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FactsSlang
- Aggies - Refers to students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Nasties - Name given to Bear Necessities, a convenience store in Robert Purcell Community Center on North Campus.
- AAP - College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
- AEM - Applied economics management, which is the business major
- Arch Sing - When a cappella groups sing under one of the many campus arches, usually near the dorms
- Bear Access - CIT’s package of network services
- CALS - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- CAPS - Counseling and Psychological Services, free short-term on-campus counseling group
- Chalkings - Advertisements for events that are drawn in chalk on the roads and sidewalks of Cornell
- CIT - Cornell Information Technologies, computer and network services
- Cocktail lounge - Reading room that is undergroung in Uris Library (A great place to sleep—I mean, study)
- COE - Cornell outdoor education
- DOS - Dean of students
- EARS - Empathy, Assistance, and Referral Service, a student-run helpline for counseling
- FWS - Federal work study or first-year writing seminar (required for all freshman)
- Gannett - Cornell’s health care center
- Haven - Peer support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students
- Hotelies - Students in the School of Hotel Administration
- IC - Ithaca College (sometimes called IK)
- ILR - School of Industrial Labor Relations
- ISSO - International students and scholars office
- JA - Judicial administrator (the people who get you in trouble if you’re under 21)
- LGBTRC - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender resource center
- Libe Slope - The hill between Uris Library and the west campus dorms
- Louie’s Lunch - Truck on north campus that serves fast food
- Midnight Howl - The night before finals students yell as loud as they can at midnight to let out studying aggression
- OL - Orientation leader
- POST - Pre-orientation service trips
- Prelim - Preliminary exam, any full-length exam that’s not a final, often scheduled at night instead of during class
- Program House - Residences organized around a theme
- Quarter Cards - Ads handed out or found in mailbox on a quarter piece of paper
- RA - Residence advisor
- RHD - Residence hall director
- ROTC - Reserve Officer Training Corps(military program)
- RPCC - Robert Purcell Community Center
- SA - Student Assembly, the student government
- SAFC - Student Assembly Finance Commission, gives funds to student organizations
- SAO - Student activities office
- SHIP - Student health insurance plan
- TCAT - Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, public bus system
- The Commons - Downtown Ithaca, containing shops and restaurants, very hippy-style
- The Sun - Cornell Daily Sun, the student-run newspaper
- WSH or The Straight - Willard Straight Hall, the student union
- Zeus - The Temple of Zeus, a café in Goldwin Smith Hall
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
- Cornell does offer free services—if you look for them. Depending on your college and major, you can get free peer tutoring, essay revisions, resume building, and business cards.
- There are loads more housing options than just dorms or Collegetown. Explore the Cooperative Living scene for relatively cheap rates and a great, diverse group of people.
- You can buy your textbooks at Kraftees, a store in Collegetown, for much cheaper than at the Cornell Store.
- A picture is worth a thousand words.
- Booze cruises are tons of fun.
- Buying the bed sheets and linens from the school catalog is a waste of money.
- Country music is popular in upstate New York.
- Don’t forget to sleep!
- Explore the campus and meet new people at the beginning.
- If you don’t get along with your roommate from the get-go, find another.
- It gets better after the first semester.
- Olin Library has the best study lounges.
- Senior Week rocks.
- Take five courses first semester of freshman year.
- Walking up a steep hill is good exercise.
- Wegmans has the best subs.
- When it snows, it is a blizzard.
Tips to Succeed
- Get involved in campus clubs/activities, but don’t spread yourself too thin.
- Study from your notes, not the textbook.
- Consult the librarians for comprehensive information on indispensable research.
- Don’t ever fall behind.
- Don’t limit yourself to specific groups.
- Explore everything Cornell has to offer.
- Find an advisor you get along with and can talk to candidly.
- Plan ahead of time and develop a course of action first semester of freshman year.
- Seek professors and TAs out in supplementary office hours.
- Stay in touch with professors.
- Take advantage of the Cornell career services office.
- Take advantage of the many study areas, library stacks, and computer labs.
Urban Legends
- Cornell has one of the highest suicide rates. This is not true. It does have some suicides, like any school, but in proportion to the student population, the rate is not excessively higher than at other schools.
- If a couple walks around all of Beebe Lake holding hands they will get engaged.
- If you are asked for a kiss at midnight on the suspension bridge and say no, the bridge will fall into the gorge.
- When a virgin crosses the arts quad at midnight the statues of AD White and Ezra Cornell get up and meet each other in the center of the Quad to shake hands and congratulate each other on the chastity of Cornellians. (I don’t know anyone who has tried it, but there are footprints on the quad, so maybe it’s true).
Traditions
- Dragon Day - Every year, the architecture students make a huge dragon to parade around campus in and then they burn it. Some years, the engineers also make a large Phoenix, and the event becomes a contest. It begins when the architecture students sell Dragon Day T-shirts. The night before, the architecture students beautifully toilet paper the arts quad. The next day, the parade of the dragon begins.
- Freshman/Seniors on the Field - On the first home football game of the season, the freshmen rush the field; on the last, the seniors do the same.
- Slope Day - On the last day of classes, students gather on Libe Slope to celebrate the end of the year. It used to be an unstructured event full of very drunk students, but now that it is organized by the University, only those over 21 can easily drink. On Slope Day, there are vendors selling food, a carnival area, and famous bands playing (Rusted Root, OAR, Kanye West).
- The Chimes - McGraw Tower had become the symbol of Cornell University. It is visible from much of Ithaca and contains the chimes, which are played everyday (occasionally ringing out the Beatles, Disney songs, or Jingle Bells).
School Spirit
All Cornellians undoubtedly take pride in their school. Especially as alumni, former students feel even more connected to the school after having put things in perspective and reflected upon past experiences. However, students don’t necessarily have a tremendous amount of “ra-ra” spirit in support of its athletic teams. School spirit seems to be more contained to specific groups like colleges (the School of Hotel Administration), departments (applied economics and management), organizations and clubs, and fraternities and sororities.
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