Let's start
with
that
thing about the ice
cream and dogs.
while it's true that ice
cream can certain-
ly be found in
campus eateries,
it isn't due to
the generos-
ity of an alum. and dogs on campus are subject
to the same restrictions as they are in the rest of
the Village of Canton. Just how this particular
legend arose is a mystery, but st. Lawrence never
received such a gift. still, next time you cross the
Quad licking a cone and
spot somebody tossing a
Frisbee to their pooch,
you’ll smile, right?
and what's up with
"
cold rooms," unheated
floors of sorority houses
where members sleep
with the windows open
throughout the winter?
turns out these aren't unique to st. Lawrence.
Legends about them abound on college campuses
across the country, including the belief that laws
exist banning groups of unmarried women from
living together, lest the arrangement be viewed as
a potential brothel. Despite that somewhat racy
myth, there is no such law. some believe that "cold
rooms" emerged during tuberculosis outbreaks,
when it was thought that breathing unheated
air could stave off the highly infectious disease.
whatever the case, sorority "cold rooms" are a
tradition that will probably endure.
Varick Chittenden '63, senior folklorist and direc-
tor of special projects at Canton’s traditional arts
in Upstate New York (taUNY), says the tales
fall under the category of "urban legends" – even
though we're not an urban campus – and that
they've been around as long as there have been
colleges. "there's usually enough of a grain of
truth in these stories that they are plausible, even
though they might seem absurd on the face of it,"
Chittenden says. "that absurdity has a certain
amount of allure, even romance, to it and surely
makes for a good tale to tell."
the trUth
aboUt Cost
while we're in myth-busting mode, here's one
that pops up from time to time: Most students at
st. Lawrence come from families so well-resourced
that they have no need for financial assistance.
in fact, most students receive some form of financial
aid: in the fall 2012 semester, more than 90 percent
of undergraduates received support. about 88 percent
received st. Lawrence gift aid, and the average finan-
cial aid package was $33,611.
as a result, most of the University's students do not
pay "full price." the so-called discount rate – the
percentage of the comprehensive fee (tuition, fees,
and room and board) awarded as financial aid – was
42
percent this fall. and one more related factoid:
st. Lawrence's "price" covers about 84 percent of what
it actually costs the University to educate a student,
which came to about $64,300 in 2011-12. the re-
maining cost is subsidized by donations, income
from endowment funds and other income sources.
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WINTER 2013 | ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE