The Completely Unofficial Guide to Brown
INSIDE: Brown 8 from A-Z 22 First-Year Housing Guide 26 Herald 101 THE BROWN
Daily Herald
Illustrations by Madeleine Denman Cover by Angelia Wang
A cappella
A A.B.
BROWN Binder, Dave
A Spring Weekend tradition. He sings mediocre but endearing covers of bachelorette party favorites to hordes of Brown students on Wriston Quad every year.
An oversubscribed vocal and social activity. If you live near the Wayland or MorrissChamplin arches, you might want to invest in soundproofing your room.
The bachelor of arts degree most of you will leave with. Everyone else calls it a B.A.
A.B.-Sc.B. This five-year program will get you two — count ’em, two! — degrees before you leave.
(See Spring Weekend, Wriston Quadrangle)
BlogDailyHerald An online hub of campus life and go-to source for information on cool happenings and people in and around Brunonia.
(See The Brown Daily Herald)
Andrews Commons
Brown’s swankiest, newest eatery opened at the beginning of last semester, after the Gate in the basement of Alumnae Hall closed (RIP). Go for the proximity to Pembroke dorms when you need a late-night snack; stay for the pho, pizza and questionable design choices.
AQR
Tucked on the bottom floor of the Rock, the Absolute Quiet Room is just as serious about silence as its name suggests. Friendships and romances have ended after one party had the audacity to talk in there.
ADOCH A Day on College Hill. Many of you probably came to this spring event right after acceptance letters went out. We eschew homework for a day, act cool, collegiate and cheerful and throw parties that are unusually large for Tuesday nights. This is not necessarily indicative of life at Brown.
B
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Banner The University’s computerized student record system. Check your meal plan balance and use the shopping carts to read course descriptions and configure potential schedules. Avoid the transcript section.
The Blue Room Brown’s version of Starbucks. It’s the Brown eatery the University wants visitors to see. Its double chocolate muffins and custom-made sandwiches are favorites.
BMP BOLT
Brown Motion Pictures, home to student-created short films and advance screenings of popular movies. Formerly known as BTV.”
Brown Outdoor Leadership Training is a unique opportunity to learn how to tie a trucker’s hitch, avoid the sophomore slump and bury your poop with a trowel. Five days in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with nine strangers right before the start of sophomore year — it’s probably better than whatever you had planned for the last week of summer 2015.
FROM A-Z
Brown Band
Much like your high school marching band. Except without the emphasis on marching. Or music, for that matter. But the musicians use profanity, their uniforms have flair and the group is the only college band that does shows on ice skates during hockey season. Known for performing holiday songs in your favorite study spot right before finals.
C
By Herald staff
CFF
Chicken Finger Friday. Beloved weekly lunch at the V-Dub and one of the only reasons to stay on meal plan after your first year. Responsible for an estimated 13 of the Freshman 15.
The Brown Daily Herald
Carberry, Josiah
The finest daily publication in this fair republic. Published since 1866, daily since 1891, The Herald is financially and editorially independent from the University, is available free all over campus and covers University and city news, opinion, arts, science and sports. Plus, Sudoku! You can start reading us online over the summer at browndailyherald.com.
Brown’s legendary professor of psychoceramics — the study of cracked pots. He does not exist. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. He also has Brown’s online library system and the only double chicken patty sandwich available at a Rhode Island fast food restaurant named after him.
BSR
(See Jo’s)
Cianci, Vincent a.k.a. “Buddy”
Brown Student Radio, WBRU-FM’s estranged hipster cousin, broadcasts in the The renowned, longest-serving former mayor of Providence, who got evenings, seven days a week. The station is out of the slammer in 2007. First elected in 1974, he resigned in 1984 after so underground that it can only be heard pleading no contest to assaulting his wife’s lover with a fireplace log (!), on its website, bsrlive.com. proceeded to host a radio show for a few years and was then reelected in 1990 — until he was convicted of federal crimes in 2002. Legend has it Buddy used to ride up to Brown frat parties on a white horse during his first term. He could often be seen playing cymbals with the Brown Band Brown University Dining Services stuat football games. And now he’s back in the game: Cianci’s hoping for yet dent employees’ ubiquitous hats make another comeback as he runs for mayor again this fall. them as adorable as their acronym. BuDS workers staff campus eateries — patiently taking sandwich orders, swiping meal cards and restocking shelves. Be nice, and you may not get charged Rhode Island’s openly gay, Jewish, Italian, first district congressman extra for the meat on your Blue Room and former Providence mayor, who’s also a Brown alum. As an undergrad, breakfast sandwich. he co-founded the Brown Democrats with John F. Kennedy Jr. ’83. Soon after he left the mayor’s office for Washington in January 2011, it came to light that the city’s finances were in far worse shape than Providence’s citizens had been led to believe. Sucked for the next guy, Angel Taveras, Technically the “Rumford Bus Tunnel,” it who has taken some controversial steps including cutting a deal with goes through College Hill (literally), from Bruno to address the deficit. Starbucks to the intersection of Waterman (See Taveras, Angel and Kennedy, and North Main streets. Don’t try walking John Fitzgerald, Jr. ’83) through the tunnel. You will never be heard from again.
