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Disney should be using its resources to do more than remakes

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios, The Lion King Official Teaser Trailer

By: Kelly Chia, Staff Writer

Disney, the omnipresent giant of entertainment, has been enthusiastically pumping out live-action remakes, fully capitalizing on the brand of its Renaissance movies like The Lion King and Aladdin. However, despite the awe-inspiring graphics and the realistic CGI art style, much of what endeared the original animations to their fan base seems to have been left behind in the updates. As such, I would much rather see new content come to life in 3D realism than have my expectations dashed by HD clones.

Being able to recreate old films in stunning realism is an impressive feat. When Rafiki raises Simba at the cliff for the iconic opening scene, I get a sense of the scale of how many animals there are, big and small, all bowing to the tiny little lion cub. On their own, the visuals are beautiful, and that can definitely be very appealing for some.

It also doesn’t hurt that there are updates to the soundtracks of these movies — I love hearing how the iconic ballads have been reinterpreted. For example, the end title for Aladdin, “A Whole New World” covered by ZAYN and Zhavia Ward, has a deeper, more mature timbre than the original.

However, I still don’t think that live action captures my imagination as well as the original animations do. There’s something about the versatility of cartoon animation that is lacking in the hyper-realistic CGI of the reboots — the latter tends to verge on the uncanny.

When Scar tells Simba to never come back to Pride Rock in the original, Simba’s emotion is palpable and relatable. What we see in the trailer of the live-action movie is Simba blankly looking at Scar, before turning to run from him. The live action has culled the characters’ expressions, which is unfortunate, as so much of the love I have for the original animations came from their emotive charm.

As much as the studio tries to dress up the remakes in swanky computer graphics and all-star voice casting, it cannot hide how muted the live-action remakes feel compared to the original films. This is pointedly obvious in the time-lapse of the “Hakuna Matata” scene in The Lion King’s trailer. As CGI Simba, Timon, and Pumba walk across the bridge, I cannot help but think of the confident, relaxed struts of their animated predecessors, and feel underwhelmed by their updated clones.

Right now, the Disney Renaissance remakes aren’t drumming up much anticipation from me. They come off as hollow replicas of their animated twins — cynical cash-ins on the nostalgia of an established viewer base. By coasting on CGI updates of old, well-loved Renaissance films, Disney loses out on applying their advanced animation technology in fresh, new stories.

It’s not as if Disney hasn’t done live action well before, either. Enchanted, a movie that mixes animation with live action, is especially underrated. The musical numbers are charming, and the live-action parts have as many lively beats as the animation does. I also adored Maleficent. Even though it reimagined the original Sleeping Beauty, it reintroduced Maleficent as a sympathetic villain. I could have just lived off of similar villain adaptations. Give me The Lion King from Scar’s perspective! But it seems like Disney is content being comfortable and safe, and that is really a damn shame.

Disney has the power to do something great here; it is an entertainment monolith that is financially secure enough that it can afford to be daring. I would be delighted to be proven wrong, of course, and to have these new renaissance remakes allow me to relive all the magic and wonder of the originals. From what I’ve seen from the trailers, however, Disney would be better off investing its resources in ideas outside of its comfort zone.

 

 

SFU needs more creativity and interactive learning in the classroom

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Peak Web
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Courtesy of NeONBRAND via Unsplash

By: Mishaa Khan, Peak Associate

Despite how far research has come in studying cognition and learning, the field of psychology still relies on an archaic, top-down mode of lesson delivery: hour(s)-long lectures by the instructor in which students are passive recipients at best. This is somehow meant to stir interest and maintain focus in the subject matter.

In my experience, the teaching methods in science departments at SFU and other universities is outdated and largely does not cater to varied learning abilities. Everyone has a different best way to comprehend information, such as student-led learning, interactive lectures, discussions, et cetera. To cater to the range of ways students process information, SFU needs to expand their teaching methods.

In the 22 courses I have taken at SFU, 21 have been very heavily lecture-based. Most of my classes did have a complementary lab or tutorial component to them, but the lectures themselves proved to be dry more often than not.

