The University of Windsor attracted thousands of student to its Fall Open House on Saturday, November 5, among them two buses full of visitors from the Greater Toronto Area.

Student ambassador Zack Grosh, a fourth-year UWindsor drama student, boarded the bus at 6:30 a.m. to accompany the visitors. He says many were curious about campus life, residences and the differences between majors of study.

“A lot of questions were about the UWindsor community, how close-knit it is and how different programs get along and work with each other,” Grosh says.

To make the ride more interesting, he and other volunteers raffled tickets for performances by University Players and the School of Music, a gift basket from the Alumni Association and two $500 tuition vouchers.

Kyle Leonard rode the bus from Mississauga to see the Department of Communications, Media and Film.

“It’s a unique program, so I’m curious to check it out,” says Leonard, who rushed to attend the program’s session.

Jaqueline Wensley took the bus with her friends Ryan Keats and Liam James, who has still one more year of college left but decided to tag along anyway.

“We are from Mississauga so I want to get more information about residence,” says Wensley, who is considering applying to the concurrent education and French program.

Keats intends to study communications.

“This is probably the second university campus I’ve ever been to, so I want to see what it’s like,” he says. “For me the most important thing is the residence and what university life is like.”

Keats says that Windsor’s booth was the first thing they saw at the Ontario Universities’ Fair in Toronto: “UWindsor has something that interests all of us.”

More than 3,000 guests registered to attend the event, an increase over last year, says organizer Zora Savic, events co-ordinator for the student recruitment office.

—article and photos by Loren Mastracci

Faith Carpenter and Thea Russell were among the winners in a prize draw held for visitors busing their way Saturday to UWindsor’s open house.