Never leave any valuable thing in the library without paying attention.

I feel upset today because when I tried to search for books and rewrite my research paper, I lost my cell phone in the Bronfman Library. It sucked. I did not leave my phone for a long time, but still, somebody took it away while I was checking the bookshelf right beside the table where I was sitting. Although I went to the service table and told the lady that I had lost my cell phone, she said they were not able to help me because they are not supposed to set up monitors in the study area. Afterwards, I realized it was not the right time to be upset; instead, I should shut the calling service down to avoid “that guy” using my phone to call somebody abroad. Then I went to the nearest Rogers shop and asked them to cancel or freeze the service until I got a new phone. I remember that one of my friends lost her new PDA in the library of Seneca College. The situations are quite the same—we both left for a very short period of time. I just want to warn people that library is really an unsafe place for your personal stuff.

Introduction to Film (for non-majors)

This class took place in the Price Family theatre in Accolade East Building. This is a full-sized movie theatre with a big screen. It also has a blackboard at the front, under the screen, but we can't figure out who would use it, since the teacher would have to write really, really big letters. The professor had a shaved head and wore a dark blue suit with a blue shirt and no tie (exactly the same clothes as in his picture on his York University web page). He sounded exactly like a TV movie reviewer, maybe like Roger Ebert, or maybe even Mr. Cranky in real life – except that he seemed to be happier. He spent a lot of time runiing over to the side of the room to load up DVDs of movies so he could show clips during his lecture.

The students seemed relaxed. There were about 350 of them, first and second year students, and they said the professor was a fun guy, but a little disorganized. They handed in their first writing assignment for the course at the beginning of the lecture. That took 20 minutes. The assignment was 500 words on “a cinematic experience.” The students said they had written their assignments and passed them around in tutorial class to get comments from other students, and then revised them. Now, the professor (or maybe the graduate students) would read them and make comments, and then they would revise them again.

In the lecture, the professor showed clips of a lot of different movies, to demonstrate different techniques of narration in classic Hollywood films and more experimental films. In CHC (Classic Hollywood Cinema), there are always two narrative lines: the progatoganist's public quest (maybe, the detective trying to discover who committed the crime) and the protagonist's private quest (probably a romance). He showed a scene from The Big Sleep (1946) as an example of a bit of romance: this scene between Hunphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall was added after the film was made, in order to put more romance into it. Notice the "coded" way they talk about romance (this scene is famous for that), and notice that the detective's public quest is interfering with his private one.

Further, movies can tell stories by restricted narration (when the camera sees only what the main character sees; this often happens in detective stories) or unrestricted narration (where the camera, and the audience, see more than the character sees). Usually, movies do both, in a careful mixture. He showed this scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964) as an example of clever mixing of restricted and unrestricted narration. Watch it carefully: when do you know only what Marnie knows, and when do you know more than she knows?

The Professor seemed to be happiest was when he would ask the class if anyone there had seen a movie he was going to show, and only a couple of hands went up. That would make him laugh.

tennis at York University

Have you ever been to the tennis club of York university? There are many superior tennis players who are waiting for you. In this session, the most exciting thing I did was to join the tennis club of York University. Actually, I like playing tennis very much, but I was not sure about whether I could join the tennis club of York University or not. One day, I went to the club and asked them about it. When they allowed me to join the club, I was very excited. When they talked about some things that I didn't understand, they were very patient and kind in explaining them to me again. Likewise, I’m not a York degree student; sometimes I can’t go to practice because I have to go to my own class. They allowed me to be absent for some practices. I appreciated that. We had a lot of fun. We always encouraged each other when we were in matches. I like to attend this club, and also this is a good chance to learn English. I learned some idioms and some oral skills from them. They often helped me to progress in many different ways. For example, when I went onto the court to play, I often segregated myself because I didn’t know how to talk with people. Somebody saw this situation; he told me to relax and not to be afraid. They tried to get in and understand my world. I felt very pleased when I talked to them about my hometown or my culture. They also play good tennis; I have never seen such superior players as them. We had a lot of fun with each other. When we completed our practice, they always told me funny things about their childhood. We shared good times with each other. Now, I’m not sure which university I will study in and where I would prefer to live, but if I study in York University in Canada, I will join the club until graduation. I have to say thanks to those club members because I have learned many things from them. I like this moment. I hope that more and more students will join the tennis club in future.

