Category Archives: How-to

The Mighty DIY

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So I’ve never been all that handy of a person. Creative, yes, but handy? No. Case in point: I bought 5 simple wooden shelves from Ikea in January that are still merrily leaning against my bedroom wall. It’s (sigh) May.

Perhaps it was the home culture I grew up in – don’t get me wrong, my family is wonderful and have no qualms getting their hands dirty. But they work on things that need fixing or maintaining. Ask them to invent something new just for the sake of it? They would much rather “invent” another cup of chai. Extra strong, please.

Mmm Indian Chai

I was 13 when I sewed together some rather hideous scraps of corduroy together and created my very first wearable article. It was a simple corduroy purse, and I had made it from cutting up a pair of baggy, equally hideous pants that I had bought from Value Village (or, as we used to call it then, the VV Boutique).

I paraded my purse (might I add that it was this terrible brown colour) proudly to my parents and brother. Instead of the exclamations of wonder that my ear was ready to hear, I heard stifled laughter instead. My mom couldn’t stop laughing. And my brother? A lost cause. If I could see the purse now, I’m sure I would laugh too. I’m fairly certain that the stitching would be quite uneven, and the strap would be wider one side than another. Like the pants from which it came, it too would probably be, well, hideous.

The Treasures of VV Boutique

All the same, it was my creation, and I loved it for what it was. I told my mom the other day that if she had encouraged my spritely talent, I might have been a famous fashion designer by now. She dissolved into fits of laughter at the memory of the purse instead.

Is it any wonder that I can now make an amazing cup of chai?

Can't have chai without snacks

All this to say that I have chosen this summer to challenge my rather complacent attitude towards DIY projects. Carrying on with my commitment to do and not just think, I’ve decided to see what things I can create or reuse rather than buying everything new all the time.

To help myself along, I’ve been checking out resources on campus that promote DIY adventures. My findings so far: U of T has an impressive array of places to go to if you want to learn a new trade. For instance, want to learn how to repair your bike? U of T’s Bikechain is the place for you!

Stay tuned for next week’s post, as I delve into where to explore hands-on activities on campus, from cooking and gardening, to creating interactive displays and even android apps.

As for keeping my commitment, I suppose I should begin with those Ikea shelves…

-Aziza

LSAT Prep Classes: Things to Consider

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Fingers crossed, I hope to write the LSAT this June. Sarah gave some great advice on getting started and what to consider when preparing. She also mentioned prep courses, an option that many students take, especially if they feel like they need the extra boost of self control in a classroom environment. Prep classes are something I’m currently looking into and it’s a pretty complicated process. There are tons of things you need to consider. Not only are they expensive, they also require a lot of time. I’ve been looking into this for the last few weeks and thought I’d share what I’ve found.

Time: How much time do you have to dedicate for preparing for the LSAT? Considering the content and depth of the exam, it’s not something you can prepare for the night before. If you’re writing in June, it’s usually advised that you spend all of May preparing on a daily basis. Also, to start earlier would definitely help if you wanted to work or take summer school, but again it’s a huge thing to take on so investing a great deal of your time should be thought about. With time comes the number of hours, which prep courses vary from a hundred hours (class everyday) to thirty hours (class three times a week). Most of the prep advice I’ve gotten is that the bulk of it is doing practice past tests and really looking how you approach questions or why you got a question wrong. This of course requires a lot of self-work, so a hundred-hour course may not be the best bet here. Many companies offer “crash courses” that you can take over a weekend as an introductory.

Also, some companies offer (for a price) smaller group learning. Before you put down a downpayment, try to find out how big your class size will be. When there’s an offer for a smaller group, I can’t help but wonder how big the class size for the regular course will be. If you find it hard to concentrate with a group of 30+ definitely inquire about class sizes. It’s your money, time and score so don’t be shy to ask a few questions.

Think of LSAT prep as a job. Personally, anything over 40 hours of course hours a week would be too much for me (legitimately the hours you’d work full-time) and I’d want my own study hours as well. Additionally, many have explained feeling additional pressures after taking courses five-seven days a week full-time. It’s not just a lot of money but it’s a lot of time that’s being invested, and the less pressure and over complications you can have before writing a big test like the LSAT (I imagine) the better!

