If there’s one thing we should learn on campus, it’s to learn about our campus. I daresay Path, our friendly neighborhood map, would agree. I don’t mean we should all hold hands and sing “Getting To Know You“, a la Deborah Kerr all over campus, even if that would be an amazing flash mob idea (*hint hint*). No - we should step back, take a look at our buildings, and see that the buildings that make up U of T are just as important as the people and events that chance upon it. I’ve found that our school and student body are defined just as much by our buildings as our heavy course load.

Don’t agree? How many times have you heard ‘I’ve got a class at Con Hall’, only to hear it be answered with a collective groan?

Bring up ’Med Sci‘ to a Life Sci student, and chances are they will remember the Macleod Auditorium.

Someone says ‘I’m going to be at Robarts‘, and you know that they’re in (literally) for the long run.

Mentions of Hart House brings about tender feelings of good food, a slight fear of gargoyles, and that creepy picture in the basement – at least for me.

All Vic students know Old Vic, and I would venture to guess that they remember it fondly. The rest of us recall it enviously, because it’s not every day we can say that our college is a pink castle.

And you’ve got to admit that the light-up bubble classrooms inside the Pharmacy Building are hella cool.

But I digress.

There are buildings on campus that we can’t help but notice and learn about, simply because we already hear about them all the time. But there are some places that we don’t know about that can be just as interesting. A good chunk of us have discovered little pockets of architectural treasure. Take blogUT photographer Jimmy‘s gorgeous interpretation of Knox College, for example. In the summer, the courtyard is probably one of the few places at U of T where it is peaceful. If you ever go into the Great Hall of Hart House, take the time to look at all the coats of arms on its walls, and the verses linings the banister above. Of course, these are all just landmarks. Notables. Places we may (now) know and (will maybe) frequent.

I don’t think that U of T only has these noticeable notables, though. I mean, when I checked my schedule for this semester, I saw a building code I didn’t recognize: BI. I did a quick search on the U of T Map, and found out that it was named after Federick Banting, best known for his research on insulin with Charles Best (whose namesake building is right beside it). Just like that, I felt this sense of history. I’m going to be walking into history! I bet we all know that we’re stepping into a piece of history the moment we walk into U of T, but to be just two doors down from discoveries of the past? Yeah. That’s pretty awesome. And I bet, with a bit of searching, I’m not the only one who feels that way.

So here is my lesson to you, UTian: Make good use of our online map, not just to find your buildings, but also to learn more about our campus. Even if it doesn’t initially peak your curiosity, it will definitely give you something to think about as you sit in class staring at the wall. Not that I’m saying we do that. Nope. Not at all.

Oscar Wilde once wrote: “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” What he did not regard, it seems, is how few of us actually get the chance to sense another human being doing their theatrical thing. Theatre has changed tremendously since it was a mandatory cultural practise in ancient Greece; it is now a luxury enjoyed only by those with the financial stability to afford expensive tickets – a category that rarely includes students. Fortunately, theatre companies across our fair city have made their art more accessible to us by providing discount tickets. Here is a breakdown of Toronto’s major theatre companies and what they do to make their tickets more affordable: (more…)

We have the second official teaser for the University of Toronto Lip Dub. Check it out below and let us know what you think:

I can feel it in the air – that distinct sense of shifting, as students are handing in their last essays and attending their last few lectures; the end of the semester is finally approaching, and as usual, it looks gruesome. The exam period – not only the actual writing of the tests, but the process of studying – overnights at Robarts, rewriting and rereading, cue cards, highlighters, coffee, sweatpants, snow, slouching – is just around the corner. It’s not a pretty time for U of T students, but it’s always laced with the comforting knowledge that winter break, that brief pause in our otherwise non-stop academic year (pardon me – there was that oh-so-satisfying “micro reading week”) where we might do a bit reading for year-long courses, but mostly can sleep, breathe, eat, and do all those other things that normal, non-U of T students do regularly and might consider, in fact, necessary to human survival.

I’m hoping to maintain my peace of mind during exam season this year, and while I know those moments of panic are unavoidable, there are certainly a lot of opportunities on campus for students to relax and defeat the stress plague, if only momentarily.

Hart House offers a variety of programs to soothe the stressed student:

• Massage Mondays – Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. Free massages, because U of T knows – you deserve it.
• Lunchtime Crafts – Personally, I find arts and crafts to be really relaxing – though, of course, I have never produced anything presentable. Distract yourself with a little A&C, and who knows, maybe you will produce a great work!
• ThursTeas – Enjoy a warm cup of tea at Hart House while chatting with some new friends or reading a (non-school related, perhaps) book.
• Let Shakespeare distract you with the production of Macbeth playing at Hart House Theatre until November 26.
• Jazz at Oscars – This free event every Friday night brings all sorts of different music to the Hart House Arbor Room. Be entranced by live music to distract yourself from stress. The monthly Sunday concert in the Great Hall might also be of interest.

