For more than six years, athletes at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus have been training at the Mona Bowl without proper lighting — a situation that has forced some of Jamaica's most decorated track and field competitors to train in near-total darkness long after sunset.

The issue has now come to a head. Following complaints from athletes about the dangerous conditions, UWI Mona Deputy Principal Professor Marvin Reid confirmed that athletes using the facility at night will be prevented from doing so going forward. The ban is immediate.

A Dangerous Practice That Administration Says Was Never Authorised

The absence of lighting at the Mona Bowl is not merely an inconvenience. Reporting by TVJ Sports has highlighted the very real risks involved: athletes training in pitch black face serious security concerns, as well as the risk of accidental physical harm — particularly in field events where throwing implements like the javelin, shot put, and discus can travel unpredictable distances and become difficult or impossible to track in darkness.

Professor Reid was unambiguous in his position. He stated that no permission was ever granted for athletes to train at the facility at night, and that regardless of whether this practice had been tolerated previously, it cannot continue.

Reid added that once lighting is restored, athletes will be given the opportunity to resume training at the facility during night hours.

Dacres: "Just Give Us the Bulbs"

Among those most affected is Fedrick Dacres — World Championship silver medalist and former national discus record holder — who has been a regular user of the Mona Bowl for night training sessions.

Dacres explained why training in full sun is particularly problematic for a technical event like the discus. In field events, training is less about raw fitness and more about the precise repetition required to build muscle memory — and heat fatigue disrupts that process significantly.

Dacres said he is aware of the full cost involved in a comprehensive lighting upgrade for the facility — a quote that has apparently been on the table for years — but argued that a complete overhaul is not what he is asking for.

The Cost: $586,000 USD for a Full Solution

Professor Reid revealed that UWI Mona has spent close to three billion Jamaican dollars over the last two years on student infrastructure — housing, facilities, and institutional needs. He said the lighting of the athletics field was next in the priority queue.

An estimate obtained as recently as April 2026 put the cost of a comprehensive lighting solution at approximately US$586,000 — covering not only the Mona Bowl itself, but lighting around the entire surrounding field area.

A Temporary Fix Is Coming — By August 2026

UWI Mona released a formal statement on Wednesday confirming that while a full modernisation plan for sporting infrastructure is being developed, the university's executive has approved a temporary lighting fix in the 2025–2026 budget. That solution is currently being implemented and, based on current procurement timelines, is expected to be completed by the end of August 2026.

For athletes like Dacres who have been navigating the darkness for the better part of six years, the statement offers cautious hope — but raises the question of why it took this long to act.

Guild President Declines to Comment

Campus Reporter reached out to the UWI Guild of Students President for comment on the matter. The Guild President declined to comment.

— Daniel McLeod reporting for TVJ Sports. Additional reporting by Campus Reporter.

For the students at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, the 2025/2026 academic year has been one of quiet, accumulating disappointment. No Buss Gas during exam season. No Fresh Cash to help students clear outstanding balances. No sponsorship revenue at UWI Carnival — for the first time in decades, the Guild's flagship cultural event generated no recorded profit. And through all of it, the Guild of Students remained publicly silent, offering no audit, no accounting, no accountability.

Now, Campus Reporter can reveal the full picture. Armed with the Guild's own official Financial Report for Semester One — covering June to December 2025 — alongside verified insider testimony, student accounts, and documents obtained by this newsroom, we can report that this was not bad luck. It was, in the most clinical sense of the word, mismanagement — and in at least one dimension, something significantly worse.

What the Treasury Report Actually Says

The Guild's Treasury Financial Report, produced by Treasurer Lianne Williams and covering Semester One 2025, is a document the Guild has not prominently circulated. Campus Reporter has reviewed it in full. Its findings are, in several places, extraordinary.

The report covers expenditure across all Guild portfolios. In its disclaimer section, buried at the end of the document, it acknowledges two significant overruns. The CEAC overspent its semester budget by $378,794.77. The Games Committee — the GCC — is in a category entirely its own.

To be explicit: in a single semester, the Games Committee — chaired by Anthony Myrie, who has since been elected as incoming Vice President — spent $2,690,802.44. That figure is $1,792,802.44 beyond its semester budget, and $1,260,802.44 beyond the total annual budget. The report's only explanation is that funds went toward "sponsorship support for student activities." No breakdown. No receipts listed. No further elaboration.

Campus Reporter sources confirm that the GCC's overrun did not stay within the GCC's own accounting. The haemorrhage spread. Funds designated for student welfare — including Buss Gas and Fresh Cash — were redirected to cover the deficit the Games Committee had created.

Anthony Myrie: A Historic First — and Serious Questions

Anthony Myrie presided over the first executive portfolio in Guild history to overspend into the millions without recording any corresponding profit or revenue return. The only prior precedent for significant overrun involved CEAC. The GCC has eclipsed even that benchmark.

The report's description of how those funds were used raises more questions than it answers. Specifically: who received the sponsorship support? On what terms? Were procurement protocols followed? Were multiple quotations obtained? Were payments made to individuals or to registered businesses? The Guild has announced no audit of the GCC portfolio. Myrie is now the incoming VP.

