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The Week Ahead in SFU Sports: January 20–26

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The new SFU Athletics logo — Photo credit / SFU Athletics

By: Dylan Webb, Sports Editor

As the SFU community deals with severe winter weather conditions and the commuting struggles that go along with them, the basketball, hockey, wrestling, and track teams prepare for a busy week of university sports action. Luckily for Clan fans, both basketball teams, the hockey team, and the women’s wrestling team, all play at home this week, so there is plenty of exciting sports action available on or near Burnaby campus. 

Women’s Basketball:

After returning home from a two game road trip that took them to Idaho and Washington, the women’s basketball team will host the two University of Alaska teams at the West Gym this week. After taking on the team from the Fairbanks campus on January 23, they will host the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on January 25. Tip off for both games is 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball:

Looking to erase memories of their last road trip to Alaska that resulted in back-to-back losses, the men’s basketball team heads back out on the road this week after playing a rare Monday afternoon home game in the West Gym against the Western Oregon University Wolves at 12:30 p.m. The team then moves to Lacey, Washington to take on Saint Martin’s University on January 23 before heading to the Royal Brougham Pavilion to take on Seattle Pacific University on January 25. 

Men’s Wrestling:

The SFU Men’s Wrestling team is headed to San Francisco, California for the California Collegiate Open on January 25

Women’s Wrestling:

Fans of Clan wrestling can check out the SFU Women’s Wrestling team this week as they host the Harbor College Chokers on January 24 at 7 p.m.

Track and Field:

The SFU Track and Field team travels to Portland, Oregon for a two day meet on January 25 and 26.

Hockey:

Coming off a difficult week that included back-to-back games against the undefeated, league-leading Trinity Western University Spartans, a lighter schedule for SFU Hockey this week has the team hosting the Selkirk Saints on January 25 at 7 p.m. at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. 

SFU Hockey extends winning streak to three games

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Mateo Coltellaro, a new addition to the Clan, scored his first career BCIHL goal. — Photo credit / SFU Hockey

By: Michael Lenko, Peak Associate

After uncertainty surrounding potential weather-induced ferry cancellations threatened to jeopardize SFU Hockey’s game against the UVIC (University of Victoria) Vikes, a small window of clear weather arrived to allow the game to be played. This was good news for Clan fans, as the team put together a dominating performance over the last place Vikes that culminated in a 5–3 win. With their winning streak extended to three games, the Clan is now in the thick of the race for the top two playoff seeds. 

Clearly unaffected by the uncertainty surrounding the game, the Clan was ready to go as soon as the puck dropped. SFU scored two goals in the opening six minutes of play to take a lead they would never relinquish. Mitch Ledyard opened the scoring on the powerplay to pick up his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Daniel Rubin added to the Clan lead less than a minute later on a feed from Jacob Lacasse, who was making his BCHIL (British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League) debut. While the rest of the first period would see no other scoring, the Clan held a dominant 26–5 edge in shots at the end of the frame.

In the second period, the Vikes got on the board, as Brandon Volpe scored eight minutes into the period to cut SFU’s lead in half. However, the Clan responded with two more goals, heading into the third period 4–1. Mateo Coltellaro scored in his first game with the Clan with just over three minutes left. Less than a minute later, Mac Colasimone registered his seventh goal of the season, which increased his team-leading point total to 19. The shot tally was far more balanced during the second period, as the Clan outshot the Vikes 1412.

Despite trailing by a seemingly insurmountable three goals, the Vikes made a decent attempt at a comeback in the third period. Vikes forward Kenny Britton cut the SFU lead to two halfway through the frame before Sawyer Hunt made the game really interesting by scoring with just over one minute left in the game. This was as close as the Vikes would come, though, as Ty Westgard scored into an empty net with five seconds left in the game to ensure the victory. By the end of the contest, the Clan had outshot the Vikes by an enormous margin, 58-26, which was easily their most dominant shot total so far this season. On this note, a notable performance for the visitors was goaltender Daniel Paul. In one of his most impressive efforts of the season, Paul turned aside 53 of the 57 shots the Clan threw at him.

