What Grinds Our Gears: In-person summer convocations

-

May 13, 2022

Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence (2022)

Grey banner with red circle in the middle holds the protagonists of these films — Add these independent documentaries onto your summer watch list. Image courtesy of DOXA documentary film festival.

By: Isabella Urbani, Staff Writer

It’s that time of the year again school is out for summer and the DOXA film festival is back! DOXA is a “Vancouver based non-profit charitable society” which prides itself on showcasing independent films. Many of the films center around resilience and overcoming personal obstacles in politically challenging environments.

After two years of online-only programming, films are being screened through a hybrid model for this year’s 21st annual DOXA festival from May 5–15. In-person films are available at the following locations: The Vancouver Playhouse, The Cinematheque, the Vancouver International Film Festival Centre, and SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

Seniors, low income individuals, and students that present ID receive a $2 discount on tickets for in-person and online showings. Masks are mandatory and available at the in-person screenings. Online viewers are geo-blocked to Canada and have access to watch their selected film once within 48 hours of pressing play.

Here’s our must-watch documentaries from this year’s festival.

Elderly Indigenous Matriach of Sinixt Nation pictured amidst the shaded forest on a sunny day — Sinixt Nation Matriarch Marilyn James / Photo Credit: Louis Bockner

Length: 98 minutes

Watch the world-premiere of a documentary that took 27 years to make.The documentary centers the Sinixt Nation from the Arrow Lakes region, referred colonially as British Columbia. Filmmaker Ali Kazimi has been invited and immersed in the autonomous Sinixt Nation’s community building practices and their fight to gain recognition from the Canadian government since 1995. The documentary reveals that the Canadian government continues to declare them as extinct. Known for presenting “work that deals with race, social justice, history and memory,” Kazimi’s new release is guaranteed to hold power.

Metok (2021)

face and shoulders of a woman with a shaved head — Metok / Photo Credit: Titolo

Length: 66 minutes

Unpack the journey of a Tibetan Buddhist nun living in India who has to return home to help assist her mother with a local birth. Metok embarks “through an achingly beautiful landscape,” but tense geopolitical environment to reunite with her family and grapple with the emotions that follow.

You can watch the trailer for this piece here.

We Don’t Dance for Nothing (2022)

Two Asian women dancing on the beach together in summer clothing — Still from “We Don’t Dance for Nothing” / Photo Courtesy of DOXA

Length: 86 minutes

Follow one domestic worker’s yearning to strive for “independence, love, and motherhood” during the 2019 Hong Kong Protests. Described as a “photo-montage love letter to Fillipina domestic workers of Hong Kong,” We Don’t Dance for Nothing touches on the struggle of workers’ rights, a “changing political landscape,” and the joy that dance can bring even in turbulent times.

You can watch the trailer for this piece here.

Sirens (2022)

Two women dressed in all-black play electric guitars in the midst of tall grass — Still from “Sirens” / Photo Credit: Rita Baghdadi

Length: 78 minutes

Witness the journey of an outspoken, queer, women Lebanese death-metal band. Their two members, Lilas and Shery, deal with “mounting personal tension” while their band is on the “verge of success.” Sirens follows the duo’s “ups and downs, both personal and musical,” with a front row seat to the inner workings of their lives and relationship.

You can watch the trailer for this piece here.

For more information on DOXA 2022 programming and to purchase tickets for both in-person and online screenings, check out their website.

SFU Audain Gallery presents “Collecting Plum Blossoms,” a dazzling graduate-class student exhibition

By

-

May 12, 2022

A person leans over to adjust a sculpture featuring a sewing machine — Photo Credit: Paige Smith

Editor’s Note: A previous version failed to accredit the photographer of the published images. This has been updated to give Paige Smith full credit for all images used in the article. A previous version stated, “Sofia Grace titled I Leave You With All of Me, To You. It implemented wood, gesso, and acrylic paint,” implying these pieces were not separate. This is incorrect and has been updated to reflect that the piece being described was titled To You and its materials were mixed media. A previous version writes, “The aspect of technology in art is shown through Lin’s attempts to experiment with the inputs and outputs of the camera feed and the microphone.” This is incorrect and has been updated to reflect that this artwork does not include a camera feed and there was no camera involved in the production nor installation of this work.

