A list of terms, acronyms, and phrases that may be confusing to someone who doesn’t live on campus.
All School Party: Beginning of the year school party where all classes (Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, Freshmen) are invited to a themed party held on campus.
Balboa: A male and female residence hall for upper classmen and sister hall of Newport.
Balport: Common name for the combination of Balboa and Newport Halls.
Broomball: Ice hockey played with brooms and in regular shoes instead of skates.
Business Services: Accounting for campus. Handles student accounts. Located on the first floor of Scott.
Café: Cafeteria, also known as dining commons, DC, or Caf.
Campus Link: RA’s office when they are on night duty in Towers lobby.
Campus Mall: The lawn between the Café and Admissions.
Campus Public Safety: Security on campus.
Catalina: Primarily sophomore and transfer female residence hall by the baseball field and behind Newport and Balboa Hall.
City Serve: Campus local outreach event.
Community Integration: Local and Inner City outreach.
Cove: Student lounge area across from the Café.
Deck the Halls: Laguna Hall event that involves the females of Laguna who decorate their floor for a Christmas Competition.
Delta Kappa: Honor society. Students are nominated by staff and faculty and then approximately 10 students are chosen from a Delta Kappa committee. Chosen students’ names are displayed on the bricks in front of the library.
DTR: Define the relationship. Several benches around campus are known to host many of these conversations.
FASFA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid; must be completed in order to receive financial aid.
FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: Law protecting the privacy of student education records.
Financial Aid: Department on campus that takes care of grants, loans, and financial support on campus.
Forrest Room: Located in Needham Chapel Courtyard. Named after Barbara Forrest.
FSB: Freshmen/Sophomore bowling.
Frontline: New incoming student orientation program, also known as, New Student Orientation (NSO).
Global Initiatives: Global missions program.
Gold Pride Week: Held during homecoming week, events are geared toward school pride.
Grad Psych: Graduate Psychology program also referred as GRPS.
GYRAD: “Get your roommate a date,” floor event. Also known as Hook A Brother Up (HABU).
Harvest Party: Harvest Party in the Fall.
HATB: “Hands Across the Border,” Spring break mission trip to Mexico.
Heath Lawn: The Lawn outside of the Heath building.
Heath: A building that hosts classes on the first floor and hosts the Business, Religion, English, Communications and Women’s Center departments on the second floor. Named for the Heath family.
Homecoming: The week reserved to welcome back alums with activities for them to reconnect to each other and campus.
Huntington: Male residence hall that is the brother hall to Laguna.
IT: Information Technology department that oversees the computer systems on campus.
JSB: Junior/Senior banquet.
Just As You Are: A Laguna hall event that helps bring out true beauty.
Kickin’ It Old School/Floor Wars: A Laguna hall event where the floors battle each other in elementary school type games (dodge ball, kick ball, etc.).
Kissing Fairies: An annual tradition at least 15 years old. The 6th floor Laguna females dress up as fairies during the Harvest Party.
Laguna: Primarily freshmen female residence hall that is the sister hall to Huntington.
Lyceum Theatre: The performing arts theatre on campus.
Midnight Breakfast: A breakfast at midnight in the café during finals week.
Mr. VU: A second semester school event to vote for the guy who best represents Vanguard.
Music Studios: The Music Department.
NPM.: Nursing Program Modular.
Natural Science Offices: Science, Math, Kinesiology Department.
Needham Chapel: Chapel named after former President Harold K. Needham.
Newport: A male and female hall for upper classmen and sister hall to Balboa.
NMC: Newport Mesa Church, the main place for chapel service on campus.
NMC Dome: Small dome building next to Newport Mesa Church that is used for their youth group.
Open House/Open Hours: Hours when members of the opposite gender can be on a floor/wing or room.
Outreach: Common name for Local, Inner City, and Global mission programs.
Outtakes: Coffee and snack shop located next to the Cove and Bookstore.
PECL: Classrooms located on the second floor of the Gym.
Pre-VU: A time when prospective students come to view the campus.
Price Room: Named after Art and Betty “Bea” Price. Located in the Café.
PLUS Loan: A low interest federal education loan parents can take out for their students.
RA: Resident Assistant; student who oversees a floor in the residence halls.
RC: Resident Coordinator; a part-time employee with a bachelor degree that assists in overseeing a residence hall. They live in the building they oversee.
RD: Resident Director; professional staff with master’s degrees that oversee an entire residence hall, manage the RA staff, and live in the building they oversee.
Science Buildings: Classrooms located next to Natural Science Offices.
Scott: A multi-purpose building used for classrooms, Admissions, Business Services, Financial Aid, Counseling Services, Disability Services, Career Development, Learning Center, Student Success and Retention, SPS, Communications Lab, and Liberal Studies/Grad Education.
SFO: San Francisco Outreach mission trip during Spring Break.
SGA: Student Government Association
Smith: Building where classrooms, Administration, Human Resources, Alumni, Marketing, and Kinesiology lab are housed.
SOCS: Sociology building used for classes.
Sojourn: Vanguard’s yearbook.
Spirit Flag: A 10+ year tradition in Laguna Hall. The spirit flag is given at major hall events to the most spirited floor.
Synecdoche: English journal of student works that is published at the end of every year.
The Basement: Rooms below the Heath building used by mainly Music students to practice instruments.
The Bridge: SGA offices and student lounge. Also home to the yearbook office.
The Lion: A statue of the school’s mascot located in front of Scott (so we have nicknamed him Scotty). Given as a class gift in 2002.
The Pit: The Gymnasium on campus.
The Towers: A reference to Huntington and Laguna Halls.
The Voice: The school newspaper.
The VUSC Letters: A senior gift of big blue acronym Vanguard University of Southern California letters on the campus mall.
Towers Lawn: The lawn on the backside of Laguna and Huntington Halls.
VC: Vanguard Centre. Off-campus apartments that are owned and run by Vanguard.
VU Film Festival: Film festival put on by communication students in the Spring Semester.
Week of Champions: Huntington Hall’s annual competition. A 10+ year tradition. Each floor competes against each other in different sports for the championship.
Whistledinger: Annual chili cook-off and county fair.
Woo-fest: Huntington Hall event put on to provide a show for ladies at VUSC.
