[ INTRODUCTION | BY KATHY LALUK ]
Welcome to college, the best four years (or more, depending on your degree) of your life. Now that you’ve made it to the big leagues, it’s all up to you. You’ve already decided where to go to school (thanks for picking Rochester), and now you’re probably neck-deep in decisions about where to live, who to room with, and what classes to take. It’s a lot of pressure, but that’s why we’re here to help. Inside the pages of City Newspaper’s Student Survival Guide you’ll find information on everything from how to afford a semester abroad and keep textbook costs to a minimum to latenight food options, which professors teach cool, interesting classes, to a complete guide of local dance clubs and alternative entertainment options around Rochester. You’ll also find advice from Rochester-area students, fun tidbits about your school, and more. If you’re still jonesin’ for the skinny on all things Rochester, pick up City Newspaper, which hits newsstands throughout the area every Wednesday, completely free of charge. Or visit rochestercitynewspaper.com for updated coverage of news, music, art, and life in Rochester, as well as our searchable events calendars, restaurant guide, and movie times, plus snarky blogs. While you’re there, voice your own opinion by leaving comments. You’re a part of the Rochester community now, and we want to hear what you think, especially now that you’re a big smarty-pants college student. CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
INSIDE local color ��������������������������������������������4 TEXTBOOKS ��������������������������������������������10 DANCE CLUBS �����������������������������������������14 PROFESSOR profileS �����������������������������20 late-night DINING ���������������������������������30 booze-free fun �������������������������������������34 STUDY ABROAD ���������������������������������������38 AREA MAPS ��������������������������������������������42
PUBLISHERS: William and Mary Anna Towler EDITOR: Mary Anna Towler ASST. TO THE PUBLISHERS: Matt Walsh EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT (themail@rochester-citynews.com) FEATURES EDITOR: Eric Rezsnyak CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Kathy Laluk, Deb Schleede ART DEPARTMENT (artdept@rochester-citynews.com) PRODUCTION MANAGER: Max Seifert DESIGNERS: Aubrey Berardini, Matt DeTurck PHOTOGRAPY INTERN: Sarah Priestap ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT (ads@rochester-citynews.com) ADVERTISING MANAGER: Betsy Matthews ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Tom Decker, Annalisa Iannone, Christine Kubarycz, Tom Quinlan, William Towler OPERATIONS/CIRCULATION (info@rochester-citynews.com) CIRCULATION MANAGER/BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Meredith Ship DISTRIBUTION: Andy DiCiaccio, David Riccioni, Northstar Delivery Student Survival Guide is published by WMT Publications, Inc. Copyright by WMT Publications Inc., 2009 - all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording or by any information storage retrieval system without permission of the copyright owner.
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STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE IS PRODUCED BY CITY NEWSPAPER. 250 North Goodman Street, Rochester, New York 14607-1199 info@rochester-citynews.com, phone (585) 244-3329 fax (585) 244-1126, rochestercitynewspaper.com
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A TONGUE-IN-CHEEK GUIDE TO YOUR NEW HOME [ LOCAL CULTURE | BY ERIC REZSNYAK AND DEB SCHLEEDE ]
yogurt. We do frozen custard, and for many in the community Abbott’s is where it’s at.
Welcome to Rochester! (Or, if you went to high school here and decided to stick around: Thanks for staying!) You’ll be spending much of your newly discovered, intoxicating free time exploring your campus, studying hard, and all that jazz. But once you’ve settled in a bit, don’t be afraid to step outside that collegiate bubble. The Greater Rochester area is big, beautiful, and offers an absurdly wide range of activities. And just like any other city, we have our own little cultural quirks and in-jokes that might confuse you at first. Allow us to dispel the myths and clear up the confusion with this list of common Rochesterica that’s not so common to out-of-towners.
Amerks: In upstate New York hockey is
315 Land: Most of the Rochester area falls under the 585 area code. But certain outliers, like Waterloo, have 315 phone numbers. Rochesterians generally regard these people with a mixture of fear, loathing, and pity.
A Street: Short for Alexander Street, Rochester’s Ground Zero for late-night revelry. There you’ll find numerous hip bars, nightclubs, and restaurants and even more 20- and 30somethings. You’ll also find vendors selling “street meat,” a popular late-night snack.
Abbott’s: A Rochester institution. We don’t do ice cream. We don’t do frozen CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
serious business. It’s not surprising since we’re close to Canada, and Buffalo has the popular Sabres team. What about Rochester? We’ve got a team too, The Americans. So what’s with the “Amerks?” It’s just our shortened version. We like things fast up here.
Anthony, Susan B.: The pioneering
suffragist is a local hero, and her body is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery. The area of the city where she lived has been designated a historic preservation district in her honor.
Avon: Not a cosmetics company, but little town south of Geneseo off Route 390. Pronounced “AH-vawn,” not “AY-von.”
Charlotte: The lakefront area north of the city. Pronounced “shar-LOTT,” not “CHAR-lette.”
Chili: A town southeast of the city; if you’re
at the airport, you’re practically in Chili. Now here’s the tough one: it’s “CHY-lye,” not “CHILL-ee.” Think that stupid ball-tossing game, not Mexican.
Douglass, Frederick: The prominent African-American author, orator, and abolitionist lived in Rochester, and his body is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Eastman: A prominent Rochester name
that you’ll find attached to the Eastman Theatre, the Eastman School of Music, the George Eastman House, etc. George Eastman invented roll film, and with it created a photographic empire. His company, Eastman Kodak, is still based in Rochester.
The lilacs in Highland Park; we’re not the Flower City for nothing . FILE PHOTO
Erie Canal: Remember back in second
grade, how you had to make those dioramas of the building of the Erie Canal? Well, the once-proud waterway that allowed upstate New York to flourish in the 19th century still exists — kind of — and its remnants are all over Rochester. The portion that once ran through the city continues to exist, but was moved southward to Fairport, Pittsford, and the southern portion of the city and then goes west.
Flower City: Our nickname, based in
part on all the gorgeous foliage we have come spring, best exemplified by Highland Park (an enormous outdoor arboretum — great for jogging!) and the Lilac Festival, which occurs every year in May. Fun fact: we used to be the Flour City, since flour was one of our big exports back in the day.
Garbage plate: A uniquely Rochester
creation — you are not truly a Rochesterian until you’ve consumed one. Take some grilled meat and smother it in sauces and continues on page 6
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Rules of Rochester continued from page 4
side dishes of your choice — macaroni salad, fried potatoes, etc. — and mix it all together on a big ol’ plate. There are many, many derivations of the garbage plate, but the original comes from Nick Tahou’s.
Genesee River: We have that snazzy canal, so what’s that other body of running water? Why, that’s the Genesee River. It’s one of those not-so-rare-as-they-seem northwardflowing rivers that runs from Pennsylvania through New York state. It cuts through the city and empties into Lake Ontario right at Charlotte Beach. You can even walk the pier and see clean water on one side and polluted water on the other. How pretty.
Golisano, Thomas: Local rich guy. He’s a billionaire who made his business here in Rochester by founding Paychex, one of the largest payroll processors in the country. He’s run for state government, and was intimately involved in the completely disastrous coup in the State Senate earlier this year. He’s a local big shot and you’ll see his name on a number of things, from the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at RIT, to the Golisano Children’s Hospital, renamed after his donation.
Highways: Rochester’s highway system can
be confusing, what with all the loops and route numbers ending in -90 (390, 490, 590, and regular ol’ 90, a.k.a. the Interstate). Here are the basics that you need to know: -Route 104 travels east and west, connecting the Greece and Webster suburbs north of the city near Lake
Ontario. You can take it up to Canada, or all the way along the lake past Oswego. -Route 490 also travels east and west, through the city. Heading east will take you to Nazareth and St. John Fisher, or west will take you toward Buffalo. -The Inner Loop encircles the downtown area, and briefly overlaps with 490. -Route 590 runs north to south to the east of the city, including through Irondequoit, Brighton, etc. It ends at 390, right near MCC, RIT, and U of R. -Route 390 runs north to south, from the lake down into Livingston County, etc. MCC, RIT, and U of R are all along this highway.
Hoffman, Philip Seymour: The Oscar-winning actor (“Capote,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Synecdoche, New York”) was born in the Rochester suburb of Fairport and is one of the area’s favorite sons. If you happen to meet him, don’t forget to bring up his fine, fine work in “Patch Adams.” Hot sauce: A signature local condiment
that’s a bit of a misnomer. While hot sauce is spicy, it’s more akin to a zippy spaghetti sauce than, say, Tabasco. It typically comes loaded with ground beef, and is used to top burgers, chicken, whatever. We have it on good authority that God tops his white hots with hot sauce.
Hots: What you call a “hot dog” we call
“hots.” And we have two kinds: “red hots” are the typical beef wieners Mom cut up in your mac ‘n’ cheese when you were 5; “white hots” are their albino cousins, made from pork and packing a somewhat different taste. (In some places, they’re called “coneys.”) Rochesterians are fiercely devoted to their white hots, and if it’s not Zweigle’s it doesn’t matter.
