We rummaged through slash piles, meticulously picking the biggest, most sturdy logs. We grabbed boulders and discarded culverts—anything that would hold them off for even a minute longer. Quintessential Pacific Northwest clouds settled low among the towering western redcedars and Douglas fir. At the other end of the valley, clearcuts nagged the mountainside like an open wound, unable to be soothed. The heartbreaking dichotomy of the two views served to fuel us and everyone else at Ada’itsx, now globally known as the Fairy Creek Blockade.
With our arms full of old logs and debris, we ...
A new school year is stressful at the best of times. During a pandemic, it’s especially challenging.
As classes resume at VIU for the 2021-22 academic year, both in-person and online, the focus is on mental health—especially for students.
Prior to the pandemic, counselling was available in-person through Student Affairs and the former faculty of International Education. Students could see domestic or international counsellors, or an Indigenous counsellor. They could access walk-in crisis counselling or book an appointment.
Counselling transitioned to virtual formats after ...
Are you a VIU student who wants to be closely connected to your community? Maybe you’re wondering what more the university environment can offer you and what you can contribute to it. The Navigator Student Press is looking for journalists and creatives who want to inform themselves and their peers through storytelling. If you strive to meet deadlines and have taken CREW 100 Introduction to Journalism or a relevant media studies course, then one of The Nav’s upcoming positions might be for you.
Below is a list of positions that are becoming available at The Nav in the 2021 Fall ...
The other day I opened Instagram on my phone and on a whim searched “selfcare.” I was surprised to see that 44.1 million posts had tagged #selfcare, and 1.4 million posts tagged #selfcaresunday. While scrolling through the vast array of photography associated with these hashtags, I found a post offering virtual healing (20 minutes for $20), one woman boasting about her new Manolo heels and another about her new hairstyle, empowering quotes, depressing quotes, and an aesthetic assortment of beauty products such as body scrub, body oil, lip gloss, and lotion. This made me wonder—have we ...
The halls of VIU have long been haunted by student debt, late assignments, and bad grades, but the Student Residences have an extra guest that continues to haunt the hollow halls.
Every year, first-year students moving into Student Residences are told the urban legend of a ghost who haunts the halls of one of the biggest buildings on residence–Building Two.
In recent years, he has been given the name Henry. Henry is rumoured to live only in Building Two, as he is most often seen on the third floor of the building, but sightings of the ghost have allegedly popped up elsewhere on ...
Now that spring has sprung, the time for obsessive spring cleaning and gardening is upon us. One of the things I love to do to keep my brain entertained while performing tedious tasks is listen to podcasts. I have been a long-time podcast listener, and I love finding new podcasts that will make me laugh and think. The best part is that podcasts cover a wide variety of topics.
Want something to keep you updated on current events? Try listening to Front Burner or CANADALAND. Interested in true crimes that have taken place in Canada? Look into Dark Poutine. Missing your sense of ...
A Vancouver Island-based electric vehicle company has received nearly $300k in government funding through the CleanBC Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program.
Canadian Electric Vehicles (CanEV) is a Parksville-based company that specializes in designing and producing electric vehicles (EVs) and converting vehicles from combustion to electric systems. The company has converted a wide variety of vehicles to electric power, including skid steers, ice resurfacing machines, and more than 60 aircraft refueling trucks.
CanEV currently produces the Might-E Truck—a low-speed, ...
Thanks to the VIU Eco Club, those looking to help out their local pollinators can get some native wildflower seeds for free at the VIUSU Pub.
“[We] wanted to give wildflower seeds out, but just didn’t know how to get them to people,” Haley Andersen, event coordinator for the Eco Club, said in an interview. “So, then I thought, 'Hey, why don’t we put them at the pub?' Because everybody loves the pub, and it’s one of the few places on campus where people are actually going.”
Andersen will be putting a basket containing several varieties of pollinator-friendly wildflower seeds at the ...
Aries (March 21 to April 19)
With only a couple more weeks left of the school year, this is your time to shine. As a sign that is focused and hardworking, you'll soon be rubbing it in all your friends' faces that you were the first person to hit the “submit” button on the last assignment.
Taurus (April 20 to May 20)
As spring gets closer and flowers start to bloom, you will probably find yourself pulled into nature's beauty and spending more time outside. This is a great time to start stocking up on allergy medicine.
Gemini (May 21 to June 20)
If you Geminis could be ...
If you haven’t heard the news, everybody’s favourite plastic potato is getting a rebrand. Hasbro’s Mr. Potato Head products will be sold as just Potato Head in the near future.
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head as characters will still be available for purchase, just sold under the brand Potato Head.
This news came as part of an announcement of the brand’s new Create Your Own Potato Head Family product. The product comes with two large potato bodies, one small potato body, and an assortment of accessories. According to Hasbro’s announcement, the product “is a celebration of the many faces ...
Exactly one year ago, on March 15, 2020, VIU's University Relations team sent every VIU student an email with a subject line reading, “COVID-19 UPDATE: VIU transitioning to alternate course delivery and assessment.” VIU, along with other post-secondary institutions around the province, had finally decided that, for the safety of students, staff, and faculty, all classes would transition to an “alternate course delivery.”
I was in the parking lot of the Nanaimo Chapters when I first read the email. Before I could even get to my car, my phone started blowing up with friends, coworkers, ...
The elegant boardroom on the fifth floor of VIU’s library is where the school’s board of governors usually meets. It’s empty these days, but on February 27, 2020, the room was packed. The board members sat in their usual places at the long table, ready to begin. At the back of the room stood concerned international and domestic VIU students and VIU Students’ Union representatives, some forced to line the walls due to the lack of space.
The board of governors had to decide whether to pass a proposed restructuring to VIU’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, which it ...
