How dominant is Greek life on campus?

Hey Readers!
I wanted to remind you that we LOVE hearing your questions and thoughts. Please share any of your comments with us. I received the following email and I wanted to share our conversation with you all:

"Hello, I recently applied to Chapman as a film production major and am eagerly awaiting my admission decision. I was reading your blog as a way of distraction from camping out at my mailbox and I have a question for you. A lot of the posts I was reading mentioned Greek life and activities in some way or another. I was wondering how dominant Greek life may be on campus. I do not think I would like to join a sorority at this point, but I don't want to be left without a social life either. What have been your observations on this topic? Thank you!"


I am so happy to hear you applied to Chapman. I can assure you that joining Greek life will not make, or break, your experience in college. I am a Junior and I have not been involved in Greek life, but I am greatly enjoying my college experience. Chapman is a relatively small school, our student population is just over 6,000. Our small student body makes it easier to meet people without joining a club, Greek life or athletics. I would encourage you to pursue an activity you are interested in rather than worry about joining a club/Greek life just to make friends.

You are much more likely to find students who share your same ideas and opinions if you join an activity that interests you. Spend your first semester on campus participating in all kind of clubs and student activities, such as AS, Res Life, Clubs, Greek life. You never know where you will fit in best. I would recommend going through Greek Life recruitment (more commonly know as rush) to see if you connect with any of the chapters. I participated in recruitment my freshmen year, but decided Greek Life was not for me. Instead I ran for Student Council and became a member of AS. Chapman offers a variety of options for students. If you live on campus, your Residence Life staff will be dedicated to ensuring that your first year is a success.

In short, don't force your self to join an activity that does not actually interest you. Give yourself time to make the best decision. Joining a fraternity or sorority is a lifetime commitment. You can participate in the 6 week recruitment without being initiated into the chapter. Recruitment happens every year so don't feel pressured to join as a freshman. You can be involved in Greek life even if you are not in a fraternity or sorority. Some of my closest friends are in Greek life and I attend Greek events with them all the time. Greek Life does an awesome job of including the entire student body in their activities. Participate in a few activities with them before you join.

Best of luck in college!
Sasha

Internship for Film Rites

During interterm, I have taken up a new activity. Commuting! Just kidding (mostly). In fact, I am working two days a week as an intern for Film Rites, a small film production company in Beverly Hills owned by Steve Zaillian (writer of Schindler's List, Gangs of New York, American Gangster, and many others). Though I am just a sophomore, I decided that this was the right time to do an internship as I plan to study abroad my junior year and I will also have experience when I apply for other internships or jobs in the future. I will continue to work at Film Rites during second semester as well.
Recently I went to the Career Development Center and applied to receive school credit for the internship. The staff there was great and extremely helpful in informing me how best to set up the credit which will appear on my transcript. So, though the commuting is a pain now, I know that this experience will be invaluable and receiving 4 credits (1 during interterm and 3 during the semester) will help a lot when looking toward life after Chapman.

-David

Disneyland a hot spot for weekend activities!!

Disneyland is truly the Happiest Place on Earth - at least when it's your neighbor it is! We Chapman students are a lucky bunch to be only a 10 minute drive from DLand. If ever on a third or fourth floor of any building on Chapman's campus, it is possible to watch the complete firework show nightly. So, due to our close distance from Disneyland, many students invest in an annual pass. This allows students access to Disneyland year round, making Disneyland a hot spot for weekend activities!!
Being a passholder myself now for three years, I regularly make a trip to the magical place. With each trip only lasting 2 hours or so, it is not possible to ever be overwhelmed by the magic, or bored of the fantasy. It still thrills me to be able to take a picture with Lilo, Goofy, or Minnie Mouse, as well as be enchanted by how small the world really is.
Disneyland has provided my friends and I great memories over the years, and it is just one of the great aspects to Chapman's location!

Monica

Prepping for the LSA

Hi everyone!