The delicious, not-so-nutritious legendary local garbage plate. Goodbye, arteries! FILE PHOTO
The Lake: Yep, we have one. A big one! Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, is about a 10-minute drive from downtown. Check out the beaches and the boardwalk, and wave hello to our friendly Canadian neighbors.
The Little: Rochester’s independent cinema. It’s located on East Avenue and features five screens with the latest edgy and foreign flick fare. Also has a café and bistro; great place for a date.
Pop: You know Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and that stuff you call “soda”? That’s not soda. That’s called “pop.” “Soda” is what you used to make ice cream floats, etc. We’re pretty serious about this stuff.
Ren Square: Short for Renaissance Square, a big urban project that has caused lots of hubbub in the area for the past several years. The big, fancy, and expensive project was designed to house a new bus station, a new MCC campus, and a performing arts center right in the heart of downtown continues on page 8
Player 1: David Pacific
Player 2: Michelle Wrue
School: Nazareth College (senior, piano performance/ pedagogy major) Hometown: Verona, NY Favorite Thing to do in Rochester: Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concerts Best Cup of Coffee: Equal Grounds (750 South Ave) Favorite Restaurant: Aja Noodle Co. (2602 Elmwood Ave/42 Perinton Hills, Fairport) “They have a $2 student special. It’s like ramen, only better.”
School: UR (Ph.D. student, material science) Best Place to Eat: “I usually cook at home, but I go to Flour City Diner (2500 East Ave) for Sunday brunch.” Advice for Freshmen: “You shouldn’t go here for four years and not know anything about Rochester. Get out there and enjoy when you can.”
CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
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Rules of Rochester continued from page 6
Rochester. Some folks think it will save the city, while others think it’s a waste of time and money. You’ll probably be hearing about it a lot in the papers or on the local news as politicians and residents face off on the topic.
Rochester Accent: It’s referred to as
the “Inland Northern American English” accent and is heavily used in the Great Lakes region and sounds similar to the accents of Chicago or Detroit. It’s a nasally accent and is often identified by our use of the way we pronounce the short “a.” Many Rochesterians pronounce the city itself as “RAHch’str.”
Rah-Cha-Cha: Slang term for Rochester, based on our Minnesota-esque, somewhat nasally accent.
Salt potatoes: Another uniquely
upstate New York food item, salt potatoes
are a popular summertime side dish in which tiny baby potatoes are boiled in salt water and then served hot with an abundance of butter and salt. Kiss your arteries goodbye!
Strong: You’ll find this name on several
prominent local structures, most notably UR’s Strong Memorial Hospital and the National Museum of Play. The Strongs are a notable Rochester family that made a fortune as one of the earliest leaders of the Eastman Kodak Company.
Suburbs: In Rochester you can go from
Egypt to Greece to Sweden in under an hour. How’s that for worldwide travel?
Subway: You might hear tell of the
Rochester subway. It’s not an urban legend. Rochester did actually have a working subway system in the mid-20th century, until it closed in 1956. The city has the dubious distinction of being one of the few American cities to ditch the popular public transportation system.
Wegmans: Wegmans is not a grocery store. It is God’s Only Grocery Store. What you need to know is: 1) Wherever you live, there is a Wegmans near you; 2) You can get anything you want there, from avocadoes to stuffed pork chops to an iced chai latte. The Pittsford store is the mothership, with a patisserie (try the meatball cookies), sitdown, cooked-to-order seafood station, and more. Wegmans has lots of names you will surely hear: The Wedge, Weglands, Weggertons, Wedge-Mans, The Weg, Weggies, and more.
Winter: In Rochester, snow starts falling
around Halloween and doesn’t really stop until Easter, maybe even Mother’s Day. Don’t expect to see any sun from October through May, either. The “Lake Effect” snow is a treat too (not). Hope you packed your parka!
A digital chronobell carillon on top of the MCC library plays, an ,, assortment of ,, musical pieces, from Gregorian chimes to an all-bell version of Elvis Love Me Tender .
CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM
HOW TO AVOID DROPPING HUNDREDS OF BUCKS AT THE COLLEGE BOOKSTORE [ TEXTBOOKS | BY DEB SCHLEEDE ]
Wait and see
If you’re a college student, then you — or someone with deep pockets who loves you very much — just finished shelling out large wads of dough for tuition and fees. You’re probably feeling great, even though your bank account is quietly weeping in the corner. Then comes the first day of class, and you read those terrifying words looming at the top of the syllabus: “required text.” In other words, “another huge dent in your bank account.” Prices of textbooks have been increasing at an unsettling rate in recent years. A study conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that in the last two decades, college textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation, following close behind tuition increases. Most schools in the Rochester area increased tuition by roughly 4 percent or more this year. You’re paying more for tuition, and the double whammy is now you’re paying more for books. While it’s not unheard of for textbooks to run some students more than $700 per year, you can avoid at least some of these costs. There are ways to not buy the book at all, and tons of things you can do to cut corners and save that important cash, allowing you to save that moolah for late-night shots of caffeine during intense study sessions. Sometimes jumping through a hoop or two is worth it to save a couple hundred dollars.
The first step is to gauge each class. Don’t run out of the classroom with your book list and go straight into the bookstore. Wait it out. Go through the first week or two and see how heavily the textbook is used. In some classes your lecture is an enormous recap of the previous night’s assigned reading, and most of the time the information sinks in better through lectures anyway. Why spend $100 just to be re-told what you read? Learn to take better notes, pay close attention, and get involved in the discussion. Hell, you may even drop the class after a week and then be stuck with an expensive book. If you don’t want to wait, try asking the professor how heavily the class’s textbook is used, or if you can just share one once and awhile or find other sources for the material. You might be surprised where he or she may point you, such as the textbook’s website. Many textbook websites have large chapter overviews, chapter review questions, and other study material on every single chapter. Why spend an hour every night reading a whole chapter when you can spend 20 minutes reading the recap and get the same material? Be sure to keep these sites bookmarked regardless of whether you buy the book; the extra review material is often a godsend come time for exams. In some classes you may need the textbook just once or twice. The professor might assign
you pages that you need to present to the class, or chapter questions that you need to do a few nights scattered through the semester. See if you can borrow the book from a friend or classmate for one evening, or write down that night’s questions before you leave class. Make some friends in the class and share the book; you’ll get a great study buddy to boot.
Free books! So you’re two weeks into the semester and you really do need the text for your class on maple syrup (that’s an actual course you can take at Alfred), but your bank account is on its knees, begging you not to spend the money. Before you grudgingly buy the book, exhaust every other means of getting the information first. Check your library. It’s not just a place to make out after class, or a quiet place to study outside of your bedroom; it’s where schools may house copies of textbooks. Unfortunately, not all of the Rochester area colleges have copies of all the required textbooks due to the cost (oh, the irony; check the sidebar for specific library policies). While most school libraries don’t have many books, nearly early every school has a portion of textbooks available depending on whether your professor put a request in for the text, or if the professor provided the book himself. Check with the circulation desk at the library or ask your professor. You won’t be able to take the book from the building, but you
Campusfood.com lets students from UR, RIT, Naz, Fisher, and MCC order food from local restaurants online for dorm delivery. 10 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
can surely spend half an hour in the library getting the information you need. Google is your friend. On Google, you can do a blog search, a book search, and a scholar search. Many bloggers and other websites include downloads and links to legally scanned or electronic copies of textbooks. Textbooks often pop up on Google Books, a large database with actual scanned pages. Then there’s Google Scholar, where you can find links to book chapters. Before buying anything at all, Google search it. It doesn’t always yield results, but don’t get frustrated. You can still get free information elsewhere. In addition to Google Books there is an open source — that means FREE — book database called Wikibooks. A professor who was sick of costly textbooks started this site, and thousands of books have been scanned or transcribed since its birth in 2003. Many books are not complete, and may only have certain chapters or short sections, but if that’s all you need then you’re all set. If you’re really feeling puckish and want to break a lot of rules to get what you need, go take pictures of the book. Some students have been known to take photos of select pages of books, either from inside a bookstore or from a friend’s copy. Despite the fair use clause of the federal copyright law, this is most likely illegal, and we do not recommend or condone this option.