Keshawn McGrath: The VP Who Did Nothing — Now President

If the GCC story is one of too much spending, the story of VP for Properties and Special Initiatives Keshawn McGrath is the opposite — and no less damning. The Treasury Report records zero expenditure from McGrath's portfolio for the entire first semester. His full allocation sat untouched.

In a year when students were reporting deteriorating campus infrastructure, security concerns at Elsa Leo-Rhynie Hall, and inadequate physical welfare support, the VP whose constitutional remit covers precisely those issues spent nothing and delivered nothing. Critically, Keshawn McGrath is now the incoming Guild President. At the Guild Debates, Hall Chairman Rajay Bennett publicly confronted McGrath over the fact that security personnel had been withdrawn from Elsa Leo-Rhynie Hall — leaving residents exposed for months. McGrath did not dispute that he had been unaware of the situation.

Zero Sponsorship. Zero Carnival Profit.

McGrath's VP-PSI portfolio was not his only failure this year. As the executive with responsibility for sponsorship, McGrath was constitutionally expected to secure external funding — most critically for UWI Carnival. He did not. Campus Reporter has confirmed from inside sources that McGrath secured no new sponsorship for the Guild during his tenure. For the first time in approximately 17 years, the Guild secured no meaningful carnival sponsorship. For the first time in decades, UWI Carnival recorded no profit. The consequences rippled outward — portfolios overspent to maintain programming, and the GCC's overrun became catastrophic rather than merely embarrassing.

Student Welfare: The Real Cost

Jemario Facey, Guild VP for Student Support and Programming, spent $2,751,335.93 in Semester One — the largest single portfolio spend in the report. His expenditure covered food supplies, bus relief, bursary support, fuel, and transportation. And yet Semester Two saw the Guild's flagship feeding welfare project — Buss Gas — scrapped entirely. Facey confirmed internally that the Guild's accounts were depleted by the time Semester Two commenced.

Fresh Cash — the Guild's programme that helps students with outstanding balances — was similarly suspended. The students who needed these programmes most were the ones the Guild failed.

The Full Portfolio Picture

Portfolio / Body	Amount Spent (JMD)	Status
VP-SSP — Jemario Facey (Student Welfare)	$2,751,335.93	Within budget
GCC — Anthony Myrie (Games Committee)	$2,690,802.44	⚠️ Over annual budget by $1,260,802.44
CEAC (Entertainment)	$1,698,794.77	⚠️ Over semester budget by $378,794.77
Postgraduate Representative	$912,113.53	—
EAC — External Affairs	$173,743.86	—
Treasurer — Lianne Williams	$39,921.00	—
Secretary	$18,000.00	—
Guild Librarian	$11,000.00	—
President — Roshaun Wynter	$0.00	No recorded expenditure
VP-PSI — Keshawn McGrath	$0.00	No recorded expenditure
PRO / Legal Consultant / PCC	$0.00 each	No recorded expenditure

Source: UWI Mona Guild of Students Financial Report, Semester One, June–December 2025. Semester Two figures have not been published. Given the GCC exhausted its full annual budget by December, further overruns in Semester Two would compound the above figures.

Transfers to Non-UWI Individuals: The Missing Audit

Beyond the Treasury Report's figures lies what may be the most serious element of this story. Campus Reporter has been told by multiple sources, and has reviewed documents, that a series of transactions were made from Guild accounts to individuals in amounts totalling between $700,000 and $900,000 Jamaican dollars. These transactions were not for payment of goods or services rendered to the Guild, and were not for any identifiable Guild-related purpose.

More significantly: Campus Reporter has independently verified that at least one of the named recipients of these transfers is not a UWI student, and has no verifiable affiliation with the University of the West Indies. The Guild has not publicly acknowledged these transactions. No audit has been announced. No disciplinary proceedings have been initiated.

Roshaun Wynter: The President Who Called It Fine

Guild President Roshaun Wynter made a declaration at the recently held Guild Debates that Campus Reporter considers central to this story. When the question of financial mismanagement was raised, Wynter told the room — and the student body — that there was no misappropriation of Guild funds. He was either deceived, or he was not telling the truth.

Under the Guild's constitution, the Finance Committee — of which Wynter is a member by virtue of his office — bears collective responsibility for financial oversight. All payments must be authorised by at least three-quarters of the Guild Executive after Finance Committee approval. That is the constitutional design. If funds moved to non-UWI individuals for no documented Guild purpose and the Finance Committee did not catch it, the committee failed. If they did know and approved it, the question is more serious.

The Ramsay Precedent: A Study in Selective Justice

The Guild's current silence is made more glaring by what this same institution did in 2022 when a different financial matter arose — one involving far less money, far more ambiguity, and a student who was arguably doing his best under difficult circumstances.

Shaquille Ramsay became Chairman of Chancellor Hall on June 1st, 2022. Upon gaining access to the Hall's bank account, he authorised use of funds in the account to carry out orientation and hall activities — a reasonable exercise of his constitutionally mandated role. It was subsequently discovered that the funds had been deposited into the account in error by three students who believed it was the account for their Hall Fee deposit. When probed by the University administration, Ramsay acknowledged he had been unable to verify the origins of the funds and treated them as a balance brought forward. The University itself chose not to pursue disciplinary action.

