Wolfish, which college did you attend? Was it a local college, like Brooklyn or Lehman, or a dorm college? Furthermore, how many years ago (ballpark) was this? I have spoken to friends of mine who do campus kiruv, and yes my understanding is the correct one. It’s possible your experiences are outdated or non-normative.
I went to school as an undergrad at a local school about twenty years ago. I am in grad school now, also locally.
You’ll also note that I made a distinction between local colleges and out of town colleges on the first page of this train wreck of a thread.
The Wolf