Home Blog Page 418

Freedom Square plaque removed and engraved into new tiles

By
News
-
0
Engraving in tiles in Freedom Square, installed June 2020. Photo: WeiChun Kua.

Written by: Michelle Gomez, News Editor

The plaque that once stood in SFU’s Freedom Square, in commemoration of protests that took place in 1967, has now been engraved into the new tiles in Freedom Square with different wording. 

According to SFU’s Chief Facilities Officer Larry Waddell, the original plaque, which is attached to a podium, was removed in October 2019 due to construction, and has since been stored in the basement of Maggie Benston Centre. 

The initial plaque read: “FREEDOM SQUARE. SO NAMED IN COMMEMORATION OF THE RALLIES HELD HERE MARCH 17–20, 1967 AND OF THE STUDENTS, TEACHING ASSISTANTS, AND FACULTY WHO GAVE OF THEMSELVES IN THE CAUSE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM.”

The current engraving reads: “FREEDOM SQUARE | 17-20 MARCH 1967 | IN MEMORY OF THE RALLIES THAT TOOK PLACE IN THIS SQUARE IN THE DEFENCE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM.”

Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Science Representative WeiChun Kua noticed the engraving on the ground in mid-June. Kua stated in a Facebook post that the new wording is “a total erasure of history and unity in the SFU community to stand up to SFU Admins.”

In a follow-up statement to The Peak, Kua said specifically that the wording that includes “Students, Teaching Assistants and Faculty” is important to “maintain the context of the solidarity against the Board of Governors/SFU Admins.”

Assistant Director of SFU Communications & Marketing Marianne Meadahl told The Peak via email that the engraving of the writing was intended to “enhance” Freedom Square. “Removal of the weathered podium cleared the square for ease of movement of activities,” wrote Meadahl. 

She also noted that the wording on the podium “could be interpreted as implying loss of life in its initial description.” Particularly, this is referring to the wording: “who gave of themselves in the cause of academic freedom.” Meadahl stated that the new wording was approved by SFU administration and a representative of the SFSS. 

SFSS President Osob Mohamed told The Peak that although the wording was approved by an SFSS staff member at the time, the SFSS “would like to re-open the conversation to reinstate the wording that reflects on the solidarity between students, teaching assistants, and faculty members.”

With regard to the original plaque itself, Waddell told The Peak that there had been discussion with the SFSS about displaying it in the new Student Union Building. 

Former SFSS President Giovanni HoSang said that this issue was not brought to his or the VP University Relation’s attention, noting that the issue “seems to have fell through in communication within the management structure that [the SFSS] had.” 

Mohamed said that she does not believe that this was intentional, but was rather the product of miscommunication. She added that the SFSS would “like to see the plaque returned to its rightful home in Freedom Square.”

Background and context

In 1967, five SFU Teaching Assistants (TAs) signed an open letter to the students of Templeton Secondary School asking them to support their fellow grade 12 student, Peter Haines, who had been expelled for writing and distributing a book of poetry that criticized a student and teacher. The TAs (John Edmond, Chris Huxley, Martin Loney, Jeff Mercer, and Phil Stanworth) were subsequently fired from their TA positions. 

Chris Huxley, one of the five original TAs that was fired, recalled the experience in a recent interview with The Peak. “It was quite an innocuous thing he did [ . . . ] He criticized the way English literature was taught at that school.” 

Huxley explained that the group of TAs had heard about the expulsion through an article in the Vancouver Sun. In response, they wrote a letter back to the Vancouver Sun, all five of them signing it. On Monday March 13 1967, Huxley and some of the TAs protested in front of Templeton Secondary School and distributed leaflets to Templeton students. 

By the end of the week, the five TAs were fired from SFU, via telegram. 

“The reaction was far beyond our expectations,” said Huxley. He added that he had moved to Canada from England with the promise of the TA position as a source of income. 

