I know I rag on Towson constantly, often with tongue firmly in cheek. I’m honestly surprised the administration hasn’t sent me a cease and desist order yet. If I ever run into Bob Caret in a dark alley, things might not end well for me. The truth is, though, that it’s very easy to find things you don’t like about something and then exploit them. Sarcasm, annoyance, and blind rage (as much as I sometimes enjoy them) are easy. Optimism; now that takes a little more effort.

Towson has been catching a lot of flack lately. It seems like everyone has some sort of issue with the campus, the town, or especially the administration. While a lot of the complaints are legitimate, I think the good aspects of Towson as a whole get overshadowed. So here is something I’ve been meaning to write for a long time; my favorite things about Towson.

I love that Towson’s Safe Ride is the police. Does anyone else think that’s awesome? The cops can be beating you down with a billy club as you run from a party one minute and be chauffeuring you home the next.

I love Starvin’ Student deals at Jerry’s Subs and Pizza. Monday night is $5 large pizza night. Wednesday night is $4 cheese steak night. I find it sort of ironic that these kinds of great deals can be found in such close proximity to the college bookstore. That’s like building an elementary school next to a strip club.

I love the “Uptown” bar scene. I’m not old enough to actually go, but so far I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the drunk traffic to and from the strip. I’ve learned that anyone standing outside a bar talking on a cell phone is invariably arguing with a significant other, and that my front yard is the perfect place to throw down in an alcohol induced fisticuffs.

I love the trumpet playing guy. He’s everything you could want in a homeless man; he’s not pushy, he provides a valuable service, and he’s not pretending to need bus fare or cigarette money. It really makes a big difference in the atmosphere, having his trumpet liven up the air. His throaty singing voice, although startling to unsuspecting pedestrians, is crazy and awesome.

I love how everyone and their mother knows what J. Friendly’s is REALLY about.

I love the pizza from The Den. I don’t care if it’s floppy and rubbery, it tastes amazing.

I love the hippies that congregate outside Brick Street and organize hippie rallies and play hippie songs on their hippie guitars. Of course, I don’t love them enough to join their causes, but still.

I love Tigerfest and Homecoming. For my money, nothing beats getting drunk with the sun still high in the sky. Towson has just the right amount of students to make events like this work. At a huge school, there are just too many people to have a centralized celebration without it turning into a full scale riot. At a small school, not enough people will show up to make it worth while. Towson’s population is just big enough for a few rowdy drunkards to throw beer cans at the police, but not so big that they need to respond with tear gas and German Shephards.

I love that Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) and Stacy Kiebler (former Baltimore Ravens’ cheerleader, former WWE Diva, and current long-legged goddess) are Towson alumni.

I love that, with a few minor exceptions, Towson is very centralized. Sure that means crowds, but it also means that you can move between buildings quickly. You never see anybody riding a bike around campus, and for good reason. It’s completely unnecessary and they would probably ride over someone’s feet and face plant.

I love campus-wide wireless internet. No matter what building I am in, I can stop listening to what the teacher is saying at any time and start reading The Onion instead. I can play addicting online games. I can do my taxes. I can even update my website. Now I just have to buy that film that goes over your monitor so people to the side of you can’t see your screen. Then I could even look at porn.

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I kind of liked hearing from people about their favorite horror movie antagonists. So, if you have something to add I’d love to hear about it. What’s your favorite thing about Towson?

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