What You Need To Know About Phins’ Culture as a First Year Student

Each campus has its own culture embedded in the walls of every classroom, every dorm room, every athletic field, and every building. Our Phins who live up on the hill on the Heights have their own culture too and it’s one that will live within you for your time here and proceeding.

If you do not know a lot about the Phins’ culture, it will not take long to find out.  Our Phins don’t swim alone much like they don’t swim alone in the wild. Wherever you are on campus, there will always be a smiling face looking at you. Even someone who you know is in your class but maybe have not talked to will smile and say hello. There is always someone around to hang out with and familiar faces everywhere to remind you how close knit you will become. Everyone here will be friendly and want to just get to know you. We don’t put anyone above anyone else, regardless of what activities you are in.  All Phins are treated the same and stick together regardless of what your life may be like outside of the classroom.

Part of Phin culture also means that you are going to anticipate Opening Night for your time here on the Heights. Opening Night is an event that happens every year the night before the first day of classes in the fall. You will look forward to seeing some of our amazing performers, getting some pizza or ice cream, getting a free cup and hat, or even going and play some of the games that will be there. Opening Night gives you a chance to kick back with your friends, catch up, and have some fun before the start of the new semester. The night always ends with fireworks being set off to symbolize the start of a new semester, new year, and the start of something great. Many fellow Phins go so it’s a chance to get to know some new people and see all of the familiar faces you will see throughout campus (and even some you might get to know better).

Along with anticipating Opening Night every year, you will also yearn for the annual Dolphy Day. It is the event everyone talks about, reminisces about, and gets excited for. It is the annual celebration of summer and nicer days here on the Heights and is celebrated by a day off from classes and being able to hang out and enjoy the entertainment on the quad by the DJ brought in by the school. Everyone participates and is outside enjoying the day until the final call hits around 5:00 pm. Everyone goes back to their room exhausted from the day’s activities that start at 7:00 am. It is a day you will love and look forward to. Seeing the Eric Dolphy statue over by Nelligan Hall will make you excited once the snow melts off him and you can see the final finish line for when the day will arrive.

Being part of Phin culture also means you get a choice regarding to your Jesuit experience. People ask if we are required to go to Mass. Whether you are very religious, somewhat religious or not very religious at all, Le Moyne gives you the choice to be what you want to be. One of the beauties of being a Phin is you have the choice and no one is going to make you feel one way or another about your faith experience. Being part of the Jesuit experience here on campus also means that you will have access to all of the service trips we make abroad (like the trip to Ecuador in the winter) and some of the service opportunities that we have locally to help others. These trips are meant to set an example of what being Jesuit is and how we help not only others on campus but the community as a whole without second-guessing it.

Lastly, something you should know about Phin culture as a first year student is that you will find yourself becoming the best person you could ever be or even imagined. Phins stick together – just as we triumph together; we ride the waves in between. It is a close-knit community and anyone on campus will attest to that and tell you just how amazing it is to be a Phin. You look out for each other, help others without a second thought, and become the greatest person people will know. Our alumni are also very close to our community and when they see you out in public they may come over, reminisce for a bit, and end with a “‘Phins Up!”  Our alumni look back on their time here with love and miss every second of it. They will tell you stories and you will listen in awe about how similar your experiences are, what you have to look forward to, or how much times have changed since they were living on the Heights.

No matter what year you are, these things are apparent everywhere you go on campus, and off campus. Whether you are making a new friend, screaming your lungs out at a sporting event because the ref doesn’t make the call in our favor, get sunburnt on Dolphy Day, or an alumni pays your bill with a note that says “thanks for bringing back memories”, the love and culture that we have here on the Heights will be apparent. I can’t wait for you to experience this first hand and fall in love with being a Dolphin!

Paige Martin, ‘21
B.A Marketing
Digital Intern