Material: Each prep company provides you with a number of material, everything from homework booklets, their own strategies and guides and even online material. The LSAT sounds pretty scary (and complicated for a test that has only a few sections!) so prep courses can be a great way to begin navigating. A lot of online material (such as instructional videos) can also be helpful if you find yourself stuck after class. You can also find a lot of free instructional videos offered online. Remember though, this is a pencil and paper exam, so get as comfortable as you can practising this way. Watching twenty videos will not have you as prepared as practising twenty games.

One important thing to look out for here is to make sure you get as many real LSAT questions (instead of questions similar to the LSAT) as possible. This is especially important to consider, it can be dangerous to practice with questions that have never existed for the LSAT, and potentially cause panic with the real exams, which do change from year to year with difficulty.

Like I mentioned above, a lot of the advice I’ve received involves focusing on how and where you may have went wrong on a question, understanding why you may have missed the answer and correcting it. This process becomes completely void if it’s not with a real LSAT question.

Also, when considering which company to go with, look for how many proctored test sessions they offer. A huge part of my decision in going with a prep course is because I want to encounter as many of these practice LSAT taking scenarios as possible, one with a room full of people versus alone in the library or my room. These practice scenarios can help with test day anxiety and really change how comfortable you feel, especially if it’s your first time writing.

The Company: How do you decide what to go with? The price? The reviews, your friends, the forums? There’s no way easy way to decide. But, one important tip I’ve picked up: the course may not matter as much as your instructor will! Does your very reliable friend have the name of her awesome instructor from ______ who helped her? Get it! In many situations, the company may be fine but you may not find your instructor as exciting as you expected. If possible, see if you can get information about the instructor who will be teaching your course. Also, make sure your instructor has officially scored an impressive score on the actual LSAT. Many companies may hire folks who have “scored” within the 95th percentile on a practice test. Ideally, you want someone who had actually wrote the LSAT (and someone who will understand all the nerves and panic that accompanies that).

Cost: They do cost a lot. There are always discounts available which you can find through different groups at UofT who are affiliated with particular companies. If you can’t find any, contact the company as soon as possible and ask about possible deals and discounts.  UofT offers free prep lessons if you qualify for the Canada Student Grant for Persons from Low Income Families.

Ultimately, everyone learns at a different pace and be sure to choose what you feel the most comfortable with. Best of luck!

LSAT prep course takers of the past, leave your tips below!

-Vahini

The Best of Life @ U of T (according to me)

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Well I’m sad to say that this will be my last post for the Life @ U of T blog. What a crazily-awesome year it was and I honestly have no idea where the last 25 weeks went. I’ve had a blast being your Faculty of Arts & Science Student Blogger and I hope you guys got as much enjoyment in reading my posts as I had in writing them.

For my last post I want to do a “Best Of” the blog over the past year — featuring a favourite post of mine from each of our lovely bloggers. If you have never read Life @ U of T before these posts are a great way to start!

Abdullah — “oppression, equity and politics” — In this post Abdullah tackles the sensitive subject of equity — or lack thereof — that sometimes has a tendency to surface in the student sphere. While we can all be proud to claim that U of T is a highly diverse and multicultural school, we also have to be cognizant of the fact that sometimes situations of inequity arise and Abdullah does an excellent job in addressing an instance in which he experienced it firsthand.

Ishita — “The Art of Forgiving Yourself” — In this post Ishita discusses the pressures many students experience — especially in their first year — to do well at the U of T and the feelings of failure many of us inevitably face when we fall short of the goals we have established for ourselves. Ishita reminds us that mistakes and missteps will happen and that’s OK, so long as we learn from our experience and leverage it for the better.

Lesia — “Hey U of T, it’s time to get moving!” — As the Physical Activity Blogger I find all of Lesia’s posts highly important and relevant to me personally (as someone who tends to neglect the gym…and every other form of physical activity). The tendency to simply hunker down at your desk and neglect exercise, indulging in less-than-optimal eating habits as a coercive mechanism to get you through your readings or that big assignment is very strong for many of us. Lesia reminds us of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and many of her posts feature the free services and activities available to students in pursuit of it.

Lori — “Raise your hand!” — In this post Lori discusses strategies you can use to try and make yourself a bit more engaged in class discussions — in an attempt to get those ever-tricky participation marks. Her advice is highly relevant, especially for upper-year seminar courses where large chunks of your grade require you to do something many of us dread: public speaking.

