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EXCLUSIVE: McFogg the Dog comes out as gay

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McFogg the Dog sitting outside of a closet with pride flags around him. He is holding a microphone.
ILLUSTRATION: Yan Ting Leung / The Peak

By: Katie Walkley, Peak Associate

With a studded collar and a lipstick stain on the cheek that he claimed to be from Gerard Way, McFogg the Dog sat in the doorway of a Lorne Davies Complex athletic storage closet for this exclusive interview. He’s called the closet home for the past seven years after mysteriously leaving the position of our school’s mascot. During this time, he was ferociously dodging Craigslist bidders who wanted to get his fabulous bod back into the mainstream for a revolutionary comeback tour. 

Meanwhile, the retired legend stayed away, trying to find a sense of self outside the limelight. Now, he’s here to tell us where he’s been and set the record gay — I mean, straight — on the countless speculations about whether he graces the 2SLGBTQIA+ community with his transcendent presence. After every SFU student has had a chance to label him, it’s time for this dog to label himself.

Katie: Good evening, Mr. McFogg the Dog. Thank you for inviting me to your closet. So, please tell me about your look — is this new, or is it true that you felt forced to hide while under the ruthless scrutiny of the public eye?

McFogg: I knew the world wasn’t ready for a sexually ambiguous Scottish mascot. Stacking my emo identity on top of that would have created a controversy I could never return from. So, I had to cater to the norms for the time and go along with the presumptions that I was nothing more than a big bear in a kilt.

Katie: Wow. Speaking of identity, where do you stand on previous News Writer Chloë Arneson labelling you as a “queer icon” back in 2022? Does that label suit you?

McFogg: While I disagree with publishing my story in the humour section, my iconicness is undeniable. 

Katie: Now, I hate to get so personal, but the people have to know — are you dating anyone?

McFogg: You know, it’s hard these days to find anthropomorphic creatures looking for a serious relationship. Mothman keeps leaving me on read.

Katie: Those beady red eyes must not be able to see what they’re missing.

McFogg: Exactly. I tried to find at least a hookup at a few furry conventions, but then I found out that there are people underneath the costumes.

Katie: Wait . . . is there not a person inside of you right now?

McFogg: How could you ask me that? Not everything is sexual, Katie! But yes, sometimes I do indeed have someone inside of me, wink, wink . . . You know what? This interview is OVER! I’m about to sashay away. Ugh!

He then kicked over his chair, did one iconic fur flip, and stormed out of the closet.

Squamish Nation and province sign land stewardship agreement

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Peak Web
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This is a photo of a riparian ecosystem on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh land. Many rocks and trees meet a small river.
PHOTO: Mike Benna / Unsplash

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

On June 26, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the province of BC signed an agreement “intended to help the Nation assert its role as stewards” of their traditional land. 

The Nation reported that the agreement will allow them to protect “33 new Síiyaḿiin (cultural sites), Sneẃiyelh (cultural training areas), areas for fish and wildlife monitoring,” and the establishment of “six Special Cultural Management Areas.” It will also “increase protection for riparian ecosystems (land next to rivers, streams, and lakes), wetland ecosystems, and areas of old cedar forests.” 

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw traditional territory totals 673,200 hectares. The agreement covers 20,000 hectares, “equivalent to 50 Stanley Parks,” and spans across the Lower Mainland from North Vancouver to Howe Sound. The Peak spoke with Ravi Parmar, BC’s Minister of Forests, who signed on to the agreement on behalf of the province, to learn more. The Peak was unable to hear back from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw by the publication deadline.

“This is years of meaningful work between the province and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw that have led to this moment,” Parmar said. The agreement, he explained, builds on two modern Land Back efforts from 2007 and 2017. 

The 2007 consensus “was built into the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan,” which recognized specific areas as Wild Spirit Places under Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw protection. These places include Nsíiyx̱nitem tl’a sútich (Upper Elaho Valley), Nexw Áyantsut (Sims Creek Watershed), and Estétiwilh (West Side Sḵwx̱wú7mesh River). In 2017, the Umbrella Agreement between Whistler Mountain Resort LP, Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises LP, and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Líl̓wat Nations further outlined the scope of these Indigenous lands. 

