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Fusion Kitchen employs immigrant women as teachers

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EIC
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By Esther Tung

Cooking class series created by SFU students seeks to help women develop job skills and share their recipes

Back home in Pakistan, Shahnaz Asfar had been running a kindergarten for students who came from low-income families for over five years.

Six months ago, she left the school in the hands of one of her trusted teachers, packed up her belongings, and moved to Vancouver to be closer to her two sons. Asfar had taught in Pakistan for over two decades, but her prior experience and certification were not recognized in Canada. Towards the end of her Early Childhood Education and Montessori courses, a friend who worked for Immigrant Services mentioned Fusion Kitchen to her, a new social start-up that was looking to employ immigrant women to teach cooking classes on their own culture’s cuisines.

“Fusion Kitchen is a platform for these women to develop transferable skills, self-confidence, and have an opportunity to gain Canadian work experience,” says Chantelle Buffie, co-founder of the venture.

The first class, which was held on May 4, was sold out with an attendance of about 18 people. Participants split up into smaller groups and learned the recipes under Asfar’s direction. “People really enjoyed learning how to cook from an actual person from the actual culture, rather than some professional chef,” says Buffie.

“I love cooking very much, and I wanted to share my recipes,” says Asfar, who is now 60 years old, adding that she enjoyed teaching kindergarteners as much as adult students in the class.

Buffie met Sonam Swarup through Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) SFU, a business club on campus with an entrepreneurial spirit. Both held executive positions on SIFE for the past year, but Fusion Kitchen is a separate project, brainstormed during a social entrepreneurship class. Picking the demographic to help was the difficult part. At first, they considered targeting immigrant women who had come from a past of domestic abuse, but then broadened their scope to include all immigrant women because of complications surrounding their women’s situations. Both Buffie and Swarup are first-generation Canadians, so immigrant women seemed like the natural choice.

The two women received $1,000 in start-up funds from SFU Beedie as part of a competition in the class, and also got a grant from Ashoka Youth Venture. Neither Buffie nor Swarup keep any money made from the class fees, which were $65 per person for Asfar’s class. Both students juggle this on top of work and their other extra-curricular activities.

Once the cooking classes finds steady legs, they would look into having external individuals to come in and teach certain skills to the women, such as the logistics of running a class, says Buffie. As one of their first teachers, Asfar will continue to act as a peer mentor to other women who will come to teach some of the classes.

“Come hungry, come curious”, advises Buffie on Fusion Kitchen classes in a blog post. Keep up-to-date on Fusion Kitchen’s next cooking class at http://thefusionkitchen.com.

Women’s Centre still needed to protect women’s rights

By
EIC
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By Marion Roberts

In response to the article on the nature of both women’s and men’s centres published in last weeks edition of The Peak, I appreciate the endeavor to appropriate points and discussion around multiple issues. However, some arguments could be seen as a bit out of context. For example, it was stated that women are more likely to make more money than men due to, as it was suggested, more females receiving undergraduate education than males. However, despite legal rights within the work force, women are still projected to make 70 per cent of a male’s wage.

The statement that on-campus women are “the furthest thing from marginalized” is also fallacious, as it measures whether a demographic receives prejudice by how much of the population it occupies. The point made is, “because there are more female undergraduate students, females must surely be free of marginalization.” This is hardly well founded evidence, as although women occupy a greater percentage of our population in general than males in Canada, if you simply look into an introductory sociology textbook here at SFU, women will still be classified socially as a marginalized group. That is because of discrimination that still occurs today, as measured by the Global Gender Gap Report in 2011. This report measured economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment disparities between genders. Canada ranks number 18 behind the U.S. and many European countries.

Academic journals, supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, have found that women on campuses are at greater risk of sexual assault than women in the general public. Within other reports is the reiteration of the need for education of the public on campuses about issues surrounding women and their vulnerabilities in our society as a gender and being a marginalized demographic.