Sarah — “Post-Grad Blues” — In this post Sarah does an exceptional job encapsulating how many of our fellow graduating students may be currently feeling. Come May 1, many graduating students will be — for the first time in their lives — completely without the life-structuring mechanism school provides. In addition to this, many students may also feel torn about what exactly the want to do post-undergrad, with different forces pulling them in different directions.

Shak — “TTC? Why man why????” — In this post Shak discusses (or perhaps rants would be a more optimal phrase) about the one transportation service we all love to hate: the TTC. As a commuter myself, I found Shak’s post highly relatable and funny — well worth a read for all those who have, at one point or another, felt slighted by the Toronto Transit Commission.

Vahini — “College Governance 101” — Vahini offers a great introduction to all the various student councils that govern each of U of T’s disparate colleges. In a school as large as U of T, it’s important to know what governing structures are relevant for you! This post is actually part one in a three-part series and her posts about Councils and Unions and Student Societies are worth checking out as well!

Vivian — “The Breakfast Club” — In this post Vivian discusses all the benefits of having a healthy breakfast before going about your day. As someone who tends to neglect this important meal, I found the post very insightful. We are all told how breakfast is ‘the most important meal of the day’ and Vivian demonstrates this!

Of all the posts I’ve written this year I would have to say that my post “Surviving the Winter: Tips for Commuters” is one of my favourites as commuting to school in the winter can be a tedious and downright awful experience for many of us — especially when you consider the fact that winter in Toronto last from November to April (apparently).

I hope you have all found value in reading this blog — I know I have — and if this is your first time on the site be sure to check out all the posts I mentioned above! I’d like to thank the Faculty of Arts & Science for giving me the opportunity to write for all of you as well as the Office of Student Life and the entire Student Life Community Crew for being such a wonderful and awesome group of people!

- Matteo

Rage Against the Machine

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Ripley being awesome!

 

Do you remember that scene in Aliens when Ripley climbed into that robotic armor and kicked serious butt? I do. For her, the technology made her stronger. It allowed her to extend her reach, it increased her strength, and let’s be honest it looked pretty cool!

Last week, I spent a few hours with a machine. The machine I communed with, like Ripley’s, armor extended my reach, in an intellectual context it made me more powerful, but unfortunately it didn’t make me look super cool. Ripley had armor, I had a microfiche viewer.

It’s cool too. Right?

So let me break it down for you. You might be wondering how I would ever be able to compare these two pieces of technology.

1. Extending my reach: Just like Ripley’s armor the microfiche extends my reach. How you ask? Why it extends my reach back into history of course! In the two hours I spent in front of this machine, I was able to scan through of weekly newspapers published in Toronto from 1917-1919.

2. Increased power: Do I need to remind you all that Knowledge is power? I didn’t think so. The microfiche didn’t increase the strength of my punch, but it did increase my knowledge. For example, I learned that most front pages in 1917 were devoted to the discussion of conscription. Behold my power!!

3. Cool looking: Admittedly, the microfiche lacks the inherent coolness that Ripley’s armor possessed. However, the microfiche is not without it’s own unique beauty. Notice in the image above that the microfiche has a nostalgic quality that reminds me of the classic lines of an Atari system or my old commodore 64. It’s the same phenomenon that makes people eat at Fifty’s diners. Old stuff is cool.

So that’s my argument. The microfiche might be a relic of the past, but it has its own advantages. It the loudest thing permitted in the library. If you’ve never used a microfiche, try one and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. If you were ever to make that much noise doing anything else in the library, you’d surely get kicked out. But when you’re using the microfiche you can be loud vicariously through the machine. Just wait till you have to rewind the reel. It really sounds like a small helicopter is landing in the library! Literally, everyone will be looking at you with annoyed glares as they try to read or study.

It’s really great fun.

I encourage you, before you graduate, try a microfiche machine. Microfiche is the only way to view a large category of historic documents that have yet to be digitized. If you have patience, it’s a great underused resource for researching at the University.

-Lori

Up All Night: Essay Cramming by the Hour

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I managed to escape the curse of the all nighter until my third year (unless the Royal Wedding counted). It hasn’t been easy, and it’s definitely been a curse, but I’ve learned that there seems to be a riveting hourly breakdown that follows in what all nighters for the average student looks like. A window into what essay cramming in one night is like. Warning: the following will feel all too familiar, unpleasant, and may bring back some painful reminders. 

