The Chopping Block Chronicles: The importance of eating and shopping locally

Eating local has become somewhat of a phenomenon. In Victoria, we are blessed to be surrounded by an abundance of amazing producers, farmers, growers, and artisanal shops. This not only makes eating local easy but also gives us a vast quantity of choices.  In high school, my chef was an advocate of the slow-food movement. […]

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The Periodic Column: A second domestication

Sometime between 11,000 and 40,000 years ago, early humans domesticated wolves. There are theories, but, in the end, no one’s quite sure how it happened. One of the most widely accepted of these theories is that wolves followed human groups to scavenge from the carcasses left behind after human hunts. The presence of the wolves […]

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Let’s Talk?: Overcoming apathy

Here we are, team—a year after the  #metoo movement began. And I don’t know about y’all, but I am exhausted.  How? How are we still having the exact same conversations about sexual consent, victim shaming, and due process as when we started? I mean, really, the only difference is that the issues have become more […]

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Tech Talk: Student tech discounts

Between tuition and textbooks, being a student can cost a lot. But there are some companies offering benefits only to students. It can be their marketing effort trying to entice you to their products early on so you use them after school, but if they are standard in your industry there might be no harm […]

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Unpacking the Bags: Tips for finding jobs after graduation

Finding a job after graduation can be one of the greatest challenges for international students. There are many variables—such as deadlines, interviews, emails, resumes, and cover letters—to be taken into consideration. All this needs to be done in a different language and culture, which can be overwhelming for us. So here are some tips for […]

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Health with Tess: Giving mindfulness a shot

If you’re a human being, you’ve experienced stress. If you’re a student, you probably have a menu of stressors we like to call “deadlines,” with a side dish of part-time work and a serving of interpersonal turmoil for dessert. Stress helps us accomplish goals, meet deadlines, and develop as people, but we also need strategies to […]

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The Chopping Block Chronicles: Why are we afraid to cook?

The clash of pots and pans; the sound of a steak searing on a scorching hot skillet; the aromas of butter, rosemary, and sage filling the air. This to me is nothing short of divine, the organized chaos that fills my house on a regular basis. Cooking came out of necessity for me, but then […]

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Communication Error: Clone city

Not long ago I spoke about the communication funnel we can experience when ruminating on past conversations, the funnel often used to lament or predict the future with spent words of our former self. But what if our former selves were alive, their words burning so fiercely that a fiery lake surrounds the present us? […]

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Campus Access: Camosun missed the mark with Outdoor Learning Commons

The Outdoor Learning Commons is a relatively new addition to Camosun’s Lansdowne campus; the cluster of cement tables outside By the Books is only a few weeks old. While the idea itself appears efficient, there is one serious concern: the lack of accessible spots for those in wheelchairs and other people with mobility concerns. Of […]

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First Things First: College 101

So, you’ve started your first year of college, and everything is priority number one to you. Assignments, quizzes, group work, book buying, and all the awful little details you forgot are at the top of your list. You need to knock these off one by one before you can tackle socializing, sleeping, eating, or even […]

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