By: Nercya Kalino, Staff Writer

“Collecting Plum Blossoms,” the 2022 exhibition of student works displayed at SFU Audain Gallery from April 14–23 portrayed an intriguing approach to art and the future. The title of the exhibition was inspired by a 2021 artwork by Sahar Rahmanian and symbolizes students’ hopes for the future. The exhibition showcased various works from 13 graduating artists from SFU’s fine arts program. According to the SFU School for the Contemporary Arts Instagram post, “plum blossoms become a metaphor for the way disparate pieces can come together.” It writes about the special collectivity of showcasing with other artists and the “sense of futurity” that comes from graduation. Artists chose unique choices of materials and mediums to create their works.

Before “Collecting Plum Blossoms,” I had only been to one other exhibition, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was wonderful to see several works expressing experiences of vulnerability. Each of the stories narrated reflections of the world. The first work I came across was by Sofia Grace titled To You, a mixed media piece.

To You by Sofia Grace / Photo Credit: Paige Smith

The arrangement of the pieces resembled an author’s messy desk accompanied by a memory wall with intimate letter exchanges between strangers. For the project, Grace mailed hand-written cards “proposing friendship” to use for the exhibition. The letters appeared to elevate what was described by the gallery brochure as an “experimental gesture that looks to generate new connections through invitation.” Grace used the exchanges and contributions of letters she received to relate the meaning of her work to items within the art piece. The mixed media piece focused “on the idea of the pen pal” in order to convey this sense of vulnerability, as explained by the brochure.

Revealing Hidden Memories by Ravneet Kaur Sidhu / Photo Credit: Paige Smith

Ravneet Kaur Sidhu’s work definitely brought childhood memories and feelings to the surface. Her art piece, Revealing Hidden Memories, stuck out to me. The wood, metal, and paper materials she used for the piece were items I played with as a child. The artist tied together the domestic and cultural relationships in her life in this piece. There was also an element of soundscape that complemented the pictures. The biggest piece — the wooden picture frame — had multiple pictures of family members in it. The photos had a tan filter layered on top with a newspaper background as the frame. Seeing this work, I reminisced about the smell of old newspapers or moments when all of our relatives gathered at the grandparents’ house with so much food and lively chatter. The dialogues of a festival celebration in a household within the background brought life to these memories. According to the exhibit pamphlet, Sidhu’s approach was to emphasize “sentimentality” and “the gaps between traditional and modern relations in her community.”

Reformation by Shinaaz K. Johal / Photo Credit: Paige Smith

Another work that I particularly appreciated was Shinaaz K. Johal’s Reformation. This textiles piece was one I connected with on a deeper level — fabric and texture are an immense identification of culture (or BIPOC communities, myself included). The artist collected the fabrics used on the large canvas from woman family members. What impressed me was the abstraction of the piece: it reminded me of the birthing organ. The colour coordination and the textures of chiffon, silk, and velvet gave it life. I think the textures worked in parallel with the themes the artist tackled. According to the exhibit pamphlet, these themes were “Indian culture, empowerment, internal conflict, and the body.” As someone who is drawn to abstract works, I was immediately enticed by the artistic elements of the piece including the materials themselves and the intentional arrangement of the fabric.

HUES (Highlighting Ubiquitous Emitted Sounds) by Daniel Lin / Photo Credit: Paige Smith

HUES (Highlighting Ubiquitous Emitted Sounds) by Daniel Lin was a piece that used a microphone and a projection — a work that used colour and sound to show new ways of expressing art. The piece responded to sounds that the viewers made. It was not marbled colours, but rather a portrait of colours in constant movement to the sounds, glowing and meandering into and out of each other. The colour emission was vivid in a way that did not take away from the movements; it was more like a lulling emission. The aspect of technology in art is shown through Lin’s attempts to experiment with the inputs and outputs of the projection and the microphone. It was quite impressive that he was able to tie it all together to show the possibility of going beyond the boundaries of medium functionality.

