In these frantic times where a few extra letters or syllables are a luxury we cannot afford, acronyms are a student’s best friend. Seriously, you’ll probably hear a lot of acronyms or terms at UW (University of Waterloo, though if you’ve managed to come this far and not figure that out, I worry about you) that don’t necessarily make sense. So here’s a rundown on some of the UW-speak to help you pick up on all the local slang and impress your friends (impressions not guaranteed).
SLC — Student Life Centre. It’s the student space building, which offers a variety of services in addition to some places to sit down.
Bomber — the Bombshelter Pub. It’s a well-known pub in the SLC that often has fun events going on (though some of them are 19+).
DC — Davis Centre. DC is a pretty versatile building, used for classes in engineering, math, and science, while also featuring a library and a cafeteria. There’s also a bus stop outside, making it one of the best places to catch a ride somewhere. It’s easily identified as the building that’s mostly made of windows.
DP — Dana Porter Library. This building, known to resemble a sugar cube and located in the arts quad, is the other big library on campus, and possibly the easiest UW building to find from a distance, luckily for all the directionally-challenged arts students.
SCH — South Campus Hall. If you haven’t been here yet, you probably should soon, as it’s where the UW bookstore is located. SCH is pretty easy to find; it’s right in front of UW’s Seagram entrance.
Feds — Federation of Students, UW’s student government. There’s a more in-depth explanation of Feds in this edition, so read on to find out how our government works.
GRT — Grand River Transit (did you not read the article above this one?). KW’s transit system.
OMGUW — Basically a gossip site for UW students, a good place to rant about your university problems or make vague, thirsty comments about total strangers (Missed Connections).
Conestoga — Usually referring to Conestoga Mall, Waterloo’s main shopping centre.
JobMine — Site used to find co-op placements. Almost universally hated, commonly heard in phrases like “JobMine is THE WORST.”
