November 2015 – Page 4 – Life @ U of T

Why Would One Strive to Fail?

I didn’t know what to write about this week, but then I went to my Olympic lifting class and the “eureka” moment happened in the strength and conditioning centre (SCC) between sets of clean pulls (literally picking the barbell up two feet off the ground and putting it back down). The reason the SCC intimidates a lot of people is because of the Olympic weight lifters. The SCC even offers OWL-free hours (OWL= Olympic Weight Lifting)! Why be intimidated? Because Olympic lifting tends to come with a lot of noise. Primarily the sound 250 lbs makes when it falls from 5-6 feet up. It’s loud.

A visit to the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery / University of Toronto Art Centre

The other day I was rushing through the UC Quad, something I do on the regular, when I did something out of the regular, I stopped to read the sign that I usually side-step to avoid. This sign lives outside of The UTAC. The Justina M. Barnicke Gallery / University of Toronto Art Centre is one of those places that I've been promising myself I'd visit, but could never quite find the time to do so. The sign drew me in with its poster-board charm, and I decided to abandon my readings for an hour and finally make good on my promise.

photo of the UC tower taken from outside the art centre, facing the quad

Press Send and Prosper: E-mailing Profs

Cyberspace: the final frontier. These are the enterprises of the modern student. Her undergraduate mission: to explore strange new syllabi, to seek out help and resources, to boldly go where many students have gone before… …Her professor’s UTmail+ inbox. Okay okay, maybe e-mailing a professor isn’t quite as exciting or high stakes as hiking through Andoria, but it can feel like a monolithic task. I have heard all sorts of horror stories—everything from sending a prof the wrong e-mail to accidentally using a text abbreviation! Shudder.

Pictured: Spock from Star Trek staring at a computer — Spock is unimpressed by "lol jk" Picture courtesy of http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/

After three years of interacting with professors through various mediums, I think I am starting to get the hang of it.

Here is what I always keep in mind when I’m drafting an e-mail:

Life Unplugged

The beginning of November marks the start of “Unplugged” month at U of T, which is an initiative that encourages students to escape the tight grasp of their social media accounts. Who hasn’t felt that nagging feeling to check your phone at least twice during your one hour lecture or the all-consuming fear that your insta-hashtag is “too literal”?. Inspired by Madelin’s leap of faith into a notification-less world. I decided to embark on a challenge of my own: to delete all my social media apps off my phone for an entire week. Here is my story: "UNMISTAKEABLE LAW & ORDER ‘DUN DUN’ SOUND EFFECT"

#UofTRemembers: Remembrance Day events on and around campus

November 11 is Remembrance Day. This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the writing of “In Flanders Fields” by U of T alumnus John McCrae. There are lots of ways for you to learn about the history of U of T’s involvement in the world wars and pay your respects to Canadian veterans this week on and around campus. Visit Soldier’s Tower and see artifacts, photos, and the memorial room. The Soldier’s Tower in Hart House is a stunning memorial to U of T’s veterans. They’re holding open hours for the U of T community to drop in and explore. Tuesday, 12pm-3pm Wednesday, 11am-4pm (anticipate line-ups) Attend U of T’s annual Service of Remembrance. Each year, this service takes place outside by the Soldier’s Tower war memorial between University College and Hart House, and is followed by a free public reception in the Great Hall of Hart House. There will be lots of interesting, insightful speakers from the U of T community. For more information about the service, check out U of T’s alumni website. Wednesday, 10:20am-11:00am

The 2013 Service of Remembrance at Soldier's Tower. Courtesy of U of T Archives. — The 2013 Service of Remembrance at Soldier's Tower.

Exchange Expectations vs. Reality

Before leaving on exchange, I had a clear (and very unrealistic!) vision of what my everyday life would be like: I would spend my days wandering around Edinburgh, taking photos and going to beautiful sites, going out for coffee, keeping a travel journal, meeting friends for lunch, going to lots of events, and travelling to different European cities on the weekends. Somehow, nothing school related ever really made it into that vision of everyday life. Lectures? Studying? I wasn’t convinced that those things actually existed when you went on exchange. Wouldn’t they just kind of…stop? Or take care of themselves?

A photo from a weekend trip to Venice, AKA what I thought I would be doing every weekend.

Spotlight on Nursing!

As your Professional Faculty blogger, I hope to provide you with insight from other professional faculties at the University of Toronto. I figure the best way to accomplish this would be to interview the students and alumni of these programs. My first student profile will be Katie! She is a graduate from the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. She graduated the program in 2013, and she is currently working as a Registered Nurse at the Oakville-Trafalgar Hospital where she provides care for patients on the rehabilitation unit. I spoke with her about her journey in nursing, and was able to attain valuable insight about the program and the profession!

The Newbies and The Wise Ones: The Merits of Mentorship

We have all been newbies at some point or another. Fresh-faced and naive in comparison to The Wise Ones, a.k.a. the students experienced in the subject or activity. For most of us first-years, we are the literal definition of newbies in the face of the mysterious and ever-intimidating UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO.

The Trinity College red Frosh t-shirt — Just like how you can spot a Weasley by their red hair and hand-me-down robe (Malfoy’s words, not mine), you can spot a university newbie by their Frosh t-shirt.

Back in September, I was surfing Facebook when I came upon the English Students’ Union’s post advertising their Peer Mentorship program. It caught my interest, but I hesitated to apply for it because I wasn’t sure what the benefits of having an English mentor were. However, after getting a positive, “Take whatever help you can get,” from my English course TA, I decided to go for it.

Weighing In

Happy November all! What if I told you I have absolutely no idea how much I weigh? In fact, I haven’t weighed myself in years! It wasn’t always this way. In high school, I was a member of the school’s wrestling team. During wrestling season, not only was I acutely aware of my weight to the fraction of a kilogram, but so was my entire team. On top of that, I was responsible for maintaining or manipulating my weight in preparation for tournaments, so I could be at my "most competitive".

Watching Paint Dry Has Never Been so Fun – VUSAQ’s Art Battle

Brushes fly across the canvas, water spills, paint splatters. There's one more minute left in this round of the art battle, and each artist is trying their hardest to win. I had the pleasure to attend an Art Battle organized by the VUSAQ equity commission this week. The battle supported Sprott House, Toronto's first transitional home for homeless LGBTQ2SA+ youth. Between the great art, awesome music, and super cool people, it was truly one of the best events I've been to this year.

Month: November 2015 (page 4)