Fraser Health launches “1 in 5” campaign

By

-

November 12, 2013

Rectal pain, discharge and bleeding — these are a few of the possible symptoms of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) known as the “clap,” chlamydia. But what really makes this STI scary is that oftentimes, it exhibits no symptoms at all. Chlamydia is known as a “silent” infection, and many carriers have no idea that they are infected.

A recent study by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) reported that only 51 per cent of sexually active university students use condoms, and when they do use them it’s for contraceptive reasons, as opposed to the protection against STIs.

In light of this statistic, Fraser Health Authority has launched the awareness campaign “1 in 5,” taking its name from the research discovery that one in five female SFU students will contract chlamydia during their academic career.

In order to raise awareness and to promote good sexual health, Fraser Health strung up women’s underwear and set up an information booth in the AQ during the last week of October to give out free condoms and important information. Additionally, they created a social media presence for the campaign over Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about this illusive infection.

Dr. Michelle Murti, medical health officer at Fraser Health, told The Peak that despite being an extremely treatable STI, chlamydia is probably one of the most common.

Many carriers have no idea that they are infected.

“We see about 3,000 cases a year across Fraser Health. Mostly, the highest numbers are in women between the ages of 20 and 24,” Murti said. However, if the infection is so easily treated — with only one round of antibiotics — why is it spread so widely amongst the student body?

The answer is simple: lack of awareness. It is a combination of the “silent” nature of the infection and the lack of protection being used by sexually active students. Dr. Murti stated, “about 70 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men won’t even have symptoms so they won’t know they’ve been infected.”

She also stressed the importance of getting tested, which is as easy as peeing into a cup. The long-term effects of the infection can be severe: if untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, tissue scarring, and infertility later in life.

In this technological age, and with the surge of sexual health awareness initiatives in recent years, SIECCAN hoped to see improved numbers from those of a similar survey done years ago. Unfortunately, the results of this new study seem to indicate that students haven’t become more aware of protecting themselves against chlamydia.

Dr. Murti said that even though in the recent survey, “many of the students thought for themselves that they had very good or excellent knowledge in sexual health and in STIs,” the desired level of awareness has yet to be achieved since the number of people using condoms is still low and the frequency of cases of infection is so high.

Dr. Murti considers SFU students in particular to be lucky, as “they have the health and counseling services available at both Vancouver and Burnaby campuses.” Resources can also be found on Fraser Health’s website, including information on STIs, and the locations of sexual health clinics nearest you.

Album Reviews: Lady Gaga, Sky Ferreira, and a throwback to Outkast

By

Peak Web

-

November 12, 2013

0

Lady Gaga – ARTPOP

Fame and fortune aside, Lady Gaga’s evolution from fringe freakshow to pop culture queen hasn’t done her any favours. Instead, it’s made her self-referential theatricality the industry expectation: little monsters like Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus have laid claim to a portion of the songstress’s fan base by aping her dramatic flair and Hollywood-gothic musicality.

Today, Lady Gaga’s claim to the hype machine throne is tenuous at best, and almost entirely dependent on the success her much-awaited comeback to 2011’s Born This Way. This is the album that will make or break her career.

Repetitive, unimaginative and bloated, ARTPOP fails in virtually every possible way. Sure, there’s the occasional earworm here and there: the titular track is a capably Madonna-esque ode to Andy Warhol, and “Gypsy” is as catchy as it is vaguely offensive. But for the most part, Gaga’s newest is the work of an old dog who’s run out of new tricks.

Never is this more apparent than in the album’s opener, “Aura,” in which Gaga attempts to show us the real her, the one “behind the aura,” while a computerized voice repeats “dance, sex, art” lifelessly. Is this a straight-faced attempt to introduce the album’s ham-handed themes, or a shallow attempt to be avant-garde? It doesn’t matter — the song is downright awful, as are the vast majority of the tracks that follow.

Though lyrics were never her strong suit, Gaga’s bon mots throughout ARTPOP are lacklustre and carelessly clichéd. “Dope,” the album’s token piano ballad and a sappy love letter to Gaga’s fans, is particularly misguided: Gaga’s impassioned refrain, “I need you more than dope,” isn’t just bad; it’s embarrassing.

There are moments here where you can almost hear the Lady Gaga we fell in love with five years ago — the unexpectedly moving bridge of “Donatella,” the banshee energy of “Manicure,” the self-parody of “Applause.” All this only makes it more painful to state the obvious: ARTPOP is a completely unmitigated disaster.

Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time

Now this is what I’m talking about!

Sky Ferreira’s studio debut, Night Time, My Time, is far from game-changing: it’s affable alterna-pop with just the right amount of cheek, and it’s everything a cautiously optimistic music listener like myself expects from a mainstream pop effort. No more, no less. Ferreira’s newest LP is conventional, cohesive and congenial; as it turns out, not every album has to rewrite the rules.

Producer Ariel Rechtshaid, who’s worked with such artists as Vampire Weekend and Haim, gives Ferreira’s songwriting an assembly line simplicity that nods to some of her biggest synth pop influences, such as Duran Duran and Cyndi Lauper. The verse chorus verse structure of such standouts as “24 Hours” and “You’re Not the One” are charmingly familiar, and Ferreira’s decidedly non-threatening pop star sneer helps keep Night Time, My Time from becoming overly repetitive.

By this point, Ferreira’s story is well known: she was signed at age 15, and has been caught in a maelstrom of failed pop experiments and studio squabbles ever since. Last year, she finally got her big break with the John Hughes prom night dance track “Everything Is Embarrassing,” announcing herself as the Lana Del Rey alternative we’d all been waiting for.

Night Time, My Time effectively subverts the one-hit-wonder template Ferreira briefly toyed with: all 12 tracks on the record, in their own way, recreate the unabashed joy and nostalgic haze of her breakout single. The pop rock elasticity of the guitars and the broad stroke synthesizers set the stage perfectly for Ferreira’s teen idol subversion: at no point during the album’s lean 45 minute runtime does any instrument or chord progression feel out of place.

In her own way, Ferreira proves that pop star status doesn’t necessarily equate to vapidity or acquiescence. Night Time, My Time is the sort of album that the FM radio elite have been trying — and failing — to make for decades: catchy, fun escapism that doesn’t insult your intelligence.

Throwback: Outkast – Aquemini

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was more ambitious. Stankonia had better singles. ATLiens had better lyrics, and Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik began it all. But OutKast were never better than on their third studio record: a portmanteau of Big Boi and André 3000’s astrological signs (Aquarius and Gemini), Aquemini sees the duo at the top of their game as musicians and performers.

Though their differences would eventually lead to their breakup, the balance struck between Big Boi’s dynamic boasts and André 3000’s spitfire stanzas on Aquemini is striking. The pair turn on a dime from solemn observation to bombastic wordplay, sometimes within the same stanza. Their fast-paced Georgian twang contrasts beautifully with the LP’s molasses-thick instrumentation, which includes horns, low register bass and a rip roaring harmonica solo.

The album’s most popular single, “Rosa Parks,” from its civil rights refrain to its syncopated acoustic guitar beat, seems to single-handedly carve out a place for southern hip-hop. The seven minute horn-led “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” is loose and soulful, while the dual anecdotes on the “Da Art of Storytellin’ (Part 1)” are among some of the most poignant rhymes ever put to vinyl.

Each song has its own unique tone and message; at 74 minutes, a lesser album might have seemed bloated, but each cut on Aquemini feels necessary. The duo experiment, but never lose focus — maybe that’s just a side effect of their Yin and Yang relationship, Dre being the head-in-the-clouds creative and Big the frugal businessman.

The former tends to get the lion’s share of the praise, but OutKast was always a marriage of equals: their music remains the product of two brilliant minds working in sync in a way that calls to mind the greats: Lennon and McCartney, Strummer and Jones, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg.

Aquemini was the first southern hip hop record to get a five mics rating in The Source. In the nineties, the question on everyone’s mind was, east or west? The correct answer was Georgia, and OutKast were more than happy to let everyone know.

Word on the Street: Rob Ford

By

EIC

-

November 12, 2013

0

Clan drop three in a row

By

EIC

-

November 12, 2013

0

The SFU women’s volleyball team has had a rough go over the past two weeks losing their last three consecutive matches, dropping to 4–8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. However, their next win, should they find it this season, would mark their highest single-season win total since joining the conference in 2010.

SFU’s inaugural National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season in 2010 saw its volleyball team beat four conference competitors, and the past few years have seen even fewer wins, so this year’s squad has a chance to make history in the six remaining games of the 2013 campaign.

Two losses on the road did not help as the Clan fell 0–3 to Northwest Nazarene and 1–3 to Central Washington on a southbound road trip.