The last resort OK, fine. Surrender. Wave your white flag in shame and just give up. Jumping through all these hoops and running in frantic circles during exam time can be extra stress you just don’t need. It’s cool. Your bank account will forgive you eventually. You can still cut corners and save loads of cash on the books you do need to break down and buy. Make some friends and split the cost. If there’s someone in class who you have easy access to outside of class, and who has a schedule that matches yours, become study buddies. This works especially well if your roommate or floor mates are in your classes. Ask to split the cost of the books between the group, and make sure to share it evenly. If you can’t get matching schedules to study together just work out a schedule for custody of the book. Say you get the book
Student Special
Wok With You
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What price Wisdom? continued from page 11
Thursdays and Fridays, and your partner gets it Saturdays and Sundays. You might have to do some work ahead of time, but at least you only paid 20 bucks instead of $40. A good money-saving way to get books is to buy used copies. You can score used textbooks at your campus book store; however, they often still carry a hefty price. You should definitely compare prices with other Rochester used textbook stores, such as Rochester Textbooks (2995 W. Henrietta Rd, 427-0740, rochesterbooks.com). Even math books can be a steal used; screw paying $90 for a new book when you can get a slightly dog-eared copy for $35. Don’t forget to go back to the previous editions when you buy used. It is generally safe to go buy a used book that is edition eight instead of edition nine. Just be sure to check with the professor for page discrepancies that might occur in newer editions. You can also buy used books online. Many folks use half.com, a spin-off of eBay, to buy and sell used books. Sure, they can be cheap, but figuring out who is selling and whether they can be trusted is another question. The same goes for Amazon.com. I’ve had books from Amazon take two months to arrive; that’s going to be a problem when your first exam is the fourth week of class, and you bomb it thanks to some lazy jerk on the internet. The diamond in the rough of online book websites is BigWords.com. Search for your book on this site and its search engine will scour the dark depths of the World Wide Web to find every single website selling the book. The site even looks into any coupons or discounts available to you. An alternative to buying from an online store and waiting for shipping is BookMaid. com, a book-trade website. It’s a local website, similar to Craigslist, where Rochester-area students can list their used books or search for books in the area. Instead of an online checkout, you communicate with your peer directly. You might even be able to talk the seller down a few bucks, especially if the book has been listed for a while. The website was created and is managed by an RIT student. Short of flat-out buying a book there are 12 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
a handful of online sources where you can rent a book for a semester, Chegg.com and Bookrenter.com are popular sources. Renting lets you pay a fraction of the price, and receive most of your money back at the end of the semester when it is returned. The downfall to renting a textbook is the generally rigorous guidelines on how the book must be kept and returned, so if you’re a heavy highlighter or are rough on your books, you might end up losing money. Be sure to price check rentals, too; sometimes renting the book costs more than buying it used. If you do end up buying a few books here or there, don’t forget to sell them at the end of the semester. You can do this at many bookstores or online (again, bigwords.com) to make back some money. Either take the money and run, or use the money to buy textbooks for the following semester. Paying $200 for books in the fall, then regaining the money to use for next semester’s books, saves a ton of cash over the course of a college career. It’s like recycling your money to yourself!
Local college library textbook policies Finger Lakes Community College Textbooks only available if professors bring the book themselves. Monroe Community College No textbooks available. Very rare if professor brings them to be put on hold. Nazareth College Textbooks only available if professors bring the book themselves. RIT Does have a number of books. If the professor is the author, requests the book, or brings the book in, then the library will have it. There are a number of reference books available in place of textbooks. Roberts Wesleyan Carries some books. Some general education books and books brought in by professors are available. St. John Fisher No textbooks available. Very rare if professor brings them to be put on hold. SUNY Brockport Some textbooks available, only if department orders them. SUNY Geneseo No textbooks available; very rare if professor brings them in to be put on hold. UR Some textbooks available, only if professor requests that the book is carried or provides the book to the library.
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WHERE TO DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY IN ROCHESTER [ GUIDE | BY KATHY LALUK ]
Club NV
After a long, stressful week, going out on the town and dancing the night away can be a fun way to unwind. Whether you love the deafening boom of the latest chart-toppers accompanied by seizure-inducing laser lights, or you’re into a more laid-back scene with live performances by local bands, there are tons of hidden club gems all over Rochester. City Newspaper’s Student Survival Guide has taken the guesswork out of finding the right place for your night out. After bar hopping all over town, we’ve taken a look at some of Rochester’s best dance clubs (note that these are clubs with spaces specifically intended for dancing; there are many other live music venues geared toward the concert experience). For a comprehensive listing of who’s playing when, make sure to check City Newspaper every week, or go to our searchable online calendar at rochestercitynewspaper.com.
123 Liberty Pole Way | 454-3009, clubnvroc.com | 21+
Bug Jar 219 Monroe Ave | 454-2966, bugjar.com | 18+
It’s hard to put your finger on how to describe the Bug Jar. Between the giant bug fan near the bar, a Ms. Pac-Man game on the wall, and DJs or live music seven nights a week, it’s safe to say the place is a bit eclectic. The crowd is as mixed as the types of music that can be heard here — everything from 80’s music to rock, punk, metal, indie, and even folk and hip-hop on occasion. The dance floor is modest, but no matter what kind of tunes and people are there, it’s always a good time. 14 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
Your first trip to Club NV might be a tad intimidating, but once you make it past the security guards (there for your safety, not to scare you off), it’s easy to get into the groove. That’s partially thanks to the DJs that spin all sorts of music on different nights — reggae on Thursdays, hip-hop, reggae, and R&B every Friday, and Latin music on Saturdays. The crowd, which is usually somewhere in the hundreds and predominantly black and Hispanic, fits perfectly on the club’s spacious split bar/dance floor area. Dress to impress for this high-energy urban dance club.
Daisy Dukes 6 Lawrence St, 262-2063 | 2235 Empire Blvd, 671-4880 | 18+
The scene at Dub Land Underground shifts from reggae to rock depending on the night. PHOTO BY
Yee-haw! This country-themed club is a far cry from most other dance clubs in Rochester. Grab your cowboy boots and get ready for a wild, themed night out complete with a dance floor, full bar, and even a mechanical bull. If you can ride the bull for at least 11 seconds, the owners reward you with a $50 bar tab. It’s not uncommon to see a winner or two on any given night (two the night I went), but you’re more likely to see people thrown off in a matter of seconds. The music is usually popular country tunes, but it’s all in good fun here. The Webster branch offers the same country feel of the East End location, but tends to be more low-key. Check out the huge billiards room or the comedy nights.
SARAH PRIESTAP
Dub Land Underground 315 Alexander St | 232-7550, myspace. com/thedublandunderground | 18+
This low-key bar and dance club is tucked away on the corner of East and Alexander, but not to be missed. It’s a two-for-one deal, with a traditional pub upstairs and a club with a small dance floor, a few booths, and its own bar downstairs. Local bands from all musical genres perform weekly, so the crowd is always a mix of seasoned bar-hoppers and newbies. Reggae is a popular style of music here (dub reggae partially inspired the name of the joint). Co-owner Tom O’Callaghan’s continues on page 16
ESL
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Irish heritage also provided inspiration for the bar’s title, and its drink menu (Jameson and Guinness are top sellers).
Liquid 169 St. Paul St. | 325-5710, liquidnightspot.com | 18+
Located in the heart of the St. Paul quarter, Liquid is one of Rochester’s more popular The crowd is a little more upscale at One on Ryan Alley in the East End. FILE PHOTO 18-and-over dance clubs. With two goodsized dance floors, a go-go cage, and so End. Once you enter through the neon front many neon lights it should be illegal, young One door frame, you’ll find a spacious dance floor Rochesterians pack into this place by the 1 Ryan Alley | 546-1010, where you can groove along to electronic dozens every weekend to party all night. DJs oneryan.com | 18+ music (house, electro, and techno) and even spin everything from hip-hop to house, and They should really call this place “Two.” Not hip-hop, retro, and current hits. The drinks TV screens display live video of the crowd because it’s sub-par — far from it — but and the prices that go along with them are and text messages sent in by guests. because it’s both a bistro-inspired restaurant fairly typical, but the crowd isn’t. On any and a trendy nightclub. Once you’ve made given night you’ll find everyone from college Muther’s it through the tropical-themed, first-floor bar-hoppers, over-musculed Gotti boys 40 S Union St | 325-6216, restaurant, head upstairs to the huge dance and tanorexic woo girls, to 30-something clubmuthers.com | 18+ floor. There, you can dance to electronic and professionals and electronic music lovers. house music, as well as current hits. If you This dive bar and club is a local favorite, need a break from dancing (and the weather’s especially among the gay community. It’s a The Roost nice), head upstairs to the rooftop deck, good place to go with a group of friends — if 4853 W. Henrietta Rd | 321-1170, which has its own bar and a nice breeze. you can all get in. The dance floor is pretty roostcountry.org | 18+ dark, lit only by a few lights and the disco balls, but always packed, especially on Friday Grab your cowboy hats and boots before Panorama Night Club & nights. The main attraction is the regular drag heading out to The Roost in Henrietta. This Sports Bar show on stage Wednesdays through Sundays. restaurant, bar, and club is all country, all the 730 Elmgrove Rd | 247-2190, myspace. time, from its swinging saloon doors to its com/panoramanightclub | 18+ country western-inspired drink menu to the Nasty D’s There’s a little something for everyone here: a music that’s played on the jukebox, through 140 Alexander St | 256-1000, bar with all the usual munchies (pizza, wings, the loudspeakers, and onstage. Want to do nasty-ds.com | 18+ fries, nachos), several TVs showing nothing but your best Shania Twain impression? They’ve Another one of Rochester’s popular gay and sports, a small dance floor, and even karaoke got you covered with karaoke on Mondays lesbian bars, Nasty D’s keeps A Street (that’d and theme nights. It’s more low-key than some and Wednesdays. Want to kick up your be Alexander) lively seven nights a week. Rochester nightclubs — no blinding strobe As if the crowd wasn’t friendly enough, the lights or deafening stereos here — but most will heels in those cowboy boots? Check out the country line dance lessons six nights a week groove along to the local bands that frequent exposed brick, rich wood detailing, and (the Roost is closed on Sundays). this place in Panorama Plaza. orange-painted interior give this place a rustic and homey feel. Show up before you dance for some home cooking with fish fry Fridays and all-you-can-eat pasta on Saturdays. It can get pretty crowded on the upstairs dance floor (there are pool tables and games downstairs), but everyone’s there to have a good time, so you can’t go wrong.
