Campusology

Welcome to St. Mary's! Here's a brief intro to the University.

• Good Practices (Traditions and Events that set St. Mary's apart)
• In Other Words (Glossary of Rattlerisms)
• St. Mary's Miscellany (with a little of this and a little of that to acquaint you with St. Mary's)
• Zaragoza: The name "Zaragoza" refers to the town in Spain where Blessed William Joseph Chaminade took time to reflect on his life and was a place of new beginning. During his time in Zaragoza Blessed Chaminade was inspired to create the Society of Mary, the Marianists. Blessed Chaminade's experience in Zaragoza parallels the reflection and new direction you will experience as you begin your collegiate career at St. Mary's University.

Good Practices (Traditions and Events that set St. Mary's apart)

Alma Mater

"The Bells of St. Mary's"
The Bells of St. Mary's
Ah! Hear they are ringing
They sing out the bright hope
Of hearts firm and true
And while they are ringing
Our young hearts are singing
The praises of, the glory of
The Gold and Blue

Sung at many University events, St. Mary's alma mater brings to mind hope and pride in the University colors, gold and blue."The Bells of St. Mary's" is also used to mark important campus events (Baccalaureate Mass, Commencement, Homecoming Mass).Whether being sung before a game in Greehey Arena or at some other campus event, tradition calls us to point toward the Barrett Memorial Bell Tower.

Academic Convocation - To mark the beginning of new students' careers at St. Mary's, the University holds this formal ceremony at the beginning of the academic year, where students learn their responsibilities and expectations. The ceremony culminates with the "passing on" their knowledge, symbolized by professors lighting students' candles.

All School Masses - For special events, such as the Opening of School Liturgy, All Saints, AshWednesday, and Marianist Heritage Week, school-wide masses are held and classes are cancelled.

Alternative Spring Break - Not everyone goes to the beach for spring break. For some students, spring break is an opportunity to give back to the community. Last year, students repaired two homes in New Orleans through Operation Helping Hands, helped build homes in San Juan, and visited the UN in New York City.

Baccalaureate - Just as Academic Convocation marks the beginning of your time at St. Mary's,"Bacc" marks the end. This graduation celebration occurs the day before graduation. Graduating seniors, family, friends, faculty and staff celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving and final blessings for the graduating class. Right before Baccalaureate is the Ring Blessing ceremony, where the Marianists offer graduating seniors and their families a blessing over their new journeys.

Boo Bash - The Residence Hall Association (RHA) offers children a safe trick-or-treating environment on-campus. This year's Boo Bash will take place on Tuesday, October 27. It's a fun time when residents decorate their halls and deck out in Halloween costumes to entertain the kids.

Continuing the Heritage - The beginning of every semester is marked with a day for community involvement and civic engagement. Students, faculty, alumni and staff gather to participate in one-time service projects with St. Mary's University partner agencies. Fall Continuing the Heritage will take place on Saturday, August 22.

Distinguished Leaders Night - This event recognizes student leaders and groups for their contributions inside and outside the classroom. The Presidential Award winners are recognized at this event.

Homecoming - While every school has homecoming, nobody does it like St. Mary's. With reunions and a special Mass,HomecomingWeekend is topped off with Homecoming Oyster Bake ("Baby Bake"), a private event for alumni, students, faculty and staff.

Lin Great Speaker Series - This speaker series has brought to campus Nobel laureates and other distinguished speakers who represent music and the arts, science, engineering, technology and medicine, humanities and global interests, and economics, business and law.

Marianist Heritage Week - In celebration of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade's vision for Marianist education, this week includes Marianist Heritage Mass, Marianist Forums, the Marianist Heritage Awards, as well as observance of the date of Chaminade's death (January 22).

Midnight Madness - At St. Mary's, we shoot and score! This pep rally kicks off the basketball season with a tailgate party, games, performances, free food and prizes. At the stroke of midnight, the men's and women's basketball teams make their debut.

Oyster Bake - Fiesta Oyster Bake is an official Fiesta event that brings thousands to St. Mary's for food, music, fun and oysters. Started as an alumni tradition in 1916, this St. Mary's event became an official Fiesta celebration in 1975. Revenue from Oyster Bake helps support student scholarships. Fiesta Oyster Bake is held in April.

Presidential Award - One of St. Mary's most prestigious awards, students must be nominated by faculty and staff to receive this award.Only 14 awards are given to graduating students every year. Students are evaluated based on academics, service and leadership.

President's Peace Commission - To foster communication about current social concerns, a series of lectures and discussion panels is held every semester. Community speakers, faculty, staff and students all participate in the discussion.The fall PPC program is Oct. 27-29 and the topic is "In a Bad Economy, Searching for the Good."

