Student life at Carleton University

Student life at Carleton University describes the campus culture and happenings of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Rideau River as seen from Carleton University

The atmosphere at Carleton is generally quite relaxed and easy-going. In a sense typically Canadian, both students and instructors go about their business with a notable lack of pretension. Interaction between students and instructors is usually informal, though when addressing an instructor, academic titles are still commonly used.

Student media

The Carleton student newspaper is The Charlatan, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2005. CUSA, the Carleton University Students' Association, puts on programming for students every year including Pandamonium, which was started in 2006. The school also publishes a newspaper for residence students, The Resin. During the school year, the Carleton School of Journalism publishes a community newspaper, Centretown News, which reports on the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, and an online newspaper, Capital News Online, as well as producing Midweek, a 90-minute current affairs radio show which is broadcast to the city. There is also the student-run writers' zine, In/Words, which is sponsored by the Department of English Language and Literature, as well as The Iron Times, published by the Carleton Student Engineering Society.

Carleton is home to a community radio station, CKCU-FM. Broadcasting for the first time on 14 November 1975, CKCU-FM was the first licensed community-based campus radio station in Canada. While Carleton does not have a theatre department, its Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company was founded two years after the founding of the university, in 1943.

Fraternities and sororities

Carleton is home to a number of fraternities and sororities, both local and international. The Greek life at Carleton is a generally understated affair. There is no "Greek row" on campus, nor are the fraternities/sororities formally acknowledged by the university. However, the Carleton University Greek Council (of which nearly all fraternities and sororities are members) is recognized as a student organization by CUSA. Fraternities and sororities are active on campus, participating in fund raising events, campus clean ups, days of service and more. As well, many fraternity and sorority members hold high positions on CUSA, CASG, RRRA and other campus organizations, controlling many of the school's social events.

Fraternities

• Acacia Fraternity
• Alpha Epsilon Pi
• Beta Theta Pi
• Kappa Sigma
• Sigma Pi
• Tau Kappa Epsilon
• Omega Psi Phi

Sororities

• Alpha Omicron Pi
• Alpha Pi Phi
• Delta Psi Delta
• Nu Sigma Pi
• Xi Delta Theta
• Tau Sigma Phi
• Phi Sigma Sigma

Accommodations

Carleton has ten Houses of Residence. The Houses, all named for counties in Eastern Ontario, are Dundas, Frontenac, Glengarry, Grenville, Lanark, Leeds, Prescott, Renfrew, Russell, and Stormont. They are inter-connected and linked to the rest of the University by Carleton's tunnel system. Carleton has a sizable residence community, the majority of whom are first-year students, with the exception of those in Leeds and Frontenac Houses. Leeds is usually reserved for upperclassmen/women and international students. Frontenac, which opened on the 1st of September 2008, hosts 2nd-year (returning) students only. They are represented by the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA, usually pronounced 'raw'). On-campus graduate students, who are housed on the upper two floors of Leeds House, are represented by the Graduate Residents' Association (GSA).

Carleton University as seen from the Rideau River

The bulk of upper-year students, however, live off-campus. A popular off-campus housing estate is the four-building high-rise Prince of Wales Complex on nearby Prince of Wales Drive. The footpath running along the Rideau Canal can usually be seen crowded with students walking the 2 km to Carleton.

Going east of the school gives students the option of renting a (usually) vintage house in The Glebe, one of the city's trendier neighbourhoods. From there it is usually only a short walk to campus. Though further afield, students also often rent in Centretown and downtown neighbourhoods.

Carleton is connected to the rest of the city by multiple transport links. In addition to regular bus service, there is a dedicated light rail station connecting the University to Ottawa's O-Train network. A permanent BlueLine taxi-cab stand is also available outside the University Commons building.

Athletics

The Carleton University Physical Recreation Centre (PRC), the largest facility of its kind in Canada, is a multi-use complex that offers a wide variety of training programs and services to accommodate every athlete—from beginner to professional.