With their third win in a row, the Clan now sits just two points behind the Vancouver Island University Mariners for second place in the BCIHL standings. As the two teams continue to remain within a couple points of each other, it’s tempting to look ahead to SFU’s final game of the season against the Mariners as one likely to have enormous playoff implications. With just ten games left in their regular season schedule, the time is now for the Clan to string some wins as they pursue a home playoff series and, more importantly, a BCIHL Championship banner.

SFU Women’s Basketball continues to roll with consecutive wins

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The team regained their three-point touch in the second game of the week. — Photo credit / SFU Athletics

By: Brandon Braich, Peak Associate

The SFU Women’s Basketball team continued their winning ways with a pair of home victories this week to extend their winning streak to four. The back-to-back victories also moved the team into a tie for second in the GNAC standings

After a busy week of settling into a new semester, the Clan got things started with an impressive 71–54 victory over the Seattle Pacific University Falcons (3–11, 1–5 GNAC) on January 9. 

The game started slow for both teams, with both offences struggling to score. This led to a tight first quarter in which the teams combined for just 21 points. However, this quickly changed in the second quarter when the Clan stormed out to an 8–0 run, capped by a layup courtesy of Emma Kramer, which pushed the lead to 19–10.

Despite the fact that the Falcons were able to chip away at the Clan lead and pulled to within seven points halfway through the third, SFU went on another run, capped by a three pointer from Jessica Jones at the end of the quarter, to secure a commanding 53–39 lead heading into the fourth. 

Though the Clan’s normally potent three point attack struggled throughout (SFU made only five three-pointers on 21 attempts), the team was able to control the game by dominating inside and finished with 40 points in the paint. 

The winning effort was led by Tayler Drynan, who finished with 16 points and four rebounds. Overall, it was a well-rounded team effort, with ten players recording points and all 12 active players seeing time on the floor. 

After defeating the Falcons, the Clan then turned their attention to the St. Martin’s University Saints (6-7, 1-5 GNAC) on Saturday night, and successfully engineered a late comeback to win 71–67 in front of a home crowd of 232.

The Clan got into trouble early, as a run in the second quarter by the Saints put the visitors up ten heading into the half. The Saints benefitted from an outstanding effort from Claire Dingus, who recorded a double double of 20 points and 15 rebounds. SFU also struggled to muster any offence and shot an anemic 32% from the field in the first half. 

The tone for the second half was set early, with Jessica Jones driving and finishing in the paint just seconds into the half. Jones carried the offence early, finished with 21 points and three rebounds, and helped the Clan regain much needed momentum. 

In a post-game interview with The Peak, Coach Bruce Langford credited Jones for keeping the game within reach.

“Jones kept us in it with her scoring, and in the second half more people contributed with Drynan and Hart hitting key threes,” Langford said. 

After Jones contributed to the momentum shift, the Clan finally began to narrow the lead, which culminated in Drynan hitting one of her biggest shots of the night to give SFU a 61–60 lead. Drynan recorded a game high 24 points on just 17 shots. She then forced a critical turnover on the following possession, which led to a three from Claudia Hart that extended SFU’s lead. 

Throughout the game, in contrast to the first win of the week, the Clan were lethal from beyond the arc and finished with 12 three-pointers. 

Despite the offensive explosion, Langford felt it was the defence that made the biggest difference in the end. 

“Defensively in the second half, we communicated better,” he said. “I think we have been working hard on how to handle different situations defensively so that we can make adjustments to what teams are doing.”

With the back-to-back victories, SFU has now won seven of their last eight games and improves to 10–6 overall and 5–1 in the conference. Langford was pleased with the resilience his team has displayed in recent weeks, especially in the games the team has come from behind to win. 

“We have had players step up in games to hit key shots, especially in fourth quarters. I think we have an ‘it’s not over until it’s over’ mentality. ”

Research Roundup

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Jordan Hollarsmith and Michael Doane collecting reproductive fronds from a San Diego kelp forest. Photo courtesy of SFU News (Photo: Jordan Hollarsmith)

Written by: Alice Fleerackers, Peak Contributor

Warming waters pose problems for the future of coastal kelp 

From melting ice caps on our poles to forest fires in the Amazon, the impacts of climate change are everywhere. New research by SFU post-doctoral student Jordan Hollarsmith and colleagues reveals that rising temperatures may be affecting life closer to home — right here on BC’s coast. 