The Guild, however, moved with urgency. A disciplinary hearing was convened. According to minutes reviewed by Campus Reporter's sources, a majority of the committee members raised objections on the record — noting explicitly that they believed they were acting ultra vires and that the evidentiary foundation was insufficient. The Guild's own Legal Officer reportedly raised concerns. Other executives did the same. Overriding the documented internal objections of his own Legal Officer, his executives, and multiple Disciplinary Committee members, the Guild President at the time — Omolora Wilson — imposed a verdict and penalty against Ramsay. The case has since progressed to the Supreme Court, where a trial is scheduled to begin in October.

Insider sources have consistently told Campus Reporter that the proceedings against Ramsay were not principally about the money. The real motivation, they say, was Ramsay's public protest action against Dr. Nadeen Spence of Mary Seacole Hall, which contributed to Spence's name being withdrawn from consideration for the head of the CPFSA. Omolora Wilson is described by multiple sources as a close associate and mentee of Dr. Spence.

What we can say is this: the contrast is stark. In 2022, a Hall Chairman who authorised spending from funds of uncertain origin — with no personal enrichment documented — faced proceedings that overrode its own committee's objections and proceeded to the Supreme Court. In 2026, with transfers of up to $900,000 going to individuals with no UWI affiliation, an annual budget overrun of over $1.26 million in a single committee, and welfare programmes scrapped for students who needed them — there is silence.

The Questions That Remain

A Final Word

Student governance is not a hobby. It is not a title to display on a LinkedIn profile. It is a constitutional mandate, funded by student fees, governed by rules that exist for the protection of every student on this campus. The Guild of Students holds money that belongs to students — and this year, by the evidence of its own documents and the testimony of those inside it, the Guild betrayed that trust in several material and significant ways.

Roshaun Wynter leaves office as a president whose public declarations have been contradicted by his institution's own financial record. Keshawn McGrath enters the presidency having neither spent his budget nor secured sponsorship in the role that was his to discharge. Anthony Myrie takes on a new portfolio having overseen the largest single-committee budget overrun in Guild history. And students who needed Buss Gas, Fresh Cash, and carnival without a price hike got none of it.

The Finance Committee, constituted under Section 44 of the Guild's constitution, is charged with oversight of all financial activity and the authorisation of all payments. It did not perform that function this year. It has not announced that it intends to account for why. That is not governance. That is the appearance of governance — a hollow vault, polished on the outside, empty where the money used to be.

Campus Reporter formally requested comment from the Guild of Students, the Guild Treasurer, and the Guild President prior to publication. No response was received. This story will be updated as developments occur. Students with information about Guild financial management are encouraged to contact our newsroom confidentially at newsroom@campusreporter.news. All sources were verified independently before publication. The Ramsay matter is currently before the Supreme Court of Jamaica; Campus Reporter is not a party to that proceeding and makes no legal finding.

Keshawn McGrath served as Vice President for Properties and Special Initiatives for the 2025/2026 academic year. The Guild's own Treasury Report confirms that he spent $0 — zero dollars — from his portfolio allocation during Semester One. Not a small amount. Not a partial disbursement. Zero.

His portfolio was responsible for security, infrastructure, and student physical welfare. Under his watch, Elsa Leo-Rhynie Hall had its security guards withdrawn by the university — a development that he did not know about until Hall Chairman Rajaye Bennett raised it publicly at Guild Debates. McGrath did not deny this. The residents of ELR had been living without security for months. The VP in charge of security was unaware.

The Buss Gas programme — which has fed students during exam season for years — did not happen this year. Fresh Cash — which helps students clear financial balances — was also cancelled. Both required VP-level engagement on sponsorship. Neither was delivered.

The Champions' League, chaired by Anthony Myrie — who is now McGrath's incoming VP — overspent the annual budget by $1,260,802.44. Those funds were redirected from student relief money. The people who approved that budget, managed that process, and had oversight responsibility for it were the outgoing Guild executive — of which McGrath was a central member.

And the students of UWI Mona elected this man Guild President. This is not an indictment of student judgment — it is a statement about the choices presented to them, and about the institutional failures that allowed a record of non-performance to go largely unchallenged through an election cycle.

Keshawn McGrath has an opportunity to prove that he can do in the Presidency what he did not do in the Vice Presidency: show up, spend the money allocated to student welfare, know what is happening in the halls under his care, and be accountable when he gets it wrong. The students are watching. Campus Reporter is watching. The receipts are already in the file.

Walk past the canteen at 10pm during exam season and count the students who are there not because they want to be, but because they have nowhere else to go and nothing else to eat. Some of them are using their last $300 on a box juice and a bun to get through another five hours of studying. Some of them haven't eaten a proper meal since this morning. Some of them have tuition balances they can't pay and meal plans they can't afford.

