It’s a Tuesday night. You have no less than five hours of homework (two of procrastination), but are jaded by the prospect of trekking up to the third floor of the Student Center. Or maybe you’re antsy and feel like going on a run, but have grown tired of the flattened trails winding past the river and around the athletic fields. Forget the workout, and listen to your stomach instead.
As a busy college student, you’re constantly hungry, and it’s about time you’ve earned the freshman 15 (no matter your class year). Even while scavenging for food at Dana and the Pub, abiding by the most basic instinctual impulse to gather sustenance, there’s no shortage of dilemma in making a satisfactory decision.
What if there were ways to improve your study space, enrich your leisure time, ramp up your workout routine, and excite your Dana-weary taste buds without ever having to venture too far from campus?
Consider this your unofficial guidebook to St. Lawrence University, complete with all the secret menu ideas, hidden study spots, local favorites, secluded sanctuaries, nooks, and crannies that never get mentioned during orientation. Here’s your key to discovery, or re-discovery, of our beloved alma mater:
Gunnison Memorial Chapel has all the elements of a perfect study spot – it’s quiet, softly illuminated by the comforting glow of sunshine through stained glass, and divinely peaceful in a way that only sacred spaces can be. The added plus of bean bags in the pulpit make it easy to achieve optimal productivity in an ergonomically ideal seating arrangement.
In the same vein, the second floor of Sykes houses an elegant and stately space colloquially termed the “Harry Potter Room” for its resemblance to the Gryffindor common room. The best part? It’s always there when you “require” it.
SLU’s natural beauty is no secret, and it’s easy to immerse yourself in the the verdant flora area immediately surrounding campus with a brisk run, leisurely jaunt, or casual stroll down the Avenue of the Elms, which meets the Saddlemire Trail at it’s end.
The Saddlemire winds behind stables, swamps, and fields of wildflowers before meeting the Kip Tract and bending back to campus. Additionally, the Remington Recreation Trail off of Route 85 is an easy way to get moving and get a feel for the wider Canton community.
There’s no limit to the number of Dana creations and Pub hacks one can manifest with a little creativity, but some favorites of the Hill staff include: transforming your Dr. Feel Good to a Dr. Feel Great by adding barbecue sauce and bacon; requesting feta on a quesadilla; ordering an over-easy egg with cheddar and steamed spinach, piling it on a toasted slice of bread of choice, and topping it off with hot sauce, salsa, or Mrs. Dash; slathering pesto and tomato on your grilled cheese; and toasting the Dana banana bread, drizzling it with honey or peanut butter, and chowing down.
For a completely home-made dining experience, sign up for dinners at the Green House, or make snack time a social hour by hitting up the International House in Sykes for Wednesday night tea time.
Burst the SLU bubble by exploring Canton and its neighboring towns. Visit the farmer’s market on the Village Green on Friday mornings, make a pit stop for breakfast sandwiches at the Partridge Café, indulge in decadent homemade muffins the size of your head at The Hideaway Cafe in Colton, burn off the extra calories exploring Higley Flow State Park (great for cross country skiing in the winter), and start your Friday night right with a craft beer in one hand and a microphone in the other at karaoke at the St. Lawrence Brewery.
Best bathrooms? Second floor in Piskor. Musically inclined and looking for a spot to practice outside of the communal dorm showers? There are private practice rooms on the bottom floor of Griffiths. Forgot the finishing touches to really make your dorm a home? Check out the wares at the Barn Good Thrift Store. You may just find the perfect mood lighting in a humble desk lamp at a significantly discounted price.
Want to escape to a truly tucked away hidden, local gem? Make the short drive to The Birch Bark Bookstore in Parrishville.
There’s more to student life than navigating a mundane schedule of classes, studying, athletics, and a handful of extra-curriculars and there’s more to SLU than a swanky Student Center and the best bookstore this side of the Mississippi. Get out there and (re)discover your home.
Four years goes by fast, and if you don’t stop and look around sometimes, you might miss them (or settle for dietary dissatisfaction in Dana dining purgatory- whichever is worse).