Eighty-five percent of Ashland University students hail from the Buckeye State.

AU’s current student senate President James Coyne is part of the 15 percent for whom Ohio is foreign territory.  

Coyne, a senior political science and history double major, is a native of Queens, NY, and is on a short list of students who call the greater New York City area home. 

I also happened to be on the list, spending 18 years living on Pleasant Avenue in the pleasant village of Pleasantville, NY, a 40-minute train ride from Manhattan. 

After surviving a year on Ashland’s campus, I talked with Coyne and three other out of state students about four things they wish they knew on their orientation weekend as out of state students. 

1. They Go Nuts for Their Nuts

On Saturdays in the fall you will see Ashland’s campus decked out in the colors of their favorite college football team. Those colors are not the purple and gold of AU but rather the scarlet and grey of Ohio State, who play 80 miles south of Ashland. 

“The most important advice I can give is know what a Buckeye is,” said Giana Loyer, junior marketing major and Vernon, NJ, native. “People from Ohio really love their OSU games.” 

Junior Bailey Bretz, a digital media journalism major hailing from Seward, PA, added, “The biggest difference between Ashland and my hometown, was that everyone loves Ohio State. No one in Pennsylvania obsesses over college sports, but they go crazy here.” 

Coyne said that he doesn’t quite get the love affair with OSU sports. 

“I wish I understood how big of a deal Ohio State football is,” he said. “It is essentially life to the people living around here.”

2. Amish Awakening 

At some point this semester, you will be standing on the corner of College Avenue and King Road waiting for the stoplight to change so you can head off to class or convo, when you see a low horsepower vehicle moving on the road. 

Unlike most cars with several hundred horse power, this vehicle has only one horse power. An actual horse. Hang around AU for a full year and you will see plenty of Amish buggies make their way through town. 

“We definitely do not have any buggies back in Queens,” Coyne said. “I was confused the first time I saw one. I did not know they left their communities.” 

3. Why does everyone say Pop?

As a freshman you will be spending a lot of time in Convo, eating and socializing. You might notice a new word you have never heard of: Pop. 

They are not saying, “pop” because someone’s grandfather is visiting. Rather Ohioans refer to that bubbly glass of sugar many people call soda, as “pop.” 

It is not the only new word you will have to add your vocabulary as junior accounting major and Eden, NY, native Mitchell Laing said. 

“Everyone here says y’all and tennis shoes instead of sneakers,”  Laing said.

Loyer noticed that even familiar words sound different in Ohio. 

“People from Ohio yell at you for saying different words such as soda, lollipop instead of sucker, and the pronunciation of Reese’s,”  Loyer said. 

4. Ohio friends can help you avoid home sickness 

While Ohio students can take a weekend trip home any time they feel a bout of homesickness, it isn’t quite as easy for us out of staters. 

Making friends, joining clubs and keeping yourself busy is a good way to avoid feeling homesickness. 

“My advice is that just know a lot of people go home over weekends and its going be tough at first not being able to go home whenever but it will be easier,”  Laing said. “Making friends is a good way to feel better.” 

Loyer said that sometimes you might have to think outside the box to have fun. 

“There isn’t always a whole lot to do in Ashland on weekends, so don’t be afraid to meet new people and try Ohio things,” she said. 

Bretz added, “Just have fun. Be social and remember that you’re not the only out-of-stater on campus.” 

Conye summed up the panel’s thoughts. 

“Immerse yourself in the Ashland community and the University community, both have much to offer your education in school and in life,” he said.

Being from out of state isn’t always easy on AU’s campus but keep these information in mind and you are on your way to becoming a full-fledged Buckeye!