Right now, I am studying for the LSAT and taking an interterm class here at Chapman, so it's definitely a busy month. Turns out my class (Introduction to Ethics, a philosophy class) is actually helping me prepare. One section on the LSAT is dedicated to reading comprehension, something that philosophy classes at Chapman, and most classes at Chapman for that matter, emphasize. So while I am studying for that, I feel like I am simultaneously prepping myself for the LSAT.

Also, one of my psychology classes here listed as Critical Thinking has helped me a lot with the logic games section of the test. It's nice to see that what I learned my freshman year here is still applicable to the things I am doing now. Hopefully the way I have learned to analyze, process, and evaluate through my classes at Chapman helps me on the LSAT! Well, I to get back to my test prep! Wish me luck :)

- Kaitlin

Home away from home

Out of Staters
I gave a tour to a college counselor from Connecticut today, and she asked me a lot about how out-of-state students adjust to life at Chapman. It really got me thinking, how do students from outside of California feel about the university? I am from Southern California myself, so I can't really relate. However, about half of my friends are from out of state, and many are also from Northern California (which, apparently, is very different from Southern California). Here is the example I always give:

One of my best friends, Jake, is from Boston. When he came to Chapman, he made a lot of friends, but he was still very homesick. He spent the winter contemplating transferring to a school back home, which absolutely devastated my closest friends and I. However, he stayed until the spring semester of freshman year, even though he was still unsure about staying at Chapman. Then, he joined a fraternity and started getting more involved on campus. Now, as a junior, he is the president of his fraternity and has a ton of friends.

Jake wasn't planning on staying at Chapman, but once he got involved, Chapman became a better place for him. I think this story can be applied to anyone who is nervous about going to a school out of state. There are so many opportunities to get involved, and that is the best way to make friends. Once you're involved, the school is much more important to you. If you're worried that Chapman is too far from home, understand that your friends will become your family, and Chapman will become your home.

-Emily

Film Production

Camera Crew

Our Director of Photography

Dolly track set up in the lawn

With the help and supervision of Dodge College, 5 alumni and 30 undergraduate students collaborated to produce The Sprinkler. Much like a Pixar short, "The Sprinkler" is is a short comedy about an elderly man, Milton, who buys a high tech sprinkler that comes to life and takes over his lawn. Milton soon finds himself in a WWII style battle to gain back his property and regain control over the sprinkler.

Two seniors, Elaine and Alex, began writing the short story "The Sprinkler" during their senior year. After graduating in spring 2009, they approached me to help out with the project. Although Elaine and Alex had already graduated, we were able to make the project beneficial to alumni and current students. Chapman offers a program called "Independent Study," which allows students to earn class credit for work outside of the Chapman curriculum. Independent Study is designed for students to create their own course guide lines and learning objectives. My enrollment in Independent Study allowed me to serve as 1st Assistant Director on The Sprinkler and receive 3 units of credits for my work. My performance was evaluated by Dodge College faculty member, David Kost. I found Independent Study to be a very productive program. Not only did I gain hands on experience working on a film set, but I was able to apply my efforts towards academic credit. Independent Study is just one example of how Chapman links alumni with current students. I am thankful that Chapman is dedicated to keeping connections with their alumni, it gives me something to look forward to when I graduate.

EXPLOSION!!!!

Traveling to Argentina and Chile

As a student in the integrated MBA program, I have the opportunity to travel abroad during the interterm of my graduate year. This year myself and 19 other students will be traveling to Argentina and Chile in order to research local and global companies and see how they conduct business. To say the least I'm really excited!

We'll be going to basically one or two businesses a day and then going out on cultural experiences at night. There are even a few full-on cultural days where we'll be going to local wineries, the town of Valparaiso, and a traditional gaucho farm! Some of the businesses we're visiting include Google, Nextperience and the Central Bank of Argentina. It's going to be very informative and interesting.

We leave on January 17th and get back on the 28th. It's definitely going to be a great time!