Navigating Through University Life

Holy tuna was this semester a rough one. It’s a community feeling. There were so many good and bad things that have happened–in hindsight it seems like the bad outweigh the good. Lets recap:

1. The provincial budget was released. Universities were cut a huge amount operational funding.

On my way to school today I read in the paper that MRU has released information about what programs are being cut, and what’s being done to make up for the budget gap that the Redford government has forced on post-secondary institutions. It’s not pretty. Several program in the arts are getting the axe, and layoffs are beginning to make their rounds throughout our institution. Students fees are being increased by $120, with parking passes seeing a rise of about $20. Speaking with some of the executive members of SAMRU, I was happy to hear that they are working very closely with MRU administration to confront the situation the provincial government has put our school in. BUT, we shouldn’t sit back and let other people take on these issues themselves. As students we have a responsibility to ourselves and our peers to advocate for ourselves. We have power in numbers. We have power as the future leaders of society. We have to fight back and defend our education! We should make our voices heard!

2. A good many guests came to Mount Royal to speak to the students and staff.

The highlight guest of the semester, for me, was Will Ferguson. He came to MRU for three days in March to speak with students in the English program. Will’s visit was particularly exciting for me because, besides him being of the most popular and successful writers in Canada, he has had a huge personal influence on me, both in my life and in my writing.

3. Going to the E-Awards is very humbling.

Since I returned from my student exchange I made it a point to live my life doing new things and making the effort to be active and involved. I’ve done a lot with that, and while I’m enjoying the benefits of all the projects I’ve started for myself or involved myself in, I was very humbled by the recipients of the various E-Awards SAMRU gave out this year. People are awesome, and the winners this year are proof of that. Well done everyone!!

4. I got my first C.

*shocked face* I. Got. A. C. A C+ actually, but still, a C grade. It was my first C grade in the four years that I’ve been here. I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I consider myself to be an above average student. I work hard to keep my GPA up despite what extra-curricular things I do, and I take pride in what I know and how I communicate it. I’m not actually that choked. Friends, I know that there’s a tendency for some people to stress about their grades, so much so that it wears on them and blinds them to the smaller things in life that are meant to be, and should be, enjoyed. I’ve written about this before, but, again, remember to enjoy the small things. School is school, life is life. One is bigger than the other, and it should be enjoyed.

There’s so much more going on that I could write about, but they’re mostly part of my personal life. As it is, this summer is going to be an absolutely amazing and eventful one. Take some time in the next four months to challenge yourself. Go to some new things. Join a charity, run a race, go to an event somewhere that you would never normally go to. Find a new passion, spark a new interest, and most importantly, be awesome! Next year will be my last year writing this blog, and then I’m going to pass the flag to someone new. I hope you all have a great summer. See you next year!

Signing out for the 2012-2013 year,

Mitch

I’m in class. RIGHT NOW. I don’t have any other choice but to divide my attention between writing this post and paying attention to my prof because as it is, I’m leaving school on the 11:52, 306 bus so that I can make it to work on time for 1pm. Time is not on my side today. It hasn’t been on my side since last weekend. But let me explain: last weekend I did exactly what I keep telling you readers not to do. Yes, I’m a hypocrite, but in my defense sometimes a person just needs to put off responsibility for a day or two so that they can have a good amount of time to relax and do the things they want to do, which I feel I was totally justified in mostly because it was my birthday last Sunday, and also because my little cousin (who I’ve never met before) is in Calgary for a few months and I wanted the chance to hang out with him.

Saturday was spent playing with remote control helicopters and Zelda on my Wii. Sunday was spent playing with remote control helicopters, playing Zelda on Wii, and having a sort of birthday dinner with my family. Monday morning was spent rushing through a draft of a short story that I had to hand in for my first class. The rest of the day was spent finishing up an essay I had to hand in on Tuesday. Tuesday was spent finishing up a draft of another short story I had to hand in for first class, again. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent either at work or taking care of some other errands that I had to get taken care of. Such is life; stuff gets in the way, but there’s no point in stressing over it.

