It’s the start of a new semester, and the start of a whole new chapter of life for students just beginning here at Camosun. So what better time than now to look to some of our returning writers to find out what they, honestly, feel needs to change at the college?
But we’re not all sour grapes: student editor/cover star Jordyn Haukaas also wanted to let you know about some of the great aspects of Camosun (see sidebar).
So read on to find out what Camosun students Dominique Atherton, Kim Fehr, Haukaas, and Ali Williams have to say, from the surprising downside of e-texts to the never-ending struggle for free menstrual products, with a little puppy therapy thrown in for good measure. – Greg Pratt, managing editor
Dominique Atherton, contributing writer
With the amount of time we students spend on campus, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for our priorities and comfort to be brought to the forefront of the college’s mind. I’d like to see an upgrade to the bathrooms in the Young Building. Now, I can only speak to the women’s bathrooms, but they are decrepit, so much so it’s often hard to tell if they’re dirty or just old. The stall doors have such large gaps or often don’t stay closed. We’d like to do our business in peace, please.
Having the opportunity to study outside is one of the best things about living in Victoria, however, we have wasted space at Camosun. It would be lovely if the college could add more picnic tables, and maybe a few gazebos, to the large grassy area next to Young building. It’s a wide-open space with only a couple picnic tables to sit at; I believe the space could be expanded upon so students have a wider variety of study and meeting places. Sitting outside has been known to reduce stress, so why not give us pressurized students more chances to relax?
Safety should always be of the upmost importance in college life, but walking around campus after evening classes can be like walking through the middle of a horror movie. You know the scenes I’m talking about—the ones where the lonely person is trotting along mindlessly while being stalked by some killer in a creepy mask. So, I don’t think it would hurt for there to be more lighting provided for those late-night walkers. Especially if you have to walk to the very back of the parking lot… by yourself… late at night… in the dark… in the rain… during a thunderstorm… in the middle of nowhere. Okay, I’m being dramatic, but you get my point. Lights can equal a sense of safety for us, so, please, illuminate our lives.
As a student on the go, I often find sitting down for meals to be inconvenient. What I really want is a way to grab a quick protein or snack bar from a vending machine. If machines offering these kinds of snacks were placed in every building, maybe on multiple floors, I would be able to keep my body fuelled while not losing my time or productivity. We students are often constantly moving from school to work to any other extracurricular activities we have planned, so being able to grab food and go is more convenient and efficient for both our time and monetary value.
The biggest change I would like to see at Camosun is being able to opt out of the bus pass program. As someone who has to commute, I find it incredibly unfair that I’ve spent years paying off my car and paying for insurance and gas only to have to pay for a bus pass I don’t need. Not only that, but we drivers also have to pay for parking on campus. So, we get penalized in multiple ways for driving to school.
Kim Fehr, contributing writer
I would love for Camosun to release class book lists sooner. As of writing this, days after the tuition deadline, not all my classes have released the list of required textbooks. It feels unfair to pay tuition for a class without knowing fully what I’m signing up for or if I can afford the required books to participate in and pass the class.
Further, there’s a good chance that at least one of my as-yet-a-mystery textbooks will be an e-text. While I understand that e-texts are environmentally friendly (they don’t require printing and shipping and the associated costs and waste) they are still expensive for six months of access to a file. This shift towards e-texts at Camosun is hurting students’ ability to resell their books—more e-texts means fewer students can sell their books at the end of their class or program, and that fewer students are able to buy their books second hand.
I’ve said it before, and will say it again: the bathroom situation at Camosun isn’t great. Not every building has accessible gender-neutral washrooms, and the ones that do don’t have them on every floor. For example, the Young Building has several gender-neutral washrooms, one on each floor, but the one on the second floor isn’t wheelchair accessible. The Fisher Building has one, and it is wheelchair accessible, but there’s often a line. A single stall is really not enough for the size of the building.
Although often well-intentioned, there is room for improvement in the way that roll call happens during the first day of classes. In my experience, first-class roll call goes one of a few ways: the instructor calls out each name; the instructor calls out each name, and asks us to share a fact about ourselves; or the instructor calls out each name, and asks us to share a fact about ourselves and to offer our pronouns if we choose.
None of these are inherently bad. However, the responsibility of introducing ourselves with our pronouns is left up to transgender and gender-nonconforming people. It’s stressful, listening to the roll call, being the only person in the room to introduce yourself with your pronouns. The only other option is to not do that and risk getting misgendered the rest of the semester. It’d be helpful if more cis professors and students introduced themselves with their pronouns—first day of class or otherwise.
