I am a student at SUNY Purchase, and often I have to pinch myself to make sure I am not hallucinating and resorting back to the 1960's during the era of Woodstock. People lying on the grass, playing guitar, smoking weed, wearing bandanas and dreads, and philosophizing over a cup of herbal tea. Sounds like it could be interesting, right? That's what I thought, which is the reason I applied to this school (although, I'll admit, it was my fallback choice.) I figured wow, here is a school that is very non-conformist and unique, where I can have an enjoyable college experience without the whole cliche sorority interference. What could be better?

Well, most likely, a school that is not as extreme as mine. It is very hard to truly understand what my school is like, until you've experienced it for yourself. I have come across many people that love this school, but unfortunately I do not share their enthusiasm. I started off hating it with a passion, but now I more or less feel apathetic towards it. I don't mind it as much this year because I got a job off-campus from monday to friday, so I am hardly ever at school and when I am, I can appreciate the time to relax. Otherwise, I would most likely go out of my mind. Or what's left of it anyway.

But, you are not just here to listen to me rant and rave (even though it's one of my favorite hobbies), so I'll actually review the school now.

Academics

In my opinion, SUNY Purchase is a good school if you want to major in either the arts or the sciences. The drama, dance, and music conservatories are extremely difficult to get into and are very well known for being exceptionally good. The science program is also well established and many of the students under that major find the school to be exactly what they needed. Purchase is also known for being a good liberal arts school.

Unfortunately, the other majors aren't as strong or useful as the above mentioned. I am considering going into either psychology or education, and although the psychology program is decent, an education major hardly even exists at my school. I was told by my advisor that if I wanted to major in elementary education or get a solid degree in regular education, I would need to take classes at the nearby school, Manhattanville. The majors offered at SUNY Purchase are fairly limited, and many of them are biased. For example, an education major is nowhere to be found, but a "gay and lesbian studies" major is offered. There is a bit of discrimination going on there.

Location

SUNY Purchase is located on Anderson Hill Rd in Westchester County. The area is on the cusp of Connecticut, and it looks like it could easily be a part of that state instead of New York. Think very autumny, with changing trees, expanded fields, and an occasional deer or rabbit crossing your path. It is a very pretty area, but it is sort of located in the middle of nowhere. It seems more like an ideal place for a senior citizen to live than an outgoing college student.

There is a bus system, called the B-Line, which travels all throughout Westchester County. It runs until about 10:00 on weekdays, and 7:00 on weekends, which is highly inconvenient. If you go to Purchase, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CAR! You will desperately need one. The B-Line bus travels through white plains, which is about the only active town right near my college. There are two malls here, the Galleria and the Westchester mall, and it an escape haven from the boredom of the town of Purchase. There are also some pool halls, a couple of bars, and no movie theater. That's right, the nearest movie theater to my school is at least 20-30 minutes away. That right there indicates what a hick town it is.

The one excellent thing about Purchase's location, is that it's about a 45 minute train ride away from New York City. That makes weekends easy to travel home to, and find something exciting to do. I like that I can go home on weekends and not have to sit on a bus for 7 hours to be able to do so. It's nice to have that kind of safety net.

Housing

The dorms at SUNY Purchase aren't so bad. They are not the prettiest and cleanest buildings you've ever seen, but believe me, I've seen much worse. The three dorm buildings to choose from are Farside, Big Haus, and Crossroads. They are all pretty much the same, so it's not like one has a major advantage over the others. I live in a double with my roommate.

The other options to live at, are the New and Old apartments. In order to qualify to live here, you have to have 4 people, and I believe at least 60 credits. The Old apartments are conveniently located right near campus and the dorms, but the New apartments are about a 15 minute walk away, and are located in an area that looks sort of like a little suburban village. The New apartments are prettier, but the Old apartments have the location advantage.

