The Carillon staff shares its thoughts on Welcome Week and the upcoming year
Paul Bogdan, Edward Dodd, Julia Dima, Colton Hordichuck
What are you looking forward to the most about Welcome Week?
Hordichuck: Honestly, just getting back into the groove of school. The four-month summer sounds so enticing once April hits, but I find once I get into August that I get extremely lazy and do nothing. School’s a great way of keeping my work ethic at somewhat of a medium.
Dodd: I am actually most looking forward to the disorientation week set up by RPIRG; especially their movie night on Thursday. If you want the real university experience, it's probably good to get involved in some serious issues and RPIRG is the place to start.
Dima: Mostly watching first-years awkwardly dance alone on the green when they have the concerts. It's really precious.
Bogdan: Aside from the stock Welcome Week things (drinking, live music), regular social interaction. Working as a freelancer all summer was nice, but you can only talk to yourself so much before you go insane.
What’s something you wish someone told you during your first Welcome Week?
Hordichuck: Don’t worry about being new, and being confused about where your classes are. I actually tell most of the new university students this. Most students who have already been at the university for a few years don’t know who’s new and who’s not. Plus, going into my 3rd year, I still can’t find half of my classes!
Dodd: I honestly wish I was told that the Carillon is super approachable and that I can write for them. Even if you feel a little out-of-your-league, it's a great way to meet awesome people and do important work at the university.
Dima: To skip orientation. I was such a keener.
Bogdan: You will not detriment yourself by skipping all your classes and watching concerts on the green and drinking beer all afternoon.
"Used Regina and Kijiji first, then I compare prices on Amazon, then I look at abebooks.ca, and then I finally give up and go to the bookstore. I am as cheap as hell." – Julia Dima
Do you buy your textbooks from the bookstore, or how do you go about getting them, if at all?
Hordichuck: I only buy my textbooks if I need them. If I need them, then you bet that I buy them from the bookstore! I just find that I spend so much money on textbooks, only to never read the vast majority of them.
Dodd: Last year I tried buying my books piecemeal from Amazon and the bookstore (whichever had the cheaper price) and saving something like thirty dollars, but this year I was far too lazy and just bought everything at the bookstore. And after waiting all semester for one of my textbooks from Amazon, I figured it was better to just get them this time from the bookstore.
Dima: Used Regina and Kijiji first, then I compare prices on Amazon, then I look at abebooks.ca, and then I finally give up and go to the bookstore. I am as cheap as hell.
Bogdan: I wish I could say I was smart and searched for the best price as I’m both very cheap and very broke, but I’m unfortunately lazier than I am cheap/broke, so I get them from the bookstore.
What is the easiest elective you’d recommend?
Hordichuck: For arts students, I’d recommend anything with a history background. History, anthropology, or classics, in my opinion. All of this stuff is essentially memorization, so there are no concepts or anything that should overwhelm students other than the odd essay or two.
Dodd: The easiest elective I've taken by far was Philosophy 100. It was a great overview of Western philosophy, and if you have a creative mind and are willing to suspend the collective hallucination we call "reality" you can get really good grades for writing ridiculous things.
Dima: I don't want to say because I feel like it'd be discrediting profs, but I’d have to say Art 100.
Bogdan: English 251. It’s a persuasive writing class. Take it in the spring because the workload is easy, and you get to learn how to become really good at arguing. Your friends might like you less because of it though.
What is one class you’d never recommend to anyone?
Hordichuck: You know, all of my classes that I’ve taken have been pretty interesting and I have nothing bad to say about them. I struggled with my language classes and my one economics, so if I had to pick a class it would be any one of those.
Dodd: I would never recommend the From the Quarks to the Cosmos Physics class to anyone. While it was incredibly interesting when I could follow it, a lot of the time there were huge formulas on the screen and I had no clue what was going on. I suppose that is a lot like the real quantum physics experience – never knowing what is going on but still trying to figure it out.
Dima: Any class that RateMyProf doesn't confirm won't kill you. I've heard horror stories, but I'm prepared as fuck every year.
Bogdan: Music 121/122. Both are ear training courses which are super useful, but I really suck at sight reading music, let alone sight singing something. Most universities spread the ear-training requirements over four courses, but at the U of R you get to do everything in two courses.
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