Category: Student Life

Categories
Arts and Culture Community Student Life

ASFA protests for Mackay’s pedestrianisation

Mackay Street mural being painted. Photo by Maya Ruel/The Concordian

Students make art to make a statement.

Concordia’s Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) organised a protest on Sept. 29 to demand the pedestrianisation of Mackay Street on the Sir George Williams campus of Concordia University. On the last day of Climate Rage Week, the artists painted a mural on the ground in the middle of Mackay Street, which was blocked off to cars by students and teachers. The event was followed by a march on Sherbrooke Street.

Volunteers blocking off Mackay Street. Photo by Maya Ruel/The Concordian

Angelica Antonakopoulos, ASFA’s academic coordinator, said the main goal of the event was to inform the public on the issue of Mackay’s pedestrianisation. “Mackay is located between the Hall Building and all of Concordia’s annexes, which house very important student services and departments, and it’s precarious for students to always try to cross the street while there are cars passing,” she explained. 

She says there have been incidents where the police have fined students for jaywalking while they were trying to get from their department to the Hall Building. “We also believe that it is really important for students to have an outdoor communal space at the heart of our downtown campus,” Antonakopoulos continued. 

On the morning of Sept. 29, while cars were redirected by those operating the blockage, others painted the mural on the street. About a dozen contributors grabbed a paintbrush and applied eye-catching yellows, greens and purples on the asphalt. Spirits were high—participants felt they were taking concrete action to achieve their goal.  The mural depicts a pedestrian, a bike and a tree. It is outlined by the statement “Pedestrianize Mackay” and takes up the whole width of the street. It is a way for ASFA’s protestors to leave their mark. Afterward, with the leftover paint, “PED MACKAY” was painted multiple times all over the street in capital letters and trees and flowers were added to the mix. When they were done, protestors had almost painted over the entire section of the street they were occupying.

Student painting a tree on the street. Photo by Maya Ruel/The Concordian

There has been talk of pedestrianising Mackay for about 30 years. ASFA hopes that the protest was a step in the right direction and plans to go to the city next to try and bring the project to reality.

Categories
Arts Arts and Culture Student Life

Celebrating queer joy at FASA’s cabaret

Dancer Dream Louboutin performs at Sala Rossa. Photo by Emma Bell / The Concordian.

Students gathered at Sala Rossa for a night of performances, tarot readings and dancing in support of Concordia University’s Centre for Gender Advocacy.

In the face of the finely-veiled bigotry that is festering in and beyond Canada, the LGBTQ2S+ community continues to exhibit unwavering resilience toward discrimination. Mere days after the “1 Million March 4 Children”—a euphemistic name for what was, unquestionably, an outright demonstration of anti-trans hatred—Concordia’s Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) held their final orientation event: their Queer Cabaret.   

The event was held at La Sala Rossa on Montréal’s bustling St. Laurent Boulevard. The venue was full of celebratory energy with flashy, colorful lights drenching the space in reds and blues as the attendees let loose. The performers unleashed their uninhibited joy through spectacles of self-determination—dance, vogue, drag and acrobatics. The audience, full of awe and pride, cheered them on.  

Students compete on stage for best performance at Sala Rossa. Photo by Emma Bell / The Concordian

As burlesque dancers took to the stage and competed for best performance, tarot readers told fortunes in a mysterious booth off to the side of the dance floor. After the performances, DJ Mcherry’s set filled the room with a club-like atmosphere, welcoming the audience to take to the stage and dance the night away. 

The Cabaret was the second completely sold-out event held by FASA this month. The overwhelming turn-out demonstrated the student body’s ardent support of LGBTQ2S+ members and their willingness to show up in support. This echoed the same hopeful numbers that came out to counter-protest the 1 Million March.

“I think this shows the amazing community that we have in Montréal,” said a FASA organiser to the crowd. “The best way to move forward and keep each other strong is through community organising, showing solidarity and taking care of everyone around you, especially trans and nonbinary people and everyone who felt affected by the 1 Million March.”

