It’s 2:47 AM, Sun Airway’s “Put The Days Away” is blasting into my eardrums and I’m attempting to write a deep and meaningful post for you all to read, start this semester off with a bang, you know?
Truth is, I don’t really know what to write about this first week back of the new semester (and my final semester here at the University of Toronto…as an undergraduate, anyway). It’s bittersweet in a lot of ways; graduating I mean. While first semester was very fruitful in terms of my academic pursuits, other things have began to fall to the wayside as I have become steeped in attempting to get the most out of my classes. As someone who is facing the prospect of graduation for the second time in two years, I have some advice to offer my fellow graduating students. While it is always good to remain studious and engaged in your courses — especially this late in the game — you are beginning the final four months of your undergraduate life and there are some other, perhaps equally important, things you’ll want to be mindful of:
Friends
While Robarts can be enticing with her long hours, many floors, and plethora of research materials, she will never be able to replace those people who you have grown closest with over your time as an undergraduate student. Time with Robarts will be necessary in the coming months, to be sure, but be equally sure to spend some quality time with your friends and close peers. These very well may be your final weeks to do so.
Your Post-June Life
Before you know it, if not already, you will be caught up in the busyness associated with any semester — let alone your final one. While it is ideal to stay on top of your readings and course assignments, be mindful of the fact that come July you’ll be a free bird; out in the wild and expected to fly on your own. The question for you is, however, will you have any place to fly to? I’m not asking you to decide your entire life at this very moment, but it is good to have some future plans post-graduation; be it a summer job, further study, or starting your career. By this time you should seriously begin to start thinking about what your life will be like with the social safety net of “being a student” no longer applicable come May 1st.
Enjoy It!
More than anything else, try to simply enjoy your final semester here at U of T. Despite the fact that your course work will be demanding, the weather will undoubtedly almost always either be cold, grey, dreary, or rainy, and you’ll eventually have to face that gnawing anxiety at the back of your consciousness that you are growing up and it really sucks; — these are ultimately your final few weeks at this wonderful, prestigious, and world-renown university, make them count!
I know I hide it well with my inappropriate sense of humour and infinite smile. But let’s be real, I’ve never been a “mentally stable” person; my heart palpitations are too strong and my thoughts tend to be too dark. I feel too much and think too much. And every time I let the darkness consume me, the chance of getting lost in it absolutely increases. This semester has been the most challenging period of my life so far. From my family situation changing drastically, to commuting for the first time, to screwing up the LSAT to having to keep up with 6 courses with everything going on–it was INTENSE. Not just physically and mentally, but spiritually. To be honest I did not believe in myself at all after August. My faith, my self-esteem and my mental health barely existed. No matter how much I smiled, tears were always just one thought away.
I don’t think I was depressed, I was just struggling. The first day of school, I ran out of my political science class and experienced my first panic attack. I cried on every commute in September thinking about what my life had become. I skipped my graduation photos because I didn’t feel worthy. And every time I fell, I fantasized about never getting back up. I was bullying myself because of my feelings of inadequacy, the pressure and I blamed myself for things beyond my control. I think its because before second year there were a lot of forces in my life which used to belittle me every time I succeeded – a bad habit I have internalized to an extent that I myself belittle all that is good in me to make sure I am never too confident or proud.
But in the here and now, I am the happiest I have ever been. And somehow, I did it. I survived. Not only did I survive, but the struggle has helped me become a new person—sublation I tell ya! Someone I am not ashamed of. Someone who I think is beautiful. Someone whose inwardness is self-critical but not self-destructive. I’m just in a really good place right now. For the first time of my life, I feel enough.
And a lot of it is because of your unconditional love, support and positive energy UofT. I don’t mean the institution; I mean the people. Some of you I have met only once, others I have known since first year, some of you only speak to me online, some of you I know like the back of my hand and some of you are just random well-wishers. Every YOU CAN DO IT, good luck message, compliment, word of advice, smile—every single act has helped me get out of dark episodes. You have no idea how much your little acts of kindness have helped me. There were times where I did not want to live any more and one of your acts of kindness would immediately remind me about how beautiful life is. And so I thank you all below.
