It's Willamette, Damn It

The *official* ask blog for Willamette University. Prospective Willamette student? Current Willamette student? If you got questions, we'll answer them. If you have any better answers to questions feel free to submit them! Also if you have any fun...

[igotowillamette]

Willamette is my top choice school yet they still haven't sent me an acceptance... I applied in December and I'm a really good student. Should I be worried??

According the school's website, you should get your decision by March 15th. I wouldn't worry too much yet, especially if you're a good student. I haven't heard of anyone who applied regular deadline and has heard back at this point.

[beckkaleighbythesea]

[igotowillamette]

I just got placed in Belknap. Should I be excited about that, or disappointed?

Due to some remarkable tumblr janky-ness, I just got this message. With a semester under your belt, how would you say Belknap is?

[igotowillamette]

How long after you apply and they receive all of your credentials do they send you an acceptance email or letter? Because I am stressing myself out with all the waiting...

Sorry! I just got this message. Tumblr was being weird and not showing them. But, I also just saw your post in the tag. Congrats on getting in! If you have any further questions about what the school is like, let me know!

[igotowillamette]

Quick question. I'll be attending this year as a freshman, and was wondering how far a walk kaneko is from campus. Also, what's the room layout? (I loved cascadia's layout when I visited)

Kaneko is between seven and ten minutes from campus (like the academic buildings and most dorms) depending on how fast you walk and what route you take. The room layout has everything built against the walls, with a wardrobe/drawers closest to the doors, then your bed with drawers underneath it, then your desk, then the sliding door to your balcony. There's a long shelf over the top of your bed and desk, with a light by the door and one over your bed. Kinda looks like thishttp://www.willamette.edu/dept/resservices/areas/kaneko/gallery/full/08.jpg

[igotowillamette]

Admin change!

Hey there, Bearcats, Bearkittens, and prospies! So this blog has been passed into new hands. While I'm not going to give out my name or personal blog in the name of professional-ity, I'm a current freshman, rising sophomore politics major, Japanese and history minor from the Pacific Northwest I'm involved in a variety of on-campus clubs and volunteering activities, including music. I'm ready to answer any question you may have about Willamette, Salem, Oregon, or anything else in the decisions process!  Looking forward to helping you guys find the answers that will lead you to this fantastic school!

[igotowillamette]

What was the yard sale you talked about several posts back?

At the beginning of the year, Panhellenic Council sells dorm basics that were left behind last year, such as mini-fridges, lamps, etc. This usually happens during the first day of Opening Days and the good stuff runs out fast!

[igotowillamette]

Intern experiences at the capitol? I was offered an internship the other day that would pay 500$/month. It's not that high up (for lobbyist, scheduling appts) but I think it would be fun just to be there, no matter the position! Opinions?

While I don't have any experience working at the Capitol (yet), I'd definitely take the offer were I you. The experience you can get is valuable, the fact that it's paid is great, and the fact that you think it would be fun is a great indication. Internships are a great way to build experience and resumes, which helps towards future employment.

[igotowillamette]

hi! i'm going to be a freshman next year at Willamette University! are cars allowed on campus for freshmen? thanks!

They are, though you have to get a parking permit, the forms for which should be made accessible as you fill out your housing forms and such

[aaronbrownphoto]

Willamette University

[igotowillamette]

Just want to remind everyone as Decision Day approaches that if you have any questions about Willamette University, there are real students waiting behind this blog very ready to answer them! 

[narwhal-raincoats]

Look at my pretty campus!

[gasstationcroissant]

Look what the sky is doing!

[gasstationcroissant]

It’s snowing on campus again!

[holygoddamnshitballs-deactivate]

First Active College Football Player to Come Out: Willamette's Conner Mertens

Photo Courtesy of Conner Mertens via OutSports

Although Conner Mertens is a good kicker, as a freshman at Willamette University, a private university located in Salem, Ore., he still didn’t have a secure place on the school’s football team. Despite that fact, Mertens made the difficult decision to come out to the football team’s head coach and others publicly last week, according to a story published Monday by OutSports. 

