Acadia University 411: Where to find the best cheap lunch and more

Unofficial school motto:
‘Better than X’

Best place for a nap:
Your own room. Don’t be one of those people who take up a whole couch in the Student Union Building.

Best hangover breakfast:
Saturday mornings at the Farmers’ Market. Amazing food for $10. Also chocolate-chip pancakes at meal hall.

Best cheap lunch:
The Rolled Oat Café, if they’re ever open

Favourite watering hole:
The Library Pub with a couple of good friends

Perks of living in this town:
Locally sourced, organic produce, dairy and meat. The apples, when in season, are fantastic. Also, wine country!

Best place to study:
Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op

Weirdest tradition:
Carnival day at meal hall. You really won’t understand until you have to experience it.

Best campus event:
Homecoming and Cheaton Cup

Cool non-campus events:
Devour! The Food Film Festival and Deep Roots Music Festival

Best giveaway:
Sex-toy bingo at the Axe Lounge

Best live music venue:
Open-mic night at Paddy’s Brewpub

University Insider: Kody Crowell, 20, Mathematics and Physics

Past the red cliffs of Blomidon, not far from the dikes of Grand Pré, and overlooking the mud flats of the Cornwallis River, Acadia University stands much as it did when it was founded in 1838. The campus itself is relatively contained—a selection of delightfully odd, mismatched buildings amble up a hill, with the town of Wolfville on either side. The arts and music buildings sit opposite the main science buildings; this does not mean the friends you make in your tenure at Acadia will be divided in the same way. The gym is at the bottom of the hill, but the trek up to the meal hall in winter is well worth the workout.

PROFILE: Acadia University | Wolfville, N.S. | Founded 1838

The flagship building is the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre. Apart from its stunning aesthetics and quiet study atmosphere, it also boasts modern laboratories, greenhouses and gardens dedicated to the research of the native flora of Nova Scotia. The school’s commitment to sustainability reaches into every corner of university life, from research initiatives to a LEED-certified biology building to a student-run farm that supplies food to the dining hall.

Acadia’s size is its weakness and its strength. It’s a small town, rumours travel fast, and there’s only so far you can go to get away, but you will eventually come to appreciate the remarkable sense of community here. The classes are smaller, and you will interact with your professors on a frequent basis. You might even become part of the extensive research network at Acadia, ranging from data analytics to microstructural analysis to tidal energy (my field!).

Extras
While Acadia prides itself on its academics, it also knows how to have fun. There are more than 65 student clubs and societies, from departmental societies like English and math to athletic and social clubs, including fencing, horseback riding and the campus radio station. The SMILE program is also very popular. Off campus, you can always try community clubs like the Blomidon Naturalists Society or the Fundy Film Society.

Local Vibe
Wolfville is a culturally vibrant community, with a small collection of bookstores, bakeries and hipster coffee shops. Although the liquor store lacks selection, there are more pubs than grocery stores, and the local craft beer is excellent. In fact, the entire local food game is pretty amazing. If you can’t stomach campus meals, visit some of the restaurants downtown like Troy or the Library Pub, or better yet, the farmer’s market on a Wednesday night. The town has an outdoorsy lifestyle, with lots of walking trails and bike paths nearby.

The Skinny
Visit TheASU.ca for information on clubs and events on campus. For information on Wolfville and the Annapolis Valley, visit www.wolfville.ca.

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