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Hello everyone! Happy March!

We enter the beginning of spring which is shadowed by the tragedy of the end of winter.

No one could ignore the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

February was the month when the heart of humanity was beating with the victims of this grand tragedy. Some send money. Others send prayers. But we were all thinking about this deadly disaster.

We, at the Times, couldn’t pass by it either.

Brahim Ait Ouzineb talks about the work he put into the story of how the college community reacted to the deadly disaster:

“I have connections with both of the countries. In 2010 I was in Damascus, and I could feel the sadness that filled the country. I remember I was taking pictures there, and a security person came up to me and forced me to delete all the photos I took. He said we would break my camera if I don’t get out of there. The sadness and brutality were everywhere, but I still feel like a part of that country.

And my former boss was from Istanbul. I am absolutely fascinated by the country’s culture, and by the people’s hard work.

I wanted to give the victims of the disaster an opportunity to speak out. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was able to give them fair coverage. I tried to contact the Turkish Embassy – it didn’t work out. I talked to the Embassy counsellor – she gave a very diplomatic answer. I wanted to talk to International Education Centre – they couldn’t tell me anything for privacy reasons.

I also think that many students felt very strongly about their government. They were frustrated with the actions and the lack of action. They felt like that contributed to making the deadly disaster even more deadly.”

Despite the self-critique, we highly recommend you read Brahim’s story to learn about your peers and those around the world, who were affected by the deadly whim of nature.

Yours,

Kate Playfair, Kerry Slack, Arty Sarkisian, Jayme Mutchmor and Brahim Ait Ouzineb

We want to hear your voices!

Connect with us through social media or via email and let us know what you think we should cover next!

College community reacts to the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria

by: Brahim Ait Ouzineb

On the morning of Feb. 16, Lina Alalwani, a third-year student in the early learning and community development program, stood at a small table in the Student Commons building with the flags of Syria and Turkey and some printed news articles in front of her.

Just ten days before, on Feb. 6 at 4:17 a.m., while people were inside sleeping, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria. Some made it out, but 47,000 people are known to have died.

“I asked for that [corner] and they were so helpful,” she said about Algonquin College. “They gave me a space to address the Algonquin College community directly. It is helpful but the people there need more. They really need more. They are suffering.”

Algonquin Wolves claim bronze at women’s OCAA basketball championships

by: Brandon Plant

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball program collected the bronze medal in a thrilling 56-52 win over the Fanshawe College Falcons at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association championships on Sunday.

Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association All-Canadian guard Dasia McDonald led the way for the Wolves, registering 19 points during the contest, while first team CCAA all-star Libby Hirst in the paint rebounded the ball 13 times, eight of which were defensive rebounds.

“This was a fantastic season and I am so incredibly proud of the team and the hard work they put in this year,” Wolves head coach Jaime McLean said. “We were aiming for gold but are very happy with the bronze result.”

Jack Doyle’s retirement is ‘the end of an era’

by: Morgan Farrell

Jack Doyle, the general manager of the Algonquin College Students’ Association, has announced that he is planning to retire in the fall of 2023 after 40 years of dedication to college community.

Doyle has been in his current role with the SA for the past 33 years, helping to improve the Students’ Association in a plethora of ways.

“It’s nice to work for nice people,” said Bill Kitchen, the senior manager of hospitality services. “And you know, he is a nice person he cares about his staff. He cares about the product for students. He’s an incredibly devoted leader of students and young professionals and we’re really lucky to work with him or work for him. He takes great pride in having had the opportunity to work with students.”

The return to in-person learning is a great reminder: ‘Nursing is a team sport’
by: Jayme Mutchmor

Carmen Hust, the chair of the Algonquin College nursing program, couldn’t be more pleased about the return of in-person education for nursing students.

“Our faculty are very excited that students are back in class,” said Hust, sitting in her chair in a sunlit corner office in the B-building on the Woodroffe campus. “We don’t take it for granted anymore.”

During the pandemic period, it was a feat of teamwork and resilience for the faculty to make the quick change from long in-person labs and clinical practice to a mainly online learning environment.

Algonquin Times retires its print edition to focus on digital publishing

by: Guillaume Laflamme

The journalism program and the Students’ Association have discontinued the print edition of the Algonquin Times, Algonquin College’s student-produced news outlet.

“I guess it’s the official suspension,” said Julie McCann, program coordinator for journalism, “but it’s been long time coming if that makes sense.”

The Algonquin Times published its last newspaper on Nov. 24, 2022 and copies can still be found on newsstands around the campus.