College of Charleston - Inside Scoop

School Slang

• Chucktown, Chaz/Chas, Chuck - Other names for Charleston
• Crosstown - A road that divides downtown and "the other side of Crosstown."
• Namia - An apartment complex accessed through King Street. It looks like a normal building, but once you go down a hallway and open a door, it takes you into a courtyard surrounded by balconies and apartments. This is a great place for keg parties.

• The College, The College of Knowledge - Other names for the College of Charleston
• The Coug, The Shitty Kitty - Nicknames for the Hungry Cougar

• The Gravel Pit - A group of student houses on St. Philip Street that have gravel parking behind them. Parties are thrown at the Gravel Pit almost every weekend.
• Y'all - You all. Even Northerners say it.

Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School

• Be careful what meal plan you buy.
• The bricks on campus sidewalks are easy to trip on.
• Citadel jerks that hang out in the lobby of Berry dorm.
• The city floods temendously when it rains. Word to the wise: Bring rain boots.

• The College makes you take a copious amount of prerequisites.
• The girls outnumber the guys almost 2 to 1.
• Greek life is prevalent.
• More about public transportation.

• The pollen count is ridiculously high---if you've never had allergies, be prepared!
• The weather can be unpredictable.
• What was beyond downtown Charleston.
• “Yankee” is a title given to anyone from above the Mason-Dixon line.

Tips to Succeed

• Always dispute bad grades.
• Be friendly with people in your classes.
• Check your e-mail every day.
• Don’t skip too many classes (even if they have no attendance policy).
• Don't go out every time you hear of a party.
• Get a bike.

• Get a phone number from at least one person in each class.
• Have a general idea of what you want to major in.
• Join a club.
• Learn to love the library.
• Make an effort to communicate with your professors.
• Make sure you know your teacher's attendance policy.

• Meet as many people as possible, especially someone with a car so you can go to the beach!
• Meet with your adviser regularly so that you can graduate on time.
• Strive to make lasting friendships with the people you live with.
• Take classes you actually like.
• Take time to experience all that Charleston has to offer.

Urban Legends

• Joe E. Barry Dorm is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of little girls that lived there more than 100 years ago when it was an orphanage, not a dorm.

• The cistern was once a popular place for fraternities to torment their pledges before it was filled with cement and turned into a grassy platform in front of Randolph Hall.

• Thirty years ago there was a war between Pi Kappa Alpha and Tau Kappa Alpha that apparently ended in both fraternities being kicked off campus.

Traditions

• The Booze Cruise - A popular event among students, the Booze Cruise is a boat party that occurs a couple times a month for students to basically get drunk and socialize while cruising around the battery.

• Graduating on the Cistern - Sudents at the College of Charleston pass through the arch at Porter’s Lodge on their first day and enter the Cistern yard to officially sign "the book." Inscribed in Greek on the arch are the words "Know Thyself." Upon graduation in the spring, students exit the Cistern yard by passing underneath the same arch and out into the world.