Most of the parties that take place normally happen off campus in the many houses and apartments inhabited by students. Any given weekend, one can find a party going on and, more often than not, Thursday and Sunday as well. The houses on Marion, Hudson, Clinton Springs, and Dana play host to the larger house parties. The occasional on-campus party is held in the Village apartment complex, but those tend to be smaller and the attendees must be more careful about drawing the attention of campus police. The residents of Norwood, the suburb that surrounds XU, often have had problems with student parties in the past, and they seem to have lobbied the police toward cracking down on large parties. The one large party that a natural disaster couldn’t stop is the annual “Pig Roast.” As far as bars and clubs go, Xavier students seem to gravitate to the closest havens possible. The most popular spot is definitely Dana’s, a local bar with a laid-back atmosphere. Dana’s is a favorite of juniors, seniors, and kids who have laminated cards that say they’re juniors and seniors. This same crowd can often be seen at the Woods, an even more dilapidated bar than Dana’s, where the drinks are cheap and people such as Charles Manson have been regulars in the past. Still, others prefer to venture even closer to home and go to Ryan’s Pub, which is conveniently located in the Gallagher Student Center. Sorry kids, those laminated cards don’t work as well here.
Sadly, beyond the three dive bars and scattered house parties, there is not much to do on the weekends as far as nightlife. Due to the campus’ distance from downtown, it takes a special occasion or an arsenal of designated drivers to bring XU kids to the hot spots of the Cincinnati nightlife. Once you find your niche, whether it be the bar scene, the party scene, or the sit-in-your-room-and-drink scene, you will realize the nightlife at Xavier is an acquired taste.