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AI is harmful for musicians

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Peak Web
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PHOTO: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak

By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer

Computer generation was first used in music composition by Alan Turing in 1951. Known for his work with World War II enigma code-breaking machines, Turing once predicted computers would “learn from experience.” His ideas and inventions eventually formed the basis for what we now know as artificial intelligence (AI). In recent years, AI has been creeping into the music and arts scene. This not only degrades creativity in the music industry — it also creates financial barriers for artists. 

Many musicians are condemning AI use, and asking fans not to support AI-generated music. This April, more than 200 artists signed a letter against AI in music through the Artist Rights Alliance, including Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, Billie Eilish, Arkells, and Norah Jones. The letter states that AI is an “assault on human creativity,” and can “substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists.” Although AI-generated music doesn’t get royalties, it still takes opportunities for royalties away from artists who don’t use AI.

Instead of sampling, which means incorporating portions of songs into new tracks — AI can generate “original” sounds using patterns from real songs. However, sampling usually involves consent. AI-generated music is essentially plagiarism of other artists’ sounds and styles. Some have used it to generate fake songs using someone else’s likeness, while others copy musicians’ styles and present them as their own. Despite the number of people condemning AI-generated music, a few artists — such as Canadian musician Grimes — are embracing it to supposedly support their music-making process. When it comes to music production, some professionals believe AI can be helpful in the sense of streamlining the process of finalizing audio engineering elements in the studio. They also argue AI can help with promotion and marketing. However, this still hinders originality and makes for an unfair industry.

Although AI-generated music doesn’t get royalties, it still takes opportunities for royalties away from artists who don’t use AI.

For new musicians who are trying to make a name for themselves in the industry, AI use gives them less of a chance to stand out and showcase their originality. Since AI can generate compositions faster than humans, it’s difficult for artists to compete and keep up with AI-generated songs. Artists who choose not to use AI during the promotion process are also at a financial disadvantage, as it physically takes longer to promote and market their work. 

AI is already abundant in many technology sectors, but when it comes to art, it’s being taken too far. People create music because of their original ideas, the overall process, and the satisfaction of the final product. AI can’t replace the level of emotion expressed in an artist’s work. If it continues to take over the arts at this alarming rate, it will further degrade originality and put livelihoods at risk. To take a stance against AI, we should support musicians’ original works and boycott AI art in all forms — don’t buy into technological trends that plagiarize genuine creativity.

BC increases ambulance services in 60 rural communities

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Peak Web
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a row of three ambulances parked outside a hospital
PHOTO: Amirul Anirban / The Peak

By: Hannah Fraser, News Writer

On April 1, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) improved paramedic staffing models in 60 rural and remote communities in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions for better 911 responsiveness and consistent out-of-hospital care.

Previously, paramedics worked under the scheduled on-call model, carrying a pager. They were then required to access the local ambulance station once they received a page. However, many rural communities had concerns that this model was not quick enough to respond to 911 calls. 

Mayor Andy Morel of the City of Rossland said the city’s year-round active, outdoor community and population of aging residents required ambulance services that could more readily support their health care needs. So, in more muti-generational communities, the scheduled on-call model could not support the city. 

Given the new staffing models — 24/7 alpha, mix shift, and kilo shift — many communities now have two to three times more paramedics in ambulance stations than the previous on-call model did. 24/7 alpha involves full-time paramedics on duty 24 hours a day, while mix shift has eight paramedics that work 16 hours in their stations and eight hours on-call. Some communities have a mix of kilo/on-call shifts, similar to the scheduled on-call model where a full-time unit chief and staff are entirely on-call. 

The Peak corresponded with Bowen Osoko, a spokesperson for BCEHS, for more information on the changes. Osoko said recruiting and filling the new emergency and health roles has been ongoing for several months now. While the BCEHS fills these positions, existing paramedic staff have been filling in extra positions to compensate for the new roles. Osoko notes the backfill “has been successful to date.

