Editorial

A theory ahead of tonight’s historical election.

Over the past 78 days (the length of the federal campaign) but especially the past few weeks, I have seen a veritable outpouring of mobilization around voting. In direct contrast to 2011, when I saw grouches complaining about the ineffectual nature of voting, making unproductive comments about the broken system (voter apathy breaks it more!), and, dare I even say it, supporting the Conservatives, this time around the criticisms I’ve seen have been insightful ones.

With the overwhelming specter of midterms approaching, frosh who are feeling lost in the hurricane of first year feelings can rest easy, kick back, and read on to hear from The Strand’s seasoned editorial board offering tips on how to tackle life at UofT.

A few days ago, I received a pleasant and friendly message in my UofT mailbox under the subject line “your student account has a balance.” The contents, listed in accessible and personable point-form, reminded me that if I did not pay my outstanding tuition and student fees that day, I would start to collect interest on my account.

The school’s failure to diagnose the online commenter’s comments as what they are—misogyny and hate-based rhetoric—shows a failure to educate. If we want these kinds of comments to go away, and to take the necessary steps to make UofT into a safe space, our educators need to start seeing these things for what they are and use dark moments such as this one to teach that this kind of sexism is unacceptable.

Hopefully you’re feeling calm, collected, and excited to have a really awesome week. Even if you don’t have a really awesome week, that’s okay. Just relax, have as much fun as you can without injuring yourself, and make sure to get involved with as many things you’re passionate about as possible.