Fo’Real is an urban dance collective based within the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto, seeking to keep hip hop and street dance alive within the academic world of one of Canada’s top universities. Since its establishment in 2004, Fo’Real has grown to become a recognized name in and around the campus, performing annually at U of T’s Festival of Dance and UTSU’s Orientation Day, for example.  Fo’Real has also been given the privilege of sharing the stage with notable performers such as Bag-o-Trix, Soul Power Crew, Rukus, DoDat Entertainment, and Tommy the Clown. The group also had the honour of performing as opening acts for Melissa Reyes (Search for the Next Pussycat Doll) in 2008, SoReal Cru (America’s Best Dance Crew) in 2009, and for YouTube star, David Choi in Kollaboration Toronto in March 2010 (where Fo’Real was a finalist and awarded Best Artist).

This month, Fo’Real is representing U of T (St. George campus) at the Ontario Universities Competition for Hip Hop (O.U.C.H) 2010 – the main dance competition that Fo’ Real participates in every year. O.U.C.H is an annual non-profit hip hop dance competition established in the name of friendly competition amongst universities/colleges in Ontario. Tradition holds that the winning team will have the privilege of hosting next year’s competition. In 2008, Fo’Real came in third place at O.U.C.H. In 2009, Fo’Real was only four points away from taking home first place (click here to watch last year’s performance)! This year, the crew is hoping to take the prestigious O.U.C.H title and being able to bring the competition to Toronto for the first time!

Fo’Real hopes to gain support from the U of T community at O.U.C.H. Cheer them on and see which school will ultimately reign O.U.C.H 2010! It will be taking place at 7pm on Saturday, November 27th at the Great Hall in Hamilton Place. Guest judges include Tatiana Parker (SYTYCD Canada), Derek Rice (Blueprint -ABDC), and Brian Puspos (SoReal Cru-ABDC). Tickets are $18 and proceeds from O.U.C.H will go towards FREE THE CHILDREN organization. Message Fo’Real for tickets and for more info, check out their Facebook page.

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What do you get when you mix together a group of students looking to make a tangible difference in the community while at the same time forming real friendships? Eyes of Hope!

Eyes of Hope (EOH) is a club on campus that is aimed at alleviating poverty in both the local and international community, while developing leadership skills and having fun at the same time! The organization is currently involved in a number of different initiatives on the local level with a focus on homeless outreach. Taking part in sandwich runs to provide homeless individuals with food and nutrition, painting umbrellas with homeless youth as a means of therapy and self-expression, and volunteering at homeless shelters and food banks, EOH works to understand the issues and destigmatize homelessness.

Even more impressively, EOH has had a number of successes working and supporting large non-profit organizations. For instance, EOH has raised a whopping $8500 for Free the Children to build a school in Sierra Leone and also raises funds to provide school supplies and teacher training in developing nations. The club is also sponsoring two children through World Vision. Finally, EOH started the U of T Habitat for Humanity Campaign and soon other campus clubs joined in the effort to raise $80,000 to sponsor a U of T Habitat home, 30% of which has already been raised.

Eyes of Hope supporting Habit for Humanity

Success at EOH, however isn’t just defined by how much money is raised for these various organizations, it is also equally important that members can do what they enjoy by getting involved in whichever EOH initiatives they are interested in and develop their leadership and interpersonal skills at the same time. EOH provides a rich experience and friendships that our textbooks just can’t provide!

For a taste of EOH’s work, be sure to check out the following events:

• Umbrella painting – Tuesday evenings at Knox Church. You can sign up here if you’re interested.
• Sandwich run (Fri Nov 5, 5-8pm, GB117): You can sign up here if you’re interested.

So if doing good is something you’re interested in (and we hope it is!), consider getting involved with Eyes of Hope. Send an email to eyesofhope@utoronto.ca or visit their Facebook page or website for more information.

Calling all U of T student hackers, developers and entrepreneurs!