The one class that didn’t fit this mold was a seminar where we spent three hours discussing our assigned readings. It proved to be one of my favourite classes despite being held at 8:30 in the morning. Perhaps if my other, lecture-based classes had implemented a different teaching style than just sit-and-listen, it would have helped me (and others) enjoy and appreciate the content a lot more than we did.

I’ve often had to buy coffee for some of my lectures, even after getting adequate sleep; I feared I might fall asleep or let my attention wander out of boredom. I’m sure there are others who echo these sentiments. Students should not have to rely on coffee to keep themselves alert and focused through a monotonous class. It is the job of the professors and the university to implement better, research-affirmed instructional techniques to aid our learning, not the students’ job to compensate for the faulty system.

For example, a meta-analysis done by Neil Bradbury suggests that lectures alone aren’t enough to solidify knowledge and contextual application in students’ minds. Students need to be doing as much as listening to fully comprehend the information they are taking in.

I’m not saying that we should get rid of lectures entirely — they can be an effective way to deliver knowledge under time constraints — but they should not be the only mode of teaching instructors rely on. Instead, I’m arguing that students should be given diverse methods in how they consume and show their understanding of course material.

The limitations of current teaching styles hinder students from reaching their full potential. As a result, students who are discouraged by their classes and grades may underestimate their intelligence. This could lead to students being less likely to pursue their passions all because of our stagnant educational system. This generation consists of our future leaders, so why are universities suppressing their abilities instead of strengthening them?

 

News Beat: Rotunda Student Groups Open House

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Peak Web
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Why are the Bagpipes Heavily Featured at SFU?

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Peak Web
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Learning “How To Quit Facebook” at the Burnaby Festival of Learning

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Chris Ho/The Peak

By: Onosholema Ogoigbe, News Team Member

On May 6, Mariah Gastaldo, an SFU alumna and librarian at the Burnaby Public Library, presented an event titled “How to Quit Facebook” at the McGill branch of the library as part of the ongoing Burnaby Festival of Learning.

Despite its title, Gastaldo’s event was not just a step-by-step guide on how to delete Facebook. At the start of the event, attendees were asked to write what they had come to learn on a sticky note and post it on the wall behind the presenter. The aim was to have answered all of their questions by the end of the program.

Gastaldo then proceeded to provide attendees with alternatives to deleting their account that they might consider, such as taking some time away from Facebook or deactivating their accounts.  These may be more effective depending on a user’s motivation for deleting their account. After, Gastaldo taught attendees how to keep their social media private through methods like incognito windows. She then provided a demo on how to actually delete the account. Once the event’s outline had been fulfilled, Gastaldo opened the floor up for questions and interactions.

The event ended with a lot of questions from attendees. Many left the venue having deleted their Facebook account. After everyone had left, I got a chance to sit down with Gastaldo and talk to her about the event and the Festival of Learning as a whole.

She remarked that the turnout was great, and that with some exceptions, she was able to answer most of the questions that attendees had written down on the sticky notes.

“It’s really rewarding to be involved in this,” Gastaldo said of the Festival of Learning. “It’s really inspiring and lifelong learning is why I got into libraries.”

The Burnaby Festival of Learning, a collaboration with SFU and the city of Burnaby, is described on its official website as “a week-long series of free events . . . designed to inform, engage and spark creative conversations among Burnaby’s bright and diverse audiences.” The festival’s incentive is to encourage “unconventional, lifelong learning.”

SFU partners back up with food service provider Chartwells

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Chris Ho/The Peak

By: Kitty Cheung, Staff Writer

SFU has announced another partnership with Chartwells, a food service provider. Starting this month, Chartwells will be managing SFU dining spaces for the span of a five-year contract.

As part of Compass Group, a British catering company, Chartwells is taking over from Sodexo Canada to run food service at the Residence Dining Hall, Diamond Alumni Centre, Mackenzie Café, and more.

