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Political Corner: Romina Ashrafi’s murder in Iran could have been prevented

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Iran has a history of human rights abuses that need to be immediately addressed. Image via Wikimedia Commons

By: Kelly Grounds, Peak Associate

In late May of this year, Romina Ashrafi, age 14, ran away from her home in Iran to be with her boyfriend. The decision came after Ashrafi’s father objected to their marriage. After running away, the couple was intercepted and Ashrafi was sent home, despite telling the police that she feared for her life. Soon after returning home, she was attacked by her father in her bedroom and decapitated with a sickle. 

At the time that Ashrafi was murdered, children had minimal rights and protection in Iran. Juveniles could legally be executed, girls could be married at 13, and there were no standard child labour laws. However, in May 2009 — 11 years before Ashrafi’s murder — Iranian lawmakers had submitted the Bill for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Youth in order to shield children from violence and abuse. 

Unfortunately, this bill still had not been placed into law when Ashrafi was murdered. As a result, she had nowhere to turn to for legal protection while she feared for her life. Her murder clearly highlights the lack of protections for children in similar situations across Iran who did not have people to protect them. The people of Iran also noticed this and were rightly incensed.

Following the national call to action, President Hassan Rouhani pressed parliament to expedite the passing of the 2009 bill. Following much delay, the bill was finally passed by the parliament after they ruled that it was not inconsistent with Shariah or Islamic law. Now, officials are legally required to report child abuse cases and remove children from abusisve situations. 

While this bill does improve the lives of children across the country, it still took 11 years for the Iranian parliament to pass it. Had the bill been in place while Ashrafi was alive, she may not have been returned to a home where she feared for her life. Instead the bill, much like other bills aimed at protecting vulnerable groups, was placed in legal limbo and as a result, abuse was allowed to continue — with fatal consequences.

 

What Grinds Our Gears: No one should be shocked by recent coronavirus surges

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I can’t be the only person not surprised that a fast food joint poses a health hazard. Illustration: Tiffany Chan/The Peak

By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor

During the June 15 COVID-19 briefing, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that an outbreak of the novel coronavirus had been discovered in a small fast food restaurant. While no known exposure to customers occurred, she used this case as an example as to why British Columbians need to continue to remain vigilant against further viral spread. 

This announcement surprised absolutely no one. Or at least, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone, least of all anyone who’s ever had any experience with the fast food industry. What is perhaps more surprising is that it took four months for an outbreak to be reported at a fast food location in the first place.

We are now six full months into this global pandemic. As of the time of writing, over nine million cases have been reported worldwide. Almost 500,000 people have died. And yet there are still individuals and whole governments walking around like an army of shocked pikachus when cases spike “unexpectedly.”

Six US states are battling spikes of the virus following premature Memorial Day reopenings and large-scale gatherings. Russia — which for months suspiciously had very few COVID-19 cases but a ridiculous surge in pneumonia cases — and Brazil — which also downplayed the severity of coronavirus — are now also both in the grips of massive spikes in cases. 

None of this should be at all surprising, yet infuriatingly, daily news updates keep framing these natural consequences as “shocking.”

Look, there are some things that should just go without saying at this point in the pandemic. That fast food restaurants have working conditions and pay structures that all but hold the door open for coronavirus infection is one of them. But this is also true of areas with weak leadership and more concern for economic health than population health. 

Let’s stop being shocked and actually fix the damn problem.

 

There’s nothing wrong with taking your time with your degree

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There are many good reasons to hold off on graduating on time. Illustration: Audrey Chow/The Peak

By: Nathan Tok, Peak Associate

Often the world pressures us into living quickly and moving ahead in life “on schedule.” But is that always wise? There are many benefits to graduating “on time” within the standard four years. These include getting into the working world sooner and earning a living, or getting your parents off your case. Being able to put a four-year completion of your degree on your LinkedIn profile shows employers you are driven and can finish things on time. We all know this. However, there are also benefits to taking more time before graduating than the usual four-year schedule.