The Web Startup Society and U of T Entrepreneurial Society are looking for students who would like to have the opportunity to deliver a 5 minute demo on personal projects, particularly web & mobile applications and startups at their second annual DemoCamp U of T.

If you are unfamiliar with DemoCamps, they are “unconferences” held monthly in Toronto and other Canadian cities. They offer a great chance to get instant feedback and network with people who are passionate about startups. To get an idea of what you could demo, check out who last year’s presenters were.

If you are interested in showing off your stuff, send an email to democamp@webdev.skule.ca indicating your name, email, tentative topic of presentation, and website URL (if applicable).

The deadline for registration is Nov 3, 2010.

The Pakistan Students Federation is a platform whereby students with a common background and interest in Pakistani culture and heritage can meet and interact with each other. This year Pakistan made global headlines because of the devastating floods affecting about 20 million people in the country. PSF played its part by raising funds for the victims in collaboration with  the Pakistan Development Fund (P.D.F.) and the South Asian Development Council (S.A.D.C), all of which are U of T student groups.

Together, approximately $14000 were raised (without the Canadian government matching them), a portion of which went UNICEF and the Red Cross.

PSF plans to add to the diversity at U of T by organizing events symbolizing the rich Pakistani Culture. Earlier this year PSF collaborated with Skule Cricket Club to successfully organize a cricket tournament. Our upcoming events include a Gig Night in November which would include performances by students on Pakistani Music which has continued to mesmerize audiences across the world with its unique sound. We welcome the entire U of T community to attend our events and learn more about Pakistan. Our future plans include organizing Political Talks, Biryaani sales, movie nights and much more

For more information on how you can get involved, email psf.at.george@utoronto.ca or join their Facebook page.

The Trinity College Dramatic Society’s fall production opens this Thursday! This rarely performed German play by Georg Büchner has been translated, adapted and directed by 4th year student Chris Pugh. Follow the adventures of angst-ridden Prince Leonce when he decides to run away from the Kingdom of Popo with a hobo sidekick to avoid an arranged marriage. Robots may or may not be featured.

When: Oct 21-23, 8pm
Where: George Ignatieff Theatre (15 Devonshire Place)
Tickets: Student $5, Adult $10

Tickets can be bought at the door or reserved by emailing trinity.dramatic.society@gmail.com

As a student learning French in Toronto, I can sympathize with others like me struggling to keep up with their French in an Anglophone majority. I am sadly myself  not a fluent French speaker so I’ve had to find ways to practice my French in an environment not so conducive to doing so.

However there are ways:

1) French Clubs – Most schools or universities have French clubs.  At U of T for instance we have EFUT. This club is amazing and is actually one of the most popular clubs at U of T. They offer French tutoring hours Mon-Fri, 4-5PM @ 21 Sussex Avenue #604. They hold French conversation sessions weekly in varied locations. They also host and plan great events such as trips to Montreal, pub nights, clubbing events etc. For more information you can check them out on Facebook or email them and ask to join (they’re always looking for new members) at etudiants.francophones@utoronto.ca

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If you’re new to U of T, then you’ve probably been hearing over and over again that you should join clubs or student groups. Still, finding something to join can be daunting. U of T has so many groups, and it’s hard enough just to wade through the list of clubs or the screaming crowd at the clubs fair, let alone find one you’re going to enjoy enough to come back week after week, as exams and essays start to pile up. To make things a little easier, we will be running a series profiling a couple different student groups every month. I’ll be kicking things off with two dance clubs: the Modern Jive Dance Club, and the UT Swing Club.

The UT Swing Club is one of the first clubs I joined at U of T. I had tried dancing before – mostly through ballroom classes – and absolutely hated it. I couldn’t look elegant, I hated that I had to bring a partner, and having a teacher constantly telling you that you’re not holding a strong frame is just not fun.

Swing was nothing like that. For one thing, there was no pressure to look good or be a brilliant dancer. Their facebook group says “no experience, coordination, or partner necessary,” and they mean it. Each week starts with a beginner Lindy Hop lesson; this is the stereotypical swing dance:

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