Editorial: A Look Back at Volume 39

OpinionsThe Link — Published April 9, 2019

Walking through the glass doors on the sixth floor of the Hall building for the first time, many of us never realized the impact this publication would have on ourselves, and the student body.

The Link became a significant part of our lives. We spent many of our days—and sleepless nights—obsessing over what’s happening at Concordia to inform and cater to you, our readers. Our transition to a magazine and online publication was no easy feat, and the publication continues to find its footing in that regard.

Despite the many frustrations that come with the job, we do this for you.

As journalists, we try our best to hold our institutions accountable—whether it’s Concordia’s administration or student politicians—and with that comes transparency. We wish hold ourselves to those same standards.

We endured our own internal issues, some of which carried on longer than we would’ve liked. We hope the next masthead will learn from the mistakes made this year, to communicate and face their issues head on.

Despite our imperfections, we still succeeded in telling stories students care about.

We will continue to advocate for marginalized communities, use our platform to open discussion and report on racism in sports, unpaid internships, undemocratic institutions, Indigenous rights, and giving a platform to local artists and fashion designers to demonstrate their work.

The Link continued covering campus sexual violence, highlighting how Quebec privacy laws prevent students from getting to know what actions, if any, have been taken against a professor alleged of sexual violence.

We recently exposed how people ineligible to vote were found on the elector list for the last CSU general elections, and that the union’s work environments were often toxic for people of colour.

And we brought light to police brutality following this year’s anti-police brutality march, during Quebec City protests against the G7 Summit, and how the Quebec Human Rights Commission has been letting complainants down with long wait times.

We explored Indigenous issues through the lens of People’s History, unpacking the unsettling history of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, and how coerced sterilization is not just a thing of the past.

We also continued the Sex Ed(itorial) column this volume, exploring topics in a sex-positive way that wouldn’t otherwise get the limelight they deserve, like the realities of sexually submissive men, or the problem that is the orgasm gap.

We also saw the humour in ourselves and our world, bantering back and forth about whether loud keyboards are better than quiet ones, and denouncing the use of The Office quotes in Tinder bios.

Come next volume, The Link will be approaching a landmark year, our 40th anniversary. For decades the publication has given students the space to express themselves, and cement themselves within the history of this institution. It’s long been a place for journalists, photographers, and artists to learn and grow. We hope it can remain as such for years to come, so others can experience the love and pride we’ve felt as we’ve grown with The Link.

We thank our fellow editors and staff writers whose contributions continue to help this publication find success, culminating in nominations for The John H. McDonald Awards at this year’s Canadian University Press National conference—NASH81—for journalist of the year, Indigenous reporting, and winning cover of the year for The Link’s Race issue.

We’ve dealt with difficult circumstances this year, but it’s one we can still reflect on with pride over our achievements and we look forward to seeing what The Link ‘s incoming masthead goes on to accomplish next year.