Home Blog Page 6

The Clausgate Scandal: How Big Beverage tried to cancel Christmas

By
Peak Web
-
0
ILLUSTRATION: Victoria Lo / The Peak

By: Zainab Salam, Reporter in Hiding 

By the time the headline “Santa Claus Hates Everyone” ricocheted across the internet and news outlets, the world had already begun cancelling Christmas. Children sobbed into their half-eaten gingerbread men. Christmas influencers rebranded as “seasonally ambivalent creators.” One particular parenting blogger recommended replacing Santa with a “more emotionally available snowman,” noting that Frosty at least “shows up when he says he will and respects boundaries.”

But as any good investigative publication knows, when a story smells fishy, it usually isn’t because of herring snacks at the North Pole. And so began our descent into what we now refer to as The Clausgate Scandal.

The original interview, published by the aggressively festive tabloid The Daily Spinner, claimed Santa had gone “full festive nihilist” during a rare on-the-sleigh interview. The reporter interviewing Mr. Claus claimed that the jolly man had growled, “I despise joy. I resent children.” The Daily Spinner had reported on this incident, describing Mr. Claus’ resentment as a “deep festering hatred for anything festive.” Further alleging that his “ho ho hos” had taken on a “menacing, vaguely capitalist undertone.” 

Here at our publication, Real News, we doubted such reporting as it doesn’t align with Mr. Claus’ personal brand of peppermint and generosity. After all, this is a man who once led unionization efforts to secure dental benefits for the elves. As such, we’ve launched an investigation into The Daily Spinner and their reporter. Once we began our closer inspection, cracks appeared faster than a poorly baked sugar cookie that seemed to crumple before touching it. Audio forensics here at this prestigious publication revealed suspicious editing of the interview footage: long pauses, reversed “ho ho hos,” and what experts described as “a suspicious overlay of a disgruntled mall Santa Claus from a suburban strip mall in Burnaby.”

Moreover, financial records obtained through a whistleblowing elf reveal that The Daily Spinner and its reporter were discreetly compensated by Coke. Our team managed to briefly intercept Mr. Claus while he was practising his Christmas delivery route, somewhere above rural Manitoba. He vehemently denied the allegations while attempting to reroute a mildly rebellious reindeer.

“I never said I hate everyone,” he clarified. “I said I hate having artificial intelligence (AI) duplicating my likeness onto beverages without consent. And now they used AI to edit my voice? Ho, ho, NO!”

For decades, Mr. Claus’ image has been plastered across Coke cans, bottles, and other products. As a self-described “hardcore Trotskyist,” Mr. Claus expressed that he was simply “tired of this shit.” For the first time in his life, he had filed a subpoena against Coke to get rid of the AI-generated Santas from the brand’s cans and ads. 

This, of course, created an enormous problem for Mr. Claus — his residential address was leaked. WikiLeaks leaked his information all over the internet, causing the Russian government to threaten a takeover of his home and toy-making factory unless Mr. Claus pays taxes to the financially-ill Russian government. 

This explains why Mr. Claus was so aggressive with the reporter from The Daily Spinner. He told me that he fears that the Russian government and Big Beverage is after him, causing him to respond to all approaching individuals with a bottle of pepper spray ready to go. For Mr. Claus, Christmas Day will go on as usual unless Big Beverage shuts down his operation. “It’s not a front, I swear to God,” Santa told us, despite us not asking him anything in that nature.  

Grandma got run over (more like splashed so badly that she fell flat on her face) by a reindeer!

By
Peak Web
-
0
ILLUSTRATION: Yan Ting Leung / The Peak

By: Heidi Kwok, Staff Writer

A 92-year-old grandmother was swept off her feet earlier this morning by what bystanders initially identified as a rogue reindeer the size of a school bus skidding down Hastings Street. The oversized reindeer was first spotted by unsuspecting pedestrians at 6:00 a.m. last Wednesday. According to eyewitness statements, the reindeer had been spreading festive mayhem and destruction all across the Lower Mainland by terrorizing pedestrians and treating the city as its own personal, giant ice skating rink. While terribly shaken up, Grandma, thankfully, survived the ordeal with only a few minor bruises.

