This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Siena chapter.

An acronymically, simple and alphabetical way to break down what you may experience as a “Siena Saint.”

A: Air. Siena Air. You have a love/hate relationship with the campus wifi. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

B: Bernie, our beloved school mascot. This St. Bernard will have more energy in that heavy and warm costume than you ever will on any amount of caffeine.

C: Casey’s is a new food option that just opened last semester. From the traditional grill menu to the relaxed coffee shop options, you can order anything from noodle bowls to veggie burgers. You can even try one of their new specialty sandwiches in the coffee shop section!

D: Dog Pound, the unlimited season pass for students to go to Siena Basketball games! With free transportation to the Times Union Center, filled with school spirit, joining is definitely a wise investment.

E: Education of a lifetime — the school’s motto. Some may think that this slogan comes across as cheesy, but your experience at Siena is what you make of it. Take advantage of the small school we attend and do undergraduate research through CURCA, take on internships and build connections.

F: FREE. The sweet sound of harmony to every college student’s ears. Say this word and the entire campus will magically appear.

G: Green and Gold — our school’s colors. Stop by the SSU Thursdays and wear one of these for your chance to spin the Student Activities wheel and win prizes!

H: the campuswide Hawk that flies all over campus. If you go to Siena, you’ve seen the Siena Hawk, or at least have heard of it. There are even customized tank tops about the hawk! The Siena Hawk is rare to capture on film but luckily, I was able to snap one. Check out our Instagram for the picture!

I: Invitation. “This is an invitation.. An invitation..” If you were at freshman orientation, you remember what this is. & you can never forget it.

J: Just one more episode of Netflix. …it’s never just one more.

K: Kan Jam — the unofficial sunny day sport at every college.

L: Lonnstrom Dining Hall, the combination of an all day buffet and a study session capital. Yeah, I’m not used to calling it this either but this is the official name of our main dining hall.

M: Meal Plans. Whether you’re dosed up on Dining Dollars or have unlimited swipes, you’ve got to love being able to get food without spending your pocket money.

N: New Hall aka Snyder Hall. Another building name change on campus we’ll have to get used to!

O: Organizations and clubs. Our campus has plenty of them! From club sports like Rugby (both men’s AND women’s), Hockey and Ultimate Frisbee to academic based or student life based clubs, you can certainly find your niche.

P: Public Safety. When the campus gets a new officer, it’s big news.

Q: the Quad outside of the library, aka the home of plenty of fun-filled events throughout the school year such as Siena Fest events, Winter Weekend activities and more! When there isn’t a school-wide event, the quad is the perfect place to socialize, catch up on some homework and enjoy the sun.

R: two words, one stress filled building. Roger. Bacon. You are most likely going to find yourself pulling an allnighter here a time or two. Or 7.

S: S-I-E-N-A. With a combination of the individual attention of a small college and the wicked intensity of school spirit (with a number of Siena songs/chants) it can be a blast being a “Siena Saint.”

T: Townhouses — the highlight or complete downfall of a night out; You wait 4 years to have the chance to live in one and when you finally do, you secretly miss not having to cook and not having to leave the building to take care of daily tasks (i.e. laundry, garbage disposal, socialization, etc).

U: “UGHHH, another email! Oh wait, it’s the Student Digest..” You get sick of all of the emails you get on a daily basis but this one is a helpful summary of everything that’s currently going on.

V: Volunteering. As a Franciscan institution, there are endless opportunities to give back and serve the community. Stop by the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy to find out how you can help!

W: Weekends. When the townhouses don’t seem appealing, Siena Night Life offers fun and free events every weekend for students on campus. Winter Weekend is coming up and events such as ice skating, a semi-formal dance and a concert will be held on campus.

X: Xtreme amount of eXams which will result in an eXponential amount of stress. Finals week coming up = borderline caffeine overdose.

Y: Yik Yak. An app that serves as a shared outlet for humor, daily struggles and confessions that only Siena students would understand.

Z: zZzZz.. which is what you’ll be doing a lot of at the end of the semester when you can finally kick back and relax.

The ABCs of Siena Life

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