Wheaton College-Norton Top Questions

Wheaton is only a small liberal arts college, so there are not so many activities as may be offered at schools five times or more in size. However Wheaton students are enthused to take up several positions to maintain many active groups. Few people seem of just one interest. Aside from organized groups, there are of course more informal groups. People leave their doors open to meet new people, as someone always seems to be roaming the halls to meet new people. I have done it with friends several times. I met a good number of friends just with an open door the first few days. I have also met many of my friends at the dinning hall, ultimate frisbee practice, club meetings, classes, and just roaming the halls. If you wish to party, there is always something happening, if you look hard enough, and if you wish for something a little less rowdy, there are just as many options. What with live band performances, free movie screenings, late night coffee, clubs, groups, dances, as well as several other occasions it is rather easily to keep an active social life.

There are hundreds of clubs on campus with many different activies. During Spring Weekend, everyone goes to Peacock Pond to watch the imfamous "Head of the Peacock", which is a series of boatraces that students design/build their own watercrafts for. Partying is fairly common, but often quiet, there are some houses off campus where people go to attend more wild parties, typically the "Wheaton party scene" is 5-9 people sitting in a room drinking and playing video games/watching movies.

There are hundreds of student run clubs and organizations, that the majority of the Wheaton student body is involved with. Students are generally very passionate about these clubs and organizations, and put much of their time and energy into ensuring that they are successful. Students do usually leave their doors open, it is one of the best way to meet people! Wheaton is not usually what one would call a wild party school, but there is

The honor code allows many people to be able to leave their doors open and cell phones on the table to save their spot in the dining hall with trust that others will not steal things. It has seemed to work so far. Generally campus is very safe and trustworthy, which is nice.

Doors in dorms are open, many athletics (baseball, basketball, soccer) are all well attended. we have the best and most interesting traditions including a hoop role before graduation, to seniors ONLY on the library steps, and through the front door of the Chapel. We have no Greek life, but there's usually something going on. Dating wise, Wheaton is 60-40 women, but many of my friends have met their SO at school.

lots of environmental groups on campus, many clubs like dance/sports/race/sexuality groups. most people live on campus, but off campus housing is growing due to strict public safety. alcohol policy is becoming too strict and causing more off campus housing/partying which makes for more drunk driving. no frats/sororities, which is fine. spring weekend is a huge party weekend every year where bands come to wheaton and in general public safety/professors turn their heads the other way to drinking and smoking for once. athletic events are very popular to go to, about 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}of the school participates in athletics and the teams are very strong so they receive a lot of support from the rest of the student body.

The most popular groups on campus are probably just the sport teams, although there are a few clubs that people belong to. I chose not to join a club, because I am not into that but that did not inhibit my socializing in any way. We always leave our doors open in dorms. Athletic events could certainly be more popular, as well as guest speakers. I don't go to Theater events because I don't personally like theater, so I don't know how those go. I met my closest friends through classes and living with them. There are a great many traditions at Wheaton - too many to explain - but these traditions make the experience more fun (such as a boat race on the pond every spring weekend). People party as much as they can because there is nothing else to do and it is our way to socialize. There are no fraternities or sororities on campus. Off campus, options are - eating, shopping, movies, the usual.

Sports, especially lacrosse, soccer, and basketball, are very popular at school. Many students go to all of the games at home, and some even travel to go to the away games. The games are fun and eventful usually. The SGA organizes dances in Balfour which is the community center probably twice a month which is fun to do on campus and they last for a while. There isn't much partying on campus unless it's a small gathering in a dorm room because public safety usually breaks them up. Most parties occur off campus, but not all people go to them. There are sometimes parties on campus in campus housing but they usually are broken up quite quickly. The campus is very safe and people leave their doors open and it seems that no matter what time or day it is, there is always someone out on campus. There are no frats or sororities so people are more club organized, but people make their own friends and go from there. It is really easy to find people that you can relate to and be friends with, it seems there is someone for everyone. Grade levels aren't really important or acknowledged at Wheaton, everyone just hangs out with eachother.

One of the best parts about Wheaton is our arcane traditions. For example, every student must jump in Peacock Pond before they graduate. Only seniors are allowed to sit on the steps of the library, and if an underclassman is caught there they can be thrown in the Pond. Only seniors can pass through the front doors of the Chapel - otherwise, the bell will fall to the ground and kill them. Each of the six a capella groups holds a midnight performance the day they pick their new members under the arch of Everett Residence Hall, known as "Slype." Our unofficial mascot is a large, black and white duck that swims in the Pond. If a guy and a girl walk around the pond three times without the boy kissing the girl, she has permission to push him on. The first night that new students are on campus, they are each given a candle which are lit as they form a ring around the pond. On the night before graduation, each senior places that same candle in a small wooden boat and floats it on the pond.

The Baseball and Rugby teams are very popular. As for clubs, it's hard to say. The Relay For Life event is always huge. I'm deeply involved with Wheaton Conservatives. We have debates, speakers, and our own publication that are year-round activities. I'm also part of the small but growing Debate Team that was formed only a year ago, as well as Fencing Club which gets together two nights a week in the athletic center for instruction and duels. I'm in a single, and the only time I ever lock my door is if I'll be gone for more than a day. I don't really know how athletic events are, because none of my friends are on the teams, so I don't go, but I have several friends who go to the Baseball and Track events pretty regularly. Wheaton is constantly having guest speakers, seemingly every week, on a variety of topics, and these are very well attended. The "dating scene"? Does dating really exist in college??? We live in a hook-up culture. I mean, come on, this isn't Brigham Young University. There are plenty of official couples, but I wouldn't really want to date someone on this campus, because if we broke up, then we'd see each other a little too often since we're a small campus. I met my closest friends either through classes, or more often, through the clubs that I'm in. My best friend I me through fencing, and my best guy friend I met through a History class. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm either working on a paper, or possibly walking back from The Loft with someone and our take-out chicken fingers. The Head of the Peacock is the annual boat race that happens during Spring Weekend (which is like a Spring Semester version of Homecoming. Crazy stuff happens morning noon and night for 4 days straight the weekend before finals), where Wheaties must construct boats and see who can paddle fastest from one end of Peacock Pond and back. I would easily guess that the entire student body congregates around the pond to watch this unfold over the hour or so that it takes, cheering and screaming like it's the Superbowl. Partying exists, but it doesn't really dominate the social scene, since we're not Greek. We can have student houses, but lots of people "party" by just having a few friends sit around in a dorm room drinking a few beers or shots and listening to someone's iTunes on stereo. The choice is up to you, really. My last couple weekends have actually been spent visiting friends at Boston schools and Wheaton alumni in Boston. I go there sometimes on the weekend, but it's sporadic for me. Plenty of times I might go to a dance in Balfour, or go watch a movie in Hindle auditorium to watch that weekend's movie. Off-campus, I might catch a train to either Boston or Providence. Both cities are equally entertaining and full of things to do. Both are also great college cities.