BuDS
Cicilline ’83, David
Bus tunnel
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Coffee Milk – Dining Services
Coffee Milk
CPR
The official state drink of Rhode Island. It’s basically chocolate milk made with a sweet, coffee-flavored syrup. It’s delicious and scarce outside of the state, so drink up while you still can.
1. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. 2. Course Performance Report, a written evaluation of your performance in a class. You can request one of those from any professor, either in addition to a letter grade or to supplement an “S” in an S/NC class.
(See New Curriculum, S/NC)
Cranston Rhode Island’s third-largest city, but you’ll probably never go there unless you’re seeking dim sum closer than Boston. Most notable for serving as the inspiration for the city of Quahog in “Family Guy.”
Credit / Meal credit Getting into Brown is only half the intellectual battle: Figuring out how to purchase food on campus most effectively in the face of Brown’s meal plan setup makes organic chemistry look like a game of Go Fish. One meal credit will get you into the Ratty or the V-Dub or purchase $6.80 worth of food at Jo’s, the Ivy Room, the Blue Room or Andrews. Some plans offer a lot of points with fewer meals, whereas others will give you a set number of meals per week and fewer points.
College Hill Home, sweet home.
The College Hill Independent College Hill’s weekly news rag, but more importantly, The Herald’s chief kickball competitor (current record: 12-4, Herald). The de facto headquarters of Brown’s hipster population.
Concentration In the rest of the world, this is called a “major.”
(See New Curriculum)
The Corporation
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In October, February and May, the cabal of rich men and women who really run Brown meet in Sayles Hall to decide our future. You likely don’t know who the members of the Brown Corporation are, and that’s probably just how they like it.
(See Flex point, Andrews Commons, Jo’s, Ratty, V-Dub)
Critical Review Student reviews of most classes and professors at Brown. No matter how great the course description looks, a bad Critical Review rating should make you at least pause.
D Dining Services Brown Dining Services tries to make itself beloved with cupcake decorating events and dining hall theme days. Sometimes it even succeeds. The food isn’t as bad as people say, nor is it as good as you’ll want it to be.
BROWN FROM A-Z
Divest Coal – First-year seminars
Divest Coal A student group trying to get the University to divest its endowment from major coal companies. (The Corporation said no last fall, but the movement is still going.) Nearly everybody on campus has either signed one of their petitions or pretended to.
Due date It is always flexible. Even when the professor swears otherwise.
DPS The Department of Public Safety. As Brown is to the Ivy League, DPS is to a real police department. Technically they have full police powers, but they don’t really use them. Expect stern warnings for the most part. If they’re really grumpy, they’ll wait outside of Spiritus to accost underage drinkers. Don’t push them too far though. They have armored Segway scooters, and they’re not afraid to use them.
E
Endowment, small The reason behind most of the University’s financial problems — in bed. Prepare for many similar jokes over your next four years, especially after our endowment shrank by about $800 million in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
EMS EMS stands for Emergency Medical Services. It also stands for Eastern Mountain Sports. Call the wrong one, and instead of getting a stomach pump, you’ll be getting a thermos and a GPS system to help you stumble home.
F
Fall Weekend Pretty much everyone else calls this Columbus Day. We Brownies aren’t so keen on Christopher and his colonizing ways, so we have the terribly vague “Fall Weekend.” Spring Weekend it is not. But still, a day off from classes.
(See Spring Weekend)
Faunce House Since its reopening in fall 2010, it has housed the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center. Home to the Blue Room, study spaces, a printing cluster, the Underground and those famous stairs at the top of the Main Green where hipsters can see and be seen.
(See Blue Room, Main Green, Underground)
Federal Hill Providence’s “Little Italy,” they like to say. Since it’s only really one street (Atwells Avenue), you can get great pasta, delicious cannoli and vengeance for your brother’s murder all in one place.
First-years You. Everybody else calls them “freshmen.”
Extension (See Due date) You will most likely ask for at least one of these in your time at Brown. Make up a good reason, and you’ll probably get it. Even when the professor says at the beginning of the year that he or she never gives extensions.
