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Playland Nights is great for the adrenaline junkie, but not so great for the budgeting student

By
EIC
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Image courtesy of PNE

Written by: Courtney Miller

For $31 in advance, or $34 at the door, you can enjoy five hours of children-free fun at the Pacific National Exhibition’s Playland Nights events. Running from 7 p.m. until midnight on Fridays in July, if you’re an avid amusement park ride enthusiast, then you need to cash in on the opportunity.

     The major selling feature is that the event is 19+. You don’t have to deal with kids, or stressed-out parents running after their kids. If you’re in your mid-20s, this night is pretty much made for you and your friends.

     Sadly, not every ride (like Atmosfear) is available during this event series, but most of the major players are ready for action. Something they don’t advertise (but should!) is that the lines are pretty short. They’re at their emptiest right at the start of the night, and you can get on the Wooden Roller Coaster, the Corkscrew, or the Hellevator in under three turns.

     Lines only get a little longer throughout the night, except for the Wooden Roller Coaster, which can take six or seven turns around 10:30. The great news is that if you’re a fan of The Flume (better known as the log ride), you can ride that sucker all night long because somehow no one wants to get wet on a Friday night.

     Playland offers a VIP experience for $81 advance and $84 at the door, but it’s not worth it. You get to jump the line at 10 different rides once each, an express entrance to Playland, and a special bar, but that doesn’t justify the added $50 spend.

     They also have other adult-oriented experiences, only one of which is included in your ticket price. New this year, if you trek to the back of the park at any hour on the hour, you can be treated to a 30-minute mini-burlesque show, featuring several different acts that aim to delight an audience that grows throughout the show, with their fun and tasteful clothing removal.

     There are, as always, some downsides to what seems too good to be true — and brace yourselves, because they’re worth considering if you’re not going to Playland Nights for the rides. It’s an expensive evening. If you’re looking for alcohol, you’re better off hanging out with friends beforehand and getting your pre-drink on because these bad boys are not student-budget friendly.

     Beer starts at $7.50 and cocktails and martinis go up to $12. You might be thinking, “oh, that’s about on par with some restaurants,” and monetarily, you would be right. But considering they use small plastic glasses, you’re not getting all the drink you paid for. And don’t forget: you can’t take your drinks on the rides with you.

     Unlike during the day, you also have to watch out for the overly intoxicated gangs of friends roaming around the park, threatening to puke after the spin-tastic anti-gravity experience that is Alien Invasion. If you like drunk people, or you plan to be one of those obnoxious groups, then you’re all set.

     So if you love the adrenaline rush and can enjoy yourself without buying too much liquor, it’s a no-brainer. You can circle through all the rides a few times before you turn into a pumpkin at midnight and get thrown out. If you just want a fun night with drunk friends, maybe find a bar with drink specials or get rowdy in a friend’s basement instead.

How Did Simon Fraser University Get Its Name?

By
Peak Web
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0

Ever wondered where SFU got its name? The Peak brings you some answers. (P.S It’s a lot less straightforward than you might think).

Presented by Sina Khalili, Edited by Melissa Campos

POLITICAL CORNER: Is our world becoming more national and less international?

By
EIC
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0
Image courtesy of El Español

Written by: Liam Wilson, Peak Associate

Living in a first-world country, it now seems almost impossible to be disconnected from anything. For a long time, we’ve seen the increasing interconnectivity of our world through the internet, electronics, and international politics. Some have rightly argued the potential downsides of this increasing globalization, but I feel that the old adage still rings true: united we stand, divided we fall. Yet, it seems like nations the world over are increasingly pushing for division.

Leading the charge in the division department seems to be none other than Donald Trump with his lack of understanding of international politics. It seems like if a deal or treaty benefits anybody other than the US, then the US is getting a “bad deal.” Trump’s already discussed his distaste for NAFTA at length and a couple weeks ago the US officially pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council. Now, international tensions are riding higher as Trump seems to be taking aim at the WTO, the EU, and NATO. One has to wonder why Trump seems so concerned about peace with North Korea while he continues to push his closest allies away.