It was only after closer inspection by transit police at a roadside safety stop that the “reindeer” was revealed to be an R5 RapidBus completely dolled up, from roof to bumper, in Christmas decorations. The reindeer bus was released for good behaviour from the TransLink bus depot last week. In its new–found freedom, it has reportedly developed a particular fondness for barreling through puddles next to sidewalks and drenching defenceless young children, elderly dog walkers, and anyone holding a cup of coffee. The grandmother in question had been minding her own business, carrying out her sacred duty of handing out homemade gingerbread cookies to her neighbours, when the bus scooped her up along for a merry sleigh ride. She had fallen and couldn’t get up. 

Throughout the week, early-morning commuters caught fleeting glimpses of the bus as it was busy breaking speed limits and openly taunting transit police by recklessly weaving through traffic. Meanwhile, in the late evenings, the bus either prowled the streets in search of its next victim or lurked silently in dark alleyways, its presence betrayed only by the flickering incandescent LED Christmas lights that cast a sickly, morbid glow against the pavement. 

For the unlucky few who witnessed the creature up close, their souls were forever scarred. In a poor imitation of a reindeer, the bus sported soulless, unblinking eyes, and an overinflated red nose so garish that it brought Pennywise the Clown to shame. A towering set of twisted antlers, unmistakably evocative of Krampus, completed the set-up. 

When finally detained and questioned by authorities, the reindeer bus insisted it was acting in self-defense. It claimed to have escaped the elf overlords at the TransLink headquarters and accused the transit company’s CEO of sitting on a “throne of lies.” The bus refused to cooperate further without a lawyer and union representative present.

Meanwhile, Grandma led an army of bingo-night seniors down Hastings Street to restore her dignity by unleashing a wave of fury rarely seen (except during annual Black Friday lineups at the local big box retailer). They mapped the reindeer bus’s common escape routes and eventually ambushed it outside an auto shop, where it had stopped momentarily to gaze wistfully at the new line of Slip&Slide 4000 platinum fitted tires. To the bus’ dismay, the seniors descended on the bus, delivering swift whacks to the exterior using everything from floral-printed walkers to umbrellas and dentures. 

Comic: It’s coming on Christmas . . .

By
Peak Web
-
0
UpNorthMemories - Don Harrison / Flickr

Photography/creative geniusesness: Jack Baron (Contributor), Katie Walkley (Peak Associate), Mason Mattu (Humour Editor)

 

Metro Vancouver passes pared-down budget

By
Peak Web
-
0
A wide shot of downtown Vancouver on a bright sunny day is pictured. False Creek and the mountains are also pictured.
PHOTO: Luke Lawreszuk / Unsplash

By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer

On October 31, the Metro Vancouver Regional District passed its budget for the 2026 fiscal year. It focuses on “drinking water, waste management, solid waste management, regional planning, regional parks, and more,” according to a Metro Vancouver press release. 

Initially, the draft budget faced public scrutiny due to significant projected increases in spending. It would have raised average household costs by up to 5% compared to the previous year. However, following the completion of a financial review on April 9, the Board approved a plan that eliminated nearly $364 million in operating savings and $1.1 billion in capital expenditures from the budget. This occurred by “lowering debt servicing costs through reducing capital infrastructure spending, adjusting project timelines, and optimizing work plans.” These steps reduced the burden on households from $918 to an average of $897. 

Despite the efforts to reduce spending, critics have questioned whether these cuts address the region’s underlying financial pressures (such as the cost of living) and raised concerns about long-term infrastructure investment and the future of transit projects. The Peak interviewed Kennedy Stewart, an associate professor of public policy, to learn more. Stewart also served as the mayor of Vancouver from 2018 to 2022 and was a member of parliament. 

