Stop with the Broccoli Heads! It’s bad!

By

-

November 21, 2024

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

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

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

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

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

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

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

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

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

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

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.

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!

Horoscopes November 12 – 18

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

An illustration of a girl, stars and astrological signs strewn in her hair. — ILLUSTRATION: Marissa Ouyang / The Peak

By: Manal Kashif, SFU Student

Aries
March 21–April 19

Let’s be honest: Aries are the pursuers in any relationship because of their headstrong attitude. You know who else doesn’t stop until they get what they want? The popular girl in every high school romance movie who just so happens to be dating the 6’4 quarterback with a 2.0 GPA (bonus if they’re played by an actor 10 years too old to be a teenager). Aries would give Regina George a run for her money any day.

Taurus
April 20–May 20

Taurus as a rom-com lead would be too practical of a character, so what better way to stir up their love life than by giving them a strangers-to-lovers plot line? Perhaps being stuck on an economy flight and chatting with a flirty stranger the whole way to your destination will make you put your guard down and take a leap of faith as you explore London together.

Gemini
May 21–June 20

Step aside, everyone; Lara Jean has entered the picture! No one would handle the pressures of fake dating better than Geminis because who else has a personality with that much duality? Maybe you will find your own Peter Kavinsky this season (it’s a reach, though, but perhaps a situationship?).

Cancer
June 21–July 22

It may be cliché, but we love it nonetheless, so make room for a reunion with childhood friends! Cancers, with their sweet and sensitive approach to life, would instantly shed tears once reunited with the one they met in elementary school who moved abroad but came back at the most inconvenient time in Cancer’s love life.

Leo
July 23–August 22

Fun, outgoing and incredibly dramatic, Leos give off all the energy of someone who would end up in a high school sweethearts situation. This is the on-and-off, five-breakups-but-are-still-trying-to-make-it-work-in-university type of relationship that has the audience hooked regardless and believing that they’re soulmates because they’re just that cute.

Virgo
August 23–September 22

Pining after your ex? We expect nothing better from you, Virgos. So you can claim second-chance romance as your gateway to keep duping yourself into thinking the person who left you behind years ago is ready for you now. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!

Libra
September 23–October 22

Too many options is bad for anyone, including you, Libras. Maybe if you stop flirting with every single person at the bar? Then, you might actually find yourself in a fulfilling relationship someday instead of being stuck as the second lead in a rom-com who is still alone by the end of the movie.

Scorpio
October 23–November 21

Since Scorpio has the flirting capability of a child who pulls girls’ pigtails on the playground, it would make sense for their love story to start with a bucket full of hatred. You can see them in an office chair, seething because their coworker did something to gain their disapproval again (Hating Game, we see you). Or perhaps it’s the guy at school who gets on your nerves, but you’re strangely attracted to him. We can’t wait to see the enemies turn into lovers, though!

Sagittarius
November 22–December 21

Love could be chasing you, but you would still somehow manage to outrun it like the rom-com player afraid of commitment. Take a few steps back, and you might find yourself someone who is willing to love you at first sight. The second meeting might not be in your favour once they see how reckless you are in every aspect of your life.

Capricorn
December 22–January 19

Sorry Capricorns, but when all your schedule consists of is work and your leisure time filled with even more work, the best that can happen for you is a friends-to-lovers trope because God knows your friends are the only ones who stick around to get glimpses of the rest of your personality. You’re not Anne Hathaway and this isn’t The Devil Wears Prada so stop being a workaholic that puts their job over everything else.

Aquarius
January 20–February 18

Aquarius thinks they’re intellectual enough to not get their heart swayed easily which is why we have upgraded from high school romance territory to college romance. Now, put them in a literature class like Tessa and Hardin from After and watch that resolve go downhill (we know you want to be right).

Pisces
February 19–March 20

Easily the most romantic sign but can too much romance be a thing? Pisces is indecisive enough on a good day but put them in a love triangle situation and they’ll be making every bad decision possible in a 1 hour 45 minute film. Anyway, team Conrad or Jeremiah?

Student advocacy coordinator discusses AI and academic integrity at SFU

By

Peak Web

-

November 21, 2024

0

This is a photo of ChatGPT open on a laptop. — PHOTO: Emily Le / The Peak

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

The Peak recently spoke with Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) student advocacy coordinator Trish Everett on how SFU has approached the issue of inappropriate artificial intelligence (AI) usage in classes.