“Our people, not just today but future generations, will be able to experience the gifts that our ancestors had for us, to be able to bathe in those creeks, to have a relationship with those mountains, to be in those forests, to harvest our medicines and our tools.” — Khelsilem, council chairperson, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw

The latest agreement is “a major step forward in asserting our Nation’s role as stewards of our lands,” said Sxwíxwtn Wilson Williams, councillor and spokesperson for the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, on the day the agreement was signed. “These have been our lands for thousands of years, and the fact they are now back under our direct control provides a greater sense of security for our People and a strong optimism for our future.”

X̱ay Temíxw, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw’s Sacred Land Use Plan, will guide the approach towards safeguarding this area. The plan transforms “cultural and natural landscape values into four ‘zones’ of management: Forest Stewardship Areas, Sensitive Areas, Restoration Areas, and Wild Spirit Places.”

“We have very few places that we can call our own within our territory to practice our spiritual beliefs and our cultural practices,” Khelsilem, chair of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, said during the signing event. 

“We have to stand together as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people to protect those areas so that our people, not just today but future generations, will be able to experience the gifts that our ancestors had for us, to be able to bathe in those creeks, to have a relationship with those mountains, to be in those forests, to harvest our medicines and our tools.”

Parmar also emphasized that the path forward is one of “balancing economic opportunity and prosperity with environmental protection and stability.” This includes “unlocking lands that typically were not available for harvesting,” and “increasing the timber harvesting” while “protecting old growth trees,” he said. “This is forestry and reconciliation working hand in hand.”

TSSU speaks on latest updates to IP policy

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Peak Web
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This is a photo of the SFU Surrey Engineering Building from the inside. There are numerous levels to the building, artificial trees, and a wide staircase in the photo.
PHOTO: Victoria Lo / The Peak

By: Corbett Gildersleve, News Writer

As recently reported by The Peak, the Senate reviewed and discussed a new draft version of its intellectual property (IP) policy solely focused on the commercialization of inventions and software. Based on community feedback, they split the IP policy into two: one for inventions and software, and the other for educational material and general IP issues. The Peak spoke with Ciaran Irwin, Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) trustee, and Derek Sahota, TSSU member representative, to learn about their thoughts on the latest updates. 

Sahota said they met with Dugan O’Neil, SFU vice president research and innovation, and Kamaldeep Singh Sembi, director of technology licensing and IP legal counsel, to relay their concerns. Irwin said, “It’s nice to see that a lot of the concerns that we raised in the last policy/previous proposal have been addressed,” but “we still have issues not just with some of the aspects of this new policy, but in the process that they’re embarking on.”

When asked about their specific concerns, Irwin said that given TSSU wasn’t invited to be more involved, and with “glaring issues” like ambiguous language in the policy back in March, SFU scrapped that draft, which he deemed a “large waste of time and resources.” He added that SFU has now reworked the language in their policy and “explicitly addressed some of the issues around ownership.” 

SFU told The Peak that the current timeline is for the policy to be approved by the Board of Governors on September 25. However, Irwin said “it’s hard to feel confident that all the I’s are being dotted and all the T’s are crossed.”

One of the “fundamental problems with this new model is that it silos things. It tries to put software and innovation in one bucket with one policy, and then everything else aside,” said Sahota. However, “in an interdisciplinary university, in a university with emerging technologies like generative AI, these things are connected — not in all cases, but in some,” he continued. 

“You’ve got experts here, you have stakeholders at your fingertips [ . . . ] and to not leverage that resource and to not engage these folks early in the process makes no sense to me.” — Ciaran Irwin, TSSU trustee

The newest draft also recognizes that the collective agreements for TSSU and the SFU Faculty Association (SFUFA) apply, each with their own IP policies. Sahota explained that when faculty, graduate students, and staff conduct research, they need to navigate two separate IP policies and collective agreements when they have an invention. Now, when someone wants to license their invention, they’ll need to understand which policy it falls under — the SFUFA or TSSU collective agreements, the IP policy for inventions and software, or the upcoming IP policy for teaching materials that is yet to be developed. Sahota said it “is really unclear how that would play out on the ground.” He stressed these problems “need to be laid out before anything goes before the Board, because the Board needs to know what they’re actually implementing. 