“It wasn’t like it was a sidelined source of experience or some money, it was our only means of livelihood,” he stated. “To be fired without any due process or warning was quite a hit.” 

“Students of both Simon Fraser and UBC got very concerned,” Huxley said. Additionally, Tom Bottomore, who was Head of the PSA Department and Dean of Arts at the time, resigned as the Dean of Arts in protest of the firings. 

Between March 17 and March 20, thousands of SFU students and faculty members held a sit-in protest in Freedom Square in support of the TAs. 

Huxley noted that these protests took place in “the era of the so-called teach-in.” He explained that those involved would encourage both sides of any argument to speak. During this particular protest, there were not many people in favour of the SFU administration, “but if there was somebody, we would almost encourage them to come forward.” 

Reflecting on the experience, Huxley recalled that “people had enormous interest and patience to listen to many speeches. These rallies would go on for hours, it was quite amazing.”

Eventually, the Board of Governors met to consider appeals by the TAs. According to Huxley, hundreds of students went into the administration building and waited in the halls outside the meeting, threatening to strike if the firings were not overturned. 

The firings were overturned and the TAs were reinstated. 

Huxley noted that the two key issues being addressed in the protests were free speech and academic freedom. He believes it was part of the bigger Free Speech Movement, that was spreading across the world and burgeoning on the West Coast at the time. In the context of the Vietnam war, apartheid in South Africa, and the Civil Rights Movement, students engaging in and protesting for free speech was becoming the norm. 

History of the plaque

The commemorative plaque was purchased by the SFSS in the Summer of 1967, and was initially installed on September 11, 1968 after over a year’s delay (due to various bureaucratic processes of SFU administration). It was stolen the next day by UBC engineering students, and was substituted by a replica plaque with the wording ‘Fool’s Square’ replacing ‘Freedom Square.’ According to a 1968 edition of The Ubyssey, four students were seen running from the scene in the early morning of Thursday, September 12. An anonymous letter was allegedly sent to The Peak referring to the incident. The Peak did not disclose the contents of the letter. 

The original Freedom Square podium installed in 1968. Photo courtesy of SFU archives.

The plaque went on to spend several years in the trunk of someone’s car, and eventually made its way to a UBC fraternity house. It was later used as a TV stand for a UBC alumnus, who eventually returned it to SFU in 1990 when he became aware that SFU was looking for it. 

The plaque then disappeared again, and was discovered years later by student Amanda Camley in 1999 in an SFU administration office. The plaque was reinstated in Fall 2000, only to disappear again shortly after.  

It was then found in 2014 by the SFSS, in a storage space under a staircase in Convocation Mall. Facilities services told the SFSS that it had been there for at least 10 years. The plaque was returned to Freedom Square in October 2014, where it remained until Fall 2019. 

On the wording of the new engraving, Huxley said, “I can see that [people] might be concerned that it is diluting the original inscription.” He added that he did not recall the plaque being put in place, nor the initial theft of the plaque. 

“My memory of the late 60s was that we didn’t pay that much attention to the plaque at the time [ . . . ] I can see that if it’s etched into the stonework, it’s less likely to be stolen. There’s pluses and minuses I guess.” 

 

It took far too long for complaints about SFU Athletics’ team name to be heard

By
Opinions
-
2
SFU’s sports teams have made several attempts to subtly distance themselves from their team name. Image via Wikimedia Commons

By: Devana Petrovic, Staff Writer

It’s no secret to the SFU community that our athletics teams are represented by an embarrassing and dangerously misleading name: “The Clan.” Meant as an homage to SFU’s Scottish roots, the name is more ubiquitously associated these days with the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), especially when teams travel to the US. 

Although athletes and professors have been speaking out against the name’s racist undertones for years, only now, in the midst of a conversational eruption on racialized violence, has the gravity of the name been given serious consideration by the university administration. 

