A provincial tragedyFentanyl has killed over 200 people in BC since the beginning of 2016. Are students safe? And what is being done to stop this crisis? A drug 50 to 100 times more toxic and potent than morphine has been causing a string of overdoses in British Columbia. Clinically, it’s prescribed for extreme pain relief in a […] Continue Reading |
The educated homeless: How Victoria’s housing crisis has impacted Camosun studentsIn September, Mary Rickinson was registered to be a University Transfer student at Camosun College; she had finished her course selection and paid her fees. But Rickinson had nowhere to live. Like many students, her fingers were crossed that karma would work its magic and a place would appear, but nothing showed up. After a […] Continue Reading |
The annual report: Camosun College president Sherri Bell looks back at her first year on the jobCamosun College president Sherri Bell started her job here a year ago, following the unexpected and prompt termination of previous president Kathryn Laurin’s contract. Bell was stepping into a position filled with questions, and she was about to lead the college through a year of change. We caught up with Bell recently to talk about […] Continue Reading |
Dark days at Camosun College: Students dealing with depression speak outIt’s a hot summer day at Camosun College’s Lansdowne campus. I’m walking beneath the bridge that connects the Fisher and Ewing buildings, my footsteps echoing amid the summer silence that fills the air. When autumn comes, the bookstore line-up will be visible from across the parking lot; for now, the campus is tranquil. But campuses […] Continue Reading |
College at a crossroads: what does the future hold for Camosun?Sometimes it feels like Camosun College is at a crossroads, wondering which way to go next. Will the institution focus on trades and job-skills training, or will it be more arts-based? What is the role of international students? How do the college’s sports teams fit into all this? We thought we’d wrangle a range of […] Continue Reading |
The other side of the divide: talking tensions with Bilan Arte, national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of StudentsOur June 15, 2016 issue featured the cover story “A provincial divide,” which looked in detail at the state of the national student movement in Canada. The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) did not agree to interview requests by the time we went to print. We have since talked with CFS national chairperson Bilan Arte […] Continue Reading |
A provincial divide: inside the national student movementFrom January 14 to 17 of this year, the British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS, then known as the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia [CFS-BC]) held their 34th annual general meeting. The meeting was significant, as the provincial student group finally made official what people behind the scenes had been talking about for a long […] Continue Reading |
Policy changers and government lobbiers: Getting to know the newly elected Camosun College Student Society representativesLobbying government to create change that impacts students; working with Camosun to change policy that impacts students; throwing parties that… impact students? Sure, sounds good: the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) does all of that and more, and they do it with the help of elected student representatives. The CCSS recently held their 2016 student […] Continue Reading |
Camosun’s deer and cougars: is it time to be concerned?A puma crept the length of Foul Bay Road on swift paws. Silently it crept through the crisp early-morning air in search of its new prey until, finally, it pounced… right into an empty parking lot. A parking lot on Camosun’s Lansdowne campus. The incident took place in October of 2015, while campus security was conducting […] Continue Reading |
Education barriers: Is Camosun doing enough for students with disabilities?“It basically made me feel like shit.” After years of hearing concerns from students about how Camosun College deals with students who have disabilities, I’m finally sitting down face to face with a student and getting their story, and this is how that student—who has autism—explains to me they felt after a run-in with a […] Continue Reading |
