Pronunciation and Woo-town Lingo

Here at Wooster, we like to pronounce things differently than they look like they should be. This is the post that will give you insight into pronunciation, as well as terms referencing certain places on campus.

Format is as follows:

What it is (how we say it)

WOOSTER (Wuster)

This is important! It is WUSTER NOT WOOSTER!!! It does NOT rhyme with rooster! It's like "wood", but with a "ster" instead of a "d".

Now that we have that cleared up...

Beall Ave. (it's bell, but spelled funny)

Beall Ave. is the main vain that runs through campus. The reason why it sounds funny, is because it's actually the name of a revolutionary war general, as is Wooster! A lot of the street names in Wooster are either after war veterans from the revolution era, or people who founded and developed the town. Beall Ave. underwent a major face lift (completed a little over a year ago) and now looks quite nice with it's crossing lights and vintage lamp posts.

Bever (like Beaver, but spelled funny)

Many joke that someone took the "a" out of Beaver and put it in Bell. But really, it's just the name of a dude who was involved in the founding of Wooster, as well as plotting the land.

Just pretend it looks like a bever beaver.

Bornhuetter Hall (sounds like Born heater)

As a German major, this one is frustrating to me. The name (like many others on campus) is German. The "ue" really is an "ü". This sound is pretty hard for someone who doesn't speak the language to get, so the Americanized spelling is the one you see above. Heater isn't exactly how it's supposed to sound, but it's how we say it anyway.

MacLeod's (sounds like McClouds)

If McDonald's made clouds, this is what they would call it. However, were not talking about clouds, but a coffee shop! Yes, the convenience store in Lowry has a funny name. Why this name, you ask? Well the tartan that makes up our school colors (and the tartan that the band wears) is actually the MacLeod of Lewis tartan.

That is a true MacLeod  tartan.

This lovely little place was "The C-Store" (original, right?) for the first two semesters or so of it's existence, so if you hear upperclassmen call it the C-Store, you'll know why. So when you need your crack espresso in the morning, head over to the C- Store MacLeod's with full knowledge of where the name comes from (AND how to say it).

Armington Physical Education Center (P-E-C)

Not pec, but p-e-c. This is where most things that involve exercise happen, including many Intramural Sports!

Lowry Student Center (Lowry for short)

This isn't that hard, but when referring to Lowry while telling someone to meet you there, be sure to tell people WHERE in Lowry. Many times if you just say "Lowry", they mean the dining hall part. If you want to meet someone anywhere else, let them know, i.e. Wired Scot, Mom's, the pit, etc. This saves a lot of confusion.

North End

North end refers to the area North of campus that is the shopping hub of Wooster. Here is where you'll find most commercial stores and restaurants in Wooster. 

Some stores include: Walmart, Bath Kohl's, MC Sports, Staples, The Party Store (I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's there, promise), Red Lobster, Buehler's (grocery store), Rue 21, Lowe's, CiCi's pizza, Applebee's, Sears Optical, AT&T store, Subway, McDonald's, Panera, a movie theater, Payless, Starbucks, Sears Optical, El Campeseno (a popular Mexican restaurant), and a gaggle of other department stores and things. Chances are if you can't find it at drug mart, which is doubtful, you can find it somewhere in the North End.  

If you don't have a car, you have a few options. 1) Find a friend with a car. Chances are they need to buy something at Walmart too. 2) Call 5 star transport. They're a local taxi service here in Wooster that's used to dealing with students, and I think their rates are pretty decent. 3) Walk or ride a bike. It's about 3 miles, so if you take a friend with you and make an adventure out of it the 50 minute (3ish mile) walk may not be so bad. 4) Hertz zip cars are parked by the wellness center and security. You have to sign up and it's $35 or so, and $8 an hour when you use the car. I think it's a rip off, but that's my own opinion. Option 1 is the easiest in my experience. Also, they occasionally have shuttles that run from Lowry so be on the lookout for those. 5) The Hospitality Shuttle. It's currently the easiest way to get around Wooster. For a couple bucks you can get just about anywhere you would need to go. It's a relatively new service, but I'm sure they will have the shuttle running at the start of the year. There should be information available at the start of the year.

