Who is responsible for Student Activities?
Working under the Dean of Students, Alex Bruce is the Associate Dean of Students for Campus Life, and interviews are being conducted curently to fill the position of Director of Student Activities.
Are there things to do on the weekend?
Between fraternity and sorority functions, student organization programs, and University sponsored events, there is always something to do on the Mountain. The Office of Student Activities, located in the Bishop’s Common, sponsors campus-wide programs and assists individuals and groups in planning and carrying out their programs and activities. The Student Program Board promotes a variety of entertainment every week from national comedians and bands to outdoor movies and trips to local amusement, while the Sewanee Outing Program sponsors a full schedule of weekend events — hikes, caving, canoeing, climbing, cycling, and trips to nearby scenic spots. There are over one hundred student organizations providing opportunities for involvement and leadership development. Theatre Sewanee, the University dramatic organization, stages seven or eight plays each year, with performances on weekends. The Sewanee Union Theatre maintains a full schedule of films seven days a week. Stirling’s Coffee House is another consistent source of great food, drink, and programs from music to poetry readings every weekend, and there are cultural events throughout the year sponsored by various student/faculty groups.
Proctors plan social activities for their dormitories including dorm picnics, seafood dinners, pizza outings, Christmas parties, faculty teas, and potluck suppers. Dorm unity and participation are encouraged.
The Women’s Center at Bairnwick allows women students to make a larger, more imagina¬tive contribution to the social life of the college than in the past. Workshops, a Thursday lunch and speaker series, parties, community service, and sorority formals are among the activities which take place at the center.
How about athletic facilities?
Mark Webb is the Director of Athletics.
The University is fortunate to have a variety of excellent athletic facilities which are available for casual student use as well as for classes, intramural games, club sports, and varsity training and competition. The Fowler Center, in addition to Juhan Gym with space for intercollegiate volleyball and basketball, has three volleyball-basketball courts, a 160-meter indoor track, a large swimming pool, two weight training areas, a dance studio, three racquetball-handball courts, a squash court, three indoor tennis courts, a climbing wall, and a gymnasium specifically for aerobics, martial arts, and fencing.
There are also extensive outdoor facilities, including a number of spacious playing fields, an all-weather running track, and ten all-weather tennis courts. In addition, students who pay a modest fee to join the Sewanee Golf and Tennis Club are entitled to unlimited play on the Sewanee golf course.
A newly constructed indoor riding arena is available at the Equestrian Center for those who pursue riding.
Outing Program
Working under the Dean of Students, Alex Bruce is the Associate Dean of Students for Campus Life, and John Benson is the Director of the Sewanee Outing Program.
When asked what feature distinguished Sewanee most decisively from other first-rate liberal arts colleges, a recent graduate replied, “its natural setting and all that there is to do.” Sewanee students are, indeed, privileged in the outdoor activities easily available to them on and around the Domain. Students are able to spend time on the tree-lined banks of Lake Cheston (one of 12 lakes located on campus), and enjoy the beauty of many waterfalls and cliffs. Sewanee students are encouraged to explore the campus whether they choose to boulder or climb on the rock cliffs, hike, run, or mountain bike the miles of trails or go underground and experience caving. Sewanee is an exceptionally good place to study birds, wildflowers, rocks, trees, and plants, and to engage in camping.
The Sewanee Outing Program offers trips and clinics almost every weekend throughout the academic year for beginners to accomplished outdoor enthusiasts. Outing Program activities take place both on the Domain and in other outdoor areas in Tennessee and across the United States. Hiking, climbing, canoeing, kayaking, bicycling, and caving are regular events. Recent Christmas and Spring Break trips have taken students paddling in Florida’s Everglades, snowshoeing a 35 mile traverse on the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies and canoeing 84 miles of the Rio Grande River on the border of Texas and Mexico. There is no charge for activities on the Domain and costs for trips off-campus are reasonable. Students may also check-out outdoor gear from the SOP office throughout the academic year. The Outing Program runs a bike shop that can do small repairs for free. Faculty and staff members as well as students participate. Other club sport organizations associated with the Outing Program are the Cycling Team (mountain and road), Canoe Team, the Kayak Team, the Climbing Club, and the Carter Martin Whitewater Club.
