Happy New Year UNBSJ! Long time no write!

The last time I wrote a Letter from the Editor was right before December exams picked up. The Baron took a short publishing break over the Holiday break and started off 2023 strong with lots of interesting articles.

Op-Eds

We published some great political Op-Eds on the Taliban and women’s post-secondary education in Afghanistan, a reflection on Martin Luther King Jr. day, a deconstruction of the complexities of geographical borders, and examined the trends of political uprisings.

With Bell Let’s Talk day, staff writer Taylor Fennelly discussed the complexities of mental health and mental health resources.

On campus

It was great to see students return to campus following the break, and also great to see new students starting in the Winter 2023 semester! The Baron highlighted some cool opportunities on campus for students this month. Staff writer, Sukoon Hansi spoke with UNBSRC international student representative, Muhammad Faseeh Khalil to create a short, initial guide to Canada for international students.

Staff writer, Taylor Fennelly also reflected on her time with UNB’s STEP program and wrote an Op-Ed on why students should study abroad.

The Baron highlighted UNB Sustainability’s collaboration with Habitat for Humanity’s Restore to donate unwanted items to their program. We also highlighted the exciting project to replace the Ward Chipman Library with a new Health Innovative Centre in September of 2024.

The UNBSRC also announced that the SafeRide Program will be starting up again. 

And lastly, Baron staff writer Ashley Legacy featured the Lorenzo Society’s Weekly Wednesday Concert Series happening every Wednesday afternoon from 12-1 pm until April 5 at the Baird Dining Hall in the Thomas J. Condon Student Centre.

New staff

The Baron is excited to announce that our new Copy Editor is Logan Bishop! Logan has been a staff writer at The Baron for two years now and is a wonderful asset to the team. He’s actively working to implement Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Decolonization (EDID) editing at The Baron.

We also have three new staff writers joining the team: Brycen Schofield, Kylie McKenzie, and Mutale Mubanga!

Office Manager highlight

I wanted to take the time to express my deepest gratitude for all of the work The Baron’s Office Manager, Tamara Holmes does!

Tamara has been working hard at submitting all the information required for our taxes, has been budgeting out student fees for our upcoming publishing year, and has been diligent in making sure that everything business related at The Baron is running smoothly. She’s definitely a behind-the-scenes kind of person at The Baron, so I wanted to give a huge shoutout to her for keeping us afloat!

February

From February 16 to 20, Tamara and I will be in Hamilton, Ontario for the Canadian University Press’s (CUP) annual conference. The Baron has been a member of CUP for a very long time and abides by their publication guidelines. With our membership comes great resources like virtual roundtables and workshops as well as the opportunity to attend their annual conference.

Tamara and I are very excited to learn more about the world of university student presses and apply the skills we learn at the conference to The Baron when we get back. It’s also an exciting opportunity because The Baron hasn’t been able to attend the conference since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the month of January concludes, I encourage you all to take advantage of the opportunities on campus. Whether it be attending events from the SRC, utilizing your professor’s office hours, or listening to the campus radio, taking full advantage of the opportunities at UNB, big or small, can drastically change your university experience. Take every opportunity you can to grow both academically and personally.

I can say this from experience, stepping out of your comfort zone in university while tough, is completely worth it!

Until next time,

Emily Wheaton

Editor-in-Chief of The Baron