State of the Union The Varsity takes the campus’ pulse on the eve of the summit
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 06
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
7 October, 2013
Emma Sexton at Loretto College. jennifer Su/the varSity
Christian residence only option for some The Varsity investigates Loretto College, a private residence affiliated with St. Michael’s College Sarah Niedoba & Jerico Espinas VARSITY STAFF
The year she graduated from high school, Emma Sexton was accepted to the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Toronto with the usual residence guarantee. She grew up in a small town in the Niagara region and knew little about university residence or Toronto life. Excited about the prospect of living at her school of choice, Sexton applied for residence New College and University College, and didn’t think any more about the matter for several months. Sexton received several emails saying she would hear about residency in late June, but that date came and went without a residence offer. Finally, just six days before the payment deadline,
she was offered a space at Loretto College, a private, all-female residence affiliated with St. Michael’s College. Sexton says she was “disappointed about being put in Loretto,” but took the spot because she was not offered an alternative. After moving into Loretto, Sexton quickly learned that it was not like most other residences at U of T. The philosophy statement in the Loretto residence agreement reads, in part: “Life at Loretto College focuses on participation and involvement in a supportive Christian academic community.” The agreement goes on to state that the College has the right to make policies that “implement the philosophy of the College,” but that discrimination will not be tolerated. Students are required to sign the agree-
ment, agreeing to “adhere” to the college’s philosophy. Over the past three months, The Varsity spoke with over fifteen current and former Loretto students; although their experiences differed, many of them expressed discomfort with the college’s unique policies and residence life. StudentS uncomfortable with “conServative” reSidence life Sexton described an experience when she signed out a male guest two minutes after curfew, and the porter said to her: “I signed you out at 10:00 — otherwise they talk.” Sexton recalled that this experience made her feel strange. “I assumed ‘they’ were the staff. It made me uncomfortable that I was going to be perceived differently because of two minutes,” she said.
ARTS
Many students took issue with the restrictions on when men can be in certain parts of the college. The residence agreement from 2012 states that male visitors are not permitted in residence rooms between Monday and Wednesday and are only allowed during certain visiting hours on other days. The policy that men are restricted to certain hours is publicly available on the U of T Housing website, but is not available on the Loretto webpage. Caitlin Scinocca, another student who did not apply to live at Loretto but was placed there, described her discomfort with this policy: “The fact that there were male visiting hours really bothered me,” she explained. “If I’m paying good money for a room, at least let my friends come hang out during frosh week,
or let my dad up to the room.” Julia Kemp, an exchange student, said that she felt the policy was far too restrictive. “I understand that U of T needs a space where it is all-girls due to demand and religious reasons. However, if I have a single room I see no reason whatsoever why I should not be allowed a male in my room,” she said, adding that she “felt like she was treated like a girl in a boarding school.” Another student, who lived in Loretto for two years and requested anonymity, said that these regulations are “ostensibly in accordance with Catholic doctrine to discourage any kind of fornication. Nobody really knows why, and I’ve never gotten a straight answer. That is all fine
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