Josh Golin, First year ECE student filling out his Shop & Win ballot.
Story, photo and video by Ashley Anthony
The campus tuck shops, along with the Student Association, are putting on a student appreciation event this week at DC and UOIT, giving full-time students a chance win an iPad mini.
Shop & Win runs from January 21st to the 25th and all students have to do is purchase any item from the north campus, the Whitby campus or downtown campus tuck shops to participate .
“There are three iPads to be won, one at each location,” said Jennifer Neitzel, coordinator of retail services at Durham College and UOIT.
Students receive one ballot per transaction and the draw for the iPad mini is on Monday, January 28th.
“The student will get a call Monday and they will have five days to come pick up their prize,” said Neitzel, “If they don’t come pick it up then we will draw a new name.”
Along with the draw all of the tuck shops have special on-sale items including large dollar coffees and pop, dollar chocolate bars and gum packs and $2.50 Monster energy drinks. Products and prices may very by location but each tuck shop has specialty items on sale for students.
“The winner has to be a current student at either Durham College or UOIT with a valid student card,” said Neitzel. “If you don’t want to purchase anything all you have to do is just fill out a questionnaire and we will give you a ballot to enter the draw.”
The draw ballots will not be given to students who purchase GO Transit passes or a refill on Durham Transit Presto passes. For your chance to win visit a Tuck Shop close to you!
Reading Week is a time for studying and catching up on assignments, but it’s also a time when students party.
For some students Reading Week means staying on campus but with the E.P. Taylor’s closed during the break where can students go for a pint to relieve some stress?
Also, some students live in Durham Region and come to the college to visit friends who are living here or staying over the break. If they want to go out for a beer they have to take their business some place else. This could mean taking a bus down to the Crooked Uncle or even farther.
Durham College students Simon McKelvie and Trevor Constantin enjoy giant beers at E.P Taylor's Big Mug Mondays Feb. 27.
Story, picture and video by Kyla Morgan.
Students poured into E.P Taylor’s during their first day back to campus after reading week for Big Mug Mondays.
The on-campus pub is offering 32 oz. glasses of domestic or imported beer for about $7 at the start of every week.
“It’s been going really good so far and students seem to be enjoying it,” said Student Association’s Hospitality and Facilities manager Michael Farrington. “We just hope students will enjoy themselves but not go overboard.”
E.P Taylor’s has been offering big mugs for about three years. Students requested it be available on campus so they didn’t have to venture far for a tall one, said Farrington.
He said E.P’s has the best prices in the area but you won’t find any prices on the posters around campus.
“We’re not allowed to advertise anything to do with alcohol, especially prices,” he said. “I’m surprised the posters haven’t been pulled down (by security) already.”
The beer started flowing at 11 a.m. and by 11:30 a.m. there were at least a dozen students sitting and enjoying the jumbo drinks. More were lined up at the bar showing their ID’s and getting bracelets allowing them to throw back a cold one.
Posters for events coming up in the next two months,posted outside the SA office.
There are only two more months left in the semester and Your SA is packing in some great events to ring out the school year.
SA Communications Officer, Sam Power, said there are some really interesting and exiting events coming up. “March is really packed for us,” Power said. “March 1st there is a campus pub night that’s hosted by the DC-UOIT cheerleaders and starts at 9 p.m. March 2nd we’re having Russian acrobats for Chill Out Wednesdays.”
Power also talked a bit about a few other events.
“March 3rd at the Regent Theatre there is Lessons from a Seven Foot Penis. It’s like a sexual health seminar with a comedy routine mixed in. The guy who’s giving it, Norman Nawrocki, has traveled all over Canada and the states putting on this show. It’s all ages and free.”
Another event is Zed’s Dead, next Tuesday 9 p.m. at EP Taylors.
“Its our first ever Dubstep show,” Power said. “Dubstep is something that is becoming really popular. It’s a mix of songs together. People are going crazy for it. There should be some crazy lighting and lots of people dancing with glow sticks. If you like house music you’ll like this.”
One last event for March is the Pangaea cultural show.