The Women’s Centre is not about the “rejection of men”—there is a co-ed space, which exists as a place for students to sit down, and has a great collection of books about oppression issues. Half of the space is allocated as women-only because there are no other spaces on campus where a female can go and avoid being surrounded by the demographic they are most likely to be victimized by: males. This is not to blame or send hate towards males, but pragmatically women on campus may need that space where they can lock the door for safety reasons while studying.

Feminism is not solely about women. It is a discussion of sex and gender wherein issues of masculinities and femininities are brought up for males amongst males, males amongst females and vice versa.

Movie review: The Deep Blue Sea

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EIC
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By Will Ross

This 1952 stageplay crosses over to the reel for a second time, but with little interpretation on the filmmaker’s end

As do many plays on their way to the screen, The Deep Blue Sea would have worked better with a shake-up. At a story level, the film owes a debt to its playwright, perhaps to a fault. Even Terence Davies’s world-class direction doesn’t make filmic the talky, gut-spilling nakedness that surely hits harder coming live from flesh and blood on a stage.

Fortunately, with that directorial world-classery behind it, The Deep Blue Sea’s emotional nudity survives diminished, not crippled, but it’s only when Davies takes the material to places only cinema can go that it very nearly becomes a pretty important film.

The plot — insofar as it matters, for this is a story of disclosure, not turning points — concerns a woman in post-war London who cuckolds her loyal and affectionate but passionless husband, and leaves him and his wealth for a veteran pilot with whom she has fallen in desperate love. But no two parties want the same thing, and all three wrestle with the choice between solitary boredom and self-destructive devotion.

Perhaps Davies could have done with a little less devotion to playwright Terence Rattigan’s words, as The Deep Blue Sea feels like a film built around its source instead of into it. Davies’s eye for period visuals is unsurpassed, but too often his flowing, elliptical style feels locked into a lengthy dialogue exchange. When that style does emerge via a scene’s hazy chronology, or an aesthetically imposing shot, the Terence Davies that made Distant Voices, Still Lives comes into clear view, and the film is better for it.

This is not to say that the film is a brilliance-punctuated bore, as the cast makes the talking more than worth it. Rachel Weisz’s work as Hester is absorbingly frank and needy, and Tom Hiddleston projects self-righteousness with verve, and some unfortunate exaggeration. Best of all, Simon Russell Beale takes his cuckold’s noble weaknesses from disrepair to resolve with a grace that gives in his third-place screen time the first-place prize among the performances.

At the head of all this is an opening sequence that is confusing, and disorienting, and handily the best part of the film. The staging, cutting, and sound design of this sequence form a tour-de-force of craftsmanship; indeed, the first ten minutes are astounding enough to earn a price-of-admission-worthy moniker. It’s a bravura reminder of Davies’s true capabilities, but instead of settling for good melodrama, the rest of the film could have been an equally radical rethinking.

SFU provides four players for CFL draft

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EIC
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By Benedict Reiners

Eskimos, Stampeders, and Tiger-Cats all pick from SFU’s Clan

On Thursday, May 3, the Canadian Football League held its annual Canadian College Draft. This day was particularly important for four SFU students who were drafted by CFL teams, tying SFU with the University of Calgary as the university with the most contributions for the draft this year.

Historically this trend is hardly an anomaly, with SFU being the Canadian university to have the most players drafted by the CFL at 189. This includes Luca Congi of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Doug Brown, a defensive legend with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who retired this offseason. In addition, SFU also holds the record for providing the most players to be chosen in the first round, at 31.

Although no SFU student was taken in the first round this year, where linemen such as first overall pick Ben Heenan dominated the selections, Justin Capicciotti was the first SFU athlete selected. The Edmonton Eskimos chose Capicciotti, a defensive lineman for the Clan, in the second round.

Last season Capicciotte tallied 30 solo tackles in nine games with the clan, along with 36 assisted, as well as 10 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles. On special teams, he added a blocked kick.

