Around Town

The best option for fun is to either hang out in a dorm or mod, or to adventure to another campus for a party. However, it's often boring, especially if you're the type of person who is from a city, is used to more action and adventure, parties, or doesn't enjoy spending their time just chilling out all the time.

At Hampshire there are always a lot of events on campus. There are lectures all the time and a lot of different student groups offered for almost any interest you may have. If you are interested in something that is not offered, you can start it yourself! There are two big events: Hampshire Halloween and Spring Jam, which are both super fun campus events. There are also opportunities to get involved in sports teams!

With the other 4 colleges in the area, there is almost always something to do. Northampton and Amherst are also only a bus ride away if you want to do something off-campus. On-campus, there are usually plays, galleries, and the occasional party, though parties at Hampshire are more like a group of friends hanging out together.

The night life is pretty dead in Amherst. There aren't really any bars, and there are some in Northampton but they're really strict about carding. Fake IDs are taken really seriously in this area (there are so many college kids because of the 5 college consortium, so authorities are hyper aware of it) and if you try to use one it won't work. Parties at Hampshire are the same every time. They begin at 11 pm and end at 2 am, period. They usually consist of lot of sweaty, awkward, (mostly white) kids dancing in a small living room in one of the mods to loud music. There's usually only one per weekend, sometimes two if you're lucky (one Friday and one Saturday). Once the party is over there's not really much to do. Although drugs and alcohol are very popular on campus (especially psychedelics), you won't ever be pressured, and there are plenty of people who don't partake in those things too. The surrounding towns are good for shopping or going out to eat, but you'll get bored of them pretty quickly. At least that was my experience. A lot of the time it can feel like you're stuck on campus.

Ultimate frisbee, basketball, chilling.

Go to every event and group you can on campus and in town. Go to Atkins for cider doughnuts.

Hampshire is a very active campus with several activities going on each day. There are over a hundred different clubs and students groups, making it easy not to get bored. If one desires to leave campus, there is the town of Amherst and Northampton which offers a variety of shops and restaurants. The hampshire mall also has a skating rink, laser tag and a movie theater.

There are many different activities that take place on campus; there are a lot of groups that do activities like biking, hiking, fencing, ultimate frisbee-ing, kayaking, etc. not to mention the various cultural and arts groups on campus. Amherst is also a very cool town so there are always things to do.

One of the perks of being in a college town is that one is always surrounded by young people. There is usually something to see or something to visit if you go down to Amherst or North Hampton (both of which are a FREE bus ride away) Going to the colleges themselves is also fun on the weekends or during the week if you want to visit some friends. There are always parties going on somewhere and lots of cool people to meet.

There are always lots of student groups and events at Hampshire. On any given night, you can find sports in the recreational center, film screenings, guest lectures in a variety of fields, plays, games of Mythos (live role playing games), or cooking parties. People also enjoy getting together to play games in the quad, jam on instruments, or make public art.