Make no mistake though, our friends across the pond seem to be having their own difficulties. Brexit turmoil continues to be a mainstay in UK politics, though despite much opposition, it appears that the Tory government is still intent on leaving. In the meantime, Eurosceptic parties across Europe continue to rise. Poland also made headlines last week after the government passed legislation to give themselves more control over the country’s courts, despite criticism from the EU and numerous European states. And Russia, well . . . continues to be Russia.

Let’s face it: this posturing and these power moves don’t do us any favours. All of it just breaks down the trade, the policy, and the peace that we’ve worked so hard to build for decades. It’s time that all the world’s leaders wake up and realize that, in the end, the people who are going to have to deal with the fallout of their divisive actions are none other than the citizens they claim to be protecting.

Still figuring things out as a university student is OK

By
Peak Web
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0
Image courtesy of worldofweeks

Written by: Amal Abdullah, Staff Writer

Here we are, in our 20s and in the midst of our university careers, ready to enter “the real world.” We emerge proudly sporting a cap and gown, a distinguished post-secondary degree in our hands — but still bare, vulnerable, and without even a single notion of how to survive once we leave.

How can we be expected to know exactly what to do with our lives so soon? We have an unspoken expectation from our parents and other older adults to get through life with as much speed as possible. They start asking us what we want to do halfway through high school, as if we learned enough in three measly years of education to figure out our future. We constantly get compared to siblings, cousins, friends who have their lives more together than us. They’ve already been accepted to graduate school, while you’re still in the process of switching your major.

Those who seem to be clearing life milestones — whether those milestones are finishing university, getting a profitable job, or climbing the corporate ladder — with the most rapidity are seen as the most successful. This puts immense stress on those who take a little bit more time to figure out their trajectory. It leads to what is becoming a new phenomenon of quarter-life crises, mocked by older generations but a very real and genuine issue for those who experience it.  

There’s this lie that other adults feed us when we’re kids: the adults know WTF is going on in life, they have it all figured out, and they know exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. Adults are 100% sure of what they’re doing, and so what they do is always “the right thing” because they have it all figured out.

I think adults let kids fall into believing this lie so as to make themselves feel better about having absolutely no idea what is going on, and even less of an idea as to how to figure it out. As kids, we believe the lie . . . and then we grow up and realize, wham, there really is no secret to be figured out here. We’re just as screwed on this side of the fence as we were on the other.

That leads to the fact that we have no idea what we want to do with our lives. Society — being almighty and all-knowing — expects us to have it all figured out. By the time you’re in post-secondary, and definitely when you’re nearing the end of it, you should know what to do.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have so many options. It almost seems like there are an unlimited amount of routes one could be taking. Since we have so many options, we are constantly questioning whether the route we have chosen will culminate in success. We’ve all probably met someone who’s suffered through a quarter-life crisis. Personally speaking, I have so many interests that I don’t know which one to follow, and I imagine it’s similar with you.

It’s OK if you don’t know what is going on, what you want to do, where you’re going. It’s perfectly fine if you’re still figuring it out — know that you’re certainly not alone in this confusion. A degree earned after six years of study is still as much a degree as one that is fast-tracked in three years.

There’s no single destination that we all need to hurry to reach. It’s all about the journey.

Western Canada’s first dockless bikeshare service launched by SFU alumni

By
Peak Web
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0
(Photo courtesy of U-bicycle North America)
By: Srijani Datta, Assistant News Editor

 

Western Canada’s first dockless bikeshare program, U-bicycle North America, has been launched by a team of three SFU alumni. The U-bicycle team is lead by an all-female trio, CEO Grace Min (BA, sociology and education), Chief Strategic Officer Angel Fu (BBA, finance and marketing), and Business and Chief Marketing Officer Mandy Chan (BA, communication).

     Describing the goal behind U-bicycle, the team wrote to The Peak over an email interview that “U-bicycle plans to support members of the community an affordable and reliable mode of transportation [sic] by building a smarter and greener city.”

     Min wrote that the goal behind launching U-bicycle was to improve city living through eco-friendly transportation. “What inspired me to set up U-bicycle was BC’s clean air and amazing cycling infrastructure. I saw the opportunity of bringing this concept to promote healthy living, increase interconnectedness and a business that has a positive environmental impact.”

