What do bow-tie cookies, custom t-shirts, and lightsabers have in common? Santa Ono, of course!
On January 9th, UBC’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Santa J. Ono, visited Totem Park Residence as part of the Prof-in-Residence “Prof Chats” program. The series brings professors from diverse disciplines into residence to engage in dialogue with students.
Following last term’s “Prof Chat” with VP Students, Louise Cowin, Totem Park’s Professor-in-Residence Dr. Michael Griffin invited Professor Ono to take the stage to discuss policies and initiatives affecting students today.
Over 150 first-year students enjoyed bow-tie cookies, pizza, and chocolate while Prof. Ono spoke about his academic background, his journey to becoming UBC President, and his vision for the university.
After a brief intro, Prof. Ono invited residents to ask questions about anything and everything and they definitely came prepared! Questions ranged from “What’s with the bow tie?” to freedom of speech policies, the Blue & Gold Campaign, and finally, his favourite social media platform. (His Twitter and Instagram handles are both @ubcprez!)
Image credit: @ubcprez via Twitter
Over the course of the evening, President Ono showcased some of his strategic initiatives including supporting diversity across staff and faculty and increasing scholarships available for UBC students. In turn, he appreciated hearing about the issues concerning future UBC grads.
What struck many of the attendees is how engaging and accessible Prof. Ono was throughout the chat! At several points, he encouraged students to email him with concerns or questions at sjo@ubc.ca. He was also incredibly open about his personal experiences and how they’ve impacted his life today, including why he exclusively wears bow ties!
Professor Ono gave custom t-shirts to the first 10 students to ask questions, and he even gave the bow tie off his neck to one of the students in attendance! Staying an hour later than expected, Prof. Ono took time to mingle and take photos with students well into the evening!
After the event, one student shared:
“As a first-year student, I was afraid to approach my class professors, let alone Professor Santa Ono. After hearing him speak, I am more confident in approaching him or any of my profs with questions and concerns.”
So…where do the lightsabers come in? One determined student brought a lightsaber to the event in hopes of scoring a Star Wars selfie with the President who was all too happy to oblige!
Check out upcoming Residence Life events here and learn about other ways to interact one-on-one with profs through the Profs-in-Spaces program here.
