• extracurricular,  pharmacy

    Askastudent: The Next Generation

    June 1, 2007

    nuit blanche fog. visually, the weirdest thing to happen on campus this year.
    for those of you in love with our old retro-chic website, the honeymoon’s over. we’re sure with time, you can learn to love again because let’s face it, the old site was a dinosaur. awesome, yes. but extinct.

    welcome to the new, bloggier inception of askastudent’s former predecesser. please allow me, your friendly neighbourhood askastudent, to steer you through some of our new kickass features – though the premise will always remain the same: ask and you shall recieve. (the answers to life on and off campus.)

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  • extracurricular,  St. George,  transportation,  UTM

    askastudent loves grifting

    February 1, 2007

    hey aska
    i have an interesting question to ask..and its kind of illegal but nyways lol….
    ok well im pretty sure you are well aware that there is a shuttle bus that runs from utm to uft and vice versa also its free for utm students. However if you are a UFT student and take the shuttle bus you have to pay $6.25. I have a friend whose brother is a UFT student and to save money he took that utm shuttle bus to uft everyday for his classes last year (he lives right infront of utm), and he never got caught. So basically he saved a lot of money. Im pretty close to utm too so i would save a lot of money if this scam actually works. So aska would you know anyone who has also done this and gotten away with it?

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  • americans,  extracurricular,  languages

    I feel the same way about Guam

    December 13, 2001

    Hi. I like Canada. I have questions, though. I have never
    actually been to Canada but I am gullible and from what I have read and heard
    from all over the place, it is better than America. I don’t like America. 🙂 So,
    yeah. Questions. Do I need to speak French to live in Toronto? I am going to
    take a semester of Intro French I next semester because the sucky-ass school I
    go to now doesn’t offer anything more intensive than that. I know that Montreal
    is a lot more French-y than Toronto is, but still… how important is French in
    Toronto? Maybe it isn’t and I am stupid for asking. 😉 Like I said I am
    transferring from the states and I am trying to decide between UofT and McGill
    (hence my concern for French). I will not ask you to compare that stuff because
    I read the questions other people ask. =) But my other question is… I am
    completely American-raised. Please school me on Canadian basics. What are some
    Canadian colloquialism? Is the “aboot” thing really true? Anything
    else pronounced weird? Also, is that British-style English you guys speak? I see
    things like “programme” and “centre” and I worry that I will
    get many points taken off in my essays when I say “program” and
    “center.” Sorry my question is so long. Feel free to cut out the
    useless babble if you do get around to posting it. 😉 Anyway, cool site and
    thanks for your honest answers, they really help.

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  • engineering,  extracurricular,  weirdness

    UofT mythbusters

    December 6, 2001

    When you get off the Queen’s Park subway stop on the north-west
    corner and walk up the path to the med-sciences building there is a yellow hard
    hat bolted to the ground. What is this hat? Why is it there? What does it
    signify? and is there an engineering student bolted beneath it? I have been
    asking around but no one seems to know.
    please help

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  • awkwardness,  extracurricular,  getting involved