Students gather at Sala Rossa for FASA’s queer cabaret night. Photo by Emma Bell / The Concordian

What emerged from the evening was a reinforced belief in the power of collective energy and joy as revolutionary forces. As we continue to battle injustice, we must continue to prioritise our physical and mental health.

The event hosted a fundraiser for Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy, whose mission is to provide a safe haven for the university’s queer community. The organisation participated in the event with a pop-up table full of resources for students, ranging from free condoms and pamphlets on safe sex practices to guides on how to access gender-affirming care at Concordia. 

“We will continue to do everything in our power as a small organisation to provide services, programming and advocacy that helps as many people as we can live safely and boldly in their agency,” stated Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy in a recent announcement on instagram. 

Learn more about the centre on instagram @centreforgenderadvocacy or at their website.

Categories
Arts Arts and Culture Exhibit Student Life

How a bike becomes home

Photograph from the ViaVélo collection. Courtesy of Sampson McFerrin

A group of artists who cycled Canada from coast-to-coast displayed their photographs at the Woodnote.

ViaVélo was a temporary photography exhibition organized by Concordia student Sampson McFerrin and Luke Welton at the Woodnote Solidarity Cooperative between Sept. 15 and 17. The Concordian shared a friendly conversation with McFerrin regarding his experience organizing the show, the works on display, the team’s curatorial choices and the idea behind the exhibition. 

McFerrin’s parents are both avid cyclists, therefore he and his brothers grew up cycling and exploring the world on their bikes. He spoke of the inherently healthy and unique lifestyle that comes with regular cycling. The activity became an inseparable part of his identity—as an adult he began to seek out opportunities to explore different parts of the world through cycling and build a community to share his passion with. 

McFerrin is a Print Media major at Concordia University with a minor in Business—a combination that gave him the tools to successfully organize ViaVélo. The exhibition presented a collection of memories from his coast-to-coast journey across Canada. Photography and documentation captivated him during his earlier travels and these creative tools served as inspiration for the trip and offered him means to capture it.

 The gallery consisted of two rooms that displayed a collection of photographs and paintings by McFerrin and Welton. The photos encapsulate the experience of the two artists and a few others, who cycled from Victoria, British Columbia, all the way to St. John’s, Newfoundland, spanning 10 provinces and over 11,000 km. They started their journey during the summer of 2020  before they were interrupted by the pandemic’s restrictions and finished their adventure in 2023. 

Photograph from the ViaVélo collection. Courtesy of Sampson McFerrin.

By displaying the photos of their trip, the artists aimed to represent their journey and introduce different ways of seeing Canada. Through storytelling and captured memories of friendships, community and their lifestyle on the road, the exhibition proposes a new perception of the Canadian experience.

Viewers were met with photos of all 10 Canadian provinces, which McFerrin noted really capture the essence of the specific place and time it was taken. The presence of McFerrin’s bike in the gallery space, loaded with all the necessities for the trip, adds to the vivid memory of their life on the road. “The bike became the home that you take care of, and it takes care of you,” McFerrin said.

Categories
Arts and Culture Student Life

Elvis impersonator presents experimental films at MIA event

Elvis impersonator speaking to the audience, VA 323. Photo by Emma Bell / The Concordian

Concordia’s Moving Image Arts Collective organized a completely sold-out screening of student films. 

On Sept. 15, as the penultimate event of FASA Fest, students gathered in the VA building auditorium to watch a selection of student work that varied widely in aesthetic and approach. At full capacity, this screening had the largest turn-out of any MIA event so far. 

The Moving Image Arts Collective (MIA) is a student organization funded by Concordia’s Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) that aims to build a community of film enthusiasts within the university.  Through their screenings and roundtable events, MIA offers opportunities for students to present their completed or in-progress work to their peers, gain invaluable feedback, and forge connections that lead to collaboration. 

