Tag Archives: Life Outside the Classroom

U of T Relay For Life 2016

Events, Guest Blogger, On Campus, ,

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The most common misconception about Relay for Life is that it’s a physically intensive marathon only open to the strongest athletes for participation. Not true! The word “relay” also promotes the notion that a competitive race is being held and further strengthens this misconception. For those of you who have heard about Relay, you’ve probably experienced sentiments of hesitancy and confusion. Doubts may have raced through your mind as you began to question your physical ability and lack of exercise in your daily routine.

The truth is that Relay for Life is a non-running event. Running shoes and physical agility are not required to attend. The only challenging part about relay is staying up till 1am, but from 5pm-1am, strangers become a community as they unite together to fight an important a cause close to their hearts. Relay for Life is a fantastic fundraising event filled with enthusiastic individuals fighting for a cancer-free tomorrow. It’s a night to remember and honour those we have lost, to continue to raise funds for cancer research, and to celebrate with a full event line-up.

Cancer affects us all, whether it be a family member of our own or a friend who has been impacted. The impact of cancer is impossible to ignore, but on March 11th, University of Toronto’s Relay for Life Committee invites you all to participate in the event to fight back against cancer. The goal is to fundraise as much as possible, but for a registration fee of only 15 dollars, you’ll receive a t-shirt, luminary, and supply of food to keep you energized. A night of comedy, music, food, and open-mic awaits and all you need to do is spend 2 minutes online to register. You can bring your friends and create a team online or even join by yourself and we’ll handle forming a team for you! Any friends or family are welcome to participate as well as non-U of T students. If you can find some time to spare one Friday night, you can make a difference. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Canadian Cancer Society. Join us in participating in this event and help those who need it most.

Register or make a donation here, and find us on our Facebook event and cause page.

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A casual anime observer’s review on Attack on Titans

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Watching anime and reading manga is a casual hobby of mine that I indulge in on occasion when I’m bored. I’m probably really late on this topic, but I’ve recently watched the most recent episodes on an extremely popular anime called Attack on Titans.

The plot is a post apocalyptic time period in which all races of men live together in a fortified wall city with several layers to defend against giant man eating monsters called the Titans. The main character, Eren Jeager, lives in the outermost layer of the city and witnesses Titans attacking his city after 100 years of peace. His mother is killed in the process, driven by his thirst for revenge, he joins the “Survey Corps”. soldiers who venture outside the wall city and fight to protect the citizens directly with Titans,

The story reminded me at first, a bit like Naruto. Let’s list the similarities shall we?
-Main character has no blood related relatives throughout most of the series, his mom definitely died for sure
-Main character has two dynamic friends who prove to be talented in their own ways and are loyal to him
-Main character has some extremely rare gift that is a totally unfair advantage (but also a personal curse). This curse was given to him by his own father (thanks dad).
-Main character is extremely eager to die, but doesn’t, which is awfully brave, but also slightly stupid in the beginning
-Main character is moral, his values and character are unwavering
-Main character will save everyone (inevitably)

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it. The story has a lot of violence in it, and the society’s lack of technology (but amazing invention of gas tubes that let you fly) is somewhat silly as it is a time period ahead of current modern age, but I’ll take it for what it is.

The anime’s “Titans” are not the kind you would expect from watching that childhood show “Teen Titans” on Cartoon Network, or the weird monster/God like creatures from Greek mythology. These monsters are pure horror, allowing you to witness gruesome scenes of humans getting eaten and basic human like cruelty from them. Which, I must say, is epic.

Learning how to kill these monsters is really cool, apparently they can only die from slices off the back of its neck, so watching humans kill them with their 3D flying gear maneuver thing is freaking bad ass.

I actually liked Eren Jeager’s plot twist, where he could become a Titan and regenerate his body all the time. It would have been a little more satisfying, however, if he had enough skills to just take down a bunch of Titans like Levi Ackerman. But then we would never understand the Colossal or Armored Titan’s true nature.

Long story short, it is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested but hesitant to watch it. I would recommend watching anime as an extremely efficient study break indulgence as most episodes are only 20 minutes (not an extreme investment of time) and it is much more satisfying than watching you tube (which can be addicting and quickly add up to much more time you had originally planned on spending on it).

French Club Says ‘Bonjour!’

Clubs, , , , , , ,

Chers amis francophones, chers amis francophiles,

A l’aube de cette nouvelle année académique, que vous soyez un ancien, un nouveau, ou un futur membre de notre French Club, vous êtes certainement tous curieux de savoir ce que vous apportera le seul, l’unique EFUT (Etudiants Francophones de l’Université de Toronto) au cours de cette année.

Votre aventure efutienne (quelle riche langue que la langue française!) commencera tambour battant dès la rentrée autour d’un formidable petit déjeuner typiquement français, aussi convivial que savoureux! Venez nombreux déguster notre French baguette accompagnée du désormais célébrissime Nutella ou bien de fromages en tous genres, venez goûter à nos fruits frais, nos divers jus de fruits, et notre délicieux café!

