July 16, 2007

The Sun's Cornell Glossary

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This glossary appears in the 2007 edition of The Sun’s annual Student Guide.

AAP: College of Architecture, Art and Planning. Found on the north end of the Arts Quad.
Aggies: Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Akwe:kon: Residential program house focused on Native American culture, pronounced “a-gway-gohn.”
AEM: Applied economics and management, a popular undergraduate business major in the ag school.
Appel: Appel Commons, the newest Cornell Dining attraction on North Campus.
Bear Access: Software suite with all the programs you need to check your e-mail, get your grades, find a book in the library, sign up for classes, scan for viruses or post a webpage.
Bear Nasties: Not-so-affectionate nickname for the a-la-carte dining facility in RPCC.
Big Red: 1. A brand of chewing gum. 2. The nickname for all Cornell athletic teams.
Big Red Bear: Cornell mascot. Although the bear is actually brown and not red, Cornellians still look to him for spirit.
BYOB: Abbreviation for “bring your own beer.”
CALS: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Also called the ag school.
Big Red Bucks: Points which can be used in a-la-carte dining facilities, such as Bear Necessities, to buy food.
CCC: Cornell Concert Commission, the organization that brings all of the big-name bands to campus.
Chalkings: Announcements written in chalk on the campus walkways.
CIT: Cornell Information Technologies, the provider of computer and network services.
Cocktail Lounge: Underground reading room in Uris Library, with comfy, sleep-inducing chairs — great for a midday nap!
Commons: A stretch of State Street in downtown Ithaca which is closed off to motorized vehicles and has shops, restaurants and many craft and musical fairs.
Cross Country Gourmet: The feast served when a restaurant visits and cooks food in the campus dining halls
CTB: Collegetown Bagels, a favorite lunch spot.
C-Town: Collegetown, the business district of Ithaca located next to campus. There are apartments, shops, restaurants and nightclubs on this stretch.
CUinfo: A webpage with links to all you will need to know, such as the weather forecast, student organization webpages, sports scores and a campus directory.
Dairy Bar: Cornell-operated dairy that serves ice cream, milkshakes and other milk products.
D.P. Dough: A place to order calzones to satisfy those late-night munchies.
Dragon Day: Tradition started by Willard D. Straight, Class of 1901, where architecture students build a giant dragon and parade it around the campus before spring break.
EARS: Empathy, Assistance and Referral Service, a free confidential peer counseling service.
FIR: Faculty in residence, a faculty member who lives in the dorms with his or her family and organizes frequent programs for students living in that dorm.
Fishbowl: A glass-enclosed reading room in Uris Library with rows of study-inducing desks.
Freshman 15: Theory that incoming freshmen will gain 15 pounds during their first year in college because of the “all-you-care-to-eat dining halls.”
Freshmen on the Field: A tradition where all freshmen rush onto the field following the first home football game of the season.
FWS: 1. Freshmen writing seminar; you pick your top five choices and are assigned one “at random.” 2. Federal Work Study, a financial aid program.
GIAC: Greater Ithaca Activities Center, a youth center and a popular place for Cornellians to volunteer.
Gorge: Ithaca’s claim to fame, hence the saying, “Ithaca is Gorges.” These rock-lined rivers are hard to miss on campus, especially during the warm weather when gorge jumping is in season.
Ho Plaza: The area between the Campus Store and the Straight, which is always busy during lunchtime and hosts student rallies.
Hotelies: Students in the School of Hotel Administration.
Hot Truck: Found at the bottom of West Campus, the Hot Truck is perfect for a late- night drunken snack. The truck is owned and operated by Shortstop Deli, which has not changed the menu from the classic subs, including Poor Man’s Pizza (PMP), that made the Truck famous.
Hum Eccies: Students in the College of Human Ecology.
I.C.: Ithaca College, the other campus on a hill.
ILR: School of Industrial and Labor Relations, nicknamed “I Love Reading.”
J.A.: The judicial administrator determines punishments for naughty students, especially those who take more than one piece of fruit out of the dining halls.
JAM: Just About Music, a residential program house.
Libe Slope: A very steep hill separating West Campus from Central Campus.
Louie’s Lunch: Major rival to Hot Truck, found on North Campus between Balch and Risley Halls. Louie’s is the older of the two trucks and serves a wider variety of foods.
Martha Van, MVR: Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, home of the College of Human Ecology.
Morgue: The large study lounge in Donlon Hall, named for the dark, dismal lighting in it.
Orgo: Organic chemistry.
PAM: Policy analysis and management, a popular major in the College of Human Ecology.
Prelim: Any full-length exam that is not a final exam. They are usually called midterms at other colleges.
Quad: Quadrangle, a rectangular section of campus that houses one of Cornell’s colleges, such as the Ag Quad, the Arts Quad and the Engineering Quad.
R.A.: Resident advisor, the upperclassman in charge of keeping order in your residence hall.
RHD: Residence hall director, the R.A.’s boss.
ROTC: Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, a collegiate-level military organization.
RPCC: Robert Purcell Community Center, one of two community centers on North Campus. Formerly known as RPU.
S/U: Pass-or-fail grading that is an option in some courses (satisfactory or unsatisfactory).
S.A.: Student Assembly, a student governing body that has jurisdiction over the student activity fee and makes recommendations to the administration.
Schwartz Center: Home of Cornell’s theater, film and dance departments. Located in Collegetown, it hosts many student performances and visiting shows.
Slope Day: The last day of classes in the spring when Cornellians gather on Libe Slope, hang out with friends, listen to music and have a few (or more) drinks.
Slope Fest: Traditionally, the non-alcoholic alternative to Slope Day that entertains students with carnival rides, free food and famous bands. The last two years have seen the merger of the two Slope activities with a concert and heightened restrictions on the Slope.
The Straight: Willard Straight Hall, Cor­nell’s student union, which contains three dining facilities, a study lounge, a ceramics studio, a Cornell Cinema movie theater and registered student organization offices.
SAFC: Student Assembly Finance Commission, in charge of distributing money to registered student organizations.
Sun: 1. A star rarely seen in Ithaca. 2. An independent, student-run newspaper that is printed daily during the school year. Joining the newspaper team is a great way of meeting new people and getting involved!
T.A.: Teaching assistant, often a graduate student who will lead discussion sections for large lectures.
TCAT: Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, the bus company that serves the Ithaca area.
Town and Gown: The state of relations between Ithaca and Cornell.
Townie: A local Ithaca resident.