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A guide to winning the armrest on airplanes

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Empty airplane cabin. You can see two rows of two seats and the clear skies out of the windows.
PHOTO: Aayush Shah / Pexels

By: Cam Darting, Peak Associate

High school history class focused on all sorts of armed conflicts. It taught us about the French Revolution, the World Wars, and more. However, they failed to teach us about one ongoing war that impacts people daily: the war for the armrest on the airplane.

Whether you get to rest your light and fragile arm on that hard plastic armrest can dictate your mood for not only the flight but the entire trip. You don’t wanna be sad walking around Hongdae looking for BTS because of a tired forearm, do you? Let me help you answer that: ANIYO! As a veteran of the war of armrests on an airplane, I am here at your Beck and call, almost like a Cat, to guide you through this battle and come out Victorious! (see what I did there;))

Like every war, you need to come prepared for battle. It is KEY to show up in a puffer jacket. Not only will it keep you warm from the harsh airplane air conditioning blasting from above like a puss-filled pimple being popped, but your puffiness will increase your volume. As a result, your puffer’s fabric reaches over to your neighbour’s personal space, making the person next to you feel uncomfortable, resulting in them leaning to the opposite side. You may think that is selfish, but I think it’s just a form of self care, and self care is never seen as bad in the eyes of Gen Z. 

Next, try and get your ass to your seat ASAP. You better be the first person to enter that airplane because positions matter. Being the top or bottom . . . of the line matters (get your mind out of the gutter). Being the first in your row to sit down gives your puffer more time to expand and take up square footage. 

Now, for the battle itself. This is where tensions get high, and people’s true colours show. You need to be fierce. You need to be cut-throat. You need to instantly place your elbow on that damn armrest. If you follow the two steps outlined above, the next piece of advice won’t be needed. 

If you find that your neighbour has taken the armrest first, you need to act fast. How? Push their arm off and place yours down like the princess it is. They’re mad? Don’t care. They’re upset? Not your problem. They call the flight attendant? Ignore their ass. You need to do whatever it takes for your pretty little arm to be resting. BTS is counting on you. I am counting on you.

What Grinds Our Gears: Transit isolation

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Peak Web
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The inside of a bus full of people wearing masks
PHOTO: Lisanto 李奕良 / Unsplash

By: Sofia Chassomeris, News Writer

A unique fatigue sets in after a long, wet day, dragging the hems of your soggy jeans across a bus floor and nearly getting bowled over by high schoolers on their way home. It’s loud and uncomfortably warm, and the person in front of you (re: on top of you) smells like that drugstore shampoo you used to buy from a time you’d rather forget.

Common symptoms of hyperindividuality call for simple, over-the-counter remedies: turn up the music, look out the window, and check out of life until you get where you’re going.

There’s the unsettling thrill of being so physically close to people you are emotionally strangers to — we stand face-to-face-to-face, toes stepping on others — but when I look at you I must look away, and you must do the same. 

Every time I tap my Compass I commit to the fantasy that nobody else in the world exists, and it makes my stomach churn. It’s a deep-seated anger that masquerades as annoyance over coffee with friends who already understand and are tired of hearing it.

Yes, they say. I feel lonely, too.

And then we take SkyTrains to the opposite ends of the city, in cars packed with other humans, too anxious to let a glance be more than fleeting. 

Individual liberties, my ass. The windows fog from our shared breath and we still have the audacity to view mere association as less than beautiful.

Do we not owe each other acknowledgement?

Hello!

Hello?

Hidden Gems: Local trans-owned businesses

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Peak Web
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Chalk lines of blue, pink, white, pink again, and blue again drawn on concrete depicting a trans flag.
PHOTO: Katie Rainbow / Pexels

By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 20, is Trans Day of Remembrance: a day to “honour the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost as a result of anti-transgender violence.” Qmunity is hosting both a gathering at The Birdhouse to hold space for the community, and a vigil at Victory Square to mourn. This week, and every week, find ways to uplift trans folks by making the effort to be educated about issues in the trans community, and supporting trans-owned businesses. Here are some businesses based in so-called Vancouver you can check out.