“We’re also working hard to connect with local community members who want to join BCEHS and provide excellent pre-hospital care to their neighbours and community.”

Jason Jackson, Ambulance Paramedics of BC president said, “Patient care is the most important thing to us, and this new approach helps us better recruit and retain paramedics to work in these smaller communities, improve how we respond to 911 calls, and most importantly, help paramedics provide better care to our patients.” 

In addition, the BCEHS has brought more Indigenous paramedics onto their team. Indigenous Peoples have historically faced injustices in healthcare due to racism, and rural communities away from urban centres make accessing care much harder. Over a third of Indigenous people in BC reside in the north of the province. Tania Dick, the Indigenous nursing lead at UBC, noted that she and other nurses are flown into rural communities to provide aid. However, visits often aren’t made for weeks due to barriers with travel. These communities often depend on external resources from the government and organizations for this basic care.

“We’re actively working to bring Indigenous people into all levels of our organization,” Osoko said. “Doing so helps build trust, which helps improve patient care across BC.” 

The Peak reached out to the First Nations Health Authority and the First Nations Health Council for more information, but did not hear a response by the publication date.

Advocates condemn BC’s decision to recriminalize substance use

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Peak Web
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A busy street in Downtown Vancouver
PHOTO: Aria Amirmoini / The Peak

By: Hannah Fraser, News Writer

Content warning: mentions of death and overdose, colonialism, and intergenerational trauma.

The BC government received approval to recriminalize illicit substance use in public spaces, one and a half years into a decriminalization pilot. Advocates from the Harm Reduction Nurses Association (HRNA) expressed discontent. The HRNA is a Canadian organization working to “advance harm reduction nursing” and “the rights and dignity of people who use drugs.”

In January 2023, Health Canada granted BC a “three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize people who use drugs.” This meant of-age British Columbians found carrying small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use would no longer be arrested or charged. Instead of confiscating their drugs, they would be directed to health and social support. 

Now isn’t the first time the BC government has attempted to reverse this exemption. Less than a year into the exemption, they passed Bill 34, the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, which would undo this, and allow for confiscation of illegal substances and potential police arrest. At the time, the HRNA filed an injunction, which is a legal challenge, meant to prevent Bill 34 from coming into effect. 

The injunction was overturned in early 2024 after the HRNA proved the Act “would cause irreparable harm to people at risk of injury and death from fatal drug poisoning,” winning the case. 

The HRNA alleged the Act would subject more people to fatal overdose, create a barrier to healthcare outreach, and “drive racial discrimination, particularly against Indigenous people.” In 2021, the First Nations Health Authority explained Indigenous people are overly-represented in the toxic overdose crisis due to the intergenerational trauma caused by the residential school system and other discriminatory policies. 

However, recriminalization has been enacted just a few months later, renewing these concerns. The BC Assembly of First Nations said, “We feel we need to move away from criminalizing behaviors that are the direct result of the harms of colonialism” and “the toxic drug crisis needs to be treated and addressed as a public health issue, not a criminal justice issue.”

“We need to move away from criminalizing behaviors that are the direct result of the harms of colonialism.” — BC Assembly of First Nations

“The BC government’s actions today will put people who use drugs and people who rely on public space at further risk of harm and death,” said Corey Ranger of the HRNA in a press release. “By imposing these restrictions on the decriminalization pilot without offering real solutions like expanding overdose prevention services and access to housing, the province has declared some lives unworthy of saving.”

A report from the BC government revealed that 93% of accidental deaths in the province’s houseless population were due to the toxic drug supply in 2021. 

Caitlin Shane of Pivot Legal Society and co-counsel for the HRNA said, “Bill 34 is punitive, political and lacks evidence.” President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, said the response to the overdose crisis requires “culturally appropriate treatment and recovery services, housing, and tools to address a range of intersecting trauma that for Indigenous peoples, is very much wrapped up in the destructive impacts of colonialism.”