Pearl Night Club 349 East Ave | 325-5660, myspace.com/ clubpearlrochester | 18+
This place is a little taste of a trendy Manhattan club right in Rochester’s East
Taylor’s Disco Niteclub 3300 Monroe Ave | 381-3000, taylorsdisco.com | 21+
This dance club is tricky to find if you don’t know where to look (head to the left of continues on page 18
, , , UR s mascot, a yellowjacket, was named URBee until last year, when students , , voted to call it Rocky. 16 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
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Blockbuster), but is worth seeking out. This club pumps out all the classic 70’s anthems, but it also plays more current hits too. Downstairs you can shake your groove thing to disco hits under the sparkly disco ball, and upstairs you’ll find a chic dance area to bust a move to songs from the current era. The crowd tends to be older (a lot of professionals frequent this club), but that might not be such a bad thing. Upperclassmen might consider this place for a night out and networking opportunity if you’re looking for employment or internships.
Tilt 444 Central Ave | 232-8440, myspace.com/tiltniteclub | 18+
The outside may look like a rundown warehouse, but looks can be deceiving. On the inside you’ll find Tilt, a modern, hip dance club. It has everything you’d expect — a huge dance floor, blinding strobe lights, and a disco ball — and a few things that you might not, like a posh, quieter lounge (great if you need to take a breather), an indoor/outdoor smoking lounge, and a drag show every Thursday (not to be missed). The crowd is predominantly gay and lesbian, but anyone who just wants to dance and enjoy themselves will fit right in at this hotspot.
Tribeca 233 Mill St | 232-1090, tribecavip.com | 21+
Been abused by your homework and class schedule this week? Head to Tribeca, a trendy, upscale dance club and feel like a true VIP. The club boasts decadent décor and private booths (available for reservation), along with a large dance floor. The playlist usually includes all the current chart-topping hits and some other favorite dance tunes. It’s strictly 21-plus on the weekends, but 18 and over on Thursdays and Fridays, so everyone can join in on the fun.
High Falls club Tribeca features a huge dance floor and decadent decor. PHOTO BY SARAH PRIESTAP
Venu
Vinyl
151 St. Paul St | 232-5650, venurochester.com | 21+
291 Alexander St | 325-7998 | 18+
This urban dance club has a sleek and coldlooking exterior, but in that trendy way of today’s upscale clubs. Its more sophisticated look and tapas-style restaurant (upstairs) attracts a slightly older crowd, but its hip-hop and urban music spun by local and guest DJs (often from New York City) attracts younger clientele to the spacious downstairs dance floor. It’s a slightly pricier excursion than some of the other clubs on this list — the cover charge can range from $5 to $10 and cocktails will run you upwards of $11 — but it’s a nice place treat yourself after a particularly rough week from time to time.
Vertex Nightclub 169 N. Chestnut St | 232-5498, myspace.com/clubvertex | 18+
Running low on cash? Looking for an edgier venue for your night out? Then Vertex is perfect for you. The rooms are dimly lit and decorated with fantasy paintings and sketches, giving the club a gothic feel. But the crowd is generally mixed and always friendly. There is a cover charge ($8 ages 1820, $5 for 21+), but it’s worth your while, as the fee includes open bar access until 11:30 p.m. for wells and drafts.
Located in the heart of the entertainment district, Vinyl will transport you back to the 80’s and 90’s while you dance the night away. The dance floor is a bit on the smaller side, but there’s also a bar downstairs with dart boards and a pool table where you can hang out. The crowd is mixed, but generally friendly. Wednesday is College Night and there are specials and giveaways every night they’re open.
Wish 3400 Monroe Ave | 385-0580, wishrochester.com | 21+
Everyone’s got a wish list when it comes to the ideal night out clubbing and, with a few exceptions, this new addition to the Pittsford scene makes the grade. Wish has a more relaxed feel to it than most of the higher-energy places in this town. The music is soft enough to carry out a conversation without having to shout during happy hour, but after 11 p.m., they push the tables aside, turn up the volume a bit, and let everyone go crazy on the dance floor. The dress code is casual, but professional, much like the crowd that usually gathers there.
It takes six people three and a half working days to mow and trim all the lawns at Nazareth. 18 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
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FOUR AREA PROFESSORS WITH CLASSES YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS [ PROFILES | BY KATHY LALUK PHOTOS | BY SARAH PRIESTAP ]
One of the best things about being in college is meeting new and interesting people. Getting to know your fellow students is essential to your college social life, but what a lot of students forget is that professors can be just as cool as their peers. That’s why we’ve searched the local campuses and found some of the most interesting and unique professors around, and provided a peek into their lives in and out of the classroom. Keep in mind that we couldn’t include every awesome professor (this guide would be endless), so ask around and see who’s the cream of the crop at your school.
Music man
JOHN C O V A C H “Students show up because they think they’re going to hear fun factoids about a band they listen to all the time, and they end up actually learning how to think about music intellectually and critically.“
Pink Floyd tribute Heroes for Ghosts, and Yes tribute Going for the One among them — and hosts the weekly “Rock John Covach is laid back, friendly, and well Radio” show on WRUR FM 88.5 every spoken. You’d never guess that he’s UR’s own Thursday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 4 p.m. rock star. Armed with a guitar and a passion On the show, Covach plays everything for popular music, the UR music professor from 1950’s cuts all the way to current and chair of the music department at hits, and provides historical context to Eastman School of Music is getting students give listeners a better framework for to appreciate and understand hit songs in a understanding popular music. whole new way. Covach’s classes include “History of Rock Covach is somewhat of a legend on ‘n’ Roll” and “The Beatles,” and are some campus. In addition to his class load, he of the most popular at UR — he had 235 plays in several local rock bands — 60’s students enrolled in his “History of Popular cover band the Smooth Talkers, Genesis/ Music” course in one semester. But he says Peter Gabriel tribute The Waiting Room, he’s surprised at just how successful they’ve
UR prof brings rock ‘n’ roll to the classroom
been over his four years at UR. “You know, I really scratch my head sometimes,” he says. “The idea that somebody would want to take a class that specializes in music, almost all of which had become famous and fallen out of style before they were even born, is crazy to me.” Recent UR graduate David LeBlanc says he became a music major because of the classes he took with Covach. LeBlanc says he was impressed by Covach’s extensive knowledge of rock music, but more impressed with the way Covach teaches it “with a mixture of vigor, passion, and a laidback attitude,” he says.
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“He’s not just a scholar who read a book about this stuff. He lived through the prime of rock music and really knows his stuff,” LeBlanc says. “A lot of students walk into his class thinking it’ll be an easy A, but walk out thinking critically about music.” And that’s the ultimate goal for Covach. “It’s a little bit of a bait and switch,” he says. “Students show up because they think they’re going to hear fun factoids about a band they listen to all the time, and they end up actually learning how to think about music intellectually and critically.” Fellow UR lecturer and Smooth Talkers band mate Jason Titus says Covach is always focused on making things student oriented. “He’s got a pretty good handle of striking a balance of what students are interested in and what’s best for students,” Titus says. “The fact that he’s a top-notch guitarist doesn’t hurt his credibility either.” Covach says being able to play the guitar in class gives him instant cache with his students — especially non-music majors. “For some reason, non-musicians think anyone who can play an instrument has magical powers,” he says. “It’s entertaining and it’s something that doesn’t happen in their science or writing classes, so it helps keeps things lively.” Covach’s reputation extends far beyond the classroom. Before he taught at UR, Covach was a Fulbright scholar in Vienna, Austria, in the late 80’s, and did postdoctoral work in philosophy under Charles Bambach at the University of Texas-Dallas. He’s written a textbook called “What’s That Sound?”, which he uses in his classes, and is one of the most sought-after rock music experts in the country. “John is kind of a big deal,” Titus says. “In the study of popular music, he’s probably one of the top people in the country, which I don’t think students realize. And that’s OK. He’s so laid back and approachable; students really respond to that and want to learn things from him.” But Covach says he’s constantly learning from his students too. He’s an expert on all things classic rock, but admits his students are more familiar with the current music scene than he is. And he’s OK with that. continues on page 22 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 21
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“It’s a perfect exchange — I turn them on to music from my generation, and they keep me updated on what’s going on in music today,” he says. “The only problem is, I’m afraid I’m going to run out of room on my iPod soon!”
