Loyola vs Monash

Now that the first couple weeks are over, we've had Orientation Week, we've settled into our halls and we've ventured out to the city a couple times. In order to sum it all up I thought it'd be appropiate to compare it to Loyola, let the battle commence

Round 1:
Evergreens vs. MSA leaders
This first round is dedicated to those selfless martyrs who sacrifice their first week at Uni in order to help assimilate the newcomers onto campus and make them feel welcome and accustomed to the culture of campus life. The Evergreens at Loyola are comparable to camp counselors. Adorned in their green t-shirts they lead their group of "shrubs" through orientation week by getting to know their group on a very intimate level. They give you their cell phone numbers, share their stories about their first week away from home in the hopes you'll learn from their mistakes and be comfortable enough with them to give them a call in case you make any regardless. This level of comfort is attained through doing literally every ice breaker in the book: two truths and a lie, the human knot, the question ball, and speed dating are only the beginning. For the most part they don't discuss nightlife with their "shrubs" or encourage reckless debauchery or alcohol circulated shenanigans. The same can not be said for the MSA leaders..allow me to explain.

We first met our MSA leaders at the campus bus stop where they were to take us out to the city for dinner and drinks and officially kickstart the week that we who now know better like to call "the week we were not real people." Pretty much the agenda for that entire week was meet at the bus stop at 5:45 go out to dinner, go out to a bar, go out to a club, find your way home and attempt to get any sort of sleep cause your doing it again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that...
They didn't really formally introduce themselves or explain the rules of the school we pretty much followed them around like lost puppies across Melbourne. But we didn't need the icebreakers to get to know one another. That was achieved over a pint as they taught us Australian drinking chants (and once we learned we refused to stop shouting them) and showed us the best spots to go out.

When it comes down to it, I'll take chanting "Here's to (insert name here) he's true blue, he's a piss pot through and through.." over two truths and a lie any day

Monash 1 Loyola 0


Round 2:
School Motto
Strong Truths Well Lived vs. Ancora Imparo

Strong Truths well lived are based on past Jesuit ideas praising students to become a well-rounded person through the fundamental values of education that the school was founded on. Ancoro Imparo translates to I am still learning. It accentuates the importance of our education on the future, not venerating concrete archaic ideals. The children are the future are we not?

Monash 2 Loyola 0

Round 3:
The Mandatory School Orientations
From what I can remember of Loyola's orientation it involved a bunch of mandatory meetings in stuffy rooms where staff and faculty and priests introduced us to the campus, its policies and procedures. We had to attend meeting after meeting that felt like lectures, one even circulated around the statistics of students who drank, smoked and went out, what the presumption was and what the reality was. It all seemed as skewed as it was boring.

At Monash our mandatory Orientation meeting involved a shockingly lively powerpoint and presenters for eight o' clock in the morning. They were sharing inside jokes, casually dressed, gave out boomerangs, we played country trivia, they showed us Youtube clips, played songs, and encouraged us to go on Facebook and add them. Oh yeah and the day started off with pancakes with ice cream on top, the rounds been over since then.

Monash 3 Loyola 0

Round 4:
The O-Week Activities

All I remember from Loyola O-Week was an awkward casino night where we walked in confused and questioning why it was our first night out as college students and we were still sober.

At Monash, may I repeat, "the week we weren't real people."

Monash 4 Loyola 0

Round 5:
Club Fairs


Back at home, the club fair was held for one day as two or three representatives stood behind fold up. tables.

Monash's involved a tarmapoline, kegs, a shot ski, free food, free slushies, live bands, and a photographer to capture the madness of it all.

Monash 5 Loyola 0


Round 6:
Going out/Night Life
York Road vs. Melbourne

At school we are limited to the hole-in-the-wall bars that are fake ID's permit our entry in the 20 out of the dailyfinance.com's top 25 most dangerous neighborhoods. Your chance in becoming victim in one of the crimes committed annually? One in Nine.

Melbourne is rated one of the top most liveable cities, and for obvious reasons. Our first night out the streets were aligned with intriguing architecture, fountains, aesthetic lights and oh yeah, we're legal here!

Monash 6 Loyola 0

Round 7:
On Campus Hangout
The Quad vs. Lemon scented lawns

Similar to Loyola with its iconic "Quad" where students hangout in between class time, Monash has its Lemon scented lawns. So far I've never noticed the scnet of lemon, maybe its because the smell of the ceaseless on campus barbeques overpower it. Free food, need I say more..

Monash 7 Loyola 0

Round 8:
Sports
Greyhounds vs. ?!?!?

It's strange to me that Melbourne is the "sports capital of Australia" yet I still haven't figured out how that transcends to Uni. When I asked what the school mascot was no one knew, and most didn't even know what a mascot was, or even the school colors. There's no such thing here really as school teams that represent Monash Uni and compete against other Unis, as far as I can tell.

At Loyola we proudly wear our green and gray, we support our athletics through raging crowds at games across a whole range of sports and we even have a campus greyhound both mascot and an actual dog. Plus, I'm a cheerleader and this lack of school spirit is actually torture.

Monash 7 Loyola 1

Round 9:
Residence Halls
"Dorms like palaces" vs single rooms

At Monash you get a single room, but your not alone for long. Let me put it this way, my fear of spiders has officially been cured from them becoming my makeshift roommates. They're in my room, they're all over the bathroom and there's this peculiar green praying-mantis looking guy whose corpse has been stuck, completely in tact to the point where you'd still think it was alive and kicking on the hallway wall. Really, I would not even know it were dead if it weren't for the fact that I've been walking past him about five times a day for the past four months and he hasn't moved.

Back at Loyola our dorms alternate between being ranked number one and number two in the country. And nothing beats coming home to your adoring roommates after a long day of class, especially in a spiderless room.

Final Verdict:
Monash 7 Loyola 2