It’s May again. The trees have displayed their cherry blossoms, and are now unloading them onto the unsuspecting cars parked beneath their branches. Birds, too, are nesting in those trees, and they’ve also been unloading onto my car as of late. There’s a lift in my spirits as I walk through the campus grounds, richly greened from the April showers. The smell of the spring buds, and B.C. Bud, mingle in the air. It’s a full five minutes before I think about how brown the lawns will look in a matter of weeks because we’re converting the planet into an Easy-Bake Oven.
Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal — and if your NHL team didn’t make the playoffs — potentially to rebuild as well. University is naturally a transitory experience, with our fleeting time as students (and the irregularity of our Tim Hortons’ hours of operation) seemingly the only constant. As students graduate, like baby birds leaving the nest only to soil my windshield as they venture into the world, the impermanence of collegiate life will be leaving our Cascade family diminished. Talented, dedicated members of the team are finishing up their time at UFV, and therefore at the paper, and since my initial wish that they’d tank just enough courses to not graduate didn’t pan out… I’ll instead wish them well.
In the spirit of crisitunity, I’m choosing to see this as a period of spring renewal. The change in seasons is a time of transformation, and that is what UFV’s student press will do in the coming months. It’s not just the broken and disheveled office furniture that’s getting tossed out, but outdated production models as well. While The Cascade has no plans to do away with its physical form, we understand that many readers consume their news online, and one of the benefits of digital publication is timeliness. Many articles will now publish online ahead of print, fostering a more dynamic and responsive space for news.
We also want to tackle more thoughtful, investigative journalism. The Cascade has space enough for levity and difficult questions, but we have to make room for it, and we need the staff to report it. In that spirit, we’re looking to expand our ranks of Staff Writers. We’ll also be converting some of our lengthier articles into an audio format so that students can listen to some of our longer pieces, where much of our investigative journalism resides. We’ve also just heard about something called ”pod-casting” (I assume that’s Latin), and while I’m not sure this new media space will take off, we think it’s a great opportunity to have deeper discussions about current events.
The Cascade is changing. Next spring, it may change again. As an entity it should be like the deciduous trees that dapple UFV’s campus: ever-renewing, spirit-lifting, and deeply rooted. It should also serve as a home — however temporary — to those who chose to nest here while they grow, and learn to spread their wings.
Long ago, when DeLoreans roamed the earth, Brad was born. In accordance with the times, he was raised in the wild every afternoon and weekend until dusk, never becoming so feral that he neglected to rewind his VHS rentals. His historical focus has assured him that civilization peaked with The Simpsons in the mid 90s. When not disappointing his parents, Brad spends his time with his dogs, regretting he didn’t learn typing in high school.