University life is full of opportunities, to start with. Rushing through a degree means less time spent getting the most out of these opportunities. Think about it, students are in the midst of a community of scholars and professionals all working to make a difference in the world. How often have we received emails from professors looking for RAs for meaningful research, or an SFU department doing outreach looking for students to take part in community service? These are valuable work experience and networking opportunities that students should take their time with.

Or perhaps students need a temporary job. Yeah, a friend of a classmate knows someone who needs a person to do some casual work in that field for a few months, a few hours a week. They can’t pay much but it’s something. When students graduate these wide-ranging connections are less readily available. Graduates are no longer fed information and opportunities through an active and mixed social network — they have to actively seek them out. 

Despite the secondary perks of university, the fact is that taking advantage of all these opportunities means taking time away from studying, which can delay graduation. But that’s not a bad thing. Building up a resume is something we can all agree is essential.

Students are also given more leeway and freedom to explore and to work on themselves along with their degrees. Not satisfied with your program? Take an extra year and add a minor. Want to take some time off school to travel? Go ahead, try out exchange for a couple of extra terms. At perhaps no other time in life are adults able to have the freedom to explore, take opportunities as they come, and fail without being harshly penalized by society. 

These personal explorations become harder to fit into life and responsibilities when people start working. Not happy with your job? Too bad you have a degree in that field and bills to pay. Feeling lost? You can’t just take months off to work on yourself or to explore different paths. You have responsibilities and people who depend on you. No longer is it grades but actual lives that are at stake. 

University is hard work yes, but so is everything else. It is worth it to take some more time to grow before spreading our wings and flying away. While some students don’t have a choice but to get done with university as quickly as possible, if you’re in a situation that you can take your time, can explore what the university has to offer and more importantly, explore yourself, then I highly recommend taking your time with your degree. Use that extra time to get to know what you really want, and who you really are before you leave school.

 

A single at-home TikTok workout made me too powerful

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Humour
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Photo courtesy of Kon Karampelas via Unsplash

Written by Hannah Davis, Peak Associate

Once all the gyms closed, I was at a loss as to where to find easy at-home workouts. Should I look to qualified trainers online? Local gyms holding free or reduced cost classes online? Friends who can provide fitness inspiration and accountability?

Doing absolutely none of these things was a grave mistake. I turned to some teenager giving workout advice on TikTok, and now . . .

I’ve become too powerful. 

This bleach-blonde, Gymshark-clad TikTok influencer I stumbled across seemed inconspicuous enough. Aside from their inadvertent and misinformed promotions of unhealthy and potentially dangerous diet culture, facilitated by presenting undereating and undernourishment as normal and healthy — not to mention their makeup skills being better than mine despite the fact that they are almost eight years younger than me — I still had a feeling that I would find exactly what I wanted on their account. 

The teen’s minimal knowledge of fitness seemed to be founded solely on other TikToks by other teens with minimal knowledge of fitness. 

Perfect! I thought. These kids don’t seem to have any sort of professional background or qualifications. So surely I won’t be gaining anything from these workouts!

You see, when I exercise, I want to exactly . . . maintain the level of fitness that I am at. I do not want to get stronger or faster! Proper form is a snooze and a scam! So Tik Tok was the perfect platform for me to find exercises and workouts that do absolutely nothing! 

Or so I thought . . .

I followed their 15-second instructions: 10 toe wiggles, 10 seconds of walking around the room, a scoobideewoop, 15 belly taps. That single squat at the end wiped me out. And that’s when the transformation happened. 

My jeans ripped clean off my body! My shirt disintegrated from the sudden increase of muscle fibers in my chest, arms, and shoulders. I went for some water and my water bottle SHATTERED. I took a regular step and sent myself straight into the ceiling! 

Confused and panicking, I soon began my research. 

“How are these TikTok fitness people not as powerful as I am . . . especially after doing these exercises everyday,” I asked Google. “Is there something wrong with me? Have they not also experienced the effects of these workouts and the undeniable, terrible strength they instill within those who complete them?”