The Clan may appear to be “just a name” with an unfortunate connotation to some. However, for SFU’s Black students, athletes, and the teams they play, it is a harmful and direct call-back to the violent racist regimes that have enabled and allowed for the continued dehumanization of Black and brown people over multiple generations. When it comes to basic safety and respect of students’ lived experiences, SFU should be prioritizing students above all else.

Black students at SFU have once again, in recent weeks, expressed the frustration of playing under a name that carries the connotation of being subordinate to white people. Mason Glover, a football player and student at SFU, expressed the difficulty of representing “The Clan” when, as he put it, the name is “the same name as someone that is out to kill you.” What Mason is referencing, of course, is the KKK.

The KKK — an organization purely aimed at erasing Black people and establishing white supremacy — has a well-documented legacy of brutality and racist mass-murdering. But it’s important to remember that even though the group is most often associated with the US, Canada is not exempt from a history of racialized violence; the KKK made an appearance here as well. While many Canadians have the privilege to simply ignore this history, any reference to the KKK — including having “clan” in a team name — is a painful reminder of this legacy to our Black communities.

Which is why it is so important to seriously reevaluate the necessity of the words and titles we institutionalize. When taken outside of history, “clan” is as benign as any other word. Unfortunately, words don’t exist in cultural vacuums. They adopt associations and meanings that must be accounted for, even in situations where those allusions aren’t intended. Frankly, I and many other students find it impossible to hear “The Clan” any differently than its racist connotations to the KKK. Isn’t it considerably shameful for an institution to maintain a name that demeans the very existence and excellence of its Black student body? The bare minimum for any university, especially one that claims diversity and acceptance, is to ensure all of its students feel equally safe.  

And let’s be clear, this is absolutely a safety issue as much as it is an issue of basic human respect. Instances of harassment are widely known to have occurred, even to the point where Black student-athletes have experienced racist remarks — Glover described recounting instances of mockery from other teams’ athletes when travelling in the southern United States. 

Doreen Anane-Bediakoh, a student-athlete playing for SFU’s soccer team, expressed how she feels like the name “has allowed for people to be offensive because it has given other people the ammunition, the power they need to attack Black folks.” She explained how being affiliated with a name that historically undermines the existence of Black people has destroyed any attempts at claiming Black self-empowerment. 

Up until very recently, attempts to change the name have all failed. Glover spoke on how just last year, there was a survey that went out in which a majority of athletes expressed a desire for a name change; SFU, however, “ran out of time to address the issue further.” He further noted how shortly after, word went out that “alumni and donors were threatening to withdraw funding from our athletics program” because a name change would be, as quoted from an anonymous alumni, misappropriating “the Scottish heritage of Simon Fraser.” If this is true, the human dignity that has been sacrificed in exchange for money is grotesque and embarrassing. 

Ultimately, there is no room for “school pride” when that school insists on a name that brings its athletes feelings of discomfort and shame, evokes ideas of terror, and mobilizes racist commentary against the very athletes who carry our sports teams. Even though SFU has formally announced its commitment to dropping the name, it is important that actions follow these promises and that the collective action of students, athletes, coaches, and professors doesn’t become another “thing of the past.”

To further engage in activism on this topic, check out Othniel Spence’s article on the name’s impact on Black athletes. There is also a GoFundMe you can consider donating to, and an email template you can fill out and send to administrators.

 

CONFESSIONALS: I miss Burnaby campus

By
Humour
-
0
Illustration of a closed envelope, with the text, “Confessionals”
ILLUSTRATION: Marissa Ouyang /The Peak

Written by Madeleine Chan, Staff Writer

I’ll just say it: I miss going to Burnaby campus.

Every day, I got chills taking the 145 bus up the mountain and reaching the peak. See the uninviting concrete façade. See the sports field, the one that has too much money invested into it. It was like starting your day with a cold shower, giving that nice kick to your adrenals, but also paralyzing you with fear of another day at school. What a rush.