Getting back to his roots Geneseo ecology prof teaches from travel and experiences with nature
By the middle of his junior year at Connecticut College, Gregg Hartvigsen still wasn’t happy with his major, and he felt himself floundering. So he did what any unsatisfied college student would do: he dropped out, sold all his belongings, and hitchhiked across the country. With just a sleeping bag and backpack, Hartvigsen walked out of his parents’ house, went straight to the highway, and stuck out his thumb, hoping a friendly passerby would take him somewhere new. Over the next two and a half months, he traveled about 10,000 miles cross-country and got the real-life experience he was looking for. “I wanted to live a little more deliberately,” he says. “Being a vagabond was a very formative experience for me. You’re forced to learn things about yourself that no other situation can possibly teach you.” It wasn’t until he called the hills of Boulder, Colorado, his home that he realized he had found his passion: ecology. “I would go hiking and notice trees growing differently on different hillsides, and I would think, ‘Huh. I wonder why they’re doing that,’” he
GREGG H A R T V I G S E N “Being a vagabond was a very formative experience for me. You’re forced to learn things about yourself that no other situation can possibly teach you.”
says. “To put it simply, I was just happy when I was questioning things in nature.” Hartvigsen eventually decided to go back to school, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. A few years later, he earned his masters in zoology. Now a professor of biology at SUNY Geneseo, Hartvigsen is bringing his real-life experience and passion for nature to a new generation of college students. “What’s really rewarding about teaching for me is getting students excited about things they never dreamed they’d be interested in,” he says. “It’s the best feeling in the world when students tell me that they thought that a course in ecology was going to be really boring, only to discover it can be fun and interesting.” Hartvigsen teaches a variety of traditional science courses at Geneseo, like “Biological Statistics,” “Biological Data Analysis,” and
“Principles of Ecology.” But one of his more popular classes is less typical. In his “Six Degrees of Separation” class, which is designed for first-semester freshmen, Hartvigsen has students examine the dynamics of social networks. And though Kevin Bacon has never made a guest appearance in the class, Hartvigsen says his students are psyched to research networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and to see how their group of friends develops over the course of the semester. “I try to get students to really think about their place in the college and how that changes over time,” he says. “Students seem to like the course because they get to think about themselves, and I like the course because it’s related to my research.” Hartvigsen’s research interests include everything from continues on page 26
Player 3: Jessica Romeo
Player 4: Alex Papastrat
School: Nazareth College (senior, communications major) Hometown: Long Island, NY Favorite Thing to do in Rochester: Walking alongside the canal Best Place for a Date: Picnic in Webster Park (255 Holt Rd) or Mendon Ponds Park (95 Douglas Rd, Honeoye)MOTS Best Cup of Coffee: Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters (many area locations)
School: UR (grad student, chemical engineering) Hometown: Sidney, NY Best Hangout: Tap & Mallet (381 Gregory St) Favorite Restaurant: Mise en Place (683 South Ave) or Good Luck (50 Anderson St.) Best Cup of Coffee: Equal Grounds (750 South Ave) Advice for Freshmen: “Explore off campus. Get out of the UR bubble! There’s so much out there.”
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how online social networking can affect global cooperation, to the shifting deer populations of Western New York. Students don’t seem to mind the demanding workload of Hartvigsen’s classes, especially since he tends to take them on trips outside the classroom to expand their studies. Traveling had such an important impact on him when he was younger that he believes in getting his students into the field to discover more about themselves and the world around them. Hartvigsen has taken students to destinations like the Adirondacks, Galapagos Islands, and Ecuador to study the ecology of new environments. Next year, he plans to take a small group of students (sorry, biology majors only) to Belize for a twoweek mini-course. Even though he’s a professor now, Hartvigsen still likes to relax by playing tennis and guitar and just enjoy life. “I’ve learned a lot since my college days and I’ve certainly grown as a person since then,” he says. “But at the core, I’m still the same easy-going, fun-loving, nature freak I was back then.”
the popular social networking site for homework, but Kim McGann, assistant professor of sociology at Nazareth, says she regularly asks her students to log on for her classes. “There’s so much that can be said about our society and how we function through sites like Facebook, and the Internet in general,” she says. “I want them to think critically about what we’re doing. It’s good for them to draw examples from their lives, but I want them to be able to take it out of the context of their lives and apply it to sociology too.” In addition to teaching a senior seminar about relationships and technology (that’s where the Facebook assignment comes
in), McGann also teaches many of the department’s core classes, like “Intro to Sociology” and “Social Problems,” and some more unique classes, like her “Marriage and Relationships” class (which, despite popular misconceptions, is not a marriage or relationship counseling class, she says). It’s only her third year at Naz, but McGann is no stranger to teaching. She’s taught at Finger Lakes Community College and SUNY Geneseo, and worked as a TA for a few courses while earning her master’s degree at Rutgers University and her Ph.D. at SUNY Buffalo. Sociology kind of fell into McGann’s lap when she began her junior year in college and was forced to pick a major.
You have 1 New Friend Request Naz professor examines Facebook from sociological perspective
“Go home and go on Facebook.” Not too many professors will encourage their students to spend hours perusing
KIM MC G A N N “It’s criminal to bore your students. I try to always keep them engaged.”
Player 5: Josh Hien
Player 6: Erin Long
School: Nazareth College (junior, philosophy major) Hometown: Avon, NY Favorite Thing to do in Rochester: Work at the campus radio station, WNAZ. Best Place to Eat: Buffalo Wild Wings (382 Jefferson Rd) MOTS Best On-Campus Study Spot: Study rooms in the Lorette Wilmot Library.
School: SUNY Brockport (nursing program) Hometown: Lebanon, CT Best Place to Study: Library balcony, lounge in Hartwell Hall Coolest Thing About Rochester: “The diversity; so many different backgrounds, races, sexual orientations. Rochester is different from small towns.” Best Place for a Date: Sunset Drive-In in Middleport
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After waiting in a huge, long line to register for classes (back in the day when registration wasn’t an online process), she was told she still hadn’t declared her major. “I hadn’t really thought about it too much, and I asked if I had to decide right then and there,” she says. “They said I didn’t, but if I came back, I’d have to wait in that huge, long line again. So I just sort of picked sociology.” The decision wasn’t as random as that story might suggest, she says. McGann took several sociology classes that sparked her interest in the subject. One assignment in particular — a reading about abortion and the sociological reasons why people feel the way they do — helped her make up her mind. “It’s not that it changed my mind, but it made me understand why a group of women would be strongly for abortion and why others would be strongly against it,” she says. “And that was so cool to me. Anything that can take an issue that is that emotional and make me understand where other people are coming from, without necessarily agreeing with them, is so interesting to me.” In the same vein, McGann likes to spice things up by keeping the topics and readings relevant and interesting to students. Her classes read articles with titles like “The Rise of Viagra” and “Becoming a Marijuana User” (which she says is focused on classic sociology rather than an actual how-to guide). “I never worry that they’re not going to do the readings,” she says. “It’s criminal to bore your students. I try to always keep them engaged.” Amanda Santamour, a recent Naz grad who took several classes with McGann, says she always looked forward to the assignments and McGann’s classes. “She’s not into lecturing at all. She likes to make class more interactive,” Santamour says, adding that McGann was one of her favorite professors. And it’s easy to see why. McGann is a true performer, always gesticulating with her hands and arms to make a point and keeping her voice engaging and friendly. “I’m always the first to crack a bad joke,” she says. “Being a professor is like being Jay Leno with a Ph.D.” continues on page 28 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 27
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Theatrics aside, McGann wants her students to become seriously engaged in an area of study she says is generally mistaken as a negligible subject. “Sociology is like a big buffet of interesting topics,” she says. “You can sample a little of this, a little of that, and really keep things fresh and interesting.”