I visited some of the accounts of some of the more popular fitness TikTok-ers and noticed something strange in the background of every TikTok exercise icon. 

On first glance, their homes look normal. But on closer inspection, I saw evidence of hastily done home repairs, the exact type of home repair you might do if you, say, accidentally ripped off your closet door because you didn’t realize your own strength. These TikTokkers assumed that there wouldn’t be anyone like me looking closely enough at their videos to sniff out their bluff. They assumed WRONG. 

I even noticed that these TikTokkers’ clothing was altered, almost imperceptibly, with velcro wraps and straps . . . I can only assume these modifications were to avoid the embarrassing fate that awaited me after completing my TikTok workout. 

So. Let us band together and help these teens become less powerful. Let us empathize with the horror of being too strong for your own good, crushing coffee cups in your upsettingly powerful grip, swinging doors straight off their hinges.

We need these TikTok workouts to be banned. They are turning ducklings into gorillas, gorillas into King Kongs, butterflies into butterflies with huge biceps. In other words, people who were otherwise perfectly happy with their bodies are becoming unbelievably and surprisingly swole, against their will. 

Let us bring awareness to these TikTok workouts — not for their inefficiency, but for the fact that they work terrifyingly well.

Students excited for Canvas discussion that has absolutely nothing to do with the class

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Photo courtesy of Frank Romero via Unsplash

Written by Zach Siddiqui, Humour Editor

Students enrolled in ENGL 190: Misc. Studies in Literature are abuzz with anticipation as they await this Thursday: the next weekly online Canvas discussion, which once again will have absolutely no connection to the actual course material.

Barry Shell, the student assigned to start a discussion post this week, is happy to triple his classmates’ opportunities to learn about Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake.

“There’s what you thought this week’s reading was about,” Shell explained, “and then there’s what I thought the reading was about, which was totally different and way more interesting. And then my discussion question will be unrelated to both of those!” This threefold sequence is also known to many students, and the medical community, as the “triad of death.”

The unpredictability of it all keeps the blood flowing, says Polly Selmie, another student in the class. 

“I’m just so hyped for yet another week of posting 500-word responses to literary concepts I’m pretty sure he just made up while listening to Wallows songs on repeat,” she wrote to The Peak in an email interview.

Lacey Teamsure, the professor of ENGL 390, has traditionally left these discussions to develop on their own. The goal of university education, says Teamsure, is to get students critically thinking — and sometimes that means criticizing the readings enough to realize that it’s best to just ignore them and write your own narrative. 

At press time, most students still had no idea how to respond to last week’s questions about whether A&W’s Beyond Meat burger counted as “artificial life.” A select few were scrabbling for participation marks by purposely not participating in the class at all, in preparation to frame their questions and complaints during the next Zoom conference as “engagement.”

CONFESSIONALS: MPA, ALA . . . I couldn’t tell you the difference

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

Written by Devana Petrovic, Staff Writer

For much too long, I’ve been a pretender. I’ve fooled everyone — but I can’t smile in silence anymore. No, I am not guilty of identity theft (anymore). Worse: I still can’t figure out the difference between APA and MLA. 

Maybe it’s because of my primary school years, when I first put my name on another kid’s addition and subtraction homework. Or my time in high school, when I refused to provide a works cited, no matter which assignment it was for, in spite of the school librarian’s lectures on “the importance of citations.” As if she was going to tell me what to do. 

Perhaps some part of me just refuses to learn because my helplessly creative mind simply rejects anything boring. The point is, somehow, I’ve gotten myself to college. Now, I cannot differentiate MSG 7 and APA XS. I’ve written every single paper using the same citation style — and I don’t even know which one it is. 

But with both of these citation styles constantly growing, can you even blame me? Last time I checked, MP3 was 7 and now she’s 8? It’s ridiculous. Girl, if you want me to understand you, stop changing and just be yourself! Because I’m not responsible for your coming-of-age identity collapse. 

