I read 45 books (and five plays) in 2021.
I’ve always been a big reader, but last year was the first time I set out to make a comprehensive list of all the books I read. I was surprised by how many I got through!
I read across a variety of genres last year, stepping outside my comfort zone and being well-rewarded for it. Here are five of my favourite reads from last year.
1 and 2) We Hunt the Flame / We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizel
This two-book series reminded me why I love reading. I have not obsessively enjoyed a fictional story to this extent in what feels like ...
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Cowboy Bebop (1998) and Cowboy Bebop (2021).
Netflix remakes are usually a bad idea. It’s definitely not a good sign when the creators cancel the series after just the first season.
I’m talking about Cowboy Bebop (2021), a remake of the 1998 Space Western anime.
Both the original and the adaptation follow a group of bounty hunters on interplanetary adventures, each character with a unique personality and ghosts from their past. The anime features compelling stories, impressive animation, and a fantastic soundtrack.
It ...
Don’t know what to do after you graduate? Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Graduate Programs Expo can help.
VIU has a variety of postgraduate options, from master’s degrees to certificates and advanced diplomas, in programs such as Business, Education, and Fisheries and Aquaculture. However, navigating this world can be daunting.
The Expo will answer questions students have about grad school, connect them to support services, and feature alumni who will share their experiences.
The drop-in event is being hosted on Wednesday, January 19th, through the online event platform ...
On the night of December 1, 2021, eight students stood onstage in Malaspina Theatre before a backdrop of blue, purple, and pink lights. The Jazz Choir performed songs ranging from an angelically sung solo rendition of “Autumn in New York,” to an upbeat group performance of “I Got Rhythm.”
It was the second night of the VIU Music Department’s three-night Term-End Concert series, with the Jazz Choir, VIU Singers, and Big Band performing. The night before, several jazz combos had showcased their skill, and the final night featured jazz group The Skye Douglas Project, with the proceeds ...
This winter has been one of the coldest on record for the Nanaimo area. Most fortunate people have a warm place to escape the frigid winter wind, but for many others, this isn’t the case.
Multiple advocacy and community-led groups have stepped up to help those in need of extra support. One organisation in particular, RISEBRIDGE, or The Rise Bridge Project, has seen a greater need for warming centres for people who have nowhere else to go.
RISEBRIDGE is a female-led, nonprofit organisation devoted to taking action towards equity and allyship for the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities in ...
The freezing rain pelts your back, creeping into your boots and soaking through your clothes. You curse yourself for begging for rain during the hot and bug-infested 30-plus degree weather the day before.
Surrounding you is a cutblock where a logging company has chopped down all the trees in the area, leaving behind brush and stumps. You stumble over them before screefing away the foliage with your beat-up boots and pushing your shovel into the earth. You then stick the tree seedling straight in the hole before kicking the dirt to hold the seedling in place.
Being cold and ...
It’s 2022. Time to tick off those New Year’s Resolutions.
There are the common yet difficult examples of “exercise more” and “travel,” then there are the equally common and difficult “make friends” and “try new things.” Introverts or students from out of town may find the latter particularly challenging. Thankfully, there’s a diverse source already available.
Enter the student-led clubs at VIU.
There are currently 36 active clubs on campus: 22 general interest (open to any student), 12 course unions (restricted to a certain program), and 2 partisan/religious groups. Due to the ...
This past year, I have become pretty awful at small talk.
When I’m hanging out with friends, old and new, without a task or main topic of conversation, I start to feel awkward and uncomfortably socially aware. That’s why I am a big fan of party games.
Games can be a perfect way of breaking the ice, or something to discuss in that inevitable lull in conversation. Without further ado, here are five of my favourite game recommendations.
Boss Monster by Brotherwise Games (2-4 players, ages 13+)
Imagine you are in a Mario game, except you aren’t Mario you are Bowser, and your ...