Life of Bria Comics
Online 

From webcomics, to graphic novels, to voice-over art, the Vancouver-based illustrator Bria does it all! Bubbly yet morbidly funny, Life of Bria stemmed from her experiences coming out as transgender. Her free graphic novels touch on many different elements ranging from horror, to time traveling, to the experiences of a trans woman through her own lens! She also does commissions!

Peau de Loup 
1529 Venables St., Vancouver

PHOTO: Courtesy of @peaudeloup / Instagram

By using up-cycled material, Peau de Loup revolutionizes gender-neutral clothing for anyone and everyone! They describe themselves as “a vibrant and inclusive community that embraces self-expression and authenticity.” While they offer tees, sweatshirts, bottoms, outwear, hats, and more, my personal favourite is their railroad coaches jacket!

Big Bro’s Barbershop 
2375 E Broadway (at Nanaimo St.), Vancouver

Big Bro’s Barbershop, founded by Jessie Anderson in 2015, was developed to provide “a place where trans people could receive hair services without hassle.” They “host a number of projects, fundraisers, and independent contractors,” continuing to serve Vancouver’s trans community nearly a decade after first opening their doors. If you want to donate, or can, they also have a GoFundMe to relocate their shop to a more accessible location for patrons!

Samonte Cruz Studios
Online storefront 

PHOTO: Courtesy of @samontecruzstudios / Instagram

Cruz is a mixed-gender, mixed-race metalsmith who developed their abilities in goldsmithing while recovering from a serious spinal cord injury. They even worked at SFU in 2006 as a permanent coordinator for the LGBTQ+ Centre, supporting trans and gender non-conforming individuals! Cruz creates jewelry tailored to your wants and needs, such as uniquely personal wedding rings, all while running workshops and making music on the side. They’re an incredibly multifaceted individual, and so is their work. A piece that stood out to me was the solid gold balisong necklace, which pays homage to their Filipinx heritage!

Man Up — Queers and Beers
44 W 4th Ave., Vancouver 

Looking for a fun way to spend the night? Say less, Man Up has you covered. This organization highlights drag performances and offers a space for queer individuals of all walks of life to have a good time. While they’re known for doing pop-ups, they are mainly located at the Birdhouse (which is an amazing venue, by the way)! Catch them there next time on November 30 for “Break the Internet,” a drag show for cyber divas.

Red Leaf women fly, men fall at 2024 Canadian Tip-Off Classic

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Peak Web
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A man in a red basketball jersey jumps to swat a basketball away from a basketball hoop.
PHOTO: Kaja Antic / The Peak

By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer

For the second consecutive year, 12 college basketball teams from across North America streamed through the doors of the Langley Events Centre. The 2024 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Canadian Tip-Off Classic took place from November 1 to 3, as the SFU Red Leafs men’s and women’s teams played host to their NCAA Division II counterparts.

The Red Leafs men’s team was joined by fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) programs from Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon, along with the fifth-ranked Dallas Baptist, 14th-ranked California State University of San Bernardino, and Hawai’i Hilo who went undefeated at the 2023 tournament. 

The women’s team was met on the court by GNAC peers Seattle Pacific, along with St. Edward’s from Texas, Dominican from California, 11th–ranked Gannon, and fourth-ranked Tampa. 

Spectators filled the rows of seats. Some from local areas came looking for entertainment in the collegiate tournament, while others had seemingly travelled to cheer on a visiting school. I noticed a passionate contingent supporting the University of Hawai’i-Hilo Vulcans, some even carrying pom-poms that would be shaken whenever their team scored a point. Opposing teams not playing at the time would filter in on occasion, likely scoping out their competition for upcoming games.

The Red Leafs women’s squad had a decent showing through the tournament, going 2–1 over the weekend. The team earned wins against St. Edward’s and Dominican, but fell to Tampa 66–51 in the final game. Tampa was one of two women’s teams to go undefeated, with Gannon also earning the 3–0 statline.

