The view of the University of Cincinnati’s football, soccer and baseball stadiums is much different than that of Kent State. The sports complex is surrounded by the student center and academic buildings, whereas Kent State’s football, softball and field h

Credit: John Proppe

The last time freshman communications major Brenna McNamara left the campus for a weekend, it was not to go home. Instead, she opted to spend a few days at John Carroll University to visit her friend from high school.

McNamara is not alone. Whether students want to visit their friends or significant others, or just want to party and have a good time in a new atmosphere, “college hopping” is a popular option among college students.

Although most students do not stray too far from home, Kent State students make weekend trips to a variety of schools. Junior public relations major Jaclyn Winters, for example, said she has visited The Ohio State University, Miami University and the University of Cincinnati in past years.

Winters said while the social activities on these campuses are similar to those at Kent State, the settings and atmospheres are different.

She said Ohio State and Cincinnati are different because they have more of a “city setting,” while Miami seems “more preppy.”

Other colleges tend to be on the wild side.

Corey Mahaffey, second-year exploratory major, for example, has visited Youngstown State University a few times with his friends, and he said things are much crazier there.

“People don’t care about getting caught,” he said. “Here, people are safer about what they do.”

He also said that at Youngstown, students tend to go to bars more often to party, rather than to houses.

Another reason students choose to visit other colleges, especially Big Ten Conference schools such as Ohio State and Penn State, is for football games and other sporting events.

Freshman finance major Seana Rader said that when she visited Penn State and attended a football game, it was a great experience because of the crowd’s excitement and passion for the team.

“Going to a Penn State football game is something that I think everyone should do,” she said.

Kent State students do more than visiting, though. They also bring in many guests to Kent State itself.

“We hand out a lot of parking passes (for guests) on Thursday and Friday nights, especially between midnight and 4 a.m.,” said Georgia Pauley, a desk receptionist at Tri-Towers. “Things are definitely a lot crazier on those nights.”

No matter the reason for visiting other colleges, students agree it is a good way to get together with friends to socialize and spend a weekend.

Contact features correspondent Christina Stavale at [email protected].