The HRNA “reached out to the province with an offer to collaborate to address concerns without causing further harm, through a range of legal and policy changes.” They suggested implementing “rapid scaling-up of supervised consumption sites.”

“More than a century of prohibition has demonstrated that [police] enforcement has not decreased drug availability or use, is extremely expensive, and is clearly linked to an increased risk of overdose and cycles of homelessness,” said the HRNA. 

“When we see public drug use, it is because people do not have housing, services, or safe places to go — and because people want to stay alive, not die alone and out of sight.”

Crooked Teeth is a queer Syrian refugee’s reconnection “home”

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATION: Courtesy of Yasmin Hassan / The Peak

By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer

Crooked teeth is the young boy who swears he likes women. Crooked teeth are in the mouth of an officer staring back at you coldly. Crooked teeth is being the only racialized panelist discussing refugees. Crooked teeth is the wet sand on English Bay after a painful breakup. In Danny Ramadan’s newest work, Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir, incisors and molars take on a whole new meaning. 

Right off the bat, I knew this was written brilliantly. Syrian Canadian author Ramadan’s track record with his award-winning works, The Clothesline Swing and The Foghorn Echoes, further confirms his literary genius. 

The first chapter of this new memoir, “Truth,” explores the shift from writer to reader, culminating in an agreement between two people to bare each other’s scars. Expertly, he weaves the motifs of “crooked teeth, shy smiles, playful bites” into his writing as stand-ins for the deeper conversations of racial injustice. 

“I’m telling you these stories as I would tell them to a friend,” Ramadan says in the memoir. 

“This is my treasure trove of all of the images from my childhood that I will never have access to ever again. It feels like, in a way, those images are not just me trying to tell you about those places, but also me trying to protect them, to keep them for myself.” —Danny Ramadan, via CBC

Crooked Teeth retells his childhood growing up in Damascus, Syria. Slowly but surely, he realizes and comes to terms with his sexuality, despite his family, society, and government casting out any idea of queerness. Ramadan makes a point, however, that too often people in the west fail to realize that his home wasn’t always war and catastrophe, but that it was home first and foremost. 

“This is my treasure trove of all of the images from my childhood that I will never have access to ever again,” Ramadan told CBC of his memoir. “It feels like, in a way, those images are not just me trying to tell you about those places, but also me trying to protect them, to keep them for myself.”  

He talks about his personal life amidst the backdrop of a degrading economy and the seedlings of revolutionary outburst in the 2000s. His journey takes him to underground networks of queer-safe homes, Arab Spring uprisings, imprisonment, becoming a refugee, and then rigidly settling in Vancouver.

Ramadan doesn’t skimp out on the finer things in his life. He celebrates the joys, finding his chosen family, and creating a meaningful career. He wanted to include these snapshots of his life in Canada because his story didn’t stop when he arrived here. 

“Arriving in Canada is a beautiful milestone. But it’s the beginning of a new life,” he told CBC. “I think the balance between what your life was before arriving and what’s life after arriving is what is important.” 

This memoir is beautifully written, with intense descriptions and comedic quips. It truly feels like a conversation between two friends. If you have the chance, pick up this book and give it a read. Find out the meaning behind those crooked teeth!

Purchase Crooked Teeth at storestock.massybooks.com.

The right to protest our universities’ decisions

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Peak Web
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Illustration of A group of people holding signs saying “Boycott, Divest, Sanctions” and “Free Palestine”
ILLUSTRATION: Den Kinanti / The Peak

By: Anthony Houston, SFU Student

Content warning: mentions of genocide and police violence.

University students across the world have organized encampments in the wake of the ongoing genocide in occupied Palestinian territories. These encampments are pro-Palestinian demonstrations, requesting their respective universities to “divest and sever ties with Israel” and Israeli universities.

Protests started in March in the US, with Columbia University students being some of the first to mobilize and organize an encampment on April 17. By the next day, Columbia president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York Police to enter university grounds and arrest student protestors. However, this did not stop them. Over the next two weeks, students, faculty, and other community members led walk-outs and the Columbia College Student Council passed a divestment referendum. This demonstration was replicated throughout the US, with Yale, NYU, and many more ongoing. 

