NEW RESIDENCE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR UTM
A new initiative set to launch this fall at UTM will bring academic mentors closer to home for first-year students living in residence.
In an effort to provide new students with accessible one-on-one mentoring, the Residence Academic Mentorship Program will pair 25 senior students living in res with first-year students who share the same disciplinary background.
Group-study sessions and guest speakers will round out the program, which has the improvement of students’ academic skills and potential as its primary mandate. The mentorship program will allow new students to mine the knowledge of senior students and teaching assistants as they adapt to their new educational environment.
Scarborough Campus has had a similar program in place since 1999, and St. George students have had access to this type of assistance for some time. This first for UTM is expected to bring services more in line with other campuses, and gives students in Mississauga the benefits of equal access to academic support.
-DENNIS CHOQUETTE
WORLD LONELY, GETTING LONLIER: U OF T PROFS
Despite linking humans together virtually, computers and the Internet are now thought to be partially responsible for a decline in levels of sociability, according a recent study conducted by U of T scholars Glenn Stalker and William Michelson.
The study found that time spent alone amounts to 34 per cent for both singles and couples, up six per cent from numbers culled in 1986. Time spent at home is now more solitary than ever too, with 42 per cent of it being spent alone. It is here that the impact of the internet is most significant, as more time is devoted to virtual interaction, as opposed to direct interaction with friends and family.
While the study finds that all people are spending more time with friends and family outside of the home, this increase is disproportionate to the overall drop in socializing.
-DC
