By Lauren Kelly, Editor-in-Chief
Although Douglas can be seen as a commuter school due to its lack of student housing, that doesn’t mean it’s not rife with opportunities outside of your class schedule. Throughout the semester, our Staff Reporter Aaron Guillen has taken the time to interview a different club every week, covering everything from dance to art to community to philosophy to international relations. The offerings at the school are vast and varied, and a little research will reveal a club or two or three that match your interests.
I know classes can be tough—my workload at Douglas was often oppressive—and I know many of you also work part time. However, if you do have the room to do it, join a club. By finding a group of people with interests or experiences that match up with yours, you can greatly expand your social circle and take your mind off your classes. If a club is too much of a commitment for you, check out the multitude of one-off events often advertised on the many corkboards around the campuses.
Just last week, I attended two events at Douglas and SFU. The Other Press office hosted a workshop by WePress and Powell Street Festival, where attendees got to create their own linocut plates with the theme of Japanese-Canadian flowers and vegetables. We all researched, drew, and then carefully cut images into the plates. When we rolled the ink on them and created prints, it felt amazing. I learned a new skill and created something uniquely my own. At SFU, I attended a pub night for the History Student Union on an invite from my boyfriend. Although I’m not a history student, I met a bunch of passionate and interesting people and had a great time getting to know them and learning about their goals.
These opportunities to make friends and learn new skills are all around us. Many of us, me included, never take the time to attend these during their studies and enrich their college experience. So get out, do research, and enjoy your school, whether that’s joining a club, attending a workshop, going to a DSU event, or taking in a play put on by our theatre department, such as Love & Information, going on this week. Just have fun, make memories, and take in new perspectives—