To remedy this longing for our school atop a glorified hill, I’ve started changing things around my home to bring more of that good ol’ au de engage into my life. For starters, I bought cans of SFU’s patented “Student Blood Red” paint (Pantone 19-1557 TCX, for your reference) and slathered it all over my walls, floors, Scottish Terrier — you name it, it’s been covered. I really wanted to be able to see red everywhere I go, just like I often do on campus. 

I have also not cleaned my room in three months (totally on purpose) so I can navigate the accumulating debris with increasing difficulty. Getting up in the morning to turn my alarm off on the other side of my room feels just like trying to get from Blusson Hall to WMC in 10 minutes. I also order takeout for every meal so that my bank account gets drained as fast as it does when faced with two sushi rolls at Mackenzie Café.

Unfortunately, my home wasn’t built in 1965 and doesn’t have asbestos lurking under its bland walls, so I have to huff the fumes from the otherwise unused Sharpies I bought in first year. You know, to have the same detrimental effect on my health. The SFU experience also wouldn’t be complete without inviting the RCMP into my home to set up a career fair booth. This is where I truly experience that colonial dissonance that SFU radiates.

Though, all of these attempts come nowhere near close to the real deal. Nothing I’ve tried can replicate the sickly sweet smell of the improperly sorted four-stream waste bins or the almost post-pubescent fear radiating off of a gaggle of high school students on a tour with their unusually excited parents. I don’t know how to deal with the fact that one of those groups may never stare at me like scientists studying a wild animal again.

I’m laying in bed now to try to process this loss. I’m starting to see shapes. They’re round, no, oval. They swirl around my vision, clouding my artistic judgement, making me believe that Arthur Erickson is a bad architect. Then, they merge into one, unusually upright statue: the avocado. I stare into the endless hole where the pit should be and think about if you can get avocado toast somewhere on campus, and feel sad that I can’t check. All I can do now is surround myself with these pitiful fleshy avocado replicas and daydream of a time where I can almost fall into the reflection pool on my way to see the real one.

What Grinds Our Gears: I need more respect from my intrusive family

By
Opinions
-
0
This social distancing isn’t distant enough! Illustration: Sabrina Kedzior/The Peak

By: Alex Masse, SFU Student

I have a very specific study ritual, one that works with my painfully neurodivergent brain: I move all my distractions, set up my phone to play 30 minutes of rain noises, and essentially hyperfocus. It’s been lifesaving for university. I don’t know why, but this specific setting just gets me into the zone. I feel alive and in control, which is fairly uncommon considering I’m a university student. 

One problem: other people continue to exist within earshot of me. 

My neighbours aren’t too bad, being quiet senior citizens. The problem, unfortunately, is that I live with a couple extroverts. While I’m trying to study, my dad will be downstairs blaring workout tunes that shake the house. Right next door, my sister will be loudly chatting with her boyfriend to keep isolation at bay. On the bright side, my mother is often inoffensively watching old CW shows — thanks, Mom. 

Sometimes they’ll even burst into my room unprompted. I put a “knock first” sign on my door, but cabin fever gives one blinders to those kinds of things. I could cover my door in caution tape and it wouldn’t mean anything to my family. 

The only thing that seems to sometimes work is sharing my daily agenda with everyone. I’m about two steps from making that thing required reading if it means getting through a Zoom call uninterrupted. 

 

International students needed more financial support in the past, and they need support now

By
Opinions
-
0
Organizing social events isn’t enough for students worried about how to pay for basic necessities. Image courtesy of SFU.

By: Devana Petrovic, Staff Writer

Although another remote semester in the fall is a bummer for everyone, it’s especially difficult for the international students who are still paying the same outrageous tuition fees as they did for in-person classes. These students are being hit particularly hard by our current university circumstances. International students make up about a quarter of SFU’s total student body — our university would be sunk without them. Now, with so many international student lives cast into chaos by COVID-19, the structural flaws in how SFU supports them have become even more apparent, and it is imperative that SFU does everything it can to make its international students’ lives easier. 

