老司机直播

#UofTBTS16: Are you a 老司机直播 student with a question? Check out askastudent

An anonymous blog with a sassy voice has been answering questions for 老司机直播 students since 1999
Two students hiding in the flowers, making peace signs
Aska prefers to remain anonymous (Photo by Chiao Sun)

They're known as aska, the online persona of the writer(s) of , a blog that has been answering questions submitted by future and current University of Toronto students for a decade and a half. 

Known for its lighthearted tone and helpful responses, the blog primarily serves as a resource for future and current students about academics and student life at the university. But aska has become accustomed to receiving (and answering) queries about anything and everything.

老司机直播 News asked aska a few questions about what it鈥檚 like to lead a double life, what students can expect when they submit a question, and any advice they have for incoming students. 


What are your names?

aska 1: People call me aska, people call me askastudent, people call me S O U L  D E S T R O Y E R, but seriously, I can鈥檛 tell you my real name. This is Hannah Montana levels of serious, and I don鈥檛 need people to know about my Miley Cyrus side.

aska 2: I prefer to go by 鈥淵our Excellency鈥 but it hasn鈥檛 really caught on in my social circles.

So what exactly can you disclose?

aska 1: I can tell you that askastudent is a work-study position at Innis College at the UofT. The idea that sparked askastudent is a simple but powerful one: what if students had the tools to communicate openly and honestly about questions relating to the university? askastudent is our answer to that question. 

In 1999, the first year that askastudent ran, it was actually a phone service (yep! We鈥檙e THAT OLD 鈥 aska would be entering Grade 12 now if they were a person). After year one, we switched to an online blog and never looked back. Right now there are two askas, but that鈥檚 not always the case. There have actually been fifteen askas since 1999, and it鈥檚 a legacy we鈥檙e proud of. Previous askas are now film producers, actors, UofT staff, journalists and more.

Our trademark sassy tone is partially a result of the collective student voice that askastudent has naturally developed, and partially a free therapy session for me, personally.

aska 2: Yeah, what aska 1 said. Askastudent is a great place to find people who are in the same boat as you. We鈥檝e amassed thousands of questions since 1999 and it鈥檚 likely that someone else has worried about the same thing as you. I think another purpose of askastudent is to convey a sense of JLaw-level relatability and to bring a human touch to advice as opposed to cyborg generated information. I didn鈥檛 say that. That was a joke. We don鈥檛 have cyborgs yet.

What are the most frequently asked questions?

aska 1: Colleges, colleges, colleges. People are always asking my advice about which college on the downtown campus they should be in. It puts me in an awkward spot because I have no unbiased way of answering that question. I try to explain that there is no 鈥榖est鈥 college, and it鈥檚 all down to personal preference.

aska 2: I鈥檝e only been aska for a couple of months, but so far I would say that the most frequently asked questions are: How do I make friends if I鈥檓 an international student or commuter? How do I come back from a bad semester and stay motivated? How do I get into my subject POst in second year if I don鈥檛 have enough credits? I鈥檓 on a waitlist for residence or a class, will I get in? If we were psychic, we鈥檇 probably get a lot more page views.

How long does it typically take to answer a question?

aska 1: If I could write without interruption, I could probably answer a question in an hour flat 鈥 research, writing, adding funny pictures, and all. However, aska also works at a front desk, and so it can sometimes take a whole day to get through one question with all the other tasks we do.

aska has the benefit of knowing a lot about 老司机直播 just from working at a 老司机直播 office, but I do often have to go on Google odysseys or call other offices for help if I don鈥檛 have the answer to a question. (I find I鈥檓 always calling the UTSC registrar鈥檚 office. Sorry, UTSC.)

aska 2: It really depends on my touring schedule. I try to answer questions as soon as I can, but it鈥檚 really nice to have another person to answer questions while I鈥檓 away touring with my ABBA tribute band. 

In terms of how long it takes me to write each answer, I try to do a lot of research and put a lot of effort into making the response as well-informed as possible. It can take a while. A lot of the times, I鈥檒l consult my colleagues for help if I鈥檓 not sure how to respond. Believe it or not, we don鈥檛 actually know everything!

Can every student expect to hear back from you?

aska 1: We answer every question, and we try to answer within two weeks鈥 time. askastudent is definitely not an urgent hotline, so if you have a question you need answered that same day, or even within the week, DEFINITELY consult your college registrar鈥檚 office for assistance.

aska 2: If they contain super private information, we tend to not post the question on the blog and answer it over email instead. Again, it really depends on my band鈥檚 touring schedule. We鈥檙e HUGE in Stockholm. 

Are there any questions that stand out?

aska 1:  We do have a category called 鈥樷 and another called 鈥,鈥 which catch most of the bizarre questions.

My all-time favourite question, though, is because they accidentally lit their Axe body spray on fire at school and got suspended for three days. Seriously, just read it. It鈥檚 worth your time.

aska 2: Looking at the 'weirdness' category is always a fun surprise. When we say you can ask us anything, we really do mean it, so I guess we鈥檙e kind of asking for some weird ones. On the other hand, hardcore keeners always stand out because I鈥檓 the complete opposite and can鈥檛 imagine what it would be like to have that mindset.

What鈥檚 your #1 piece of advice for incoming first years?

aska 1: As a breakthrough star in failure, my advice is: don鈥檛 be afraid of failing. It鈥檚 natural to be nervous, but try to embrace the uncertainty ahead. There鈥檚 nothing you can鈥檛 bounce back from. If you don鈥檛 get into the program of your dreams, you can try again or find something else that鈥檚 a better fit for you. Try to do right by yourself and learn from your experiences, even if other people are telling you you鈥檙e not doing the 鈥榬ight鈥 thing because you鈥檙e not going the doctor/lawyer/engineer route.

aska 2: Sleep, eat, go to lecture, and don鈥檛 forget to have a life. Try to find a balance between work and play, and you鈥檒l have a great time at 老司机直播.

Why should students submit questions?

aska 1: The university is great at providing information, but making the information fun is a way to make it more accessible to people. That鈥檚 my pedagogical justification for why I link to so many in my posts.

You should ask us questions if a) you have a question that鈥檚 not too urgent and b) you don鈥檛 mind being teased a little bit for the good of the website. I hope people understand that it鈥檚 all in good fun, and remember that we鈥檙e all on this wild 老司机直播 adventure together.

aska 2: I just want students to know that there are people out there who care and that you鈥檙e not alone. Even though this is technically a job, we do actually enjoy helping people who feel lost. I try to make sure that the asker feels like their question is valid and that I am leaving them with as much information as possible. We genuinely hope that we have helped in some way, shape or form.

Students should write to us if they want to hear advice from an honest, student perspective. Please don鈥檛 give up hope if we take a while to respond. After all, we are students too. (Or in my case, an international tribute band pop star). We are trying our best and you will definitely get a response from us eventually. 

Don鈥檛 hesitate to share our posts, comment on them, like or follow! We love praise.


Those looking to submit a question to aska, can email askastudent.innis@utoronto.ca, or send a message to their . 

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