Washington and Lee University Top Questions

There is obviously an element of truth to this. The majority of us are part of the Greek system. Therefore it is understandable that the party scene is a major part of this school. We are also predominately a white student body. What needs to be understood is that most of us do have a balance between our academics and social life. The party scene is a way of escaping out tremendous workload for a little while.

describes about 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the school I would guess...so the stereotype has some basis in truth

No. The school has been doing a great job recruiting students from all backgrounds. In my time here I have met people from all different walks of life. There are blacks, whites, Indians, Southern, Northern, and other. We are becoming more diverse and learning to accept different groups.

not necessarily

There is a significant portion of the student body that fits that description, but every year the school is becoming more and more diverse, with students now from all sorts of different backgrounds.

95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of men and 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of women are members of Greek organizations, so I'd say that stereotype is pretty true. The rich/privileged/elitist/alcoholic/cokehead stereotype is true for about 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students. Over 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are white and from an upper-middle-class background. However, there is also a lot of diversity that you don't hear about. The minority of students who don't fit the white/rich mold come from all over the world and all sorts of backgrounds. The real problem is that this group doesn't mix much with the rich-frat-boy group.

To a point, yes; however, you'll always find exceptions to the rule. Quite a few people abstain from drinking altogether, and there are quite a few who are independent of the Greek system. The pearls part, unfortunately, is very true.

Absolutely. Not all students fit the stereotype, but enough do to where it's impossible to avoid that type of person.

i would say im a middle class liberal who drinks too much

Though most upperclass males (~85-90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) are Greek-affiliated, there is a strong independent community as well. There are some students, especially freshmen, who decide to party almost every night, but they generally pay the academic consequences. Students are almost universally friendly and helpful, and though racial bias is certainly a reality among some students / Greek organizations, most students are open and accepting of others. The political leanings of the students and faculty are generally conservative, but there is still a wide variety. Many, perhaps most, students are pre-occupied with the dramas of the Greek system, with social standing, and with appropriately preppy/fratty dress. This does not usually interfere with the general friendliness and accepting attitude that pervades our campus, however. A large proportion of the student body hails from the Southern states, and many are very concerned with appearing "Southern," even to the point of affecting accents (ex: KKG). We are mostly white, and though efforts are being made to bring in more students of other races/nationalities, the proportion of such students is still quite low.