Rianna Ostrosser – Editor-in-Chief

Bishop’s University is facing significant backlash from its student body after the administration announced plans to discontinue support for the annual Rail Jam after this academic year and potentially relocate the event for the upcoming WinterFest celebration in February. The decision has raised concerns that the Bishop’s community, culture, and tradition are under immediate threat.

Image courtesy of Rene Zeevat

The Rail Jam, a central part of the university’s largest annual event, WinterFest, involves students competing in freestyle skiing and snowboarding on a temporary ramp in the campus’s Quad. According to the SRC statement released Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, the university administration cited an “internal analysis” for the decision to withdraw support, yet provided “no figures or written data” when requested to justify the decision. The SRC expressed deep disappointment with the decision, noting that it will “significantly impact student life and fundamentally alter one of the largest and most iconic events on our campus.” For the current academic year, the Bishop’s administration intends to relocate the Rail Jam away from its traditional spot in the Quad. The SRC Events Manager, Stéphanie Grégoire, stated their commitment to reversing the decision: “We are disappointed with the University’s decisions and are committed to doing everything we can to keep the Rail Jam at the heart of campus, as it has been for the last decade.” The Events Manager noted that a recent meeting with campus services, including Building and Grounds, Health and Safety, and AVP HR was productive, suggesting hope for a collaborative resolution.

The decision follows a pattern of heightened administrative and external oversight on traditional student gatherings this year. That  includes the police-enforced shutdown of the annual Homecoming and Halloween Reed Street parties, which leads to student speculation that the annual St. Patrick’s Day street party may also be targeted. The intervention in student events suggests a calculated effort to alter Bishop’s well-established student culture and traditions. The university has long prided itself on these values, being recognized as a top Canadian university for student satisfaction for over a decade. Adding to these changes, the administration recently intervened in the planning of Orientation Week, taking charge of one day’s activities in an event that has previously been the exclusive responsibility of the SRC to encourage early community and friendship among both upper-year and first-year students. Now, by potentially cancelling an event pivotal to Bishop’s culture and student enrollment decisions, the administration is challenging the very identity of the university. The Rail Jam is a competitive showcase of student talent and passion in winter sports, accompanied by organized, non-drinking activities like hockey and a mechanical snowboard challenge. While a bar service is provided, the event’s core focus remains on the competition and community, not drinking, with alternatives like water, hot chocolate, and energy drinks available for the entire student body.

BU Snow, the student club responsible for organizing the event, emphasizes the importance of the Rail Jam. The club stresses that WinterFest is a major factor in student recruitment, stating, “Winterfest is one of the main reasons we each chose Bishop’s. It’s how we have built one of the strongest University ski communities in Canada.” BU Snow also raised serious safety concerns regarding the potential cancellation. “We are concerned that cancelling the Rail Jam will only lead to unsanctioned, off-campus Rail Jams where fewer precautions will be taken,” the club warned. The official event has established safety protocols that unsanctioned gatherings would lack. The intended relocation away from the Quad poses logistical and security issues. The layouts of some potential alternative sites, such as Abbott Field or Optimist Park, could complicate efforts to establish secure perimeters and effectively monitor entrances, raising concerns that a relocation may turn into a flat-out cancellation this year.

The SRC statement concluded by thanking the Buildings & Grounds team for their dedication to the event, noting that the administration’s decision appears linked to “significant cutbacks within this department.” The SRC affirmed its commitment to preserving the tradition and is actively working to find solutions.

The SRC urges all supporters of the Rail Jam, including students, alumni, staff, faculty and community members, to share this information extensively. Let’s save Rail Jam.