By Edward Lander

Even if you’re new here, I probably don’t need to tell you that Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is going through a lot of changes. Just look to the south end of campus where a new 21-storey residence is emerging from a great big hole in the ground, or to Gould Street where O’Keefe House—a former 32-bed residence—is taking the shape of the university’s new Centre for Student Wellbeing.

Changes are coming to the top brass too. TMU President Mohamed Lachemi—the man who’s been running the show for 10 years—will walk away at the end of this semester in favour of Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, the university’s current provost, who will be the TMU’s first woman president come January.

The changes aren’t just on campus either. Many students have their eyes glued to Queen’s Park, where later this year, Premier Doug Ford will decide the fate of ancillary fees—the part of your tuition which funds student groups and services. Last year, the legislature passed Bill 33, which is set to make these fees optional, giving students the chance to opt out of paying for things like clubs, sports, mental health services and—you guessed it—student media.

Your wallet might be familiar with another change at Queen’s Park: massive cuts to OSAP grants. 

In February, Ford lowered the amount of grants the province’s student assistance program doles out from 85 per cent to a measly 25, saddling many with loans and rendering post-secondary out of reach for others. If you’ve made it here, congrats—you’re one of the lucky ones.

Toronto, which you might be calling home for the first time, is about to undergo a city hall shakeup. In October, mayor Olivia Chow will have her leadership challenged in a municipal election along with Toronto’s 25 other councillors—including our Ward’s incumbent, longtime councillor Chris Moise. 

That’s not all. If you look around campus you might notice we’re being surrounded. There’s high-rise development on every side of TMU, including Yonge Street’s ‘Concord Sky,’ a 95-storey ‘supertall’ condo tower that will very likely block the sun from Kerr Hall Quad when it tops out next semester.

There are, of course, things that never change around here. Our students’ union still faces woes of all kinds. Last semester, the union’s executive sued a group of former members and affiliates some $20 million dollars, alleging corruption, fraud and a litany of other wrongdoings. That lawsuit heads to the courts this fall, so stay tuned for our coverage. 

But this semester is seemingly a turning point for the beleagured union. After the first election to not be declared void in some time, a student will be at the helm of the TMSU. Fifth-year business technology management student Zain Baig—who we interview on page two—will take over from two lawyers who were appointed run the union during an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement.

Another thing that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere: artificial intelligence. Last semester we spent a lot of ink reporting on how the technology is disrupting classrooms, personal lives and entire fields of study. This semester, that focus will continue. In this week’s feature, we meet professors and educators whose jobs have become something entirely different in the ChatGPT era.

There’s one more thing that isn’t changing this year: your student-run campus newspaper, The Eyeopener. This year is our 60th year covering everything in and around TMU (queue the confetti) and we’re not about to stop now. We’re independent—meaning we can say just about anything we want about the university (given it’s true). If you’d like to test that, come write for us. 

You can find a brand-new issue on stands every week, starting Sept. 16. Pick up a copy wherever you found this one or find us circulating them on Wednesday afternoons. We carry a megaphone if you have trouble finding us.