First-year seminars Take one while you can.
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Flex point – Hutchings-Votey Organ
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Flex point
The Gordon Gee Lavatory Complex
These little beauties come as part of your meal plan or can be purchased from BDS for $1 per point. All on-campus eateries take them.
The portable bathrooms that grace the Main Green every Spring Weekend. Christened after a former Brown president who stayed for two years before leaving for a higher-paying job at Vanderbilt University.
(See Spring Weekend)
Graduate Center Grad Center has all the charm of a sterile, riot-proof bunker — but without the sterility. Home to many of Brown’s juniors, this fivebuilding abomination has been plaguing the campus aesthetic since it was constructed, or by some accounts, assembled from Lincoln Logs. The only valuable thing about this structure is the land it is currently devaluing.
FriSc Unveiled in January 2007, the Friedman Study Center is a 24-hour haven for procrastinators. It’s housed in the basement of the SciLi and decorated in a sort of 1960s-futuristic style. In other words, lots of lime green and oddly shaped furniture.
GCB
G
The Graduate Center Bar, an actual bar buried in the basement of Grad Center. A good place to go on a weeknight to split a pitcher of beer and a game of pool. It’s $30 to become a member, but stay away if you’re under 21 — unlike most bars in Providence, they don’t take fake IDs.
(See Graduate Center)
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Granoff Also known as the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts or the CAC. It’s fairly new and fancy and garnered a rave architectural review in the New York Times. Forty million dollars will get you a basement movie theater, a recording studio and an avant-garde aesthetic straight out of “Minority Report.”
H
HutchingsVotey Organ Located in Sayles, it’s the largest one in the world! We suspect there aren’t many H-V organs in the world.
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IMP – Magaziner ‘69 P’06 P’07 P’10, Ira
IMP
I
Jo’s
1. International Mentoring Program to help first-year international students adjust to studying and living in the United States. 2. The wee folk who work long into the night in the bowels of the Ratty to make us delicious “magic bars.”
Technically Josiah’s, the snack bar of choice for residents south of the Main Green. Located on the ground floor of New Dorm A, it’s the home of salads, snacks and delicious fried foods. Save yourselves the embarrassment of being instantly labeled as first-years and order a spicy with. Just trust us.
(See Main Green, New Dorm and Carberry, Josiah)
(See Magic Bars)
IPTV We can watch TV on our computers, but we still complain that there are too few channels.
K
The Ivy Room A popular lunch spot for those lucky few with flex points to spare, the Ivy Room turns into an all-vegetarian eatery at night. The falafel may not be authentic, but whatever it is, it’s worth the long line. (See Flex points)
J
Houses the mailroom, classrooms and lots of administrative offices. Everyone walks through it a few times a week, so student groups camp out in the lobby to pester passersby to sign petitions and buy baked goods.
The John Hay Library Reopening after a year of renovations, the Hay is one of those very collegiate libraries in which you feel like you shouldn’t touch anything. It has many rare collections and is home to the University Archives, for you soon-to-be Brown history buffs.
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L
J. Walter Wilson
Kennedy Jr. ’83, John Fitzgerald We’re glad he broke the family trend of Harvard attendance. Yes, he kept a pig in his dorm.
Loui’s A Brook Street restaurant you will inevitably discover at 5 a.m. Try the grilled muffins.
M
Main Green If you haven’t figured out what this is, go home.
Magaziner ’69 P’06 P’07 P’10, Ira The New Curriculum was his brainchild while he was an undergraduate. Now he’s the mastermind behind the Clinton Foundation.
(See New Curriculum)
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Magic Bars – Parking space
Magic Bars
New Dorm
One of the few delicious desserts at the Ratty. No, they don’t have weed in them. But they do have coconut, chocolate, graham cracker and probably enough trans fats to kill a small animal. Tasty. (See Ratty)
Not so new anymore (it opened in 1991), the former Thayer Street dorm is officially called Vartan Gregorian Quad — but don’t call it that. The two buildings contain upperclassman suites, often coveted living space for juniors. Building A is home to Jo’s, a campus snack bar.
Meiklejohn Pronounced like “nickel-john,” but with an “M.” Alexander Meiklejohn was a professor of philosophy. Meiklejohns are now the upper-class counselors who dish straight truth on anything you need to know about academics at Brown.
O
(See Jo’s)
Orientation Enjoy this while it lasts — being overscheduled will never be this relaxing again.
MPC
Orwig
Minority Peer Counselor. The counselors who are specially trained to advise first-year students on minority issues.
Underused but beautiful music library; only open until 10 p.m.