The ladies opened slow in the first set against NNU as a pressing Crusaders offence made passing difficult for the Clan’s defence, and an 11–4 run for the home side hindered the SFU’s attack. After dropping the first set 25–10, the women opened the second with more intensity, falling behind twice but tying the score at 10 and 15.

Unfortunately, the ladies couldn’t hold on to what momentum they had and dropped the second and third sets by scores of 25–17, losing to the third-place team in the conference for the second time this season. Junior Kelsey Robinson had seven kills on the night while setters Tamara Nipp and Brooklyn Gould-Bradbury each had ten assists.

In the second match of the weekend, the Clan showed better teamwork and pressure as they worked the CWU Wildcats, but ultimately lost in four sets.

After dropping the first 25–21, they won the second set with a nail-biter score of 26–24, pressing the home side relentlessly for the win. Difficulties converting on offence held the Clan back in the final two sets, though, as they would drop them 25–13 and 25–20 with the loss bringing their conference record to 4–8.

Robinson again led the team in kills with 19 on the night while freshman Devon May added 11 of her own. Alanna Chan had 28 digs in the loss while setters Gould-Bradbury and Nipp added 33 and 10 assists respectively.

With the loss the Clan have dropped to an even overall record of 9–9 (including non-conference play) and will be looking for their record breaking win in the final six matches of the 2013 season.

With no players graduating from this year’s squad, this season will likely be considered one of development. If they cannot convert on the remainder of the season, the experience gained in 2013 will be a great advantage for next year, as the team will return all of its starters for another year of improvement and growth in 2014 and beyond.

SFU wrestling start strong

By

EIC

-

November 12, 2013

0

As most of Clan team’s fall campaigns nears a close, the wrestling teams are just beginning their 2013-14 seasons, which run from early November until late March, with the men’s team being the final winter squad to begin competition for SFU.

Kicking off the season with a bang, the men’s and women’s teams hosted the SFU International tournament on Burnaby Mountain, an annual tournament featuring high-level competitors from across the USA and Canada. Clan athletes had the chance to wrestle many older athletes with international experience at the meet, as they hosted club and collegiate teams alike, starting their 2013-14 seasons with some tough competition.

“The SFU International is always great and brings excellent competition to our athletes,” said senior Justina DiStasio, who placed second in her weight class on the women’s side. “We have freshmen wrestling very experienced adults with years of international and collegiate competition under their belts which is a great learning experience for our teams as they develop.”

On the men’s side, Arjun Gill of Surrey, BC was victorious at 96-kg as he went undefeated in his first tournament of the year, wrestling in the open category. The tournament featured matches in both open and college weights, as Morgan Smith won the college 78-kg weight class and Ryan Yewchin won his match at the college weight of 100-kg. The junior wrestled eight matches in three different weight classes over the weekend placing second at 90-kg and fourth at 96-kg behind his teammate, Gill.

At 55-kg Sukhan Chahal and Skylor Davis placed second and third for the Clan while Dhillon Hume and Cody Coombes both had third place finishes at 61-kg and 78-kg respectively, resulting in many top finishes for the Clan in their first time hitting the mats in 2013.

The Clan women also had strong showings, wrestling in their third tournament of the season and first non-dual of 2013. Jenna McLatchy was the Clan’s sole victor on the weekend as the senior won the college weight of 82-kg besting the other five girls in the field. Fellow seniors Justina DiStasio and Nikkie Brar both had second place finishes in the open competitions 72-kg and 51-kg respectively. DiStasio suffered her first loss of the season after winning ten matches straight for the Clan side.

“It’s tough losing, but it helps you see where you need to improve,” explained the Burnaby native. “Even at our dual in Oklahoma where we struggled in the final a couple weekends ago; the losses showed us what we need to improve on for the remainder of the season to be just as successful as last year.”

The 2012-13 Clan women were Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) champions last season in both the team competition and dual championship and, despite losing four winning seniors from that campaign, the new talent in 2013-14 will be looking to equal or better those results.

Freshman Mallory Velte placed third out of 11 competitors at 59-kg at the SFU International, while Laura Anderson and Monika Podgorski had sixth place finishes at 55-kg and 67-kg to round out the Clan contingent.

Meanwhile, across the continent, Clan senior and internationally recognized American wrestler Helen Maroulis won her exhibition match against Venezuela’s Marcia Andrades, an opening match to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic. The WCWA champion and member of Team USA earned an 8–0 victory winning the match in a technical fall with 15 seconds remaining in the first period. She will rejoin the Clan’s schedule moving forward.

