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YORK UNIVERSITYYORK UNIVERSITY
MAIN FASHION STATEMENT: Girls -- Capris Guys -- Baseball caps
GRAFFITI SAMPLE: Not a mark to be found anywhere, unless you consider the array of pastel chalk used to scrawl frosh messages on the student centre (which will wash off with the first spit of rain). Those crazy kids!
WHAT’S ON THE WALKMAN(first five students approached):
· The Afghan Whigs’ Up In It
· John Coltrane’s Giant Steps
· English as a second language tape
· Alessandro Safina’s Insieme A Te
· David Usher’s Morning Orbit
BEST MAKE-OUT SPOT: Grounds of the Scott Religious Centre, student non-denominational church
MOST COMMONLY ORDERED BEER IN CAMPUS PUBS: Politically correct but passé Sleeman’s Honey Brown
FIRST-YEAR TUITION: $6,440
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP QUOTIENT: So what if Pepsi products are the only thing available to quench your thirst? There’s not so much as a bike rack named after a corporation at York. Only a few years ago, however, the university was considering allowing corps to sponsor individual classes. Student fury nixed the deal. Just imagine, you could have registered for Kellogg’s Intro to Business or Tampax Women’s Studies.
BEEFS WITH ADMIN: Media frenzy over the strike last year, and perennial tuition hikes
MOST ACTIVE CAMPUS GROUP: Mobilization for Global Justice
MOST OBSCURE GROUP: Wrestling Fans Association
GAY-POSITIVE INDEX: One of the most welcoming havens for transgendered people since Priscilla stormed the desert
YORK TAKE ON OTHER CAMPUSES: “At least Ryerson students know what they want to be when they grow up, which is more than I can say for half of us here.” Tamara, second-year science
FAVE CAUSES: Anti-globalization, anything union
SCHOOL MOTTO: “The way must be tried.”
NUMBER WHO KNEW IT (out of five people asked): Zero
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTOUNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
MAIN FASHION STATEMENT: Girls -- Last season's Jennifer Aniston haircut Guys -- Palm Pilots
GRAFFITI SAMPLE: Found at lower level men’s washroom, stall #1, Sidney Smith Hall — “Boycott Gap and Old Navy sweatshop slavery. Go to Value Village for your clothes. Love life.” Uh, pass the doobie. Peace, man.
WHAT’S ON THE WALKMAN:
· Quest’s Natural Selection
· Basement Jaxx’s Rooty
· Aqua’s Aquarium
· Sinead O’Connor’s Gospel Oak
· Bob Marley’s Exodus
MOST COMMONLY ORDERED BEER:Moosehead (independent cachet but tastes like every other light lager)
MOST ACTIVE CAMPUS GROUP: NDP Club
MOST OBSCURE CAMPUS GROUP:Cannabis Culture and Awareness Club
BEEFS WITH ADMIN: Same ol’ same ol — students complain they’re out of the loop.
FIRST-YEAR TUITION: $6,127.22
BEST MAKE-OUT SPOTS: Stacks at Robarts Library or the University College basement (musty but motivating)
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP QUOTIENT: Signs for Scotiabank Information Commons in Robarts Library give students waiting in the long queue for a terminal something to stare at. Not all is doom and corporate gloom. The Student Administrative Council (SAC) last year decided to dump the corporate come-on during frosh week to make it more about U of T and less about Ma Bell.
RECENT SCANDALS: Twenty-five first-year law students were slapped with one-year suspensions after being caught allegedly inflating their grades on summer job applications at law firms. But give ’em a break — they’re lawyers, they need practice inflating.
In a U.S.-style election SNAFU last year in the contest for SAC president, all presidential election results were tossed after accusations (and more) hit the fan.
GAY-POSITIVE INDEX: Rainbow triangle sticker tells you you’re in a “Positive Space.’ Go with it.
U of T TAKE ON OTHER CAMPUSES: York — “They’re more interested in the common good than their own good.” Boris, second-year political science
FAVE CAUSES: Anti-globalization gurus: the first to get their cafeteria to dump their shares in prison stocks. But they’re still ticked that they have to deal with a global giant to get more vegan, halal or kosher foods on their trays.
