From Dome Dogs to Castle, a first-year’s guide to Syracuse University slang
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We were all once in your shoes. We’ve all dealt with the hassles of moving into our first Syracuse University dorm and trying to figure out our class schedules. Then there’s learning how to manage finances for the first time and bracing the infamous Syracuse cold.
But one reality that isn’t talked about enough is figuring out the meaning of common words SU students use on a daily basis.
You get a text from a friend saying to meet them at Castle before the first football game of the season against New Hampshire, but you don’t know what Castle is. Or you need a last-minute button-up shirt at 3fifteen, but you realize you don’t even know whether 3fifteen is a store or Syracuse’s area code.
To prepare for the upcoming school year, The Daily Orange decoded some commonly used lingo you’ll hear SU students using 24/7.
Cage
The Newhouse School of Public Communications’ Cage lends students video, audio and photo equipment. Cage Collective, however, is a student-run live music venue on Walnut Avenue. Daily Orange File Photo
If a friend texts you saying to meet them at Cage, make sure to clarify which Cage they’re talking about. One is located in the Newhouse 2 lobby where Newhouse School of Public Communications students can check out video, audio and photo equipment. The other is located on Walnut Avenue where you can hear upbeat music booming from an apartment complex.
One of the many student-run music venues on campus is the Cage Collective, simply known as Cage. While Dazed offered live student bands, Cage’s signature is student DJs who perform every weekend. Centering on house and EDM music, Cage is located in an outdoor space on the corner of an apartment complex near SU’s campus. Its accessibility makes Cage a popular party destination for students.
Castle
Though Castle Court is an off-campus housing complex, Syracuse University students often gather there before games. It’s a classic pregame spot ahead of SU football and basketball matchups. Daily Orange File Photo
While Castle Court is primarily an off-campus housing complex, it’s also the best place to catch football and basketball fever before a game starts. On game days, students flock toward Castle’s parking lot off of Harrison Street to spend time with friends and listen to music before games. For Charlie DiSturco, who graduated from SU in 2019, Castle’s connected to a special memory when SU basketball beat Virginia in a 15-point comeback to head to the Final Four in 2016.
“During my freshman year was the Final Four, where the team made the run and they beat Virginia in a (15)-something point comeback, and everyone stormed Castle immediately after, and it was all day there,” DiSturco said. “During the game, everyone locks in and goes to their own place, and then everyone’s like, ‘We’re going right back to Castle,’ and then you partied the night away.”
Collegetown or CTB
Collegetown Bagels offers a variety of cream cheeses and drinks. The shop is often packed with Syracuse University students on the weekend. Madison Cox | Staff Photographer
Opened in September 2024, Collegetown Bagels is a bagel spot on the corner of Marshall Street. With an expansive variety of cream cheeses — like green olive and honey walnut — and speciality beverages, CTB is often full of SU students throughout the day, especially during the weekends. When it’s sunny outside, the shop’s outdoor seating is typically full with music blaring from the speakers. Across the street, students sit in front of the Whitman School of Management and Huntington Hall with their CTB bagel or sandwich.
“The first time that I went, it was with my family because they were visiting, and I got their Power Plant sandwich. It’s like a vegan sandwich, and it changed the trajectory of my life,” SU senior Jade Dunn said. “Now I crave their Power Plant sandwich every single day. That’s the first thing I’m going to get when I go back to school.”
Crate, Harry’s, Faegan’s and Blucy’s
Located on Marshall Street, Harry’s Bar boasts a high-energy atmosphere. Other nearby options include Orange Crate Brewing Co. and Faegan’s Cafe & Pub. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
As you turn 21, you’ll probably hear these words thrown around. These are the four bars located on Marshall Street, boasting different atmospheres. For a more social, high-energy setting, Orange Crate Brewing Co. and Harry’s Bar will be the go-to spots, while Faegan’s Cafe & Pub features a more relaxed, sit-down layout. As for Lucy Blu Island Bar & Club, the establishment, located behind Crate, is being converted into another bar.
Each spot features deals and elements that stand out from each other: Faegan’s has Flip Night on Wednesdays, where correctly calling heads or tails on a flipped quarter will earn you discounted drinks, while Crate has an indoor and outdoor setting to enjoy with your friends. However, several times throughout the year, all four bars will come together for themed bar crawls, something many SU students ages 21 and older look forward to.
“During COVID, (Crate) opened a window and they were doing takeaway fishbowls, takeaway drinks,” SU 2020 alum Marie Albanese said. “We would all like social distance with our fishbowls around campus, which was insane, but super fun.”
Dazed
Dazed hosted live student bands in the basement of a house. Last fall, Dazed announced it would stop organizing shows. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
Before it stopped throwing weekly shows, Dazed was a music venue located on Euclid Avenue. For $7 to $10, you could enjoy a night of student bands playing in the basement of a house. Previously known as Redgate, the venue was recognizable with a red gate right in front of the house. While Dazed showcased a wide range of genres, its central focus was to highlight live student bands. Last fall, Dazed announced it would no longer be hosting house shows.
“My friends and I, we had so many nights there. They all blend together, but it was a very fun place,” SU senior Sami Rosenblum said. “Syracuse needs a good house party to come back because I feel like there were so many of them back in the day, and then they’ve all gone away, and it’s very sad.”