Buss Gas was never just free food. It was a signal. It was the Guild saying: we see you in your hardest weeks, and we're here. It was institutional acknowledgement that exam season is brutal, that many students do not have the financial buffer to eat properly while studying, and that the university experience should not require choosing between food and passing your exams.

This year, that signal was not sent. The Guild went silent. No Buss Gas. No Fresh Cash. No communication explaining why. The Treasury Report tells us: the Games Committee spent $1.26 million more than it was allowed to, and the money that was supposed to feed students ended up clearing a football tournament's overdraft.

The students sitting in the library at midnight with empty stomachs did not overspend the GCC's budget. They did not fail to secure sponsors. They did not choose to leave their hall without security guards. They paid their Guild fees, attended their lectures, showed up for their exams, and expected — as they have every right to — that the organisation funded by their fees would remember they existed. It didn't.

The incoming Guild executive under Keshawn McGrath will face this test from day one: bring back Buss Gas, bring back Fresh Cash, and demonstrate that the Guild's welfare function actually functions. Until it does, this is not a Guild. It's a bureaucracy that throws parties and loses money.

There is something almost poetic about losing a race by four votes. Not a landslide. Not a comfortable margin. Four votes. The difference between Davian McAnuff and the Chancellor Hall Chairmanship this year — which went to Tyreke Foster — was four people. Four people who cast their ballots and, collectively, wrote the final chapter of one of the more committed student leadership careers on this campus.

Last year, McAnuff ran for Guild Vice President. He lost to Jemario Facey — who this year was himself elected Vice President at the Guild level. That contest was described by observers as hotly contested, genuine, and earnest on McAnuff's part. He came close. He came back. He ran again at the hall level, for the Chairmanship of Chancellor Hall. He lost by four votes.

There are two ways to read this. The first is as tragedy: a dedicated student who gave years to campus leadership, ran multiple competitive races, and came away with nothing. The second — and we think the more honest one — is as something closer to retirement with full honours. You cannot do more than run twice and lose narrowly both times. At that point, the student body has delivered its verdict with as much gentleness as a ballot can offer. Close, but not quite. Thank you, but no.

Tyreke Foster is Chancellor Hall's Chairman. He won the race cleanly and deserves to be acknowledged: Deputy Chairman of the same hall, he earned his promotion. But this piece is for Davian. The campus saw you. The effort was real. The legacy is that you ran — twice — and you nearly had it both times. That is not nothing. That is something.

Congratulations, Davian McAnuff, on a career in student leadership that was fought with everything you had. And congratulations on the retirement that four votes secured for you. Some doors stay closed for a reason.

Engineering is hard. Tuition is harder. And feeding yourself through four years of university on a student budget can feel like its own degree programme. Evando understood this early — and instead of complaining about the problem, he became part of the solution. Not just for himself, but for the students around him.

Evando's Kitchen grew out of necessity. An engineering student at UWI Mona, Evando started cooking as a way to manage his own expenses — real, flavourful food made from scratch, with none of the corners cut that come with canteen trays and cheap fast food. What he didn't expect was how many of his classmates and hall-mates would come knocking, plastic containers in hand, asking for a plate.

The Food

The menu rotates — that's part of the appeal. Evando doesn't do a standardised, interchangeable box every day. He cooks what he cooks well, and he cooks it right. Students who have ordered describe portions that are generous, seasoning that is unapologetically Jamaican, and prices that actually make sense for someone navigating the economics of campus life. In a landscape of $800 patties and $1,200 box lunches, Evando's Kitchen is a different kind of offer.

The Hustle

Running a food operation from a student hall is not simple. It requires time management that most engineering students will tell you is already stretched thin. It requires sourcing ingredients at prices that allow for margin. It requires quality control — because word travels fast on campus, and a bad meal gets talked about just as much as a good one. Evando manages all of this while attending lectures, submitting assignments, and sitting exams.

That's the part that earns respect. Not the cooking itself — though the cooking speaks for itself — but the discipline it takes to run something real while simultaneously pursuing a demanding degree. The majority of students find enough to complain about without adding a side business. Evando found a way to make the side business part of the point.

What It Represents

Stories like Evando's matter on a campus where the conversation about student enterprise is often dominated by fashion brands and social media pages. Food is harder. It is physical, time-sensitive, and unforgiving. When it works, it works because the person behind it is genuinely committed — to the craft, to the customers, to the thing they're building.

Campus Reporter's Entrepreneur Hub exists to put exactly these stories in front of students who need to see them. Not the polished, already-successful version — but the version that is happening right now, in a hall room, at odd hours, between study sessions. Evando is that version. And his kitchen is open.

To find out how to order from Evando's Kitchen, visit the Campus Reporter Entrepreneur Hub and reach out directly. Student businesses featured on Campus Reporter are independent — Campus Reporter does not take commission and is not affiliated with any transaction.

Let's be honest — when the news broke that iShowSpeed was adding Jamaica to his 15-island Caribbean tour, the reaction was split clean down generational lines. Older Jamaicans were asking "but who is this boy?" Younger ones were already planning which intersection to camp out at. As it turns out, both sides of that divide got exactly what they expected — and then some.

