Go to Fordham College at Lincoln Center? The struggle can be real sometimes. Here are some things we all have to deal with as FCLC kids:
1. The Elevators.
Did you mean: hell on earth?
First, you scan the crowd formations like a hawk to make sure you're not stuck in an elevator with anyone you want to avoid.
Then, everyone crams into their elevator of choice until it's as packed as a tin of sardines.
That's when you notice that every single floor is pressed. Meanwhile, you're already late to your class on the eighth floor.
You're guaranteed at least one eyeball roll as someone gets off on the second floor. (REALLY PEOPLE?)
You are also guaranteed a mad stampede when you get to the fifth floor and everyone gets on and off, because for some reason the school decided it was fun to let the Hunger Games unfold by making every relevant class at Fordham take place on the fifth floor.
2. Having to take out your ID card six thousand times in one building.
Do I really need to take out my ID for the front desk and then again for the library and then again when I go from Lowenstein to McMahon or McKeon? I'd prefer not to look again and again at the hideous picture I chose for that card back in senior year of high school when I thought bangs were my thing. (Spoiler: they aren't)
3. Nothing good to eat at the Ram Cafe.
How am I supposed to skip class to do homework for the class if there aren't even any boxes of fries left? And hello! Where is the tomato sauce for my mozzarella sticks? I can't eat these plain!
4. Quinn Library.
...Yeah, maybe if you're a Rose Hill kid. They have all the cool books, meanwhile we have the obscure volumes on German philosophers no one knows or cares about, and close to no fiction. If you were to conduct a survey of 100 FCLC students, past and present, and ask them what the worst aspect of going to Fordham College is/was, I am willing to bet money that they would ALL bring up Quinn Library. Why?
Where do I even begin?
Well, I can assure you, this is the most angsty setting in the entire school with its dim lighting and brooding atmosphere. The walls are an ugly beige color. There are never any plugs open. When there are plugs open, they aren't near where you're sitting.
Worst of all--there are no windows. Which means a bunch of stressed, irritated and sad college students are stuffed into one dark room with literally no light at the end of the tunnel. Great.
5. Printing at Quinn Library.
While we're on the subject of Quinn, let's also discuss the nightmare that is printing, which deserves its own little section.
Why do I have to shuffle between the computers and the printers multiple times to get both to recognize that I sent a file to be printed?
Why must some person print their 120-page reading at the exact moment when I have to print my simple five page essay and run to class?
...Actually, a better question might be, why do professors STILL assign that many pages to be printed? We don't live in the 5th Century BC-- this is why Blackboard exists. (Not that Blackboard always works, but that's another issue)
6. How many Instagrams can one person take of Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center?
I am the first person to admit I love taking pictures of 59th Street in all seasons. Are you even an FCLC student if you haven't posted some variation of this photo during the holidays?
But honestly after a while, it gets boring. You think the novelty will never wear off, but after a while, you never want to see that silver globe or the CNN sign or the Columbus statue again, especially if you're a commuter.7. So. Much. Smoking.
As someone who's vehemently anti-smoking, there is nothing that irks me more than walking onto campus to the sweet smell of...nicotine.
Every single open air space on campus is filled with smokers. And unfortunately for any non smokers, the fastest way between any of the three buildings is through the Plaza, which is ALWAYS full of hipster students who chain smoke while complaining about how corporations are ruining the world.
I know Fordham is a Catholic College, but we just take Ash Wednesday to a whole new level...
8. Class Registration Day.
I'm sure this is an issue at almost any college, but it's a wild free for all here, and it is one of the most dreaded days of both semesters. Enough said.
And there you have it--a small sampling of the difficulties of being an FCLC student. We still love it though. There's a reason we picked it over Rose Hill, after all!