School

20 Things You Only Understand If You Go To Elon University

Another family member asking about your school leads to another explanation of the “small private school in North Carolina”. While most of your friends are attending schools with recognizable names, attending Elon University can seem like it’s in its own bubble. However, you never feel like you’re missing out, because Elon has it’s own specialty of things to offer with friends who understand. These are 20 things only students who go to Elon University will relate to!

1. You’re accustomed to the train and minor earthquakes every hour.

Living in Historic neighborhood has its perks of the freshman year experience, but has the downside of living essentially on top of the train tracks. In your first month, you are frequently awoken by the shaking of the windows and grumbling of the train. But, by the end of the year, you barely notice!

2. Every girl in every class is wearing pearls.

There is an unwritten dress code for the population of Elon females. Wearing your biggest pair of pearl earrings might as well define your social status. Although the men may not notice, the women will never forget to put on their earrings in the morning.

3. Greek Week gets more competitive than most sporting events.

Training for hours, costume planning, and team spirit are just a few of the things needed for Greek Week. The men and women of Fraternity and Sorority Life treat Greek Week Dance as more than a competition. Indicated by the roaring chapters in the audience, and the hard dedication by the dancers, Greek Week Dance is arguably more popular than some of the sports games.

4. There is enough sorority apparel to clothe the whole Elon population.

Name an excuse for a new comfort colors sorority hoodie, and it’s made within weeks. If you’re not wearing a summer dress and Jack Rodgers, chances are you’re wearing your letters, loud and proud.

5. Smith Jackson emails are more consistent than your hook-ups.

Dr. Smith Jackson, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, served Elon students for 24 years. Although his dedication to the student community is admirable, the amount of emails in our inbox is slightly excessive, but consistent enough to not be surprising.

6. 11 am study session followed by 10 pm beer.

“Sorry mom, I’m at The Oak House,” can mean two different things. Your coffee shop is also a bar which has its positives and negatives. Make sure to get your evening studying done before the wine testing crowd crams in!

7. Free Pelicans on campus can turn your day around.

The only thing better than going down the street to Pelican’s SnoBalls, is Pelican’s coming to you. There is nothing more refreshing than walking out of your 12:15 class on a hot Elon day to a Pelican’s stand outside.

8. You’ve been to Late Night in a variety of clothing options.

One night you crawl out of bed for some waffles in your sweats, another night you’re on your way home in muddy frat shoes and a tight tank top. Regardless of your clothing of choice, Late Night seems to always hit the spot for a midnight craving.

9. You’ve stolen a brick at one point.

Somewhere along the line, someone told you about the Elon tradition of stealing a brick. Chances are, you walked home in the dark with a brick during your freshman year, and woke up Saturday morning with a plethora of bricks missing from the sidewalk.

10. You’ve been woken up by a lawn mower.

Part of Elon’s appeal comes from the perfectly groomed grass. The grass is so perfect that people joke that Elon paints the grass green. The only downside to having a beautiful campus is being woken up at 7 am from the lawn mower.

11. You have a personal relationship with the dining hall workers.

One of the many perks of going to a small school is the relationships you can build with your professors. When you came to Elon, you didn’t expect the dining hall workers to know you so well. However, you quickly realize how personal you got with them when you miss your favorite worker over breaks.

12. What you witness of Smith Hall never fails to impress you.

Rowdy freshman boys co-habitating under a single roof sounds like trouble. But, it’s not until you walk past the all boys dorm to see items thrown out the window that you realize you underestimated their amount of trouble.

13. There’s nothing quite like Club Belk during finals.

The likelihood that you’ve been a member of Club Belk during the most frantic studying hours is high. After establishing a routine in the library first semester, you suddenly become panicked after half the school floods the library during finals season, stealing your unspoken designated seat on third floor.

14. Hanging Rock Instagram Season

It’s a warm day in April as you scroll through endless Instagram pictures of people hanging off of a rock. If you go to Elon, you understand the season for Hanging Rock and sorority sisters in backwards caps!

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15. The Secret Life of the Elon Squirrels

As a student at Elon University, you either love the squirrels or hate them. If anything, the trees and squirrels offer a sense of Elon University familiarity after returning from tropical spring break beaches filled with sand and fish.

16. Did someone say Rip Chord?

So, you never knew you were into a cappella until your big sent Rip Chord to perform at your bedside during big little week. From then on, you couldn’t pass up stopping to hear Rip Chord sing, even for just 2 minutes on your way to class.

17. Elon fountains have more Instagram likes than a selfie does.

If you’re being completely honest, the beauty of the Elon campus influenced your decision. When your Instagram feed isn’t covered in Hanging Rock photos, it’s likely that the crystal blue fountains scattered throughout Elon are the focal-point of the day.

18. “Right outside of Boston.”

Before coming to Elon, you never expected to hear this saying from almost everyone in your first day of class icebreakers. Now, you have gotten to the point of finishing the phrase after meeting that boy in Vineyard Vines and slacks sitting next to you.

19. Vineyard Vines vs. Elon spirit gear

Pastels and prints are more popular around campus than maroon and gold. If you go to Elon, you’ll understand that $50 seems to go towards more polos than jersey Elon shirts.

20. Majority of the traffic on East Haggard Avenue is from Ubers.

The amount of students crossing from Historic Neighborhood to Lakeside dining hall is endless, especially around lunch time. The only thing that can beat this continuous flow of traffic is the amount of Ubers around campus.

Are there any other things only Elon University students will understand!? Share in the comments below!

Featured Image: weheartit

Emma Bareihs

Sophomore at Elon University, I come from a military family. I have a passion for traveling and learning about new cultures. My appreciation for different people around the globe is growing, and something that I look forward to building upon through self exploration.

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