N
P
Naked Donut Run
Paxson, Christina
On the last night of reading period, dedicated scholars in the Rock and the SciLi get a special treat: donuts! Made doubly delicious by the awkward nudes who hand them to you.
Brown’s 19th president, Christina Paxson originaly hails from Princeton, where she was dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
(See Rock, SciLi)
Nelson Fitness Center Equipped with over 10,000 square feet of workout equipment and an Olympic-sized swimming pool, the new fitness center promises to transform our school into an athletic powerhouse within the decade. Our top sports? Competitive farm sharing, the 200-meter literary reference and trampling injustice.
New Curriculum This is what allows you take whatever classes you want and potentially graduate without having taken a single one of them for a grade. It’s 45 years old, but we still call it new. Go figure.
Pacifica House Brown’s one and only secret society.
Parking space Something you’ll never find in Providence, anywhere. And certainly not overnight or for more than two hours.
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Patriot’s Court – Quiet Green
Patriot’s Court
PLME
An extension of Wriston Quad. A bit quieter, in theory. Otherwise unremarkable.
Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education lets you go straight into the Alpert Medical School without ever taking the MCATs or second-semester organic chemistry. Pronounced phonetically, like “plee-me.”
(See Wriston Quadrangle)
Pawtucket A city bordering Providence — pronounced puhTUCKet, not PAWtucket. The locals tend to get rabid if you say it wrong. The movie “Outside Providence” takes place here.
ProJo The Providence Journal, Rhode Island’s largest daily newspaper. Its reporters get very excited when big things happen in this tiny state. Remember that “Survivor” guy Richard? Yeah, the one from Newport. He was on the cover of the ProJo for four days straight. Oh, and they’ve won some Pulitzers.
Pembroke The northern part of Brown’s campus used to be Pembroke College, an all-female coordinate to Brown. The official merge occurred in 1971, though underthe-table sexiling had been going on for years. Legend has it that if you walk over the seal on the steps leading up to the college, your next sexual encounter will result in impregnation. Or you’ll meet the person you’re supposed to marry here at Brown. Or both. We can’t remember. (See Sexile)
Q Queer Alliance
PostThe Herald’s rebellious kid sister. It comes out every Thursday and covers music, film, theater, food, politics and campus culture.
(See The Brown Daily Herald)
The LGBTQ umbrella organization. One of the most visible student groups on campus, it focuses on making Brown a more positive space for queer students by providing a variety of educational and social programming. Along with one or two huge, risque, highly publicized parties that are sometimes attended by Fox News producers.
(See Sex Power God)
Power Street Formerly one of the few lots where students could park. Now, thanks to development, a place to gaze wistfully as a shuttle whisks you to your car in a new lot far, far away.
(See Parking space)
Providence Place Mall
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One of the crowning achievements of Buddy Cianci’s mayoral administration, this sprawling shopping center provides almost everything you need in a 15-minute walk from campus. As long as everything you need can be found at chain stores, a multiplex and a food court.
Quiet Green A good place for reading or making out on pleasant days. Rumor has it the University has had a rule on the books since the 1960s that you can be naked here.
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R
RC – Sayles Hall
RC
Rhode Island
1. The black sheep of the cola family. 2. Residential Counselor, the dedicated individual who will guide you through Orientation, help you adjust to college life and give you (almost) free condoms.
Officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. A recent push from activists and lawmakers to rid the state of the second part of its name, and all the ugly connotations it carries, gained momentum but was defeated at the ballot box in 2010. So Lil’ Rhody is still the smallest state in the nation with the longest name — and now it’s your home.
(See Wriston Quadrangle, Orientation)
Ratty
The Sharpe Refectory. According to legend, the full name got shortened to “Rat Factory,” and lazy Brown students took it a step further to its current cognomen. It has road signs for easy navigation, but watch out for bottlenecks and congestion. Love it — it loves you.
Ray Kelly The former New York City police commissioner whose scheduled speech at Brown last October was shut down by student and community protesters angry at his stop-and-frisk policies. We still haven’t stopped talking about it.
The Rock The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library. The main humanities library on campus where students spend more time hitting the books than they ever thought possible (probably more because they get lost in the cryptic, dimly lit stacks and less because they’re motivated). Be warned of the ear-piercing, closing-time bell — and remember, if you’re there to hear it, you’ve been working too long.
RIPTA
S
The bus. You can ride it for free with your Brown ID.
RISD Rhode Island School of Design. Brown students can, at least in theory, take advantage of classes at RISD, but the lack of storage space and its wildly different schedule hinder most Brown students from heading halfway down College Hill. But those who make it into classes at RISD find them to be well worth the trouble.
