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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Week

By
EIC
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The Downtown East Side Women’s Memorial March is an annual event that coincides with Valentine’s Day, but celebrates a pressing social issue in Canadian society.

February 14, in this light, is a day to remember and a call to action for the 4,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Ahead of this day, which is celebrated throughout the nation, SFU students Maddi and Matt, in collaboration with the Indigenous Student Centre (ISC),  Simon Fraser Public Interest Group (SFPIRG), and First Nations Student Association, (FNSA) organized and hosted the first ever Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Awareness Week at SFU. Events ran from February 6 through February 10.

The MMIW Awareness Week highlighted the systematic discrimination and inequality that victimizes Aboriginal women, subjecting them to injustice and violence.

Maddi, speaking to the motive behind organizing this week, said, “This event was created so we could give the ones who have been taken from us a voice. We wanted to show [that] even though they are not here, they are not forgotten. We wanted to create a bridge to awareness among the SFU community.”

No single event could mobilize or bring awareness on such a pressing concern, and therefore, a week-long celebration with varying events was organized in order to allow SFU students to take part.

Students were able to participate by lighting a candle near the vigil placed in Convocation Mall. “People could stop there at any time during the week, read the banner, zines, and broadcloth explanation, while lighting a candle in remembrance, to honor the girls, women, and the two-spirited peoples of the Indigenous community,” detailed Maddi.

“This is not an easy topic to talk about, and I think that is, maybe, why it’s ignored.”– Maddi 

“We also hosted a discussion forum on February 9, where people were invited to sit and talk with us about the issuesthat brought us to 4,000 MMIW — from historical impacts to modern media stigmatizations,” she explained.

Within Canada, missing Indigenous women represent 16% of homicide cases and 11.3% of missing women, while Indigenous women make up only 4.3% of the female population.

Indigenous women are subjected to intersectional oppression and discrimination and continue to be neglected. Despite the declining crime rate in Canada, Indigenous peoples, especially women, are persecuted to alarming proportions of crime and violence.

On the last day of the awareness week, February 10, the documentary Finding Dawn, which investigated the many Indigenous women, missing and murdered in BC, was screened, followed by a march around the Burnaby campus. “We ended the march with a prayer and moment of silence in front of the vigil, and hung the tied broadcloth offerings across the trees, while honoring the Indigenous traditions and protocols.” said Matt.

There was a mixed response to the MMIW Awareness Week throughout SFU, however. “We had trouble throughout the week, as there were various issues that had showed the ignorance on campus still exists. [. . .] For one incident, the broadcloth offerings that were placed around the campus were ripped; this is incredibly disrespectful in our culture,” said Maddi.

On the other hand, the people that attended the events showed engagement and support as they expressed their dearth of awareness and relevancy of the MMIW, even today. “Some of them continuously expressed their concerns about how it happens in their backyard in Vancouver” Maddi added.

The march, at the end of the week, was the most effective and impactful. The SFU community could have actively participated or chosen not to in the other events, but the march could not have been ignored. Maddi stressed, “The march was very evident as we marched with our drums in front of everyone. It was a very powerful act that we decided to do.”

“It only takes a small amount of people to do something that is meaningful, and with proceeding to do the march, I think we affected a lot individuals. We are present and [. . .] this is an issue that cannot be ignored any longer than it already has been,” stated Matt.

One of tMMIW - Maddie Grier 2he first Indigenous awareness weeks at SFU, the MMIW Awareness Week charged a successful campaign to emphasize this struggle. “SFU should show more initiative towards Indigenous issues. It would benefit the university due to its large Indigenous population, and as Indigenous students, we would feel the university’s support as well,” stated Maddi.

The MMIW Awareness Week was a success due to the collaboration among volunteers and groups such as the FNSA, ISC, and SFPIRG. “This is not an easy topic to talk about, and I think that is, maybe, why it’s ignored,” said Maddi.

Speaking to the SFU community, Matt further elaborated saying, “It is about breaking down barriers, stereotypes, and stigmatizations that Indigenous people face. It shouldn’t take an Indigenous person you know personally to go missing for you to take action.”

*Full names were not published at the request of the interviewees.

