Tag Archives: Events

Try the Tri

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Like I mentioned last week, I find that signing up or registering – in other words, COMMITTING time – for a particular event or activity gets me motivated to go out and actually do something active. I think it’s because when I sign up for something, I know that someone is counting on me to be there and actively participate. One thing I love about U of T is that there is always some kind of cool event or activity happening that students can sign-up, or register, for. Looking for an upcoming opportunity? The Hart House 20th Annual Indoor Triathlon is coming up soon!

The closest I have come to a triathlon is competing in a duathlon during my final year of high school. Which, by the way, was outdoors, so the idea of an indoor triathlon kind of took me by surprise. But then I realized what a great idea it was – we’ve got the space and equipment to swim, bike and run indoors, so why not?

Now, time to get all those negative thoughts of “I could never do a triathlon are-you kidding-me” outta your head! The cool thing about this particular tri is that it’s very suitable for all levels. Each leg of the event lasts only 15 minutes, so it’s really a competition against yourself to see how much distance you can cover in that time. If it’s your first time ever doing a triathlon you don’t have to worry about being up against seasoned pros. There’s a Rookie category to keep things fair! And if you aren’t up for doing the swim, bike and the run all by yourself, that’s fine too! Buddy-up with two friends to split the events and enter together as a relay team for only $15 each. This fee covers your race kit, which includes a T-shirt and some other cool stuff.

The event is set to take place on Saturday, February 9th 2013 and the registration deadline is February 1st. You can e-mail a completed registration form or sign up in person at the HUB (front desk in Hart House).

And while we are talking about triathlons, did you know that U of T has its very own Triathlon Club? So if you try (ha-ha)  the Hart House event and have a good time, you can even join the club and regularly train with the group! They’ve got flexible options as far as training intensity and scheduling goes, and – what do you know – they’ve also got an event coming up soon. So if you can’t make the Hart House Tri, then consider participating in the SWIM ROW GO event at the AC on January 27th 2013.

So what are you waiting for…

Grab your friends and get on out there and TRY something new!

-Lesia

PS: If you want to be in the know about other awesome events at Hart House, you can sign up for their weekly newsletter. The Hart House Farm Committee has got the Winter Carnival coming up in a few weeks, which I am really excited about!! Tickets are on sale now and you can check it out on Facebook too!

Hello Holidays!!!

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That’s right…the holidays are coming! Exams or not,  it’s inevitable, that come December 21st we will all be free! For a little while at least…but let’s not think about 2012 just yet. We’ve still got some celebrating before January 9th hits. I’ve compiled a list of relaxing, energizing and fun activities to help you enjoy the holidays and a few pointers on how to avoid some common traps! Or perhaps it’s just my to-do list to help me keep active in the season of over-consumption and over-indulgence! I’d be surprised if I’m the only one who over-consumes and later repents. If this sounds familiar, maybe this post will speak to you.

To Do:

  1. Skating – Lace up at the outdoor at City Hall if you’re staying in the city, or some backyard in a smaller town if you’re heading home!
  2. Snowball fight!!! Kidding…there’s no snow…but if there is, then do it!
  3. Buy the heaviest boots you can and wear them all the time. (I did that and now I regret it, except on days that are below -20. Then I’m pleased.)
  4. Sign up for a registered program now, so you can stick with it and start fresh in 2012! Trampolining to triathlon they’ve got something for everyone…I just sent my form in today to register for triathlon!
  5. Lug your textbooks to the used textbook store and get redeemed for some cash moola to help buy those remaining gifts! (Or the first gift, that’s right, I’ve got nothing so far! Yikes!)
  6. Don’t run outside in the rainy weather, move indoors to the track in the AC.
  7. Walk ‘n shop! Avoid the mall, the stores are too close together and the people too pushy! Take your list to the streets and enjoy the fresh air!
  8. Cut down your own tree and then drag it home!! Try not to lose any needles, but don’t strain your back either.
  9. Set-up a sweet holiday playlist and then dance around your house celebrating the end of exams! If I could write and dance I’d be doing that right now!!!
  10. Hit up the Athletic Centre before heading home! They’ve got excellent drop-in classes to rev you up before that holiday party, so you have a hardy appetite for all that amazing food you’re about to enjoy!
  11. Make all your homemade baked goods by hand! Say no to electric mixers and tone up your biceps and deltoids. Make sure to switch stirring hands so you don’t have one big and one small arm!
  12. Best of all, enjoy yourself! You’re only a student for the first half of your life, or longer, if this is your second undergrad. Like me. Whoop!!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!! Ta ta for now and toodles till 2012!!!

