Hameed Husseini
News Reporter

Macleans magazine has started Canada’s first-ever virtual college and university fair.
The free OnCampus virtual fair, which runs from Oct. 22 to mid-January, is designed to make life easier for students unsure of the school they want to attend.
With a large number of Canadian universities and colleges to choose from, participants get the chance to research all of their choices from the comfort of their computer.  
The University of Toronto, Wilfred Laurier University, Seneca College and Sheridan College were among the participants from Ontario. Some major absentees were Ryerson University, McMaster University and Humber College.  
Humber’s absence was attributed to the lack of staff able to make the event, said Sarah-Jane Brimley, manager of recruitment services. Brimley went on further to explain that Humber plans to participate at next year’s OnCampus event.
“I think it’s great. I signed on myself to check out the booths,” said Brimley. “We weren’t involved because we just didn’t have the staff and had we known in April, we would definitely been involved.”
The event raises the question of whether fairs will be the new medium for recruiting students in the future. While it has great potential, some students at Humber still prefer the old-fashioned fair rather than the new virtual one.  
Natoya Culley is a supporter of the new fair and likes the opportunities it provides for those who can’t attend the fairs in person.
“I think it’s good just because people who live really far away from the campuses don’t necessarily have to find a ride if they don’t have a car,” said Culley, food and beverage service student. “I think it’s easier in a way just because all the information’s right there.”
However, Culley couldn’t help but point out that she still prefers a face-to-face visit.
“Personally, I kind of like the hands-on approach,” she said. “I would rather go see it for myself and then this way if you have any questions you get a direct answer.”
Radio broadcast student Bianca Santos agreed and stressed the importance of one-on-one interactions with the representatives.
“I definitely like to meet the person face-to-face and have a one-on-one discussion,” said Santos. “When you’re text messaging online, I think you’re limited and you lose a lot of the message in-between the words.”
“It’s hard to connect with somebody and to share where you’re coming from and why you’re interested in this program and to get a really honest opinion.”