Carleton is home to Keith Harris Stadium where the Ottawa Fury Soccer team plays.

The University is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Carleton Ravens. The men's basketball team has won the CIS championships for five consecutive years (2002–2007). Carleton is second only to the University of Victoria for the most wins. The Vikes have seven consecutive wins in the 1980s.

Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement, convocation and athletic games are: "On the steps of Carleton" the Carleton University fight song.

Rivalry with the University of Ottawa

Since Carleton's inception the student body has encouraged a crosstown rivalry with the University of Ottawa. The rivalry has gained ground recently as the Carleton Ravens basketball team was defeated for only the second time in three years during league play by the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on 17 January 2006.

Dunton Tower, the tallest structure on campus

When Carleton University had a football team, the annual Ravens-Gee Gees match was held in Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park. This was known as the "Panda Game." Notably, Canadian comic and former Ottawa resident Norm Macdonald attended the Panda Game and discussed his experience on the Late Show with David Letterman. Audio recordings of this are perennially circulated and played to incoming freshman at both the University of Ottawa and Carleton.

University traditions

• Climbing to the top of Dunton Tower

One of the campus traditions is to climb all 22 flights of stairs to the top of the tallest building on campus. The Tower, (or The Arts Tower as it was once known) is also known by some as "Isengard" due to its size and the fact that many TAs have their offices in it.

Carleton Underground

The tunnel system

The entire University is connected by an elaborate five kilometre network of heated underground tunnels adorned with murals created by student groups. Students are encouraged, within reason, to create their own works of art. Each floor of the ten residence halls paint a tunnel mural near the end of each school year. It is not uncommon to see students wearing pajamas in class, having come directly from bed in residence. The tunnels also allow persons with disabilities access to all university buildings regardless of weather. Sky-lit or windowed student lounges and snack-shops can be found at various points along the tunnel system. It is rumoured that students often hold competitions to determine who can remain "submerged" longest in tunnel-life (that is, remaining indoors and moving about the campus using only the tunnel system for days or even weeks on end).

Oliver's

Oliver's, or "Ollie's", run by the Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA) and named after former President Michael Oliver, is a well-known campus pub.

Oliver's was the centre of student protests over the reduction of student space on campus. On April 21, 2005, protesters occupied Oliver's patio to prevent it from being torn apart to make way for a new university bookstore. The Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA) came to an agreement with the University and the protest ended. The agreement is colloquially known as "Oliver's clause".

Mike's Place

Long considered the exclusive domain of graduate students, Mike's Place (named after former Liberal Prime Minister and former Carleton Chancellor Lester "Mike" Pearson) has quickly evolved into the on-campus home of aspiring hip-hop and electronic music DJs in the Ottawa area. The pub continues to host spoken-word poetry events and encourages open political discussion and debate. It also hosts a popular karaoke night on Tuesdays. In the mid 1980's, Mike's Place was host to the Apathy Club. Mike's Place holds a trivia competition throughout the year, culminating in a final playoff round in the spring.

Rooster's Coffeehouse

Formerly a pub run by the Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA), Rooster's is now a student-run coffeeshop located on the fourth level of the University Centre. In addition to a variety of coffees and tea, it serves homemade baked goods and other light snacks.

Leonardo's Lounge

Leonardo's Lounge (named after Leonardo Da Vinci or "Leo's" as it is known to students) is the social and cultural hub of the Carleton Engineering community. Located in room 3342 of the Mackenzie Engineering building, Leo's is a non-profit convenience store and lounge that is entirely volunteer run service operated by the Carleton Student Engineering Society.

The Garden Spot

The Garden Spot (also commonly known as the "G-Spot") is a not-for-profit pay-what-you-can volunteer vegan food service designed to serve low cost meals to the Carleton University community.

The Garden Spot was based on an organization hailing from Concordia University with the name of the Peoples Potato. It has inspired one other student run organization at The University of Ottawa using the name of the People's Republic of Delicious or PRD.