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NEWS

June 25, 2020

UVic releases review of Bamfield crash that killed two students last year

Miscommunication, poor planning, and lack of empathy relayed in review’s comments Photo via Port Alberni Fire UVic publicly released a review of the Bamfield crash today, conducted by Ross Cloutier, an expert in outdoor-related risk management with Bhudak Consultants Ltd. Cloutier’s review noted many areas of improvement...

June 22, 2020

Martlet survey reveals students feel online classes are not the same quality as in-person instruction, have mixed reviews of UVic’s response to COVID-19

408 students responded to questions about online classes, affordability, and UVic's COVID-19 response Generated by Kate Korte on WordCloud.com, words were sourced from student's long answer survey responses As summer classes progress and B.C.'s COVID-19 case count trends downwards, students finally have time to process...

June 22, 2020

District of Saanich Council passes motion increasing housing restriction on unrelated persons from four to six

Decision comes after homeowners, students, voiced opinions in all-day public hearing Image via Google Maps Following a marathon five-hour online public hearing on Saturday night, the District of Saanich Council voted to increase the limit of unrelated people living in the same dwelling from four to six....

OPINION

June 29, 2020

Optional training is not enough: UVic needs to enforce accountability to tackle systemic racism

President Cassels’s anti-racism training announcement does little to end systemic racism at UVic Photo by Belle White UVic’s president, Jamie Cassels, recently announced an optional anti-racism training program for staff and students, stating that "as a university, and as individuals, we must continue the necessary work to...

June 24, 2020

Fair wages for the frontlines

We need to have a conversation about fair minimum wages and inclusive social security programs, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo sourced via Pixabay I’m sure we all remember that pivotal weekend in mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly exploded — swallowing up...

June 11, 2020

Letter from the Editor: Black lives, and Black stories, matter

How we are building a newsroom against racism I'm not going to waste a second of your time with a series of platitudes about how the Martlet is against racism. Instead, I will explain why there are 54 names on our cover and detail our exact...

CULTURE

June 24, 2020

WOC-led activism highlights racialized experiences and the BLM movement through art, community engagement

“Peopleless protest” aims to start dialogue about racism, but faced some backlash Photo by Colin Smith In response to George Floyd’s death from police brutality, a tight-knit group of young women of colour from Victoria came together to memorialize victims of police brutality and highlight the Black...

June 16, 2020

Celebrating Pride while staying inside

For Victoria’s LGBTQ2+ Community, Pride comes with a sense of loss for in-person gatherings and hope for online connection this year Illustration by Anna Dodd. June is Pride Month, and marks the beginning of events focused on LGBTQ2+ celebration, gathering, and activism throughout the summer —  with...

June 10, 2020

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ new film The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open suggests settler responsibility in ending violence against Indigenous women

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open is a remarkable film centered on two Indigenous women Please be advised that this article deals with domestic violence against Indigenous women. This may be disturbing for some readers.  After the sudden closure of Cinecenta, I relegated myself to...

SPORTS AND LIFESTYLE

June 17, 2020

Eight helpful tips for success in your online classes

Online education is an adjustment, but there are ways to make it work better Photo sourced via Pixabay This summer, all of UVic's classes will be online. Premier John Horgan has also confirmed that there will be a mix of online and in-class instruction in the fall,...

June 17, 2020

How B.C. is preparing for wildfires and floods amid COVID-19

Public health guidelines force emergency planners to change tactics as the province prepares for the possibility of another record-breaking summer of fires Photo sourced via Pixabay As British Columbians hunker down at home, emergency planners are staring hard at weather forecasts and attempting to solve a different...

May 18, 2020

5 000 tree planters prepare for a planting season despite COVID-19

Graphic by Darian Lee For the past four years, Levin Chamberlain has spent his summers tree planting in B.C.’s southern interior.  The routine has become special for Chamberlain, who graduated from UVic with a degree in Environmental Studies and Canadian History in 2018, and he grew up...

FEATURES

June 17, 2020

Inside Taelor Lay’s marathon for charity in Northern Italy

Victoria-based student running a solo marathon to raise money for charities in one of the areas hit hardest by COVID-19 Lay and Valeria Della Valle, a social support worker and one of five full-time employees of nearly 600 volunteers who work for the association.Here Valeria is...

May 13, 2020

On the front lines: Healthcare students deal with unique challenges during COVID-19

From new nurses being plunged into the respiratory wing fresh out of university to student pharmacists juggling personal wellbeing with professional obligations to public health,  healthcare-workers-in-training are dealing with unprecedented circumstances Graphic by Darian Lee The spread of COVID-19 has prompted a number of government-mandated measures...

April 15, 2020

“This is not working”: Students coping with sexual assault, harassment allege lack of support from university

For two years, the Martlet has reported on the evolution of and response to UVic’s sexualized violence policy. Ahead of the policy's review, we took a look at some potential cracks in the system, and heard from people who feel they’ve slipped through them.