School and work are starting to butt up against each other, with me squished between and suffering from insomnia. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about that that’s making me want this semester to be over. I’m done with homework. I’m done with writing essays. Actually, to rephrase that last bit, I’m tired of doing the research for essays. *sigh*

I feel like I’m rambling now, so I’m going to end this post with this: Students of Mount Royal University (or at least those of you who are getting tired of the academic side of things), we’re all in this together.

Dropping the ball so early in the term… tsk tsk, Mitch.

Actually, it’s not that early in the term. It feels like it, but it isn’t. As much as we’d like to believe it’s early, it’s not. And do you know how I know? Because a lot of people I know have had or have midterms already, and I myself have two (2) coming up next week. Fortunately, you don’t have to read any more advice about stress levels and time management and time wasting. I don’t want to do that again. At this point it’ll be like beating a dead horse (at least until next year).

There have been some bits and pieces of information that have been reaching my ears though, and I feel that you should know about them. They’re not good things. So grit your teeth, and lets see what kind of reaction you guys will have to this.

1. THE DWF POLICY WAS PASSED AT LAST MONTH’S GENERAL FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING.

As you might have heard, the DWF Policy that was proposed by certain professional studies faculties (Ex. Nursing). What this means for the rest of MRU student’s, it hasn’t been said yet, but there have been some rumours saying that students taking certain degrees in Business might eventually be subjected to a similar policy some day down the road. I’m obliged to point out that everything about policies and changes on campus that I comment on here are alone my opinion, but needless to say I am not happy about this, and I am incredibly worried about how and what the passing of the DWF Policy could affect.

2. MOUNT ROYAL IS FACING MORE THAN A $8 MILLION DEFICIT THIS YEAR.

Yes, this is true. It has been reported to news agencies in Calgary, and it is something that we must face. From what I can tell, especially from what I’ve seen happening with provincial government spending and the $6 billion deficit Alberta is having to deal with, it’s hard to lay the blame on anybody (well, I lay blame at my own discretion just like anybody else). In response to the current situation, the Deputy Premier Minister of Enterprise and Advance Education, Thomas Lucaszuk, mentioned recently that there’s going to have to be a lot of cuts in provincial funding. As students, we’re going to have to keep an eye on the situation. We’re going to have to do our best to be understanding with the coming situation, because for the next two years, Mount Royal University, like every other post-secondary institution across the province, is going to be tightening its belt in an effort to make it back into the black within the next couple of years. As students, we’re going to have to be willing to compromise, as well as strong enough to make our voices known if lines are crossed.

Those are two most important things that have come to my attention since the beginning of this semester. It’s important that we know about them, think about them, and talk about them. We can’t sit back and be idle about how our environment changes anymore. We have to be diligent in how we take action to contribute to the decisions being made on our campus. We can’t just sit back and let things happen anymore, I sincerely hope that you’ll all comment with your opinions.

You know, and I think I’ve written about this before, but vacation kind of sucks. It’s not nearly as fun as it should be anymore, at least not like when I was in elementary school. Back then I would make plans with my friends to meet, go on bike rides (if it was summer), or go sledding (in winter), or play a game of baseball, play Pokemon, go to the park, sleepovers, all night gaming sessions (Golden Eye 007?), the sort of things that kids are supposed to do when they’re young. As an adult students vacation is patently different. We have responsibilities now. We have to pick up as many shifts as we can at work, make time for friends, and spend an unreasonable time with family (during the holiday season) who can, depending on how well one gets along with theirs, be intolerable. But then there are some other people who have the time and money to go traveling, and I don’t feel like talking about those people out of sheer jealousy and pettiness.

My vacation was measurably not as relaxing as I was hoping. Besides work, most of my time was spent with family. On Christmas Eve, when family tradition dictates we all get together for excessive amounts of food and presents and caroling (ugh!), I finished work early enough that I could get home, shower, dress, and make it to the party in time for dinner. The turkey was excellent. The stuffing also. The company, well, there was a new family joining us and I found them to be exceptionally engaging and interesting. For the rest of the people there, only lemonade helped me with their company. I may be being a bit mean, but I have my reasons, as does everyone.

