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Student life

students
Students from every state in the nation and more than 100 countries attend KU. KU's student groups, sports clubs, events and activities reflect the diversity of its student community and add to the richness of academic life here.

Jayhawk Spirit

As each academic year begins, new students gather in Memorial Stadium for Traditions Night, where the Jayhawk mascots, the Rock Chalk chant, Waving the Wheat and the alma mater, "Crimson and the Blue," are introduced. These and other notable traditions will become interwoven with your time at KU and will evoke memories after you leave the Hill. Particularly memorable is the Rock Chalk chant. Once you hear it at the end of another basketball triumph in Allen Fieldhouse, you'll never forget it!
Learn more: KU Traditions

Student involvement and leadership

KU has long attracted talented and ambitious students who appreciate the opportunities for academic success it makes available. But the university also prides itself on a history of active and meaningful student involvement and service to the community.
Learn more: Student Involvement and Leadership Center and Organizations

Student Union Activities

Student committees plan and present events for the KU and Lawrence communities, including concerts, plays, lectures, films, art exhibits, recreational activities and educational programs. Noon recitals, afternoon teas, game-day tailgate parties and food and fund drives are just a few of the offerings.
Learn more: Student Union Activities

Intramural sports and recreation

At its new facility south of campus, KU Recreation Services offers aerobic workouts; indoor rock climbing; gymnasiums; a martial arts center; racquetball/squash courts; a walking track; and facilities for basketball, badminton, handball, football, soccer, water polo and rugby. Additional facilities and programs are available at Robinson Fitness Center and Burge Union.
Learn more: Student Recreation Fitness Center

Athletic rivalries

The KU-Missouri sports rivalry had its beginnings in political and social upheavals before the Civil War, and the Border Showdown series — the oldest such competition west of the Mississippi River — has been going strong since 1891. KU's in-state rival is Kansas State University, set in the Flint Hills about 80 miles west of Lawrence.
Learn more: KU Athletics

Residential life

Eight campus residence halls house from 275 to 900 students. That guarantees a vibrant mix of people and interests to fuel a variety of activities that often develop into hall traditions. Some of the high-rise halls are divided into thematic living areas or focus on a particular area — the performing arts, for instance, or honors communities. Another option is scholarship halls, smaller units whose residents share expenses and chores; demonstrating financial need and academic achievement are part of the application process for the "schol halls."
Learn more: Student Housing

Greek life

Men and women students may choose to live in one of the fraternities or sororities that have chapters at the University of Kansas. The Panhellenic Association, which represents sororities, is the largest women's organization on campus; the Interfraternity Council oversees the men's houses. Academic and service programs, as well as social events, are important elements of the fraternity and sorority community.
Learn more: Fraternity and Sorority Life

Wescoe Beach

No sand, no water, no lifeguards. But since 1974, when Wescoe Hall was completed, students have been hanging out on the steps and concrete plaza — the Beach — in front of the humanities building. Its setting, across from Strong Hall on Jayhawk Boulevard, is an ideal central location where campus organizations set up information booths, hold social activities or announce events.

Sledding on the Hill

When it snows, KU students head for the Hill, chiefly the long slope from the Memorial Campanile down to Memorial Stadium. Some use sleds or snowboards. Others choose more unorthodox transportation — cafeteria trays and trash bags.

The sounds of campus

Both the steam whistle and the bells of the Memorial Campanile mark time at KU. A steam whistle has sounded on campus since 1912, when the campus curfew whistle was adapted to mark the end of each class-hour. It has been replaced twice, most recently in 2003 after a 60-year-old whistle "blew its stack" for the last time. The campanile, which honors those from KU who died in World War II, chimes on the hour, half-hour and quarter-hour; and concerts are regularly performed on the 53-bell carillon in the tower.

Mass Street

The main north-south street in downtown Lawrence, Massachusetts Street — or Mass Street, as it is familiarly called — is full of entertaining options for shopping, dining and dancing. The coffee bars, restaurants, shops and galleries along and surrounding it are good places to hang out and great places for students to take visiting family members. Small concert halls and clubs attract a variety of musical artists and bands; Liberty Hall is one of Mass Street's historic brick and stone buildings, many of which survived Quantrill's Raid in August 1863.
Learn more: Visit KU

Walking down the Hill at commencement

The University's first commencement was in 1873, but the exuberant parade of students marching down the Hill and into Memorial Stadium didn't begin until 1924, after the new structure's dedication in honor of KU's losses in World War I. The procession begins at the top of the Hill and moves through the campanile — which memorializes World War II dead — and down the slope through Marvin Grove to the stadium. Some students believe they should wait to walk through the campanile until their graduation — for good luck.
Learn more: KU Commencement