In support of International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, the Vancouver Island Crisis Society will be holding an educational evening on how to help those in need who have lost someone to suicide.
There will be speakers from the Crisis Society who all have experience coping with the effects of suicide, whether they have lost someone or have been exposed to it through working with youth and the community.
The speakers will provide participants with techniques on how to talk to people who have lost someone and how to deal with the loss of someone to suicide themselves. “We will talk ...
“Looking at this new government, it does seem to echo our need for positive change,” said Lise Steele, the Director of Land and Natural Resources for the We Wai Kai Nation, based in the Campbell River and Quadra Island area.
She is referring to the fact that her cousin, and member of the We Wai Kai Nation, Jody Wilson-Raybould, is now Canada’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, as well as the first Indigenous person to hold this position.
Raised in Vancouver, Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, and carries the Kwak’wala ...
Never mind wearing white after Labour Day—if only it were so simple as stowing away those boat shoes and halter-tops. We’re far past the first weekend in September, and if you want to wear white, go ahead, fill your boots. Today’s battles aren’t nearly so frivolous as a fashion faux pas.
If I’m wrestling my mind back into the realm of academia, the soundtrack to an afternoon labeling school supplies should not be “The Monster Mash.” Let me have those last hazy days of summer. Please. And if you try to put pumpkin spice in my latte—or in anything for that matter—I’ll be throwing it to ...
The other day, while wasting time at London Drugs, I came across a display of adult colouring books, and it wasn’t just the sale sticker that caused me to stop and browse. Catherine, our sports editor here at The Nav, wrote “Colour me interested” in our last issue, and we printed some cool mandalas for our readers to de-stress with. The following week, I was seen colouring the back page of our paper, printing the images again and again, searching for dry erase markers to fill the small shapes. So, when I saw the extensive selection at the store, ranging from the original mandala, to ...
By contributor Sarah Torgerson
Nestled in the heart of the Vancouver Island University campus, students can find plumes of grey smoke and a handful of generally unhappy-looking smokers. This mecca for stressed out, nicotine-addicted students is where I sit between classes and take study breaks.
I started smoking on a beautifully humid evening in November 2009. I was living in Perth, Western Australia, and thought I could smoke recreationally. “Recreational smoking” ended when I lit my second cigarette. Some may argue it ended when I lit my first. Who am I kidding—it was a downward ...
By contributor Jordan Peterman
Between mountains of reading, writing essays, cramming for exams, and trying to salvage something of a social life, students will often cut corners when it comes to eating right. On top of this hectic lifestyle, it can feel impossible to tackle issues like fighting climate change, supporting local agriculture, and raising funds to help our classmates facing challenges and disabilities. Who has the time? Well, as it turns out, we all do.
The on-campus farmers' market accomplishes all of these things and more. The market was developed as a joint effort ...
I hadn’t touched a colouring book since I filled pages in with the help of my grandma. That is until a month-long overseas trip left me stranded with nothing but a Kindle for entertainment. Those hours spent waiting in the car or at the airport had my hands itching for something to do. After many sighs and long lost looks, someone shoved a colouring page in my hands and I began to explore different colour combinations with my arsenal of colouring pencils.
Just like that, I had rediscovered what it was like to be a kid again. Except this time, it was socially acceptable; my aesthetic ...
Every student should have, or have access to, a slow cooker. A small 1.5 litre one that doesn’t take up too much room, but still makes a hearty meal. They’re versatile for a large range of diets, are easy to use, and are forgiving. This is a huge boost for students just learning how to cook. With awkward and busy schedules, you don’t know if you’re going to have time for meals, you usually find yourself with a strange assortment of groceries, and not everyone has the means to make a meal that involves a whole page of ingredients.
This is where the slow cooker wins. Cooking times are ...
This is the fourth in a contributor column by Zoe Lauckner. Check back next issue for the latest in mental health issues.
Seeking counselling services is a big deal—it takes strength, determination, and a willingness to be vulnerable and open about your life. It means you’re experiencing some struggle that you recognize you need support for.
Counsellors practice in a wide variety of styles, or theoretical orientations, meaning that the way they view their role as a counsellor, you as the client, and the work that goes into the helping process, will differ depending on their ...
As the trees begin to shed and the temperature drops, daylight savings time can be the perfect opportunity to turn over a new leaf. This time of the year, when winter is coming with the steady decline of sun and vitamin D, the pressures of school builds to a climax, and darkness becomes seemingly unending, getting proper sleep is essential.
To get more of these precious Zzzs, what many fail to recognize is that taking an extra hour off those electronics is extremely important.
It’s a vicious cycle, isn’t it? You can’t sleep after a long day and you think maybe opening up Netflix or ...
Above: Last year’s Mariners team line up on the field.
By contributor Farida El Sheshingy
October 29, 2015: Here I am, staring at this blank screen, hoping that we play our hearts out through provincials this weekend. I was diagnosed with a mild concussion earlier today as my team headed to Burnaby for this year’s provincial league playoffs. I can’t help but reminisce about how it felt last year with all the tension building up to our big game. We had a “wild card” that year, which meant that we only had to win the first game out of two provincial title games to go to the ...
Above: "We all have dreams, but in order to make dreams into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, and discipline." Photo by Danielle Caron
As I walked into VIU’s bustling cafeteria, all I focused on was a giant blue water bottle on the table. It looked like a miniature water jug, and as I sat down, its owner, with her hoodie and trademark French braid, took a sip before turning her gaze to my notepad and I.