These protests also expanded worldwide. France’s Science Po, Ireland’s Trinity College, and Japan’s Tokyo University are only some of the many universities where students have organized Palestinian solidarity encampments — all requesting divestment from Israel, some of which have succeded. Here in so-called Canada, students from the east to the west coast have organized similar protests. From McGill University in Montreal to UBC, students have echoed the requests of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and demand their respective universities divest. While SFU campuses haven’t had an encampment, students and faculty have organized other protests and demonstrations. The SFU Faculty for Palestine group has echoed the BDS movement’s demands and on May 23, SFU students took over the Belzberg Library and renamed it to the Khalida Jarrar library, in honor of the imprisoned Palestinian human rights activist.

The common thread among all of these protests lies in the endowments and investments protested universities hold in organizations or corporations that profit and are complicit in the ongoing genocide. UBC’s Endowment Fund has shares in eight companies targeted by the BDS movement, and while the percentage amount of the total endowment is of just 0.28%, monetarily it comes to about $7.8 million — not a negligible amount. Even more, SFU also holds shares of companies directly related with military equipment or war-related products. 6% of SFU’s endowment portfolio (3.9 million) is invested in BAE systems ($1.99 million), Booz Allen Hamilton ($1.85 million), and CAE Inc. ($0.084 million). Don’t dismiss the impact small percentages have, especially when these investments shouldn’t have happened in the first place. 

“Where is the due diligence that ensures the university’s investments align with the vision, purpose, and values the university so proudly showcases on its website?”

I personally don’t think students should have control over the financial decisions of a university. After all, why would I, a financial illiterate, be given the power to choose what investments will benefit the university the most? However, organized calls to divest from companies such as Lockheed Martin — the world’s largest arms-manufacturing and military services provider — must be heard. SFU and UBC have both invested in Lockheed Martin, but universities are learning institutions. Albeit externally, the decision to invest in companies directly related with weaponry manufacture is a perplexing one. How can universities continue to promote themselves as institutions dedicated to social justice, human rights, and ethical integrity while profiting from companies enacting the exact opposite of those values? Divesting not only serves as a form of economic pressure, but can also influence other universities and organizations to follow suit. This can snowball into tractable social and political change, just as it did with the South African apartheid divestment.

In a message to the UBC community, president Benoit-Antoine Bacon mentioned the university “does not directly own any stocks in the companies identified by the [BDS] movement.” In that same message Bacon acknowledged that the funds are “managed by external managers,” with about 0.28% of the fund invested in the companies identified by the movement. Where is the due diligence that ensures the university’s investments align with the vision, purpose, and values the university so proudly showcases on its website? Does investing in arms and military services align with their purpose of advancing a just society across the world? When our universities profit from these companies, they are complicit in the atrocities their products and services facilitate, and by proxi, we become complicit as well.

In the same message, Bacon reiterated the university’s commitment to the community safety. Yet, on June 1, the RCMP were called into campus and arrested a protestor, and, according to People’s University UBC, the week before “multiple local pro-Palestinian demonstrators were brutalized and arrested.” Similarly, SFU has surveilled and limited student-led pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Why is it that so many university administrations have responded to the pro-Palestinian protests by authorizing police access to their campus and surveilling their students? Universities have an obligation to the safety and security of their students. Not to state the obvious, but this includes Palestinian and minority group students. To ignore the historical and present abuse police bodies all around the world have enacted in marginalized and minority groups is beyond a problematic decision, is an authoritarian measure to maintain the status quo.

What can be said of the convocation speeches of so many university presidents — asking students to enact change, to be the leaders of tomorrow’s society, and to build a better future — when they are the first ones to limit change and hold tight to a past that ensures only their own future? Hypocrisy, that’s what we call it. Students can and will continue to be the engine for change and justice in the world. We aren’t an essential part of a university, we are the university, and as such our voices and demands should not fall in the willfully unresponsive ears of the administration. If students are organizing with well-crafted demands, projects, and ideas for improvement, there should be pathways that allow the possibility of change. This, however, is not a failure of the student body, but of the administrations that continue to ignore the voice of their university.

