La semaine dernière notre merveilleuse Anna vous a introduit à EFUT, le club français de l’UofT. Aujourd’hui je voudrais vous parler d’une autre organisation francophone dont vous n’avez pas peut-être entendu. Savez-vous ce que c’est la SPECQUE?

Mes chers amis, la SPECQUE c’est la Simulation du parlement européen Canada-Québec-Europe. Ne vous laissez pas être détournés par le mot “parliament” (ou “simulation”, ou quoi que ce soit). En fait la SPECQUE présente à chacun une opportunité inoubliable de pousser ses limites, apprendre beacoup sur le monde et les actualités, et finalement voyager et rencontrer des gens inspirants!

Il s’agit d’une semaine intense passée en débats, en commissions, en sessions plénières…on dort peu, on boit beaucoup de caffé…On joue le rôle d’un eurodéputé au sein du parlement européen, ou bien un commissaire qui propose une pièce de législation, ou un rapporteur qui la critique dans son rapport. On peut également être un lobbyiste, un journaliste, un photographe, le président de commission – il y a plein de rôles pour tous les goûts! Donc si vous vous intéressez aux questions de politique européen, la SPECQUE est pour vous!

Elle est peut-être plus chère aux canadiens qu’aux autres, parce que elle a été fondée au Québec en 1998. C’est vrai, la simulation du parlement européen a été proposée par une étudiante de l’Université Laval. La SPECQUE a lieu dans un endroit different chaque an, alternativement en Europe et au Canada. Cet été la ville hôte était Luxembourg, tandis qu’en 2012 Montréal aura ce privilège.

Voilà ce que le site web officiel de la SPECQUE en dit:

“En tant que simulation parlementaire, la SPECQUE permet à ses participants de se développer. Les qualités oratoires, le sens de l’initiative et de la négociation, l’art de la persuasion ainsi que la capacité à analyser en profondeur des questions sensibles, et les aborder sous un angle législatif, sont certaines compétences que la SPECQUE permet de cultiver. La Simulation permet aussi à ses participants d’élargir leurs horizons par la découverte de jeunes issus de milieux et de cultures différentes. Cette découverte, et l’ouverture d’esprit qui en découle, sont d’une valeur inestimable dans le contexte de mondialisation que nous connaissons actuellement.”

Je pourrai ajouter de ma part que je n’aurai jamais imaginé combien la SPECQUE pourrait être intéressante, stimulante et comment elle peut créer une dépendence. Si on y participe une fois, on veut retourner, c’est sûr!

Alors, si vous croyez que la SPECQUE c’est pour vous, contactez-moi pour plus de détails.

Le batîment de la commission européenne où la SPECQUE se déroulait cet été. Je mens pas quand je dis que c’est impressionnant!

Ooh la la! Something’s in the air!

Word has it that the French department has cut ties with EFUT, the hugely successful student-run club that is dedicated to supporting la francophonie. Scandalous! Specifically, the French Studies chair has stopped authorizing French department participation in all things EFUT. Their relationship has always been amicable, with faculty encouraging their students to join and partake in their activities. What could have possibly broken this relationship?

Condoms.

If you’ve been anywhere around campus lately, you will know that EFUT has promotional material everywhere. Perhaps the most unique and memorable are their condoms, with relevant dates and club information printed on the packaging.

The trouble usually starts when they're NOT there.

EFUT has been going around to French classes promoting their club. President Antonin Mongeau has informed me that EFUT reps do not explicit hand them out. They instead leave a handful of condoms in the classroom, leaving it up to the students to decide whether or not to put it to good use. Professors of these classes have reported that these condoms are making students uncomfortable, thus prompting the French Chair’s decisions to de-authorize all EFUT activity within their classes, as well as faculty participation in EFUT activities.

Some things to get straight:

• This is the second year EFUT has used condoms as promotional material.
• Despite a couple of grumbles here and there, there has never been a complaint filed by any student before. Therefore, EFUT has been treating it as a non-issue.
• Let’s be honest – the French are not strangers to some lovin’. If you take a look at the course handbook, you will see that we have courses that build on that very theme.
• The French Chair does not understand how condoms are part of EFUT’s mandate.

