Western University 411: Where to find the best cheap lunch, live music and more

Unofficial school motto:

‘Study hard, party harder’

Best place for a nap:

The fireside lounge located on the mezzanine of the Mustang Lounge

Best cheap lunch:

If you have an appetite, the best place to get the most bang for your buck on campus is the Green Leaf Café lunch buffet

Best hangover breakfast:

Campus Hi-Fi! Located on Richmond, just past Oxford, this quaint breakfast joint has been serving Londoners since the 1950s. The Campus Combo offers the best value, priced at just $9.95.

Favourite watering hole:

The Ceeps

Perks of living in this town:

There are a lot of great restaurants and local farmers’ markets, and many parks and greenspaces with beautiful jogging trails

Best place to study:

Atrium of International and Graduate Affairs Building

Weirdest tradition:

‘Borrowing’ cafeteria trays from the residence dining halls and tray-bogganing down UC Hill

Best campus event:

#HOCOonthehill and Beerfest on Concrete Beach

Best giveaway:

Free movie tickets to Western Film during O-week

Best live music venue:

The London Music Hall

University Insider Report: Serena Quinn, 21, English and American Studies

Western University has undergone some major changes in the past few years, including a name change and logo redesign. But, while Western’s image has changed, its identity as one of the province’s top schools has stayed the same. Western has a reputation for providing the best student experience and catering to the needs of a student lifestyle. While it’s widely claimed that you don’t need to take one step outside of the university gates to get what you need, the reality is you don’t even have to leave one building to find what you need. The University Community Centre houses a movie theatre, grocery store, two bars/restaurants, a hair salon, pharmacy, post office, and much more.

PROFILE:Western University | London, Ont. | Founded 1878

Western students can also take advantage of all that the London community has to offer. One short bus ride into the downtown core and students find the ultimate London hot spot: Richmond Row. Here, students can enjoy shopping, live theatre, and cultural events, as well as a bustling bar and restaurant scene. If students are out on the Row between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. (after the city buses have stopped running) they can hop on Western’s Mustang Express for a safe ride home Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Extras

Western feels close-knit, despite its size, thanks in large part to the wide array of extracurriculars it offers. These include more than 180 student clubs, ranging from the Rock Climbing Club to the Model United Nations Society and everything in between. If, like me, your hobbies include strapping on skates and sending a puck around the ice, you might meet some of your best friends in a dressing room in the basement of Thompson Arena. Western’s intramural system runs a variety of competitive and non-competitive sports, ranging from basketball to Quidditch. New high-performance turf at Mustangs and Alumni fields make Western a great place to hone athletic skills.

Given London’s location in Ontario’s “snow belt,” an underground tunnel system comes in handy: students can navigate through campus in all weather conditions while remaining safe and dry.

Local Vibe

The London community caters to students almost as hospitably as the university itself. Richmond Row can be seen as an extension of the Western bubble, with its restaurants, bars and shopping centres all geared toward students. London is known as the “Forest City” and is home to more than 400 parks, including popular Victoria Park downtown, and Ross Park and Gibbons Park found just off campus. More than 60 km of paved bike and jogging paths run along the Thames River, which passes right through campus, and nearby Boler Mountain offers skiing, snowboarding and tubing at discounted student rates.

The Skinny

Check out events.WesternU.ca for a list of upcoming events or check out Western’s official student newspaper www.WesternGazette.ca for stories about what’s going on in the Western community.

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