10 Things I Miss About Towson University

When I mention to people that I went to Towson University, two questions typically follow – where is that? And how did you end up there? Well, I will answer them now for all of you. Towson is about 10-15 minutes north west of Baltimore, MD and I ended up there after finding it in an online college search when I was in high school. I knew I wanted to go out of state for college, not that I don’t love Boston or New England, I just wanted to experience something new for the 4 years I was going to have to suffer through more school work. Thankfully, Maryland became my second home. So without wasting any more of your time by being all sentimental, here are the 10 things I miss about Towson University (no particular order to be honest).

1. P-Tux (Short for Patuxent)

This was 2 things – a Greek life mecca and some of the best on-campus food. If you want to see every fraternity and sorority in one place, you walked in to P-Tux during lunch – good luck finding an open table if your sisters or brothers weren’t already there. Located in the union, they had by far the best campus food – salad bar, paninis with waffle fries (not so much FO FREE, but delicious), a pasta bar and quesadilla station all made fresh. This was a gem I discovered my sophomore year, and there was no turning back.

2. Tailgating

So, apparently the word on the street is that my school has decided to become extremely lame and get rid of tailgating any games – I haven’t confirmed this, but if it is true, it is complete bullshit. Tailgating was an amazing time. Truck beds full of ice-cold beer, the usual grilled up burgers and dogs and loud music and partying before games. This is a staple at any big school (for those that don’t know, Towson has over 23,000 students – yea we are a big school) Granted, our teams were pretty awful and most people would tailgate and head to the bar or a party rather than the game, but either way it was the pregame for your Saturday and a great time!

3. Towson Hot Bagel (THB)

What cures a hangover? Good food, fast service, coffee, some sort of juice (Gatorade, OJ, etc.) and good people – THB has all of this. Is was the hangover hub of the area and if you didn’t see leggings and Greek letters then you were at the wrong place. The breakfast sandwiches were a cure all for hangovers and hunger. You place your order at the counter, grab your drink while you wait for your sandwich and then enjoy. Whether you went back to sleep after eating or kept the party going all day Saturday or Sunday THB was in your routine.

4. Greek Life

Say what you want about Greek life – paying for friends, selling out, whatever it may be – if you don’t understand it that’s fine but for those involved, including myself, it was the best decision I made in college. Especially coming from out of town, it gave me my best friends who were like me and were looking to be successful while having the best time possible. There was always someone to chill with, always people going out, always people willing to play football or soccer or go get into some shenanigans. Not to mention the amount or sorority girls roaming campus was great too.

5. Jimmy’s Cab

This one is a bit sarcastic. They were the most well-known cab service in town and EVERYONE called Jimmy’s to get from the pre game to the party or bar. They had these sky blue cabs that were recognizable anywhere and realistically, awful service overall but looking back, it is a staple of the school that I miss. We once had a cab driver that let us fit 8 or 9 people in his cab on the way to the bar – this included one person in the trunk.

6. Pizans

Pizans is s place that I actually hated toward the end of my college career, but again looking back it is such a memorable landmark and the only place that would deliver 30 racks to your house – so it has its place on this list. The pizza was subpar, but at 2am it was the only pizza available and a magnet for the walking drunks coming from uptown (the bar area in Towson) when the bars closed. Countless drunk fights take place outside this place and it is by far one of the sketchiest looking pizza places I have ever seen.

7. The Crease

This one might not make other people’s list, but it has a special place in my heart. My coworkers and I would go here after getting out of work at the Melting Pot uptown. I can safely say that the amount of money I spent in this place should have made me a part owner. We would play beer pong (its what they call it down there), take car bomb shots, and double fist beers till they kicked us out. It was homey and we always had a blast. I can remember going there to meet my friends one night when I wasn’t working. The Bruins has just beat the Capitals in the playoffs and I walked in feeling good and ended up doing a snow angel on the very dirty floor in front of my Capital fan friends. Thankfully I walked away disease free from that endeavor.

8. The Recher Theater

This venue is now some shitty nightclub that over charges to walk in the door, which was put in place after I graduated but while it was still The Recher Theater, it was an amazing place to see concerts for cheap money. I got to see my favorite band, Ballyhoo!, twice for about $10 each time – if you have never heard them definitely check them out – and I went to a Timeflies show for about the same price that was just one big party inside. There were countless other bands and performers that fit the college scene who came to perform here and it was a nice perk to the college area.

9. Burdick Field

I know this one doesn’t sound very exciting. How can you miss a big open field? I get it, but looking back, this was a centerpiece on our campus and remains so. There were always students on the field playing sports or hanging out on a nice afternoon and the best part about it was the beach volleyball court it housed – which apparently was taken down recently. Along with the casual nature, things got heated on this field of battle during intramurals. Flag football, soccer and softball were among the sports of choice for my fraternity and we always had a blast playing for nothing and everything all at once.

10. Monday Funday

This tradition began when my fraternity wanted a good time during the week and Monday was our target. We hooked up with a local bar to get some traffic through their door while having a great time – the bar name is being left out of the equation here. Within a few weeks, Funday Monday was the talk of the town and we may or may not have gotten a little heat for it, and a front-page story in the Towerlight (the campus newspaper). The point being, this tradition continued after we stopped hosting and our Monday night party legacy was sewn into the history books.

There are obviously far more places and faces I miss about Towson – my home away from home, but these are my top ten. Some may disagree, reprioritize or even call this list a complete pile of shit, but for me this is it. These are the objects, places and experiences that I remember being great and making my college experience what it was.