Some things to think about:

• Is handing out condoms an appropriate method of promotion?
• Do you like them?
• Is the French department’s concern old-fashioned and behind the times?
• Is it really that big a deal?
• Should EFUT be blatantly putting sex together with French at all?

EFUT has not issued a response to this yet. They are encouraging all their members and other students to visit www.frenchclub.ca and respond to a poll there. If you’ve got something to say, email them at etudiants.francophones@utoronto.ca and tell them what you think.

Of course, don’t forget to comment below and tell us at blogUT what you think is really going on. To condom or not to condom? That is the question.

Chers amis francophones, chers amis francophiles,

A l’aube de cette nouvelle année académique, que vous soyez un ancien, un nouveau, ou un futur membre de notre French Club, vous êtes certainement tous curieux de savoir ce que vous apportera le seul, l’unique EFUT (Etudiants Francophones de l’Université de Toronto) au cours de cette année.

Votre aventure efutienne (quelle riche langue que la langue française!) commencera tambour battant dès la rentrée autour d’un formidable petit déjeuner typiquement français, aussi convivial que savoureux! Venez nombreux déguster notre French baguette accompagnée du désormais célébrissime Nutella ou bien de fromages en tous genres, venez goûter à nos fruits frais, nos divers jus de fruits, et notre délicieux café!

La date à retenir pour démarrer du bon pied cette nouvelle année, c’est celle du vendredi 16 septembre! Nous vous attendrons donc nombreux entre 10h et 13h pour faire connaissance autour d’un excellent petit déjeuner français servi au CIE a 33 rue st. George! (Editor’s note: Read FREE FOOD THIS FRIDAY!)

To join EFUT, simply send your name and student number to etudiants.francophones@utoronto.ca

Une fois lancé, l’EFUT ne vous laissera pas le temps de vous ennuyer! Soirées films, clubs de conversation, dîner de Noël, voyage à Montréal ou encore weekend en montagne, le French Club fera tout pour vous laisser des souvenirs mémorables! Nous organisons presque un évènement par semaine, alors vous n’êtes jamais seuls!

Le French Club, comme son nom l’indique, réunit des étudiants parlant français, qu’ils soient débutants, intermédiaires, bilingues, québécois,  nés en France … Ainsi, l’EFUT s’engage à maintenir ou améliorer le niveau de français des étudiants dont ce n’est pas la langue maternelle. Tous les jours de la semaine (et hors vacances scolaires), venez profiter des heures de tutorat gratuites offertes par l’équipe du French Club! (Editor’s note: Read FREE TUTORING every school day of the year!)

L’EFUT, en bref, c’est l’occasion de rencontrer des gens passionnants, de faire la fête, de progresser en français, et même de voyager, alors n’hésitez plus, rejoignez-nous!

Anna Abenhaim is a 4th year student at Sciences Po. Paris and came on exchange to U of T last year. She is EFUT’s Director – Sciences Po. And can be reached at sciencespo [au] frenchclub.ca. She misses Canada a lot.

Post written by Josephine Chou.

Do you sometimes wonder when and where you can apply the concepts that you learn in class? Well, that question – which often distracted me – is no longer a mystery since I discovered Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) at U of T. Unlike any other student group, SIFE gave me the opportunity to apply what I learned in the classroom to real world situations. I never thought that I’d be connecting with business professionals from different industries regarding business ideas, team management, and other business-related issues, but this is my NOW.

SIFE U of T is much more than the gathering of students to participate in good causes. Actively participating in the various projects in the organization triggers all the synapses in your brain and compels you to grow as a business leader and an even better person. It provides opportunities to work with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills necessary to become socially responsible business leaders. Our projects aim to ignite entrepreneurship, teach financial literacy, and encourage environmental sustainability. We are currently running seven projects. The adVenture Business Plan Competition provides an opportunity for students to realize their entrepreneurial dream. SIFE₂O promotes sustainability within our university community by engaging students on residences to compete in a water-saving competition. TYP empowers students by introducing them to the basic concepts that will allow them to manage their finances effectively while developing entrepreneurial skills. For more details on our 2011-2012 projects (we have 7 in total), please click here.

