Current Students

Friday, September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. We encourage you to wear orange this week to demonstrate allyship with residential school survivors and to invite conversations about truth and reconciliation, as VIU President Dr.

Allyship is a key aspect of both truth and reconciliation. Defining oneself as an ally means supportive association with another person or group. For Canada to move closer to real truth and reconciliation, allies are required to support, share, bear witness and hold members of their own communities to account. Asking people about their journeys, listening to those stories and sharing them helps grow understanding and increases the number of allies around us. As storytellers for VIU, we have found ourselves reflecting on our roles as allies and how we can be better.

Talela Manson, from Snuneymuxw First Nation, has had VIU on their radar ever since they were little. Their grandfather, VIU Elder-in-residence Gary Manson, often took them to campus with him and they attended VIU’s Thuy’she’num Tu Smun’eem: Building a Foundation for our Youth summer camp when they were in Grade 9.

As the violent crackdowns on civilian protestors continue in Iran, our thoughts and hearts are with our Iranian community members as well as those with family or deep connections to Iran. We recognize that this is a time of deep anxiety, fear and distress and encourage any community members impacted by the violence in Iran to seek support. VIU’s Counselling team can be reached at 250.740.6416 and 24-7 crisis services are listed here: https://services.viu.ca/counselling.

Content warning: this article deals with the topic of sexual consent. We have included a list of supports at the bottom of this article. 

Consent Awareness Week is September 19 to 23. This week is an opportunity to reflect, champion and celebrate consent as a cornerstone of all relationships, not just intimate ones. To acknowledge this important week, VIU’s Thrive team has some information to share. Read on to learn more about what consent means and myths about consent, as well as facts and resources.

BC Premier John Horgan has announced that Monday, September 19 will be a national holiday for all public-sector employers, public schools and public post-secondary institutions to mark the Queen's funeral. That means VIU will be closed and there will be NO CLASSES next Monday. The exception of course is the Nanaimo campus library, which remains accessible 24-7 with your student ID card, and services that are normally available on statutory holidays.

With more than 120 programs to choose from ranging from trades certificates and diplomas, to undergraduate and graduate degrees, it's safe to say there's plenty of opportunities to discover a variety of places, courses and connections at Vancouver Island University.

With the fall semester starting up, there will be many opportunities to meet new people, forge academic and social connections, and learn some fascinating things. But, as much as there are many exciting things happening, any novel experience has the potential to create burnout.

Burnout is a state of thinking, feeling and behaving that results from feeling exhausted. This can manifest as feelings of anxiety, depression, isolation, general tiredness and absence, to name a few.

Welcome back to all returning students and welcome to VIU to all students starting studies here this fall. I want to start the year off by introducing myself. My name is Dr. Mike Quinn, and I am VIU’s new Provost and Vice-President Academic. I started in this role in June and am looking forward to experiencing the increased vibrancy and excitement that September brings – and to meeting as many of you as I can.

Are you ready to start the school year? Whether you’re looking for some free kitchenware or other household supplies, to meet new friends or get some extra support academically, you’ll find info on how to access of these things in this newsletter.

The Student Pulse is delivered to your inbox every two weeks throughout the school year.