SCHOOL MOTTO: “May the tree thrive/May it grow as a tree through the ages.” (The slogan seems to vary, though. Look for anything that has to do with a tree or growing.)
NUMBER WHO KNEW IT (out of five people asked): Zero
RYERSONRYERSON
MAIN FASHION STATEMENT: Girls -- Player's Extra Light Guys -- Players
GRAFFITI SAMPLE: Found at level G men’s washroom over broken urinal at the Rogers Communication Centre — “I want to suck your uncut cock.”
MOST ORDERED BEER: Alexander Keith’s
MOST ACTIVE CAMPUS GROUP: International Socialists
MOST OBSCURE CAMPUS GROUP: Ham Radio Club
WHAT’S ON THE WALKMAN:
· Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends Remastered
· Francis Lalanne’s Sans Papiers
· Shaggy’s Hot Shot
· Wheezer’s Island in the Sun
· Sugar Jones’s Sugar Jones
BEST MAKE-OUT SPOTS: Alleyway behind the Ryerson Theatre or the Image Arts darkroom
BEEFS WITH ADMIN: Tuition, lack of upkeep on buildings
FIRST-YEAR TUITION: about $4,500 (depending on program)
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP QUOTIENT: The Rogers Communication Centre screams money, but it still takes less time to tour the place than it does to get someone at Rogers customer service on the phone.
RECENT SCANDALS: Former Rye theatre professor (Donald MacQuarrie) accused of air rage incident
GAY-POSITIVE INDEX: Located at the, uh, bottom of the gay village, Rye couldn’t help but be gay-positive. Overflow from Mick E Fynn’s (the campus pub) flounces the few steps to Wilde Oscar’s and Crews.
FAVE CAUSES: “It’s an urban school — people come in from Brampton, Mississauga they do their time here and leave. You do your five hours a day and get the hell out. Nobody sticks around for causes.” Wojtek Dabrowski, the eyeopener, independent student newspaper
BUT: Ryerson was one of the few Ontario post-secondary institutions that granted “academic amnesty” for students wishing to attend the Free Trade Area of the America’s conference in Quebec City last year.
FUNKIEST HEADLINE IN THE EYEOPENER: “Janitors won’t take entire blame for dirty washrooms,” in response to a group of nursing students who looked into the state of school bathrooms for a class project. Custodians say students have to do their part, too. Like flush, boys and girls, flush.
SCHOOL MOTTO: “With mind and hand.”
NUMBER WHO KNEW IT: (out of five people asked): One
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGNONTARIO COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
MAIN FASHION STATEMENT: Girls -- Dreadlocks and bandanas Guys -- Dreadlocks and bandanas
GRAFFITI SAMPLE: The word “HUG” in large black letters over the urinal in the second-floor men’s washroom, indicating a very loving student body or just a vandal who couldn’t spell “huge.”
MOST-ORDERED BEER: Beer? For OCAD students? No way — it’s fruity drinks like Rev all the way.
WHAT’S ON THE WALKMAN:
· The Flower Kings’ Retropolis
· Ricky Martin’s She Bangs single
· The radio, 102.1
· Ramones, greatest hits.
· The Cardigans’ Gran Turismo
MOST INFLUENTIAL CAMPUS GROUP: OCAD Active went to Quebec to protest FTAA.
BEEFS WITH ADMIN: Tuition increases students say they have nowhere to hang.
FIRST-YEAR TUITION FEES: $4,360, plus approximately $2,400 for supplies
RECENT SCANDALS: OCAD student Jessie Powers was charged with animal cruelty after police seized animal parts, live animals and 70 videotapes. Area residents warn their outdoor cats never to talk to strangers. Pleas of “Here, kitty, kitty” go ignored in Queen West core.
GAY-POSITIVE INDEX: It’s an art school, near the heart of the fashion district. Hel-lo.
OCAD TAKE ON OTHER CAMPUSES: York –“Those are the types who think upsizing at Wendy’s is living it up.
SCHOOL MOTTO: “Draw or die,” Heather Keung, student president. (She’s joking — there is no school motto.)