XL

Inspiration

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I’m a history student, a newspaper editor and a blogger. Needless to say, I do a lot of writing and although I absolutely love it, it’s often difficult to come up with unique ideas that are both relevant and interesting.

So this week, I’d like to share with you an integral part of my creative process and admittedly, something equally important in every student’s life — inspiration.

Now while I could say that I get buckets of inspiration from reading Hemingway and attending 9 a.m. tutorials, I would also be lying a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading and I love tutorials (well, as much as any other student) and I get a lot out of them, but I wouldn’t call what I get inspiration; more like perspective, or insight.

I’m part of the youth of the 21st Century and I get my inspiration on the internet, and like everything else, I want it fast and easily digestible. And for me, nothing is as inspiring as hearing people talk about the things that they love, and luckily for us, we live in an age where people’s passions spread across the world at the speed of light.

Enter TED, easily the best source of inspiration that I’ve found online. TED is a conference-based lecture series that’s hosted in cities around the world, carrying the slogan: ideas worth spreading.

And although attendance at these events is limited to a lucky few, we can all reap the benefits of their incredible speakers and their stories through TED’s website.

Watching them online has been rewarding and useful, but nothing compares to seeing these speakers in the flesh.

I was lucky enough to be selected to attend the first TED event ever on the UofT campus: TEDxHartHouse. Although the event entitled The Future of Food was not central to something that I had any real previous knowledge or interest in, I cannot express how enlightening an experience it was, and how much inspiration I was able to draw from the speakers.

Jason Qu, a UofT student and food enthusiast was my favorite speaker of the night.


If you missed TEDx Hart House, don’t worry, we’re fortunate enough to be at a university where we have the opportunity to be inspired by these types of speakers all year round!

Have a look at the Departure Gate, hosted at Northrop Frye Hall on October 29th. The all-day conference — designed specifically to inspire and impassion students and young professionals — features four speakers, three of whom shared their ideas at this year’s inaugural TEDxToronto, and one of whom I had the pleasure of seeing last year at Woodsworth’s Annual Leadership Conference, Drew Dudley.

I’m also looking forward to Hart House’s 2011 installment of the decade-old Hancock Lecture Series on October 27th. It’s entitled Playful Interventions and features designer Sean Martindale.

And last but not least, the University of Toronto Space Program hosts Drew Feustel on October 24th, a NASA astronaut, in an event with an infinitely inspiring title, My Path to Space: How One Earth Scientist Became a NASA Mission Specialist.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I’ve taken from speakers such as these and how important they have been to my education at this university, equally important in my opinion as attending regular classes. I implore you: don’t miss out on the opportunity to be inspired!

Chad

PS:  Feel free to share any other inspiring speakers who you’ve seen, or upcoming lectures that you can’t wait to see.

 

Give me a W!

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The women's intercollegiate hockey team, 1926.

The women's intercollegiate hockey team, 1926.

And then an o-m-a-n. That’s right, woman! March 8th is International Women’s Day. And there has never been a better time to celebrate our presence on campus.

The long history of female progression within the university hierarchy is a great story. Here’s some women’s U of T trivia to put in your back pocket and pull out when you want to impress others with your handle on the history of women at U of T.

In 1875, Grace Annie Lockhart became the first woman in the British Empire to earn a Bachelor’s Degree at Mount Allison College in Sackville, New Brunswick. Trailblazers like Lockhart became inspirations for other Canadian women who wanted a higher education. Here at the University of Toronto, the late 1800s saw notable female figures carving new paths for women on campus.

Clara Benson, whose name was given to the first female athletic centre on campus, was one of the female students from the late 19th century who pushed the boundaries and accomplished great things. During her undergraduate years, Benson championed co-ed sports on campus and was a member of the first co-ed team (golf). And here’s a fun piece of trivia: in the late 1800s there was a 13-hole golf course that ran throughout the university grounds from Bloor to College.

The University of Toronto was the first school to produce a female graduate in Law. In 1897, Clara Brett Martin graduated and became the first female barrister in the British Empire. It is impossible to imagine how difficult it must have been for Martin to succeed as such a minority. Her words encapsulate this much more eloquently than mine ever could:

“If it were not that I set out to open the way to the bar for others of my sex, I would have given up the effort long ago. You would not believe how many obstacles I have had to overcome single-handed.” -Clara Brett Martin 1899 (1874 – 1923)

(quoted from http://www.law.utoronto.ca/students_content.asp?itemPath=2/18/8/0/0&contentId=1274)

As women, we owe these pioneers our greatest gratitude. International Women’s Day is a forum to impart this history and knowledge to current students. This is an important piece of history that all female students should be aware of. It was not that long ago, only just over a century, that women were the unwelcome minority on campus. An examination of the progress women have made within the university can serve as inspiration for groups that are still being marginalized.

