Hey there!
The Community Crew has been sharing some great tips recently for de-stressing during exam season. Annette wrote about staying active when we are busy; Tiffany provided some very helpful study tips in her post; Madeline (our Arts & Science Blogger) wrote about remembering to eat healthfully; and Emma recently discussed the importance of taking breaks.
Now imagine taking all these tips and tricks, and showcasing them all in one lobby. That's exactly what happened this past Thursday, as part of UofT's annual Exam Jam - 2015 edition!
Brought to us in the spring and winter exam season by the ASSU and the Faculty of Arts & Science and friends
Somewhere in the building students reviewed with their profs, and elsewhere there were open study rooms to hang out in. The lobby was alive with activities!
I recently chose to attend the safeTALK: Suicide Alertness for Everyone training for the same reason I decide to take First Aid and CPR training every year: I want to know what to do if someone needs my help. In other words, if ever I encounter someone who is thinking or talking about harming themselves, I want to make sure I can respond appropriately and feel confident in doing so. The safeTALK training helped me in many of these aspects, and incorporated a variety of helpful resources including a take-home manual, video modules, wallet cards, as well as opportunities to engage in role play.
The safeTALK Resource Book contains the course information, plus additional readings about suicide prevention policies, healing after a suicide has happened, and mental health.
I’ve included my thoughts and notes about how the training went here!
So much cool stuff happens on campus all day every day. It breaks my heart that I literally don’t have the time to go do and see and hear everything.
On Tuesday, I went to a free seminar that was held at Hart House called, “The Barbell Prescription”.
You know it’s going to be a good one when you’re already taking notes and salivating over the guest’s credentials.
Dr. J Sullivan joined us from Michigan. A former US marine, 3rd degree black belt in Karate, 3rd level Krav Maga practitioner, doctor, researcher… The guy received a $2 million research grant from the NIH… that’s the National Institutes of Health. It’s a big deal. On top of all that, he owns, manages and trains clients at a gym called Grey Steel, for aging adults.
Dr. Jonathon Sullivan Source: greysteel.org
We started off talking about what we considered an “athlete”, how we’d define the word. I learned a little bit about Greek athletes (the word athlete comes from the Greek “athlos” which means contest or feat). Apparently there was an athletic event in the Greek games, “Hoplitodromos”, which was a race in full battle armour. Competitors in the games had to swear an oath to Zeus that they trained for a minimum of 10 months. Awfully specific for so many years ago!
As the end of November approaches us, the holiday season is in the air. Christmas music is being played in the grocery store, coffee cups have seasonal doodles splattered across them (although some of them are — GASP — just red), storefronts are decorated with beautiful gold, silver and red themes and every so often I get the overwhelming urge to decorate a Christmas tree. The onset of holiday season in the city comes with so many festive and wonderful events happening throughout Toronto. So...Put down your heavy textbook! Forget about your seven page essay! Postpone the study groups and get out there and get your early holiday season party animal on, cause people, it’s C H R I S T M A S M A R K E T S E A S O N < 3 ! ! !
For this week’s post I interviewed David London, the founder of the University College (UC) Yoga Club. David is a 3rd year undergraduate student studying computer science. He says he founded the club because he had a lot of friends who were interested in doing yoga but couldn’t afford to take a class. Knowing it was something David practised, it was his friends who brought up the idea of starting a club. David says he loved the idea because he wanted to teach but couldn’t do it full time.
An origami modular of Hello Kitty made by last year's UTFOLD team. Look how cute it is!! (please also note the Totoro model in the back). Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/utfold/
As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I’ve been meaning to check out UTFOLD for some time. I thought that it’d be cool to advance my paper-folding skills beyond paper airplanes (is that even considered origami???).
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".
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.
Halloween is over, so we’re officially allowed to countdown to Christmas right?
I LOVE holidays, especially Christmas. I can’t wait to see the city all dressed up and to go gift shopping and skating in Nathan Phillips square.
If you’re like me, a big barrier to trying something new is being that person that’s standing in the middle of the hallway with no idea where they’re going or what they’re supposed to be doing. If you’re like me,…
