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Reasons you’re voting for Clinton/Trump

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Why you’re voting for DRUMPF

1. It’s time that politics get honest! So let’s have the wealthy elite run things openly.

2. You’re not sure why all these people are here chanting “Trump,” but you enjoy loud noises. Like guns — they excite you.

3. You’re tired of politicians’ tricks, like facts and reason.

4. You’re totally not racist or anything but you just want to make America whi– . . . er,  great again.

5. You’re totally not racist or anything but they are stealing your jobs.

6. You’re totally not racist or anything but they are Mexicans — you love taco bowls, though.

7.  You’re totally not racist or anything, but you find yourself explaining why you aren’t a racist quite often. Donald Trump will sort that out. 

8. Life is a joke anyway. You can see the humour in any situation.

9. You’re Vladimir Putin.

10. You just want to see the world burn..

 

Why you’re voting for the Good Wife


1. You’re like, totally a feminist.

2. Politicians make promises all the time without delivering any real change. That’s just the way politics work.

3. Pantsuits are so in right now.

4. Wall Street needs love, too.

5. What’s an election without a few scandals?

6. Emails? To be honest I never paid much attention, it sounded pretty boring.

7. You have this strange notion that years of experience in government is a better qualification for becoming president than being a shitty businessman with a reality TV show.

8. Your teacher will fail you if you don’t vote.

9.  At least Hillary will have someone to manage her emails for her in the White House.

10. You’d rather not experience nuclear war.


ALBUM REVIEWS

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A Pentatonix Christmas – Pentatonix

The trailblazing, internationally celebrated a cappella group Pentatonix has released new music in the fall every year for the past four years — and they’re not about to break that streak.

You most likely have already heard A Pentatonix Christmas’ first single “Hallelujah” circulated on Facebook by everyone and their mother. This dramatic cover stands apart from an otherwise peppy album filled with music that actually has to do with Christmas (I promise). The record features familiar holiday tunes given beatbox, riff-filled facelifts, and a few original songs soon to be added to Christmas playlists everywhere.

To those naysayers complaining that “November is too early for Christmas music” and “Please stop singing Pentatonix at my face,” I would say that you can’t put a limit on happiness and cheer. Give the album a listen and try not joyfully sing along! – TGL

WALLS – Kings of Leon

This is not an impressive album. It doesn’t rock the boat, it doesn’t take Kings of Leon in a new direction, and it offers only a few remarkable tracks.

If you don’t mind hearing “whoa-ahs” in every song, then you’ll love this album. Most of it sounds like it could have been buried on any of their previous albums, sandwiched between the single-worthy tracks just to fill it out.

That being said, there is at least one gem on this record: “Muchacho” doesn’t fit in. It goes deeper and has more genuine emotion than the rest of the record. It’s too bad more sincerity wasn’t spread around — this album could have been more than a collection of songs that panders to pop-rock hungry listeners. – TP

Heart Like a Levee – Hiss Golden Messenger

The sixth LP from MC Taylor, a.k.a. Hiss Golden Messenger, jumps between stripped down folk ballads and fast-paced alternative country tunes. However, it’s the quieter songs that are the highlights from the album.

Lyrically, this album takes from the trials and tribulations of a full-time musician, which is apparently not as glamorous as it’s thought to be. Take the self-titled track: it’s an alternative country ballad fraught with feelings of self-loathing, with lines like, “Do you hate me, honey / As much as I hate myself?”

It’s the slow-paced ballads where the band shines, since there’s so much emotional strife in the subject matter. While the band succeeds with most songs, some of the instrumentally denser songs don’t feel as fleshed out as the simpler tracks.

With some fantastic tracks, Hiss Golden Messenger proves that a simpler song can convey a much more powerful message. – CR

COMIC: Pun 2,3

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EIC
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COMIC: The Joke Train

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SFSS Byelection Update

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EIC
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Presidents! Who they are? What are they running on? Have they been the president yet? Do they think Willie Desjardins should be fired?

Larissa Chen

larissa_web

The prior VP Student Services for the SFSS, as well as the interim president for the board since Deepak stepped down. She’s focusing her campaign around her experience on board as interim president, and is looking for students to choose her to continue and finish the year strong as president. She doesn’t follow hockey, so she has no stance on Willie Desjardins.

Darien Lechner

deriannew

The dark horse candidate, having no experience on board before (although he joined the Advocacy Committee after losing the presidential race in the spring general election). Biggest issues are transparency on board, and taking a closer look at Build SFU and the accompanying levy. He thinks that Desjardins should be fired if the Canucks lose to the Leafs, but if they win we should have another look after Christmas.

