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University of Kentucky student life

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The University of Kentucky offers a variety of choices to students. The choices range from a number of dining options, residence halls, and athletic facilities to student organizations, religious groups, Greek-letter organizations, and intramural competitions/campus recreation.

Greek-letter organizations

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Social organizations

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There are 14 sororities and 25 fraternities that serve the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Sororities

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Name Chapter Founding Year Notes
Alpha Chi Omega 1966 Closed since 1976, recolonization for 2015 to 2016 school year
Alpha Delta Pi 1941
Alpha Gamma Delta 1908
Alpha Kappa Alpha 1975
Alpha Omicron Pi 1982 Closed since 2018
Alpha Phi 2009
Alpha Xi Delta 1908 Closed since 2004
Ceres 1997
Chi Omega 1914
Delta Delta Delta 1923
Delta Gamma 1962
Delta Phi Mu 2008
Delta Sigma Theta 1975
Delta Zeta 1923
Gamma Phi Beta 1966 Closed since 1982, recolonization for the 2019 to 2020 school year
Kappa Alpha Theta 1945
Kappa Delta 1910
Kappa Kappa Gamma 1910
Phi Sigma Rho 1999
Phi Sigma Sigma 1952 Closed since 1957
Pi Beta Phi 1962
Phi Mu 2011
Sigma Alpha Iota 1967
Sigma Gamma Rho 1992
Sigma Kappa 1989 Closed since 2010
Tau Beta Sigma 1984
Zeta Phi Beta 1983
Zeta Tau Alpha 1924 Closed since 1992

Fraternities

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Name Founding year Notes
Alpha Epsilon Pi 1972 Inactive
Alpha Gamma Rho 1920
Alpha Phi Alpha 1965
Alpha Phi Omega 1933
Alpha Sigma Phi 1917 Recolonized Spring 2015
Alpha Tau Omega 1909 Closed in 2018
Beta Theta Pi 1990 Recolonized Fall 2010
Beta Upsilon Chi 2014 Recolonized Spring 2022
Chi Psi 2016
Delta Chi 1914 Inactive
Delta Sigma Phi 1994 [1]
Delta Tau Delta 1924
Delta Upsilon 2013
FarmHouse 1951
Kappa Alpha Order 1893
Kappa Alpha Psi 1981
Kappa Kappa Psi 1984
Kappa Sigma 1901
Kappa Upsilon Chi 2007
Lambda Chi Alpha 1930 Inactive since 2010
Omega Psi Phi 1980
Phi Beta Sigma 1990
Phi Delta Theta 1901 Recolonized fall 2016
Phi Gamma Delta 1958
Phi Kappa Psi 1988 Closed since 2016
Phi Kappa Tau 1920
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia 1922
Phi Sigma Kappa 1926
Pi Kappa Alpha 1901 Recolonized spring 2017
Pi Kappa Phi 1996
Pi Lambda Phi 1949 Inactive
Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1900 Closed in 2021
Sigma Alpha Mu 1915 Inactive
Sigma Chi 1893
Sigma Nu 1902 Recolonized Spring 2013
Sigma Phi Epsilon 1933
Sigma Pi 1973
Tau Kappa Epsilon 1951 Inactive
Theta Chi 1968 Reinstalled 2010
Triangle 1920
Zeta Beta Tau 1942 Recolonized Fall 2021

Honor societies

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Campus dining

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Name Location Notes
Blazer Cafe Blazer Dining Dining Hall
The 90 Across from William T. Young Library Features Papa John's Pizza, Zen Sushi, Chick-fil-A, Wildcat Pantry and a dining hall.
Intermezzo Intermezzo at the Patterson Office Tower. Features sandwiches and drinks.
K-Lair Central campus near Haggin Hall. A fast-food establishment.
Lemon Tree Second floor of Erikson Hall. Features upscale salad and entree options.
Student Center Reopened in 2018 after a major expansion and renovation project which saw almost all of the previous Student Center demolished, with only the original 1938 Student Center remaining from the pre-renovation complex. During this project, the temporary "Bowman's Den", located next to the Singletary Center for the Arts, served as the student center. Features Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Subway, Sbarro, and Panda Express.

There are also two convenience stores, located at Blazer Dining and at The 90.

The meal plans for on-campus students no longer utilize a declining-balance system, similar to a debit card. In 2005, a new "all care to eat" plan was initiated to the disfavor of 84.9% of the student body.[2] The cheapest meal plan for on-campus students is $949 per semester, extending upward to $2,013 per semester. These plans also include $300 in "flex dollars" which can be used at all on-campus dining locations, convenience stores, and also Starbucks.

Students can also use their Plus Account to eat at a few select off-campus restaurants, such as McDonald's or Fazoli's.

The construction of The 90 was completed in 2015 by a design team which included Aramark, RossTarrant Architects[3] (Architect of Record & Lead Project Manager) and Tipton Associates (dining services designer). The 82,000-square-foot facility features seating for 1,000, including bar, family, traditional, active, indoor and outdoor seating, as well as student support spaces such as meeting spaces and technology-rich collaborative learning classrooms.

Religion & Life-philosophy

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Religious organizations

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Listed below are some of the most popular, active, and/or relevant groups on the University of Kentucky's campus. For a more complete list of registered religious student groups, refer to the University of Kentucky's Official Organization Database.

Jewish faith

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Christian Student Fellowship Building

Christian faith

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Islamic faith

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Bahá'í faith

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Buddhism

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Nearby places of worship

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Non-religious philosophy groups

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Campus Recreation

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The university provides several facilities for unwinding from the daily campus grind. The Johnson Center, a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) two-story structure located at South Campus, features basketball, volleyball, badminton, racketball, and wallyball courts, along with weight-lifting facilities, and rock climbing walls. It is also the home for some group fitness classes utilizing a large aerobics studio.

