I don’t know how it’s already November, but according to our best fact-checkers, it somehow is. As we hurtle towards winter, here at The Cascade we’re already eying the end of the semester. This is our second-to-last regular issue of 2022.
Why does the paper stop after mid-November? There’s a couple of reasons. The first is a matter of practicality: as an entirely student-run publication, a lot of folks on our team have a busy final few weeks of class as finals draw near. The other reason is that we’re hard at work on a slightly different project: The Zine.
The Zine debuted in December 2018, and has become an end-of-semester tradition here at The Cascade. At the end of each fall and winter semester, we publish a collection of work that might not fit into what you normally find in these pages: rather than providing a source for news and discussion of current events and entertainment, The Zine is an attempt to create something more lasting, more substantial. It’s a place to share creative work of all kinds, from poetry to photography, from non-fiction writing to abstract art.
Every issue of The Zine is a little different, a little unique, which we like to highlight by referring to each edition as an “attempt.” Attempt six, published April 2022, was a milestone in two major ways: it was the first Zine to have a theme, and it was the first time we were able to pay our contributors. Built around the topic “climate,” we were thrilled to receive so many submissions, and put together a great collection of work. We’re hoping this semester’s will be even better.
Here are the quick facts about this semester’s attempt: the theme is “nostalgia” — what you do with that is up to you. We pay $50 for each accepted entry. Every member of the Fraser Valley community is welcome to submit: this is not just for students. The deadline is Nov. 7. You can read more about it at ufvcascade.ca/zine.
The Cascade’s mission is to provide a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published and to act as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. We believe it’s critical that we’re part of the thriving, if sometimes hidden, local artistic community, and The Zine is our most direct contribution to that.
Whether you’re a regular reader or have picked up this paper for the first time, we hope you’ll consider contributing your work to The Zine, telling a creative friend, or picking up a copy once it’s released on Nov. 30. We want this publication to be a sampling of the best creative work the Fraser Valley has to offer and the wide range of voices within this space we call home. We hope you’ll be a part of attempt number seven.
Jeff was The Cascade's Editor in Chief for the latter half of 2022, having previously served as Digital Media Manager, Culture & Events Editor, and Opinion Editor. One time he held all three of those positions for a month, and he's not sure how he survived that. He started at The Cascade in 2016.