Who Is iShowSpeed, Anyway?

For the two people on campus who somehow still don't know: Darren Jason Watkins Jr., better known as iShowSpeed (or just "Speed"), is a 21-year-old streamer from Cincinnati who has become one of the most-watched content creators on earth. We're talking nearly 54 million YouTube subscribers, a total audience of over 150 million across platforms, and livestreams that routinely pull in viewership numbers that rival CNN primetime. He's done world tours across Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America — each one becoming a global media event. The Caribbean was always going to be his most colourful stop yet.

The Caribbean Tour: 15 Islands, One Mission

The Caribbean leg of Speed's 2026 world tour kicked off on April 25, starting in Trinidad and Tobago before hopping through the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and a string of islands including Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Vincent, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and more. The whole thing was done in partnership with Expedia — creating a whole micro-site at Exspeedia.com where fans could vote on destinations and watch behind-the-scenes content. His brother Jamal tagged along, having revealed himself in the trailer by pulling off a Pikachu costume head (Speed's response: "Jamal? Green apples!" — for those of you who know, you know).

By the time Speed landed at Norman Manley International Airport on May 7, he had already visited half the Caribbean. But Jamaica? Jamaica was the one everyone was watching for. And the Jamaica Tourist Board clearly had a plan.

Arrival: The Airport Already Set the Tone

Speed touched down and was greeted at Norman Manley International Airport by Junkanoo dancers — the colourful, drum-heavy street performance tradition of the Bahamas and Caribbean diaspora. He stopped, he danced briefly, and he was ushered away. The clip hit socials within minutes. That was just the appetizer.

Day One in Kingston: A History Lesson Nobody Expected

The proper tour kicked off on May 8 at Emancipation Park — one of Kingston's most iconic public spaces. Former Miss Jamaica Universe and media personality Yendi Phillipps was brought in to give Speed a crash course on Jamaican history. She pointed to a $500 Jamaican bill and explained that Nanny of the Maroons and Sam Sharpe are literally on the currency — because "on the backs of those people is why we… Jamaicans don't frighten fi nobody, we respect everybody."

Speed was also taken through a traditional Kumina dance with a group of Jamaican students — an African-rooted ceremonial dance tradition tied to Jamaica's Bantu heritage. For a streamer known for pure chaos, this was a genuinely beautiful moment. The kind of cultural education that no textbook delivers the same way.

And then — the dreadlocks revelation. Speed casually asked whether dreadlocks were invented in Jamaica. His guide gently dropped the knowledge: while Rastafari and Bob Marley popularized the look globally, the deeper roots trace to Kenya's Mau Mau warriors (who wore locks as resistance against colonialism) and India's Sadhus. Speed visibly processed this in real time, repeating parts of the explanation back in pure disbelief. "Wait, so dreads was NOT from Jamaica?" That clip went viral within hours.

The Full Itinerary: Jamaica Ran the Marathon, Not a Sprint

What followed was one of the most carefully orchestrated celebrity cultural tours Jamaica has ever put together. The stops included: the Bob Marley Museum (mandatory), Emancipation Park (check), Devon House (food coma incoming), the National Stadium (where he participated in a relay race — and lost), Tastee Patties in Cross Roads (he demolished at least three beef patties and coco bread), and KFC in New Kingston (he called it the "Real KFC" — sparking a Caribbean KFC debate that honestly may never be resolved).

Speed also went to Port Royal for scuba diving, visited Payne Land where hundreds gathered in the streets, and made a stop at Haile Selassie High School where — wait for it — he did a freestyle with Sean Paul. Yes, that Sean Paul. The "Temperature," "Gimme the Light," two-Grammy-winning, Jamaican dancehall legend Sean Paul. On camera. For millions of viewers. Globally.

Shenseea taught him how to make ackee and saltfish. He went on stage with Ding Dong during a street dance simulation arranged by Romeich Entertainment. He met Culture Minister Olivia Grange. He crossed paths with Jesse Royal, Naomi Cowan, Gyptian, and dancehall icon Beenie Man. Oh — and his father Darren Watkins Sr. surprised him at the KFC in New Kingston, which the chat absolutely lost it over. The stream ended with a dedicated drone show. Jamaica did not come to play.

The Numbers Don't Lie

By the time the stream wrapped on May 8, the numbers were staggering. The Kingston livestream hit over 2.8 million total views with a peak of 194,805 concurrent live viewers — numbers that rival major US broadcast news events. The stream generated 696,349 live chat messages and brought in 34,692 new subscribers in a single day. Speed's cameraman posted the figures to X with the caption: "Good stream." An understatement if there ever was one.

Director of Tourism Donovan White called it "organic exposure of the kind that tends to build destination awareness in ways that traditional campaigns can't easily match," adding that the content continues generating value well beyond the original broadcast — particularly among Gen Z travellers who increasingly rely on digital creators when deciding where to travel.