The other works exhibited at the Audain explored the idea of identity and the public in contemporary spaces. Through observing these works, I learned more about the innovative forms and executions of art in modern society. The exhibit encompassed broadened forms of media as tools to spark new ways of contemplating identities.

To learn more about and view some of the pieces that were on display, follow the exhibit Instagram page and SFU School for Contemporary Arts Instagram page.

Peace Country gives city dwellers insight into climate change realities faced by northern BC’s small towns

By

-

May 12, 2022

Five young-adult friends sit around a small outdoor table with beers and playing cards in hand — Cast of Peace Country photographed by Sewari Campillo Photography (left to right): Sofía Rodríguez, Montserrat Videla, Sara Vickruck, Kaitlyn Yott, Garvin Chan

By: Jocelyn Stevens, SFU student

As a former northern BC small-town habitant, I was intrigued by the concept of Peace Country and pleasantly surprised at the emotional impact and relatability of the play. Written and directed by SFU alumnus Pedro Chamale, Peace Country expresses the clash of narratives he encountered from being born and raised in Chetwynd, BC. The play was a Rice and Beans Theatre production and was presented by the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts from April 27–30. I was thoroughly amazed at how well the play portrayed northern BC and the challenges that come with living there.

Chamale was inspired by reflections on his youth and his family’s experiences in the Peace Region as Latinx people. Pushing for sociopolitical change, the play follows five friends and their growth in the Peace Region. Peace Country brings up the challenges that come with trying to make it in a small town, from being belittled by urban Canadian cities to trying to make ends meet, all in the midst of a changing climate.

I was glad to see a meaningful land acknowledgement and welcome done by Quelemia Sparrow before beginning the play. Along with this, the performers and stories represented a wide range of marginalized communities — such as queer and BIPOC folks. The play centres on the lives of two sisters (Sofía Rodríguez and Montserrat Videla) and their friends (Sara Vickruck, Garvin Chan, and Kaitlyn Yott). In spite of their differences, the five friends become close and endure hardships together such as loss, racism, and homophobia. The play flashes back between the past and present where they find themselves having to navigate the return of one of their friends, now a newly elected MP of a green party.

The play touched on some of the hard realities many people face. Some examples of these include: local coffee shops unable to stay open with big-name brands taking customers, sudden increases and decreases in population due to the pipeline, and Indigenous communities still not being included in conversations around environmental change.

During my interview with Chamale, I asked him what ultimately led him to create Peace Country. He realized that the catastrophic effects of climate change were already happening in northern BC at a much greater scale than in urban centres.

“I started researching climate change and the climate crisis that we’re in right now [ . . . ] and then realizing that a lot of my friends and family are dependent on those resource industries,” said Chamale. “We, the world, need everything to change so that we can stop this climate crisis or try to mitigate it if we’re not already too far.”

When asked about the conflict between climate emergency and jobs in northern BC, Chamale discussed the need for sustainable solutions that take care of people in the industries up north as well.

“It’s the larger corporations that have not cared for people because of capitalistic profits and the capitalism we live in.” He continued, “We are subject to that system and so how do we talk across these differences that are just radicalizing so many people?”

Peace Country captured what seemed like positive and innocent moments as children growing up with friends, going back and forth between past and present, which left me curious about what kind of scene was coming next. The transition between scenes starkly contrasted this positive energy with eerie and heavy breathing — as if to make the audience members uncomfortable. I saw the contrast between scenes and transitions as the simultaneity of everyday life and the climate crisis.

I was emotionally struck by the personal stories of the characters, especially the solo monologue by Melissa (Sara Vickruck), where they spoke on the hardships of being the only openly queer person in a small town. They touched on the loneliness and lack of support available to LGBTQ2S+ people coming into their identities. This resonated with me and my friends because we left our small town due to the same struggles and ultimately found acceptance in urban cities.

Chamale hopes audience members will feel inspired to pursue political action such as writing to their members of parliament or attending rallies.

