Student Life
How Covid-19 Brought the University of Toronto Class of '24 Together Online
How Covid-19 brought the University of Toronto Class of '24 Together Online
Covid-19 has thrown the usual plans for incoming university students completely out of whack. This includes Frosh week and, by proxy, introductions. Frosh week has become a huge way for the incoming students to socialize and adapt to campus life.
Now without it, there’s a gap to be filled.
While most university classes have a Facebook group dedicated to them, this year more than ever, it’s been important to find your group and try to find friends through it.
With the 2020 Fall term being held almost exclusively online and most Frosh weeks happening very shortly in person or exclusively online, it’s now fallen onto the incoming students' shoulders to find ways to connect to potential friends.
A university and a class of students that are taking online connectivity seriously are the 2024 class from the University of Toronto. They’ve been busy setting up their own networks in lieu of Frosh week.
Group Chats
Group chats have become a huge part of the socialization of the incoming class. You thought they were important in the previous years? Well, now they’ve become as good as a class attendance sheet. They are now how you can introduce yourself to the people in your classes.
Where mixers and social effects for the specific degrees or specialties might have been planned for Frosh weeks, now they’re replaced with a group chat.
The University of Toronto has groups for not only the separate campuses but also the programs and degrees on those campuses. This creates a very concise group of potential friends. The networks are very tight and organized by upperclassmen.
Mentor Programs
Besides being about introducing yourself to the campus and the other students in your year, the other major part of Frosh week is learning who is there for you when you need it and how to handle moving into university studies.
Most of the time this would be handled by finding an upperclassman and befriending them and getting them to give you pointers on your essays. But now it’s become a bit more difficult to find those upperclassmen. So the Toronto university has started to lean into mentorship programs.
Instead of trying to shoot in the dark for a mentor, the incoming students can connect with a mentor through an online program. So, online classes or not, the incoming students are still able to get the help they need.
Social Outreach Programs
A new, and fairly shiny thing to universities is the student outreach programs that are happening. These are community-wide programs that are designed to bring university communities together. Think of that old Yik Yak app that was big from 2010 to 2015, but more professional, and you’ve got an understanding of the style of these programs.
They’re incredibly cool in theory and while the University of Toronto is just bringing them into effect now and there’s no word as of yet to what they’re like, they seem promising and fun.
Living on campus? Check out our video on the tips for living in residences.
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