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What is life like on campus?
Choosing to continue your education, especially at the University of Kansas, means you are committed to learning, open to experiences, ideas, innovations that will challenge you and strengthen you. And it means you are eager to participate in great traditions that symbolize the University; to immerse yourself in the diverse cultural life that co-exists with an academic institution; and to share your energies with your peers and your new community. Here's a taste of what makes the University of Kansas and the city of Lawrence not only safe but uniquely memorable and invigorating.

Learn more: For safety and security statistics click here. A paper copy is available upon request by calling the KU Public Safety Office at 785-864-5900.
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!
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
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: KU Greek 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: www.lawrence.com
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