“Ask for these just transitions, ask for actual courage in our politicians to make actual change.” He added, “Provide for the people who need to switch out of those industries, not just drop them like dead weight.”

This play was supported by Playwrights Theatre Centre and PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. To find out more about Peace Country presented by Rice and Beans Theatre, check out their Instagram or website. To keep up on Pedro Chamale’s work, follow him on Instagram.

Food for Thought: Menemen

By

-

May 12, 2022

Skillet of menemen atop a table with a green and white checkered tablecloth — Make menemen for your next meal! Photo courtesy of Vedat Zorluer / Pixabay

By: Yasmin Vejs Simsek, Staff Writer

Are you desperately looking for new recipes that are easy to make and budget-friendly? Are you sick to your stomach of instant ramen 5–7 days a week? Would you like to add a hearty, healthy, and delicious meal to your repertoire? Then I want to introduce you to menemen, the Turkish breakfast dish which is just as perfect for lunch as it is for dinner. Originating from the Menemen area close to Izmir in Western Turkey, it shares a lot of similarities with the well-known shakshuka, another popular dish in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The best thing about making this dish is that you can customize your ingredients: you are the master of what goes in your menemen.

This dish reminds me of the summer holidays in my family’s hometown of Kayseri, Turkey. More often than not, we would be in 40 ℃ heat, sleeping in late, and waking up to the smell of my babaanne’s menemen. In my family, we would add a popular Turkish sausage called sucuk, an amazing garlicky beef sausage which adds a wonderful depth. It is not easy to find in Vancouver, but Mediterranean Specialty Foods on Commercial Drive sells them. Other meats typically used for breakfast dishes are a fine replacement. What makes my grandmother’s cooking unique is her love for sucuk and her generosity with olive oil — the house would frequently be immersed in cozy aromas of garlic. Sitting in my PJs at the table with the whole family gathered around it, we would dig into the feta, olives, and most importantly, the menemen.

The main ingredients needed for this recipe are peppers, tomatoes, and eggs. There are huge debates on the addition of onion, with a 51/49 split on the matter. I belong to the “onion and garlic in everything” team, so I always add both to my menemen.

The great thing about this dish is how customizable it is. You can easily make it vegetarian or vegan; simply withhold the eggs and sausage and let the vegetables speak for themselves. Similarly, you can just add whatever you have at home or substitute fresh tomatoes with canned tomatoes for a cheaper meal. Bread goes perfectly with menemen, but for fewer carbohydrates, it can easily be enjoyed on its own. In Turkey, it would be served with the basic and inexpensive Turkish bread called somun ekmek. You can buy somun ekmek in literally every store there and it’s the perfect bread for soaking up the delicious, tomato-based sauce. I like to show off by poaching my eggs in the sauce, but traditionally it is scrambled into the mix.

Here is how I make menemen for 3–4 portions/people, so you can be sure to have leftovers the next day.

Ingredients:

6–8 fresh tomatoes or 1 jar of canned tomatoes
1–2 peppers (traditionally green capsicum pepper, but I use red/orange bell pepper)
1 onion (white, but again, use what your fridge has to offer)
Garlic (an optional amount, I shamelessly go with 3–4 cloves)
4 eggs (if scrambled, otherwise as many as will be eaten when served)
Preferred meat (pork will make it much less Turkish, but you’re the boss)
Butter or oil to fry (more is always better)
Spices (such as paprika, black pepper, herbs)

Instructions:

Heat up a pan with oil or butter on medium heat and dice your onion to preferred size. Add them to the pan.
Add your crushed or finely chopped garlic when the onions have started to soften.
Meanwhile, cut pepper in squares and roughly chop the tomatoes. They will soften during cooking.
After 5 minutes on the pan, add pepper and meat to the onion and garlic.
After another few minutes, add the tomatoes and spices — again, you’re the boss, add some chili flakes if you’re feeling spicy.
Turn the heat down to low-medium, and let it simmer with a lid on for 10–15 minutes.
When the tomatoes are basically dissolved and the dish has turned appropriately saucy, add the eggs. If scrambled, scramble them in the mixture till it reaches the preferred texture. If poaching, crack the eggs evenly around the pan and put the lid back on. Let it cook for 6-7 minutes or until the whites have hardened.
Sprinkle a little salt on top and serve in the pan for the most authentic presentation.

