All Posts Tagged With: "frosh week"

As the first day of school approaches, more and more questions begin to worry the minds of first timers. Here’s a little information to put yourself at ease.

As the first day of school approaches, more and more questions begin to worry the minds of first timers. Here’s a little information to put yourself at ease.

LipDub réalisé durant la semaine d’initiations avec 172 étudiants en communication de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

We examine how much students really drink, which province parties the hardest–and how to consume safely

It’s frosh week. You’re standing on the front lawn of a house when a headless mannequin flies through a second-story window in a shower of glass and lands at your feet. Loud dance music can be heard through the hole in the glass.

A staggering student passes as you walk up the front steps, across the beer keg-strewn front porch and through the front door, where you find yourself in a riotous party. Students mingle, empty beer cans are scattered everywhere and unidentified objects periodically fly across the room. A student crushes an empty beer can on his forehead. A motorcycle bursts through the front doors and flies up the stairs to the landing, where the rider opens a beer and hands it to the stunned freshman he just nearly ran over.

It’s a typical scene from frosh week at a Canadian university, no?  We all know that students are a bunch of irresponsible drunks, don’t we?

The sophisticated 1970s film connoisseur should have identified the above as the opening scene in Animal House. In order to figure out how much the Animal House stereotype is merely perception, Maclean’s OnCampus looked to the latest available research to determine just how much students really drink and which province parties the hardest.

During frosh week festivities it may seem like everyone on campus is partaking in more than their share of booze, but the reality is that the drunken second-year student you saw passed out on the couch at that house party is in the minority. According to a survey commissioned by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 32 per cent of students reported hazardous drinking (which means experiencing symptoms like blacking out or feeling guilty). On the other hand, fifty-eight percent of students never drink more than five drinks in a sitting, and 38 percent of them drink less often than once per week.

It is, of course, true that most students drink; over 85 per cent of students reported drinking during the previous 12 months. But the revelers around you at that house party most likely drink less than you think. A number of researchers have found that students have an inflated perception of how much their fellow students consume. At the University of British Columbia, for example, 67 per cent thought the typical student had had five or more drinks the last time they partied, while in reality only 24 per cent of students actually did. In fact, at UBC 64 per cent of students never drink five or more drinks in one sitting and one in ten students have never tried alcohol at all.

Three o-week veterans give us their advice on how to survive frosh

I’ll admit it; I didn’t really participate in the university-sponsored orientation activities when I was in first year. Granted, I stopped by for the cheap food and free pens, but when the circle-sitting and name games started, I knew I had to leave.

Last year, however, I applied to be a Frosh leader (called a “ROC” at Ryerson) and by some administrative error (I kid, of course) I was accepted. I conceded to the idea that this shiny new line on my resume would cost me four days of nausea-inducing icebreakers and embarrassing Ryerson cheers. I was pleasantly surprised, however, and in the end I had an amazing time.

I think my good fortune had a lot to do with the fact that my co-ROC, Chen, and I were given a fantastic group of first-years.  We seemed to bond almost instantly, taking in all the O-Week activities and discovering a few of our own (including an impromptu visit to Toronto’s Stag Shop and exploring Chinatown’s underground eats.).

For incoming students, O-Week can be an invaluable experience. Katie Blodgett and Jason Grossman, two of Ryerson’s O-Team members, certainly think so. I posed some questions to these orientation-enthusiasts to find out a little more about what’s planned for this year. Though Katie and Jason refer specifically to Ryerson’s O-Week, you’ll find that many of their responses hold true for Frosh Week festivities at universities all across Canada. I’ll be popping in my own responses at well—just to provide the perspective of someone not actually employed by the university.

Katie Blodgett is the Human Resources Assistant for Ryerson’s Orientation Team and a Radio and Television Arts student.

Jason Grossman is the Events Assistant for Ryerson’s Orientation Team and a Politics & Governance student.

(Robyn Urback is a lowly Frosh leader)

Q: Anyone who’s seen a bad 80s college flick assumes that the nighttime dorm scene is where the real Orientation action happens. Why should first years bother coming to the organized daytime events?

Katie: The daytime events are great because we hold events that will help first-years get to know Ryerson better. Also, night-time parties are all going to be the same with the same types of people. The daytime events provide the opportunity to meet all sorts of different people.

Jason: Yeah, those movies are pretty cheese and lame.

Robyn: This way, you’ll have stories you can actually tell your parents about.

Q: Will there be beer?

Katie: Nope, all of our events are dry events. The pub night is the one exception, but there is a wristband policy in effect.

Jason: Nope. Having beer involved in activities just creates more risks. Plus, almost all first-years are underage, and we don’t roll like that at Ryerson.

Robyn: Before you ask: no, I’m not going to buy you beer. C’mon, we were all 18 once. You’ve got to be a little more creative than that.