Outside the box Professional cartoonist teaches RIT students to sketch their own comics
Ever gotten bored and doodled in class? Jason Yungbluth is one professor who doesn’t mind. Yungbluth, an adjunct professor at RIT and full-time comic-book artist, teaches introductory and advanced courses in cartooning, and he encourages his students to think outside the box — or frame, as it’s called in the comic world. “Of course I want my students to draw well, but it’s more important to me that the storyline is different and unique,” he says. “I certainly appreciate comics that are well drawn, but it’s more fun to read something that’s intelligent and witty.” Yungbluth’s fascination with cartooning started at a young age with traditional superhero comic books like Superman and Batman, and as he grew, so did his comic book collection, and his love for the art form. It’s in his blood too: many of his family members (his father, grandfather, and uncle to name a few) were all professional cartoonists. Yungbluth has achieved some fame for himself as a cartoonist — a few of his comics have appeared in Mad Magazine — but Yungbluth says he’s more interested in doing long-form storylines. “I always wanted to be a newspaper comic strip artist, but at the same time, I wanted to do a funny gag strip. I wanted to include some more crude humor and I wanted to do a strip that I was happy
JASON Y U N G B L U T H “I want my students to do the kind of humor they want to do, but I also want them to be intelligent about it and understand comedy. Like why some punch lines work and others don’t.”
with and proud of artistically,” he says. “Newspapers don’t allow me to do that.” So he decided to do his own thing and publish his own stuff. Some of his more popular comics include “Deep Fried,” an offcolor comic that parodies and mocks anything and everything geeky, and “Weapon Brown,” a look into the world of a post-apocalyptic Charlie Brown. Yungbluth publishes both comics regularly on his website, whatisdeepfried.com, but has also published a handful of comics. Doing both projects, he says, allows him to strike a balance between doing cartoony sketches with some rude humor and a superhero-like action strip with a more detailed and constructed storyline. Yungbluth says that with the way the publishing market is shifting to the web, he expects Web comics (hopefully including his), to prosper in the future. He says that unlike newspapers, websites are more consumeroriented and can get away with more crude humor. And crude humor is something his students don’t mind, he says. “I’m not saying everyone needs to do jokes about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll,” Yungbluth says. “But it’s not something I would object to. I want my
students to do the kind of humor they want to do, but I also want them to be intelligent about it and understand comedy. Like why some punch lines work and others don’t.” Yungbluth says being a professor was not something he had in mind, and the teaching job at RIT was spontaneous. A friend of his was originally teaching the cartooning classes, but when he moved, RIT called Yungbluth and asked him to start the next day. “Teaching is something that sort of just fell into my lap,” he says. “I love it, though. Seeing students succeed and just get it. When that little light bulb finally goes off in their mind and they get excited about what they’re doing, that’s what I love about this job.” Even though it wasn’t in his plans, Yungbluth says he intends to stick with teaching for a while, as long as it doesn’t stifle his creativity as a comic book artist. And although he’s admittedly not the most famous cartoonist in the world, he’s still striving to put out his best work. “I strive to be the person doing the most funny, the most shocking, and yet still the most true and genuine comics I can do,” he says. “As long as I can do that, the fame, the money, all that stuff doesn’t matter.”
, , Students can study in UR s Gleason library anytime - it s open 24/7 (with a few holiday exceptions). 28 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
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LOCAL RESTAURANTS WHERE YOU CAN REFUEL WAY LATE [ DINING | BY DEB SCHLEEDE ]
Once the semester gets going you’ll likely find that college life keeps you up well into the early hours of the morning. But many times campus food facilities aren’t staffed with kind of night owls you’ll become. Whether you’re out bar hopping or studying your ass off until 2 a.m., there’s always somewhere to go to grab a bite to eat in Rochester. Here are some favorite local options open until 1 a.m. or later. If you’re looking for more local restaurants, check the Restaurant Guide at rochestercitynewspaper. com, with listings for more than 1200 area eateries searchable by name, cuisine type, neighborhood, and more.
Hots (487 Monroe Ave, 473-1563) are both
open 24 hours a day. Gitsis and Mark’s are both traditional diners that would do New Jersey proud. Gitsis specializes in delicious gravy fries and turkey, though you may want to avoid these sleep inducers if you need to stay awake late at night. Mark’s does have a pretty slamming garbage plate, Mark’s Sloppy Plate Special, in addition to its menu of delicious breakfast items and sandwiches. Last but not least, one more 24-hour diner stop closer to the northern side of things, and only about 10 minutes from Nazareth and St. John Fisher, is the East Ridge Family Restaurant (1925 E Ridge
Rd, 338-7900). Food here can be a hit or miss, but if you stick to the basics you’ll walk away with a cheap bill and a full, satisfied stomach.
Some like it hots In Rochester, hot dogs are called “hots,” and there’s a whole subsection of restaurants devoted to serving hots, burgers, and the like. Right around the corner from RIT and just minutes from MCC and UR is Henrietta Hots (3553 W Henrietta Rd, 424-4687), right across from Henrietta’s Marketplace Mall. This is one of the calmer and safer homes of the infamous garbage plate.
24-hour diners Near RIT, UR, and MCC in Henrietta is Jay’s Diner (2612 W. Henrietta Rd, 4243710), and it’s a great place to start. The oldfashioned 50’s-style diner is a good late night choice since it never closes. The food can be a touch greasy, although sometimes that’s just what you and your hungover system may require. For the studying set, Jay’s also has free wireless internet, and RIT students get a 10 percent discount. Monroe Avenue in the city is home to many bars and restaurants. With all of the snazzy places open during the day there just has to be somewhere open late at night, right? Of course! Gitsis Texas Hots (600 Monroe Ave, 271-8260) and Mark’s Texas 30 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
Pita Pit offers a healthy alternative to most greasy late-night food options. PHOTO BY SARAH PRIESTAP
Henrietta Hots is open until 3 a.m. every day, and is very clean and efficient. There’s no questioning why business booms here on Friday and Saturday nights. Another late-night hots joint, Empire Hots (2209 Empire Blvd, Webster, 7872110) serves up another good plate, and it’s a short drive if you attend Nazareth or Fisher. Here the garbage plates are titled “trash” plates, and can be a little sloppier than most. If you like a lot of macaroni salad and a nice sloppy sauce, Empire Hots is the plate place for you. Open until 1 a.m. on weeknights and 4 a.m. on weekends, there is plenty of time for you to grab some grub here. It’s grilled items galore at Hungry’s Grill (10 State St, Pittsford, 385-4031). At this newer addition to the scene you’ll find a friendly joint for your garbage plate fix. If you’re not into digesting a pile of food at 1 a.m. Hungry’s is also known for its burgers and hot dogs. Hungry’s is open until 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, but closes at 10 p.m. or midnight during the week. You can pretty much walk the .7 miles or so if you go to Nazareth, and it’s about three minutes from Fisher. Nick Tahou is generally regarded as the man who invented the garbage place at his eponymous restaurant. His nephew now owns Steve T’s Hots and Potatoes (2260 Lyell Ave, 429-6388), which serves up a plate that lives up to the Tahou name. In fact, the restaurant used to be called Nick Tahou’s II, but changed ownership and has been serving happy college students from all over for a few years now. This is one of the fewer garbage plate joints to be open 24 hours a day.
Other late-night fare If you’re gagging at the thought of so many grilled items, greasy diner food, or garbage plates, maybe Pita Pit is the place for you. We have two, one in the city’s East End (311 Alexander St, 454-2510) and one in Henrietta (1100 Jefferson Rd, 475-1040). While the Henrietta location closes at midnight, the one on Alexander is open until 3 a.m. Thursdays though Saturdays. The chain offers pitas filled with healthy goodness, from vegetables to hummus to meats and sauces. This is definitely two-hand continues on page 32 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 31
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food. Your stomach will thank you for picking the veggies over a pile of grease, too. Closer to the west side is Wimpy’s Burger Basket (2160 Buffalo Rd, 2473160), one of our many local burger places, but better. Wimpy’s is open until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on weekends, and has a hefty menu of delicious grilled items. Look for lots of wraps, salads, and sandwiches. If you want to wake yourself up with something hot and spicy, check the Buffalo menu; from boneless wings to chicken fingers drenched in fiery goodness, these dishes do the job. Launched in Syracuse, but embraced as one of Rochester’s own, Dinosaur BarB-Que (99 Court St, 325-7090) is one of this town’s biggest barbecue destinations.
Dinosaur serves up some mean ribs and delicious sandwiches for a late-night meal, and the homemade sides will make you drool for more. The kitchen is open until 1 a.m. on weekends and midnight during the week, and is a great hangout for small groups late at night. An added bonus: live music every Monday through Saturday. If you’re looking for a place to grab a meal and to sit and chat a while, The Distillery may be for you. There are two locations for this local chain (1142 Mt. Hope Ave, 271-4105; 300 Paddy Creek Circle, Greece, 621-1620). While the eateries check ID after 9 p.m., the kitchen is open until 1 a.m. every night except Sundays. The menu consists of lots of burgers, pastas, and other common items that you would expect to see at some larger chains, but with a Rochester twist. In addition to the food there is a snazzy bar and lots of televisions, so it’s a good place to go to watch the game with your friends.
The nice slice Of course many pizzerias are open late, and they are scattered all over the Rochester area. Here’s a short list of local chains and smaller joints that are open until midnight or later, especially on the weekends: Big Daddy’s Pizza (1157 Culver Rd, 654-5051), Big Deal Pizzeria and Pasta (475 Monroe Ave, 697-0241), Cordello’s (many locations), Mark’s Pizzeria (many locations, check markspizzeria.com), Meneze’s (445 Chili Ave, 328-3010), Nino’s Pizzeria (1330 Culver Rd, 482-2264), Piatza’s Pizza (four locations, check piatzaspizza. com), Pontillo’s Pizzeria (many locations, check pontillospizza.com), and Rookies Express Pizza and Pasta (649 Monroe Ave, 271-7000).