After the fact, I booked myself silly for two weeks with doctor’s appointments and extra-curriculars. It seems to me that only by doing that do I ever manage to have time for myself, and honestly, I have more fun doing those things. Finally I managed to find some time to relax. It was still sad though. During a total three week break, I had less than five days with absolutely no obligations. I realize that I’m rambling a bit, but I do have a point. Trust me. Actually, I’ll get to it now.

I was looking forward to school. I was looking forward to school with such emotion and high strungedness that I began to find reasons to visit campus, just for the sake of being on campus again. Is that sad? Am I the only who feels this way about school? A pseudo romance with the ivory tower? I don’t think so, but you know what, I don’t care either. I’m just happy to be back, and in all honesty I hope all of you are too! (or at least most of you).

Good luck this semester!!

Hello hello! It has been much too long good madames et monsieurs. Actually not really. It’s only been 13 days since finals finally ended (for me, not for those of you who had exams on the 19th), and really, lets be honest here, is there really a whole lot that can happen in two weeks? I’ll put myself out there and say, with absolutely conviction, that there is a lot that can happen in two weeks. Lets take stock. Finals finished (Yaaaaaay!!!), the world DID NOT end on the 21st (sorry to all you believers out there), Christmas happened, Boxing Day (seriously, why is that even a thing?), and now we’re at New Years Eve.

No doubt that a lot of you, no doubt more than most, have made your plans and are going to get dressed up all pretty either to impress your friends or girl/boyfriends–and not at all the super sexy girl/guy you just know you’re going to make eye contact with from across the bar. Others of you are going to go party hopping, like me, and make the best of everything. “Make the best” includes in itself plenty of lemonade and lots of dancing, good or bad dancing, well, that’s up to you and your other left foot. It should be fun! But please, a word of caution here: Be careful, party responsibly, and always show respect to yourself and those around you–you’ll be better off for it if you can embody that inner cool-cattedness.

On that note, I’m going to now scan through all the photos I’ve taken since the beginning of the semester, just to show you how much fun has been had at school this year. Happy New Year everyone! I hope the best for all of you in 2013! Browsing now…give me a minute…..

U-Fest 2012

Under Western Skies 2012

The Legacy Awards 2012

Walk a Mile 2012 (On my own & with MRU)

The release of Summit Magazine

Mount Royal Open House 2012

Halloween 2012, bahaha!

Movember 2012, Before

Movember 2012, During

Movember 2012, After

Movember Pirate Party! Taking Kaylene hostage.

Movember 2012, carrying the man of the hour, Addison.

Finals. Sick and studying.

PR Society’s Christmas Party, 2012.

Dave in a wreath. 2012

Friends, I am sick of studying (although I honestly don’t have to do that much because I spread it out over the entire semester. See: this post from last year). I’m truly tired of it. I would much rather not have anything to do this week, but instead I’ve been zipping through 5 different novels that we studied in class. If I’ve been reading for the last 4 days, and there’s 24 hours in each day, and there’s 60 minutes in each hour, and we assume that the average size of the books I’ve been reading is about 250 pages, then that means I’ve been reading…ONLY .217 PAGES A MINUTE?! RAAAGHHGHRHHGHHRH!!!

…

I give up. Right now. At 6:21pm.

I know for a fact that there are some people reading this who can relate. That sometimes learning, and “higher education”, and things like that can only eat away at your sanity for so long before you want to shove a marshmallow up Knowledge’s nose and go play The Sims for hours on end. At least that game gives you control over EVERY aspect of those poor, tiny, sheeple on the screen (not that we’re sheeple. We’re going to school so we don’t become sheeple). Oh how liberating the absolute control is. Relish in it, you fellow giver-upers.

