The Unis

Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side. This was taken on November 7th and it was very, very cold.

Hello fellow travellers.

Oh wait, that's just me. You're all behind desks.

In the past few weeks, I've been able to go from 45 degree weather to 23 degree weather on the same ROAD TRIP. New Hampshire and Vermont are ridiculously beautiful. There are signs that warn you of "Moose Crossings". Also, I finally saw land completely covered in snow.

And yesterday, at UCONN, it was snowing. Incredibly majestic, nostalgic, and almost as emotional as watching a Charlie Brown Christmas (best Christmas movie EVER...if you disagree, we're in a fight).

So now I'm back at Holy Cross, then going to BC tomorrow, then going to PC the next day, then Yale, then make a stop at Philadelphia while on my way to DC.

But we're not here to talk about me (lie). Today, we're going to kick off the award season with the first ever Unis! Short for University Awards.

What are the Unis?

This is where I award certain schools for qualities that make them stand out above the rest. I beleive I have had some reasonable experience in dealing with different college campuses. Granted, I usually just pass through these universities for a day, or even less, so these qualities are mostly superficial. But my keen sense of judgement (which is never wrong) has been able to pick up on what makes these places great.

So forget the Kaplan book of all the universities out there. Forget the U.S. News and World Report issue on Top Colleges in the country! It's time for the ultimate college guide:

A.J. Cabrera Presents the First Bi-Annual University Awards!

(Let's do this!)

The nominees for Fall 2007 are:

Spring Hill (AL), Loyola (LA), Southern (LA), LSU (LA), Wheeling Jesuit (WV), U. Dayton (OH), Xavier (OH), John Carroll (OH), Mercyhurst (PA), Union (NY), St. Joe's (PA), Villanova (PA), Loyola (MD), Catholic (DC), Georgetown (DC), Holy Cross (MA), Boston College (MA), Providence (RI), Scranton (PA), Canisius (NY), Duke (NC), Elon (NC), Davidson (NC), UNC Chapel Hill (NC), UVA (VA), William and Mary (VA), Fairfield (CT), Sacred Heart (CT), UCONN (CT), Dartmouth (NH), St. Anselm (NH), and St. Michael's (VT), Smith (MA) and Assumption (MA).

And the winners are......................................................dun dun dun ...............

Best College Town

I do not necessarily spend time in these nearby towns, but they are important for students. These quaint little hamlets provide a nice atmosphere for students to further enclose themselves in the protective, comfortable haven that is the college campus.

1st: UNC - Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Awesome place.

2nd: UVA - Charlottsville, Virginia - Thomas Jefferson bias helps this winner.

3rd: Smith College - Nothampton, MA - I literally plassed by this town the other day for one second, but was thoroughly impressed. The two students with whom I talked with at Smith agreed ... obviously. Who disagrees with me?

Best Community Feeling

For the smaller campuses, there is that community feel that definitely illuminates the spirit of that particular school. Everyone knows each other and you do not feel lost in the crowd.


Winner: St. Mike's



Most Beautiful Female Population

What can I say, it's something I notice. Hate the player, not the game.


Winner: Boston College



Best School to Play 18 Holes of Golf

I think this award is pretty self explanatory. If you need more explanation, feel free to email me. I will not respond.

Winner: Spring Hill








Best "Would Be the Best School if it Was Not For the Cold Weather" School

Let's be honest, I still can't deal with the cold. Harvard can offer me a full ride and room and board, but since it is too cold in Boston, I'd say no thank you ... and go to Princeton, the better Ivy.



1st: St. Mike's in Vermont (19 degrees?!? Please.)

2nd: Canisius (My first snow I experienced. This school specifically has tunnels connecting the buildings so students will not perish from the elements in Buffalo.)



Best Food

Sometimes I have enough time to spend time at the dining hall. Now, I remember loathing college food, but that was back when I was a spoiled college student (no offense, college students). But after 2 years of spam and not-fresh everything, I love college food.



Winner: Canisius. Being in Buffalo, home of Buffalo wings, certainly helps.




Nicest Jesuit Residence

I am lucky enough to be put up in these quasi-hotels for a night if I am visiting campuses. The Jesuits are great people all around, and although they live a life of poverty, it doesn't necessarily show in their residences. All these winners were incredibly close, but if I had to rank them:


1st: Holy Cross

2nd: Scranton

3rd: Canisius




Best School in the Middle of a City

I am not a fan of city schools. However, this winner is able to have that beautiful campus feel while being stuck in an urban area.


1st: St. Joe's in Philadelphia

(close second): Loyola in New Orleans

(close third): Georgetown in Washington, DC

Coolest Student Center

I usually table at the Student Centers, where students can come for hanging out, food, or other services. This winner definitely stands out above the rest. I would go to this school SIMPLY for its awesome student center.


Winner: Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio

(closest second): Davidson, North Carolina

(playing XBOX 360 on a huge wide screen HD TV helped put this school up on the board) Fairfield U.

Most Pleasant Overall Feeling

When I visit a campus, I may get a gloomy feeling from the faculty and students, or I am well recieved with love and warmth and candy canes and rainbows and smiling suns and ... you get the idea.


(Tie)

St. Mike's

St. Joe's



Most Beautiful Campus

This is the big award, the Best Motion Picture of the Unis. This takes into account the layout of the campus, the buildings, the greens, the weather, EVERYTHING.

I also took the size of the school into account. For instance, Elon in North Carolina was INCREDIBLY pretty, but only, like, 3 students go there. Plus it's in the middle of no where ... plus I had a lame visit. That's the politics of the Unis.


For a small school: Spring Hill

For a big school: Duke







That's it for now. If you would like me to rank certain schools in other categories, please let me know. If your school did not win and would like to lobby for it, I encourage it.







Thanks for watching. I'm sorry this award blog took 3 hours to read (that's an Academy Awards reference, it's OK if you didn't get it).







PS: I just discovered Craigslist.com . My goodness, they have everything!! My favorite is how people post up those random connections, like "I saw you on the bus today in Worcester and we made eye contact, email me if you are reading this." What is the world becoming? Not any warmer.

BONUS: Play the "What should AJ do when he grows up?" game!! If you submit ANY answer, you win! Don't be a loser: play this game!