Xavier University

A small, liberal arts school in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some may recognize the name from college basketball; it is a Division I school in the NCAA Atlantic 10 Conference. In 2000, Xavier opened a new 10,000 seat basketball arena, the Cintas Center, which is one of the finest in the country for a small, private university.

Something on pronounciation, "Xavier" is pronounced with the "X" as a "Z", not as the letter x is pronounced in the alphabet (something like "ecks"). Correct pronounciation is unfortianatly rather important, as it helps one know what another is refering to.

There is a Xavier school somewhere in the southern US regions with which a Xavier in the upper US actually had the designs switched at making... or so a legend goes.

the Xavier in the upper US is a one story building that is LONG and takes forever to walk from one side of the building to the other, it is only one story tall though, no stair climbing. Naturally the Xavier in the lower US would be a taller building, the difference is due to designing for the climate, in which the taller building would save more on heating bills and would have less roofage to have to worry about leaking. The upper US Xavier has a minor problem of the weather outdoors coming in...

(Sorry for getting just a tad off of the Xavier University subject, wanted to clarify pronounciation just a bit...)

Xavier University is a wonderful place. It is an extremely expensive place. And it is definitely not for everyone.

I was lured to Xavier University by an extremely large scholarship. I visited the campus once, noted that it was clean and friendly, the cafeteria food was fabulous, there were no frats or sororities, and even the freshman dorms had a lovely suite setup. The brochures thrown at me assured me that the faculty was top-notch, the guidance services comprehensive, the degree and the Xavier name worth every penny. I had conducted a rather lazy college hunt, and this was enough for me. I was sold.

Life on the Xavier campus would be heaven for many. There are a huge number of clubs, sports teams, volunteer projects, and DRINKING PARTIES. The basketball team is great. Everyone is very friendly, and I did have a lot of fun there.

Still, I wasn't very happy. Xavier is fiercely Roman Catholic. Xavier is very politically conservative. A disproportinately large number of Xavier women were mallbunnies there for MRS degrees. A disproportionately large number of Xavier men were in the closet (Catholicism seems to do this). The silently agreed-upon uniform consisted of American Eagle and Abercrombie. Individuality was frowned upon. Exciting ideas that might shake things up were frowned upon. Taking political action was frowned upon. The only socially acceptable protests centered around the off-campus landlords discouraging drinking on their properties. I was very stifled there.

I am a liberal, spiritually eclectic bisexual. I swept onto the campus in a tiger-print duster, my purple hair in my face, dripping cigarette ash a la Cruella de Ville. I spouted Camille Paglia. Dead Kennedys blared from my speakers. I wrote my history papers from the Helots point of view, not the Spartans. At first I was treated like a mascot, a caricature, a jester. But when I started thinking, people seemed to find it disturbing. I was slowly being edged out socially. I lasted for six months, then quietly left the school. I was esctatic.

Again, I want to emphasize that it is not a bad place. Everything that brought me there really was as good as it had looked. The food was delicious, the dorms were spacious, the faculty was brilliant. It is exactly what many people are looking for. Xavier gives out tons of free money, and if your ACTs were good and you really need a scholarship, I encourage you to apply. Just be sure to bring the proper uniform.