7pm: Fresh out of dinner with coffee(ssssss) in hand, and (half) your research done, it’s go time!

7:30pm: JSTOR spree! If only there weren’t so many pdfs setting up camp on your desktop…maybe you should have started sooner.

8:00pm: Your friend decides to come join you aka someone to watch your things while you momentarily leave the room every hour to regain sanity

9pm: Outline is done, now for a Facebook break!

9:45pm: Your friend decides to leave…weakling…

…You shoot a disapproving look as you resume you tweeting about the trials and tribulations of being a student.

Midnight: Bring out your coffee machine, time to start draft #1.

2am: Wait…your thesis..WHERE DID THE THESIS GO? What is my thesis?

2:30am: Draft #2 begins….scour wait-lists for possible writing centre appointment. Will accept anything up to an hour before deadline at 10am.

4am: Still on draft #2. Time for a 20 minute nap.

6am: THIRD DRAFT IS DONE. Three is all you need…right?

6:45am: The sun is coming up. How long has it been?

7am: Coffee bean supply becomes non existent.

8:00am: Citation time!

8:15am: Whaaa? WHY is Purdue Owl down? NO! NOT NOW! OF ALL THE TIMES.

9:30am: 30 minute nap before class.

10:00am: SUBMIT10:10am: Crawl back into bed, tell yourself you’ll never do this again.

-Vahini

Stone Cold Extensions…

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Alas my friends I have fallen ill with the dreaded March head cold. There could be no worse time of the year to contract this virulent pestilence that renders my brain nothing more than a cloudy, congested dome of confusion.

It happened Saturday morning. As soon as I woke up I knew I was infected. My head hurt, my nostrils were clogged, and that little tickle in my throat that I had been ignoring all week had transformed from a tickle into more of a sandpaper on raw skin kind of thing.

Am I whining?

Yes.

However, there’s a point to my whining. With three papers due in the next four days and an illness, I was inspired to write about extensions. No not hair extensions. Paper or assignment extensions.

I am in my fourth year here at U of T and before this week I had never asked for an extension. You might ask why. Most of my friends get extensions regularly. The reason I’ve never asked for one is that the whole process makes me nervous.

First you need to email or meet with your Prof. and request the extension. Usually you’d provide them with some justification for the extension ie. My computer was stolen, My dog died. Yet, most likely the conversation would be about how you need an extension because you have two other papers due the same week or a midterm on the same day. Worst case scenario you tell your Prof that you started too late and simply can’t finish it on time.

Having a conversation about any of these things with my Profs would give me serious anxiety. I mean why I would want my Prof. to know that I am horrible at time management, or worse that I finished all my other assignments before I even started to think about his.

Luckily, I only had to tell my Prof. that I was really sick and she happily gave me an extension. Even still I am left to wonder if she now thinks that I am a bad student for not being finished with the paper early, so that something like a cold wouldn’t get in the way of submitting the paper on time.

The other thing that makes me nervous about extensions is that I am convinced that late paper will automatically be graded more harshly. This might not be an issue if your class has 500 students, but in a seminar class with only 15 people, it’s pretty easy for the Prof to remember who was diligent and who was not.

I have no proof or basis to say this, it’s just a fear I have. I’m sue lots of Profs. grade papers equally regardless of whether they were submitted on time. I’m only saying that this aspect of extensions makes me very uncomfortable.

I actually found this great how to site on the web…How to ask for an extension! Take a look it’s very step by step and instructional.

I hope you all don’t get sick, but if you it might be the perfect opportunity to ask for an extension.

-Lori

Councils and Unions

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Since election season is underway, I’ve decided to dedicate a few posts to explaining the who’s who of different structures, unions, groups and councils on campus. Last week I talked about the different student government structures each college has, and this week I’ll focus on general councils and unions.

The Governing Council - The Governing Council was first created in 1971, a senior governing body and oversees all issues of academic and business, as well as the Board of Governors and meet approximately six times a year. Anyone can attend the meetings. The kind of decisions made that relate back to student life can be everything on matters of tuition to academic programs and expansion. There are a number of boards and committees  (such as the University Affairs Board which oversees “the quality of student and campus life”. It includes the President and Chancellor of the University, as well as 18 appointed members and 30 elected members. Of these 30 elected members, eight members are students (4 are full time undergraduates, 2 graduates and 2 part time undergraduates). At the beginning of each year, students are elected via ROSI. And with the significant issues the Governing Council considers every year, it’s crucial that students participate by voting for who they would like to represent them.