University administrations must listen to the voices of their community and provide concrete avenues for student and community-led protests and demands to actually be heard, discussed, and enacted. Concrete processes for petitions to be formalized should be created in tandem with designated “rapid response” teams and transparent discussion and decision-making channels with student and community representation and involvement. Thoughtless and empty-worded statements contradict the values and commitments so many universities make for their students.

Students occupy library to demand SFU’s divestment from Israel

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Peak Web
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Interior lobby of the Belzberg Library at SFU’s Habour Centre campus.
PHOTO: Victoria Lo / The Peak

By: Hannah Fraser, News Writer

Content warning: mentions of genocide and violence.

On May 23, SFU students occupied the downtown campus’ Belzberg Library to demand the university divest from military assets supplied to Israel and call for an immediate ceasefire. A broad coalition of SFU groups organized the protest, which was intended to coincide with SFU’s Board of Governors meeting. A rally was also held outside campus for over four hours, and there was a teach-in about “building community resistance.” 

In March, students protested at the Board meeting in-person with the same demands. Since then, the Board has moved their monthly meetings online. 

In an open letter to the Board asking for “divestment and accountability from SFU’s administration,” the coalition explained how SFU owns shares in major war contractors Booz Allen Hamilton, BAE Systems, and CAE Inc.  

“BAE is the sixth largest war contractor globally, with 97% of its revenue coming from military equipment, Booz Allen Hamilton derives 64% of revenue from war-related products, and CAE is Canada’s fourth largest war contractor,” the letter said. “The weapons and services of these corporations have collectively facilitated the killing, maiming, or displacement of millions of individuals.

“We can see no good reason why SFU would invest in an industry that enables and profits from such destruction, which disproportionately harms the most vulnerable members of our societies,” the coalition continued. There are now over 900 members and organizations from the SFU community who have signed the open letter.

“We’re going to take back libraries, we’re going to take back buildings, we’re going to disrupt things, disrupt the normal process of the institution until our demands are met.” — Artin Safaei, student protestor 

The Peak spoke to Artin Safaei, a political science student who was at the protest. According to Safaei, the coalition anticipated the Board wasn’t planning to discuss divestment, based on the response from the March meeting, so they felt it was necessary to raise the pressure. The protest gathered people from the UBC encampment and SFU’s Faculty for Palestine, “a network of faculty who support the cause of Palestinian liberation.”

“Now that you are not listening to us, we’re going to make you listen. We’re going to force you to listen to us,” Safaei said. “We’re going to take back libraries, we’re going to take back buildings, we’re going to disrupt things, disrupt the normal process of the institution until our demands are met,” he continued.

As students protested inside the library, they watched live screening of the Board meeting. The Board did not discuss divestment or calling for a ceasefire. Safaei said “they actively ignored” any such discussion as students protested right outside the Board’s meeting room.

In a statement to The Peak, Michael Russell from SFU’s media relations said the university “respects the right to peaceful protest,” including the demonstration at the Belzberg Library.

The student coalition expressed they “refuse to sit quietly by and allow the Board of Governors to violate SFU’s commitments to reconciliation, community engagement, anti-racism, and anti-oppression” by investing in genocide.

Safaei expressed universities are supposed to educate future leaders not to repeat histories of genocide and colonialism, so their inaction is “hypocritical and destructive.”

He said that while SFU administration implies they are working towards reconciliation by doing land acknowledgements, their investments “support a settler colonialist state.” He called this a “charade, a facade.”

On May 30, president Joy Johnson released a statement saying SFU and the Board are “looking for ways to make a meaningful difference and seeking information about SFU’s investment practices,” and acknowledged calls for divestment.

