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FactsSlang
- Acrop - Acropolis Diner.
- Bandana People - Students who facilitate the BSC for freshmen.
- Betty - The head security guard at the Mug; she always keeps students in line.
- BSC - Before School Conference.
- CIS - Computer Information Services, Computer Center.
- Free Box - Finder’s keepers; cardboard box in each dorm where students recycle clothes and music.
- Fro-Yo - Frozen yogurt, offered in the Retreat and ACDC.
- GAP - General Athletic Population
- Greens Mug - Environment-friendly mug sold by Vassar Greens.
- Jetson Lounge - Parlor in Noyes.
- Joss Beach - The bit of grass in front of Josselyn.
- JYA - Junior Year Abroad, a.k.a. Study Away or Study Abroad.
- Mug-rat - Someone who hangs out too often at the campus bar and club, the Mug.
- Nilda’s - The sweet, delicious, delectable cookies with the infamous “Don’t Shake a Baby” warnings on the back of their labels.
- NRO - Non-Recorded Option.
- Phallus Palace - Jewett’s nine-floor high tower.
- Po-town - Nickname for Poughkeepsie.
- Rocky - Building on campus called Rockefeller Hall.
- So-Co - Upperclassmen housing, South Commons.
- TAs - Terrace Apartments for upperclassmen.
- The City - New York City.
- The DC - Nickname for the All Campus Dining Center, ACDC.
- The Mug - The campus bar and dance club located in the College Center.
- The Pub - Bar in the Alumni House, open to students on Thursday nights.
- The Shuttle - Van that travels around campus, picking up and dropping off students.
- THs - Town Houses for upperclassmen.
- V-Card - Virginity card? No. Vassar ID card that offers access to buildings, holds meal points and debit-like account for laundry, copy machines, post office, and local merchants.
- VRDT - Vassar Repertoire Dance Troupe.
- Walker - Gym
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
- Bring shower sandals.
- Campus printers do not always work.
- Guys that don’t get girls in the real world can get them here.
- Random hookups are very common.
- The weirdest clothes you own will probably be in style.
- There are not as many gay students as you would think, but there are not as many straight ones either.
- There are some very “interesting” people at Vassar.
- There is a Vassar bubble. Students rarely leave campus, and they are often unaware what is going on anywhere else.
- Train tickets to New York City aren’t cheap.
- Vassar academics are reading and writing intensive.
- You might want a Mac, not a PC.
- You will eat more than you think you will—don’t get the smallest meal plan.
Tips to Succeed
- Ask for extensions ahead of time; you’ll most likely get them.
- Be confident.
- Challenge not only the content of a class, but the structure.
- Don’t fill up class schedule in late afternoon.
- Don’t get caught in the Mug more than three times a week.
- Don’t leave anything to the last minute. Work ahead.
- Don’t think you are smarter than Betty.
- Expect weirdness from people.
- Get drunk before you go to the Mug.
- Get to know your professors.
- Go out even if you have work.
- Introduce yourself as much as possible.
- People are tougher and smarter than they look.
- Security is lenient, but don’t think you can get away with anything.
- Sleep rarely. There are way too many fun things to do in the middle of the night.
- Take advantage of the shuttle.
- Take Intro to Art History.
Urban Legends
- A student hung herself in the bell tower of Main Building.
- Mike D. from the Beastie Boys threw a keg off a balcony in the Jewett dorm.
- The hallways in Main were built wide enough that if the school failed, Matthew Vassar could turn it into a brewery.
- The largest cocaine bust in NY State occurred on a hallway in Main building in the early ‘90s. The hallway is now known as “Coke Alley.”
- The poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay, class of 1917, dramatically threw herself out of the tower (her fall broken by the third-floor roof).
- Vassar is a clothing-optional campus.
- Vassar is the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest suspended tree branch.
Traditions
- 24-hour Improv - Once a year, the Improv comedy group sets up a stage in the Retreat and performs improvisational games for 24 hours straight.
- 2-Week Rule - The common advice to freshmen: don’t do anything that you’ve have never done before during the first two weeks of school, unless you want to be reminded of some embarrassing stories later.
- A Cappella Till You Puke - A concert of several a cappella groups on campus that lives up to its name.
- BSC (Before School Conference) - For 21 years, students have participated in an activity either on or off campus during freshman orientation with a small group of first-year students. Freshmen choose to do any one of many activities, including tubing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, art, or filmmaking.
- Daisy Chain - A group of sophomore women carry an elaborate chain of fresh daisies and laurel at commencement. A group of sophomore men are chosen to usher at graduation as well.
- Desk Attendants - Before Vassar went coed, the desk attendants wore white uniforms and were called “White Angels.” They were entrusted with guarding the entrance to the girls’ dorms and protecting the innocence of Vassar ladies.
- Founder’s Day - An annual campus party sponsored by Vassar to celebrate the founding of the school by brewer Matthew Vassar. This day of debauchery starts early and continues with all-day partying on Walker Field. There are carnival rides, musical performances, tons of food, and free beer. The evening winds down with a movie and fireworks. The best day at Vassar, hands down.
- Primal Scream - Streaking, fire-throwing, ice cream, and students gathered on the quad, screaming in unison on the eve of final exams. It makes all that studying worthwhile.
- Ringing the Bell - After Spring Convocation, rising seniors go to the top of Main building and ring the bell to let everyone within a 10-mile radius know that they will be seniors come fall.
- Serenading - Each fall, the freshmen in each dorm write and prepare songs to sing to the upperclassmen. On the day of Serenading, the upperclassmen move from dorm to dorm attacking freshmen with food, water balloons and other gross items while the freshmen attempt to belt out their songs on the stoops of their respective dorms. Think Dazed and Confused without pain.
- Vassar Tea and Cookies in the Rose Parlor - Students, faculty, and administrators can be seen sipping tea and nibbling on free cookies from 3 p.m., Monday–Friday in the Rose Parlor in Main. Bring your Vassar reusable Greens mug.
School Spirit
Vassar students are not a bunch of cheerleaders, but they love their school. Students don college sweatshirts (sometimes reinvented and re-sewn by the more fashionable among us), line up to host prospective students, and look at their Vassar years with a critical eye, something that can only come out of the love of a place. They are proud to be among a group of intelligent, independent-minded students; most are even proud of the weirder ones, too.
Most Recent Contributing Author
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Hometown: Bend, IN
Major: Philosophy/Economics Sam once got slimed on a Nickelodeon TV show as a kid. Contributing Author Internship
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