The distance between the business school student body and the rest of Ryerson campus is vast, despite the geographical distance being only a couple of blocks. Mike Derman looks into why students in the Ted Rogers School of Management don’t feel like they belong on the East side of Yonge Street
The Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM) is considered a part of Ryerson’s main campus, being just on the other side of Yonge and Dundas. But in that small distance, a divide exists between business students and the rest of their peers.
Over 8,000 students — approximately 32 per cent of Ryerson’s student body — attend TRSM.
“We’re the size of many small universities in Canada,” said Ben Samms, a decision support analyst at TRSM.
The business school has its own career centre (the original is in the POD building), distance from the rest of campus and its own website; prospective students don’t need to access the university’s site.
While the distance is a short one, Samms suggests that it is probably the main culprit to the disconnect with TRSM students and their campus community on the East side.
Soran Nouri, a second-year TRSM masters student who also did four years of business technology management at Ryerson, said he feels he’s not getting the full Ryerson experience.
“Seventy-five per cent of my time at Ryerson has been spent [in the TRSM building],” said Nouri.
“It’s good because I don’t have to be going back and forth between buildings for each class, but it makes me feel a bit disconnected from the rest of Ryerson.”
He said it isn’t necessarily the university’s fault. Being a commuter, he usually comes to his classes and leaves.
But the main issue surrounding the business school bubble is one that plagues the campus as a whole: a lack of school spirit. It keeps business students from caring what is happening on Gould Street.
Jayme McCabe, a fourth-year nursing student, said she’s never really felt a connection with her peers.
“I mean, nobody really cares about the sports, and the student groups aren’t promoted very well,” said McCabe. “Plus, there isn’t a lot of inter-program mingling.”
She said that even though she’s in her last semester, she doesn’t feel any real connection with other faculties.
“I don’t think it’s just TRSM; I think all programs are disconnected,” she said.
But Samms feels it’s the student body’s responsibility to get more involved, rather than relying on administrative integration.
“You get out of it what you put into it,” he said. “If you’re just here to get in and get out, then of course you won’t feel a connection.”
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