As advocacy coordinator, Everett helps students maneuver withdrawals from extenuating circumstances and through academic integrity hearings. These occur when a student has been accused of academic misconduct or dishonesty. “My role is to start on the student’s side and help them do what’s in their best interest,” said Everett. “Oftentimes that’s helping them understand how to navigate through existing processes.”

SFU states that while AI “can be used constructively to support learning,” it may also “interfere with meeting the learning objectives” in courses. Learning objectives include the ability to “analyze and interpret ideas” or “evaluate and use source materials.” AI use is a relatively new facet of academic dishonesty and misconduct. As a result, policies around the usage of AI are still being developed at SFU. “There’s no overarching university policy,” said Everett.

Under SFU’s Student Academic Integrity Policy, academic dishonesty and misconduct both refer to actions that violate “the standard of academic integrity,” which can include the dishonest use of AI. After an accusation (likely from “an instructor, department chair, or the registrar,”) the student will meet with the accuser, who will either assign a penalty or drop the case. Most commonly, a first-time offence yields “a failing grade for the assignment” in question.

“The most important thing with AI is it’s really changed the landscape of academic integrity and every professor can and does do something different.” — Trish Everett, SFSS student advocacy coordinator

If a student asserts they were falsely accused of academic dishonesty or misconduct, the case moves to the University Board of Student Discipline (UBSD) and a hearing takes place. If overturned from here, the Board will “decide upon an appropriate course of action,” and the student has three weeks to create a response for the SFU President, should they decide to. After the President’s decision, if the student still does not accept the outcome, they may be able to appeal to the Senate Committee on Disciplinary Appeals (SCODA). Ultimately, SCODA can rule in favour or against the student based on factual error, excessive penalty, or new evidence.

Everett highlighted some less-recognized subtleties, speaking on how penalties for international and domestic students may vary: “On this particular issue, I would encourage you to think about what would happen if you were suspended as a domestic student, as opposed to what would happen if you were suspended as an international student, and the expenses involved as well as the immigration implications.” She said having to leave the country as an international student could mean breaking a lease to find somewhere to store belongings and paying a significant amount of money to retake classes in the future.

From September 2022 to August 2023, 142 cases of plagiarism were recorded. While the Annual Report on Academic Student Discipline does not divulge the specifics of each case, it does include some examples, such as AI use. Additionally, the report included 370 cases of cheating, including the usage of ChatGPT as an example. The report for the previous year, September 2021 to August 2022, indicates 179 cases of plagiarism and 355 cases of cheating in that period of time.

“To me, it comes down to the question of equity versus equality,” Everett continued. “Currently we have a system that leans towards equal punishment for all, regardless of circumstance. I think an interesting conversation and one well worth having is, is that how we should be doing things, and what roles does equity play when we are addressing [ . . . ] a broad range of different circumstances,” she said.

“The AI strategy committee was formed in the summer of 2024 to look at how the university can explore the opportunities and impacts of AI at SFU in four key areas: learning and teaching, research, operations/administration and external engagement.” — SFU

The type of misconduct a student commits is another nuance Everett discussed. On their third offence, suspension starts to “come into play.” However, the content of these three offences may differ greatly. Everett explained that while one student could fail three final exams by being caught cheating, another student could have committed more “defensible” offences like unknowingly using Grammarly or working with another student against the rules.

“Theoretically, UBSD and SCODA are given leeway to consider the severity,” said Everett. “But again, severity can also be subjective.”

Regardless of international status or the type of offence, rules surrounding AI usage at SFU are unclear. “The most important thing with AI is it’s really changed the landscape of academic integrity and every professor can and does do something different.” She spoke to how “you may have one professor in one course who says absolutely no AI of any kind at all, including Grammarly, and then an hour later you may have another class where your professor is encouraging you to use AI for brainstorming and creating the structure of a paper [ . . . ] and the university is letting all of this happen.”

On May 23, SFU Senate passed a motion stating that SFU will “develop policy regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence by instructors and students in teaching and learning at SFU.”