Q: Be honest, is Orientation Week just for keeners?

Katie: Kind of the opposite, I’ve found that the majority of students who come out to O-Week are shy and looking to meet new friends.

Jason: Absolutely not. Orientation is a great opportunity for first-years to get to know campus so they can they hit the ground running when school starts.

Robyn: I think “keeners” would be appalled by some of the things we get up to.

Q: OK then, are the Orientation leaders big keeners?

Katie: Again, not really. It’s mostly just regular students looking to meet new people!

Jason: If by “keeners” you mean “student leaders who love to have fun, help people and volunteer their time,” then yes, I guess they are keeners. But, they are keeners in every positive sense of the word.

Robyn: I am not a keener.

Q: The biggest myth about O-Week is…

Six tips to start your year off right

My mum asked me today if I was ready to go back to school, as I will be hopping on a plane in two weeks to the day. I shrugged.

“Yeah, of course I’m ready.”

She looked unconvinced. I am rarely, if ever, prepared for anything.

“But you’ve got two weeks, and you’ll be in Vancouver this week… don’t you have a lot you need to do?”

“No. Mum, it’s a bit like having your third baby,” I said, about to inform her on the complexities of something she, after all, has experienced, and I have not. I haven’t even had one baby, let alone three.

“By this point, I pretty well know how it goes. All I have to do is pick up a bag of diapers and drag the crib out of the garage.”

I had stolen this anecdote from a couple I used to babysit for, so it has some credibility, but my Mum still rolled her eyes.

Regardless, the moment reminded me that it hasn’t always been this simple. Now, I know exactly what I’ll do the moment I get to Ottawa, but two years ago, the city was a blank slate – on which I was actively projecting my most fantastic, but also most terrifying, notions of university life.

So I have utmost sympathy and compassion if you are a first-year university student, especially if you’re throwing up right now. I threw up too. It’s okay!

If you’re like me, the most terrifying part is probably not knowing what to expect once you get to school. I’m not the best person to inform you – I had approximately two friends for most of the year, and probably went to the grand total of one party (not a success story, per se).

But, especially if you’re going into residence, I hope I can provide a few pointers, or at least points of comfort, to start you off:

1. Think of it like high-contact summer camp.

The first few days of school can be a bit mad-cap, so it’s important to get off to a good start. If you’re like me, and find socializing with people your own age nerve-wracking, this is an important time to scrounge up all your courage and be at your most social. Friend groups (initial ones, anyways) are often made within the first day or two, so that’s game time. And, uh, it’s supposed to be fun.

2. Put yourself out there. Shamelessly, if required.

First of all, introduce yourself. No, really, it’s not that dorky. Almost everyone will be feeling awkward, and sometimes you have to make the first move. After all, introductions are a tried and tested way to meet people. Don’t be afraid to go to events alone, and don’t turn down invitations because you want to write your best friend or call your mum. You have the rest of the year to be homesick.

3. Don’t limit yourself to a friend group immediately.

You want to meet people quickly, but you don’t have to commit to them. It’s easy, and in fact quite natural, to find that mid-October, you’re eating lunch with people you met during frosh week, simply because they were the first people you met, not because you actually like them. And it’s also common to be eating lunch with a different group of people by mid-October, with those frosh-friends only a distant memory.

4. Don’t hook up with anyone on your floor in the first week.

Uh, yeah. It may be tempting, but it will probably haunt you for the rest of the year.

5. Find yourself a mentor.

This is an important one. You will find plenty of people to party with, but it can be a real life saver to have an upper year to show you around and give you advice. They are often especially helpful if they’re in your program or from your home town.

Mentors are not hard to find. But they will usually require you to leave your residence room, and the other first years. Program societies often have mentorship programs. At Carleton journalism, you can sign up for one – mine took me for coffee and edited my articles when I was having panic attacks.

Even if there isn’t a program, you can get a mentor just by hanging around and looking really lost. Some of these will become your closest friends (hey there, Laura Baziuk!)

Stock up on extracurriculars (I’ll elaborate on these another time.) I may be biased – but if you like writing, join your student paper. I was an editor last year, as was Jenn Pagliaro, and we were always keen to have new students to take under our wings. In fact, it was part of what we were paid to do. So don’t be shy!

6. Get started now

Like my Mum would say, sometimes a little preparation goes a long way. You may wonder how you can get started on any of this when you’re just sitting at home agonizing. But you can get yourself in the social mindset – start talking to people at the bus stop or in the grocery store to warm up. And if you know of someone who goes to your school already, meet up with them for a coffee, and ask if they can show you around once the year starts.

Of course, if you’re heading to Carleton this fall, I would be more than happy to show you around. And stay tuned, for in the coming days I plan to extoll not just my mother’s advice on leaving for university, but my father’s as well (spoiler: it involves salmon!)