University of Toronto Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1827

Founded in 1827 as King's College at York, the University of Toronto is one of Canada's oldest universities. It is ranked as Canada's top research university, and one of the leaders in all of North America. In the 2004-5 academic year, there were 60,000 full time students enrolled in the various courses at the University of Toronto, in 17 fields of study.

Answer: 7

New, University, Trinity, St. Michael's, Innis, Woodsworth, and Victoria are the seven colleges that comprise the undergraduate world at University of Toronto. All colleges have their own residences and other facilities, but students from all the colleges attend the same courses together. All colleges have a prestigious history, and rivalries exist on a friendly level, like in intramural sports or during Frosh Week.

Answer: False

The seating capacity of Convocation Hall is only 1,700. Many classes manage to fill up this large auditorium, known to the students as "Con Hall". First-year classes like psychology, biology, chemistry, and sociology are notorious for filling up the capacity of this massive hall. And if you fall asleep during a lecture, believe me, no professor will ever be able to notice.

Answer: True

University of Toronto is actually comprised of three campuses, the main one, St. George Campus, is located in downtown Toronto, and two others are located in Scarborough and Mississauga, two suburbs of the city. Many students from Mississauga and Scarborough attend classes downtown, but classes are usually offered in all three locations.

In addition, The University of Toronto owns and runs other faculties: the Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill, a town north of Toronto; The Institute for Aerospace Studies which is located in northwestern Toronto; The Koffler Scientific Reserve, a biological research station, located farther north of Toronto, west of the town of Newmarket.

Answer: Casa Loma

Casa Loma is located just north of the St. George campus. The campus stretches from Bay St. in the east to Spadina Ave. in the west, and from Bloor St. in the north to College St. in the south. To walk across campus is at least a 20 minute walk (unless you're late for a class, and then you power-walk)! Other buildings located within the University of Toronto campus are the Royal Conservatory of Music and The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Answer: The Varsity Blues

The Varsity Blues are the varsity sports team. A true fact about them, the Blues' football team hadn't won a GAME in seven seasons, I'm talking about 2001 to 2007! This set the record as the longest losing streak in Canadian university history at 49 games. The streak was finally snapped on September 1, 2008 with an 18-17 win over the Waterloo Warriors. The Blues last had a winning season before this awful streak way back in 1995.

The University of Toronto is definitely more of an academic school than an athletic school, although the lacrosse and hockey teams are rather decent. The Blues also have a program for high school students called the Junior Blues. All this and more can be seen on the website - www.varsityblues.ca .

Answer: Construction of the first ruby laser

The first ruby laser was developed at the Hughes Research Laboratory in California by Theodore Maiman in 1960. All of the other achievements were undertaken at the University of Toronto, and the list goes on: the development of insulin; development of the anti-blackout suit, later adapted to create the astronaut space suit; creation of the infant cereal Pablum; construction of the first chemical laser.

Many more noteworthy inventions and discoveries were conceived, built, and perfected within University of Toronto's many laboratories.

Answer: Anti-Calendar

The Anti-Calendar is published twice a year, basing its results and criticisms not only on the grades that students received in all of the courses, but also on the questionnaires that students fill out towards the end of a class, that each student union diligently compiles and evaluates.

Now, knowing what classes to take is made much easier, and knowing which professors are to be avoided is not word-of mouth any more! It can be picked up in person at SAC or any of the student unions, or downloaded online at www.assu.ca .

Answer: Hart House

Hart House is the popular alternative to the Athletic Centre for university students. Both sites offer pools, indoor jogging tracks, basketball and other ball courts, fully equipped gymnasiums, and showers with towel service. Tuition paid to the University of Toronto automatically bestows membership to both of these institutions, and its not uncommon for students to go between classes to get some exercise. Get with the program at www.harthouse.utoronto.ca !

Answer: College

College subway stop is located two blocks east of the campus. The campus is so large, that four subway stops are located next to the university's buildings. On average, every morning over 35,000 students commute to school, and get off at Spadina, St. George, Museum, and Queen's Park to get to their classes.

Answer: Management

Ranked 72nd in the world in 1998, Rotman's School of Management has risen to 21st in 2005, the highest ranked Business School in Canada. Using an innovative curriculum, state-of-the-art classrooms with cutting edge technology, and professors from around the world, Rotman's has created a valuable learning atmosphere for any business student.

Answer: True

Indeed, the budget has been over one billion Canadian dollars (that's $1,000,000,000) for the past few years. Surprisingly, the university operates at a profit, giving back about $1.11 for every one dollar funded to the university.

Answer: ROSI

ROSI, the Repository Of Student Information, is the online resource that all students log on to. Whether its to get tax forms or final marks, to vote in elections or to see the results, ROSI is the place to be. It will even make a schedule for you, after you've selected the courses for the semester. It can be accessed at www.rosi.utoronto.ca !

Answer: Sir Robert Falconer

Sir Robert Falconer served as President of the University of Toronto from 1907 to 1932. Appointed to office when he was only forty years old, he oversaw the expansion of many of the university's facilities such as Simcoe Hall, Hart House, and Varsity Stadium and Arena. During the First World War, despite public protests, Sir Robert refused to fire any German-born professors employed by University of Toronto.

Answer: John P. Robarts

John Parmenter Robarts, born in 1917 in Banff, Alberta, Canada, was the 17th Premier of Ontario, and later on, the Minister of Education for Ontario. He promoted Ontario's rapid expansion, which at the time was one of the highest in the world. He was an advocate of individual rights, even when it meant taking away from the government's power.

He promoted the education in Ontario by setting up provincial scholarship funds and laying the cornerstones for York University and the Ontario Science Centre. Other sites are named for Mr. Robarts such as the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario, and the Robarts School for the Deaf in London, Ontario.