You all had hope in me, even when I did not have faith in myself. You believe in me, more than I believe in myself. I promise to never let you down. I promise to bear the weight of your love and support in every action of mine from this day on. I promise to stay true to myself, and in doing so be an even better friend, mentor and source of positivity and inspiration in your life.
Thank you so much people at U of T for bringing so much light into my life during one of the darkest episodes of my life. You are all the well-wishing audience to the theatre that is my life. You fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness–ease my trouble that’s what you do. You fill my life with laughter, and somehow you make it better. And I promise to continue performing, as long as it inspires you to continue being beautiful. The reason I bare my soul and weaknesses through my blog posts and tweets is that I know that it may help or inspire someone experiencing the same kind of darkness as me. All I needed this semester was someone to do that for me, and you all were that someone. And so, I am forever your well-wisher.
Thank You Notes
My Twitter family: I love you so much. The exact minute I received bad news, you all shower me with the most beautiful words of inspiration and motivation. Thank you so much for allowing me to be heard and for unconditionally supporting me and wishing me well. I don’t care that all this lovin is online. You are all friends to me and deserve an entire chapter in my upcoming memoir: St.George St. You hold a special place in my heart because you are literally this beautiful force that moves me through Life @ U of T. When I fall down, you lift me up ever so gracefully. @sohanii @musing_ego @feliciakosk @acaciaaaaa @sarahjevnikar @ukanadian86 @jesicaminerva @bigmacguinness @theoren91 @rainbowserena @cyrusR @mayyce and to every single one of my 866 friends, THANK YOU.
Student Life Community Crew: Chris G, Tricia, Vahini, Chris, Crystal, Theo, Abdullah, Shak, Lesia, Vivian, Lori, Khevna, Ishita, Matteo. You have no idea how grateful I am for our weekly meetings on Monday. Best way to start my week. The amount of positive energy I absorb from our meetings helps me get through the week. I love us. Thank you for believing in me and always reminding me that my presence is meaningful.
Ethics, Society and Law Students’ Association: To the exec, to the students and to the people who come out to our events. You all are a source of support and positivity in my life. I love organizing and planning events for you; it gives my life so much purpose. And I find so much satisfaction in facilitating bridging and bonding between you all. Our program is such a beautiful source of community for me.
Professor Miedema: Thank you for believing in me, helping me plan out my life and listening to me vent about my frustrations. You have been such a wonderful source of guidance and support on this journey and for that I am so grateful. Thank you for always going above and beyond your role as a professor and being a mentor. I think U of T should give you an award because you have positively influenced the lives of SO MANY students.
My FLC Mentees: I love you all so much. You all are so beautiful and it makes me so happy to see how beautifully you have all come into your own. In helping you realize and actualize your potential, I realized my own sense of worth and potentiality. Running into you on campus, catching up, and yes, occasionally stalking your FB profiles makes me so happy. I don`t know why but I just find so much joy in the fact that you are all doing so well, considering how nervous and anxious you were about university in first year. I am forever your mentor, and always at your disposal.
And a Shoutout to my amazing friends: Anna, Jessica, Shaquelle, Sonya, Grace and Shbina for being my anchors this semester! <3
Thank you, friends. I look forward to completing my last semester at UofT with all of you as the wind beneath my wings. Best of luck with exams and final papers. and HAPPY WINTER BREAK. See you in the new year…that is if 2012 doesn’t happen first. I’m KIDDING.
On Wednesday I got a chance to swing by the Career Centre’s LinkedIn Workshop, the second installment of their Social Media Series, hosted by Perry Monaco, a Recruitment Product Consultant with LinkedIn. It was also probably the most useful workshops I’ve had the pleasure of attending in the last few years, and the Career Centre’s workshop page has easily become one of my favourite tabs. I am no longer (too much of) an awkward turtle with networking…at least not online anyway.
LinkedIn is the largest professional network in Canada, with 187 million members worldwide and 2 members joining per second. Canada is actually the fifth largest national network on LinkedIn (which is pretty impressive considering our population next to countries with populations like ‘Murica). The fastest growing demographic on LinkedIn also happens to be students and new graduates, and when 95% of jobs found in Canada are done through networking, it’s definitely a site you want to be on.
