Headshots and quick interviews with real people around our beautiful campus.
“We want the strike to end; we want students to go back to classes. We don’t want the money we are paying to get lost. We want the TAs to getwhat they want and their demands to be met. We want the
administration to go back to the negotiation table. We want the
graduates to be able to graduate this year in time as well. End the strike,
now!”
Fourth Year, Life Sciences
“How do you describe your experience here at UTM?”
“Enlightening”
“My axons and my dendrites are synapsing”
“I hope the strike ends soon.”
“OH! Can you write this? Llamas are cool!”
First Year, Life Sciences
“How has the strike affected you as a student?”
“Umm, it sucks because my labs and tutorials got cancelled. I’m not a healthy person, I don’t have time to go the gym and I’m tired because I have to take two buses and then drive home from there because I live in Brampton. Yeah, it sucks because I have to walk all the way to the bus stop and it’s so far and so cold! Last night, my lecture ended at 9 and the buses are so infrequent and then what do you do if you walk there and just wait in the cold and there’s no one to keep you warm like a football huddle? Also, I lost my TCard and my UPass so if someone finds it, let me know. Reward: two donuts of choice if you bring it ASAP.”
Second Year, CCIT and Art History
“The values that UTMSU stands for I feel have not been met. So I want to see something different, something I can associate to the new UTMSU rather than previous reputations where some people have had beef.”
Third Year, Double Major in English & Religion + Third Year, English Specialist and Major in Women and Gender Studies
“How is the semester affected so far with the strike?”
“The biggest impact that it’s had on me is that I have to exercise, and I do not know if I like that. I don’t like the fact that I have to exercise to learn. I just wanna be here and then leave and I can’t do that cause there’s a portion of my time that is dedicated to walking to and from the bus and I don’t like that.”
[both of them laugh]
“[Administration’s] not even doing anything about this because they’re not legally obliged to rectify the consequences that’s happening to us. They don’t have to give us any extra classes. They don’t have to give us any compensation right? So, that’s the reason why they can get away with holding us as far as they can. They have everything to win, nothing to lose. The students and the TA’s do. It’s always the people that don’t have the money or the power.”
PhD Student, Student Advisor, Course Instructor, TA, and Professional Writing Coordinator
“What is personally rewarding about your current position at UofT?”
“My personal reward is doing my PhD in Sociology and Cinema Studies and the most rewarding thing about my job is the students. I love helping the students. They’re great.”
Second Year, Double Major in Psychology and Biology
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
“I wanted to be a sailor so I can go out and explore the world.“
Second Year, Double Major in CCIT and Professional Writing
“How’d you guys meet?”
“We had class together at Sheridan and we became friends, and then like a month later we realized we had already met each otherlast Halloween.”
“Ya, we met at a party and she was like ‘I’m from anisland!’ and I remembered that’s how I knew her.”
Fourth Year, Double Major in Chemistry and Biological Health Science
“Who has been the person you have always looked up to the most?”
“My father. He went through lots of difficult times in his life, and worked so hard to put me in the situation I’m in right now. To me, he is the definition of ‘you earn what you work for’. If there were anyone I was doing all of this for, it would definitely be for him. I would give my life to that man!”
Third Year, Psychology Major
“When did you realize you really loved UTM? Did you always want to come here, or did you just come and then grow to loveit?”
“It was spontaneous. I came here from
Egypt. The moment I realized I love this place is when I realized this school
is like a family. We share each other’s happiness and sadness. There has never
been a time where I felt like I needed somebody and there was nobody there.
This place is like a home to me.”