Julia Harmsworth


The Journal •

Student journalists and leaders should recognize their shared purpose

Student journalism is an essential service that student governments must respect—but respect goes both ways.

University newspapers often have fraught relationships with the student unions that own them. This is perhaps unsurprising, considering university newspapers carry the responsibility (and burden) of reporting on these groups.

The AMS funds and oversees The Journal. Journal employees are AMS employees. The AMS provides access to resources like Dayforce, and supports in hiring, training,
The Journal •

‘Midnights’ is a synth pop masterpiece

When fans met Taylor Swift at midnight, they received a sleepless night conceptualized, a whole lot of Jack Antonoff, and the sentiment “life is emotionally abusive.”

It was the perfect formula.

No one can describe Midnights better than Swift herself. Each song is a synth pop dream—creative, complicated, and dwelling on the ideas, fears, and encounters that keep us up at night.

Midnights is reflective, self-aware, and brutally honest. It’s like if 1989, Reputation, and Folklore had a baby—it’
Quilt •

The Valley

We used to live in a yellow house. It was beautiful, with white shutters on the windows and a garden in the back. We would spend every Sunday afternoon in that garden, helping Dad plant the chrysanthemums. My sister Daisy would pick which colours went where, I would dig the holes, and Dad would carefully lower the plants into their places. Mom would watch from the side of the yard with a content smile on her face. We grew there, together. The four of us.

Then Mom and Dad started fighting. At fi
The Journal •

‘It’s split us in half’: First-year students look back on a year of COVID-19

Phoebe Schneider, ArtSci ’24, spent half the year in residence. She told The Journal that, because of this, her first-year experience likely didn’t mirror those stuck at home.

After an academic year dominated by remote learning due to COVID-19, The Journal sat down with three first-year students to compare their experiences.

Schneider spent the fall term living in Leonard Hall residence. Since winter break and the December provincial lockdown, however, she’s been at home in Prince Edward Islan
The Journal •

‘It was like a ghost town’: Inside Queen’s isolation residence

Queen’s isolation residence is mandatory for students living in residence who are being tested for COVID-19; however, some students are concerned about the food and water quality and academic impact of isolation.

Through conversations with two students who were living on the third floor of Watts

Hall—Watts 3—when the University declared an outbreak of COVID-19, The Journal got a glimpse into Queen’s isolation residence, David C. Smith House (Smith).

The University identified an outbreak in Wa
The Journal •

QBACC’s housing project detects 1,680 bylaw violations in student district

Queen’s Backing Action on Climate Change (QBACC) has created a tool that students can use to advocate for improved living conditions. In less than two weeks, the initiative has detected more than 1,500 bylaw violations in the University District.

QBACC’s Home Project is an online assessment tool that takes a student through their rental unit room by room, asking a series of questions. Cross-referenced with the City of Kingston bylaws, the tool generates a personalized report summarizing the iss
The Journal •

'[It's] off the table': Queen's students condemn frosh week partying

Following warnings from the University and the City of Kingston, some Queen’s students are doing what they can to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

In response to large gatherings of students during Frosh Week, the City closed the Gord Downie Pier and Breakwater Park Beach Area on Sept. 5. The emergency order was made in consultation with Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health.

Cassidy McMackon, ArtSci ’21, told The Journal she thinks closing the pier was a “good mo
The Whig •

Retired director of downtown business association had 'a blast'

Thirty-eight years later, Ritchie has stepped down from his position as managing director of the Downtown Kingston Business Improvement Area. During that time, the organization has grown from a one-man operation to an award-winning association comprising more than 700 downtown businesses and property owners. We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or As the first and only person to hold the position, Ritchie work
The Whig •

City's movie theatres reopen after four-month intermission

After paying $7,000 to replace an internal battery in that broken projector, the independent movie theatre was up and running again on Friday, four months after the pandemic closed it down. We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or When Stage 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan started July 17 in Kingston, it only allowed 50 patrons to be in the entire building, not in each theatre. That stipulation was changed this w
The Journal •

‘The Bachelor’ winner Kaity Biggar tells all

Season 27 of The Bachelor concluded Monday night with a happy engagement—and the woman who took home the ring is from Kingston.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon before the finale aired, Zach’s final pick, Kaity Biggar, sat down with me over coffee at Balzac’s to discuss her upbringing, love for Kingston, and time on the show. Spoiler alert: she loves Tumble Tuesday.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What brings you back to Kingston?

Usually when I’m between trave