Hollarsmith’s study, published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, investigated how increasingly warm, acidic oceans are changing life for giant kelp populations. In a lab experiment, she found that kelp were unable to reproduce in hotter conditions.  

Kelp is a primary source of food and shelter for many ocean species, and the findings have important implications — both ecological and economical.

“Ecologically speaking, kelp habitats up and down the Pacific coast are important as they form habitats for many different species,” says Hollarsmith in an interview for SFU News. “These species are critical not only as food sources for other species, but for various industries including fisheries and even tourism.” 

Bringing some empathy to chatbot conversations — one painting at a time

It’s a familiar experience: You attempt to file a customer complaint, end up speaking with a chatbot, and eventually leave the “conversation” feeling unfulfilled and frustrated — perhaps with more complaints than you started with. 

Until now, artificial intelligence (AI) has been unable to replicate the emotional intelligence that makes human conversation so rewarding. SFU professor Steve DiPaola and his research team are trying to change that. To bring some more empathy and creativity to AI interactions, the researchers have developed a number of new AI systems. Among them is the Empathy-Based Affective Portrait Painter, which literally paints a portrait of each person it interacts with, based on an evaluation of their emotional state. 

“Using our special system, the AI avatar can, through conversation, evaluate the user words, facial expression and voice stress to make an empathetic evaluation — just as a human would be able to, about someone they are talking to,” says DiPaola in an interview with SFU News

The resulting images are not only experimentally fascinating; they’re also visually unique. DiPaola’s emotional portraits have been featured at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and other museums across the world.   

A psychological solution to Canada’s tax deficit?  

No one likes paying their taxes — especially in Canada, where taxpayers’ efforts to minimize their taxes are contributing to the nation’s $8.7-billion tax deficit

New findings by SFU researchers Emily Thornton, Lara Atkin, and colleagues suggests that there may be a simple way to turn that around: remind people who their taxes are helping.  

To better understand what motivates people to pay (or not pay) their taxes, the team interviewed more than 470,000 adults from over 100 countries about their views on taxation. The results suggest that taxpayers who recognize that their tax dollars will be used to help others are more willing to pay up, as well as more supportive of taxation overall.

The study, which was published in PLOS ONE, has the potential to transform how we approach taxes here in Canada. 

“Some people will . . . go to extreme lengths to avoid paying taxes,” Thornton told SFU News. “Our findings raise an intriguing possibility — would Canadians be more willing to pay their taxes if the CRA better publicized how their tax dollars help others?”

Peak Speaks Podcast – The Man, the Myth, the Marco

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Listen here: https://pod.link/1464226637

Let’s Get Haunted offers you scary stories year round

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Screenshot via Instagram
Screenshot via Instagram

by Hannah Davis, Peak Associate

If you like spooky things no matter what time of the year it is, congratulations! You are creepy, just like me, and will therefore also probably like the podcast Let’s Get Haunted, brought to you by hosts Aly and Nat. 

“Haunted” refers in part to the podcast’s subject matter, which includes anything from conspiracy theories, witches, true crime, hauntings, and unexplained occurrences like the Dyatlov Pass Incident and the Staircase in the Woods phenomenon. In addition to recounting strange and paranormal historical occurrences, Nat and Aly share their own “personal hauntings,” which may have nothing to do with the paranormal. Instead, they try to show that “haunted” can just be a way to describe a bad day. I often giggle to myself while listening to the hosts gracefully recount their own misfortunes, including (spoiler alert!) Aly’s very haunted experience dealing with a con artist trying to get her to rent a wedding venue that didn’t exist. 

The podcast is well-researched and intriguing, peppered with the hosts’ funny and entertaining banter and inquiries. The tones of the stories they cover range from bizarre and weird to downright scary, but one can always be pulled back from the darkness by the hosts’ sharp senses of humour and Nat’s “nut” button (if you weren’t already intrigued, I hope that piqued your interest).