 

The Cheapo’s Guide to Valentine’s Day

By
EIC
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0

Listen single people, I know February is seen as a month-long Greek tragedy, but the truth is that this is a celebration of you, yourself, and all the money you’re going to save. There’s nothing that says “Happy Valentine’s to me” more than a few extra bucks in your wallet (you know, just in case bae cheaps out on you). So here’s how to be a good old-fashioned cheapskate the romantic way.

 

Flowers

Nope. Bae’s just going to have to hope that the most paralyzing blizzard in Vancouver history makes itself scarce in time for a couple of dandelions to grow. Maybe you could pick some edelweiss and other mountain-y wildflowers in between classes at Burnaby, should the buses manage to crawl their way up that sucker in time for V-Day.

 

Chocolate

Get out of buying that stuff by making an ethical issue out of it! Didja know that the word “bonbon” comes from what spoiled French princes and duke-lings said when they got their first taste of chocolate — which conquistadors brought to Europe after slaughtering the Aztecs? Viva la révolution. You too can build a barricade, sing some hella dramatic ensemble numbers, and join the revolution by saying no to the food of sin.

 

Romantic Dinners

Ramen: $0.99 a pack.  

Parsley to garnish: $1.47 a bunch.  

For an extra special night, eat out of clean dishes instead of guesstimating which of your bowls look the least like breeding grounds for undiscovered fungi.  

 

Cards

Cards are just pretty money-holders — kind of like a hotdog bun that nobody cares about. We’ve already established that money is being kept out of the picture here, so cards are definitely irrelevant.

 

Giant Stuffed Animals

Let’s break down the purpose of the giant furry mass in which you’re considering investing. What is bae going to do with that? Cuddle (hopefully). You know what else bae can cuddle with? You. And if your relationship is legal, access to you is free. Don’t forget: if you guys break up, that teddy bear is just going to get its head ripped off and tossed down a garburator.  

 

Jewelry

Make something out of macaroni and beads, spritz some glitter on top, and claim it has sentimental value. Bae can’t fight you on “sentimental value,” so you, my friend, are officially off the hook.  

 

Lingerie 

Listen, if bae can deal with you in your laundry-day undies, you’ve already got ‘em locked and loaded. Why are you creating problems for yourself?

 

Romantic Getaways

Dude, if you weren’t going to scrape together the money for the corpses of some colourful vegetation, how did you even remember that Paris existed? Why are you even reading this? If you got here, you’re totally going to spoil your significant other; don’t lie. And you know what, if they deserve you, they deserve some of Switzerland’s main export.

 

If they really deserve you, you guys say “I love you” more than once a year, and you don’t need to break yourself in two over one extra day that’s only special because your calendar told you so. Forget tradition. Netflix and chill on Cupid’s birthday, and let’s just go on loving each other and ourselves like business as usual.

 

 

World News Beat

By
Peak Web
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0

By: Benjamin Mussett

Canada/USA

Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump met face-to-face for the first time when Trudeau visited the White House this Monday. While it is often customary for the incoming US president’s first state visit to be with the Canadian PM, Trudeau will be the third world leader to meet with President Trump. This is following prime ministers from the UK and Japan. While Trudeau is a strong supporter of multiculturalism and takes a different stance on immigration compared to President Trump’s recent actions, their first encounter was cordial. Both Trump and Trudeau emphasized the importance of the CAN-US trade relationship.

With files from The Globe and Mail and CBC News.

Australia

Australia underwent a momentous development this week as the government’s cabinet welcomed the country’s very first Aboriginal minister. Ken Wyatt previously became Australia’s first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives in 2010. Long dedicated to the improvement of Aboriginal health and education, Mr. Wyatt’s new mantle will allow him to continue to focus on Indigenous well-being by putting him in charge of health care for Australia’s elderly and Aboriginal populations. There is hope that Mr. Wyatt will be able to improve the circumstances of an Indigenous population which has historically suffered from state negligence, discrimination, and mistreatment.   

With files from The Economist.

