See you in September

Have we thanked you yet?

I mean you. The person reading this on the bench just beside the doors in Riddell Centre while waiting for the bus. The person sitting down and flipping to this page while drinking your morning coffee at Henderson’s in Campion. The person picking this up at Pita Pit on Kramer while you grab the late-night study binge snack you need just before the place closes. The person bringing this back to their office and browsing through it to get an idea of what students across campus are doing before you head to the classroom to teach.

I mean you, the member of the University of Regina community.

At the start of the year, our goal was fairly simple. We just wanted to deliver the news. But as the year went on and important things started happening – like October’s Canadian Federation of Students referendum, which we were hearing about even into March – our bigger goal became clear. We wanted to inform you, sure. But we also wanted you to get engaged.

Did you ever.

Turnout for the CFS referendum was massive – 25 per cent of students cast ballots. Turnout for the U of R Students’ Union’s annual general meeting was so large that the start time had to be pushed back to make sure that the line of people stretching down towards College West could be let in. Turnout for this year’s URSU elections was equally impressive, with 19.9 per cent of eligible voters casting ballots.

But it wasn’t just political events you got engaged with. Commenter Ryan Csada pointed out on our website that the attendance at Cougars games is some of the highest in Canada West. And the night before I sat down to write this editorial, I was taking a break outside Riddell as the Sunday night performance of The Queens let out, watching as the doors of the auditorium opened and a few people trickled out. My slight disappointment turned quickly to surprise and excitement, however, as dozens of people began to crowd the theatre lobby.

There are events like these going on all across campus, and this year we’ve watched you get involved with them. And that’s why we’re grateful.

Writing a newspaper is, at a basic level, about telling stories. For a community like the U of R, that means telling the stories of people in the community – their struggles, their triumphs, their concerns, their hopes. This year, we’ve tried to capture as many of those as we could. But this editorial, like those stories, isn’t about us. It’s about you. Without you getting engaged and having those stories, the paper you’re holding in your hands wouldn’t be anything close to what it is today.

You care about your community. You’ve gone out and proven that you’re interested, you’re informed, and you’re engaged with what’s going on around you. You’ve given us plenty of stories to tell.

And there are still so many more of your stories out there. Nothing thrills us more than the chance to find them out.

So from all of us at the Carillon this year, thank you. And, as the Carillon’s motto says, illegitimi non carborundum – don’t let the bastards grind you down.

John Cameron
Editor-in-Chief