Even now, I’m staring down my latest essay draft. Is this where I type a comma? Or is it time for (The Author’s Last Words As Spoken On Their Deathbed et al, 1932)? That’s the question I’m left with, and I thought you were supposed to answer my questions, SFU. Nothing could be less beneficial than me wasting an extra hour figuring out the difference between MTV and AT&T.

I mean, at the end of the day, I’m just going to go onto a sketchy citation generator website and pick the style that looks prettiest. Perhaps I will be jailed for not bracketing the author’s last name, mother’s maiden name, and birth certificate information after every other word. I heard that somewhere, but somehow I couldn’t say where.

And all that effort, just to have an exploited and underpaid TA skim past the lovechild I’ve adopted from Mg3(AsO4)2 and AOL Mobile. Don’t be fooled: that TA doesn’t care about me or the “academic journal abstract” I got my information from. Not when their thesis supervisor still has them learning Chicago style. 

Senate Report: June 8, 2020

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News
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(Photo from Peak archives)

Written by: Paige Riding, News Writer

Petter elaborates on his anti-racism statement and SFU’s equity initiatives 

During Monday’s Senate meeting, SFU President and Senate Chair Andrew Petter discussed the University’s resources and support to those “working to break down barriers to inclusion through the equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

Petter noted that the University is currently considering further steps that can be taken to combat racism and discrimination, as well as additional support that they can offer to vulnerable students.

“Across the university, we’ve heard an outpouring of opposition, revulsion to racially motivated violence and discrimination, support for black students, faculty, and staff, as well as for members of other marginalized groups and other forms of discrimination.”

“I think there is a genuine and deep commitment to doing so, difficult though it may be and inadequate though our may be from time to time.”

COVID-19 virtual town hall in the works

Petter announced that another virtual COVID-19 town hall is in the works, this time providing information to faculty and staff via a streamed presentation.

“Of course, virtual town halls aren’t the same as in-person ones, but hopefully, this will add to our efforts to provide good information and answer questions as they arise,” Petter said.

Petter provides update on SFU’s COVID-19 research efforts

Petter discussed SFU presenting at the Virtual GovTech Summit to governmental organizations like the Canadian Border Services Agency, Stats Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada last month. 

“Director of SFU’s Big Data Initiative Dr. Fred Popowich presented on how governments can use data responsibly and ethically to solve COVID-19 challenges,” Petter said.

He also noted that 50 SFU researchers were awarded over 11 million dollars from the National Science Engineering Research Council of Canada as “part of the Discovery Grants Individual Program.”

Senate discusses the search for the new VP Academic and the conflicts surrounding the search

Senator Daniel Laitsch raised concerns regarding the search for the new VP Academic. In particular, Laitsch noted the Board’s decision to bypass the typical public presentation of a short-list of candidate(s), despite a public presentation being “historically what was done.” Instead, the board went through the selection process and chose a single candidate for the position. That individual will either be approved or denied for the position at a later time.

The preamble provided by Senator Laitsch says: “the public presentation is a key part of building trust between the academic community and the university administration. I am disheartened to know that even this basic opportunity for engagement and collegial self-governance has now been taken away.”

“Ultimately, we have no public accountability. I realize that times are ‘different,’ but we do have the technological ability to provide the SFU community with a public presentation and consultation process.”

According to Senator Joy Johnson, the board went through “unconscious bias training” and then held interviews with candidates.

“As per best practice but, in particular in relation to concerns about equity, diversity, and inclusion, the interviews were based on the competencies and the role profile that was developed,” Johnson continued. Overall, Johnson estimates that about 30 hours went into this decision process.

Petter noted that the wording of the policy writes that these proceedings “may” need to be conducted, but it is the “committee’s jurisdiction” to determine whether or not public presentation of candidates is required.

In an attempt to compromise, Laitsch and Senator Colin Percival suggested having the chosen candidate present to a closed session of the Senate.

“At least in that case, you have a confidential introduction to the VPA in a private manner,” Laitsch suggested.

While Petter acknowledged these concerns, no compromises were established during the meeting.