The hosts maintain a positive relationship with their listeners, encouraging them to send in their own personal hauntings (paranormal hauntings and otherwise), and feature these stories in special edition episodes. They also post and publicly appreciate artwork sent into them by fans on their podcast’s Instagram page. I would like to point out that there are some very artistically talented fans that listen to Let’s Get Haunted

I recommend listening to “Let’s Get Haunted” if you like all that is creepy and strange. Both hosts are inquisitive, funny, and smart, and approach their podcast and the bizarre stories they recount from a place of curiosity and acceptance rather than skepticism. Their podcast resides in a “what if?” space, as the hosts prefer to entertain outlandish theories and stories instead of poking holes in the narratives and condemning them as fake. Listen to this podcast today, and learn that Halloween isn’t the only time to get haunted.

The Astonishing Color of After is a heartwarming tale of personal growth

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by Lubaba Mahmud, Staff Writer

The stunning cover of The Astonishing Color of After with the silhouette of a majestic bird soaring on the rich magenta and mulberry sky caught my eye when I was browsing the library’s young adult (YA) section. When I initially picked this book up, I had no idea that it would take me on an emotional journey of love and loss. 

In The Astonishing Color of After, author Emily X.R. Pan tells the story of young protagonist Leigh Chen Sanders. When her mother, Dory, dies of suicide after a long battle with depression, she is convinced that Dory has returned to see her in the form of a bird. She goes to Taiwan, her mother’s birthplace, in an attempt to reunite with the bird. Leigh’s chase of the mysterious bird unveils emotional family stories that will have readers hooked.

Pan’s exploration of complex subjects like mental health and suicide is praiseworthy. She does not romanticize suicide or victim-blame, instead she is incredibly insightful as she uncovers Dory’s battle with depression. Leigh’s heartbreaking personal journey involves, among other things, dealing with the feeling of guilt when a loved one dies of suicide. This is a particularly difficult subject to address, and Pan’s achingly humane narrative does justice to it. This book also pays attention to a wide variety of important issues, such as the struggles of a mixed-race person, the stigma attached to pursuing art, as well as positive LGBTQ2+ parenting. Even though these components aren’t necessarily related to each other, Pan’s storyline was effortless. 

In spite of these positives, the style of writing repeatedly distracted me from the interesting plot. What could have been emotionally convincing was often just sappy instead. This is a signature move of the YA genre, and I really wish that this book rose above it. One annoying theme was the “colour-dependent” conversation Leigh has with her best friend and long-time crush, Axel. As both Leigh and Axel are aspiring artists, they often ask each other “What colour?” to figure out what they’re feeling at the moment. This resulted in extremely random shades of hundreds of colours that Leigh “felt” at the moment. I think this technique could have been convincing if it was not highly overused and not pushing imaginative boundaries — I mean, using some wild shade of orange to describe sadness isn’t all that believable.

Since the first paragraph of the book says that Leigh’s mother being a bird isn’t some “stream-of-conscious metaphorical crap,” I thought this book would be a refreshing take on YA and magical realism; but alas, overwhelmingly metaphorical and gimmicky writing was what I got instead. Another aspect that I didn’t like was Leigh’s teenage angst and lack of character depth. While I absolutely empathised with her emotional journey, I could not connect with her as a person. The flowery writing and somewhat flat protagonist bumped this book down to a generous three stars from me.

The Astonishing Color of After had all the ingredients of a fantastic book, but it lost its touch somewhere along the line. While I couldn’t love this one, it was still an enjoyable read. Overall, It is an impressive debut, one in which the writer’s efforts to give a spotlight to important subjects is commendable.

SFU appoints Dr. Joy Johnson as incoming president

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SFU's next president is going to be Dr Joy Johnson

By: Gurpreet Kambo, News Editor

After an extensive search process that spanned 2019, Simon Fraser University announced its new incoming president. Dr. Joy Johnson will be SFU’s new president for a five-year term as of Fall 2020. She will be replacing outgoing president Andrew Petter, who served two consecutive five-year terms at the helm of SFU. 

Since 2014, Johnson has been the university’s Vice-President, Research. 