    not a master debater

    October 9, 2001

    {I’m gonna die, I can’t do anyting, I’m not good at anthing, I’ll never accomplish anyting, I’ll never amount to anytying, I simply suck.
    Yesterday was the HH Debating Club Novice Training Day and I was one of the app. 40 novices. I really really really really really really really REALLY!!!! want to be in this club. But I suck and I’ll never learn to debate. N-e-v-e-r, e-v-e-r.
    I feel so humiliated and intimidated.
    Do you know how the training goes? First they match you with someone to be your partner, unless you already have one. And how can I have a partner if I don’t know ANYBODY at this university??? Then there is seminars where you learn one side of the coin, in my case how to be the opposition, and then there is a debate. Then seminars which teach you the other side, in my case how to be the government, another round of debates and finally finals.
    I suck I suck I suck I suck… 🙁
    My first speech was to be a 10 minute one – first time debating EVER. I only witnessed a debate once before and still hardly knew what was going on and what I was supposed to do.
    But I got up to give my speech, my papers in hand. and my first thought was “I must put these papers down or they’ll see how much I’m trembling.” They saw anyways, I couldn’t even hold the paper.
    I samehow made it thought those 10 minutes, but didn’t even know what I was talking about. I was extremely nervous, and everybody could hear it. I discovered that I can’t give speeches – I don’t have the tone, the gestures, the power. I found my English insufficient (it’s my 2nd language and I reall do know it well…). A number of times I came to a halt in the middle of a sentence because I couldn’t recall the word I needed. Nothing complicated, “to develop” for example… And I shake like a leaf in the wind. Talk to the wall not to my audience and judges.
    My team lost, of course, althoug they didn’t tell us.
    The judge told me I lack confidence and structure. If you don’t know, these are essential in debatig…
    The judge was there to listen to us and give comments, but at the same time it was a turnament and we were given points.
    Later, during the second seminar, the role of the government was explained, with reference to special cases. The guy goes: “If the LO is really bad, so bad he or she simply sucks and can’t give a speech at all…”. At this moment my partner gave me THAT look, I thought I’d die.
    We went on to the second round of debates. This time I had two speeches, 10 and 3 minutes and these weret the first and the last in the debate, respectively. It went better, althoug I forgot how to speak English again, but I just wanted to hide under the table – immagine 4 guys (or girls, depending on who you are) staring at you and thinking how bad you are.
    This round felt better, and was better. Still, we lost again.
    At the end all novices were summoned, and the final debate took place – two best teams. At that point I was about to break in tears, they were so good. And I? Garbage.
    Then the certificates were given to 10 best speakers and 5 best teams. Of course I wasn’t among them, but suddenly it turned out that the only people who still were there all got diplomas. I was the only one who did not.
    I don’t know what to do.
    I won’t dare to debate again.
    I really want to, but I can’t. I’ll burn, crash, start crying, hide under the table, I don’t know.
    The fact that I did so bad wouldn’t be so bad, but those diplomas… It was like “these people are good, so they can stay, we welcome them to the club, and the rest go away, you suck”. A novice tunament is in 2 weeks. I can’t go for family reasons, but still, even if I could, I don’t think I’d go. What for? To humiliate myself even more?
    Most of the top people have previous experience with debating, and I have none. I’ll never be anybody there.
    And if you want to know more, I really really like one of the senior guys. He won’t look at me. We talked once, but now he doesn’t notice me. Thank god he didn’t judge me and he don’t knows how much I suck. But maybe the others told him. And he surely saw the score sheet – where my name was at the very bottom, I’m sure.
    I’m going to go and kill myself.

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  • extracurricular,  math,  other schools (boo!),  switching

    another harsh dose of reality

    October 9, 2001

    aska: I recieved the following rant from a bitter student –

    Hi, first of all, Great Web site and fantastic work! Very Immpresive! I have just discovered this site two days ago but I am realldy addicated to it now.
    I want to make a point here and I would like to know what is your opinion on it.
    Do you think the university has set up way too many (administrative)barriers preventing students from leaning the knowledge they want most?
    I do. For example, I am a transfer student from YorkU(after completed 2 years comp. Sci there) and trying to get into comp.sci and commerce at UT now. I have every thing they want except I do not have a “pretigious MAT137”. I have done the standard full year calculus course at York already which is a tough course too. And I got A+ for it. I know myself that I have a very strong math background. But the departments does not care. I simply was asked to take it again! Which means more money and more time and even worse, delay of graduation.
    I may agree that MAT137, in some aspect could be harder but I also believe that York’s calculus course should have prepared the students a strong enough background in the filed as well.
    As students, we came to university because we simply want to learn knowledge? Why the hell there are so many “political” stuff making our life so hard? What do you think about this point as a senior university student?
    Thanks very much for your time.

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  • extracurricular,  weirdness

    what about the gum

    July 22, 2001

    aska: to whomever wrote this submission, i believe you are an idiot. i am only putting this up because of my strong journalistic integrity, and because you clearly took some time out of your sad and pathetic life to write it. on with the show…

    I love gum. Anyone who spends time around me knows this to be true. No matter where I am, whether in my home or office or car, I always have at least three or four packs around me. From Big Red to Chiclets, from Trident to Plen-T-Paks of Juicy Fruit, I’m never far from a fresh stick of delicious chewing gum. Yes, I love gum and always have plen-T of it on hand.But, as rich as I am in gum, I’m equally rich in friends and acquaintances who are aware of my gum supply and don’t hesitate to ask for a piece if the need arises. This is usually not a problem: I am a generous man by nature and feel gum should be shared freely among those in need. However, there are times when the line between generosity and exploitation is crossed, and steps must be taken to drive the line-crossers back. I must hold fast to my gum. I admit, I’m partially at fault. I’ve established myself as someone who is extremely charitable with his gum, always holding it aloft and asking if anyone is in need of a piece. Always asking those around me if they too would like a chewy strip seemingly forged in heaven itself. In the face of such temptation, it is only natural for one to be seduced by its minty or fruity allure. I am puzzled what should i do?

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