Council Corner: June 9, 2020

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Chris Ho/The Peak

Written by: Michelle Gomez, News Editor

Discussion with SFU senior leaders about student services in COVID-19

The GSS meeting began with a presentation followed by discussion with Rummana Khan Hemani (SFU’s Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students & International) and Erin Biddlecombe (Senior Director, Office of Vice-Provost Students & International). 

Hemani began by noting that aside from Residence and Housing services and the health centre, all other student services are virtual at the moment. A challenge that their office is currently facing is “how to effectively maintain relationships and interactions with students in this remote way.”

Hemani explained that a group is being formed between Ancillary Services, Student Services, the faculties, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and the Library to discuss which services should be provided online and which should be in person in the Fall. 

Biology Councillor Allison Dennert noted that many graduate students will be financially impacted in the long term due to having to cancel field research or lab experiments, thus delaying their thesis and forcing them to extend their degree. 

Dennert added that “a lot of students are feeling that the decision to charge students late fees right now has been not necessarily in good faith and not in keeping with [ . . . ] the appreciation toward grad students that I think the university wants to convey.” 

Hemani responded that a lot of discussion took place regarding how to handle tuition in the summer term. “To some degree we’re fairly relaxed on the tuition payment policy at SFU compared to other institutions,” she stated. 

Hemani responded that late fees are not a significant source of income for SFU, but rather “a mechanism through which we encourage students to pay on time.” She explained that SFU relies on cash flow, and thus, it would not be possible for the institution to function if all Summer fees are outstanding until the end of August. 

GSS Calls Upon SFU to honour Its agreement with Research Assistants at TSSU

The GSS passed a motion that calls upon SFU to honour its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to recognize Research Assistants (RAs) as employees of the university.

As reported previously by The Peak, the joint statement issued by SFU and the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) in November 2019 “stated that SFU would voluntarily recognize TSSU as the official union for all RAs.” 

As laid out in the MOA, collective bargaining was to begin in May 2020, however, this process has not yet begun. 

The motion passed states that the GSS will call upon SFU to honour the MOA, including promptly bargaining for a collective agreement for RAs. 

Director of External Relations Matt McDonald read out part of a recent email received from SFU’s VP Academic and Provost pro tem Jonathan Driver about the issue.

“The initiative has been very complex and while we have had a delay in the dates with TSSU for a number of reasons [ . . . ] we want to reassure you that we are putting every effort into continuing with this critical work of making research personnel employees of the university.” 

Solidarity with Black Lives Matter 

A motion mandating the GSS to stand in solidarity with BLM was carried. The motion includes condemning systemic racism, empowering the GSS Executives to support the education efforts of Black organizers, empowering the Executive Committee to publish a statement of solidarity, and encouraging the GSS membership to educate themselves and speak up against racism. 

Director of Academic Relations Rahil Adeli said that: “Black people continue to face discrimination, murder, and brutality at the hands of police [ . . . ] It is our duty as a society to take action, raise awareness, and create change.” 

Geography Councillor Claire Shapton said, “I’m really glad that we’re writing a statement of solidarity [ . . . ] it’s important to be in solidarity and part of being in solidarity is [ . . . ] criticizing our own systems.” 

The motion was carried unanimously. 

Dora Kamau is creating empowerment-focused spaces for women to heal

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Kamau uses Instagram to lead empowering meditations for women. Courtesy of Bliss Your Heart

By: Michelle Young, Staff Writer

Dora Kamau is a Vancouver-based meditation teacher and mindfulness artist who hosts meditation classes and conversations for women to emotionally heal from stress, trauma, and self-doubt. Previously the founder of Bliss Your Heart, “an online and in-person platform [ . . . ] with the intention to foster meaningful and intentional connections [and] community in Vancouver,” Kamau focuses her work on self-care and self-discovery for all women, seeking to “empower women through clarity, connection, and conversation.” 

Though Kamau is no longer active under the Bliss Your Heart alias, she continues her work via Instagram, hosting and co-hosting a variety of wellness events, workshops, and conversations. Most recently, she held the Instagram live, “you can’t police my joy,” a conversation and meditation for “all black beautiful bodies.”

