"Marist, foxes, we're on the run, uphill, downhill, having some fun..."
Ah, that lovely alma mater of ours. Just one of many weird, yet beloved, traditions and trademarks that has come to represent Marist College so unequivocally over the years. After chuckling to myself over some of the more ridiculous things that happen at Marist -- both in the past and on a daily basis -- I decided to explore the thoughts of the other people who know Marist just as well as I do because they, too, went to school here. Excuse me for trolling your twitters, but I think the end does justify the means, if I might stoop so low as to use that sorry excuse.
At any rate, without further ado, I present to you a compilation of thoughts, in no particular order, on the aforementioned "uphill" and "downhill" aspects of Marist, as told through the voices of those who know it best: the student community.
1. The universal recognition of that sacred 11:00-1:30 activity hour every Wednesday, even as an alum.
1.
Yes, mike, yes they do.
2. Sitting in the grey gym on your very first day and listening to the infamous speech...
...where you're told that "you should look around. You could be sitting next to your future maid of honor, best man, or even the person you're going to marry."
Yes, there's nothing quite like bringing up the marriage question on the first day of college to make an 18-year-old feel comfortable.
3. This reaction to the *overwhelming diversity at Marist...
*Overwhelmingly diverse meaning: all the same and confused when that's not the case.
4. FoxNet's reliability.
Public enemy #1.
5. A school-wide obsession with sunsets.
Remember when you were just an ordinary person with an ordinary fascination with ordinary sunsets? Me neither.
6. Saying that Marist looks like Hogwarts and then freaking out when Pete Davidson of SNL says the same thing.
His tweets have since been deleted but I resurrected them because... magic.
7. Proceeding to turn the dining hall into Hogwarts to further justify this myth.
Bam #WWPDTN? What Would Pete Davidson Think Now?
8. When random seniors show up at your door to take shots with you because they once lived there too.
Now that's tradition.
9. When the caf made quesadillas for all of one month before discontinuing them.
They were too popular so, naturally, they put an end to that.
10. The fact that there have even been capping projects to highlight the fact that we have no track facilities, despite having a track team that is in season...all year...and still, no moves to build a track.
Makes sense.
11. Trying, and failing, to park but realizing that maybe it's for the best.
Pro tip for anyone trying to stick around another year.
12. Being outshined by the mental institute.
Too bad Gossip Girl is a fictional character and her opinion is therefore irrelevant.
xoxo, Marist.
13. Developing close relationships with your cab drivers.
Is this normal? 100% not.
14. That time the rotunda was under construction and was due to be completed "in early fall."
Teaching students that it's really okay if you don't meet a deadline... nice.
(P.S. it was finished in the spring. The spring.)
15. But yet time is always of the essence with construction (at least now).
Making up for lost time and false promises, I see you @marist.
16. And this very relevant point to sum all this construction business up.
Plan your housing accordingly.
17. That time Michelle Obama, aka the First Lady of the United States, Instagrammed a picture of Marist students.
We're kind of a big deal.
18. Being so obsessed with the groundhogs that pop up around campus that someone made a Twitter account for them.
Beware the product of a college kid with too much free time.
19. And who could forget them breadsticks?
In case you were still debating whether college kids are mature or not.
20. Or that time when Marist beach was half beach, half cricket pitch?
#ISupportMaristCricket.
21. When the guy from the post office debuted his own package.
Last I checked that's not part of the job description.
22. The anticlimactic mid-semester break.
It's a Friday, guys. You get a Friday off.
23. When the dining hall was still being finished and we had to eat in tents outside.
2013. "Twas a great time to be a freshman," I say with the utmost sarcasm.
24. Realizing your priority points have doomed you.
If you don't complain about priority points, did you really go to Marist?
25. Getting sick of wind.
I hear struggling to walk in a straight line against vicious winds builds character.
26. Making a debacle of the annual senior slip 'n slide.
A rite of passage.
27. Never, and I mean NEVER, understanding Foxmail.
I'm so sorry, Tatiana. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
28. The nonsensical indirect pathways to get just about anywhere, and the internal debate you have over whether you should just cut across the grass or not.
LOOK -- even the stock photo people did it!!!
29. Sticking the transfers into a hotel and then pretending that's okay.
Why, yes, I hear hotels are great for making friends. In college. When everyone else lives on campus. #Luxury for sure.
30. That time the Marist crew team went out for a morning practice and came back with this guy.
And we made headlines, finally,...for this. Must've been a slow news day.
31. Only hiring presidents who appreciate the art of a good selfie.
Out with the old, in with the new, but first - let me take a selfie.
32. Being envious of geese.
Not to mention they can poop where they damn well please.
33. When Marist made a game out of guessing how many lights are on the Christmas tree.
I know the anticipation is absolutely killing you, so I'll reveal the answer: 57,400 lights. Approximately 27,400 more than the Rockefeller tree.
34. Having anxiety over registration - worldwide.
As someone who read CRN numbers out loud to a friend desperately registering on a hostel computer in Copenhagen (hi Mary), I know this one to be an undeniable truth (though she did get all her classes due to our superhuman teamwork and reflexes).
35. This tough question.
When it's below 20 degrees, always the latter.
36. Going abroad and returning homeless...
Spoiler alert: you find out approximately 3 days before you move back in. Have fun kiddos!!!!!
37. When the cabaret went all CSI on us.
All in "good humor" though, right?
38. Spending time down by the river, and/or the train tracks...
...perhaps too much time.
39. When a local and popular bar tries to make small talk with you over Twitter.
I'm sorry, what?
40. And, of course, getting too attached in the end.
Marist, you're weird, but I think I'll keep you.