Afiyet Olsun (Enjoy your meal)

Incoming SFSS president Helen Sofia Pahou discusses plans for the upcoming year

By

News

-

May 11, 2022

By: Jaymee Salisi, Promotions Coordinator

With hopes to ease student hardships, Helen Sofia Pahou is prepared to begin her term as president of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS). Pahou spoke with The Peak about her plans of action for the 2022/23 year.

As president, Pahou aims to ensure clearer communication and collaboration within the SFSS. She hopes this will benefit students by increasing their access to opportunities and resources.

Pahou plans to begin her term by “bringing events back to campus for SFU students to enjoy.” She said this would look like organizing town halls, educating students on Studentcare coverage, and encouraging clubs and departmental student unions to use the facilities in the Student Union Building (SUB).

In regards to these new events, Pahou did not specify COVID-19 guidelines. However, Pahou discussed her plans to deal with campus concerns regarding COVID-19. “The SFSS is inclined to follow protocols and good practices recommended by the BC provincial government and their current province-wide restrictions.”

The SFSS plans to continue circulating recommendations throughout the SUB on wearing masks in public spaces, washing hands, and wiping down high contact surfaces.

Pahou noted they will continue to make spaces with cleaner air circulation accessible to students as the pandemic continues. She mentioned the spaces in the SUB’s 1000 level are equipped with HEPA filters.

Additionally, she hopes to work alongside the SFSS Women’s Centre to increase and amplify safe spaces for women and the LGBTQIA2S+ community on campus. She explained being a woman in a leadership role inclines her to empower women, as well as educate the SFU community on sexual violence and prevention.

“Amplifying sexual violence prevention training to student leaders, and creating more dialogue on the realities of sexual violence on campus, will be a key project going into this year,” Pahou said.

To do this, she plans to collaborate with SFU’s Active Bystander Network and SFU’s Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office. Both groups offer the opportunity for SFU students and employees to be educated on and receive support for sexual violence.

Pahou said she is “inclined to uphold the work, initiatives, and policies that have already been put in place to support students a part of marginalized communities.” She added, “Consultation with these communities, and holding ourselves accountable to serving these communities, will also be a key part of our role while forwarding initiatives and surveys centered on amplifying their needs.”

To make her leadership services more accessible to students, Pahou said her plan is “to offer in-person and online office hours a few times per week for students to say hello, create new points of connection, and speak to [her] about whatever concerns they may have.”

She aims to increase accessibility and engagement by frequently having members of the SFSS executive available to student members in Convocation Mall on the Burnaby campus. Pahou believes this will allow herself and her team to make better connections with students and answer their questions.

Pahou said she is experienced in the functions of student politics and leadership as a result of her previous roles as SFSS vice-chair of council, SFSS councillor for political science, and SFU undergraduate senator for the faculty of arts and social sciences. During her time serving in the Senate, she was involved in sub-committees including the Senate Committee on University Priorities and the Senate Committee on International Activities.

Since the SUB’s soft-opening in August 2021, the building has not been fully operational. Pahou said as the SFSS re-introduces more in-person activities, she expects there to be a “learning curve” in engagement and event planning upon the building’s grand opening.

However, she said she feels “very lucky to be working with a fantastic staff, and an eager team of vice presidents ready to help us overcome all these new challenges.”

Students interested in getting in touch with Pahou can email her at [email protected].

Political Corner: The best strategy for fighting climate misinformation is pointing to the world around you

By

-

May 10, 2022

picture of a climate rally framed around a sign that reads “fight today for a better tomorrow” — Climate change predictions are being fulfilled before our eyes. Photo: Kira Schwartz / Pexels

By Olivia Visser, Staff Writer

Climate change is real, imminent, and one of the biggest disasters facing humanity. More than sixty years of scientific research has led to the conclusion that humans must act quickly to prevent a global ecological and humanitarian crisis. Sadly, misinformation and disinformation still run rampant in conversations about the threat of climate change. An explosion of fake news on social media has only increased the level and accessibility of misinformation. By pointing out climate change has moved beyond a prediction to a reality negatively affecting billions, we can start to effectively push back against that misinformation.

