Here at Washington University, we have an accumulation of some very bright and creative minds. In my time here, I’ve been impressed and almost fearful of how far Wash. U. terms, places and locations can be twisted into the weirdest acronyms and words. With a campus already filled with acronyms for locations that visitors and pre-freshmen simply don’t understand, it’s a wonder we even want to come up with more. For those of you looking to widen your niche Wash. U. vocabulary, here’s Scene’s Staff favorite, strange Wash. U. terms.

WUWU: Wash. U. Women’s Ultimate
It’s a pretty self-explanatory and reasonable acronym, but it makes me chuckle every time I hear it. Instead of just saying the acronym letter by letter, it’s generally pronounced “woo-woo,” like you are mimicking some kind of monotonous siren. I love it so much because I think without this catchy acronym, I’d have no idea we had a women’s ultimate frisbee team, or even an ultimate frisbee team in general. I can just imagine spectators at their game screaming “WOO-WOO” in all of their Wash. U. regalia as unknowing bystanders look on slightly confused (but also inspired?). It’s a great marketing technique—and I’d imagine it makes for a great cheer.
—Katy Hutson, Senior Scene Editor

WUSICE: Washington University Students for International Collaboration on the Environment
I love the members of this environmentally friendly club, and its intentions are as noble as can be, but “Washington University Students for International Collaboration on the Environment” is way too long and too hard to remember to be the most effective club name. I guess that’s where the utility of the acronym comes in, but in my opinion, any acronym over four (or five, max—I’m looking at you, WUSTL) letters is a few too many. WUSICE, I love you, but take a page from the Student Sustainability Board and rebrand.
—Hanusia Higgins, Senior Scene Editor

IPH: Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities
I don’t know if this acronym is ridiculous, but it’s definitely obscure. IPH stands for Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities, a rigorous, interdisciplinary program that combines multiple areas of interest. The grueling program loses most of its members part of the way through their freshman year, so chances are good that you’ve never heard of it at all. During sorority recruitment this year, a student told me she was an IPH major. “Oh, my suitemate is too,” I replied. I swear she almost cried tears of joy because she was SO happy someone finally knew what she was talking about.
—Ella Chochrek, Editor-in-Chief

SE7EN: ???
Now to be completely honest, I’m not actually sure whether or not SE7EN is an acronym. That being said, a secret Wash. U. group with alleged ties to the administration probably has more to hide within its name, besides than the fact that the society is really named Red Bones. Now, this brings up the question of the middle letter/number. Is it supposed to be a seven in the acronym or a “v”? We have no way of knowing what this super-secret acronym could be. It could be Secret Elect ‘76 Elements of Narnia, where ‘76 is a reference to 1776, which is furthermore an homage to George Washington. Just as likely is the acronym Students Entertaining Very Exciting Notions. All of this is to say that since SE7EN is most definitely (probably) a super-secret acronym, the average Wash. U. student will have to remain in the dark as to what the true meaning of it is, and I think that makes the acronym that much better.
—Josh Zucker, Staff Writer

The 560: The 560 Music Building
It’s not an acronym; this is a name that literally means nothing if you don’t already know what people are talking about. “The 560” is what those of us who are lucky enough to have ever taken a Wash. U. music class call the 560 Music Building. The 560 Music Building is called that because it is in fact located not on campus but on 560 Trinity Avenue, just south of the Delmar Loop. This is not something that the phrase, “I have to go to the 560 for class” really conveys, and honestly, the only reason you would understand that sentence is if you had also had a class at the 560. That’s too bad, because the Department of Music hosts some really wonderful concerts in the building, so there’s no reason that we should hide it with some kind of secret code.
— Jon Lewis, Senior Editor

WUPHF
How has anyone not yet mentioned the famous WUPHF yet? On season seven, episode nine of “The Office,” Ryan Howard launches WUPHF.com, his startup social media software company, which he markets to his fellow Dunder-Mifflin employees as the next big thing. The service sends a message to your friend’s home phone, cell phone, email, Facebook, Twitter and home screen instantaneously; it’s the do-everything app. But as Ryan’s investors realize it’s not exactly a money-making machine, they urge him to pounce on the one offer he has—not from another technology company, but from the (not real) Wash. U. Public Health Fund. The show, of course, is timeless, and Wash. U. is forever part of its legacy.
—Rohan Gupta, Senior Editor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL1k7P-UR-4