By Glen Ess (The Cascade) – Email
UFV’s newest student run publication, Summit, will be hosting what they hope to be the first edition of an annual first conference on April 11. The academic journal caters to students in the humanities and social sciences, and is the first publication here at UFV that recognizes the excellence students display in research and essay writing. According to Valerie Franklin, one of the journal’s organizers and editors, “Currently there’s no way for students to get published or have their academic work recognized at UFV, and I think that’s part of the process of post secondary, having your work recognized for it’s excellence. Especially if you’re going to graduate school.”
Terrill Smith, the other main organizer, notes that publications like Summit are something UFV has previously lacked, especially when compared to other universities. According to Smith, “Most universities do have these sort of things, and a lot of people talk about how UFV lacks in community, and I think that it’s up to students to build it … this is our contribution to building an academic community.”
Smith also believes that by making publication easier for students to access, the conference will also encourage an academic dialogue between student authors and their peers. “Although students can get their work published, they might have to go to a different city, or a different province, or even country to do that, depending on their subject of study,” he says.
Summit hasn’t required much in the way of funding, and what has been required has been funded by the college of arts. “Other than the actual conference, we haven’t had to spend money on anything too enormous,” Smith says. The journal will be published online, rather than having a print edition. “At least for this year we’re just publishing online because it’s the pilot year,” he says.
With both Smith and Franklin graduating this year, it remains to be seen if Summit will live up to expectations and becomes an annual publication. Based off of student’s responses, both have high hopes for the journal due to the surprisingly high number of submissions Summit received. “In total we have 20 authors,” Smith says. “We had a much higher turnout than I was expecting.”
The conference will run next Monday in the SUB from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Editor’s Note: both Valerie Franklin and Terrill Smith have contributed to The Cascade.
