This here is the THO FAQ. For those of you who don't like abbreviations, that stands for Trueman House Online Frequently Asked Questions. Just about any question you can think of, it's right here! And laid out for you in an easy to navigate format! (Well, kinda.. Gimme a break! I'm tired!) Okay... So since I didn't want to write this up myself, and there was one already on the old website, most of this stuff was completely ripped from the old site and.. neofitted (?) for the new site. So props to JM for most of this.

Some things you might want/need to know:

First things first, welcome to Mount A! No doubt if you have reached this site you are either trying to figure out which residences to apply for OR you are lucky enough to have already been selected into Trueman or maybe even you are a Trueman alumnus who wants to see how the house has been holding up! Either way, this section is for you and will give you an idea of what living in Trueman is like!

The basics of the house are pretty straight forward for Mount A living. A fully co-ed dorm with males and females living next door to each other and an array of single and double rooms that has a maximum capacity of about 180. However this year that number will be substantially lower with the addition of the brand new Campbell Hall, meaning many of the rooms that were normally doubles, will be turned to singles but this is primarily for the upperclassmen who are returning to the house. As in every house on campus, quiet hours are enforced and ours start at 10:30PM on weekdays and 1:30AM on the weekends. Laundry facilities are all in the house and you'll need a dollar to wash, and a dollar to dry your clothes. As with every other residence there is a no smoking policy throughout the entire house. Should meal hall not be doing it for you one night or if you crave a little late night KD, there are 3 kitchenettes that are at your disposal! There are also 4 washrooms per floor, 2 male and two female. The lounge is on the ground floor next to the laundry rooms and is quite spacious and houses a TV that anyone can use, it's also where all full-house meetings take place. Last but not least, Trueman is the only house on campus that has a sauna. That's right, we have a sauna.

Trueman, like every other house on campus has an elected executive and a hired staff of monitors to help keep things in line! Go to the exec and house staff sections to meet all of the monitors, and exec members!

But more importantly than all the stats and facts about the building is what goes on inside and out when you put this many people together. Believe it or not, the house has an amazing sense of community and everyone knows everybody else! People come from all over the Maritimes, Canada and the rest of the world to live in Trueman, chances are you'll have a neighbour or floor mate from a different part of the world! Last year we had students from every province in Canada, as well as the United States, Bermuda, Japan, China and many others! For the entire first semester we have MASSIE students who are on exchange from Japan to get a taste of the Canadian way of life and learn a little english along the way! These students live with other members of the house and are some of the most incredible people you will ever meet!
Many of our residents are super involved in the athletic teams on campus, student government, the newspaper, radio station, drama productions and are all around great students! If something is going on somewhere at Mount A, you can bet a Truemanite has his or her hand in on it!
Most of the first year students will have roommates! Sure it takes getting used to living with someone, whether you know them from high school or if you are just meeting them for the first time! But in no time, you will have found a life long friend and will have learned a lot about this "real world" living that parents and teachers have been raving about for years!
While Trueman has it's quiet hours, most students find it easier to walk across the street to the library to get some much needed studying done as the rooms are sometimes not the best areas to study in, however it's not impossible!
Most importantly though, Trueman doesn't have the flashiest of rooms. The furniture is all anchored down and unable to be moved, and they are certainly some of the smaller rooms on campus! But don't worry, there is enough space to store just about everything, even girls who have 20 pairs of shoes and half a million pairs of pants find places to put everything! There's lots of wallspace to work with and put up some posters to make your room a little more "you".

So bearing all this in mind, if you are excited to meet lots of new people, get involved, live with a roommate, don't mind studying at the library and are willing to forgo a bigger, more modern room to live in the most awesome house on campus, not only will you "get by" at university, you'll have one of the most amazing experiences of your life!

Now... if you've already been convinced to live in this amazing house, what do you BRING!?


Click here for an in-depth list of things you should bring with you to University!

  • So I hear Trueman is the party house, is this true?

  • I don't want to lug $200 worth of change with me to school. Where can I get change for laundry?

