Slang at Dartmouth University

Lugburz
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:01:30 +0000

from the admitted students website, which is from “The Dartmouth”:

Bema (proper noun): Although the name originates from the ancient Greek word for sanctuary, the Bema is known to most students as the Big, Empty, Meeting Area. This is the site for goofy pre-freshman trip bonding activities.

blitz (verb): To send an email message using the College’s BlitzMail computer program. (noun) The actual email message. You will come to love this verb and noun pair.

blitz out (verb): To send the same blitz to a group of people at once.

crunchy (adj.): Used to describe the long-haired, wool socks and Birkenstocks-clad DOC member often found eating Collis entrees out of a reusable container.

DA$H (noun): A discretionary account that you use to pay for your laundry and all other on-campus activities, services, and events. (verb) To pay for something using your DA$H, as in “DA$H-it!”

DBA (noun): Your meal plan – a “Declining Balance Account” that you use to pay for all of your food on campus.

The D (noun): Short of The Dartmouth, the only source of daily (and pretty much only source) of news at the College. Pick it up free almost anywhere on campus.

drill (noun): The foundation of the Rassias method of language learning. Drill consists of waking up at 7:45 every morning to have someone snap their fingers at you and demand that you speak in a language you do not yet fully understand. Did we mention that it’s at 7:45 a.m.?

EBAs (proper noun): Everything But Anchovies, a Hanover culinary institution which delivers pizza, chicken sandwiches and other local delicacies until 2 a.m. every night. The ultimate in performance fuel.

FSP (noun): Short for Foreign Study Program. A Dartmouth-run program in another country.

HB (proper noun): The abbreviation for Hinman Box, the cubbies in the Hop where students can pick up their mail … or as is sometimes the case, look for mail, then feel alone and depressed after finding it empty.

LSA (noun): Short for Language Study Abroad. Ten weeks of “studying” in a foreign country. Considered a reward after two terms of drill.

NRO (verb): Short for Non Recording Option. When you take a class without being graded.

S & S (noun): Our friends in green. Short for Safety and Security, otherwise known as campus police. They are often mistaken for EBAs delivery men.

'shmen (noun): You, beginning in September, for your entire first year.

'shmenu (noun): The “Green Book” cataloguing the photographs and home addresses of the freshman class. The scammer’s bible - allows you to scope without leaving your room.

'shmob (noun): The preferred travel mode of freshmen, 'shmobs consist of 10 to 15 'shmen who may or may not have been previously acquainted with one another, traveling around campus in a group during the first weeks of Fall term.

The Green (proper noun): 1) The name of our athletic teams. 2) The centralized open space of campus that is surrounded by many undergraduate academic buildings.

The River (proper noun): A cluster of dormitories located in the west end of campus, quite close to the river that separates NH from VT.

UGA (noun): Undergraduate Advisor, Dartmouth’s equivalent of a Residential Advisor. An upperclass student who organizes social events in a dormitory and is also a great resource if you have questions about majors, study abroad programs or what’s a good place to take that cutie in your English class to this Friday… There’s usually a few of them in every dormitory.

West Leb. (noun): West Lebanon, a neighboring town frequented by students because of its shopping mall with such must-visit places as K-Mart, Best Buy, and Chili’s.