This week’s letter to the editor as seen inside the hardcopy of “The Medium“, a UTM campus newspaper. 

Who’s Campus? Our Campus!

Those of you that wisely chose to have the best time of your life at UTM’s Orientation week should be able to recite that cheer as a reflex. It serves as a symbol to highlight a key difference between high school and university.  Some of you might already have an impression about college based on the dozen of drunken college movies where life in post-secondary education looks more like a transitional institution for future Addicts Anonymous (AA) participants. In reality, if you don’t adjust to the higher standards and find the time to study, you’ll quickly find your self on academic probation. Lets not forget, you are attending UTM, not York or Ryerson.

Aside from spending nights at the library and going wild at one of the Blind Duck parties, there is one more real life course that you can take within UTM’s sheltered universe. It involves getting active within your student union and campus clubs.  In fact, students like you have been making change at UTM for decades. Most recently, your predecessors worked hard to insure that you have a Universal Mississauga Transit Pass, health & dental coverage, used book exchange, child care, student centre, Blind Duck, 24 hour library, additional bus routes, and a united student union. Challenges build character and UTM is a good place to test your own capabilities. One key fight that continues to be waged is the struggle for accessible education, specifically the reduction of tuition fees. It is something you are going to hear a lot more about with the upcoming Student Day of Action on the 5^th of November.

 If you are looking to make the world a better place, create new friendships, or just get some experience, there is no shortage of opportunity. UTMSU office in the student centre should be the first stop on your list of places to check out. Joining a campus club that interests you should be your next move. Traditional rants on “getting involved” and cliché slogans of “be the change” can sometimes seem like a chore but trust me, university is the real deal. You’ll have the opportunity to make real change and learn about your self along the way. On that note, I should also give a word of caution to the wise: getting active is fun but it can become pretty easy to get carried away so practice those time management skills and always make academics your top priority.

UTM is your chance to start over. High school culture and cliques are now forever gone. Most of you might not know anyone entering into your first year, that’s normal, don’t hesitate to meet new people by just saying hello because they are in the same boat as you are. You have a chance to start fresh so go ahead and feel liberated.

As a last point, we end where we begun. We say this is our campus because your presence, whatever it may be, will shape UTM’s collective future. It’s our campus because you have an opportunity to build on the successes of those before you. It’s our campus because when you end your journey of self-exploration and higher learning, UTM will always be a part of you.