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

New to Tulane #new2TU

Guest blogger: Walker Daniel 

I still remember getting my acceptance letter from Tulane. It was the first letter I got – the first assurance that I would actually be going to college. A mere cardstock and important-looking envelope, that acceptance letter made me so happy. I remember giggling like the dweeb I am, then running to knock on my brother and sisters’ doors to let the house know the good news. Getting in to college is an incredibly exciting thing! It is hard work paid off, it is relief, and it is pure excitement.

As a social media intern in the Admissions Office, I have the privilege of receiving the excitement that follows these acceptances. As the season of applying slowly closes and the season of choosing a college rolls in, members of the class of 2018 absolutely love to tweet. Not only tweet, but also instagram, blog, facebook, shout (I’m sure) and basically anything to proclaim their joy. Since I am only a freshman, the college process is still fresh in my mind – and I know I was the proclaimer-of-all-proclaimers. So this year, we’ve been checking out what people are saying about being accepted to Tulane… and I’ve got to say, it puts a huge smile on my face. They have no idea how great their next 4 years will be. Absolutely, totally, completely and utterly unaware of what awaits them here: and it is awesome to see.

Here are just a few of the pumped up kids who got into Tulane this year:

I GOT ACCEPTED TO TULANE IM SCREAMING!!!!
— nikko☽ (@nikko314) November 13, 2013

HI NIKKO CONRATULATIONS!! I wonder if he really was screaming…

I'm got into Tulane University with a $20,000 annual renewable scholarship!!! pic.twitter.com/st7DLsN10u
— Olivia Kaye (@Livvi_dance) November 19, 2013

Here's a Picstitch from Olivia (@Livvi_dance) who also looks pretty happy.

Got into my dream school today and I'm performing on The Voice tomorrow. Ok like what? who's life is this awesome?
— Caroline Pennell (@carolinepennell) November 5, 2013

Is anyone watching The Voice this season? Well, guess who is accepted to Tulane’s Class of 2018!!!



Give a warm welcome to Amelia, who captioned her Instagram picture “Hello, future.” Honestly this is pretty awesome.

ACCEPTED TO TULANE!!! 🎉
— Vicky Lozano (@lickyvozano) November 16, 2013

45 favorites?! I guess it’s pretty deserving… Congratulations Vicky!

@Sammiestrahl also got a surprise… #yum #art #sweet #literally

Got accepted to Tulane with a scholarship. Dats cool. ☺️
— Maddy Snarr (@snarrwhal) November 13, 2013

Of course Maddy, dat is cool.

That’s all that I’m going to put on the blog, but if you’re interested in reading more, follow this link to see more tweets from accepted students!

Follow me on Twitter for more updates on what life is likeas a freshman at Tulane! @TulaneWalker

Bruff Creations You MUST Try

Guest blogger: Walker Daniel

Sometimes, the idea of going to Bruff for the 4th time in a day seems unappealing. However, with Wavebucks dwindling and Boot pizza making us hate our scales, it is often the only option. Day after day, our on-campus dining hall presents us with an amazing salad bar, various hot food options, cereals galore, and cookies to our hearts content: but it’s our third month of school. We’ve already tried every combination at the salad bar, and eaten enough sandwiches for a small army. Never fear, Tulane students - there is more to our on-campus dining hall than meets the eye. 

Entrées

As you already know, Bruff has a wide array of hot foods that change on the daily. Here are a couple things you can try if you’re looking for something new:

Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich

This Bruff Creation takes some time, but it’s definitely worth the wait. First, head on over to the grill and ask for a chicken sandwich. It should take about 10 minutes or so. Once you have your sandwich, sprinkle on some bacon bits from the potato section to the left of the grill. Then head over to the salad bar to top it off with some creamy ranch!

You can also try this with a burger – simply sprinkle the bacon on top and add bleu cheese dressing! You’ve got yourself a black and bleu burger!

Twice Baked Potato

Bruff’s baked potato section is often overlooked, but this option guarantees an awesome meal. Head over to Bruff on Wednesday for Fried Chicken Wednesday, and get yourself some mashed potatoes. Then grab a baked potato, slice it open, and grab a fork to mash up the insides. Then put your mashed potatoes inside of your baked potato along with bacon, shredded cheese, and any other fillings you wish. Then, throw your potato in the microwave for about a minute. When you take it out, top it with some sour cream and chives from the baked potato section, and maybe a little ranch from the salad bar!

Chicken Quesadilla 

Ever craving a little Mexican food? Problem solved! Jump in Bruff’s sandwich line, and ask for a tortilla and chicken. Then, take your wrap and head over to the salad bar. Sprinkle ample amounts of shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla, and then fold it over into a half circle. Head to the Panini presses at the end of the sandwich line and gently lay your quesadilla inside (note: it will take two presses to make your quesadilla). Once the cheese is melted, take your quesadilla over to the baked potato section to grab some sour cream and chives!

