A Guide to Campus Life at Colby College
This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Abigail St. Johns, a Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Colby College, in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.
What’s Covered:
Athletics at Colby College
Colby College has a great variety of athletics, including baseball, football, field hockey, and swimming. It is an NCAA Division III sports school except for Nordic skiing, alpine skiing, and squash, which are all NCAA Division I. When a team wins, it’s a big deal, and Colby College likes to celebrate it. For example, when the football team wins, a bell is rung and the whole campus can hear it.
While varsity sports are an important part of campus life, there are multiple club teams on campus. If you aren’t ready for the commitment of a varsity sport, you can participate in these club teams that are more relaxed. Rugby and Ultimate Frisbee are two of the most popular sports on campus.
Colby College also offers intramural sports, which are similar to club sports but you don’t compete against other schools. Intramural sports only involve Colby College students, so it is a great way to get involved in the campus community. There are plenty of interesting intramural sports at Colby, like broomball or pick-up basketball. The winning team gets a custom college T-shirt and bragging rights.
Colby College Traditions
There are great traditions at Colby College. As mentioned, whenever the football team wins a game, a bell on campus is rung. This is a great way for the entire campus to celebrate the team even if they didn’t attend the game.
Another tradition is called three times. This is where the Colby College student government association works with members of the student body and nominates specific individuals to share their life stories for an hour, with milk and cookies, on Miller Library’s steps. Anyone can participate, visit, and ask the guest questions about their story. The guest is different every time, which means you get to learn from a variety of different perspectives. This tradition is a nice way to bring everyone together and learn a bit more about each other.
The most important tradition on campus happens during your first week and last week at school. When you first show up on campus your first week, you will sit down on the lawn in front of Lorimer Chapel, and the school’s president will talk to you. Often, there are a couple of speakers, but at the end, you will walk through the library and your professors are lining the halls and walkways.
At this point in your college career, you don’t have any idea who these professors are, but four years later, right before graduation, you will do this walk again. After four years at the college, the professors lining your walkway are now your friends and mentors who have taught you much in their classes. This is a terrific bookend experience that brings your life at Colby full circle.
Student Life at Colby College
Every Colby student signs something called a Colby Affirmation when they arrive on campus. This commits all students to open and honest dialogue that is based on facts and not just opinions or feelings. The affirmation also commits students to academic honesty and provides a place to have respectful discussions over difficult topics.
Colby College’s Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion does a great deal of support work for the students at Colby. It welcomes speakers who provide insight into the different communities at the college. The center is where many of the clubs are housed, including the International Student Club, which is one of the oldest clubs on campus. Other clubs at the center are the Black Student Union, the LGBTQIA+ organizations, and various religious clubs. Open and honest dialogue is a huge part of the college’s values, and this center is one of the many places where students can participate in that on campus.