Johnson added there will be a  review process for SFU’s investments that will include consultation with experts and the community. This is the first time the university has officially responded to the SFU community’s calls for divestment and action since late 2023. 

This is an ongoing story that The Peak will continue to cover. 

A guide to cannabis use

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Peak Web
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Green cannabis leaf and a black glass dropper bottle.
PHOTO: Kimzy Nanney/Unsplash

By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer

Content warning: brief mentions of nausea, blood, vomiting, and psychosis.

Since cannabis became legalized in Canada in 2018, access to it has been easier and safer for a variety of purposes. Being able to easily obtain cannabis (also referred to as marijuana or any one of its many slang terms) has helped improve the lives of those who use it for medicinal purposes, such as helping with chronic pain or low appetite. Prior to full legalization, cannabis was only legal for medicinal purposes since 2001. Patients had to register with Health Canada to be licensed to grow or order it from licensed producers. Now, it’s easy to access a cannabis store (or order online) to get whichever strain or dose one desires, whether for medicinal or recreational use, without the need for going to a healthcare provider and getting a prescription.

Cannabis has many medicinal benefits that help people for various conditions. It can help reduce pain, regulate sleep and appetite, reduce nausea and vomiting from certain drugs (such as those who are undergoing chemotherapy), relax muscles and reduce spasms — especially for those with neuromuscular conditions. Conflicting information says that cannabis can potentially help reduce anxiety, but also potentially cause it, depending on the main active compound. 

There are two distinct components of cannabis: cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD is known as the compound that has medicinal properties and does not get you high. THC, on the other hand, is the psychoactive compound responsible for the high. Some medicinal blends may contain trace amounts of THC.

Despite these benefits, it is important to remember there are potential side effects to using cannabis. Common side effects include dry mouth, eye redness, increased heart rate, dizziness, and drowsiness. But it’s important to remember that cannabis consumption will affect people differently: some might feel relaxation, happiness, and heightened awareness, others might experience impaired thinking, anxiety, nausea, and even psychosis. Although cannabis can help reduce some unwanted feelings such as anxiety, it can also cause the same effects in certain instances depending on a variety of factors. Some people might have a genetic predisposition to psychotic episodes and cannabis might act as a catalyst for their early onset. Another factor might be that the interactions between cannabis and other drugs can have adverse and serious effects, such as bleeding complications, if mixed together (such as antidepressants, pain medications, and sedatives). Remember, each person reacts and will be affected differently by cannabis.

Whether prescribed or not, cannabis can be expensive. This was particularly the case before legalization — medicinal cannabis isn’t usually covered by any reimbursement program, even when prescribed by a healthcare professional. Now that cannabis is legal, it is becoming cheaper. 

“Cannabis consumption will affect people differently: some might feel relaxation, happiness, and heightened awareness, others might experience impaired thinking, anxiety, nausea, and even psychosis.”

Even though cannabis is legal, it’s still important to be cautious of where you get it from. Make sure your supply is from a trusted, licensed provider. To find a trustworthy source, it’s best to go to an approved store or dispensary, such as a BC Cannabis Store or any other licensed cannabis retailer. Be wary of suspicious behaviour by a provider, such as not accepting credit cards as a payment option or no age verification, as per the Cannabis Act. While cannabis lacing reports are uncommon, non-regulated/illegal providers won’t provide the certainty that the cannabis you’re buying hasn’t been altered with any other drugs or ingredients that may be harmful.

The Cannabis Act was implemented to reduce the likelihood of underage youth from accessing cannabis, to decriminalize its use and sale, and to use it for its medicinal properties, among other things. Under-age use can “increase the risk of short-term cognitive impairment and under performing in school, as well as psychotic symptoms and disorders.” With cannabis use among 16-19 year olds on the rise, it’s important to protect those close to you.

