Dearest blogUT readers and bloggers,

blogUT will be hosting a fall Meet & Greet.  This is your chance to come out to meet our bloggers and learn more about the blog.  Refreshments will be provided. Everyone is welcome! We hope to see you there.

Ally & Leah
Co-Editors of blogUT

Oh blogUT, you’ve been my safe place during my time here at U of T! And what a journey we’ve been on together…

For those of you that don’t know, I am—or rather, was—the Co-Editor of blogUT. Even before I assumed this position, I’ve always had strong ties to this blog from the beginning of my undergraduate studies — first as an avid reader, then a timid writer, and finally, as fate would have it, as Co-Editor. And now after four years, I must, with a certain sadness, bid adieu to blogUT, our hardworking bloggers, and our loving readers. I’m proud to have been able to work with such a dedicated team of bloggers who have worked throughout the years with the sole purpose of writing honestly about what it’s like being a student here at U of T. No bullshit. No rah-rah-rah U of T. Just the real stuff, both good and bad. Like we always say: raw and uncut, we give you the real juice about campus life.

In a university that often feels too massive to ever really feel a part of, blogUT bridges the disconnect, providing a real sense of community for U of T students that span programs, colleges, and commutes. I know that for me personally, blogUT has been a place where I’ve connected with fellow U of T students that I never otherwise would have. Sure, many of us have never really met each other in real life, but blogUT is this shared space for the students and by the students — untouched by the powers that be at U of T.

Through the years it’s been the spot where we’ve all shared our personal experiences about university life, given tips on where to go and what to eat, discussed student politics, rated hot profs and honored the quality ones, found the best make out spots, and yes, even talked trash about lame TAs. We’ve stayed up together during those late night cram sessions, distracting ourselves with pointless, but oh so brilliant and necessary, videos. And we’ve collectively ranted about our shiteous commutes, shared our best survival tips, and celebrated the many gems this campus has to offer. Simply put, blogUT kicks serious ass and it’s not hard to see why I’ll miss this blog.

I say goodbye to blogUT with a sadness, but with pride knowing that this little baby of ours is growing day by day. And I’ve no doubt that our new Co-Editors will bring blogUT to unprecedented heights for the 2011-2012 academic year (no pressure, Ally and Leah!).

To my fellow bloggers, please keep writing. I’ve told you time and again that you are the heart and soul of this blog. To our readers, please keep reading and commenting. Without you, we would be that hypothetical falling tree in the distant forest. Your comments and support are what make us real and relevant.

In the meantime, I am off to plunge into this so called “real world” that U of T was suppose to prepare us for. Stay cool, blogUT. I’ll love you always!

xoxo,
Justine

About a week ago, we at blogUT put out a post asking for your help. We’ve been running into some financial problems and we on the editorial team have been taking money from our very thin wallets to pay for some fees necessary to keep the blog running. As university students sucked dry by the institution we begrudgingly but lovingly call “our school”, we were getting desperate. So we asked for your help here on the blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook to donate whatever you could.  Ten dollars. Five dollars. A toonie. A buck. Lint from your pocket. Whatever.

To be perfectly honest, we didn’t really expect to get much out of this. But we thought we’d give it a try anyway.

And after ONE WEEK, we are blown away by the amazing response we’ve received from our readers and supporters. After ONE WEEK, we’ve received a whopping…drum roll please…

$383.37!!!

We are so incredibly thankful to all of you who stepped up and gave such generous donations**. You’ve given us the chance to repay our debt as well as pay for hosting fees for the year to come! We could not be happier! You honestly saved the life of this blog.

And for those who were unable to donate, we thank you so much for giving us some fundraising ideas, for sharing and passing along the message to your friends, and just speaking such kind words of support. It’s been humbling to hear from our readers how much they enjoy reading this blog and that stuff make our hearts melt. And it’s really the only reason why we’re here and why we do this.

So from the bottom of our hearts, we love you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

**A special thank you to all of our donors:

Sumaiya Ahmed
Crystal Chin
Paul Morrison
Winna Tse
Jocelyn Yu
Anonymous Donor
Anonymous Donor

Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox
When: Daily at 3:45PM, 6PM and 8:15PM (1:45PM on some days). Check the website for detailed schedules.
Tickets: At the TIFF website or in-person at the box office for the theatre. Be sure to show your TCard for a special student discount.
More Information: See the And Everything is Going Fine page on the TIFF site.

Back in May, BlogUT picked Steven Soderbergh’s documentary, And Everything is Going Fine as one of the must-see films at HotDocs. So I was delighted to find out that the TIFF Bell Lightbox programmers decided to release the film for a short run so that it can gain a bigger audience (and further promote the awesome prescience that BlogUT has been come to be known for). If you missed it during HotDocs, be sure to check it out now. Here’s the original review of the film from the HotDocs 2010 coverage at BlogUT.

Steven Soderbergh’s film, And Everything is Going Fine, is a continuation of Soderbergh’s obsession with the actor/performer Spaulding Gray. Soderbergh madeGray’s Anatomy in 1996, which was an eighty-minute film version of one of Gray’s monologues. And Everything is Gone Fine is essentially a mash-up of old recordings of Gray’s various monologue performances interspersed with the occasional personal interview (between, presumably, Soderbergh and Gray) and television interview. (more…)

This is composed of all 3,300 images used on blogUT, created using Shape Collage*

We are overjoyed to announce that today we reached 1,000 blog posts here at blogUT. We are so proud to have so many brilliant, witty, enthusiastic contributors on our team, both now and in the past four years, all of whom were so generous to volunteer their time to write for us. It has truly been an honor to work with you. Your perspectives on U of T student life has made this blog everything that it is and the community that we’ve formed on this once little blog of ours is truly tremendous! We love you!

And of course, thank you to all of our loyal readers! Your comments, thoughts, and ideas mean everything to us. We exist only to please you (or sometimes piss you off too, depends!). We love you too! Keep reading and commenting cuz it’s honestly what keeps us going!

Here’s to another thousand posts enriching the lives of students to come!

*Shape Collage is an automatic photo collage maker created by a U of T PhD student.