A little of both views

It's a crisp Friday afternoon on Centre College's campus. As the four o'clock hour draws to a close, groups of students stream out of buildings—singly or in small groups—laughing and chatting on their way back to the dorms. Throughout the rest of the afternoon campus-wide traffic slowly ebbs until dusk. Once the sun goes down, Centre College feels dead. No one is outside, and only a few cars drive down Walnut Street. Around 11:30 p.m. however, groups of people are visible again, this time in bigger, more boisterous groups. Heading towards Greek Row, the steady thumping of bass beats can be heard. This is where most people can be found at some point on a Friday night, and it pretty well encapsulates a good portion of social life here.

Depending on who you talk to, you'll hear that Centre is the biggest party school ever, or that the social scene is more than lacking. I share a little of both views. Just go outside late on a Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday night, and you'll find people ready to have a good time. On the other hand, if you aren't interested in partying, there isn't a whole lot else to do. Most of the time the Weekend Reel has a movie that's free to students, and some convocations or special concerts/events happen on the weekends, but Danville in and of itself has very little to do socially. There are different restaurants to go to, and a Wal-Mart. That's about it.

That said, I can say I've had both the highs and lows of social life at Centre. Going out with my friends to Sigma Alpha Epsilon's "80's Night" or Phi Tau's basement dance parties has been fun most of the time. Then again, being one of the only one of my friends who doesn't drink has put me in awkward situations from time to time, one being driving my friends to Arby's at four in the morning! While I've had some fun weekends out dancing, I've also had several weekends where I can't seem to find anything to do. After dinner, most of my Fridays and Saturdays consist of watching a movie or playing MarioKart with my hall mates (a game which turned four nice girls into cutthroat competitors) or (in classic dork fashion) going down to the piano practice rooms until 10 or 11 p.m. when people start going out.

Some part of my weekend is always dedicated to driving up to nearby Lawrenceburg to visit my cousin and ride my horse Taz, who currently lives on my aunt's farm. It's really nice to see some family since I'm so far from home; and getting off campus can be a welcome change of pace. I'd definitely recommend trying to go somewhere that isn't Centre College a couple times a month; since I eat, sleep, and work on campus, at times it can feel like I'm trapped in the Centre bubble too much!

During the rest of the week, I fill my non-class time with playing piano in the practice rooms or watching TV with hall mates. During the warmer months, I was a dedicated participant in the local Baskin Robbins' "Dollar Scoop Night," and when I'm with a group of guys we usually end up on the Centre swing, a wooden disc suspended from a tree on Old Centre's lawn. Some nights, my group of friends and I go out to Fazoli's restaurant or the Hub, a café by the College bookstore, when we get tired of Cowan Dining Commons fare.

The dual nature of the social life at Centre is really convenient. If you feel like staying out late and going to a fun party, those are always available. At the same time, if you just want to hang out, take a stroll down Main Street, or lounge in the dorm, you can do that, too. Coming from a big city like Orlando, it's taken some work to adjust to the slower, quieter pace of a town like Danville, but I've come to both appreciate and work around it!