As of right now, SFU’s “support” for international students is scarce. While some attempts at virtual socialization have been introduced like the Global Community Cafe via Zoom, it’s not enough to address the real hardships international students are facing. Truly, the best way to support international students now — as well as in the long term — is for SFU to implement structural changes. This starts with a tuition cap, as well as an increase in financial aid and more bursaries for which permanent residence is not an eligibility requirement. 

For the most part, international students can only work up to 20 hours a week while studying. With most low-wage, part-time jobs this isn’t a livable arrangement, especially in Greater Vancouver. Now, with the massive job insecurity brought on by COVID-19, in addition to the fact that international students living in Canada may not have a family to live at home with, financial stress on many international students is at emergency levels. 

The uncertainty and insecurity in both jobs and housing puts international students between a rock and a hard place during this pandemic. This is particularly because they aren’t eligible for BC’s student support funds either. But SFU could step in here to really help support the international students who are struggling, by increasing scholarship and bursary opportunities. It’s as simple as expanding existing eligibility to students who aren’t permanent residents, but who are just as much a part of the SFU community as domestic students and should be allowed to apply for the same awards. 

Keep in mind that part of the reason why international students are in this financial pickle to begin with is because SFU takes advantage of the fact that the provincial government does not impose a tuition cap for international students. In the spring of 2019, SFU increased the tuition of a majority of its programs by 12% for international students — with business courses increasing by an incredible 20%.

Clearly, so many financial aspects of being an international student at SFU were problematic before the global pandemic. The international student program is not structurally designed to be supportive to those who don’t have massive amounts of financial support already backing them — a shameful reality that promotes classism and economic inequality. Particularly at this time, when job options are restricted and some can’t travel home, international students need extra help from SFU in order to continue learning and growing at this institution. 

While workshops and virtual events are fun, real help is needed: more financial aid opportunities is an important and beneficial step. And, you know, maybe consider a tuition freeze on international student fees so a quarter of our community isn’t overburdened in an emergency situation again in the future.

 

SFU should bring back the food science and nutrition program

By
Opinions
-
0
The science of food is a big industry in BC. Illustration: Maple Sukontasukkul/The Peak

By: Nathan Tok, Peak Associate

You know what is the most important thing to students? No, I’m not thinking of grades, or even how full the 145 is during rush hour. I am thinking of food. You know, the thing which enables people to live? Which gives us energy and enables students to study? Which keeps society functioning? 

Did you know the department of biomedical physiology and kinesiology (BPK) in the Faculty of Science used to offer the Applied Human Nutrition Certificate Program? Now the only certificate program in BPK is the Occupational Ergonomics certificate. While that program is important for students wanting to work toward keeping people safe and comfortable in various industries, nutrition or food science is important as well and should once again be offered to students. Indeed, the food science program at SFU was famous enough to have even been promoted by the Alberta government and on international student websites.

Food science, according to the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems, goes beyond just how to make food. It looks at the biochemistry of food, nutrition, how food is made and processed, how food is developed, distributed, and influences our society. In short, it studies food through the tools of the natural and social sciences.

Beyond just offering essential life knowledge to students, a food science program would enable graduates to access and apply for a wide range of jobs such as food analysis technicians and food processing inspectors. Food and nutrition is a huge field in BC with over 2,500 food-related businesses generating around $9 billion worth of food per year. In fact, over 30,000 people in this province work in food-related jobs. In order to prepare its students for what is a very prevalent industry, SFU should reinstate a food science or nutrition program. 

There is good news, though! The infrastructure for the program is mostly in place already. To begin with, the program could follow the old Applied Human Nutrition Certificate Program with necessary changes made for course updates. For example, KIN 312: Nutrition in Fitness and Sport which existed in the old certificate program simply needs to be updated to BPK 312: Nutrition for Fitness and Sport. Other departments like biology can contribute courses to the program — such as BISC 373: Brewing Science — as an elective to supplement learning. 