The Peak reached out to SFU for an update on this. “SFU recognizes the significance of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and is working on an AI strategy to determine how we can responsibly leverage and utilize the use of AI for the greater good of education, research, and society,” they responded. They explained their newly-formed AI committee will “look at how the university can explore the opportunities and impacts of AI at SFU in four key areas: learning and teaching, research, operations/administration and external engagement. Task forces and sub-committees are currently being assembled to identify priorities and deliverables in each of these areas.”

They also added, “On September 25, the first townhall event took place, focusing AI in learning and teaching. Several more events are planned — the latest information on the AI strategy and currently scheduled events is available on the AI strategy webpage.”

When it comes to inappropriate AI use, Everett said,“There isn’t a lot of precedent to rely on because there aren’t a lot of AI cases that have gone all the way through the appeals process.” She recognizes that “students don’t commit academic dishonesty for funsies” and that it’s “typically an act of desperation” or “there’s just not time to do the work you need to do,” she said.

SFU students have been vocal about their experience with AI on the SFU Reddit page. One issue raised was professors relying on AI checkers to scan student assignments, which would mistakenly flag their work as being generated by AI. Many students spoke on the burden of having to prove they did not use AI to their accuser.

Everett’s advice? Students should reach out to their professors and let them know when they’re having a tough time. “I think that’s been the biggest take-home lesson of pretty much every case I’ve touched in the last three, four years — if the student had been open with their instructor about the struggle that they were going through, it would have done a lot of good in minimizing the later fallout.”

If you wish to contact Trish Everett, you can reach her by email at [email protected].

Plant yourself in purple lights with Alexandra Caprara’s Ultra Violets

By

Peak Web

-

November 19, 2024

0

A woman with dark hair poses with her hand resting under her chin. Purple light streams off of her face with a shadowy effect. — PHOTO: Courtesy of Chelsea Styut

By: Izzy Cheung, Arts & Culture Editor

SFU’s reputation is made through intensive research programs and rewarding co-ops, but what many may not realize is how comprehensive our arts departments are. From Fringe Festival debuts to magical musical performances, arts students and alumni have spoken fondly of how their creative processes have blossomed at SFU. As alum Alexandra Caprara prepares to bring her violet-hazed performance to the IndieFest stage, she reflected on how her time at SFU inspired her work.

With a master of fine arts in interdisciplinary arts, Caprara’s research in “queer becoming, speculative futurity, and how all that relates back to a study of plant life” drove the creation of her project. The performance, titled Ultra Violets, is a colourful challenge to the discovery of queer identity on an individual level. While the piece will be shown as a part of IndieFest, this won’t be the first time that Caprara has presented this project.

“When I started this piece, I was in the middle of my masters degree at SFU,” Caprara explained in an interview with The Peak. “I wanted to converge my skills as a director, designer, and mover.”

Ultra Violets tells a story “set within a world that is part greenhouse and part dance club,” using pivotal parts of plant life and disco cultures to convey its message. Books such as Legacy Russell’s Glitch Feminism and Sarah Ahamed’s Queer Phenomenology provided the theoretical basis of Caprara’s project. In the performance, she explores the “intentional process of abstraction as a way to speculate new ways of seeing and existing in the world” pitched by Russell and Ahamed.

“‘Queer’ not as being about who you’re having sex with (that can be a dimension of it); but ‘queer’ as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it, and that has to invent and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live,” Caprara relayed the quote from bell hooks, emphasizing how these words have “always felt like the essence of what this piece is trying to say, and do.”

The origins of the performance’s visual elements come from a completely different sector of study. Caprara recognizes how “plants have acted similarly throughout history, especially in the contexts of the ways we’ve used them to define movements of queer resistance and love,” and applied it to the basis of the show.

“I was researching plant growth in greenhouses, and different conditions for growth that can help aid this process,” Caprara said. She highlighted how exposing plants to “bright purple light[s]” can be “faster and stronger than using regular grow lights.

“The photos of this felt all too familiar to what I’ve seen in queer club settings — there’s something punchy and a little mysterious about it tonally,” she added. “The colour purple seemed to fit both the aesthetic of what it felt like to be in a club setting, and also a perfect connection between club lighting and plant symbolism.” The use of violets in the title and the piece seemed to weave themselves in fatefully, as these flowers “were also often used as a symbol of sapphic love in poetry.”