“I love being part of SFU — so much is possible here as we develop new learning opportunities, enhance student support and services, expand our facilities, strengthen our research infrastructure, and forge new partnerships,” Johnson wrote in a press release about the announcement. “It’s my great privilege to have the opportunity to serve as President and Vice-Chancellor, and I look forward to getting started.”

The Peak had the opportunity to sit down with Johnson, and asked her how she would like to introduce herself to SFU students. 

“I have been at SFU for just over five years, serving as the Vice President of Research and International and I have seen the potential of this amazing university,” she said.

“I think we’re just at such a fortunate place at SFU in terms of the three campuses, exciting things happening like the new Student Union Building opening, new energy systems engineering building out in Surrey, and more potential to come. So that excites me a great deal and that’s partly why I put my name forward [for the presidency] because I do believe there’s so much potential, so much more that we can do.”

Aside from her previous positions at SFU, Johnson has an extensive history in academia. She previously earned a PhD in nursing from the University of Alberta, and served as a professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. Her research focused on “how environments and social dynamics influence health outcomes and opportunities, particularly among youth,” according to the press release issued by SFU. She also co-authored more than 180 peer-reviewed manuscripts as part of her academic career.

The president of SFU serves as the public face of the university. 

According to Johnson, “You can kind of think of it as the CEO role, and that’s to lead the leadership team,” like the vice-presidents and associate vice-presidents of the universities. 

She adds that the position also includes “creating relationships with other entities, be they industry, community, et cetera.”  

The president is also unique, according to Johnson, as they chair the Senate, the chief academic body of the university, and sit on the Board of Governors, the chief operational body of the university. Part of their role is ensuring that these bodies are coordinated and “strategically aligned.”

However, Johnson emphasizes that, despite the president’s role being complex and multifaceted,  she considers students to be her top priority as president. 

“I do want students to know that students come first. They’re at the heart of the university and it’s really important to me that the learning environment be front and center, for the president, to be thinking about the ways in which we provide an excellent education for students and provide them the support that they need.”

 

The Lightning Thief musical album zaps Percy Jackson back to life

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Jeremy Daniel / The Daily Beast
Jeremy Daniel / The Daily Beast

by Madeleine Chan, Staff Writer

I know what you’re thinking. They made a musical of . . . that? Despite being a big fan of the book series, I was also hesitant about this kind of adaptation. The films were a monstrosity that should be sent to the deepest depths of Tartarus. But, I promise you that this musical is not only a faithful and accurate adaptation, but has some very killer music as well.

 

Based on Rick Riordan’s best-selling novel, The Lightning Thief (Original Cast Recording) [Deluxe Edition] is an album which features all 19 songs from The Lightning Thief: A Percy Jackson Musical, plus five delightful bonus ones. The show tells the tale of Percy Jackson (Chris McCarrell), a kid who discovers that he’s half- Greek god half-mortal, and his quest to save his mom from the hellish Hades — all while trying to prevent a war amongst the gods.

 

To any who have not read the books, fear not, for the first song “Prologue/The Day I Got Expelled” lays down the overall premise of the show, which I very much appreciate. They cater to people who are already fans, but also don’t try to ostracize new ones. This inclusivity is also seen in the fact that most of the songs aren’t vitally dependent on the overarching story, so they can be listened to on their own. If you’re new to this world, the songs still have enough melodic uniqueness and substance to sustain just pure musical enjoyment.

 

The variety in melodic style also keeps the story interesting and alive. The songs range from fun rock romps like “Drive” and “Put You in Your Place” to heartfelt laments like “The Tree on the Hill.” There are even Ursula-esque villain speeches like “D.O.A.” that joke about Josh Groban eventually going to the underworld. In addition, great lyrics like “Normal is a myth/ Everyone has issues they’re dealing with” from “Strong” are emphasized by the music’s soft and comforting vibe, or whatever would suit the sentiment best.

 

Although I adore each song on the album, my favourite has to be “Good Kid,” Percy’s powerful solo. It’s a passionate rock-based number where Percy expresses how he doesn’t fit in and despite all the nonsense that happens to him, promises that he’s just a good kid. Along with the true-to-character lyrics, Rob Rokicki, the creator of the score, says the “buzzing of the electric guitar” at the top of the song resembles the bees in Percy’s head. Considering he has ADHD and dyslexia, this simple musical detail adds a ton of depth to an already exhilarating song.

