Going to Ryerson tends to give you a bit of a culture shock whenever you go to other universities. I mean, I’m originally from Hamilton, with its sprawling McMaster campus a couple minutes away; whenever I’m on campus, I feel like I’m kind of cut off from the rest of the world. I mean, whatever would we do without an Eaton’s Centre to mull around in between classes? How would we react if suddenly all the roads were barren, barricaded to motorized traffic? I mean, we’re a commuter campus enough – what would happen if we didn’t have the subway right outside our door?
So when Ryerson’s Urban Planning department held a seminar called The Role of the Campus in City Building”, I couldn’t help but be a little bit interested. With guests that included the mayor of Oshawa and Ryerson President Sheldon Levy, the docket was full of people who were no stranger to change. Sheldon’s done a good amount of work snatching up property for the school whenever it becomes available; expanding Ryerson is becoming more and more of a possibility. It’s interesting to think of a day when Ryerson could move towards a more “normal” campus environment. I mean, sure, Gould’s been closed for next year, but a sectioned-off Ryerson? I think that might take some of the uniqueness away.