Volunteering at York

Volunteer

Have you ever volunteered? Would you like to work as a volunteer? If yes, you should come with me and join the Student Alumni Program-York is U which is the best organization in York University.

After I got the information from Don, I thought it was worth a try, so I sent an email to them to ask for details about this organization. After a short time, I got an email back. There was a general meeting on Oct.2nd. I went to this meeting, which was like a welcome party. First of all, we signed our application forms, and then we started our games. We were introduced to York is U, a Student Alumni Program which makes York a spirited, clean, safe and fun place for everyone. YorkisU members believe that York should be a source of pride and a place where students can return, year after year, even after they graduate. When we join this organization, we can gain valuable experience volunteering, make a lot of friends and learn the skills of leadership. There are many events in York University, such as York’s Birthday, the Stress Buster Carnival, Green Week, and Halloween. These cool events are all created by York is U. Thus, they provide a positive volunteer experience and leadership opportunities through participation. So, you should come and join us to be a volunteer, whether you have volunteered for anything before or not. At the orientation, we introduced ourselves and played games to remember each others' names. Food and drink were provided for the party. We could talk to the Director or Coordinator–Members one on one. At the meeting, they also gave out awards to people who had made a great contribution to this organization. A Member is any York student volunteer who has volunteered a minimum of 16 hours during a single York is U year and has attended a volunteer Orientation. So, you get your chance to be a volunteer first, then to be a member of York is U. As a member, you can have a lot of privileges. For example, you can attend an exclusive pinning ceremony where you receive your York is U membership pin, and personal congratulations from a top ranking University official. You can get exclusive invitations to York is U holiday and end-of-year parties. Members will receive an official recognition certificate at the end-of-year party to recognize them and thank them for their contributions. We had a lot fun in the general meeting. We also signed up for the coming events. Finally, we got a cool uniform at the end of the meeting.

Last week, I went to help them to prepare for Green Week. We painted banners and made Bristol boards. I have started my volunteer activity. How about you? Come and join me! There is a lot of fun to be had here. By the way, as I know, I’m the only person who is studying in YUELI who is a mamber here. That means that by joining this organization, you can learn English as well!!!

York is U - Student Alumni Program

York University326 Student Centre

4700 Keele StreetToronto, Ontario

M3J 1P3
Phone: 416.736.5492
Email: yorkisu@yorku.ca
Website: http://www.yorkisu.ca/

Chinese Student Association

After I finished the general meeting of York is U, I went around the student center and went to the fourth floor. I found another cool organization there, which is called the Chinese Student Association. The people in this club are very friendly. Frankie Chen, events director, told me that the Chinese Student Association is a club with 36 years of history at York University. They welcome everyone who is of Chinese descent to join this club. I signed the form and then I paid ten dollars for a membership card which is a Chinese Student Association at York University membership ID. It’s cool being a member of this club; you can get a lot of benefits. For example, you can get a discount on Canada's Wonderland tickets. There were four people playing mahjong at the front of the office. That was surprising. They told me that they are students in different classes at York University. They always get together and chat with each other. Frankie said, “This club can help Chinese students to enjoy university life. Also, students will feel they belong to Chinese culture.” At the end of our conversation, Frankie asked me if I was interested in being an executive because he had found out I had three years of experience as Chairman in my Student Union at home. I told him that I would try to apply it because I could improve my leadership skills. Finally, Frankie emphasized that although this club is the Chinese Student Association, they would use English in speaking and writing. Therefore, you should come and join me in this club because you can have a lot fun here. It is also a good place to learn English!!!


Club Office: Room 419, Student Centre
Website: http://www.yorku.ca/ycsa
YorkCSA forum: http://www.yorku.ca/ycsa/bbs
Facebook: YCSA [Chinese Students' Association at York]

Edison