A Fair Shot:
The elegant boardroom on the fifth floor of VIU’s library is where the school’s board of governors usually meets. It’s empty these days, but on February 27, 2020, the room was packed. The board members sat in their usual places at the long table, ready to begin. At the back of the room stood concerned … Continued
Batten Down the Hatches
The southern Salish Sea is a network of sounds and channels weaving in and out of craggy islands. Forests of Douglas fir and native arbutus trees sweep over mountains big and small. Above, bald eagles glide through salty air. In the water, pods of orcas search for schools of Pacific salmon to fill their bellies. … Continued
Food for Thought
No matter who you are or where you come from, food is a part of life—a big part. Everybody, everywhere, eats. Some people have too much food, some not enough. Some people die because of its unavailability, and food production is one of climate change’s leading causes. In fact, the primary driving force behind the … Continued
Measuring the Impact of Women in STEM at VIU
From Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman to travel to space, to Nobel Prize recipient Donna Strickland, women have always been on the front lines of great discoveries and groundbreaking works of science. While studies repeatedly report that STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are predominantly male dominated, there has been a rise … Continued
The New Drug Testing Method That Could Save Lives
The opioid epidemic has worsened all across North America in recent years, mostly due to fentanyl-related deaths. Both medically prescribed and illegal opioids have propelled the crisis. The Public Health Agency of Canada states, “Since the early 1980s, the volume of opioids sold to hospitals and pharmacies for prescriptions in Canada has increased by more … Continued
Danielle Groenendijk:
A single marathon is equal to 42.195 km. Over the course of 30 days, Danielle Groenendijk ran 250 km—roughly six marathons—to bring awareness to, and raise money for, Parkinson’s disease. Groenendijk is a fourth-year Bachelor of Science student at VIU with plans to become a veterinarian following graduation. She is very passionate about animals, and … Continued
Roots to Thrive
BC’s need for mental health support has never been more critical than during the COVID-19 pandemic. People are struggling with fear about their own health and the health of their loved ones, financial anxiety, the social isolation that comes from gathering and physical distancing restrictions, and working on the frontlines. COVID-19 has only exacerbated this … Continued
Spenser Smith:
“People who choose to take this stuff can die. The answer is to choose not to take them. It’s a choice.” —R. D. This is a comment on a CBC story written late last year on the overdose crisis in BC. Of the 554 comments the piece received, the one calling for the death of … Continued
The Vault Bazaar
If I could name only one place that really screams “Nanaimo,” that place would be The Vault Café. Before moving to this city, I never thought I would step through the pink walls of what used to be an early twentieth-century bank and emerge into a bohemian paradise. The space is eclectic to say the … Continued
Lost and Found in Translation
Language is all too often taken for granted here in Canada. It’s easy to grow up in British Columbia and learn English by immersion—just by living in English-speaking communities and going to school. But learning a new language is difficult, daunting, and requires consistent effort. It’s always impressed me that many of my VIU classmates … Continued
In Plain Sight
“You’re going through withdrawal, it’s from all the alcohol you people drink; you’ll have to wait for your booze.” An Indigenous woman recalls hearing these words yelled at her from across the recovery room after she underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm back in 2018. She was one of many Indigenous people who shared their … Continued
Timeout:
Thousands of VIU students are readying themselves for another semester of online courses, a restricted campus, and necessary isolation from their friends and classmates. People reflecting to me on their post-secondary school experience often remark on the sense of community it brought them; how part of their identity was forged before turning fully to a … Continued
How the Pandemic is Changing the Future for Education Students
VIU’s education students have had to adjust not only to learning during a pandemic but to teaching during one too. Many education students at VIU took a heavy blow last March when schools shut down. Students in the education program participate in teaching practicums at local schools in their third, fourth, and fifth years of … Continued
Pandemic Spending
I press the checkout button and a familiar giddiness rushes over me. My laptop pings—it’s an email telling me my purchase has been confirmed and will be shipped shortly. The countdown begins. Among the many aspects of life that the COVID-19 pandemic will change forever, the way we spend our money seems to be one … Continued