You can also make your own grilled cheese from the sandwich line. Just ask for a sandwich with only cheddar cheese. Then head over to the waffle section for a little butter. Butter both sides of your grilled cheese, then put it in the Panini press. When the cheese is melted, voila! You’ve got yourself a grilled cheese without the wait at the grill (grilled cheeses can also be ordered at the grill). Make your grilled cheese and a day that Bruff is serving a tomato soup – what a meal!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

This is a very simple Bruff Creation, but often goes overlooked. Sometimes, we’re just looking for a simple lunch. Well, here you go! Head over the the waffle section and you’ll find a bread cabinet. Take two slices of bread, and lather them in the peanut butter and jelly you’ll find to the left of the bread cabinet. Once your sandwich is made, head over to the pita and hummus section, near the grill, to grab some carrot and celery sticks. On your way to sit down and enjoy your sac lunch, stop at the salad bar for some ranch to dip your veggies in!

Dessert

If you’ve stuffed yourself full of the delicious desserts Bruff offers every day, here are some ideas for a new after-meal snack.

Ice Cream Sandwich

An ice cream sandwich is the perfect dessert that combines all of the treats you could want: cookies, ice cream, and crushed up candy. First, grab two cookies of your choice from the bakery section. Put them on a plate and carry it over to the ice cream. Pick a flavor of your choice, and apply a generous scoop on one cookie – then sandwich it in with the other. Then, pick a topping from the ice cream bar – crushed Butterfinger, Oreos, sprinkles – and put a heaping spoonful on your plate. Roll your ice cream sandwich in the topping so that the topping sticks to the ice cream. Yum!

Rootbeer Float

Sometimes, a trip to City Diner for a rootbeer float seems a little much, and a little costly. Never fear, Bruff has your back! Simply take a cup, and put 3-4 scoops of vanilla ice cream inside. Then, fill the rest of the cup with rootbeer from one of the soda fountains. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

PB & Y: A Healthy Option!

If you’re feeling like you don’t need a dessert, but you’re still craving something sweet, peanut butter and yogurt is the perfect thing for you. Just head over to the yogurt section at the beginning of the salad bar, and put some plain white yogurt on your plate. Cover this in Nature Valley granola, and head over to the waffle section for your peanut butter. After putting a dollop of peanut butter atop your yogurt, drizzle it with honey from the ice cream bar. This also goes really well with a diced up banana on top!

Tiny Tips and Tricks

Here are some smaller tips to help you navigate Bruff:

• Watery pasta sauce? Use the marinara from the breadsticks, near the pizza, to even it out.
• Looking for some sweet for your salad? The cranberries from the yogurt bar offer a sweet topping to a delicious salad.
• If you want an omelet on a weekend morning, get there early! Omelets take time, but they are delicious!
• Try dipping your cookies in a French Vanilla Cappuccino from the Cappuccino maker – to die for!
• Powerade can make an awesome drink! Put ¼ blue Powerade, then fill the cup ¾ full with ice. Then, fill the rest with yellow Powerade and you’ve got yourself a sweet drink!
• Need to eat quick? Avoid going at 11:50 am or around 7:00 pm. These are the times when Bruff is most busy.

That’s all I have for Bruff Creations so far! However, keep in mind the possibilities are endless. Don’t be afraid to try these out, and come up with your own! 

Follow me on Twitter for more updates on what life is like as a freshman at Tulane! @TulaneWalker

Welcome to Tulane (and Hurricane Isaac)

Guest blogger: Samantha Becker

Welcome Week is the week everyone looks forward to all summer long. It is the first week of freshman year, and the excitement is flowing as student after student is moved in and gets ready to embark on the best four years of their life.

My start in school was a little different. Move-in day went as planned, I moved into Butler Hall, the Honors dorm. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too excited to live in Butler at first; after all, it is the Honors dorm and that comes with assumptions about the people who live there. However, a week later I would be proud to call Butler my home for the next 9 months.

The day after move-in came the warning of the hurricane. Most didn’t think too much of it, it would most-likely blow over. The parents that were still in town were worried, but mine were well on their way home to California. All of a sudden, in the next few hours people started to become more worried as more and more warnings were sent out.

Nonetheless, we had our first day of classes Monday, although students who had gone home were told they would not be punished. Jump forward a few hours, and we were getting word that there would be a lock-in until further notice, effective Monday evening. That afternoon my roommate and I ran to the local rite-aid, hoping to stock up on snacks for what would turn into the best 48 hours of freshman year.

