“[We] had a great winter semester and a great 2011-12 season. No, we don’t have any championships to show for it. But that’s really besides the point. As a group, you grew and came together, found friendships and enjoyed being around one another. Ultimately, those are the values our program holds most dear. Hopefully when you look back at your university experience, this will be something you remember and cherish."- Coach Danko
Coach Myz giving the girls a pep-talk before the game.
1-2-3-U-T-S-C!
First face-off.
Trying to get back, down by two.
Chelsea takes a snipe.
Celebrating our goal.
Last few minutes of play. Came out short with a 4-1 loss, but the girl's never gave up.
Hey Guys, It's E.A.P
Yea, couldn't keep me away for long!
Just thought I'd do a quick post and tell you about all the awesome things are happening around the world and on campus!
TODAY: As we all know (or at least I hope we all know) is International Women's Day! Which isn't just about appreciating the women in your life (that's another day, remember Valentine's Day?), well for me PERSONALLY, it's about appreciating women and understanding the struggles they've come through and still continue to face. It's about acknowledging and fighting the discrimination in our systems based on gender. This is not about me being a feminist and forcing my beliefs down your throat, it's about being aware, it's about being aware of yourself and your privileges. To an extent, WE ALL HAVE *certain* privileges. Celebrate the feminist in your life!
TO MY NEXT POINT: It's also Israeli Apartheid Week all around the world, OF COURSE UofT is doing events for it. I've been to some really awesome lectures with guest speakers on both campuses.
Let me just fill you in on IAW.
Basically...it started around last year, at the very beginning of the Egyptian revolution (and others) which sparked in the middle east...hence the term, "Arab Spring"
Remember this?
I think it was more that the West was waking up and realizing the issues in Middle East. One of the main ones being the Israeli and Palestine conflict. This is my interpretation of how things went...
After WW2 and the displacement of millions of Jews, there was a treaty signed which said something along the lines of Jewish people sharing the land and living with the population of Palestine. But things didn't really go according to plan and the Jews decided to take over the land, and wipe out the population so they could have all of it, rather than sharing it...basically this is what happened
Since then the Israeli army has been occupying the white area.
So this week, UofT (tri-campus wide) put on a range of events and brought in guest speakers to talk about the conflict in Middle East, and possible resolutions that have been discussed politically. There are people for the occupation and against. It really depends on who you ask, I'm not here to defend and rebuttal opinions, I'm just here to inform you.
To be honest, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that UofT put together such events, and it's a nice change. So thank you and hope you enjoyed this post.
Epic Quote of the Week: "I don't think IWD is about women being "special" (we know we are) - it's about just...being." Khadeeja A.
Hey guys! It’s Moiz coming at you for one last time. Don’t be sad, I’ll probably be back next year to keep you updated on life as a student :D. I swear this year has just flown by, some people only have a month left of school. It seems like only yesterday I was going crazy during frosh week and wondering how to get from class to class. It’s so crazy how this year is almost done!!
Anyway, because it’s the last blog of my year I thought I’d do a fun “You know you’re in University when” list. Let’s start this off, and feel free to comment any ideas you guys might have!
1)Weekends start on a Thursday for you (Art students -_-)
2)Sleeping before 4 am is a waste of a night
3)You know the store hours of all the fast food restaurants on or near your campus
4)Your breakfast isn’t complete without something with caffeine in it
5)You tell people all week that you have to study for a test on the Friday and avoid everyone but still don’t start to study until the Thursday
6)The weight you’ve gained is “all muscle” because you go to the gym once a week
7)Procrastination is a form of art. Beautiful, wonderful, timeless art.
8)You know you’re at UTSC when the library is louder than the halls, the marketplace and probably the gym.
9)You’ll wait 10 minutes for an elevator because the stairs are just too much work.
10)Naps are a necessity.
That’s the best I could think of guys. If you have any, comment your ideas below!
Be sure to keep checking out this blog because there may be surprise appearances here and there! And for one last time,
Yes indeed, the title says it all. I made a short video thanking everyone who supported UTSC Pulse, it has definitely been a memorable experience. As your athletic blogger, thank you to all those I've interviewed and got to know, you made my job a lot easier. As well, thank you to all the writers whom I met with once a week to pitch ideas, Nadia for being the brain behind the blog and Ron for putting me up for the challenge!
For many of you first years, you've probably never filed your taxes. If you do know what they are, great job on the head start! For those of you who haven't, lucky for you being an undergrad, UTSC does your taxes for you, or rather. help you do most of it and best of all, IT'S FREE!
Follow these steps to success: Go to the market place anywhere from 11AM-5PM Be prepared, you have to bring the following things in order to do your taxes.
Passport *only required for International Students at UTSC
Income Tax Number (ITN) letter or Social Insurance Number (SIN) card (NOTE: If you do not have a SIN card or ITN, please contact the ISC for assistance)
Direct Deposit Information or VOID Cheque (information required from your financial institution: Account #, Branch #, & Institution #), is necessary to set-up the direct deposit of your tax refund
A Canadian address where your tax letters can be mailed back to you during Summer 2012. (NOTE: If you will be leaving Canada for the summer 2012 for vacation, please make alternative arrangements to secure a local mailing address (examples: friend or family member’s address, Canada Post mail box rental, etc.)
