March 28, 2024

Students can access wide range of services

By Jessica Towriss, Spoke News With the fall semester beginning at Conestoga College, the halls have been full of new and returning students. With returning and first-year students, Conestoga College has welcomed a record-breaking population of more than 13,000 full-time students and more than 38,000 part-time students across all Conestoga campuses. With the influx of students, the college has hired more than 100 full-time employees to contribute to student success, … Continued

College counsellors here to help

BY AUSTIN WELLS Stress is an inevitable part of being a human being. It can occur while working, and is an unfortunate part of the daily life of a college student. According to Statistics Canada, one in five Canadians will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime. While stress itself is not a mental illness, it can augment an existing condition or help cause others. While living with … Continued

Campus food bank use increases

BY MELISSA HORTON In a school of more than 45,000 busy students, it’s hard to make sure every student knows of all the services offered by the college. To get the word out, Conestoga Students Inc.’s Food Support services relies on class presentations and word of mouth to pass on the information about what they have to offer. So, what is it that they offer students? Laurita Martynowski, Campus Service … Continued

ONE Card is all you need

BY TYLER MEDEIROS Staff and students at Conestoga College are fortunate to have one card that allows them to access every service on and off campus that the school offers. “There was previously a whole bunch of cards, you needed a separate library card, a separate gym card; there were about five to six different cards you needed to have before the ONE Card was introduced,” said Chris Hussey, a … Continued

Parking passes expensive: students

By REBECCA SOARES Students at Conestoga College can get to class by bus, on foot or by using their own vehicles, but the third option requires students to purchase a parking permit for either one or two semesters. A permit for one semester at Conestoga’s Doon campus costs $262 and increases to $440 for two semesters. While school administrators may believe these to be reasonable prices, students at Conestoga College … Continued

Conestoga ONE Card offers many benefits

BY AUSTIN WELLS Every student at Conestoga College has access to the school’s student card, or ONE Card, as it is called, but not every student is aware of some of the card’s other benefits. In addition to acting as a student card, it is the college library card, and students can load money onto it and use it to make purchases at any vendor on campus, sometimes at a … Continued

Seeing a counsellor beneficial

BY ASHLEY SPRAGUE Being a student is stressful. Balancing work and social and school life, along with having time to sleep, eat and work out, is a lot to have on one’s plate. Homework and assignments are stressful. Deadlines and keeping your grades up are stressful. Being a student is stressful; some students are so stressed that they become anxious or depressed. In fact, according to Canadian Centre for Addiction … Continued

CSI’s Food Bank goes full time

BY MATTHEW EVANGELISTA Conestoga Students Inc. has hired another employee and lengthened its Food Bank hours in an effort to keep up with increasing demand. Funded by CSI in collaboration with the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, the service operates using a “hamper system” in which students who register are given a bag of emergency food and hygiene supplies once a month. The Food Bank also allows students to pick … Continued

CSI has $340,000 surplus

BY SCOTT BLINKHORN There were lots of questions for the Conestoga Students Inc. (CSI) board of directors at the organization’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Nov. 14. More than 30 students attended, ready with questions for the board members. The meeting, which was held at The Venue, began with a financial update from Tim Sothern, a partner at BDO Canada, the accounting firm that handles CSI’s finances. The report said … Continued

New alert system at the college

BY JOE WEPPLER One of the most important things is the feeling of safety. We like to feel protected, comfortable and secure. At Conestoga College, that responsibility falls to the members of Security Services. “Our No. 1 goal is ensuring a safe and healthy campus for all its members,” said Kirsty Bradley-McMurtrie, the director of safety and security at Conestoga College’s Security Services. The department provides many different services to … Continued

Get Involved Fair promotes unity

BY LEAH MORROW “O Captain! my Captain,” Robin Williams once proclaimed in his iconic role of the poet, John Keats, in the movie Dead Poets Society. These four words, first written by American poet Walt Whitman, became a symbol of unity and belonging within the society. On Jan. 22 Student Life and Conestoga Students Inc. (CSI) worked together to give new meaning to the term unity by hosting the Get … Continued

Lockdown causes confusion

BY CHRIS HUSSEY Kayla Merkus, a second-year advertising and marketing communications student, was sitting with her friend in the Sanctuary around 4:30 p.m. on what seemed like a normal Thursday afternoon. Aside from the two of them, the only other people in the space were two other young women. It was dead silent. That stillness was soon interrupted as a voice came over the speaker system. “Attention, attention, attention. This … Continued

Pregnant and alone? College and community have support services

By Christel Allison You’re in college and pregnant. That shouldn’t be the end of your life. If you’re pregnant and confused, make you way down to Health Services. College is really complicated and stressful in its entirety so, go get all the support you need. The first step will be getting a test to confirm that you are really pregnant, and then you’ll get an appointment with the doctor before … Continued

Stress-Free Zone in Atrium Dec. 3

BY NATHAN BROWN The time of year that every student dreads is fast approaching, exam week. During this week, and the ones leading up to it, students are extremely stressed. Keeping a level head is hard. Staff at Conestoga College’s Counselling Services understand this and want to help, so on Dec. 3 they are holding a Stress-Free Zone. “Students need help to not let stress take control of them,” said … Continued