SSSOOO WHAT DO YOU DO AT WILLARD?
Actually, you do A LOT! Willard has tons of exciting events, activities, and traditions throughout the year. Here's a sneak peak at a few:
Photo Safari
Not only does this New Student Week event get you acclamated to the great city of Chicago, but it also lets you meet all of your fellow Willardites on an awesome adventure downtown. Basically, you're put into groups and let loose on Chicago (chaperoned by sohpomores, of course) and challenged to take the most pictures of Chicago landmarks as possible. The only tricky part is that in order for pictures to count, you have to work with your teammates to spell out "WOO& in human letters in your pics!
Willard Formal
Past locations include the Sears Tower and the Adler Planetarium. Every year, the Willard Social Chairs go all out in getting us the classiest locales and baller-est DJs to make sure that we have the greatest night on the town that Northwestern can offer. Whether you have a date or not, be sure to get your tickets early for an event that's part homecoming, part prom, part circus, and part best-time-you'll-have-fall-quarter!
Polka Party
Ok, ok, ok, I KNOW what you're thinking: "Polka party? Wow. Really?" But seriously, this is one of the most AMAZING traditions that Willard has. Basically, the objective is to dress up in the most RIDICULOUS outfit you can create, and then go downtown with your fellow Willardites to Polka the night away, complete with authentic Polish cuisine and a REAL-LIVE POLKA BAND! Seriously, it is the most fun you'll ever have while listening to Polka, eating a bratwurst, and wearing three different kinds of plaid.
Woo-Shep Olympics
All right, so, you may have heard of some infamous rivalries in the past: Vanilla vs. Chocolate, Alien vs. Predator, Northwestern vs. Ohio State, etc. But NONE of these compare to the intense battle between Willard and Shepard Res Colleges that is the Woo-Shep Olympics. This is a day-long event in which Willard and Shepard go head to head in events spanning from traditional three-legged races and pie eating contests, to the new-age contests such as Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Guitar Hero. Basically, (and not surprisingly) Willard pretty much dominates every year, so: welcome to the winning team!
Woo-Au Luau
This event is Willard's own way of ushering in the spring weather every year. After a long, cold, hard winter, there's no better way than to go out on the quad donned in a grass skirt and coconut bra, do a little pudding wrestling, and maybe even try out the slip and slide. It's a great time had by all every spring, and yet another reason to be proud to be a Willardite.
In edition to these exciting annual events, Willard is known for their more frequent traditions as well:
- The Weekly Woo:
As you'll soon discover at Northwestern, there are A TON of things to participate in every hour of the day. To make it easier on you, Willard has two Publicity Chairs that send out a weekly newsletter via e-mail compiling of all the events that Willardites may know about on campus. This includes everything from guest lecturers and study sessions to acapella concerts and downtown outings. This is an outstandingly convenient way to keep up with both Northwestern and Willard happenings AND it saves all of our inboxes from endless spamming of capitalized subject lines like "ACAPELLA CONCERT IN 5 MINUTES IN THE RAT TRAP!" or "FREE PIZZA IN THE COMMON ROOM!" With the Weekly Woo, all of these announcements are sent out in one, easy to read e-mail once a week. Isn't Willard the best?!
- Shits N' Giggles:
Every week our wonderful WooSec puts out a magazine of sorts that includes all sorts of amusing articles and pictures. Oddly enough, it's perfect bathroom reading material, so we hang it up in all the stalls for your reading pleasure (thus the name Shits N' Giggles...).
- Firesides:
Derived from FDR's fireside chats, several times a week, Willard holds its own version of these chats called firesides. Now, firesides are little meetings that you can get housing points for going to, and they cover a broad range of subject matter. Firesides can be rather serious and educational, like a grad student's presentation of their thesis, or more funny, like a history of Mario Kart. Firesides are yet another way in which Willardites can come together and see what they have to offer to each other; just check in with the Firside Chairs if you ever want to host one, and be sure to read your Weekly Woo to see what Firesides are happening which nights.
- Faculty Fellows:
Seeing how Willard is a res college (and the best one at that...), we have the pleasure of having Faculty Fellows. These are members of the faculty at Northwestern that come and eat lunch in our dining hall every week at High Table, and Willardites are able to sit and eat with them and hear about all sorts of different subject areas. The Academic Chairs at Willard organize who are our Faculty Fellows every year, and they're really good at getting professors from all different schools and areas of study. Be sure to stop by High Table and talk with them when you can!
- Munchies:
As a college student, you'll soon come to realize the importance of late-night, free food opportunities. While a lot of dorms on campus offer these late-night snacks (aka Munchies), Willard has the luck of being rather small, so, MORE FOOD FOR US! Munchies can be hosted by anyone in Willard for points, and it's really easy to do. You just go out and buy enough food for around 100-150 people, get an itemized receipt, and then you get reimbursed by the Treasurer. Then, you host a Munchies and have everyone enjoy the food! Munchies can come from anywhere in Evanston, and in the past, they've included Dunkin Donuts, Einstein's, Buffalo Joe's, and Potbellies. Also, it's not uncommon to have performances at Munchies by some of Northwestern's acapella or improv groups as well!
