On-campus polling will help ensure “everybody who can vote, can vote” in new Tantramar riding
During the last provincial election in September 2020, confusion reigned at the Sackville polling station, with Elections NB workers mistakenly turning away eligible student voters throughout the polling day. Some students told CHMA at the time that they had to try multiple times to get through the voting process without being turned away. Others left in frustration, without voting at all.
It’s a situation Garth Zwicker is confident can be avoided this October 21, as the province’s electors get another chance to weigh in on who forms the government of New Brunswick.
Zwicker is the returning officer for the riding of Tantramar, the smallest riding by population in the province since the electoral map was redrawn last spring.
CHMA caught up with Zwicker last week at the Tantramar returning office at 95 Bridge Street, to find out more about how voting will take place this time around in Tantramar.
The Tantramar returning office will officially open at 10am on Thursday September 19, the day the writ is scheduled to drop, triggering the 2024 provincial election. Electors should have voting cards by October 7.
On election day, October 21, nine different polling stations will open across the riding (in Murray Corner, Baie Verte, Cape Tormentine, Port Elgin, Sackville, Dorchester, Midgic, Westcock, and Mount Whatley) in addition to the returning office at 95 Bridge Street.… Continue
Sackville Festival of Early Music celebrates its 20th year with ‘all the feelings’
The Sackville Festival of Early Music kicked off Wednesday with a presentation at the Brunton Auditorium by the Eybler Quartet, who also open the festival concert series on Friday.
CHMA spoke with festival co-director Christina Haldane about this 20th year of the Sackville Festival of Early Music.
The SFEM is an “exciting and engaging musical experience that will entice ‘all the feelings’,” says Haldane, referencing the Eybler Quartet presentation on Wednesday, which explored the role of emotions in musical performance and composition.
“This is a special repertoire,” says Haldane, of the festival’s focus on music from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. Haldane says the program will “provide an opportunity for you to learn more about this rich and diverse repertoire from the early European art music scene,” says Haldane, “and a chance to enjoy some exciting musicians who bring this music to life on stage.”
In addition to the concert series, SFEM continues its tradition of incorporating education in its mandate, perhaps fitting for a festival housed in a music school. “Creating opportunities for meaningful educational experiences for young learners is central to the Sackville Festival of Early Music and its activities,” says Haldane.
The members of the Eybler Quartet (Julia Wedman, Patrick Jordan, Margaret Gay, and Patricia Ahern) arrived in Sackville Tuesday night, and by 8:30 Wednesday morning “were straight into our schools in the region to lead some educational sessions with our youngest learners.”… Continue
‘You’ve made it’: hundreds of Mt A students graduate in 2024 convocation
About 425 students walked across the stage at Convocation Hall in Sackville in two ceremonies on Monday, as part of Mount Allison University’s class of 2024 celebrations. “You’ve made it,” said Mt A president Robert MacKinnon after opening the ceremony. “Today, we have all gathered to celebrate your achievement.”
Convocation hall was filled graduates, family and friends, and the stage with Mount Allison senior leadership and faculty, as well as invited guests, includingTantramar Mayor Andrew Black, Fort Folly First Nation cultural coordinator Nicole Porter, Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton, and New Brunswick Lieutenant Governor Brenda Murphy.
CHMA was there as on Monday afternoon, to capture the voices of multi-faith chaplain Ellie Hummel, university president Robert MacKinnon, 2024 class valedictorian Ellie Smallwood, and honorary degree recipient Alex Fancy.
Fancy gave the convocation address, touching on a theme of “cocoons and conversations”, reflecting on the role of safe places and stimulating exchanges in his life.… Continue
Prof says campus accessibility remains ‘deplorable’, pitches campaign to change that by 200th anniversary
A Mount Allison professor is calling out a lack of progress in terms of physical accessibility on university campuses, and pitching a target for his own campus to fix the problem by the time it hits its 200th anniversary in 2039.
Dr. Mario Levesque teaches politics at Mount Allison, and also does research on disability issues. About 10 years ago he started Mount A’s first course focussed on disability, and a year and a half ago he got trained as an accessibility auditor through the Rick Hansen Foundation. He says that Mount Allison has a lot of work to do making the campus physically accessible.
Levesque points to his own building on campus, the Avard Dixon, which has an accessible washroom on the fourth floor, but no elevator. “Four storeys, so that makes it challenging,” he says. And this past fall, Levesque got some first hand experience with that challenge.
“I was on crutches for the bulk of last fall, and my office is on the third floor, and no elevator,” says Levesque. Though the university offered to find him a space to work elsewhere, Levesque says he needed access to his office and everything in it. That meant climbing the stair several times a day with his crutches, which Levesque says is a safety and liability issue. Some days if he wasn’t up for the climb, the professor moved up and down the stairs in a seated position.… Continue
Mounties’ Daniel Bell talks about getting drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Graduating Mountie football star Daniel Bell says there were a lot of emotions at play when he saw his name appear as the 34th pick of the 2024 CFL draft, the fourth pick of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Bell is the third CFL draftee to come out of the Mount Allison Mounties football program in just two years. He heads to Hamilton for training camp this month along with his Mountie colleague, Reece Martin, who was drafted by the Tiger-Cats last year, but ended up returning to play another year for the Mounties.
Bell and Martin’s teammate, and Sackville native Lucas Cormier was drafted last year to the Ottawa RedBlacks, and made the team’s opening day roster in 2023.
Mounties head coach Peter Fraser and director of athletics Jacques Bellefleur dropped by CHMA studios last week to talk about Bell’s hard work, and the impact that the Mounties recent success in the CFL draft can have for the football program.
