For the first few weeks you may hear fellow students refer to different people, places, and things on the campus which wasn't included in the promotional material. We here at the Clarkson Jolt have put together a growing list of terms for your reference. If you have ideas for more terms, submit them to us and we'll review and place them in this fine reference manual:
Barben Rooms, the - (i. bar-bin rooms) - Banquet rooms located on the second floor of Cheel. Home of the Knight Club post-game banquets.
Beirut - (n. bay-root) - Game of skill typically played during the evenings. A long table, with ten cups on each side, a quarter, and tasty beverages are needed.
"Bobcat Bandit" - (n. bobcat bandit) - Term for mischevious individual or individuals who create calamity on campus by either stealing bobcats on campus, crashing them into buildings, or breaking gas lines.
CAMP - (n., v. CAMP) - 1. Short for Center for Advanced Materials Processing, it's the 'Home of the Engineer.' Rumor has it that there's a hidden nuclear reactor inside as well as a super high tech clean room. 2. What students do on Cheel Lawn when they find out they have no housing.
"Camping Safely" - (n. camping safely) - Affectionate term used to describe Clarkson's Finest, Campus Safety, usually seen sitting in the Walker Arena parking lot with a car running at all times or at the McDonald's drive-thru.
CUB - (n. cub) - The Clarkson Union Board, the student group in charge of student entertainment on campus. Meetings Monday evenings in the Barben Rooms.
ERC, the - (n. E-R-C) - The Educational Resource Center. Home of the library, OIT, the Career Center, the Honors Program offices, a computer loft, study areas, and Java City. Rumor has it renovations will be made soon.
Integrator, the - (n. the integrator) - Clarkson's student-run newspaper. Typically distributed on Mondays when students can be seen filling out crosswords and sudokus and not paying attention to professors. Always looking for new staff!
IRC, the - (n. I-R-C) - The Indoor Recreation Center, commonly used in conjunction with the Fitness Center.
"Let's Go Tech!" - (v. let's go tech) - A chant heard commonly at Clarkson hockey games. The Tech refers to Clarkson's former name: the Clarkson College of Technology.
New Dorms, the - (n. new dorms) - Built in the 60's, these dorms were the last set built on the hill campus and just never lost their nickname. This refers to Graham and Price Halls, located along Cheel Lawn between the Cheel parking lot and the Snell parking lot.
Old Snell - (n. old snell) - Downtown Snell Hall houses administrative offices and an auditorium used for special events and exams. It was formerly the home of the School of Business and Liberal Arts.
Pit, the - (n. the pit) - The Hamlin-Powers Dorms, located on the bottom of a not-so-fun-to-climb hill with deadly stairs. These dorms were recently renovated. Parts of Hamlin were/are substance-free but the administration likes to change things around to confuse us.
Quad, the - (n. the qwad) - The nickname for the four freshmen dorms consisting of Ross House, Brooks House, Cubley House, and Reynolds House. The sophmores who received crappy lotto numbers from the year before are also housed here. This can also be a specific reference to the connecting building in the middle, commonly called the center core, which houses SAS, the Empire Diner and the Ross-Brooks Cafeteria.
"Rape Trail" - (n. come on. you can't mispronounce it) - The affectionate name given to the paved trail that runs from the Pit parking lot through the woods up to Moore House and the Snell Parking lot. While the name is given to scare and nothing bad has ever happened, walking alone through the woods in the middle of the night is probably never the smartest idea. Watch out for cars driving on it and the occasional stolen golf cart.
Ro-Bro - (n. row bro) - The Ross-Brooks Cafeteria.
SAS - (n. S-A-S) - Student Administrative Services, located in the core of the Freshmen Quad.
SBG - (n. S-B-G) - This term is short for "Sketchy Bearded Guy", a familiar face at the hockey games. He is known for his creative insults (ie, 'Your mom thinks you're a tool, ref!', 'Jesus hates you!', and 'Your mom hates you!') and all-around sketchiness.
"Schoolie" - (n. schoolie) - A Clarkson School student. These unusual students combine their senior year of high school and their freshman year of college here at Clarkson. They live in the Farrisee and Newell buildings in Price Hall. The stigma of being a schoolie never quite leaves a Clarkson School student, even after they become upperclassmen.
"Sieve!" - (n. siv) - An insult frequently yelled at hockey games, directed towards the opposing goalie describing his goaltending abilities.
SLU - (n. sloo) - St. Lawrence University, located in Canton. Our biggest hockey rival, along with RPI. A common expression, coined by the pep band, is "RPI Sucks, SLU Swallows". (see SLUt and SLUzer)
SLUt - (n. slut) - A common term for any St. Lawrence University student, not necessarily just the female students.
SLUzer - (n./adj. slooser) - Another name for a student who goes to SLU. As in: "SLUzer! You're a big puss!"
"Townie" - (n. townie) - The affectionate and often derisive term for residents of Potsdam. Townies, much like Canada, can be used as the scapegoat for anything that goes wrong at Clarkson. Often found at hockey games, the townies hated the most are the pre-teens who roam the arena.
Trick - (n. trick) - Thomas S. Clarkson's horse, Trick, is buried on campus. You can see his gravestone on the lawn between Brooks House and the IRC.
Ugly-looking Thing on Cheel Lawn - (n. ugly looking.. yadda yadda yadda) - Usually in reference to the metal sculptures "Portside" (the white thing closest to Cheel), or the rusted-out thing by the ERC. (Interesting Fact: "Portside" is called Portside because on a certain day and time of the year its shadow supposedly casts that of a ship. Even if that's the case, the odds of a sunny day in Potsdam make the chances of a shadow slim to none.)
Walker - (n. walker) - The former home of Clarkson hockey, this wooden arena (one of the loudest in all of college hockey history) is now used for Varsity and club team practices and intramurals. Sporting some of the oldest, most duct-taped astroturf in history and dorm furniture and televisions dating back before your parents were born, Walker is a spot the campus tour won't take you on, but one you definitely don't want to miss.