The Controversy: Counter-Jumping and Generational Clashes

Look — no Jamaica trip is drama-free. Speed did at some point climb onto a serving counter inside a food establishment during the livestream, which rubbed some people the wrong way. Critics noted — fairly — that an ordinary Jamaican would never be permitted to do the same thing, and food safety rules matter regardless of how many subscribers you have. It's a valid point. Even Speed's supporters acknowledged the counter situation was a misstep.

The bigger controversy, though, was generational. Older Jamaicans were genuinely baffled at the enthusiasm. One commenter captured it perfectly: "But who is this guy? Can he run faster than Usain Bolt?" NY Groovin radio host Clement Hume called it a "clown show in production." Others, like Robb Loague, had the opposite take: "I've never, ever seen the red carpet thrown out to a celebrity in Jamaica before like the one that Speed is getting!"

The younger crowd — the actual audience of Campus Reporter, the ones living in halls and grinding through finals and spending all of J$0 they have — understood immediately. For Gen Z, iShowSpeed isn't a novelty. He's a fixture. He's been in your timeline since you were in high school. Seeing Jamaica show up and show out on his stream wasn't embarrassing. It was validation.

Why This Actually Matters

Jamaica does not need anyone to tell us we're special. We know. Bob Marley made sure the whole world knows. Usain Bolt made sure. Vybz Kartel made sure. But here's the thing about 2026: the channels through which culture travels have changed completely. Traditional tourism brochures are not where Gen Z and Gen Alpha are deciding to spend their money and their attention. Livestreams are. YouTube is. A 21-year-old on a motorcycle through Kingston going live to 200,000 simultaneous viewers is now more powerful than a $5 million tourism campaign.

The Jamaica Tourist Board understood this assignment. The itinerary was thoughtful, culturally rich, locally grounded. They didn't just take Speed to a resort. They took him to Payne Land. They gave him a $500 bill and explained the ancestors on it. They let Shenseea cook with him. That's not a clown show. That's genius-level destination marketing.

And for those younger Jamaicans watching from halls across UWI Mona, UTech, NCU and UTECH? When 194,000 people around the world simultaneously watched Speed's face light up tasting a Tastee patty and coco bread for the first time — that was a moment. Our moment. Yard showed up, and Yard showed out. The cop with the broken leg will (hopefully) make a full recovery. The rest of us will be dining on this content for months.

Speed, if you're reading this: the Reggae Boys want a rematch at the stadium. And next time, eat the jerk chicken first before you tackle the coco bread.

When UWI Mona's annual Carnival lights go up, they are supposed to mean something. For decades, the Guild's flagship entertainment event has been a money-maker — not just a party. The surplus it generated funded student welfare: Buss Gas during exam season, Fresh Cash to help students clear financial holds, relief in times of crisis. It was the money that kept the Guild running when the academic year got hard.

In 2026, there was no surplus. For the first time in the institution's modern history — outside the extraordinary circumstances of COVID-19 — UWI Mona's Guild of Students is set to hand its successor administration precisely zero profit from Carnival. The tradition has been broken. The outgoing Guild's financial legacy, already damaged by the GCC's $1.26 million budget overrun, has now been compounded by the failure of the one event that was supposed to repair it.

What Went Wrong at Carnival

Sources within the Guild tell Campus Reporter that the 2026 Carnival suffered from two compounding failures: a near-total absence of meaningful corporate sponsorship, and financial planning that left no room for error. Sponsors who had supported the event in previous years did not return at the same levels. New sponsors were either not secured or did not materialise. The result was a Carnival that operated with a significantly reduced income base — but not, apparently, a significantly reduced cost structure.

The event went ahead. Students attended. The lights and sound were there. But when the accounts were settled, there was nothing left. No profit. No surplus. No cushion. Just an event that broke even at best — and by some accounts, may have done worse.

The outgoing administration — anchored by Guild Treasurer Lianne Williams, who ran unopposed and has been re-elected into the incoming executive, Guild President-elect Keshawn McGrath who served as VP-Properties and Special Initiatives this year, and Guild VP-Services and Special Projects Jemario Facey — now faces serious questions about how Carnival 2026 was planned, who was responsible for securing sponsorship, and why the financial shortfall was not caught and corrected before it became irreversible.

Welfare Was Already Being Cut to Survive

The Carnival failure did not happen in a vacuum. It arrived on top of a Guild financial situation that was already dire. Campus Reporter has previously reported on the Guild's Semester One Treasury Report, which confirmed that the Games Committee — chaired by incoming VP Anthony Myrie — overspent its annual budget by $1,260,802.44 in a single semester. That overrun consumed funds that were intended for other purposes.

Among the casualties: Buss Gas — the programme that traditionally pays for student bus transportation during examination periods — was suspended. Fresh Cash — which helps students clear financial holds that would otherwise block them from sitting exams or accessing results — was likewise scrapped. A number of other welfare activities were quietly cut, not as a deliberate policy choice, but as an emergency measure to keep the Guild's operating budget afloat.

That operating budget includes obligations that cannot be waived. Among them: the Guild pays 50% of the tuition fees of all its elected representatives and executives. It pays the full hall fees for every Hall Chairman on campus. It pays 50% of hall fees for deputy hall chairmen. And it pays the full tuition for a complete degree programme for the incumbent Guild President — a tradition that represents a significant financial commitment in any year, and a crushing one in a year with no money.