While Hurricane Isaac knocked down trees and power lines all over the city, we were safe in Butler. Yes, we had to sleep in the hallway that first night. But the hurricane from the inside was not as scary as it was from the outside. Our parents were frantic, while we happily watched National Treasure and Anchorman with people piled in the lounge and in the doorway. That is, until we lost power. And then we made our own fun; we had a dance party with portable speakers that ran on batteries and played random games. As laptops and phones died, we had to rely on the connections we were making with one another. I can’t tell you how many people I met during those 48 hours. We even had a giant jam session in my room that lasted two hours. It included a saxophone, ukulele, guitar, and drums made out of my calculus textbook. We were hot and the building was full of humidity, but the “nerdy honors” kids in Butler found ways to make fun.

That being said, when the power came on a few days later and we were let out, the feeling was bittersweet. We were sad that our bonding experience was over, that we would again be separated by cellphones and laptops and busy class schedules, but happy that we had amazing memories to look back on. I will never forget the memories Hurricane Isaac gave me, or the friends it led me to make, friends that I still have to this day. I am so happy I got put in Butler. The lock-in allowed me to give the dorm and the people a chance, and I will be forever grateful. I say to this day when I give tours that it doesn’t matter what dorm you are in, what matters are the connections you make with the people in it.

Thanks to the hurricane, it was the most untraditional Welcome Week any school could ever have, and while basically all of the official activities were cancelled, I don’t feel like I missed out. I feel like I had the best Welcome Week I could have asked for. As we say, only at Tulane, only in New Orleans. Thanks for the great welcome Isaac.

The TIDES Have Turned: My Summer Into an Unforgettable Experience

Guest Blogger: Taylor Fox

Year: Rising Sophomore

Major: Philosophy/ Gender Studies

Hometown: Boca Raton, FL

Email: tfox2@tulane.edu

It's my last week here this summer, and as my internship finishes up, I wanted to take a little time to reflect on what a rollercoaster ride these past few months have been.

Tulane is a school for people looking for an adventure, and so many students travel from all over the country (and more than a few different countries) to find it. Because they know this experience can be overwhelming at first degree, they hold approximately eight billion events that you can attend. In addition to all that, part of your first degree semester schedule is a Tulane Interdisciplinary Experience Seminar (yes I googled what it stands for), better known as your TIDES class. These are small classes designed to help you meet likeminded people and immerse yourself in the city of New Orleans. Most of them have really fun titles, and super cool subject matters. My roommate took one called Hauntings in New Orleans, and wrote a final paper about zombies. Another friend took one called A Running Conversation. They literally just ran while having academic discussions. This sounded like my worst nightmare, but she is one those people who runs for fun, so she loved it. There's even one taught by the president of Tulane Scott Cowen on leadership.

Mine was called Being An Advocate for Women. I didn't exactly know what that would entail, it fit in my schedule and I'm all for equality, so I figured why not? My professor was this wonderful woman named Catherine Hancock, who actually was a professor at Tulane's law school. I googled her after the first class, turns out she argued in the Supreme Court before deciding she wanted to go into acedemia. NO BIG DEAL. She taught us all about the legal aspects of helping women struggling through domestic violence situations. I had absolutely no idea that this field of law even existed, and I was shocked to discover what an uphill battle it can be for the brave women who find themselves trying to navigate it.

After the second class I waited until everyone had left and told her that I wanted to be her when I grew up. She smiled. Then I said, No, but like, how do I do that? And she told me to talk to all of the speakers she invited to class, and that she would help me. This woman, who spends her time teaching college graduates who had applied, gotten into, and started specializing in law school, was taking me seriously at eighteen years old in my second week of college. She introduced me to the head of the Tulane Law Domestic Violence clinic, who after I shamelessly begged, allowed me to help run a CLE.

The woman who was coordinating that program with her worked for the city's domestic violence department. The head of the DV clinic began her program by telling these seasoned DV lawyers that my excitement about what she did reminded her of why she got into this line of work in the first degree place. I may or may not have teared up and immediately called my grandma. An hour into the event, she offered me an internship.

So that's how everything happened. I got a grant from Newcomb (more on that later) to cover some of my expenses. So now every morning at 11:32am (because I'm usually giving the 9:30 tour), I get on a city bus. Public transportation was new and scary for me, but now I am an absolute master. Which means I know to pull the cord hard enough so the driver pulls over at my stop. I pass a lot of beautiful, brightly colored buildings. Then I pass a building with five ceramic men all wearing giant bunny costumes. I try to take a picture of this every single day and either the bus moves too quickly or the windows are too dirty. Then I walk two blocks to city hall, and ride up to the top floor in a very shaky elevator. Then I work on a big report for my boss.

