SUNY Binghamton
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Keeping kids in school. I have a 90% retention rate.
- I'm a little cheap…but I prefer the term "thrifty." My game is to offer a designer brand at a much more affordable price, if you know what I'm saying.
- Athletics. I'm not just good-looking—I can also run, dunk, serve, and hit with the best of 'em.
- I can pick things up and put them down with the power of my thoughts alone. Just kidding. I'm really good at research, though—including research on the brain.
- Keeping the earth clean and green. I try to help a guy out when I can, and I'm good to my mother. Mother Earth, that is.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- Snow. I'm not sure what I'd do without it. I need my cold water challenges and impromptu icecapades on the way to class.
- A microscope. What better tool is there for examining your biofilm?
- Spiedies. I need my marinated chicken sandwich. Please buy me a one-way ticket to Spiediefest in August because you will have to roll me home.
- Binghamton Mets tix. I can buy spiedies while watching sports? Win-win. Win.
- BU Buck$. You can drown yourself in late-night snacks—er, I mean, nutritious dining options that'll make your parents proud—with these on-campus-use-only buckaroos.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- I'm the only SUNY school that has received a "green rating" for campus environmentally-related policies, practices, and academic offerings by The Princeton Review.
- Additionally, my Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science is ranked among the "Great Schools for Computer Science/Computer Engineering Majors" by The Princeton Review.
- I recently constructed a Smart Energy Research and Development Facility to come up with new and better ways to utilize energy sources.
- I am a leader in alcohol research, looking into ways to help alcoholics and examining alcohols effects on the brain.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
You'll probably find me at the University Union South for movies, music, pool, and bowling. When not on campus, you can find me at Greek life events, at house parties, on State Street, or in NYC for a weekend retreat. Some people escape from the city; I escape to the city. I'm big on cultural enrichment and all that jazz…I'm a sophisticated chap, you know.
Favorite Hangouts:
- Undergrounds Coffeehouse. It's got live music and it's pretty much your only option for an on-campus club scene.
- Tillman Lobby. A grocery store and dry-cleaning service? Plus billiards and bowling? Wow-ee. Welcome to the BU microcosm.
- The BU Marketplace, a tale of a two-sided fireplace…and twelve eateries.
Quirks:
- Some of my dorms offer single rooms that are linked to a common room. Not exactly your old-fashioned college roommate experience. Be warned: these rooms are tiny. I recommend bringing breath mints on all room-to-room visits.
- My student body is really into recycling. Everyone recycles. Be sure to hang on to your stuff, or it may be repurposed before your eyes.
- I'm part natural, with lots of trees, and part urban. I'm a bit of man-made progress right out in nature. That's BU…without the BO.
Famous Alumni:
- Hollywood actor Billy Baldwin graduated in the class of 1985. He's that guy who starred in Backdraft, Parenthood, Forgetting Sarah Marshall…and made regular appearances on Gossip Girl. What's that? Yes, of course he's the brother of Alec Baldwin. No big deal.
- Scott Krug, CFO of the New York Yankees, graduated in 1996. He hit that B.A. in accounting out of the park.
- Ingrid Michaelson graduated in 1991. Girls chased boys at BU.
- Hakeem Jeffries holds a seat in the House—my old house and the House of Representatives.
- Dr. Adam Fox, 1992, stars in a reality T.V. documentary: NY Med. It's about New York City hospital life, but I won't tell you anything more. Shmoop hates spoilers.
- Eric Schwartz, former U.N. and White House official, graduated in the class of 1979. I just might have changed the nation…
- Flo. That's right, the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Progressive Insurance spokeswoman graduated with a B.A. in English.