Being a freshman on campus can be really hard. You don’t always know what’s happening, and everyone else seems to have everything figured out. To save you some stress, here are a few tips that we have learned about the CLU campus.
1. Lunch in Ullman Commons is really good on Wednesdays.
This trick was taught by a couple of well seasoned Cal Lutheran students. Wednesdays are staff days at the Commons, so the food is especially good on those days. Some of the different foods that have been offered are gyros, chicken wings, and a taco bar. Don’t take this tip for granted! Sometimes, the good food also carries over into dinner. It’s safe to say that Wednesday is the ideal day to hit up Ullman Commons.
2. You can easily make a root beer float in the Commons. If you are ever craving this delicious treat, just head on over to the Commons. Get ice cream from the soft serve machine by the desserts and add in root beer from the soda machine and voilà! This is a great way to motivate you to finish the rest of your homework.
3. You can make your own chocolate chip pancakes! Since we are on the subject of food, we might as well talk about the best breakfast item ever- chocolate chip pancakes! Sometimes the Commons has them and other times they don’t. Whenever the chocolate chip pancakes are not being offered, just head on over to the salad bar. Why is the salad bar relevant? Because by the fruit and yogurt, there is a container full of chocolate chips. Just put those in between the two pieces of pancakes you ordered and now you have chocolate chip pancakes. Bonus point: there are white chocolate chips and milk chocolate. Yum!
4. Save the sandwiches from Ullman To Go for later. If you aren’t hungry but you know you will be soon, pick up a sandwich from Ullman To Go and save it. If you have a fridge in your room, even better! Put it in there and it can last for a few days. With the different classes we have to take and the crazy schedules, sometimes we have to rush to eat in those scarce moments of free time. On the days you know that your day will be particularly hectic, have a sandwich handy to get you through that long 2 hour class. Just make sure you ask for it to not be toasted!
5. If you want Jamba Juice right when you’re class is done, order 20-25 minutes before your class gets out. This has been proven to be very helpful, especially if you have classes that get out around lunch time. For Jamba Juice, your drink is usually ready before you get out which is great! Getting food has never been easier. When it comes to Starbucks, you might want to order about 30 minutes before class gets out to be safe because it can get really crowded during certain times of the day, sepcifically around 10 in the morning. Sometimes Starbucks can take a really long time because so many people order their drinks and food all at the same time. If there is ever more than 8 people in line, just don’t order, and wait until after your class instead. It normally saves time to wait in line if there are a lot of people waiting on Tapingo.
6. Regardless of the fact that there are many people living on campus, Cal Lutheran should be considered a commuter campus because so many people go home on the weekends. When originally coming to our campus it seemed like there were so many people walking around campus. No one would have ever thought that it could be a ghost town on the weekends, but it is. Many students live close by so it is easy for them to go home on the weekends. The first weekend of school was so dead it looked as though there was an evacuation of Thompson Hall. News flash, that’s how it always is. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just plan accordingly if you plan on hanging out with a bunch of friends on the weekend because chances are they won’t be around.
7. Reserve a room at the library if you need some extra space and silence.
The library has many amenities that go unused and need more recognition. There are 3 rooms towards the back of the library that you can reserve for up to 2 hours. There is a screen that you can hook your computer up to and as well as a whiteboard. You can check out whiteboard markers at the Circulation Desk. Click on the picture above to follow the link to reserve rooms! However if a study room is not available, try the student union. Those are on a first come first serve basis, so get there early in the day to get a great room.
8. Freshman can’t get into upperclassmen dorms and vice versa. Good luck trying to get into Grace if you have friends in there because you aren’t getting in. As a safety measure, some of the halls aren’t accessible to freshman and upperclassmen. If you have to be in one of the restricted halls for whatever reason, don’t forget to plan around that.
9. Print in the Student Union. This year, printers were added in the student union. This will save you so much time. You don’t have to run all the way to the library to print something before class, now you only have to walk a little bit past the Mount Clef Hall. How convenient! Plus there aren’t many people trying to print there in comparison to the library.
10. Use the search bar when looking for classes.
If you’re every having difficulty with finding a class that would satisfy a specific requirement, use the search bar circled in the picture above. Once you click on the search bar, all the classes satisfying the requirement will be shown on the page. This search bar can be seen in all your required courses. If you ever have this problem, here’s the solution!
11. Check out the Rams! This is completely specific to campus, but you can catch the Rams practicing if you go down Mt. Clef Blvd road on a run or walk. It is surreal to see them get some practice during the off season even though there is a fence in the way. Also learn the names of the players! There have been personal sightings of Jared Goff at Target and other players. Stay on the lookout!
This is what we learned throughout our freshmen year that we thought was important enough to share with our peers.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Her Campus Cal Lutheran