(See College Hill)
Reading Period Around three to 10 days off between when classes end and final exams begin. You’re supposed to finish up your work, but you’ll end up watching TV a lot.
S/NC Satisfactory/No Credit. The option to take any class pass/ fail. It’s one of the beauties of the New Curriculum.
(See New Curriculum)
Sayles Hall The giant, Hogwarts-like building on the Main Green. Home to classrooms, the Hutchings-Votey Organ and portraits of all of Brown’s past presidents.
(See Main Green, Hutchings-Votey Organ)
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Sex Power God – Simmons, Ruth
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Sex Power God
Simmons Quad
The Queer Alliance’s annual, insane fall party. A producer from the “The O’Reilly Factor” managed to get himself inside in 2005 to shoot footage and produced a segment during which Bill O’Reilly called Ruth Simmons and other University leaders “pinheads.”
Formerly known as Lincoln Field, this is the green between Sayles Hall and Thayer Street. The upper section is perfect for studying, while the lower part is often the site of football and Frisbee games.
(See Queer Alliance and Simmons, Ruth)
The SciLi The Sciences Library. Fourteen stories, color-coded according to the pH system (“The books get more ‘basic’ as you go higher up”). Playboy once named the 13th floor one of the ‘most notorious make-out spots’ in America. (Ask an upperclassman about the SciLi challenge.) Inspiration for the music video “SciLi State of Mind” and home to the Friedman Study Center.
(See FriSC)
Senior Week Seniors’ last week of college — a packed schedule of social events, parties and goodbyes in the days between finals and Commencement.
Sexile A merger of the words “exile” and “sex.” This is what happens if you have a roommate who wants to invite a new friend over to spend the night. You end up sleeping on the floor in the lounge — if you even have one.
Simmons, Ruth
Sc.B. Everyone else calls it a B.S.
Sidney Frank
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(See Simmons, Ruth)
The glass and steel behemoth between main campus and Pembroke campus, formally known as the Sidney E. Frank Hall for the Life Sciences. The logical extension of the Walk runs through it.
Brown’s 18th president and the first black president of an Ivy League school, Simmons ended her 11-year term three years ago. She had a near cult-like following among students and even had a quad named after her. Simmons enacted need-blind admission for first-year domestic applicants, and her Plan for Academic Enrichment reshaped the Brown academic experience. Gone, but not forgotten, she handed over the reins to Christina Paxson in 2012.
(See Paxson, Christina)
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Shopping Period – Thayer Street
Shopping Period Two-week-long period at the beginning of each semester during which you can try out any class that catches your eye and freely change your class registration. Try to finish up your shopping within a week, because professors will launch right into their courses. Everyone will tell you to shop as many classes as possible. You won’t believe them, but you should. Also, everyone will tell you to shop classes that interest you and ignore concentration requirements and career considerations. You won’t believe them, but you should.
Smitty B Otherwise known as Smith-Buonanno Hall. One of the main academic buildings on Pembroke.
(See Pembroke)
Spiritus
SunLab Located on the first floor of the CIT, the SunLab is filled with high-powered workstations for computer science students. Good luck trying to get a computer on the night before a big CS project is due. Or on any Friday or Saturday night, for that matter.
Spiritus Fermenti. The closest liquor store to campus, located right next to Pembroke at the intersection of Thayer and Meeting streets. The prices are high, but you can’t beat the location.
Spring Weekend In a good year, Spring Weekend means big-name bands on our very own Main Green, couches on Wriston, lots of drinking and casual sex. In a bad year, expect lots of reverb inside the hockey arena.
(See Main Green, Wriston Quadrangle and Binder, Dave)
Stadium It’s over a mile away. This would be a huge pain if anyone besides alums and the Brown Band went to football games.
(See Brown Band)
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T.A.
T
Teaching Assistant. They teach some intro-level language classes as well as some courses in math and other departments. Some are helpful. Some are useless. Some will end up dating your roommate.
Taveras, Angel Took office in January 2011 as Providence’s first Latino mayor. To help address with the city’s deficit, Taveras and the University eventually agreed to a deal in which the U. would contribute $31.5 million more to the city over the next 11 years. Unfortunately, Taveras went to Harvard.
Thayer Street Serving as the de-militarized zone between Brown and its real-world neighbors, this avenue was formerly home to a plethora of eclectic shops and a roving motorcycle gang. Now it’s a glorified food court.
The Trolley – WBRU
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The Trolley
V
A bus disguised to look like a trolley, run by RIPTA, which goes from Thayer Street to Kennedy Plaza and Federal Hill. There’s also one that goes to East Side Market, a huge grocery store. The other route goes, um, somewhere else.
