Archipelago's arch-nemesis

Eight student newspaper delegates. One national conference. One gross virus. This is my perspective of a weekend that truly had it all.

The trip started off like any other road trip. The plan was to meet at Tim Horton’s at 9 a.m. sharp for coffee and breakfast. Like most typical road trips, half of the party was late for the coffee meet. I was driving the late vehicle and riding along with me was Brendan Kergin and Devan Tasa. Thankfully I can say that I was not the reason we arrived late. Beyond that, I won’t rat anyone out. Waiting patiently for us at Tim’s was Lauren Gagatek, Cavelle Layes and Julia Marks.

We grabbed our coffees, our breakfast, fuelled up at a gas station and hit the road. This was going to be a blast. Brendan and I cranked the latest edition of Threat Shark, our rock and eclectic radio show, while Devan sat in the back seat likely deafened by our great taste in music.

The drive to Vancouver was mostly uneventful. We lucked out with fantastic weather and clear road conditions on the Coquihalla. After a quick lunch break in beautiful White Rock, we continued on our way to Tsawwassen and the BC Ferries terminal.

After loading on to the 3 p.m. ferry from Tsawwassen to Schwartz Bay on Vancouver Island, we wandered outside on the outer deck of the ship. I did my best to avoid the side rails of the boat. Let’s just say that heights are rarely within my comfort zone.

While out on the ship deck and pulling out from the docks, I commented about how we were leaving behind a perfectly good piece of land. Little did I know that we would experience a chaotic viral outbreak, leaving us longing for the mainland.

We would spend the next three days enjoying impressive speakers and presentations at Archipelago: the 74th annual conference of the Canadian University Press. From Alan Cross to Chris Jones and Anna Maria Tremonti to Dave Zirin, we would hear inspirational thoughts and encouraging advice from some phenomenal professionals with exceptional experience and insight.

Outside of our sessions, we would engage in social networking with over 300 other student journalists. From Waterloo to Calgary, we met students from all across Canada who shared our same passion for journalism.

After three nights of interaction, socializing and a nearly-flawless conference, things came to a... splashing and violent halt. Fortunately no one was thrown into the ocean. Unfortunately, vomit was about to ruin the evening. 

Following our final keynote speech from Chris Jones of Esquire and ESPN magazines, conference guests were dressed in their best formal wear and ready to attend an evening gala on campus at the beautiful University of Victoria. Unfortunately, things went awry awfully fast.

The first busload of students arrived at UVic and it didn’t take long for relative chaos to ensue. From the dancefloor to the busfloor, vomit could be found almost everywhere you walked. Before long, conference organizers cancelled the event and asked guests to retire to their respective suites. As the night wore on, we received updates from B.C. health authorities and other conference guests, informing us that the illness was quickly spreading.

First, I want to express my gratitude to Jason Schreurs and Kristi Sipes, the organizers of the conference. As someone who has organized ski trips and other student events for large groups, I have a small understanding of just how stressful things get. Both Jason and Kristi were phenomenal hosts for the entire weekend. Both went out of their way to make sure that each and every guest felt welcomed. Despite the unfortunate end to the gathering, I hope both of them realize that they put on a fantastic and unforgettable weekend experience. During my time in Victoria, I learned a great variety of lessons that I will surely apply to my student journalism experience and future professional experience.

Sunday morning arrived and five of us felt it best to head out on the road. Devan and I jumped in my car, while Cavelle, Julia, Lauren followed behind. We boarded the 11 a.m. ferry at Schwartz Bay with all of us still symptom free. We thought we had escaped unscathed. Shortly after arriving on the mainland and departing the Tsawwassen terminal, our hopes would be dashed.

Our next destination was a quick coffee and gas break in White Rock. By the time we arrived at the Tim Horton’s, Julia was clearly suffering from the early onset of symptoms. Thankfully, the rest of us were still holding strong and ready to push on. We headed out again but shortly after were forced to pull over as Julia finally succumbed to the virus’s nauseous power.

Despite the setback, a quick poll of the group decided that we would continue to trudge forward. By this time it was getting late in the day and we were quickly losing sunlight. With conditions on the Coquihalla already projected to be unfavourable, we were not looking forward to the prospects of driving through icy and snowy conditions while the sun disappeared in our rear-view mirrors.

We arrived in Hope B.C. If I was going to continue on the mountain pass I wanted to stock up on water, food and windshield washer fluid. Dark was quickly enveloping the area around us. With Julia’s symptoms getting worse and the risky road conditions looming in our minds, we finally decided it was time to call it quits.

We made our way to the Lucky Strike Motel. Considering our circumstance, the name of our pit stop is quite ironic.

We currently sit here split between two rooms. Four healthy journalism students are bunked up in one room, while the one ill member of our group rests in the other.

Support has quickly poured in from Kamloops. From faculty and staff at Thompson Rivers University, including Duane Seibel and Shawn Thompson, to regular citizens and even city councillors, namely Arjun Singh, we are all appreciative of your kind words.

I can safely say that we are all in good spirits. I will also go out on a limb and say that we not only learned a great deal this weekend, but have put our new-found knowledge to use as we scribe our accounts of the weekend events.

Currently, we are sitting back and resting. In the morning we are going to reassess the roads, as well as each of our respective conditions. In the situation that we are well enough to drive and the roads will allow for safe passage, we will shoot for a late-afternoon return to Kamloops.