How safe do you feel on campus? How involved are the security guards? Do the dorm rooms lock with cards or keys? Is there a lot of support between the students and the faculty (I'm going into social sciences for reference)? Is there a noticeable amount of racial targeting? Is the coursework generally demanding (examples from your program would help)? How's the food on campus? Do you feel safe in that area of Ottawa most of the time? Is not speaking french really going to be a problem?
oookay so this is gonna be a long one
How safe do you feel on campus?Ā I personally always felt quite safe on campus! uOttawa is well-lit and is also in downtown Ottawa, so even when youāre leaving campus youāre right next to a big shopping mall and the rest of the streets are also well lit. I canāt remember a lot of times in my university career where there wasnāt at least a few other people on campus, whether I was trudging home after a 10pm lecture or waiting outside the library for it to open early in the morning. I should make a pretty huge caveat that Iām a white person who for most of my uni career was fairly masculine-presenting, so I donāt know if I necessarily wouldāve been a majorā¦ target? But you asked for my experience soā¦. thatās it.
How involved are the security guards? So I was never particularly impressed with the security guards per se, but there was a really great service on campus called Foot Patrol, which is run by (pre-screened) volunteers who help you walk or bus places on your way home, especially late at night but really any time of day. Theyāll ride surprisingly far away from campus to keep you company and I always had really positive experiences with them. My interactions with security were fairly limitedāonce they were called to residence while I was at a party that got too loud and they were pretty gruff. I was always friendly to the ones in my building but I seemed to always run into ones that were just very reserved.
Do the dorm rooms lock with cards or keys?Ā I lived in Brooks residence (and also started university a solid seven years ago, so things might have changed?), but my residence building was locked with a card, and my personal room was locked with a key. For reference, Brooks is the ~apartment-style~ res ā you lived in a mini-apartment with three other people. Each person had a bedroom that locked with their own key, then there were two shared bathrooms and shared living spaceāa pretty tiny kitchen with a full-size refrigerator, an oven, a little bit of counter space, and a bigger living room with a tv and two ancient couches. There was a dinner table. It certainly wasnāt glamorous, but given that the food on uOttawa campus is pretty much garbage (or was when I went there), having my own kitchen was a huuuuuuge plus. I was also quite introverted and mostly didnāt party, and found Brooks to be a lot quieter than the other residences. There were some parties, but not as many as other residences, and it was easier to get away from them because we all had individual units and didnāt have the sort ofĀ āopen door cultureā that I saw in other residences.
Is there a lot of support between the students and the faculty (Iām going into social sciences for reference)? So I did my degree in the Faculty of Arts, but had a few classes with soc people. With one or two exceptions, I have nothing bad to say about any of the professors at the university. I found them, to a person, to be genuine and passionate and a lot of fun to be around. I strongly recommend that you go to office hours, even if you donāt need help with anything in particularāsetting yourself apart from the crowd will make your professors care about you and your success a lot more. It also, to be blunt, results in better grades. Professors are more forgiving when they can picture you while theyāre marking. Itās just human nature. I made good relationships with my professors and would even count a few of them among my friends now. When I was in third year university I had a bit of a breakdown and went around to each of my professors to explain why I was dropping their classes and taking time off, and every single of one of them was so kind and so accommodating. One of them in particular made me tea and gave me a pep talk I will remember for the rest of my life. When I was upfront with my professors about mental illness, when I came back and needed to do part-time studies, I was always given extensions and the support I needed. Treating your professors with respect, but remembering that they are human beings, goes a long, long way. If you go into their office withĀ āI know I canāt get this paper done on time, but hereās what Iāve done and hereās my plan to do better,ā there is no reason for them to say no (and if they DO say no, the clinic on campus is totally solid for sick notesāI got passes because of mental health stuff maybe four or five times.) Similarly, if youāre going to write a paper, I really encourage you to go to office hours and pitch it. Donāt ask your professor for sources or to do your work for youājust ask if the idea you have is specific enough, if they think there will be enough resources, if youāre being realistic about the issue you want to address within the page count. They are, generally speaking, there to help youāand Iāll say too that if you start out withĀ āIāve looked at x and y but really want to make sure Iām not missing any really important issues on this topic,ā they will nearly always sayĀ āIām not going to do the work for you,ā as theyāre handing you books from their bookshelves with articles or primary source material you need.
I know there are professors who are assbutts and more concerned with their research than teaching. Iām pretty sure those people donāt usually go into the social sciences.
Is there a noticeable amount of racial targeting?Ā So, Iām a white person! I donāt feel qualified to answer this question really. I can tell you that when I was in third year, there was a threat on campus (WHICH ENDED UP BEING A HOAX, BUT STILL) and the school went into lockdown, and I saw some articles from people of colour who were discriminated against trying to get into rooms to be safe for the lockdown. Thatās the only example I can think of, but from what I read institutional racism is a pretty fucking big hurdle to jump and uOttawa is not, so far as Iām aware, a magical post-racial utopia.
Is the coursework generally demanding (examples from your program would help)?Ā
Howās the food on campus? So, I graduated over a year ago and started my degree in 2010, but the entire time I was there I would say quite vehemently that the food on campus was garbage. Even on my initial tours of the campus it was obvious to me I didnāt want to be beholden to their meal plan. Thank God it wasnāt mandatory. I ate on campus as infrequently as possible. I also hung out at the freshii that was just off campus quite a lot.
That being said, itās basically connected to a mall with a giant food court that was just renovated. So thereās a lot more local options than there used to be. And people complained about the food ALL THE TIME when I was there, so I like to think maybe they did some things to make it better. But from my personal experience? Jesus frikkinā christ it was bad news bears.
Do you feel safe in that area of Ottawa most of the time? Most of the time, yes. To be honest, there was a stabbing at a shelter within a few kilometres of the university during my time there, and you hear about violence in the Market every so often. I would carefully say itās not any more dangerous than any other big city. I have been street harassed and queer-bashed and had plenty of unpleasant experiences. But I donāt really know anyone without those experiences who lives in any city of a certain size.
Is not speaking french really going to be a problem? Not really. The administration is francophone and they will usually be a little nicer to you if you can talk to them in French, but thatās because theyāre human and theyāre sick and tired of French getting thrown under the bus. uOttawa gets a lot of cred for being ~bilingual~ and ~isnāt immersion great~ and ~such culture~ but itās honestly super anglo-centric, anglo-focussed, and itās entirely possible to pass the Immersion program without actually being what most people would call bilingual. I would say most of Ottawa is MUCH more accommodating to anglos. You have nothing to worry about.
