Schedule Your Orientation
Please put your full name and email below, and our volunteer coordinator will get back to you soon
The Gauntlet is the independent student publication at the University of Calgary. While we have a small team of staff who keeps the Gauntlet running smoothly, we have a database of amazing volunteers. Our volunteers help us make the Gauntet what it is — from pitching or claiming and writing stories, taking pictures and creating visuals, to helping us run our social media accounts and distribute the newspapers and magazines!
If this all sounds scary and overwhelming to you, do not worry — every editor and contributor at the Gauntlet started in your shoes as well, and we can walk you through exactly what you need to do. You’ll get the hang of it, we promise!
Please put your full name and email below, and our volunteer coordinator will get back to you soon
As a volunteer, we encourage you to get involved and take on multiple positions so long they interest you. No resume or interviews are required — just a desire to learn!
While there are eight sections, News, Opinions, Humour, Voices, Arts, Science, Sports, and Lifestyle, that you could get involved in and write for, you do not have to choose one or two and only write for those sections. In fact, we recommend exploring and writing for multiple sections, and taking on stories you’d like to write about!
We are always looking for volunteers who may be interested in getting involved other than writing, we also need photographers, graphic designers and illustrators to help out on the visual side of the publication.
Are you looking to get involved with more than writing or producing visuals? Get your steps in and help us distribute the newspapers/magazines every month to various stands around campus!
Volunteers at the Gauntlet must first complete a volunteer orientation (use the form or email volunteer@thegauntlet.ca to get in touch with the Volunteer Coordinator and schedule your orientation). After this, you can receive story-list emails from editors detailing assignments you can take on, from story-writing to taking photos to creating illustrations. We also happily accept stories pitched to our editors.
We’re located on the east third floor of MacHall — that’s the third floor that’s above the Den & Black Lounge and the Q Centre. Make sure you are on the side of the Den/Black Lounge because you cannot reach the 3rd floor from the west side.
Absolutely not. As there is no journalism program at the University of Calgary, we’re the place on campus for students who want to learn how to do journalism. We aim to introduce students and volunteers to journalism and we hope to show the tricks of the trade and to inspire towards journalistic integrity. If you come in with an open mind and a keenness to learn, you’ll do great.
It is as much or as little as you want! For some, they may write one or two articles a month, and for others, it may be less. Whatever works for you, works for us. For those volunteers ready for additional responsibilities, we also hire section assistants for the semesters, so keep an eye out for the hiring calls.
Learning about journalistic practices and building a portfolio of work at one of Canada’s student publications. We award volunteers six Yacowar Awards ($500 scholarships) each in the fall and winter semesters. Throughout the year, we also host volunteer events to express our gratitude for the invaluable work our volunteers do.
While you can always contribute as a volunteer, we have openings for assistant positions, columnist positions and even Canada Summer Job positions!