Welcome to Studentopia

Hello! Welcome to Studentopia, I'm Rob LeForte and this is my lil' blog. I hope you'll check it out for updates of what is going on at my job, also, there might be some extras thrown in from time to time. For now, These are my opening thoughts so you'll know what to expect...

When most students leave university, for better or worse, they will look back on that experience as one which played a significant role in shaping who they are for the rest of their life. To varying degrees we will say that it was a time for discovering new ideas and perspectives, making decisions, meeting new people, working, building new relationships and networks, or, that it was a time for learning.

Learning often seems to be categorized separately from these other experiences. This should not be the case. Rather, learning ought to be distinguished as that which fully encompasses the other components of a students university career. More kinds of learning take place than the type that is experienced in the classroom, lab, or library. Ask any student who balances classroom learning and assignments with work, sport, student government, or volunteerism if what they are participating in is a type of learning and they will be sure to answer that it is.

Sidney Joseph Perelman, American screenwriter and humourist once quipped "Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century." Dalhousie University's mission is "Learning, discovery and innovation, and engagement (with our students, the university and the world)." What I try to do, daily, at the Dalhousie Student Union is to promote the idea that students can and will lead the way in getting Dalhousie to fulfill its mission. Students will learn, will discover, will innovate, and will engage (each other, the university and the world). It is up to us to make sure that the University is preparing us for the world which SJ Perelman predicted, one that has come upon us much faster than I think even he would have expected.

I hope you will follow this account through the coming weeks as I have started it for the purpose of reporting back from The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations' Annual Lobby Conference in Ottawa coming up in March. Shannon Zimmerman and I will be attending as representatives from the DSU. Please don't hesitate to bring up any questions or concerns - dsuvped@dal.ca