Deepak Sharma

potatopakrgb

The last elected president, who had to resign a month in after he didn’t enroll in any classes. He wants to earn back students’ trust and respect, and repeatedly insisted he wants to fulfill the commitment he intended when he was first elected. He believes that Willie Desjardins is doing the best he can, and the fanbase should remain faithful and see the season through.

The Debates 

Vancouver debate

The only candidate who showed up on time was faculty of environment rep candidate Supreet Malhi, although Lechner did show up late. However, this was a better showing than the student body — no one showed up.

Surrey debate

Attendance was much better in Surrey, as far as both students and candidates were concerned. All the aforementioned candidates were there, as well as Thadoe Wai, the other candidate for enviro. rep. The debate ran the full two hours, as the question period for presidential candidates was peppered with question after question. Topics ranged from the stadium closure to board transparency to the individual circumstances behind everyone running.

Lechner showed signs of life by taking some shots at his running mates, at one point saying, “You’re not going to get a real answer from other candidates.”

After not showing up to the previous debate and submitting his platform late, Sharma came on time this time around. He said several times that he wanted to earn back the trust of students and wanted to fulfill the commitment he made to them. This is in contrast to Sharma’s only choosing to run in the byelection at the last minute, which would explain his absences and late submissions.   

Chen seemed the coolest under all the pressure, sticking to her speaking points and constantly referring to her experience on board, and telling students to trust that if they feel they are getting value for what they are paying, the Board of Directors is doing right by them. This came after several inquiries about the Board’s decisions and operations, spurred by the Build SFU project and stadium cancellation.

What’s Next?

The campaigning period ends this week, with the final debate taking place Wednesday November 9 at 12:30 p.m. on Burnaby Mountain. Students should expect posters to plaster the walls by then, as Sharma’s challenge to go paperless (made a week into the campaign, after the other candidates had ordered posters) fell on deaf ears. The voting will take place the week after, from the 15th to the 17th.

COMIC: MYSTIC MAN 19 VS Cyber Cindy

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EIC
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FOOD FIGHT: Innovation and comfort food don’t always mix

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EIC
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Don't be deceived by it's good looks — the toppings on this mac and cheese make for an unpleasant dining experience.

Fable Diner reimagines Main Street with a 1950s flair.

Opened in early July, Fable Diner, a spin-off of Kitsilano’s Fable Restaurant, brings an upscale diner experience while maintaining the integrity of a movie-style diner: wooden tables, forest green leather booths, modern white tile, and retro prints. The service was friendly and genuine, even throughout the busy lunch hour.  

There is an extensive array of comfort food featuring interesting ingredients (kimchi, cola onions, and gochujang), but the dishes clearly show how hard Fable Diner tried to think outside of the box. There is little room for error when it comes to changing popular dishes, and while their ideas are original, some of them missed the mark.

The mac and cheese had an amazing sauce but was topped with tooth-breakingly hard corn nuts and strong goat cheese. The veggie BLT replaced the “B” with rubbery shiitake mushrooms. The FD burger took a chance with a medium-well burger patty which, despite being ground in-house and perfectly safe to eat, left us feeling kind of squeamish after we left the restaurant.

Hiding amidst these misses was the delicious tomato soup, which put Campbell’s to shame. If nothing else, have a bowl of this soup when you go. It is the perfect blend of cream and slightly tangy tomato coming together in light and delicious harmony.

As Fable Diner’s customer base continues to grow, the chefs at the restaurant continue to experiment with different ingredients and bolder flavours to stay true to their unique, upscale diner experience. The creative dishes that appear on the ever-expanding menu will have us coming back even if the dishes weren’t that great this time.

Satellite Signals

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Surrey

Students can attend YVR Master Plan consultations at SFU Surrey November 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event allows students to discuss the future of YVR, as they develop a plan to make YVR a “world-class airport.” For more details, visit YVR’s Master Plan 2037 website.

Harbour Centre

India is the world’s fifth largest economy, but over half its population continues to live in poverty according to Multidimensional Poverty Index 2013. Professor S. Parasuraman, director and vice-chancellor of Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, explains India’s poverty and economy, and the future of the diverse country. The Munro Lecture will be in room 1200 on November 15 at 7 p.m. at the Segal Graduate School of Business. For more information, visit SFU Public Square’s website.