  • What are the rooms like, where will I put my supercomputer?

  • I'm from outside the Maritimes so I can't exactly make the trip home easily. I'm also the only person from my high school to ever go to Mt. A. I'm afraid I'll become antisocial and wont meet any friends. I was shy in high school and just came out of my shell near the end. What should I do to make sure I don't have a lonely September?

  • I've heard a lot of stories and generally bad things about Jennings (more commonly refered to as Meal Hall) and was wondering, what's the real deal with the food on the meal plan?

  • What's the best meal at meal hall?

  • What kind of milk to they have at meal hall?

  • So I've gotta know. I've seen all these pictures on this AMAZING website and it seems to mention "house parties" every once and a while. What's the dilli-yo?

  • "I hear we hate other houses. Will I be forced to hate my friend in Campbell?" ~ Alex "Bake-Dogg" Baker

  • You guys really scared me with all the focus on iniation in the Frosh letter. Can I have the inside scoop?

  • I'm an active person moving to Mt. A in September. Are their many sports or fitness facilities in Sackville?

  • Holy Crap! I'm fresh out of high school and going into this totally new unviersity-lecture style classroom setting. I'm really worried I wont be able to keep up. Are classes that much harder and faster than high school?

  • I've been accepted in Science at Mt. A and am stoaked for the school year. I was just wondering about labs and stuff. What's the deal there?

  • So I hear Trueman is the party house, is this true?


    Sure, it's very friendly and welcoming, and people arent afraid to have a good time. But first things first... Trueman DOES have quiet hours, just like every other residence! Although they are occasionally violated, people get fined, and everything goes back to normal soon enough, no different than anywhere else. Besides, people are considerate, if you ask them to be a little quieter, you won't generally have a problem with it. But back to the party question. We have lots of events going on all the time, and we DO kick off the year for campus parties with KAOS which will be the all-time greatest party to ever hit Mount A. So yea, we party, but don't worry, we're all here for the same reason, and none of us feel like throwing money away, always keep that in mind.

    I don't want to lug $200 worth of change with me to school. Where can I get change for laundry?


    Excellent question. Most of us university students don't see laundry as a priority and often wear the same pair of jeans 17 days in a row before we decide to wash them. But, if you feel the need to wash your lucky shirt or change your sheets (for the love of Pete, change your sheets often) you can go see any monitor for change. This is something new the house is trying this year. Micah and Nicole will also have change but it can't be guaranteed that they'll be there all the time. In short, bring a roll of loonies to get you started but don't worry about bringing change for the whole semester.

    What are the rooms like, where will I put my supercomputer?


    So you have a massive computer, and you aren't sure what to do with it. Don't worry, you'll find space... people get pretty creative with this stuff and all you have to do is walk around to an upperclass room and see how the fit it all in. You'll all need at least one power bar (Surge Protector for you American types)! There is only two outlets in the room! (well, 2x2 spots to plug in, still...) And all of the phone and internet jacks are on one side of the room so you'll have to have a bit of cable to fit in between. As for other electronics, a fridge never hurts! Besides keeping your beer cold, it also creates a pretty good vertical shelf for your TV or microwave. You'll want to store things vertically as much as possible to give yourself some room. One thing that you should also know, the wiring in this building was put in before you were conceived so if more than one person plugs in a hair dryer down the hall... you might get the whole side of your floor blacked out, remember this, and save OFTEN! This is also where a battery powered alarm would help out.

    I'm from outside the Maritimes....


    As the great Trueman saying goes, don't even worry about it. There are many people in the exact same situation as you. During Frosh week, you wont walk anywhere without meeting at least 3 new people. Your neighbours are a great place to start. Even if you don't go and meet them, just leave your door open and people are bound to stop by and pop their head in. During Frosh week, there are Residence organized activities and Univeristy organized activities. Your Frosh group will be comprised of students from all over Canada as well as all over campus. In addition to all the new Frosh, T-Rock (Trueman) will be crawling with Upperclassmen to ease the transition. We can assure you they are all friendly people, eager to share a beer and a story. Also, you've got the Monitors and House Exec. They're forced to be nice to you. Just blauging. These people are on the staff for a reason, they are people persons. The fact of the matter is that you wont have time to think about not making friends because you will be caught up in a whirlwind of activity, a frenzy of meet and greets and just all around insanity. Just chill out and you'll do fine.