The Status of Women Office is organizing many of the events on campus for International Women’s Day. There are events occurring on campus and throughout the city, from theatre to lectures, there is an event for every woman and man (who of course are welcome to attend).

On Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Hart House Circle, you can participate in a Chalk Chase! Presented by Hart House and the Faculty of Physical Education and Health, this is one of the first sports played by women on campus. From the description, I would describe this is an elaborate game of tag, with hints of hide and go seek.  It sounds like it will be a blast! The Department of Physical Education has a list of “active” events for Women’s Day.

Happy International Women’s Day!

-Lori

Urbane Magazine launch! Student-run swankiness! Mingling!

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(To enhance the reading experience, imagine the intro is spoken by the narrator from Spy Groove)

Friday, February 26, 2010. Looking a bit more like Madonna than she intended, very non-extroverted-emo-blogger Liesl and her best friend, who shall be dubbed Danish and who was wearing a black-and-red qipao, enter the Hart House Debates Room. Their purpose: to peruse the Urbane Magazine Launch Gala, a  semi-formal, swanky-danky evening social, sure to test the mingling skills of any undergraduate.

Liesl and Danish approach a table of food.

Liesl: wat do we do now?

Danish: idk…

Last week, my epic partner-in-crime Danish and I attended the launch party for Urbane Magazine, a fashion/design/politics/culture-oriented publication made by U of T students. ‘Twas fun, thanks partly to my virtual list: “How To Survive Extrovert-Laden Social Events: Obvious Tips for Those Full of Fail Thus Far.”

The list says to always – always – drag a friend along with you. Dragging good friends (at least one) gives you an advantage in the skill of mingling. You can talk to each other. You can goad the other into starting a conversation with a stranger. If one of you runs out of things to say, the other can inject life back into your banter. That, and you get to hang out with your friend.

I found out about Urbane through Facenecronomicon when they were looking for writers and photographers. I was interested and signed up and then “ahh… meh” it didn’t happen – y’know, school gets in the way, shyness sets in. I think every student probably has a list of “Extracurriculars I Really Want to Try But… Ahh, Meh.”

Regardless, the magazine looks awesome – insightful and very professional. Content includes stories on fashion trends (e.g. the return of Americana in men’s fashion), an interview with a local designer, commentary on Toronto’s spending and its tax implications, a piece on Roncesvalles and a piece on Toronto nightlife that includes the phrase “gruesome throng of neon monsters.”

Both Danish and I raised our eyebrows as the gala launch loomed. Our concern? The dress code: semi-formal, which Danish argued is quite relative, and smart fashionable. Would we be judged, we wondered.

No. The atmosphere was not as intimidating as we expected, nor was it a pool of pretentiousness, as the fashion scene is made out to be by the likes of Micheal Kors. Not that he was there or anything. We received as many once-overs as we would walking around campus on any given day.

It was lively and everyone was dressed…to a T? To the nines? Everyone looked quite nice. One lady who stood out for me was wearing giant glasses, bright red lipstick, a ruffly white blouse and a black pencil skirt. Yes, librarians are cute.* There was also a guy wearing a bowtie. If you can pull off the bowtie, you can pull off the bowtie. Can you tell I love nerdiness? There were two live bands, fast-disapparating** hors d’œuvres (spring rolls, veggies, grapes, an array of exotic cheeses forbidden to my lactose-intolerant body), cocktails and beer.

Danish rather enjoyed Hart House. She’s at another campus, one that does not have Hogwartsesque buildings.

I went in with the intention of interviewing someone involved in the planning of the event – didn’t happen. In retrospect, they would have been too busy running it. “Excuse me, I have a question! Um, um… hmm.” However, we did run into a number of people I already knew and we made some new friends, as well. A couple of attendees came from out of town, or from different schools. We got some names, learned some majors/minors, staple mingling conversation. 

The fashion show started off with Britney Spears’ Toxic, then the same song that plays in the Bayonetta commercial. I squealed. The show was lovely; the first few dresses incorporated subtle stripes, tulle and poofy-ness, and remind me of Fashion Crimes on Queen West, or perhaps a dream I had in which I was in a store of gowns that was like Fashion Crimes. Striped walls were in this dream.

One thing to note: one of the sponsors for this event was the Hart House Good Ideas Fund. Mary did a post on this already, and this magazine launch is clear empirical evidence of what students, largely on their own, can put together. The GIF may not fund your entire project, but they can help with events and getting the word out. Thus, if you have an idea, don’t let it flounder in the sea of hyperbolic dismay at U of T’s impersonal, ivory tower-like - (cough) – don’t let your good ideas go to waste.