Two Red Leafs earned “Player of the Game” honours, with senior Sophia Wisotzki gaining the title by scoring 31 points in a 78–62 win against St. Edward’s, and junior Myrlaine Shelvey being awarded the designation in a 77–67 win over Dominican.

The men’s team struggled throughout the tournament, going without a win over their three games played just as they had in the 2023 Classic. They weren’t the only team to go winless over the weekend, as GNAC rivals Western Oregon also went 0–3. Saint Martin’s, the final GNAC team in the tournament, went undefeated. Despite good offensive performances from players like sophomore Irish Coquia and junior Luke Howard, SFU was outscored 228–189 in losses to Hawai’i Hilo, CSU San Bernardino, and Dallas Baptist.

Two Red Leafs gained spots on the tournament all-star teams, with Wisotzki earning first team honours in the women’s tournament, and Coquia earning second team honours in the men’s tournament. 

As both teams’ collegiate seasons begin, the men’s team hopes to improve on a 2023–24 season that saw them placing ninth out of ten in GNAC standings, only above Western Oregon on the conference table. The team went 4–14 against GNAC opponents, and had a 6–23 record overall. 

The women’s team also looks for improvements on last year, after their season ended in a 65–51 loss against Central Washington in the GNAC Women’s Basketball Championship. Overall, the team held a 17–14 record for the 2023–24 season, with a 10–8 record against GNAC opponents, earning fifth in conference standings. The 2024–25 campaign already looks promising, as the team’s 2–1 record is an improvement on the 0–3 result they gained in the 2023 Classic.

Both the men’s and women’s programs begin their GNAC campaign on December 5, with the men’s team playing at Central Washington while the women’s team plays host to Seattle Pacific in SFU’s West Gym.

Stop with the Broccoli Heads! It’s bad!

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Peak Web
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A person wearing blue jeans and a white shirt. They have broccoli on their head instead of hair.
ILLUSTRATION: Yan Ting Leung / The Peak

By: Sarah Sorochuk, Peak Associate

There seems to be a trend among young people that seem to think bubbly perms are all the hype. Judging by the posters that have been put up around Burnaby Campus, urging people to “say no” to so-called “Broccoli Heads” — no one else agrees. Rather, it is a terrible mistake that needs to be rectified. 

It has been said that people getting these haircuts (particularly preteen boys) are doing it because their inner Disgust are telling them they are lesser than. This toxic emotion then coerces these people into an “aesthetic” look taken from the fibrous vegetables that should go into our mouths.

This tree-like entity controls their minds and convinces them it’s essential to have these tenacious tresses to achieve the perfect GymTok body, unfortunately for everyone else.  These brocco-not-bros register for any gym nearby. Gym regulars like the SFU FASS One peer mentors interviewed by The Peak say they now go out of their way to work out at different times because of these irritating Broccoli Heads. Though they are not the only ones changing their ways, Reddit is full of complaints where people say they now work out in home gyms “cause it’s inevitable that gyms are gonna be a natural habitat for broccolis and jerks.” These children with strange Kermit hair are bothering the regular, and to further the irritation,  these fake broccoli only work on abs, as they are going for the basic muscular look.

With only the idea of getting fit and strong in mind, these kids are barely even able to do abs. But if they do, the most they are able to get is hot girl fit — where the body is all for show, and cardio is non-existent — and for all this work over a green hairstyle . . . The gyms are just a cyclical system run by more Broccoli Heads, where the dread and longing for more meaning sinks into their souls, creating nothing more than a cycle of green gym bros.

Let’s stop the tragedy of Broccoli Heads! Say no to the style!

A message to the BC legislature: shut up and give me proportional representation

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Peak Web
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A silhouette of ballot box against a dark background, with a hand putting a ballot in
PHOTO: michael_swan / Flickr

By: Yagya Parihar, SFU Student

After an excruciatingly long period of counting and recounting ballots, we now know that the BC New Democratic Party (NDP) will form a slim majority government. While this is a relief considering the extreme stances of the BC Conservatives, it’s also frustrating to see just how close this election was. The disparities between the two major parties could not be more clear.  One party has a track record known to voters and has campaigned on principles of basic human decency, while the other is filled with people with all sorts of fringe, bigoted beliefs, and was much less popular in BC elections until a few months ago. It’s a shame that we as voters must worry about power abuses from opposition parties, as our current voting system doesn’t allow for effective representation. 