 

Overall, this album showcases the true heart of the Percy Jackson series and reminds me why I love it so much. I strongly suggest listening to it if you like adventure, humour, Greek mythology, and of course the Percy Jackson series. In the meantime, when I’m not praying to the gods for the show’s recently announced 2020–2021 national tour to stop in Vancouver, I’ll be belting these tunes out to my heart’s content.

Board of Governors votes to reduce carbon footprint by 45% by 2025

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SFU350 presents for the Responsible Investment Committee. From left to right: Giovanni HoSang, Raaj Chatterjee, Abigail Herd, Elise Burgert.

By: Michelle Gomez, Assistant News Editor

SFU’s Board of Governors has voted in favor of eliminating investment in carbon-emitting companies by 45% over the next five years. 

Alison Blair, Associate Vice-President, Finance, expanded on what this entails in an interview with The Peak.

“We’re not divesting — we measure the carbon footprint of our investments, the public equity portion of the endowment and the non-endowment portfolios, and we commit to reducing that carbon footprint, not to divesting from fossil fuels.” 

Blair explained that a large factor in the Board’s decision was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s announced goal of 45% reduction by 2030 in order to comply with reductions needed to maintain global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Blair noted that student activism did have a role in the Board’s decision. 

“Certainly the student activism, and listening to and meeting with SFU 350 contributed to enhancing our thinking on the issues and bringing the issues more to light, more to our attention, making us more aware.”

SFU350 is a student organizations that has been advocating for SFU to divest since 2013. According to their Facebook page, “SFU350 is a lead organizer of DivestSFU campaign, a coalition of students, faculty, staff, and alumni calling upon SFU’s Board of Governors to realign SFU’s investment practices with its research record and values of sustainability and integrity.” 

SFU350 has presented to Board members on multiple occasions and have had several meetings with the Board’s responsible investment committee. 

The Peak interviewed both co-president Abigail Herd and former co-president Raaj Chatterjee of SFU 350. While they said that SFU is taking steps in the right direction, they both stated that making investment decisions based on a company’s carbon footprint can be problematic. 

Herd and Chatterjee explained that a company’s carbon footprint can sometimes inaccurately portray how much carbon said company emits, because the measure of carbon footprint does not consider all aspects of production and consumption. 

“It can lead to investments in an airplane company [ . . . ] instead of solar panels because the manufacturing process for producing solar panels can be more intensive than the manufacturing for producing a plane,” explained Herd. 

Herd also provided an example from Policy Options. For coal mining companies, only the carbon emitted in the extraction of the coal counts toward the company’s carbon footprint, and not the carbon emitted in the consumption of the coal. 

“The way that financial instrument [carbon footprinting] works allows that to happen.”

However, Blair noted that “We think measuring the carbon footprint of the portfolio and reducing the carbon footprint overall is more effective than divestment [ . . . ] there are other areas other than fossil fuels that contribute to carbon footprint.”

Concordia University and the University of California have both voted to fully divest. UBC has also voted to divest $380 million from its $2 billion endowment fund. 

Although UBC is divesting less than 45% of their endowment fund, Herd believes that their decision will make a greater impact than SFU’s. 

“I think that is a much stronger route than what SFU has done because they are fully divesting that amount,” said Herd. 

Chatterjee noted, “I think it’s really exciting that UBC is going forward with this, because that means that they’ll have all these financial instruments which are fossil free that SFU can also look into investing [ . . . ] it’s really exciting that potentially that SFU could piggyback off this as well.” 

When asked if this is an initial step in the direction of 100% in the future, Blair responded no. 

“We think it’s more effective to measure the carbon footprint and reduce it overall.” 

Chatterjee confirmed that SFU350’s goal remains 100% divestment of all fossil fuel companies. 

In terms of the next steps for SFU350, Chaterjee said that they will “continue to support the climate strikes that are going on, and build the interest for SFU students to take action on climate change, not only at the university level, but at the federal level.” 

“SFU sees itself as a leader in sustainability [ . . . ] we are concerned with reducing GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions for the university as a whole,” said Blair.