The southern Salish Sea is a network of sounds and channels weaving in and out of craggy islands. Forests of Douglas fir and native arbutus trees sweep over mountains big and small. Above, bald eagles glide through salty air. In the water, pods of orcas search for schools of Pacific salmon to fill their bellies. Sailboats, fishing vessels, and the occasional ferry ebb and flow with the tides.
It is home to the southern Gulf Islands, an archipelago between BC’s lower mainland and Vancouver Island, dubbed by the New York Times as one of the top 50 travel destinations in the world. The ...
No matter who you are or where you come from, food is a part of life—a big part. Everybody, everywhere, eats.
Some people have too much food, some not enough. Some people die because of its unavailability, and food production is one of climate change’s leading causes. In fact, the primary driving force behind the deforestation of the largest rainforest on Earth, the Amazon, is cattle ranching; I'll bet you can guess what the cattle are used for.
Since it is such an important aspect of everyone's life, one might think that many people are producing food. However, the percentage of ...
From Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman to travel to space, to Nobel Prize recipient Donna Strickland, women have always been on the front lines of great discoveries and groundbreaking works of science.
While studies repeatedly report that STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are predominantly male dominated, there has been a rise in women in STEM, making space for young girls to dream of one day becoming the next Jane Goodall or Marie Curie.
Post-secondary institutions are one of the first places that future thinkers find ...
Perseverance, NASA’s fifth Mars rover, successfully landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021.
The newest Mars rover is a product of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. The mission’s primary goal is to investigate astrobiology by searching for signs of ancient microbial life in Martian rock and soil. Perseverance is the first Mars rover equipped with a drill to aid in sample collection. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA, said in a press release, "We don’t know what these pristine samples from Mars will tell us. But what they could tell us is monumental—including ...
Registrations for the City of Nanaimo’s Parks, Recreation and Culture spring programs will open Wednesday, March 3.
If you find yourself feeling a little cooped up after a winter amid a pandemic, Nanaimo’s spring programs are a good solution. “If anything, this pandemic has shown us how important being active is for both physical and emotional health,” said Lynn Wark, Nanaimo’s director of recreation and culture services.
The programs take place between April and June, and will provide individuals with a chance to get out, socialize, and learn—all while following COVID-19 ...
Emerging filmmakers and storytellers will soon be able to dust off their cameras and start working on their creative endeavours again as the provincial government announces the Reel Focus BC program.
Through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, the Province will be launching its first development program with $200k targeted to up-and-coming and/or equity-seeking filmmakers in BC. Creators will be able to receive up to $10k to cover concept development and scriptwriting costs.
The grants are available for any type of film media, including television shows and series, ...
It will be astounding. Time will fly by. Madness will take its toll.
The VIU Satyr Players will bring back The Rocky Horror Picture Show for their 25th run of the cult classic. The student cast will perform their annual production on March 12 at 7 pm through the live stream platform Twitch.
The VIU Satyr Players is a student-run theatre club operating out of Malaspina Theatre that takes pride in supporting the community and giving students hands-on learning experiences.
Although the theatre is closed, the club has found new ways to continue to showcase its talent and keep ...
Personal energy levels and how to maintain them can be different for everyone. With the pandemic still in full swing, acknowledging when your energy levels are low, and knowing how to build them back up is more important than ever.
Noelle Hanuse, VIU counsellor, is giving a workshop on Wednesday, February 24 to help people manage their energy levels. The event is titled Holistic Energy Care: Understand, Transform, and Energize Your Whole Being with Noelle Hanuse (Wuikinuxv) MA, CCC, Counsellor, and is hosted by the Office of Indigenous Education and Engagement.
The workshop will be ...
2021 marks the fifth year in a row that the provincial government has declared a public health emergency due to illicit drug toxicity.
The BC Coroners Service reports that 2020 was the province's worst year in terms of deaths due to toxic drugs.
In 2020, there were 1716 toxic drug-related deaths, which equates to about 4.7 deaths per day in the single year. This is a 74 percent increase of the 984 deaths that were recorded in 2019.
Following the BC Coroners Service’s latest report, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson released a statement about the 2020 ...
The movement to ban plastic grocery bags on Vancouver Island has been an arduous one, but various obstacles haven't halted its progress.
In January of 2018, Victoria instituted Vancouver Island's first bylaw banning plastic bags. Unfortunately, having failed to receive provincial approval for the ban before its implementation, Victoria repealed the bylaw in October of 2019 following a challenge from the Canadian Plastic Bag Association (now known as the Canadian Plastics Industry Association).
Rather than a crippling blow, this defeat was the push for additional municipalities to ...
Aries (March 21 to April 19)
Aries are always determined to finish whatever project they start. They are optimistic people and will always work hard for the best mark. So, when looking for the perfect group project partner, make sure you look out for your fellow Aries classmate.
Taurus (April 20 to May 20)
Being a sign ruled by Venus, it’s no surprise that you love love. Ruled by the planet of love, you will find satisfaction in love, attraction, and creativity. This month might inspire you to use your creativity to seek satisfaction by finding ways to express your love to those ...
In November 2019, students studying in British Columbia achieved a hard-fought victory—the elimination of interest rates on government-issued student loans.
Well, the provincial portion, anyway. Students in BC still have to pay interest on the portion of their loan that comes from the federal government—which was roughly a 60/40 split between federal and provincial interest, respectively.
That’s why the VIU Students’ Union (VIUSU), along with 39 other students’ unions representing over half a million students across Canada are participating in the Knock Out Interest campaign. The ...
![[I.D.: Three freighter ships with red and black hulls float ominously in the blue ocean behind green islands.]](https://thenav.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Anchorages-5-1024x1024.jpg)