Romania

Last week, large-scale protests arose in Bucharest and elsewhere in response to a government decree that would soften state corruption charges, exempting some already charged and possibly encouraging future graft. According to CBC News, the decree, composed without parliamentary input, would “decriminalize cases of official misconduct if the funds involved are less than 200,000 lei (about $62,000 Canadian).” Facing pressure from the public and Romanian politicians, including those within their own cabinet, the Social Democrat-led government repealed the decree last Sunday. Then this past Thursday, the country’s justice minister resigned. The protests have continued and are the largest Romania has seen since the overthrow of the Communist regime in 1989.

With files from CBC News, al-Jazeera and BBC News .

Zimbabwe

In news that is sure to bolster conservationist spirits, the rare “cave squeaker” frog was spotted in a mountainous region known as Chimanimani for the first time in 55 years. Found on December 3, the miniature, light-brown frog, formally titled the Artholeptis troglodytes, had not been spotted since it was discovered in 1962. Local researchers now plan to breed the creature, but there are concerns that the rare specimen could be the target of illegal seizure and exportation as is common when a once-thought extinct animal is rediscovered.

With files from The Guardian.

Men’s basketball put up first conference win on Whiteout night

By
EIC
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0

There’s not a better advertisement for the men’s basketball team than this game.

In front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Whiteout game — the marketing department brought their A-game — the men’s basketball team followed one of their best efforts on Thursday (albeit ending in a heartbreaking loss), with their best game of the season.

And this time, they came out with the win.

“It’s weird how karma works out,” said head coach Steve Hanson. “You know, you’re in a similar situation late, [and] I was just like, this time we’re up five or six [. . .] let’s see if we can finish this off for once.”

“It’s about time,” said guard Kedar Wright, whose double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds helped lead SFU to their first conference victory. SFU snapped a 19-game losing streak, as well as a 20-game conference game losing streak, a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) record. It was also their first home conference win in almost two years, having last won against a GNAC opponent on February 12, 2015.

The thing is, it wasn’t against an easy opponent, either. The Western Oregon Wolves are third in the conference, and last year, made the Division II Final Four.

SFU started the game out with some good energy, scoring five straight points to start off the game, and holding Western Oregon off the board for nearly four minutes with some solid defensive rebounding.

Gibran Sewani, who received his fifth consecutive start, was particularly noticeable, putting up some rebounds and points.

“This is Gibran’s senior year, I know how important it is for him to get minutes and some key playing time. I find he just starts off the game really well for us,” said Hanson. “Gibran gives us big plays at times and he wins the jump ball every game.”

The big play this game? A crowd-pleasing dunk that set the tone for the rest of the game for the Clan’s fourth and fifth points.

By the five-minute mark, SFU had built up a 10–2 lead. However, a series of poor shot choices, and an inability to get to the scoring areas, led to long periods of no scoring for SFU and a Western Oregon comeback. However, the longest stretch without scoring, 3:26, was suffered by both teams.

By the half, the Wolves were up 32–27.

The story of the game — and the second-half comeback — was rebounding.

“Rebounding’s all effort,” said Hanson after the win. It’s something he’s said before, usually as a negative, but it was anything but Thursday night.

SFU had more offensive rebounds than they did defensive, with 21 to 18. From their own side of the court, SFU was adept at stopping second-chance points — surrendering only six — while on the offensive, the Clan managed 19 second-chance points.

“I am just real[ly] happy for our guys, I mean, we’ve said it all season: they’ve been grinding hard even after tough losses.”

– Steve Hanson, head coach

And Wright wasn’t the only player with a double-double. Iziah Sherman-Newsome was a master of collecting rebounds and making the other team pay for it. With 11 rebounds — seven of them offensive — Sherman-Newsome put up 17 points.

SFU tied the game up at 46–46 pretty much at the halfway point of the second half. Western Oregon scored six straight points in response.

But it was clear that SFU was getting in the Wolves’ heads. Their star forward, Tanner Omlid, who leads the conference in steals and is 14th in GNAC scoring, was forced out of the game after taking his fifth foul with nine minutes to go.

SFU faced a similar dilemma with Michael Provenzano, who had taken four fouls, and whose scoring touch would be needed down the stretch. He subbed out about 30 seconds after Omlid left the game, and sat on the bench for 5:03 before coming back on for the rest of the game.