The Cost of Running the Guild — With Nothing in the Bank

These are not small numbers. The Guild's constitutional obligations to its own representatives mean that every semester, regardless of income, a substantial sum must be paid out to cover tuition and accommodation for the people who run it. In a year with a healthy Carnival surplus, those payments are manageable. In a year where Carnival produced nothing, they become the entire story.

The 2026/2027 Guild Council — led by President Keshawn McGrath — will inherit an institution with no profit carried forward, no Buss Gas reserve, no Fresh Cash fund, and a student body that has spent the better part of a year without meaningful welfare support. They will begin their term having to generate income from scratch simply to meet their constitutional obligations to their own members, before a single welfare programme can be restored.

Campus Reporter asked: was there any bus gas? No. Was there any fresh cash? No. Was there any profit from Carnival? No. On all three counts, the answer from Guild sources was the same.

What the Incoming Guild Faces

McGrath now inherits the consequences of decisions made during a year in which he held the VP-Properties and Special Initiatives portfolio. That portfolio was responsible for areas directly touching student welfare. The Treasury Report confirmed his portfolio recorded zero expenditure for the entire semester — meaning whatever was allocated to student welfare through his office was never spent, even as students went without.

Treasurer Lianne Williams, who oversaw the Guild's finances through this year and has been returned to the Treasurer role unopposed, will now manage the financial recovery. Her re-election means there is continuity — but also continued accountability. The Guild's finances under her watch produced the worst handover in decades.

Campus Reporter will track the incoming administration's handling of this financial inheritance from day one. Students deserve to know when Buss Gas returns. They deserve to know when Fresh Cash is restored. And they deserve a full, public accounting of how Carnival 2026 — the one event that was supposed to fix everything — ended up fixing nothing.

Campus Reporter reached out to the Guild of Students for comment. Any response received will be appended to this article. Tips and documents can be sent to newsroom@campusreporter.news.

If you have been to a Tastee outlet recently and felt like your change was lighter than expected, you were not imagining it. Tastee Patties Limited — the home of Jamaica's original patty since 1966, and a lunchtime institution for generations of Jamaican students — has increased the price of its meals by $20 across the board.

The adjustment, which has been confirmed at multiple outlets, means that every combo meal on the Tastee menu is now $20 more expensive than it was before the change. For a student on a tight budget, that is not nothing. Multiplied across every lunch, every week, across a semester — it adds up fast.

Why Did Tastee Raise Prices?

The short answer is: because everything else has gotten more expensive too. Jamaica's cost-of-living environment in 2026 has been brutal. Hurricane Melissa — which made landfall in October 2025 as a Category 5 storm — devastated agricultural output across the island, sending the cost of fresh produce soaring. Escallion, a staple seasoning in Jamaican cooking, hit J$1,200 per pound at Coronation Market in November 2025. Other ingredients followed.

At the same time, fuel prices have been climbing steadily through early 2026, with Petrojam ex-refinery prices rising in multiple increments. When it costs more to run a truck, to power a kitchen, and to buy the beef and chicken that go inside a patty, the patty itself eventually has to cost more too.

Tastee is not alone. In late April 2026, the Jamaica Observer reported that several of Jamaica's largest food manufacturers — GraceKennedy, Wisynco, Lasco, and Seprod — all confirmed price increases effective May 1, 2026. The message from Jamaica's food industry was consistent: inflation has arrived, and the consumer will feel it.

What Are the New Prices?

The most recent verified Tastee price list publicly circulated — from August 2024 — showed a beef patty at J$300, chicken patty at J$350, cheese patty at J$380, and coco bread at J$180. The J$20 meal increase now places individual meal deals higher across the board. Campus Reporter recommends students check prices at their nearest outlet, as some location-level variation has historically existed across the chain.

Item	Previous Price (Aug 2024)	Estimated New Price
Beef Patty	J$300	J$320
Chicken Patty	J$350	J$370
Cheese Patty	J$380	J$400
Coco Bread	J$180	~J$200
Meal Combos (all)	—	+J$20 across the board

Note: Individual patty prices above are estimated based on the confirmed J$20 meal increase and the August 2024 baseline. Confirm prices at your nearest outlet.

What This Means for Students

For many UWI, UTech, and NCU students, Tastee is not a luxury — it is a staple. Convenient, fast, and until recently, affordable. A $20 bump per meal may sound modest in isolation, but students eating at Tastee three or four times a week will feel a monthly increase of $240 to $320 in their food budget. In a year when Buss Gas has been cancelled, Fresh Cash is gone, and the Guild has no welfare reserves, that extra cost has nowhere to be offset.

The broader picture is one of compounding pressure. Accommodation costs at UWI rose sharply under the concession agreements with 138 Student Living. Tuition fees remain a source of anxiety for thousands. Transport costs have gone up with fuel prices. And now, even the humble patty — the great democratic lunch of the Jamaican student — costs more than it did last year.

