Marie
I haven't locked my door yet this year. The guy down the hall sleeps with his door wide open every night. We also had many political canidates visit campus. People get really suprised when they hear that Obama stopped by or whoever. Just because we're in Iowa doesn't mean we're not the richest small liberal arts school in the country. There are always people stopping by to preform or speak. I actually feel bad because I miss most things because I'm so busy with other stuff.
Of course Harris parties are fun. Disco, and whatever else.
Andy
The student body's very trusting. People often go around leaving their doors unlocked, and sometimes just plain open if they're running a quick errand. I have been able to leave my computer and belongings in the student center for hours and come back to find them untouched.
Weekend nights are often devoted to drinking; the majority of campus does drink. Sober activities include movies at the Harris Center; Weekend Wellness, which provides various different activities based on the hosting group/organization; watching movies in town; going to Iowa City or Des Moines. And there's no greek life on campus.
Other important things to know about as a student are bakery runs. These are usually done at 2 AM except on Sunday mornings. We consider it a really good study break, as the baker in town starts making his goods at around 2 AM.
Dating on campus is really polarized: you either date someone for years or you go on varoius hookups via campus parties. it's hard to find people actually "dating", going into downtown for a dinner and a movie, or going off campus for other activities.
Liz
I'm a member of the volleyball team and I have found that it has definitely shaped the group of friends that I have and the activities that I am involved with. Arriving two weeks early on campus for pre-season helps to solidify the relationship between the athletes. However, I have many friends outside the realm of athletes too. Students definitely do leave there doors open on south campus and often sit out in the hall to do homework or chat. People who date tend to hang out a lot and usually have similar groups of friends. Sleeping over at each other's rooms is quite common. The relationships here are usually really close between boyfriends and girlfriends. Going out on dates isn't quite as frequent, but couples try to plan dates in Iowa City or in town every now and then. The one bad thing about dating is that break-ups can be quite dramatic since everyone is so close here and word travels fast. In addition, because the school is small and there is a lot of history between friends and people who have dated, it's common that friends might date someone who has dated a friend in the past and occasionally there are problems. Hook-ups are also quite prevalent, but usually they are just flings for fun between friends and nothing comes of them.
Alex
There is so much to do on campus and it is all free! speakers, theater, dancing...
some people party, others don't.
Emmerson
Grinnell does a great job of bringing entertainment to campus, whether it's comedians or new releases or big name bands or a Russian ballet company, and most of these shows are sell out quickly. Aside from that, there is usually a dance to go to every weekend at the Harris Center on campus. There are actually too many things to do on campus for anyone to see or do everything they want to. It's a good thing we get four years here.
The lack of a Greek life does not hinder partying on campus. At all. There are regular moose club meetings, beer pong and beer die tournaments, techno raves, floor parties, theme parties, you name it. There is a pre- and after-party for every Harris party. There are also campus party traditions, like 10/10, which is a traveling all-campus party that celebrates the day that students who work campus jobs historically receive their first paychecks of the year. There are also a formal and a semi-formal dance each year, winter waltz and spring waltz. If you don't drink, you're still welcome to attend all parties, and there's still a ton of stuff to do. There are nerf wars on campus every week, many students go on bakery runs when the local baker opens up his shop at two in the morning, there are generally movies on campus, people drive to Iowa City to all-night diners, and there are always small get-togethers between groups of friends.
The dating scene is interesting. Hookups and breakups seem to happen at a faster rate than the world at large. I'm sure by the end of four years here, the dating pool feels pretty small, but there is someone for everyone at Grinnell, no joke.
Sandy
Grinnell is all about free events. Free admission to varsity games, to fitness center, to hear invited musical groups, theater performances, almost everything.
Jesse
I really like that Grinnell has a wide variety of scholarly speakers come to campus to give talks. Partying is a very common weekend activity. For as hard as Grinnell students work during the week, they party just as hard over the weekends. However, if a person isn't a partier, there are many alternatives and other people will be understanding and supportive. There are no fraternities or sororities. Weeknights tend to be late, usually because of homework.
Christina
If I'm awake at 2 AM on a Tuesday, I'm either writing a paper or hanging out with friends. If I'm writing a paper, it's probably because I hung out with friends earlier--or just couldn't miss that concert/lecture/gathering and am now paying for the time well spent. If I'm hanging out with friends, well, we should be in bed but we're enjoying each other's company far too much to give in to silly things like sleep.
Gene
Grinnell is a bubble of rabid liberalism way the hell in the middle of nowhere. The average Grinnellian has some form of mental illness, usually depresssion, though the Grinnell atmosphere usually leads to some form of more serious mental disturbances, mainly insomnia and crippling anxiety. The mental health services are sparse, and mainly concerned with preventing suicides, though they fail at even that task.
Blake
There are some very big groups on campus: Environmental Action, for example. Or the Asian Student in Alliance.
I'm with Grinnell Singers, the college choir. It's my best experience here. Professor John is very dedicated and talented. And I always feel like I belong to a family in Grinnell Singers.
Oh, the dating scene; what dating scene? You call doing homework together with your girlfriend "dating"?
If I'm awake at 2am on Tuesday, I'm finishing up a paper or cramming for a very hard exam or doing readings for class. It's not unusual for students in Grinnell to pull al-nighters. Trust me, when I say Grinnell is hard-core academics, I mean it.
There are the International Food Bazaar each year, where you can eat cuisine from 50 different countries. Also the International Festival, with music and dancing. There's a cross-dressing party, called Mary B James, and a very popular concert sponsored by the Stonewall Coalition.
Some people here party like crazy. And some never do. There are no fraternities or sororities on campus. Grinnellians mostly do not care about dressing-up. If you dress too well, you'll get embarrassed from walking among a bunch of people in their pajamas. Some people here wear pajamas and no shoes to class. Just so you know.