In an article about Canadian schools published on October 25, the Globe paid us two awesome compliments. Or at least, I think they’re compliments. Not only did they mention our “best-in-class programs in many humanities and sciences fields,” but they called us “urban and hip.” Awesome!
I guess in some regards, we aren’t particularly hip. According to Katherine, a fourth year Film Studies student, sometimes the teaching methods or material feels a bit outdated. And don’t get me started on the Ross building. There is nothing hip about that slab of concrete.
But then I think of the progressive practices we have on campus like the transgender washrooms and the huge amount of new/social media our instructors use and it starts to feel a little more hip. We also bring huge artists to campus for Welcome Week. This year it was Nas and Shawn Desman, and last year it was N.E.R.D. and K’naan.
It’s hard to deny our urban-ness, too. I mean, we are in the biggest city in the country after all. It’s also the one that Superman’s Metropolis is based, although that doesn’t really change much. I’m just a nerd. Anyway, we also are one insanely diverse, culturally aware and progressive student bodies I’ve encountered. Yes, some of us might be a bit conservative, but we have dozens of student activists with a very forward-thinking approach to life. There are also the Urban Studies programs, but I don’t think that really counts here.
Is it a good thing that we were called urban and hip? I think so. I think it’s a refreshing way to look at post-secondary education. I also think it reflects the forward-thinking approachYorktakes to education. Dan, a fourth year Philosophy and European Studies major doesn’t agree. Dan doesn’t “think it givesYork, an institution of academic learning, the image such an institution should have.” I guess it all depends on how you feel your education should look, and what your university should look like. At the end of the day, whether or not my school is urban and hip probably doesn’t change all that much. The only thing that really matters is that I’m perfectly happy with my education.
Check out the original article here
