Life At University Part 10

April 18, 2013

This has been a very busy real estate day in the middle of a very busy real estate week in the month of April, which has turned out to be a tremendously busy real estate month. I find myself planning showings and various other appointments around my upcoming weekend and I am starting to regret that I will be out of town. There is so much I could be doing if I didn’t have to drive to Kingston. Then I stop and realize the reason I am going to Kingston. Our daughter is writing her final exam of her first year at Queen’s on Saturday and then she’s coming home. Well, that’s a pretty good reason to take a break from an increasingly hectic profession!

I then remember that it has gotten harder and harder to keep up with my weekly university-related blogs and have decided it was time to write my final one. On the one hand, it has been wonderful to watch Katie experience life away from her family in a new city. On the other hand, it has been, on occasion, a stressful and worrisome time watching her find her own way. I am sitting here remembering the day when Eric and I drove her to Kingston last September, and what he said to me on our way home. He said, ‘you realize that she may never LIVE with us again.’ Gulp. Every big step our kids take is another step away from us. Every parent knows that but it’s tough when your first born starts to do it.

So what’s next? Katie was hired by the Simcoe District School Board to tutor elementary students in the schools for a number of weeks, and then she’ll do her teacher’s work placement at another local school. At the same time she will start a new part time job at a local business and earn as much money as she can to help pay for her next year at school. I know she’s looking forward to coming home and giving her mind a break. I can’t believe how much work is crammed into eight months at school, and I’m thrilled that Katie has found success.

So, I will have a little break this weekend. I’ll drive to Kingston, have dinner with an old friend, help Katie pack up her belongings and bring her home. I know her brother and sister can’t wait to have her home again!

Life at University Part 9: Hazing

March 27, 2013

There was a news story this week about ‘hazing’ activities that took place recently at Ryerson University. Hazing rituals have long been a concern of mine and I am always happy when I hear that these rituals have been banned or are closely monitored.

When our oldest daughter went to Queen’s University last fall I was extremely relieved to hear her talk about the few harmless things that she and the other first year students had to do. I remember seeing pictures of the kids wearing overalls covered in paint. I believe there is a special hat they wear with a pompom on it and some rules to follow. I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but it was an enjoyable, fun experience for all the kids in her faculty.

I have heard stories about the crazy things that the engineering students have to do, but that’s not our daughter’s program so I didn’t pay very close attention.

Well, reading the stories about what just happened at Ryerson brings everything to the forefront again.

If you watch the video of what the kids had to do, you might not see a problem with it. So they had to crawl along the ground in their underwear. Is that really so bad? I’m sure they were cold and wet and may have gotten a few bruises, but it’s all in good fun.

Well, once you make it clear that the students crawling on the ground are in a subordinate role and the ones standing above them are in a dominant role everything changes. The students were screamed at and one seemed to be spanked. What about everyone’s dignity? How many of those students secretly felt humiliated? Yes, it was a voluntary activity. But we all know what role peer pressure plays in influencing people’s choices.

I don’t think this activity was horrible as other rituals have been in the past and I don’t think anyone was physically hurt. I know that there was a time when much worse events took place. However, is this really an acceptable practice? Do we really need to ask students to take part in something like this and have a line drawn between those who are ‘brave’ enough to participate and those who choose not to?

Life at University Part 8: History

February 27, 2013

I was drawing a blank earlier today. I know I have to write a blog about university today but I am having trouble coming up with a topic. I can’t think of anything. Perhaps I shouldn’t have committed to doing one a week!

So, I started googling. I found some Queen’s University enrollment statistics as of Fall of 2011. I then remembered my daughter talking to a friend of mine about the difference in the numbers now when compared to when he went to Queen’s. Then I wondered if I could find out how many students were enrolled 30 years ago? In my search I stumbled across statistics for the very first year that Queen’s was open.