SFU to implement Chartwells’ Thinking Ahead Giving Back program

Martin Pochurko, SFU’s vice president of finance and administration, says the “game changer” was Chartwells’ Thinking Ahead Giving Back vision. This new vision entails pledges to deliver 1,000,000 meals worldwide over three years, dedicate 10,000 hours of community support for students’ mental and social issues, and create 1,000 jobs to promote student employment.

The Peak reached out to Mark McLaughlin, SFU’s chief commercial services officer of ancillary services, to see how Thinking Ahead Giving Back would be specifically implemented in the SFU community.

“[Chartwells is] supportive of SFU’s fair trade campus program and they have indicated that they plan to increase the use of fair trade products,” wrote McLaughlin. “We should also see more use of local produce and products from BC farms and suppliers.”

“Chartwells recognizes that dietary requirements and food security are issues for students and they are looking at ways to help us address those needs at our Burnaby campus.”

Celebrity chef to join SFU Dining Services

This change includes a partnership with Vikram Vij, SFU alumnus, celebrity chef and former dragon on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. According to McLaughlin, Vij will be guiding menu offerings at Mackenzie Café, assisting with Iron Chef competitions in the Dining Hall, and providing advice to students cooking in the My Pantry area.

SFU and Chartwells’ history

Prior to this partnership, Chartwells had acted as SFU’s main food service provider in the past for several contract terms. SFU accomplished many “firsts” while working with Chartwells, particularly in the five-year contract renewal period of 2012–17. This included opening Canada’s first 24/7 residence dining hall, introducing Canada’s first Fair Trade Starbucks, and being awarded “Fair Trade Campus of the Year” by Fairtrade Canada.

In 2017, SFU chose Sodexo to replace Chartwells as its main food service provider. McLaughlin stated via email that the switch back to Chartwells is due to the SFU Residence expansion plans.

“Now was a good time to assess our food provider service to ensure that we had the best operator in place as we start to design a new dining hall to meet the needs of our growing 24/7 residential dining community, as well as to ensure we are able to offer cuisine that meets the current and future needs of our diverse population.”

Current food service employees will maintain their jobs and benefits

Last time SFU switched food service providers, there were protests over workers’ job security, as food service employees had received termination notices from the university. However, it was later revealed that workers would be staying as part of collective agreement between Sodexo and the dining staff’s labour union, Unite Here Local 40.

“Our guests, faculty, staff and students can expect to see the same familiar faces in our Burnaby dining venues,” McLaughlin wrote when asked how returning to Chartwells would affect current SFU food service employees. “Chartwells has a collective agreement in place with the union representing these staff, and all wages, benefits and seniority were maintained.”

SFU Explorations Day welcomes Burnaby high school students to campus

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Peak Web
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SFU News

By: Kitty Cheung, Staff Writer

As part of the Burnaby Festival of Learning, SFU hosted a day for high school students this past week that offered a change of pace. SFU Explorations Day, an event geared towards Burnaby high school students, occurred at the Burnaby campus on May 7.

This day-long event featured a variety of workshops, with all eight SFU faculties and the library participating to run lessons that let students explore potential paths and post-secondary opportunities for the future.

With 54 classes to choose from, participants selected their own courses, similar to how SFU students are able to organize their own schedules. Workshops covered topics such as programming with Pepper the humanoid robot, making liquid nitrogen ice-cream, learning about anthropology using video games, competing in an egg-drop competition, and more.

Beginning in 2016, the Burnaby Festival of Learning has been held annually and has included programming for high schools each year. Although the name has changed several times, this year marks the fourth iteration of SFU Explorations Day. Starting with 100 students in its pilot year, the 2019 event has now garnered 340 student registrations.

Alison Chan, co-chair of the Burnaby Festival of Learning and the main organizer behind SFU Explorations Day, spoke with The Peak through an email interview.

According to Chan, the event is a “way for [high school students] to explore subject areas- where they may not be exposed to, find opportunities, and experience the possibilities and options with post-secondary education – and hopefully at SFU.”

Chan also recounted that, in a meeting with the Faculty of Science, she was told that the event was important because some schools may lack enough equipment to run certain science activities with their students.

