Getting Involved: Community Commons, Clubs and Organizations, & Fraternity and Sorority Life - Max

We are now near Driscoll Green, which is right in the heart of campus.  

If you look to the west, you can see our new Community Commons building. The Community Commons serves as the main student center on campus. It was designed to create a sense of belonging for students, where they can workshop new ideas over lunch, meet a friend for coffee, catch a concert, leverage a one-stop shop for support services and enjoy the best views of the Rockies from the fourth story.  

The Community Commons includes eight eateries on the second floor, each with specialized and customizable menus boasting at least 600 unique meal combinations between them. We have several other dining options spread throughout campus, including cafes and convenience stores, which are great places to grab a quick bite before class. The retail dining locations are also open pretty much any time throughout the day from 7am-10:30pm, depending on the location and with a few intermittent closings.  

On the east side of the green you might have noticed Old Fraternity Row. While these houses are no longer home to Fraternity and Sorority Life, or FSL, these communities still have a strong presence on our campus. Approximately 20% of our undergraduate students are involved in FSL, which includes business fraternities, service fraternities, religious fraternities and sororities, social fraternities and sororities, and multicultural fraternities and sororities. 

There are over 100 clubs and organizations at DU, including everything from cultural groups and religious organizations to Student Government and club or intramural sports. These clubs and orgs are a great way to get involved and find your community at DU. The largest club on campus (and also the oldest club on campus!) is the Alpine Club, which has been a staple of University life since 1928. The Alpine Club organizes carpooling and bus systems to the mountains almost every weekend, and students can sign up to camp, hike, climb, ski, snowboard, and more! Another popular club on campus is the DU Grilling Society, or DUGS for short. This club is a DU favorite because throughout the school year you can find them throughout campus grilling up free food for students, staff, and faculty to enjoy! 

Our Student Government and DU Programming Board plan many of our fun campus traditions that make the student experience special, like Hockey Night Lights and Homecoming during the fall, Winter Carnival in Winter quarter, and May Days during the spring just to name a few.   

My favorite campus tradition is the Hockey Night Lights. On the night before the home Hockey opener, about 400 students campout overnight in front of the Richie Center in hopes they’re one of the first 200 people in line who will get a free hockey season pass. During the campout there are movies playing, free food, and even the chance to get to skate in Magness Arena. It’s a great break from the school week to spend time with friends, spend the night, and hope to get rewarded in the morning!