Toike Oike (Newspaper)
The Toike Oike is the humour newspaper produced by the Engineering Society, billing itself as "The University of Toronto's Humor Newspaper since 1911". At the time of its creation in 1911 it served as a means of serious communication between EngSoc members, notably to provide a platform for the discussion of Engineering Society elections, but over time it has developed into a newspaper whose prime focus is humour. The Cannon (Newspaper) now fulfills the role of the "old" Toike. The Toike is run completely by a group of student volunteers and publishes on a monthly basis. Copies are available at news stands across campus and outside the EngSoc office in the basement of the Sandford Fleming building, on the Skule™ Newsstands.
History
The origin of the meaning of "Toike Oike" has been lost in time. One popular theory states that in the early days of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, there was a caretaker named Graham who worked in the Little Red Skulehouse and had a thick Irish accent. This caretaker was fond of telling students, who would work until late hours in the lab, to "take a hike" when the building closed every night, but because of his accent the phrase was heard as "toy-kee-oyk". When it came time to establish a new Skule Yell, the students decided to incorporated this phrase into it, and later to use it as the name of the original engineering newspaper.
Toiking
To “Toike a door” is to craftily prop it open such that all your friends may pass through it at any hour. The most skilled Toikers are able to achieve such a feat using only one leaf of print, ideally the cover and back. In doing so, the cunning Engineer displays Skills of:
- Ingenuity, in using Minimal Materials to Fulfill their Task
- Communication, in Marking the Toiked door from afar with the Distinctive cover
- Community, in Allowing all to Enter the Halls where they are
In past years, the tradition of "Toiking" was a popular use of the Toike Oike newspaper. It was a form of "involuntary make-up application", where the back page of an issue of the Toike is rubbed vigorously against the face of a person. The back page always contains content printed almost entirely with black ink (covering the entire page) so that upon completing the action described, the person being Toiked is left with black ink residue all over their face. However, this look is not a source of shame, and many students who have been Toiked choose to proudly wear this new look for at least some time before heading to a bathroom to scrub the ink off.
Positions
The Toike Oike does not have as large a hierarchy as most professional newspapers, but there are still defined positions within the paper:
Editor-in-Chief
The Toike has usually operated with only one Editor, an elected Project Director of the Engineering Society. The Editor is responsible for all administrative tasks from organizing meetings, collecting content, and managing the budget.
Senior Staff Writer
The senior staff writer is a large mountain of comedic material and potential. They typically provide a large volume of the written content in the Toike (or "encourage" the folks who do provide the writing) and are charged with making up new content on the fly as the Editor requires. The senior staff writer is also a mentor for Toike writers, providing feedback for new writers and taking the lead on editing and reviewing content.
Graphics Director
The head graphics editor is an actual Adobe Photoshop Wizard. They typically provide a large volume of the graphic content in the Toike and are charged with making up new content on the fly as the Editor requires. The graphics director also oversees the graphics team which generates all the nifty visuals found in the Toike.
Layout Editor
The layout editor takes the content and arranges it into beautifully-set pages ready for printing. Their weapon of choice is Adobe InDesign.
Copy Editor
The copy editor checks all spelling and grammar in the paper, ensuring that the Toike is both hilarious and could be used as a sample to preserve the rules and etiquette of the English language.
Distribution manager
The distribution manager is responsible for ensuring the "timely" delivery of Toikes all across campus. In recent memory, they have started using wagons for increased efficiency.
Toike Talks Producer
The Toike Talks Producer is responsible for managing and creating content for the Toike Talks podcasts and YouTube channel.
