Late on a Monday night three years ago, I was behind a $10k bar, getting yelled at by a balding, overly sweaty 40-year-old man.
I stood there with my feet swelling twice their size from the heels I was wearing; my dress pants and uncomfortably tight shirt made me feel foreign in my own body; and to top it off, a drunk man was threatening to take my job.
I was stoic behind that bar, not giving into the blabberings of a man 10 margaritas deep, waving around his big boy business card. I turned to the bartender working beside me.
“Please handle this.”
I walked through the ...
Zan. Zendegi. Azadi.
Woman. Life. Freedom.
Tape edges the hard canvas. A wide mink brush quickly coats the snow-white surface in cerulean acrylic. By Sogol’s hand, delicate and soft, the image of an evening sky over the horizon begins to form. The smell of cool paint coils around her in the air.
In a fiery orange, the light of the setting sun spreads across the canvas. It fades into a neutral blue foundation at the painting’s base.
She cracks a window and waits for the acrylic to dry.
VIU student Sogol—a Persian immigrant—fights for her rights as a woman and ...
Vancouver Island is home to many non-native, invasive plant species that threaten biodiversity, human health, and personal livelihoods.
We met with VIU student Hunter Jarratt (also known as @invasivespeciesguy on Instagram and TikTok) to go on a nature walk and to discuss what people can do to fight invasives and support native biodiversity.
Check out Hunter's work: linktr.ee/InvasiveSpeciesGuy
Report Invasive Species in BC here, and check out the iNaturalist App.
I dodge puddles to keep my shoes dry as I make my way to VIU’s Visual and Applied Arts building. Still, they’re soaked in minutes. I know that I need new ones, but I can’t afford them.
Just like the soles of my shoes, I feel exhausted and worn out. I’ve been on campus all day, running from class to class. The sky is dark and the lamp posts along my path shine as I step inside building 325.
I can smell the clay already.
I’m excited—and nervous. I’ve always wanted to go to a ceramics class, but I didn’t think I had enough patience to be successful at it.
Luckily, I don’t ...
Jack sits down with his roommates, Ocea and Amy, and two fellow Homeschoolers from VIU to discuss the public perception of homeschoolers and their presence/lifestyle in a university setting. Personal accounts, stories, and discussion of organized education commence!
https://anchor.fm/the-navigator/episodes/Skipping-School---Homeschoolers-in-University-e1uijhp
We were blessed to have Madi Duncan & Amateur Hour stop by our office to play us a few of their groovy tunes.
Timestamps
0:08 - Another Day Alone, Except
4:09 - Tall, Dark, And Grusome
7:03 - Venetian Red
https://youtu.be/wDKLtm48HlE
Check out Madi here: https://linktr.ee/madijduncan
From madiduncan.com:
"Having shared the stage with Foo Fighters, Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), and received the praise of Said The Whale and Todd Kerns (Age of Electric, Slash feat. Myles Kennedy + the Conspirators), Madi has lived several rock ‘n’ roll moments and is working ...
It’s Valentine’s Day. You’re hyper aware of all the couples on campus: the girls holding hands, the guys exchanging a kiss, your classmate shyly handing an envelope to their partner.
A lump comes to your throat as you think of your significant other, another country and time zone away.
Dropping into your seat, you send them a quick text and wait, hoping they have time for even just a quick heart emoji. But you know their schedule too well. They’re still asleep.
Not for the first time, you wish they were here with you.
*
This scenario is a reality for many students at VIU, ...
Join Mike as he follows Kenna Deo through making a delicious date night meal. Kenna is a recent VIU Grad who was the champion of Season 2 Episode 4 of the Food Networks Wall of Chefs. Kenna prepares a delicious meal of Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo with tomatoes, asparagus, and fresh baked focaccia bread. Follow along yourself!
Okay, first thing's first!
We went ahead and priced out this meal at less than $30.00 worth of ingredients (with current food prices, your mileage may vary), and while we plate this meal in 2 bowls, it easily fed four with ...
The Nav’s Austin Heidt sits down with Mariners newcomer Mika Yamada to find out what high school volleyball is like in Japan, how she balances her busy schedule, and how excited she is for Nationals.
The VIU Mariners host the Women’s Volleyball National Championships from March 8 to 11.
https://youtu.be/ciEwIkNxeSk
Find out more information at https://mariners.viu.ca/landing/index.
Edited/Produced by Austin Heidt
Filmed by Mike Duddy
Canada issued a ban on the manufacture and import of plastics in December of last year. By December 2023, all non-reusable plastic materials such as checkout bags, cutlery, and foodservice ware can no longer be purchased or sold.
Though Canadians throw away over three million tons of plastic waste every year, only nine percent of plastics are recycled and repurposed properly.
Without the option of non-reusable plastics, landfills will naturally be less cluttered and that percentage will rise.
I had doubts about the differences a ban would really make. It seems like such a small ...
The Navigator Newspaper Society Board of Directors Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place in Building 193, Room 217 on the VIU Nanaimo Campus (900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5) and on Google Meet on February 28, 2023, at 5 pm PST.
Nominations are now open for the annual election. To nominate, visit this Google Form and submit before nominations close on February 13.
Successful nominees will work together with a small team of board members to make sure the business of The Navigator functions and for creative production to continue at full mast. It’s an incredible work ...
On December 15, 2022, the VIU Board of Governors pushed through a surprise tuition increase of 5% for international students in the 2023-2024 school year.
