How Tulane Is Decorating For The Holiday Season

Guest blogger: Alex Williams

Winter break is near, and for many Tulane students that means celebrating Christmas or other winter holidays. Despite the 75°+ temperatures last week, it is still winter, and Tulane is celebrating it.








This year, Chanukah fell during the Thanksgiving break instead of closer to Christmas, so many students were here to celebrate it. The Chabad here at Tulane even set up a giant menorah in front of the LBC.

The rest of the campus is getting into the seasonal spirit, altough a bit more quietly. The sophomore honors dorm, Weatherhead (AKA SoHo) is decorated inside and out like a winter wonderland. Within my own dorm, Josephine-Louise, many girls have decorated their room doors to celebrate the holidays.

  

On behalf of myself and my friends in the admissions office, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Follow me on Twitter for some of my holiday adventures! @TulaneAlex

10 Things We'll Miss About Tulane This Holiday Break

Guest Blogger: Walker Daniel

WOOHOO! Whether you are on your last day of finals or have already packed your suitcase, home is just around the corner. I can almost smell the hot apple cider and hear the nagging of my siblings. For many of us, it has been almost four months since we’ve seen our hometown: our family and friends, our old stomping grounds… Heck, it’s been months since we’ve slept in the comfort of our own bed! As much as we are looking forward to going back, we’ve got to admit that Tulane is also our home. You can’t just ignore the place you live 9 months out of the year! So as we say hello to our “home” home, we also say goodbye to our “school” home. Here are some things we’ll all miss this coming month:

1.  Tulane Cats: They’re just like our pets at home – minus all of the actual care. We see them, and they are cute. We pet them, and they purr. However, we do not spend our time cleaning their litter box or spooning questionable smelling cat food into their dinner bowls.

 

One of the famous "Tulane Cats" lounges around the Academic Quad

2.  How acceptable it is to eat microwaveable foods: If I walked to my kitchen at home, pulled out an Easy Mac, and preceded to microwave it and shovel it into my mouth… my mother might kill me. But walking around my hall at 11am with a Cup-O-Noodles? Totally acceptable.

3.  Warm weather: This is a courteous reminder that the average daily temperature lately in New Orleans has been about 60 degrees. Though this may feel like the artic to us, the harsh truth is that wherever you are going (unless it’s Florida) is going to be much, much colder.

4.  Bruff: You might say, “Haha, well, I’m sure happy to go home to some home-cooked food!” Think again, my friends. Bruff is like a fully stocked refrigerator; you can always find something that is satisfying. Even if it comes down to cereal or salad… there is a fabulous array of brand name cereal and a full salad bar. I don’t know about you, but my cupboard at home isn’t stocked with Cap’n Crunch, Reeses Pieces AND Lucky Charms. Trust me, around the second week home, when the novelty of you being home vanishes from your moms mind… you’ll miss it.

Make-Your-Own-Cupcake day at Bruff, Tulane's dining hall

5.  The Boot: Just kidding. I’m sure we can all use a break.

6.  Everything being in walking distance: There is no better motivator to go to the gym than knowing it is less than a 5 minute walk from your dorm. Good luck with your workouts over break, everyone.

7.  The Faculty and Staff: People are so nice here. Whether it be your professors, the Bruff workers, the maintenance people, the people who drive SafeRide… It is rare to find such smiley people all in one place.

8.  Wavebucks: If you didn’t run out of Wavebucks a month ago (if you did, you are not alone), you will miss getting endless food and drink with you student ID card. It’s funny, it doesn’t quite seem like real money, as is with a debit card. “Wavebucks, please” is such an easy, simple, phrase for those late nights at Mac Mart or splurge lunches at the LBC.

9.  Saying “Y’all”: As a southern school, we pretend we can actually say “y’all.” If you are not from the south… please do not try this at home.

10.   Friends: The real reason we come to college. We’ll miss the all-nighters in the common rooms, the 3 hour long meals at Bruff, the movie nights in, the silly nights out, the jokes that have accumulated over the past 4 months… That’s what we’ll miss. 

A group of students goof off with their professors

But don’t fret, 3 and a half weeks will pass more quickly than you think! Enjoy your time at home, and sooner than you know, you’ll be right back home.

Follow @TulaneWalker on Twitter for some hilarious (in her opinion) insight into life as a freshman at Tulane!

The Best Study Spots

Guest Blogger: Sarah Swig

It's finals time at Tulane, which for many students means hours upon hours stuck in the library. Lots of reading, studying, calculating, and writing. This can be tiring and often boring, and I find that the library is often too stressful for me. All I see around me are people studying, so it helps me to study off campus during finals. I like to be surrounded by other people who aren't students because it gives me some perspective that there is life outside of my exams and school, and these people are often happier than those in the library. I also have an easier time focusing when there is a little background noise and when I am surrounded by my friends. I feel much more relaxed when I'm able to work off campus, and it's fun to be able to take mini breaks with my friends to chat over coffee. Plus, most coffee shops nearby have good sandwiches and salads, which allows me to stay in one place for a longer period of time. Studying off campus is a great way to become more immersed in New Orleans and meet other locals. I've compiled a list of my favorite study places off campus - they all have great coffee drinks and free wifi.

bagel and coffee!

Cafe Luna is my go-to. The manager is so nice, and they have the BEST iced drinks. They specially brew their iced coffee, give good discounts on refills, and have fresh baked goods every day. There is a room in the back that is perfect for studying: it is a little quieter from the main room, and the artwork on the walls changes nearly every time I go. The patio out front is BEAUTIFUL and it is a great place to study and chat when the weather is nice. It's less than two miles from campus - and is conveniently located right next to Whole Foods!

Cafe Luna 

my favorite little mug!

I also love to study at Zots Cafe. This place is much more hip and eclectic than Cafe Luna, and is very different from your normal coffee shop. Zots has three rooms - the front room has tables, couches, and chess boards, and the back two rooms are more suited for studying. There is a funky collection of furniture, and no single chair or table is the same. There are tons of books for coffee drinkers to read as they hang out at Zots, other fun games for people to play, and lots of quirky artwork and decoration on the walls. It's probably not a place I'd bring my mom to grab coffee, but I love studying here. Their cups are fun, vibes are good, and it's great place for people watching. It's on Oak Street which is really close to campus - easily walkable. 

The Inside of Zots.

Manhattan Jack is a perfect place for those of you who love sweets! It is a bakery with soooooo many good desserts (I actually got my birthday cake from there!). They also have huge sandwiches that are yummy, and I love their lattes. It's very spacious and they play really good music (lots of Bon Iver). Manhattan Jack is a little further from campus (about two miles) - but it's right next to the Prytania Theatre, which is a single-screen movie theatre that plays both current and old movies on a rotating basis!

see how good those sweets look?

Finally, Village Coffee is a place my friends and I frequent. It is a much more traditional coffee shop. There's a big downstairs and an upstairs room that is nearly silent, which is perfect for when I really need to get something done.









There are tons of other coffee shops and restaurants which are great study spots around campus, but these are some of my favorites. I have spent the majority of my days at these places for the past week, and am so happy to be done with my exams!! Happy studying to those of you who aren't yet done yet, good luck!! At least you have it better than these snowmen.

Follow me @Tulane_Sarah for more scoop on student life.