Prior to legalization, and even still today, cannabis has gotten — and sometimes still gets — a bad reputation. Whether people choose to use it as a recreational drug or for its medicinal properties, cannabis can still be a taboo topic for some, especially if they’re not comfortable with the discussion of drugs — whether legal or not. It’s important to open the conversation regarding cannabis and how it can be helpful. Be respectful and compassionate with others’ personal decisions around using cannabis. Reducing the stigma around cannabis will make it safer for people accessing it. Many individuals are still on the fence when it comes to their own choices. This, of course, is also fine — everyone is entitled to their own views and thoughts on its use. 

There are health and safety factors that people need to be aware of and how to use it safely, if they choose to do so. Healthcare guidelines suggest avoiding smoking cannabis and if you do, don’t hold it in your lungs. Edibles or a vaporizer are recommended. Cannabis might impair your thinking, so avoid driving or using dangerous machinery if you have consumed cannabis within the last 24 hours. 

If you’re considering taking cannabis, be it for medicinal benefits or recreational use, it’s best to have a discussion with your doctor or healthcare provider regarding what’s right for you.

Aurora Borealis lights up the Lower Mainland

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Peak Web
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The Northern Lights are illuminated in the sky above a residential neighbourhood in shades of green, blue, and purple
PHOTO: Shirlyn Zobayed / The Peak

By: Yashita Dhillon, News Writer

A solar storm hit BC on May 10, which allowed for a display of aurora borealis in the sky. The Peak spoke with Matthew Cimone, head interpreter at the HR MacMillan Space Centre and member of the Space Science Outreach team at SFU’s Trottier Observatory, and Martin Curic, president of the SFU Astronomy Club.

“The sun is a gigantic flaming ball of fusion, and essentially, there are so many magnetic forces going on, that these charged particles cause an emission of plasma right within the earth’s atmosphere. And it’s essentially just magnetic forces hitting our atmosphere and causing it to emit light,” Curic explained. Different colours, such as blue and green and purple most commonly seen in the northern lights, are caused by a mix of atmospheric gasses like oxygen, hydrogen, and helium. 

These storms happen when the sun releases large amounts of energy in the form of solar flares and massive eruptions from its outer layer. These events send streams of particles and magnetic fields towards Earth.

“It’s because of this heightened level of solar activity on the sun right now that we’re getting these big flares, these big storms on the sun,” Cimone said. “When we were able to look up and see all of that glow in the sky, we’re seeing those oxygen and nitrogen molecules being excited by the solar particles.” 

“That’s what life is. Life’s amazing, just being aware that we’re a part of a grand universe.” — Matthew Cimone, head interpreter, MacMillan Space Centre

The Northern Lights are typically visible in more northern regions like the Yukon Territory and Alaska. “Aurora is usually going on all the time, it’s just that usually we can’t see it from our part of the world,” Cimone noted. 

“The magnetic particles caused the atmospheric atoms to emit light, which showed up as auroras in beautiful colors to us.” Curic said there hasn’t been such a strong solar storm since 2003, noting reports as far south as Florida.

Solar storms can have various impacts on Earth, from creating auroras to “disrupting communications.”  For Cimone and his colleagues, the event was an opportunity to engage with the public. “There’s some incredible photos that were taken not only by our staff, but also guests that were there that night,” he said. “It’s not every day that the whole world is united together in one event that affects the entire planet.

“There’s planets circling all of those stars up there, and we want to find out what’s maybe going on on some of those stars. Maybe someone’s looking back on one of those stars at our star in their sky, wondering if they’re alive here on our own planet,” Cimone said. “We know more and more about that universe all the time. And the reason why we want to, at least one of the reasons, is so that we can understand more about ourselves, our own planet, how life came to be.” 

The Trottier observatory at SFU Burnaby is part of an outreach program, providing education on our universe for students of astronomy, young learners, and the public. The Astronomy Club at SFU is a place for astronomy students and beginners to gather and learn.

SFU announces language learning programs closure amid budget cuts

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SFU AQ
PHOTO: Kriti Monga / The Peak

By: Yashita Dhillon, News Writer

SFU recently decided to close down the Interpretation and Translation programs by the end of May 2024 and the English Language and Culture program by the end of August. They cited recent budget cuts, but many are left questioning this decision and its impact on the community.

