Features

<p>When 66-year-old Andy Vezina moved to Fredericton at the beginning of September, he had only a suitcase of belongings. One of the first things he did was get a library card at the Fredericton Public Library. “I have to have something to read all the time,” said Vezina. “And it’s an oasis … You know [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Xavier Johnson regularly goes to sleep around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. and wakes up around 1 p.m. – if he hears one of his many alarms. “Sometimes 4 or 5 a.m. rolls around, my mind is not tired, so I choose to stay up and start the next day. I’ll then continue until about [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Fourth-year St. Thomas University student Ethan Nylen hopes he can make a difference in the lives of Fredericton’s homeless population. Nylen is the head of a tutoring program that aims to help unhoused people obtain their General Educational Development (GED) diploma. The program is a collaboration between STU campus ministry and the Fredericton Public Library. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In partnership with the St. Thomas University Sustainability Club and the STU Campus Ministry, the STU Food Bank held an apple canning workshop on Oct. 7. The Aquinian&#8217;s photo editor, Daniel Salas, stopped by St. Dunstan&#8217;s Kitchen on Regent Street to get these &#8220;a-peeling&#8221; photos.</p>

<p>As of Oct. 1, travellers entering Canada no longer have to use the ArriveCAN app to show their proof of COVID-19 vaccination and fill out forms, according to federal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Some are relieved that the problematic application will be removed, but some think it helped keep Canadians safe. Duclos announced the new [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Beaver dams, antique farming equipment, man-made ponds and an extensive trail system make up the surroundings of The Iris Center, located on Fredericton’s northside, about 10 minutes from downtown. Dr. Bill Cook wears rubber boots as he balances on muddy marshlands with a hand-carved wooden walking stick while he gives a tour of the centre, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The following piece is satire. The words and quotes do not represent the views of The Aquinian. None of the quotes or sources are real. The walls of St. Thomas University have a new mural in George Martin Hall painted by none other than Bill Johnson, husband of STU president and vice-chancellor Dawn Russell, as part [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Last summer, 18-year-old Emma Campbell made a wood-furnished 2005 Chevy Express her home, loading it with solar panels, a bed, a fridge and other necessities. She has been travelling for weeks at a time — the solitude and independence allowing her to explore her resilience. &#8220;It has really improved my individual sense of self. I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>With the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation coming up on Sept. 30, The Aquinian&#8217;s social media and advertising editor, Violet Armistead, asked several Indigenous students at St. Thomas University what truth and reconciliation means to them. Emily Storey &#8220;For me, my identity has more so become who I am,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Identity to me [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Mi’kmaw artist and University of New Brunswick alumni Robin Paul created her popular orange t-shirt design to represent Indigenous communities in New Brunswick and to start a conversation about truth and reconciliation education. The shirts will be worn across the country on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. “That was quite [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Theo Saulis remembers looking up at the remains of Shingwauk Indian Residential School, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., during a visit to the site in 2016. On the roof, a rusted steeple rose into the overcast sky. From 1935 to 1970, the four-storey brick building housed Indigenous children to strip them of their heritage [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Local drag queen Barb Wire performed Lizzo’s ‘About Damn Time’ at St. Thomas University’s welcome week sex trivia event. This marks an important moment as the drag scene grows in the Maritimes. Annabelle Babineau, who portrays Barb Wire, said the increase in drag popularity brings different points of view to the table. One thing Babineau [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Sitting in a humid basement office, Minahil Fatima, vice president of administration with the St. Thomas University Students&#8217; Union, looks up a map of Pakistan’s floods on her phone. As of Sept. 8, at least one-third of Pakistan was under water, Pakistan’s climate change minister, Sherry Rehman, told Agence France-Presse news agency. Pakistan has some [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The sound of sirens and a mass of university students filled the streets near College Hill until the early hours of the morning last week. This was to celebrate the annual tradition of burning couches and partying on the street to kick off the school year.  Welcome week was a dry week — until Sept. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>With the full return of in-person classes at St. Thomas University, the first week could be considered a new experience for both new and returning students. The Aquinian’s photo editor, Daniel Salas, spoke with several students about their best experiences of their first week and their planned achievements for the end of the year. “My [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In early October last year, a new community began to take shape on a vacant lot on Fredericton’s Northside. The city’s first collection of affordable micro-homes emerged from the vision of Marcel LeBrun, a technology entrepreneur who is determined to find a better way to address chronic homelessness in his community. After years of studying [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Content warning: This article contains mention of mental illness, rape, sexual assault, suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder. I remember the day I received my acceptance letter from St. Thomas University. I didn’t apply anywhere else, despite receiving advice from mentors to not “put all my eggs in one basket.” But there was nowhere else I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Katelyn Ryan is graduating from St. Thomas University this spring with a gerontology major and a psychology minor. For her post-grad plans, she applied for a recreational therapist position at the Shannex near her hometown of Miramichi. “I&#8217;m feeling hopeful,” she said. Before finding gerontology, Ryan explored a range of education-related degrees. She initially enrolled [&hellip;]</p>

<p>On a rainy afternoon at the Tipsy Muse Café in downtown Fredericton, comedian James Mullinger tested new material gathered on his long road to Canadian citizenship as an immigrant from Great Britain. Sitting in front of a bay window, he sips an Americano and recalls the citizenship test questions “that no Canadian can ever answer.” [&hellip;]</p>

<p>An empty shopping cart with snowy red mittens teeters on the edge of the ramp leading to River Stone Recovery Centre on King Street in downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick. Inside, people crowd the halls, leaning against walls and sitting on stairs. Plastic bags full of belongings are tucked under their feet. The centre was closed [&hellip;]</p>