Sewanee: The University of the South

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Majors: Art & Anthropology double major
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m in Greek life, I’m involved in the Sewanee Outing Program, and I’m part of the Art Club.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public school in Little Rock, AR with a graduating class of about 600 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Art & Anthropology double major
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in Greek life, I’m involved in the Sewanee Outing Program, and I’m part of the Art Club.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
Greek life here has definitely helped build friendships. It’s a big part of the Sewanee culture.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It’s manageable but I have to apply myself. For Art, there are lots of multi-week projects. For Anthropology, there are readings for every class, tests about once a month, and quizzes maybe once a week in some classes.
Is there anything you feel your majors’ departments do especially well or poorly?
With Art, I’ve noticed a lot of the classes I’m taking don’t have prerequisites. Sometimes that affects the amount I’m able to learn and absorb because we learn starting with the most basic material and then move forward so everyone in the classes learns what they need to learn. That’s a little frustrating because the people in the class don’t have a common baseline knowledge and we can’t spend time learning more advanced material.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
The Sewanee learning environment is one of my favorite things about this school. Here, the classes are usually around the same size, and one of my classes last year had 11 students in it. That allows you to pay more attention to what you’re actually learning and to interact with your classmates. It’s a very open learning environment and there’s constant dialogue in the classrooms. It’s a place that encourages you to ask a question and further your thinking. [The average class size is about 15 students.]
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. If I emailed one of them today, I’d be able to find a way to talk to them either today or tomorrow. They’re also very willing to slow down or backtrack if you’re not understanding something in class. From my experience, they seem to be very devoted to their students and their profession.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Yes. I remember reading books on the top colleges in America and they described Sewanee’s student culture as very one-sided and traditional in thought and practice. I’ve found the majority of students are very open-minded and willing to talk about opposing opinions and get to the source of why we think something, where we’re different, and where we’re similar.
What has been your favorite part of Sewanee so far academically?
Being able to take the variety of classes I’ve gotten to take. Last year as a freshman we were given free rein to take anything. That freedom is a lot of fun because you’re able to explore things you may not have otherwise.

Reasons to Attend

1) The professors are extremely devoted to their students. They’re very reasonable.
2) The quality of education we’re getting is good. I’m challenged to be a critical thinker and they put a strong emphasis on good writing.
3) It’s beautiful and everybody that comes here comes here on purpose. Everyone is happy to be here and to stay here. It’s a great community of people who want to support one another. It’s very loving. The majority of people Interact with are from all over the U.S. [The most popular states for students to come from in 2019 are Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, and Alabama.]

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you like to be in a city or go be able to go shopping.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Courts Hall with one roommate and two suitemates
Sophomore: Sorority house with one roommate and 10 other housemates
How was transitioning from Little Rock, AR to Sewanee, TN?
Geographically they’re relatively similar. Sewanee is very rural and outdoorsy, and Little Rock is less of that but still natural and green. The only hard part is being so far from the nearest Target. The transition away from a city to a more rural area was a little difficult, but after some time you realize it’s not a big deal at all. When you’re in college you want to be on campus and do the things you can do here.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel pretty safe on Sewanee’s campus. It is sort of a bubble. Because it’s so small and the community members are active and involved within the school, Sewanee and its community are pretty intertwined. I even feel safe running in the little neighborhoods where professors live. It feels like a place where everyone has the same understanding where we live in harmony.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Greek life is very prominent here, but other organizations function similar to Greek life. There’s something called the Green House, which is sustainability-themed living, and that functions as a fraternity or sorority for the people who live there and that community. There are parties there or at frats. Party culture is very big here.
What nights of the week do you regularly do things? Are there regular places you go or things you do on certain nights?
If you want to go out any night of the week, you pretty much can. There’s always something happening somewhere. Freshman year I went out Wednesday through Saturday, and this year it’s both nights of the weekend and maybe one night of the week.
How did the nightlife differ before and after you joined Greek life?
I’d say Sewanee is an ideal place for Greek life. Everything is open, so anybody on campus is welcome to any event unless it’s a formal. Even then, formals open up an hour after they start. We do recruitment spring of freshman year, so your whole first semester you’re not affiliated with any Greek organization. [In Fall 2018, about 56% of men are in fraternities and 64% are in sororities. This does not include freshmen because they rush in the spring. The Sewanee Purple cites the number as being 78% of all undergraduates.]
How happy are you with the weekend options at Sewanee? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m fine with the way I spend my weekends. A lot of people in Greek life start their weekends partying early in the day. Day [partying] is a big thing here, which gets annoying to me personally because if it’s a beautiful Saturday I’d rather go on a hike than be [partying] at 10 AM. Even though it’s such a small school, you’re going to be able to find friends that have similar interests as you. If you don’t want to participate in something, nobody is going to criticize you or think less of you.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I lived with two of them last year. As a freshman, they randomly assign your roommates and I got really lucky. They do a good job for the most part which is nice. I met other friends through my Greek organization.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Sewanee?
It’s very lively. I feel like a lot of it involves being outside or walking around. Sewanee is very condensed because it’s a small school but the campus is huge acreage-wise. You see the same people walking to classes or in the library. We have one dining hall on campus so that’s where you go to see everyone. The Greek life really carries weight in the social life and what’s happening in Sewanee. All of the sororities are local except for two, so they’re more so social clubs without a national panel to report to. I like that a lot better because it’s less formal than state school sororities. [The campus is about 13,000 acres.]
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
That’s one thing Sewanee could work on. It’s a very White school, which has been an issue for me because coming from a big public school it was extremely diverse, I think it’s a little intimidating. I’ve noticed over the past year and a half it’s a pretty separated school, for the most part. But, everyone is welcome and I usually see representations of all Sewanee students when I go out to a party. [The undergraduate population is about 80% White, 6% Hispanic, and 5% Black.]
How do you like the size of Sewanee in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 1,700] students?
I absolutely love it. At first, I was determined that I wouldn’t go to a school smaller than my high school, and here I am. I’m extremely glad I made that decision because instead of having a huge number of people I know, I have a closer-knit community I can rely on. Having a small number of students in this community makes it a lot tighter.

Careers

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
They’re helpful. When applying I miscalculated when a scholarship was due. I ended up being two weeks late so I emailed the financial aid office and they called me back the next morning and were super understanding. They still let me submit my application and I ended up getting the scholarship, which is why I’m able to afford to come here.