“For example, not all schools have a microscope for each student, there are instances where five to six students have to share one microscope. Things like this really make a difference in learning for the students, also for the teachers that are supervising,” she elaborated.

Organizers have been planning this event since November 2018. It’s been a long six months, Chan says.

“All 8 faculties and the library have been really enthusiastic and supportive of this day. It is a lot of work, but in the end, you see their reactions, how much they loved and enjoyed the various classes and workshops offered.”

For future SFU Explorations Day participants, Chan advises to “come with an open mind and be ready to explore.”

SFSS directors’ votes on motions will no longer be public knowledge

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Peak Web
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Chris Ho/ The Peak

By: Zach Siddiqui, Copy Editor

Starting in May, when the SFSS board of directors votes on resolutions at the board table, the votes of individual directors will no longer be public information.

On April 18, the SFSS board of directors passed a motion to “discontinue the practice of listing [ . . . ] board members who vote against or abstain from voting on motions, effective May 1, 2019.” This decision reverses the board’s February motion to publicize the voting breakdown for the sake of transparency with students and student groups.

Jackson Freedman, outgoing vice-president university relations, said at the board meeting that the idea of discontinuing the public breakdown had been discussed previously by the SFSS board’s governance committee.

“We [the board of directors] deal with a lot of controversial issues,” he said while speaking to the board on the proposed motion. “Individuals shouldn’t have to be held personally accountable for their decisions; the board of directors should be held accountable for their decisions.”

Freedman also spoke on the perception of the SFSS as “student government,” which he asserted is not accurate.

“We talk about student politics, we see ourselves as student politicians, but that’s really not what this is. We’re a not-for-profit organization, and this is just not standard practice with any not-for-profit organization that I’ve really ever seen,” he said.

“If you look at other student societies, they don’t do this at all. Actually, some governments even don’t.”

Freedman finished by stressing the importance of protecting board members, who are often young people without past experience working in a high-stakes representative role, from being “targeted” by the student body for their positions.

2019-20 SFSS president Giovanni HoSang called the motion a “slap in the face” to the February motion, which he felt was a positive step toward accountability and transparency at the SFSS.

“I think [the February motion] was something that was very positive in the sense that [it meant students could] know exactly how you vote when you run on certain issues [in your] election campaign,” he said.

HoSang also challenged Freedman’s claim that directors revealing their votes is unprecedented, claiming that “other student unions have livestreams of their meetings.”

“This is the last meeting of this current board; I think this should be a conversation for the next board,” he finished.

Prior to the final vote, Samer Rihani, outgoing vice-president student services and acting president, stated to the board that he was “in the middle” of the two viewpoints.

“There are better ways of accountability than this,” Rihani said, though he also called the February motion a “good start to get something in place.”

He also noted that under the current system, whether or not directors’ votes are public information, any student who attends a board meeting as a guest will watch the vote happen and therefore be able to talk about it.

Summer fashion DIYs from school supplies

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Peak Web
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Photo curtesy of PxHere

Written by: Kelly Chai, Staff writer
Illustration by:

Not sure whether to toss or keep those notes? Want to walk out into the summer with a new look, but your wallet protests? Not to worry: we’ll show you how to make three different accessories using your old notes and textbooks that will transform your sad grades into some elegant accessories.

Norton Textbook Choker

You will need:

  • A Norton edition English textbook (it doesn’t matter which one, they’re all enormous)
  • A pair of scissors as dull as your attitude when you bought the aforementioned textbook
  • The tears saved from when you found most of your readings as pdf files

Those quarter-ply-thin pages, responsible for making you sick at the phrase “romantic literature,” looks much better on you as a choker than it feels as the chokehold pressure of late-night essay deadlines.

Start your healing process by tearing pages from your Norton textbook. You’ll soon realize that you are stripping money, and you’ll start treating those cruel pages with a little more reverence. After that, respectfully take your scissors and cut small strips from the pages that you did not read.
Soon, you will accumulate a few hundred pages’ worth of strips. Braid your strips to soothe your anger. Using your organic tears as glue, attach one end of the braid to the other end.