Rattler Awakening Retreat - an annual retreat opportunity offered by University Ministry that brings together close to two hundred students to grow in faith and community. Awakening retreat programs are offered at colleges and universities nationwide.

In Other Words (Glossary of Rattlerisms)

AA&CC - In other words, the gym.At the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center, you can watch indoor basketball or volleyball games in the Bill Greehey Arena. You can also swim in a natatorium, dance in the Movement Studio, lift weights or run on treadmills in the open-late workout room.

Bell Tower - Short for the Barrett Memorial Bell Tower, this St. Mary's icon is located in the center of campus on the plaza.You'll often convene here for official events,memorial services, or casual student meet-ups.

The Caf - Officially the Diamondback Café, the Caf is located on the ground floor of the University Center for easy access to tasty food. Stop by for a quick bite before class or for a sit down dinner with friends.

Chamie - Pronounced "Shammy," this nickname refers to the Chaminade Hall resident hall named for BlessedWilliam Joseph Chaminade, the founder of the Marianists.

Dead Week - The week immediately before final exams, Dead Week is a period of downtime free of new coursework, events, or student meetings so students can study before finals.

Java City - This is your one-stop shop for great coffee, tea, pastries, and even Wi-Fi Internet access. Students often hang out on the adjacent amphitheatre or mingle with the University president over a cup of Joe.

Marianist - a Roman Catholic religious family of brothers, priests, sisters and laity present in over 38 countries around the world whom look to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the model of discipleship. They share in her mission of bringing the message of Jesus to the world. The Marianist brothers and priests (Society of Mary) are responsible for the foundation of St. Mary's University. The Daughters of Mary Immaculate (Marianist Sisters) and Marianist laity also work on campus and support the university mission.

The Outback - A series of apartment-style residence halls on the south side of campus for sophomores and juniors is referred to as the Outback.

PAs - President's Ambassadors are more than just hospitality greeters at official presidential events. This diverse group of sophomores, juniors and seniors from all majors promotes St. Mary's successes, values and traditions to help advance the University.

The Pecan Grove - A group of shady pecan trees and a pavilion called the Pecan Grove is the setting for large outdoor events or afternoon picnics.The University's Pecan Grove Press gets its name from this favorite campus spot.

The Quad - The Quadrangle is an open green space behind historic St. Louis Hall.A major hang out spot in between classes, the Quad is also where Greek organizations meet every Friday morning to display their letters, toss a football, and meet people in other fraternities and sororities.

The Rattler - First and foremost, you are a Rattler! St. Mary's students proudly call themselves Rattlers after this indigenous, fearless reptile. The Rattler is also the University's award-winning student newspaper as well as the name of a favorite sandwich that you can order at the Caf.

Rattler Man - This is the University mascot,whose identity is yet to be revealed.He attends many sporting events, Rattler Rallies, and other activities, but you'll have to ask the Rattler Man yourself who's behind the mask.

SGA - The Student Government Association is a representative body of St. Mary's students from all majors. SGA meets on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and organizes popular events such as BreakfastWith the President,Thirsty Thursdays, and the Leader-to-Leader Brown Bag Speaker Series.

The UC - Short for the University Center, the UC is home to the University Bookstore, the Caf, conference rooms, and a comfortable lounge area with couches and TVs.

UMin - Short for University Ministry, UMin serves the St. Mary's community in Catholic and Marianist traditions. Look to UMin for student retreats, faith enrichment activities,ministry opportunities, and faith and justice activities.

UPC - The University Programming Council is a fun organization that coordinates entertainment events to promote educational, social and cultural events on campus.

St. Mary's Miscellany (with a little of this and a little of that to acquaint you with St. Mary's)

