A Penny Pincher’s Guide to UofT’s ‘Pinochet’ DineOnCampus Options
How Mississauga undergraduates are shrinking their wallets, redefining the student learning experience, and are having decent fun as they go.
NOVEMBER // PHOTOGRAPHED BY ME
LAST NIGHT WALKING, I WAS INSPIRED BY AN ANONYMOUSLY PACIFYING STORE FRONT DIAORAMA IN MISSISSAUGA WITH THE BECKON CALL: DREAM BIG, START SMALL.
An increasing number of some especially seasoned Mississauga undergraduates are barrelling up their bills for some classic get-by loose change. And like many members of top tier universities, they’re coming to a cash fold in regards to the intensity of their educational expenditures revealed on the Repository of Student Information (ROSI).
*YOUR CURRENT ACCOUNT IS DISPLAYED HERE IN INVOICE FORMAT *
You know this feeling; what follows. The format of the invoice you receive is a standardised bomb of incidentals upon incidental. Horrible and seemingly denser than the actual breakdown of course fees. Aren't they supposed to be the expected core focus for learnt payback? But it doesn't feel that way. I feel crumby. Yes, especially as a soon-to-be graduating student, I know I feel that way. So I wondered what other senior students had to say for themselves.
All hail Urban Dictionary : A veritable cornucopia of streetwise lingo, posted and defined by its readers.
I wanted to know : What can we do to cut back on some of the unforgivable costs? At a stare down with the pogoing expenditures of my own account, I decided that I would go about an informal interview process on campus. You know, stand in line for coffee, chat someone up. Head to the library, squeeze beside that girl with the newly unfurled granola bar. Kill a few hours up and down the halls of Davis. Stand outside beside the guy taking a smoke. Apparently to that sacrifice many students chose their stomachs.
“YOU HAVEN’T UNDERSTOOD STUDENT DEBT UNLESS YOU'VE WALKED AROUND ON HALF A STOMACH .” -Gaurav, 22
EXAM TIME : WHOSE REALLY THINKING ABOUT TRUDEAU?
Following the hot aftermath of ‘E-day’ (elections), Monday October 19th, post-Thanksgiving weekend, a celebration of Justin Trudeau’s swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall, as the new Prime Minister of Canada in Ottawa should prompt a whole new set of questions for students in hopes of limiting the sacrifices made towards a higher education.
I decided to draw from statistics that contrasted and compared the average cost of a university education: a combination of tuition fees, books, and other educational supplies, and living expenses. I was staggered to find from the admission website each year, and strongly to the effect of this one, those cash demands are said to be at an all-time high.
Yet we continue to justify the costs, despite the lack of a guaranteed price freeze. Why; for the reason that such a university (aka the UofT brand) can sway the masses even outside it’s financiers through the anecdotes of its inspiring graduate alumni and time-worn prestige.
According to our university’s own Institutional Data Project, notably paired with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the University of Toronto (counting the St. George and Scarborough campuses) is arguably demarcated as the largest and internationally desired post-secondary institution in Canada.
UNPOPULAR FOOD SERVICES CONTINUE TO DISAPPOINT: WHILE NOT RECENT NEWS, IT’S A RECURRING ISSUE
“Once again, a contract for food services at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga (UTM) campus has been awarded to Chartwells. The company’s contract with the university extends to 2020”. -Asma Fadhl, 24
AN AMATEUR SYNOPSIS OF THE SITUATION SO FAR: FINE, UOFT, YOU CONTINUE TO GET AWAY WITH HIKING OUR TUITION FEES. FOR NOW. BUT OUR DINEONCAMPUS OPTIONS, NOT SO EASILY. WE FAVOURABLY THRIFTY STUDENTS WILL STRIKE BACK, UNIVERSITY’S UTMOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER, THE VARSITY REPORTS IN JULY.
10 UTM STUDENT’S TABLE THE BENEFITS OF PENNY PINCHING
1. “I get a second cup from the cashier and split my coffee with a girlfriend from class. We both end up saving ourselves the extra bucks. And not to mention the discomfort of frequent bathroom breaks during lecture.” (Fara, 23)
2. “Honestly man, next time don’t shy away for the extra service. It’s free. Ask your server to cut that sandwich diagonally. It might trick your brain to save the rest for later. That does it for me.” (Liesel, 24)
3. “I swear, that no one thinks of this. Be nice to the Tim’s ladies! Last time before they closed for the day, I walked out of the gym, asked one lady how her day was. Then she smiled and offered me a couple doughnuts to take home before they’d be thrown into the trash.” (Glenn, 20)
4. “Managers love customer feedback. If you’ve had an off experience and communicate that right, I’ve heard the PizzaPizza in Davis Building has given away a couple sets of 2-For-1 Cineplex movie tickets as a way of saying, hey sorry.” (Tarak, 23)
5. “Instead of tutoring for money, sometimes I just ask that individual if they’re comfortable to instead buy me something hot and chock-full of carbs to eat, you know, after the lesson is done.” (Mike, 25)
6. “There’s a roll of saran wrap in my backpack.” (Sagal, 23)
7. “Opting for the discounted sushi on its day of expiry is really A-OK.” (David, 19)
8. “Be the Jedi Master of avoiding hidden fees for things like spoons and plastic cupped tap water.” (Antoine, 23)
9. “Always say please and thank you.” (Mira, 22)
10. “UTMSU’s free vegan breakfast.” (Zakary, 19)
LESSONS LEARNED : (A) CHARTWELLS EQUALS PINOCHET, (B) INVOLVE A FRIEND MY FRIEND, (C) SAVING A BUCK TODAY IS STILL SAVING
The University of Toronto brand name (in and of itself) holds a certain ideological Olympic torch with admission rates, brandished by some of the highest international accreditation scores and tuition fees in the province. So with tuition costs largely unavoidable (even with the help of OSAP) I am surprised to find how many of us are actually down to get creative with our cravings.
FIGHTING BACK SECONDARY RATES WITH OUR STOMACHS IS SOMETIMES NECESSARY
DineOnCampus is a secondary rate. And my secondary rate I mean a non-compulsory I argue that more of us will strategize Counting property and student society incidentals such as Athletics, Health and Counselling, Transit, etc., and the associated interest rates that continue to hike, as most students would expect per annum, our sensible probabilities would tell us even less so from one semester to another. Can it then be felt and argued, possible, that an ever increasing number of us are waging another battle for secondary on campus services, like those to our stomachs?
According to the tightening and dwindling size of wallets like mine, I decided to put my hypothesis to work, and succeeded. First dipping my feet, I chatted with several close companions, branching out among other academic colleagues. Then I made friends with strangers, clock-working an array of environmentally interconnected buildings and checkout counters about campus.
It seems youth expect more from their university education than ever before. And their demands are as diverse as they are. I believe it will be only a matter of time before us students make a food fight of this problem.
