University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the best college -- obviously I am biased -- but it is fact. There are so many unique things you can only find at this university; some are quite interesting while others are just odd.
1. #bridgeface
The bridge that goes over the Chippewa is just a wind tunnel. It gets so cold in the winter that the school itself created #bridgeface for students to share how painful it really is to walk it. Everyone has learned to bundle up and shed layers when you get to class rather than just walk in only a jacket. David Letterman has put the bridge on his top 10 list for coldest places in America.
2. The Hill
As my roommate likes to put it, someone looked at this big chunk of land and thought "let's put all the lecture halls down here, and put all the residential halls all the way up there." Some students even made a spoof video on YouTube about how horrible the hill is. I once overhead a campus ambassador giving a tour tell the incoming a freshman that UWEC has the biggest hill of all UW schools and there was a study done. Take that Bascom!
3. Footbridge antics
Scrolling through Twitter, UW-Eau Claire police had to give a remind to us all that the FOOT bridge is not to be driven on. Someone actually tried to drive across it last week. In case you haven't heard, a foot bridge is for walking across, not for driving.
4. Rating Squirrels
There is quite the surplus of squirrels at this school, including an albino one. They are not shy either. Students posts very close pictures of squirrels onto the anonymous app Yik Yak with a description usually along the lines of "Bushy tail, let me get within three feet of it, stuffed acorn in mouth, 10/10." In the fall they fill the feed and are everyone's favorite.
5. Chancellor Jim
First off, he goes by Chancellor Jim and encourages students to follow him on Twitter, @ChancellorJim. On Fridays, if he sees you wearing Blugold attire you can get UWEC merchandise or a voucher to the bookstore. He also hosts "Chancellor's roundtable" to discuss topics to get your input on the school and FREE pizza and dessert, a college kids dream.
6. Blugold
This is probably the only school with the mascot being a Blugold. It's not a real bird to start, but Blu is always at events and taking pictures with students. Trying to explain to people of other schools is a difficult task. Through a Google search of "What is a Blugold?" a Urban Dictionary defintion will be among the results with the user "alumni blugold" saying "The Blugold is the esteemed mascot of UW-Eau Claire. While nobody there knows exactly what it is, it represents the symbol of excellence and is sometimes seen in the form of a man dressed as a blue and gold bird, giving out high fives at the bottom of the large hill in the middle of campus.".