Extra- Curricular Activities

What extra curricular activities? At my school? HA! That's the best joke I've heard all year, thanks. No seriously. The clubs and events offered at my school are nothing short of pathetic (and once again, biased.) Majority of the clubs at my school, are aimed towards the gay and lesbian community. Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with homosexuals, but I do have a problem with the fact that my school seems to focus all its energy on pleasing them and not nearly enough on making the rest of us happy. For example, the most popular club on campus is the "GLBTU" which stands for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender union. I also often see postings up around campus for "drag bingo night" and "Madonna-rama", which is an event for gay males to show their appreciation by dressing like, or singing to, Madonna (gee, could that BE any more stereotypical?)

Very very rarely do they offer school dances or parties that are not aimed towards specific racial minorities or people with varying sexual preferences. There is pretty much nothing to do on campus, which is why I often disappear and go to the mall to keep the remainder of my sanity.

Food

Many people despise the food offered at Purchase, but I kind of like it. My school is very hippyish and so it is also big on Vegetarianism, which is one of my favorite things about the school. Many of the dishes offered do not contain meat, and are perfect for the health-conscious.

The two different places to eat at on campus, are the dining hall and the Hub. The dining hall offers unlimited food prepared by the cooks, whereas the Hub is more like a pseudo-restaurant, where you pay for each specific thing you eat. The hub is a lot more of a social environment than the dining hall is, but I like the dining hall better personally. My favorite meal of the day is definitely breakfast because it contains the most variety. The cooks will make you eggs any way you want them, and there are also hash browns, bagels, cereal, bacon (and vegetarian bacon) and more to choose from. It's really not half bad.

Social Life

The biggest problem I have with Purchase is probably the social life. The school does not have any sororities or fraternities, which is a plus to me since I hate those superficial cult-like types of organizations. However, there are also not a whole lot of interesting parties going on, except if you happen to know the right people. That is one benefit of a school with sororities, because there are always organized parties going on that you can sometimes attend, even if you aren't a part of a sorority. Whereas, at my school, if you don't know the couple of people that throw the parties, you pretty much don't even know they are happening. One thing I will also verify, is that there is a pretty bad drug problem at my school. That is the case with most universities however.

The biggest flaw about my school, is that it feels too much like an extension of High School and not enough like a real college experience. It is a tiny school, so you see pretty much the same faces everyday. There is the tiny "in" crowd and then pretty much everyone else. If you do one thing at my school that you regret, the next day everyone will know about it and you will be stuck with a reputation weighing down on your shoulders.

It not only encompasses many factors about High School, but it also feels a lot like a "revenge of the nerds" type extension of High School. The majority of people at my school, are people that are generally not welcomed with open arms by society. Many of them are full out hippies, homosexuals, freaks, gothics, and bitter feminists. I would say this population constitutes at LEAST 85% of the school, and that is probably underestimating. I do not fit into any of these categories, and so whereas in everyday life I feel normal, at my school I feel like the outcast. At most schools where the popular cheerleaders roll their eyes at the freaks when they walk by, at my school the freaks far outnumber the cheerleaders and roll their eyes at them instead. I don't necessarily mind this sort of payback, but there is a lot of discrimination for the "average kids" also. It is a clear sign of reversed discrimination, which isn't any better than regular discrimination. At my school if I walk around with an abercrombie tank top, I will most likely receive at least 10 dirty looks from people who would judge me as shallow and worthless because of my shirt. I find this extremely unfair, since I'm not like that at all.

Another key problem, is the insane amount of "Politically correctness" going on. There needs to be a certain amount of PC in our society, but my school takes it way to the extreme. For example, there is an on campus club called the "Womyn's group". It is spelled this way, because the women don't want the word "men" to appear in "women", because they feel that is a biased attempt at keeping women inferior. Give me a BREAK! There are far too many angry feminists at my school, and I don't think that's any better than the macho-jock guys at fraternities at other universities. Extremes of both kinds are not any good, because fanaticism is a downfall, and not something that empowers people.

Overall

In general, I think you get the vibe that I am not crazy about my school. You are correct. I think it's somewhat below average, so I am rating it a 2/5. It does have it's positive sides, but the negative sides outnumber them and lead the school to not leave a great taste in my mouth.

My advice- if you are someone who feels rejected by society, my school will probably be the answer to your prayers. For the rest of you, I suggest attending a different university.

And that, is my long explanation of SUNY Purchase. Amen.



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