Your new choker will provoke unsolicited discussions of whether Romeo is indeed the Shakespearean fuckboy. That’s even better than the money you could have gotten reselling this!

Colour-Coded Flower Crown

You will need:

  • The notes from your last final
  • Some nearly dead highlighters
  • The rewardless roll-up rims from your Tim Horton’s cups
  • Some coffee/tea
    -Optional-
  • Dilute coffee grounds with tears (is an exam complete without any?)

You deserve a welcome to the summer worthy of the Greek gods after the hell you’ve just gone through. Wave to those lost in the river Styx — AKA students in exam season -— with this accessory.

Begin by twisting and glueing the rims of your cups together with ground coffee. Once you’ve strung together enough rims that they can wrap around your head, tie the ends of the mega-rim together. Next, stain your crown with coffee or tea. You want just a little — nothing like the ungodly amount of caffeine that you had while studying.

After that, take your notes and dye them with your own tears, which by now, pour out of your eyes in a wide rainbow of highlighter shades. Get creative! You didn’t read these notes anyway, so saturated it with blinding, au naturel highlighter! Now, tear your notes into strips and fold them into spirals to form roses. Using some wet ground coffee, attach your notes to the coffee crown.

The unholy trinity of studying, crying, and caffeine have reunited to give thoughts and prayers to you. Just maybe, your creative embodiment of Demeter will score you some points in your HUM 102 exam.

Coupon Scrunchie:

You will need:

  • Your mailbox coupons — cover your bases with all the fast food places
  • An elastic band as flexible as a first-year’s course schedule
  • A smidge of the tears saved in your wallet

We love a functional and cute accessory. This will win you the envy and admiration of your classmates, who will share those sweet two-for-one deals with you.

Start by cutting your coupons into short strips, arranging your coupons into short strips, layering them on top of each other. You want the contrast of McDonald’s and Church’s Chicken coupons to give it that pop of colour (and some diversity in your diet!).

Once you’re satisfied with how it looks, dab some tears, shed in honour of what you saved by skipping out on Steve’s Poke Bar this week, on the edges of the coupons. Line these edges with the elastic, and you’re ready to rock and roll!

Sport this on your wrist or in your ponytail. You may now lead our esteemed student body as The Ruler Of Coupons, ready to spare an A&W deal for any poor soul.

 

 



 

11 Ways Not to be “That Tourist” This Summer

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Peak Web
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Image courtesy of Cora Fu

By: Aiya Bowman, Peak Associate, and Gabrielle McLaren, Editor-in-Chief

“Hi! How may we help you?”

You’ve heard it before, and if you’re travelling this summer, then you will absolutely hear it again. On the flip side of that, working in tourism is fun and entertaining. You meet interesting people, both on the co-workers’ side of things and on the visitors’. It’s dynamic and exciting, every day is different, and the experiences are unique.

But by God, it can also be draining. You work hard, the hours are long, you forgot when your last day off was, you’re in contact with so many random germs, the pace is rapid, the management can go either way, and the work’s seasonal nature intensifies it. And the worst part? The tourists.

Between tourists that are unreasonably argumentative and those who are just downright lost and confused, there always seems to be a lack of etiquette when it comes to dealing with travel frustration. Hint: it should not be taken out on some poor underpaid employee. To help you avoid being that tourist this summer, The Peak has compiled a helpful list of dos and don’ts for travelling.