So, why is there this polarization, and why is such an extreme party so close to power? To know why, we need to understand the electoral system we use: first past the post (FPTP). In this system, provinces are divided into districts with similar population numbers. The candidate with the highest vote count wins control over the entire district. The party that wins the most districts forms the federal government. It’s plain and simple — right until it’s not.

The FPTP system doesn’t necessarily reward the party with the most popular support, and instead encourages two-party systems. Take the example of the district Courtenay-Comox on Vancouver Island, where the BC Conservative candidate won with only around 38% of the vote, despite the BC NDP candidate being only 92 votes behind, and the BC Greens candidate having a sizable 20% of the vote share there. Under FPTP, two large parties will effectively dominate political discussion. Voters are forced to pick a side they may not prefer, or risk having their voice shut out.

It’s clear that FPTP is far from being a fair and democratic system. That’s why we need a better solution. A proportional representation-based (PR) electoral system is one where election results reflect who each individual voted for, ensuring everyone has representation that matches their beliefs. Coalitions of parties can help establish a consensus, and can make it far less likely that a new policy will immediately be thrown out by the next government.

There are a few proportional systems out there, with two of the most popular being mixed-member proportional (MMP) and the single transferable vote (STV). In MMP, voters elect one local representative, but regional representatives are also elected from “top-up seats” to a party list to help compensate for the popular vote.  The issue with MMP is voters still only have one choice they can make. Additionally, political parties play a larger role than even in FPTP because of the party lists.

Major change is needed to fix things, and we simply can’t afford to make the mistakes of the past.

By contrast, with STV, elections use regional districts like FPTP, but they are enlarged and have multiple seats. On a ballot, voters can rank all the candidates in order of their preference. Voter’s choices are used to then decide which candidates get elected. This allows people to show support for all their preferred candidates. It makes it easier for independents to get elected, and helps avoid wasted votes. STV also reduces the power of political parties, as winning a seat isn’t as guaranteed as with FPTP or even MMP.

Even with the need for electoral reform, there is a major problem in implementing it. The traditional method to change the system is to first hold a referendum, and switch to the new system only upon its passing. The problem is that the government sets the conditions for the referendum question, and this can be twisted to make it fail.

In 2004, BC held a Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform where participants proposed a variant of STV that they called BC-STV. The following year, the referendum on BC-STV had over 57% support with voters in 77 of 79 districts voting for it, a glowing endorsement that was largely due to the public engagement process. However, it failed, as it didn’t meet the 60% threshold set by the BC Liberal government. A similar result happened in subsequent referendums in 2009 and 2018.

With the failures of past referendums, some say it’s time we try another approach. The BC Greens suggest that the legislature should vote for a new electoral system first, hold the next couple of provincial elections under the new system, and then have voters decide on whether they want to keep it or change it back. This strategy lets people try out the new system and see the results in practice, which is appealing, but carries a risk in the precedent it sets. There is nothing that binds a future legislature to hold a referendum, and this could open up a Pandora’s box of governments changing electoral systems on the basis of political convenience. This has happened before: Alberta used to have a hybrid STV system for three decades, but in 1955, when more opposition candidates were elected in rural districts, the ruling Social Credit government switched back to FPTP to eliminate threats to their dominance.

It’s hard to say what strategy is the best to bring in electoral reform. On one hand, the people of BC are likely fed up with having three referendums within the past 20 years, but maybe after this extremely polarized election, there’s enough people who want things to change to drive a renewed push for another. On the other, pushing reform through the legislature would expedite the process, but it also raises the question of whether we can trust our politicians not to change the system in the future for their convenience. Regardless, it’s certain we cannot continue any longer with our broken electoral system. Major change is needed to fix things, and we simply can’t afford to make the mistakes of the past. Luckily for us, we have elected representatives who exist in the same political environment as we do, whose job is to debate these issues with consultation from expert policy advisors. My message to them is to shut up and do whatever it takes to get electoral reform done.