    I've heard a lot of stories and generally bad things about Jennings (more commonly refered to as Meal Hall) and was wondering, what's the real deal with the food on the meal plan?


    Well, there are a lot of stories out there. My personal fav is the Great Grease Fire of 2002. If you can find a thrid year, be sure to ask them about it. But in all reality, meal hall isn't that bad. Obviously you can't please everyone all the time and there's going to be days when you have cereal and fries for dinner. Sometimes you might even want cereal and fries for dinner. But, in Sodex-ho's defence, there is a lot of variety on the menu. There is usually a hot dish with hot sides, a Vegetarian hot dish with Vegetarian sides for all you Carrots out there, a specialty bar that can range from fajitas to garlic fingers, a hamburger/fry depot, a salad bar with more fixings and dressings that you can shake a stick at and a soup and sandwhich bar with cold cuts, condiments and two soups a day. Like any institutional food setup, the menu runs in a rotation and you'll learn when the good days and weeks are coming up. As much as people complain about it (sometimes well deserved), there is no limit to how creative you can be with what mean hall gives you. Trust me guys. We're lucky to have such an awesome meal hall. It's about 582 times better than the one at Université de Québec à Trois-Rivieres. We also have terrific food reps that go to meetings every so often and bitch at the Sodex-ho brass about your concerns so make sure you get out there and talk to them about your meal hall problems.

    What's the best meal at meal hall?


    Brunch, for sure. The hang-over hashbrowns, served hot until 1:15PM.

    What kind of milk to they have at meal hall?


    Unless you have some sort of weird-ass food allergy (which Sodex-ho is really good about by the way!) all us norms have to drink 2%. I know what you're thinking. I want homogenized milk to but they just wont give it up!

    So I've gotta know. I've seen all these pictures on this AMAZING website and it seems to mention "house parties" every once and a while. What's the dilli-yo?


    House parties are pretty much what your res gears up for allll year. Except mystery bus tour, and formal and a nutload of other things but the house party is def. a biggie. Almost every house has a house party. Therefore, there's at least one a month. They're nicely spaced out and rooted in Tradition. Kaos is Trueman's house party and it's absolutly silly. It's at the beginning of September which means everyone still has no work, no responsibilities, and more importantly, $bling$. You can get a non-drinking ticket or a drinking ticket. Non-Drinking tickets range from 4 to an outrageous 6 dollars (effing Windsor...) while drinking tickets generally go for double that. With the drinking ticket you get 6 drinks, one every half and hour starting at 9:00 PM. There will be drinking stations throughout the house with beer and mixed drinks. Be aware that you need not be of legal age to consume said alcohol, but you'd best not be stupid about it. All the servers at the parties have gone through the SmartServe program and will not hesitate to cut your ass off if you get rowdy. In any case, house parties are a great place to dance, meet new people and be merry. Look for the Exec team to make Kaos unreal!

    "I hear we hate other houses. Will I be forced to hate my friend in Campbell?" ~ Alex "Bake-Dogg" Baker


    Poor Alex. Did that year of living in Trueman not teach you anything? Trueman doesn't hate other house, except Edwards but that's pretty freakin' obvious. We just have active rivalries with the other house amongst campus. Windsor and Trueman have always been the biggest houses, fighting for ultimate control of the Mt. A res scene. That's what the Nut Cancer Classic is all about! Windsor does what they do best, kick ass at sports, and Trueman does what it does best, drinking heavily and fighting. Isn't it testicular cancer research that wins in the end anyways? Campbell hall has a lot riding on it's shoulders right now. As the new-skool hotel-style res, it will have a lot of difficulty making a name for itself. So to answer your question Alex, no Truemanite will ever be forced to hate or discriminate against people from any other residence, except Edwards. Of course, if Frosh choose to formulate their own opinions, we have no control over that. So just go back to your giant room and watch your brand new 24" TV why don't cha?!