Woodward’s

Filmmakers Banchi Hanuse and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers present their films on November 9 at 7 p.m. in the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema. Their films examine nature, colonialism, and First Nations culture throughout British Columbia. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and other guests. For more information, visit SFU Woodward’s website.

SFU contributes to Surrey becoming Canada’s first City of Refuge

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EIC
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Housan Al-Mosilli (above) is one of the safe, previously persecuted, artists to become a part of the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN). Surrey joins the 60 cities that are part of this network.

Writer and journalist Housam Al-Mosilli, who was born and raised in Syria, was arrested three times and tortured by Syrian security because he was reporting on anti-government demonstrations. He was forced to flee from his home country, in 2012 and did not find a safe place to call home until August 2013.  

Al-Mosilli is one of many artists worldwide whose stories of persecution prompted SFU to partner with the City of Surrey to create a committee, resulting in Surrey becoming Canada’s first City of Refuge for persecuted artists and writers.

Surrey will join with more than 60 cities worldwide that have been accepted into the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN). This is an organization that aims to protect and promote writers and artists who are at risk. The program has placed over 140 artists and writers into safer homes, where their artistic abilities can be put to use without fear of persecution. ICORN not only places the artists in a host city, they also assist the writer in distributing their works. This opportunity gives the artist a strong voice in the world.

Najati Tayara, a writer from Syria, wrote in a testimony to ICORN’s effectiveness that the organization gave him “two years to organize [his] life, and to enrich and activate [his] experience.” While in his host city, Tayara continued to write for “Arabic newspapers and websites,” the difference being he was able to write without fear that he would be harmed for his work.

“SFU’s Surrey campus is thrilled to partner with the City of Surrey and KPU [Kwantlen Polytechnic University] to help designate Surrey as Canada’s first City of Refuge,” said SFU’s Surrey campus executive director Steve Dooley in a press release from the City of Surrey. “We are working to open doors that might have otherwise been closed on these important literary voices.”

Dooley explained to SFU News,that while the refuge is here, there will be opportunities for the writer to be part of the Surrey and SFU community.  He continued to say it shows “that we recognize and value literary excellence, no matter what the underlying struggle.”

The process of opening Surrey’s doors to the first artist has begun. A committee comprised of the City of Surrey, SFU, KPU, and the Surrey Public Library is currently working on the next step in the process, which is selecting a candidate and fundraising for their arrival. The committee is searching for an artist or writer who will thrive in the Surrey community.

In a recent interview with The Peak, Surrey Councillor Judy Villeneuve stated that the ideal candidate will be someone who is willing to “talk about their writing, and share their experiences” with the community.

Similar to the ambitions of Dooley, Villeneuve hopes to see the artist “inspire our own students, as well as remind our citizens that we take so much for granted. In Canada, we can express freely in our arts, while writers and artists elsewhere don’t have this ability.”

World News Beat

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EIC
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Iceland – Pirate party falls short of poll predictions in general election

The results of Iceland’s October 29 general election reveal that the Pirate party, positioned pre-election to become the country’s biggest party, won just shy of 15 percent of the vote. The Pirate party was formed by Internet activists, who value government transparency and pure democracy. More voters opted for the Independence party, which won 29 percent of the vote and ran on a platform of lowering taxes and further economic recovery. The election was spurred by the resignation of former prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson after the Panama papers scandal in April, which brought to light the existence of offshore accounts held by Icelandic officials.

With files from The Guardian and Reuters

Italy – Country’s worst earthquake in over 30 years leaves 15,000 homeless

On October 30, an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 hit Italy’s central region, the highest magnitude recorded in the country since 1980. The region had been experiencing tremors for the past two months. The earthquake, the epicentre of which was near Norcia, affected several towns, non-critically injuring 20 people. The civil protection agency said it was providing assistance to 15,000 people forced from their homes, and providing shelter to 10,000 of those. Norcia residents mourned the collapse of the 13th century Basilica of St. Benedict, described as the cultural and historic heart of the town.

With files from BBC News and Reuters

Morocco – Death of fishmonger sparks protest

Protests were held October 30 in several Moroccan cities in response to the death of a fishmonger. Mouhcine Fikri was crushed in a garbage truck while trying to recover the fish he had bought at a port. Following this, many took to social media to denounce “hogra” a term for injustice, while the fish were confiscated by the police. These rallies are being compared to demonstrations during the Arab unrest in 2011, which were organized by the same activist group responsible for the current protests.

With files from BBC News and Reuters

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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© The Peak Publications Society

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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

© The Peak Publications Society