“I would love to see a good, effective, well-thought-out policy that’s less than 21 years old. But the problem is that the last policy process we had [in March] failed because it was rushed, they hadn’t thought it through, and they hadn’t consulted with people properly,” said Irwin. He felt that SFU was “repeating the same mistakes” this time around.

When asked about the policy process, Sahota said they asked SFU not for consultation, but for inclusion in a policy affecting TSSU’s members. “We should be the ones that are talked to first before [they] consider any changes, and be included from day one in the thought process and development of what might be a policy change.”

Irwin added, “You’ve got experts here, you have stakeholders at your fingertips [ . . . ] and to not leverage that resource and to not engage these folks early in the process makes no sense to me.”

SFU pointed to the Policy on Policies within Board of Governors Jurisdiction and Associated Procedure as support for “policy developers and all members of the university community in streamlining the policy-making process while promoting consistency and coherence across the university.” They also acknowledged, “Outside the formal policy process, we recognize that informal discussions at early stages of policy planning could be helpful for some policies. We plan to keep that in mind as we plan our policy revisions in the future.”

Aurafarming the military through popular songs is ironic and wrong

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Peak Web
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This is a photo of someone watching an edit of a jet fighter on Youtube on their laptop
IMAGE: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak

By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer

Macarena by the Spanish band Los del Rio has been an iconic piece of pop culture since its release in 1993. The song has also spawned remixes, the most popular being that by Bayside Boys, but has also inspired slow and reverbed versions. It sparked a global dance phenomenon and is still popular at parties, sports games, and even school events. 

Recently, however, military edits with the slow and reverb version have surfaced across the internet. These videos are chilling and completely disconnected from reality. They often feature footage of military technology and vehicles, such as tanks and fighter jets, dropping bombs or attacking the enemy. There are clips of soldiers waving or looking busy with their mission. The way they are framed accentuates the imagined “coolness” of war and military life. It doesn’t feel like watching authentic war footage, but instead seems like a propagandized military photo-op. The way the music is incorporated is disturbing, as the most iconic part of the song (“ayyy macarena”) is juxtaposed with footage of bombs dropping or destruction being perpetrated. A lot of these videos are also about American imperialism in the Middle East, including the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq. 

Co-opting upbeat nostalgia and merging it with footage glamorising the military becomes a vulgar yet horrifying tool aiding in the normalization of war and violence.

Aurafarming the military is the best way to explain it to those chronically online. For those who don’t know, aurafarming is a new meme amongst many TikTok users. It means exaggerating the swagger of someone or something through their poses and actions, and it often features some music in the background. This is what these military edits are doing. But there is also an element of nostalgia for the perceived glories of the past. While these edits exaggerate the aesthetic of war, they don’t show the damage caused. They don’t tackle the nearly half a million reported civilians who were killed in the wars being glorified, or the environmental annihilation in the region caused by the American military. The audience undoubtedly includes young, impressionable men. After analyzing the comments to some of the videos, it is clear many are appreciating the edits, but also the aesthetic of the military. Many comments are patriotic or focused on celebrating American victories. These edits are not just a piece of internet memorabilia, but an inadvertent dog whistle, looking to make easily-influenced social media users more appreciative of the American military — despite all the harm it has caused. 

These videos, which are not just co-opting the Macarena, but other songs with up-beat vibes (an example being Cheri Cheri Lady by Modern Talking), are not only disconnected from reality, but feeding into pro-war sentiments. There is nothing admirable about what conflict and imperialism did to the Middle East and beyond. Co-opting upbeat nostalgia and merging it with footage glamorizing the military becomes a vulgar yet horrifying tool aiding in the normalization of war and violence, both in the US and around the world, especially for the younger generation.