This increase comes despite their commitment, made only a few months prior, that international student tuition increases would remain at 2%—the same as their domestic counterparts. This commitment was made under VIU's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Action Plan, and was seen as a positive step forward in VIU's relationship with international students.
This change elicited a loud and passionate response from the VIU Students' ...
“Sharing parenting tips with the other moms while our babies crawled in our laps and put sand in their mouths. The older kids would lift up rocks to find tiny crabs or chase each other half-naked through the warm, shallow waters. I had found a community and it was incomparable.”
— Margot Fedoruk, Cooking Tips For Desperate Fishwives
I’m driving down a winding road with author Margot Fedoruk, a VIU Creative Writing graduate of 2021. She’s taking me to Orlebar Point on Gabriola Island, not far from her home.
Apparently, it’s the perfect lookout for when you need a good ...
At four years old, I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was in kindergarten—barely able to leave my mom’s side for five minutes without crying.
But somehow, they wanted me to choose what I wanted to do for the rest of my life?
I dressed up as a cop on Career Day. If you know me, that’s probably hilarious. I think the only reason I chose to be a cop was so I could handcuff myself to Logan, my kindergarten crush. My teacher was not pleased and put me in a 10-minute timeout.
Other kids dressed up as ballerinas, firefighters, doctors—some were even farm animals. I ...
Have you ever wondered what happens when you pair a room full of people who have never played a roleplaying game with an experienced Dungeon Master? Well, we have answers...
https://youtu.be/kHT_TquIAqE
Character Illustrations by Celia Brand
Courtney Blow wakes up in a quiet house with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Her brother sleeps in another room. She hopes he never needs to discover the truth about where their mother is tonight—or where she assumes her to be.
She’s probably out at a gas station with a random guy, getting high and forgetting about them.
Or maybe she’s out in the street, begging for money.
It is at this point that Blow understands she is more a pawn to this woman than a child—than a daughter.
These years will stay with her for the rest of her life. This feeling of no control and ...
How learning to play Dungeons & Dragons together forged a lifelong friendship. Jack and Mitchell talk about learning to play roleplaying games their own way, and give advice to future game masters (GMs).
https://anchor.fm/the-navigator/episodes/Imagining-Friendship-Mitch--Jack-Talk-About-10-Years-of-Roleplaying-Experience-e1tj6ub
You’ve just checked your bank balance. The numbers are okay, but not great. You groan and pull at your hair in frustration.
I need a job.
You spend the next several hours on Indeed, scrolling through jobs and bookmarking the listings you’re interested in—most likely the ones you barely qualify for. Then, you dust off your resume and create cover letters, sending them to anyone you think might hire you.
For the next week or so, you wait anxiously, despairing whenever you see the inevitable “Sorry, but this didn’t work out,” in your inbox.
You’re ready to cry for joy when a ...
Austin Heidt sits down with VIU Mariners Women's Basketball star Ranika Guyton to find out why she moved to the Island form California, what she likes about VIU and her team, and her experience winning the silver medal at Nationals.
https://youtu.be/MI6Wu97c2Kc
This is part two of a two-part inquiry into the restraints placed on female bodies and sexuality.
Editor’s note: Myself and the two women who’s experiences I share in this article are cis-gendered. The vast majority of sexual education in Canada refers to heterosexual people, meaning there are woefully few educational tools for the many who don’t fall under this narrow definition.
I sit in my grade seven classroom.
A group of kids giggle in the back of the class. My teacher shushes them and points to the penis in a decade-old anatomy textbook.
The ...
Caroline Hsu leaves the classroom, rubbing the fatigue from her eyes. She’s spent the last hour working on her assignment, following a three-hour class. Now, she’s going to pick up her son, Hannes, from day care.
Hsu climbs the steps and walks up the ramp to the Malaspina Child Care Centre. Children run around the playset, go down the slide, or push toy vehicles through the gravel.
A few of the kids look up. Then, almost in one voice, they call: “Hannes, your mommy’s here!”
One of the boys runs out of the yard. Hsu bends down and wraps her son in a bear hug.
*
Being a student ...
Giving Tuesday began in the heart of New York to encourage people to become more engaged in their communities and spread more kindness into the world.
The annual global movement takes place on the Tuesday after Black Friday and has a simple goal: to practice generosity. This can be through charitable donations, helping a stranger, or simply paying someone a compliment.
This year it was on November 29th, and according to CanadaHelps, “GivingTuesday 2022 raised upwards of $13 million and supported 9,183 charities across Canada in a mere 24 hours.”
VIU has their own Giving ...
The roads are slick with black ice and noses turn red from the biting cold—Nanaimo faces a chillier winter this year and the homeless population needs more support than ever.
Over the last decade, those living on the streets have struggled as inflation steadily increases and people become more desperate to make a living.
Drugs are more addictive with the use of opioids and fentanyl, and it is taking more Naloxone to bring people out of overdoses.
As a result, more people are dying.
Communities need to start looking at long-term plans for individuals suffering from trauma and ...
Portal hosts its first poetry night of 2022 with Charlie Petch and student readers Tammi Carto, Bella Hoodle, and Jack Corfield (14:38).
Jack also interviews Bella and Tammi after the readings!
Charlie Petch - (2:17)
Tammi Carto - (9:36)
Bella Hoodle - (13:02)
Jack Corfield - (14:38)
Interviews - (16:53)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6exRXYfONGoYzAvyX5jAoX?si=36dacac75b204bad
