What To Do at Ole Miss If You're Not Greek

Ole Miss students can become involved with countless clubs or organizations around Oxford and on campus. Find what you’re passionate about. Find a way to plug into the school or plug into the community. Help is always needed, and volunteerism proves to benefit your own character and personal well-being.

1. SAA
The Student Activities Association does a fantastic job offering events and services for every variety of student.
Pavilion Presents: Every Tuesday/Thursday from 12:15 until 1 p.m., various artists and performers set up outside of the Pavilion for students to catch a break from studying. 
Pageants: The Parade of Beauties and Miss University are pageants that take place
throughout the school year. Miss University is a preliminary for Miss Mississippi and Miss
America. Applications are currently closed for Miss University, but tickets for the event are available! Miss University is held Sunday, Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. The Parade of Beauties is hosted in the spring, and the winner is crowned Most Beautiful.
Homecoming: Homecoming week is filled with fun, free activities and food for students to enjoy all week long. Monday, Oct. 9, there will be a mechanical shark and popcorn on Business Row between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and comedian Frank King will entertain students for the night. Tuesday, students can grab Sno Biz from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., and Silent Disco will be in the Grove from 9 – 11 p.m. Wednesday, SAA is hosting Games in the Circle and Wheel of Wow on Business Row from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will also be Trivia and Pizza in the Grove from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Thursday, grab some waffles on Business Row starting at 8 a.m. and there will be a Meet ‘n’ Greet in the Circle from noon until 1 p.m. And for Thursday’s finale, Rebels Got Talent will be in the Grove. To wrap up the week, check out Coffee with a Cop at 8 a.m. on Business Row, and you don’t want to miss the homecoming parade later that day at 5 p.m. 

2. Everybody’s Formal
Everybody’s Formal is held at The Jefferson Oct. 13 from 8 p.m. until midnight. It is an opportunity for everyone, whether in a Greek house or not, to come together to have a fun time! The Chancellor was in attendance in 2016, and it’s a great way for all of your friends to bond and have fun. 

3. Rebels Got Talent
Rebels Got Talent is a competition between various artists and performers during homecoming week at the Grove stage and is open to all students. Applications to perform are available now! Follow this link to the application https://orgsync.com/22597/forms/283451 or pick up a paper application in Lester 210. Auditions are Oct. 5 from 6-9 p.m. in Lamar 407 and the winner will get a $250 Grand Prize! The event will be held on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. on the Grove Stage!

4. Big Event
The BIG EVENT is the largest community service project in the Oxford community. Taking place in the spring, students sign up and volunteer in different spots around the community and serve not only the community but create lasting friendships with the people they work with. From cleaning up trash on the highway to washing fire trucks, working in people’s yards, the event is a service for the entire community.
Sophomore Ole Miss student JC Pride said, “The Big Event ultimately unites and builds the University of Mississippi into the Ole Miss family through the window of community service, reaching out to the families and organizations that allow us students to live, thrive in a community of joy and hope and thanking them for their support.”

5. RebelTHON
Sign up to dance and raise $100 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospital! RebelTHON is a 12-hour event where students are on their feet and dancing for 12 hours in support and celebration for the money raised for CMNH. This year the money is going toward the renovation of the Children’s Cancer Center at Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. The event is Friday, Feb. 23, from 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. 
To sign up to be a dancer go to https://www.rebelthon.org and register now!

6. Campus Crusade for Christ
CRU is an interdenominational ministry that meets at Paris Yates Chapel every Tuesday at 8 p.m. Along with the weekly service, there are countless other ways that they extend their reach into the Oxford community. Go to Paris Yates on Tuesdays to find out more!
Ole Miss student Clark Bartholomew said, “CRU has really given me the opportunity to meet a lot of fellow students, both Greek and non-Greek. I’ve met some of my best and strongest friends through CRU. Being able to have community once a week to escape the craziness of campus and meet with like-minded people has been a great experience. At a school that seems to be dominated by Greek culture, CRU gives an opportunity to meet with people we are and aren’t in that world and lets you be a leader on campus, too.”
7. Reformed University Fellowship (RUF)
RUF is another ministry on campus that makes quite the impact. Sophomore Avery Goggans tells of her personal RUF experience:
“When I think about my time here at Ole Miss, so far I cannot do so without thinking about RUF and the impact it has had on my life in just the one year I’ve been a part of it. Every Wednesday night was, and continues to be, my favorite night of the week – it’s a time when we gather together in the name of the Lord and fellowship together and sing praises together. It’s a time where friendships are born and strengthened. It’s a time where I feel loved and accepted for exactly who I am. RUF claims to be a ‘safe place’ – and I’ve found that to be true. It’s a place of fellowship, of love, of community. RUF has given me so much more joy than I ever thought it could – and for that, I am forever thankful.”
RUF has weekly bible studies for each class and is going to Six Flags the Friday before the Auburn game (Oct.6) for $35! To sign up, venmo @RUFOleMiss your name and $35. To find out the times and locations of Bible studies, attend RUF Large Group at Paris Yates Chapel on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

8. Ole Miss Outdoors
Ole Miss Outdoors offers various weekend trips throughout the semester that are fun and action-packed. From backpacking to mountain biking to stand-up paddle boarding at Sardis, there are many trips and events that they set up and offer!
For a full list of the trips this fall semester, visit https://campusrec.olemiss.edu/ole-miss-outdoors/adventure-trips/. 

Get involved, find your people, find your niche. Life without a Greek house is going to turn out just fine.
For a list of Ole Miss’s student organizations visit:
https://dos.orgsync.com/student_organizations
https://dos.orgsync.com/student_organizations

---

Anna Joyce is an intern for HottyToddy. She can be reached at akjoyce@go.olemiss.edu.
For questions or comments, email hottytoddynews@gmail.com.