It’s important to identify the drivers of climate change denial. Not everyone who shares misinformation does so out of malice — some people are genuinely uninformed. On the other hand, those who spread disinformation deliberately attempt to misinform people. You should not count on changing the minds of people who are caught up in disinformation, because they aim to reject evidence that opposes their existing beliefs. From my personal experience, those who are genuinely uninformed benefit the most from exposure to evidence. Emphasizing the massive consensus on human-driven climate change in the scientific literature is important. But it’s through examples like increasingly frequent heat waves and floods that we start to paint a humanitarian crisis.

The unprecedented North American heat wave of 2021 was made possible because of increased temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions. At least 595 lives were lost in BC alone to heat-related deaths. During this heat dome, the town of Lytton suffered devastating damage from a wildfire that displaced over 1,000 people and destroyed infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in Abbotsford, we can point to the 2021 “atmospheric river” that caused 15,000 people to evacuate and $450 million in damages. It’s the kind of eye-catching event that can be used to underline how extreme weather events are increasingly severe in a changing climate. It’s also a personal reminder of the human cost of climate change. Lives and small businesses were upended. The examples don’t stop there. The federal government published a handy list of 10 extreme weather events from 2021, including expanded wildfire seasons and unprecedented hurricanes.

I believe much of our futures will be spent suffering through the consequences of ignoring climate change. These natural disasters are not isolated events, but an increasing reality that is catastrophically changing life on earth. Their unprecedented nature makes it particularly poignant as a potential tool to convince climate deniers of a shift in their environment.

Climate predictions encourage people to act with their futures in mind, but catastrophes are already being realized. We must remind misinformed people of the existing and worsening humanitarian crisis that is climate change. If you care about people then you should care about the climate, because humans will continue to suffer exponentially if the issue remains unaddressed.

Brave new-ish world: Want to prepare students for the real world? Permanently hybridize classes

By

-

May 10, 2022

University classroom filled with students — A hybrid system represents the best of both worlds. Photo: Dom Hou / Unsplash

By Michael Le, SFU Student

Over the last two years, we’ve learned to work in a whole new way. As of 2021, 66% of business leaders have cleared out space for a hybrid model going forward. With the popular trend seemingly here to stay, it only makes sense that SFU adapts a hybrid model to best prepare its students for the new job market.

While it’s been a challenge to adapt to, we’ve all felt the benefits of a hybrid system over the course of the pandemic. According to the consulting firm McKinsey & Co, over half of the surveyed workforce prefers hybrid because of its flexibility. As a student, I’ve felt the same way. Not only are we gaining more time from a reduced commute, but we’re also able to work from anywhere. As an accounting intern myself, being able to take naps in between breaks was a godsend. A hybrid system can also help students who may experience a short-term upheavals, like moving or surgery. With more content available virtually, students will have an easier time working around unexpected shifts in their schedules.

Hybridization also helps to clear frequent hurdles associated with the workplace. Being entirely in-person presents challenges for commuters who might not have access to frequent bus routes or a car, thus increasing commute time and stress. On the virtual side, workers that don’t have proper access to reliable internet services or electronic devices might not be able to keep up with the class. Through hybridization, workers and students alike have the best of both worlds. Despite some bumps along the way, we’ve proven the hybrid model can work.

That’s not to say there aren’t some real concerns about the hybrid system.

One recurring critique is that it risks undermining “office culture” in the workplace, or “campus life” at school. Socially, it’s true that a purely virtual environment severely limits the ways we can communicate and puts us at risk of Zoom fatigue. Completely hybridizing work, however, opens the door to choice in communication. It’s a key part of the business environment. Aside from creating a fun environment, socialization fosters psychological safety — a sense of being able to provide and receive positive feedback between co-workers. Adopting the communication channels needs and standards of today’s workforce early on gives students a headstart in practicing their hybridized communication skills.