Kamau has a library of guided meditations where she focuses on healing. These three to ten-minute audio clips feature her soothing voice and affirming words. Paired with peaceful music, these meditations invite listeners to be present and aware of themselves via their breath and bodies. While these guides are similar to many meditations — pushing those who are participating to unclench their jaws and relax their shoulders — Kamau takes them a step further. From my experience, typical meditations are filled with calming flowery words and images. Kamau’s, however, contain powerful words that are woven together to sound nearly poetic. She touches on topics like unapologetically setting boundaries and being compassionate towards oneself. Though these pieces are calming, they are nonetheless powerful. 

Kamau has studied Psychiatric Nursing, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and is “interested in human nature and how we interact with ourselves and our environment.” She told Douglas College in an interview that her work stems from personal experiences: riddled with trauma and in search of healing, Kamau wanted to “create a space for other women like [her], to gather and hold space for one another, where [they] could silence shame by having powerful conversations about self-love, self-care and mental health.” 

Motivated by the normalization of burnout culture and encouraged by her ability to inspire young Black women, Kamau’s work pushes for change — change within ourselves, to take care of ourselves, recognize our needs, and to love ourselves. She also pushes for greater societal change as she continues to facilitate conversations and create spaces that advocate for compassion, women’s rights, and Black empowerment. 

You can find recordings of her past events and search for upcoming events on Kamau’s Instagram.

Takao Tanabe workshop provides new abstract styles for artists to apply in their work

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Takao Tanabe’s Forest 5 illustrates the sumi-e technique used in his art. Courtesy of Mira Godard Gallery.

By: Michelle Young, Staff Writer

The Vancouver Art Gallery’s Christina Jones hosted a one-hour Zoom workshop on Takao Tanabe’s work, inspiration, and styles as part of their Art at Home Live workshops. Tanabe is a Canadian painter who studied internationally and is renowned for his landscape pieces. 

I entered the session ready with the paper and coloured pencils it required, but found that the workshop did not provide a step-by-step guide to drawing. Rather, it discussed how artists can take inspiration from certain styles and apply them to their work. The session focused on how to portray “hard-edge” landscapes . 

The workshop began by asking attendees where they feel at ease in nature, with replies in the chat box citing landscapes like oceans and forests. Attendees were presented with Tanabe’s different styles — some pieces more abstract than others. The workshop focused on his rigid and geometric pieces (such as pieces like Gate and Window), and viewers were shown how to use masking tape to emulate Tanabe’s angular style by breaking up landscapes into smaller, simplified shapes. Tanabe’s softer works were also introduced, such as his piece, Dark Hills. The hosts explained how Tanabe aimed to learn a variety of techniques, like typography and sumi-e — the monochromatic Japanese style of ink painting used to create Dark Hills which emphasizes the “quality of the line.”

Throughout the workshop, attendees were asked to describe Tanabe’s work with words and participate in a few speed-sketches to identify the focal points of this work. One of the focal points identified was the harsh emphasis on the horizon line in his landscape pieces that contrast against his softer depiction of other elements in nature. These exercises helped create a concrete association with Tanabe’s abstract style and the conceptual ideas of the workshop, especially as attendees were asked to apply the suggested techniques in their own time. 

While the lack of technical guidance may have been a disappointment to some, I appreciated how viewers were given the opportunity to take the concepts they resonated with and apply them however they pleased in their work. The workshop succeeded in presenting conceptual ideas memorably, and in demonstrating valuable techniques for artists to make their own. 

When asked by the host for advice to give to aspiring artists, Tanabe said they simply need to have “the drive.”

The Vancouver Art Gallery is hosting a variety of at-home lectures and workshops, which can be found on their events page. Past events have been recorded and can be enjoyed on their YouTube channel, including this workshop. Per COVID-19 guidelines, the Vancouver Art Gallery is open to the public as of June 16, with special hours for frontline workers.

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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