Name: Rachel Lissner
School: University of Toronto
Program, Year:Urban Studies, 4th year
What was the deciding factor that made you choose this school? I wanted to be at a big urban campus in Canada (I’m international) and I got what I wanted. Aside from being right in the heart of Toronto, the only thing I knew about UofT was that I did not have to take a math class.
What do you love most about your school? The quality of teaching at UofT is phenomenal and I appreciate the different streams available within programs. UofT encourages students to apply knowledge they’ve learned for writing papers instead of simply regurgitating facts.
I also LOVE seeing it in film – just yesterday I saw the UC quad doubling as Georgetown University and one time I was an extra for a shot that was taking place at Harvard.
Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? For two years I took ice skating through the Athletic Centre and one year I was on the student board for Hillel, the Jewish student organization. I organized a free monthly Israeli cinema series at Innis College. I’m looking forward to becoming active in the Urban Studies Student Union in the near future. I found that UofT has a lot of amazing events on all the time and I prefer going to as many of them as possible because they cater to my diverse range of interests. The Hot Yam, the campus vegan and local food collective, is every Wednesday and I try to go there for lunch when I can and I am a big fan of the free films at Innis on Friday nights. Often student unions and clubs will have events and speakers so I’ll go to the ones that seem cool.
What’s your best advice on how to meet new friends? Be the person you want to be friends with. It really helps to meet people in your college but all of my good friends from class are the ones I approached and suggested hanging out together outside of the classroom; a simple coffee can lead to a genuine relationship. A lot of people at UofT are native Torontonians who already have their group of friends from simply growing up in the city and it’s sometimes really hard to break into their circles.
Where’s your favourite place for:
A cheap dinner: New Generation Sushi. (493 Bloor St. W.) I basically eat here all the time (the number of times I’ve been here twice in one day is more than I care to count) and I am waiting for them to name 99A (spicy vegetarian maki) after me. You absolutely must try the sushi pizza (fried rice paddy with toppings) – it’s uniquely Torontonian! Very honourable mention is Dumpling House on Spadina.
Brunch: Aunties and Uncles. (74 Lippincott St.) I live for their brie and pear challah melt but if the line is too long, I’ll happily chow down at Maggie’s, (400 College St.) right around the corner. The garlic fries at Maggie’s are amazing!
Lunch: New Gen…but if I have to pick something else, Flip Toss and Thai on Harbord.
Coffee: Aroma if I am hungry or want an ice coffee, but Ideal in Kensington is the best for serious coffee.
What bars do you frequent the most? The Communist’s Daughter at Ossington and Dundas is my mainstay but I can be found at Insomnia if someone agrees to pay a little extra for the atmosphere and a wide selection of martinis. On Thursdays at Insomnia there are $5 martinis and I’ll happily drink to that!
Where do you go if you wanna dance? I am all about the sixties, indie music, and putting the M in Manchester.
•Shake A Tail is my FAVOURITE thing about Toronto nightlife. (NOTE: It’s moving to Sneaky Dee’s! 431 College St.)
•Chronologic (The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave.)
•Tuff Meat
•Pop Lobster
•Goin’ Steady
•Wooly Bully
•The In Crowd
•Elvis Mondays
(Search their Facebook pages!)
Any party nights we should know about?
•Monday: $3.99 margaritas at the Hide Out
•Ossington Trivia
•Scrabble at Kilgour’s: Monday’s at 7
•Newmindspace! Everything about it.
•Don’t miss Nuit Blanche
•Toronto seems to have film festivals every week – if you’re interested in a particular theme, like Romanian or sci-fi, just do a quick Google search.
•Free Friday movies at Innis
•Trampoline Hall
•Grown Ups Read Things They Wrote as Kids
•Awkward Show and Tell
Do you have a favourite clothing store? I prefer to spend my money on food and going out so I am not much of a shopper, but I enjoy going to shops that feature local designers. They carry hefty prices but when you find a good find, it can be worth it.
•Peache Bezerk, on Queen Street, is an iconic Toronto fashion boutique that is all about unique handmade pieces that can be as simple or as loud as you’d like them to be. They do custom orders and have pretty good sales. Alterations are included in the price so go make the dress of your dreams!
•Fresh Baked Goods in Kensington and on Queen is a collective of Toronto artists and has fun clothing and accessories – I have a sushi dress and I picked up a key chain that represents the Spadina subway stop. If you see something you like that needs a nip and a tuck, they’ll simply charge a flat fee of $7.
•The Coal Miner’s Daughter is new to the scene and is tucked away on Markham St. It’s all local designers and some are so local that they’re still OCAD and Ryerson students. It definitely goes for a vintage feel and has some beautiful pieces straight from the source.