CHMA started off asking Coach Fraser how big of a deal it is to get drafted into the Canadian Football League.
CHMA also spoke to Daniel Bell from his home in Saint John, to hear about what comes next for the defensive back:
Mount Allison Athletics compiled a list of the Mounties history with the CFL draft, available online here.… Continue
Mt Allison VP Anne Comfort set to retire this summer
Mount Allison Vice-President of International and Student Affairs Anne Comfort is retiring in August, and her last day at the school will be June 28, according to a news release from the school this week.
The university says Comfort’s “unwavering commitment to students and exceptional leadership have been instrumental to Mount Allison’s growth and success in student affairs and wellness.”
Comfort has worked for Mount Allison since 2004, and was appointed interim Vice President of International and Student Affairs in November 2020. The job became permanent in April 2021. Before that she served as Director of Accessibility and Student Wellness.
The school says it will communicate a plan to ensure the smooth transition of responsibilities in the Student Affairs office, while planning the search for Comfort’s replacement.
Comfort recently faced challenges from an announced federal government clamp down on international student numbers, as well as a group letter criticizing the Student Affairs department, signed by 30 student leaders.
With Comfort’s retirement, that leaves two vice president positions either empty or with an interim appointment. Dr. Vicky St Pierre is currently serving as Interim Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Research.
Mount Allison also recently announced the appointment of a new Registrar, Bert Annear, who begins on May 24. A new president, Dr. Ian Sutherland, is set to begin on July 15.… Continue
‘Fed up’ with student services at Mt A, group takes their concerns to Board of Regents
A group of student leaders at Mount Allison are sounding the alarm about what they call “a consistent decline” in the services provided by Mount Allison’s student affairs department.
The group of 30 students sent a detailed package to the school’s Board of Regents in advance of their meeting this week, telling of empty food banks, high staff turnover and vacant positions, new resources that sit unapproved and un-released by university administration, and a pattern of reactive policy-making that leaves the department of student affairs looking poorly organized and under-resourced.
Fourth year Sociology student Isabella Gallant is the driving force behind the letter. As co-lead for the Mount Allison chapter of Jack.org, Gallant says she had a list of frustrations with resources for students, and when she reached out to fellow student leaders, she heard similar concerns.
“I started sending emails before Christmas,” says Gallant, “just reaching out to different students and saying, hey, I’m really fed up, are you really fed up too? And the response from everyone I reached out to was yes, let’s do this.”
Gallant assembled a 32-page document for the Board of Regents, which includes letters from other student leaders including the president of the Black Students’ Union, the president of ENACTUS Mount Allison, and a former Mount Allison Student Union Accessibility Affairs Coordinator.… Continue
Garnet and Gold brings Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to the stage in Sackville
Garnet and Gold’s latest production, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, runs Thursday through Saturday at Mount Allison University’s Convocation Hall.
Director Karen Valanne says the student society picked an ambitious production to mount in 2024, with a large cast of 45, including a youth ensemble from local schools. Altogether with crew and orchestra, there’s about 70 people involved. “Cast and crew, everybody’s been working really hard,” says Valanne. “They’re very dedicated, very talented… it’s a dream for me.”
But for Valanne’s role as director, the production is run entirely by students. “We’re only a society, but we’re one of the only ones in Atlantic Canada that do full scale productions like this,” says Henna Matharu, who is playing the role of Belle. “Ticket sales, building the set, doing the choreography, teaching music… it’s all student led, the entire thing.”
Matharu says after months of work, she’s excited to share the show with audiences. “Everyone is very fitted to their role,” says Matharu. “It’s a show that’s for the whole family that you’re not going to want to miss.”
Meg Aylward is playing Cogsworth, and says that after her experience last year with Garnet and Gold’s production of High School Musical, she couldn’t resist auditioning for Beauty and the Beast.… Continue
CHMA Internship F/W 2023-24
CHMA, in partnership with Mount Allison University, is very excited to announce that we are currently offering a 24-week Independent Media Internship for the 2023/24 academic year for students attending Mount Allison University.
CHMA plays an essential role in local news and independent culture at Mount Allison University and in the Tantramar Region. We are offering these internships to help gain exciting, hands-on, real-world experience working in broadcast media, audio production, research, content creation, and the operations of a non-profit arts organization.
The successful applicants will work with CHMA staff to develop a program or series of projects to equally develop the applicants area of interest as well as contribute to CHMA’s programming and broadcast.
CHMA is committed to diversity and inclusiveness. We encourage applications from Women in STEM as well as members of racialized communities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Please visit experience.mta.ca to view and submit applications through Mount Allison University or send direct to us at hr@chmafm.com. Applications will be accepted until September 10th.
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~As a Independent Media Intern, you will work with our staff and volunteers to further our mandate of informing and entertaining our community to meet the diverse needs of the communities of Westmoreland and Cumberland counties, NB & NS.
~You will work with the Executive Director of Attic Broadcasting to develop a project for the duration of your internship that contributes to both your own interest and those of Attic Broadcasting.… Continue
Oscuridad, Lagrimas y Suspiros
Podcast.
Hey! I’m Max, here I invite my friends and we start the conversation with a topic, which they don’t know, so they don’t have a chance to think about it too much or do research so we can have an honest and organic talk about very deep or completely casual subjects with an interesting exchange of perspectives.
Hola! soy Max, aqui invito a mis amigos y empezamos la conversasion con un tema, el cual ellos no concen, para que no tengan oportunidad de pensarlo demaciado o hacer investigacion para asi tener una platica honesta y organica sobre temas muy profundos o completamente casuales con un interesante intercambio de perspectivas.
https://www.instagram.com/oscuridad.lagrimas.suspiros/
… Continue