Stewart condemned the budget, stating it would only benefit the richest in the region and would lead to massive service cuts, disproportionately affecting renters and lower-income residents. He also pointed out that the timing of the budget was inappropriate, with the Canada-US trade war and lower-than-anticipated growth in the global economy creating uncertainty. Stewart wished the budget would allow for an environment where people would not be overtaxed or experience any service cuts.  

Among the budget’s various cuts, Stewart highlighted a service for “general government zero waste collaboration initiatives” that was eliminated for the upcoming year. He said the district’s direction “reflects the political agendas of the mayors and the councillors sitting on that Board. They are very keen to reduce services.” Here, Stewart referenced climate change and transit proposals that he and the community fought hard for.

“We are seeing a very herky-jerky kind of approach to policy making” 

— Kennedy Stewart, former mayor of Vancouver and SFU associate professor

Metro Vancouver covers 21 municipalities and other local government authorities in the Lower Mainland. The body has faced heavy criticism for its slow speed in developing projects and infighting between municipalities. This situation has led to Vancouver’s mayor, Ken Sim, boycotting all regional district meetings, and the Surrey City Council passing a resolution disavowing some of the policies brought forward by the Board.

Stewart also argued that, through his experience as mayor, the separation of the Lower Mainland into different local authorities has driven away investment from the region as a whole.

Considering this, he has advocated for amalgamating all the municipalities of the Lower Mainland into one, leading to the eventual abolishment of the regional district. “I think it’s completely outlived its usefulness now,” Stewart said. “You have all the little mayors from little municipalities with very little capacity in their own organizations trying to navigate billion-dollar contracts, and failing.” So, “it’s not a recipe for success and the province should really review this.” Former BC premier Mike Harcourt and leader of the BC Conservatives John Rustad also share this perspective.

First Nations Health Authority reports on phase one of “Indigenizing Harm Reduction” study

By
Peak Web
-
0
Two people extend their arms from opposite sides of the photo and hold hands in the middle. The photo reflects the community support aspect of the study.
PHOTO: Ruthson Zimmerman / Unsplash

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

Content warning: mentions of substance use and death. 

Across Canada, the toxic drug crisis persists as a social issue faced by thousands of citizens each year. In BC alone, over 14,500 people have died from toxic drug use since 2016. First Nations people bear the brunt of these casualties. From January to June 2024, they had 6.7 times the rate of death compared to other BC residents. At the same time, Canadian governments have historically outlawed or otherwise restricted First Nations’ health and wellness practices, with this disproportion and systemic racism applying to Indigenous Peoples in general.

Now, the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is working to combat the toxic drug crisis through an Indigenous approach to harm reduction. The BC-focused organization “works with First Nations, government partners, and others to support First Nations individuals, families, and communities to achieve the highest level of health and wellness.” In 2018, the FNHA initiated the “Indigenizing Harm Reduction” study. Partnering with SFU for funding, the project “seeks to determine the current community needs, priorities, and wise practices in harm reduction, with the goal of developing a provincial harm reduction framework specific to BC First Nations.” The Peak reached out to the FNHA for an interview, but did not hear back by the publication deadline.

Most recently, the FNHA released the first phase of their project. Researchers carried out a literature review of existing Indigenous harm reduction methods in the US, Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa (New Zealand). Then, they conducted interviews with “56 service providers and people with lived and/or living experience of substance use.” Four unique aspects of First Nations harm reduction emerged: relational practice, wholistic health, strengths-based approaches, and person-centred care.

Relational practice involves harm reduction that is “rooted in relationships, connection, and love.” The report noted First Nations harm reduction “acknowledges that a relational approach to care is foundational in building trust and creating a sense of safety for our relatives who use substances.”

Wholistic health involves “providing care that wraps around the person to support their physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional wellness on their healing journey.”