A highlight of the event was the persona of Elvis Presley acting as the moderator—a presence that truly enlivened the energy of the space. In an art world that can often be characterized as stuffy, serious and pretentious, this generous degree of playfulness and comic relief offered a refreshingly light atmosphere. 

The range of filmmaking styles included in the screening showcased the brilliance and creativity of Concordia’s fine arts students. The films shown were both independently-produced and affiliated with course assignments. All of them stood as testaments to the unique vision of each filmmaker and their dedication to quality work. 

MIA film screening, VA 323. Photo By Emma Bell / The Concordian.

The screening opened with an emotional and captivating poetic monologue piece on the precarity of pursuing one’s passion as relationships slip away to time. As the line-up progressed, a few recurring themes emerged that would transcend through many of the films: self-discovery through a sense of loss—be that the loss of childhood, homeland or family members—or through transgression, exploration and dreaming. 

A home video sourced from family archives told a nostalgic coming-of-age story; an irreverent documentary charted the mission of three roommates to gain roof access through a portal in the ceiling; a disturbingly corporeal claymation toyed with the limits of intimacy between partners. The threads of identity and investigation weaved through all of the pictures as they followed one another.

The event did not include a discussion or Q&A with the filmmakers—a choice that stole the opportunity to hear more from the artists on their motivations and process. Rather, the audience followed Elvis to a karaoke night complete with a raffle and snacks to Concordia’s campus bar, Reggies. 

Elvis impersonator singing karaoke at Reggies bar. Photo By Emma Bell / The Concordian

Stay tuned for more FASA and MIA events and opportunities through their Instagram accounts: @fasalovesyou and @movingimagearts.

Categories
Arts and Culture Student Life

Get to know AHGSA!

AHGSA Members Meet with Art History Graduate Students in The Grad Lounge, EV 3.702. Photo by Emma Bell / The Concordian

Concordia’s Art History Graduate Student Association hosted their first meet-and-greet of the academic year.

Concordia University’s Art History Graduate Student Association (AHGSA) kicked off the school year with a casual meet-and-greet for incoming and returning graduate students in the art history program. 

The Concordian spoke to AHGSA’s PhD representative Timmy Chandler about the executive team’s goals for this year. He emphasized their focus on fostering collegial relationships through activating social spaces and providing access for students to networking and career-building opportunities. “AHGSA acts as a liaison between art history graduate students and each other, the department/faculty/other art history student groups. There is a large scope of what projects and activities the team can propose and make happen,” said representative Margaret Lapp.  

Building a sense of community on campus in a post-lockdown world has been an enduring challenge for many student associations. AHGSA’s purpose in the past has been to organize and facilitate their annual symposium for graduate students to present their academic work and gain professional experience. 

Their latest symposium, Thrivance | Le Fleurissement, was held in April 2022. Current MA students have mixed feelings about the symposium’s hiatus during the 2022–2023 academic year due to several unfulfilled leadership positions, but this was also a reflection of AHGSA’s shifting priorities.

Chandler pointed out that this past year, the association’s funding was allocated toward smaller and more frequent social events like workshops and pop-ups, rather than one large, intimidating conference. This was an effort to make the association more accessible and approachable in order to encourage students to be more regularly involved and thus feel more connected to their peers. 

This year, the team hopes to strike a balance and continue to host small, engaging social events while also bringing back the symposium. So far, it has been a successful endeavour for the association. The meet-and-greet bustled with anecdotal stories of long-term friendships and connections being born at AHGSA’s events, such as their BYOB Park Frolic picnic, their maxed out Frigo Vert Grad Mixer, and their interdepartmental networking event hosted in collaboration with MFASASA (the Master of Fine Arts Studio Arts Association). 

AHGSA is always seeking new members and students can stay up to date with their programming by following their instagram page @ahgsaconcordia. Their profile also shares flyers for upcoming events around Montreal’s art scene within and beyond Concordia, making it a great resource for new and returning students to get involved. Be sure to check them out and stay tuned for the results of Monday’s general assembly and fall election!

