Brown University

Brown University is an Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1764 as Rhode Island College, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in New England and the seventh-oldest in the United States. Brown was the first college in the nation to welcome students of all religious affiliations.

Student life

Setting

Brown's campus is located on College Hill, across the Providence River from downtown Providence. The College Hill neighborhood is home to an extensive collection of historic colonial architecture. Adjacent to the University is the campus of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources. They also offer joint courses, and students at each institution may cross-register in courses offered by the other institution. Their combined presence has been instrumental in developing the vibrant arts and theater scene in Providence.

Related Topics:
Colonial - Rhode Island School of Design

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Atmosphere

Brown is generally considered to be the "happiest Ivy"; Princeton Review ranks Brown third among all American colleges for "happiest students." This happiness stems from a curriculum that both encourages students to study unfamiliar topics and discourages a culture of academic competition. Brown was recently named "the most fashionable school in the Ivy League" by the fashion trade journal Women's Wear Daily on the basis that students on campus seem to have the strongest sense of personal style. Brown, like most Ivies, leans Left (liberal) in the Left-Right political spectrum. It has long had the reputation of being the "hippest" and "friendliest" of the Ivies. Brown is also well-known for a sense of what conservatives call "political correctness" that pervades the campus. For instance, freshmen are referred to as "first-years."

Related Topics:
Fashion - Left - Liberal - Left-Right - Political spectrum - Conservatives - Political correctness

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nightlife

Brown is home to an active on-campus nightlife. Massive on-campus parties take place on the weekends, and most are thrown by the greek-letter fraternities and sororities. Some parties, such as the Queer Alliance?s debauched SexPowerGod and Starfuck, are annual occurrences that have gained incredible popularity. Dorm-room parties are popular on-campus as well.

Related Topics:
SexPowerGod - Starfuck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Athletics

Brown is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Ivy League athletic conference. It sponsors 37 varsity intercollegiate teams. Its athletics program has been featured in the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the top 20 athletic programs in the country according to U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/sports/rankings/honor.htm Brown also features several competitive intercollegiate club sports, including its nationally ranked sailing, Taekwondo, and ultimate frisbee teams. The men's ultimate frisbee team is the 2005 national champions.

Related Topics:
National Collegiate Athletic Association - Division I - Varsity - U.S. News & World Report - Sailing - Taekwondo - Ultimate frisbee - 2005

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Student groups

There are approximately 240 registered student organizations on campus with diverse interests. Student Activities Night, during the orientation program, is an opportunity for first-years to become acquainted with the wide range of clubs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Residential / Greek

Greek life does not dominate the social scene at Brown, as only about 9% of the students are in fraternities or sororities. There are eleven residential Greek houses: six all-male fraternities, two sororities, two co-ed fraternities, and a co-ed society. Brown is unusual in that all recognized Greek letter organizations live on-campus in University-owned dorm housing. Ten of the houses are overseen by the Greek Council and are located on Wriston Quadrangle. St. Anthony Hall, a co-ed fraternity that does not participate in Greek Council, is located in King House. Greek letter organizations that "discriminate on the basis of race" are not sanctioned, forcing groups like the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, an African American fraternity, to operate off-campus.

Related Topics:
Greek life - St. Anthony Hall - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity - African American

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An alternative to fraternity life at Brown are the program houses, which are organized around various themes. As with Greek houses, the existing residents of each house take applications from students returning for the fall semester. Examples of program houses include: International House, French/Spanish House, Art House, Technology House, and Interfaith House.

Related Topics:
French - Spanish - Interfaith

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Secret societies

Like most other Ivies, secret societies have existed at Brown since the 18th century. They originated as literary clubs and organized debates and disputes among their members, a forensic tradition that continues today in the Brown Debating Union. The first known literary society was Athenian at Queen's, founded in 1776, but this entity disbanded by the mid-1780's. The Philermenian Society (founded as the Misokosmian Society) arose in 1794, and quickly became dominant. In reaction to the Federalist Philermenians, a Democratic-Republican society called the United Brothers Society was formed in 1806; and in 1824 a third "alternative" club, the Franklin Society, was formally recognized by the university president. All of these societies had libraries and meeting rooms on the top floor of Hope College, and few written documents were preserved in order to protect against inter-society espionage. By the mid-19th century, these societies diminished and eventually dissolved on account of the growth in the number of Greek letter fraternities. Only the Franklin Society survived, evolving into the Society of the Pacifica House (Societas Domi Pacificae) after the Civil War. Pacifica House remains the only publicly-known secret society at Brown today.

Related Topics:
Brown Debating Union - 1794 - Federalist - Democratic-Republican - 1806 - 1824 - Greek letter - Fraternities - Society of the Pacifica House

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~