But then again, we’re adults, even if there are some of you who have only just stepped into the pseudo-real adult-world that is university life, and we have to be responsible. Sure it’s great to walk away from things, to, as one would say, wash our hands of it–but we can’t. That would mean we’re irresponsible, and I don’t know about you, but since the day I turned 15 I’ve been trying to prove to my parents that I can dress myself and take the bus to school without losing my jacket on the way. So, rather than just washing my hands of it, I’ve been using, not The Sims, but the collection of books that I want to read FOR FUN as my reward. I read one book for an hour–a book filled with modernist metaphors, alliterations, and symbols that I’m-sorry-but-I-just-can’t-be-bothered-with-examining-because-really-they-could-mean-absolutely-anything-and-in-modernist-literature-anything-can-be-right (my mind is taking a deep breath here), and then read my other book, the one that’s funny, and entertaining, yet deep, but the words and grammar make sense and there’s surface meaning as well as deep meaning, for half an hour while my brain unties itself from the non-world of modernist literature. It’s a work/reward system that works well, and that we should all be doing.

So, my friends, do your studying like the good students that I know you all are (despite what the Mount Royal Memes FB page says), but remember to reward your mental and physical sacrifices with a few minutes, between 15 and 45 at least, maybe an hour, of unraveling time. I recommend books, video games, and movies as great ways to distract yourselves for a bit. Take care! And Good Luck on your finals!!!

Okay everybody. I feel that I must once again, and this time with a more serious tone, discuss something that is turning out to be rather more important this year. The last post that I wrote about the mid-term slums. That time during the semester where school work and classes finally break people. Students are stressed, and some of them are having a hard time dealing with it. They’re freaking out. It is in that spirit that I want to share some advice. As I mentioned in the previous post, people have been finishing mid-term assignments and writing tests, and for some those things are still going on and the pressure is getting to them. There has been an initiative this year on the part of Mount Royal and SAMRU dealing with issues of mental health and stress, and people should be taking advantage of the opportunities they’re providing. Last night I was talking with one of my orientees (not a word, I know) on Facebook. It had been a while since I last spoke with her, and I wanted to know how things were going. “I’ve been good. Just a lot of stress from school” was how she answered me. I told her she has to take time to relax.

There are too many people I know who think they don’t have time to stop for a second. They feel like they’re crushed by responsibility, their lives too full of things to do and people to see and papers to write and blah, blah, blah. The thing is, they do have time. Everybody has time. The problem is just that people don’t know how to consolidate the scattered minutes of their day into one hour. Time, my friends, is something everybody has, and everybody should learn how to use it to unwind, de-stress, relax or chill. The word you use to call that hour doesn’t matter (I like to call my hour “Mitch’s Glory Time”). The point is that a person has to make time to relax. That is one of the most important and effective ways of dealing not only with school, but with everything else that happens in life. Time management: a skill that not enough people make use of.

I was just talking with Demian (you’ll know him as the ever present Starbucks guy). We were talking about stress and stuff when I asked him how he deals with his own, and he told me, “It’s a matter of perspective, and time” (There it is again, “Time”). He’s absolutely right about perspective. What he was talking about there was how life is approached. Life is meant to be stressful. It’s meant to be full of things to do and ambition, because really, if you’re not doing anything then you’re pretty much going to be wasting away at home playing video games or surfing the net, which is sad. Our conversation brought to mind several cliches that are as true as Demian’s comment about perspective is true. Let me list them

1. “It’s a matter of perspective.”

Life is messy. It’s hard to deal with, and that’s how it should be. The messiness involved with living is what makes things interesting and is what makes people want to become better versions of themselves. Things aren’t as hard to deal with as people seem to think. Planning a follow through is important, and even if there’s no opportunity for planning, doing things on the fly can be as invigorating as it can be fun.

2. “Nothing is as bad as it seems.”

People complain. I complain. That’s just something we’re built to do. We hate it when things go wrong, and when they go wrong we freak out and panic. But it’s ok. See cliche number 1 and lets take some perspective: We are in university. We’ve taken the opportunity that’s available to us to make our lives better. We might be busy and panicked, but the reality of the situation is that we have it good. We live in one of the most wealthy and free countries in the world, and we’re given chances every day that millions of people in other places will never have in their entire lives. If you can keep your chin up and get things done, then you’ll make it. You’ll be ok. You’ll come out on top and you’ll be better for it.