Categories
Arts and Culture Student Life

What is FASA and What Does it offer?

FASA 101 hosted several workshops in Concordia’s VAV Gallery. Photo by Kaitlynn Rodney / The Concordian.

Concordia’s Fine Arts Student Alliance hosted their first orientation event of the school year.

Concordia University’s Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) is a student-run organization that provides funding, creates several clubs and organizes art shows for all students within the faculty of fine arts. It is committed to being an inclusive, diverse, accessible and welcoming community for all students. FASA 101 was a recent event organized by the FASA members at Concordia’s VAV gallery located at the Sir George Williams campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12. 

FASA 101 Zine Workshop, VAV Gallery. Courtesy of FARR Concordia, Photo by India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner.

This event was an orientation gathering that brought together all the clubs under FASA. The aim was to provide a better understanding of the association and the opportunities it offers to new students. As one of the members mentioned, “it is basically an event where you should drop in, make crafts, meet friends while getting to know available opportunities.The Concordian was able to attend the Mindful Campus Initiative presentation—part of the many presentations and workshops that took place during FASA 101. 

The association representatives explained FASA’s dedication to the well-being of the fine arts students. The presentation outlined offered online courses focusing on stress and anxiety management tips, on campus services and activities for students to take advantage of as they navigate their coursework. 

The representatives also discussed the potential difficulty students may have as they begin to get involved on campus. It may seem overwhelming at first for new students to pursue joining new clubs in an unfamiliar environment, but FASA’s mission is to make the process as accessible as possible.

FASA offers several opportunities that can help students get involved in the university. Some of the best ways to get involved are by following callouts for upcoming exhibitions or events, volunteer work, jobs and grants. The best way to access all of these opportunities is through their websites, Instagram accounts, and email subscriptions. 

The VAV gallery’s general meeting is one of the upcoming events that will be hosted on Sept.21  at the gallery to elect the board members for the 2023–2024 academic year. Undergraduate students in the fine arts department are welcome to attend this event—whether to simply become familiar with the operation and members of the gallery, or to nominate themselves for one of the positions available! 

Categories
Arts and Culture Culture Student Life

Engaging Religion at 4th Space

(Left to Right) Ellen Dobrowolski, Dr. Sowparnika Balaswaminathan, and Dr. Naftali Cohn during the panel discussion. Photo by Emma Bell / The Concordian

Scholars and faculty of Concordia’s department of Religions and Cultures discuss the discipline.

Concordia University’s 4th Space hosted a panel discussion with participating graduate students and faculty from the department of Religions and Cultures to address what it means to choose religion as a field of study. The panellists included PhD Candidate Ellen Dobrowolski, Dr. Sowparnika Balaswaminathan, Dr. Naftali Cohn, PhD student Jordan Molot, and MA graduate Katrina Kardash, and was moderated by PhD Candidate Arwa Hussain. While each participant brought a unique background and perspective to the table, they were united in their passion for a department that holds space for interdisciplinary research interests and methods. Each panellist maintained that their curiosity gradually pulled them through twists and turns toward religious studies.

The study of religion can open up opportunities to engage with difficult cross-disciplinary questions. For example, Dobrowolski’s PhD research discusses how a person’s religious identity might reinforce or undermine their ethnic identity. As a scholar with both Métis and Brazilian heritage, Dobrowolski observed that their Catholic upbringing tended to complicate the acceptance of their indigeneity, while simultaneously strengthening that of their Latin background. This experience informs their research onthe life and work of Sara Riel, the first Métis Grey Nun missionary. 

