I write this crammed into a booth at Brown’s Socialhouse with five other members of The Cascade team, working diligently to prepare this paper rag for publication tonight. One thing I’ve come to appreciate during my time at The Cascade is the intimacy of our community. Sometimes we show up messy, bitchy, or grieving, but when that happens we are always supportive of each other. This past semester, our team has been diligently following the budget crisis that has hit UFV. And this hasn’t just been an ongoing story about finances, social policy, or federal budget impacts, but one about grief. There is grief for our international students who have been hit with higher rates of tuition both before and after the deficit, who have been made to feel unwelcome by immigration policies and U.S. sentiment creeping over the border, but also for the UFV faculty who are mourning the loss of their positions, and the cuts to valuable programs.
There’s no doubt that this year has been a trying one. Ongoing wars, toxic politics, and the onslaught of AI and resulting existential crisis it’s spurred, have put us all on edge. But this is a time when connection, empathy, and understanding matter the most. To be in connection, in proximity, to hold each other through the grief, to allow our friends, colleagues, professors, and fellow students to show up messy and irritable without judgement. All this makes a world of difference for those impacted the most by budget cuts, immigration policy and sentiment, or political turmoil.
This isn’t an excuse to bury our heads in the sand and avoid the hard news, it’s a reminder that these challenging scenarios can be faced together, as a community. So for those aware of professors or staff who have been impacted by budget cuts, of international students struggling with skyrocketing tuition and anti-immigration sentiment, and those who might be impacted by ongoing wars or the onslaught of AI, check in with them. Make time for those you care about, because assignments and work obligations come and go, but at the end of the day the one thing that can bring us comfort in the chaos of the world is each other.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after. She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.