3. “Chin up!”

This is one of the worst cliches ever! Whenever somebody says it to you, you always get pissed off, especially when you’re already stressed. The reaction is usually something along the lines of “WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!” *tear* Hopefully I can help you love it. This saying has less to do with your chin, and more to do with your mentality. Let me use my illustrious self as an example. I am the eternal optimist. It’s a state of mind that allows for chance, either good or bad, and it helps to deal with everything that comes up. “Chin up!” Doesn’t mean that your problems don’t matter; it means that you should look ahead, see possibility, and deal with things as they come up in the order of importance. It means that you shouldn’t get down on yourself and that the world isn’t, in fact, out to get you. Do your best. Nobody will fault you for that. And if they do, then those people are sad and have probably never accomplished anything worth while.

Stress isn’t an inherently bad thing. It teaches us, it makes us stronger, it helps us grow and become better people. There’s no reason to fear it, there’s not reason to panic over it, there’s no reason to think that it is going to ruin you. The trick is to keep moving forward, to keep looking ahead. Once a person has learned that, then all of a sudden being crazy busy is actually kind of fun, and life all of a sudden becomes good.

P.S. For those of you who need some support, go to this site. I have oodles of respect for Ze Frank, and he is one of those few people in the world who understands just how much we have to be there for each other, stranger or not. Thank completed song is at the bottom of the page.

Ok! I’ll admit it! I forgot! But to be completely honest, who can blame me? Classes are beyond full swing, mid-terms have just finished, major assignments are coming up in our classes, and the semester is creeping up on us; I’m a day late on my post, so sue me. More importantly, the semester is pouncing. It’s drowning us in “Ugh, I’m done with this semester!” One friend of mine put it very well, “school has beaten me in record time. I usually make it to mid-November.” Or so he posted on FB (Punctuation his. I won’t name names, but if any of you reading this have him friended, odds are you nodded your head with pitiful understanding). My friends, we have reached while I will now term,

THE MID-TERM SLUMS (cue eerie music, dun dun DUN!)

Dreadful, I know. But there are things to look forward to. In our current young, not-quite-so-adolescent existences, we still have the ability to !PARTY! The traditional release from school stress and anxiety is what we look forward to on our weekends, assuming we don’t have to work, and considering that this month is October, that means that Halloween is just around the corner! Literally, as in, like, 7 days (at time of writing). I’m either going as a tacky golfer or as a blown away business man.

Anyway, as this is supposed to be the last post of the month, I’m not supposed to be writing about up coming events and amazingness. Today’s post is meant to be a time of reflection, and so it shall be.

At the beginning of this month I found myself slipping into a state of bliss that reflected all of the good things that were going on around me. I was kicking some major a…cademia (sorry Karen! I couldn’t resist)…in my classes. I had been invited to work on the Under Western Skies 2012 conference (as if you couldn’t tell from previous posts), and things had just generally been going really well. I know I’m putting everything in the past tense, but that’s just for semantic’s sake; the reality of my situation is that things are still going incredibly well. I’ve recently heard some secrets about next semester that I’m not allowed to tell anyone just yet–I just want to tease you all anyway, bahaha!–and there’s all the reason in the world to be excited about them.

But I’m bragging, and that’s not cool. I do have a point, and I’ll get to it, right now–> There’s no reason to get bummed out! The semester is half done. Okay we all had a hard time with mid-terms. Nobody likes them. It is of my own humble (not really) opinion that timed tests don’t truly reflect the knowledge of the learner anyway, but our professors are required to provide a grade to their students around this time which means: Nothing marked = No mark to report. But we’re done. The hurdle has passed. That wall has been climbed! Sure now we have our major assignments to complete. I have a small assignment due tomorrow (Thursday for you in future land. Or would that be past if you’re reading this on Thursday? Hmmmm…), an analysis to present on on Friday, and something else due on Monday but I forgot what………….I should really check that………………………………….

The point is! that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Soon enough it will be turkey season again, and present season, and gingerbread season, and ornament season, and snowboard/ski season, and eggnog, and ham, and stuffing, and lights, and trees, and New Years, and all things awesome that culminate in what we associate with excellence of December. Except -30 degree weather. And wind chill. But don’t think about that.

