Calgary doesn’t get political very often. Any opinion that diverges from conventional thought is greeted with apathy or irritation. Even university students, who are supposedly all radical leftists, don’t get angry about much these days.

The opportunity to explore politics and activism in university is unique. At its best, student activism has the ability to affect public discourse. At its worst, mediocre political activism still gives students valuable skills and practical experience.

When people think of horror, it’s easy to reduce the genre to blood, guts and gore. People may not know about the growing popularity of horror conventions, which are driven by love of the genre and a sense of community.

Calgary Horror Con returns this Saturday for its fourth year. Guest relations coordinator Sandi McLellan says the festival is about building community through a shared love of all things horror.

Research is one of those terms that gets thrown around in the arts, but for singer Ruby Kato Attwood of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, research is part of what she does as a musician.

“We’ve all sort of been through the university rigamarole, so it’s been drilled into our heads that you have to look into what you’re presenting,” Attwood says. “It’s an enjoyable process also.”

Shambhala Music Festival has built a reputation as Western Canada’s top destination for electronic music over the course of 16 summers.

Nestled on a ranch in the Kootenay mountains, Shambhala brings 10,000 people an hour’s drive south of Nelson on the second weekend of August.

What started as a party thrown for friends on a ranch 17 years ago is now British Columbia’s most infamous electronic music festival — and for good reason.

World-renowned DJs like Skream, Moby and Bassnectar headline this year’s festival.

With the music industry changing so rapidly, musicians have to do something innovative to stand out. Local duo Brandi Sidoryk and Krista Wodelet of Sidney York are doing just that with their unique blend of electronic and orchestral music.

Three provincial politicians have battled for the Progressive Conservative leadership since Allison Redford resigned as Premier this spring. The Gauntlet first interviewed candidates Jim Prentice and Thomas Lukaszuk. We finish our candidate Q&A series with leadership candidate Ric McIver.

As Calgary-Hays MLA, McIver has served as minister of transportation and minister of infrastructure since assuming office in April 2012. Before provincial politics, McIver was the city councillor for ward 12 from 2001–10.

Members of the University of Calgary Scholars Academy Program will have a new space on the second floor of the MacKimmie Block this upcoming year.

The program — now entering its fourth year — is the first of its kind in Canada. It offers advising and mentorship services to high-achieving undergraduate students, as well as the opportunity to engage in a community service project.

The old scholars academy office had limited study space. The new office will feature a classroom, more space to study and a small kitchen.

Every year, the Students’ Union surveys students on a range of issues, from performance and funding to favourite campus events and media (the Gauntlet scored second behind CJSW. We’re content with that).

The SU uses these results to help with policy decisions, and overall, they found that students are quite happy with their performance.

Nearly 2,000 undergraduates responded to the survey.

Here’s a little snippet of what they said.

If you’ve ever been surprised by course requirements on the first day of class and regretted enroling in a course then a new University of Calgary website might be exactly what you’re looking for.

U of C vice-provost for teaching and learning Lynn Taylor, in discussions with Students’ Union vice-president academic Hana Kadri, agreed to develop a new website that will host outlines from U of C courses.

The dogs are back in town.

Students will once again get the chance to unwind with monthly pet-therapy sessions every month in That Empty Space this upcoming year.

Although this is pet-therapy, don’t expect to play with animals other than dogs.

The Students’ Union will partner with Pet Access League Society, a Calgary-based pet-therapy organization, to hold these sessions.