Nikki
Popular groups on campus are Campus Democrats, Men’s Soccer, the Greek system, Associated Students and most ethnic clubs. Freshman year, my floor was really close so dorm rooms had people in and out of them all the team. Athletic events are a fun way to take a break from studying and an excuse to drink on a weekday night. Dating is tricky at UCSB. Mostly there’s random hooking up or friends with benefits but there’s the occasional story of that turning into a relationship. For the most part, though, it seems almost taboo to actually like and start dating your hookup buddy.
At 2am on a weeknight, if I’m up, I’m at a party, at a local bar or downtown at a club. I met my closest friends on my floor freshman year or they are in my sorority. At the end of each year, AS puts on Extravaganza, a free concert with lots of popular artists. Last year T.I. came. Other traditions are tossing around tortillas during graduation, streakers during the Soc 152 Sexual Education final, Halloween on DP (Del Playa Drive – the street on the beach).
Those who do party, start their weekends on Thursday, sometimes Wednesday. Under-aged students stick to IV parties, which you usually hear about through a friend or friend of a friend and are big and usually open. When you turn 21, you head to downtown Santa Barbara or “DT”, which has bars and clubs. IF you don’t feel like drinking, you can go out to dinner (SB has wonderful restaurants), go the movies, rent movies, go bowling. There are definitely alternatives to drinking.
There are pros and cons to being a sorority. The cons are that you’re instantly put into a box – I got a lot of flak from my dorm friends for who claimed I was “buying friends” and sometimes you just don’t want to participate but feel obligated. But the pros definitely outweigh the negative stuff. I’ve met some great friends, always have something to do and it’s great for networking. The Greek system is fairly prominent on campus but doesn’t dominate the social scene but any means. Lately they’ve been getting a bad rap because of a couple of frats getting in trouble. It’s true that frat parties are crazy and can get out of control.
Many people call IV a bubble because if you needed to, you could get everything you need right there. I try to escape at least once a week, just to remind myself that there’s a world outside of IV and college. I like to go downtown, go shopping, have a quiet lunch, go the SB Mission. Also, LA is just an hour and half away and I have a lot of friends that go to school down there so I visit them sometimes.
Since there’s a stocked kitchen and dinner 5 nights a week included in living in the house, most of my money is spent on going out, coffee and eating out occasionally. I probably spend $100 a week on average.
Celeste
I am involved with Community Affairs Board, the club on campus that gives students access to many community service groups and projects in the areas around campus. I love working with CAB because I feel connected to the student body as more than a student and I fell connected to the city of Santa Barbara. I love helping my community and encouraging my fellow students to do so as well. When I lived in the dorms last year, many of the students left their doors open and were very friendly. I met my closest friends on my floor last year and I am still living with a few of them. I have found it very easy to live with the roommate I was paired with last year. When I am off campus, I go out to eat with my friends and go to see movies. We also go shopping downtown and State Street is a lot of fun. On a Saturday night you can go to Isla Vista and see a comedian perform or you can watch a movie for around $4. If you are awake on a Tuesday at 2am, you are either up late playing video games, watching tv, or finishing a paper.
Melissa
My closest friends:
No doubt every college student meets some of their lifelong friends in the dorms. This was definitely true for me. However, there is a small window for this to happen. Dorm doors stay open for the first couple weeks usually. After that, if you haven't established a group then its time to find a club/group. Many of my friends also came from Real Life. In a group of 200 students you're bound to meet at least a few whom you really can connect with but really almost all of them feel like family. It's harder to meet friends in classes. Unless there are people who you continue to see in more than a couple classes, the 600 to 800 sized lectures Freshman and Sophomore years don't provide much opportunity for sitting next to the same person regularly.
What if I don't want to drink every weekend?
There are plenty of things to do on a Saturday night that do not involve drinking. There is always the classic stay at home movie night with a bunch of friends, there are $4 dollar movie nights at Isla Vista Theatre, Cookiewhiches at your local IV Drip, shows put on by groups such as Improvability, Naked Voices (UCSB's AMAZING acapella singing group), gospel choir, or concerts in the HUB (put on by the UCEN or different organizations). If all else fails then dress up as a Gaucho loco and attend a basketball or soccer game. UCSB has an unbelievable men's soccer team and almost ever game leaves its viewers on raving and talking about it for days. I believe the best way to find alternative social events is to get in a student club or group that you are interested in because chances are that they hold weekly socials and events.
HALLOWEEN:
You cannot come to UCSB without being aware of the Halloween madness. As a freshmen I was TERRIFIED to venture onto DP (Del Playa Street- Isla Vista's main party street that gets blocked off during Halloween weekend for basically what is a human parade of costumes, skin, partying, and police). It is probably not the weekend where the faculty is most proud of their students, but for years UCSB has been known as the place to be for Halloween.
Beth
I am involved with the Residential Hall Association for my residence hall, San Nicolas. It's basically like ASB for the Residential Halls. The coolest part is that each residential hall is given a couple thousand dollars to put on programming and events for the building which allows a lot of residents to get involved.
While we do have a very active social life at night--there are tons of alternatives for students who would prefer not to drink. There is free improv on Saturday nights, movies play in Isla Vista for $4 and concerts almost every week right one campus. It's nice because if there's always something going on, but at UCSB you don't feel the pressure to go out if you don't want to.