Should SFU pursue an expanded hybrid model, there are more factors than just an in-person culture to consider. Over the course of the pandemic, teaching staff have borne the brunt of having to adapt to a mostly virtual, sometimes hybrid environment. They’ve done so without the kinds of support they need from the administration and without adequate compensation that reflects the extent of new training and extended hours they’re working. To prevent instructors from having too many non-teaching duties associated with a hybrid system, the administration needs to step in. Training intended to increase knowledge of requisite technologies and programs aimed at keeping learning fresh will help smoothen the transition to a hybrid system. Sitting down to establish a new pay scale that reflects an expanded job purview is also a necessity.

For students, SFU can work to tie success to performance, which can enhance productivity. In a class setting, instructors can reinforce this by incorporating graded micro-projects or assignments throughout the semester to help students walk through the class material via experiential learning, rather than large heavily-weighed exams. Moreover, students have to keep in mind that accountability has always been an in-demand skill, no matter the environment.

With the hybrid model a likely mainstay to some degree going forward, students will need to not only embrace but adapt to the challenges that come along with it. This also means that, on the administrative side, SFU should allow students to continue with in-person and virtual learning systems. The hybrid system has been a rare benefit of the pandemic. It’s time for SFU to lean in.

Embrace the Unexpected: Why joining a student organization was the best decision I ever made

By

-

May 10, 2022

Clubs Day booths on SFU’s Burnaby Campus — Clubs Day returns in person for the first time in two years (photo taken before COVID-19 pandemic). Photo: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak

By Luke Faulks, Opinions Editor

This May, for the first time in two years, Clubs Day is back in person at SFU! From May 17–19, SFU’s diverse set of clubs and student organizations will be on display for potential recruits, from the Bowlers to the Introverts, the Knitters to the Optimists. And you should join! But not because of the standard reasons you’re pressured to join; you should join because there’s no telling where your involvement will take you.

I know “join a club” is a tired piece of advice. Joining, they say, will do everything from enhance your resume to giving you a new pool of friends to just keeping you busy. Those reasons are valid, but getting involved could open up a much wider world.

Take my case. During the pandemic, when I found myself with a bit more time on my hands, I said “yes” to a number of opportunities that came across my plate. The first big one, the one that has not stopped paying me back, was signing onto a new student journal, Gadfly. I got to be a part of the first year of this journal, SFU’s first-ever journal of undergraduate political science research back in 2020/2021.

Yes, it looks good on my resume. Yes, I’ve been able to spend a great deal of time with some fantastic, like-minded people. That’s all a given when you join a club or student organization. What I couldn’t have seen coming were the ways in which the journal provided a stepping-off point for more learning, more skills, and ever more opportunities on and off-campus.

Because I fell into a section editor and head copy editor roles, I’ve been able to interact with contributors throughout the review and publishing process. Getting to learn about the issues that animate members is a big, unpredictable benefit of joining. Working with other students challenged my worldview and positions in the political arena outside my climate and energy focus.

The big spin-off effect of joining a club is following your passions to join other clubs. One of the single best things to come about from my joining Gadfly has been my tenure at The Peak. Absent an Instagram account, and in the throes of a hectic semester, I’d missed the call for applications to The Peak’s open positions. An eleventh-hour suggestion by my Gadfly editor-in-chief that I go for a staff writer position prompted an ultimately successful application to this paper. Thanks, The Peak. Thanks, Gadfly.

This May, instead of carefully avoiding the eyes of the bubbly folks stationed at booths in Convocation Mall, go talk to them! If that’s not your thing, I feel you. Hit ‘em up on social media! Joining a club opens up a world of possibilities that you have no way of appreciating until you’re in the thick of it. You’ve just got to take that first leap.

If you’re interested in becoming a contributor, sign-up for pitch meetings on our website. And don’t forget to pop by the paper’s booth this Club’s Day!

Consuming in good conscience: The next generation will be ashamed of our record on animal rights

By

-

May 10, 2022