And it gets even more exciting! Each year, SIFE teams from across Canada get together and compete in three categories: entrepreneurship, financial education, and green and water sustainability. This year, our team won first place in the TD SIFE Entrepreneurship Challenge and Scotiabank & SIFE Go Green Challenge during the Central Regional Competition. All SIFE teams are also invited to attend the national competition where SIFE teams across the country compete for the national cup. The National Competition was held in Toronto this year and, next year, it will be held in Calgary. The winning team from the national competition represents Canada in SIFE World Cup (in Malaysia this year) where SIFE teams from across the globe get together and compete. Although we didn’t win the national competition this year, it was an amazing experience and we had lots of fun meeting other SIFE teams from across Canada, as well as business professionals who were excited to meet with us!

If you’re interested and would like to know more, or would like to join us, feel free to email us at sife@utoronto.ca .

Post written by Stephanie, VP External Affairs.

The U of T Chapter of Students for Medicare (UTSFM) is a student group that works in collaboration with the Ontario Health Coalition to advocate for Medicare (Canada’s national health insurance program) and educate the public about what is currently happening to the health care system in Canada*.  We believe that health care is an extremely important topic of which all Canadians should be well-informed. We believe that health care is a right and that the Canadian government needs to do it’s best to ensure that acceptable health care is accessible to all Canadians.  We are concerned with ongoing issues regarding Medicare including, but not limited to, privatization, cuts in services, and lowering taxes. We run events and fundraisers, as well as distribute newsletters, aimed at spreading the word.

This school year, UTSFM will continue to attempt to spread the word about Medicare. Sometime this year, we hope to organize a public debate with MPs from the Conservative, Liberal, and New Democratic parties; unfortunately, this event had to be postponed last year due to the election.

As a new group, we hope to involve more students and get more members. We welcome anyone who is interested in what we do to come to our meetings, events, and fundraisers.  Educating the U of T community is a huge task and we need your help!

If you are interested in learning more or joining us, check out our Facebook page or send us an email.

*To learn more about the development of Medicare, click here. To learn more about the current debates surrounding Medicare, click here.

Post written by Boyd Hao.

MusicBox Children’s Charity (MBCC) is a youth-run, registered non-profit organization that strives to provide music education opportunities to financially, socially, and/or physically disadvantaged children and youth.

A formal education in music should not be a privilege limited to only those who can afford it. We feel that music is an integral part of a child’s early development, with benefits reaching far beyond the child’s developmental stage. Disadvantaged children should be granted the same opportunities for growth and development that are available to their peers.

Through our partnership with the Yonge Street Mission (YSM), we bring music to the young children who need it the most. We fully subscribe to the concept of music as a developmental tool, and recognize its beneficial effects on a child’s social, academic, and emotional development.

As a youth-driven initiative, the Directors of MBCC are strong proponents of ‘self-help’ within the community. We believe that the needs of a community are best met by those living in it, and who better to enhance our youth programs than the youth themselves? Youth volunteers with significant musical achievement provide mentorship to our participants in group and one-on-one classes.

Our approach is two-tiered. We seek to enhance our children’s educations with the inclusion of music, as well as benefit our volunteer youth who gain self-enrichment and fulfillment from their participation in MBCC’s programs. Furthermore, we end each school year with an ‘End of Year Concert’ to provide the children with an opportunity to showcase the musical skills they have developed throughout the year. At the end of the day, everyone is happy – the students joyfully celebrate their musical achievements and the volunteers proudly celebrate their student’s progress, knowing that they have taken part in helping to make Toronto a better place.

Here at MusicBox, we open our doors to any prospective volunteers who share our goals and enthusiasm. You can learn more about us by checking out our organization’s website, or by calling or emailing us at 416-895-5456 or musicbox.toronto@gmail.com.