  1. Do your research before you arrive at a destination. If you don’t do your homework and try rolling in mid-afternoon to buy tickets that are first come, first served, yelling at some poor employee won’t magically get you tickets. If you find out that you don’t regain that deposit for a towel while checking out of your hostel, yelling at the person behind the counter definitely won’t get you your $2 back.  
  2. Don’t have sex somewhere someone else will have to clean up. Honestly. This isn’t kinkshaming. This is just a reminder that while you can technically have sex anywhere, you shouldn’t get too creative when you’re not on your home turf. If you get mad horny and choose to disregard all this, then at least dispose of the condom. We’re not paid enough to deal with that. And by “we,” we mean absolutely everyone and anyone.
  3. Remember who you’re talking to and be realistic about our agency and power. A random tourist once asked to be brought to Justin Trudeau’s office because they were mad that they’d come all the way to Ottawa and hadn’t seen the prime minister. We don’t know what to tell you, friend: this is both an unrealistic expectation and way above any of our pay grades. Are you mad about the seating options in the area? Leave a comment card and the higher-ups might fix it in the long-term, but at the moment, we can’t exactly drop everything to build you a bench.   
  4. Figure out whether or not you need to tip. If you’re not sure, have some cash with you. A lot of us are underpaid with the assumption that tips will round out our shitty salaries. Find a way to work tips into your budget. And if you can’t tip, leave a comment card or review on TripAdvisor — because we definitely all read our TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews in our break rooms as a group bonding activity, to find out what works and what doesn’t, and also for that sweet, sweet sense of emotional validation.
  5. We hate telling you the rules just as much as you hate hearing them, but please follow them. If you’re told not to touch a thing, do not touch the thing. If you’re told to stay with the group, don’t go wandering down Random Hallway #279. If you’re told to turn the flash off your phone or camera, turn it off. The rules you don’t understand have a reason for existing, and the chances that you’re special enough to touch this 150-year-old artefact regardless are very, very slim. Rules are everyone’s least favourite part of life, so if you make someone repeat them a thousand times, you will be that person’s least favourite part of the tour/activity/stay. If you have a question about the rules, just ask us!
  6. On the subject of reviews, please leave them! For some folks in the tourism industry, this can make or break getting hired or re-hired, getting more hours, or simply growing a portfolio. For others, it’s just fun to read. If we don’t get tipped for whatever reason (i.e. you’re working for the government and tips are perceived as a conflict of interest), comment cards and online reviews are the emotional equivalent. Here are some pointers.
    • Try to remember our names! There’s nothing like getting a specific shout-out for being a great employee, or recognized for going out of our way to help you. Honestly, it’ll put a smile on our face for the whole day — or even the week.
    • Be specific! Saying that everything was utterly wonderful then leaving 3/10 stars: just no. Tell us: what went wrong? Wasn’t it wonderful? Did you just think the rating was out of three? We want answers.  
    • Be honest! Feedback helps us get better at our job, which is so, so important in this industry.
  7. Keep in mind that your problem may not be somebody else’s problem. If you decided to go across town to some other activity and didn’t give yourself time to make it back with time to find parking, we really can’t delay our schedule for you specifically. Did you grab tickets for a tour in a language you don’t speak? That sounds like a you problem, buddy: not a reason for us to go against directions and inconvenience the other 20 visitors we’ve got with us by switching languages.
  8. Don’t forget that this is somebody’s job. Don’t flirt with us while we’re working and literally can’t get away from you. Don’t try to tease out secrets, ask for a discount you’re not entitled to, or show you something off-limits. Similarly, don’t bring up politics or get pushy with someone who is at work. Sometimes, we’re not in a position where we can comment on issues or events. You can ask questions, but if it’s a no, it’s a no. You aren’t cool or edgy, and it won’t create any kind of camaraderie between us. We’ll just be annoyed and uncomfortable and possibly exasperated the whole time, and we will read you to filth in front of our colleagues.
  9. Talk to us if something’s wrong during your stay or activity with us. Leaving a one-star, several-page review ranting about something we could have fixed in literally five minutes is a guaranteed way to make us judge you. Just ask us for assistance; we rarely bite and always want to help. That 40° summer night could have been avoided by asking us how to run the AC.
  10. Don’t let your status as vacation-goer or tourist get to your head. Yes, we can in fact throw you out for chucking beer bottles at us. No, we don’t care that you’re a paying customer. We’re absolutely delighted to give you the boot after having you rave on about getting us fired.
  11. Please, please, please interact with us. When we ask, “Does anyone have any questions?” we really mean, “The sound of my own voice exhausts me and I’ve given this spiel four times today and am desperate for divergence and change.” If we ask, “How was your day?” we really mean, “My favourite co-worker is off today and I crave human interaction.”
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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