Keep your chins up my little munchkins! And remember, things always get better after they get worse!!

Oh dear. I had no idea. Policy, budgets, relationships… it’s so messy.

About fifteen minutes ago I finished up my conversation with one Mr. David Docherty, the president of our school. But wait, I’ll go back a bit. A few weeks ago I received an e-mail saying that President Docherty would like to have coffee with me. Why? I didn’t know. What would I have to ask him about? I didn’t know, but I agreed to it anyway. In the weeks running up to today I began working on the UWS conference and all of a sudden my life became very busy. I managed to keep my eyes and ears open for issues that might be affecting the Mount Royal community, and I was actually able to come up with some questions to ask our president.

Our conversation began pretty typically. After meeting at the East Gate Starbucks, we agreed that there was no place to sit and so made our way to Wyckham House. “How was ‘Wear your culture to work day’?” I asked. “It was alright. There were probably only five people who did it.” was Dave’s reply (unless otherwise noted, I’m paraphrasing. So all quotes besides my own are paraphrasing).  As soon as we sat down our playful banter turned to more serious issues, and as much as I would like to elaborate in detail, I’m not sure what I’m allowed or not allowed to say, so for the sake of covering myself I won’t go into absolute detail. I can give you my reflections on our meeting though.

As is the issue with any large institution, a university has a billion different issues to face every day (roughly estimating). Things like the school budget, how student services are provided, funding, policy, politics, the sports teams, etc, all have to be taken care of. While most of those things are delegated to whatever offices they’re delegated to, more than most is addressed by one person. I’m sure you can’t understand, like how I can’t, just how busy our president is. His is a job that has to take into consideration the wants, needs and opinions of the thousands that are part of MRU’s campus, and he is doing his due diligence.

There are some things we can look forward to though:

1. Next month we can expect to see our president sporting some facial growth. Movember is coming, and in support of men’s prostate cancer research dozens or hundreds of guys will be rocking the facial do. I’ve never seen Dave with a beard of any sort, and nobody has seen me clean shaven in about three years; needless to say we’ll be making some prickly sacrifices (or not) for the cause.

2. Soon, although a date hasn’t been set quite yet due to logistical issues, a ground breaking will be happening and the planned Conservatory will begin construction. Seriously, it’s just a matter of getting the people involved and handing them some very shiny shovels.

3. It turns out Dave is a better fan than I am of our various sports teams. He was at last week’s (Sept 28th) hockey game where the Mount Royal Men’s Hockey Team made a late comeback to tie the game in the 3rd period. Unfortunately they lost  when the University of Saskatchewan scored with .3 seconds left on the clock, but he seemed proud of our boys (as they managed to give last year’s champions a run for their money).

Honestly, I’m still trying to make sense of my meeting with Dave. He made me think of a lot of different things and gave me some new perspectives to see things from. One thing I can say for sure is that he believes in our school and he believes in what we as students can achieve. Our lives on campus can only get more interesting. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out for next year. I’m most definitely looking forward to it!

Just so you have something to look at, here’s a picture of me tossing my nephew. IT’S OK! His mum took this picture.

My nephew Wyatt. So cute!!

Hello readers! How are you? I’m doing well myself, although I’m incredibly busy at this point. This new found hectivity (yes, I made up that word. Derivative from ‘Hectic’), in fact only began last Wednesday when the unequivocal awesomeness that is the Under Western Skies conference hit me. We, ‘We’ being the organization committee for the conference, had a meeting last week. We discussed things like how different types of ticket holders are going to be identified (different coloured wrist bands), who should be greeted at the airport (keynote speakers and such distinguished individuals), and the menu for the receptions. Discussing the last part was particularly fun for me, even if I couldn’t really see the projection screen (I really need to get some new glasses), everything sounded so tasty. And so the blog post that I would like to write today is about our esteemed caterers, Dobson’s Restaurant & Bar.

Photo courtesy of Dobson's Restaurant & Bar