La date à retenir pour démarrer du bon pied cette nouvelle année, c’est celle du vendredi 16 septembre! Nous vous attendrons donc nombreux entre 10h et 13h pour faire connaissance autour d’un excellent petit déjeuner français servi au CIE a 33 rue st. George! (Editor’s note: Read FREE FOOD THIS FRIDAY!)

To join EFUT, simply send your name and student number to

Une fois lancé, l’EFUT ne vous laissera pas le temps de vous ennuyer! Soirées films, clubs de conversation, dîner de Noël, voyage à Montréal ou encore weekend en montagne, le French Club fera tout pour vous laisser des souvenirs mémorables! Nous organisons presque un évènement par semaine, alors vous n’êtes jamais seuls!

Le French Club, comme son nom l’indique, réunit des étudiants parlant français, qu’ils soient débutants, intermédiaires, bilingues, québécois,  nés en France … Ainsi, l’EFUT s’engage à maintenir ou améliorer le niveau de français des étudiants dont ce n’est pas la langue maternelle. Tous les jours de la semaine (et hors vacances scolaires), venez profiter des heures de tutorat gratuites offertes par l’équipe du French Club! (Editor’s note: Read FREE TUTORING every school day of the year!)

L’EFUT, en bref, c’est l’occasion de rencontrer des gens passionnants, de faire la fête, de progresser en français, et même de voyager, alors n’hésitez plus, rejoignez-nous!

Anna Abenhaim is a 4th year student at Sciences Po. Paris and came on exchange to U of T last year. She is EFUT’s Director – Sciences Po. And can be reached at . She misses Canada a lot.

Life Outside the Classroom: Students for Medicare (U of T Chapter)

Athletics & Health, Clubs, Guest Blogger, On Campus, , ,

Post written by Stephanie, VP External Affairs.

The U of T Chapter of Students for Medicare (UTSFM) is a student group that works in collaboration with the Ontario Health Coalition to advocate for Medicare (Canada’s national health insurance program) and educate the public about what is currently happening to the health care system in Canada*.  We believe that health care is an extremely important topic of which all Canadians should be well-informed. We believe that health care is a right and that the Canadian government needs to do it’s best to ensure that acceptable health care is accessible to all Canadians.  We are concerned with ongoing issues regarding Medicare including, but not limited to, privatization, cuts in services, and lowering taxes. We run events and fundraisers, as well as distribute newsletters, aimed at spreading the word.

This school year, UTSFM will continue to attempt to spread the word about Medicare. Sometime this year, we hope to organize a public debate with MPs from the Conservative, Liberal, and New Democratic parties; unfortunately, this event had to be postponed last year due to the election.

As a new group, we hope to involve more students and get more members. We welcome anyone who is interested in what we do to come to our meetings, events, and fundraisers.  Educating the U of T community is a huge task and we need your help!

If you are interested in learning more or joining us, check out our Facebook page or send us an .

*To learn more about the development of Medicare, click here. To learn more about the current debates surrounding Medicare, click here.

Life Outside the Classroom: Fo’Real

Clubs, Entertainment, Events, On Campus, , , , , , ,

Fo’Real is an urban dance collective based within the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto, seeking to keep hip hop and street dance alive within the academic world of one of Canada’s top universities. Since its establishment in 2004, Fo’Real has grown to become a recognized name in and around the campus, performing annually at U of T’s Festival of Dance and UTSU’s Orientation Day, for example.  Fo’Real has also been given the privilege of sharing the stage with notable performers such as Bag-o-Trix, Soul Power Crew, Rukus, DoDat Entertainment, and Tommy the Clown. The group also had the honour of performing as opening acts for Melissa Reyes (Search for the Next Pussycat Doll) in 2008, SoReal Cru (America’s Best Dance Crew) in 2009, and for YouTube star, David Choi in Kollaboration Toronto in March 2010 (where Fo’Real was a finalist and awarded Best Artist).

This month, Fo’Real is representing U of T (St. George campus) at the Ontario Universities Competition for Hip Hop (O.U.C.H) 2010 – the main dance competition that Fo’ Real participates in every year. O.U.C.H is an annual non-profit hip hop dance competition established in the name of friendly competition amongst universities/colleges in Ontario. Tradition holds that the winning team will have the privilege of hosting next year’s competition. In 2008, Fo’Real came in third place at O.U.C.H. In 2009, Fo’Real was only four points away from taking home first place (click here to watch last year’s performance)! This year, the crew is hoping to take the prestigious O.U.C.H title and being able to bring the competition to Toronto for the first time!

Fo’Real hopes to gain support from the U of T community at O.U.C.H. Cheer them on and see which school will ultimately reign O.U.C.H 2010! It will be taking place at 7pm on Saturday, November 27th at the Great Hall in Hamilton Place. Guest judges include Tatiana Parker (SYTYCD Canada), Derek Rice (Blueprint -ABDC), and Brian Puspos (SoReal Cru-ABDC). Tickets are $18 and proceeds from O.U.C.H will go towards FREE THE CHILDREN organization. Message Fo’Real for tickets and for more info, check out their Facebook page.

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