(See RIPTA)
U
V-Dub The Verney-Woolley Dining Hall. The junior member of Brown’s dining halls, it is smaller and more intimate, features a “Now That’s What I Call Music!” soundtrack and tends to draw mostly athletes and first-years.
The Underground
Van Wickle Gates
An ertswhile on-campus club, located in Faunce House. It used to be easy for under-21s to get drinks here, but the newly refurbished Underground now has no liquor license, after an administrative crackdown and an unpleasant debacle involving local high school students. Now mostly a space for student performances, open mics and group meetings when the Blue Room is too crowded.
So important that they’re only open twice a year.
(See Faunce House)
UCS
W Warwick Second-largest city in the state. The airport is here. Not much else.
The Undergraduate Council of Students, which tries really, really hard to be an effective student governing body.
Watson Institute
Unit Groupings of first-years who all share the same RC, MPC and WPC. Most units live within the same residence hall. Units are most important during Orientation, when they face off in the relay races, games and cheering contests of Unit Wars. Also, seniors relive their first-year Unit Wars during Senior Week, but this time the inebriation is legal.
The Watson Institute for International Studies. Home of world-renowned research and the international relations, development studies, Middle East studies, South Asian studies and Latin American studies concentrations.
(See MPC, RC, WPC, Orientation, Senior Week)
Unitcest A merger of the words “unit” and “incest.” It’s when you hook up with someone in your unit. This is why “It’s Complicated” exists on Facebook.
(See Unit)
University Hall
WBRU 95.5 FM, one of the largest radio stations in southern New England and the oldest college radio station in America. Purported to be “the original alt-rock.” We’re not arguing.
(See BSR)
Come here to meet with deans or visit President Christina Paxson during her office hours. The oldest building on campus, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places.
(See Paxson, Christina)
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The Whiskey Republic – ZipCar
The Whiskey Republic WPC
The popular off-campus bar is in the beloved spot where the now-defunct Fish Co. — shut down in 2010 — once stood. Nostalgic students call this “Whis Co.,” but modifying the name won’t bring back the stripper poles.
Women’s Peer Counselors, the third members of each first-year residence hall’s peer counseling trios (along with MPCs and RCs). WPCs focus on health, gender, sexuality and relationships, plus they provide condoms and dental dams.
Whispering Arch
(See MPC, RC)
Behind the greenhouse, there’s a stone arch. Station a friend on one side of it, then go to the other side and whisper into it. They’ll be able to hear you as if you were blowing in their ear.
Wickenden Street and Wayland Square Two non-Brown-related commercial districts within walking distance. Wickenden is famous for its head shops, gelato and pubs. Wayland is known for its bookstores and fancy restaurants. Pick your poison, or mix and match.
Writing Center
Wriston Quadrangle Home to the Ratty and most of Brown’s fraternities and sororities (which are housed in on-campus residence halls, to the surprise of your friends back home). The lawn in the center of the quad turns into a weekly farmer’s market in the warmer months and a slip-and-slide during Spring Weekend. Center of on-campus partying — you’ll see lines out the doors any Friday or Saturday night.
(See Spring Weekend)
Williams, Roger
A place you can go to get one-on-one help editing or writing papers, staffed by graduate students in a variety of disciplines. Make sure to book appointments two weeks in advance of finals.
Writing Fellows Writing Fellows suck the pain out of throwing together a paper the night before it’s due by labeling said effort a “draft” and requiring that it be “edited” by a fellow student with “superior” writing talent.
Founder of this great state, proponent of religious freedom and now a giant statue in Prospect Terrace.
(See Rhode Island)
ZipCar
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Z
Short-term rental cars available at the Power Street Garage, as long as you’re over 18. Kind of lame-looking but actually pretty useful.
YOUR GUIDE TO FIRSTYEAR HOUSING AT BROWN PROS
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CONS
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TAKEAWAY
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Welcome to your first-year housing arrangements at Brown! Maybe you expect to live in the College Hill Ritz-Carlton or maybe you have already heard horror stories about certain buildings — we guarantee the truth lies somewhere in between. With this in mind, we’ve prepared a comprehensive guide to the perks and drawbacks of each first-year dorm. Enjoy — just remember, your first-year housing is what you make of it, and you should always wear flip-flops in the shower.
Andrews Hall +
The fondly nicknamed “Hotel Andrews” is perched atop Pembroke’s campus, which boasts a beautiful green perfect for lounging about on a crisp fall day. Each room has a sink — a prized asset that sets Andrews apart from its competitors — and the building’s elevators and newly renovated common rooms add a touch of classy hospitality. And the newly opened Andrews Commons is right downstairs!