Image Source: http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/home.htm

UTSU -The University of Toronto Students Union is a union in which every full-time undergraduate and professional faculty student belongs to at the University of Toronto. It is apart of the CFS (Canadian Federation Students), an umbrella organization that oversees all student unions across Canada. Every student is automatically a member, with annual student fees paid to the UTSU. It is made up of an Executive Committee (which includes their President, Vice President Internal etc.) and a Board of Directors, who are all student representatives elected by their respective colleges and faculties. They offer a variety of services (such as UTSU’s Got You!), various political campaigns (such as Solidarity With Quebec Students) and oversee clubs (more about club recognition how-to here).

Image Source: BlogUT

Arts and Science Student Union (ASSU) - ASSU represents all undergraduate Arts and Science students (that’s a lot of students – about 20,000!) and includes all course unions, as well as seven elected executive members, including a president. The are located at Sidney Smith Hall. It also includes at least 55 course unions (which you are automatically a member of depending on your major). ASSU oversees a number of bursaries, awards, a massive past-test bank (which I’d suggest checking out) and a number of other events. They also work with U of T administration and other campus wide initiatives on items that directly concern and affect students.

Graduate Students Union (GSU) – The Graduate Students Union (one of the founding members of the Canadian Federation of Students) represents all graduate students on campus, all of whom are automatically members. It has a general council with representatives from each course union and an executive and several subcommittees, you can find more about their structure here.

Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) - APUS is the official association for all undergraduate students registered as part time (2.5 credits and under) across all three campuses, offer a number of services, programs and resources. Class representatives are elected and its main governing body the Board of Directors. APUS is also a member of the CFS.

Be sure to check back next week to learn more about other student societies, with everything from EngSoc to Music.

Happy voting!

-Vahini

From Spectating to Participating: the time to get involved is now

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With the first week of March now upon us, we students are entering that proverbial ‘crunch time’ of late nights, libraries, and fancy lattes to help us cope with it all.

And this year, more than most, seems to have a lot of stuff crammed into the final six to eight weeks of the semester.

In addition to the assignments, tests, and exams, this time of the year also features plenty of activity in the world of student life as many groups, clubs, and student organizations begin turnover processes, paving the way for next semester – starting September 2013. While you may feel that you don’t have much time to devote your awareness to anything other than your textbooks over the next few weeks, I implore you to keep an eye on the goings on in the student communities you are a part of, as the way in which these communities are shaping up at the end of this semester will have a very real impact on the way they look when classes resume six months from now — unless you’re a graduating student, of course. (If you’re in this boat you have plenty of bigger concerns to deal with………anyone looking to hire a Student Blogger, available for work immediately in early May?…Please?)

The elephant in the room being all this University of Toronto Students’ Union secession business that has been dominating student politics at the university as of late (for the seven of you interested in undergraduate student politics, that is). And while this issue is definitely an important one – especially as the consequences of all of this hullabaloo have yet to be borne out - this is not the only thing happening in student life right now that you should be concerned with.

Student communities take all shapes and sizes, from small college-based clubs to inter-campus wide student associations. What I hope to emphasize is that many of these organizations are holding elections/seeking membership for positions for the upcoming year and if you have ever thought about trying out for one of these positions, the time to do so is now. Don’t simply get caught up in being a spectator to everything going on around you. As cliche as it may sound, the four or five years you spend at the University of Toronto is short (trust me) and if you have ever considered the possibility of enhancing your undergraduate experience through some extra-curricular activity, now is the time to seek those position out.

I know first hand that this can be a daunting task for the uninitiated, but trust me: go for it. The first ‘major’ thing I did in the realm of student life involved running for an executive membership position on the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council at the end of my second year. I had dabbled a bit in Vic’s student life before then, but I was a relatively unknown candidate and was up against someone who had already been on the council previously and was a somewhat of a known entity around the Vic community. Needless to say I lost the election and while it definitely sucked I gained invaluable insights into how student life functioned at the college as well as had the opportunity to meet a number of people I would not have otherwise met. The experience of running, despite losing, no doubt played a factor in my attaining an elected position on the council in the following Fall election at the beginning of the new term. Leaving my comfort zone was, you’ll be surprised to hear, uncomfortable but the experience was essential in my personal growth (overcoming social anxieties) as well as integrating myself in a community I now have grown to love and adore. There is not a doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t run in that Spring 2010 VUSAC election you would not be reading this post right now.

