Bishop's University Blogs

So like many of you grade 12’s, I just finished semester one. I believe that other schools will be sending out their acceptance letters (as well as Bishop’s). I bet a lot of you guys are feeling pretty torn about which school to choose. (Bishop’s). Just kidding, but not really. Many moons ago I was considering other universities in Montreal. I found that the competitive atmosphere and ridiculous expenses weren’t for me. After some more research I came across Bishop’s. After looking it up on wikipedia and google-ing it extensively, I knew it was for me. My advice for all the undecided people is to do some research. See what works best for you. If you have a question don’t be afraid to e-mail the school and get answers. After you have done due dilligence (my step dad always says that about school) make a choice. I have been pretty narrow minded when it came to school. In fact I didn’t apply anywhere else. Personally, I knew that BU was “it” for me. I invite everyone to at least go on a tour.

And for those who make the  best decision of their life, choosing BU, I look forward to seeing you next year.

P.S. Sorry this blog was a bit coercive.

Emily

The Wooden Sky played at this year’s edition of Rock 4 Water yesterday at the Gait. The show was insanely awesome. Three dollar cover at the Gait for three music acts (Andriana Chobot, Peter/Potter and the Wooden Sky)? Supporting the bottled water referendum by the BU Environment Club (BUEC)? Going out and having a time? All worthwhile reasons for the slight ringing in my ears.

Rock 4 happens every year. The cause can change from year to year, such as 2008 being Rock 4 Diversity or 2006, Rock 4 Recycling. This was the second edition of Rock 4 Water in a row. Last year, Thousands of Bicycles brought the skankin’ sound to the Gait.

The Wooden Sky are great guys. They’ve stopped to play in the area a few times in the last couple of years. They always come out to party and chill afterwards in what they call one of their “favourite places to play”. Gavin, Kip, Wyatt and Simon killed their set featuring music from their freshman and sophomore releases, When Lost at Sea and If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone, respectively. Andy, showing off a sick new haircut started off the night with a bang and the Gait kept rocking with Scott Potter and Peter Jarvis.

I’d had been swamped lately with Theatre Activ (which closed on Sunday), research proposals, keeping on top of readings (for the first time in university) and potential projects coming down the pipes, that this was one of my first real nights out in a while. It was so freeing to get to jump around, stomp, hand clap and release some energy front row at my university bar to one of my favorite bands.

Massive kudos to Katrina Kroeze, Cate Collinson, Erika Ide and Kyle Ellsworth from BUEC and the SRC for putting a great night.

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The title for this post comes from a Wooden Sky song of the same name Check it out here.

It is that time of year again when prospective students emphatically stress about one single little decision that they must make – which institution to attend after secondary school. I suppose that I will grant them some sympathy, as I was quite befuddled myself last year when I went through the same thing. But I would like to offer my wisdom and give my advice to those considering Bishop’s – stop considering elsewhere! Bold? Perhaps, but similar to the Budweiser commercials, here is Reason 45 why choosing Bishop’s will give you an unparagoned undergraduate experience.

Reason 45: Time

There are 168 hours in a week, and a full course load at Bishop’s University entails only 15 hours of class. That brings us to 153 hours of down time a week. Those 15 hours of class can be quite tiring, so we shall be conservative and account for a nine-hour sleep every night, bringing us to 85 hours of downtime a week between classes and sleeping. Now, I know for high school graduating students it feels like there isn’t enough time to get anything done (with university applications, studying for first semester exams, planning March break trips, etc…), but if/once you come to BU, you will have more than plenty of time to partake in activities other than school work.

If the community of Bishop’s wasn’t tight and interactive enough due to the low number of students, then the low amount of class time definitely induces students to become more involved with one another. When you are only scheduled for 15 hours of school a week, there are an infinite number of possibilities of how one can pass the time. An incredibly high percent of Bishop’s students are jocks, and nearly all of the remaining non-jocks play intramurals. We have a Student Representative Council (SRC) to get involved in, and we have a school newspaper that needs students to do the writing. But, if school-organized extra-curricular activities aren’t your thing – no problem. Bishop’s has its own golf course to play on, though it isn’t very useful this time of year. OH, but there is another little attraction in proximity which is highly frequented by Gaiters this time of year, perhaps you’ve heard of it, Jay Peak? This mountain is less than an hour away, and gets more snow than Mount Sunshine out west! Or, if your not really the hustle and bustle type, that’s fine, this downtime obviously doesn’t have to be spent actively. Read a book, play NHL ’10, or watch some movies. Shamefully, I must confess that I have spent some of my time watching episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm on mornings after being out late at the Gait…

Yes, there are must do’s which take time. There’s a load of homework, which “has” to be completed . Laundry must be done, as well as eating and cleansing of course (did you know that the average person will spend three years of their life going to the bathroom?). However, Bishop’s gives students the unique opportunity to maximize their involvement in extra-curricular activities, which is just another reason why Bishop’s University is one of the greatest choices anyone can make.

