New College

It was built originally as a residence for students in the professional faculties; there were many residences for students in the Faculty of Arts and Science, but not for those in the Faculties of Music, Engineering, Medicine,Architecture, and on, and on--the U of T is a large institution.

It is located directly across Huron Av. from Sidney Smith Hall, the main location for lectures, etc, in arts, and across the St. George Campus from Hart House. 'New' did not, in my time there, hold many lectures. Although there were some faculty appointed there, its students went elsewhere for most, if not all of their classes.

Running North from Wilcocks St., it filled several city blocks West to Spadina Ave. Its two main buildings, Wilson Hall, and Wetmore Hall were the residences for men and women. (I'm afraid I have forgotten which is which at the moment.)

The building is three-sided, and has a quadrangle openning to the South, to Wilcocks St. In warm weather students will study outside; some will play their sound systems into the quad.

On the grounds, somewhere, there is a stone owl from New College, Oxford. For the founders of the U of T in general, and New, in particular, tradition was important.

When I was very young, my first piano teacher lived near to New. On a few ocassions when he didn't teach at the College St. building of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, he taught there. I remember, vaguely, what the area looked like before the university encroached.

One of the principals of New was Donald Ivey. For many years, with another academic named Hume--whose first name escapes me--he was the co-host of the CBC program The Nature of Things, now hosted by David Suzuki.

I remeber how much I had enjoyed the program, and looked up to the hosts. Upon, not exactly meeting one of them, my opinion changed, rather as my opinion of the university, where for so long I had wanted to be.