There'll never be a nigger in the ΣΑΕ - nor anyone else...

[Ian]

50,000? That's a lot of students. We only have about 15,000 - 18,000, depending on how you count them - as I was explaining today, for what seems like the umpteenth time.

Anyway, we have plenty of clubs and societies, but they are mostly quite specific in terms of what they're about.

My alma mater: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_University

57,466 students on the Columbus campus alone.

[klr]

Nearly 60,000 students on the main campus?

The graduation ceremonies must be like cattle drives.

[mistermack]

While the word nigger was fairly widely used in England, when I went to Uni, there was never an ''us vs them'' attitude, like there was in the states.
I got a real shock, when I went to the US in 1971, how divided the place was. But it wasn't the same everywhere. The worst place I found was Chicago, where my cousins lived.
I'd been hanging out on the west coast for a few months, and didn't detect too much racism, but when I went to Chicago, was terrible back then. It was like a different country.

That video is pretty bad. But when people are pissed, they like to do what's forbidden.
It reminds me of the Borat song, throw the jew down the well.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Anyway, we have plenty of clubs and societies, but they are mostly quite specific in terms of what they're about.

That's how it tends to work in UK universities too, klr. You have chess soc, amnesty international soc, silly walk soc, geology soc, labour/conservative/liberal/etc. soc, WeRefuseToJoinASoc soc, and so on...

As I recall, you had to get a threshold number of students to join in order to get a stall at the "fresher's fair" and be an "official" university society. There were no "greek fraternities" per se (that I knew of) and all societies had to have open access - ie. any student could join any of them - although they were allowed to charge a small (typically less than £5 back in the 80s) admin fee.

In the UK, the need for fraternities and sororities is negated by the insanely cliquey recruitment policy of most of the more prestigious Oxbridge colleges. If you wish to get in and DON'T go to one of the better public schools ("public school", in the UK = "private, fee-paying school" in any other country!) then you need to be in the stupidly-rarified percentile of students, whereas, if you do go to a "good" school, you just need to be good enough to be in the top quota that are routinely taken every year.

The equality of our (supposedly) classless society is based upon either money or insane academic achievement (but mostly money.)

[JimC]

We wanted to start a dope smoker's club at uni, but we were all too stoned to get around to it...

[piscator]

50,000? That's a lot of students. We only have about 15,000 - 18,000, depending on how you count them - as I was explaining today, for what seems like the umpteenth time.

Anyway, we have plenty of clubs and societies, but they are mostly quite specific in terms of what they're about.

My alma mater: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_University

57,466 students on the Columbus campus alone.

Class of '84. Hooded in '86.

[mistermack]

I founded the archery club at Nottingham university.
Who'd a' thought, the home of Robin Hood with no archery club? It took off well.

And nineteen-year-old girls look stunning in the archery gear. Especially the leather tit guard.

[pErvinalia]

SECS (society of economics and commerce students) was one of the most popular at my uni. As well as any soc offering free/cheap beer.