Dancers from last years show

It’s exactly one week to the show and I’m just sitting in my bed going over all that needs to be done. I also am going over the soccer game I just played in Sherbrooke. My muscles are sore and heavy but thank goodness my thinking is clear. I still can’t believe the fashion show is already at this point. It seemed like yesterday it was the beginning of school and we were having fashion show committee meetings and slowly starting to plan the show. We have come so far from just getting to know each other and sharing what our hopes for the show were, to realizing what each of us envisioned. I cannot thank the committee enough for how much work each one of us has put into the show. As I’ve learned in business, working in a team can sometimes be a struggle to meet your end goal. The fashion show committee is motivated and works really well together. I couldn’t have asked for a more committed group.

Tickets have been on sale now for about a week now and sales have been steady. I am really hoping we can sell out the show and that all the proceeds will go to UNICEF. When I heard of the earthquake that struck Haiti, I immediately thought of what the UNICEF representative told me over the phone when I had called her a while back. She mentioned if a disaster were to occur, if it would be possible for us to put our funds towards that, instead of gifts of magic. I was on board, but was naïve and thought to myself that it was unlikely. But as I sometimes forget, life is real and you never know what will happen. With Canada for Haiti playing on the TV tonight it is evident Haiti needs so much help. It makes me proud to be at Bishop’s University knowing that so many people are coming to the show and are giving money to what they know will go towards UNICEF’s aid in Haiti. Now its past midnight and less than a week to the show! I better rest my legs, and get ready for another hectic day.

Dear Blog Readers,
Once again getting into the swing of things, for the last time in my Bishop’s career. Frost week is just coming to an end and it has been a great one. I can for say for the first time that I sumo wrestled at happy hour, and lost horribly. Those suits are shockingly heavy (at least that’s my excuse). This was followed by a great win for the Gaiters in men’s basketball. In overtime they won and the court was rushed by a wave of purple! Tonight there is tobogganing on the golf course which is just another great thing to do here in Lennoxville.
There are always tons of events going on that are not academic, but the academic part is boppin’ too. For the second time I am taking an acting class and loving it! It is a super comfortable environment and as a person with stage fright it is great at helping with my presentations in my other business classes. In the entrepreneurship program we get to work with local entrepreneurs and help them make a difference in their company. This is very hands on and makes the class that much more interesting.
Even having five courses I have been able to make room on my weekends for Jay Peak. This is my first year getting a season’s pass and I love it already. It has rekindled my love of skiing and because it is so close I have already gone six times! This weekend the ski and snowboard club is having an event at the ski hill which is which promises to be a fun time.
To finish up I am going to just say that I am going to make the most out of my final semester and I encourage everyone else to do the same! Just because now it is a bit colder and snowing doesn’t mean that the fun stops!
Until next time fellow students.

So here in the prairies the weather has been almost impossibly warm. (At least for January). Could winter really be over? Doubtful. Here in Sask, winter is a love/hate thing. Most people would agree that the weather sucks but the activities rule.

On the gobishops website, I noticed a question about the weather in Lennox. Needless to say, winter is winter. On the bright side, to all those scared of the chilly winters, think of Frost Week. I would check out some pictures from the gobishops website. Frost Week is one of the great things about Bishop’s. They make sure that winter doesn’t suck too much by organizing activities. The small campus is perfect for walking to class in the dead of winter because it takes like 5mins.

To wrap up my rather boring post about the weather, I wish you all sunshine and melting snow. It is awesome.

Emily

It’s Saturday. Everyone officially got back a week ago. That’s a fairly short amount of time, and I ask, how am I already this busy? Here’s an update of my time since I’ve arrived back at BU.

First off is TheatreActiv. This is the winter semester’s answer to New Plays. Except this time instead of showcasing new playwrights, the scripts are chosen from the vast repertoire of published one acts. I’m stage managing Adrift, which is a one act from Bishop’s alum, Amy Valis. Directing are Ronan (one of the roommates) and Robert Tracey (one of the New Plays coordinators). It’s unusual to have two directors, but with Ronan away at the Canadian University Press conference in Edmonton this week and Rob busy gearing up to take his play Little Dickie Milburn to fringes across Canada this summer, it only makes sense. Our cast is comprised of friends Mel Hattie (one of Rob’s roommates), Andriana Chobot and Kai Barker. It’s convenient to have a small cast and even more convenient when it’s people that you see on a daily basis regardless of rehearsals. It also means that when it’s Saturday and you’re supposed to have a 9-12 rehearsal that you can meet at someone’s house (Rob and Mel’s, in this case) and have breakfast in pjs before getting down to work. The festival opens on the 24th, so it’s a fast three weeks to get this on the go.

Part of going to university is attending classes. After having gone to a week’s worth, I can safely say that this is shaping up to be one of the most interesting semesters academically. I have Lighting Design, where I’ll be working on Production II’s Oliver and the University Singers’ show; The New Journalism, with Chad Gibbs who is always a great prof; History of Children’s Lit where I get to read childhood favourites for credit; Canadian Literature Up to WWI, which is a class with under 15 students and the continuation of my Education placement. I am very excited to be back in the classroom.