“We were kind of thinking the same thing with Mike; do we leave him in? But we just made a sound decision, get Mike out,” explained Hanson.

Hidde Vos claimed the lead for SFU with a three to put them up by one. While Western Oregon did tie it up immediately after, SFU didn’t trail thereafter.

SFU won with a shortened bench. Vinnie Safin, Bowen Bakken, Graham Miller, Aleks Vranjes, and Bongani Moyo did not receive any minutes. Othniel Spence played only eight minutes — none in the second half — while Andrew Williamson played only three.

“We only played nine guys tonight, so the crowd really helped guys that had a lot of minutes get through things,” said Hanson. “I am just real[ly] happy for our guys, I mean, we’ve said it all season: they’ve been grinding hard even after tough losses.”

While the win was great — and it was great — one of the best things to come out of the weekend was a sense of progress. This didn’t feel like a one-off fluke win. Those were two close games, games that arguably should have been wins, and they weren’t just against bad teams who were playing badly.

That’s not to say the rest of the schedule is going to be filled with wins. But it’s good knowing that, in a season where wins aren’t plentiful, they do seem to be trending upwards.

“There’s certainly been a progression. We’re a totally different team from the beginning of the season. There’s certainly been growth. We’re definitely building some cohesion,” said Wright. “[We’re] just sharing the ball more.”

“I think guys [are] just sticking to what the coach is saying, and the coaches have been doing an awesome job. For us to be playing the best basketball we’ve played all year, through all the trials and tribulations, says a lot about the coaching,” said Sherman-Newsome.

Next Game: SFU will try and keep the momentum going with a game against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday.

Northwest Nazarene are a fairly low-scoring team, ranking third-last in scoring offence, and averaging 75.2 points per game. In the matchup at home earlier this season, SFU lost by only six points by score of 80–74, when a valiant second-half comeback bid fell just short.

Tip-off is at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Embark shares future plans after successful referendum

By
Peak Web
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0

By: Elise Burgert

In the fall 2016 semester, SFU students voted in a referendum to increase the levy that SFU provides to the Embark Sustainability Society. This resulted in a small increase in the tuition paid by students, but has given the organization the opportunity to expand its projects. Three months after the vote, Embark’s vision has come to encompass the new funding.

Dima Lavrentyev, the Embark member relations officer, has provided an update on what Embark has done with its funds. Firstly, Lavrentyev “thank[s] all of the students who supported us and voted ‘Yes’ in the November referendums.” In character with its mission of sustainability, Lavrentyev said, “sustainable growth is the best path” for Embark, and the organization will be taking a “step-by-step approach in order to achieve everything that we planned.”

He emphasized that while the referendum was held in November 2016, the levy increase will not begin until September 2017. As a result, at this point the organization is “in the process of strategic planning and capacity building in preparation“ for the increase.

Lavrentyev gave two main objectives of the organization. The first is to “restore and maintain our current programs, events, and advocacy efforts” while accounting for inflation, which has decreased the value of its previous funding. In order to continue its operations, an increase in levy was needed, according to Lavrentyev.

Events and activities currently hosted by this organization include “weekly Food Rescue, recently held Career Night and National Sweater Day, and many other events” related to sustainability. One of the most prominent programs of the organization is the Embark Learning Garden located at SFU Burnaby, south of TASC 1. Another Embark program, the Food Rescue program, reduces food waste by delivering unsellable, but still good produce, to university students. Embark also offers monetary grants to those with plans to pursue sustainability-related projects.

The second objective of the organization with this new source of funding is to expand its programs to the Surrey and Vancouver campuses. Lavrentyev expressed positivity, stating that the organization is “prepared to make it happen!” With the new increase in funding, he said “It is truly an exciting time for Embark and our members, as we move forward and enter a new stage in our development.”

The expansion of programs to the other SFU campuses will increase the number of students who can participate in the events provided by Embark, in addition to spreading more awareness for the issues that they support.