Rating MBC food choices based on how likely I am to recite Robert Frost whilst taking a shit after consumption

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Peak Web
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PHOTO (turned into EDIT): of someone sitting in the MBC food court (camera angle facing the restaurants) looking very constipated. In their hands should be a Robert Frost poetry book (should be available by request at the library). In front of the subject should be a prop that makes it look like they've just had some food at the caf.
IMAGE: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak

By: Katie Walkley, Peak Associate

This is my long-awaited and highly requested ranking of the Maggie Benston Centre Food Court choices based on how likely I am to recite Robert Frost whilst taking a shit after consumption (in order from least to most). Yes, you read that right. This list includes constipation, which sometimes requires even more poetry to aid me in mourning the shit that could have been.

Ben Gong’s Tea: An unlikely appearance from Robert 

The first experience that lightly grazed my mind was my time after Ben Gong’s Tea. Just before the flush, I had a chance to whisper, “She dared no more than ask him with her eyes / How was it with him for a second trial. / And with his eyes he asked her not to ask. / They had given him back to her, but not to keep.” On this day, I saw the tapioca pearls in two ways. They came back to me after enduring the trials of my stomach. Then, just as soon as they reappeared in my life, I had to say goodbye again. 

Noodle Waffles: Bobby Frost is here to help you drop that deuce

While I appreciated Robert Frost’s timeless perspective on what it’s like when your shit looks the same as your food, I did not find his words as powerful as the time they coached me through the constipation experienced at Noodle Waffles.

A seemingly menial choice took hours for me to recover from. My lack of excretion led to a severe emotional depletion. I sat there, repeating like a prayer: “Where your face burns and tickles with cobwebs / broken across it, and one eye is weeping.” I heard others coming in and out of the washroom, but I was stuck there with tears streaming down my face, waiting for my turn to flee this hellscape. However, it wasn’t so bad since I had plenty of time to scroll the reels through my AirPods guiltlessly. The comfort this brought me also made me recite Robert Frost’s even more talented great granddaughter, Addison Rae: “Put your headphones on / guess I gotta accept the pain.”

Grill Master: So likely to recite that Robert Frost actually rests his spirit here 

On the day I ordered from Grill Master, even the phenomenal songstress couldn’t save me. The weather was storming, but the true tempest took its toll in my bowels. My friend was driving me down Gaglardi and I had to force her to pull over. Without an explanation, I ran into the woods. Among the trees, I could smell her cheeto-flavoured vape from afar and thought aloud, “My little horse must think it queer / to stop without a farmhouse near / between the woods and frozen lake / the darkest evening of the year.” 

When I got back to the car, I repeated the lines to her because they were so potently accurate. She didn’t like that she was a “little horse” in this scenario, but she agreed with the rest and rerouted her GPS to take me home instead of our original plans to go to Denny’s.

The final boss: Mad Chicken 

My final battle took place at Mad Chicken, and to be honest, I can hardly even blame them. After a hard day’s work of wondering about the legitimacy of my degree, I had a ravenous appetite beyond compare. 

I ate so fast that “two roads diverged in a wood and I —  / I took the one less travelled by, / and that had made all the difference.” A simple shit was not enough to end my pain. It had to come out the other way.

Four book recommendations for Disability Pride Month

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Peak Web
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This is a collage of the book covers of the books mentioned in the article
IMAGES: Courtesy of 1) Metatron; 2) Arsenal Pulp Press, 3) Second Story Press; 4) Purich Books

By: Phone Min Thant, Arts and Culture Editor

knot body by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch

knot body is a collection of poems, short stories, and letters that address various themes, along with how people with disabilities are treated unjustly by capitalist and discriminatory systems. For instance, in one of the letters, Bechelany-Lynch scrutinizes the lack of scientific research behind the medical diagnoses of trans people, a form of systemic injustice in itself. Combining deep philosophical reflections and light-hearted quips, knot body asks the readers to join along, in bringing awareness to many social challenges affecting the disabled community, such as ableism and fatphobia, but also in appreciating your own body. 

Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Care Work is a selection of short writings by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a Canadian American disability justice activist and author. As described by Piepzna-Samarasinha, Care Work is a “call to arms,” inspiring readers to educate themselves and take action on the issues surrounding disability justice, such as how to build a resilient community with mutual care. In dealing with such a broad and crucial topic, Piepzna-Samarasinha’s work looks from both the local to the global. The book includes tidbits of their experiences having lived among Toronto’s disabled community as well as awareness towards a world that pays more attention to a fair trade emotional labour economy. There is also a focus on issues of suicidality and intersectional oppression through many conversations with fellow activists. Care Work is a must read for anyone striving to build a better, more inclusive, accessible, and resilient society.

A World Without Martha by Victoria Freeman

Freeman’s work is a raw, painful, and impactful memoir where she recounts the experience of being separated from her sister Martha who was institutionalized before she turned two because she had Down Syndrome. The book dives deep into the effects this separation had on Freeman and her family, but also into how broken government responses to disability are. The book is a challenge against the status quo — the belief that people with disabilities should be shut off from the rest of society. It is also beautiful, showing how strong the ties that exist between siblings are. Coming from someone who is perpetually thinking about government policy processes and who one day aims to change them for the better, this book is a strong recommendation from me. It has exposed me to something that those in policy boardrooms tend never to see: the human suffering caused by misguided policies — in this case, in failing to give proper support to the disabled community. 

My Art, My World by Rita Winkler

My Art, My World is a hopeful, comparatively soothing narrative of someone with Down Syndrome enjoying their everyday lives, written and illustrated by an author who is experiencing it. Both the short texts, and the accompanying paintings show how Winkler goes about her life, full of passion and appreciation for finding the brightness and delight in what we would otherwise find mundane: public transportation, visiting a café, dancing, and many more. If you find yourself overwhelmed by too much reading, or if you simply want to take a break from your usual routine and enjoy a slice of happiness from Winkler’s enjoyment of the everyday, this book is for you.

Lana Del Rey’s hologram to headline Fall Kickoff

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATION: of Lana Del Rey's hologram (we should make it clear that it's a hologram make her body see-through if that makes sense). She should be on a stage that says 2025 SFSS Fall Kickoff. Below the stage are the backs of many students.
ILLUSTRATION: Yan Ting Leung / The Peak

By: Mason Mattu, Humour Editor

Picture this: Lana Del Rey, singing Chemtrails Over The Country Club, frantically flying over an audience, and waving her arms like a fairy all at the same time. At first, you think, “Goddamn. What an iconic show.” Her body is see-through, radiant, and emits a green light. You knew Lana was ethereal, but didn’t know she was this perfect.

Then, you squint. 

Your eyes think something’s playing tricks on them. Did Lana just — did she . . . glitch? 

That, indeed, is not Lana Del Rey. It’s her hologram. And guess what, SFU? It’s officially booked for Fall Kickoff. 

Lana’s hologram was most recently used during her 2025 European summer stadium tour. To the shock (and pain to the wallets) of many concertgoers, the Video Games singer took multiple vape and costume breaks throughout the show, leading to the hologram singing at least two songs. 

“You know what? Lana Del Rey is literally iconic,” the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) wrote in a statement to The Peak. “With tuition hikes on a perpetual conveyor belt and being forced into students like rotten applesauce to a toddler, we thought we’d give something to help the student body cope. We present Lana Del Rey’s hologram to SFU.” 

The latest announcement is most certainly an upgrade from last year’s Fall Kickoff performers. The event sold a total of five tickets, four of which were bought by the then vice-president events. Headliners consisted of an AI DJ beatmaker, drag queen Ru Fall, and a distant relative of Shakira’s ex-boyfriend’s dog. The budget for the event was 99% of the SFSS’ yearly revenue.

“Maybe it’s time to get a new treasurer,” commented an SFSS executive at the time. The same executive approved the $1 billion price tag to have Lana’s hologram perform for a chaotic set. “Fiscal responsibility is of the utmost importance.” 

