Last week, the Courier brought back one of our old Editors in Chief, Erin Millar, to inform the new Courier staff of the experiences she’s gained as a journalist outside of our paper. She now holds a position as the editor of Maclean’s On Campus. I was only a reader of the Courier during the time of her reign. And in retrospect, the core of what the Courier meant to me back then hasn’t changed much despite the fact that there were three Editors in Chief between our leadership. During her presentation, she asked Kevin and I what our vision for the Courier was. Our response had to do with adequately representing Capilano’s student demographics while uniting readers. I had answered, “To unite and represent the student body’s best interests.” But I wish I had simply responded: “This week’s agenda.”
The events that followed this week went beyond us being simply a paper. And although that may sound like I’m gloating, know that I’m commenting just as much on those outside of the Courier as ourselves. Yes, Erin was part of the Courier staff long ago, but now she is an editor for one of Canada’s top news magazines and lending all of our writers a hand. Following Erin's presentation, the Courier brought twenty of our staff to the Western Prairie and Northern region Canadian University Press (WPNCUP) conference in Kelowna. In terms of numbers, we were the second largest constituency at the conference, and represented our paper well to the rest of Western Canada’s campus papers. Over the weekend, we gathered as much praise and criticism on our paper and writing in general as we could. From our writing style, to our print layout, to our website, our aim is to improve from what we learnt.
Afterward, on Wednesday, the Courier’s political side was finally put in its final stages of a mass overhaul. Our Board met up and went over some of the final points needed to give our old constitution an upgrade. The Annual General Meeting will be held on November 10th and we encourage you, the reader, to come vote in a new board. (You’ll get free food!)
Proceeding that Board meeting we teamed up with the CSU and CBUS to provide a very successful party (much credit and thanks to the CSU and CBUS for the work they’ve done). The significance was that it was one of the first times I’ve seen all three of Capilano’s largest societies come together to host an event. Capilano’s student body was spry with energy during this Halloween party. CBUS seemed keen to repeat such events, so if you didn’t make it, you’ll still have time to catch some of that - dare I say it - spirit. Yes, spirit is something that this school has been severely lacking, but just like that night’s Halloween music boasted: “I ain’t afraid of no ghost.”
And still, the Courier has future plans to expand and create further bonds. This week we’ve met with members of the Capilano Blues, who wish to help us reincarnate our Sports section with stories of their accomplishments. We’ll also have our first installment of a Business section with help from students in the Business program.
That all occurred in one week, but we’re not done. If you feel that you or your society ought to have more coverage or representation in the Courier, I invite you to raise your concern with us. The Courier is an autonomous paper, which means we will always have the right to hold a critical eye towards the world around us - that’s our job. But we also have a mandate to represent our student population fairly. The good and the bad. For the greater good of the student body as a whole.
//Alamir Novin,
Editor
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