As the food science program expands, brand new courses unique to the program, such as those dealing with food production processes, and food laws and regulations, could also be created to round off, strengthen, and specialize the program as per student interest.

BC is famous for food production. Just think about the Okanagan wineries, fruit farms, and dairy production (check where your milk comes from next time, it might be closer than you think) SFU should create a program to help students gain job-ready skills to tap into these promising BC industries.

So come on SFU, let’s recreate a program that will let students and faculty explore the exciting world of food!

 

Dr. Ken Seigneurie’s event How Stories Move Us highlighted the universality of storytelling

By
Arts
-
0
Dr. Ken Seigneurie, professor in the World Literature department, hosted the talk on short stories. Courtesy of SFU

By: Nathaniel Tok, Peak Associate

My first non-academic Zoom lecture consisted of a professor reading us stories. I last had that in . . . I can’t even remember. As someone more used to policy, graphs, science, and numbers, this was both unusual and refreshing. 

The talk by Dr. Ken Seigneurie was titled FASS e-Lecture: Writing in World Literature: The Short Story and the Self, and focused on why stories matter to humans. Dr. Seigneurie gave a brief overview of how stories have always played a role in human cultures and read us two stories. One story was about how a man accidentally betrays an animal that cares for his family, and the other one was about anxieties a newly married couple might have on their wedding night. 

We then discussed literary elements and tools used in both stories by the authors to communicate their points and to make it more powerful for the reader. From reception to emotional appeal, to metaphors and symbols.

The event then finished off with some testimonies from current world literature (WL) students on the benefits of doing a program in WL. They discussed what their department, The World Languages and Literatures Student Union, and the WL degree offer to SFU students.

The talk’s centerpiece, however, was on the importance of stories. This was something I think I knew instinctively but never quite put into words. As Dr. Seigneurie said, “Stories are the world’s hard drive.” Stories contain the world’s collective wisdom and give us ideas on what it means to be human. How do we understand choices other people make? Through stories. How can that help us make sense of our own choices? Through stories. Stories help us to grow as much as the people around us, like our parents and friends, do.

This talk was quite eye-opening for me. I went into it thinking I would get some ideas on how to write stories but came out understanding them better. Stories went from being entertainment when bored to being something essential for us as a society and helpful for life events. What stories resonate with you? Think about them. They may be important for a reason.

Pokémon Sword and Shield’s new DLC proves these games need more TLC

By
Arts
-
0
Though designed with aesthetics in mind, this expansion leaves players wanting in this and every respect. Courtesy of The Pokemon Company

By: Zach Siddiqui, Humour Editor

After a not-so-glowing first reception, Pokémon Sword and Shield just got its first DLC add-on, Isle of Armor. Players can now travel from Galar to the Isle of Armor, complete with new sidequests and a widened selection of Pokémon. Sadly, as lovely as the new location is, it’s a little like a Pidgey in a Master Ball: a missed opportunity, obvious the moment it unfolds. 

When I first played Sword and Shield, I defended it from the mass incineration it received from corners of the fanbase — and I stand by that. This DLC, in turn, brought quite a few positives to the table. However, as the first major DLC in the history of the franchise (and a DLC applied to a game as controversial as Sword and Shield), the Isle of Armor simply didn’t go far enough in addressing the legitimate concerns raised about its base game. 

The battle scene in the Isle of Armor was a joke. Trainer fights are limited, and most plot-relevant battles are a breeze, picking up slightly only at the DLC plot’s end. While this admittedly wasn’t helped by my playing through with my Hall of Fame team, players shouldn’t have to purposely switch to a weaker team to enjoy the content, especially in a game that explicitly includes level-matching opponents in its battle mechanics. 