Campus Reporter will continue to track consumer price changes affecting students across Jamaica's tertiary institutions. If you have seen price changes at a campus food outlet near you, send us a tip at newsroom@campusreporter.news.

Editor's note: Campus Reporter reached out to Tastee Limited for official comment on the price adjustment. This article will be updated with any response received. The price table above is based on the confirmed J$20 meal increase and the last publicly verified Tastee price list from August 2024. Readers are encouraged to verify current prices at their nearest outlet.

Jamaica is in mourning tonight. Imru N. Khouri — a young man who packed more purpose, more service, and more leadership into 21 years than most people manage in a lifetime — has died. The news, confirmed by multiple organisations he served and tributes from figures at the highest levels of Jamaican public life, has sent shockwaves through the island's youth community and political sphere.

Imru passed away after a short period of hospitalisation. He was 21 years old.

Who Was Imru Khouri?

To try to summarise Imru Khouri in a single role is to do him a disservice. He was the Chapter Chair of Young Jamaica's South East St. Catherine chapter. He was the Communications and Public Relations Chairperson of the Youth Advisory Council of Jamaica (YACJ) and a member of its executive body. He served as Minister of Justice in Jamaica's National Youth Parliament, where he championed restorative justice and mentorship as alternatives to punitive discipline. He was a valued youth resource to the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information (MoESYI). He worked as a Data Analyst at KPMG. And at age 16 — before any of this — he founded INKMADEIT, a clothing brand that reached international markets and created employment in Pakistan.

He did all of this while having undergone brain surgery for aqueductal stenosis just months before sitting his CXC examinations — which he passed with honours in all eight subjects.

Imru Khouri representing Young Jamaica, the JLP's youth affiliate. He served as South East St. Catherine Chapter Chair. | Young Jamaica / Instagram

Tributes Pour In From Across Jamaica

Within hours of news of his passing, tributes flooded in from organisations and individuals who knew him — and from those in the highest offices of the land who recognised what he represented.

Former Prime Minister Andrew Holness described Imru as "a vibrant young Jamaican who devoted himself wholeheartedly to his community and to the people around him," adding that his passion for service, leadership, and the relationships he built left a lasting impression on many. "My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues as they grieve this tremendous loss," Holness wrote. "May Imru rest in peace, and may his memory continue to inspire all who knew him."

Marlon Andre Morgan, paying tribute on behalf of Young Jamaica, described Imru as "a patriotic and dedicated young Jamaican whose passion for service and unwavering commitment to youth advocacy left a lasting impact on persons from all walks of life across Jamaica." Morgan, who described Imru as a personal friend and colleague, noted that he was "a true master in PR" and said Jamaica had lost "a good youth, a strong advocate and a leader who genuinely cared for people and his country."

The National Youth Advisory Council of Jamaica said Imru had "dedicated himself to national service through advocacy, communications, and public engagement, including his work alongside the Ministry of Health and Wellness on public relations initiatives that impacted communities across Jamaica." The YACJ pledged to honour his legacy by continuing the advocacy he believed in.

Central Kingston Young Jamaica mourned him as "a dedicated youth leader, loyal servant, and true comrade whose passion for service and commitment to the movement touched many lives." Their tribute carried the words: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

The Fallen Fortis Brothers and Sisters group confirmed the circumstances of his passing — "after a short period of hospitalisation" — and noted simply: "Rest Well Young Fortis. Only 21 years old."

Campus Reporter: Jamaica Has Lost a Future Statesman

Shaquille Ramsay, acting Editor-in-Chief of Campus Reporter, offered the publication's tribute in full:

"The Jamaica Labour Party and its youth affiliates has surely lost a future leader, and Jamaica has lost a future statesman. Imru was a true young nation builder — the kind that all young Jamaicans who are passionate about getting involved in the future of their country can emulate. His story was one of resilience, purpose, and extraordinary service, delivered freely and with joy. Campus Reporter extends its deepest condolences to his family, his comrades, and all who loved him."

A Life That Earned Its Tributes

It would be easy, in moments like this, to reach for superlatives that feel hollow. But with Imru Khouri, the facts do the work. He organised health fairs offering HIV and blood pressure screenings in underserved communities. He led environmental clean-ups in Portmore. He worked on public relations initiatives with the Ministry of Health and Wellness that reached communities across Jamaica. He mentored young entrepreneurs. He pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration with plans to specialise in data science. And he did all of it before his 22nd birthday.

Young Jamaica's tribute put it plainly: "Your leadership, dedication and unwavering commitment to Central Kingston Young Jamaica will never be forgotten." The YACJ asked that the privacy of his family be respected "during this difficult time as they grieve and process this profound loss."

Campus Reporter honours that request and extends its sincerest condolences to Imru's family, his colleagues at KPMG, his fellow members of Young Jamaica and the YACJ, and everyone whose life he touched — which, by all accounts, is a great many people indeed.

Rest in eternal peace, Imru N. Khouri. Your legacy of service lives on. 🕊️💚💛

Campus Reporter will update this article as further information becomes available. If you knew Imru and would like to share a tribute, please contact newsroom@campusreporter.news.