In addition to Capicciotti, both offensive lineman, Bradley Erdos, and defensive back Adam Berger were both selected in the fourth round, 27th and 30th respectively. Erdos, slected by the Calgary Stampeders, played in all 10 games with the Clan. It is speculated that he will likely return to SFU next season to play in his senior year. The Calgary Stampeders also selected Berger, who played in nine games for SFU last season, while tallying 46 tackles and six for a loss, along with one sack. In addition to this, he led the team in interceptions with three, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

The final member of the Clan selected was running back Daronn “Bo” Palmer, who was taken by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the fifth round, 33rd overall. Palmer played in all 10 Clan games in 2011, with 1274 yards rushing, along with 8 touchdowns on the ground. In addition to this, he tallied 182 yards receiving.

Although no members of the Clan were selected in last year’s CFL draft, the results from this year make it clear that SFU is firmly on the radar of the scouts throughout Canada’s professional league.

SFU receives Fair Trade campus designation

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EIC
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By Kelly Thoreson

SFU becomes the second Canadian campus to receive official recognition from Fair Trade, after UBC

SFU’s decade-long struggle for formal commitment to providing Fair Trade products on campus has come to a close. On May 4, the university announced that it had been recognized as the second Fair Trade Campus in Canada, following UBC’s designation in May 2011.

Fair Trade is an internationally recognized organization that certifies products, such as coffee or chocolate, where producers receive fair compensation. The criteria required to become a Fair Trade campus includes serving only Fair Trade certified coffee at all vendors directly controlled by the university or student government; clearly marking all Fair Trade products at these locations; promoting Fair Trade; and maintaining a committee to enforce these standards.

The vendors who have agreed to adhere to these standards include all SFSS food and beverage operations — such as Higher Grounds, the Highland Pub, and the Ladle — as well as outsourced providers Chartwells, Triple O’s, and Renaissance Coffee. Tim Horton’s hasn’t agreed to commit to these requirements, but they have internal ethical purchasing policies of their own. Independent Cornerstone businesses aren’t required to adhere to these rules, but many of them offer Fair Trade products. Executive director of ancillary services Mark McLaughlin is motivated to continue with Fair Trade initiatives on campus, however. “We haven’t reached the finish line,” he said. “We’re just out of the starting gate, and just watch us. We’re really going to try and push hard on this.”

Outsourcing all of its food operations to third parties such as Chartwells, SFU faced challenges convincing vendors to switch to Fair Trade products. UBC, on the other hand, operates their own food programs. McLaughlin explained that SFU will help blaze a trail for universities across Canada in a way that UBC might not have, because the majority of institutions also outsource their food operations. Nezam Alavi, a former Engineers Without Borders member essential to reigniting the Fair Trade movement on campus, would like to see other universities follow the examples being set in BC. “With Vancouver being the first [major Canadian] Fair Trade city, and UBC being the first [Canadian] Fair Trade campus, SFU shows that the West Coast is really driven on these issues. I think it’s time for those on the east coast to show what they’ve got.”

The pivotal point for the student-led initiative for Fair Trade at SFU occurred in 2011 when President Andrew Petter held a “hallway chat” to discuss possible improvements to the university. The event was crashed by a group of student representatives from various campus groups dressed as superheroes demanding a commitment to Fair Trade products at SFU. Alavi argued that it was important for students to be leading these demands because they are the main consumers on campus. Jeff McCann, SFSS university relations officer and member of the Fair Trade Committee, agrees with the importance of student involvement and suggests that students follow the example set by the “Justice League” of superheroes. “Students should be empowered to make statements about things that they want changed about the campus community,” he said. “Vocalize that and get that in the hands of somebody who can make a difference.”

Search continues for WebCT replacement

By
EIC
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1

By Graham Cook

Project team releases report to guide the process on to the next phase

Following a consultation process which took place over much of the previous academic year by the WebCT Replacement Project team, the results have now been released. The report, titled “Principles and Needs to Inform the Determination of a LMS [Learning Management System] at SFU”, outlines what the group found to be needed in a replacement for the current system. The replacement process was prompted by Blackboard’s decision to phase out the program at the end of 2012 and is occurring across North America.

