OnYva

I've heard the dating scene at chicago can be pretty depressing. is this true?

unalove

From what I've seen, students don't usually "date" in the sense that they go out with So-and-So on for a couple of weeks, and then without much emotion drop So-and-So for Who-si-what... if there's a "meet market" for eligible singles here, I don't know about it.

What's more common is one of two things:
1. People have alcohol-induced hookups at frat parties that they laugh about the next day.
2. People have serious, committed long-term relationships.

I think "dating" (as in, casual dating) is more of a yuppie phenomenon than a college one. Wait until you make money and have enough of a disposable income when you graduate college to actually start dating. And it's not like dating is a conflict or frustration-free event, either-- that's why we have "Sex in the City."

unalove

... and I wrote that all while wearing my "Where the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA" shirt ;-)

bpfarmer29

I think that's true of the college experience in general, not just uchicago.

jay123

Pretty shallow question here lol:

Are there parties at UChicago? If so, how are they?

Parties are definitely not a factor in how I choose a school, but i was just wondering.

spazzity

^Well, clearly good enough to bring about the prevalence of random, drunken hook-ups.

hannahmontana

haha i don't want anyone but my beloved uchicago!!! so finding actual ppl to date really isn't even an issue here....

lol jk, seriously=)

unalove

Asking if there are parties at college is kind of like asking if there are leaves on trees. (The pine tree in this situation would be a school like BYU).

How are they...? They're okay. They're all a mixture of music, alcohol, dancing, and conversation, with different results every time.

jamesn37

unalove - how would you compare them to the parties you've been to at other schools?

JHS

So, unalove . . . any leaves on the trees there these days?

unalove

JHS, I was trying to save you from bringing out your party equation-- but if you want to talk about your equation, that's fine by me :-)

James-- Most of my high school friends don't drink in college, and I haven't visited my college friends who do drink/do drugs. The only party I've ever been to at another college was at a small, liberal arts college that's relatively famous for being "alternative" with easy access to drugs, and the party reminded me of what I might see at Chicago in terms of people "hanging out" and talking , only there were more drugs around than I'm used to seeing.

Compared to a school like Northwestern, Dartmouth, or Cornell, my impression is that there is a lot less emphasis on Greek life and a lot less excitement for parties in general. At Chicago, people go and hang out and have fun, but it's not like students are bowing down to the party gods. Also, I think the campus scene is just structured differently. I don't really hear about people going to bars downtown, though my Northwestern peers seem to go to bars in Evanston and Chicago pretty regularly. I've also rarely heard of anybody getting turned away from a frat party-- there's almost always room to go in. Alcohol is allowed in the dorms and housing has no prescribed punishment for underage drinking (my Resident Heads would amuse themselves by talking to their obviously drunk residents, my RA would come into a room where students were drinking and insist that it's okay if they drink in front of him, some RAs would buy their residents booze, but as long as everybody was happy and alive and safe, it was okay), so there is a considerable party scene in the dorms. Also, because a lot of kids here live off campus, like to have parties, but would have nothing to do with a frat if their life depended on it-- I know a lot of people who fall into this category--, there are a lot of apartment parties that are relatively open and can be a lot of fun.

Personally, I don't go to all that many parties because I prefer to do other things, so my knowledge and experience is somewhat limited as compared to somebody who goes to FIJI or what not every week.

One more observation: At least one other school has, as somebody who knows that school well told me, "a serious drinking problem" to the extent that ambulances are patrolling campus to pick up students. This school really tries to crack down on drinking without much success, while at Chicago the administration doesn't pay address it-- probably because it almost never gets out of hand. Another school my friend attends is in the process of having an "image makeover"-- it's a kind of school that has super-bright students, but a reputation for a lot of parties and drug use to the extent that it's a turn-off for potential applicants, and so trying to have parties there, so my friend says, can be frustrating.

At Chicago, which is trying desperately to shake the "Where Fun Comes to Die" slogan and so has no motivation to try to limit drinking or parties unless they become potentially dangerous, I know of one student who was sent to the ER during Orientation week her first year, and that resulted in a discussion with the Dean of Students about healthy lifestyle habits, and after that, the girl has been fine and learned how to scale down her drinking. To me, a school with a good social life, a school with a good party scene, and a school with a prominent binge drinking scene are three different things that sometimes but don't always overlap.

JHS

unalove: Nope -- wasn't tempted at all, and I loved your description of parties. I just thought the "leaves on a tree" simile was funny, given how barren things look out my window at the moment, and the anxiety levels when I talk to my kids on the phone.

But I agree with you completely that the original question was a little silly -- of course there are parties -- and also that there are no nasty politics at Chicago that would lead anyone to try to reduce the number of parties or make them less open.

Ilove_ted_oneill

So...in terms of social life, I'm a member of Greek life and I go on lots of dates. It should be noted that I was very social before college. Some people do come out of their shells once they arrive on campus, and that could very well be you. However, if you put a bunch of people who were not very social here together and expect something other than a Zelda marathon to commence, then you are mistaken. We are in an amazing city full of attractions. I take dates to museums (free!), new restaurants, the zoo (free!) and once even to a naked bicycle ride protest (we were merely observers, but it was a lot of fun). People who complain that students here are ugly and unsocial tend to be, more or less, both. That being said, every time I talk to an alum, they say that it is more social and prettier than when they left. I think the school is definitely working on that. However, like I said, I go on dates or just outings with friends all the time, and it's a blast. People who don't tend to be weenies.

edmandoo

"Personally, I don't go to all that many parties because I prefer to do other things, so my knowledge and experience is somewhat limited as compared to somebody who goes to FIJI or what not every week."

Word.