Last week UTM welcomed 1,450 new first-year students to orientation and Frosh week, the largest undergraduate class UTM has seen to date. Students were able to make new connections through the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union’s orientation, Wave ’18, and gained some academic advice from the Office of Student Transition’s O-Week.
Wave ’18 featured a week of activities both on and off campus, including a boat cruise, a campus carnival, and a tri-campus parade. The annual event was sold out with over 600 people attending the events.
The UTMSU’s orientation found first-year students splitting off into four “houses,” which included House Artica, House Pacifica, House Atlantica, and House Indiana. Each house was then divided into two teams.
On Tuesday, each house participated in the annual cheer-off in the RAWC gym. During the competition, each group performed its cheer for a panel of judges made up of orientation coordinators.
On Wednesday, the first-year students traveled to the St. George campus for the tri-campus parade and UTSU carnival. The parade began at the Varsity Stadium and travelled towards Queen’s Park before returning to King’s College Circle for the carnival.
The UTMSU’s annual orientation week coincided with the Office of Student Transition’s own orientation, which was open to all students to participate.
The three-day orientation provided new undergraduates many opportunities to familiarize themselves with the academic departments and resources on campus. O-Week included departmental tours, as well as an academic department orientation event where students could connect with faculty members, staff, and other students.
O-Week also featured a fair in which students could learn about the variety of campus resources available to them, with over 40 booths to interact with. During the fair there was food, entertainment, and prizes to be won.
On Thursday, the university held their second annual “Taste of UTM” event where students could roam around the campus and stop by tables that showcased the types of food at UTM. One note-worthy area was the s’mores station, where people could roast marshmallows and make their own s’mores.
O-Week ended off with a free barbeque where new students could meet upper-year mentors on campus and play backyard games, such as badminton, horseshoes, and volleyball.
The UTMSU, in collaboration with the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, hosted R&B artist Tory Lanez on Friday at the Harbourfront Centre to conclude the week.
