My Least Favorite Thing About Bentley

If you go to Bentley, my guess is you are well aware of the culture of joining as many different things as possible. It is basically a social requirement to be on the E-board of a club, work an on-campus job, be on a sports team, be in Greek Life, or be a student leader. All of that is great, and I love that Bentley’s culture is one of involvement. But the problem with this system is that everyone falls into their cliques, and no one really leaves. 

Whatever groups you join in your first year pretty much dictates who your closest friends will be, and there isn’t a lot of crossover. I have very rarely found people who are friends across cliques if they don’t share another common involvement. For example, an RA and someone in Greek Life most likely won’t be friends unless they are both RAs, both in Greek Life, or both in a different club or organization together. Otherwise, there isn’t really a way for them to meet, get to know each other, and become friends. 

You can see Bentley’s cliqueyness when you walk into the dining hall. You can very distinctly see the cliques of people. Sports teams will have tables; a group of girls in the same sorority will be at a table; and a group of people in LCL will be waiting in line for food. It is not that people are unfriendly or rude to each other. If you know someone in any group, you will say hi to them, and they will say hi back. But the problem is that there isn’t much interaction between groups. 

I have never met anyone on Bentley’s hockey team, and the only people I know in Greek Life are also in my other orgs. I think many people relate to this and find themselves stuck in their own circles. Maybe this isn’t just a Bentley thing; maybe this is what happens at all schools. But I wish we had a culture that was more inclusive and offered people more opportunities to be friends, even if you don’t share a common Bentley involvement. I love that joining a new org gives you an opportunity to make new friends, but I wish the campus wasn’t so cliquey and that everyone could be friends with everyone, even if you don’t share a common involvement. 

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