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Voting will take place online March 31 to April 1 at umsu.simplyvoting.com

Candidate for Indigenous Students’ Representative

Ishkode Catcheway

Ishkode Catcheway is in her third year of a bachelor’s degree in health studies with a minor in Indigenous languages, specifically Ojibwe. She currently serves as the communications coordinator for the University of Manitoba Indigenous Students’ Association (UMISA). She says handling its communications regarding advocacy and events gives her valuable experience for the position she is running for.

“I’m running for this position because I [am] on [UMISA] and this year there was absolutely no Indigenous [representative] for basically the whole school year, until the last two months,” she said.

Catcheway says the lack of representation made it difficult for Indigenous students to do things like secure funding for projects and she wants to “break [the] barrier” between Indigenous students and UMSU.

“Prior to this year, we would usually have an Indigenous rep in there hosting town halls for not only UMISA but [the Métis University Students’ Association (MUSA)] to secure funding for events instead of going through [community initiative funding] which is [where] you buy the stuff and then you get a reimbursement,” she explained.

She said MUSA has not been able to hold events this year since it does not have the funds to purchase its own supplies and wait for reimbursement and hopes that if she is able to host town halls as the Indigenous representative, groups will find it easier to secure funding for events.

Catcheway said she also wants to hold events in the next semester to help ease the transition to in-person learning for First Nations students coming to campus for the first time. She also wants to challenge racism on campus, such as when professors look the other way when Indigenous students report racist comments in their classroom.

Candidate for 2SLGBTQIA+ Students’ Representative

Alex Rana

Alex Rana is a third-year student completing a double honours program in English and linguistics. He currently sits on UMSU’s board of directors.

He has also been a member of the UMSU equity, diversity and inclusion working group.

“I decided to run for this community [representative] position because obviously I’m a member of the community myself and I have lots of friends who are, and I think we all feel there’s sort of been a lack of connection between people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community over the past two years that we’ve been online,” Rana said.

If elected, Rana hopes to establish mental health supports that would allow students to access “queer therapists who are able to understand their needs.”

“I think by offering students therapists who are part of the community and understand that stuff already, it will make it easier for students to talk about issues that affect our community,” he said.

Rana said he wants to deepen the sense of community 2SLGBTQIA+ students feel by collaborating with outside organizations such as TwoSpirited People of Manitoba and the Rainbow Resource Centre and make students aware that these resources are there.

He also wants to start a podcast on the UMFM station to discuss 2SLGBTQIA+ issues and answer questions people may have about the community and their experiences.

Candidate for Accessibility Students’ Representative

Caleigh Guillou

A first-year science student, Caleigh Guillou is running for re-election to the position of UMSU’s accessibility students’ representative.

Guillou thinks her work in the Science Students’ Association and with UMSU has provided valuable and “rewarding” experience.

Guillou said she is seeking re-election because she wants to “act as a bridge between students and the university’s accessibility services.”

“Navigating seeking supports and figuring out what best suits their needs can be a stressful process and it’s important that they know that there’s going to be somebody reliable by their side who understands that,” she said.

Guillou wants to continue her work creating an updated social media guide to regulate accessible communications.

She also wants to establish methods for students to anonymously report accessibility concerns and reopen the accessibility centre to in-person visits from students.

“Beyond the physical space, I would relaunch all of its social media platforms and develop sustainable programming with the help of an executive team that I intend to form to manage the centre, which would create a new and exciting opportunity for members of this community to get involved.”

Candidate for Black Students’ Representative

Anita Ayame

Anita Ayame did not respond to requests for interview by press time.

Travel back in time with digital campus tour

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

Michael Campbell, staff

Over the last two years, students have missed out on many valuable opportunities that shape the experience of attending university. Some may be near to wrapping up a degree in which they never physically attended the University of Manitoba campuses. While the pandemic has made certain activities more accessible, it is also normal to feel a certain nostalgia for what has been lost.

“The tour really gives you an idea of what student life was like way back when”

— Shelley Sweeney,archivist emerita

Wayne Chan, a research computer analyst with the university’s Centre for Earth Observation Science, knows the feeling well. Chan has digitally recreated places from the past on the University of Manitoba’s campuses. Community members can take a walk through campus, and back in time, on Google Earth.

Chan partnered with Shelley Sweeney, archivist emerita and the former head of the U of M’s archives and special collections, to bring the idea to life. The result was Lost Campus: A Virtual Tour of Forgotten Spaces and Places at the University of Manitoba.

“When [Chan] mentioned that he was interested in the lost places and spaces at the University of Manitoba […] I thought it was perfect for the pandemic,” Sweeney said.

Chan brought together an eclectic collection of interests, including local history, computer programming and a passion for the U of M.

“I did my degree here in the ’90s and I’ve been a staff member since then, so I’ve been here for a long time,” Chan said.

Searching through the archives for pictures to bring the tour to life, Chan encountered a campus isolated from the city of Winnipeg and host to vibrant student life. Before many students began driving cars to the Fort Garry campus in the 1950s and ’60s, the university largely had to provide for itself. This included everything from a campus fire department to a campus dairy.

The isolation of the Fort Garry campus led city dwellers to escape to Riverside Park, just beside the campus, for picnics and festivities during the summer months. The park has now been replaced by the experimental agricultural plots behind B Lot. During its time, it was accessible primarily by steamboat, which carried passengers from the city’s core down the Red River. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the Hudson’s Bay Company picnic hosted 650 passengers aboard the steamer. Dances were hosted in the evenings, accompanied by an orchestra. According to Chan, the park closed by the end of the First World War. Another park by the same name was established, absorbing the misremembered legacy of a university relic.

“The tour really gives you an idea of what student life was like way back when,” Sweeney said.

The tour includes photos of students participating in activities modern students would never get the opportunity to try. Chan and Sweeney pulled photos from the archives depicting students playing hockey or broomball on the Red River in the winter and swimming in the river in the warmer months. Back in the day, each faculty had a rifle club and would compete on the campus rifle range.

Chan and Sweeney also note the smaller student body in the early 20th century and the university’s isolation from the city allowed more opportunities for students to connect. By the ’60s, the university was largely a commuter campus. Students had to find innovative ways to pass the time there.

Beyond showing forgotten places on campus, the Lost Campus tour reveals a slice of life from a time long ago and illustrates how campus life has been shaped by history. For example, after the Second World War, veterans were compensated with tuition to the U of M and a meagre stipend. From this sprouted the Veterans’ Village, a collection of affordable bungalows on campus.

“Here’s the thing about the tour: it does provide a glimpse into a past life that people — students, faculty and staff — have forgotten,” Sweeney said.

“But it’s well beyond that […] It’s a peek into the way society has changed.”

Lost Campus can be best accessed at tinyurl.com/LostCampus using Google Chrome.

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