Don’t blame fashion resellers without acknowledging corporate greed

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Peak Web
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A person browsing through a clothing rack in a store
PHOTO: Ron Lach / Pexels

By: Manal Kashif, SFU Student

Thrifting has long been a way to purchase clothes while keeping it easy on your wallet. Unfortunately, along with its recent rise in popularity, prices of thrifted clothing have also skyrocketed. It’s easy to blame fashion resellers and shop owners for this. However, it’s unfair to say that all fashion resellers are exploitative or the sole reason for outrageous prices. The root causes come from the rise in fast fashion and the state of a consumerist economy.

It is true that many fashion resellers out there are hiking up their prices in an exploitative way, but that doesn’t fully explain the high cost of thrifting nowadays. While a corporation like Value Village, who is owned by Walmart, puts profit above all else, a non-profit or social enterprise that sells clothes and donates its money to charity clearly has a different purpose and shouldn’t be judged the same way. A good example of this is Vancouver-based Miscellany Thrift & Vintage. They are a local for-profit thrift store that believes in giving back quality resources to their community. 

When it comes to issues of high cost of living, smaller businesses are also “feeling the effects of inflation and the rising costs of rent.” Rent is due regardless of whether a business made sufficient profit that month, otherwise the business faces being evicted. Commercial buildings also face rent hikes when their leases expire that aren’t controlled adequately. This is a reason why thrift store owners likely feel pressured to increase their prices — to make a living.

The increase in fast fashion has not just made it harder for consumers to find quality clothing in thrift stores, but it also makes it harder for small businesses to stay afloat. A CBC article discussed how “more donations lead to higher prices.” This seems to not make sense at first, because if there’s more inventory, why would store owners need to charge more? The answer is they must pay and hire enough staff to go through piles of donations. There are costs to dispose of unwanted clothes, and many of them end up in landfills. Only 25% of clothing donations in Canada end up being purchased. A large part of this is due to overconsumption in general, which leads people to believe the impact of their unnecessary purchases is offset by donating to thrift stores. This ends up hurting smaller thrift stores the most, as they have less financial means to sort through and sell all their donations. 

In response to the oversaturation of fast fashion in thrift stores, many have turned to “thrift flippers.” Thrift flipping is when an individual buys used items from thrift stores and resells them at a higher price, usually on Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, or Depop. If we were to assess the intentions of individual sellers, we may be tempted to feel some contempt towards them. Depop sellers often thrift top-tier items and sell them at ridiculous prices. However, many of these resellers may be dependent on what they earn from selling online for multiple reasons, with one being that many people need multiple sources of income due to the state of our economy. 

It’s easy to point fingers at resellers, but we should consider the time and effort that can go into collecting and curating different styles of clothing. With the number of low-quality fast fashion items saturating thrift stores, it can be helpful to find resellers that offer items without the hassle of picking through an entire Value Village just to find a couple items. This doesn’t change the fact that price gouging is inexcusable from both corporations and resellers, and we shouldn’t have to rely on resellers to find quality clothing. However, the consequences of the global fast fashion industry have bled into thrift shopping, and we should direct our anger towards corporations that uphold the status quo. 

Nowadays, many people turn to thrifting for environmental reasons. But finding quality clothing at an affordable price is becoming increasingly difficult — even in thrift stores. This won’t change until we move away from unnecessary fast fashion purchases as much as possible, and push our governments to take action against textile waste. 

SFSS holds 2024 annual general meeting

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This is a photo of the SFSS executive committee office in the Student Union Building.
PHOTO: Prerita Garg / The Peak

By: Lexey Burns, SFU Student

On October 30, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) held their annual general meeting (AGM). During the meeting, executives went over the 2023–24 financial report, passed amendments to bylaws, went over committee highlights, and had an auditor from audit service Thompkins Wozny present the SFSS’ audited financial statements.

