I wrote a review of Wesleyan University during the fall of my freshman year (1999) that was titled, "Wesleyan Rules!" I was living away from home for the first time and loving every aspect of college life. Since then, I have grown to see some of the pros and cons of Wes. I believe that I made the right choice in coming to Wesleyan, but it is not for everyone.

Overview
Wesleyan has a very diverse student body of approximately 2700 students, with an equal number males and females (I think that there are slightly more women than men, but you will find this at any liberal arts school). There are more than 100 student organizations and many more activities, so everyone can find something to fit his interests. However, sometimes I think that there are too many activities and that everyone is self-absorbed and obsessed with their own group. As a result, each group has approximately 8 members, so everyone ends up in a leadership role. For instance, I am one of the students in charge of Amnesty International, and it is very difficult to get people to attend meetings.

Politically , the students are very liberal. So liberal sometimes that they are actually conservative, in that they are not accepting of other people's views. There are probably under 100 Republicans on campus. Ralph Nader seemed to be the most popular candidate during the 2000 election.

Have you ever seen the movie PCU? It was based on Wesleyan. There were even a few shots of Wesleyan buildings in the opening sequence. This is the most politically correct place on earth. Some students even refer to girls as "Female identified people." People are extremely sensitive and easily offended. For instance, the "Queer Alliance" (an organization that has since disbanded due to internal strife) wrote in chalk in front of a frat house, "Beta Boys su*k c*ck." The frat boys erased the chalk with a broom and the Queer Alliance got all upset and said that this was in violation of their freedom of speech, and they held a forum to discuss it. For me, this can get a bit tiresome since I feel that the students are often hypocritical. They have huge prejudices against frat boys and athletes. (Not that I love frat boys or anything, but I would prefer the students to be a bit more open minded. And I'd like people to care more about the World Series!!) Also, one of my (straight) male friends is constantly in fear that he will offend someone.

Also relating to the film PCU, there are often protests and there are tons of animal rights activists who you might find rather annoying since they are constantly trying to convert people to veganism.

Social Life

There is very little "dating" at Wesleyan, primarily because there is not much to do in Middletown, CT. There is a movie theater and some nice restaurants within walking distance, but you'll get tired of Middletown very quickly. And you'll need to find a friend with a car so you can go to the 24-hour diner, the Athenian, which every Wesleyan student goes to at 4AM at least a couple of times during his/her time there.

In terms of "dating," there are "random hook-ups" where you hook up with someone you "meet" at a party and dread running into them at the campus center the next day. Then there are people who are "married" and basically spend every minute of their lives together. There is very little middle ground.

When I was a freshman, there was a pretty good party scene with keg parties at the frats and "anti-frats" and parties in seniors' houses every weekend. However, the administration has tightened its drinking policy. Wesleyan's large parties are basically not allowed to serve alcohol at all, so students drink in small groups in their rooms and then go out in search of a semi-decent party. This is both dangerous and anti-social. Now, students are not even allowed to go in their own basements, which used to be a hotbed for parties.

Another problem that I have found is that students tend to make most of their friends during freshman and sophomore year and then these groups are very cliquey. I love my friends, but I would also like to branch out. It is difficult to meet people in Middletown since there isn't much to do (as I mentioned earlier). Wesleyan students are not the most friendly bunch.

Housing

The dorm rooms are spacious and comfortable, but not beautiful. Many students, including myself when I was a freshman, have single rooms, but the walls are cinder block. Also, after sophomore year, most students live in apartments or houses owned by the university.

The dining hall food is bad, but you only have to eat it freshman year and then you get on a points system and can use the campus grocery store. If you can get through freshman year, the food gets better. Freshmen are forced to be on a meal plan with either 13 or 19 meals per week. This is an advantage over many other schools that force students to purchase 20 meals each week. I was on the 13 plan which also comes with 50 points. Unfortunately, meal can be used only at MoCon (the big, all-you-can eat dining hall open for lunch dinner and weekend brunch), the campus center for breakfast, Summerfields for lunch and dinner, or the Kosher Kitchen (lunch and dinner). If you are on the 19 meal plan you can get pizza at the campus center after 7 PM. Other than that, you have to use your points. One point is equal to a dollar but everything is overpriced, so 50 points is nothing. After freshman year, students can be on an all-points plan which allows for many more options. Points can also be used at the campus grocery store, WEShop. In addition, a couple of the frat houses have restaurants where one can pay in points. (I have never tried these.)

MoCon, where most freshmen eat, has apparently improved a lot since I was a freshman. It has a good variety of drinks and the largest salad bar in Connecticut. Some of the other places to eat on campus are not as bad, such as WesWings and Summerfields, but you'll tire of the campus food very quickly. But the great thing about Wesleyan is that most juniors and seniors can cook in their own kitchens. WesShop has a good variety of food and you get plenty of points. I very rarely go to the supermarket, and I was left with enough points to supply myself with enough AA batteries to listen to my Walkman for an entire semester in London.

