Spring Lecture
2026 Spring Lecture
Reflecting on 100 Years of The Cord
When: Tuesday, May 12 at 2:00pm
'The College Cord' was founded in 1926 by students at Waterloo College (now Wilfrid Laurier University) as a means to share student news and experiences with residents of the Twin City area (Kitchener-Waterloo) and members of the Lutheran Church in Canada. The first issue, published on September 23, 1926, explains the meaning of the title: drawing interest to the school, drawing students to attend, and drawing students and faculty together with a love of Waterloo College. Over the past 100 years, the student newspaper has served as a common thread of student experiences and has strived to live up to its tagline as 'a tie that binds' on campus.
This panel features past editors-in-chief and senior news editors of The Cord. Panelists will reflect on the 100-year history of The Cord, their time working at the paper, and consider the next chapter of this student publication. The panel will be moderated by Clara Rose, Lead Reporter and second-year English student at Laurier.
This free online lecture is hosted by Laurier Archives and Special Collections. Please note that Laurier's Zoom license requires you to sign in to Zoom prior to joining the webinar. Registration is required.
Panelists:
Tony Burke is Professor of Early Christianity at York University. His traumatic experiences at The Cord during the tumultuous years of 1989-1991 led him to run screaming from journalism but he still writes—he specializes in apocryphal Christian literature, an interest that grew out of discussions of censorship with his friends and partners at The Cord. Tony’s published work includes Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to Christian Apocrypha and the three-volume series New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. He currently lives in Kitchener.
Wilbur McLean worked with The Cord from 2000 to 2004 and served as the newspaper's editor-in-chief from 2003 to 2004. Wilbur's post-Laurier career has taken him across Canada. He has lived in Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, working in both journalism and communications roles. Wilbur now works for the federal government's housing agency, CMHC, and lives in St. Catharines, Ontario with his partner and three kids.
Shelby Blackley is the Manager, Newsroom SEO for The Athletic, co-founder of WTF is SEO?, and proud alum of The Cord (2011-2016). Previously, she's worked at Mashable, The Globe and Mail, and Indiegraf. Shelby has worked in journalism at major international corporations as both a reporter and audience development editor. She specializes in news SEO, user journeys, reader habits, and newsletters. When she’s not thinking about search and journalism, Shelby spends her time frolicking through the trees, weightlifting or hanging out with her corgi puppy, Yoshi. Shelby is located currently in Toronto, Canada.
Kaitlyn Severin is a marketing professional who specializes in social media content creation, digital design, and video editing. She got her start at The Cord, where she worked from 2013 to 2017 as a reporter and Senior News Editor, earning the Johnny Award for Student Journalist of the Year in 2017. Since then, Kaitlyn has launched her own boutique marketing agency, bringing her creative expertise to a range of award-winning businesses from popular entertainment podcasters to international beauty franchises.
Previous Lectures
2025: Zines: Then & Now
Multi-media visual artist and writer Ellie Anglin explored the origins of zines as tools of self-expression, community building and resistance; and their increased importance today in the face of publication bans, threats to marginalized existences and changing relationships to the internet. She also examined the role zines have played in shaping community and culture in Waterloo Region, tying this back to her project as 2024 Artist-in-Residence for the City of Kitchener.
2024: Exploring Laurier Archives and Special Collections from a Different Perspective
Tedla Desta, PhD, presented seldom-discussed archival findings from Wilfrid Laurier University records, with a specific emphasis on land and students and faculty from racialized backgrounds. He also examined changes in archiving and cataloguing methods implemented by other libraries in response to similar research experiences.
2023: Antarctica: Passion and Obsession
Internationally acclaimed photographers, authors and private-press publishers Pat and Rosemarie Keough shared insights into their fine-press artists’ book, ANTARCTICA. Discussion encompassed their Antarctic exploration, imagery, design considerations, state-of-the-art lithography technology, centuries-old hand-binding skills, and archival vegetable leather tannage.
2022: “Sovereignty on Thinning Ice”? Characterizing Arctic Sovereignty and Security – Past, Present and Future
Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North, Professor in the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University and Network Lead for the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network. In this lecture, he discussed his research into Arctic security, history, and contemporary policy as well as his involvement with the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.
2018: Glaciers and Climate Change in the Karakoram Himalaya: Archives of an Anomaly
Dr. Ken Hewitt, Professor Emeritus of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University and founding member of the Cold Regions Research Centre, reflected on his career studying glaciers in Northern Pakistan.
2017: Talkin’ ‘Bout Those Generations: Lutheran Youth Experience in Canada
Trevor Stace, a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Wilfrid Laurier University, discussed the experiences of young people in the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.