Additionally, strengths-based approaches “draw on the ancestral strengths of culture, community, and kinship to provide unconditional and inclusive care for all community members.”

And lastly, person-centred care “respects an individual’s needs, priorities, and autonomy in determining their care plan and allows for the flexibility to meet each individual’s unique needs.”

The study also asked First Nations communities, organizations, and agencies to analyze the FNHA’s “Framework for Action,” a four-pillar system for addressing the toxic drug crisis. The third pillar, “create an accessible range of treatment options,” was referenced by 68.6% of respondents as a priority.

“Participants often spoke of the need for a full spectrum of options, including culture and land-based programming, to tailor care to the individual” 

 — First Nations Health Authority

Moving forward, phase two of the study “will involve community-based research to assess the effectiveness of community-led interventions to reduce harm and promote healing.”

 

 

 

Cultural appropriation isn’t quirky, it’s deeply problematic

By
Peak Web
-
0
a woman walking down the street wearing an Osariya (saree) going past a shop with a sign that advertises a similar dress, but is advertised as a "new" thing.
Fall 2025 Editor Tracker Fall 2025 Editor Tracker 100% 10 L12 ILLUSTRATION: Victoria Lo / The Peak ILLUSTRATION: Victoria Lo / The Peak

By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer

What is a culture? Various things: customs, food, language, and among many other significant aspects — clothing. Clothing visually represents its people and is shaped by the environment it’s crafted and worn in, in addition to resources and trade with other cultures. For these reasons, cultural clothing speaks to the rich histories of humans. Yet, these same cultural expressions are being taken and repurposed in ways that strip them of their origins. 

As a South Asian, I often think about the colourful dresses that are found throughout the subcontinent. From the Osariya variant of the saree in Sri Lanka, to the lehenga choli in India, these items of clothing are iconic. Increasingly, however, these garments are not being worn while respecting their rich history, but are being co-opted into something that deprives them of their origins.

Recently, the brand Reformation released its “blouse and skirt set.” The set drew the condemnation of many online who saw the articles of clothing too closely resembling a lehenga. However, this was not the first time such cultural appropriation has happened in recent history. Last year, the fashion rental brand Bipty tried to whitewash dupattas into “Scandinavian scarves,” (which aren’t really a thing). And one can’t forget the long-term theft of Indigenous clothing, where there are countless examples of sacred cultural motifs being commercialized in a way that does not credit or benefit the original community.     

Sadly, appropriation goes beyond clothing, and extends to sacred belief systems. As a Buddhist, I can attest to growing up seeing the Buddha associated with things that had nothing to do with the faith. From Buddha-themed restaurants, to spas, to individual menu items. This idea that Buddhism is “exotic” was first popularized in the West during the early 2000s, along with warped Western interpretations of “zen.” Unfortunately, since then, this fetishized idea of Buddhism has festered, perpetuating the use of the Buddha in places it never should be seen in. For example, Buddhism strongly warns against drinking, and yet there are Buddha-themed bars. 

Really, appropriation runs deep, and shows a serious lack of respect and effort to try and to learn about the culture it targets. Unfortunately, the disservice appropriators cause themselves runs even deeper. Think of all that is lost because they refuse to learn about a faith or a culture. What’s even worse is the hypocrisy of it. While marginalized groups often face racist attacks for simply practicing their culture, it can be co-opted and used to appear “exotic” by people who would not face the same level of scrutiny. 

Guess what though?

Cultures are not “new.” They’re reflections of people’s values and rich histories. So, if you want to wear clothing or use parts of other cultures, do it respectfully!

 

It’s time to ditch the norms of songwriting

By
Peak Web
-
0
A man sitting in the back seat of a car, writing song lyrics in a notepad.
ILLUSTRATION: Stella Laurino / The Peak

By: Mason Mattu, Section Editor

This summer, I wrote a bunch of songs from the back of a car on a super-long family road trip. Through speed bumps and all, I found a certain solitude in writing — a comfort that connected me to a greater purpose. I have always thought of myself as a poet, first, and as someone with a musical aptitude, second. Thus, the tradition of free verse poetry has always grounded my songwriting. 

