Real thoughts on the social scene at Oberlin?
I was wondering the same thing when I was seventeen years old. What goes on in a small town in the middle of nowhere Ohio? Do they ride tractors for fun? Do they tip cows over like in Cars? Do they shuck corn and make their own corn mazes?
Well, I’m disappointed to tell you we don’t do any of that. Instead, every Tuesday and Wednesday, we rally to head to Oberlin’s only bar, the Feve, and enjoy Two Dollar Tuesdays ($2 wells) and Long Island Nights ($6 Long Island iced teas). Every Friday, half of Oberlin drags themselves out for a co-op, athlete, or jazz party (read more on the differentiation here). On a weekend morning, we might go to Slow Train or The Local for a coffee date. If it’s serious, maybe you’re enjoying brunch at 1833. If you have nothing in common with your date, you’re probably walking really slowly around the Allen Memorial Art Museum and commenting on the art.
The social scene at Oberlin is only of a small college town. There’s always something going on, but you’ll only rarely have to decide between parties because normally, there are only one or two parties going on. Dating here is normal––but there’s probably only two or three degrees of separation between this partner and your next. If you head to the nearest Walmart, you’ll see six people you know.
It isn’t hard to make friends here. Join any student organization, and you’ll find yourself surrounded by other like-minded people. If you’re particularly daring, you’ll sit by a stranger in one of your classes, and maybe you’ll form an uneasy acquaintance. You might pick up a low-paying campus job, and you and your co-workers will spend so much time together that you’re friends. You wouldn’t ever hang out with them, but if you see them at the Feve, you’ll probably go over and commiserate how horrible the Long Island iced tea tastes.
The dating scene is pretty universal. Everyone is always complaining about being single, and no one is asking anyone else on dates (thanks, Hanna). Well, some people are, but it’s never the people you want to date. It’s your friend’s ex-boyfriend. It’s the person from your class who contradicts the professor. It’s the person who’s always at the Feve, even on a Monday night.
But, if you strike out, you’ll probably have a good time. Dating at Oberlin can be fun. There are always events to go to together, and if you like to yap, going to the Arboretum for a date can be a really fun way to waste away an afternoon. Even if you don’t strike out, you’ll have a good story for the group chat later. You’ll feel better that you at least attempted to date.
Oberlin isn’t a desert––and in fact it used to be a wetland (thanks, Maeve). And shockingly––Oberlin has smart, funny, attractive, annoying, and talented people, just as every other school does. Oberlin makes it easy to meet people because of all of its student organizations, music recitals and concerts, and its four coffee spots (if you count our bakery). There’s a local flower shop for your dates. There’s a bowling alley for your acquaintances. There’s a bar for your friends. And at the end of the day, there’s YikYak, if you truly have nobody. At worst it gives you a reality check with how many friends you have. There’s always someone out there with less.
I hope you can find a good time in our social scene at Oberlin, or at least, take solace in the fact that Kenyon has it worse (😉).