    You guys really scared me with all the focus on iniation in the Frosh letter. Can I have the inside scoop?


    NO!!! Iniation is like a coming of age. Everyone does it and it helps build house spirit. Besides, you get to buy the iniators back in a charity auction. If you really, REALLY, and I mean REALLY don't want to participate, you don't have to. But we all encourage everyone to participate in as much as they can when you get to Mt. A. You will meet a lot of new people and it's a great way to break the ice up front. So quit your whining and make sure you bring some clothes you wont mind burning and sending to Hell, where they will belong.

    I'm an active person moving to Mt. A in September. Are their many sports or fitness facilities in Sackville?


    I wish Pam was here to answer this one! Oh yes my friend. As a member of Trueman, all of the team entrances fees for intramurals are already paid. Therefore, you can join every intramural team, as long as you show up, and play most of the year. There are intramurals for soccer, volleyball, basketball, curling, tennis and some others I can't remember. Because Trueman's so big and everyone loves to participate, we usually have at least one team entered in every sport! That way, if you're not as competitive or vice versa, there is still a team for you. Intramurals are a lot of fun and a wicked way to prove we are the best house on campus. As for staying fit. There is an extra-super-new, state-of-the-art fitness center in McConnell. For those of you that don't know, McConnell is the old meal hall that is located in the basement of Trueman. Now, we have no excuse not to be all fitted up! There's also a not-so-state-of-the-art weight room in the AC (Athletic Complex?) that is free for use with some student ID. You can also often just go into the gymnasium and play some bball, badminton or just kick a ball around with some friends too. Equipment it available at the Cage. There are also some non-university related gyms around Sackville that require public membership. No excuse not to stay fit dudes! Don't let that Frosh 15 hound you!!!

    Holy Crap! I'm fresh out of high school and going into this totally new unviersity-lecture style classroom setting....


    Things are a little bit different than high school yes. Instead of 30 people in a class, there might be 200. But then again, you have your small classes too. Also, the profs know that you guys are new at this, they're not out there to kill you. They move at a resonable pace, write lots of notes, have resources on WebCT and answering questions both in class and during office hours. Now, the overall course pace is very quick. You will have 3 hours of class a week. Multiply that by 13 weeks and that's 39 hours of class time a semester. In high school, that's about half your semester. As long as you stay on top of your work and seek help when you need it, you'll be fine. You can always find someone in Trueman that's either got the same question, or has an answer. You'll be amazed at how much you learn in such a short time. Also, if the prof assigns suggested problems, don't wait until the night before the midterm to do them all. Yes, I know this happens to everyone, myself included, but it takes off a lot of stress if you're prepared. Also, you get to watch other people get ready to snap and help them just in the nick of time. You'll be a hero!

    I've been accepted in Science at Mt. A and am stoaked for the school year. I was just wondering about labs and stuff. What's the deal there?


    Good work on getting pumped for the school year. That positive attitude should last at least until the work starts! Now, being a science student myself, I think I have the right experiences to answer this question. The only lab I haven't take yet is Bio, so I can't answer any questions on that topic. The important thing to remember about labs is that they aren't worth that much. Midterms are worth way more and there's only 2 of them. You might be asked to hand in 10 labs in the duration of your course. This is a chance for you to apply the knowledge you have learned. It's not a contest to see who can pipette the best, code the fastest, identify the slide most accurately or round to the right number of sigfigs. It's not a competition by any stretch of the imagination. If you take it as one, you will burn out. The best things about labs though are the TAs. TAs are your best friends. They have all the knowledge, they were hired for a reason. Talk to them, use them, make sure you understand! Labs are often the best way to clarify specific problems and often magically appear on midterms and finals. So, in short, labs are cool, as long as you don't kill yourself. I'm not saying do less than your best, just remember that there are other things to get worked up over. Make sure your TAs are you best friends!

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