Classics Students' Union

Classics Students' Union The Classics Students' Union (CLASSU) is the body representing Undergraduate Classics and Classical Civilization students at the University of Toronto.

We exist to promote and encourage the study of the literature, language, history, and culture of the ancient Mediterranean world.

Congratulations to our new Summer Senate!! ✨
04/30/2022

Congratulations to our new Summer Senate!! ✨

Meet Khushi (she/her)!——————————Hello! My name is Khushi Sharma and I am running for an Executive Position in the CLASSU...
04/29/2022

Meet Khushi (she/her)!
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Hello! My name is Khushi Sharma and I am running for an Executive Position in the CLASSU spring elections. As a student at the University of Toronto involved in many activities and extracurriculars in and outside of school such as being on the school newspaper to being a part of sports teams, I consistently spend time in leadership roles and am full of creative ideas in how we can foster a familial environment and work towards multiple goals together. CLASSU does a fantastic job at bringing individuals with similar interests together and creates a safe space for them to explore their likes and dislikes. If elected, on top of abiding by and fulfilling my Executive responsibilities such as attending meetings, run events and initiatives, and help share the workload and contribute to innovation in CLASSU. I plan to broaden the horizons by working towards offering more student inclusion opportunities for garnering interpersonal relationships in a series of events and workshops. What I have to give is perseverance, hard work, and the ability to work with others in challenging situations while maintaining a sense of humour. As Executive, I will make this a memorable year for you. If elected, I will continue to advocate for issues that matter to students, no matter how large or small they may be. Let's join forces to leave our mark on this community and the world. I'm requesting your vote for Executive today.I've prepared myself to serve as an Executive by taking on extra work throughout my educational career by volunteering and organizing multiple team building events in the community at recreational centers as well as libraries. The student council collaborates with the student body and administration to guarantee the success of student events throughout the year I plan to exercise my responsibilities to ensure such. If you elect me, I will listen to your issues, ideas and suggestions and will work tirelessly on your behalf to make them a reality.Thank you very much for your time.

04/29/2022

Meet Tessa (she/her)!
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Hey guys! My name is Tessa Clare, I use she/her pronouns, and I’m running for CLASSU senate. I’m just finishing up my second year, and I’m double majoring in Classical Civilizations and Celtic studies. I’m running because ever since I got into Classics, I have loved this community that I have become a part of and now I not only want to get more involved, but also give something back to the lovely people in this department. I started my first year of UofT online which did make it hard to meet people, so I hope that I’m able to get more in touch with other Classics students through CLASSU.

After having no prom and no highschool graduation, it really felt surreal getting into university. But when I took my first Classics course, not only did I fall in love with the material, but the people I met online were so warm and so welcoming. I really felt like I had found a group of people that I can relate to and feel comfortable with.

So, I would love to help make the study of Classics more widely known by expanding our online presence, and holding more events that can not only bring more people in; but also teach people some of the amazing things we learn as Classics students. I think it would be great to post infographics on our social media pages about some of our favourite topics in the study of Classics, and also work on events where we get to keep working and bonding as a team. I also love the idea of bringing arts into our agenda– be it material artwork, writing, or even performing some Greek plays that we get to read! Discussions about Classical reception pieces are also a fun way to get people interested in Classics, just like how Madeline Miller did! In all, the Classics community is already becoming a wonderful, diverse community to be a part of, and working together and bringing even more people in only makes it that much more wonderful.

Thank you for listening!

04/29/2022

Meet Piper (she/they)!
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Classics is a study of the past, but that doesn’t mean we must be stuck there. As an Executive with the Classics Student Union, I would work tirelessly to make classical studies at UofT more open and accessible. As a copy editor with the Plebeian Undergraduate Journal, I am familiar with and have enjoyed working with many students in the UofT Classics program, but I can also see where we may grow as a community. If I am elected, I will work to create a database of research opportunities, conferences and grants that is readily available for all Classics students, consolidating all of our options into one convenient space. As well, I would work to foster a mentorship program for students to interact with each other and with their professors more easily, and with more tangible results. Classics has often been considered a closed, niche practice, but I would work to open up the discipline to casual enjoyers of classical study, and make space for committed students to thrive in this community.

