While Queen’s still has a long way to go to being fully inclusive to members of the LGBTQ+ community on campus, it has certainly taken strides from its past. 

In the basement of Botterell Hall, below the scattered study spaces and underground lecture halls, lie some of Queen’s more contentious research labs. 

Every year, thousands of students in Ontario trade in their sweatpants and backpacks for dress pants and briefcases as they transform into working interns. An increasing amount  of students are undertaking internships, often unpaid, to bolster their resumes and increase their chances of getting hired after graduation. 

To help offset the rising cost of university, students both on campus and across Canada have taken to a modern twist on an old — fashioned arrangement.

There were five women in the class of 1884. While each would go on to have a prosperous career  — a writer, a medical missionary, a teacher, a professor and a doctor — their journeys were not without struggle. Their graduation marked an important moment in history and the beginning of a new era for women at Queen’s. 

Only one year since their inauguration last March, the Kappa Sigma fraternity near Queen’s now boasts around 40 “brothers”. From focusing on philanthropy and building a strong social community, Mitch Wilson, ArtSci ‘18, one of the vice-presidents, said that their fraternity’s goal is to build connections.However, Kappa Sigma have to call their chapter the “Kingston Colony” as Queen’s has a student government sanctioned ban on fraternities and sororities.

In March of 2015, one Queen’s student found out that the man she was preparing to go to trial against for sexually assaulting her had been elected to the University Senate, one of Queen’s highest governing bodies

This time last year, students passing the corner of University and Union were stopped and searched.The simulated checkpoint was a part of Israeli Apartheid Week, organized by Queen’s Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR).

“It really became a game of ‘let’s do [it] one more time, and if I can not get blackout, then I’m good.’ It was just like Russian roulette.”When John* began to worry that he had a drinking problem, he tried alternative solutions before quitting altogether. He tried to limit himself, stick to certain types of alcohol, and swear off others, but nothing worked.

Queen’s was established after an Imperial Royal Charter was signed on October 16, 1841 by Queen Victoria, making Queen’s the second university in Ontario – Upper Canada at the time.

“We still care, and that’s why it’s important to have women in power, or people of colour in power because representation goes a long way — I still stand for the belief that at the end of the day this is the best candidate for this position because of x, y, and z skills and characteristics and not necessarily about how they identify,” said Jenn Li, AMS president-elect.Next year, Li will be the first woman AMS President in three years and the first female AMS President of Asian descent in at least the last 28 years.

When Amanda Collins walked into Mac-Corry and caught sight of the Queen’s Alive booth, she first noticed the stack of bookmarks that read “Women DO regret their abortions!” and then she noticed the poster advertising their upcoming movie night.After her visit to the booth last semester, Collins, ArtSci ‘19, wrote a letter to the AMS registering a complaint against the club. It wouldn’t be the first time in the controversial group’s history they’d faced a complaint from students. 

“It was very interesting when the election happened and for some people here it wasn’t real for them, when it was real for me.”

Three siblings who built a school’s cultural and athletic legacy

For Griffin Bastedo, being one of the six male students that make up the first year nursing program makes him feel special, rather than a minority.“We’re nicknamed the ‘murses’,” Bastedo, Nurs ’20, said.In an interview with The Journal, Bastedo said he knew before coming to Queen’s to do his degree in nursing science that both the program and the profession are overwhelmingly female-dominated.

“I had died around 3 or 4 a.m. and they found my body at 8:30 a.m.”

“It’s the remix to ignition, college student edition, eating ramen for dinner, can’t afford my tuition.”

$20,000 and a new business isn’t bad for a summer’s work.