As seen through Dobrowolski’s research, the department of Religions and Cultures fosters a breadth of study that is at once deeply personal and widely relevant within secular academia.  Each project is unique. Dr. Balaswaminathan’s work investigates how a community of artisans in her home country of India struggle to honour the integrity of their traditional crafts in a world that increasingly commodifies the artistic production of the Global South. Meanwhile, Dr. Cohn examines the representation of diverse cultures and the performance of religious rituals in the media. Second year PhD student Jordan Molot, on the other hand, studies the history of Jewish settlers in Canada and their entanglements with the transatlantic slave trade. Recent MA graduate Katrina Kardash unearths the intimate lives of evangelical Christian communities in order to understand the dynamics of gender within their domestic spaces. All of these projects draw from personal experience and demonstrate how our personal trajectories can deeply inform our academic endeavours. 

After sharing their own research and experience within the department, the panellists wrapped up with some advice to prospective graduate students who may be seeking to join the program. The group was unanimous on how the study of religion opens the doors to diverse experiences with people and places you may never have otherwise encountered, and anyone who is fueled by the desire to learn new languages, travel, and discover new perspectives ought to consider religious studies. In a more practical sense, prospective students should begin to flesh out exactly what questions they would like to investigate and reach out to professors to build connections, setting them on a path toward success. 

Categories
Community Student Life

End of semester blues

Amelia Hart/THE CONCORDIAN @ameliaohart

Don’t forget to take care of yourself during this stressful time

End of semester is upon us, and it’s pretty much dreadful for anyone you talk to. Things are piling up and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

According to the organization Mental Health Partners, there are nine decompressing techniques that could help anyone get through tough times. 

While some enjoy going on a hike outdoors, others would rather decompress through meditation and deep breathing. Or even just simply talking it out with family and friends could make the world of difference.

In my personal opinion, the best techniques that work for me are exercising, taking a day off, and reading.

I am not the most active person out there, but with the weather getting nicer I have been finding walks really help channel my stress. I feel that while I’m walking I am not thinking about what schoolwork I need to do next. Instead, I am just focused on my surroundings. My boyfriend and I like to name out all the different models of cars that we spot while out walking.

Even though some decompressing techniques might work for me, I was curious as to which different decompressing techniques work for other Concordia students. 

For those I spoke to, it seems like there is a wide variety of preferred decompressing coping mechanisms.

Adriana Gentile, a third-year journalism student, explains, “I often like to go outside and take a walk and do some breathing techniques. Also, listening to music helps me a lot.”

Jessica Laturnus, a third-year Irish studies student, says, “Sometimes it’s a movie, sometimes it’s a rain app. I find my rain app so useful when I have so many things to do. I have a hard time sleeping.”

This high-intensity time could result in a lack of sleep for some students, (okay a LOT of students). I personally could attest to that one.

Laturnus also explained that aside from her rain app, she finds ambient noise or white noise helpful for sleep.

During these last few weeks of crunch time, I would like to remind all my fellow peers out there that it’s okay to take things a little slower and not so rushed. One thing at a time and things will all work out.

Categories
Community Student Life

Concordia’s Making HERstory Club

Graphic by Fanny Lord-Bourcier @cartou.che

Learn all about how a group of Concordia students are empowering women

Making HERstory is a Concordia club that is dedicated to changing the perception about feminism, that perception being all about gender equality between men and women, not women being perceived as dominant.

The Concordian had the chance to sit down with some of the club’s executive members to understand what the club is all about and how it came to be. 

“Everyone that knows me well knows how passionate and dedicated I am towards achieving big goals. As a proud woman, I decided to join Making HERstory to show everyone what women are made of and what they are capable of,” said Gaelle Abou Issa, the club’s vice-president external.

Angela Farasha, the club’s president, explained that there is a special project in the works to commemorate International Women’s day, which took place on March 8. 

“We are preparing for a unique ‘Equality’ project in collaboration with some of our professors in Concordia,” Farasha said. “We can’t talk about it yet. However, make sure to follow us on social media @makingherstoryconcordia to know more about it when the time comes.”

The events that are hosted by the club are some of the highlights for the team. Farasha explained that a majority of the events are done with an educational purpose in mind.