Take an example from one of the songs I wrote this summer, “Motel Bible.” 

Truckers and their dirt leave a mark on the cover / They say it’s a Heather’s Pick or a Times bestseller / But did they actually give you a closer look, to see the shadows behind your soul? / Mothers and their mothers lifting youngsters into a broken shower / Mildew stains gloss all over the cover / While father’s reading you high on ecstasy / Is he really reading about the story of Adam and Eve / While on ecstasy?  

There’s a beauty in a lack of a consistent rhyme scheme, syllable count, and the unpredictable progression in the verse.

In many ways, these lines both betray and revolt against what we have typically thought of as essential components of a song. There’s a notion out there that if your song lyrics don’t adhere to the principles of rhyme, metre, and a chorus-verse structure, then what you have is not a song — it’s only a work of sloppy, unedited poetry. Fickle, I say. 

Part of this idea comes from today’s mainstream pop. When you hear songs with predictable rhymes, such as Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” or Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” it is clear that they’ve been engineered to stick inside their listeners’ heads. Popular artists follow songwriting conventions because it is the most commercially viable path for their record labels. Given that the three largest labels in the music industry are responsible for 69% of music’s revenues, experimental or unconventional songs are pushed out of the mainstream. As a result, artists quickly learn that creativity is a liability within the music industry, pushing them to follow the standards of the mainstream artistic echo chamber. 

However, we need to view songwriting as an introspective experience based on our memories, lived experiences, and observations. Are our thoughts and emotions filled with perfect rhyme schemes, cadence, and structure? No, they aren’t. Placing highly structured and conventional lyricism on a pedestal, and thus setting it as an objective standard, is a betrayal of artistic expression, and so detached from reality. 

When I write songs, I channel inspiration from songwriters who have defied the artistically watered-down view of musicality, like Joni Mitchell and Lana Del Rey. For example, Mitchell’s 16-minute song “Paprika Plains” is a masterful piece that gracefully and entirely abandons structure. Its words flow like a diary, yet still present as emotionally complex and artistic. In a conversation with Elton John, Mitchell said that the music industry was initially afraid of how “intimate” her songs were. 

I also draw inspiration from Lana Del Rey, who rejects formulaic songwriting in songs such as “Fingertips” — a piece that lacks a consistent verse-chorus structure. Her words linger in your soul, and they are not selected for rhyme or convention. They are selected as a replication of her inner thoughts. 

The world deserves to hear raw, authentic, and creative voices — and the only way we can make this change is by actually taking action. If enough people stand up to conventional music and choose to write and listen to songs that push break norms, we can collectively shift the tide of the music industry. 

No, my em dash is not an AI

By
Peak Web
-
0
A close-up photo of a typewriter.
PHOTO: Dzenina Lukac / Pexels

By: Rehana Hayat, SFU Student

Due to the rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), there’s been talk of how to spot plagiarism. Many have claimed an em dash is a dead giveaway. Certainly, there are cases where the misuse of the em dash is a sign they used GenAI tools to create their work. However, using its presence as the only evidence is a problem because it hurts honest students, who rely on their writing skills to create their papers. The em dash should not be considered a clear indicator that anyone’s writing had been produced by GenAI — since it’s an incredibly helpful punctuation mark. 

I have been consuming English books since I was three years old, and have developed a love for reading once I did learn how to read. Since then, I’ve continued to expand my knowledge of the English language through elementary school, high school, and now university. As a writer, I’ve learned about many aspects of dynamic writing — everything from the use of passive and active voice to Latin abbreviations and disciplinary conventions. My em dash is certainly no exception! 

