No need to worry, we’ll be back in action in fall 2015
This year, we worked tirelessly to report the news and voices of this ever-changing and turbulent institution. It’s no surprise that in the age of massive corporate-owned mainstream media (cough cough Quebecor) that student and minority narratives go underrepresented and under-reported. Our mandate is to shine the light where others see none; to give a platform to those who would otherwise find only deaf ears.
From the missing money in student associations and deficits at ASFA to the crippling austerity measures squeezing Concordia dry. From the woman staring down the Le Gym’s allegedly racist measures to sexism and harassment in our student union. Whether it’s David Suzuki or Panti Bliss, from Southpaw to the new SIS—The Concordian was on the beat. And we’ve loved every minute of it.
Mostly. We sprinted through snowstorms to get to the right place at the right time for protest pictures. We’ve berated Concordia’s Director of Media Relations Chris Mota at endless hours of the night for a single quote for a story. We have pole danced, tasted cocktails, and sat through mind-numbingly horrible theatre performances. We have shivered on the sidelines of Stingers’ games in November. We have been kicked out of association meetings we had legal rights to be in. We have spent so many late nights bickering over the connotations of headlines and searching for errors in our final edit of the paper that the night security guard knows our names. Our Tuesday morning teachers no longer look on in awe as we slam back our fourth caffeinated drink in an hour. We have battled for interviews, and sat, quietly struggling for composure when our sources told lies, told us outrageous truths, or inspiring stories of survival. We have doled out precious student budget dollars to review restaurants, divulged intimate details about our sex lives (which our grandfathers then call us to discuss), sacrificed academic success (only so many hours in a day), and stayed up until 5 a.m. to tweet about the newly elected CSU president. We’ve even been pepper sprayed.
We ran, we laughed, we cried, and (once or twice) even bled, all to see that headline in print. To see that cover in your hands. Every copy taken, every view online, every like and retweet pushed us to do more, to go farther, to try harder. You are the oil in the cogs of our journalistic machine.
Next year we’ll have some familiar bylines. But we’ll feature plenty of new ones too—maybe even your own. We’ll be back in September with a tan and a destressed mental state, ready to take on another year of Concordia. (Our sympathies to those poor, brave bastards tackling summer classes who won’t be as refreshed, but will be that much more educated). And we’ll be taking on a whole new year of journalism too.
This year had compressions, protests, victories, brutality and loss. After all, it was an entire year at a vibrant, political university in the vibrant, culturally booming city of Montreal. We were there to record it all, and will be back again to tackle next year with just as much piss, vinegar, and energy. So why not join us? We are always welcoming new writers, copy editors, production assistants, and editors.
It’s been great, Concordia. From those of us who won’t be returning next year, it’s been a blast. A hectic, chaotic, exhausting and amazing blast we wouldn’t exchange for the world. From those of us you’ll see in the fall, we urge you to join us in making something amazing. You won’t regret it.
Have a great summer everyone. Good luck (and godspeed) to our graduates.
