• campus,  clubs,  extracurricular,  international relations,  polisci,  residence,  St. George,  student groups,  Toronto,  UTSU

    long time reader, first time asker

    Hello Aska!

    First – You are utterly brilliant!
    I will be applying to UofT this fall, and scrolling through your blog has
    saved me many a panic attack! Within this wall of flesh, there is a soul
    that counts thee its creditor.

    P.S. I went through the tags before writing this (true fan here) so don’t
    worry – this doesn’t have ‘another college question’…..(or does it…..?).

    1. Oh all seeing eye, how do you know everything that’s happening at UofT’s
    massive campus? What are some of the best ways to keep on top of student
    events, displays, Disney serenades, aska fan-fests, food trucks etc? (Most
    importantly – food trucks!).

    2. Slightly beyond UofT – which are the best natural sites to explore in
    and around Toronto – hikes, trails, hidden Narnias perhaps?

    3. Innis is one of the only apartment style residences on campus, and as
    far as I can see this style of residence (and Innis in general) seems
    perfect. But, as an Innis insider, what are some of the disadvantages of
    apartment style living?

    4. I have been looking through the PolSci and International Relations
    department pages, and although I found a massive list of internships
    offered to PolSci students, I could not find a similar list for
    International Relations. Does PolSci generally have more available
    internship and exchange opportunities in general?

    Finally, I feel like I am compelled by tradition to put this question here,
    if only as a symbol:
    ‘Innis or UC?”

    May the odds and even be ever in your favor.
    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    thank you so much! i am always humbled and delighted to meet a fan like yourself.

    since you’ve asked me a five-part question, here’s a five-part answer:

    1. first, you could check out the student life website. they have a lot of stuff on events, displays, clubs, anything you may desire! if that isn’t enough, you can also check on facebook- lots of clubs and societies post when they’re hosting events (and whether or not there’ll be free food). you could also check out hart house (they always have a bunch of stuff going on), the utsu (university of toronto student’s union), your college’s student society, and the clubs fair during orientation week.
    2. there’s lots of nature-y stuff to do in and around toronto. so much so, that i’ll just redirect you to this. in all seriousness though, there are a lot of places to go hiking in toronto, check out this article.
    3. it all has to do with your personal preferences. however, you’ll have to think a lot about things like food (innis doesn’t have a dining hall, but you could still get a meal plan) and cleaning (you’ll have to look after a kitchen and a bathroom and a common area AS WELL AS your own room).
    4. i don’t know if there are MORE internships for polisci students as opposed to international relations students… it just looks like the IR department’s student experience page hasn’t been updated as recently as the polisci department’s. you could get in contact with the IR department and they’d probably have way more information than me, a humble not-IR student.
    5. innis or uc?

     

    xoxo,

    aska

     

  • clubs,  UTSU

    wholesome “club”ing

    hii im a first year student thinking about starting a club for the next academic year. ive read the pages on ulife about starting a club (writing a constitution, applying for recognition, etc) but i would like to know more! how do clubs get custom shirts, donation boxes and posters? ie. students for wishes have shirts, donation boxes and posters with their club name on them. and how do transactions work? clubs receive funds by cheques… does this mean i would have to create a bank account??

     

    ********************************************************************************************

    hey,

    im a first year student interested in starting a club for the next academic year. i read ulife’s page about starting a club. from what ive gathered, i (basically) need to write a constitution and apply for recognition. i would still like more information on how transactions are made. i read that utsu funds a club and that clubs are paid by cheques. so like would i have to create a bank account? how would i do that??

    also, do you know how clubs get custom shirts, donation boxes and posters? students for wishes and other clubs ive seen have shirts, donation boxes and posters with their club name on them.

    …also, where can clubs set up their events? I know clubs can rent some places around campus but which places?? or could a club just randomly set up a stand outside? lol

    right now, im just thinking about starting a club. i’m a commuter so i would like to get as much info as i can on starting a club before i actually commit to it.

    i dont have any background in business or any experience in leadership but i do feel passionate about a certain cause.

    plz help

    ———————————————

    why hello there,

    first of all, i can 100% guarantee that sending in the same question twice to our email and tumblr will not make us respond any faster! that’s a big aska no-no. pls do not clog up our inbox with extra emails thxxxxx. seeing extra emails = more stress = more anxiety = less productivity. capisce?

    on to the main event:

    once you’ve completed your constitution and applied for recognition, you can do the following:

