The RCP cell at Vanier College was buzzing throughout the two months before Congress. By taking advantage of every opportunity to share our enthusiasm about the Congress with our periphery, friends, and family, we were able to raise over $475 and send 80 per cent of our cell members to Congress! This habit bled into all of our conversations leading up to Congress—one person we met for the first time the night before we left for Toronto was so eager to attend, once we spoke to him about it, that he insisted he sleep on the streets of Toronto in order to be able to afford the trip (as he didn’t have the funds). Though we turned down this idea, he will be joining our cell meeting this week to hear our reports, and I imagine join the party shortly after!
The Vanier cell itself is composed overwhelmingly of fairly new members who have been to one or no Congresses, and the political preparation the cell leadership built up in the weeks leading to it paid off, as these new comrades bought dozens of dollars worth of literature, had energetic and educational conversations with comrades across the country, and have even begun to make art about the experience. They were particularly proud to purchase the first ever issue of our Syrian comrades’ newspaper, really feeling the internationalism of the RCI!
