Brent Rose
Managing Editor
York and I have something in common.
We both don’t have any A’s to brag about – although we both have plenty B’s and a few C’s. Does that mean that I’m a poor student and York is a bad school?
Yes. Yes, it does.
Not only do I show up late for all my classes, I also fail to spend the proper amount of time studying or working on an assignment in order to get an A. Like me, York doesn’t seem to spend enough time fixing their weaknesses.
And, like me, York doesn’t really have the time to do a better job: they’re often too busy doing something else. I work full-time at Excalibur, while trying to juggle school and an independent short film project. York is focused on building their reputation so that they’ll look like a more prestigious university like University of Toronto or Harvard, and they try to take on projects like the PanAm Games and establish new medical schools.
We have a problem: we’re both overachievers. We both feel like we need to prove something by overburdening ourselves with work and by doing so we tend not to focus on the important things like education.
We’re addicted to the need to prove we don’t care about grades. We have so much going on for us that we have no need for gratification. Give us a passing mark, a sheet of paper that says we are a recognized university – well, in my case, an undergraduate degree saying I went to university – and we’ll keep trying to prove ourselves better than those who like to brag about having a rich history of academic education for over a century. Jerks.
Although York is undertaking a lot of innovative projects like ZeroWaste and other sustainability programs, they don’t try to create a better student atmosphere, for which they received a ‘C’ from The Globe and Mail.
That’s another way we’re alike: York really isn’t that student-friendly, like me. We both have a hard time with social environments – I have a hard time participating in social gatherings and York has a hard time inspiring them. Look at York’s atmosphere; it lacks camaraderie. With the notable exception of Winter College’s Absinthe Pub, there are no comfortable venues for undergraduate students to sit down, drink a few pints and socialize after classes.
The Student Centre is another great place for students to find a community at York that they identify with, but the majority of students spend their time at the Student Centre eating fast food instead of socializing with the clubs at York.
York’s motto should be “in and out,” because the university has instead inspired this mentality that being enrolled here implies spending four years getting your undergraduate degree and then leaving before you get Yorked.
(Yorked [verb]: To get screwed over by York and denied your degree for not having enough credits or prerequisites to graduate, or for having unpaid parking tickets.)
Maybe it’s because York is a commuter school and students don’t spend enough time on campus to care, but York doesn’t even try to give them a reason to stay and socialize.
York doesn’t inspire that iconic university spirit we all dreamed it would after watching Animal House – okay, admittedly I didn’t seriously expect to have Donald Sutherland as my professor, but a more interactive on-campus community would’ve been nice.
York and I have an under-standing: I don’t want to be here and York can’t wait to get rid of me. Unlike York, however, I want to partake in York’s social student atmosphere.
University is supposed to be an experience, but at York we’re all just killing time until we get the hell out of Dodge.
Thank you! Finally a voice has spoken on what has been on my mind for so long and for sure many others aswell! I don’t feel the school experience I expected like other students at other universities do. Being a commuter I don’t have the chance or oppurtunity to pe part of that “York spirit”. Even though York tries by hosting events, it isn’t sufficient enough because the student population is fragmented because the average class has around 200 people and you don’t get a chance to know you classmates or professor at all which I find concerning. The university experience is supposed to be hard work but fun also. I don’t know what York can do to make the campus feel more comforting and open up the social student atmosphere. Although, I agree York has many places and spaces to eat and hang out but that can’t help students unless the community is more tight-knit and willing to bring that social student experience to fruition.
GREAT ARTICLE!
However, I have one question to ask.
Why are the students not doing anything about it?
This article read and spoke my mind! Loved the line “I don’t want to be here and York can’t wait to get rid of me”, so true! One thing i think is the main problem is the fact that there is nowhere comfortable for students to sit. Prime example: im in the SMIL right now typing this and these table and so high while the chairs are low, obviously no one thought this out fully. And before you are greeted by these uncomfortable conditions, the act of actually finding a spot to sit and study or hang out with people is nearly impossible. There are too many people at the school and nowhere to put them all, hence why people would rather go home then stay just to find a spot to sit down!
I have another theory of why ppl dont want to stay, the insides of the buildings here look like a prision, seriously with all the ugly cement walls and pipes all along the ceiling it doesnt have a very comfortable vibe. ESPECIALLY in the science buildings, its the worst like they want to make you feel like a robot with no emotions just like the walls.
thanks for letting me rant on this! ^^