FutureMayor
Active Member
Daniel Girard
Fuelled by population growth in the suburbs, the Mississauga campus has grown by 70 per cent in seven years. But students say it still has the feel of a small university, with all the benefits U of T offers.
In most families, the youngest gets spoiled with new toys. Same goes at U of T Mississauga.
UTM, established in 1967 - three years after the university's other suburban campus in Scarborough - is home to some impressive new facilities.
The Recreation, Athletic and Wellness Centre, known as the RAWC and pronounced "rock," comes complete with a state-of-the-art, eight-lane swimming pool. It opened last fall, a month before the library, named for Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. It's equipped with bookshelves that move with the press of a button, a fireplace and spacious rooms for group study.
A 423-bed residence, the eighth on campus, just opened this fall and is named for renowned jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, a Mississauga resident. Next fall, an Academy of Medicine will open.
It's all part of a building boom at the picturesque 91-hectare campus on the banks of the Credit River. Fuelled by population growth in the Greater Toronto regions and the double cohort, UTM's student body has increased by about 70 per cent since 2000. But it still manages to maintain the feel of a small university, complete with short walks to class down tree-lined pathways past a host of familiar faces.
"You get the best of both worlds," says one political science student. "You're at U of T but you don't have to go downtown for your classes. And I never have any trouble finding my friends."
You can take classes downtown if you want - students at any of the three campuses can go to the others. However, those attending both Mississauga and Scarborough complain that desirable courses at the main campus often fill before they get a chance to sign up.
Even if they never attend classes downtown, UTM students have a free shuttle bus weekdays and four nights a week to take them there and back to use the libraries, attend guest lectures or just hang out. They can also get books from the libraries at other campuses delivered within a couple of days.
UTM has three joint programs with Sheridan College: art and art history; communication, culture and information technology; and theatre and drama studies. Graduates receive both a university degree and a college certificate or diploma.
But one art student says "it's a big hassle" to have to travel to Sheridan's Oakville campus for her weekly classes, "especially if I have to carry a wet two-foot-by-three-foot canvas home with me on the shuttle bus."
For many UTM students, there's no need to ever go anywhere else; students describe it as a "comfortable school."
There are plenty of places for students to gather, from the Meeting Place - a popular hangout near the registrar's office complete with fast-food kiosks and sofa-style chairs - to the Blind Duck Pub in the Student Centre, the cafeteria or Spice CafŽ, which has multicultural offerings, in the North Building.
"If I miss a class, I know I'm not going to have any problem finding someone to give me notes," says a woman studying psychology and biological anthropology.
But one political science and history major says the "glorified high school" feel of UTM is frustrating. He says the pub nights are too tame and the venue is too small.
"I've kind of given up on campus life. It's pretty much non-existent. People just stick within their own groups."
Louroz
Fuelled by population growth in the suburbs, the Mississauga campus has grown by 70 per cent in seven years. But students say it still has the feel of a small university, with all the benefits U of T offers.
In most families, the youngest gets spoiled with new toys. Same goes at U of T Mississauga.
UTM, established in 1967 - three years after the university's other suburban campus in Scarborough - is home to some impressive new facilities.
The Recreation, Athletic and Wellness Centre, known as the RAWC and pronounced "rock," comes complete with a state-of-the-art, eight-lane swimming pool. It opened last fall, a month before the library, named for Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. It's equipped with bookshelves that move with the press of a button, a fireplace and spacious rooms for group study.
A 423-bed residence, the eighth on campus, just opened this fall and is named for renowned jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, a Mississauga resident. Next fall, an Academy of Medicine will open.
It's all part of a building boom at the picturesque 91-hectare campus on the banks of the Credit River. Fuelled by population growth in the Greater Toronto regions and the double cohort, UTM's student body has increased by about 70 per cent since 2000. But it still manages to maintain the feel of a small university, complete with short walks to class down tree-lined pathways past a host of familiar faces.
"You get the best of both worlds," says one political science student. "You're at U of T but you don't have to go downtown for your classes. And I never have any trouble finding my friends."
You can take classes downtown if you want - students at any of the three campuses can go to the others. However, those attending both Mississauga and Scarborough complain that desirable courses at the main campus often fill before they get a chance to sign up.
Even if they never attend classes downtown, UTM students have a free shuttle bus weekdays and four nights a week to take them there and back to use the libraries, attend guest lectures or just hang out. They can also get books from the libraries at other campuses delivered within a couple of days.
UTM has three joint programs with Sheridan College: art and art history; communication, culture and information technology; and theatre and drama studies. Graduates receive both a university degree and a college certificate or diploma.
But one art student says "it's a big hassle" to have to travel to Sheridan's Oakville campus for her weekly classes, "especially if I have to carry a wet two-foot-by-three-foot canvas home with me on the shuttle bus."
For many UTM students, there's no need to ever go anywhere else; students describe it as a "comfortable school."
There are plenty of places for students to gather, from the Meeting Place - a popular hangout near the registrar's office complete with fast-food kiosks and sofa-style chairs - to the Blind Duck Pub in the Student Centre, the cafeteria or Spice CafŽ, which has multicultural offerings, in the North Building.
"If I miss a class, I know I'm not going to have any problem finding someone to give me notes," says a woman studying psychology and biological anthropology.
But one political science and history major says the "glorified high school" feel of UTM is frustrating. He says the pub nights are too tame and the venue is too small.
"I've kind of given up on campus life. It's pretty much non-existent. People just stick within their own groups."
Louroz