With winning results this early in the season, both Clan team’s will be fighting all winter long for wrestling supremacy as the women look to repeat as double national champions. The men will look to improve on their 2013 NCAA campaign which saw two wrestlers compete at their first ever NCAA Division II championships and junior Skylor Davis place third, earning All-American honours. Davis will look for another chance to compete at the championships, and with hard work and determination, the Clan will be able to send a larger contingent to the 2014 championships.

University Briefs

By

EIC

-

November 12, 2013

0

UBC student society refuses support for sexual assault counselling

UBC Commerce undergraduate members voted against providing $200,000 to expand sexual assault counselling and education for students last week. The society, which was at the centre of a pro-rape frosh chant earlier this semester, had already contributed $50,000 to the cause and pledged to contribute the remaining $200,000 after it was approved by a referendum. However, 70 per cent of members who participated voted not to contribute the remaining amount.

Robert Helsley, dean of the Sauder School of Business, told reporters on Monday that he was “deeply disappointed” to hear of the voting results. “I’m aware this will be very disappointing to our wider community,” said Helsley. “I’m not prepared to speculate on why the students chose not to support the referendum.”

With files from The Ubyssey

Making robots feel to heal patients

University of Saskatchewan professor Chris Zhang is building emotionally-savvy robots to help rehabilitate patients by analyzing them at home and directing them towards self-rehabilitation. The goal of the project is to design robots that can analyze human emotion, mimic, and respond so as to make the patient feel comfortable. This technology would be especially useful for those who live farther away from hospitals or who have mobility issues in getting to a hospital.

For Zhang, this technology is growing in importance as the advent of automation reduces the need for some human-to-human interaction. “This type of technology will be used in health care and medicine in the next 20 years,” Zhang told The Sheaf. “It is natural that the human will take emotion into account. Therefore, why should the machine be excluded from this emotional effect in cognition.”

With files from The Sheaf

Ryerson’s men’s hockey team suspended for drinking

Ryerson University has suspended its men’s hockey team after the student athletes were drinking on a trip to New Jersey in mid-October. The students violated the Ryerson student-athlete handbook, which stipulates that alcohol is prohibited on all road trips.

Director of athletics Ivan Joseph told The Eyeopener, “Long story short, they were in the hotel room, they were drinking alcohol, we did an orientation, they signed the paper, it’s not permitted, it’s not acceptable behaviour.”

As punishment, the team is facing a seven-day suspension, during which they will forfeit two games. The team is scheduled to return to play on Nov. 15. According Joseph, head coach Graham Wise has also been suspended for four games. Part-time assistant coach Lawrence Smith is also no longer with the team; however reasons for his departure have not been provided.

With files from The Eyeopener

Building families key to building self-esteem

By

EIC

-

November 11, 2013

0

More than 20 years ago, Naomi Wolf wrote The Beauty Myth, arguing that the main systemic barrier that women face today are the shackles of an unattainable and rigid idea of beauty, which keeps them oppressed — an “Iron Maiden,” perfect, thin, pretty. Today, in 2013, young girls are literally asking the internet whether or not they fit this ideal.

This recent horrifying trend sees pre-teen and teenaged girls, between nine and 14 years-old, taking to Youtube to ask strangers whether they’re “pretty or ugly.” I don’t think I have to tell you that these young girls’ videos are met with disgusting comments, either of a graphically sexual nature or that insult them in ways I could never imagine speaking to a stranger.

This isn’t an isolated trend nor is the internet the only medium through which this attitude is being perpetrated. I guarantee that most women have experienced an extension of this — in fact, I remember being as young as 11 when I first started having strange men comment on my appearance.

The internet acts as a platform making it frighteningly easy to anonymously communicate these attitudes — and frighteningly difficult for girls to get away from uncomfortable situations. The medium may be changing, but the problem remains the same: girls are learning very early on that their looks dictate their worth, and that they have no control over this. Rather, it is up to others to judge whether they’re “pretty” or “ugly,” and thus what they can contribute to society.

This situation cannot be solved by simply telling a girl that she’s beautiful or reminding her that, “pretty” or not, it’s her other qualities that will bring her happiness and success. This has been building and it’s only getting worse with the blurring of the line between public and private.

These ideas of “beauty,” of self-esteem, of external recognition are so embedded in our society, in our media, in our communication that I can’t fathom a pragmatic solution. But something needs to change in the environment that girls are growing up in.

