The Wesleyan campus was recently redesigned to coax people closer to the center of campus. They did it by bulldozing a couple of buildings and and by opening a new student union. Williams seems to be following suit with plans to create its own central quadrangle. Not that architecture alone can perform miracles. But, it can’t hurt.
Good info, @intparent. He’s probably getting some of the same effect that happened at Skidmore – it’s the weekend at St. Olaf when all of the prospective kids who are applying for any kind of scholarship in one of the arts descend on campus (and there are a lot of them), so he’s probably getting a pretty skewed view of how happening things feel.
muhleneberg college like somebody else mentioned.
Thanks to all of you who responded!!!
My D is at Lafayette College and loves it.
What is Macalester like?
Are you asking in the context of the thread, or in general?
The thread.
Well, I have found the Mac campus to be pretty lively. It is kind of compact, which I think helps. Although note (as with other cold weather locations) it is livelier inside the buildings in the winter months. 
There are always speakers on campus – I used to live nearby, and went a few times – once saw the Unabomber’s brother talk about the death penalty, and another time to hear Al Franken talk. There are a fair number of international students at Mac , too. The cafeteria is pretty noisy and bustling.
Don’t ever visit any LACs on a Sunday - especially before lunch - unless you perceive seeing kids walking to the library or study groups or dining halls
First thing Saturday morning isn’t exactly ideal either…