It’s difficult for students to keep up exercising during exam time, but sometimes going to the gym is exactly what you need to wake you up and keep you studying productively. Both the Athletic centre and Hart House offer a wide variety of drop-in fitness classes. The AC has free yoga among its repertoire, certainly a relaxing pastime.

The Multi-Faith Centre offers a variety of yoga and meditation courses over the term, designed to help you relax and find peace of mind.

The Angela Grauerholz exhibit is still on the University of Toronto Art Centre until November 26, and the centre remains open until December 10, for your perusing pleasure. Take your mind off exams by taking a brief tour through this great U of T resource.

Every Friday night at Innis Café, story tellers come deliver tales for “1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling”, a tradition which has been running since 1978. A well-told story could be just the right thing you need to wind down and distract yourself from the looming stress of exams. Innis Town Hall also has inexpensive movies playing throughout the exam period, which may also serve as a welcome distraction.

Exam period is one I clearly characterize as bleak, but I think there are definitely ways to limit your stress. You do yourself a disservice by climbing under a pile of books in a library for a week and not facing the light of day until you are forced to enter the outside world in order to walk to your exam destination. Taking some time during the exam period to not study for exams will make the time you spend studying all the more productive. It’s always a pleasant feeling to realize that the world is going on when you feel like it’s ending, so allow yourself to bear witness to that comforting truth by taking a break. Whether it’s a yoga class, or just a walk around our beautiful campus, indulge yourself this exam period, if only for a moment.

SAVE THE DATE!
You’re invited to Journalism for Human Rights’ (jhr) annual HOLLERDAY: a day dedicated to raising awareness about sexual violence in the DRC.

When: Tuesday, November 15th from 5-10pm
Where: East Common Room, Hart House
Why: STOP RAPE IN THE CONGO!

This event will feature an interactive HOLLERDAY wall, a workshop, speakers and an education centre featuring different campus groups giving their perspective on the topic of sexual violence in the DRC.

Why do we care about this particular issue? Stories like Clementine’s (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8677637.stm) serve to remind us that this issue is not one that can be ignored and people like her cannot just be left behind or forgotten.

HOLLERDAY is jhr’s chapter flagship awareness building event for 2011.  Students from  universities across Canada participate collectively in a day of action to “holler” about human rights issues.  2011’s focus is human rights issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Students will use their voices publicly through creative expression about human rights.

Here is the Facebook event – check it out! https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267179723316093

About jhr: We are a collective of inspired, approachable and enthusiastic individuals. We are worldly without pretense, knowledgeable, inclusive, inquisitive and most importantly – we passionately believe in positive change. Our entrepreneurial, can-do spirit is focused on making positive contributions to the quality of life of others as well as achieving success and fulfillment in our own lives.
jhr is Canada’s largest international media development organization. Our goal – to make everyone in the world fully aware of their rights – is as unique as it is powerful. jhruoft.org

In elementary school, I remember dutifully getting by poppy, lining up to go to the school gym, and having a moment of silence at 11 o’clock, every November 11. A recording on the Last Post would play after our minute of fidgety silence. For a generation that grew up in a relatively peaceful time, Remembrance Day was a day to remember the people who fought in a war that we never really knew.

We no longer have gyms to file into. No teachers to tell us to stop fidgeting. No volunteers coming around classrooms with boxes to donate quarters in exchange for a poppy. We’re older now, and there are wars going on around us.

If you ever walk by Hart House, you will see the Soldiers’ Tower, erected by the U of T Alumni Association in 1921. On it are names of U of T community members who fought in World War I. Every year, on November 11, a service is held there in the morning to commemorate Remembrance Day.

If you have the time this year, come out to the Soldiers’ Tower. If you can’t come out, have a moment of silence wherever you are, and just remember how lucky we are to be living where we are today. Remember the brave men and women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMzHlkB-Yg

The bake sales are back on campus! While they’re a great way to promote and fundraise for a club, they’re also a great way to get your muffin fix on a dreary day. What’s better than homemade baked goodies? (Sleep is an invalid answer. It does not exist.)

I have recently fallen in love with the heavenly thing normal people like to call the “banana chocolate chip muffin” and what I like to call “OMIGODTHISISSOGOODICANTTAKEIT” (said with a mouthful of muffin). To show my love, I have written a poem.

How dare you
Marry without me knowing!
Brought together in the heat of baking,
Union consummated in my mouth,
Tickling my taste buds
In ways I never before imagined.

How could you
Not tell me?
I thought we were friends, banana!
Friend enough for you to share.
So what if I don’t like chocolate?
I would’ve given it a chance.

It’s okay now
Because I know.
I will look for you two.
Look for you and find you.
I will be that annoying third wheel
And eat you.

My unreasonable obsession aside, remember to support our campus groups! Get to know them! You can find them in Sid Smith, Med Sci, and various other places around campus. Muffins, cupcakes and cookies are usually staples.

Of course, if you know where I can find banana chocolate chip muffins, call me up. Right. Away.