9 Things Every SJU Student Should Know

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Hey fellow Johnnies! It’s me again, your friendly neighborhood St. John’s senior; I’m here to impart my all-knowing wisdom upon the masses. Just kidding! I’m here to teach you all about some stuff I learned maybe even just last semester! Nonetheless, whether it’s about to be your first semester or you’re nearing your last semester on the Queens campus, here are 9 things you definitely should know about SJU.

1. Different gates have different rules.

First things first: you need to know how to get here. During the day, university gates 1-8 have open access to students, staff, and people in the neighborhood who like to use our running track. You don’t need your StormCard to swipe into these gates until later on in the evening, and it varies by gate. Gate 7 closes after 7 PM with no way for re-entry, and don’t try jumping the gate or turnstile because Public Safety will be on you faster than fast. Gates 1 and 6 will be the only gates available for student entry after 11 PM for which you will need your StormCard. All other gates at that time will be non-accessible. So, don’t forget your StormCard!

2. Dining Hall hours are not universal.

The other kind of gate, your mouth, needs nourishment at all times of the day, whether it’s 1 PM or 1 AM. The various places to eat on campus run on different schedules. Montgoris Dining Hall opens at 7 AM and closes at 10 PM Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, it closes at 7 PM. During the weekend Monty’s is open 11 AM to 7 PM with meal exchange available at The Marketplace. During the school week, The Marketplace generally opens around noon and closes at about 3 AM. The Red Storm Diner also closes at 3 AM, but opens at 8 PM and only accepts “premium” meal swipes, Flex Dollars, cash and card. Marillac Café is open from 11 AM to 7:30 PM, only available for lunch and dinner. Dunkin’ at Marillac is open for meal exchange on weekends at 7 AM on Saturday and 11 AM on Sunday. Meal exchange and cash/credit end at 3 PM on weekends. DAC food court is open for lunch and dinner from 11 AM to 10 PM and takes meal exchange for those with meal plans up until 10.

3. The Marketplace is painfully over priced.

Once I had a craving for gummy bears and they were $4. It was terrible because I got 3 packages.

4. You don’t need your StormCard to get into every building.

You’ll definitely need it to get into your dorm, gain access to our fitness center and it will be checked at DAC after 11 PM if you’re still there.

5. But you do need your StormCard for a lot of other things.

Paying for meals, using the university printers, making an appointment at the laptop shop, getting tickets for special events and going to Campus concierge all require that you swipe your StormCard. Many on-campus activities that offer MVP points also need to see student ID.

6. Campus Concierge is only open Monday through Friday.

Additionally, they’re only open from 9 AM to 6 PM. They offer discounted movie tickets and packages, cheap Broadway show tickets and MetroCards. You can’t get on any of the subway bound buses without money on your Metro, so be sure to pick one up there. They only take cash and offer MetroCard sums of $5 or $20.

7. Get your MVP points.

The cool part about being a “most valuable player” at SJU is that if you go to events you’re going to go to anyway, such as classes at the gym, Tip Off, Java Johnnies, Spring Carnival and when the therapy dogs come pre-finals, you’ll receive “point values” for each event attended by swiping your StormCard, which you can later redeem for things like SJU t-shirts and beach towels. What college student doesn’t love free stuff? (“Free” meaning “thanks to your tuition.”)

8. Get the free stuff.

All the MVP point events have free everything from food to school supplies to apparel. Grab it for yourself, if you don’t want it give it to a friend, or even regift it. Nobody ever has to know!

9. Don’t lose your StormCard!

You’ll lose access to your dorm, buildings, printing, and a lot else when you do. It’s $25 for the first replacement, $50 for the second, $75 for the third and $100 from the fourth replacement on for forever. As someone who, if she loses her StormCard this semester, is about to pay one hundred big ones to replace something she has found TWO copies of at home, don’t lose it. The worst part of losing and replacing your StormCard is that even if you find the lost one and want Public Safety to re-activate it to remove the charge of your replacement from your term bill, there is no way whatsoever for them to return the status of your original StormCard and take off the $25 charge for the newer one.