound, learn from each other's experiences. The dating scene is pretty awkward. Students are stuck in limbo, confused as to whether they are just hooking up/seeing each other/dating/in a relationship/in an open relationship...it goes on. A lot of hookups - and awkward encounters within the next few days- are pretty common. There are also the "married" couples who are in serious relationships and virtually live in each other's rooms. However, there is not a lot of PDA around campus. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday...Depends on the Tuesday. I'm probably doing work with my door open and drinking coffee, and someone will drop by to say hi. Of course we'll end up talking for two hours...Or I might be on the Facebook, procrastinating. People party every weekend, and the weekends start on Thursdays for people who don't have work the next day. Thursdays are Fish Co (a club pretty close to campus) nights, it's dubbed Shit Co by many students because it really turns into a shit show. A lot of beer drinking and grinding...You get it. Frats and sororities are pretty minor, but there are people who are into it. They have their own parties and events. If you see someone running naked around Wriston Quad, you know it's one of them. They are pretty funny. I was probably at my friend's off campus house last weekend, having wine. Upperclassmen usually move off campus and have house parties. They are smaller and more intimate, people know each other and can have fun without drinking intensely.

Brown students contain a rare balance of intellectual curiosity with a determination to spend their four years of college having way too much fun. Brown understands the importance of a diverse social scene and provides almost too many options every weekend. Whether its partying at popular bar “Fish Co.”, eating too much pizza at Antonio’s or too many cookies at Meeting Street Café, or hitting up the Zoot Suit Swing Dancing Ball on campus, Brown knows that once Friday arrives, the books must be pushed aside. Student organizations throw the majority of the large parties on campus but smaller dorm parties are popular for those who prefer to be surrounded only by their close friends. The frat scene remains generally tame, though they gain more attention when they hold their famous decade-themed parties throughout the year. Athletic events gain modest audiences with the exception of any match played against rival Harvard. Whenever campus seems too confining, the city of Providence has independent movie theatres, excellent performing arts centers, and a delicious Italian restaurant district called Federal Hill. Plus, campus traditions like the annual SexPowerGod party, the Halloween Organ concert, and Spring Weekend, make each year filled with events to look forward to.

Spring Weekend is a great tradition that happens every year in April. We usually get two headliners for concerts (this year is Lupe Fiasco and M.I.A) and the whole week is filled with events, such as SPAGfest. It's a great way to relax before finals and celebrate with friends before people leave for summer. Fraternities and sororities at Brown are as important as you make them. It is easy enough to go four years at Brown without really interacting with frats, it depends on how you want to spend your time. There parties are definitely more popular as a freshman or sophomore but I always enjoyed myself. I wish athletic events were more popular. I worked as the men's soccer team manager for 3 years, so I know that athletes would appreciate more recognition and attendance at games. With BrownNAtion now in the picture attendance has gone up a bit, but more would be better. Students usually do turn up for big Parents Weekend or Championship games though. Brown has brought some pretty big names in the past. In my four years the most notable have been Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Obama (both before they announced their candidacy). When big speakers are on campus people camp out for tickets (which are usually pretty easy to get if you don't). With smaller speakers there is less of a turn out but i think they still get a pretty good audience. If you wanted to you could probably find something to do every night of the week, but on average. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are probably the most popular to party with the biggest stuff going on. If you don't want to drink there are usually movie nights, open mic nights, etc organized on campus or other dry events. Plus there are plenty of venues on and around campus you can go to without feeling the need to drink. But do know that drinking is popular at Brown. Off campus- There are a bunch of restaurants and bars on Thayer and Wickenden Sreets, which are very popular on weekends. There are 2 cool indie movie theaters (the Avon and Cable Car) near by as well as the multiplex in the mall, which is massive and offers $5 Tuesdays. There are also concerts at Lupo's pretty regularly which is downtown and popular.