“It’s March 24, in the Gym from 4 to 6:30 p.m. We always have a lot of interest from students in participating. We’ve had to turn away performers, there have literally been so many people interested.”
Power was also excited to talk about an event the SA is hosting at the end of April, Crusin with your SA.
“It’s this really amazing cruise around downtown Toronto. We do this every year and this year we are doing a cruise with Mariposa Cruises. If you go on our website you can take a virtual tour of the ship. It looks really cool.”
Brad Jones, Vice-President of Campus Life, looks back on the many events planned by the SA.
The Student Association at Durham College and UOIT holds several events all year including pub nights, concerts, debates and theme weeks. But what does the Student Association take into consideration when planning those events?
“There’s quite a few different things that go into planning an event from insurance to risk management to just the fun factor, actually planning something that’s logistically fun while it’s still keeping up to that campus standard,” said Brad Jones, Vice-President of Campus Life at the Student Association.
Jones says he commonly receives emails informing him of relevant acts in the area. Other times it might depend on his personal initiative or the current demands of the market. To figure out what’s popular with students, Jones will browse websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Perez Hilton. He also makes a point of staying in touch with students.
“At every event I’m always talking to students, interacting with them, figuring out ‘What are their complaints? What are their concerns?’”
While Jones acknowledges that students are likely to discuss campus event experiences amongst their friends, he says it’s also important for students to present their feedback and suggestions to the SA.
“If you have any concerns, if you have any issues, please don’t be afraid to bring them forward,” he said. “It’s about a collective campus here, we’re all trying to work towards the same goal of lightening that stress a little bit.”
Jones can be contacted through Facebook or e-mail at savpcampuslife@dc-uoit.ca. Students are also invited to visit him in his office, located on the 2nd floor of the Student Centre. He advises students to keep their suggestions realistic and recognize that the budget may not always meet their requirements.
Watch the video below for information about how student suggestions have previously played a role in SA event planning, as well as a preview of what’s to come.
It’s big dreams for this VP of Campus Life candidate.
Brad Jones, 20, is a second-year music business management student from Cambridge Ont. who understands the inner workings of the music industry.
“I’ve had music surround my life for as long as I know. My whole entire family plays music… I’m a musician myself. I’ve toured on the east coast with a band called Battle Creek and Killing for Friday.”
Jones has been with Universal Music for about a year now and has worked to promote artists such as Protest the Hero and Kid Cudi. He plans on using his experience within the music business industry to add a fresh, new contribution to campus life at Durham College and UOIT.
“Canada is actually a very small industry so as soon as you know one person it’s like one big schmooze fest,” said Jones.
“When you get some connections at Universal and start talking to people that’s when more opportunities come about and connections get back to you better and you can understand where people are coming from in business standpoint,” he said.
Jones plans on improving some of the already popular campus events such as Campusfest and Winterfest and enhancing the orientation experience for Durham College students because many people have expressed that their orientation was not as lively as the UOIT students’ experience.
He also hopes to bring more debates like the highly successful “Does God Exist?” debate to campus to encourage open minds and engage the student population.
On his website, Jones points out that this year there weren’t a lot of guest speakers that came to the school and hopes to bring some influential speakers such as Jean Chrétien and David Suzuki to campus to speak to students.
Voting can be done online and ends Feb. 8th at 5 p.m. and those elected will be announced on the Student Association website at 6 p.m. on the same day.
Listen to the audio clip below to hear Jones’ informal mission statement
V-Day is a charitable organization aiming to eliminate violence against women. Image courtesy of V-Day.
February and March of any year have two things in common at Durham College: cold weather, Valentine’s Day and, of course, a visit from the Vagina Monologues. The enduring classic of the world’s nether regions will be playing on March 11th and 12th.
“The Vagina Monologues is essentially women saying stories about vaginas,” said Barb Bryan, the Women’s Centre’s coordinator and one of the show’s organizers. “But not just vaginas; also their experiences as women. Vagina is the theme that ties them all together. These stories are often quite funny, but there’s also parts that raise awareness for abuse. There’s definitely some sad stories.”