Expectations are definitely higher this year, and the SFSS has the unfathomable task of fixing a $200 billion deficit and improving student experience. According to Lana’s management team, the hologram’s set is expected to sing the following songs (the hologram is apparently sentient, so it all depends on what it’s feeling like): 

    • “Say Yes to Heaven” (nightcore version) 
    • A cover of the first half of the second half of the chorus to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” 
    • One unreleased song selected from Lana’s dead country album, Lasso. 
    • “National Anthem” (15-minute spoken word version)
    • “Text Book” (sans the performative activism, lip-synced for maximum creativity) 
    • All of Lana’s songs playing at the exact same time through the same speaker (to ensure there’s no whining about the set list) 

The hologram’s announced inclusion in the festival has sparked great controversy on r/simonfraser. “This hologram is a disgrace to live music,” commented u/CouchLover. “I hate this!!!!”

OK, buddy. Let’s get one thing straight: Lana isn’t doing anything wrong by sending her hologram out to perform in lieu of herself. 

She’s too powerful to be limited by the physical constraints of her body — why the fuck would she perform when she can project a 4K vision onto our emotional psyche? Why would she perform a song for the 50,000th time in front of a bunch of pathetic SFU students? She’s channeling her best energy into a melodramatic beam of light. She’s one with the hologram. She’s a post-human ray of light in a slip dress. 

“The hologram allows me to take one, very long perpetual vape break,” said Lana in a telepathic statement to The Peak. “My lungs scream just as loud as my fans. So buzz off, haters. My hologram will see you at Fall Kickoff.” 

Tickets are going on sale Friday at 9:00 a.m. on the SFSS Instagram. Hurry to buy them. They’ll sell out faster than you can say “Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing.”

SFU artists bend reality in Report on the Thing exhibit

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This is a photo taken at the Report on the Thing exhibition
PHOTO: Emily Le / The Peak

By: Katie Walkley, Peak Associate

From July 3–26, the Audain Gallery is displaying six SFU artists’ works inspired by Clarice Lispector’s short postmodern text, Report on the Thing (1974). Her story questions the way we define categories and split things that are part of a larger whole. To illustrate her point, she discusses how her digital clock divides time, which, in reality, is “immutable.” Her topic of refuting labels is extremely difficult to write about since words themselves are inherently labels. So, through visual art, SFU students Constance Arden, Caroline Chernega, Chelsea MacKay, Carlo Marchet, Taha Saraei, and Kaleb Thiessen have jointly brought to life Lispector’s philosophy to the public at the Report on the Thing exhibition. 

In an exhibition that aims to dismantle our ideas of categories, walking through it feels as if you are existing within a grander artistic expression, the viewer themselves inevitably a part of the artwork.

As soon as you enter, you can hear a faint sound from an artist’s short film playing at the back. Its placement makes it so that you cannot figure out the context until you have already seen all of the other artwork. Thus, it becomes a soundtrack that weaves together each piece. The sound itself contains a bell repeating sporadically along with white noise that makes the entire gallery feel a bit unnerving. Something about that discomfort immersed me in the moment to look into the details.

“Something about that discomfort immersed me in the moment.”

On the way to the source of the strange noises, the oil painting Wet Life by Caroline Chernega pulled me in with an exciting composition that had me turning my head in every angle. The artist’s inspiration came from collaging photos chosen randomly to blend our inner and outer worlds. She conveys her message through brushstrokes that are so expressive that the underpainting shines through. This in itself flattens time so the viewer can see every stage of the painting all at once. 

After looking at Chernega’s distortion of time, I went on to the sculptural piece OOO by Chelsea Mackay, which blurs the lines between the living and the object. The chair, covered by a skin-like latex membrane, is attached to a mirror so that as you walk around it, your perception places it in front of different backgrounds. Since the chair is no longer useful to sit on, is it still a chair? I do have to admit that sometimes these metaphysical questions can feel too speculative for me. However, this gallery did a great job of turning the hyper philosophical into something real, tangible, and visible. 

