Man 2 Man

Hey guys,
In case you didn't know, tonight at UTSC's SC:OUT and DSL (Dept of Student Life) is hosting a reading of the play "Man 2 Man." I will be there! In the past I've tried to get interviews at the events I've attend on and off campus, but some artists aren't as cooperative! (NOT IMPRESSED.) I hopefully might have some luck at tonight's event- WISH ME LUCK.

I know this is a very BRIEF wall post but I will back next week with FRESH IDEAS! Till then stay swaggin!

Epic Quote: "To power, we must either submit or resist." Aisha W.

Epic Song of the Week:

UTSC rated B- in athletics

Annually, The Globe and Mail conducts a "University Report Card," where students all across Canada rate their school on most satisfied students, quality of teaching, student residences, libraries, athletics, etc. Overall, UTSC falls into the average grades for each category. As previously mentioned by my fellow bloggers, UTSC may be a smaller community, but I think we could embrace all the opportunities we have to offer.

UTSC is rated within the "small universities" category. We're rated a B- in athletics and recreation along with Nippising University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. At the top of this list is University of Lethbridge and UOIT.

U of T St. George is rated a B+ while UTM is rated an A- in athletics.

The survey is going around again and UTSC can have a chance to move up a grade in all categories because let's face it, we're U of T students and a B- will only make your parents say, "you can do better."

In other news, UTSC will be having a "UTSC Marlies Day" on March 10, hosted by the SCHPA. The game is at the Ricoh Coliseum at 3pm. Oddly enough I used to work at the Ricoh and I can tell you Marlies games are WILD! It's a small arena, so anywhere you sit will be a great seat to watch the game.

Tickets are $35 and include, not only the game, but an $8 food voucher, Marlies T-shirt, autograph signing with a Marlies player, and a post-game skate on the Marlies ice.

Attending the game will be a great first step into embracing the UTSC athletic community. You don't have to play a sport to attend, just gather a group of your friends and have fun!

Tweet me @Jessica_Moy or comment below if you're attending the Marlies game, or how (as a UTSC student) would you improve the athletics at UTSC?

The small joys and victories of UTSC

Hey Guys, it's E.A.P

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, but instead of being all Anti-Valentine's day, I thought I'd show my campus some love.

Yea, let's be honest; UTSC school spirit is a bit in the dumps. That being said, it doesn't mean we can't raise it.

I've been thinking since I do take courses at the downtown campus, I appreciate UTSC more.
I dedicate this post to UTSC.  Here are the things I love about UTSC:

• The small class sizes. I would much rather be in a room full of 30 kids than 95
• We have some really awesome courses e.g "Women in the Arts: Hot Mamas, Amazons, and Madonnas," " Gender and Genre," "Music and Healing," and even a course on "Painting" to name a few.
• We're right next to STC, isn't that fun? You could go watch a movie in your 3-hour break (if you aren't broke yet).
• We got a Hero Burger and Taco Bell opening up VERY soon.
• We have really awesome guest speakers visit our campus. Who went to see Lawrence Hill the other day?
• There's always someone giving away free food. Yup, referring to DSL.
• We have a hot dog guy!
• There's always some new building opening up, but either way this campus isn't big enough to get lost at.
• I'm actually really glad our campus doesn't do that whole "colleges" thing that the downtown campus does. That way you don't have to go to like 3 different registrars to get something done.
• We have some awesome profs, Daniel Tysdale! :D
• Our school teams don't suck, we actually win most games! #RepUTSCSports

Just a few closing remarks:
I just feel like our school isn't given the credit it deserves. University can be fun guys! You just have to look, and if it's not there, take a chance and start something positive. Instead of complaining about how our campus spirit "sucks" take initiative and do things on this campus that you wanna see happen.

Next week I'll be attending Spoetic Poetry Slam on Thurs Feb 16th. One of my many pieces got published in an online zine (So stoked for that).

Epic Quote of the week: "Tell her that the only way her heart will mend is when she learns to love again."

Epic Video of the week:

Superstition in sports

If you're an athlete, chances are you're likely to believe in superstition. Everything you do before a big game has to be to your liking or you'll feel unprepared. Take for example a soccer player who has to put on their left shin-pad first before their right or a volleyball player who has to bounce the ball a certain way before serving.

It all may seem a tad silly, but in order for certain athletes to feel prepared, they must stick to the same routine before heading out on their respective playing fields.

Many famous sport superstitions include Fabio Capello, England's soccer manager who banned all the girlfriends and wives of his soccer players during the 2010 FIFA World Cup from any sexual activities. Some may say such activities can hold back an athletes competitiveness, but according to TIME Magazine, this is just a superstition.

Another superstition is former basketball superstar Michael Jordan who couldn't go a game without wearing his lucky basketball shorts from college. He even wore them under his longer Bulls shorts during all his NBA games.

Personally, I'm not too superstitious when it comes to sports, but I do have a couple that stand out. For hockey I always have to tie my skates outside the dressing room. I don't remember when I started doing this, probably back in high school when the dressing room was always sweaty and crowded. I used to take my skates and tie them outside the room and listen to my music. Even today I continue to do this, it's automatic - even if the dressing room is half empty.

