Kenyon College

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Hallmarks and Quirks

Things I'm Good At:

Winning swimming and diving titles. Seriously, I held the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming & Diving titles for thirty-one consecutive years (NCAA's longest streak ever), and Women's titles for seventeen consecutive years.
Winning awards for my beauty. I was named most beautiful by Forbes in 2010 and second "Most Amazing College Campus" by The Best Colleges in 2014.
I have an exceedingly strong English department and a world-famous literary journal, The Kenyon Review.
Singing. I have a fifty-person Chambers Singers group and seven a cappella groups.
Having nice professors. Professors will often have classes over at their house for dinner once a semester, and many students and professors create friendships that last well after graduation.

My Top 5 Must-Haves:

A meal plan. Seriously, I only have one meal plan, and everyone must be on it. This includes upperclassmen that luck out and get one of the few coveted apartments with a kitchen. Rest assured, though, the food in Peirce (yes, that's "Peirce," not "Pierce") Hall is pretty amazing. I focus on providing sustainable foods from local farms, and have options for gluten-free and other dietary needs.
A voice. Singing at Kenyon is a must. It all starts with the Freshman Sing your first day on campus, when you stand on the steps of Rosse Hall and pour your heart into your new alma mater's traditional songs. Then, you'll do it all again as part of Senior Sing just before you graduate.
A good sense of humor about hell. Right in the center of campus, directly across from the Church of the Holy Spirit, are what are known as "The Gates of Hell." Apparently, they open up a cavern straight to hell if you walk through when the church bells are ringing. As a result, people will often stop and wait for the bells to finish before they go through.
Close-toed shoes. Kenyon has Middle Path, and Middle Path is made of gravel. Which means if you come to campus thinking you can sport flip-flops or Birkenstocks every day, be prepared to be kicking some little stones out of your shoes at least five times on each walk to class.
A firm belief that life doesn't have to be centered in a city. Kenyon's location is not for everyone. It truly is in the middle of nowhere, and if you don't have a car (and the majority of students do not), you can feel pretty trapped in the bubble on The Hill.

Why You Might Have Heard of Me:

David Foster Wallace delivered a famous commencement address in 2005, "This is Water." It was later turned into an essay and published in The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2006.
I got national attention when my students stayed in line to vote upwards of ten hours to cast votes in the 2004 presidential election.
In addition to boasting the original Nerdfighter, I have a tremendous literary history. My admissions office, Ransom Hall, is named after poet John Crowe Ransom.
How many other colleges can claim that an entire town has been named after it? I can. The Town of Kenyon, Minnesota is named after me.
I'm also the finish line for the Pelotonia bike race each August, which raises money to fight cancer.

On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...

I'm probably at Rosse Hall for a cappella concerts or visiting lecturers. If not, there are also parties in Old Kenyon. I don't take the Greek scene too seriously, but it does provide a stable set of weekend activities. You know, for after you participate in all of the great free cultural events that are happening. Notably: the Swimmers' annual Shock Your Mother Party, Archons' '80s and '90s parties, and anything hosted by the Peeps O'Kenyon.

I might also be engaged in conversation in comfy chairs at the Bookstore, Wiggins Café, or—if it's warm—on the benches by Middle Path. Kenyonites with access to cars have been known to actually venture off of campus and wander around Columbus (an hour away) or the next-door town of Mount Vernon. MV has a Walmart and limited supplies of restaurants, but not much in the way of Kenyony-fun.

Favorite Hangouts:

Middle Path. Students are always walking up and down Middle Path, going to and from parties or home. Oftentimes, Middle Path is as much of an event as the party itself.
Wiggin Street Coffee, for that mandatory caffeine fix
Friday Café . It's a whole lot nicer than most dining halls you're used to.
Peirce Hall, especially during Extendo
The Deli. This place has fantastic sandwiches and is the go-to place for breakfast after a night of partying.
The Library. I'm not kidding. Kenyon students are very studious.
Olin and Chalmers Libraries are legitimately awesome places to hang out in, with lots of places to curl up and study…or canoodle.
Nu Pi Kappa, a study room at the top of Ascension Hall
Gund Gallery, the visual arts center
The VI (Village Inn), a family-owned restaurant and bar to unwind at after the studying is done

Quirks:

There are tons of stories about various buildings being haunted. Beloved Professor Tim Shutt does a fantastic ghost tour.
Kenyon doesn't have a mascot. My sports teams are called the Kenyon Lords and Ladies.
On Fridays from 4:00PM to 5:00PM, when classes are over for the week, The Kenyon Pealers gather to ring the bells at Church of the Holy Spirit. Anyone can go up and play along.
The Beta Rock. This is a huge rock on South Quad that the Beta Theta Pi brothers pushed up a hill one year. It gets repainted many times a year. It's such a part of Kenyon lore that it got its own cameo in alum Josh Radnor's film Liberal Arts, which was filmed here.
There are loud, piercing tornado alerts nearly every Friday at noon that you can hear all over campus.
There is no student center. Peirce dining hall ends up being the place where you can find pretty much anyone.
Amish craftswomen and farmers pull their horse & buggies up alongside Wiggin Street and sell homemade pies, quilts, and other goodies.

Famous Alumni:

John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars
Josh Radnor, Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother
Paul Newman, Butch Cassidy and the Salad Dressing King himself
Rutherford B. Hayes. The B stands for "Be President."
Bill Watterson, author of Calvin and Hobbes
Olof Palme, Swedish Prime Minister
Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit and Unbroken
Matthew Winkler, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News
William Rehnquist, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

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