The SFSS’ attendance requirement, also known as a quorum, is 250 members of the society, which is“the minimum number of members that must be present in order for a meeting to be considered legitimate.” This was the first time in three years the SFSS was able to make quorum. Due to this, the meeting minutes from the previous two AGMs have not been received and filed until now.

Financial presentation

Simar Sahota, vice-president finance and services, highlighted the income and expenses from the general fund — the main operating fund that pays for the majority of the SFSS’ “programs, services, staffing, student group funding, and other key expenditures” — during the finance report. The SFSS’ general fund saw an increase in expenses, resulting in a loss of $473,758, while revenue “remained stable.” For one, the SFSS “increased its investment in student services, while also expanding financial support for student clubs and groups.”

Sahota also reported a decrease of approximately $150,000 in the Undergraduate Health Plan fund. The SFSS “plans to propose a referendum in the near future” to increase the Health and Dental Plan levy. This is to sustain the fund’s balance, without relying on it. The SFSS also plans to increase the Student Activity Fee as the union is struggling with inflation costs of ongoing services, programs, and events. The financial report claims that “with rising costs due to inflation and increased student engagement, expenses have exceeded budgeted amounts, resulting in a growing deficit.” The SFSS hopes to work towards balancing its budget. 

The SFSS “plans to propose a referendum in the near future” to increase the Health and Dental Plan levy. 

Bylaws

The SFSS presented three motions to change certain bylaws to fix grammatical errors or edit for clarification. There were technical difficulties with verifying student emails at the beginning of the meeting, which prevented the meeting from reaching quorum within the first 30 minutes of the appointed start time. Due to this, Benjamin Tischler, previous 2022 vice chair of Council, did not believe the meeting’s quorum had been met and moved to postpone these motions to amend the bylaws indefinitely. SFSS president Emmanuel Adeboyega explained that they did have quorum because technical difficulties “prolonged the start time.” He said that because of this delay, the 30-minute period to meet quorum did not start exactly at 5:30 p.m. Tischler believed it should start at the time the SFSS advertised. 

Tischler explained that the motions “should pass — they should have passed two years ago in fact, but unfortunately, we didn’t have quorum for a similar reason why we don’t today. We need to make sure these motions pass right.” Adeboyega said the SFSS hopes to pass the motions and then seek legal support to ensure the process was correct. “[Tischler] does not have those legal credentials to provide that legal support, so that’s why we will not be taking his advice,” he said. A vote was held to come to a conclusion, with the majority voting to not postpone amending the bylaws.

In the first motion, 32 bylaws were changed, whereas in the second motion, 20 bylaws were changed and seven new subsections were added. One new subsection added — By-law 6(20)(a) — grants members “full speaking rights in meetings, subject to limitations via regulation.” The third motion focused on changing bylaws to reflect transparency in Council electronic voting. All of the motions passed. 

Sudanese women subject to sexual violence amid the country’s civil war

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This is a photo of a Sudan flag in the sky.
PHOTO: Rawf8 / Adobe Stock

By: Sofia Chassomeris, News Writer

Content warning: mentions of genocide, ethnic cleansing, sexual slavery, carcasses, and suicide.

Since April 2023, the most recent Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 11 million from their homes.” The United Nations (UN) released a report in September that accused both parties of committing “an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes,” with the RSF committing “additional war crimes” in the forms of torture, sexual violence, and more. 

In May, the UN warned that the western region of Darfur, particularly the “ethnic Massalit and non-Arab communities in the region,” faced a “growing risk of genocide” from the RSF. The global organization Alliance Against Genocide recognized the targeted attacks as a “renewed genocide” in their 2024 Genocide Watch recommendations, referencing the genocide in Darfur carried out by the Janjaweed militia between 2003 and 2008. The Janjaweed militia are an Arab paramilitary group in Darfur that has “targeted” the aforementioned groups in the region.

