There is nothing quite like a good failing: a failing grade, failing health, failed relationships, vehicle, intention, job or school application or, as the modern turn of phrase goes, “failing at life.” Rather broad statement, wouldn’t you say?
In my time as a student at VIU and now, gratefully, an employee, I have heard the majority of my peers and colleagues claim that their lives are in ruins and their careers are off track. This is usually due to a multitude of reasons: mental health, career dissatisfaction, abuse and more. Instead of looking at how we can frame failing in ...
How does one simultaneously develop skills for their future career while also making a positive difference in the world?
Sara Drew is a second-year Bachelor of Education student at VIU who returned to her studies this semester following a four-month excursion to Peru. The International Aboriginal Youth Internship (IAYI) Initiative, partnered with Canada World Youth (CWY), flew out their fifth cohort of Indigenous, Inuit, and Métis interns to Peru on August 9, 2019—the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Drew left Ottawa with 33 other interns. Her initial destination ...
Anouk Borris, the Women Students’ Representative at VIUSU, has been working to get pads and tampons into all washrooms across campus, free of charge to students and staff. Toilet paper is provided, so why shouldn’t these products be?
There are taboos to be broken and stigmas to be shattered. These stigmas are rooted in misogyny, and it’s about time that they get weeded out. A Latin encyclopedia from 73 CE says this:
“Contact with [menstrual blood] turns new wine sour, crops touched by it become barren, grafts die, seed in gardens are dried up, the fruit of trees fall off, the edge of ...
In July of 2012, the train station on Selby St. got a major restoration, thanks to a community desire to restore what a fire had damaged five years earlier. For years, the left side of the building had remained dormant—until now. The restored Nanaimo heritage building is currently home to White Rabbit Coffee Co., where the owners Adrian Symonds and Amy Ferris serve coffee and inspire collaboration.
Before opening, the pair laid dark ash hardwood flooring, painted the walls a vibrant white, and tested coffee beans. Symonds, a carpenter, made functional and practical furniture for the ...
O’ earth, my muse, tell me of your young heroine who travelled far by catamaran. She suffered her own education in rage and fire to torment governments and corporations far and wide. Tell me more, oh worldly muse, how your lush and wildness still stands so tall. But will you perish? Oh, toxic earth, a liberator confronts you. Though humanity must listen and make change. Greta, young leader, left the harbour of Plymouth on a carbon-neutral transatlantic crossing. Her journey began, with one goal in mind. To speak her truth and stop the process of mass extinction of humankind.
★
With ...
In February, VIU had the honour of hosting Gregory Scofield as the 2019/2020 Ralph Gustafson Distinguished Poet.
As the Gustafson poet, Scofield participated in a variety of events here in Nanaimo: a public reading at White Sails Brewery, a reading and Q&A at VIU’s Shq’apthut (the Gathering Place), and the Distinguished Poet’s Lecture on campus, titled “Why Indigenous Literatures Matter.” On top of that, he also visited professor Sonnet L’Abbé’s upper-level poetry class and was gracious enough to sit down with The Nav for an interview, even when all of the above occurred in the ...
The six issues of The Nav produced this year wouldn’t have been possible without the parting staff members, staff members who’re staying for another term, and you, Navigators.
The highly anticipated Women’s National Basketball Championship tournament has been canceled—possibly the largest event at VIU this year is lost, along with the Mariners’ hopes of winning gold.
The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Basketball National Championships was scheduled for March 18–21, 2020, at the VIU gym. The CCAA Board of Directors’ decision to cancel the event, along with the CCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship, was unanimous.
In a statement issued on the CCAA website, the Board of Directors said, “The safety of our student-athletes is ...
Well, I’ve been waiting for the time when we’re all holed up with time to actually cook. Humour me and give some new recipes a shot in between online classes this week. Besides, is there anything more comforting than a thicc loaf of focaccia bread? Unless you’re GF, in which case please avert your eyes. I promise I’ll come up with something for you soon.