The Lancaster Aquatic Center, located next to the Johnson Center, opened in 1989 and features 10 lanes for lap swimming and has shallow space for other water activities.

The Seaton Center, now part of the Johnson Center, features facilities for basketball, volleyball, badminton, jogging, squash, table tennis, and racquetball.

In 2018, the north campus' first recreational facility in decades, Alumni Gym Fitness Center, opened as part of the Student Center expansion and renovation project. The facility is a major renovation of the historic Alumni Gymnasium, which had been home to UK men's basketball from 1924 to 1950.

Residence Halls

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The North Campus residence halls, with downtown Lexington in the background.
The Kirwan-Blanding residence halls complex.
Name Location Notes
Dale E. Baldwin Hall South Campus Constructed in 2005. Co-ed.
Ball Hall South Campus Opened in the fall of 2014; known as Woodland Glen II before the 2020–21 school year.
Blanding I, II, III, IV, Tower South Campus This, along with the mirror-image Kirwan complex, was home to nearly 5,000 students, most of them freshmen. Blanding Tower was 23 stories tall. The tower was decommissioned as student housing after the 2015–16 school year, with the four low-rises decommissioned a year later; the entire complex was demolished in 2020.
Blazer Hall North Campus Female-only dorm. Decommissioned as housing in 2013; since partially renovated into classroom space, with the existing dining facility expanded and renovated. The building is now known as Blazer Dining.
Georgia M. Blazer Hall North Campus Opened in Fall 2014.
Boyd Hall North Campus Demolished in 2014.
Cloona Belle Matthews Boyd Hall North Campus Opened in fall 2016 on the site of the former Keeneland Hall.
Chellgren Hall South Campus Opened in the fall of 2014; known as Woodland Glen I until 2017.
Donovan Hall Central Campus Female-only dorm, closed in 2014. The Jacobs Science Building currently stands on the site.
Herman Lee Donovan Hall Central Campus Opened in fall 2013. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Greg Page Apartments South of Kroger Field.
Haggin Hall (1960) Central Campus Male-only dorm. Demolished 2013.
Haggin Hall (2014) Central Campus Opened in the fall of 2014 at the site of the original Haggin Hall. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Holmes Hall North Campus Ended its service as a coed dorm, though it was female-only and male-only at different times in the past. Demolished in 2014; its site is now occupied by most of Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall.
Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall North Campus Opened in 2016. Occupies the site of the former Holmes and Jewell Halls.
Margaret Ingels Hall South Campus Constructed in 2005. Co-ed.
Jewell Hall North Campus Demolished in 2014. The site is now occupied by part of Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall.
Frances Jewell Hall North Campus Opened in Fall 2014.
Lyman T. Johnson Hall Central Campus Opened in fall 2013. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Keeneland Hall North Campus Co-ed dorm. Organized into two-room suites, with a bathroom in between. Demolished in 2014 and is now the site of Cloona Belle Matthews Boyd Hall.
Kirwan I, II, III, IV, Tower South Campus This, along with the Blanding complex, was home to nearly 5,000 students, most of them freshmen. Kirwan Tower was 23 stories tall. The tower was decommissioned as student housing after the 2015–16 school year, with the four low-rises decommissioned a year later; the entire complex was demolished in 2020.
Lewis Hall South Campus Opened in fall 2017; serves as both a residence hall and office space for UK's Lewis Honors College. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Pigman Hall South Campus Opened in Fall 2015; known as Woodland Glen III before the 2023–24 school year
David P. Roselle Hall North Campus Constructed in 2005.
Patterson Hall North Campus Co-ed dorm. Originally constructed as the UK's first women's dormitory in 1904.
John T. Smith Hall South Campus Constructed in 2005. Co-ed.
University Flats South Campus Opened in fall 2017 as graduate/professional student housing.
Woodland Glen IV, V South Campus Opened in Fall 2015; to be renamed. The first two Woodland Glen dorms opened in 2014, while the third Woodland Glen dorm also opened in Fall 2015; one was renamed in 2017, the second was renamed in 2020, and the third was renamed in 2023.

Campus Safety

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The university has had issues with safety on campus. In a survey of 1000 female university students, conducted in the spring of 2004, 36.5% reported having been victims of rape, stalking, or physical assault while at campus.[4][5] While campus law enforcement statistics do not match the survey results, campus officials have taken steps to increase safety.[6]

In response to the survey, University President Lee T. Todd, Jr. launched an initiative in September 2005 titled the Campus Safety Imperative, which included a quadrupling of annual expenditures on safety.[7] Todd specifically linked campus safety to the goal of becoming a top-20 public research institution, stating that "We will never make gains toward becoming a top-20 public research institution if our students are unsafe or if they lack a sense of physical security. It is part of our fundamental mission, then, to create a campus that provides a safe place to live, to work, and to learn."[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Delta Sigma Phi".
  2. ^ Rose, Sean. "Despite vote, meal plan unchanged." Kentucky Kernel [Lexington] 24 August 2006, sec. Campus news. 5 September 2006 [1][permanent dead link].
  3. ^ "Home". rosstarrant.com.
  4. ^ "Women's Place Safety Imperative". University of Kentucky. 2006. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  5. ^ a b "UK President Announces Initiatives to Improve Women's Safety". University of Kentucky. 2004. Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  6. ^ "University of Kentucky Campus Safety and Security Report 2006" (PDF). University of Kentucky. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  7. ^ "$1.25 Million Committed to Improving Campus Safety". University of Kentucky. 2005. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2007.