It’s easy to get lost on campus. Try having a non-UTM friend meet you here and you’ll know what I mean. There isn’t very much signage, the building layouts are complicated, and directions are useless when all paths wind and intersect. It takes work to get where you’re going. And a map.
It also takes some experience. By which I mean knowledge imparted through some (seriously) prolonged and sustained exposure to UTM. The kind of exposure you can only really get after years of studying or working here. The kind of exposure that first-year students lack, but which would drastically improve the quality of their experience. The kind of exposure that some of us think we have—until we learn something new about this university we thought we knew everything about.
If Orientation Week sets out to do anything, it’s to give new students a crash course on UTM. In between the chants, the pub nights, the carnivals, and the Shawn Desmans, there is a theme of familiarity. You are expected to ask questions, to bond with those in your own situation and those who are more experienced. The goal is to get you used to how we do things around here.
All in all, Frosh only lasts one week. And there’s only so much information you can take in before it’s time to get to class.
For the rest of the year, you have us.
In case you haven’t realized it by now, our goal is to keep you up to date and informed on issues that matter to students such as yourself. More importantly, we hope that this is a step to a more productive, open, and active UTM community, one where students actively take part in shaping the direction of their university lives—both academically and socially—because in the end, that is what will stick with you.
Every one of our editors (myself included) started off at The Medium as a bewildered, nervous volunteer. I was a terrible writer. I cringe every time I read my first review of Kanye West’s Graduation (though I stand by my 4/5 rating). I remember how Stefanie, now our News Editor, first became interested in joining us after attending a news-writers’ meeting in her first year, and how I was introduced to both Chris and Amir (Sports and Features, respectively) during their awkward but hilarious election speeches. I remember how Edward, our Photo Editor, started by taking photos of the Eagles’ basketball games when our former photographer couldn’t attend, and how Nives began as my assistant A&E Editor (though she quickly proved she was more skilled at the position than I was).
Most of all, I remember how similar we all were to the first years that filled the Student Centre last week. Back then we were anxious and nervous and unsure
of what to do. After Frosh, what guidance was there for us? How would we navigate this campus?
If we accomplish anything this year, it will be to make students more aware of what is happening around them, outside of their class schedule. Who knows? Maybe you will learn something new that changes the way you spend your days on campus. Maybe it will improve your university experience, as it has ours. Hopefully it does both.
Get to know what’s happening during your time here. We’ll help you through it.
Yours,
Michael Di Leo
