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FEATURES A Welcome Message From the SRC
With the start of a new semester at the most BUtiful place on Earth, I, on behalf of the SRC team, wanted to take the time to update you all on what we have been up to this summer. As you can imagine, the SRC (Students’ Representative Council) has faced some unique challenges with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Our mission has always been and will continue to be to “assess, advocate and act on behalf of students’ interests in order to foster an exceptional university experience.” How does one go about doing that during a global pandemic? We quickly had to find ways in which we could continue to support students this Fall and ensure that they have the best university experience possible. This included planning Orientation Week, focusing on the quality of education, exceptional student life experience, external advocacy, opening The Gait, and prioritizing communication and engagement with the student body. Though we worked hard to achieve all of these, we know there is still a lot of work to be done. Nevertheless, I thought I would highlight a few of the SRC Executives’ recent accomplishments. Amelia Krallis, your Director of Events, alongside her incredible head judges, Ana Santos, Marie-Pier Allard, Quinn Ruby, Granton Patrick, Stephanie Edwards and Rachel Wilson, have planned and executed one of the few (and best) Orientation Weeks in Quebec and Canada, thanks to the help of so many volunteer judges and leaders. (Editor’s note: as of writing, O-Week is on its fourth day and running as smoothly, if not smoother, than previous years and the organizers and first-years seem to be having a great time.)
THE CAMPUS SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
Jeremy Audet, Features Editor » thecampus.features@gmail.com Enzo Evangelisti President, SRC
Hannah Wallace, your Director of Communications and Marketing, has worked hard to rebrand the SRC with a new logo as well as revamping our social media tools to better connect with the student body! Natalie Nyguen was also recently hired to oversee The Gait account and other SRC social accounts. Bernard Duchesne, your Director of Finance, has worked tirelessly on making projections for our annual budget in addition to finding different ways in which we can support extracurriculars. This includes printing apparel for them at a significantly lower cost than anywhere else! Izzy Audet, your VP Student Life, has passionately been finding ways to make the SRC more inclusive. She organized the first-ever anti-racism seminar at our orientation week with the support of Sufia Langevin, Alicia Moore-Iseroff, Shawna Jerome, Filder Achan, Wilton Burgos, Natalia Muñoz Gómez and Sabrina Kone. Cedrik Moore, your VP External, has been working hard with external groups like the Quebec Student Union and the Lennoxville Borough to explore different ways in which we can provide students spaces where they can legally smoke cannabis. Georges-Philippe Gadoury-Sansfaçon, your VP Academic, alongside Anne-Frédérique Naud, the Academic Affairs Manager, has also hired and begun training the Peer Academic Mentors all while working closely with the Student Senators to represent your needs at the Senate. This will be an interesting year, to say the least, but the SRC is committed to doing what we can to not only support students through the pandemic environment
Josh Quirion Releases Debut Novella Bishop’s University alumnus Josh Quirion released his debut collection Towners & Other Stories (Shoreline Press, 2020) in Ayer’s Cliff on Saturday, Sept. 5. The release occurred in two distinct parts. During the day, a socially-distanced, driveby style event took place; copies of the book could be purchased and signed without leaving the car. Those who chose to step outside their vehicles had the opportunity to meet and converse with the author himself and listen to him read excerpts aloud. Quirion’s booming voice spoke with great confidence and charisma, commanding each word to manifest itself vividly in the minds of those listening. Captivating his audience, the young author demonstrated the clever and unique style of his prose. Despite the polar shifts in weather, vacillating between sun and rain, Quirion was more than satisfied with how the daytime portion of the release had played out. The second part of the celebration featured a younger age demographic, a wide variety of hors-d’oeuvres, and a moderate-to-high level of alcohol consumption. Quirion’s friends from the surrounding areas came to celebrate his literary achievement in the Auberge of Ayer’s Cliff. The guest list included current Bishop’s University students who had played rugby alongside him, members of the Montreal-based Yolk Literary Journal, of which he is the Editor, and his family and partner. Quirion was touched by everyone’s attendance. He expressed his gratitude before reading from his book one last time to mark the end of the night: “I really appreciate that you guys came, it actually means something to me.” Quirion, a recent graduate of Concordia’s Master of Arts program in English, spent over a year waking up before the sun to write this book. Through his meticulous approach to writing, Quirion crafts a story in which no word is wasted. This passion for precision flows prominently in Quirion’s book, though it felt especially palpable on the evening of the debut. The Auberge fell silent while admiring Quirion as he regaled the dining room with his short story “Young Creative,” in which a female amateur filmmaker ponders the importance of often-pornographic titles. Those who attended the event left feeling intrigued by what else the book had to offer. While Saturday, Sept. 5 was a success, it was just one round of the much bigger fight that the life of a writer presents. Good luck JQ.
but also advocate for students in all aspects of their university experience. This includes a club restructuring to better support all extracurricular groups, finding ways to improve The Gait with some special menu items, hosting fun, engaging and safe events, improving overall transparency, and advocating for a reading week in the Fall for 2021. All in all, even a global pandemic has not slowed us down! The SRC is here for you, no matter what. If you have any suggestions, ideas or comments please feel free to reach out to us through social media, our website (busrc. com), or in person. Your SRC President, Enzo
SRC logo by Karine Sirois
Duncan Alderdice Contributor
Copies of Towner & Other Stories will be available for purchase online soon.
Photo Courtesy of Events Facebook Page
