Top Twenty Pieces of Laurier Advice

Depth, Nick Lachance

I came. I saw. I conquered. That is not what veritas omnia vincit means, but it is how I feel after over five years at Wilfrid Laurier University. I experienced it all – late nights in the “libe”, running out of money on my OneCard, three years at a student job on campus, getting involved with student groups and services, sitting on boards, writing for a student publication – and somehow I’m managing to come out of it all with a degree. The only thing I didn’t do at Laurier was get involved in WLUSU, which is a fact I am incredibly proud of.

Anyway, you could call me a WLU student expert. Or, you couldn’t, and I’ll just call myself that. Whatever you call me, I shall now impart advice that you never asked for:

1. The DH (Dining Hall) serves pierogies on Thursdays. I find them to be delicious, but kind of stupidly expensive. Get them, because it’s on your OneCard. You can even ask for a double order, because since when was six enough?
2. If you’re not going to work hard in your classes, at least go to the classes. I didn’t go to nearly enough and I wish I had. Those 10% participation marks are stupid to miss out on. Plus, you’re paying for class, so go. Make up the classes I missed for me.
3. If you love to protest and be radical and talk about issues and all that stuff, there is a lot for you to get involved in at Laurier.
4. If radical, protesting people easily annoy you, write about it in Blueprint.
5. Kitchener-Waterloo is a great place to live, and getting better. It has some amazing restaurants, shops, and some decent malls, too. You’ll likely spend most of your time in Waterloo, but explore Kitchener! It’s a great city; just steer clear of parts of downtown Kitchener at night. It can be scary.
6. If you are gay and you were out and proud in high school but are afraid to be out and proud at university, don’t be. People will be totally cool with it – at least the people you’ll want to hang with.
7. If you are gay and didn’t come out in high school, go to the Rainbow Centre.
8. Utilize the resources that are there for you as a student. I used very few of the available resources, which was stupid because they’re free and helpful. The Writing Centre, the Learning Centre, all that stuff. Why not at least try it out?
9. Go to professors’ office hours when you can. Introducing yourself, letting them know where you’re at, and asking questions really goes a long way.
10. If you want to have an epic experience, good or bad, go to Club Renaissance.
11. If you like sticky floors, cheap drinks, and really good times, go to Phil’s.
12. If you like high heels, martinis, and dress codes, go to Caesar’s.
13. If you like students, go to the Turret or Wilf’s.
14. You may love O-Week. You may hate O-Week. Either way, eventually O-Week is over and you can choose to do whatever you want from then on in.
15. I find that on the whole, people at Laurier are really nice.
16. Get involved with something at some point: sports, an academic club, something in the Diversity Office, something Student Publications-related, even something in WLUSU. It’s good to be involved.
17. Don’t stress too much about getting housing for second year. There’s a lot of student housing in Waterloo. If you can get something in January, go ahead, but things will pop up eventually.
18. Don’t make second year living plans too quickly. You may not like your prospective roommates by December.
19. If you feel like you royally fucked up a course, don’t panic. I did that a bunch of times, but managed to find my way out. Everybody messes up in university at least once; just learn from it and move on.
20. Most of all: be safe. In sex, in drinking, in partying, in doing whatever you do. Just be safe!