Whether it is exploring the city of Rochester or participating in events on campus, there are tons of fun activities for Yellowjackets to do.
Let’s start with on-campus must dos!
- Coffee with friends: Whether to meet up or to grab a cup of coffee, Starbucks lounge is always filled with Yellowjackets. Students usually go to Starbucks at least once a week due to the friendly environment.
- Get outdoors: When the weather is nice, there are some places where you can always find Yellowjackets.
- Students will often hang out on Eastman Quad with friends. They may play spike ball, have a picnic, or talk with friends.
- On the first and last Friday of the academic year, there is Yellowjacket Weekend and Dandelion Day. Students can grab food from the food trucks and hang out at the end of the semester.
- Attend an event at the Eastman School of Music: Since it is very easy to go to Eastman, students will often go to Eastman concerts to hear amazing music.
- Check out Student Activities and Student Centers & Services events: Typically, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, the University will have events. Some of these events can include trivia nights, make your own stuffed animal, make your own blanket, and plant a succulent. These events are called UR Late Night, and it is a must do!
- Check out all the library spaces and find your favorite: There are quiet spaces and more collaborative spaces. Oftentimes I’ll go to Gleason to try to get some work done, but ends up talking to someone who they know who passed by their table. During finals, the libraries can be quite filled. During that time it is a must to go to the Periodical Reading Room to get work accomplished.
- Take a Rush Rhees Tower Tour: During Halloween and graduation, Yellowjackets have the opportunity to go to the top of Rush Rhees and see the view of the whole campus and the city of Rochester.
- Avoid the clock tower: Yellowjackets have a superstition. Legend says you will not graduate within four years if you walk under the clock tower in Dandelion Square, something dreadful will happen. The only way to reverse the curse? Throw an acorn at the statue of George Eastman on the quad and have it land in the brim of his hat. After four years of going around the clock tower, students often walk under the clock tower after graduation.
While there are many activities to do on campus, there is the city of Rochester to explore.
- Memorial Art Gallery is part of the University of Rochester, and it’s free for students to visit. It has beautiful works of art from well-known artists. You can get there by bus, which makes it very convenient to get there.
- Strong National Museum of Play People of all ages can spend hours there exploring and playing with toys from across the decades. You may even see your childhood toys in the museum!
- Visit Park Avenue: For a night out with friends for a special occasion, Yellowjackets love to visit Park Ave. Explore cute stores and great dining choices.
- Try a Garbage Plate: Yellowjackets cannot go without trying a garbage plate during their four years. A Rochester-founded food is a plate of food with fries, macaroni salad, hot dogs or burgers, meat sauce, onions, and many other toppings.
- Explore outdoors: There are many pretty landscapes that can be seen all within an hour drive of campus.
- Because the River campus is in between the Genesee River and Mt. Hope Cemetery students will often walk along Genesee River Trails and Mt. Hope Cemetery to stop by Fredrick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony’s grave stone. Rochester is filled with history, and there are plenty of off-campus museums that you can visit to learn more about the historic area.
- There are many waterfalls in the area, including one located in Rochester. This waterfall is called High Falls. If you want to take an hour-long drive, you can also visit Niagara Falls. Many students like to go to Niagara Falls for a day and explore the area with friends.
- About a 20-minute drive from campus is Lake Ontario where students will see beautiful sunsets at Ontario Beach Park.
- About an hour from campus, is the Grand Canyon of the East, Letchworth State Park. Seeing the amazing views and hiking is a must. Yellowjackets can do this during the First-Year Pre-Orientation program, UR Foot.
During my pre-orientation program, I visited Letchworth State Park in addition to Chimney Bluffs State Park.
- Attend the Rochester Lilac Festival: During the last week of the spring semester, the Lilacs bloom. Right across the street from the engineering quad is the Lilac Festival, in Highland Park. You’ll find lilacs in bloom, local food trucks, vendors, and lilac-themed shops.
- Grab ice cream at a local shop: Located on the Erie Canal, Pittsford Dairy is a great place to get ice cream. They have a variety of flavors and choices, and they make all of their dairy products themselves!
- Fall festivities: In October, many groups will go apple and pumpkin picking as a group. They take fall pictures and get sweet treats.
These are just some must dos when it comes to your time on campus. These activities can include on-campus and off-campus activities with friends and fun places to explore!