There is no vaccine for domestic violence. But that has not deterred Balbir Gurm from working to prevent relationship violence. “It’s not a shadow pandemic, it was a pandemic before COVID came around, says Gurm. Look at the definitions of pandemic and we’ve been in a pandemic of domestic violence for some time now.” She…

Suicide among Canada’s Indigenous people is disproportionally higher than in the non-Indigenous population according to a survey done by Statistics Canada (2011–2016). Less well known are the traditional means that Indigenous communities can draw upon to combat that tragedy. Alanaise Onischin Goodwill, PhD, spent two years studying the intergenerational effects of suicide and how the…

Despite a challenging year for the healthcare industry, Coast Mental Health (CMH), a registered charity, was named one of BC’s Top Employers for 2021. “We’re very excited by this announcement because it’s the first time we’ve been recognized on this prestigious list,” says Susan Hancock, senior manager for communications and community development. “It’s not every…

“Young people are communicating more as avatars than as real people, so we need to understand what that actually means,” says Anthonia Ogundele, the founder of Ethós Lab, an afterschool program for young people aged 13–18, centred around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and creative entrepreneurship. Ogundele used her experience and skills as a…

Although widely used throughout the world, the Gregorian calendar is not the only one around and not the only one with New Year’s celebrations in January. The Lunisolar calendar, which tracks both solar years and lunar months, is responsible for the festivities falling on different days each year. In China, the largest country celebrating the…

UBCO graduates and co-founders of the African Ubuntu Association Okanagan, Trophy Ewila and Lady Dia present I Am Because You Are vs. I Am Because You’re Not as part of the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office’s Through The Lens workshop series. The workshop and presentation will be held online Feb. 10, 2021 and centers around…

Theatre and film often depict how losing or drifting apart from a loved one or can affect someone. The new play Before They Cut Down Our Tree by Jenna Masuhara tells the story of two former friends who grew up before the rise of social media. Meeting again in 2018, find themselves forced to deal…

Unlike some North American Christmas traditions, Greek Christmas traditions are rooted in religion. Christmas, for them, continues to be a deeply religious holiday. Christougenna, which translates to “time of Christ,” is the second most important religious holiday in Greece after Easter. The holiday is a month-long celebration that starts on Dec. 6 (St. Nicholas Day)…

Every year, the Scandinavian community celebrates, among other traditions, Santa Lucia on December 9. Elinor Barr, a researcher on Scandinavian immigration to Canada and author of Swedes in Canada: Invisible Immigrants, shares her thoughts on Swedish-Canadian history. Born in Ignace, Ontario to Swedish parents, Barr, 84, lived in Port Arthur and Fort William, where she…