According to Wikipedia:

‘Queen’s University at Kingston^[2][8][9] (commonly shortened to Queen’s University or Queen’s) is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university predated the founding of Canada by 26 years.^[2] Queen’s holds more than 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres) of land throughout Ontario and owns Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England.^[5] Queen’s is organized into ten undergraduate, graduate and professional faculties and schools.^[10]

The Church of Scotland established Queen’s College in 1841 with a royal charter from Queen Victoria. The first classes, intended to prepare students for the ministry, were held 7 March 1842 with 13 students and two professors.^[11] Queen’s was the first university west of the maritime provinces to admit women, and to form a student government. In 1883, a women’s college for medical education affiliated with Queen’s University. In 1888, Queen’s University began offering extension courses, becoming the first Canadian university to do so.^[2] In 1912, Queen’s secularized and changed to its present legal name.’

I have come to realize that Queen’s has an excellent reputation, both according to polls done by MacLean’s magazine and when talking to people from my generation. I didn’t do any research before my daughter sent out her applications last year. We left the selection process up to her and she did a lot of background work. The one thing that sticks in my mind more than Queen’s reputation is how much Katie fell in love with the campus. The old buildings, the layout, the trees, the feeling she got from walking around. It’s almost as if the history of the university spoke to her and she made it her mission to be a part of it’s future.

So, what are the current enrollment figures you ask? This well-respected school that started off with 13 students 172 years ago, had a total of 24,189 students in attendance during the 2011-2012 academic year. They must be doing something right!

Life at University Part 7: Summer Employment

February 22, 2013

The search for summer employment is on. Yes, it’s only Feb 22, but school is out in mid April. That’s only two months away. I don’t know about the average student, but our daughter has been thinking about what she’s doing this coming summer since last summer.

This is an exciting time. For the first time in her life she gets four months away from school. She can relax, party, sleep in, travel, visit, WORK, WORK, WORK!

This university gig is actually a never-ending cycle of working at a job to get enough money to sustain your schooling for another academic season. Katie has worked extremely hard in Barrie for the past two years. She saved up as much money as she could to put towards tuition and residence. She has had a part time job while at school, and this has been great as a source of spending money and to give her a break from her studies.

Katie has been home for reading week this past week and in addition to relaxing and reconnecting with friends, she has been on two job interviews in preparation for the highly competitive summer job market. She has also approached her old employer and is waiting for confirmation of employment for the summer session, but won’t know for sure until some time in May. What if the old employer doesn’t hire her back? That doesn’t leave much time to find other employment.

I know that student unemployment has been an issue in Barrie so I did a little research. Even though it is a little out of date, the Stats Can website has this data:

‘Between October 2008 and October 2009, employment declined by about 10% among those aged 15 to 24, representing 225,000 jobs and more than one-half of the total job loss during this time (LaRochelle-Côté and Gilmore 2009). With lower levels of seniority, job permanency and job protection, young workers are often the first to be laid-off. Finding a job is also more difficult as many have little or no previous work experience, even if credentials are strong.

While postsecondary students report that personal savings is the most common source of income to fund their education (79%), income from employment is ranked second (63%) (Ouellette 2006). More than one-half of students report that either savings (27%) or earnings (26%) provide the largest amount of money towards the total cost of their school year. As youth unemployment rises during economic downturns, these important sources of student income decline, which can lead to increased borrowing’

http://www.statcan.gc.ca

So Katie now finds herself looking at various options and has had to look outside her comfort area. She is even looking at jobs that would take her out of the country for a time, and there are always pros and cons to those arrangements. I think she’s excited about the different opportunities that are out there and I’m confident she’ll find something that she’ll be successful at. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!

Life at University Part 6: Health Concerns

February 14, 2013

Your child lives with you for roughly 18 years before he or she goes away to school. Ideally you’ve been able to ensure that child gets enough sleep, eats as many balanced meals as possible, is safe going to and from parties, makes time to study and get homework done. Also, you are able to keep an eye on their mood and behaviour and perhaps pick up on any changes.

Once your child moves out and lives in a residence of a college or university you have to trust that they have learned all their valuable lessons and will find success in their new surroundings.

But what do you do, as their parent, when they start having difficulty? How do you help them when they can’t get a full night’s sleep for months on end because of the comings and goings of others on their residence floor? What do you do if they suddenly develop a food allergy or a physical illness? How do you hug them when they fall into a depression and beg to come home? Pretty heavy stuff, isn’t it? Well, here are some avenues you could consider.