Finally, once I went around the wall, I discovered the source of the ambient noise. The two-minute video, I have been waiting for hours, by Constance Arden compiles static shots of her neighbourhood, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Some zoom in the objects, while others pan out, so that you cannot tell what they are. One shot begins far away from a sign so that you cannot read it. Then, it enlarges to be legible for just a moment before zooming in even closer so that it becomes indecipherable again. This shot made me think of how the most obvious meanings can only be understood from specific perspectives. We tend to look at things from one point of view, but this clip along with the entire gallery makes you realize how much can be revealed if you examine the mundane as if you’ve never seen it before.

If you want to enter a world that gives you the same feeling as those rare reality-bending midnight conversations with your friends, the Report on the Thing exhibition is the place to be. There are many more splendid pieces that I didn’t write about, so do yourself a favour and go check the exhibition out before it ends.

How prepared is SFU for the “Big One?”

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This is a photo of the side of the Shrum Science Centre Chemistry building.
PHOTO: Audrey Safikhani / The Peak

By: Corbett Gildersleve, News Writer

The “Big One,” an earthquake “as powerful as magnitude 9.0” on the Richter scale, has been predicted to occur on the Pacific Coast and impact Metro Vancouver in the next 50–100 years. The Peak looked into what this means for SFU’s Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver campuses. 

Due to plate tectonics, an earthquake this big would come from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 1,000 km “megathrust” fault that runs from northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, California. According to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, this fault is where the Pacific’s Juan de Fuca plate slides under the North American plate. Friction builds up between the plates, eventually shifting, causing an earthquake. The Network says “the last known megathrust earthquake in the northwest was in January 1700, just over 300 years ago. Geological evidence indicates that such great earthquakes have occurred at least seven times in the last 3,500 years, a return interval of 400–600 years.” With the last one being 325 years ago, it’s just a matter of time before it hits. 

A Vancouver city council report on November 12 modelled a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in the Georgia Strait, the body of water that separates Vancouver Island from the mainland. They estimated this “earthquake could result in nearly 6,100 heavily damaged buildings, leading to over 1,350 severe injuries and fatalities, the disruption and displacement of over one-third of residents and workers for more than three months, and over $17 billion in direct financial losses.”

The Peak spoke with Alisa Zukanovic, director of business continuity and emergency management for Campus Public Safety, to ask how prepared SFU is for the Big One. 

“The [Burnaby] campus has one primary access route, which could be affected during a major earthquake. Some buildings are older, but seismic upgrades are currently underway to improve safety.” — Alisa Zukanovic, former director of business continuity and emergency management, SFU risk and emergency planning

With the three main campuses built at different times and located throughout Metro Vancouver, impacts vary. Located downtown at Harbour Centre near the Georgia Strait, the Vancouver campus “faces an elevated tsunami risk,” said Zukanovic. She added, “While Vancouver Island offers some shielding, there is still potential for significant impact from a large tsunami. The region, with a high concentration of infrastructure and population in low-lying areas near the ocean, could experience considerable effects from such an event.” 

Zukanovic wasn’t as concerned about SFU’s Surrey campus, which was built in 2002. She said this campus is “not at risk for tsunamis,” adding that the buildings incorporated “modern safety features that contribute to overall resilience in emergencies.” 

For the Burnaby campus, Zukanovic’s main concern was that “the campus has one primary access route, which could be affected during a major earthquake. Some buildings are older, but seismic upgrades are currently underway to improve safety.” According to the SFU campus construction tracker, the Lorne Davies Centre renovation includes seismic upgrades. SFU told The Peak that the Shrum Science building is being considered for an upcoming renovation.  

SFU also said upgrades and renovations have occurred to the academic quadrangle, Shrum chemistry building, education building, Strand hall, and the applied sciences building since 2017. In the event of hazardous spills and gas leaks, SFU stated that it “maintains a comprehensive hazardous materials emergency response plan, which outlines clear procedures for managing chemical spills, gas leaks, and related emergencies across all campuses.” SFU also said that “guidance on earthquake safety in labs is provided through lab safety training.” 