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Save a couple of exceptions, most academic buildings are far from Andrews, so get ready for brisk morning trots to make those 9 a.m. classes.
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With renovations completed and a new dining hall just down the elevator, there has never been a better time to move in, despite the building’s distance from main campus.
Emery-Woolley Hall +
Emery and Woolley Halls, close to Thayer Street’s most popular attractions, have an enviable location and offer semi-private bathrooms. Plus, the in-house gym and dining hall (the VDub) mean you can eat mountains of chicken fingers and burn off the calories in one swoop.
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Having a gym is great, but the small facility can’t rival the Nelson Fitness Center. Noise from Thayer Street can also be an issue for students living on lower floors.
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The combined perks of the V-Dub, a gym and Thayer access outweigh the frustration of being farther from the Main Green than your friends in other dorms.
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FIRST-YEAR HOUSING GUIDE
Keeney Quadrangle
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Historically a hotbed of late-night shenanigans, Keeney often acts as ground zero for first-year socializing due to its densely packed halls. The complex — which became three separate buildings with common courtyard entrances last summer — is just minutes from the Main Green and the Sharpe Refectory, Brown’s main dining hall. Each first-year unit now has its own lounge, while the top-floor lounges have been refurbished with new kitchen appliances and lighting.
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The frenetic activity and noise of Keeney may get tiresome on some weekends, and the bathrooms are often less than pristine. Never go barefoot in the shower.
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The University’s recent $56 million commitment to housing renovations has transformed Keeney from one of the most run-down dorms to among the most modernized residential areas. But it remains to be seen whether dividing Keeney into three separate buildings has negatively affected the complex’s status as one of the best places to meet people in your first year.
Metcalf Hall +
Next to Andrews Hall and across from Miller Hall, this Pembroke building has new, state-ofthe-art common rooms with glass doors, bright lighting and comfortable couches. Metcalf residents can walk onto the terrace overlooking Pembroke’s green, and they enjoy the amenities of the nearby V-Dub and Andrews Commons.
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Unlike your friends in Emery-Woolley, you actually have to leave the building to access a gym and chow down on food. And as with other Pembroke dorms, the distance from the Main Green can try one’s patience on a cold winter morning’s trek to class.
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Metcalf’s new common rooms resemble five-star hotel lobbies. The building’s renovations are part of the University’s push to forge tight-knit communities based on class year, and administrators are hoping the common rooms will facilitate greater dorm bonding.
Miller Hall +
Bearing a close resemblance to neighboring Metcalf Hall, Miller boasts similar lounges with glass doors that look like entrances to a fancy corporate boardroom. The new kitchens are welcome additions for the culinarily minded, and the elevators come in handy when you’re moving in and out.
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Principally the distance from the Main Green.
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Previously reserved for upperclassmen, Miller now offers first-years new hang-out and cooking spaces, close proximity to Thayer Street and the classic aesthetic of a historic but newly renovated New England brick dorm. While it may not be as buzzing with activity as Keeney, Miller is nestled within the heart of the livable Pembroke campus.
FIRST-YEAR HOUSING GUIDE
Morris-Champlain Hall +
The interconnected Morris and Champlain Halls (or “MoChamp,” as the complex is affectionately called) on Pembroke’s campus are a stone’s throw from the V-Dub, Andrews Commons and Thayer Street. Morris-Champlain features spacious lounges where first-year units can bond, and CVS is just around the corner when you realize you forgot to pack a toothbrush. Plus, semi-private bathrooms.
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MoChamp’s doubles often aren’t as big as those in Andrews or Keeney.
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The University renovated several common spaces in MoChamp last summer, meaning that first-years stationed here will get a slice of the housing upgrade pie. The dorm is far from a lot of main campus, but the proximity to Thayer and intimate atmosphere more than compensate.
Wayland House +
Located on Wriston Quad, home to most of Brown’s fraternity and sorority houses, Wayland House is in the middle of the action. Seconds from the Keeney gym, the Main Green and the Ratty, Wayland residents can be fully emerged in Brown’s social life without venturing far from their rooms. The building is divided into North and South Wayland by an arch where a cappella groups often perform. The Jabberwocks, one of the oldest such groups on campus, have their own spacious lounge in the basement of North Wayland.
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Most of the doubles are on the smaller side, and the bathroom doors are sometimes difficult to prop open. Know that Wriston’s vibrant nightlife (read: fraternity parties) can get pretty noisy on weekends.
