The kids are alright!

Hello student lifers! Here’s the thing about campus in the summer: it looks the same, it sounds the same, but it just doesn’t feel the same. This being my third summer on campus-ish (first summer I lived on campus, second I took a course, and this summer I’m working here), I’ve been puzzling over the difference for quite some time. Things are closed earlier, granted. There are fewer (though still cool) events going on. There’s a slightly different crop of students, and younger teachers. But beyond that, there’s still something amiss, and I think I’ve finally figured out what it is. Babies, babies, babies! Okay, not actual babies, but there are so many young’uns about campus these days. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that when you live and breathe the bubble you lose immediate contact with a whole number of demographics. That is, you talk almost exclusively to fellow students (mainly educated folk between the ages of 18 and 22), and within that mostly people in your program - people that share a lot of the same interests and aspirations, and then a few extremely intelligent older folk. In fact, the U of T campus population is, relatively speaking, pretty homogeneous… but no longer. In the summer, thanks to things like Camp U of T and programs held at the school, kids are putting the “camp” into campus… I’m sorry. Couldn’t help it. So who are these kids? Camp U of T is a part of U of T’s Faculty of Phys. Ed, offering programming for a wide range of ages, and employment opportunities for U of T students in the process. The DEEP Summer Academy is organized by U of T Engineering, and accepts high schoolers from across the world, also hiring students as instructors and residence staff. Now seeing small children using my stress-grounds as their playground is a bit unnerving, but these DEEP young adults and their high school bravado are absolutely charming. I have to hold myself back from going up to them and saying, “Hey, you, it’ll get better!” Mainly because I’ve been told I look about 15 and they would probably drag me to the Camp U of T counsellors as a wayward camper. - Liz