A compilation of Musketeer oddities students can count on returning to
Photo courtesy of John Stowell | Besides classrooms and house plants, Alter Hall is home to an underground tunnel and a set of showers. Traditionally, undergraduates spend an exorbitant amount of time in there studying for their final exams.
Dressing Up D’Artagnan
Directly outside of Cintas Center stands the bold D’Artagnan statue. D’Artagnan’s sword threatens our Catholic rival University of Dayton, and his hand leads the charge against our closest D1 rival University of Cincinnati (UC). More often than not when passing D’Artagnan, you’ll notice miscellaneous items hanging from his pointing finger or off the end of his sword. It’s tradition to place some random treasure on this Musketeer. The best object to placed to this day has been a glazed donut brandished against UC.
Late-Night Currito
Currito Burrito is a Xavier gem and the last restaurant on campus not owned by Chartwell’s. Offering internationally inspired cuisine, Currito is located at Fenwick Place. Currito is known for their stellar smoothies, guacamole and music playlists. Currito is also one of the only spots on campus open past midnight. It’s not uncommon to pass Currito at night and see a line of people inside, especially on the weekends. The food just tastes different at night, and the energy in the air is palpable. The later the night, the better the Currito.
The Tunnel
The Tunnel connects the basements of Alter and Hailstones Halls, arguably the two most contrasting buildings on campus. It’s a simple way to get from one building to the next without having to face the elements. The tunnel is also a conveniently located time machine to venture from one era of bathrooms to another. Note the stark difference between the mustard-tinged bathrooms of Hailstones and the stale, starch-white stalls of Alter.
Alter Hall Takeover
Alter is one of the main academic buildings on campus, situated at the front of the Academic Mall. If you somehow manage to avoid Alter during your tenure at Xavier, you are an outlier. Comfortable classrooms, huge windows, individual study rooms and vending machines make Alter the perfect place to study for finals. In fact, Alter is the perfect place to live during finals. There are showers in the bathrooms in the basement that make camping out there during finals week a realistic option.
Elephant Head
Somewhere on campus hides a stone elephant head. It’s your job to find it. There’s nothing more to say on that subject.
Hating UC
This one’s not an option. You have no choice. Hate UC. If you have friends at UC, unfriend them immediately. If you have family members associated with the Bearcats, disown them. Disconnect yourself from everything associated with UC (soliciting their Raising Cane’s is acceptable). If you heed this warning, you will be better prepared for the carnage of the Dec. 8 Crosstown Shootout.
A.B. Cohen Center
Housing multiple department’s, Cohen Center’s block-like construction has notably fewer windows than the average building, and its hallways and classrooms form a sort of maze. This was intentional. Cohen used to be owned and utilized by the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, and legend goes that the halls are labyrinthine in nature to keep corpses from escaping.
Brockman Fire Alarms
Brockman Hall is one of Xavier’s four first-year residence halls, planted next to Gallagher Student Center (GSC). Brockman is notorious for many things, not least of which is its fire alarms. At least once a year, a poor Brockman resident will have to leave their room mid-shower. Once you’ve seen the horde of disgruntled first-years huddled outside of GSC, you will understand why Brockman’s fire alarms are iconic.
By: Katie Nichols | Staff Writer