Another year of exciting events and games at Frosh passes by.
Last Wednesday, the streets of downtown Toronto were filled with cheers, music, and pandemonium as U of T students welcomed the new first-years from all three campuses during their annual parade. The parade was easy to spot from miles away as hundreds of students filled the sidewalk in brightly colored t-shirts and flamboyant body paint.
Frosh is a rite of passage, a five-day ceremony, that has been a UTM Students’ Union tradition for over 30 years. Every year, the campus fills with eager first-years who are ready to get their first real taste of university life. They meet frosh leaders and peers from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds, and if they’re lucky enough, make friendships that last a lifetime.
Frosh stands for so many important things. In its simplest forms, it’s a celebration of a new beginning. It aims to give new students a sense of belonging, have upper-year students welcome them to their new home, and ensure that they know they’re not alone. It fires them up for the new year with excitement and positivity.
Behind the scenes, a lot of hard work goes into planning and executing this event as the UTMSU goes above and beyond to make the new students feel at home.
Even the simplest parts of the event, such as mealtimes, take a lot of planning as coordinators, frosh leaders, and volunteers put great effort into every single portion of the event. They do so with so much spirit and enthusiasm as they cheer, sing, and dance throughout the day.
There are a lot of different reasons the frosh leaders and volunteers sign up. Some link it to their own experience in first-year and try to pay it forward, some want to make an impact on someone else’s life even in the smallest way possible, and others live for that kind of thrill and excitement.
This year, the houses were divided into four kingdoms (North, South, East, and West) and each had two genera of dinosaurs under it. This theme was inspired by the Toronto Raptors’ win, and aimed to highlight the mass extinction phenomena as the extinction of many animals is happening ten thousand times faster than normal. The theme aims to show that people must work together to try and save our wildlife.
The activities of the week included carnivals, a boat cruise, an academic workshop, a foam party, an Escape Room trip, a Rec Room outing, a beach day, a pub night, and of course, cheer-offs. All in all, the event was full of laughter, smiles, and thrilling experiences.
May the memories of this week fuel their excitement and give the first-years the motivation they need to live out the next few years here at UTM in the best way they can. Here’s to new experiences and lasting memories.
