As a lifelong New Haven resident, welcome and welcome back to you all. It’s awesome having you to help our local economy, but I have a few quick notes as a server in a downtown restaurant.

I know many of you are international students or haven’t worked in restaurants before, and thus aren’t familiar with American tipping structures. No problem or judgement there. But as one of the many people in this city who rely on a service job as our only income, I think it’s important to note that tips don’t work in the way you might expect.

Most restaurants here have something called a tip out system. This means we give a percentage of our total sales or tips to the bar and other support staff. At my place of work we tip 5% of sales to the bar then 12% of tips to food runners and bussers. When you decide to give your server $0 or under 10% of those serving you, this can result in the server actually owing money to the restaurant and essentially paying to work. Servers in Connecticut make $6.38 an hour. Though it is true that if we make under minimum wage for the day, we’re supposed to be given the full minimum wage by the owners. I will note, making minimum wage and living in this city isn’t the easiest.

Sometimes these businesses will only make up this difference for a week long paycheck. We also often work 12-14 hour shifts and are encouraged to not take breaks. We also often don’t get paid the legal requirement of minimum wage for the cleaning we are also often responsible for. I understand your impulse might be to tell me to get a better job or press charges, but I’d ask you in return for a lead on that better job and some money for those legal fees.

Servers here are often also responsible for tasks you might not expect. We don’t just take orders, but clean bathrooms and the restaurant, memorize new menu items, their ingredients, and drink pairings, and follow pretty extensive steps of service in nicer establishments.

When I’m serving Yale students who sit in my section with laptops for hours on end who leave me with no tip, I often think of the “Five Hours at Shah’s Halal” piece. I feel like the residents of this city can seem like background characters to some of you. I can assure you we’re all real people with dreams and goals who work hard and have lives outside of service. Many of us are smart, read the same books as you, have degrees or are pursuing education, play instruments, and enjoy indie cinema. We ended up in different places somehow, but that doesn’t indicate any deficiency in our character.

I want to conclude this by saying I understand that this system sucks and being asked to tip 15-20% as a student might be a strain on your own budgets. If you don’t agree with it, I’d encourage you to get take out at full service restaurants or get food at one of the many fast-casual spots in the area. That will really show those restaurants how you feel ;)

Thank you for reading and good luck 🍀 this semester.

Hello there I am thinking to do EMT course at Yale. The courses are two times a week from 6-10PM. I am freshman and wonder if I should do in this semester or wait till spring once I am more familiar with the campus. I am concerned if it is safe to get back to my dorm after 10PM from science hill to the old campus? How would the students handle late night classes at Yale?

Hey people.

Welcome to New Haven. The town is great, the food is great (YMMV), and the overall scene is nothing to complain about either.

But rents are sky-high, everything is expensive, and eating out is stupidly expensive.

So, be mindful with your money.

If a burger with fries is $18, that means $18 plus the 7.35% sales tax. That's it. Nothing more is mandated by the state.
(Some places will, however, add an automatic 20% service fee for groups of 5+.)

Tips are not mandatory. The price on the menu is the price you are expected to pay, plus applicable tax.

Everything else is charity.

Somehow, you've been told that paying servers is not the duty of the employer, but of the customer. That's simply not true. Employers are required to pay their employees, subject to Connecticut's rules regarding tipped workers and the minimum wage.

Some servers will snarkily tell you:

I assure you that the restaurant owner and the kitchen staff do not necessarily agree with that philosophy.

And let's think about this for a second.

When a job doesn't pay enough, the normal dynamic is that the people doing that job look for different employment, or bargain with their employer for better compensation.
That forces employers to offer better wages.

That's how employment works. If an Italian cameriere isn't being paid enough, he doesn't stand next to the cash register glaring at customers until they give him money. He looks for another job or asks his employer for more.

So yeah. You bought a muffin.

It went from the delivery truck to the display case. That muffin is already not worth $5, and you don't necessarily need to add another 20% on top of it because someone handed it to you.

And if you really enjoyed your dinner, don't feel like you have to cash out 25%.

25%?! Are you crazy? That's an extra quarter of the entire bill.

And remember: depending on how the restaurant handles tips, the kitchen staff may not be seeing any of that money anyway.

Don't let anyone guilt-trip you into forced act of charity.

The world changes only if you refuse to do what you're told.

To those of you in undergrad colleges, can you recall any examples of events organized by a graduate affiliate at your college that actually felt worth attending or really stuck with you?

Hi!

I thought I’d reach out here since Yale has a lot of OOS students that can comment on New Haven. I’m moving from California and was wondering what areas to live in that’s not a far drive from YNNH on York St? I’m just graduated college, so looking for a quiet place with fun areas to go out on my days/nights off.

If you’re also from California, how are you liking New Haven? Is there anything I should know before moving here for work? For example, how cold are the winters, how bad is the traffic, parking situation, etc.?

