DePauw gets a lot of crap for being a party school. While I am not going to sit here and deny that there is a lot of partying going on at DePauw, you still shouldn't listen to people who claim "all there is to do is party." I recently read an article by a fellow student that was sending a message to DePauw claiming that they do not provide enough activities to students during the weekend. All I have to say to that is, while DePauw may not be rolling out the red carpet every weekend, you cannot blame the binge drinking party culture on them!
1. GET INVOLVED!
I volunteer with several organizations on campus and I'll have to say, that's enough to keep me busy. So many organizations are desperate for people to join clubs OTHER THAN GREEK LIFE. For example, I am a part of College Mentors for Kids. It meets once a week and the club has so few mentors that mentors often have to take on two to three students despite the one to one ratio that is expected. So many other clubs on campus have the same issue. I recently attended the Spring Activity Involvement Fair and I could have counted on one hand the amount of students that were there when I was. It was sad.
2. GO TO ACADEMIC EVENTS
The Hubbard Center is constantly providing speakers and workshops to attend on campus. These speakers cover a wide variety of topics. I absolutely love going to these in my free time. Not only is it a great networking opportunity, but you also have the opportunity to learn things that you may never have gotten the chance to in your classes. And guess what, they have them on the weekends! That's right, you could actually choose to stay in one night at go to a workshop instead of a frat party.
3. GET A JOB
Spend your free time being financially productive! Instead of asking your parents for spending money, earn it yourself or start saving it. There are constantly people from the community posting on the E-Services bulletin with low-commitment jobs. I know this because I have two that I've found on the bulletin, at one of them my employer allows me to literally take naps. So don't write this off as something you "don't have time for."
4. INDY IS LESS THAN AN HOUR AWAY
And Indy has plenty of things to do. Laser tag, escape rooms, different colleges to visit, great restaurants, you name it. If you or one of your friends does not have a car, you can rent one through DePauw for $9 an hour and the gas is included.
5. YOU'RE WRONG, THEY DO NORMALLY HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON
Sporting events, sponsored activities, musicals, plays, concerts....maybe read the DePauw Weekender a little more closely. DePauw does try to provide at least something to go to on the weekends. Whether it be free bowling or just advertising the new movie at the free movie theater, DePauw is trying. I saw that a couple weekends ago they were giving out free massages. We can't expect them to bring King's Island to us, this is Greencastle, IN. Ultimately, we all chose to go to school here. It was your choice, so if you don't like that partying is a main outlet for people then you shouldn't have chosen this school to be your home.
6. MAYBE JUST GIVE YOUR LIVER A BREAK
If none of the previously listed ideas appeal to you, maybe you should just consider staying in and giving your liver a break. Set your FOMO aside and stay in and watch a movie or hang out with your friends. Your body will thank you someday.
7. DON'T YOU HAVE HOMEWORK??? I DO
Maybe it's just my class load, but I often find that I can't get all my homework for the weekend done solely on Sunday. If I don't do some of it on Friday or Saturday I end up doing homework for 12 hours straight and going to be super late on Sunday. Staying in and doing homework sounds super lame, I know, but aren't we all paying $60k for an education?
To wrap this up, please stop blaming DePauw because you're bored with Greencastle, IN. I get it, it's not the most exciting place in the world. If partying is important to you, then I assume you are not the people complaining about having nothing else to do but party. But if you are among those who complain, do something else. It is not DePauw's job to entertain you.