The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) stated the programs’ closure was decided “with no consultation with the union, and means nearly 20 continuing instructors and an additional 20 long-standing temporary instructors will lose their jobs.” 16 more long-standing continuing studies program educators were also let go. 

The Interpretation and Translation programs included specialized training for medical, legal, and translation interpretation to prepare students to become professional interpreters and translators in these fields. It includes several programs “that train linguistically and culturally fluent professionals to facilitate effective cross-cultural communication.”

The English Language and Culture program was designed to help students improve their English skills. Both programs are part of the continuing studies department, which offers a total of 23 programs. The English Language and Culture and Interpretation and Translation programs are the only ones with unionized instructors and are the only programs being shut down. SFU’s recent cut-backs have caused around 85 positions and over 100 workers to be laid off, CBC reported, ranging from class instructors to IT support to campus bookstore employees. 

The May 14  announcement to shut down these programs came as a shock to instructors and students. “We didn’t have any details forthcoming,” said Scott Yano, ELC instructor at SFU and  TSSU steward, in an interview with The Peak. 

SFU states budget cuts are a result of low international student enrollment and these programs are a support for international students. The union, faculty, and alumni are contesting this rationale.

 “It’s been a 30-year project, and everybody is disappointed and sad to see it end.” —  Scott yano, ELC instructor at SFU and a Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) steward

“SFU assured its instructors and students that the academic mission of the university would not be affected by the budget cuts. They said instructors would not be impacted. They lied,” Kayla Hilstob, TSSU chief steward, told CityNews Vancouver, noting university executives receiving “large annual wage increases of up to 6.75%.” 

“We provide a cultural background for people to enter into the university,” said Yano. The English Language and Culture program teaches “English conversation in groups, friendly interaction with classmates and teachers and real English found in everyday situations.” The aim is to prepare students for life in Canada and potentially work in Canadian business or diplomacy.

“It’s been a 30-year project, and everybody is disappointed and sad to see it end,” Yano said, noting his work as an English Language and Culture professor since 2004. “It’s been our working life’s work, and many of us are at the end of our working life. We devoted a lot to SFU and to its success and we hope that the administration of the university realizes that.” 

Silvia Xalabarde, president of Society of Translators and Interpreters of BC told The Peak these closures have raised questions about SFU’s commitment to being inclusive and its impact on the community. “The consequences of this for many people are going to be that they’re not going to have the language support that they need in order for their voices to be heard, in order to participate fully in society,” said Xalabarde.

The union assures they are “working with the instructors and affected stakeholders to question and to try to reverse this shocking decision” and will “negotiate a fair compensation scheme that respects these instructors’ many years of service.” 

What Grinds Our Gears: Midday due dates

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Peak Web
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PHOTO: Steinar Engeland / Unsplash

By: Amanda Taylor, SFU Student

The dreaded midday due date has been encountered by most students at some point in our degrees. Assignments with a due date of anything before 11:59 p.m. should be illegal. Maybe I sound entitled, but midnight is almost always the standard for assignments in university. That’s why it’s so easy to miss a freakin’ 12:00 p.m. deadline that your oddball professor has decided is perfectly reasonable. 

Look, I would love to have more time on my hands — but please don’t punish me for being employed! I promise you won’t even notice the difference between a 12:00 a.m. and p.m. deadline. I mean, my homework skills are so impeccable that you probably can’t even tell my assignment was finished the day of. Probably. I might even change the date to a couple days prior so it looks like I started it earlier. 

Most of us opt to complete our assignments in the evening because that’s our spare time. Maybe these deadlines are related to a professor’s schedule, but I’d honestly rather have an assignment due a day earlier if it means I don’t have to do homework in the morning. You may be thinking, “Why don’t you just start it well ahead of time so you don’t have to finish your homework the day it’s due?” And to that I say, “I’ll have to get back to you when I’m less busy.”

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024