"No college football player in the United States at any level has ever come out publicly while still playing," OutSports reiterates, explaining that “some have come out to their team, many have come out to friends, but none have said publicly that they are LGBT.”

Before sharing his “secret,” Mertens asked head coach Glen Fowles if his role on the team would be affected by things he did off the field, or if he’d be judged by his performance. “All that mattered to Fowles was whether he could kick that ball through those two goal posts,” we’re told in the story. After hearing that, Mertens told his coach: ”I’m bisexual. I like dudes. I have a boyfriend. And next week, I’m going to tell the world.”

Last night, Mertens tweeted a lengthy letter that he hopes will change the hearts and minds of people in his hometown:

"You are not alone. You do not need to come out but you do need to know that you do not have to go at this by yourself. The aloneness you’re feeling is temporary and it will get better. This place is changing…changing for the better. I made the decision that if I could prevent one person from feeling that self-hatred, loneliness, desperation and a thousand other emotions that I felt, I would. I will be damned if I let anyone tell you that you are wrong or weird or not normal.

"Love yourself and allow others to love you. Be who you are and know you’re not alone."

Mertens grew up in an area of Southeast Washington that he says was not very accepting of people who didn’t conform to the norm. As he explains in the story: “For me growing up, I always felt the biggest thing that caused my depression was the feeling of being alone…. I hate the stereotypes that go along with liking the same sex. You don’t have to follow the stereotype to be this way. I made the decision that if I could help anyone else avoid feeling the way I felt, I would.”

He makes it clear that much of the confusion he faced is more about ignorance than clear bigotry. “It’s not directed at gays, it’s just more like if guys are giving each other crap,” Merten explains. “It’s never that you’re stupid, it’s always that you’re a ‘fag’ or a ‘cocksucker.’”

It’s a very emotional story that many young men can probably relate to — even if they’re not involved in high school or college sports. As Mertens told OutSports: “I had a smile on my face all the time as a kid, but I was dying on the inside. In my hometown, you have to fit in or you’ll be exiled. If somebody had come out that I looked up to in the town, I would have been a lot happier.”

Read the full story here.

[igotowillamette]

I just got accepted to Willamette with a nice scholarship and I'm very excited to maybe go there but I have one reservation. Are all the students kind of the same? If I'm running around with piercings and dyed hair will i stick out like a sore thumb?

There are a wide variety of students. On some level you'll stick out but there are subcultures of dyed/tattooed/pierced students. Not to mention almost everyone gets a tattoo in their sophomore year anyway.

[konora]

Source 1

Source 2

Just a reminder to anyone on tumblr in the Salem, Oregon area - if you haven’t been, remember to go to Willamette University’s Star Tree Lighting Ceremony

It’s December 7th this year at 6:30 pm. There’s free hot chocolate and cookies, and the Beta fraternity hosts a coat drive to collect coats, sweaters, etc for those who need them during the cold winter months. It’s a big community event, so don’t miss it, especially if you’re a Willamette student living on campus!

There’s also a holiday dinner starting at 4pm in Goudy Commons, so stop by there before heading to the tree lighting. It’s Bon Apetit, so you know they’ve got some fancy foods going on. All you can eat at $11 for adults, $8 for students - take a look at the menu at the link above. Always worth going to - you don’t get fed this good at home. Go and chow down, my fellow Bearcats.

At 7pm there’s a concert with all sorts of seasonal music at Smith Auditorium. The music department here is always top-notch, and the event is free (although seats fill up fast) so there’s no reason to not go in and enjoy some great music after you’ve stuffed yourself with beef pot roast, maple-pumpkin cheese cake bites, hot chocolate and cookies and seen those enormous trees light up out on the lawn.

I really encourage Willamette students to go do this stuff. The vast majority of it is free, and it’s something I really miss now that I’ve graduated and moved away. If you need an excuse to do it, grab the nearest TIUA student you know and take them under the pretense of teaching them about American holiday traditions or something.