Survivorman: Jason Vander-Hoek

Posted by admin on Apr 14, 2010 in Featured Articles | 0 comments

For over two months last semester, Jason Vander-Hoek (pronounced Vander-Hawk) lived in the Back 40. The freshman Abbotsford-native was never planning on setting up a tent and a Coleman stove deep in the woods past two bridges behind campus, but a series of unfortunate events afforded him few other options.

After spending three years driving a truck for a living, Vander-Hoek felt convicted to enroll at TWU. Using his savings to enroll, he was planning on spending his weekends truck driving to pay his living expenses. “I came here hoping to work on weekends, but my job wouldn’t let me. They said I could collect EI and make enough money live through that, so that sounded good,” explains Vander-Hoek. After registering for 19 semester hours and deciding to major in Chemistry and Music, Vander-Hoek was living in a condo in Abbotsford in September, waiting to here back about his EI cheques. Add-drop passed, and by October Vander-Hoek learned his EI wasn’t going to come through. Unable to pay rent, Vander-Hoek was caught sleeping in his car on campus by security. He decided the only way to get through the semester was to permanently set up a home amongst the serenity of the forest.

“I had classes Monday-Friday, and I couldn’t drive from Abbotford and pay rent and afford groceries. I decided the only way to get through the semester was to live in the Back 40.”

Using a tent, some tarps, a thermal sleeping bag, and a Swiss Army knife, Vander-Hoek set up his new address after Thanksgiving weekend. He showered in the gym and used his car for a closet, but found the wild path a difficult one to beat.

“I was really tired all the time. I got really sick from a lack of sleep and stress, and was in and out of hospital in December. There’s no internet out there, so doing homework was tough. I was a Collegium member though, and would stay there for as long as possible.”

Though he tried keeping it a secret, the word soon got out that he was living in the forest. “Some people were really upset when they found out, but to me it was the most logical choice. Some people would take pity, some would find it funny.”

When Vander-Hoek started hearing rumours about himself, he was a little humoured, but fearful administration would find out and ‘evict’ him. “There was a rumour that I was living in the catacombs under Northwest, and one that I was sleeping in the closet of the computer lab. The funniest moment was when someone asked me if I had heard of myself.”

All rumours aside, Vander-Hoek, who moved into Robson in January after his student loan application was approved, looks back on his experience with a combination of humility and pride. “It was a cool experience and pretty freeing. I had to trust that I would be provided for, and whenever things got bad there was always provision. In retrospect, it was hell, but it was also kind of badass.” – J.H.