04/29/2022

Meet Teodora (she/her)!
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Hello everyone! My name is Teodora and I’m running for Senate in this Spring Election. I’m a Classical Civilization and French Language Learning double major and my primary area of interest is in classical reception, especially modern reception.

While I wasn’t always in the Classical Civilization program, the welcoming community of the Classics department has had the biggest impression on me as an upper-year student, and I wish to promote these values in my position as a Senator. After two (three?) difficult years of switching between online and in-person classes, I believe students should have as much support as possible, both academic and social. The integration of seminars focused on post-graduate opportunities would help upper-year students navigate their transition out of their undergraduate programs whilst also giving lower-year students an opportunity to plan toward their future goals.

With a fun summer semester ahead and the world slowly getting back to normal, an increased number of Classics-themed socials and events is going to help students meet new people and foster new friendships. After all, we’re social creatures and these little breaks will be vital for maintaining mental health and wellness during an accelerated summer semester. I want to bring back visits to the ROM (especially with Kore in the house) for both social and educational events and introduce creative socials such as re-enacting an ancient play from memory or trivia nights, just for fun! Maybe even start a Classics Reception Book Club where we get to read (or listen to) a modern novel inspired by an ancient story.

Lastly, I want us to be able to show off how proud we are of being a part of the Classics department by bringing in a line of merch. I, for one, live in hoodies and sweats and would love to represent this wonderful community in comfy fashion.

Thanks for taking your time to read my little blurb and I thank you in advance for your support!

04/28/2022

Meet Saiba (she/they)!
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Hello, my name is Saiba Anand and I am currently a third year student studying a double major in Classical Civilizations and Political Science, with a minor in art history. I have been a senator on the Classics Students Union for one year now, taking up the role of secretary. My position has allowed me to become acquainted with the functioning of CLASSU, especially under a hybrid model to ensure that all students feel comfortable yet included, due to the ongoing pandemic. My
role granted me numerous responsibilities, including running the social media accounts (Instagram and TikTok), taking meeting minutes and notes, running the social media committee, setting up social events, such as pub nights and online events on gather, in addition to attending department and ASSU meetings that make sure our students union has a great connection to professors/administrators!

If I am elected VP I hope to bring some positive reforms and improvements to the students union! This includes organizing the senate through straightforward delegation of responsibilities, making sure that committees understand their duties and are on top of their work, so our groups can be as efficient as possible. I also want to focus on outreach and building a community for Classics students to get to know one another, hopefully with more in person events such as ROM trips or game nights! I’ve also always had a dream of wanting to do a little end of year gala for students to let off steam after the term! Additionally, I would love to also spruce up the
lounge and bring antiquity into the 2020s, so that it is a space for students to be both focused and committed to their studies, but also gives people a chance to hang out and let off steam in between classes!

Thank you so much for electing me as secretary last year, I’ve had an amazing time on the classics students union and I hope you’ll elect me this spring for VP!

04/27/2022

Meet Karuna (she/they)!
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Hi, everyone! My name is Karuna and I am running to be your 2022-2023 CLASSU President! Right now I am in my third year double majoring in Latin and Classical Civilizations and minoring in Education.

I served as the 2020-2021 Secretary, and am currently finishing up my term as Vice-President. Throughout this time, I have been so incredibly lucky to meet many amazing people who have made my experience at UofT that much better.

CLASSU, ever since I stepped into Lillian Massey on the first day of first year, has been synonymous with community. To this end, I am incredibly committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcomed and encouraged to participate in CLASSU affairs. Per the CLASSU Constitution, all members of CLASSU are entitled to request the notes from executive meetings in order to stay up to date. However, practically, I know that this is easier said than done– it can be intimidating to approach a CLASSU senator to request this. For this reason, if elected, I would love to make a permanent home for the CLASSU minutes on our website so that every CLASSU member can easily access them at their convenience.

