Université de Sherbrooke
EN-2: Student Orientation

Every fall, the Université de Sherbrooke organizes Back-to-School Days on its three campuses for all its students (first-year students, transfer students, and entering graduate students). The thousands of students who attend are informed about university life through a wide variety of exhibitors and events, all of which contribute to making their integration experience as positive as possible. In the case of the Sherbrooke campuses (Main Campus and Health Campus), as a large majority of students are not from the region, the activities put forward are all the more important in order to welcome them and guide them through the beginning of their university journey.

WELCOME BAZAAR

The Bazar de la rentrée [EN: Welcome Bazaar], held on the Main Campus, is one of the important events of the Back-to-School Days. Organized by the Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development, in collaboration with various services and student groups, the Bazaar aims to support students by helping them get settled in Sherbrooke, while raising their awareness of sustainable development issues. In exchange for a donation, the Bazaar puts back into circulation used items such as kitchen equipment, housekeeping equipment, furniture, and clothing. In addition to welcoming the student population in a novel way, this circular economy initiative gives a second life to a myriad of items that are still in good condition and might otherwise become waste. Not only does the Bazaar raise awareness of sustainability issues such as cost reduction and reuse, but it also demonstrates the value of equity and mutual support. All profits from the event are donated to the student group Campus durable, whose mission is to promote and oversee student initiatives in sustainable development at the Université de Sherbrooke.

In 2021, the four-day Bazaar was in its sixth year and was an unprecedented success, with over 8,000 items donated. The Bazaar was held again as part of the 2022 Back-to-School Days. More than 1000 students visit the Bazaar every year.

https://www.usherbrooke.ca/etudiants/actualites/nouvelles/details/43169

https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/evenements/details/47883

STUDENT GROUPS, SERVICES, AND PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

During the Back-to-School Days, new students are also informed about the various student groups, services, and projects underway, many of which are directly linked in one way or another to the goals and challenges of sustainable development.

Student groups present at Back-to-School Days on either campus include:

• The Collective Gardens, which allow participants to garden organic fruits and vegetables.
• The Déraille, a solidarity cooperative that offers its members access to a fully equipped bicycle workshop.
• Ruche Campus, which has developed a bee farm on the main campus and promotes beekeeping in an urban environment to the university community.
• The Association végétarienne de l'UdeS, which informs and raises awareness about the benefits of a vegetarian diet on health, animals, the environment, and food security.
• Campus durable.
• The UdeS WWF Club, which raises awareness and educates the university community about environmental issues.
• Frigo Free Go UdeS, which offers an alternative to food waste on all campuses thanks to self-service fridges.
• The Zero-Waste Committee UdeS, which promotes the zero-waste movement to the university community.
• LGBTQ+ UdeS, which contributes to the rapprochement of people of different sexual and gender backgrounds.

During the Back-to-School Days, these groups inform, raise awareness, and present opportunities for students to get involved.

We should also mention the presence of the Estrie community organizations IRIS Estrie (Intervention régionale et information sur le sida et les autres infections transmissibles sexuellement et par le sang [EN: Regional intervention and information on AIDS and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections]), whose mission is, among other things, to prevent STBBIs, and SOS Grossesse Estrie [EN: SOS Pregnancy Estrie], which offers a support service to women/young girls/trans and non-binary people who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, who are afraid of becoming pregnant, or who are going through a difficult situation during their pregnancy.

Some services available to the university community are also involved; for example, the Société de transport de Sherbrooke, operator of public transport services covering the Sherbrooke area, and Mobilité durable, which puts forward facilitating, innovative, and bold measures to promote sustainable mobility at the Université de Sherbrooke.

INTEGRATION ACTIVITIES

Finally, each year, in conjunction with the start of the academic year, hundreds of new students participate in integration activities organized by their peers. Held on the three Université de Sherbrooke campuses, these activities help new students integrate and get to know the campuses, faculties, centres, departments, services, and members of the students' home groups better.

The Services à la vie étudiante [EN: Student Life Services] and the Service de la mobilité, de la sécurité et de la prévention [EN: Mobility, Security, and Prevention Service] hold mandatory meetings with all committees organizing these activities. Six guiding principles must be respected by the organizers, including respect for the environment. Thus, within the framework of an agreement signed by the members of the organizing committees, the latter undertake to:

• Not using edibles during games and activities in order to avoid food waste.
• Conclude agreements for the reservation of grounds, premises, and triple-stream stations.
• Provide for the cleaning of activity areas and leave them clean and in good condition.
• Promote the purchase of eco-responsible shirts through the Université de Sherbrooke financial aid program.

A wide range of resources related to sustainable development are also available to organizing committees. For example:

• The group of people forming the UdeS Environment and Sustainable Development Team offers organizers a consulting service for the eco-responsible organization of activities, the rental of bibs for a “green team”, and the loan of identification posters and triple-stream stations for residual materials.
• The Building Services ensure the reservation of outdoor garbage bins as well as recycling, and composting bins.
• A long list of activities where no food is wasted is listed on the integration activities page of the Université de Sherbrooke website (e.g., one person is blindfolded and their teammate, who can see, guides them to the materials that are lying around, creation of an invention made from recycled objects, etc.).

https://www.usherbrooke.ca/etudiants/vie-etudiante/activites-integration