This is my last article for The Quill as BUSU President, so I think now would be a good time to reflect on this year, as well as share with you my thoughts on some of the things that need to happen in the future to ensure the success of BUSU.
Read moreSUDS expansion
Early last week Brandon University’s Students’ Union Drinking Spot (SUDS) confirmed plans for an expansion. Recently, the popular on-campus bar has received unprecedented attendance at weekday and weekend events and socials, including free pool Mondays and open mic night on Wednesdays.
Read moreInterviewing our leaders
(This article was written for The Quill’s April Fool’s Day edition, The Swill, and is therefore entirely fictitious in its content.) Merv Tweed, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris, briefly spoke with The Swill on Friday in order to discuss the Government of Canada’s new initiatives to support students at Brandon University.
Read more“Space”, the final frontier
(This article was written for The Quill’s April Fool’s Day edition, The Swill, and is therefore entirely fictitious in its content.) The BU art scene has just gone conceptual.
Read moreAcademy-Award-winning actress to teach Drama at BU
(This article was written for The Quill’s April Fool’s Day edition, The Swill, and is therefore entirely fictitious in its content.) The number of applications to Brandon University has skyrocketed since the announcement that Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep has joined the drama department as a sessional instructor for the 2013-14 winter term.
Read moreElection by-laws changing: no one has problems anymore
(This article was written for The Quill’s April Fool’s Day edition, The Swill, and is therefore entirely fictitious in its content.) The Swill has learned that the Brandon University Students’ Union (BUSU) will introduce bylaw changes which would see dramatic alterations to their electoral procedures.
Read moreThe 2013 Oscars: a reflection on BU’s shining hour
(This article was written for The Quill’s April Fool’s Day edition, The Swill, and is therefore entirely fictitious in its content.) With the many successes spread over every faculty this year, not to mention the celebration of the end of a perfect scholastic year, it can be hard to appreciate some of the highs Brandon University has experienced this year.
Read moreWhere are they now? Profiling BU Alumni
Where Are You Now? In this series, The Quill interviews former Brandon University students who have gone out into the big, wide world and have done things. What have they found? Let’s find out!
Read moreNew tech systems are go
Hotly-anticipated technology upgrades have finally arrived at Brandon University. In a radical move late this March, BU replaced its current IT staff with a single Unix administrator, known to the Internet community as Dilbert.
Read moreNew money for library expansion
The plans to expand the John E. Robbins Library will start a few weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to a grant that Brandon University has received from the Federal Government. Within the next week, Brandon University will have another $15.5 million dollars to put towards the $34.6-million-dollar project.
Read moreBU: We’re Number Ten!
(This article was written for The Quill’s April Fool’s Day edition, The Swill, and is therefore entirely fictitious in its content.)
Read moreTo Free, or Not To Free
On March 4th, American journalist Nate Thayer posted an e-mail correspondence between himself and a representative of The Atlantic, in which he was offered the chance to submit a retooled version of one his older articles for their website. There was a catch, however: he would not be paid for it.
Read moreReview: Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an iconic video game franchise, as famous for providing gaming’s first powerful female lead as it is infamous for turning that same character into an oversexualized symbol of misogyny. After numerous lackluster outings, the franchise has laid somewhat dormant in recent years, making the new semi-reboot from Crystal Dynamics Studios all the more intriguing.
Read moreLetter to the Editor: words from BUSU President
Hi, everyone. As some of you may know, BUSU held their regular elections for the 2013-2014 academic year last week, on March 18th and 19th. I ran for re-election, but ended up losing by 30 votes to Stephanie Bachewich. I had told those close to me throughout the campaign that if I were to lose, I would feel as though the work I did this past year was not appreciated by students.
Read moreSex ed in the city: female condoms?
Dear Sex Ed in the City,
I am interested in using a female condom because I have heard it may give me more protection against STIs. I don’t know much about how effective they are in preventing pregnancy and how available they are. Can you give me some information?
Read moreLetter to the editor: concerns for the future of BU
Dear Editor: First of all, please allow me to introduce myself briefly. I graduated from Brandon College with a B.A. in 1957. During the early 1960s, I taught in the Brandon School Division. From 1965 to 1969 I served as the Principal of Neelin High School in Brandon. I also taught history courses at Brandon College during the early 1960s.