While Caprara’s name is the first on this project, just like how plants grow, there were a variety of elements and helping hands that pushed it to bloom. Receiving support from supervisors, mentors, and collaborators is something Caprara said was “especially impactful.

“The support within my cohort, and within my own team of collaborators for this piece showed me the importance of having a community by your side,” she expressed. “It makes the work stronger, it helps keep you sane, and it’s tremendously more fun.

“This piece was created to celebrate queer joy, and to invite audiences to celebrate alongside us. I hope audiences, regardless of their own relationship to the idea of becoming, feel seen within this work — especially to any of our fellow queer audience members, this is for you. We hope you like it.”

Catch Ultra Violets at Signals Studios at the Centre for Digital Media on November 21 and 22. Tickets are $21.68 and are available for purchase on showpass.com.

The resonant harmonies of Ruby Singh’s Vox.Infold

By

Peak Web

-

November 19, 2024

0

A man dances in a patterned blue and pink set of robes with music notes spinning around him. — ILLUSTRATION: Abigail Streifel / The Peak

By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer

Vancouver-based interdisciplinary artist Ruby Singh released his debut album, Vox.Infold, in January 2022. The sequel album, Vox.Infold II, is set to grace the ears of the public on November 29. In preparation for this, I had the pleasure of seasoning my ears to the sweet a cappella tastings of Singh’s first record.

Vox.Infold showcases “the sheer force of collective vocalization in a musical exploration that intertwines the past, present, and future.” Singh mixes South Asian, Black, and Indigenous elements of throat singing among the 11 featured tracks. Many of these songs include a sonic tranquility of rhythms that sway back and forth like a pendulum. It’s as though each song on the record builds upon the next. From start to finish, the album is a visceral experience that lets listeners immerse themselves in what I can only describe as escapism within sound. Every song off Vox.Infold resonates in a tangible yet trance-like state, as if having an out-of-body experience — in the best way.

Aside from Singh’s vast compositional background, lyrically, the album “explores the gateways on either side of life with songs that welcome incoming souls, mark our time on this earthly plane and honour the outgoing spirits.”

My favourite song off the record is “Soar | Sore” because of its layered vocalizations piled on top of one another as the whispering vocal resonances and lyrics combine seamlessly. The musical tension surmounts to a climactic a cappella resolution around the 05:35 minute mark where the harmonies merge, complementing the textures of sound and emotion.

“Allium Redux” showcases throat singing. The track steeps in emotion and urgency, paired with a heavy-hitting rhythm to keep the beat steady as you’re transported through a portal of empowerment. With the swaying and wavering vocal melodies like leaves rustling in the wind, this track is sure to get stuck in your head. Strategically, it’s sequenced as the second-to-last track on the album. I’d consider this a power move for Singh as listeners near the end of the sonically serene journey float throughout the record.

The Vox.Infold collection is not the only hypnotic piece of artwork that Singh has produced. Diving deep into the roots of nature, literally speaking, Singh has experimented with bio-sonification. This is a process that brings plants into music-making by “placing pic-up mics, transducers, [and] bone conductors onto surfaces, inside molds, buried in soil.” Singh’s tests with this process have been conducted with mushrooms, something influenced by “developing an appreciation for the natural world.”

Singh will be conducting an experimental performance called “Future Mythologies” at IndieFest on November 23. Here, he will “translate global water data into rich, immersive compositions of music, dance, poetry, and projections.” On the album’s release day, November 29, Singh will also be performing at Vancouver’s Lobe Studio. Lobe is the first spatial sound studio in North America that operates with a 4D sound audio system. Many students in the SFU music and sound program are granted the opportunity for artist residencies at the studio. Here, we’re able to expand our horizons in the world of soundscapes and audio, as we start our careers while still studying. Singh’s performance is surely not to be missed and will bring about a full house of audience members and students alike, as he takes the stage and releases Vox.Infold II as music to our ears, evoking a palpable experience.

Catch Singh’s “Future Mythologies” on November 23, or check out his album launch on November 29. Tickets to “Future Mythologies” are going for $21.68 on showpass.com, and tickets to the Vox.Infold II album launch are $16.61 and can be purchased at eventbrite.ca.

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

FOLLOW US