While I have a LinkedIn account, I haven’t really done much with it. To be honest, I found it completely overwhelming, which was ironic considering how much time I spend on Facebook & Twitter. LinkedIn, I came to learn, is a lot like being set up on a blind date, which in many cases with today’s day and age, you’d probably want to do a little google snooping beforehand. Imagine finding nothing except an oddly suspicious super pixelated picture on google images? Similarly, with an employer looking you up, a LinkedIn profile is the best way for them to find out a little more about you. This is something important to remember for generation-insta-tweet-like: your online presence should be the reflection of how you want to be portrayed to the world.
LinkedIn is not Facebook (I realized this very quickly. Did you know there’s an option to see who has looked at your profile and vice versa? Imagine if Mark Z got creative and did that!? The horror…) The picture you choose to put on your account should reflect the kind of person looking for a job, not a probable political scandal waiting to happen circa 2020. It also means that you should probably use your real legal name. Perry advised keeping it as simple as possible in order to get rid of any obstacles an employer may have finding you.
Get recommendations, especially since paper is so 2008 and the actual credibility of a recommendation, where profiles of who recommends you is easily accessible, and much more legitimate/not your best friend running to get the phone as your former supervisor.
Join groups, apparently LinkedIn has somewhere around 1.2 million groups, and you can join up to 50 groups and 50 more sub groups. They should be industry specific for you, and by participating in them, it can help people and other professionals connect with you.
Connecting with people can be anyone you want to connect with, including past professors, employees or classmates. One thing Perry pointed out –which I’m guilty of not doing- is specifying how you know the person you hope to connect with. It’ll ask you as soon as you send the invitation, don’t ignore it.
Building your network is one of the primary features of LinkedIn, and your first-degree connections (FB equivalent of friends) are like virtual handshakes. Friends of friends are secondary contacts, but still count as part of your broader network. Eventually, you could have a network of thousands of people, but it’s important not to let it become a numbers game. Perry stressed the importance of a quality network over one full of quantity, so don’t fret about connecting with your Rogers customer service rep, local teller or milkman. The colleague from your work-study last year will probably have more fruitful resources.
Because I already had been on LinkedIn, I didn’t find it to be as much as an information overload as someone who’s never been on, although even after registering it was still a bit of a maze. Luckily, LinkedIn helps you work through it.
And, since it is November and all, and most of us are the storage warring PDF’s like it’s the Gold Rush all over again, here’s a useful LinkedIn etiquette guide from career services.
Finally, I present to you my last gift- LinkedIn’s student job posting arena, where employers can post openings for free, that have to be entry level. It’s also why it’s important that if you’re out to get connecting, you get your LinkedIn going early, because as soon as you’ve finished reading this at least 600 people have joined LinkedIn.
Over the summer, I applied for a job as a receptionist at a dental office near my house. I was surprised and excited when I received an interview. The pay was great, the hours flexible, and I thought the position sounded interesting. The interview went smoothly but I was very nervous when I opened the post-interview email.
“Thank you for your interest in our company. Unfortunately, we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you the position at this time…”
Wait, what? I had to read the email several times. The rejection stung and even in the confines of my room, I felt slightly humiliated.
Rejection, be it socially, professionally, or personally, is inevitable in life. That doesn’t mean that it hurts any less. I’ve been turned down numerous times for various opportunities and I’ve noticed that I experience a mix of emotions when faced with rejection. I call them the “5 Stages of Rejection,” based on Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ “Five Stages of Grief” Model (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model). Without them, I wouldn’t be able to cope with a “no.”
1) Shock:
My first reaction to rejection is generally shock. I stare in disbelief and I hope that I am dreaming. But there it is, staring me in the face. REJECTED. I often sit there, glancing at my resume and replaying the interview in my mind, trying to understand what was lacking. When it finally sinks it, I quickly move on to the next stage.
2) Denial:
It’s amazing how quickly I sink into this phase as I try to deny that the rejection occurred. I begin to think “magically,” making up fictional scenarios for my own peace of mind. I tell myself “No, they can’t mean that. They probably got my email address mixed up with someone else’s.” When I’m forced to accept that there was no mistake, I’m ready to explode.
