Recent Polls


Spring 2012 issue

A large majority of students polled are interested in U of T’s work and study abroad opportunities – but only five per cent have had an international experience. Of those polled, many remarked that expense was a deterrent. However, Woodsworth College offers scholarships and bursaries through its Summer Abroad program – and the option of using OSAP or provincial grants to subsidize costs. The Centre for International Experience also offers similar opportunities.

Laura Lynch, a second-year St. Mike’s student, hopes to spend this summer studying criminology in England through the Woodsworth program, while Lina Tran, a third-year Innis student, is looking into an ecology and evolutionary biology class that focuses on fieldwork in Ecuador.

This highly unscientific poll of 100 U of T students was conducted on St. George campus in January.

 

 
Online, Jan-April 2012
If you were managing Ontario’s finances, how would you rank investment in education vs job programs, environment, health care, social services & transport…?

  • First – 30.3%
  • Second – 46.0%
  • Third – 19.7%
  • Fourth – 2.6%
  • Fifth – 0%
  • Last – 1.3%

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    Online, Dec 2011-Jan 2012
    Do you think Ontario universities should become more specialized, with some dedicated only to teaching undergraduates?

  • Yes – 50.0%
  • No – 39.8%
  • I don’t know – 10.2%

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    Winter 2012 issue
    What is the major religious event or festival you celebrate around December?
    Illustration by The Office of Gilbert Li

    Christmas is the religious holiday most students will be celebrating this December or January. But according to our poll, 34 per cent of those marking the day of Jesus’ birth are not Christian. Many are atheists or non-religious, and say they participate in the gift-giving aspect because it’s tradition. Study partners Sathya Chandrakumar and Pranovan Paranthaman, both Hindu, celebrate because they appreciate the “spirit of Christmas.”

    However, 33 per cent of students won’t be observing any religious holidays at this time, and almost half of them are Muslim. Islamic holidays follow a lunar calendar and none fall in December or January this year. While four per cent of those polled are Buddhist, none are marking Bodhi Day (or Rohatsu) this year and one will observe Mahayana Buddhist New Year. Two per cent of students polled are Jewish and both will celebrate Hanukkah, but Olivia Luyte will also observe Christmas: “My parents are from different religious backgrounds – we celebrate both.”

    This highly unscientific poll of 100 U of T students was conducted on St. George campus in September.

     

     
    Nov 2011
    Do you mark Remembrance Day by wearing a poppy, attending a service or observing a few minutes of silence?
    Photo by Dave Pike

  • Yes, all of the above – 20%
  • Yes, usually in one way or another – 70%
  • No – 10%

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    Sept-Oct 2011
    Should Willcocks Street between Huron and St. George remain permanently closed?

    Photo by Caz Zyvatkauskas

    • Yes, U of T needs more pedestrian zones – 90%
    • No, there’s not enough parking as it is! – 6%
    • How about a compromise? Open to cars for half of the year. – 4%

     

    Summer 2011 issue
    What animal do you think the Robarts Library resembles?

    Love it or hate it, the Robarts Library is one of the most talked-about buildings on campus. Designed by the firm Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde with Mathers & Haldenby and completed in 1974, it is a prime example of the Brutalist movement.

    Since its inauguration, rumours have circulated that the building was designed to look like a peacock. Others have maligned its size and aesthetic by likening it to a turkey. While the building wasn’t designed to look like any bird, the urban legends regenerate with every incoming class.

    Although peacock and turkey were the most common responses, some students likened Robarts to other birds – from the graceful swan to the portlier penguin. Others thought it resembled such large creatures as the elephant or rhinoceros. Four per cent contested that it looked like an animal at all: they were adamant that Robarts most resembles a robot.

    Spring 2011 issue
    Do your parents give you any financial help?

    Do your parents give you any financial help?

    • Yes – 64%
    • No – 36%

     

    Thousands of U of T students receive financial support from the university in the form of bursaries and scholarships. Many also tap into the Ontario Student Assistance Program for loans. However, there is another crucial, but often unsung, source of cash for financially strapped students: their parents. Almost two-thirds of the students polled receive some money from their parents to help with groceries, accommodation or tuition.

    Not surprisingly, students who received financial help from home were more likely than those who didn’t to speak with their parents frequently. Eighty-one per cent of those who received support spoke to their parents on a daily basis (many lived at home). Only 58 per cent of students who didn’t receive funds spoke to their parents that often.

    This highly unscientific poll of 100 U of T students was conducted on the St. George Campus in January 2011.
     

    Winter 2011 issue
    How many hours a week do you spend on academic work?

    How many hours a week do you spend on academic work?

    • 16-30 hours – 48%
    • 31 hours or more – 38%
    • 1-15 hours – 14%
    • Nothing – 8%

     

    The average U of T student devotes 30 hours a week to academia – including classes, readings and studying – according to our latest poll. However, he or she also logs another five hours a week in front of the laptop – on social-networking sites such as Facebook (and proving, perhaps, why Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history). Natalie Rosado, who puts in a whopping 60 hours of academic work a week, claims that “Facebook is a way to stay in touch with the real world.” David Lee, one of the 14 per cent of polled students who don’t use social networks at all, offers an opposing version of reality: “Social networks do not help you make real friends.”