I knew she did sprint kayaking, but from Danielle Caron’s calm outer appearance, she could have been any type of athlete. No one could have guessed what ...
By contributor Gordon Hak
Much good scholarship comes from a personal place. It is informed by emotion and experience, giving it resonance with wider audiences and providing unique insights into the world. But as well as portraying a particular reality, it can also serve as a mirror for others, forcing them to look afresh at themselves.
Allyson Anderson, a faculty member in the First Nations Studies Department, is going to explore the complexities of identities and representations on Friday, November 20, in an illustrated talk entitled “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves: The ...
Above: Concept art courtesy of 2K
By contributor Rob Wilson
It’s 1960, and the player begins the game with a cut-scene aboard a jetliner currently flying over the Mid-Atlantic, heading to an unknown location. From a first-person perspective, we hear who we assume to be our main character exclaim, “They told me, ‘Son, you’re special; you were born to do great things.’ You know what? They were right.” With the sounds of screaming women, and a plummeting aircraft, the screen fades to black.
The player is then given control of the character, Jack, who’s floating in the Atlantic ...
Above: Salon Wall
By contributor Miranda Wallace
Few people can say they’re a successful artist at the age of 94. Maureen Marshall is one of those people. The Islander has spent her life travelling around the world, painting what she sees with a heavy influence from the culture she’s surrounded by. The View, a VIU campus gallery, is lucky enough to have been gifted a series of these paintings based on Marshall’s experiences in Africa. The gallery is covered in colourful canvas from floor to ceiling in a breathtaking display.
The View was created in 1976 and mainly housed ...
Science will tell you that humans begin lying around the ripe old age of two years old, so it’s a bold thought to wonder what implications there would be to society if we were all honest people. Writer/director pair Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson attempt to create such a world in the romance comedy The Invention of Lying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn71hYvyqCA
Gervais plays Mark Bellison, a down-on-his-luck writer that can’t seem to catch a break. In a world where everyone is blunt to the point of insult, he’s the butt of every joke honesty can hold. Coworkers admit ...
For a man that has been to space three different times, Chris Hadfield is incredibly down to earth. His pragmatic dealings with situations have led to countless opportunities and an understanding of how he has moved from point A to point B. And yet this is a man who is full of dreams, curiosity, and desire. It is this duality that shines through in his novel, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. Part autobiography, part how-to guide, the novel explores all that Hadfield believes made him into the person he is today.
There is no glamour in his story. Hadfield is starkly humble ...
Nanaimo’s own Harbour City Theatre is prepping to show the award-winning musical Next to Normal. Local company Schmooze Productions takes the helm on the emotional story of a family dealing with mental illness.
Having won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and a Tony Award for Best Score, the play dives into the story of Diana Goodman, a suburban mother who deals with her steadily worsening bipolar disorder. This impacts her two children and husband as they all try and cling to normalcy while trying to support Diana.
Schmooze Productions is already seasoned in high-end Broadway ...
Above: The “Hop to It” installation was found vandalized on the main campus stomping grounds a week after its unveiling.
By contributor Sarah Torgerson
Students of VIU’s Design Department have been working hard this semester to embellish the Nanaimo Campus as part of the typographic illustration class. Unfortunately, vandalism has taken place over the past week, leaving some art pieces in need of repair.
Campus security said they are taking this opportunity to review their systems and is exploring measures to continually improve security on VIU’s campus.
The “Hop to It” art ...
Laureen Harper, 2006- 2015
Laureen Harper was 42 when her husband, Stephen Harper, took office on February 6, 2006. Mother of two, she was Stephen’s trusted advisor, said to have an intuitive grasp on the optics of politics, possibly honed by her studies in journalism. She also worked quietly behind the scenes for causes closer to her heart during his nearly 10 years in office. Animal welfare groups, including the Ottawa Humane Society, received her support, as well as the National Arts Centre. She asked the Canadian Press to refer to her as the “spouse of the Prime Minister” in her ...
Above: Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau joins her husband, Prime Minister Elect Justin Trudeau, at the podium of the Liberal Party Campaign Headquarters in Montreal on Election Day, October 19, 2015. Photo by Adam Scotti, courtesy of Flickr Justin Trudeau.
Our political leaders take the stage, take the shrapnel, and are forced to respond on their feet. But their mates have the luxury of time to think, to weigh the issues in terms of the long game. They share their thoughts in times of intimacy, helping to craft the direction of the country over the dinner table, under the covers, pillow to ...
Photos by Jesse Woodward
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By contributor Don LePan
Canadian Thanksgiving is over for another year; American Thanksgiving approaches. The piece below—more a short work of speculative fiction than an essay—is not specific to either one of these.
I know this will be an unpopular argument: I want to speak out against something we have come to accept as part of our community values, as part of our traditions of sharing.
Some may say the matter I bring before you is a trivial one—one that pales beside the great issues of our day. In the big picture, you may say, can it seriously be suggested that the condition ...
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Humans love creating conflicts between all kinds of things—head versus heart; science versus religion; matters of race or gender; the environment versus economy etc. It is becoming more apparent, as time goes by, that these battles are completely arbitrary. There is room for all of these things and humans to co-exist peacefully.
In our recent election, one of these alleged conflicts was placed in the spotlight: maintaining environmental protection while still sustaining a robust economy. This is particularly important in BC where two major ...