The moral of the story is, I’m sure, quite obvious. You’ve heard it before but it is worth stating again: your experience as an undergraduate student is what you make it and oftentimes the best experiences in life involve a little risk. Students at the U of T have been known to complain that they experience a lack in communal-feeling with their peers and while this may be true the opportunities to remedy this feeling are out there; you just have to be willing to look.

College Governance 101

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It’s election season (or rather, month)! The most wonderful time of year (or the most riveting). If there is any point in the year that you really see the full extent of how many different structures and political bodies there are on campus, it’s now. And it can be mighty confusing, so I’ve created a handy guide of whats-what on our politically bumpin campus. More importantly, a guide that can be your first step in exercising your own democratic rights this election cycle. Before voting, reading up on platforms, objectives and candidates, it’s important to understand the structure of the institution you want to support.

This week I’ll focus on College Governance;  each College at U of T has its own student government, varying in structure depending on the college. Generally these student governments oversee how finances are spent in the respective colleges, organize and create events, and have a number of different roles to get involved with.

Trinity College Meeting (TCM)- The TCM is the student government at Trinity College, operating under a direct democracy which allows any Trinity College student (with a gown on hand!) to participate in being able to make motions, vote or participate in meetings. Trinity College itself elects a male and female Heads of College, Head of Non Resident Affairs and Head of Arts who help lead and enhance student life and community at Trinity.

Image Source: Trinity College

Fun Fact: The TCM is the only North American student government that allows every member of its College to be members. There are no elected council positions, but the TCM is chaired by an elected representative known as the Chair of the TCM, other elected positions also include the secretary, treasurer, archivist and auditor. It oversees the social calendar of the year, reviews things like club mandates (anyone can start a new club), finances, elections for roles in College life and issues or initiatives proposed by students.

Victoria College Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC)- VUSAC is Victoria College’s student government, dealing with all matters of student life in events, clubs, and other initiatives as well as overseeing scholarships. The council is made up of a president, vice president external and internal, chair, finance chair, various commissioners and members at large. They also have office hours in the Birge Carnegie building, so be sure to drop in and say hello if you’re a Victoria College student and want to learn more about VUSAC. You can also check out this handy guide of Vic from A-Z here. Fun Fact: The location of the VUSAC office has changed 3 times in 5 years due to the various construction/renovation projects taking place at Vic.

University College Literary & Athletic Society (UCLit)

The Lit (also the oldest democratically elected student council in Canada!) is UC’s student government, made up of over 35 student representatives. The Lit is involved in planning student events, enhancing community life at UC and important issues affecting UC students.

Image Source

 

It also has an executive of the President, Vice-President and so forth. Students can also get involved with the Lit by volunteering with different commission initiatives. The UCLit also plans UC’s annual Fireball, a complete night of dancing, dinner and all kinds of activities. Fun Fact: The Lit also has a great history – belonging to the first College at U of T and tracing its start all the way back to 1854 – it originally was a forum to discuss science and philosophy. The Lit’s motto is as follows: Omnium regina rerum oratio, ”the power of oratory eloquence” and you usually find their offices in the Junior Common Room.
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St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU)- The St.Michael’s College Student Union is St.Mike’s student body government, with a President, Vice-President and various commissioner positions.

These commission areas include: arts, athletics, communications, community life, double blue, education and government, finance, and religious/community affairs. They also organize and run applications for frosh week planning.

New College Student Council (NCSC)- The New College Student Council (NCSC) is New College’s student government, and any New College student is a member and eligible to run. There are several elected positions for various director roles (such as communications or frosh week). They also organize frosh week positions and roles.

Innis College Student Society (ICSS) - ICSS is the Innis College student government, planning and overseeing social events, athletics and other activities for students. Its governing council includes a president, vice president, treasurer, internal officer, and a number of representatives.
Image Source

Woodsworth College Student Association (WCSA)  - WCSA is comprised of elected student representatives who help plan and facilitate Woodsworth student life, events and initiatives. The board consists of a president and six vice presidents in internal affairs, social affairs, public affairs, financial affairs, external affairs and athletic affairs.