Lavrentyev extended an invitation to all undergraduate and graduate students to Embark’s Annual General Meeting, which will take place on February 23 at 4:30 p.m. in the Halpern Centre. For interested students, Lavrentyev noted that “additional information about our advocacy, programming, and events can be found on our website.”

More updates on Embark’s progress with its increased funds can be expected in September 2017, when the organization will receive and apply the funds to their projects.

Trump’s historic pick for Education Secretary

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Peak Web
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By: Benjamin Mussett

Despite a fight from Senate Democrats, Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Republican party donor and school-reform advocate, was confirmed as education secretary this week following a confirmation process fraught with controversy. Ms. DeVos, a previous chair of the Michigan Republican party, was barely approved after vice-president Mike Pence broke the Senate’s 50-50 tie in an historic deciding vote.

While previous vice-presidents have broken Senate ties before, Tuesday’s event represented the first instance where a vice-president has voted to ensure a cabinet member’s confirmation. The Senate came to a tie after two Republicans, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against Ms. DeVos’ confirmation.

A Rocky Start

President Trump’s choice for secretary of education generated immediate resistance from Senate Democrats who claim Ms. DeVos is unqualified for the position. This assertion is due in part by her lack of experience with public education. Ms. DeVos has not attended any level of public school nor have her children.

According to Vox, Ms. DeVos’ Senate confirmation hearings bolstered Democratic claims of ineptitude. When asked for her perspective on whether student performance should be measured based on overall growth or proficiency testing, Ms. DeVos seemed confused by Senator Al Franken’s question. The Senator expressed significant concern with Ms. DeVos’ unfamiliarity. The growth versus proficiency debate has been a constant in education policy circles over the past few years.

Democrats also voiced worry over Ms. DeVos’ reported conflicts of interests as her and her family have long donated substantially to the Republican party and hold financial stakes in numerous businesses. Like President Trump, Ms. DeVos could potentially see financial reward from government decision-making she is involved in. The newly-appointed secretary drew particular disapproval for failing to complete her ethics and financial review paperwork prior to her confirmation hearings, as is tradition.

At one point during her hearings, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont asked Ms. DeVos if she believed she would have been nominated “if [her] family had not not made hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to the Republican Party.”

The moment from the hearings which arguably drew the most public attention, however, was when Ms. DeVos suggested that the presence of guns in schools may be necessary in some cases “to protect from potential grizzlies.”

The Public vs. Private Debate

“She led the most effective public school reform movement over the last few years,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee and former education secretary, in response to Democratic criticism. The appointment of Ms. DeVos has once again raised the common education debate over whether government should prioritize public education or increase support for the private option.

Indeed, Ms. DeVos has been an avid supporter of private education, advocating for more charter schools and an emphasis on voucher programs. Voucher programs allow parents to divert taxpayer dollars away from public education in order to pay for their child to attend private or religious schools instead. Charter schools, on the other hand, receive public funding, but operate autonomously. According to The Economist, advocates of vouchers and charter schools, like Ms. DeVos, believe they grant parents more choice in their child’s education and, further, allow lower-income students in areas with poor public schools to receive a better education through private schooling.

However, critics claim numerous problems with such programs. In an op-ed for The Hill, Jerusha Conner, a Villanova professor specializing in education, argued that voucher programs actually “exacerbate educational inequality.” According to Conner, vouchers “drain” much-needed funding from the public education system and give it to wealthy private schools, “creating even more of an imbalanced, two tiered system.” Conner also contended that the money voucher programs provide is typically not enough to actually cover tuition costs, nor are lower-income students guaranteed to be accepted into private schools.

Another Controversial Choice

The circumstances of Ms. DeVos’ confirmation as secretary of education were unprecedented, however the unusual has so far proven to be the norm in Trump’s administration. The president has chosen to defy longheld practices, breaking diplomatic protocol by speaking with the president of Taiwan and his refusing to release his tax returns.  

He has also made a habit of appointing controversial cabinet members and White House staff, often roiling both media commentators and his Democratic counterparts. Moreover, Trump appears to prefer placing individuals in charge of departments they have previously challenged.

