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.

This week on the web: Students chalk up the streets of Queen’s Park to express their dissent of the recent tuition hike (thanks McGuinty, you’re a pal), the archaeologists of U of T’s Tayinat Archaeological Project discover the gates of an ancient citadel, and some good ol’ ramblings of U of T students brought to you by Tumblr. (more…)

This week on the web: (more…)

Life Science students spend a lot of time in the Medical Sciences building. You know which one it is – that sprawling concrete menace at the southeast corner of King’s College Circle. It is a horrible place.
First, the exterior. What were they thinking back in the late 1960s? Since pre-fabricated concrete slabs were the newest and hottest constructional material, the architects went hoop-la with it. The material seems painful to look at and even more painful to touch. I feel that, if for some reason I fell and grazed the wall, it would cut into my skin. Lucky for me, Medical students would see my suffering and come help.

Or would they? Another problem with the Med Sci building is that it lacks windows. You know, those glass portals that allow sunlight in and make you happy? If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself on the upper floors where the research labs are, you will be bathed in artificial fluorescent light. The hallways are confusing with many twists and turns. With no windows, you have no idea which direction you’re headed. I guess in the 60s people didn’t have to get to class on time so they could afford to spend ten minutes lost in a painted white cinderblock labyrinth.

Back to the exterior – it’s awful. Since there’s plenty of wasted open space on the outside, Med Sci is a magnet for smokers. Does anyone else see the irony in this?

The interior is barren and feels like a high school (complete with orange lockers and a feeling of hopelessness). One day I was walking to an office on the fourth floor and a some professors were having a conversation in the hallway. There were four of them and they occupied the entire width of the corridor. Now, there’s nothing wrong with professors talking to each other and I’m not complaining about the width of the hallways. What I find deplorable is that they had to converse in the hallway. In Med Sci, there are no lounges, no casual conference rooms, and there’s no free space. Everything is locked behind a door, out of the public realm. Every space has a rigidly defined purpose and must be booked ahead of time to be used. This leaves nowhere for impromptu conversations or places to eat lunch. Life in Med Sci is lonely and oppressive – certainly not the environment to promote creative thinking or forge interdisciplinary projects.

Thankfully, there are alternatives. The Terrence Donnelley Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research is a perfect example of how a research institute should be designed (it’s the new tower which is attached to Med Sci and has a main entrance that faces College). There, the exterior walls are completely glass! There’s plenty of communal space with plant life to spur the creative juices. I bet the researchers in the Donnelley building would report that they have a higher quality of life than those in Med Sci.

Med Sci can be saved. To bring it into the twenty first century, tear down walls. Literally make open spaces for people to have lunch. Drill holes into the ceiling and allow sunlight to filter into its cavernous depths.

That, or tear the whole building down and start fresh. Perhaps a glass and steel phoenix will rise from the concrete and rebar mess.

A recent article released by the Toronto Star states that the air quality in Toronto might not be as bad as we all think it is.

This may seem hard to believe, considering the extreme density of the downtown core.  Ironically though, it is the suburbs which we should avoid.

The mid-20th century boom of the suburbs in the GTA was supposed to be a Renaissance in urban development and infrastructure. However, another Toronto Star article indicates that the typical infrastructure of the suburbs is what causes high levels of CO2 emissions. The greatest amount of the emissions in the GTA comes from the town of Whitby at 13.02 tonnes per year. Where do they place the blame? Distance from the sidewalk. Apparently, living in a house that is set well back from the sidewalk makes one more inclined to ride around in a large, gas-guzzling SUV. But is it worth risking our environmental well being to get to and from soccer practice, the corner store, or even through the long lineups at McDonald’s (which consequently makes us fat) by driving a gas-guzzler?

So why should we be living in the city? The answer is actually quite clear. Public transportation is much better in the city and the sidewalks are closer to retail buildings and housing. Getting around is just easier. No one has much need for a car, except for Mayor Ford, who continues to pick fights with the ‘evil streetcars’. But that brings me to my next point. Not everyone can afford public transportation in the city; $3 a ride adds up.

Much to the pleasure of many, the bicycle has made a miraculous comeback. Everyone is using bikes. Children, adults, professors, students, hipsters… just about everyone scurries to one of the many bicycle shops in the GTA to get the latest one speed, skinny tire, weave-basket-carrying bicycle. Biking is no doubt the best way to get around the city, especially with the numerous picture-esque tree-lined streets and bike paths (another enemy of our beloved mayor). Even many of our adored professors at U of T, including Professor Brym (Department of Sociology) take their bikes wherever they go. It is almost impossible  to avoid cyclists on the St. George campus, especially the ones that we almost run into while jaywalking across St. George Street to get to Sid Smith.

Recently, downtown Toronto was introduced to the BIXI bike system. This system allows anyone to go to the one of 80 BIXI stations and pay the small fee of $5 per day ($40 per month, or $95 per year) to use a bike and go their merry way.

However, there are some downsides to the program.  You still have to find a station, pay a security deposit with a credit card, and there is no discounted rate for students. Despite these obstacles though, there are still many stations on campus for students to use.

In this day and age,  I truly believe that our generation has the power to make an environmental change. We don’t have to make the same mistakes our parents did, driving around in gas-guzzlers.  Instead, we should make sure to utilize the numerous ways of being environmentally  conscientious so that the next generations can enjoy the earth too. As the centre of research for our ‘true north, strong and free’, the students of U of T should join together in a revolution against irresponsible automobile use with the same enthusiasm as Louis XIV and Napoleon – on our bikes, ready to take on CO2 emissions (and succeed).

We’ve come to the end, friends. It’s finally time for exams, which means we’re that much closer to seeing that metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel. SO DAMN CLOSE! Just a few more sleepless nights and precious moments shared with your books in Robarts and you’ll be free!

On behalf of the blogUT team, we’d like to wish you all luck on your exams and extend an early congratulations cuz we know you’ll rock ‘em.
And of course, a little video that accurately describes our lives to distract you all!

In case you didn’t know, this will be the 4th election in 7 years. By now, I’m sure a lot of people are frustrated with having to vote, knowing that it’s probable that very little will change. This is one of the major reasons why voter turnout was at a historic low at the last election. I distinctly remembering the low morale during that time and the cynicism at our own elections, especially when we could compare all of our candidates and their attack ads with all of the positive campaigning that was going on in the States. It might have been the only time in my life I wished I was American.

In any case, you could ask, well, what does this have to do with student life? Well, Rick Mercer makes a fair point in this rant:

And when he mentions that point about the senior homes (at 1:10), here’s one of the pictures of Elections Campaign Day 3 on the CBC website:

So on May 2nd, vote!