The Toaster hosts CDes College Day

The school year starts again and freshmen work to find their footing on campus. Throughout welcome week they have had the opportunity to adjust to the fast-paced college life that awaits them.

The Toaster saw a variety of groups come through its doors during this hectic week. Due to the makerspace, study room, sewing machines, VR sets and more, the Toaster is a great place to frequent once school projects start popping up on Canvas.

The College of Design (CDes) set up their annual College Day for freshmen in the Toaster. Not only so the students can meet some of the design student groups on campus, but also so the design students can be familiar with the tools the Toaster offers.

The incoming freshmen I talked to had no knowledge of the Toaster beforehand, partially confused by its name, but are excited to return during the school year.

Ella, a graphic design major, said jokingly that she thought the Toaster referred to just a large toaster but will be back during the semester after learning more.

“I didn’t know about this and when I heard about it, I thought it was like a big toaster or something,” Ella said. “It was cool to see everything here.”

Clara, an architecture major, affirmed Ella’s statement, saying that she had no idea the space existed but will definitely utilize it later.

One of the tables included at College Day, Design Justice, got a lot of attention from freshmen due to their goal of creating anti-racist design through cross-collaboration and the fact that they are not major specific.

Morgan, another architecture student, said that she definitely wants to explore Design Justice further and learned a lot about what kind of path she wants to take while at UMN.

“What I’ve gained is like, where do I fit in with the U and what I can do to give back to Minnesota and my program,” Morgan said. “[Design Justice] really inspired me and I want to join because it sounds fun.”

Integrating into a college campus is always challenging, and the Toaster and CDes want to make sure that incoming students know that there is a place for them on campus. 

The American Institute of Architecture had a table set up at College Day and their membership committee chair, Courtney, said that being at College Day is all about trying to build community.

“We host a lot of different events hopefully to bring a different group of students in to share their ideas,” Courtney said. “Specifically, at this event we’re here to bring in the newest members of the College of Design because we think they can add so much to our community.”