The report stated that 21,000 students used WebCT during the Spring 2011 semester. Of these students, over 6,600 of them, a number higher than anticipated, participated in a student survey that ran throughout January 2012. Also, an “admittedly limited” group of 16 students, ranging from first years to graduate students, took part in face-to-face consultations. Most of these 16 were described as stating that “WebCT is more difficult and cumbersome to use than they would like,” as well as pointing out that the system does not operate well on mobile devices.

The report deals extensively with assessing what the university needs in a new LMS. Quoting feedback from the consultation process, it states that “one size does not fit all when it comes to learning management systems. So we need to be able to customize our systems.” It concludes by emphasizing that, among other points, the new system must advance “learner-to-content, learner-to-learner, and learner-to expert teaching and learning.”

Mark Bachmann, communications officer at the Teaching and Learning Centre, spoke with The Peak about the recent release. He described the document as “a compilation of the responses we got from the students as well as faculty and staff,” with the overarching goal of receiving commentary from everybody involved in the academic community at SFU. Bachmann also added that the number one priority mentioned during the consultation process was flexibility. He credited this to the movement that has occurred from desktops to more mobile devices, adding that it is impossible to predict what will be in place three or five years in the future. Therefore, his position is that the new system must be able to address these changes.

The director of academic community engagement for this project, Martin Laba, also commented on the report. He described his role as being “front and centre on consultation, interpretation, and ultimately implementation of the needs and aspirations of those in the academic community throughout SFU.” Laba outlined the importance of an in-depth and comprehensive consultation process in getting a sense of what is important in the future of educational technology at the university. He also added that the new Learning Management System must be driven by the priorities of teaching and learning with a strong focus on participation and engagement. He explained that it should be more of a Learning and Management System with new enhancements to expand the student experience.

In addition to the two cornerstones mentioned by Bachmann and Laba — flexibility, and teaching and learning — the document also outlines three more principles. These include integration capability, ease of use, and portability. Further suggestions were echoed by third-year history major Keerth Kumanan, who shared with The Peak that while he was not aware and did not participate in the survey, he feels that “a secure and reliable system that can allow students to submit assignments online” should be implemented.

Bachmann also pointed out that WebCT will not simply be shut down at the end of 2012, but will instead continue to work with all courses and content still accessible. As far as an approximate date for the change to take place, he mentioned that at some point in 2013 the administration will begin phasing courses over. He continued to explain that rather than a mandatory process, it will be ongoing, and will most likely begin with new courses and instructors that request for their courses to be migrated.

The project will be moving on to the next phase, “selection and implementation planning,” for a new LMS in June 2012.

Mandatory gym class for computer science students under fire at BCIT

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EIC
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By Kevin Willemse

Students circulating a petition to end the weekly physical education requirement

BURNABY, B.C. (CUP) — Computer Science Technology (CST) students at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) are speaking out against a physical education component of their program, a requirement not asked of students in any other program at the institute. The unusual practice has some students complaining of discrimination.

Students enrolled in the CST program have to spend 45 minutes per week in the gym as part of their course, with little supervision or guidance, other than being expected to break enough of a sweat to convince the instructor to sign an attendance and participation sheet.

“It’s ridiculous,” said BCIT Student Association of School of Computing and Academic Studies chair Marwan Marwan. “We’re adults, we should be given the option of how best to look after our health and spend our time [at BCIT]. We’re being lined up like schoolchildren with a piece of paper for our instructor to sign, so that we can be let out of [gym] class.”

CST students can be held back from course graduation if their sheets are not signed off on by the end of the semester. For this reason, attendance is high, though it has been reported that many students simply find a quiet spot to stay out of sight and catch up on schoolwork until handing their sheets in for signing.

“This sometimes forces students to lie to their instructors [about exercising] because they know they simply have more important things to do,” said Marwan.

Some students have said that their biggest concern is a feeling of discrimination caused by the mandatory nature of the course, which has led to a petition to abolish it from the CST program. Alex Lee, who acts as the BCIT Student Association’s School of Computing councillor, believes that enforcing the class as a CST prerequisite is simply unfair.