I read a lot about “safety” in New Haven but having been in LA, San Francisco, and San Diego I’ve been around my fair share of homeless people and city crime rates. Comparing New Haven to those experiences, is it really that bad?

Hi everyone! Offering a lease transfer / unit assignment for our entire private 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment on Dwight Street. This is for the FULL unit to yourself (not a room share or per-bed pricing).

### 📍 Location

* **Address:** 275 Dwight St, New Haven, CT 06511

* **Neighborhood:** Historic, tree-lined stretch of Dwight St between Elm & Chapel. Very popular with Yale grad students, postdocs, and YNHH medical residents.

* **Proximity:** Less than a 10-minute walk to Yale Art & Drama buildings, Broadway shops/cafes, and around the corner from YNHH St. Raphael Campus.

### 💵 Financials & Terms

* **Rent:** $1,900/month total for the full unit.

* **Utilities Included:** Heat and hot water are INCLUDED. (Tenant only covers electricity and internet).

* No fee or background check fees).

* **Move-in Date:** Available immediately.

* **Lease Terms:** Flexible options available (academic year schedule through May 31, standard 1-year lease, or month-to-month after May 31).

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* **Layout:** 815.5 sq ft first-floor unit (elevated 1.5 stories off ground level for privacy and sun) in a classic New Haven brownstone/townhouse structure.

* **Natural Light:** Rear bedrooms get Southeast morning sun; front living room catches Northwest afternoon light.

* **Windows:** Energy-efficient double-pane windows installed throughout (great draft reduction, soundproofing, and lower power bills).

* **Outdoor Space:** Access to a shared, fenced-in backyard with a lawn and brick patio.

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---

**Photos & Inquiries:**

DM me directly if interested! Please include a brief introduction about yourself and your target move-in date. I can share photos, virtual walk-throughs, or schedule an in-person showing.

I am a current freshman and I know it’s only been a week, but I’m so worried. I have a bunch of acquaintances that I can walk with if I see them or get lunch if I bump into them. but no legitimate friends where I can text them to meet up or side quest. I didn’t know what to do. I feel so lonely all the time and I’m scared it’s going to be like this for the rest of the year or even college.

Hey,

I’m a 2nd-year premed but was looking at picking up the BA in S&DS as a second major and was wondering how the general difficulty of courses tended to be - I was specifically wondering if anyone could speak to the harshness of the department’s grading/curves and how hard pulling A/A-‘s is? I don’t have a ton of coding experience, and I’m fine with math but am no prodigy of course. Thinking of taking classes like 238, 242, etc.

Thank you in advance!

I look through the syllabus of S&DS 2650 Intro ML, and I know half of the course materials is in R. Do you recommend that I take S&DS 2650, or take 3650 directly?

title. which is easier

Hi, I was wondering what the photography scene at Yale is like? Classes, clubs, publication opportunities, both on campus and around the city etc. Any anecdotes are welcome! Thanks 🤞🤞

Section 205, bought the wrong one to sit with my friend. Only 20 min from campus. Message me if interested

Anyone taken Classical Arabic and can speak to how well you can master the language taking these courses?

I can read Arabic (with basically no comprehension) and would like to be able to fully understand the Quran when read / listened to - but I have basically zero base in understanding Arabic today. Is that possible if I take L1-L2 Arabic and then go the Classical Arabic route? Would it be an insane amount of work?

Would love to hear from people that have taken these courses!

title

If you get waitlisted for a freshman English seminar what are the chances you will get off the waitlist and into the class? How long are the waitlists? What can I do to improve the chances of getting in?

I was reading the syllabi for my first year classes and why do they make it sound so scary? Like I’m lowkey stressed that I might not do well. Is it really that hard

Hi, I am thinking of bringing my flute with me when I come to Yale but was wondering if there is any place where I can take a class to learn to play the flute or a club that teaches you how to play. I got the flute not too long ago and have been trying to self teach through youtube but thought it would be cool if I could also get some more formal instruction.

Incoming first-year here, planning on a major in the social sciences!

I’ve never been amazing at math, and I’ve always had to put a lot of effort in to get by. Unfortunately, I think I’ve built up a habit of memorization rather than understanding.

I want to learn how to actually use math in real world applications, but more than just seeing examples, I want to be able to come up with my own solutions or applications. Anything from surveying and polling to optimization and further (not sure what thatd entail).

Does anyone have course recs I could look forward to here at Yale? It might be too specific of an ask, so if anyone has other advice, I’d be so very grateful too.

Hi! Incoming first-year here. I was wondering whether it is possible to double major EP&E with English or if it isn't really feasible

How is this schedule for a first year? Decided to go light on the math bc I have so many classes. Any feedback/thoughts for stem classes esp ling 2270 would be helpful!! Is 5.5 credits too much....I just wanna be prepared