Saratoga Springs
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Location
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs,NY Arguably one of the most vibrant and dynamic small cities in the USA. It has a real healthy upscale downtown and is a world class summer destination, drawing crowds of thousands every year at the Saratoga Racetrack. Adding to Saratoga's appeal is the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), which hosts everything from opera and symphony orchestra concerts to bands such as Korn and Dir en Grey, as well as Dave Matthews Band, a staple of the summer season since the band's inception. It is also not only the place where Don McLean wrote American Pie, but the place where he first performed it (in Cafe Lena, just a block from where the students take their weekly town trip).
The Dorms
The girls' dorms, Howe-Rounds, are air conditioned, but the guys' dorms, Wilmarth, are not. Wilmarth, where most guys sleep, overheats tremendously. Bring a fan. For Howe-Rounds, bring a heavy wool blanket, as the thermostats are broken if they are installed at all, and it can get cold.
Each year, one floor of Howe and Rounds houses boys, while the other floors and all of Howe house girls. Each room is built for either one or two people. Many people complain that the mattresses feel like rocks and squeak too much.
The dorms are also extremely nice, with Howe-Rounds featuring window seats (Wilmarth has window seats as well, but not having been in a Howe-Rounds room, I can't say whether they're the same or not, although from the outside it looks like it) and suite-style dorms, with a shared bathroom (1 for every 3 rooms). Wilmarth has 1 bathroom for every 6 people.
Due to renovations of Wilmarth in 2008, the boys were relocated to McClellan. This was not much improvement, as McClellan did not have air conditioning either. They did, however, have rooms that could be unlocked with the swipe of a card instead of a key. As of 2009, Wilmarth has card-key entry identical to the systems in McClellan.
The Food
Students eat in the Murray Dining Hall.
Pizza, pasta and salad are served everyday along with many other food items, ranging from chicken parmesan to Chinese food, which are different at each meal. Cereal, pancakes are waffles are served for breakfast. Coffee, flavored or unflavored water, soymilk, gatorade and many types of soda are available at every meal. The desserts, including chocolate cake and lemon mousse, change day to day, but ice cream is always available. Specially made Kosher and Vegetarian meals are also available.
In 2006, the dining hall was undergoing major renovation. Students ate in Case Center, where students register on the first day. The waffle iron and soft-serve machine were chronically broken.
In 2007, the dining hall reservations were finally complete. Aikens was beautified, and there is now cheese on the ceiling.There are separate little booths, a much coveted round table behind Emily's Garden,etc. The new plate cleaning system makes use of Tim Perry's so-called Alice in Wonderland holes which are about as non-Alice-in-Wonderland-esque as you can get. The quality of food had improved enormously, but the slight decrease in space caused the staff to set up a staggered breakfast system, where halls took turns having breakfast in certain time slots. This system was abolished in 2008, and now students can eat breakfast whenever they want. But, in 08.2 there was a staggered lunch system, where eating times were organized through classes; one or two classes would be in the cafeteria at the same time. The staggered lunches were organized in 30 minute periods. A staggered lunch system was used at 09.1 as well, with an hour for lunch but classes arriving and leaving at 15 minute intervals so that it was only full for a short period of time.
The Days
- Second Monday- Naughty Catholic School Girl Day
- Second Tuesday- Love Tape Day
- Second Wednesday- Crossdressing Day/Gender Bender Day/Drag Day
- Third Monday (or Second Friday)- Pajama Day
- July 1st (session 1)/August 1st (session 2)- Slap Your Own Ass Day (Appreciate Your Own Donkey Day)
- July 2nd (session 1)/August 2nd (session 2)- Slap Someone Else's Ass Day (Appreciate Someone Else's Donkey Day) (Be prepared for the "Sexual Harassment talk" should you participate)
- Last Thursday- End of the World Day/Towel Day (You wear a towel- based on Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy)
New additions (session 1 only) to "The Days" are:
- Clash Day = Third Wednesday (Replaced Goth/Emo/Rina Day)
- [s]Goth/Emo Day- Last Tuesday (Dress like a goth or emo)[/s]Dead and gone in SAR.09.1.
- Rina Day- (Bex Only Allowed or any "Keane" replacements, and is Third Tuesday as of SAR.09.1)
- Pirate/Andrew Yu Day- Last Thursday (alongside End of the World Day, wear a bandana like a pirate)
The Squirrels
The squirrels on Saratoga campus tend to hang out on the Case patio, where they can often be seen dragging their twisted, wretched little bodies across the ground with their legs splayed out in a disturbing parody of an army crawl. They have been known to bite people going into the Green Mountain Coffee Shop. Yup, the squirrels. They're rabid and violent. They don't walk. They lie on their furry little stomachs and DRAG themselves around. They're known to lunge at visitors and steals and then EAT their cigs. They also jump out of trash cans at people. Don't feed, look at, attempt to chase them, or talk to them.
Traditions
- Nevermore Steals (The new cafeteria doesn't use trays but still has them, so you just need to know where to find them. Most nevermores end up taking the white plates instead, leading to an acute shortage of white plates..)
- Mandatory Fun
- "In the case of (insert random event), how long does it take to get to the top of Jonsson Tower?"
- Clapping when someone breaks a plate (or drops) in the dining hall
- Laser Tag
- Nevermore Shirts
- Nevermore Trays or Plates
- The Last Supper (Breakfast when something goes wrong)
- Nevermore Circle during the last quad time/meatmarket
- Casino night/Lipsynch "contest"
- Talent show
- Carnival
- Snap your fingers while walking across the quad and say to everyone you pass "There's gonna be a rumble tonight"
- Random Acts of Senseless Kindness (RASK)
- Lanyard Swinging
- Duct Tape
- CTYI!
- Monty Python
- The Princess Bride
- Frisbee
- Sunrise
- Passionfruit
- Illegal Sleepovers (ISO's)
- Love Tape
- Varsity Catch (you're the worst!!)
- Dark Side of Oz
- Jon Good loves you
- Marriage Booth
- Rinas and Rinos
- "I like you, I love you, I CTY you"
- "Good night, go home, nobody loves you except Jon Good!" (shouted by nevermores/nomores on the stage [or elevated area] during the last meat market when it's time to go in)
- Free Lee-Kai!
- Quad Time (sometimes referred to as Meet or Meat Market)
- DIPSHIT!!! (session 2 only)
- Fruit (session 2 only)
- Star Tripping / Dizzy races (session 2 only)
- Napkin Eating Contests (no we don't actually eat the napkins)
- Stummy Lays (grass orgies, pregnancy circles)
- CTY-shaped grass orgy
- Butt Wrestling during Passionfruit (session 2 only)
- The Chillin Tree (session 2 only)
- Dib Dib Dib (session 1 only)
- Glowsticking
- Fu-- that Lancaster Sh-- in response to "Orgy" in American Pie (Session 1 is tolerant of "orgy" shouts.)
- Louis Game
- Clap Lines