3) Anger:
Ah, the anger phase. I give myself the liberty to blame everyone and everything in sight. I make up excuses for the decision, telling myself that the interviewer has no clue what he/she is talking about. My work is the best thing to exist on the face of this planet so there must be some “shady” reason that they didn’t accept it. I’m determined to believe that the other party is dishonest, unfair, partial, and nepotistic. More often than not, unfortunately, the other party is just not impressed. And that hurts.
4) Depression:
In this stage, I’m the most vulnerable. I’m genuinely wounded by the rejection. Whether the rejection is big or small, personal or professional, I have a moment of internal pain. Unfortunately, I find that this stage lasts the longest. But when the “ouch” dies down, I can finally move on.
5) Acceptance:
Once I’ve moaned and raged about the rejection, the healing begins. At this point, I finally accept that my work was rejected possibly because it didn’t fit the project or perhaps because it required a skill that I was lacking or maybe because I wasn’t able to present myself in the best light. And once I’ve swallowed that pill, I’m able to step back and think to myself “It’s alright. I am a talented, hard working human being. There will be other opportunities for me to show that.” I give myself a mental hug and put myself out there again. I always hope to reach this stage soon. Thankfully, it gets easier with every rejection.
Rejection is never easy. What stage are you in? And how do you handle it?
Because it’s midterm season and we can all use a little bit of soul. The following post contains my opinions and are not necessarily representative of the Arts and Science Students’ Union.
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity via ASSU to meet with the Dean of Arts of Science, Meric Gertler as well as other representatives from the Faculty. Despite the serious nature of the issues being discussed, the atmosphere was friendly, cordial and respectful. It was a good meeting and I was glad that I was a part of it. Without reneging on its commitment to represent students, ASSU maintains a respectful and good relationship with the Faculty of Arts and Science. This isn’t just the case with ASSU though, it’s case with multiple student unions/governments and the dialogue that they have with the respective faculties. Too often, students have two misperceptions about student-admin dialogue.
One is that students are disrespectful to the administration. This, for the most part, is not true. Student unions (including the UTSU) and governments frequently meet with the administration to discuss various issues that are concerning. While there are disagreements between the two respective sides, the dialogue for the most part has been cordial. Showing respect, however, does not mean that students cannot criticize policies that they disagree with — so long as the critiques are based in fact and are respectful in nature.
The other is that administration doesn’t care to hear students. Once again, I find this to be false. While there are policies that the administration pursues sometimes that some students disagree with, representatives of the faculties and the administration have always shown a willingness to meet with students to facilitate consultation and feedback.
Respect, however, does not just fall into the realm of discussions between the administration and students. Respect is something that we, as students have to bring into all the collaborative work we do at the university. Whether this be working on a group project, sitting on a committee, or working with your club executives to plan an event, all discussions must be rooted in respect. You may not see eye-to-eye all the time, but disagreeing should not have to turn into being disagreeable. And truthfully, this is what happens at U of T – 99 per cent of the time. Students having conversations, planning events, working on policy, all working within a framework of inclusiveness and cooperation. I’d like to end it there, but in my experience writing for The Varsity, I have unfortunately witnessed discussions about how to move the university forward turn ugly.
I’d like to remind all students who choose to engage in discussions around student politics to keep it respectful. Charged language, hurling vicious adjectives and personal attacks may be acceptable in the realm of federal politics but at U of T, we are first and foremost students, not politicians. Such discussions do not promote inclusiveness, rather they promote divisiveness. You may disagree with a viewpoint a fellow student holds, but that is no reason to resort to mudslinging. I encourage all students, from here on out to conduct such discussions and debates in a respectful manner. We all must keep calm and carry on.
Good luck with midterms U of T – hold on, only a few more weeks till the holidays.
This week, I decided to check out the $5 lunch and Mental Wellness Fair, hosted by Health and Wellness, at Hart House. It was an eye-opening experience because I had no clue about the sheer amount of resources available on campus to help students with their mental health and wellness. After having engaged in conversation with many representatives of the different organizations there, I thought I’d highlight a few here:
This newly created student group seeks to change the conversation about mental health. In order to encourage honest and open discussion with other students, they advocate for mental health awareness and seek to remove the stigma associated with mental illness. They believe that a major step in making mental health treatment accessible to all is to create open and non-judgmental environments for those suffering from mental illness. Their intent is to create these spaces on campus.
Want to know more? Join them for Coffee, Cupcakes, a Live Talk and more!