VIU students may have noticed orange heart-shaped pins for sale in the campus bookstore. Picking one up, they may also notice that the fifteen-dollar sale supports the Orange Shirt Society.
What they may not know is the poignant story behind these hearts-and-hands pins by Kwagiulth and Coast Salish artist, and University of Victoria professor, Carey Newman (Ha-yalth-kingeme).
The story begins at Newman’s child’s elementary school. The students were doing a totem project, and the wall behind the totem pole was being decorated with a handprint from each student. Unfortunately, due to ...
Romance isn’t my genre of choice, yet romance novels have been cropping up on my “recent reads” lists a lot more often lately.
I usually read mysteries, and most of my personal collection is made up of stories about supposedly haunted sites in Canada. Once in a while, however, I enter the public library’s romance section and if a book looks interesting, I take it home. Then I spend the duration of the novel waiting for the two protagonists to finally get together.
So, what is a romance? And what’s the difference between a proper romance and a romantic novel?
In CREW 221 (Genre ...
VIU Education student, Danielle Cossey-Sutton, completed an independent study last year and won three awards at the 2021 VIU CREATE conference. Her study had her diving into wartime letters and other primary sources to focus on a less-talked-about facet of World War I: women’s trauma.
“Women dealt so intimately with the war,” Cossey-Sutton said, but they were “often dismissed” because they were not in the trenches. She categorized WWI-era women into those who stayed at home, those who were nurses, and those who volunteered. More than 2,300 women enlisted with the Canadian Army Nursing ...
BC residents are facing new restrictions for the holidays.
The province announced an initial set of restrictions on Friday, December 17 with additional measures outlined on Tuesday, December 21. The latest restrictions come into effect Wednesday and will be in place until January 18, 2022. They include:
The closure of bars, nightclubs, gyms, and fitness centres;
Reducing seated capacity limits at all venues and events to 50%, no matter what size;
Postponing scheduled non-urgent surgeries, starting from January 4, 2022;
Limiting table sizes at pubs, restaurants, and cafes ...
I love Christmas. The indoors feel cozier, the air feels more magic, hot chocolate tastes better.
Giving gifts is a major way that I like to show people in my life that I care about them. However, my gift-giver way of life is somewhat halted by my student-sized wallet.
One great way I have found to show my love to others this time of year without declaring bankruptcy is the gift of baking. More specifically, the baking of holiday themed cookies. It also feels good to make something with my hands. I can mindfully think of each person as I bake, and taste, their gift.
For this ...
The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year—and perhaps the busiest for VIU's Professional Baking and Pastry Arts department.
The department went through an intensive two weeks of holiday baking in early December to fulfill approximately $15k worth of orders for the VIU and Nanaimo community.
The holiday delicacies range from classic fruitcakes, tarts, and cookies to decorative bread, white chocolate Christmas trees, and gingerbread houses. Designs of the latter range from classic four-walled houses to pirate ships and replicas of London Bridge. The gingerbread houses ...
VIU’s Malaspina Theatre joined thousands of other theatres around the world to put on a showing of Music Theatre International’s “All Together Now.”
“All Together Now” is a musical celebration of theatre coming back after COVID-19, featuring numbers from musicals such as Les Misérables and Mamma Mia! The North American editions of the show were put on over the weekend of November 12–14.
The global show was designed as a fundraiser for local theatres and acting groups to perform live in early November. Malaspina Theatre hosted the mid-Island edition of “All Together Now,” a ...
Vancouver Island University is home to royalty.
Demitria Rounis is the 2022 Royal International Miss (RIM) Canada Role Model for Western Canada, or Miss Canada Pacific. Rounis is in her graduating year in the Bachelor of Tourism Management program (majoring in Recreation). She shares this year’s Miss Canada Role Model title with a student from Ottawa representing Eastern Canada.
Rounis said the win was both exciting and unexpected. “Quite a few people [tried] out for my age group. So I was definitely not really sure how it was going to go.”
The pageant is the first Rounis has ...
