This blog is an archived post written by Marissa during her 3^rd year in the Environmental Management stream.

 

 

 

Founders College is a wonderful resource available to all Environmental Studies students. Founders is the college (a way of arranging students within York University, sort of like Hogwarts houses) associated with Environmental Studies, meaning that all BES students belong to this college. Founders has many resources available to their associate students including many common spaces.

Once you enter Founders College, down the hall and to your right are two very noteworthy spaces: The Founder's Student Council Office and Central P.A.R.C.

The Student Council Office is home to the Founders Student Council.  Council members can be great people to talk to, connect you with resources across campus, answer questions about the college system at York and highlight any events they are running (I talk more about some of the College events I've attended, including Social Orientation in a previous blog post). The Council office also has a lot of freebies including pens, stickers, hygienic products and more.

The Central PARC (Peer Academic Resource Centre) is right across the hall. This is where you can find Founders College Peer Academic Leaders or PAL. They are upper level students who dedicate their time to be available for guidance. You can drop in any time during their office hours and ask any questions you may have. This can include assignment help, where to find resources, direction and you can even get the Founders agenda from them. As a former Founder college PAL, this space is perfect for any student to use and has many resources to give.

The next couple spaces are downstairs in the basement of Founders College, on the left from the stairs. These include the Lounge, the Arthur Haberman study room and the Junior Common Room.

The Founders College Lounge was created as a social space. It's perfect for meeting someone new, hanging with friends, eating lunch or even playing a game.  It includes couches and chairs that are very comfortable and are great for taking naps (Very important to commuter students).  It also has many games you can choose from including a foosball table, a ping pong table, and video games. The Lounge is also used for social events; I remember countless times where we have a games night or movie night in this space. This is an amazing place to come unwind, socialize, and take your mind off of school.

The Arthur Haberman room is a study space available in Founders College.  It's a very bright and nicely decorated room. The Haberman, as students call it, can be a group space meaning this is perfect for group projects or studying with friends. It also doubles as a quiet space so it can be used for individual studying as well. The Haberman also hosts Fit at Founders which is an exercise class offered at  weekly for all Founders students. Great time to get your workout here on campus!

The last hidden gem in Founders College is the Junior Common Room or JCR. The JCR is located down the hall and on the right of the Haberman. This space is a very large common room, filled with couches, desks, tables, and chairs. Personally, I love this space to take a good nap. This space is completely quiet and is perfect for individual studying. During school hours, Peer Academic Advisors are also available in order to help you in your studies. These students can help with advice for your assignments, understanding rubrics, studying tips and more.

Founders College is a wonderful resource for all Environmental Studies students with lots of spaces just for studying, social gatherings, or relaxing.  The next time you're walking around campus, take a peek in Founders College to discover more hidden gems.