     When asked why there was a need for dockless bikes, CEO Grace Min replied, “Accessibility, affordability and sustainability.” She explained that the dockless solution takes up less space on a busy road and provides a point-to-point commute solution and convenience. Min continued, “Users can pick up a bike anywhere and park the bike in a safe and legal location and continue on with their day. Having a dock-less [sic] bike share system allows more users to ride a bike since they can find a bike in their neighborhood and with its affordable pricing, more people can use the bikes for their daily commutes.”

     According to Min, the company’s smart bicycles are specifically designed to cater to the residents of BC. When asked how exactly the smart bikes specifically cater to BC residents, she replied, “With specific modifications such as the enhanced fenders on the rear wheel for those rainy commutes, to the customizable and adjustable seat designs friendly to users of all shapes and sizes.” Min further added that “U-bicycle will also provide a complimentary helmet that is to be used during the rides to abide by the B.C. helmet laws.”

     Explaining how the U-bicycle system works, Min stated that “it operates through a mobile app.” She continued, “To rent a bike, users need to make sure that their data and Bluetooth is on. Users can pick up the bike that they can locate on the map, scan the QR code, ride to their destination and end their trip by physically locking the bike (at the back wheel) and click ‘Complete’ on the app.  Every 30 minutes ride is $1 (+5% GST).”

     U-bicycle launched its service in Victoria, BC on October 2017, and SFU News reported that they operate 450 bicycles in the provincial capital. The company plans to expand to the lower mainland and beyond. Min announced to The Peak that U-bicycle is officially launching in Port Moody.

 

Comedic poetry: Getting drunk for the first time

By
Peak Web
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0
Illustrated by Marcus Blackstock

Written by: Kitty Cheung

You walk excitedly into the basement party, nestled in the suburbs, surrounded
by university friends, more like acquaintances? whatevs, WE FINNA GET
FUCKED UP 2NITE! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! vodka, tequila,
and rum and all those fancy liquors you think you know from movies
and TV but they burn and taste like nail polish remover so you chug
soda pop. Is this what adults like to do? I should know I’m in uni now
bitches how much did you pay the boot you’re woozy and sloppy,
nervous laughter sneaking up from the back of the throat, aftertaste
of alcohol sneaking up, alcohol swimming through your blood
choked sitting on the basement couch red plastic cup
brimming with bad decisions, derision striking the back of
the throat oh wait no that’s vomit UUUUGHGHHGHGHGH
REGRET REGRET hands and knees towards the toilet the
rest of the night is spent staring into that bowl of pristine
porcelain so much cleaner than your soul right now. Bile
and regret in the toilet bowl, splitting headache nauseous
sensitivity to all light and sound you’re crying,
sobbing, bawling into the toilet bowl as your class
valedictorian babysits you from the corner of the
washroom making sure you don’t try to drown yourself
in your own pool of vomit and shame. One of your
stronger friends offers to carry you to bed but as an
independent woman you refuse inebriated but
stubborn stumbling with a plastic Walmart bag
held feebly under your chin in case you throw
up again and then you throw up again and the
Walmart logo is illuminated by vomit and you
mentally apologize to your liver I’m so sorry liver,
you’ve always been so good to me detoxifying my
blood and shit that’s what the liver does right?
You should have called Mom to pick you up
hours ago, where is she now? probably asleep,
you fall asleep blissful sleep while hugging
a trash can as a potential barf bowl
what a lovely learning experience

Bringing cricket from India to SFU

By
Peak Web
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Photo courtesy of Ekamjot Singh Deol

By: Anindita Gupta 

Fast Facts

  • Name: Ekamjot Singh Deol
  • Pronouns: He / Him / His
  • Department Affiliation: Criminology
  • Birthplace: Punjab, India
  • Fun Fact: Ekamjot’s favourite cricketer is Bhuveneshwar Kumar, because of his talent on the field, his caring and calm personality off of it, as well as all of his charitable work.