Jordyn Haukaas, student editor
I would love to see some healthier options in the Fisher cafeteria. While I’m only human and will absolutely indulge in the many flavours of poutine they offer, the novelty of deep-fried food wears off quickly. Especially as the semester ticks on, unhealthy options aren’t sustainable for those who find themselves eating at the cafeteria multiple times a week. While they do offer some salads and healthy bowls, the amount of deep-fried food and snacks outweighs healthy options. Once the sun begins to set early and fall kicks into gear, the last thing students need is an onslaught of junk food making them feel sluggish during the semester. A variety of healthy and delicious options would help encourage healthy habits and healthy students.
I’d love to see Camosun College improve its organizational skills. Specifically, there have been many times in my recent registration process where I’ve been left annoyed and grasping for answers to extremely frustrating questions. For example, I was accepted into the Digital Communication program only for it to be cancelled a month later due to low enrolment numbers. That’s fair, but, after quickly making a new plan, I was held back from registering from classes because the program that’d been cancelled still said I was enrolled, therefore all of my non-existent classes were pre-selected for me (thanks). Luckily, someone at administration was able to sort it out and I was able to register.
Suffice it to say, situations like this shouldn’t be happening. Students shouldn’t be tossed around because of a clear lack of organizational skills on the college’s part. Year after year I’ve heard students complaining about issues surrounding registration and program organization, my latest experience being only one of many. I’m hoping they have the foresight to fix these problems, which would ensure a smooth transition for students planning on attending Camosun.
Okay, this one is a little wild, I know: please bring back puppies during exam season. I know it’s happened before, I know it might happen again, but I’m just here to reiterate that we need more puppies. I’m talking every exam season, I’m talking 30 puppies. I don’t care what has to happen, I don’t care who the Camosun College Student Society has to call, I don’t care if it’s legal, just give us the dogs to get us through. As someone who has survived two exam seasons, trust me, students need all the support they can get.
Lastly, a gentle reminder to the college: the Going with the Flow initiative—which aims to supply students with free menstrual products in every bathroom—is supposed to be up and running before the start of September 2023. (For more information see our story that covered the delays of the initiative’s launch by searching “Go with the Flow” at nexusnewspaper.com.) As I write this in August, most bathrooms only have the dispensers that cost 25 cents per pad or tampon; I’m hoping the college keeps their word and provides free menstrual products to students by the time you’re reading this.
Ali Williams, contributing writer
The start of a fall semester is typically met with anticipation and nerves for most students, especially those who are fresh out of high school or returning after gap years. When I first enrolled at Camosun I had friends showing me the ins and outs of the MyCamosun and D2L websites, and I in returned have done the same for other friends. While there is information for newly accepted students on the Camosun site, it’s somewhat disorganized and contains minimal information. This had me thinking that there should be a short step-by-step video tutorial to assist new students who are completely lost on where to start.
When it comes the Interurban and Lansdowne campuses there is one main issue that has, unfortunately, been plaguing our students and faculty for years—our coffee and food situation is very limited. I’ve been attending classes on campus since the fall semester of 2020 (before the By The Books coffee shop was moved into the Wilna Thomas building) and it has always closed at 2 pm. The cafeteria also closes at 4 pm, and they usually stop serving hot food 15 minutes prior. This is especially unfortunate for those of us with evening classes that start after 5 or 6 pm, because if you were hoping for a pick-me-up before your two-plus hour lecture then you’re out of luck. Myself and many of my classmates would trek over to Hillside Mall if we were especially desperate, but this was a big inconvenience if class times were too close together. I’ve never come across a “help wanted” poster at either the coffee shop or the cafeteria, and I believe that hiring students for part-time hours would not only keep the doors open later into the day but also provide work for some busy students who spend most of their time on campus.
Lastly, for the past year there’s been construction going on at the Lansdowne campus as the college is installing an elevator onto the Ewing building. This is a much-needed project but unfortunately a lot of the construction takes place during class times—it’s incredibly difficult trying to concentrate while a jackhammer is working away on the same building. I was even in one class that was moved outside because the noise made it impossible to hear anyone. I would strongly suggest that while construction is taking place an effort is made to temporarily move classes with midterms and lectures into another building. There are many empty rooms at any given time in the Young or Fisher buildings, and this would save a lot of headache for everyone involved.