20 Things Every Stony Brook Student Should Know

Seawolves, we all know college can be rough, but that doesn’t mean it has to be impossible! I wish I had realized certain things sooner — seriously, I could’ve saved myself so much trouble! Make sure you’re in on these major game-changers to make college life for every Stony Brook student so much easier!

1. Pick up a free copy of the New York Times every day in the Library Commuter Lounge.

If you’re a Journalism major at SBU, you’ll become way too familiar with the New York Times *cough* weekly news quizzes *cough*. If you don’t want to pay for a subscription, pick up a fresh paper in the Commuter Lounge. You can also get the paper in the Tabler Center on Tabler Quad!

2. Wolfie Wallet is accepted at some off-campus locations.

Short on cash? Use Wolfie Wallet at off-campus locations like McDonald’s and Domino’s. While you’re at it, you can also order Domino’s and Papa John’s straight to your residence hall (they have online options for college campuses)!

3. Munch on $2 Burritos starting at 10 p.m. every night.

Who doesn’t love cheap eats? I love getting burritos for $2 because it’s a real meal plan saver! You can choose from great toppings like guac, salsa, cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, and more, and you get chicken, beef, shrimp, or vegetables. There’s more to choose from, but I’ll let you see for yourself when you go there!

4. West Side Dining is open until 3 a.m.

Good news for lovers of post-midnight snacking: If you need a protein bar, a bag of cookies, ice cream, and even pretzels and hummus, you can confidently head over to West Side Dining’s Grab and Go. There’s always so many snacks to choose from, so you’ll definitely fulfill any late night cravings you have.

5. There’s a Pharos Release station in the Library Commuter Lounge.

No need to wait in long lines just to use the printer in the main Sinc Site in the library. Not too many people realize that there’s a printer in the Commuter Lounge. When I found this out, this printer became my go-to for quick print jobs before class.

6. You can find student employment opportunities on Handshake.

There are so many opportunities for students to work part-time on campus. You can get jobs as a Starbucks barista, student assistant in the UGC centers, and much more by logging into the job search portal, Handshake, using your NetID and password. Handshake is, without a doubt, a super easy way for you to find opportunities.

7. Hall Council starts at 10 p.m. every Tuesday.

Looking for a fun way to make friends, stay updated on everything that’s happening in your building, and even get to know your RAs better? You need to make sure you’re at Hall Council every week!

8. There are six undergraduate colleges at Stony Brook.

HDV, you’re totally awesome, but you aren’t the only UGC on campus! There’s also SSO (Science and Society), ITS (Information and Technology Studies), GLS (Global Studies), LDS (Leadership and Service), and ACH (Arts, Culture, and Humanities). Oh, by the way, HDV stands for Human Development.

9. The Suffolk County bus service to the Smith Haven Mall is free for students on the weekends.

Exploring the Smithton area is a fun pastime for Seawolves on the weekends. Luckily, you can take the Suffolk County bus to the mall, and to Trader Joe’s, for free! Make sure you check the schedule beforehand! The bus stops running back to campus after 7 p.m., so you need to plan ahead.

10. Feeling unsafe walking somewhere on campus at night? Call RSP.

RSP, or Residential Safety Program, is made up of a team of SBU students who try to keep campus safe by walking in teams and making sure no one is in danger. If it’s late at night and you want to walk back to your dorm but you feel threatened, call RSP and they’ll send over a team of students to walk with you.

11. Quad offices close at 5 p.m. and aren’t open on the weekends!

So if you have any dorm room questions or issues that you need resolved, make sure you visit the office before 5 p.m..The staff is really helpful and you’ll pretty much always walk away either with your problem solved or the information needed to start solving your issue.

12. The Dunkin’ Donuts in the Tabler Center is only open at some…odd hours…

For starters, it’s open Mondays-Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and then from 5:30 p.m. to midnight. Those are the same hours on Sundays, but it’s closed on Fridays and Saturdays. There have been many times when I just wanted a big cup of affordable iced coffee, but thought twice about making the trip to Tabler because the hours didn’t work in my favor.

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13. Want to gain experience in emergency response?

Join the Stony Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps. (SBVAC) or the Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT). SBVAC allows students to gain valuable experience as volunteer EMTs, and C-CERT trains students in comprehensive emergency response — fire safety, hazmat, crowd control, etc. They’re great ways to build team skills while gaining experience!

14. The Jasmine food court in the Wang Center closes at 8 p.m. everyday.

So don’t walk all the way to the Wang Center at 7:50 p.m. thinking you’ll get some sushi or bubble tea, or warm samosas. I know, disappointing, but at least you’ll save a trip now!

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15. Get your parking pass from the Admin building.

When you reach junior standing (at least 57 credits) you can bring a car on campus even if you’re not a commuter student. Make sure you get your parking pass as soon as possible, because you’d only be allowed to park in certain parking lots on campus.

16. Need to get from the South P Parking Lot to campus? Use the Express Bus.

For which there always seems to be super long lines!

17. The Outer Loop bus also takes you to the LIRR Station.

If you don’t want to wait on the Railroad Route, hop on the Outer Loop from the SAC. Just keep in mind that it might take you a bit longer on the Outer Loop since it waits at the SAC for about five minutes.

18. Sign up for free fitness classes at the Rec Center using the IMLeagues online portal.

Like most other things, you just need to use your NetID and password. Registration is super easy and it’s recommended that you sign up before you attend the class, since some classes fill up really quickly (because they’re so AWESOME).

19. Psst…the Central Reading Room in the Library also has CoLAs!

CoLAs are great for when you need to do group work on a computer. The booths are positioned in such a way that every group member can see the computer screen. I had no idea that there was a CoLA in the CRR (I thought those were exclusive to the North Reading Room). Make sure you make a reservation first on the library website!

20. The only right angles in the Javits Lecture Center are the doors!

Just a quick, quirky fun fact! But yes, it’ true — there are no other right angles in Javits, including the lecture halls! Javits is also pretty special because it has some of the largest lecture halls (over 500 seats!) on campus.