For instance, Scott Pruitt, an attorney general from Oklahoma, is Trump’s choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which Mr. Pruitt has sued 14 times; some of these suits are ongoing. Similarly, Rick Perry (governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015) who is slated to be secretary of energy, once called for the department he will soon be running to be closed altogether. In equal measure, Ms. Devos, a long-time private school advocate, will soon be making key decisions on public education.

In 2016, many voted for Donald Trump because they were fed up with what they perceived as status quo politics.Consistent with this “outsider” brand, a number of Trump’s cabinet nominations, like him, have no previous political experience. Most appear ready to roll back the legacy former president Barack Obama worked to construct over the past eight years.

While these picks cause Democrats consternation, to the president’s base, they may fulfill a crucial, albeit vague, campaign promise: “drain the swamp.” For Trump, the beauty of such a promise lies in its ambiguity.

With files from the New York Times, Business Insider, Vox, CNN, Mother Jones, The Economist, The Hill and the Guardian.

Vancouver Valentine’s Day date ideas

By
EIC
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0

It’s Valentine’s season! If you’re stumped for plans, here are five things you can do with your valentine, your friends, or even solo.

Starting with something a little formal, a little on the expensive side, but something very unique — a blind dinner date. Quite literally. This one is tried and tested by my closest of friends. Dark Table is a restaurant in Vancouver whose servers are blind. It’s pitch black in there, too! This gives you a sense of the servers’ everyday life and allows you to wholly and completely experience the food and the company of your special someone.

This has to be one of my favourite ideas, simply because of the destination — Gastown. This is a lively and extremely beautifully lit part of town. Be it a café, a restaurant, or a bar you decide to eat or drink at, you are bound to take a romantic stroll, hand-in-hand, on the lit-up streets. Options here vary in price, offering something for everyone, and leaving you mesmerized at the same time.

If your partner-in-crime likes to drink, and if their drink of choice is beer, then Yaletown is where you need to be! Along with an array of house-brewed beers, the Yaletown Brewing Company has a large variety of tapas and meals, and patio seating that is perfect for both sunny brunches and romantic dinner dates!

This one is an affordable favourite — so long as Vancouver doesn’t turn into Raincouver. A stroll to and around Stanley Park. Start from Burrard Station and head towards Stanley Park, walking hand-in-hand with flowing conversation and a warm drink you picked up on the way. Seems ideal, doesn’t it?

Finally, to give this list a sweet ending, why not cook for your significant other and then go out for dessert? A spot that comes to mind is Sweet Revenge Patisserie. Although a little far away from the Burnaby campus, it is apt for a late-night indulgence and has a gothic and picturesque ambience.

Women’s basketball defeat Seattle Pacific 72–60

By
EIC
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Since their last game earlier this year, both Simon Fraser’s and Seattle Pacific’s seasons have taken very different paths. In that game, the Clan was able to defeat the Falcons after a comeback fourth quarter. The win left SFU with a 7–1 conference record, and SPU with a 5–2 record, just behind them.

Since that 71–61 victory, SFU has only lost twice and has racked up 21 wins heading into this contest. SPU, meanwhile, have lost four and slipped back into a somewhat distant fourth place. With a chance to solidify their top three position, SFU took care of business with a 72–60 victory on the road.

The game was very tight to start. After jumping out to a four-point lead, SPU battled back to within one in the first. Unlike in their last game, SFU had a very strong second quarter. They scored 20 points and got strong contributions from the connection of Rachel Fradgley and Meg Wilson to end the first half with a nine-point lead.

Once the second half got started, both teams traded baskets before SFU managed to extend their lead to as much as 15 near the end of the frame. In the fourth, the Falcons cut that lead to seven before freshman Tia Tsang hit a clutch corner three that effectively put the game away for the Clan. Both teams shot below 40% from the field, but SFU was able to hit shots in crunch time, while SPU missed a few high-percentage shots to hurt their chances.

Both teams were unable to hold onto the ball well in this one, and that ultimately helped decide the outcome of the game. A total of 37 turnovers were recorded between SFU and SPU, with the Clan turning the ball over 17 times.

However, SFU was the team able to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes, scoring 28 of their 72 points off turnovers — 38.8% of their offence. SPU only managed eight points off turnovers.

