A Ghostly Walk by Lantern Light
What’s the best way to celebrate Halloween? Dressing up? Watching a scary movie? How about a ghost tour? I went on my first Haunted Nanaimo Lantern Tour several weeks ago. The tour is put on by the Nanaimo Museum and snakes through downtown Nanaimo, stopping at some of the city’s oldest and most haunted buildings. … Continued
The “Halloween Bird”
Have you ever been walking in a forest near Nanaimo when, out of the corner of your eye, you see an orange-black blur dart through the trees? If so, you may have spotted quite an elusive bird. The Varied Thrush, or Ixoreus Naevius, comes out of hiding on Vancouver Island in October. The males are … Continued
A Call for Greater Climate Action at VIU
VIU students, staff, and faculty, along with community members, are calling on the university to take more action against climate change. In an open letter addressed to VIU president and vice-chancellor Dr. Deborah Saucier, the signers asked the university to declare a climate emergency. This is something that the Nanaimo City Council, and other universities … Continued
A Labour of Love and Honeybees
You couldn’t see them so much as you could hear them. The bees buzzed quickly past my head, busy collecting pollen for their colonies. It was spring of 2021, and I had gone to Jinglepot Apiaries to pick up some honey. I grew up with fresh, locally sourced honey where I lived in Alberta, spoiled … Continued
Ay Lelum:
Remarkable would be the simplest way to describe the last two months for Ay Lelum. Snuneymuxw sisters Aunalee Boyd-Good and Sophia Seward-Good went from figuring out what to do next after a fire destroyed nearly all their clothing stock, to walking down a runway at their own show in New York—all in the span of … Continued
Just Show Up
I think we can all agree that last year was a difficult one. It became so overwhelming that I had to drop some classes. Online learning and my disorganized lifestyle did not pair well together. I skipped classes or simply didn’t watch the online lectures, and before I knew it I had a backlog of … Continued
Reasons to Love Fall:
Fall has finally arrived. The transition from summer to autumn can be a shock, especially for out-of-town students from sunny and warm climates. Below are reasons why you should embrace it, and a few suggestions on how: The Sights The official markings of fall is when leaves start turning red, yellow, or brown. It comes … Continued
The Hauntings of Building Two
The halls of VIU have long been haunted by student debt, late assignments, and bad grades, but the Student Residences have an extra guest that continues to haunt the hollow halls. Every year, first-year students moving into Student Residences are told the urban legend of a ghost who haunts the halls of one of the … Continued
Your New Spring Cleaning Podcast Playlist
Now that spring has sprung, the time for obsessive spring cleaning and gardening is upon us. One of the things I love to do to keep my brain entertained while performing tedious tasks is listen to podcasts. I have been a long-time podcast listener, and I love finding new podcasts that will make me laugh … Continued
March Horoscope
Aries (March 21 to April 19) With only a couple more weeks left of the school year, this is your time to shine. As a sign that is focused and hardworking, you’ll soon be rubbing it in all your friends’ faces that you were the first person to hit the “submit” button on the last … Continued
Seeing Light at the End of the Tunnel
Exactly one year ago, on March 15, 2020, VIU’s University Relations team sent every VIU student an email with a subject line reading, “COVID-19 UPDATE: VIU transitioning to alternate course delivery and assessment.” VIU, along with other post-secondary institutions around the province, had finally decided that, for the safety of students, staff, and faculty, all … 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