    1. form an executive team: i would recommend that you assemble a good team of people you work well with who share your passion about the cause. this group of people will become your executive team and you’ll work together to start up your club.
    2. recruit members: you need to have at least 30 members and 51% of these members have to pay UTSU fees. plus what’s the point of having a club if you don’t have people?
    3. find your club headquarters: location, location, location. do you require an office space for your club or would you be perfectly content working from home? where will your club members hold meetings or events? if you do need office space, you should check out this link to learn more about how to apply for a club space at 21 Sussex Court. for meeting spaces or room rentals, the campus room finder is great, but you’ll need to be registered as a primary or secondary contact on ulife.
    4. money, money, money: if you want to get funding or sponsorship, you can reach out to businesses and ask them to sponsor you. sometimes they’ll offer your club members discounts or straight up give you money. be very professional when approaching businesses and always have a portfolio prepared. if you require funding from the UTSU, you’ll need to first be recognized by Ulife. here is basically every question you could possibly ask about UTSU recognized clubs answered. watch out for deadlines because they exist!

    if you do receive recognition from Ulife and UTSU before september, you’ll be able to set up during the st. george street fest and UTSU clubs fair at hart house circle in september! that’s where you’ll get a bunch of people coming up to your booth and signing up to join your club.

    printing t-shirts and other swag can be done through the UTSU, you just have to reach out to them. there are other options available for t-shirt printing of course, you can always do more research and compare their prices with other retailers. not sure what you mean by donation boxes, but it can’t be too hard to make one yourself! nice long banners can be ordered from the UTSU and if you need to print paper posters, UTSU’s got you too!

    in terms of opening a bank account, check out question 30 at this link! there are many different kinds of accounts and it would be in your best interest to sit down with a financial advisor at the bank of your choice to discuss what kind of account you would need. i would ask before the appointment if you require any extra documentation in addition to the Office of Student Life recognition letter. it might save you a trip!

    important people to contact when you need help:

    clubs and leadership development: i’ve heard that they are wonderful people who are happy to help you with any inquiries regarding club development!

    the UTSU also has a contact who can help you with all aspects of your club. if you need advice, you can contact vpcampuslife@utsu.ca to book an appointment and sit down with someone.

    anyways. i think i’ve covered it all.

    if you have any more questions, reach out to the people i’ve mentioned above. ^

    happy clubbing.

    *bonus points if you know what movie this is from! ^*

    peace and love,

    aska

  • extracurricular,  first year,  UTSU

    where my wizards at?

    Hi,
    I’m entering my first year at U of T in September and I was just curious a ?to whether or not there was some kind of Harry Potter fan club anywhere at?U of T? I know we have a quidditch team, but I heard that York has a huge HP club called the Ministry of Magic that includes a quidditch team, general fan club, etc. I’ve tried looking to see if U of T had one but couldn’t find anything.

    Thanks a lot for your help.

    ———————————————

    Hey Hermione!

    U of t has about a zillion clubs and is, logically, largely populated by the HP generation (though you will probably also meet awesome students from the Wu-Tang, Thriller, Woodstock, and even Elvis generations). Thus it stands to reason that there are enough wizardry-oriented individuals to constitute an official Harry Potter student organization. However, according to the University of Toronto Students Union Clubs List, it hasn’t been made yet.

    As you’ve noted, there is a U of T quidditch team, and naturally they are pretty rad by virtue of existing. But as for a broader fan club, potential members are probably too worn out from chasing snitches and broom-grooming to organize additional butterbeer pub nights and fan zines.

    Lucky for you, you can change that by starting your own club! Clubs are recognized and funded by the Students Union and you just need 30 members to sign up to be considered an official club, which allows you to apply for funding and other forms of assistance. Sounds like a friend-making opportunity to me! Stop by quidditch practice, and I bet you’re already halfway there.

    Hope U of T is as fun as Hogwarts was! It sure looks like it, anyway.

    aska

  • transportation,  UTSU

    taking the short bus

    Hi, is there any shuttle bus service from St. george to UTSC just like the one for UTM?

    ———————————————

    Unfortunately, there’s not. You have to slog through the unbearable commute, not even in a cool yellow schoolbus, using TTC and transit solo. This seems like something UTSU should be tackling, no? Harrass them here.

    Sorry!

    xoxo, Askastudent

  • admissions,  commerce,  UTSU

    Volunteering and Lies

    Im interested in applying for the BCom next year. It says in the admissions that there is a profile required for your activities (volunteer, work, clubs, sports, etc.). And they want references from each one????? I work and i do volunteer work and Im in a club…does it mean i wont get accepted if im not in a billion things??? And references?? :S

  • psychology,  UTSU

    psy100 has multiple personality disorder

    I was just looking at the course timetable + calendar, and it looks like psychology is only a half-year course now. (The code is PSY100H1.) Didn’t it used to be a full year course? And is the workload lighter now, or what? because I heard that 1st yr psych is a nightmare, so why did they cut it to only 1/2 a credit?!
    also, does this mean I have to go through the calendar and look for another 1/2-year course to take to fill my 5.0 credits? Because I’d really rather not. It’d be great if you could clear up this confusion, thanks!