A letter from Antony Stevens, board president of the Navigator Newspaper Society:
I hope this letter finds you: a passionate student, professor, or member of the public with a drive for arts, business, or empowering students.
It wasn’t until my third year as a Creative Writing major that I became a part of The Navigator Newspaper—VIU’s student press for the last 50 years. To be honest, it took a chance meeting at a café between the Arts Editor and my girlfriend for me to find the courage—we writers are not known for our networking skills. Seven years later and I’m the board president of the Navigator Newspaper Society, my girlfriend is my wife, and I’m writing this letter in the hopes of starting a new era for The Navigator.
Composed of an endlessly ambitious roster of students and a cycling masthead every year, each iteration of The Navigator comes with a distinct feel of its time and its people. When I joined in 2013 as a video game columnist, The Navigator was a traditional print press providing news updates, stories of local artists, and VIU sports.
You may have heard the cries—journalism as a print medium is dying. But The Navigator, earning its name, has continued to adapt through these rough seas, shifting over recent years from a print newspaper to a print magazine; starting a new section for literature; and now, amidst an ongoing pandemic, becoming fully online with a new initiative for multimedia video stories under the helm of Editor-in-Chief Elijah Robinson.
And, as The Navigator continues to grow and evolve, so too must its board.
I encourage you to take a new step forward, put your name on this year’s ballot, and join the Navigator Newspaper Society. You will work together with a small team of board members to make sure the business of The Navigator functions so creative production may continue at full mast. It’s an incredible work experience (that looks great on a resume) with a variety of board roles to hone your skills, and a meaningful outcome that contributes to the entire campus.
In an unprecedented time, The Navigator needs your voice, your enthusiasm, and your support more than ever. Thank you to VIU, the Vancouver Island University Student’s Union, and our readers for making this possible.
You can nominate now until October 30 at this link.
Antony Stevens,
Board President
Navigator Newspaper Society