In the event of a major earthquake such as the Big One, SFU has instituted multiple procedures. Risk & emergency planning hold a ShakeOut drill each October, and in the first week of May, they test SFU’s alert system during Emergency Preparedness Week. During an emergency, SFU uses its Safe app and alerts to give real-time updates. For evacuation paths, Zukanovic said that SFU has “designated evacuation routes, including an egress walking path for emergency responders and an alternate route off Burnaby Mountain.” SFU also has assembly areas, such as the soccer fields and parking lots, for people to gather. The university recommends creating a grab-and-go kit with essential items like water, medications, and documents and a personal emergency plan with their family. Zukanovic also noted, “SFU collaborates with the City of Burnaby’s Emergency Social Services to provide additional support when necessary, including the potential to establish a reception center or group lodging if required.”

Our devices aren’t ruining education, but they’re not helping either

By
Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATION: a lecture hall, with students using their electronic devices (laptops, and tablets). Some are online shopping, some are one social media websites, and others are messaging their friends. While a professor is lecturing in front of the class.
ILLUSTRATION: Cassandra Nguyen / The Peak

By: Kiana Montakhab, SFU Student

Next time you’re in class, take a moment to look around you. Is anyone actually paying attention? Or are we all half-engaged, aimlessly clicking through tabs on our laptops and scrolling through our phones? Is the poor professor up there lecturing to a sea of blank stares, faces dimly lit by the glow of screens? It makes you wonder — are we truly present or just occupying space?

To some, these behaviours may look like a lack of discipline. But to me, they reflect a deeper reality — students are adapting to a world where traditional learning structures are changing, consequently altering how students engage with learning. In this context, it’s necessary to wonder if traditional higher education keeps up with the pace of technological and cultural change, or is it being left behind? Understanding these changes and how they impact students is essential if we want education to remain effective.

Uncertainties around our education trickle down to everyday choices students make in the classroom, such as how we use technology. Is the use of personal electronic devices in classrooms a gateway to deeper engagement or a constant source of distraction? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Media multitasking, the act of switching between multiple forms of media simultaneously, has been shown to negatively impact comprehension, memory retention, and overall academic performance. Additionally, devices don’t just hijack your focus — they manage to distract everyone around you, too. But that distraction isn’t happening in a vacuum — it often stems from classrooms that feel stale and disengaging. Research shows that students with a high propensity for boredom are significantly more likely to media-multitask when faced with tedious tasks. Therefore, it’s not always about tuning out. For many students, these habits are a way of coping (and fighting for their life to stay alert during yet another two hours of bullet points, beige walls, and zero eye contact).

Students are adapting to a world where traditional learning structures no longer align with how they engage with learning.

All in all, tech use isn’t inherently evil. In fact, when used mindfully and in support of learning, devices can enhance engagement and offer essential tools for students. According to one study, roughly two-thirds of students rely on laptops and cell phones to study, communicate, and feel more in control, particularly noting that technology helped 35% reduce stress and 47% communicate better with instructors. For many students, assistive technology is necessary — tools such as screen readers, text-to-speech apps, and captioning — can significantly increase the inclusion and accessibility of students with disabilities in higher education. One thing is clear enough: technology is deeply embedded in how we learn, research, and engage with the world. 

Yet, some instructors have responded with outright bans in the classroom. Others have adopted a no-tech policy allowing limited exceptions, such as accommodations for students with disabilities. While I understand that many professors are exhausted by the constant battle for attention in classrooms, this doesn’t take into consideration how difficult accommodations are to acquire in a timely manner. Professors should be able to trust that each student knows how to be responsible for their learning. 

Therefore, we also have a role to play in shaping our own learning. Education is expanding our knowledge as human beings — a pursuit that deserves respect and mindfulness. That might mean being more intentional with how we use our devices, challenging ourselves to stay present, or communicating openly about what works and what doesn’t. Technology isn’t going anywhere — and neither is education. The real challenge lies in making the two work together, with effort by both students and institutions.

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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