Past Editors
| Year | Editor | Issue Title | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | Mila Markovski | NΨ 2T5 + PEY + 1 | |||
| 2023-2024 | Ben Gloade | NΨ 2T4 |
Just a Simple Country Toike | ||
| 2022-2023 | Navin Vanderwert | NΨ 2T4 |
Toike 175 | ||
| 2021-2022 | Natalia Espinosa-Merlano | Mech 2T3 |
Young Adult Toike | ||
| 2020-2021 | Parker Johnston | ECE 2T2 |
Toiker Beat | ||
| 2019-2020 | Joanna Melnyk | NΨ 2T1 | Toike Oike Traveler
| ||
| 2018-2019 | Leigh McNeil-Taboika † | Chem 1T9+PEY | The Toike Oike for Dummies
Monty Python and the Toike Oike
| ||
| 2017-2018 | Jenn Dixon | MSE 1T8+PEY | Ye Olde Toike Oike
| ||
| 2016-2017 | Simo Pajovic | Mech 1T8+PEY | NintenToike
| ||
| 2015-2016 | Ryan Williams | NΨ 1T7 |
Toike Oike Publications for this year
| ||
| 2014-2015 | Colin Parker | ECE 1T6+PEY |
Toike Oike Publications for this year
| ||
| 2013-2014 | John Sweeney | Chem 1T6 | |||
| 2012-2013 | Evan Boyce | Mech 1T5+PEY |
Toike Oike Publications for this year
| ||
| 2011-2012 | Andrew Jerabek | Mech 1T3+PEY | |||
| 2010-2011 | Navid Nourian † | NΨ 1T2+PEY | |||
| 2009-2010 | Tom Parker/Bryan Thompson | Mech .../Mech 0T9+PEY | |||
| 2008-2009 | Amanda Bell | Indy 1T1+PEY | |||
| 2007-2008 | Vesna Cemas | Chem 1T0 | |||
| 2006-2007 | Christian Chicorli | NΨ 0T8+PEY | |||
| 2005-2006 | Mei Ling Chen | Chem 0T7 | Toike Oike Publications for this year | ||
| 2004-2005 | David Kobayashi | ? | |||
| 2003-2004 | Kevin Au | ? | |||
| 2002-2003 | Mark Jaggassar | Comp 0T2 + PEY | |||
| 2000-2001 | David Perry | Comp 0T0 + PEY | Toike Oike Publications for this year | ||
| 1999-2000 | Matthew Lenner | Comp 0T0 + SAC | Toike Oike Publications for this year | ||
| 1997-1998 | Paul Hempel | Comp 0T0 + PEY | Toike Oike Publications for this year | ||
| 1996-1997 | Colin Knowles | Mech 9T8 + PEY | |||
| 1994-1995 | Tim Redford | EngSci Aero 9T4+1 | |||
| 1993-1994 | Tim Redford | EngSci Aero 9T4+1 | |||
| 1992-1993 | Henry N. Pedro | ??? | |||
| 1990-1991 | Justin Bowler † | ||||
| 1980-1981 | Dave Thompson | Ind 8T3 | Toike Oike Publications for this year | ||
External Links
We Regret the Fact
The following is an excerpt from a 1930 Toike Oike, and it depicts some practices, traditions, and prejudices which were once commonplace in Engineering culture. Such activities were wrong then, and are wrong today.
We regret the fact that contrary to our own desires we have been obliged to make known to the public the complete procedure to be adopted during the initiation ceremony of Thursday evening. Owing to the timidity with which some of the Freshmen are approaching the event, the Council on Initiation Affairs deemed it advisable that the following be published. Except for a few minor, and as yet tentative details, this is a true declaration of the manner in which the initiation will be conducted. The Freshman will present himself, clothed in no more than is necessary to cross the street between the Engineering building and Convocation Hall. A barrel is particularly acceptable in view of the fact that it may be broken up and used to advantage in the events that follow. The Freshmen are urgently requested to co-operate to this small extent if at all possible. Upon arriving at the draughting room the participant will be effectively blinded by a small strip of adhesive tape, so placed as to make the opening of the eyelids impossible. He will then be lifted, by an arrangement of tackle, to a height of about 20 feet above the floor. A quick release mechanism will allow him to be precipitated suddenly to a spring platform inclined at 45 degrees to the horizontal. If the computed values of velocity and coefficient of restitution are accurate to within 10%, the subject will land squarely in a tub of lukewarm water. Allowing for inaccuracies in adjustment, the approach to the tub will be slanted so as to insure immersion. Upon scrambling out of the water he will be dried by rolling in a bed of charcoal, finely divided. In case this does not prove as effective as anticipated the participant will receive an application of blacking, a substance especially prepared by members of Department 6 (Chemical). The nature of this ointment we do not feel it compulsory to divulge. This will render each man free from identification so that no partiality can be shown friends. A generous application of some wholesome soap will be applied to the head to make the shaving as painless as possible. Several additional features have been submitted to the committee but it was felt that with the numbers taking part, a longer programme would make it impossible to do things with the thoroughness that is desirable. As a grand finale, however, we have arranged the "Giant Swing" in which the happy Freshman will be ejected, by a spring board catapult, some ten feet into space, and will, if properly aimed, alight on a feather tick, where he will be served with hot coffee and crackers. Hoping this arrangement will meet with unanimous approval. "We We Regret the Fact." Toike Oike, Oct. 16, 1930