College of William & Mary
- Nightlife

Underage Nightlife

There's usually something to do when nighttime rolls around. However some nights when nothing is really happening on campus, you could always go to the movies or just hang out with friends. Sometimes, I have to go the lab to do work and work with my peers.

Things That Don't Exist at William and Mary

Thanks to the combination of the students and administration at W&M and the lifeless town of Williamsburg, there is little to do on any given weekend here. There are only 3 "delis"--bars--in the part of Williamsburg near campus, and all of them are very strict about who they let in. Unlike other college towns, they do not offer many good deals for students or anyone else. If clubs even exist in Williamsburg, students do not know about them nor do they attend them. Parties on campus are hosted by either fraternities, varsity athletes, or occasionally by random clubs and organizations. However, since we are at W&M, the parties hosted by such clubs tend to be boring if not weird. For example, parties are sometimes hosted by the Fencing Team or the International Relations Club. Parties hosted by varsity athletes can be fun, but few other than athletes attend; they are not usually exclusive as far as who is let in, but they tend to be further from campus and non-athletes rarely go. Fraternity parties are generally the most fun, but even those hardly compare to parties at many other schools. Because of W&M's absurdly strict administration and police, parties are shut down often and organizations are punished quickly thereafter. William and Mary wastes its time enforcing punishment for underage drinking even though such activity will take place regardless. Because bigger parties tend to get shut down, students are forced to party--and drink--in smaller get-togethers. Students also tend to drink more than they otherwise would because there is not as much socializing taking place.

JOKE

The worst part of my experience at WM by far. There is some truth to the "it's as fun as you make it" philosophy but you have to work pretty hard to find fun places to go and cool people to go with. In retrospect, I wish I had gone greek because it's possible to establish yourself and have a good time without pledging but it would have been a lot easier. There are a total of 3 bars...but that is actually enough because so few students can make it out of the library long enough to enjoy themselves at night. On the plus side- most off campus parties and the bars are basically in walking distance.