Worse were the sidequests, which mostly amounted to “travel from X location to Y and then report back to the home base.” You could tell that the intention was for players to explore the Isle of Armor and see the sights, but the DLC locale, for all its superiority to the Galar region, simply isn’t interesting enough to make these monotonous quests worth the walking. Pokémon has also failed to capitalize on the Switch’s graphical capabilities, and so its graphics cannot carry the game the way it seemed they’re supposed to do.

Even the storyline and characters of the Isle, like the base game’s plot, lacked substance. Once again, I found myself grappling with hollow exposition characters, a rival with no personality beyond being arrogant and badly dressed, and an incredibly low-stakes narrative. I won’t lie: I miss the Pokémon days where evil misanthropes were summoning deities of time and space to rewrite the universe. Today our biggest struggle is the League Champion’s inability to download Google Maps.

In sum, I confess myself disappointed. The Isle of Armor could have been the redemption of Pokemon’s Gen VIII, and it could have also set a positive precedent for what DLC could look like in the future. Instead, it simply took a half-baked game and turned it three-quarters baked. 

Some things did get done well: many of my favourite Pokémon were added back in with the new Pokedex (Azumarill is an adorable king), we got some key new quality of life features (like the ability to turn any eligible Pokemon into a Gigantamax variant), and I am ready to buy the new clothes up for grabs. But this DLC codifies what Sword and Shield already proved: Pokémon is suffering for its rushed production timelines and newfound drive to keep its games simple and unchallenging. Until these games start getting the care and consideration they once did, we have little to look forward to. 

Will I still play the upcoming Crown Tundra in the hopes of being surprised? I’m sure I will. But I wouldn’t waste a Master Ball on it.

The honesty and vulnerability of Ocean Waves will lap at your heart

By
Arts
-
0
Though Ocean Waves is rougher around the edges than other Studio Ghibli films, this quality is what makes it feel more real. Courtesy of gKids

By: Michelle Young, Staff Writer

Studio Ghibli films have finally arrived on Netflix Canada. You can now watch Ghibli classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service as you please. However, one of the Ghibli films that has come to Netflix is a smaller one called Ocean Waves. The 1993 film, directed by Tomomi Mochizuki as a part of a project for new animators, is overshadowed by many of the classic Ghibli staples — don’t let that stop you from tasting one of the most underrated Ghibli delights. 

The film is set in Kōchi, Japan and follows the lives of a few high school students, told from the perspective of the main character, Taku. The plot doesn’t seem to have a particular goal, nor does it appear to be working towards anything. However, where Ocean Waves succeeds is in its portrayal of the lives of high schoolers. It explores the nature behind social relations and how people react to one another. It’s filled with nearly nothing more than surges of petty drama in otherwise mundane lives. 

Main characters, Taku, Rikako, and Yutaka, react poorly to conflict, and at times, they’re unlikeable and inconsiderate. But the film perfectly captures the rush of an awkward, confusing, and frustrating youth. While the characters have trouble understanding one another, it’s much simpler for an older audience to sympathize with how they feel. Ocean Waves takes its viewers on a ride: they observe the lulls and stirs of daily life, emulating the unsteadiness of ocean waves themselves. 

Ocean Waves has not received many kind reviews; it holds a 6.7 on IMDb. I think part of this is due to the Ghibli expectation. Ghibli films are known for their fantastical worlds and driven characters, but Ocean Waves doesn’t have either of these things — and that’s OK. The film is messy, and in that aspect, feels more real than most other Ghibli films I’ve seen. 

When I watch Ocean Waves, despite shaking my head at these characters’ actions, I can remember fondly, that I too, was once a teenager, whose world revolved around my own immediate problems. Many of us have had to learn how to understand other people’s experiences and perspectives, and Ocean Waves portrays these growing pains. The audience can watch as Taku slowly tries to learn and understand those around him. It is in its simplicity that Ocean Waves can be appreciated. The film is slow, and arguably not for everyone — but it shouldn’t be dismissed simply because its way of storytelling is unconventional. 