All of the proceeds will go towards V-Day, a worldwide movement operating from February to April that collects money for anti-violence campaigns. The movement was founded by Eve Ensler, who compiled the original monologues. To hear more about the history of V-Day and the Vagina Monologues, listen to the accompanying voice clip.
Unlike most stage productions the Vagina Monologues doesn’t seek out professional actresses. The Women’s Centre even prefers not to hold extensive try outs, and gives every woman who wants to speak a shot on stage – and without having memorized their stories.
“The V-Day organization prefers the college and university actresses not to have memorized it,” said Bryan. “In a way what we are doing is honouring the women whose stories these actually are. If we memorize it we make it ours and we take away that honouring.”
The college’s performance so far includes an all-female cast, though men have had roles in the past. Check the audio clip below to find out how men were included.
The show isn’t alone in collecting money for V-Day on campus. “We have a bake sale on February 12th, so it’s the perfect time to buy a sweet for your sweetheart,” said Bryan.“
“We also have an information session on February 24th about the Democratic Republic of Congo where the money from the V-Day organization is going. They’ll be sponsoring the City of Joy, a transitional house where women can rest and heal after they’ve had surgery done from repairing fistula.”
Tickets will cost $7 for students and $10 for everyone else. For more information on the Monologues you can contact Bryan at 905-721-2000, extension 2315. More information on V-Day in general is available on their website.
To celebrate the New Year and new semester, the Student Association has been holding various events around campus for the past week and a half. These events are part of Winterfest, which is dedicated to welcoming back new and old students.
“It’s aimed at kicking off the semester with a bang,” said Nicole Robichaud, VP of Internal for the Student Association.
This week is much like Campusfest, which is a week of scheduled events held in September to kick off first semester.
“Since Campusfest is so popular we thought why not create something just like it for the winter semester,” said Robichaud.
Since January 11th, there have been numerous activities held around campus, each different and unique, which provided something different and appealing for everyone on campus, with the last event taking place tomorrow.
Winterfest has many events in a two week period
The first event was a wine and cheese party, held on Monday January 11th, which was hosted at E.P Taylors Pub. Students were able to sample different wines and cheeses for free and it was a great chance to get reunited with classmates and talk about the upcoming semester.
The second event was none other than Tony Lee Xtreme Hypnotist. He has been coming to Durham College and UOIT for many years and is a school favourite, always delivering the best and most exciting performances to a sold out audience.
New Year’s First Blast was another event put on by Winterfest and has been a school tradition for many years. The pub night recreated a New Years Eve event for students and was a chance to party one last time before getting back to hitting the books.
Last Thursday night was an evening of laughs as Gilson Lubin and Trevor Boris of Yuck Yuck’s Comedy Club came to campus. This was the second time this year the comedians visited E.P. Taylor’s and was a big hit.
The Student Association held a Skate With Your SA on Friday night where students were able to come share some ice time with the members of the SA. The event was free and complementary hot chocolate and treats were provided to students.
On Saturday night, students were encouraged to come out and support the UOIT Ridgeback hockey team take on the University of Guelph. It was a chance to not only support the team but also promote the Student Association.
The next two events, which will be taking place tonight and tomorrow is a concert by country superstar Aaron Pritchett and an “Everything you need to know about sex” pub night hosted at E.P. Taylors. Pritchett has been nominated for various Juno Awards and has been nominated and won many Canadian Country Music Awards.
As an incentive to come out to these events, the Student Association created Winterfest Passports where students who attend five of eight events are entered in a draw where they will be given the chance to win $2,500 towards their tuition.
To hear more about the upcoming events and how you can win $2,500 listen to the below audio clip.
Getting back into a school regime can be tough but with the help of events such as these, it makes the transition from Christmas break to school a bit easier. It creates a more relaxed feel and eases students back into classes and studying. As well, Winterfest is a great way to meet new people, experience new things, see amazing shows and most of all have fun. That is a big part of school after all.
VP of Internal Nicole Robichaud shows off the 2010 Winterfest schedule.