The Peak interviewed Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani, a political science and Islamic studies professor at McGill University, about the current civil war. Medani gave a keynote lecture at SFU in March discussing the situation in Sudan and the many political actors involved.

Medani explained that the RSF is the “latest iteration of the Janjaweed militia.” Prior to the RSF, the Janjaweed committed what was recognized internationally as an ethnic cleansing of the “Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa peoples.” The militia grew and was solidified in 2013 as the RSF.

Medani said the Janjaweed “had long used sexual violence as a weapon of war and this legacy continues in worse fashion under the RSF.” According to the UN, forms of sexual violence “are sometimes deployed systematically to achieve military or political objectives.” The BBC reported that the “large-scale” violence — including rape and sexual slavery — enacted by the RSF has caused many women to either commit or consider suicide.

Al Jazeera described the Sudan Armed Forces as the “coercive backbone of Sudan’s political system,” formed in 1925. The RSF formed as a “non-conscripted force” formally introduced by Sudan’s central government as an “extension and counterweight to the SAF” ten years ago. Following a military coup in 2021, the two became rivals, and their current struggle for power puts them in a “deadlock.” While the leaders of the SAF and RSF worked with each other in the past, “tensions quickly rose” as negotiations around establishing “a new framework for a democratic transition in December” 2022 were “stalled.”

“Both the SAF and RSF are intent on completely defeating the other in order to have complete political and military control of the country,” said Medani. He referenced the Darfur region’s 2012 gold rush, saying both parties aim to “maintain the great wealth they amassed through corruption” of the gold industry.

“The Janjaweed had long used sexual violence as a weapon of war and this legacy continues in worse fashion under the RSF.” — Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani, professor of political science and Islamic studies at McGill University

“The media has not covered the role of the Gulf countries, especially the United Arab Emirates, in supporting the RSF,” he continued. The BBC reported that the UAE is “the destination for almost all of Sudan’s gold” and that the RSF has fought alongside the UAE’s troops in Yemen since 2015.

Medani also said the RSF uses “earth-scorch policy to depopulate [Darfur] so as to take over their farming lands.” A research report on Sudan from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada described the ways the Janjaweed militia employed “scorched-earth” tactics in their 2003 campaign. The tactics aim to make land unlivable “by destroying vegetation, seizing livestock, burning buildings to the ground, and contaminating drinking water with human and animal carcasses.” 

Medani brought to light “the work of Sudanese civilian leaders and civilian society, in and outside Sudan, fighting hard to restore peace.” The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), for example, has been documenting and advocating against gender-based and sexual violence in Sudan. SIHA reported several cases of women and girls being “fearful of the RSF’s advance and contemplating taking their own lives.”

“Their efforts, as well as the role of regional actors that must intervene strongly, has not been covered,” said Medani.

World BEYOND War (WBW), a global movement to “end all war,” calls for international players to take their “hands off Sudan” in a petition to the governments of Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and the UAE. The petition explains how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has expanded into Sudan: “each country is supporting one side and reinforcing it with troops and weapons.” The UAE and Iran also support the RSF and SAF respectively, with ammunition and drones. 

WBW hosted the 2024 WBW Africa Regional Peace Conference from November 15–16, where speakers and WBW affiliates connected to share current issues and construct solutions for “sustainable peace.”

The Government of Canada has provided “$132.2 million in international assistance funding,” which “includes $100.7 million in humanitarian assistance funding and $31.5 million in development assistance funding to address urgent needs in Sudan and impacted neighbouring countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.” Still, a coalition of Canadian humanitarian organizations, including Cooperation Canada and Islamic Relief Canada, called upon the government to “increase coordinated efforts to end hostilities, ensure humanitarian access to respond to the needs, and work toward reconciliation.”