Student organizers lead demand for changing SFU’s sports team name

By
News
-
0
Photo courtesy of SFU Athletics

Written by: Paige Riding, News Writer

SFU Athletics expressed their support for a name change of the athletics team name, the Simon Fraser Clan, last Thursday, July 2.

The SFU Athletics website says that, “In response to student athletes’ concerns about the nickname, SFU initiated a review process that has been ongoing since the beginning of 2020.  SFU Athletics will provide a report to the president in August and a decision will be shared before the fall term begins.”

The demand for change began back in 2017 through the efforts of various activists, including SFU philosophy professor Holly Andersen and former SFU Men’s Basketball team captain Othniel Spence. 

Spence and SFU student Marie Haddad created a petition titled “‘The Clan’ Simon Fraser University Needs a New Name.” The petition has over 8,000 signatures at the time of writing. 

The Peak spoke with Haddad over email about the name’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan. 

Haddad noted that “the implications of the political and social realm behind this history and era have directly affected Black communities until this day on several levels and it is a history we need to be aware of.”

“I recognize that [The Clan] was initially inspired by Scottish heritage but unfortunately it still portrays affiliation with the original name and carries the negative connotation [ . . . ] There is also an unfortunate and prominent North American History regarding the name which is deeply enrooted in the racist segregated threat to Black people and communities.”

The Peak also reached out to Mason Glover, an SFU Football player. He explained over email how the team name has affected him as a Black student athlete traveling frequently to the US.

“The name has greatly affected me,” he began, “it has affected family relationships and conversations, how I communicate with people when talking about my school, but most of all how I represent myself. 

“We get mostly dirty or inappropriate responses when people find out that our name is “Clan” especially playing in the United States. It’s not fair for students, especially students of colour to have to feel ashamed of representing themselves in an environment that they should feel most confident in,” he continued.

The #IAmNotYourClansman hashtag had been used by SFU student athletes on social media to demand the name change. Glover explained that student athletes are posing with athletic gear and using this hashtag to demand change from the university.

Glover noted that SFU “claimed to promote an engaged and diverse learning and social environment but put issues such as this on the back burner consistently. 

On SFU’s failure to acknowledge this issue previously, Glover stated: “And I also question what made them think differently all of the sudden? Why did it take an entire BLM movement, athletes such as Othniel Spence to make himself VERY vulnerable and bring up issues that are traumatizing to him and on top of that THOUSANDS of signatures when the majority of us have clearly wanted this for years.”

“It’s sickening that it has taken this long and this much push for them to finally understand the seriousness of this.”

Haddad and Spence have also called for support from various SFU organizations, including the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS). 

On June 24, the SFSS Council voted in favour of supporting the name change. The passed motion mandated the Council Chair to write a letter directed to Andrew Petter, Joy Johnson, and Rummana Khan Hemani in alignment with the email template found on the petition’s page itself. Council also called on the SFSS Board of Directors to follow suit. The Board passed the motion to write a letter and endorse the efforts in their June 26 meeting.

Haddad echoed this concern around the importance of having student voices heard while maintaining SFU’s Scottish heritage.

“The point is to acknowledge Scottish heritage in a way that does not undermine North American POC/Black History associated to the name,” Haddad wrote.

“That being said, connotation has great meaning to words aside from just a word’s definition, and it’s sad to say that the North American connotation [ . . . ] can be affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.”

When asked for a comment on the newest announcement from SFU sports administration, Haddad said, “I’m glad to hear that SFU is standing in solidarity with their Athletes and taking this movement seriously. Seeing a commitment to changing the name from the university is definitely a sign of hope. That being said, there is still a big decision to be made by Andrew Petter, and we will keep amplifying Black and POC voices while applying pressure until the change is confirmed and made.”

1...417418419...1,419Page 418 of 1,419

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