Orientation Week has come and gone, and fall semester is in full swing! As a new student, it’s important to get a sense of what exciting, engaging, exhilarating, absolutely Snapchattable activities there are to do with all of your brand new friends in Los Angeles. Here are a few favorite LA locations for Oxy students who are trying to get off campus and explore around the school:
1. 5 minutes on foot to margaritas with your mom at Señor Fish. Conveniently located on Eagle Rock Blvd. just a few blocks from campus, this beloved eatery offers both quality food and a chance for a forced, half-hearted wave at your group partner from Psych 101 who is sitting with their parents.
2. 10 minutes by car to being disgusted by the denizens of Silverlake. This quaint neighboring locale full of ovo-vegan bakeries called “Zhivago” is a great place to settle in for some people–watching, if by “people” you mean a bunch of 30-somethings competing to have the floppiest wide-brimmed hat and desperately hoping they’ll be confused for a B-list celebrity.
3. 30 minutes by car to exploring the filthy yet somehow exorbitantly expensive paradox that is Venice Beach. Plan a beach day with your “Stewie Squad !! <3” group chat. This Hollywood-picturesque favorite is home to both catcalling beach fiends who play acoustic renditions of “Santeria” on the boardwalk and Stan Smith-wearing bicyclists who coast down the middle of the street while holding an open mason jar in hand. Both types own multiple pairs of roller skates.
4. 6 minutes by car to being utterly underwhelmed by Oxy’s local In-N-Out. “You just have to go!” they’ll say. “Oh my god, I get such a food coma, it’s the best!” they’ll say. Track down a friend with a Toyota Camry, drive under the freeway overpass, and wait in line for twenty minutes to eat some damp french fries and an utterly average hamburger. SO Californian!
5. 15 minutes by car and a completely unshaded hour-long hike to the LA-exclusive secrets of the Hollywood sign. Griffith Park is a beloved day-trip location, renowned for its lovely foliage, exciting abandoned zoo, and breath-taking planetary observatory. But instead of bothering with all that, you should definitely head straight to the huge letters that spell “Hollywood.” They’re, like, giant, so that’s pretty cool, right? Navigate the labyrinthian trails to marvel at these large pieces of metal in all of their rusted, tetanus-y glory. Make sure to tap three times on the “Y” to open the secret chamber to Charlie Chaplin’s sepulcher. And just like that, a very California summer! Snap as many pics as you can. Something your stuck-up East Coast friends won’t experience on their peaceful, pristine, snow-topped campuses? Now that’s Instaworthy.