I often use it to create emphasis or dramatize multiple ideas within a sentence. For example, Simon Fraser University is Canada’s top comprehensive university — it attracts students from over 120 countries around the world — which has earned it international popularity. The em dash is a punctuation mark used by proficient writers who have a deep understanding of how to convey ideas efficiently. Overall, it adds a touch of elegance, which makes whatever we’re reading a bit more refined and engaging. 

Research labs must support students over artificial intelligence

By
Peak Web
-
0
a robot, dressed in a lab coat, and standing next to a table with a microscope on top of it.
ILLUSTRATION: Stella Laurino / The Peak

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer

Research assistant positions in labs are a key entry job for students looking to enter research. These positions are critical for a student’s career development, and to maintain the quality of academic research; without them, both students and the research ecosystem suffer. These paid opportunities provide hands-on experience, which may help open up the opportunity to be a lead researcher. Now, in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), some research labs are integrating GenAI into their toolkit. Will this lead to a decline of entry-level research jobs, or eliminate some altogether? The speculative answers are worrying, at best. Let me be clear: the integration of GenAI in entry-level positions should be treated with caution, and its users should always have its future impacts in mind. 

The basic steps of an experimental research process can be as follows: identify a specific topic, research it, select a niche, design and conduct an appropriate experiment, analyze findings, and write a paper to summarize this process. This work requires a combination of technical knowledge, creativity, and interpersonal skills — which is not yet replicable by GenAI. Moreover, these skills take time to develop by researchers, and the use of GenAI undermines this learning experience for budding professionals by removing the steps of data analysis. Companies claim that GenAI is skilled at identifying correlations and clusters of data, sorting large amounts of data quickly, and providing predictions based on the data it’s fed. Still, it will not have the ability to interpret the root cause of data from a culturally sensitive perspective, identify the causes of clear outliers in data, or problem solve when faced with complications. Other than that, there are issues that may arise related to research integrity due to concerns of ethics. 

Currently, approximately 76% of researchers have admitted to using AI in some capacity in their research — according to a survey by the Oxford University Press. Even in other contexts, it seems that researchers are increasingly integrating GenAI in ways that may change the research assistant’s role, shown by the growing number of artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed for research, and the increasing AI use guidelines provided in research companies’ websites. As AI adoption grows, the question of the displacement of students from these positions becomes more concerning. Some suspect it is likely these assistant positions will be limited if AI is used widely, since AI is more efficient than humans with certain tasks, and can produce helpful analyses in short periods of time. 

However, other than the impact on students’ careers, it’s also important to note the environmental impacts of AI. By 2040, it is anticipated that the AI industry will produce 14% of the global emissions of greenhouse gases. A student in the research assistant role will consume roughly the same amount of water they would have without this opportunity; whereas AI will consume fresh non-renewable water to cool off its data centres while occupying a student’s potential work experience position. 

Moreover, it is already understood that AI poses high levels of privacy breach risks. Which sounds frightening in general, but is even more problematic in research. For one, protection of data guarantees the protection of participants of any given study. But, would a participant be willing to share their answers if there’s a possibility their answer wouldn’t remain confidential? No, they wouldn’t be as willing to answer truthfully when the answer is related to sensitive topics. Which poses a significant issue, considering how important it is to provide rigorous literature that represents marginalized communities. There’s a valid reason why standards regarding privacy and confidentiality are considered a cornerstone of ethical research. 

Which takes us back to the relevance of having ample opportunities for students to enter research. The quality of future research depends on the quality and quantity of entry-level positions now. Students pursuing a career require relevant experience in research to qualify for more ambitious research positions. While in school, it is imperative that these paid opportunities remain an option for students with limited time and finances. Financial hardships are already a prominent problem for students in the current economy and housing markets. Taking away another opportunity is not a good way to go from here. 

Budding researchers are the next generation, and it is the responsibility of all education institutions to ensure the protection of entry-level positions.

Institutions need to remain vigilant of the importance of research, and remember that their research exists in an ecosystem of past, present, and future academics. Ultimately, maintaining these entry-level roles is about both supporting students and preserving the integrity of the research field.