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (Fleischmann’s is ????)
2 tsp. honey
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. coarse salt (plus a little more for sprinkling)
6 tbsp. olive oil, divided
5 tbsp. butter, divided
3 garlic ...
In an official release on Sunday, March 15, VIU announced that the university will be transitioning from face-to-face to exclusively online classes. This isolated but safer way of teaching for the remaining winter term is intended to reduce the possibility of students and faculty contracting the novel COVID-19 virus.
The increasing spread of COVID-19 (also known as the Corona Virus) across the world prompted VIU’s president, Dr. Deb Saucier, to send out an email to students and staff detailing the university’s decision to replace face-to-face instruction with “alternate course ...
The event will take place on Thursday, March 12th at 6:30pm.
The book launch will take place on Wednesday, March 11 from 7–9 pm in the lobby of the Malaspina Theatre.
The Mariners Women’s Basketball Team finished the regular season with a record of 17-1 to lead the PACWEST going into the postseason.
On Friday, February 21, and Saturday, February 22, the Mariners hosted the Camosun Chargers for a pair of games to close the regular season. The Mariners won both games to push their win streak to seven games, and defend their position atop the PACWEST standings heading into the postseason.
Friday’s game saw a final score of 97-71 with Starting Guard, Amber Lease, putting up a game-high 18 points with shooting splits of 45 percent from the ...
Are you passionate about keeping your classmates informed? Do you strive to meet deadlines? Have you taken CREW 100 Introduction to Journalism or a relevant media studies course? If your answer to all three of these questions is yes, then one of The Nav’s upcoming positions might be for you.
The opportunity to attend public lectures shouldn’t go unacknowledged by students.
How does one accomplish a healthy diet with the little time afforded to the student lifestyle, especially if you don’t drive? Luckily, thanks to the Internet, online grocery shopping is now a thing.
Several months ago, Facebook announced that they would be making efforts to claim responsibility for their impact and influence as a major world platform.
Ma Maison translates to “My House.” While the “My” in this case refers to the experienced chef and owner, Lauren Cartmel, it can also be applied to any of the guests that visit the ever-inviting cozy restaurant.
In university, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the echo chamber of your own program. I found this to be quite true when I interviewed some students and professors in the forestry program—I introduced myself, and then had to explain what this magazine was. Then they talked about courses like hydrology, entomology, and pathology, which I had no idea the university offered. I’m just as guilty of saturating my world in writing, magazines, and university news, and forgetting that there are people shooting for real careers beyond this campus.
The forestry program at VIU is a cohort ...
Colored eggs lay nestled
under the trees outside my window.
Sleep lingered on my tongue
as a haze of muted voices
filled the air—like my blanket,
so soft; growing heavy.
My mother’s wet eyes pierced
the mist in my mind.
The sleep soured on my tongue
as the bundle in her arms
commanded my gaze.
She offered it—
heap of stillness
and soft, dead fur—
like a present.
His hoof hung
from the blue towel
and reached for me.
My sob crunched
through the black quiet,
my ...
How do you live so freely?
So untangled from societal reigns?
Well,
my mother taught me the independence of a woman.
When a man leaves, he mustn’t take your spirit—
it must strengthen with the wind that carried him away,
like my father,
who was willingly swallowed by the cigarette shop,
who willingly stepped into the jaws of the smoky beast.
I smoke, but it does not own me;
nothing ever will.
My mother taught me that silence is a superpower—
people fear what they do not know.
So I became a lethal enigma,
and quietly terrorized the expectations I never ...
"For students it's a great way to get your mind off your worries, to relax before or after a test, something fun and affordable to do to meet new people or with a group of friends. Many students enjoy our soap, candle, and aromatherapy bracelet classes."
Life is not meant to be lived in the fast lane, forever chasing that next hit of adrenaline.
For every NHL player that suffers a concussion, more than 5500 Canadian women will experience that injury every year.