The Quad

The quad is the large field that lies in front of Douglass and Ebert, with Knarden Lodge (K-Nard or K-lodge) on the West end. It's a huge green field, kinda hard to miss. Sometimes people will talk about the mini quad, which is the grassy area between Andrews, Armington, and Stevenson. 

*map not to scale

Scheide Music Center (sounds like shy-duh)
Thanks to Katherine for reminding me of this one! It's practically my second home and I almost forgot about it! Two things to remember 1) The first vowel does the walking, the second does the talking and 2) You DO pronounce the "e" at the end.

If I think of more, I'll be sure to put them on here :)

What to Expect

In asking ARCH  students on campus what they would want to see on this blog, one individual wanted to see "What to expect."  Know that every college experience is different, but here at Wooster, this is a little something about what your first experiences on campus might be like*:

You arrive on campus, and everyone is waiting, JUST WAITING to moove (spelling intentional) in.  Last year, there were a LOT of freshman, and so we had "Moove-in" day, which will be happeneing again this year.  There were giveaways of laundry detergent, food, and Udderly Smooth lotion (are you sensing a theme here?).  The older students on campus helped carry in belongings and direct parents, Beall ave (pronounced like "bell") was LINED with cars.  They actually shut it down specifically for moove-in. This made the process much easier than my freshman year, which was just a chaotic mad rush into the dorms where we had to carry all of our stuff inside before the parents were scolded into moving their cars from the curb.

However you will not have to deal with that.  TIP: GET HERE EARLY! The sooner you get in line, the sooner your stuff will be inside and you can start collecting all the free stuff they give out. Also, you can start getting to know the people on your hall!


Additionally, if you are coming early for a sport or for band, you'll already be mooved in.  This is a good thing, because you get to sit back and watch while the chaos unfolds around you, which can be rather amusing. After moving in all your things, other orientation activities ensue.

Some orientation activities include a party in the UG (Underground, the campus club, which I'll describe in detail later), a swing dance lesson, seminars, Woo Idol (so bring a talent to share!!), and much more.

Also, we like cows. Just saying.

What to keep in mind for orientation:

Be Social, seriously:
There is a "friendly window" that happens at the beginning of freshman year.  During this magical window, it is not weird to go up to someone you don't know and introduce yourself. In fact, it is encouraged. Even if you're shy, this is a good time to start establishing a friend base.  Get numbers, meet up with people, go to meals with them. Even if you're shy, this is a good time to reach out for a little bit. Once you make one friend, it's easier to make more.

Something else to keep in mind: DON'T GET DISCOURAGED if you feel socially exhausted. I am an extreme extrovert, and I began to feel tired of talking to people a couple of days into orientation. Be sure to take some time to yourself in the midst of all the crazy to just relax too.  Remember that everyone is in the same boat, looking to make an entirely new group of friends, since no one knows anyone.

Any other questions about orientation or your first few days here? Post a comment and I'll be happy to answer!

*This is judging from my own experience as well as watching others moove-in, and may not be EXACTLY what your experience is like, but TIPS will appear throughout.

Introduction

I remember the summer before my first year here at the College of Wooster (CoW).  I had so many questions running through my mind: Who is my roommate? Where am I living? What will my new friends be like? Is there a mall near by? (The sad answer to the latter question is no, not within 30 minutes) In an effort to preview my college experience as much as possible, I quickly turned to facebook, friending people in the "Class of 2013" group that seemed to have similar interests that I did.  I must have stalked almost every one of my fellow freshman, or at least the ones that looked interesting.

My intention for this blog is to better prepare you all and answer your BURNING QUESTIONS.  Okay, so maybe there isn't a fire burning in your heart to know what the dorm your in is like, because you'll find out soon enough, but it would be helpful to know about the Wooster area, right?


That being said, if there is anything you would like to see on this blog, please comment and let me know! You can also email me at ssoto13@wooster.edu :)  Happy reading and have a great summer!

And now for my very lovely paintbrush rendition of the arch!!!