Where: Centre for International Experience (33 St. George St., Cumberland House)
A student-led initiative, Healthy U Crew is dedicated to creating a healthier campus for all students. This includes both physical and mental health and wellness. The idea is that fostering healthier choices can help students to better achieve their personal and academic goals. The Crew is currently focusing on stress and how it can impact health and academics. This term they are travelling around campus asking students what they are worried about, and posting students comments and providing advice on the Worry Wall – check it out!
LTPB is a peer to peer health education program that addresses protection, prevention and cessation on campus. It offers students information and support with regard to smoking-cessation, tobacco denormalization and environmental tobacco smoke. They also offer ideas on how to help a friend (who wants to quit) stop smoking. Do you know what your CO level is? Get it checked at one of the LTPB displays around campus.
Peers are Here
Peers are Here is a non-judgmental drop-in space for students to connect with fellow students to talk about anything. Their philosophy is that by students sharing their own experiences with other students, it can help reduce stress and promote mental wellness through this mutual peer support. Everyone is welcome!
When: Every Tuesday, beginning November 6 from 3:00pm-4:00pm
Where: University College, room 259 (up the stairs beside the Registrar’s Office)
Contact: peersarehere@gmail.com or join the group “Peers are Here” on Facebook.
In short, there was great food (as usual) from Hart House, and I was able to learn a lot – not only about mental health resources on campus (and off campus) but also just about mental health itself. There are a lot of really passionate, friendly students on campus who want to further the discussion on mental health and make support and resources much more accessible. With all the stress that we put ourselves through during our academic careers I think it’s worthwhile to recognize and use the resources available at UofT, in order to enjoy the university experience to the fullest. Let’s join in the discussion and really make stigma a thing of the past!
Is there a mental health resource on campus that I haven’t mentioned? Feel free to mention it in the comments!
A couple years ago a friend and I were sitting in Professor Clifford Orwin’s POL200 class when we stroke up a conversation regarding academic journals and the lack of visible opportunities for students to get their undergraduate work featured at the university in a public manner (the day’s class was on Aristotle’s Politics or something, I don’t know). Needless to say we both thought that there was something missing at the university and that someone should fill this void. It was soon apparent that we could be the ones to take up this initiative (I mean why not us!?). This is my first note of advice: Inspiration. The best projects are the ones that have a good idea behind them, the ones that contribute something to university life that isn’t readily available otherwise. In my case it resulted in the creation of HUMANITAS: Victoria University’s Undergraduate Journal for the Humanities.
Turning this…
So you have your idea – now what? Well, this is where the hard work comes in: refinement of your idea and beginning the process of turning it into a reality. There are numerous options available at the university for students to assist in this process (including the funding initiatives I wrote about last week). The type of idea you have will obviously determine the type of ‘institutionalization’ you seek for it (is your idea for a one-time thing or something more along the lines of a permanent club or group? Will it operate university-wide or be more focused at the College level? These are the questions you have to ask yourself.). For students who are unaware about the processes involved in integrating their idea into the university this undertaking can be a bit daunting. For example, the first proposal HUMANITAS made for funding was rejected, which forced us to rethink our strategy. To see your idea become a reality requires a certain amount of Determination in learning about the processes involved and in not backing down in the face of obstacles or rejection. If you believe enough in your idea you have to keep pursuing it, don’t let start-up hiccups stop you!
…into this wasn’t easy but has been one of my most rewarding experiences at the U of T.
OK now let’s assume you’ve learned the ropes and got the funding for your idea and you’ve begun the process of implementing it. But wait!! You suddenly realize the process might be a little bit more work than you initially thought… how can you devote time to your idea when you’ve got 2 midterm tests and an assignment due in the next 4 weeks!? The key at this stage is to remain Engaged with your idea and to not lose focus. I have seen too many good ideas go to waste as students simply fall out of touch with their project, getting wrapped up in the regular business of life. To be sure, devote your attention to where it is needed most, but ample planning, scheduling, and prioritization can reveal to you some time you may not have known you had, time you can spend working on and enhancing your project.
Finally, any idea you have has to be Accessible to other students in order for it to be successful. Your idea will hopefully contribute something to the university community in a unique and meaningful way and in order to do so you have to do your best to make sure students a) know about whatever thing your organizing, and b) will be able to actually attend/enjoy it. Plan accordingly and smartly!
