Office Closure

Our office will be closed for the winter break: Dec 21-Jan 6. If you have any inquires  send us a email (housing@ryerson.ca) or leave us a voice-mail message (416-979-5284) and we will get back to you on January 7th, 2013!

Also don't forget although residence reopens on Jan 6th at NOON for our residents, food services does not reopen until Jan 7th- so plan ahead for meals on January 6th!

Have a great and safe holiday!

Student Housing Services

#RUgrowyourMO

Movember is a month-long initiative that strives to raise awareness about men’s health issues.  Now several years running, it is common to see men grow moustaches during the month of November as a visible sign of their support for the cause, some fundraising to benefit research and programs regarding prostate cancer, “male cancers below the waist” and men’s mental health. 

At Ryerson Residence, three of the living learning communities (Healthy Living, Leadership, and Community Services) coordinated programs and fundraising efforts for the month to support Movember.  “Grow Your MO” T-shirts and blue ribbons were sold weekly in the Pitman lobby, and residents were encouraged to “Donate 4 Dora” (a moustached Dora the Explorer piñata).  Residents and student staff also decorated the RAC with moustaches with facts about prostate cancer and men’s health.

On Thurs. Nov 29, a Movember gala was hosted in PIT-200 to celebrate the end of Movember and recognize top fundraisers.  A slideshow of photos was shown of residents with their moustaches (real or on a stick J) as well as a promo video starring Pitman RAs Alex Cordner and Brandon Bortoluzzi.  In total, Ryerson residents raised over $2200 for Movember, with notable efforts by ILLC-3 and ILLC RA Zach Bruman.  Aaron Hanek was recognized as “Man of Movember” for being the top individual resident fundraiser, and Heather Sadkowski (Community Leader – Activities) was recognized as “Miss Movember” for her enthusiastic assistance with coordinating the T-shirt orders, the Movember gala and much more!

I’d like to thank everyone who supported Movember initiatives this year!  In particular, a huge thanks to LLC staff Alishia Liolli, Alex Bowmer, Daniel Gosson, and Heather for their tremendous efforts in coordinating this project for the residence community.

Dan Cantiller, Academic Link Facilitator

TEDxRyersonU

On Sun. Nov 25^th, the TEDxRU conference was held in the new Mattamy Athletic Centre.  In many ways, this was one pretty cool event – a full day of esteemed speakers from various fields speaking to about 500 attendees (students, staff, faculty, and community members)…all on top the ice of the hockey rink.  Definitely an experience.  I once had a teacher from high school who would open a window in the middle of a Toronto winter day because he said it would keep us alert.  If that’s the case, then there definitely wasn’t any need for caffeine at this conference!

The theme of the conference was “ACT: Be the action that provokes a reaction…”  Among the fourteen-some speakers, the most memorable for me were:

1)      Nam Kiwanuka, former Much Music VJ and Malaria Bites Campaign ambassador, who talked about her life growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya and immigrating to Canada.

2)       Mitchell Kosny and Arne Kislenko (professors of urban & regional planning and history, respectively), for their candid talks about leadership and change management

3)      President Levy and Teriano Lesancha (first person in her Massai village to complete a post-secondary education degree), on travelling to Teriano’s village to officiate a special convocation ceremony and the positive impact of her story in raising support for education in her community.  

All in all, the day was valuable and unique learning experience.  Participants hopefully left with much food for thought and inspiration to act on their passions and influence change.  I was happy to share the experience with colleagues and some of our student staff, and was happy to see that some of our residents were also in attendance.  Looking forward to next year’s conference!

Dan Cantiller, Academic Link Facilitator

Giving for the Holidays

In partnership with AURA (a refugee and settlement agency), the Living Learning Community – Leadership had the opportunity to sponsor two newcomer families just in time for the holiday season. These families recently came from difficult times, one being a family who arrived in Canada this year, forced to flee their home in Afghanistan. The other was an Iraqi family that was targeted for their religious practice and forced to leave their country.

Ryerson residents worked together this month to raise $250.00 in a short amount of time to support the cause. We were asked to donate food and seasonal items that we believe represent Christmas in Canada. Along with these items, we also included toys and clothing to help the families celebrate their first holiday season in Canada. We would like to say Thank You to everyone who participated. We appreciate your generosity and willingness to help make a difference in other people’s lives this holiday season.

Alishia Liolli

LLC-Leadership RA

Pitman Hall Cafeteria Opening on Jan 7th

Hello,

Just a reminder to our residents that the Pitman Hall Cafeteria will re-open for the new year on Monday January 7th! If you are planning to return to residence on Sunday January 6th- be sure to plan ahead regarding meals for the day as the cafeteria will not be open yet!

Good luck on exams!

Student Housing Services