St.George Roundtable (SGRT) - The SGRT is a council comprised of all student governance and council presidents, heads of colleges and faculties for the St.George Campus. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings. This forum is especially important, as it allows leaders from each college to not only get together on a regular basis and share important ideas, concerns and initiatives, but also creates a sense of familiarity and unity for a campus as large as ours.

Essentially, with a body of elected leaders from each College, the SGRT is a round table representing a significant portion of students here. The SGRT plans events such as the annual Winterfest, organized for students in January following winter break. It’s a great representation of how the college system operates at a school as large as ours, while all having their own systems of governance but still working together in the grander scheme of things.

Next week: Governing Council & Unions

-Vahini

Picking your Subject POSt

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What’s your Subject Program of Study?

As an undergraduate student this is a question you will forever be asked by not only your Registrar’s Office, but your peers, professors, friends, and future employers. Your Subject Program of Study – commonly referred to as “POSt” - is perhaps the most important identifier you will hold as a University of Toronto student – I mean, why else are you in university if not to study something. For some choosing a Subject POSt is easy, they may know what they want to study and they may have known this their whole lives. For others it is not so simple and many students alter their POSt at some point in their undergraduate career. Seeing as how this is the time when our First Year readers will be preparing to officially declare a POSt for the first time, I thought it would be apt to discuss the topic – specifically what type of POSt may be optimal for you.

As you may or may not know, the typical Subject POSt comes in three varieties: the Specialist, the Double Major, and the Major with Minors. Students who are picking their POSt for the first time, or are perhaps contemplating a change, may be wondering what the advantages/disadvantages are in selecting one POSt type over another. I have often wondered the same thing and reached out to a couple university administrators for help. I sought advice from the wonderful Emanuel Melo, Associate Registrar at Victoria College who put me in contact with Magdalene Cheung, Assistant Faculty Registrar for the Faculty of Arts & Science. I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Melo and Ms. Cheung for lending their professional advisement to this post.

I would like to share with you Ms. Cheung’s response to the inquiry into the potential advantages/disadvantages in selecting one Subject POSt type as opposed to another:

“Students should keep in mind that not all units offer a specialist, major and minor option, so depending on which area(s) they’re interested in, they may not have a choice of all three combinations. For example, a student interested in Nutritional Science has only the option of completing the major and will have to choose a second major or two minors for his/her degree.

A specialist program may be ideal for a student who is very interested in one particular area and wish to take the majority of their courses in that one area. It may also be ideal for a student who plans to do graduate studies in the same or a related subject area (e.g. someone who plans to do a Masters degree in History may benefit from doing a large number of courses in History in their undergraduate degree). Specialists require 9 to 17 courses.  Students who complete a specialist will gain thorough experience/knowledge in their subject – this may be beneficial in their future studies in graduate/professional school.

Specialist programs tend to be more challenging than majors and minors, as they require many advanced-level (300-/400-level) courses and sometimes the more difficult courses than their counterparts.

A double major may be ideal for a student who is interested in two different subject areas.  Requiring 6-8 credits each, including at least 2.0 credits at an advanced-level (300- and 400-level), majors allow students to gain substantial understanding of the subject.  Completing a double major may also be ideal for a student who wishes to go into teaching, which sometimes requires a minimum number of “teachable” subjects.  Students who complete a double major must be careful about potential overlap in their programs, which must contain at least 12.0 different FCEs.

A major and two minors may be ideal for a student who is interested in a number of different areas.  Minor programs, requiring 4.0 credits, provide students with a good background in the area of study.  A student who excels in this combination of different programs would appear to be well-rounded, which may be looked at favourably by graduate/professional schools later on.  Like the double major, students who complete a major and two minors must make sure they have 12.0 different FCEs between their programs.”

If you seek further clarification or guidance as to which Subject POSt is right for you I would advise that you contact your college or faculty registrar. During this time of the year many of these organizations are offering information sessions on the Subject POSt topic in addition to individual consultation. I know committing to a Subject POSt can seem like a daunting task so the more information about the options that are available to you the better!

- Matteo