User Profile
ctynedale
Birmingham-Southern College '12
Majoring in Physical Sciences
Member since 1/28/2010
B
Aim for the Hilltop
Living on campus can be a fantastic experience-- if you are an upperclassman and can afford to live in the Hilltop Village Apartments. Because the campus is in a less-than-desirable neighborhood, living off-campus usually requires a pretty serious commute, and living on-campus allows you to walk to fraternity row and (safely) walk back on the weekends. Dorms are small, but nothing dramatically different from any other school, and for the most part the female dorms are in great shape. Some of the boy's dorms smell like, well, boy, but that seems inevitable.
Jan 28, 2010
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A-
Frat It up
Birmingham-Southern and greek life are pretty synonymous when it comes to the late-night social scene. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, pretty much anyone can walk in to any fraternity house and find some sort of party going on. Some larger schools tend to have a sort of guest-list policy or cup purchase at the door-- Southern is nothing like those schools. Boys not involved in the greek scene are nonetheless welcome at parties, and wandering in and out of houses is simply how parties are done. Even if you aren't interested in participating in greek life, it will be part of your social life at Southern. There is a cultural scene off-campus, but in Birmingham you have to make an effort to find it. The hassle of going off campus to visit bars downtown is such that most people just stay on the row-- unless, of course, a fraternity is hosting an off-campus party, in which case buses or carpooling is common.
Jan 28, 2010
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B
Just Say No... to Paying for Drugs.
Southern is like any other college- a LOT of kids smoke pot (especially those ATO boys), and other drugs are available-- if you look for them. If someone has weed, that someone quickly has several new friends, and on a campus as small as Southern those bonds can last your tenure at the school. Adderall is hardly even considered a drug on campus, but simply a study necessity-- and anyone can tell you where to find some.
Jan 28, 2010
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C
"Token" Isn't Just a South Park Character.
The Birmingham-Southern campus is like any other small, over-priced liberal arts school-- predominately middle-class and white. However, there is good news for minority students-- you will be featured on the website! There are organizations for minority students to get involved in, but otherwise there is little notice of racial or class differences among students, regardless of the Southern geographic location of the school. With a campus this small, everyone has to get along.
Jan 28, 2010
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A
Go Greek or Go Home.
The vast majority of students at Southern are members of Greek organizations, but every student at Southern is somehow involved. The social scene on campus revolves around fraternity row, where Greeks and non-Greeks alike come together for drunken revelry every Thursday through Saturday. Housing for Greeks, especially fraternity members, is pretty fantastic-- the houses comprising the row are the first thing visitors to Southern see of the campus, and it is an impressive sight.
Jan 28, 2010
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Walk Within the Bubble.
Southern's campus is small enough that there is no need for on-campus transportation-- dorms are close enough to academic buildings that anything other than walking is an inconvenience. Lazy Hilltop Apartment dwellers may be caught driving to classes early in the morning, but for the most part students take to campus on-foot. Should you be one of the few to live off-campus, driving in is your responsibility, but be warned: should campus security see you leaving the gates intoxicated, they will not hesitate to prevent you from leaving campus.
Jan 28, 2010
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Bid Day
Bid Day
A view down fraternity row on one of the biggest party-days of the year---Bid Day. Every house is hosting a party, starting around 10 in the morning and continuing well into the wee hours of the following morning.
Bid Day Foam
Bid Day Foam
A slice of Bid Day madness on the row---the front yard of one of the fraternity houses, complete with foam machine and inflatable slip-n-slide.
Everyone on the Row
Everyone on the Row
Everyone shows up to the row for bid day---Greeks, non-Greeks, students from nearby colleges. This picture was taken around 11 a.m. when the first crowd was trickling in and shows the wide array of students celebrating out on the fraternity lawns. Plus, the houses are beautiful.