Read moreThe Wal-Mart Supercentre: Yea or nay?
Brandon’s Wal-Mart located in the Corral Centre on 18th Street was recently upgraded to a Supercentre, benefiting students living nearby who are in need of, well, virtually anything. Known for providing shoppers with affordable prices, “Wally World” finally caters to all your possible shopping needs—from that hamster wheel your beloved (and now obese) rodent Fluffy has been missing or a fabulously cherry car freshener to a $10 classic like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to fill your Friday night.
Read moreWhy should you vote?
Next week, BU students will choose their new BUSU executive and council, elect student senators, and representatives to several boards. In recent years, much like in federal elections, voter turnout has been extremely poor at BU.
Read moreReview: The Double Decker Tavern
File photo. The Double Decker Tavern on Rosser Avenue. (Holly Kalyniuk / The Quill)
After a hectic, jam-packed week of performing the typical duties of a student (working a part-time job when you should be studying, studying instead of sleeping, house-cleaning in hopes of conquering a never-ending mess, and engaging in extra-curricular activities that have begun to lose their appeal), sometimes restoring balance means a relaxed weekend outing in the company of friends. If that’s the case, regardless of whether you prefer beer, or no alcohol at all, The Double Decker Tavern on Rosser Avenue offers an excellent atmosphere for your much-needed recuperation.
Established in 1994, The Decker features a daily special and a classic menu spiked with specialities like the shrimp basket, zucchini sticks, the Big Ben Burger (on the kids’ menu), bangers and mash, and “Sinfully Scotland” (deep fried Mars bars). For less curious visitors with hunger pains, there are several more standard options available, like a taco wrap, a ham and cheese sandwich, onion rings, and a plentiful nacho platter. With over ten different flavors of chicken wings, every wing-lover will be more than satisfied. There are even vegetarian options available. Finally, complete your meal with any of the 14 beers readily available on tap, including their own brew, the Double Decker Lager. Another incentive is The Decker’s student deal, whereby students receive 10% off their entire bill on Thursday and Friday upon producing a valid student ID.
The staff is consistently courteous and professional, serving customers in a timely manner and handling less-than-properly-functioning patrons with something comparable to grace. The comfortable atmosphere is made all the more so by the tasteful music playing throughout the pub, which strays far enough from popular radio hits to keep guests pleasantly at-ease. The pool tables and dart board encourage friendly (and inebriated) competition that can invoke booing in epic proportions across the entire upper level.
Rivalry between The Dock on Princess and the Double Decker begs the question of which pub packs the greater punch. While similar in atmosphere, the more constricted layout of the Decker creates a warmer feel, as opposed to The Dock’s large, open billiards area. However, The Dock offers the “Long Nights on The Dock”, a specialty brew which amalgamates alcoholic beverages which theoretically shouldn’t taste as delicious together as they do, and which could easily challenge the Decker’s house lager. Customer service is equally as pleasant in both establishments, and their menus are similar in their differences. In the end, which is the ‘best’ boils down to personal preference, which is usually arbitrarily decided by factors beyond the control of food, faculty or management.
Contrary to rumors mentioned in an earlier review, The Decker will continue to feature live music on Friday and Saturday nights. In the past, everything from jazz to rock has hit the stage, as well as various cover bands like Midlife Crisis and 2012 Brandon Summer Fair Battle of the Bands finalist Out F’ Sync, with some of the upcoming performances featuring local talents Sebastian Owl, Young Pixels, and Young Folk.
For a full calendar of events, visit the Decker’s official website.
Republished from The Quill print edition, Volume 103, Issue 23, March 5, 2013.
‘Safer Ground?’: thought-provoking, touching, terrific
On February 28th, James Forsythe’s powerful production Safer Ground? premiered at the Evans Theatre. Containing both harrowing and heartwarming verbatim accounts from Afghan refugees and Canadian soldiers, it chronicled radically diverse events in the lives of the two groups and was “in many ways a quintessential Canadian play,” according to Forsythe.
Read more