The extreme flooding in southern BC has been and continues to be devastating.
The prolonged heavy rainfall caused mudslides that blocked and destroyed major highways, for thousands of people to abandon their homes, and the death of hundreds of thousands of farm animals.
While some British Columbians experienced minor or no changes to their daily lives, others have tragically lost theirs or had their livelihoods severely impacted.
Those affected by the flooding include current and former VIU students.
Jaymee Blagborne and Mitchell Gair are two previous VIU students who ...
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign returns to VIU this year.
The United Nations Campaign, which is marking 30 years, runs from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, until December 10, World Human Rights Day. It promotes awareness of violence against women, children, and gender-diverse people while also helping drive people to action.
Dr. Melissa Stephens, the Chair for the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association (VIUFA) Status of Women Committee, said, “[We’ve] talked a lot historically about the ...
The National Stage Company of Canada’s Home for the Holidays: A Nat King Cole Christmas will be at the nearby Port Theatre in downtown Nanaimo for one night only on December 5—and The Navigator will be giving away two tickets!
Touring Vancouver Island December 3–13, Home for the Holidays features New York actor, singer, and playwright James Rich, and Samantha Madill, a thirteen-year-old singer and actress from Vancouver Island, performing some classic, as well as some new Christmas songs. They are accompanied by a six-piece band.
“The concept for this performance is to capture the ...
The weather can bring you down.
I dealt with many blistering cold days in my home province of Alberta—days with the kind of wind that numbs your skin instantly and freezes your eyebrow hairs into two icy little worms.
The thought of moving to beautiful Vancouver Island for university was highly appealing to me. Specifically, it was a place not covered in snow for eight months of the year and had more than two weeks of fall.
Don’t get me wrong, the island is appealing. Plentiful greenery, no preheating your car in the mornings before driving to school or work, minimal worrying ...
Connie Walker is the speaker for VIU's seventh annual Indigenous Speakers Series, in partnership with CBC Radio. She will present her talk “Exposing the Truth: Journalism’s Role in Reconciliation” on Monday, November 22 at 6:30 pm in Malaspina Theatre on VIU’s Nanaimo campus.
Over the past decade, Walker’s work has focused on Indigenous voices and the truth about the residential schools’ impacts, a VIU News story said. She hosts the podcast Stolen: The Search for Jermain and previously hosted CBC News’ podcast Missing & Murdered. Both podcasts deal with missing and murdered ...
The Langara guard slips past the VIU player defending her, dribbling into an open spot on the court. She eyes the hoop and jumps for the easy layup. The ball leaves her fingers.
Like a hammer blow, the arm of VIU forward Shayce Johnston comes down on the rising ball, smashing it out of bounds. The number “1” entered under the “Blocks” column in the stats sheet doesn’t translate the play’s impact.
Johnston lets out a triumphant shout, and the sparse but enthusiastic crowd at the VIU Gymnasium cheers along with her, clapping their hands and banging sticks on overturned garbage ...
Sexual health education is often lacking, leaving young adults unprepared to face real-world situations. From awkward car rides to lackluster school presentations, college students share their diverse experiences. But what about emergency contraception? We've all heard of Plan B, but do you know the challenges it poses for some individuals? In this eye-opening article, author Lauryn MacKenzie explores the difficulties of obtaining emergency contraception, shedding light on lesser-known alternatives and the importance of comprehensive sexual health education. Don't miss this essential ...
Angela Traynor flips through a sketchbook of paint colour samples and pencil drawings over a live stream on Twitch, the camera trained on her work desk. She banters with her viewers about crochet and cross-stitching as they fill up the comment section.
“That’s rad!” she says when someone comments they're teaching themselves how to knit. “Cross-stitching is one I haven't tried yet. Stop talking about it, you're making me think maybe I need to try it. As if I need to try another thing!"
. . .
Traynor is not someone you can soon forget. A multi-talented third-year student in VIU’s ...