Montreal and I are reacquainting ourselves after a semester long hiatus. I went back for a staff party for my summer camp last weekend and had a blast. I’m heading back on a road trip on Monday with my friends Emily and Allie to catch Tegan and Sara at Place des Arts. I already have plans for a few trips in February to the city as well. It’s nice to break out of Lenn for a while and when I have the chance to make it to my parents’ before heading back, then it’s doubly nice.

My kitchen. I realized how much I enjoy having a kitchen that I’ve stocked and where I can cook at any hour over the holidays. I became acutely aware of how often I’ll decide to cook at 11 pm for the collected hoard of people in my apartment on any given night when everyone else was fast asleep in bed back in St-Jean. I love knowing what’s in the fridge and having it all at my disposal. Last night, my friend Keira came over for Fist Pump Friday. We’ve become engrossed in the Jersey Shore phenomenon (for the sheer entertainment value, of course) and we had two episodes waiting for us online. I made seafood linguini, asparagus and garlic bread. Keira brought the wine and beer and I settled down to the first proper sit-down supper of week. It was great to take a couple hours to cook, eat and relax after running from night classes to rehearsals to work all week.

All in all, life is busy, but it’s great to be back. I’m off to make some supper and then work at the Gait. Here it goes again!

Hello all! I CANNOT believe it’s been over a month since I wrote my last blog, wishing for a stress-less exam period – which I had! Then, it was off to a three-week winter break filled with… well, many things, none of which included a computer!!

Sure, I spent all waking hours studying during the two week long exam period, but it definitely paid off. Lots of breaks pranking (rearranging dresser drawers, barricading doors with snowmen, moving bed frames to common rooms, etc) helped the studying go more smoothly. Furthermore, in the heat of exams, I had to choose my classes for this semester. Though I still managed to select a schedule where I have no class Friday, a Monday and Wednesday start at 1:30 and done by Thursday at 2, the selection of classes is still a reasonably difficult task! First-years are the last to chose courses (something about the hierarchy being in favor of upper years… pffft), so most of the interesting classes were filled when I tried to get into them, as were the classes at the best times. Regardless, everyone I know was able to get into all the classes they need for their major along with the electives that suit their fancies. Course selection occurs online from a BU database, where you browse classes, read descriptions, and then request to be in the courses that interests you. Another task that occurred right during exam period was ‘house hunting’. The first step in house hunting is to identify a few landlords, and then wander around town to view the housing options they offer you. My three buds and me ended up scoring a house in a great location (three steps away from the beer store) that is in great condition. Again, it is nice to have that job ticked off the to-do list, but house hunting was still a highly time consuming job! And though in the end I am happy with the outcome of everything, those last few weeks were brutally busy and I don’t believe I can be blamed for taking a three-week vacation without using a keyboard!

I’m back at BU now.  My vacation was filled with hanging out with old friends, skiing and very fun family trips; though it is sad that such a marvelous break had to come to an end, I am more than overwrought for another semester with my fellow purple gaiters. Frost week has already begun, with fun activities such as tobogganing on the golf course, dodgeball, moustache competitions and sumo wrestling. There will be more games of puck, many a trip to the slopes, more fun times at the Lion and at the Gait… oh, and I believe there’s something called ’school’ which is also starting up…

Happy new years gaiters, and here’s to another sidesplitting semester!

It’s January 9th, and in two days I’ll be starting my last winter semester at Bishop’s. Crazy. But all that drama aside, winter semester is awesome. Fall semester is so great, some people might wonder how this one could compete, but trust me, it does, and it does in a way different style. The semester kicks off with Frost week, which this year has taken off and promises to be the best one yet. To name just one event, the outdoor dodgeball tournament on optimist field is always a lot of fun. After frost week, well! The area is covered in a foot of snow, so the opportunities for fun outside are practically endless. In first year we would walk around campus with our snowskates and slide down any hills we could find, not to mention the golf course, where most nights friends would meet up and toboggan down the hill in front of the fifth hole green. The golf course is great because in the winter it becomes the perfect place for snowshoeing or cross country skiing.

Winter semester is also the time when most of the Gaiter’s basketball season takes place, and those home games are always a great times, and usually we get to do some bus trips to see them play away from home. I won’t mention too much about snowboarding and Jay Peak, as I got that covered in an earlier post, but just an update; I have already been to Jay seven times this season, and the snow is amazing.

So to summarize… winter semester is amazing, and definitely not the time to hibernate, especially not in this place where it is so easy to do fun stuff out in the snow. Booyahcashaw

oh and check out Scott below shredding Green Buret at Jay Peak

Well here in SK, we are currently on our winter break. I always wondered why they left finals until after the break. I would prefer to start the new year with new classes and a fresh start, shall we say. That’s also the way I look at school, a new start. I am blessed to have to chance to further my education. I wonder about the students who don’t have enough money to go where they choose.

Bishop’s entrance scholarships are some of the highest that I have ever seen. You can still get a large scholarship by having over 80% which is practically unheard of at other schools I have looked at. Also, they offer guaranteed rez for first year students. The security in knowing I’ll have a good place to stay reassures my mom. As well, students with a scholarship get $1,000 off rez. They offer so many different types of rooms. Check them out. http://www.ubishops.ca/residence/index.html

Enjoy your holidays all,

Emily