50th Anniversary Memory: Damon Chevrier, Former Registrar

“Woodsworth memories?  There are a few.   

In 1978 when I first worked at the college as a summer student, there were students from different faculties including engineering, education and physical therapy as well as nine  diploma and certificate programs. All of this was looked after in the old house at 119 St George Street. We were open until 7 pm four days week. Woodsworth had the largest student body of all the colleges by a significant margin and by far the least amount of space. 

There was no web and students stood in line for all transactions (i.e. course selection, paying fees, providing proof of payment and all other transactions). Students paid per course and a large grant was $250.  In 1978 there had been a computerized student record system for 4 years and it was still common to refer to cardboard record cards on which grade results had been typed or written in a precise hand. The first printers were tractor feed and formatted in such a way that a single student record when printed might have been several feet long. Of course, the printer was enormous and down the hall in another room. We had to be judicious. 

Unbeknownst to most students there was a print shop in the college and a resident pressman. All our brochures were printed in house and there were a lot of brochures because of the range of programs. One winter I was commissioned to staple and fold thousands of these using a contraption built by the college pressman. There was a very large stapler (circa 18" long) which was triggered with a foot pedal. It fired one staple at a time and sounded like a rifle shot. A charitable person might have described this as a semi automated production line. No one ever asked why the staples didn’t quite line up. The pressman had an antagonistic relationship with the old Heidelberg press and from time to time when the press was non compliant, he would unleash a string of spirited invective and emerge from the press room with a beet red face. There was also a paper folder which in theory could accommodate different dimensions of paper and execute different folds - double, triple etc. However, theory and practice were often at odds and the folder would routinely spit out a series of extreme accordion folds accompanied by more unprintable prose.

There was an annual spring ritual called delivery of the calendar and timetables.  Calendars were books which contained degree requirements program requirements. Course descriptions and a host of miscellaneous tidbits which made for gripping late night reading. We received one calendar and one timetable for each student. That was in the order of 200 boxes. They were heavy and had to be stored in the basement of 119 St. George. The pressman had acquired several lengths of steel rollers and adjustable legs, so the boxes were fed through a basement window and along the length of the assembled rollers to a storage room. It was labour intensive - even with the rollers - but this delivery heralded the start of each new academic cycle.

Another ancient ritual was the mailing of the registration packages. These contained course add/drop forms, preprinted fees invoice, fees information, guides to registration, updates to the timetable etc.  These packages were assembled off site in alphabetical order and then posted. One year there was a postal strike so the college decided to send these by courier but the courier wanted the packages resorted by postal code. Ever keen for new assignments, I found myself alone with 6000 packages in a large room. I think it took the better part of two days. 

There were many fine colleagues some of whom had worked in the former Division of University Extension from which both Woodsworth and the School of Continuing Studies evolved. 

The demographics of the student body was quite different back then. It was quite common to meet students in their late 20s to 40s who were working and taking courses at night. Not surprisingly, there was quite a bit of attrition but many of the committed stayed the course over 10+ years. There were many women who had children, a full-time job and still managed to complete one or two courses a year with above average results. It was really impressive. 

There were also the engaging members of the senior citizens program. Many had their lives interrupted (or upended) by the war (i.e. WW II). Tuition was free for seniors back then and they were a happy group with an endless supply of life stories. 

However, the most meaningful memories I keep to myself as they almost all involve students who overcame significant - sometimes unimaginable - adversity. These are stories of commitment, tenacity, endurance and bravery. If these stories are ever to be told, the students will have to tell them.”

The accompanying image is from an Association of Part-time Undergraduate Student awards event at Hart House in 1991.