The morrow was a bright September morn;
The earth was beautiful as if new-born;
There was that nameless splendor everywhere,
That wild exhilaration in the air,
Which makes the passers in the city street
Congratulate each other as they meet.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tales of a Wayside Inn (pt. I),
The Student's Tale--The Falcon of Sir Federigo, l. 135

Andrew Curran, CIP/ICU Student Representative

On behalf of the Canadian Institute of Planners I would like to extend a warm welcome to new and returning readers of Plan2Plan. Although we are now well into September, I’m hoping that the “nameless splendor” and “that wild exhilaration in the air” hasn’t worn off too much just yet. If it has, nothing will work to restore splendor and inspire exhilaration like browsing through this year’s first issue of Plan2Plan, Canada’s student planning e-newsletter.

As the Student Representative to CIP Council for 2005-2006, I have the privilege of compiling and editing this monthly web-based newsletter. Spread out as we are across this vast country, Plan2Plan plays an integral part in connecting students in Canada’s planning schools with each other as well as with academics and practicing professionals. Plan2Plan gives students an opportunity to report on their projects and share their perspectives, to find out about upcoming events, and to keep their fingers on the pulse of the always-hip Canadian student planning scene.

Of course, Plan2Plan works best when 1) students contribute to it and 2) students read it.

I am therefore asking you, dear reader, to help make Plan2Plan the leading national student planning e-newsletter in Canada by:

1. submitting an interesting tidbit, event notice, research abstract, or planning-related musing to the editorial desk at andrew.curran@dal.ca, and
2. forwarding the link to this e-newsletter to anyone and everyone you know that might be interested and encouraging them to subscribe, so that they are notified when a new issue has been posted. We are now conveniently located on the Web at www.cip-icu.ca/English/academic/plan2plan/.

In this issue we learn how to be cool by taking out a student membership in CIP; we are inspired to participate in the several major planning conferences in Vancouver this June; we find out how to participate in the dialogue leading up to the 2006 CAPS Conference – “Planners for Tomorrow”; we are exhilarated by the events and opportunities available to students; we are dazzled with daring tales of cowboy adventure in a follow-up report of this summer’s CIP National Conference, and much more!

I look forward to meeting with students as I roam the countryside throughout the coming year and especially as we all converge in Vancouver this June. Best of luck to everyone for a great fall semester!

Andrew