“We feel that it’s really important to bring fairness and equality across the board for all BCIT students, but currently that’s not happening because we are forced to have mandatory gym,” Lee told The Link. “It’s something that’s not forced upon anyone else.”

Marwan and Lee agreed that the practice of isolating CST students for physical education is based on stereotypes. They said that if it was in the best interests of students, those studying finance, business, or even the natural sciences could be similarly characterized as leading the sedentary lifestyle associated with information technology professionals.

“The idea actually came from [the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology] a few years back, where it was very well received,” says Brian Pidcock, the associate dean of CST.

According to Lee and Marwan, 90 per cent of petitioned students have signed against the class.

“The course will come under review at our upcoming executive meeting . . . and this would probably be considered a minor change,” Pidcock told The Link.

“CST students feel they should participate in physical activity on their own terms and in their own time, since that’s the respect and courtesy given to students in all other BCIT faculties,” said Lee.

SFSS staff member resigns

By
EIC
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By David Dyck

After 32 years, Hattie Aitken leaves the society

After over 30 years of working with the Simon Fraser Student Society, policy and university relations coordinator Hattie Aitken has resigned from her position. “I have worked for the society for 32 years, and made the decision in the last few weeks that I would be leaving work. My last day of work is actually tomorrow,” said Aitken at the end of last week’s board meeting.

“Thirty-two years is a long time having invested in this society. I really enjoyed working with students, I’ve enjoyed working with boards, and I appreciate that every board who comes to office comes with fresh ideas and lots of energy, and I hope that this board has a really good year,” she added.

Aitken was the subject of controversy in 2006, when the board of directors at the time attempted to fire Aitken on allegations of insubordination and breach of confidentiality. At the time, she had the title of graduate issues and university relations coordinator. Her dismissal “triggered months of scandal, conflict, and eventual impeachment within the SFSS,” according to a Peak reporter at the time. There were seven board members impeached in the fallout from this action, and Aitken was reinstated several months later. The details surrounding this incident remain confidential.

“Hattie has been a large part of the society for over 30 years, and she’s shown a lot of dedication to her role and to students,” said SFSS president Lorenz Yeung. “We’re sorry to see her go.”

McCann leaves controversial year behind

By
EIC
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0

By David Dyck

Outgoing SFSS president speaks with The Peak about the lockout, the CFS settlement, and more

At the beginning of this month, after completing his term as president of the Simon Fraser Student Society in one of the most controversial years in SFSS history, Jeff McCann has left the presidency to take the position of university relations officer in the upcoming term. Under the McCann administration, the society locked out staff, negotiated a new collective agreement, increased library hours, settled the CFS dispute, and set aside $30,000 to put towards a men’s centre. He sat down with The Peak to discuss these things and more.

 

On the past year:

I had a lot of fun. I learned more this year than I had learned in my entire life combined. Not many 23-year-olds bargain collective agreements, or multimillion-dollar lawsuits, or buildings, or anything. For the next 20 years I’m going to work in a cubicle and it’s going to suck. I’m going to have no authority. I’m going to be told what to do. But for this past year, we accomplished a lot, and I was challenged.

 

On being a student politician:

It’s impossible; you can’t be a student. It’s ironic. The way I’ve found to look at it is like a co-op term . . . If you’re a business student and you become president of the student society, you want to talk about learning about business really quick? If you’re a communications major and you become president of the student society, you want to talk about learning to communicate?

It’s almost like when your parents give you a goldfish to teach you how to own a dog, the student society gives you that crash course in life. I don’t care what your GPA is — mine’s okay — because the theory that you have means nothing if you can’t actually apply it.

 

On the lockout:

I think we knew bargaining wasn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t say we saw the lockout coming because everyone had to vote on it. Did I know as president that if we didn’t get anywhere in bargaining, that was an option? Absolutely. We put proposals on the table that we thought they would go for, even during the lockout, and nothing. Status quo was not an option. They would come back to us with either status quo or status quo plus.