Wesleyan offers a variety of housing options. Freshmen can live in the Foss Hill Dorms (ten buildings WestCo 1-4, Nicolson 5-7, and Hewitt 8-10), Butterfield (three buildings), or the newly renovated all-freshmen Clark Hall. I lived in Hewitt 10, one of the Foss Hill Dorms. It resembles a Howard Johnson Motel because of its balconies. The Hewitt dorms, three three-floored structures, house freshmen and sophomores and two RAs per building. There are two laundry rooms, two lounges, and a game room with ping pong and pool for the three buildings. The bottom floor is all male, the top is all female, and the middle is co-ed. I lived on the all-girls floor, which was quiet, but not very social, since most of us prefer to socialize with guys around and guys are too lazy to climb the stairs. :) So, my room was mainly a place to study and sleep. Hewitt is located right next to the big athletic field (Andrus Field), Foss Hill, and MoCon, the dining Hall. Most students have single rooms but there is one double and two 2-room doubles (which are sometimes triples) on each floor.

The Nicolson complex (also on Foss Hill) is similar but all floors are co-ed. WestCo (Foss 1-4) has two floors (all co-ed) and has more two-room doubles than Hewitt. It is the more hippyish, politically active dorm, I would say. You might have read about the "naked dorm" in the New York Times. That's WestCo! Although, I haven't seen naked people in a while, they occasionally walk around Foss Hill in the nude. WestCo conveniently houses WEShop, the on-campus store and the WestCo Cafe which has improv and local bands perform there some nights.

Clark was the oldest, most run-down dorm, but it is now a gorgeous new dorm for freshman only. It even has automatic sinks and mini-kitchens!

Butterfield has a larger sophomore population and is isolated from the other dorm complexes. However, the rooms are fairly large and Butterfield is closer to the Campus Center and the Science buildings.

After freshman year there are many more options: program housing (French House, Community Service House, Malcolm X House, Asian/Asian American House, etc.) Juniors and seniors live mostly in apartments (low-rise, high-rise, or "in town"), and seniors get to live in their own free-standing houses!! This is a huge advantage over other schools which make students live in dorms (and eat the food!!) all four years. I lived in hi-rise last year in a two-bedroom apartment (2 people) with its own kitchen and bathroom. This year, I live in a wood-frame house with four of my friends. It is fantastic!

Some students live off campus, but I think it is more convenient to live in hi-rise or other Wesleyan apartments since you get the school ethernet and phone service and don't have to deal with a land lord. Some of my friends lived in lo-rise which has 4 single bedrooms upstairs, and a living room and a kitchen downstairs. In towns are similar to lo-rises but they are farther away from campus and have room for 5 or 6 people.

Campus Events
One of the best things that Wesleyan has to offer is its film series. All of the films are free or $3 and the film board presents a good mix of old classics, new-ish releases and cult classics. The film department is actually rather well known and we have an excellent film archive. The director of the department is often interviewed in biographies about old movie stars. Student-run plays are very popular, as well, but you always have to get there very early and people cut the queue and there is chaos...

There are four major outdoor music festivals-- Duke Day, Zonker Harris Day, Buttstock, and Spring Fling. The first two are basically the same and are run by WestCo. Student and local bands play and people run around dancing and pretending it's the '60s. It is basically for people who are stoned and not a huge percentage of the population shows up. Buttstock is held toward the end of the year so the weather tends to be much warmer. It is run by Butterfield dorms and they have activities such as inflatable jumping castles and tie-dying. Spring Fling is the biggest event and probably the only time you'll ever see so many Wesleyan students at once. They supposedly get REAL bands, but everyone complains about the choices every year anyway. Sophomore year, we had Biz Markie, which was pretty hilarious. If the weather is good, everyone sits out on the hill and it is a lot of fun.

For seniors, there are periodically Senior Cocktails, a night of drunken debauchery for the final year students at a local rented-out location.

Academics

I really haven't been all that impressed with Wesleyan classes. I'm a psychology major so most of my classes tend to be fairly large. I was even in an English class with 300 people in it!! This is not supposed to happen at a liberal arts school. Some of my friends have had better academic experiences than I have. The English, Religion Film, Music, Sociology, and other liberal arts areas are supposed to be very good.

There are no required classes, but you are supposed to take three classes in each of three areas-- Natural Sciences/Math, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Even if you don't fulfill these recommendations, you can still graduate, but not with honors.

Not every major requires a thesis, but some do.

Wesleyan has an excellent library system. If you can't find the book you need at Wes, you can order it from any other school across the country through "inter-library loan."

Other

Valuable things to do: Sled down Foss Hill on trays from the dining hall, volunteer at local schools and soup kitchens, go apple picking at Lyman Orchards, go for bike rides in the surrounding countryside, play intramural sports, and...

GO ABROAD!!!

Almost 50% of Wesleyan students go abroad. The Office of International Studies has many resources to help you figure out where you want to go and then make the arrangements to get there. Leaving Wes for a semester was one of the best decisions of my life. I felt trapped during the fall of my junior year, and my time in London was the happiest of my life.

A lot of my friends (at Wesleyan and at other schools) go through a junior year slump where everything about the school becomes annoying and they get tired of their friends, etc. No school is perfect. I really like Wesleyan, but it certainly has its faults. Get away for a while into another culture.

My essay on studying abroad can be found here.

If you have any questions about Wesleyan, feel free to email me at beckytcy@yahoo.com.

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My review of the film PCU:
http://www.epinions.com/content_97807535748


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