Cricket is a lesser known sport in North America. But after being spread widely over the world by the British monarchy, it is now played competitively and loved in over 125 countries. Under the International Cricket Council (ICC) stand nations and groups of islands, ranging from India to the West Indies.

At SFU, some know of this sport from back home, or have heard about it from friends who come from cricket-playing countries. But if anyone was interested to learn about and play the sport, they did not have an opportunity… until now!

Ekamjot Singh Deol brings SFU and its cricket enthusiasts one step closer to the sport by establishing the SFU Cricket Club. Registered as a sports interest club under the SFSS, the cricket club is here to cater to anyone with any interests related to cricket.

Ekamjot explains cricket for those who may be unfamiliar with it: “A contest between the bat and the ball, with two teams of 11, and the team scoring more runs wins.” If someone has ever explained it to you by saying it is similar to baseball, he warns you to not fall for this, as it “certainly is not!”

Ekamjot is a second-year international student from Punjab, India, studying criminology at SFU. Before coming to Canada as a student, Ekamjot played cricket professionally at a district level. (Cricket in India is played at various levels: district, state, playing for clubs or leagues, and national teams.  Unfortunately, he didn’t get the opportunity to continue professionally in Canada. However, he has had the idea of launching a club dedicated to cricket ever since he got here, and the idea finally became a reality this semester.

“I have finally found a way to carry out my passion,” Ekamjot says, gleaming with excitement and hope for his new club.

His first memory of the sport is from the tender age of 5, when India played Australia in the 2003 ICC World Cup final. Though India lost the match, his intrigue and love for the sport grew, and has remained with him ever since. He is an ardent fan of the sport, and although he speaks about it extremely passionately, he has immense patience to explain the terminology and the rules of cricket to anyone interested.

Not only is Ekamjot passionate about the sport, but he is also full of insight on the most interesting and unknown trivia about many of the players. For example, did you know the reason why the world-renowned Sourav Ganguly is a left-handed batsman in the first place? Ekamjot tells me that it is because Ganguly’s older brother was left-handed, and he grew up practicing with his brother’s equipment. He went on to become a left-handed cricketer and a legend.

“I try and look for the small things that people don’t know to get my motivation from, because the next time I think ‘I’m in big trouble and this situation cannot be turned around,’ I think about Sourav Ganguly’s left-handedness and get my motivation,” he says.

Considering that he had been a student at SFU for two years, we were interested in finding out why he hadn’t started the club any earlier. Just like any student, he was busy juggling his undergraduate career and a part-time job, and had never thought that he could give a club enough time and attention. He was also unsure of whether or not he would be able to reach out to a large enough audience.

Now, Ekamjot recalls startling crowds gathered to watch cricket matches live-streamed by clubs, and spotting students playing cricket with makeshift bats and tennis balls near the residences.

“I realized that people do want to play, they just don’t have the platform to. Here, they may not have more people and equipment. This motivated me and I thought: let’s create a club for those 400 people that were there for the screening of the match one time in the year. If even 40 of them can come to our events all year round, we can be successful.”

His other concern was that the club-creating process would be rather demanding and complicated. But that wasn’t the case at all, he recalls: “The SFSS is so supportive, you don’t necessarily have to work a lot!”

All one needs to do is talk about the club idea with the SFSS and discuss the kinds of budgeting and finances you may need for upcoming events, do an online Canvas course on SFSS and how to run a club, and voilà — with the starting number of 10 undergraduate students, your club is official! More information can be found on the SFSS website, under the ‘Clubs and SUS’ tab.

Currently, though they have yet to advertise widely, the club already has over 30 members, including its three first executive officials: Ekamjot as president, Kanav Ahuja as executive secretary, and Dhawal Gupta as the club’s treasurer. They aim to include more people in the executive team as the club grows.

What Ekamjot hopes to see from this club is a higher intake of domestic and international students alike, who know cricket or are excited to learn about the sport. As president of the club, he seems to have his priorities figured out. He has four primary objectives for this club: to focus on those “who want to know more about the game, who want to talk about the game, [. . .] play the game, and watch the game.”

Ekamjot also insisted that: “an integral part of this club is raising awareness and making sure people know about the game.” In the near future, they plan to host a few social events to increase people’s knowledge about cricket and its technicalities.

