cold

UTM Prepare, For Winter Is Coming

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theodysseyonline
theodysseyonline

 

It’s that time of the year again.

The chilly nights are a clear indication that winter is coming. If you’re the kind of person who just hates winter, here are some helpful tips to survive the frosty months on campus:

Double-check your bus timings

Next up are those of us who take public transportation. Know the timing for your buses—I know it sounds trivial, but during wintertime, buses have a nasty habit of arriving late, so its always good to give those MiWay service representatives a call and confirm timings so you don’t have to wait outside for too long. This also means that you should take advantage of those beautiful heated bus shelters when waiting at UTM. For my fellow UTMers taking the shuttle, wait inside IB.

Stay indoors and plan ahead

When traversing the campus, use the halls and stay indoors to minimize exposure to the treacherous winter winds. Remember, as the weather gets colder outside it gets crowded inside, especially in the library, so plan ahead and book the study rooms if you need to in advance, get there early, and most importantly, respectfully share space with your fellow UTMers.

Be prepared!

Finally, some items you would want to keep on your person at all times are a coffee mug, a pack of Kleenex, an extra pair of socks (I promise they will come in handy), gloves/mittens, a beanie, and some Halls.

By the way…

Don’t forget to check for cancellations (via Blackboard or the UTM Twitter account) before you leave for class.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself; a lot of fun things happen around this time of year, so keep an eye out for something that might interest you.

 

#CanadianWinterStory

Samina Sultana

 

Add the layers. Bundle up. If you don’t have a hat, gloves, and scarf, this is the time to invest in all three. The cold weather that makes Canada famous is starting, just in time for students to enjoy the frosty, bone-chilling—as some would call it (including me)— winds.

Yes, it is −30 degrees, but that isn’t a good enough reason to cancel school. On the bright side, especially when the sun is out, you are reacquainted with old friends. You have the opportunity to make new ones. It is a fresh and wintry start.

If you frequently check the Weather Network, you’ll notice radical drops in temperature, with subtle decreases. Does this mean we stay indoors? No. Realistically, would we like to? Most likely, probably, yes. When you feel walk around campus in the −30 degree weather, you start to wonder what’s wrong with the world, but should we shut ourselves in because of these chilly temperatures? No!

We all head to class, wait for the bus, and wonder how and why certain buildings aren’t equipped with heaters or still have the AC on… I mean really, it doesn’t need to be a sauna, but more cold—no, thank you.

  • Look for alternative routes to head to class. This is time to walk inside the CCT building rather than outside to head to IB, Kaneff, or the Student Centre.
  • Leave early, arrive early, and warm up.

For commuters, sadly, the shuttle buses aren’t heated and for some reason there is always that student who has to open the window and forgets to close it (don’t do this).

To make a possibly long blog post short, there is no escaping the cold weather and we can all enjoy complaining about the decreasing temperatures, but there is an easier way to start making things better. This doesn’t have to be a time of dreary, angry moments during a (soon to end) season.

Take control of what you want to do, regardless of the possible snowfall centimetres.

  • Time to curl up with that great book.
  • Get some coffee, hot chocolate, or another warm drink to heat up.
  • Head to the gym.
  • Spend time with some friends.
  • Take up a winter activity—skating, skiing, going to a warmer place.
  • Most importantly capture your cold moments. Look back in a few months and share the laughs, and the cries.

Cold Days at UTM

Samina Sultana

 

Welcome to Canada, where having a jacket is a birth right. Going to school in more than 5 cm of snow (or most likely more) is nothing new for students attending Canadian schools. As for snow days, if you can manage to somehow drag yourself to school, then that, unfortunately, means someone else can drag themselves too, meaning:  No snow day.

So, how do you know what to expect? First, check the weather. Start with the temperature, which can be colder depending on the wind chill. Then there’s the wind blowing at a freezing km/h from what seems like every direction.

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