“We focus on educational events that revolve around women empowerment. Such events will discuss raising awareness about women’s rights, issues women face in Canada and other parts of the world, the importance of financial independence for women, the importance of developing a positive body image and many more,” Farasha said. 

Social Media Manager Lana Haidar said she joined the club because she “wanted to make a change and difference and [felt] the need to be a part of something special.” She added that the group has been very welcoming.

The execs can all agree that the club truly took off during the pandemic, when they hosted a variety of online activities and workshops. The transition to in-person schooling made promoting the club much easier for the execs.

“After transferring to in-person, promoting and advertising became easier. The word spreads and a lot of people discover the association and learn about it from their peers, members of the association, as well as social media,” said Vice-President Internal Hajar Lamri.  

The execs look forward to connecting with women from different backgrounds at Concordia as the club continues to grow.

Categories
Community Student Life

The return of the Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parade

Courtesy photo provided by Samara O'Gorman. Photo by Steven Soldano @stevensoldano

How Concordia Irish Studies student Samara O’Gorman is honouring her heritage


The month of March is a big deal for the United Irish Societies of Montreal and a cause for celebration for the students of the Concordia School of Irish Studies.

This year marks the return of the full-scale parade since it was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic. 

The Concordian spoke with Irish Studies student Samara O’Gorman ahead of the parade, which took place Sunday, March 19. O’Gorman was selected as Queen of the Montreal St. Patrick’s Day 2023 parade.

“The Queen selection evening is run by the United Irish Societies of Montreal. It’s a common misconception that it might be a pageant but it’s actually a public speaking contest,” O’Gorman explained.

Young women of Irish descent from the Montreal area come together and compete. The competition is based on Irish history, community involvement, volunteerism, and the extent to which participants are ambassadors for the Irish community.

Lauren Tracey, VP of advertising and public relations for the United Irish Societies of Montreal, explained that the selection of the parade court goes all the way back to 1956. 

In 1956, the Queen’s Pageant Selection Evening was first held at the Sailors’ Club in Old Montreal, and the first young lady chosen was Patricia Ann Craig.

“Different parishes had promoted young ladies as Queen of their units in prior years, and in 1956 there was a Queen of the parade. At some point in subsequent years, the United Irish Societies decided, ‘Why not us?’ and began holding the Queen’s Pageant at the Sailors’ Club,” Tracey recalled.

The return of the parade this year has truly put into perspective what Irish culture in Montreal means to O’Gorman. 

“Something that I’ve learned to appreciate is how important tradition is, especially in the Montreal Irish community,” she said.

O’Gorman emphasized that the return of the parade is significant because it brings the Montreal Irish community together in one place. 

According to Tracey, Irish culture is represented in Montreal in a variety of ways, not just through the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“One of the most prominent aspects of Irish culture in Montreal is traditional Irish music and dance. The Irish brought their music and dance traditions with them when they immigrated to Montreal, and these traditions continue to be celebrated today,” Tracey explained.

O’Gorman said there was one specific aspect of the parade that she was most excited about this year.

“At the end of the parade we are going to have a big Ukrainian group,” she said, referring to the community of Ukrainians new to Montreal who were invited to take part in the parade.

“If there is anything that the Irish people love to do, it’s to lend a helping hand and I think that narrative is really important right now.”

Categories
Community Student Life

Concordia’s anti-consumerism week 2023

Community Editor, Dalia makes her bag at the Concordia center for creative reuse's workshop for anti-consumerism week. Kaitlynn Rodney // The Concordian

A look inside making your own t-shirt grocery bag.

With Earth Day on the horizon, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) hosted an anti-consumerism week. This year’s event theme was Food Sovereignty, Sustainability & Solidarity. 

In late February, the CSU put on a variety of talks, workshops, and presentations so that students could get inspired to lead a more sustainable life.

