On May 8, game development graduates thwarted the novel coronavirus pandemic by having their convocation through Minecraft. The students were among the unlucky graduates of 2020 who had their convocation cancelled due to COVID-19. But these graduates are no strangers to adversity. The students began their program in Fall 2017 and endured a six-week college strike. They also had a...

Canadians gathered on June 5, 2020, in downtown Ottawa for a peaceful protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, thousands were in attendance. Protesters were taking precautions to avoid catching or spreading the disease with masks, gloves and hand sanitizers. Shouted chants brought people together and heartfelt speeches left some in tears. The...

Delays and postponements in co-ops and placements amidst the pandemic have caused worry and fear among students about their future. Algonquin College is recognized for its high placement rates and the widely held co-op programs which provide students with mandatory hands-on work experience. “In the 2019-20 academic year, we had over 1,300 co-op work-terms. This includes Fall 2019, Winter 2020,...

The move to online classes after March 13 has been difficult for many Algonquin students. For some international students like Leon Radaelli, however, the changes have been especially challenging. Radaelli, who is a first-year mechanical engineering technology student, was living in residence when the change happened. [Note: this reporter and Radaelli became friends in residence.] Although international students were given...

Animal hospitals began resuming regular hours on May 25. At Greenbank Animal Hospital, pet owners can bring their cats and dogs for elective surgeries. Annual vaccines will also resume. However, people shouldn’t bring their pets just because they can as it can pose risk to the clinic staff. When the clinic was only accepting urgent patients, they had to turn...

Normally at this time of year, Nicolas Bisaillon would be training and playing soccer with teammates, getting ready for the upcoming Algonquin College soccer season. However, this spring the Algonquin College Thunder soccer player and computer engineering student is stuck at home training alone, without soccer. “It's our own intensity so we have to be motivated by ourselves and we...

The marketing team at Algonquin has continued to work on its “changing lives” advertising campaign for the last four years, but the pandemic situation could affect what their project looks like this fall. The college has a budget for the marketing department, which is called that strategic investment funding. This is focused on marketing and the ability to attract students....

In a new, bright lab at Algonquin’s Woodroffe campus, a detailed mural of a vineyard rolling over sunny hills spans almost an entire wall. Students of the sommelier program normally join there for a year of sampling, swirling and sipping, getting the chance to become well-rounded wine stewards. Now, the mural has gone dark and the lab’s doors are closed....

The Students' Association's upcoming board of directors have moved to elect Emily Ferguson as the new president and Robert Richter as vice-president of the 2020/2021 term after a lower-than-expected voter turnout. The campaign, which ran between March 30 and April 3, changed to a digital format after the suspension of all face-to-face instruction, as outlined in a statement published to...

Algonquin College's campuses across the region have stepped forward to donate much needed personal protective equipment and supplies during the continuing COVID-19 crisis."Our Perth and Pembroke campuses also worked with their local community and reached out to their neighbouring hospitals," said college spokesperson Chris Lackner in an email on April 8. Details were announced on the AC Perth Twitter page....