Pacific University Top Questions

The campus isn't exactly a flurry of activity, but there are things going on if you seek them out. There are a few very active extracurriculars/groups that are visible on campus (mentioned above). There are some guest speakers every semester brought in by different departments (Philosophy, Sociology, and Visiting Writers are the main ones). There are definitely weekend parties which involve drinking, but everything seems pretty low-key. Not a ton of arts events; there's usually one mainstage play, one dance showcase, and one choir concert each semester. IMHO, the theatre dept is mediocre, but the music dept seems quite good, especially the Chamber Singers. I haven't been to any dance performances but I know they don't offer Hip Hop or Social Dance classes. There are art shows in the gallery throughout the year and a senior show in May, but that's the only time student work is displayed (and that's the only gallery space). I'd say school spirit is about average. A lot of people play sports but it doesn't seem super competitive and I only really hear about it from the school newspaper. There is Greek life but it doesn't dominate the campus. The Hawaiian Lu'au is an annual tradition that is very well-attended; others include spray painting the spirit bench, Drag night, Pacific Idol, the Tom McCall forum... The only thing I do off-campus is eat at Maggie's Buns or Pizza Shmizza. Forest Grove is a one-horse town. I don't hang out there on the weekends since I live in Portland. It was kinda hard for me to get to know people because I was a transfer student and live off campus, but I met most of my friends in classes where there was a lot of interaction. And you tend to run into the same students in several classes. If I'm up at 2 am on a Tuesday, it's because I procrastinated on a paper... but I'm usually asleep then.