Also, in the beginning of the game when my team is about to cheer, I have to turn my back to the crowd. I believe this started when I was younger when I was always so nervous when friends or family came to watch. It would remind me to not pay attention to them and concentrate on the game. May sound silly but hey - it worked!

Here's a short, funny video of superstition in the NHL.

Let me know by commenting or tweeting me @Jessica_Moy if you or someone you know has a weird superstition or routine before heading out to the big game!

Is UTSC Spiritless Place??

Hello UTSC, as you know this is my 5th year at UTSC and that I am a big proponent of getting the best university experience possible. It dawned on me the other day that it might be possible that UTSC and possibly the entire entity of The University of Toronto lacks any school spirit. This idea came about me as I was visiting a friend at another campus. As he was showing me around, I noticed a few things.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of students wearing an article of clothing emblazoned with the universities name. I know we had the whole "1 Love UTSC" thing going on, but this was on a whole other level. Are UTSC students ashamed of repping their campus? I obviously see students with University of Toronto clothing, but the frequency of a sighting like that is minimal. Why is it that this type of rep is so rare at UTSC?

Furthermore, looking through his collection of photos through out his past years at the university I noticed all the photos had one thing in common - they were all very centralized around school spirit and the university. In my head I compared my memories of UTSC and his photos - there was a HUGE difference. Sure I've been involved heavily and done things that connect me to campus but they didn't resonate with the feeling of "school spirit".

The only reason I could think of why school spirit is not part of our university culture is that at the University of Toronto we are heavily focused on academics and it is our cornerstone of pride. My question to you is whether you think UTSC has spirit or not or that the university experience is better elsewhere. Perhaps it's that as students of UTSC we show our school spirit in a different way - though I'm not really sure about that. Do you think UTSC has spirit? or do we show it in a different way? What are some ways you see UTSC spirit and what are some ways to increase school spirit? Let me know in the comments below!

When I Say Drop, YOU SAY FEES!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

TODAY IS THE DAY!
All Out Feb1 st. National Day of Action.

Here is how things went down according to me.

So I was suppose to get up super early and head over to Queen's Park with UTSC, but I slept in (to be fair, I was really excited and I couldn't sleep, so when I did finally sleep, I slept till 10:30 AM)

11:33 AM: Arrive at Queen's Park (I couldn't figure out where the protest was taking place). Someone told me Hart House, someone else told me King's Circle!

This is BEFORE THE ACTION:

(Really Empty!)

11:57 AM: I hear cheering. Heads towards cheering. There was a hype rally in front of Sid Smith. We were all waiting for the other university buses to arrive.

For like a good 30 mins we were all cheering things like,
"The students united, will never be defeated"
"When I say drop you say fees!"
"Education under attack, what do we do? FIGHT BACK"
"Education is a right, we will not give up the fight!"
And other things like,
"SO SO SO, SOLIDARITY!!!"
"What do we think of OSAP? And the crowd said "F**K OSAP"


12:46 PM: We start marching around King's Court Circle. Guided by this truck which came with a microphone, speakers, and a DJ.

1: 12 PM: The crowd gets bigger and bigger:

I noticed that people took turns speaking, while on the truck. The different student unions (i.e Ryerson, York, UofT) all spoke out at the rally about how, not just undergrad students, but ALL students are affected by the high cost and rise of tuition fees. Yay Solidarity :D!

I had to leave the protest early because I got really claustrophobic. I honestly couldn't feel where I was going. I took a breather and got some really awesome videos and pictures to share with you guys.

It felt absolutely amazing to be a part of such an incredible energy and movement. I only hope that our government listens! Although I didn't see familiar faces, I did see friendly ones. My favorite part was the homemade signs people made.

I mean cmon' how does this not convince you?

I really hope everyone over at Queen's Park marching is safe and hopefully it all stays peaceful (I have no doubt it will be).

Epic Quote: "Don't get arrested, I'm not there to bail you out!"-- Somone's mom

Epic Song of the Week:

P.S Guys follow the action on twitter. #Feb1 #DropFees #AllOut
Enjoy everyone :)

Guest Blogger: Lawrence Hill at UTSC

by Arif Hussain

            UTSC recently had the privilege to welcome internationally acclaimed and award winning local author, Lawrence Hill at Leigha Lee Theatre.  Introduced by Dr. Karina Vernon, English Literature professor at UofT, on the topics of mixed identities and black writing in Canada, Hill was positively received by undergraduates, professors and community members all alike.  His writing has the capacity to appeal to folks in all walks of life and meeting the author in flesh only fulfilled that belief.   

Hill discussed his life, growing up in Don Mills and his trials and tribulations leading to his now very successful career. He also read an excerpt from an upcoming book titled “The Illegal”, a fictional narrative in an imagined world much similar to our own world (he warns us), about a runner coming to a freedom state without any papers and runs marathons illegally in order to support his livelihood. Afterwards, he answered questions and had discussions with audience members! 

Meeting Lawrence Hill was an absolute pleasure as he is a very kind individual with a sweet personality and takes the time to address his readers’ inquiries. The Book of Negroes was a popular topic during the two hour-long gathering. In this exchange, Hill demonstrated through his conduct that his passion for understanding people and discussing important topics that are otherwise not often discussed is not only limited to his fictional characters but towards the people he is writing for as well.     

City of Words is a popular reading series that features writers of note who are from Scarborough or who have written about issues related to the region.