Rental receipts for any off-campus housing or a copy of canceled/returned cheques/money orders/bank drafts you used to pay your landlord (NOTE: students living on-campus in UTSC’s Residence do not require any receipts)
T2202A – 2011 Tuition, Education and Textbook Amounts Certificate Form (can be printed from ROSI under “tax forms”)
T5 Slips – Mailed in January-early March 2012 directly to you by your Canadian financial institution if you have a high interest bank account, GIC and/or investment (contact your financial institution for details)
TTC Monthly Passes, TTC Weekly Passes, or Go Transit Monthly Passes and receipts of purchase
T4 Slip (if you were employed and paid in Canada during the tax year of 2011)
Your CRA Netfile Access Code if you have previously filed your taxes before and are eligible to file your tax return electronically.
Some of these might not apply to you, go through item carefully!
Before the process you have to sign a form saying that a volunteer is helping you and does not represent the Canadian Revenue Agency etc. They verify your information, ask you various questions and then you make an account on UFile. It's the tax papers software. So basically you plug in information and numbers and after all that, you get an estimate of the tax refund, before you get all excited, you have to understand that this amount is divided by four and sent out every 2-3 months.
After all of that, you get a copy of your tax forms, you have to print about 30 pages, so make sure your TCard is loaded. All you have to do is put those pages in a envelope, put your address on it, put a stamp on it, and send it. VIOLA! You're done.
Basically, when you file your taxes, you are claiming that GST back, that "30%" which is deducted say for example on your pay cheque. So you getting a tax return is you getting that 30% back.
As some of you may or may not know, it is the last week of work study and this may or may not be my last blog post (most likely not). I'd just like to say thanks for tuning in and reading my rants, opinions, critiques, etc. I'd like to say, that first year is and always will be hard, once you get through the train that is first semester, second semester is a wee bit less difficult, we have a reading week.
Although I love UTSC, I'll be taking a break. I'd like to wish my fellow bloggers of today and tomorrow the best of luck.
Epic Quote of the week: "To all the women in Pakistan who are working for change, don't give up on your dreams. This is for you" Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's Oscar speech (HOLLA!) Epic Video of the week:
Man oh man, it's been a busy reading week for me - and with school starting again, it doesn't show signs of slowing down. I'm currently writing this at 2:48am (yikes!) I got back from hockey practice around 11:30pm and have been doing homework ever since. It doesn't help I have a soccer practice at 7:00am tomorrow morning (double yikes!).
So my dear readers, my mind has turned to jello and for such reason...I will write a poem.
Ahem.
Ode to hockey practice
The coaches made us skate, lap after lap
I only wanted to sit out and take a nap
It's been a long day, but I'll continue to skate
Even when the coach made us carry a weight
My knees were shaking with every turn
You better believe I felt the burn
We had a drill where we wrestled for the puck
I won that play, but i'm sure it was mere luck
Shoot outs happend at the end of the night
I tricked the goalie, as the puck took flight
It missed the net, pretty sure it hit her head
I apologized and apologized, "sorry" I said.
When practice was over, I tripped and nearly fell
We have a game on Sunday - oh goodness, wish us well!
I know it's been a while and I do apologize. As you know I am a social media enthusiast and I enjoy looking at social trends within difference contexts. Recently I've noticed a significant increase in social integration in the classroom. All of my classes have official Facebook discussion groups that are moderated by professors or TAs. This is coupled with a higher use of the Blackboard discussion groups. In the classes that have this online supplement the professor typically assigns 10% of the grade to participation especially when using Blackboard. I realize that students have been forming groups like these before but I've rarely seen an official one created by the professor/TA.
I have 1 class that uses a Facebook group to connect students to TAs and additional material and 1 class that strictly uses Blackboard for this purpose. However, I've noticed there is a stark contrast between using the Blackboard discussion board and an avenue such as Facebook for online course supplements. If you happen to be a TA or a professor reading this you better start taking notes! I've noticed the Facebook groups are better in terms of student engagement with the course material and extra material as well as the professors and TAs. I've actually learned a few concepts strictly from the Facebook discussion group. While on the other hand the discussion board is rarely used and when it is used I'm being forced to by a 10% participation mark. There is no other shared material other than what is required of me to post for my grade.
I believe the whole idea behind having discussion boards/groups in the first place is to foster engagement between students and with the course material - the whole learn together thing. I would like to see more classes adopt an official Facebook group to supplement learning and course material. I've noticed students are more active on such a group because they are already on Facebook for other reasons and it's a more casual environment as opposed to the one offered by Blackboard. Though the Facebook group does have to be moderated or else it will turn into a free for all dystopia of trolling.
I happen to enjoy these Facebook discussion groups, but I'm not sure how prevalent they are among the classes at UTSC. Let me know to what capacity your classes have them and how you feel about them in the comment section below!
Remember to follow me on twitter @malcolmwong1 and the subscribe to the blog!
