I’m not a BU expert (especially considering I’m a freshman), but I do give tours in which you get flooded with information to give to prospective students, and I also like to explore campus. Through this, I’ve gathered some thoughts on the vibes that random places give me. No shade is intended–I love this school, but I’m going to try to put these vibes into words for you. Enjoy!
- The 5th floor of CAS (aka the Astronomy Department)
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This is the kind of place that has the same vibe as when someone is talking about something you don’t really understand, and you just nod and agree. You don’t really know about this area until you have to. I took a class on the 5th floor during spring semester, and I really had to search for how to get there before the first day of class. Neither the stairs nor the main elevators go straight there—that would be too easy.
- The COM Lounge
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I actually really like the COM lounge. The orange chairs with wheels on the bottom kind of give it a 70s style living/family room vibe, but I think it adds to the welcoming feel of the place. It has a nice level of chatter (unlike some other college study areas), but it’s not so loud that it’s difficult to get work done. Want a snack? There are vending machines right there! The COM Lounge feels like those art prints or cross-stitches that say “It’s not a house, it’s a home.”
- The FitRec Lazy River
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When I toured BU, one of the things I distinctly remember was a lazy river being mentioned. I had the idea of those resort-style lazy rivers in my head when I was applying, but it’s honestly more of a lazy pond–“I want it that way, but I got it this way” vibes. Plus I’m not even sure if the lazy pond is open to actual students. No shade to FitRec because everything else is awesome, but I feel deceived.
- The Bay State Brownstones but They’re Actually Professors’ Offices
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I give tours for BU, and the selection of brownstones mixed with offices on Bay State is always strange to describe. One minute you’re walking past people’s dorms and specialty housing, and then suddenly it’s some office or the Pardee School of Global Studies. All the actual office buildings honestly feel hidden. I’ll be talking about one of them (as an example) on my tours, but they’re so easy to miss or confuse that I’ll walk right past them. I have no idea which brownstones are dorms and which are offices half of the time.
- The Kenmore Classroom Building
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This building is BARELY mentioned by anyone. It’s almost like BU decided to buy it, but never even really wanted it. It’s just extra space that people walk by on their way to Marciano Dining Hall or the Yawkey Center and don’t really know anything about. I couldn’t even find any pictures of it on BU social media. It also looks like a stereotypical high school on the inside…like high school met college. The chairs and desks are set up in the same way that your senior year math classroom probably was.
Maybe you feel the same way about some of these areas on BU’s campus, and maybe some of you feel differently, but these thoughts and vibes are just what I’ve gained from my freshman year at BU. As much as all these places have strange vibes, I can’t wait to be back at BU and experiencing all of them :,) Stay safe, Terriers!
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