So there you have it folks! A brief how-to guide in making your idea a reality! This is in no way a comprehensive outline of all the processes involved but it is a good framework of what you should expect! Remember, your Inspired idea will be sustained through personal Determination to learn the ropes of how to go about implementing it. Remain Engaged with your project, even when things get busy, and be sure to make it as Accessible as possible!
So this week has been hectic and rough for I’d say a fair amount of students. I’m not going to talk about my midterms and my coffee (I don’t drink Starbucks - my taste buds revolt) and my lack of sleep. We’re halfway through the semester, so keep calm U of T. Before you know it, it will be three weeks of the holidays, Frank Sinatra music, fireplaces, and perhaps snow? This week, I’m going to be blogging about the office hour. Chances are if you are an executive in a club, a union or student government, you have to do an office hour/multiple office hours in your designated office. I recently, as you know was elected to ASSU (I promise this will be the last ASSU post for a while ) and as part of my responsibilities I have to do four hours of office hours a week. Our office is in Sid Smith, Room 1068 by the way.
Now generally the responsibilities of office hours vary from club to union to student government. But they all involve sitting in an office (I know! The name “office hour” doesn’t lend any hints as to what an office hour is.) So, I’m just going to describe what I do in office hours.
1) Sell tests. Most of the time, I’m either selling tests packages to students or getting tests for smaller courses out for them from our test library. This is how about 75% of the time in my office hours is spent getting tests. Whenever life science students walk in (and this is often), I’m like “oh hey I’m in life science too!”, and their like “oh wow, no way, no way!” and the stress in their eyes completely dissipates (okay, so maybe that doesn’t exactly happen).
2) Tell people where things are in the building, in the campus. Sell pop (ASSU offers non-brand soda for 50 cents) and answer the phone when it occasionally rings.
3) Checking my Facebook, Twitter and e-mail accounts and watching funny cat videos.
4) Telling people one of the bathrooms in Sidney Smith is actually the Chamber of Secrets.
5) Not studying. When I really need to study, I do it in a library without distractions. Other than the occassional small reading, office hours generally aren’t a good place to study.
6) Eating leftover timbits.
7) Eating my lunch.
Telling students who wish to know more about post secondary education policy, about the shortcomings of the Ontario government in properly funding U of T and other post secondary institutions.
9) Talking and greeting to students who walk in the office, sometimes offering to do my various impressions to which they always decline.
Yes, there is no #10.
So, that’s what I do in office hours. Involved in a club or group? What do you do in office hours? I’d love to know, drop me a comment.
This midterm season U of T, keep calm and carry on.
So a few weeks ago, I decided to put my name in the running for an executive position on the Arts and Science Students’ Union (as Don Cherry would say, the pinkos in Sid Smith!). I was told there was going to be an election, and so I campaigned; I e-mailed course unions, I made flyers and I prepared a fancy smanchy speech.
To those of you who aren’t familiar with how ASSU works, course unions are elected directly by students. The course unions (55+) executives that make up ASSU then vote for the ASSU executive in a closed council meeting. So this past Tuesday, I walked into that council meeting expecting an election. It turns out, two people had to drop out for personal reasons – so I was acclaimed to the position. Which means, I got it. Now, I won’t tell you about ASSU and how awesome we are (look out for Matteo’s post on ASSU later today). But I want to encourage you to get involved at an organizational level at U of T.
At U of T, we students love to complain – and I am a guilty party when it comes to this. And you know, there are reasonable grievances behind some of these complaints. However, we can’t expect things to get better unless we students play a role in progressing U of T forward. If you have interest in making the U of T experience better for students, then I encourage you to get involved – and there are multiple outlets of doing this.
1) Run for a union – This can either be the central union on campus – the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), or ASSU. Both work with the administration and push for more financial accessibility, respect for students’ academic rights and small things that will boost the experience of students. That being said, the UTSU focuses its efforts on things that will affect the university broadly, while ASSU deals more with issues in the Faculty of ArtsSci. If running for executive is too daunting for you, consider joining a UTSU committee or a course union within ASSU. Both provide smaller frameworks to work within, but make no mistake their work is still important.
