Wheaton College-Wheaton Top Questions

this is episode two for Dodgeball: The True One Hit Oneders

This is part one of Dodgeball: the true One Hit Oneders

Wheaton requires its students to sign a covenant, part of which is an agreement not to drink alcohol while enrolled. So Wheaton students' social lives have to revolve around other things. Students are very community-focused. Dorm rooms are often left open, lost items are often returned, and games are huge. Fraternities and sororities don't exist, but there are many other student groups that function similarly, like men's Glee Club.

Wheaton is not a party school as we sign the community covenant which as a stipulation of being a part of a community with underage students we won't consume alcohol even if we are of age. Consequently, the kinds of fun range from lots of Intra-murals, water balloon fights, awesome pranks, hanging out in parks, going to the city and much more. We are a lot more creative with our fun than just drinking games and we have a lot of it. Most people are involved in a lot of different activities and this is where a lot of your friends often come from. The football team has the highest sense of camaraderie at Wheaton. There is the "football section" of the dining hall and it can be intimidating to approach any football player. The dating scene at Wheaton tends to be very serious. If you come WORK TO CHANGE IT! More people need to be asking others out on casual dates without the pressure of obtaining a "ring by spring." The Bench is a tradition at Wheaton reaching really far back. The Juniors and the Seniors fight over the possession of what is now a slab of concrete with two handles. This is a serious game with a ton of rules surrounding it which is for the most part fun for all involved though only a select few, mostly guys, get to even be involved. Weekends often bring train rides to the city, the metra station is basically on campus, and just enjoying the outsides when it is warm. The guest speakers at Wheaton are AMAZING because of the importance of Wheaton in the Evangelical community and its proximity to Chicago, chapel, which is a mandatory 3 times a week, is full of great opportunities to hear speakers from all over the world.

Wheaton brings a lot of wonderful speakers and performers to the college, and it is very convenient and great to be able to see all of these speakers and performers. The campus is very dry, except for a small underground party scene. Most people study a lot. The school newspaper is very popular on campus. I met my closest friends in the dorm I was in Freshman year. All freshmen and sophomores must live in the dormitories. It was aggravating to have to live in the dorms as a sophomore (especially with closed-floors) while my friends at other colleges were already in apartments/houses.

most students are involved with at least one extracurricular group on campus -- popular groups include those found in the OCO (office of christian outreach) and other ministries on campus. it's pretty common for students to leave their doors open in the dorms and there typically is a strong sense of community among dorm floors. there aren't frats/sororities and there isn't much focus on drinking since it isn't allowed at all -- it's pretty rare to hear about people drinking on campus. off campus it's fun to go to naperville or chicago to try different restaurants, go to festivals or concerts, etc. athletic events are very popular -- especially soccer (men's and women's), football, and men's basketball.

Many here complain about these things, myself included, but I'd like to add a positive note: At Wheaton, if you do not find a place to fit in, it can only be your own fault-- and you'll probably find some people with that same fault and fit in with them. Honestly, no matter who you are-- black or white, male or female, Christian or Athiest, athletic champion or closet dungeonmaster, public safety officer or pot-smoking drunk-- you will find friends here. Sure, the majority of students try to fit into a tight category- white, smart, fit Christians- but if you are none of these things you will not be alone, and on the contrary you will find strong rapport. I'm constantly amazed at the diversity.

There's so much to do on campus, it's honestly hard to choose how to spend your time. There are intramural sports teams, a plethora of different ministry opportunities, as well as jobs, student organizations and clubs, and so much more. There really is something for everyone. You can meet your closest friends in classes, through mutual friends, in the dorm, or randomly walking across campus. It's great to try to get to know people who you wouldn't normally cross paths with. Wheaton's social life doesn't revolve around drinking. In fact, drinking is prohibited for Wheaton students. Of course, there are some people who simply don't care about that rule, but the rule still impacts the social life of Wheaton in a very positive way - since drinking has to be secretly, it's not the center of everyone's social lives, and that's very cool (and rare) in a college these days. There is so much fun to be had that doesn't involve alcohol, and Wheaton gives plenty of opportunities for that.

I am involved with the Football team and the wrestling team on campus and these two teams are very close, but in different ways. The football team is close because we spend so much time together but there are ninety of us so we aren't too close. The wrestling team is very close because there are only fifteen to twenty of us and we spend a good amount of time together. There are pretty much no fraternities here, people don't party very often, and there isn't a great amount of things to do off-campus besides go into Chicago.

My room left our dorm room open a lot. It's more fun that way, but it's also harder to get your work done. It's not a good idea to try and do your homework in your dorm room. I didn't go to a lot of sporting events. I was involved with the band and music scene on campus because a lot of my friends were in bands. The dating scene on campus is interesting. At least in my group of friends, I think that people are pretty cool with it. Just because you hold a person's hand doesn't mean you'll get married to them, and I think that people understand that better now than they did before. Because the school is small, everyone knows everyone else. If you have a distinguishing feature especially, you'll get a nick-name and be known by that. I had a friend everyone knew as "Pocohontas" and another as "the girl from Australia." The harp twins were really popular as well. If you come to the school, I think that you would catch on. I know that first semester I stayed up really late hanging out with people. You're just talking, or walking around Wheaton, sitting on rooftops. . .