Loyalist graduates upset by the news of journalism program’s suspension

Sarah Law, a graduate of the journalism program, provided a picture of her class from 2018, listening to a lecture on portraits in their news photography class.

By: Arshia Kochar

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College suspended its Journalism and Communications program effective Fall 2024, shocking some graduates.

The college also suspended the photojournalism program, meaning there will be no future intakes for either program.

The reason for the suspensions is the decline in the number of enrolments for these courses, according to multiple media reports.

Several graduates recently shared their reactions to the news.

James Tubb, a graduate of the 2021 class, said he was disappointed hearing the news.  He is currently a sports reporter at Medicine Hat News in Alberta.  

“It was a program that obviously put me on the path that I am now, and I learned a lot in my time at Loyalist,” says Tubb. ‘The newsroom down there is what a newsroom is like. I worked for almost two-and-a-half years in a newsroom. It is the exact same thing I had a Loyalist.”

Alana Pickrell, another graduate from the class of 2018, said the program contributed a lot to the community. She is currently working as a video journalist at CTV News.

“I think that it’s a huge loss for the community, for the future students, and for the professors, as well, who do such a good job at setting people up for future careers,” she says.

The course is more than just writing. It has also built her confidence, she says. 

” I was super introverted, and by the time I left there, I was outspoken and confident,” she added. 

More former students were upset.

Sarah Law graduated in the spring of 2019 and is a CBC News Thunder Bay reporter. 

“It was very disappointing as you know the newsroom at Loyalist is really a state-of-the-art facility,” she says. 

She credits her career achievements to the mentorship that she received at Loyalist.

Sarah Law during her graduation ceremony at Loyalist College in 2019

“ Without that mentorship from Andy Clarke and all of the other professors at Loyalist, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today, honestly,” Law says.

Law believes a journalism program draws a diverse range of students to a school.

“Journalism students are quite unique; we’re curious, we’re creative, and we have a lot of Multi-disciplinary skills to bring to a college,” she says.

The program’s suspension means the college can reinstate it in the future.