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Between its central location and intimate structure, Wayland often leaves its inhabitants with fond memories of their first year. But after dealing with the high-octane Wriston Quad nightlife, you may find yourself venturing over to visit your friends on the quieter Pembroke campus every once in a while.
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FIRST-YEAR HOUSING GUIDE
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THE
BROWN DAILY HERALD about the herald
Founded in 1891, The Herald has served the Brown community daily — with brief interruptions during the world wars — for well over a century. In the 1930s, its Herald Peace Drive led Rhode Island’s General Assembly to investigate the newspaper for sedition. In 1961, Editor-in-Chief Richard Holbrooke ’62 invited Pembroke women to join the staff, beating the University to full gender integration by nine years. In 1995, The Herald became one of the first college newspapers to publish online. Today, The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. is an independent, non-profit corporation with more than 250 students responsible for bringing you The Herald, Postmagazine and Blog Daily Herald. Its student-led business staff funds The Herald’s operations primarily through advertising sales. The paper is free to all on campus. Because The Herald is not affiliated with the University, it is able to report freely on all aspects of the Brown community and University governance without bias. Its editorials, written by an independent editorial page board since 2009, represent The Herald’s take on campus issues big and small. Its opinion columnists represent a broad range of campus voices — often provocative ones. The Herald comes out in print five days a week when class is in session, once during orientation, once during Commencement and online whenever news happens. Founded in 2000, Post- Magazine covers books, music, theater, film, television, food and campus culture on College Hill. Aside from its quintessential snark, Post- is also known for its columns devoted to the ins and outs of Brown’s sex life. Look for Post- every Thurs-
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EMILY GILBERT / HERALD
Metro reporters interview then-President Ruth Simmons at a press conference about the University’s financial arrangement with Providence.
EMILY GILBERT / HERALD
Heralders rally together at the start of a biannual kickball match against the College Hill Independent staff.
join us! facebook.com/browndailyherald
day inside The Herald. Launched in 2009, Blog Daily Herald is the online center of campus life. Check here for the hottest news spreading on campus, columns on topics ranging from sports to food to sex, and regular features like “Students who do cool things” or “Frosh-cessities,” a column written by first-years for firstyears. As The Herald has moved further and further into the twenty-first century, we have found more ways to connect with our readers online. Our Facebook page has seen increasingly popularity among the Brown community and continues to grow as the page stays fresh with the newest articles, photos, videos and reader conversations about our content. Follow our Twitter feed to stay current with campus news, be the first to know of breaking news and follow live tweeting of important events on campus. In 2013, The Herald gained a data science team, a group of committed programmers and designers who produce interactive content that displays data in a way words cannot. Their work has attracted readers as a way to learn from our non-written content and has given talented coders and designers at Brown a way to showcase their skills to a large audience. The Herald is the oldest and largest student organization at Brown. We welcome students of all backgrounds, experience levels and areas of interest. We need and will train reporters, photographers, copy editors, opinion columnists, designers, graphics staff, cartoonists, programmers,videographers
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EMILY GILBERT / HERALD
Senior Staff Writers celebrate the end of the semester at The Herald’s largest social event of the year, the annual Banquet.
and bloggers. Our business team needs and will train sales, finance and development staff. The Herald offers financial assistance to staff leaders whose Herald commitments take time from their employment as well as a thriving network of alums who still support the organization long after they leave Brown. Working for The Herald’s editorial staff is among the best ways to improve your writing, which will be edited for consumption by thousands of readers daily. It’s also the best way to get to know anything and everything about Brunonia, Providence and Rhode Island. Working for The Herald’s business staff provides the unique opportunity
of running all aspects of a full-fledged business while in college. Recent Herald alums from both the editorial and business staffs have gone on to work at the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, the Associated Press, Reuters, Goldman Sachs, Bain, McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group — among others — and to achieve success in a variety of other fields and pursuits. Most importantly, The Herald’s staff knows how to kick back — at our weekly pizza-stocked staff meetings, biweekly happy hours, semesterly kickball games against that other College Hill publication, Beta Delta Eta and Boozeflash parties and annual, notorious black-tie Herald banquet.
We’ll be holding info sessions soon after orientation at our 195 Angell St. office. Check out browndailyherald.com/join and Morning Mail for updates. See you there!
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Snapshots of Life at Brown
Brown’s 250th Anniversary Celebration Tom Sullivan / Herald Fusion Dance Company Danielle Perelman / Herald
Alumnae Hall Arjun Narayen / Herald Manning Chapel Zein Khleif / Herald
Off-Campus Cuisine Emily Gilbert / Herald Spring Weekend 2014 Headliner Lauryn Hill Tom Sullivan / Herald
Wriston Quad Evan Thomas / Herald