I don’t want a world where my little sister and my future children are learning to measure their self-worth based on their looks, in which eating disorders seem like the only way to attain “beauty,” where 11 year olds are put into situations where they are desperately wondering if they’re worthy of praise from strangers hidden behind computer screens and usernames.

Supportive families is one major way to tackle this and other problems, something that is, unfortunately, not happening enough. We need more programs educating parents; parents need to know if their kids are involved in this kind of behaviour and how to address it. Many families also need to be supported with more financial benefits. Not enough money means that the parent(s) or caregiver(s) have to work more, meaning less opportunity to build and strengthen relationships of dialogue, trust, and support with their children.

Thanks for Family Day, Christy, but families are going to need more than one day a year. To mitigate the effects of what kids are exposed to, one needs a familial support system that, not only knows what’s going on in a kid’s life, but that has also built them up from infancy to know their worth and to know it’s impossible to find in the anonymous void of the internet.

We can’t stop the opposite from happening, but we can encourage families to teach their kids how to safely and critically approach the messages being thrown at them daily.

Arctic melt-down

By

EIC

-

November 11, 2013

0

On No. 1, 28 Greenpeace activists and two journalists were imprisoned in Russia. The “Arctic 30,” as many call them, were documenting and campaigning for a global sanctuary to protect our polar ice cap against Arctic oil drilling. The group — two of whom are Canadian — peacefully protested the Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform, the world’s first offshore Arctic oil platform.

The group was first detained on Sept. 18, on charges hugely disproportionate to their actions. At first they were tried for piracy, but this was later changed to hooliganism — action that could result in imprisonment for seven years.

The Arctic is an incredibly volatile place to drill for oil, due to its ever-shifting, poorly understood, and remote nature. If there is a spill, the likelihood of a proper cleanup is slim to none. Surrounded by oil disasters every day, is this worth the risk? We are travelling to the ends of the earth and destroying our already threatened ecosystems in the name of profit.

Needless to say, the oil that companies like Gazprom are looking to extract is the very reason that the pristine Arctic is at risk of drilling in the first place. It reflects a twisted and dark cycle of climate change and fossil-fuel addiction. The peaceful activists were held at gunpoint, sprayed with water in an Arctic environment, and are still being detained in Russia on disproportionate charges labelling them as dangerous and violent, all in response to peaceful protesting.

If we are capable of destroying this planet, we are capable of redesigning our energy reliance.

As oil and state become as coupled as salt and pepper, we risk the very foundations of democracy. Environmental justice is possible, but it is frowned upon. Unable to create change from within institutions of control, creative activism is necessary to draw attention to the peril our planet and our species are now facing.

I have never felt more fearful than when talking to friends and family about this, and hearing nothing but doubt and reservation about our ability to make the changes necessary for our children to live on this planet. If we are capable of destroying this planet, we are sure as hell capable of redesigning our energy reliance.

The notions of change begin and end at our ability to question where the power within our society is being held. Demanding transparency and radical change with our government is not a choice. I am paying Stephen Harper’s bills through my tax dollars — and today I am paying him to demand the release of the “Arctic 30” from illegal detainment. I am demanding for a shift away from oil and gas subsidies, and shaking the status-quo. We deserve better. The “Arctic 30” deserve freedom.

Stewing in public apathy, I am blown away by the idea that Canada will not fight for two of its own citizens to be released in the face of injustice. As the tar sands grow, and Canada reaches a fever-pitch of carbon emissions and human rights violations citizens have to wake from their stupor. We have an obligation to our loved ones and our future children to demand a green and peaceful world — a demand that starts with releasing the “Arctic 30” from Russian jail. We are accountable for the actions of our government, and we must hold our government accountable to us.

Where is justice? It is starting to look like it will just be us.

Innocent until proven guilty

By

EIC

-

November 11, 2013

0

The Senate scandal continues to be in Canadian news throughout the country. As of the publication of this piece, there has still not been any action taken against the three senators who stand accused of illegally claiming over a quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer money.

The big story of this whole scandal, though, is not the money nor the breach of public trust, but rather the alleged role of the prime minister in orchestrating it for political gain. Despite continual statements that he was unaware of the cheque cut by his then-Chief of Staff Nigel Wright and allegations from Mike Duffy claiming the involvement of Harper in the affair, the prime minister continues to be in the crosshairs of both the media and the opposition parties.