I have never once been asked to go get coffee or make copies. I am doing real work that really matters. My boss repeatedly asks me, Do you feel like you're learning things? Do you feel like this is helpful to you? I've met DV detectives. I went to a conference for domestic violence advocates that really should've been called a superhero convention. I listened to my boss give a webinar that people from all over the country listened to. I have analyzed data and reached super classified conclusions. I can see the Superdome from my desk.I HAVE AN ID BADGE WITH MY PICTURE ON IT.

(picture of superdome, badge, fancy dress selfie, new orleans deliveries only, movie poster)

I've loved, loved, loved this experience.

***And because this is super important, I have to include it. A healthy relationship does not have jealousy or violence. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that you can do to a person that makes it okay for them to do anything that makes you feel scared or unsafe. I can tell you with absolute experience that you can have better, and that there are a lot of people who want to help you find it. Find a safe place, and call 1−800−799−SAFE(7233).

Best Friends Ever!!

Best Year____ Ever!!

Andrew Lemoine, a rising sophomore, wrote an awesome blog series highlighting why he loves Tulane. Check out his previous posts to hear more from Andrew!

            So freshman year is in the books, and boy was it one I will never forget. As a local kid from Louisiana I didn’t know what to expect by staying in state for college, but it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. New Orleans is one of the most unique places in the world. I think that this statement pretty much sums up my experience at Tulane this past year. Unique!

Best Friends Ever!!

            When I came to Tulane, another thing I was really looking forward too, was the huge diversity among the student population. Having a RA from Kenya, a suite mate from Thailand, and a floor mate from England, I immediately had the chance to experience so many new cultures and ways of thinking. I was so intrigued by how different everyone was. In high school, all students were from the same place. Most people held the same beliefs and ideals, and It was truly an awesome adventure to meet all the new people. Its so cool that in just one friend group, one person is, for example. from Louisiana, one from California, another from Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Oregon, Missouri, and Florida. Having that huge spectrum of people is just, that awesome. I don’t really have other fancy words to describe it. I think that your friends really help make your college experience what it is. Throughout getting involved through sports and other organizations on campus, I really got to see the entire spectrum of the many people on campus. And by doing this, I think I was lucky enough to have the best freshman year ever!!

Best Adventure Ever!!

Best Year____ Ever!!

Andrew Lemoine, a rising sophomore, wrote an awesome blog series highlighting why he loves Tulane. Stay tuned to hear more from Andrew!

            So freshman year is in the books, and boy was it one I will never forget. As a local kid from Louisiana I didn’t know what to expect by staying in state for college, but it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. New Orleans is one of the most unique places in the world. I think that this statement pretty much sums up my experience at Tulane this past year. Unique!

Best Adventure Ever!!

Trying to find the best word for it, New Orleans has the best... “Adventure”. It has just the most random things, and events that all sort of blend together in this big massive gumbo of the South. From meeting random famous people, to going to shows and random events, this short section is really just a few random experiences and events that have truly made my last year here unique.

  

Top and Far right, Roads closed after a couple days of rain.
Bottom left, Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Rec. after her comedy show in McAlister Auditorium

Left and Bottom: Cram Jam in our dining hall. A food party thrown by Tulane right before finals
Top: Woody Harrelson casually playing soccer on the Newcomb Quad
Middle, Ellie the Borden Cow on Campus.

Best Food Ever!!

Best Year____ Ever!!

Andrew Lemoine, a rising sophomore, wrote an awesome blog series highlighting why he loves Tulane. Stay tuned to hear more from Andrew!

            So freshman year is in the books, and boy was it one I will never forget. As a local kid from Louisiana I didn’t know what to expect by staying in state for college, but it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. New Orleans is one of the most unique places in the world. I think that this statement pretty much sums up my experience at Tulane this past year. Unique!

Best Food Ever!!

         So the one thing that everyone agrees on, is that New Orleans is famous for its food!! I can’t sum up m freshman year in New Orleans without slightly mentioning food. From the famous Café Du Monde in the New Orleans French Quarter, to Plum Street Snow Balls in Uptown, you cannot go wrong with New Orleans Food. When I got to campus back in August,  one of the things I could not wait to do was try as many foods as possible. Our course, on a college student budget, I was limited, but that didn’t stop me from trying! From going out to eat with friends, to cooking Sunday Family Dinners in our dorm’s kitchen, to we had the best time doing it! There are literally restaurants everywhere in Nola!! It is just like activities on campus. The hardest part isn’t finding a restaurant. It’s picking which one you want! All it takes is a little bravery, a longing for adventure and a huge appetite!!