Grub Street
Building a Trans-Canada Highway of Poetry
Dalton and Jesslyn Derkson of poetry press a square house chat about their inaugural reading series with featured writers Taylor Fleming and Elke Sorensen.
Built To Yearn for You
What happens when emotional safety feels easier to find in an AI chatbot than in a person.
AI didn’t create our longing, our yearning. It gave it a safe place to go. This piece examines why, for many students, talking to a machine can feel safer than asking another person to stay. In a society shaped by half commitments, situationships, and emotional unavailability, AI offers responsiveness without risk.
Gung Hai Fat Choy!
A Highlight on the Lunar New Year Celebrations and Chinese Culture in Nanaimo
Jerry Hong, President of the Nanaimo Chinese Cultural Society, shares his insight and hopes on the Lunar New Year celebrations in Nanaimo.
Let’s Talk Safety
A Guide to Individual Safety in Nanaimo
In today’s fast-paced world, do we have time to be safe? With stories and inquiries on missing people and open homicide investigations, how can we keep ourselves, our families, and our communities out of harm? Let’s discuss safety in Nanaimo.
Can You See the Whiteboard?
Advocating for Student Eye Health
When was the last time you had a full, comprehensive eye exam? Eye health affects more than just your eyes: it affects the world around you. Dr. Joshua Fleegel talks about the importance of eye health and the resources available for students while they attend university.
Earthquake Trauma Victim
I had just finished eating when I received a text from my girlfriend, Janrawee, who was working in Bangkok.
Does ChatGPT Mean What It Says?
What Philosophy Can Tell Us About AI, Language, and Meaning
All across campus, students turn to ChatGPT—sometimes for help, sometimes for inspiration, and sometimes for reasons that fall into a grey area. But beneath this surface-level use lies a deceptively deep question: Does ChatGPT actually understand what it’s saying? Most of us talk to it the way we talk to people. It says “I,” we say “you,” and before long, we’re having what feels like a conversation with a human mind.
Studio Apartment
Everything stands still, quietly waiting in the dark for her.
Sweet Sun Tea
A poem about change
Old Haunts
A poem about past memories
Coaches of the VIU Mariners
Play Hard, Practice Hard, and Be Hard to Play Against
Dive into how Matt Kuzminski, Men’s Basketball, Tony Bryce, Women’s Basketball, Dr. Abe Avender, Men’s Volleyball, and Chris Jones, Men’s Hockey, lead their team. Varying from their conflict management, game rituals, or Starbucks orders, each coach is unique in their own teaching methods.
Elke’s on the Island, Ep 4: Kappa Sigma Arrives at VIU
For this month’s edition of Elke’s On The Island, Sorensen met with Vancouver Island Kappa Sigma President Ethan Johnson and Vice President Kyle Osipov to discuss Kappa Sigma’s presence on VIU’s Nanaimo campus. Johnson and Osipov share about their interest in the Fraternity, the benefits it brings to campus life, address concerns about their presence, and speak about future events and how to get involved. Listen to the podcast on Spotify at The Navigator.
Want more content? In case you missed it, check out Sorensen’s Holiday Special where she interviews Mall Santas (Episode 3.5)!
The Art of Making Friends as an Adult
Making and maintaining friends in university is no easy task. VIU students share stories on the difficulties and successes they’ve experienced while making friends as an adult.
In the Woods West of Westwood
Noticing how people may use a space differently is something of great interest to archaeologists. Perhaps a space is used differently over time by a society.
Should Students Pay Fees?
Every semester, students turn to scholarships, bursaries, RESPs, and empty their pockets for the sake of education in Canada. But who should pay for our education?
Sewing Project
(Mature Content)
Francis kicked the shiny pebble down the dirt track, one hand lazily stuffed in his hoodie pocket and the other wrapped around a moisture-stained slushy cup. There was no sidewalk on this stretch of road, barely even a bike lane, only a narrow desire path between the pavement on the right and the sloping ditch that petered out into corn fields on the left.
Meet Mauro
The Man Behind UFF Screen Printing Studio
Multidisciplinary artist Mauro Dalla Costa, founder of UFF Screen Printing Studio, sits down to chat about his work, process, and achievements in screen printing.
Better Pretender?
Turning Self-Improvement into a Performance
Every January arrives with a fresh start of resolutions about who we should become. This is a look at how “New Year, New Me” sells us the idea that we need to start over.
New Years Goals with The Navigator
Staff of The Nav share what they hope to accomplish in the new year!
Whale Crisis
Changing Perspective on Whale Watching
Recent and ongoing whale strikes and deaths have come to the attention of Fisheries and Oceans. It’s getting harder for the marine mammals to navigate the ever rising traffic and human activities in the waters surrounding Vancouver Island. Is there a lack of laws and regulations to keep marine life safe?
Naming the Elephant Together: The Death Café Phenomenon
(Mature Content)
In a Death Café, folks gather to engage in open-ended conversations about death. Coats rustle as people settle into their chairs, balancing paper cups of tea and small slices of cake from a local bakery. The term café here isn’t meant literally—these gatherings more often take place in libraries, community centres, or living rooms. The word gestures instead toward the atmosphere the hosts create: warmth, ease, and a sense of belonging around a shared table.
A Week in the Life of VIU’s Dance Team
Dancing into his fourth feature, Liam Prendergast teams up with the VIU Dance Team to explore what a week in the life of a team member looks like. He joins them for an action-packed schedule: starting with an early morning practice, followed by a drop-in evening dance class hosted by team member Ava Padley, and finally a trip to Vancouver for a special training session at Harbour Dance Centre. In this issue, Prendergast speaks with VIU Dance Team coaches and managers Katelyn Kurtz and Madeline Joseph about their roles and the team's exciting events on the horizon. He also talks with VIU ...
In the Crowd: Ladysmith Festival of Lights
During the holiday season on Vancouver Island, it’s unfortunately dark outside most of the time, and when the sun goes down before 5:00 pm, what better than a colourful display of lights to stave off the darkness? This issue, Daxton Comba tours Ladysmith’s 2025 annual Festival of Lights, held Thursday, November 27. With coverage from all across First Avenue of local performers, jugglers and people on stilts, the Kinsmen light-up parade, dozens of holiday light displays, and a drone show. If you missed out on the events this year, this is your chance to catch up!
Media Studies Merger
The Nav’s Videographer Daxton Comba turns the lens towards VIU this month, examining the recent changes to the Media Studies program regarding the merge of DIGI and MEDI course codes within the program. To learn about the Media Studies Merger, Daxton spoke with department chair Joy Gugeler about evaluating the program, and with professors Karen Skardzius and Robin Davies about the changes occurring as result of the Merger, as well as other alterations to the curriculum happening across the university. He also met with Media studies students Shaye Netzel, Laiken Wild, and Liam Prendergast ...
No results found.