Aside from serious, educative sessions like “Cricket 101” or ball-tampering crash courses, the creative club members are also planning to arrange games like “cric-tionary” and “cric-charades” to help club members learn and teach cricket terminology. They also aim to hold tournaments, but can only do so after signing a waiver with the SFSS. Nonetheless, this remains one of their more serious agendas to cover before summer ends, so cricket can be played outdoors. They aim to collaborate with the Indian Student Federation (ISF) to arrange, play, and hopefully screen future cricket matches.

Eventually, he would like for the club to become a sports club under SFU Recreations, and possibly, have a team that represents the university.

“That’s the dream!” Ekamjot says. “Hopefully, we will achieve it in my undergrad life. But even if [we do] not, as an SFU alumni, I’d be very happy to come and watch the SFU cricket club play, and have a sigh of happiness, seeing that it all started as a ‘sports interest’ club with only 10 people in it. That’s a long-term goal.”

 

Album versus album: Blink-182

By
EIC
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0

Written by: Eva Zhu

Blink-182 (2003)

For Blink-182’s self-titled album, Mark Hoppus (vocals and bass), Tom DeLonge (vocals and guitar), and Travis Barker (drums extraordinaire) took the opportunity to deviate from their usual pioneering pop-punk sound to create a deeply personal experience that perfectly encapsulates the sadness, anger, angst, and volatility of teenagerdom. Most people might remember it by the timeless bops “Feeling This” (the music video looks like a horny teenager’s wet dream) and “I Miss You” (every emo kid’s anthem in the mid-2000s), but truth be told, every song on the album is an amazing listen.

     The album opens with jangly guitars, tight drums, and anthemic lyrics on “Feeling This” before slamming into the angry distortion of “Obvious.” “I Miss You” introduces the slower, sadder tones on the album, while “Violence” is an avant-garde punk march that leads into a reading of a letter Hoppus’s grandfather sent to his wife during his service in WWII. While I could write for hours about each song (especially the dying astronaut who is the central subject of “Asthenia”), I’ll spare you by simply saying that every one of them has a story coupled with catchy instrumentation and raw emotion. The result? A tapestry of songs that come together to form nothing short of an artistic masterpiece.

     Don’t fast-forward through any of them. A few are utterly fantastic, and some must-listen tracks include “Go,” “Down,” and “Here’s Your Letter.”

California (2016)

When Tom DeLonge left the band for the second time in 2015 to focus on UFO research and play in his other band Angels & Airwaves, diehard Blink-182 fans went rogue on Twitter, proclaiming the incident blasphemous. In response to DeLonge’s departure, Barker and Hoppus inducted Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio into their inner circle. The three of them made a baby called California.

     The album showcases some of the weakest lyricism to date. A couple of examples are the pre-chorus on “She’s Out of Her Mind” of only the line “she’s a-a-a-antisocial, a-a-a-antisocial a-a-and she’s an angel, yeah” and the endless refrains of “na-na-na-na” on “Sober” and “No Future.” This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, considering John Feldmann, the king of “wo-ah” and “na-na”, produced the album. They even included a 16-second song — if you can even call it that — called “Built This Pool” smack-dab in the middle of the album.

     It’s not that California is a bad album, it’s that there isn’t anything that I haven’t heard a million times before on other pop punk albums. I expected a veteran to the game to come out with an album that doesn’t sound like background music at an emo kid’s house party.

     Despite all its shortcomings, the one thing that you can’t deny is that the band sounds like it’s having fun again. Really, they haven’t sounded so excited, happy, and immature since Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. That at least makes me hopeful for their future.

     Highlights include “Home is Such a Lonely Place,” “Bored to Death,” and “Rabbit Hole.”

Verdict

Blink-182’s Blink-182 beats California by a mile. Everything — the lyricism, the instrumentals, the stories behind the songs — is better. If you’re going to listen to only one of their albums in your lifetime (huge mistake, but you do you), pick Blink-182. It is hands-down their greatest album.

