Do you bleed orange? Love walking down the promenade backward spewing fun facts about the happiest campus on earth? Do you never pass up the opportunity for a good Dome stomp or take pride in knowing the location of the sole orange tree on campus? Than look no farther than the University 100 – Syracuse’s elite group of student ambassadors and tour guides founded in 1985. Even if you haven’t made the choice to join the team of rugby-wearing Otto enthusiasts, or have yet to apply, there are definitely a few fun facts that your tour guide shared, but you probably forgot, on your first visit to ’Cuse. Brush up on just a few of the facts (or folklore) that have been passed down from tour guide to tour guide – and have helped generations of prospective students make the (best) choice to be Orange.
- The Addams Family House is based on the Hall of Languages
You are probably reminded of more than just your intro ETS class when you walk by the Hall of Languages. The building that stands at the focus of our favorite postcard view of ’Cuse was initially the only building that the university had to its name and served as the artistic inspiration for the cooky and spooky house that made its debut on 0001 Cemetery Lane in a 1938 issue of The New Yorker.
- Syracuse University is the #1 late night food ordering school in America
With a myriad of meal plan options and dining centers, it’s impossible to go hungry at Syracuse. But for every student searching for a midnight snack from off the hill, Marshall Street is a trusted alternative. The fact that this street of dining delicacies is open 23 hours a day led to Syracuse University being crowned the #1 late night food ordering school in America. As long as you can curb your hunger pains for the one hour between the closing of Calios and the opening of Dunkin Donuts, a late-night snack is never too far away.
- The steps leading to Crouse College are equal to the number of keys on a piano
Crouse College, known for housing the Setnor School of Music, is more commonly introduced to prospective students as the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After the awkward laughs subside brought on by a classic tour guide joke, prospective families love to hear about how the iconic stairway leading up to the music school boasts the same number of steps as there are keys on a piano. Take a stroll up to Crouse and tickle those ivories!
- You can take to the skies with the Flight Simulator in the College of Engineering and Computer Science
Have you yet to befriend an aerospace engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science? Well get right on that! If you can stand the line across the quad that is reminiscent of the length of the student section line for the Duke game, then you can take to the skies while operating the full-motion, reconfigurable flight simulation device that is nestled in the depths of Link Hall. When the simulator isn’t being used by aerospace engineering students or by NASA pilots who travel to campus to log flight hours, this elaborate video game is open to general students one day a year.
- The Legend of the Kissing Bench
Located just to the right of the Hall of Languages, the Kissing Bench was a gift from the class of 1912 and is linked to my favorite of our SU traditions. Syracuse legend has it that if you sit on the Kissing Bench and share a kiss with someone you love, then you will be together forever. But sit carefully! For if you sit on the bench alone, you will be alone forever. The location of many photo opps and proposals, your heart can’t help but be heavy when the bench also serves as a lunch spot for a single, and unknowing, freshman finishing their lunch – especially mid-tour when you are recounting the story to a group of 50 visitors!
Eager for more Syracuse fun facts? Want to pass on your love for the only fighting fruit in the NCAA? Apply for University 100 by January 21! Nothing pairs better with Orange pride than a U100 rugby and 99 new friends.
Written by Hannah Butler ’19, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications