Small College Core

Being in college has its quirks. Being at a small college is even quirkier. There are things about a small college that bigger universities don’t have. In all honesty, I love it, and I am sad I can’t experience it forever. 

Bonaventure itself has its own niches and quirks that I love telling my friends who go to other schools about. 

My favorite niche about Bonaventure is the family aspect of it. This one is experienced both on and off campus. Once you have arrived at Bonaventure, you are thrown into one big, happy family. Current students, staff, and alumni welcome you with open arms. 

I notice this the most on campus while I give tours to prospective families. Someone stops and says hi to me at least five times during the hour-long tour. Sometimes it’s my peers and sometimes it’s my freshman-year English professor — you never know. 

Off-campus is another story. Sometimes I like to flaunt my Bonaventure gear even when I’m not on campus, as one does. Almost every time I do this, someone comes up to me about it. I once got stopped in my local Wegmans by an alumni who was so excited because he saw someone currently going to Bonaventure. 

Another niche about Bonaventure I love happens when the weather is nice outside. 

Bonaventure doesn’t have a student quad, but has a lot of open, grassy areas near the on-campus townhouses and some of the residence halls. Once it hits at least 50 degrees in our little college town of Olean, NY, everyone is in those grassy areas. 

People play spikeball, baseball, and catch. Others sunbathe, do their homework outside, or use the grill in the Devereux Hall pavilion. I love that once the sun comes out — which isn’t too often here after October — everyone decides to be outside with it. 

Okay, now for the quirks. These quirks may make you think Bonaventure is full of crazy people, but they are actually so full of love and sometimes kind of funny. My favorite quirk is the bike parked in front of the School of Business. 

One of the theology professors likes to ride his bike everywhere to be eco-friendly. The quirky thing about it is that the professor made the bike equipped for Western New York weather. It has this blue cover over it that stays on while he rides it with stickers all over it. It’s so cute and quirky. 

There are so many other quirks and niches about Bonaventure I love so much, so let’s do a rapid-fire: 

• Pretty Gary’s “Bona Chick”
• Lake Plassmann
• Squirrels 
• Haunted Devereux Hall
• The Lady with a Golden Retriever that Wears Rainboots and Has a Flashlight
• “Walk of Shame” to Central Receiving
• Speed Bumps Behind the Reilly Center
• Basketball Games
• Captain Beer
• “Piano Man” at The Burton
• Cart City Hot Dogs
• Venita at Café La Verna
• Javi’s Wraps and Sandwiches
• And Electric Scooters

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• entertainment
• love
• niches
• quirks
• small college