So why are we more willing to believe a disgraced senator over our own prime minister? Simply put, Canadians, even many Conservative voters, don’t like Stephen Harper. Polls often reflect Canadians polarized in loving or hating him; there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.

Those who can’t stand him want to believe that he has committed some wrongdoing, simply so we can have a new election or see his resignation, and be done with him.

Why are we more willing to believe a disgraced senator over our own prime minister?

Another reason Canadians are unwilling to accept Harper’s innocence has to do with the continuous allegations — many from opposition parties — that Harper maintains dictatorial control over the Conservative party and caucus.

Members of the party and caucus are, allegedly, unable to do anything without his knowledge or approval. If this is the case, then it would seem logical that he would be aware of a cheque written by his chief of staff. However, some blindsides in the past from MPs, including an attempt last year to reopen the abortion debate against his wishes, suggest he maintains less than this level of control.

Canadian media is also responsible for the view we have of our prime minister. I recall that after winning the last election, Harper was repeatedly asked if this meant that he would be repealing same-sex marriage, the right to abortion, and healthcare. This was asked despite Harper having stated several times that this would not be the case.

Despite the claims of media, Harper has not pushed a religious agenda on Canadians and hasn’t forced Christian ideals on the country. He has upheld laws that the majority of the country accepts, even if he does not personally believe in them.

Even though more Canadians are inclined to believe that Harper orchestrated this affair, we need to keep in mind that, like opposition senators claim about their troubled colleagues, he is innocent until proven guilty. Canadians may just have to face the fact that Stephen Harper may be a victim, betrayed by his chief of staff and by three senators that he appointed.

Haven away from home

By

EIC

-

November 11, 2013

0

Well folks, it’s mid-November and this is my second-to-last column, so I thought I’d make it an especially personal instalment. Here’s the story of how I discovered what is rapidly becoming my favourite place in the Vancouver area: MBC 2900, The Peak offices.

I moved to Vancouver for love. That’s not as romantic as it might sound. In fact, this move has been and continues to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m young, independent, and non-committal to a fault — leaving my life in Chicago to follow a guy to a foreign country was never a part of my plan.

He had been in Vancouver for a year before I decided to join him and, when I did make the decision, I made it suddenly and irresponsibly. I was tired of being cautious and afraid and, although I had no plan at all, I jumped into Vancouver.

Almost a year ago, I flew to the city jobless and permit-less. I moved into my boyfriend’s one bedroom apartment in Kits and the clock started ticking: technically, I was allowed to be in Canada as a visitor for six months.

November and December 2012 were miserable. I couldn’t work without a work permit; I couldn’t obtain a work permit without a job offer; I couldn’t get an interview without already having a work permit . . . it was a vicious cycle.

School seemed the perfect solution to my loneliness.

I started applying to graduate programs but my idleness was driving me insane. I had no friends and no real means of making friends. The weather was dismal, our apartment was tiny, I couldn’t figure out what I wanted. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I felt trapped and angry and terribly alone.

So, I left. It was a test for my relationship, but I needed to figure my shit out. I went home at Christmas and stayed home. I moved back into my parents’ house in Michigan and got a job as a receptionist at a real estate office. I thought I’d save some money until I could plan my next move. It was awful — I felt I had taken 10 steps backward. I felt like a failure.

Fortunately, I was accepted into SFU’s French MA program in mid-February and I made another rash decision: I said yes. I asked if I could start that summer and I bought a plane ticket back to Vancouver. I was hopeful. I had a goal; I had a reason to be here outside of my relationship, a reason that was my own. I was ready to meet new people and make new friends and school seemed the perfect solution to my loneliness.

My undergraduate degree is in French but it’s also in journalism. At Clubs Days, I saw The Peak’s table and jotted down my name on their mailing list. I began contributing pieces and, though I didn’t meet my editors face-to-face for a long while, I felt connected to them, connected to Simon Fraser, but most importantly, connected to something.

The Peak offices are almost impossible to find. Embedded in the parking garage, they are windowless and lit by unfriendly fluorescent lights — and it’s in this unlikely space that I found my home away from home.

Bear with me. This column isn’t an ode to The Peak: it’s a student organization with its flaws and weaknesses just like any other student organization.

But, it fits. For me, it fits. And those offices saved me, in a way. I’ve made friends. I’m able to work and create something each week alongside people that I relate to, people who challenge me. I feel growth, again. A space can be made beautiful; it can take the shape of a haven. It all depends on what you discover there.