FROSH 2023: University etiquette

By Valery Perez, September 5 2023—

Tip 1: Stop in the middle of the hallway, it’s free real estate

Exercise your freedom and right to the university space by stopping wherever you want. In fact, don’t worry about where you’re walking — ever. The flow of traffic doesn’t matter because you’re in uni now. You have a right to stop in the middle of the hallway at any point during the day. Bonus points if you assert your dominance by stopping abruptly during lecture change times. 

Tip 2: Sixth Floor TFDL = ideal picnic spot

Making friends can be intimidating and difficult, especially if you’re someone coming into university without other friends. To ensure you’re not lonely all year, make sure to not only make as many friends as possible but to nurture those budding relationships. The sixth floor in TFDL is the perfect peaceful place for such bonding. Make sure to gather as many of your new besties as possible, bring your tastiest (and crunchiest) snacks, and get to the core of each other’s traumas. 

Tip 3: Multitasking will keep you sane

University schedules can be overwhelming. Taking so many lectures, labs and tutorials can lead to neglecting your personal needs. A solution is to sit in the front and centre of the lecture hall to enhance your focus and reduce distractions between you and the professor. Don’t just write lecture notes though and become as efficient as possible by online shopping or catching up on your doom scrolling. You won’t have time to scroll through Tumblr in the evening when you have to power through your labs — be efficient now. I know it would seem like you doing this would distract others, but YOU’RE WRONG. You’re actually doing the people behind you a favour by helping them get some personal time in as well. 

Tip 4: Be Inquisitive 

Ask as many questions as possible during lecture. This is your time, take advantage of it. Don’t read the syllabus, it’s not detailed enough to give you the information you need. Get the course information from the professor directly, that way you won’t miss anything important. Office hours, while offered as a tool to take advantage of, are awkward. Asking so many questions directly to the prof can make you seem unprepared and unintelligent. Besides, you’re probably not the only one thinking about them. You’d be doing a favour to those too shy to come forward with their concerns.

This article is part of our humour section.