With the win, SFU have assured themselves of a top three place in the conference. With both teams having four conference games to play, the best Seattle Pacific can do is tie SFU’s record if they win their remaining games and SFU loses all of theirs. But with SFU having the tiebreaker in their head-to-head record, the Clan would still be in third place. The focus now for the team will be trying to remain focused down the stretch.

Next Game: SFU will make the short drive down to Bellingham to take on Western Washington in a rare Tuesday night contest. Western Washington are in second place in the conference with a 15–1 conference record. A win would move SFU up to 14-3 and drop Western Washington down to 15-2. If the Clan want any hoope of finishing second, they’re going to have to get a result. 

Last time these two teams played, SFU led by one at the half before Taylor Peacocke scored 27 in the second half — more than the rest of her team combined — and singlehandedly led the Vikings to victory. She finished with 41 points in the game overall.

Peacocke leads all of Division II women’s basketball with 23 points per game, and the key will be to try and contain her offensive output. She will get her points, but if SFU can limit her to her average or just below, they should have a shot at victory.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

SFU Confessions brings us together in anonymity

By
EIC
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0

“Here’s a confession for you: I definitely follow the SFU Confessions page more closely than I follow the UBC one. Ours is kinda lame.”

These are the words of a friend who goes to UBC and also follows the SFU Confessions page religiously. If you’re not aware of what it is, SFU Confessions is a Facebook community page run by an anonymous administrator that allows all SFU students to post their crazy transit stories, lament over how a class screwed them over, and tell wholesome, Nicholas Sparks-esque love stories.

Beyond that, there is drama, comedy, intrigue, and thoughts from all ends of the political spectrum. Having followed the page ever since I started at SFU three years ago, I’ve witnessed many courageous stories come forward, and watched the community come together in support of the confessor.

I’ve always been fascinated with how this concept has amassed a following of roughly 24,000 SFU and non-SFU students alike. To be able to come out and tell all these strangers the issues you might be going through, even though you are anonymous, is a big deal.

During my time at SFU, I found myself in this digital confessional many times: a blank message box blinking back at me, waiting for me to confess my darkest desires. My very first confession was to openly, albeit anonymously, say that I was depressed and that I wanted to commit suicide.

Of all the many people and institutions I could have turned to, I decided to turn to a faceless entity and broadcast my troubles and self-worth to hundreds of strangers.

Though I was scared to death that someone would expose me, my message vanished with no questions asked, and a day later it appeared on the page. But as hours and days passed, many people put up messages of support, linked me to resources, and even invited me  — a complete stranger — to message them in future times of distress.

I see posts similar to mine every so often, and my heart breaks a little each time I see them. But that all melts away when I see the respect and kindness that goes into some of the comments that follow. I also try to be someone whom those in need of someone can access at any time — the same way that many others offered their support to me.

This diverse community is able to come together and offer simple words of encouragement to those who may have no one else to turn to. If I hadn’t posted my own confession, I probably wouldn’t be able to speak and write so openly about mental illness in the way that I do now.

There definitely are times where our differences cry far louder than the similarities, but I believe that there truly is a comforting sense of community present on this page. Yes, we are all different and unique, but in times of heartbreak and suffering, the anonymity suddenly makes us more alike than we realize. There are people who are here for you if you are going through a hard time — even if you don’t know them yet.

Q&A with SFU alumnus and digital cupid, Justin Long

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EIC
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[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you’re still swiping left and right on Tinder, looking for a special someone to see this Valentine’s day, have no fear. SFU alumnus Justin Long has developed the artificial intelligence (AI) to help you find your dream partner.

Having been consistently identified as one of the leading cities for the technology and innovation, Vancouver has steadily been making its mark on the digital age and all it entails. Innovators and entrepreneurs now comprise an industry worth over $23.5 billion in British Columbia — and much of that industry resides in Metro Vancouver.  

One of those innovators includes Long, who launched an artificial intelligence app, warmly named Bernie, this past summer. Bernie works by being applied to a dating app, registering the characteristics a user seems most interested in, and rendering matching options that would most likely appeal to them.