Personally, I am always curious about different methods and ways to lead a more environmentally-conscious life. When I was looking into events for the week, the ‘Make Your Own Grocery Tote bag!’ workshop appealed to me.

The use of single-use plastics has slowly but surely started making its way out of our everyday lives. According to a Global News article, two-thirds of people in Quebec say they use their own bags or bins to shop. 

Whenever I go to Dollarama or Walmart, I always forget reusable bags, so I always end up paying for them when I get to check out. So this workshop was perfect for me. It happened on Feb. 21 at the Hall Building at the Downtown Campus.

As soon as I got to the workshop space, I saw the event organizers setting up sewing machines and some tables in a ‘U’ formation. The event organizers were people from the Concordia University Centre for Creative Use (CUCCR). Leading the workshop were Sustainability ambassadors, Kavi Nera and Maya Jain. 

Kavi Nera, a Concordia sustainability ambassador, and Maya Jain, the Material Depot programming and coordinator for the CUCCR lead the participants in the workshop. Kaitlynn Rodney // The Concordian

Every participant was given a step-by-step guide on how to turn an old shirt into a bag. For participants who did not have an old t-shirt, the CUCCR provided one from past events, like Frosh week.

The workshop began by determining if you had a big enough shirt to make one bag and two smaller bags from the same shirt.

If you had a small shirt, you would begin by cutting the collar and sleeves off. Afterward, Neva gave a small tutorial on how to use a sewing machine to sew the bottom of the shirt closed. 

Community editor, Dalia makes her bag at the Concordia center for creative reuse’s workshop for anti-consumerism week. Kaitlynn Rodney // The Concordian

For those that had big enough shirts to make smaller bags out of, the procedure was a little different. People had to make small incisions on the bottom of the shirt and then use a double knotting technique to close up the shirt.

Al Turgeon, a contemporary dance major at Concordia is using one of the shirts supplied by the CUCCR to make her map using the non-sewing method. Kaitlynn Rodney // The Concordian

I feel that with inflation at the back of our minds, it’s always helpful to know some tips and tricks for cutting costs and helping reduce waste on earth. I look forward to next year’s activities for anti-consumerism week.

Categories
Community Student Life

Book Club at Concordia

Carleen Loney/THE CONCORDIAN @shloneys

Hit your reading goals for 2023 with the Concordia Book Club

Are you a bookworm and don’t know what book on your TBR list to attack first? I have a perfect solution for you: Concordia’s very own book club. 

Journalism student Alexandra Blackie started the Concordia Book Club this winter semester and is looking forward to welcoming many new students to the club. 

Blackie wanted to join a book club when she started university in September, but the only book-related club was Concordia’s comic book club. “No hate to the comic book club but that’s not really my niche,” she said jokingly.

The lack of an actual book club was Blackie’s motivation to kickstart the initiative and form Concordia’s official book club. 

“It did take a little bit of a long time for it to get started. There were a lot of back and forth emails with the CSU,” Blackie explained.

Blackie wanted to create a social space that did not feel like school. She wanted a space where book-lovers could come together to read novels that are either popular right now or ones that not a lot of people know about.

In this club, Blackie doesn’t dictate the books that the club members have to read. 

“I don’t actually choose the books, I gave them a stack for the first meeting that they chose from. We just go through a TBR jar. Everyone sent me titles that they want to read and we go from there,” Blackie said.

In terms of how the club functions, Blackie came to a mutual agreement with the other club members that they would read one book for the entire month. At the end of the month, the club regroups in a meeting.

“We picked our first book at our first meeting over Zoom out of a pile that they chose from. For the next book that we read, we are going to pick from a TBR jar,” Blackie explained. 

This month’s read is The Guest List by Lucy Foley. 

The club currently has 22 members.  As the weather warms up, Blackie hopes to host in-person events like picnics where the club can discuss their current reads.

For interested participants, you can go through the CSU active club portal and email a_blackie@icloud.com.

Exit mobile version