Research Roundup – Investigating links

By
Peak Web
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0
(Photo courtesy of Adobe)
Written by: Ahmed Ali, Peak Associate

 

How the attractiveness of your server can affect the taste of your food

A study done by UBC and SFU students looked at how the attractiveness of a server affected the taste perceptions of male and female customers.

     The procedure involved getting between two to 600 participants per segment of the study. The participants were asked what they looked for in a dining experience and were served two sets of select samples from either an attractive or unattractive (consisting of makeup to give the appearance of acne, bags under eyes, yellow teeth and a ponytail) person or photo of a person. The samples included a kind of fruit juice as the sweet item and a vegetable spread as the bitter item.

     It was found that women were less influenced by the attractiveness of the server. But they did rate restaurant location, loudness, and taste of food as being more important than males did.

     Men rated the juice as being more sweet and enjoyable and less bitter in the presence of attractive females and the opposite in the presence of unattractive females. However, the pattern was reversed for the vegetable spread. Unpleasant tasting food was more unpleasant in the presence of an attractive server.

     The former (attractive people, pleasant food) is likely due to a spill-over in a positive stimuli affecting judgement. The latter (attractive food, unpleasant food) is likely due to a mismatch between stimuli making the food appear worse.

 

Community follow-up may not affect chances of rehospitalization for mentally-ill and homeless population

SFU Somer’s Research Group Conducted a study where they looked at data from 433 British Columbians who were homeless and mentally ill over a span of five years. The researchers found that community follow-ups had no noticeable impact on the chances of hospitalizations of mentally ill and homeless individuals.

     Patients can end up costing taxpayers $60,000 per patient, mostly due to hospital readmissions.

     The results showed that 53% of individuals were readmitted within one year, which indicated that medical staff require access to appropriate housing which may be used in planning discharges for the patients. This is significant as many prior studies indicated that community follow-ups tended to have a more substantial positive impact on patients.

     According to Somers, “Follow-up care after someone is discharged from the hospital only helps reduce rehospitalization if the patient is housed or is working. If someone is homeless no amount of medical care will compensate for the fact that they are homeless.

     “Taxpayers can invest in support programs like consumption sites or street outreach nurses, but it won’t put a dent in reducing the number of re-hospitalization visits.”

 

Rejection letter from the company you’re too unqualified for

By
EIC
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0
Illustrated by Marissa Ouyang

Written by: Eva Zhu

Dear Mr. Just Graduated,

Thank you for your application for the position of Director of Human Resources. Unfortunately, we here at Way Too Out of Your League Inc. regret to inform you that you have been rejected for this position due to your lack of qualifications.

The resume you attached has zero relevant work experience. In fact, it lists no work experience at all. Instead, you included a “My Greatest Achievements” section containing useless feats such as “can speed-rap ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem” and “ate two hot dogs in under 30 seconds.” Perhaps you should be applying to be a contestant on some obscure game show with terrible ratings?

In the section about the fraternity you attended in college, we expected to find volunteer work and the community events you helped host, considering you won “Most Hours Worked” in 2017. To our shock and dismay, you described in great detail the time you relentlessly hit on a girl even though she refused your advances 18 times. We do not consider that to be an example of your “dedication to achieving your goals.” Was “How not to be a douchebag 101” no longer a mandatory class in high school? We also did not need to know that your nickname was “King of the Bros.”

Under “Skills and Qualifications,” you wrote down everything you do not know how to operate, such as “don’t know how to open, let alone use, Microsoft Word” and “still haven’t figured out MS Paint.” Furthermore, being able to finish Mario 64 in two hours is not a transferable skill.

Your cover letter was equally disappointing, because it could not even qualify as a letter. All you wrote was “ayyyye my dudes wass poppin?” I can only assume that you might have been smoking an illegal substance at the time of composure.

Enclosed with this letter is the flash drive with 0.10 BTC (Bitcoin) you sent with your application. We here at Way Too Out of Your League Inc. do not accept bribes of any sort. Especially not in the form of Bitcoin, because we know how little they will be worth in a year.

I wish you luck on your future endeavours. You’re going to need it.

Best regards,
Hiring manager of your dreams

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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© The Peak Publications Society

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society