Check out the first issue of Urbane Magazine and tell me/the rest of the internet what you think. Urbane also has a blog and a tumblr thing. I suggest you check them out. I suggest you write for them. I suggest you, in your attempts to be more social, make the strange act of mingling a fun and hilarious experience for yourself.

- Liesl

P.S. After the event, Danish and I went to see Repo! The Genetic Opera at the Bloor Cinema, with crazies in the audience and a shadow cast. Two words: Oh. My. God.

* I hope she doesn’t read that and take offense. :$

** the spelling is a Harry Potter reference)

Good Ideas Fund

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Good Ideas Fund.

I don’t normally pay too much attention to posters pasted on the inside walls of U of T’s toilet stalls, but last week, one of them caught my eye:

“Do you have a good idea?
The good ideas fund (GIF) Could Support You!”

“What is this?” I wondered. So I promptly wrote Hart House at the given email address and asked for details. Turns out that if you have a great idea for an event (be it a speaker, a fundraising night, a magazine launch), you can fill in an application form, submit it to the Good Ideas Fund (GIF), and have your idea given the once-over by a student panel, which then decides whether or not to fund your good idea.

The first thing I wanted to know was whether or not it had to be an event. What about a green roof? An indigenous flower garden?

The simple answer is no. The GIF doesn’t fund projects so much as events, although you’re able to submit any kind of application, and the deciding panel will consider funding those parts of the project that do consist of events. So, for example, the GIF won’t finance the construction of a green roof per se, but might support a fundraising event for a green roof project.

Although all applications are accepted, the GIF normally funds only applications that meet the following stipulations (and I quote):

1. Activities or projects that enhance or have a significant impact on student life on campus.

2. Activities or projects open to all students / that benefit all students.

3. Activities that promote cultural diversity, collaboration and interaction between student groups.

To apply, you submit your information a minimum of four weeks before the event, giving a few details about what you have planned: what type of event you plan to hold, where it will occur, who will show up, whether it’s ongoing or only a one-time deal, how much you think it will cost, what equipment you’ll need, how you plan to promote it, and how it will contribute to student life. Once the event’s over, you must also submit a report highlighting what happened and how it went.

Judging from past events that were approved, the panel is fairly flexible, supporting causes that are humanitarian (Amnesty International Conference — Water: A Human Right?), environmental (David Suzuki at Con Hall), literary (Writers’ Co-op Spoken Word Event), cultural (U of T International Students’ Union — Cultural Talent Show), and health-related (Immunology Students’ Association annual conference).

The other thing to note is that these events are entirely up to you. While Hart House may fund you, you’re still expected to pull the event together.

I thought the GIF sounded like a lot of fun, and a great experience. While we’re all up to our eyeballs in end-of-term papers and exams, there’s always the winter break to conjure up some wonderfully good ideas.

- Mary

blogUT vs. UpbeaT, ROUND 1, GO!

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Over the past week, I’ve had the pleasure of msn-ing the two editors of blogUT. Julia, Lori and I chatted about life as bloggers. So from today till Friday, I’ll post our conversation in trilogy. Here’s installment 1. Watch as I leave in the middle and leave the co-editors to fend for themselves.

Continue reading →

Secret Services – Part III

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And, a continuation from last post, which is a continuation from the post before…

 

U of T has a lot of students who may not know their way around to the entertainment areas in the city. While I can’t tell you everything (as there is so much – theatres, museums, clubs and more) I can tell you how to find out.

 

The Nona MacDonald Visitor Centre (southeast corner of Knox College, along King College Circle) provides free, guided walking tours of our beautiful campus.

 

You can also check out the Royal Ontario Museum (I heard they have a diamond display) at Bloor and Avenue, which has, inside, a tourist information booth.

 

The Eaton Centre has an Ontario Tourism store that has information on upcoming events in the city, sights and locations to check out and explore.

 

Shopping

 

The Eaton Centre deserves its own little blurb. Its spans a block, and is easily accessible by TTC subway, this giant mall should cover all your shopping needs, with trendy clothing stores, a nearby movie cinema, and everything you could possibly wish for. Its a great place to hang out with friends and even zip over for a 1-hour shopping spree. Bring your wallet!!

 

Yorkdale Mall is a beautiful mall that about a 20-minute subway ride from St.George Station. Everything is a little higher in price, but you can enjoy popular spaces to eat like the rainforest cafe, and go for a quick movie in between shopping.

 

 

Movies

 

At this point, you should know, I had almost finished typing everything else for this blog when the Internet disconnected and me, being an idiot and not saving everything, lost half my post.

