10 Facts About Furman (that you really only learn as a student!)
1. Lots of our traditions are service based. For example, the Heller Service Corps’ annual Valentine’s Day dance, called the “Exceptional Adults Valentine’s Day Dance” was this past Tuesday. At the dance, students and adults with special needs in Greenville have a ton of fun celebrating Valentine’s day with song, dance, and of course, plenty of Valentine’s themed-food! Other campus traditions include Greek Week, Fall Fest, and a bunch of others.
2. The student community is very thoughtful. For example, when it rains, and you’re walking to class, students driving by will pick you up and take you where you need to go! How sweet is that? This also goes for when it’s cold, windy, snowy, really hot….and also at times on days with nice weather (people are just thoughtful here!)
3. You can leave your stuff out and no one will take it. I actually think this is one of the most awesome aspects of Furman – the trust in our student body, faculty, and staff. You can leave your backpack, mail packages, books, keys, ID cards, wallet, laptops, chargers, phones – basically anything – out anywhere on campus, and no one will take it. People frequently leave things out in the library, Student Center, Dining Hall, wherever, and it’s always where we’ve left it when we return
4. The Dining hall has a few smash-hit signature dishes. These include (but are not limited to): black bean cakes, garlic knots, and sugar cookies (an odd combination, but these are just a few of my favorites.)
5. The North Village apartment rooms are unbelievably nice. You get a patio or balcony, often your own room, share a large bathroom with one person, and have a foyer, kitchen, and living room. It’s fantastic. Let’s also remember that you aren’t paying for cable, utilities, washing machines, or anything like that.
6. People hold doors for a long time here. If there’s someone behind you, even if it’s 50 feet away, people still wait and hold the door … and then the person behind them has to do that awkward jog to get to the door (but let’s be real, everyone loves that!)
7. People say hi to each other even if they don’t know each other. Because chances are, you remember their face from somewhere, and you commit to the hello. You probably have mutual friends on Facebook, so it makes sense to go for it.
8. People generally dress nicely for classes. This is something I really like, because I think it shows how seriously people take classes. Now that doesn’t mean we don’t occasionally wear tennis shoes, baseball caps, and leggings, but for the most part, people look presentable.
9. The staff here is really wonderful. This goes for the people in the mail room, the dining hall, the Student life office, the bookstore, you name it. They remember your name and face and some of them will eventually learn your life story (after four years, you learn theirs too!) I think this aspect really enhances the student experience here, because we get to know faculty and staff in addition to students.
10. The library is a very social area of campus. When I have to truly buckle down studying, I have to hide in a cubicle in the basement to keep myself from wandering off and chatting with friends. The good news is, the sociable aspects of the library allow for a comfortable mix of business (aka homework) and pleasure (aka friends.)