Washington and Lee University Top Questions

Obviously our Greek Life domintates the social scene. Our weekends are filled with frat parties in basements with lots of cheap beer. Thats not to say that it is a bad thing and that there are not other options. If you are the outdoors type, there is wonderful hiking and fishing in the area.

Any activity that's not on campus you can create...there are countless amounts of resources at the students' disposal.

The most popular organizations on campus are greek organizations. About 88{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is greek. There are traditional organizations and several historically black organizations. With such a large greek population there are lots of parties to attend. Everyone loves to talk about alcohol and parties, but some other things students like to do is participate or watch performances. Every few months the theater department puts on a show. My favorite event is the One-Acts, which are student directed one act plays. They are usually in March or April. The students who direct them try to choose plays that get students thinking and of course there is lots of humour to liven the night. The school does bring in various speakers, but from what I've seen, unless you are required to go for class, few students take advantage of the opportunities.

There is always something going on, whether it is a party on Wednesday or Friday night, a comedy show, a film, or an ice cream social.

The most popular extracurricular activity on campus is by far fraternities and sororities. They dominate the social scene, but while it seems at times that there are strong divisions amongst the student body, virtually all of the parties held by W&L students are open to all members of the community, regardless of affiliation. The honor code also deserves mention, because it makes life at W&L so easy. Students rarely lock their doors, and there is just an overall sense of trust throughout the student body. Because it is a small school, there is not a great deal of fanfare for activities such as sports or theater, simply because there are not that many people. There are some special activities at W&L, however. My personal favorite is Fancy Dress, which is a huge dance held every year for the past century in the gym. Everyone gets dressed up and has a wonderful time. Another activity is the Mock Convention, although it only happens every election year. The students get together to pick the nominee for either the Republican or Democratic Party, whichever does not at the time hold the presidency. This is truly a one of a kind event, and it draws a great deal of national attention, including well known political speakers.

The Greek system rules here, though there are plenty of other opportunities for non-Greeks and those who don't feel like partying: the drive-in theater, the movies in the Commons, plenty of excellent restaurants in town, productions in Lenfest and guest speakers almost every week. If you do like to party, the Traveller bus system shuttles students to major party pickup and dropoff points to discourage DUIs. One of the perks of the Honor System is that we can leave our stuff all over the place without fear of it being stolen.

I'm thinking very hard, and I can't name many elements of social life that don't in some way revolve around drinking and parties. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of partying every night, or if you don't want to know a lot of hard core alcoholics, don't come here.

The social scene here is likely the biggest +/- for most prospectives. The Greek system dominates students' social lives, though the university does provide alternative activities at times. Especially for men, more than 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of whom are in a fraternity, the pressure of the rush/pledgeship process is intense. Generally the fraternity/sorority system creates a tiered social hierarchy, and contact with members of the same sex outside one's Greek organization becomes limited after joining without special effort to maintain outside relationships. It has been my experience that the system also degrades gender relations, which seem to consist mostly of mixers/formals. Still, if you're looking for lots of partying, there will be opportunities every night your freshman fall term. There are many high quality band/theme/etc events, and a high sense of brotherhood/sisterhood for those in Greek organizations.

The greek life is almost rediculous at Washington and Lee, but most students relly like it. You can't do much on Saturday nights that doesn't involve drinking, and that takes some getting used to.

Social life is all about drinking... It is a shit show all the time. You can always find drugs and alcohol if you want them. It is much easier to get them as a guy than as a woman. It is a lot more acceptable for guys to do drugs than women. So women, just drink, but don't black out or you will be raped. It is a delicate balance. And if you drink, don't eat. If you are not thin, no one will like you. M, W, F, S are the big going out days. Tuesday and Thursday are reserved for special occasions. There is no bar scene, because if you have/use a fake ID anywhere in the US you will be expelled (if you are caught). Don't get a fake and don't use it in VA for sure. There is no dating scene. You hook up with people and then maybe you become bf/gf later. Guys are looking to hook up, not date unless you are exceedingly awesome.