I challenge any single individual who disagreed with the lockout to come to me and bargain the collective agreement. I will sit in convo mall and bargain the collective agreement with anyone who would like to show up and they can tell me the answer. I would love it for them to balance my budget.

 

On the CFS settlement:

We had the mandate [from the 2008 referendum] to get out. We got out.

I guess all it comes down to in the end is that you elect people to make decisions on your behalf. I got elected, Jordan got elected, and the rest of the board got elected. We made a decision that we thought was best for students, the board ratified it; all elected people. You have to trust in the abilities of those you elect, right? If you don’t like that, then run for election.

 

On consultations:

I never felt like the victim this year. Everyone else tried to say they were the victim, poor us. Well, take some responsibility. You want to be involved? Come be involved. I’m not closing the door on anybody. You want information? Here.

 

On the structure of the board:

I think we need to reform the board. I think we need a bigger executive, and this isn’t a new conversation, don’t be alarmed: eliminate faculty reps. . . . Either increase the hours for faculty reps, or make the exec larger, make it like eight or nine people, and then eliminate faculty reps. Then use the structure within forum to represent that faculty rep voice, because it’s redundant . . . that’s where you’d have to figure out a way to give forum a little bit of power.

I think forum has a great role, they have their ear to the ground, they know what’s going on . . . They know what’s going on on their level as a student, and that’s why it’s great feedback, but they don’t know what’s going on on a board level.

 

On BuildSFU:

I think a student union building is huge for campus community . . . my first semester at SFU was the most depressing of my life. That’s why I started playing football again, and that’s why I ran for the board.

People want to get brought in, and I respect that. Well, Mark and me work every day from 8 or 9 a.m. to about 11:30 p.m., so I’ll see you at nine, and don’t have dinner plans. Then they’d come for an hour, and wonder why they weren’t brought in. People think that what we created, they could have done with a blindfold on walking backwards, well I’m sorry but I doubt it.

 

On library hours:

I know that I’ve been herded out of the library, but we weren’t sure how to go about it. And this is where the left wing people get it wrong. The left wing people would have had a sit in, or a march for library hours. They would try to shame the library into doing something. Instead I talked to some people from the university who I have relationships with . . . Mark and I go in all amped up, prepared to argue our point, and they said, “This is a really great idea. I’m glad you asked us to talk about this.”

The university isn’t a big bad thing, they want to help students, they just don’t always know how.

Environment important in prevention of childhood disabilities: study

By
EIC
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0

By Graham Cook

Award-winning SFU researcher looks into the importance of the environment when considering children’s health

Bruce Lanphear, a professor and researcher in the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU, has co-authored a paper in the Future of Children journal which asserts that the elimination of risk factors in a child’s environment should take priority over the development of medicines. Lanphear co-authored the work with Stephen Rauch, a data analyst at the Child & Family Research Institute in Vancouver.

The paper, “Prevention of Disability in Children: Elevating the Role of Environment,” was published in May 2012 and compares trends in disabilities in children such as asthma, behavioural problems, and obesity to the emergence of chronic disease in adults, and contrasts those with traditional childhood infections such as polio or measles. Bruce Lanphear spoke with The Peak and shared his opinion that too much emphasis has been put on treatment of such problems and not enough attention has been given to prevention. He blamed this in part on the prevalence of the medical model, wherein medical issues are treated for profit.

Lanphear also asserted that those ailments with a proven or emerging link to environmental risk factors should be dealt with using a prevention model. Such factors include, but are not limited to, environmental toxicants, social inequities, injury risk factors, marketing to children, unsafe housing, and air pollution.

As an example, Bruce Lanphear pointed to the poorer neighbourhoods of Vancouver which generally have higher levels of traffic and, therefore, higher levels of pollutants. In addition, they contain older housing that may not be maintained properly as well as social issues such as violence and lack of access to recreational areas.

Lanphear won the 2011 Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy following his extensive work in exposing the risks that lead poses to humans. He is the 17th winner of this award and the first from the Faculty of Health Sciences who was involved in studies that showed there is no safe level of lead for children.

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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