• The founders, after whom "Founders Hall" is named, were Marianist Brothers Andrew Edel, S.M., Nicolas Koenig, S.M., and John Laignoux, S.M., and the Rev. Xavier Mauclerc, S.M. These four men, originally from France, brought Catholic education to San Antonio when, in 1852, they opened St. Mary's Institute, the forerunner to St. Mary's University.
• The first permanent site of St. Mary's Institute and, later, St. Mary's College, today is known as the Omni La Mansion del Rio Hotel. Located on College Street in the heart of downtown, and abutting the San Antonio River, part of the original school's "four story skyscraper" is incorporated into the hotel's architecture. If you get the chance to visit, look for the plaque that commemorates St. Mary's.
• Due to downtown crowding, in 1891 the Marianists purchased 75 acres northwest of the city to build a school for boarding students.The purchase price was $1 on the condition a school be built quickly. St. Louis College - renamed St. Mary's University in 1923 - opened its doors in 1894 and was often referred to as the "West End" or "Woodlawn" campus. That's where we are today.
• Future U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower,while a young lieutenant stationed at Fort Sam Houston, was paid $150 to coach the 1916 St. Louis College football team. Eisenhower returned for a campus visit in the 1960s, and over the years other future and current presidents also stopped at St. Mary's, including Ronald Reagan,George Bush (the first) and Gerald Ford.
• St. Mary's ROTC program was founded in 1932,making St. Mary's only the second Catholic university in the nation to have a military training unit. For 77 years St. Mary's has provided leadership in the U.S.Armed Forces,with nearly 30 alumni attaining the senior rank of general or admiral.
• The four points of St. Mary's mission are: community of faith, education, scholarship and service.
• Characteristics of Marianist Universities defines our approach to: educate for formation in faith; provide an integral quality education; educate in family spirit; educate for service, justice, and peace; and educate for adaptation and change.
• Before there was the AA&CC with its 3,800-seat Bill Greehey Arena, Alumni Gym stood for 70 years in the green space just north of the AA&CC. Construction on the old gym began in 1929, but for 10 years the structure had only a dirt floor as the Great Depression dried up funding.The famous Cadona Family Circus troupe practiced their trapeze acts in the rafters of Alumni Gym during their off seasons until the facility was completed in 1939.
• There have been 13 presidents of St. Mary's University and 11 of them have been Marianist priests. On June 1, 2012, Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., became the University's 13th president.
• Rattler athletics at St. Mary's is known for its winning traditions, boasting five national championships.
• St. Mary's was an all-male school for its first 111 years before going coed in 1963. It was the women that won the school's first national sports title in softball in 1986.Men's basketball followed in 1989, baseball in 2001, softball again in 2002, and golf in 2006.
• Among the nearly 170 student athletes recognized as All-Americans over the years, Letty Morales-Bissaro - who has worked at St. Mary's since graduating in 1986 - ranks high among them. Letty still holds several NAIA national records for her pitching prowess that led the Rattlers to the 1986 national softball title.
• The Bill Greehey School of Business is the lone fully-endowed school among St. Mary's five schools. The $25 million gift to endow the business school came in December 2005 from distinguished alumnus and 1960 accounting grad Bill Greehey, former chairman and CEO of Valero Energy Corp. and current chairman of NuStar Energy.
• Business education began at St. Mary's in 1923. For many years, graduates of the business programs received the Bachelor of Science and Commerce (B.S.C.) until the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) replaced that degree after WorldWar II.
• In 2002, St. Mary's celebrated its Sesquicentennial - the 150th anniversary of Marianist education in Texas - while the Alumni Association reached its 100-year milestone.Today there are more than 33,000 alumni of St. Mary's University living around the world.
• The student newspaper was introduced in 1919 and through a student contest was named The Rattler in 1924. Sports teams at St. Mary's carry the same moniker.Why? In those early days, when the college was sitting in the middle of the countryside, students would have to clear the playing fields of rattlesnakes before games could commence.
• On March 27, 1960, four St. Mary's students out on a spelunking trek near New Braunfels discovered one of the state's largest, most majestic cave systems, part of what now is known as Natural Bridge Caverns.
• St. Mary's has two sister institutions - the University of Dayton (Ohio) and Chaminade University in Hawaii - that also were founded by the Marianists.
• Campus gossip credits the late Brother Louis Schuster, S.M., a longtime English professor,with penning the lyrics to the school song,"The Bells of St. Mary's." The original music was composed in 1917 by A. Emmett Adams and it became a hit in 1945 when Bing Crosby sang lyrics written for a movie of the same name.
• St. Mary's became integrated several years before the landmark Brown v.The Board of Education decision in 1954, and HarryVictory Burns was the first African-American to enroll in 1951. St. Mary's was also one of the first schools in Texas to integrate its sports teams.
• The part of campus that today is referred to as "The Outback" was, until 1982, a nine-hole, three-par golf course named LawrenceWelk Links after its benefactor (ask your grandparents if you're not familiar with Welk).
• The first Oyster Bake was held in 1916 along the banks of the San Antonio River. Held in conjunction with the annual meeting of alumni, this men only event had a decidedly male menu: beer and burlap bags of fresh oysters.
• Women and children were finally allowed to attend Oyster Bake once the event was moved to the Pecan Grove in the 1950s. Until the early 1970s, the menu continued pretty much as it had begun - beer and oysters - although boiled shrimp was added to round out the menu.
• Oyster Bake became an official FiestaWeek event in 1975, and the following year the Alumni Association started the Alumni Scholarship Endowment with $40,000. Since then, hundreds of students have attended St. Mary's on alumni scholarships and the endowment has grown to more than $6 million. Fiesta Oyster Bake today attracts more than 70,000 patrons to the campus where they enjoy music on five stages and dozens of food items.