Dome Dogs
Dome Dogs are a JMA Wireless Dome concession staple. Though they’re just regular hot dogs, their low price makes them a popular game-day snack. Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer
Whenever there’s a game at the JMA Wireless Dome, you’ll always spot SU students holding at least one or two Dome Dogs — a game-time must-have. Dome Dogs are simply hot dogs offered at the Dome’s concessions. For only a few dollars, Dome Dogs are an affordable way to get your halftime snack fix.
“I’m going to Bird”
Bird Library’s seven floors make it a study-session staple. If someone heads to Bird, it’s a sure sign that midterm or final season is approaching. Haiqi Wang | Daily Orange File Photo
If someone says they’re heading to Bird Library, it’s probably a telltale sign that midterms and finals are approaching. It’s code for, “I need to lock in.”
Made up of seven floors, Bird is one of the best study places on campus, primarily for its mix of chatty and quiet spaces. But the basement of Bird is much more social than the sixth floor — take it from Rosenblum. Though she’s a frequenter of Bird, Rosenblum avoided the library during her freshman and sophomore years.
“The floors get quieter as you go up, but for some reason, I had no idea that was the case. And I went to Bird floor five, and I was actually so scared because I couldn’t make a sound, and I hated it,” Rosenblum said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so scared of this building.’ So I refused to go back for like two years.”
The Kissing Bench
If a couple kisses on the Kissing Bench, it’s said they’ll be together for life. The Kissing Bench is one of Syracuse University’s best-known legends. Madison Cox | Staff Photographer
The Kissing Bench serves as one of SU’s most famed legends. It’s said that if a couple kisses on the bench located between the Hall of Languages and the Tolley Humanities Building, they’ll be together for life. There have been instances where the legend of the Kissing Bench comes true and instances where it hasn’t.
But just remember, if you kiss your significant other on the bench, there’s a chance you’ll be tied to them for the rest of your life.
The Quad and the Promenade
The Einhorn Family Walk is Syracuse University’s main campus walkway. Also called the Promenade, it features benches and other spots for students to hang out. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
If you ask any SU student how the Syracuse weather is, they’ll immediately tell you that it’s cold and snowy for the majority of the academic year. But for a few weeks out of the year, students can be seen filling up the grassy areas of Shaw Quadrangle. While the Quad can get busy during these weeks, the atmosphere is livelier than ever with students sprawling across the grass soaking up the sun.
“The Quad was always a sign of spring during the spring semester when it would finally get warm enough that people would be out,” SU alum Jackie Homan said. “It would always be fun.”
A few steps from the Quad is the Einhorn Family Walk, also known as the Promenade, the main walkway that gets students around campus. In between classes, the Promenade can get packed as people trek to their classes. With benches and a seating area outside of the Schine Student Center, the Promenade is not only a hangout spot for students, but the iconic spot where Instagram account @sufits_ takes candid photos of what SU students are wearing. You may even spot students riding on unicycles.
Salt City Coffee
Salt City Coffee has six locations across Syracuse, including one that shares a space with 3fifteen. The shop serves traditional coffee beverages and speciality drinks, like a cereal milk latte. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
A few steps away from Collegetown Bagels is Salt City Coffee. A local coffee shop, Salt City Coffee has six locations across Syracuse. While the coffee shop offers quintessential coffee drinks like mochas and Americanos, its specialty drinks — particularly the cereal milk latte — are a popular order for SU students. With rotating flavors, the latte features different types of cereal milks like Lucky Charms and Golden Grahams. Salt City not only offers plenty of study tables, but shares the space with thrift store 3fifteen.
“My sister lives in Philly, and she has a coffee shop near her that does (cereal milk coffee),” Rosenblum said. “When I learned that Salt City did it, I was like, ‘Oh my god! I was so jealous of you, but now I get to include myself in this.’”
Westcott
The Westcott neighborhood is just a 15-minute walk from campus. With Recess Coffee, Rise N Shine and other local favorites, Westcott offers plenty to do. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
Although activities are constantly happening on campus, there are plenty of off-campus options to explore in Syracuse — the Great New York State Fair, Green Lakes State Park and of course, the Westcott neighborhood.
If you take a 15-minute walk northeast of campus to Westcott, you’ll be surprised by the variety of options offered in the area. For your caffeine fix, head over to Recess Coffee, while restaurants like Colucci and Alto Cinco offer a switch-up from the dining hall. Westcott also features popular brunch spot Rise N Shine and a music venue, Westcott Theater.
“Me and one of my best friends would take coffee dates during senior year, just us two,” DiSturco said. “The two of us would go and drive out. We’d get the peanut butter drink they have there. That was what we loved to do.”
3fifteen
For any clothing needs, 3fifteen has you covered. Located in Marshall Square Mall, the thrift shop sells SU merchandise, dresses and more. Emily Steinberger | Daily Orange File Photo
After you’ve gotten your caffeine fix from Salt City and before your class begins in Marshall Square Mall, head over to 3fifteen for some shopping. A thrift shop that sells everything from affordable dresses to SU merchandise, 3fifteen is the place to go if you need a last-minute piece of clothing for a game day or date night. From SU students to professors, everyone frequents 3fifteen — even singer Ross Lynch was spotted shopping at the store before his performance at University Union’s Block Party.
“If I’m making a video and need a little prop, I’ll go there. But if you need something quick for a game day, 3fifteen is really awesome,” Dunn said. “I also remember when Ross Lynch came in the spring. It was just funny because he was in 3fifteen holding matcha, so it was kind of ‘performative final boss.’”
Disclaimer: Charlie DiSturco formerly worked as a Senior Staff Writer for The Daily Orange. DiSturco’s involvement did not influence the editorial content of this article.