UR, RIT, Geneseo and Brockport have a combined total of 88 sororities and fraternities. MCC, Naz, Roberts, Fisher, and FLCC have no official Greek life.
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VAN BORTEL
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SHAKE OFF THE BAR BLUES WITH THESE BOOZE-FREE HOTSPOTS [ ALT. ENTERTAINMENT | BY DEB SCHLEEDE ]
It’s a Thursday night, your homework is done (or can be completely blown off until 10 p.m. on Sunday), and you’re ready to go out. But you’ve been hitting up the same bars, dance clubs, and movie theaters for weeks. These types of places, while fun, can still get boring. Never fear: there’s plenty to do in Rochester, and when you’re sick of being in the same college groove as everyone else, you can get some friends and head out to do something different.
Be a kid again For a sweet arcade, mini-golfing, or adult go-kart racing, head over to Clubhouse Fun Center (70 Jay Scutti Blvd, off Jefferson Road, 272-7888, clubhousefuncenter.com). It’s close to RIT and MCC, and not far from other area colleges. The Clubhouse has a decent-sized arcade and a charming putt-putt course as well as some great go-kart tracks. Be careful, though: some of those kids are brutal drivers. Admission for both golfing and go-karts is $6 each, and the arcade is coin operated. The Clubhouse Fun Center is open until 11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, until midnight FridaysSaturdays. During the winter it is open only on weekends, and go-karts and putt-putt may be
closed depending on the weather. Another nearby mini-golf course/arcade is Adventure Landing
(3340 W Ridge Rd, 225-5093, adventurelanding. com). It’s home to a much larger arcade, outfitted with more than If the weather’s decent, consider mini-golf at Adventure Landing. PHOTO BY 100 games and a SARAH PRIESTAP ticket redemption center for prizes. Go back to the days of roller skates and You can play some games of putt-putt on one loud music at Horizon Fun FX (675 Ling Rd, of the three courses, or you can hit a homer in 865-0493, horizonfunfx.com). For just a few one of the large batting cages. If you’re really bucks you can rent a pair of skates and take feeling childish you can get your friends into to the rink, shaking it to music played by the the three-story WOW! Factory, loaded with staff DJ. On most nights you can take pleasure thousands of foam balls you can throw, shoot, in running over some fat kids, or you can go on adult-only Wednesdays nights (8-10:30 or dump onto unsuspecting enemies (or allies). p.m.) to escape The Jonas Brothers and the Mini-golf costs $6.50 for one game or $7.50 other awful tween music. There is a café and a for two; WOW! Factory tickets are $5 each. small arcade as well, so if you get tired you can Mondays are a steal at the arcade with 100 take a break. Admission varies; open skate is tokens for $15. Adventure Landing is open $2, adult nights are $6, and skate rental costs until midnight Sundays-Thursdays, 1 a.m. continues on page 36 Fridays-Saturdays.
If you stacked the quarter-million volumes in the Lorette Wilmot Library at Nazareth, it would cover more 3 miles. 34 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
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Hookah (4139 W Henrietta Rd, 334-8340,
Alternative entertainment continued from page 35
$4. Open skate times are Tuesdays-Thursdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with an open skate pizza party night Wednesdays 5-8 p.m. ($8, includes unlimited pizza and pop).
High-energy entertainment Maybe you need something more heartpumping than mini-golf. If you’re interested in starting a war, and ideally coming out the victor, consider the (mostly) non-violent game of laser tag, offered up at Laser Quest (2833 W. Ridge Rd, 225-0505, laserquest.com). Shoot your friends while you run around the multilevel arena complete with laser lights, fog, and loud music. You get to create a codename, and can play individually or on teams. Admission costs $8. Laser Quest is open until 9 p.m. on weeknights, 10 p.m. on weekends, with limited hours during the winter. If lasers seem too high tech, at Performance Paintball (1250 Scottsville Rd, 235-5290, reaperpb.com) you can have a fun-filled day shooting your friends with brightly colored paint. These things hurt like a bitch, so wear multiple layers of clothing and be prepared to go home with some bruises. Admission costs $20 per day and includes a rental package of a semi-automatic paintball gun, goggles, barrel cover, and unlimited compressed gas. After that it’s $3 for 100 paint balls. For a few extra bucks you can rent other equipment, from chest protectors to fancy goggles. Call to set up some hours for your friends, or head out
Paintballs: fun to shoot, sting like a bitch. PHOTO BY SARAH PRIESTAP
to open play on Saturdays 6-9 p.m. And newbies, don’t worry too much; each group is supervised by safety referees. Sometime around the end of semester you will most definitely be sick of school. So get away from it all by going on a rockclimbing adventure at someplace like Rock Ventures (1044 University Ave., 442-5462, rockventures.net). It’s the largest indoor rockclimbing facility in the United States, and was opened by an RIT professor who felt that even he needed some excitement in his life. Regular admission is $15 for three hours of free roam, and includes a harness and shoe rental. But before that you need to have safety training, which costs an additional $10. Rock Ventures is open Mondays-Saturdays noon-9 p.m., Sundays noon-6 p.m.
Asthma attack-free fun For something more relaxing, you and your friends could head over to Look Ah
lookahhookah.com). This smoking lounge offers different types of tobacco, including some fun fruity flavors. Plus it stages special events each week, such as belly dancing, pizza-and-movie night, karaoke, and more. Admission ranges from $9 to $15, and costs $8 for early birds on Thursdays. If you have a college ID you can save $2 on admission every day except Wednesdays. Look Ah Hookah is open Mondays-Wednesday 6 p.m.-midnight, Thursdays 4 p.m.-1 a.m., Fridays-Saturday 6 p.m.-2 a.m., and Sundays 2 p.m.-midnight, with seasonal hours during the winter. Call for updates. For some old-school fun try Fantasy Raceways (3787 Dewey Ave, 621-1373, fantasyraceways.com). Here you’ll find tons of old arcade games to play, anything from Cruis’n USA to Donkey Kong to Pac-Man. Enjoy the neon lights throughout the shop and its hundreds of posters and racingand game-related décor. It’s not named “Raceways” for nothing, as it is home to dozens of slot car tracks available for play. For more couch-potato entertainment, check out the newly opened Cyberstorm Gaming (3047 W Henrietta Rd, in Townline Plaza, 287-6287, cyberstormgaming.com), a LAN gaming facility with high-tech computers and console setups. You can come and play your MMO games, bring some friends and duke it out on Smash Bros. or Street Fighter, or join other video game fans for tournaments. A day pass costs $14 for play from open until close; year memberships are also available. Cyberstorm is open Sundays-Thursdays noon-11 p.m., FridaysSaturdays noon-1 a.m.
Player 7: Fatih Ekinci
Player 8: Curtis Manson
School: UR (Ph.D student, economics) Home country: Turkey Favorite Thing to do in Rochester: Pick-up soccer on campus. Best Place to Eat: Sinbad’s (719 Park Ave) or King & I (1455 E. Henrietta Rd) MOTS Best Cup of Coffee: Starbucks (many area locations)
School: SUNY Brockport (forensic science major) Hometown: Bronx, NY Favorite Thing to do On Campus: Play basketball Advice for freshmen: “Clean your bathrooms!”