Upon trying again, my computer crashed. I am now 24 minutes past the deadline and frantically racing to tell you all the places where you want to go, but you can’t go anyways because you have exams to study for.

 

UGH! We’re all going CRAZY!

 

(Okay, focus, focus, deep breaths and type fast, really, really fast) ß That’s me thinking…evidently it’s a lot of repetition.

 

Movies

 

Wanna see a movie?

 

Check out (oops, it crashed again, self-induced a disk check, now putting me 38 minutes past deadline) the Varsity Cinemas at Manulife Centre, at Bay and Bloor.

 

Another great place to see movies is the Scotiabank Theatre – a $30 million dollar project, complete with floor-to-ceiling screens, and Imax, and a bar over looking the downtown area.

 

You can also check out the Bloor Cinema (on, guess where? Bloor Street! 506 Bloor Street W) for current movies.

 

Events this Week

 

If you want something a little different, the back page of The Varisty feature events upcoming.

 

Here is a sample:

 

Tuesday Dec 8th

Crime Writers of Canada Reading Series (featuring reading by Linwood Barclay, Giles Blunt and Louise Penny)

• 7:30pm @ Casa Loma (1 Austin Terrace)

• $12

• Click on www.casaloma.org

 

Wed Dec 9th

Community Kitchens – Comfort Food for Chilly Nights (learn how to create nutritious and delicious food)

• 5-8pm, sign-up at Hart House Front Desk

• $5 only!

• See www.harthouse.utoronto.ca

 

Saturday Dec 10th

401 Richmond Holiday Marketplace (browse unique crafts by Toronto artisians)

• through Sunday, 11am-5pm

• Free!

• www.401richmond.net

 

 

Disclaimer

 

** Most of the info in these past three blogs have been taken from my handy-dandy Res book, the Varsity, and other campus newspapers. I am not responsible for the authenticity of the information….nor for the marks you get back after partying every night during exam week! :)

 

 

Good luck on exams, study hard, and check out these great places in your spare time.

 

Until Next Week!

 

Fariya

 

p.s. if you see this blog posted, it means by computer stayed alive long enough for me to post it from Word to WordPress. Hallelujah! Made it 57 min after deadline! 

Work your writing

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As a history specialist I’m always writing. I have protracted wars with my work on a regular basis; fighting diction in single combat; thrashing sentences apart only to stitch them back together again; that right word my constant nemesis, elusive like a guerrilla in the murk. Unaccompanied, I’ve held fast to my crusade for four years, until I broke out of my self-prescribed seclusion and finally sought assistance. I attended a writer’s workshop.

The University offers a number of different facilities that provide students with writing assistance. These can found be through individual colleges, through various writing centres, or through U of T’s events and career services. The assistance varies in style, sometimes involving one on one meetings with professional writers (often an amazing opportunity, like here), other times consisting of a panel of authors offering advice to a roomful of listeners. This was the type of workshop I attended, a series of short lectures by five local, professional authors; all of whom provided a brief autobiographical sketch and subsequent advice to aspiring writers. The talk was geared towards people interested in getting into writing professionally, offering guidance on such things as getting published for the first time, the value of a literary agent, what to do with the myriad rejection slips that trail behind submissions, and how to write a useful query letter.

The panel of writers all belonged to a writer’s guild, the Canadian Authors Association. Through this association they were able to overcome many of the difficulties which seem to stop authors from getting published. Through the CAA, they were introduced to a community of novelists, journalists, screenwriters, and poets. One member of the panel was given the direction needed in order to self-publish his first work, after which he easily found a commercial publishing house. Another was given the opportunity to get into editing, and now teaches creative writing at George Brown College. It seemed that the most helpful aspect of the writers’ association was that it provided a venue through which the members were able to more fully establish themselves, and build their careers using the support of that community.

There are a number of other free lectures and workshops of this sort, many which are listed on the university’s events page. Lecture topics range from human rights to phenomenological photography to how to calculate a CGPA. Likewise, visiting a writing centre at the university can provide you with much information on translating ideas into academic papers. A list of writing centres, for both undergrads and grad students, can be found here.  From here you can book appointments online and get some help with all the word wrangling that inevitably accompanies this time in the school term. U of T’s Counselling and Learning Skills Service also offers writing workshops here.

Regardless of your writing abilities, such assistance can, if nothing else, help clarify for you how accessible your writing is to its audience. Whether getting gramatical assistance from the writing centre, listening to the advice of a panel of professionals, or discussing thematic ideas with published authors, assistance in the writing process can only be beneficial, making your work stronger. After all, surrender is not an option.

- Mary