Where’s your favourite place to study? Robarts is where I typically go because its dreary brick-and-cement motif makes me want to finish studying ASAP, but it’s also fun to explore and great for people watching during study breaks. Sometimes it’s too social because I see people I know all the time. (Fun fact: Robarts is shaped like a peacock! Stand on the southeast corner of St George and Harbord, you’ll see what I mean.) The Munk Centre on Devonshire Pl is great because it has big comfy leather chairs and fireplaces. Yes, fireplaces. Bring a thermos of hot chocolate and set up camp. If you prefer the east side of Queens Park, Pratt is a great place to plunk down your books and get serious.
Do you have a hairdresser / salon you’d recommend? I am a stickler for getting my eyebrows threaded and nearly wept with joy when I discovered that there is a threading salon at Dundas and University called Perfect Threading and Beauty Salon. It’s an Indian establishment, so expect Bollywood videos and henna, and also being a repeat customer. They also have coupons on their website, don’t miss out!
What has been your favourite class thus far? “Transationalism, Migration, and Gender” (GGR327) with Rachel Silvey opened my eyes to the real world. The class covers global migration and the reasons for it and unfortunately there is a lot of injustice going on, even in our fair city of Toronto. The world is constantly on the go and there’s a lot of movement going on that doesn’t meet the eye, just newspaper headlines.
What class are you looking forward to most this year? My mainstay is the geography department and I look forward to all of my classes!
What’s your best piece of first-year advice? You don’t have to know what you want to study. UofT is extremely flexible when it comes to changing programs of study (I think I have enrolled in six programs since first year) and it’s OK to take a few detours before you realize what it is that you enjoy. A lot of elective padding is built in, too, so take that language course or go for a minor in African studies or save them for a semester spent abroad!
What did you learn the hard way? The better my social life is, the better I do at school. It’s a great incentive to get things done.
If you don’t ask for help, you don’t get help. Take advantage of all the services UofT has to offer: the registrar, health clinics, writing centres, disabilities services, whatever you think you need.
UofT is extremely apathetic and the students care about very little aside from Robarts being open 24 hours. Sad but true.
Before you graduate, you are going to make sure you: What do you love most about your university town/city? Diversity. The food, the architecture, the events, the people, the neighbourhoods, nothing can beat Toronto in all it has to offer.
Got any weird /specific tip that would only apply to your school? If you’re looking to make some quick cash, sign up to do psych experiments. You can typically find them if you scan Craigslist but you should keep your eyes peeled for posters around Sid Smith in the basement. Should your sole income depend on how many psych experiments you subject yourself to, head over to Kelly Library and the Media Commons to scope out their movie selections. Kelly Library has a curious collection of Woody Allen, foreign language, and Catholic films but some quality finds that don’t cost you a cent to borrow!
Anything else you want to share with first year students? Taking a first year seminar also really helped me out in terms of GPA. I opted to take a psychology course that was heavily focused on art and music, meaning that not only did I get to write music reviews and go to art museums, but I crossed off my mandatory science credit. I was not jealous of all of my friends who took astronomy in fourth year and hated it.
If you’re interested in studying abroad, you can take up to ten credits (one semester is .5 credit) off campus. Whether you choose to go away for up to three semesters on exchange or do summer programs at other institutions (or both!), it’s something to keep in mind. You don’t need a certain GPA to receive transfer credit but you will have maintain at least a 2.5 to be eligible for exchange. Read Craigslist missed connections. They make life more interesting. Volunteer at cultural festivals to receive free passes. For example, if you volunteer in the TIFF office after the festival is over, you’ll score passes for the next year. It’s worth it! Sign up for as many newsletters and Facebook groups as possible. You’ll be bombarded with events, free things, and good times. Don’t expect a lot of student discounts in Toronto but you should keep your eyes peeled. You can try to get a discounted TTC pass at the beginning of every month at the UTSU building, good eats at Mangiacakes on McCaul, a discount at Club Monaco (amazing, I know, right?), and various festivals like TIFF and the International Festival of Authors have some good deals and sometimes even freebies. Get a bicycle! They’re fairly cheap in Toronto and Bikechain, a UofT student run bike organization, provides free tips and tricks on how to care for your bike. A bike is the best way to travel in TO and it’s significantly cheaper than hopping on the TTC.
Bikechain is in the basement of 33 St George and occasionally has events. Yelp.ca and BlogTO are the best places to find places to eat.
Explore! This guide is predominantly geared toward the UofT core centered around Bloor and Spadina, but Toronto has so much going on that you’d be missing out to never venture further than Bathurst and Yonge. If you’re looking to meet someone new, you are welcome to meet me! I love Toronto more than anything in the world and I would be delighted to share it with you.