Albion-isms

Here are some words and phrases that are unique to Albion.

Download the booklet (PDF)

"A" Fields

Short for Alumni Field, the site of the football stadium, baseball field, softball field, soccer fields, and outdoor tennis courts.

ACIS

Albion College Information System (ACIS). This is the way to access your student account information online—including your grades, transcripts, and class registration.

Albionian

Our yearbook. The Albionian is produced by a crew of students each year and distributed over the summer.

The Alley

The local bowling alley, called University Lanes, located just off of the 124 highway exit at 16653 E Michigan Avenue.

Baldy

Baldwin Hall, where the cafeteria is located.

The Big Read

A month-long community reading initiative in October that is meant to bring diverse groups of people together and empower youth through a shared reading experience.

Black Squirrels

A unique species of squirrel found throughout the town of Albion. You can often spot black squirrels (some with blonde or orange tails) scampering around campus.

Blues at the Bohm

A concert held at the Bohm Theater in downtown Albion where a new band plays every month! After the band plays, indi-vidual musicians take the stage and host spontaneous jam sessions. Great sound, great ambiance!

Bogar

The theatre that shows first-run movies in downtown Marshall, just 15 minutes from Albion. The Bogar has two screens and shows a variety of first-run movies.

Bohm

The theatre that shows first-run movies in downtown Albion, within walking distance to the College. The Bohm has one screen and shows first-run movies Thursday-Sunday.  Special events occur on occasion and those occur on any day of the week.

Briton Bash

An event where all the clubs and organizations set up booths on the Quad. At Briton Bash, you can sign up for new activities, see who is involved in what, and enjoy a big Quad picnic.

Campo

A slang term for Campus Safety.

Chapel

A nondenominational, student-led Christian worship service held every Wednesday night in Wesley Chapel.

CPO

Short for Campus Programs and Organizations, the office for all campus activities and clubs. The office is located on the 3rd floor of the Kellogg Center.

Day of Woden

The last Wednesday of classes during spring semester. Dining Services moves to the Quad for a huge picnic, and you can play lots of fun games, such as the Velcro wall, laser tag, and human bowling. It’s not to be missed.

What does “Day of Woden” mean? Watch the video

Drive-in Movie

Every fall, Union Board sets up a giant screen and speakers at the west end of the Quad near Kresge Gym. Bring your blankets and stretch out on the Quad to watch the show.

Eat Shop

A short-order café and grill on the second floor of the Kellogg Center. The old Eat Shop, located where the Bobbitt Visual Arts Center Annex stands today, was torn down about 30 years ago. Two benches and a table from the original Eat Shop were restored by alumni and brought to the new location.

Euphonics

A student-led musical organization whose members sing pop and jazz a cappella music.

Family Fare

The local grocery store, located a short drive from campus on Eaton Street.

Festival of the Forks

The city of Albion’s big celebration in the fall. It gets its name from the Kalamazoo River’s east and south branches, the site where Albion’s first residents settled. At the Festival, many countries and nationalities are recognized with booths featuring food and cultural items.

The Io (pronounced “yo”)

This is an abbreviation of “Io Triumphe,” a yell written by the Class of 1900. Some of its phrases were taken from other college yells, some from a Greek play that had been presented on campus during that period, and others were borrowed from the poems of the Roman writer Horace. It goes like this:

Io Triumphe! Io Triumphe!
Haben Swaben Rebecca le animor
Whoop te whoop te sheller de-vere
De-boom de ral de-i de-pa-
Hooneka Henaka whack a whack
A-hob dob balde bora bolde bara
Con slomade hob dob Rah!
Al-bi-on Rah!

Io Triumphe! also is the name of the alumni magazine, as voted on by the alumni in 1936.

Watch the video

KC

The Kellogg Center, our equivalent to a student union.

KC Box

Your mailbox. Everyone has a mailbox in the KC, which you will keep the whole time you are at Albion. That way, your mailing address will stay the same all four years.

KC Living Room

Short for the Langbo Living Room, the lounge located on the first floor of the Kellogg Center. It’s a popular spot for meetings, receptions, or just hanging out. You can enjoy a warm fire in the fireplace during the winter, or show off your piano-playing skills anytime.

Kresge Commons

The big room in the basement of Wesley Hall—not to be confused with Kresge Gymnasium or the Science Complex’s Kresge Hall.

The Loft

Also in the Kellogg Center, on the fourth floor.

The Mae

Officially the Mae Harrison Karro Residential Village on campus. The Mae was erected in 2001 in memory of alumna Mae Harrison Karro of the class of ’31. This popular residence houses 56 lucky seniors.

Mary Sykes Room

Located in Baldwin Hall on the 3rd floor, along with the Albion Room, Briton Room.

Norris 101

The large lecture hall located in the Norris Science Complex, immediately left of the main entrance. It is also formally known as “Towsley Auditorium.”

Off-Campus Programs

Albion vernacular for the Center for International Education, the office which coordinates off-campus study opportunities both in the United States and abroad. The Center is located in Vulgamore Hall.

Pleiad

Albion College’s student news source, published in electronic format and available for viewing at www.albionpleiad.com. In Greek mythology, the Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas, placed in heaven by Zeus. In astronomy, six of the Pleiades form a bright cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. In 1882, Albion students named the newspaper after the seventh, “the lost Pleiad.”

Quad

Most of Albion’s academic buildings surround a park-like patch of earth nicknamed “the Quad,” short for its official name, the Quadrangle. The Quad is the scene of pick-up Frisbee and football matches, outdoor classes on warm weather days, and graduation each May. If you’d attended Albion during the 1880s, you would have headed to the Quad to watch the football team play.

The Recorder

The local Albion newspaper, published every Thursday.

’Relli’s

An easier way to refer to Cascarelli’s, a bar and restaurant downtown.

The Rock

A rock at the northeast corner of the Quad that gets painted almost daily. It was a graduation gift of the class of 1899, so just how big is the rock under all that paint?

Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC)

A Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on their experience. The SAAC offers input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes lives on NCAA member institution campuses.

The "S.E.E." (pronounced "sea")

Another lounge/study area in the Kellogg Center, located on the second floor opposite the Eat Shop.

The Stack

Short for “Gerstacker Commons,” the Stack is on the second floor of the KC. The third floor overlooks this commons area, a popular place for concerts, comedians, dances, eating, and lectures. The area with the wooden floor and balcony was originally the College’s chapel, before Goodrich Chapel was built.

Student Volunteer Bureau (SVB)

Student Volunteer Bureau, a “student-led organization that is responsible for supporting and supplying services to existing volunteer programs and assisting in developing new ones.”

Tiers

The six floors of shelves in Stockwell where all the bound periodicals are located. Stockwell originally was designed as a “closed stack” library, meaning that the stacks (tiers) were closed to the public. In those days, you would have asked a librarian for the book you wanted, and he or she would have gone into the tiers and retrieved it for you. If you find yourself getting lost in the tiers one day, remember that they were not built for easy access by the average mortal.

“Twin”

The residence hall renamed Mitchell Towers in 2008, located behind Baldwin.

Union Board (UB)

Union Board, a “student volunteer programming council that works to provide social, recreational, educational, and entertainment programs for the student body.” UB helps bring bands, comedians, and other acts to campus each semester.