Image: UFV / Provided / The Gathering Place is home base for the Xwelítem Siyáya: Allyship and Reconciliation Building course offered by Dr. Keith Carlson (pictured) and UFV’s Peace and Reconcilliation Centre.

By Alyssa Conti

BUILDING UPGRADES

UFV Chilliwack gathering place gets sound, video upgrades

Aug 2, 2025 | 1:16 PM

CHILLIWACK — A 13-year-old building at the University of the Fraser Valley’s (UFV) campus in Chilliwack has received a much-needed tech boost.

The Gathering Place, located in the Indigenous Student Centre wing, now has new speakers, wall-mounted video cameras for recording, new projection screens and more.

“It came up during the pandemic that all the equipment in the Gathering Place was original,” said Betty Peters, director of the Indigenous Student Centre.

“The sound wasn’t good and needed an upgrade. It’s a big, open space and there were only two speakers for the whole thing, and what’s in there now is a thousand times better than what was in there before.”

UFV has committed to elevating the room without sacrificing its cultural integrity. The wooden and sunken floor, centred on a square layout, remains intact, as sound-dampening enhancements and ceiling-mounted speakers help visitors hear each other better.

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Peters is grateful, adding that the new upgrades support the growing usage of the Gathering Place since the pandemic.

“It lets us invite them into the university, and once people use it, especially Indigenous groups, they fall in love with it,” Peters said.

The Gathering Place can hold around 200 people. It is home to the UFV’s Xwelítem Siyáya: Allyship and Reconciliation Building program and hosts various community groups.

“We’re very grateful for the Indigenous leaders, the knowledge keepers, Elders, and community members who advocated for us to have that space,” she said. “It really means a lot to us, and these upgrades show that we’re looking after it in a good way.”