Moreover, I would love to continue to plan and organize events for the upcoming school year and create a welcoming environment for everyone involved in the department, whether they are in first or fifth year. In the past two years, amidst the pandemic and incredibly isolating online classes, we have been able to incorporate Classics students from around the world in our movie nights and Academic Seminars. I would like to continue these initiatives throughout the upcoming year so that we can include both commuter students and interested members of the community as the pandemic unfortunately continues. I would also like to ensure that the lounge is fully opened as a place to relax and socialize safely between classes and that the Discord that was launched this year fully comes to fruition not only to provide a sense of community outside of class hours but also to allow first and second-year students to seek advice and help from upper-year students because community is truly at the core of CLASSU and deserves to be centered.

Thank you so much for your time and I hope you’ll vote for me for CLASSU President!

04/27/2022

Meet John (he/him)!
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Hello everyone! My name is John Liao, a third (and soon-to-be fourth!) year student double-majoring in Classics and Classical Civilization, and I am running to be your President for the upcoming school year.
I have been involved with CLASSU and its associated projects since my first year at UofT, and many of you will have seen me at various department initiatives as a result: I served as senator in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 years, worked on the former Sermo Vulgaris podcast between 2020-21, and am currently serving as Editor-in-Chief of our undergraduate journal Plebeian. I am beyond honoured to be putting such tested experience towards a campaign I am confident will help CLASSU better serve its students.
I am committed to passing serious structural changes to the union in order to increase Accessibility, Transparency, and Community. I want to reprise the lounge book lending system that had been abandoned at the outset of the pandemic -- providing print resources that can actually be taken out of the library, especially​​ the language textbooks that are so prohibitively expensive and limit access to language courses, must be a priority to make studying Classics at UofT truly equitable. I additionally want to make all executive meetings open to the public, so that any member of the department feels welcome to participate in their own government and can raise their concerns in a dedicated environment -- to this end, I am also committed to publishing all meeting minutes and budget records online. I am additionally committed to increasing the number of community events in general, maintaining certain physical events while continuing to offer accessible digital events for our extended community across the university and the globe (especially in the midst of an ongoing pandemic). I am finally committed to taking our students' safety seriously in any way our union is able, despite loosening restrictions from the school at large: as the union has done with food in the past, I hope to maintain a stash of masks and sanitation equipment in the Lounge free of charge for all Classics students.

Have a paper from a course that you're really proud of? Another project you've been working on? Submit your papers, Pleb...
12/04/2021

Have a paper from a course that you're really proud of? Another project you've been working on? Submit your papers, Pleb would love to see them!!!

JOIN US FOR COFFEE HOUR ☕️ ✨We’d love to have you come and chat with us and some professors TOMORROW for coffee hour! We...
12/03/2021

JOIN US FOR COFFEE HOUR ☕️ ✨We’d love to have you come and chat with us and some professors TOMORROW for coffee hour! We know it can be intimidating to speak to profs, but we promise they’re eager to meet you as much as you them!🥖☕️ Plus‼️‼️‼️ IF YOU COME TO COFFEE HOUR YOU CAN GET A FREE HOT CHOCOLATE FROM THE LOUNGE ANY TIME NEXT WEEK!!!

link to the gather: gather.town/app/U1nArJwuLH6x3G7X/LI%20Lounge

Plebeian is taking submissions for papers! Be sure to submit if you're interested :)
12/01/2021

Plebeian is taking submissions for papers! Be sure to submit if you're interested :)

Come join us for the Academic Seminar!
11/26/2021

Come join us for the Academic Seminar!

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LI 009, 125 Queen's Park Crescent
Toronto, ON
M5S2C7

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