Top ten ways to commute to SFU if you forgot your Compass Card

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Brightly coloured illustration of the road going up Burnaby Mountain. One student is riding an eagle up the mountain. Another student is riding in a flying car. A third student is walking up the mountain and the last student is going towards a secret elevator hidden in the forest.
ILLUSTRATION: Cindy Wang / The Peak

By: Hana Hoffman, Peak Associate

What if, one day, you can’t find your Compass Card while walking to the bus stop in the morning? After checking every pocket of your pants, jacket, and backpack, you’re sweating as you wonder how you’ll make it to an important class. You have some $20 bills, but buses don’t give you change in return. We’re still living in the Stone Age! Here is a guide to keep in your pocket in case this nightmare becomes a reality.

  1. Ask an eagle for a lift

Let’s shift our focus from sweater weather to feather weather. Wave your arm up in the air and call over an eagle! Ask for a ride to school in exchange for food, meaning you’d have to buy fish from the grocery store to pay the eagle.

2. Rent a bicycle

Cycling is faster than walking, of course, and the exercise would also activate your brain and get you even more ready to do well in class! You may be going to the bicycle rental shop just because you lost your Compass Card, but maybe you’ll fall in love with cycling and add that to your everyday life cycle!

3. Give Sonic The Hedgehog a call

He’s always there to save the day! Bet you can’t find a single story about him where he’s a villain. The only downside is that he’s very popular and is often fully booked. If he can squeeze you into his schedule, he’ll come dash to you and carry you while running faster than lightning speed so that you travel back to the time before you lost your Compass Card!

4. The secret elevator

This is either a myth or a legitimate fact, but apparently, in the ‘60s, a group of second-year students built a hidden elevator to commute up the mountain more easily. The elevator hasn’t been used ever since they graduated, so who knows if it still functions? Plus, they never told anyone how to get to the elevator through the secret path to the centre of the mountain base (don’t ask me how I know). If you want to try circling around the bottom of the hill to find this mysterious route, feel free to do so.

5. Travel Back to the Future and ride a flying car

That’s the era we’re supposed to be living in, but unfortunately, we still don’t have flying cars in 2024. However, do you know what we do have currently? 3D printers. We can print almost anything nowadays, so just buy a 3D printer and quickly command it to build a flyable car. It doesn’t matter if you’re bad at driving because there’s no traffic in the sky!

6. Be a creepy crawly

You’re a student, still young and flexible. Bring out your inner worm that you spent ages developing when your elementary school teachers were training y’all to become bookworms. Hide in the bush right by the bus stop, so when the bus comes, and someone gets out from the back door, you can sneak in by crawling. If you’re low enough, no one will notice except the person getting off. You probably wouldn’t be seen even through the bus driver’s mirror. Besides, wouldn’t it be considered distracted driving if they’re not focusing on the road?

7. Walk

Walking up to campus will guarantee your daily 10,000 steps, and maybe you’ll be ranked higher than your friends on Strava! This would work out because as you walk, your body will gradually get warmer, and simultaneously, the air temperature will get cooler as you go up the mountain, so you’ll feel perfect the whole way!

8. Attend school remotely

Have we forgotten about hybrid learning? There are many ways to work around showing up to class in person. One, you can video call your classmate and listen to the lecture in real time. Two, you can ask AI to generate a fake image of you looking studious and attentive. Then, your friend can print out the lifesized image of you and put it in a seat in class. Your instructor will mark you as present and probably won’t even notice the extra fingers! Three, look at the lecture slides on Canvas and teach yourself, which I guess is equivalent to skipping. But at the same time, it’s not because you’re still reading the lecture slides!

9. Volunteer to assist the garbage truck until it reaches SFU

Run after the morning garbage truck (you know how slowly they move; you’ll catch them without a problem). Talk to the driver and make a deal: you hop in and do all the work of collecting the neighbourhood’s trash, and after that, the driver drops you off at school. How could they say no to someone who wants to do free volunteer work for them? And you’ll successfully make it to school, so it would be a win-win.

10. SFU “Free Taxi” method

Call SFU Safety & Security and report that you see a wild animal on your way to school. Tell them you feel like you’re in danger and desperately would like a ride to SFU, so that they’ll come get you and drive you to class safely. It’s like a free taxi ride for you, because they’re already getting paid on duty no matter what comes up!

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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