36 CITY • STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 2009
EMBRASSE MOI
PAPA JOHNS
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THE REAL VALUE OF AN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION [ STUDY ABROAD | BY KATHY LALUK ]
It was time. I had spent nearly four months studying abroad in London, but the day had finally come to return home. My bags were packed, weighed and measured to airline standards (after a bit of difficulty with the conversion from kilos to pounds). My flat had been cleaned — twice — and passed our landlord’s inspection. The taxi to Heathrow had been called and paid for. My plane ticket and passport were safely tucked away in my purse and, with one last heavyhearted sigh, I finally set off to return to the United States. After 118 days overseas (96 in London, 22 elsewhere in Europe), 4386 photos (seriously), 11 different tube (subway) lines, countless trips to the theater, museums, pubs, and landmarks, and too many friends and memories to count, coming home was a difficult experience. Not just because of everything I’d be leaving behind, but also because of the expenses I was facing. I had been checking the exchange rate since October and had some rough cost estimates in mind. I thought I was ready for the financial
burden when I set off on my semester abroad. Turns out I was wrong. Flash-forward half a year. Even though my bank account is still on the rebound and I spent my last real summer vacation working 40-plus hours a week to make up the financial ground, I wouldn’t trade my semester abroad for anything. International education has become a more popular phenomenon over the past few decades — the Institute of International Education reports that in the 2005-06 school year, 223,534 students took classes abroad, compared with only 89,242 a decade earlier. But the declining economy has many college study abroad offices worried. In a recent survey conducted by IIE, college officials listed increased operational costs and budget and staffing cuts among the challenges they expect to endure in the near future. Yet nearly all of the same officials agreed spending a semester abroad is one of the most valuable things students can get out of higher education, and it’s worth fronting the often panicinducing bill to do it. Despite the challenges, students continue
to show interest in study abroad programs. Jackie Levine, assistant dean and director of study abroad at University of Rochester, says that UR’s study abroad numbers are still on the rise — they’re up 5 percent for the fall
term from the spring ’09 semester. Levine says her goal was to see a 10 percent increase, but she’s glad to see students considering international programs at all. “I’ve seen a lot of students sacrifice other luxuries — giving up their cars or getting a job, for example — just to keep study abroad on the table,” she says. “It’s incredibly encouraging for me.” Nils Klinkenberg, a 2006 UR graduate, decided to study in France in the spring of his junior year — a popular time for students to study abroad — and says he doesn’t regret the decision. “I suppose you could put a monetary value on [studying abroad], but it’d be meaningless,” he says. “Experiential learning is powerful. You learn so much more by studying abroad than you ever could from a textbook.” Mark Zaid, UR ’89, added another dimension to his political science degree by spending a semester working for a member of British Parliament in London. Now a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C., Zaid said there’s no doubt that his experience helped boost his career, and continues to influence his day-to-day life. “Let’s put it this way: my study abroad experience is still on my résumé 20 years later,” he says. Levine says Zaid isn’t the only student to benefit from study abroad post-graduation. She says those who spend a semester abroad
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have a better chance at earning Fulbright Fellowships, and at getting hired because of their time abroad. In an increasingly globalized society, gaining an international perspective can give students a competitive edge in the job market. Going abroad should not be seen as an add-on, Levine says, but as a must: “The question shouldn’t be ‘Can I afford to study abroad?’ The question is ‘Can you afford not to?’” Klinkenberg’s scholarships carried over into
his study abroad experience, which made it much easier for him to afford — and affording the trip is a challenge for many students. The IIE estimates the average semester abroad will cost a student anywhere from $8,500 to $35,000. “Thinking about the study abroad in the financial sense is certainly important and certainly something I experienced,” he says. “But I don’t think it should ever stop a student from studying in another culture.” And with about 50 programs in 30 different countries, UR offers plenty of opportunity to travel. UR offers traditional exchange programs and summer sessions abroad, in addition to more unique programs, like the Internships in Europe program and the Semester in Tuscany program (students exclusively study Italian history, culture, and language). RIT offers affiliated programs in more than 20 countries, including a Sea Semester program that allows students to study in multiple places, including Tahiti, the Marquesas, Lunenburg, and Bequia. Students can also spend a semester in Paris or Croatia specializing in film and photography. At Nazareth College, students can even major in international studies, minor in international business, or take part in the college’s Inter-Cultural Teacher Education programs in places like Wales, Ireland, or the Navajo Nation. MCC students can study Celtic mythology in the United Kingdom and Ireland, or Homer’s epics on-location in Greece. The college also has affiliated study abroad programs through SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo, as well as Syracuse University. For specifics on all the programs continues on page 40 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 39
Study abroad continued from page 39
your college has to offer, visit your school’s website or stop by their study abroad office. For this writer, studying abroad was one of the best decisions I ever made. I’ll be paying back the expenses from the trip for years to come (about $22,000 by the time you add up tuition, living expenses, travel and everything else), but I don’t care. The cost of the trip is something that will linger in the back of my mind for a while, but the trip itself, the friends I made, and the experiences I had will stand out in the forefront of my memory for the rest of my life. Ask anyone who’s studied abroad and I’m sure they’ll feel the same way. If you have studied abroad, let us know; share your experiences by commenting on this article at rochestercitynewspaper.com.
How to afford a study abroad trip Take a trip to your school’s study abroad office. Figure out which programs fit your
wants and your needs, financially and academically. Remember, the people in these offices are there to help you, and they really know their stuff. Seek out alternative study abroad programs. Many colleges allow students
to transfer credits from affiliated programs, and some offer exchange programs, which tend to be cheaper because colleges aren’t sacrificing a tuition-paying student for the semester.
Do some independent research and see if you can’t reduce overall costs by considering a different overseas option. Visit the financial aid office. Many students
who already qualify for aid on their home campus can transfer it to make a semester abroad more affordable.
Look for scholarships and grants. This is a
good tip even if you’re not planning to study abroad. You might not know it, but there are scholarships for everything. Some are worth more than others — anywhere from a few bucks to thousands of dollars — but every little bit helps. A good start is to visit fastweb.com, a subsidiary of monster.com. Once you’ve filled out a lengthy survey, fastweb will generate a list of scholarships, grants, and contests just for you. For scholarships specific to international education, and plenty of other useful resources, try studyabroad.com. Don’t pay for credits you don’t need.
Colleges offer all sorts of cool courses for students who go abroad, but why not knock off some of those graduation requirements while you’re overseas? Make sure to take a fun elective or two (hey, you’ve gotta have at least some fun) but try to earn credits toward your degree too so you don’t add to the financial burden down the road. Set up a “study abroad” bank account. If
you know you want to study abroad, set up a separate bank account and start saving now. Set aside a $10 a week and put it into the account. You could even ask family members and friends to donate to your study abroad fund in lieu of birthday or Christmas gifts.
Player 9: Ilana Zatkowski School: RIT (graphic design major) Hometown: Brighton, NY Best Cup of Coffee: Dunkin Donuts Coolest Thing About Rochester: “Park Ave shops and food, and the town of Pittsford.”
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Some additional tips: Once you’ve decided to go abroad, keep an eye on the exchange rate and ask your study abroad office for a cost estimate (tuition, room, board, etc). It might not even be a bad idea to have a rough monthly budget in mind for your time outside the country. Keeping track of your spending is crucial when you’re abroad. Make sure you talk to your bank and credit card company before you leave, and let them know where you’ll be going, when, and for how long. Nothing is more stressful than being in a foreign country and not being able to withdraw money from an ATM or use your credit card. Take advantage of student discounts. Depending on where you go and what kind of program you’re enrolled in, you can get special international student cards that will save you money every time you go to a museum, buy theater tickets, or ride the train. For more information on international student discount cards, check out isecard. com, or talk to your study abroad director. Travel. I can’t stress this one enough. Staying in your host country can be great — you definitely don’t want to miss out on anything there — but you can go elsewhere too. Spend a weekend in another country and see what it has to offer. Sites like lastminute.com and hostelworld.com can help you find cheap flights, train tickets, hostels, and hotels. It may seem counter-intuitive, but it was a lot cheaper for me to fly to anywhere in Europe from London than it ever would be from Rochester. It may be an additional financial burden in the short run, but you might never get the opportunity to travel like this again.
Player 10: Michael Weisenburg
MOTS
School: SUNY Brockport (English major) Hometown: Kendall, NY Best Place to Eat: Tandoor of India (376 Jefferson Rd) Coolest Thing About Rochester: “East End, the bars and Alexander St.” Best Place to Study: Learning center
JINES
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Player 11: Dilek Canakci
Player 12: Greg Wyllie
School: Nazareth College (grad student, human resources/ management major) Hometown: Rochester Best Cup of Coffee: Java’s (16 Gibbs St), “Their Mexican blend is the best.” Advice for Freshmen: “Ask a lot of questions, unless you MOTS MOTS ask you’ll never know. The people here are very friendly.”
School: RIT (biotechnology major) Hometown: Toronto, Ontario Best Place to Study: Idea Factory in Wallace Library. Best Hangout: Buffalo Wild Wings (382 Jefferson Rd) Advice for Freshmen: “Look around campus, don’t stay in your room. There’s lots to do, like the Red Barn. No one knows it’s there.”
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Player 13: Remy Clock
Player 14: Krishaon Ewing
School: RIT (graphic design major) Hometown: Reno, NV Best Place for a Date: Aladdin’s on the Canal (Pittsford) Favorite Thing to Do on Campus: Running
School: SUNY Brockport (political science major) Hometown: Lockport, NY Favorite Thing to do On Campus: Go to the gym, swimming Best Place for a Date: Picnic on the canal. Advice for Freshmen: “Get a bike or scooter for campus.”
MOTS MOTS
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Player 15: Max Bigeveli
Player 16: Ryan Gaynor
School: UR (recent graduate, health and society major) Hometown: Bronx, NY Best On-Campus Hangout: The Hive, a café with arcade games, in the Wilson Commons Advice for Freshmen: “Study hard during your freshmen year, but have fun too while you’re here.” MOTS MOTS
School: RIT (digital cinema major) Hometown: Falmouth, MA Best Cup of Coffee: Starbucks (many area locations) Coolest Thing About Rochester: “Lots of stores and places close by to go to.” Best Hangouts: Pearl (349 East Ave), Tilt (444 Central Ave), Soho East (342 East Ave).
MOTS
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