2) Run for Faculty Councils/Governing Council – If you have an interest in shaping the policies of the Faculty of Arts and Science, including some of the curriculum, you should run for a committee on your faculty council (there are three: Social Sciences, Humanities, and Sciences). If you want to have a say on issues directly voted on by the administration, you should consider running for Governing Council. This is where all U of T broad-based policy, business transactions, etc. are voted upon.
3) Run for a college council. Perhaps you’re more interested in making things better at a local level, at your college or faculty; hosting better events, or creating more relaxing spaces for your constituent students. If this is the case, you should probably consider running for a college/faculty council like UCLit, VUSAC, EngSoc, PHEUA, etc.
In addition to having a say in how things will effect the university, you also get to meet and connect with a lot of students. I had this earlier this week, when ASSU held its course union social at Hart House. I met a lot of interesting and fun course union execs while stuffing myself with assorted cakes.
When running and when governing, remember the central tenet of respect. Too often in campus politics, students throw insults and attacks at each other without thinking about the ramifications of their words. If you see people like this, ignore them. Remember that you are doing it to help your fellow students, the struggling commuter, the student barely paying their tuition and rent, the disconnected first year — not for personal gain or political ideologies. Also remember to treat your fellow students and the administration with respect. You may not agree all the time, however, there is no need to resort to low blows and insults.
So, get out there and get involved with your education!
P.S.: I hope to see you at ASSU (Room 1068 Sidney Smith) with your past test donations.
Oh media, how I love you. Not in like a high-school-luv kind of way where your initials would be inscribed on every desk and notebook, but in a truly madly deeply kind of way. While I’m not quite majoring in you, I know this thing between us is forever, in almost every sense of the word. From pop culture, to the gems television has to offer, to your more social platforms, you’ve also been kind enough to come with me to university.
CIUT, you had me at “mic check”. Not only is this homebase incredibly trendy –as I previously mentioned, it used to be the Hart House Warden’s apartment- but it includes the many records lining the walls of HQ to the warm people that help CIUT deliver seriously cool community radio waves for our listening. Not to mention, the door to opportunity is always open here, especially for students who love or want to get to know more about the radio. I personally know a girl who likes to host every Monday!
Then again, how could I forget about TV? That video of what we all seem to say on campus more than often was kind of funny, but that’s not all there is to UTTV, which once again is another media resource on campus, for campus, by students from campus. Besides all of the nifty contests they’ve got up their sleeves, UTTV definitely helps add to the overall media spectrum on campus, because who doesn’t love TV?
But with radio and TV, how could I forget dear print media? You kind of started a few revolutions back in the day, and at St. George in the form of The Varsity, you aren’t to be missed. No seriously, there is no way you could spend more than a year on campus and not know about the student publication that’s been running since 1880. Besides having a long history of student-involved press, the Varsity offers all kinds of resources and topics for discussion, from student politics to professor profiles. Everytime I read it, I kind of feel like I’m in UofTville and not Toronto – it’s weird but I know many can relate to this sense of citizenship that plagues me so. Not to mention dear print media, you are present at every college too!
Now, I must dedicate a special place to the internet, as it’s allowed anything and everything U of T to exist in my smartphone and laptop… while you’re not quite a student group or club, you’re on Twitter and Facebook. I remember the glorious day when I discovered that there was even a compiled list of twitter accounts to follow – although I knew it didn’t cover all of them- it was enough for me. I didn’t really realize the sheer depth that could come out of student engagement on Twitter, but it’s kind of incredible when ROSI starts trending in Toronto on course selection day.
So thank you media, I’ve been able to realize how you in all of your glorious forms are able to directly relate to what I experience on campus. You’ve definitely showed me that this commitment to one another is going to be until convocation does us part.
This week, I’m going to be blogging about the office hour. Chances are if you are an executive in a club, a union or student government, you have to do an office hour/multiple office hours in your designated office. I recently, as you know was elected to ASSU (I promise this will be the last ASSU post for a while 
) and as part of my responsibilities I have to do four hours of office hours a week. Our office is in Sid Smith, Room 1068 by the way.
Telling students who wish to know more about post secondary education policy, about the shortcomings of the Ontario government in properly funding U of T and other post secondary institutions.