What Makes a Poet Laureate?
With Neil Surkan
An exploration of laureateship with Neil Surkan and Cultures Coordinator Jaime-Brett as they close out Surkan’s two-year term.
Life With the Black Dog
A Memoir of Mental Illness and Recovery
As autumn settles in, I remember flashes of my lowest phase: A point in my late teens when I decided life was no longer worth it. I crawled out of this—how can other people?
Foliage Foes
The Ongoing War Against Nanaimo’s Invasive Plants
Take a deep dive into the impacts of invasive plant species on our local ecosystems and learn about the exceptional folks who are fighting back.
Single, Symbiotic, and Slightly Toxic
Finally, Someone in Nanaimo Who’s Ready to Commit
Strong roots, good connections, a little toxic. Meet Nanaimo’s most eligible single.
Nanaimo Is Not a Backdrop
Why VIU Students Have a Stake in Nanaimo’s Civic Life
With Nanaimo’s municipal election quickly approaching on October 17, explore why VIU students should take action for the future of their city. Voting is a practical expression of civic agency and a way to affirm your voice as integral representatives in the Nanaimo community.
The Body in the Room
The corpse: pale flesh peeking out from pajamas a size too small; bruises of overlapping hues wrapping the throat; hair still damp from a shower.
Nice-Girl Basics
There are two things you should know about Indian parents: they raise their kids to be “nice,” and they live in mortal fear of the phrase log kya kahenge?—“What will people say?”
Honouring Truth and Reconciliation Day
When the Orange Shirt Goes Back in the Closet, How Do We Keep Healing?
A look into how Canadians can practice truth and reconciliation long past September 30. The orange shirt may come off, but the commitment must stay on.
Forging Campus Connections
VIUSU’s FROSH 2026 Recap
FROSH simultaneously closes the door of summer, and helps students flip the page to the fall semester. It brings campus, community, and students together, while also giving out free stuff—which we love. Learn about why FROSH is so important to attend, and why students love to go.
Hungry Squirrel
Photography by Adam Barkworth (2026), featured in The Navigator Vol. 58, No. 2.
Forested Robin
Photography by Adam Barkworth (2026), featured in The Navigator Vol. 58, No. 2.
Where’s Nanaimo Going?
In the first video from Volume 58 of The Nav, you are invited to spend a few minutes with Nav Videographer Daxton Comba as he tours the city of Nanaimo, reflecting on how it’s changed since he first arrived on the boat in Departure Bay in 2018. After years spent growing from stranger to resident, he’s concluded that the harbour city is going through a bit of an in-between phase. The city has, in some ways, outpaced its public image throughout the rest of Canada. It’s grown, it’s changed, but it has yet to establish a wholly new identity for itself. Daxton speaks to a lifetime resident of ...
The Boat Club
Photography by Maya Callihoo (2026), featured in The Navigator Vol. 58, No. 1.
Autumn Sets
Photography by Maya Callihoo (2026), featured in The Navigator Vol. 58, No. 1.
Waves
Photography by Brendan Wanderer (2026), featured in The Navigator Vol. 58, No. 1.
The Cost of a Commuting Student
Is Carpooling a Safe and Accessible Mode of Transport?
By exploring all transportation options for commuting students and keeping affordability in mind, what is the most efficient option to get to campus?
Interview With A Slug
From the Ground Up
One student journalist, one banana slug. Twenty-four children, 27,000 teeth, and a strict no-kissing policy. Nanaimo local discusses parenthood, ecosystem maintenance, and the question threatening human-slug relations: can we kiss?
Chemainus Theatre
A Look Beyond the Stage
A dive into the history, operations, and community behind Chemainus Theatre.
“Gravel, Love, and Gravity” by Natasha Simmer
I find myself within the curvature of the crossroads
Tracing the Great Spine
Living in the Ruins of the Island Rail Corridor
A mostly abandoned railway snakes down Vancouver Island’s inner coast. Its metal is rusting, and the wood is rotting, but its echoes are easy to find. What does it mean to have its wreckage in our backyard?
Sustainability in VIU’s Hairstylist Program
Keeping the Environment in Mind on Campus and Beyond
How does Vancouver Island University’s hairstylist program practice sustainability and support students in keeping the environment in mind after graduation?
Food Security on Campus
VIU and Loaves & Fishes Work Together to Make Food More Accessible
With the cost of food on the rise, it gets harder and harder to budget groceries as a student. VIU and Loaves & Fishes work together to improve food security for students through a new Free Food Market at the Trades Discovery Centre.
Editor’s Letter
Welcome to Volume 58 of The Navigator Student Press!
As I step into the role of Managing Editor, I have been thinking a lot about the history of our organization on campus. In 1969, Malaspina College—now known as Vancouver Island University—was about to open for business. Two days before the institution opened their doors, The Navigator released their very first issue to the student body.
New Student
Comic by Marty West featured in the Navigator Vol. 57, No. 6.
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