1. You feel old AF.
Everyone else on campus looks like a child, even though they’re really only three or four years younger than you. You feel like a grandma at parties when you're wearing yoga pants and all the freshmen are wearing crop tops and heels. Also, nothing is scarier than driving from Machuga to Blanton and not recognizing a single person on the sidewalk. Come to think of it, even just being on that side of campus feels like you’ve stepped foot in an elementary school.
2. You were on campus for the nightmare that was 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.
This was hands down the most memorable part of freshman year. The entire campus shut down for a week, residents were moved from The Village and Hawk Crossings to Bohn, power was out everywhere, and it was pure chaos. The worst night of the storm, the handed out RATIONS at Sam’s Place (a bagel, mini water bottle and an apple) because they weren’t sure what time it would open the next day. Drunk seniors were throwing chairs out of Bohn windows and pretty much everyone was wasted for a week. It’s impossible to explain just how wild campus was that week, but if you’re a senior, those are probably some of the best memories of college for you.
3. You still call it the Rat.
Honestly, 2mato still sounds ridiculous. Who thought that was a good idea? At least it’s still the same sh*tty pizza and undercooked garlic knots that take 20 minutes to get to you. As much as we hate it, everyone has a special place in their heart for the Rat.
4. You remember when Guy Fieri’s restaurant opened on campus.
They gave out free food like four times in the first week they were open, and you could literally get anything you wanted and as much as you wanted FOR FREE. Then they had an Opening party and the big man himself came to campus, signed shirts, and took pictures with everyone. It was a cool day. And those Vegas fries were incredible.
5. You remember when campus felt half the size it does now.
The first day of school this year felt like a zoo. You’ve never seen this many people walking through University between class times, and lines have never been this long at food places. The campus has grown by a few thousand since 2012, and it is very obvious.
6. You probably still refer to the Hawk Crossings apartments as “Clove.”
Four years ago, MSU decided “Clove” had a negative stigma associated with it because it was such a party zone. Naturally, they assumed just changing the name would be enough to fix that. (Spoiler Alert: It didn’t work.)
7. You have a laundry list of reasons that you hate Montclair State, but you still know you’re going to miss it come graduation.
While you’ll never understand why we needed a Hawk statue, or why MSU feels the need to make everything so goddam complicated, you still wouldn’t change these four years, the friends you have, or the memories you’ve made for anything.