Though Long’s SFU degree is in general studies, he’s long had an interest in technology and software development. The Peak sat down with Long to talk about Bernie and his mission to get more singles swiping right.

Peak: What is Bernie?

Justin Long: Bernie is the world’s first artificial intelligence designed to help people start dating. Bernie uses deep learning to understand the type of [person] someone finds attractive, and then seeks them out on dating apps. Not only does he pull together a deeper understanding of who makes you “tick,” but he even starts the conversation to ensure mutual interest.

P: What does Bernie do when applied to a dating app?

JL: Bernie essentially acts as a filter, where he takes out all of the legwork and nuisances involved in online dating. After installing Bernie, you’ll spend some time swiping on Tinder with him so that he can be trained on who you find attractive and who you, well, don’t. From there, Bernie starts a conversation with the profiles that you’ve matched with and determines if they’re interested in continuing the conversation. If they are, Bernie then allows you to take over.

“I was determined to get people away from their phones and back to real love” – Justin Long

P: Could you describe Bernie’s target user?

JL: Anyone who’s busy, or feels like they don’t have an endless amount of time [for] swiping through profiles and people that you have no interest in. He especially works for people with busy schedules, and who are interested in enjoying a more genuine experience than what online dating sites currently offer.

P: How did you come up with the idea for Bernie?

JL: First, very few people know that the inspiration for Bernie comes from Bernd Dittrich, an old friend and dorm-mate from SFU residence. Bernd was at the height of his SFU football career when we lost him to an unfortunate heart condition in 2009. It was unusually fitting that his heart was too big; I watched his relationship with his girlfriend turn into a really special connection, and he was loved by anyone who knew him.

Fast forward to 2014 when I was sitting in a bar watching a trending app called Tinder begin to consume my friends. I became frustrated with how everyone was sucked into their phones. I joked “I can automate Tinder” to the hysterical and unbelieving faces of my friends. Two months later I had a working prototype. Once I left my job doing research and development for a Vancouver software company, I turned the prototype into something — a real usable app. I was determined to get people away from their phones and back to real love, and I thought Bernie was a fitting name.

P: How did you first get involved with software/tech?

JL: When I was three years old my dad taught me how to program this MS-DOS app that was a simulation of traffic lights. Unfortunately, much of that skill was replaced by a superb ability to dismantle computers into unusable pieces until I was 15, when my grandmother gave me a copy of Macromedia Dreamweaver. At 16, I had my first paying web design client and ever since I’ve been learning to code on my own.

P: Are there any plans for the future of Bernie that you can tell us about?

JL: Everything that Bernie is learning from dating is proving to be extremely valuable. Bernie is gaining cognitive abilities, being able to read personality traits and put photos into context. We’re actively looking at applying his brains to the advertising world, and are currently working with undisclosed universities and companies to research how far we can take him.

P: Was there any point during Bernie’s development at which you thought the AI wouldn’t work? Why or why not?

JL: In the very early stages we released Bernie to a small group of testers. One of them came to me in person and said, “Justin, look at what Bernie is doing. . .” Well, Bernie was relentlessly messaging people and making very obvious incompatible choices. That’s when we made an emergency effort to become experts in deep learning, which has paid off ever since.

P: What would your advice be for students hoping to get into AI development?

JL: When Google built FaceNet, its research team used 250 million photos to achieve 99.67% accuracy. Students rarely ever have access to so much data, and you don’t need it. There are tricks to bootstrapping tiny datasets you need to get started and to training AI with very little information. Learn those tricks and make your life easier!

P: Could you tell us a bit about how you got together with your girlfriend?

JL: That’s a great story. I initially met her while I was attending SFU back around 2010. We lived near each other and had a bunch of mutual friends, so we’d always talk and flirt when we ran into one another, but nothing ever happened, which was something I regretted because after I graduated we went our separate ways. . . Until six years later.

Shortly after I created Bernie, I was testing the app and saw her profile show up on my account. I took over the conversation before Bernie said anything and asked her out on a date the next day. I’m happy to say that we’ve been dating ever since and we’re moving in together at the end of this month. I guess I’m a living example of how Bernie can be successful.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© 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