Stay in touch. Call your child often. Ask them direct questions. I remember going to orientation days before we moved our daughter to Kingston. There were portions that were meant for both parents and students, but at one point they divided us up. The parents spent the next hour or so listening to what Queen’s University has available for students who need assistance with their mental or physical health. They spoke extensively about how important it is for parents to pay attention to verbal and non-verbal clues. They also told us about how many different services they offer to help students. It’s comforting to know that universities and colleges are focusing so much time and money on making sure students have resources to help them with the highly stressful world of higher education. Here’s an excerpt from their website, www.queensu.ca:

‘Health and Wellness

Queen’s is committed to helping students maintain a healthy lifestyle and thrive in a positive learning environment.

Health Services of HCDS

The Health Services team accommodates both routine and urgent care. The team members — including several family physicians, registered nurses, and a psychiatrist — provide assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for students with health concerns, including mental health issues.

Counseling Services of HCDS

Counseling Services works to foster student success and well-being while providing services that respect the values and unique needs of all people. It provides short-term counseling geared to resolving personal difficulties, dealing with crises, and distressing situations. It also works closely with partners in the Kingston community to assist students who need specialized mental health services or longer-term counseling support. Counseling Services is staffed by three psychologists, certified counselors, social workers, and trainees from the graduate program in the Department of Psychology.’

Our daughter found it hard to adjust to life at university last fall. She wanted to be involved in everything and do everything. There was certainly a learning curve for her and for us. You just never know how someone is going to react to new situations. We called often, texted daily, had many many Facetime chats, and my husband drove to Kingston a number of times to spend a few hours with her. It was vital to ensuring that she was making the necessary changes to her routine to accomplish her main goal, which was to do well at school. Everything else had to take a back seat, and that isn’t always easy to accept.

Our daughter was able to use a few of the services that the university has to offer and has managed to keep a part-time job right from the start. We are extremely proud of how far she has come since last September and fully expect things to continue to get easier. But we aren’t going to let down our guard. As parents, our healthy radar is constantly up!

Life at University Part 5: Subletting

February 7, 2013

My daughter and her friends have signed a lease and are looking forwarding to moving into their new home. They are thinking about what colours to paint the rooms, who gets which bedroom, who has a microwave and how to organize groceries.

But, before they move in, they have a bigger challenge.

My daughter was a little miffed that they would have to sign a 12 month lease when they all plan to go home for four months to work. They find it unfair to have to pay for 12 months when they will only be there for eight. Well, obviously that is the way it works in a highly competitive rental market in a university town.

The girls were told they could consider subletting for the months that they would be away from school, so that has become the next challenge. And, of course, with every challenge comes questions. How do you go about finding a suitable student to take over your lease over the summer? What would be acceptable to your landlord? How much are you allowed to charge? Do they pay utilities? What if they damage your home while you’re not there? Do you get something in writing from the person or people you sublet your home to?

Well a little research tells me that you cannot charge more rent than the landlord charges you and you are responsible for any damages to the unit or home. The landlord needs to approve your choice of sublet but they can refuse with a good reason. I also found a few websites that talk a little about subletting and there is a PDF available of a Sublet Agreement Form. Just Google ‘subletting’ you should find the form put there by the University of Ontario.

https://studentexperience.uoit.ca

https://studentexperience.uoit.ca/offCampusLiving/overview.htm

You might also be able to find some answers at http://www.ontariotenants.ca

I don’t know how much luck the girls will have in finding a student who wants to sublet from May to end of August but I’m sure they’ll try. I would want them to have a Sublet Agreement Form signed just to cover all the bases. I believe it’s always best to get things in writing. As far as who pays for utilities, I guess that will have to be worked out if they find a suitable substitute renter. Some people you talk to might also recommend getting legal advice before moving forward with a sublet. That’s probably a smart idea.

So if worse comes to worse and they don’t get any takers over the summer, they still have a home that suits their needs that they’ll be able to move into anytime they’re ready in August. They can make trips over the summer to paint, decorate and furnish without disrupting anyone else. They went into the lease prepared to take on the responsibility for 12 months in order to get the home they liked. I think they did pretty well.

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