Spotlight on SFU Vocal Jazz

By
Peak Web
-
0
A photo of Kiara Bender and Sage Fleming smiling by the railing by the staircase in MBC. Kiara is wearing a brown shirt and Sage is wearing a bright green shirt.
PHOTO: Audrey Safikhani / The Peak

By: Julia Nijjar, SFU Student

For the past few years, I’ve felt like a soprano singer trapped in the body of a student. How wondrous would it be to sing again like I once did in the good old choir days of high school? My longing to sing again sent me on a quest. I began my expedition at the SFSS club directory, searching for information about the SFU Choir when I stumbled across another choir, the SFU Vocal Jazz. 

I reached out for an interview to find out more. “We’re getting bigger every year but we’re still smaller than the SFU Choir,” Sage Fleming, the co-marketing coordinator for the club, told The Peak. “Our choir is completely comprised of SFU students, which is not the case for the SFU Choir. So, we are a club run by students for students.” 

Kiara Bender, the club’s president, shared that

“SFU Vocal Jazz is like “a get-together of friends, and we all sing together.” 

 — Kiara Bender, club president

“You need no experience to join,” adding, “that’s what I appreciate the most about this club.”

The SFU Vocal Jazz is the perfect opportunity for those who don’t just love music, but, more specifically, adore the genre of jazz. Fleming said, “We do some choral holiday songs. And then there’s some variation; there’s some more bossa nova jazz, some more swing jazz, upbeat, slow.” Fleming later shared, “I have fun every time. It’s also not too stressful. We’re all busy with school so we’re coming in to learn and we do hope that members learn and practise a little bit outside of rehearsal with some of the tools we give them, but everyone’s stressed, so it’s not like we come to choir and stress about not practising. It’s a chill environment.”

The SFU Vocal Jazz typically holds rehearsals once a week, at a time that works best for members each semester. When asked about rehearsals, Fleming said, it’s a “It’s very supportive. We are very open to members with all experience levels, so some people have taken music lessons and have really learned how to sing, and some people have never done it before.” Bender added, “If you can’t read music, that’s fine. We have ways to work around that and we really just try to get as many people as we can to just come sing with us.”

The SFU Vocal Jazz comprises around 50 students. It’s divided into sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. Bender explained the leaders “talk people through” the various vocal ranges and get them to self-assess and place themselves in the vocal range they think would suit them best. “We tell them, ‘Try it out for our first rehearsal. If you find that you’re singing too high of a range, or too low of a range, next rehearsal, you’re free to switch to another one that you think you might do better in.’ Usually, by the second rehearsal, people will have sorted themselves out.”

When asking Bender about her favourite thing about working with the SFU Vocal Jazz, she said, “I love how passionate everybody is about music and I think I really enjoy the dedication everybody has to the club. You know, people have really busy lives and everybody’s studying.

Whether it’s midterms or final season, people choose to come to my club and people choose to be involved and have fun and make friendships. It makes me so happy to see people just enjoy, enjoy singing and enjoy music.”

Fleming said her favourite song the club has performed is “You’re Looking at Me” by Nat King Cole. “I didn’t like it when we first started doing it. But then I just came to love doing it so much that it’s one of my favourites now. So that’s what I think is so special about the choir too. If you don’t like jazz that much, you might discover some songs that you actually do from the jazz repertoire.”

You can see the talented SFU Vocal Jazz for yourself, as they perform their Christmas concert on Saturday, November 29 at 6:00 p.m. on Burnaby campus in the Diamond family auditorium! Tickets are $10. “I love our concerts because we work with the SFU Jazz Band and usually have a joint piece. So, just having the dynamics of singing and live instruments — it’s like a whole band — is pretty phenomenal,” said Bender. “It’s one of the most magical fun things ever to do a joint piece with them.” The concert will also include some solo pieces sung by vocal jazz members.

 

1...567...1,417Page 6 of 1,417

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