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Club Profile: The Association of Latin American Students

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A photo of ALAS president Maria Clara Rezende (left) alongside Vice president Regina Zamira Sierra (right), smiling in front of the window from the SUB overlooking the Belzberg library. A string of papel picado (perforated tissue cut in intricate designs) hang along the width of the window behind them.
PHOTO: Audrey Safikhani / The Peak

By: Petra Chase, Features Editor

SFU’s Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) has represented students from the region since the early 2000s. On October 1, they hosted the Latin Street Food Fest Icebreaker in the SUB ballroom. From walking through the doors, I felt welcomed and immersed in cultures.

Maria Clara Rezende, whose favourite Latino song is her homeland’s classic “A Banda” by Chico Buarque, was looking for a sense of belonging when she discovered ALAS a few semesters into her communication degree. Rezende began to feel connected when she joined ALAS and the Brazilian Students Association. Both associations now frequently collaborate. Now, as president, she hopes to continue building community, which is “something we sometimes lose when we move countries,” she told me in an interview.

Vice president Regina Zamora Sierra, who moved here from Mexico City to major in economics, shares the same passions: “make [ALAS] bigger and also share my own culture,” she shared, speaking alongside Rezende. Each food on the menu had its own booth run by executives, serving their favourite street foods: Brazilian coxinhas (chicken croquettes), dulce de leche churros, tortilla chips with salsa, and pineapple/mango with chamoy (pickled fruit sauce) and Tajín (a blend of chilli peppers, lime, and salt). 

“We tried to recreate a street festival — even though we’re limited to the space and resources we have. Just try to be as authentic as possible,” Rezende said. “I think it’s a great example of our culture,” Sierra added. “We’re showing a little bit of how we interact socially with other people.” 

A photo stand with characters in Mexican attire, a string of papel picado hanging on the wall, and tables covered with ponchos are some of the details that reflect the commitment to bringing a sense of home to the approximately 4% of SFU students who are Latin American. 

As people played darts and corn hole, there was also a booth for purchasing club tote bags. These feature an array of illustrated animals associated with Latin American countries, including a llama (representing Peru), a cuy (or guinea pig from Ecuador), and a gallito de las rocas (Andean cock-of-the-rock).

“From Mexico, which is in North America, to Chile or Uruguay, which are the very bottom of South America, there’s a lot of culture in between those countries,” Rezende explained. ALAS provides a “space to share culture and learn more about other people’s culture, and we’re always trying to be as inclusive as we can.”

Prior to the street fest, ALAS hosted an exec night to welcome the mostly new executives.

“It was like witnessing the beginning of friendships and connections and something really great and [ . . .  ] it was like a warm hug,”

— Maria Clara Rezende, ALAS president

“There’s a big cultural diversity at SFU, even outside of ALAS, and I think that’s really nice,” Sierra added. “I’ve met a lot of people who don’t know about the club but are part of the Latin American community, even if it’s just because of one of their parents, and it’s really nice to always share our community with them, and have them celebrate their culture with us.”

Rezende also pointed out the value of “higher education knowledge” for Latin students, “for those of us who grew up here, and those who moved.” While there are courses geared towards Latin culture, language and history, they are not promoted enough, she added. “The Latin American students here, we still want to know things about our countries that we don’t get to experience in our regular classes.” For example, Portuguese-language literature (The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector is a favourite of hers). 

A significant part of ALAS is bringing people together through events. Sierra described a soccer match last semester, where people who weren’t part of the club happened to be playing on the same field and joined in. “We found out that they were Latin American as well and that’s how they found out about the club,” she said. “It was nice to see that game that’s such a big part of my culture represented,” and for new members to join that way.

“Our main goal is just to increase peoples’ knowledge about ALAS because sometimes we feel like people just don’t know we exist, we are here,” Rezende said.

Sierra emphasized, “Our memberships are not exclusive to Latin Americans, it’s just people who want to enjoy the culture as well.” The street fest concluded with competitive rounds of musical chairs against the backdrop of everything from salsa, reggaeton, Brazilian funk, and bachata, to Shakira.

Reconciliation and You: a talk with Indigenous authors

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ILLUSTRATION: Yan Ting Leung / The Peak

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer

On October 22, the Vancouver Writers Fest hosted a talk with David A. Robertson, member of the Norway House Cree Nation and author of 52 Ways to Reconcile, and Bruce McIvor, member of the Manitoba Métis Federation, SFU alum, and author of Indigenous Rights in One Minute. Moderated by Michelle Cyca, “Reconciliation and You” hosted a multidisciplinary conversation at Performance Works about Truth and Reconciliation, and the role every individual has to play in the process. The Peak attended the event to learn more. 

During the talk, Robertson described reconciliation as an “act of building a community,” not rebuilding what was there, but building something better and stronger, together. McIvor, in contrast, believed reconciliation to be “Canada’s way to try to justify its ongoing colonization of Indigenous People.” The writers spoke about many systems that maintain inequity and colonialism in this country, including healthcare and foster care. McIvor spoke about people living on reserves dying on transit while travelling to receive healthcare that they don’t have access to on-site. Robertson shared the view that foster care is a contemporary form of residential schools, with Indigenous children accounting for a disproportionate 54% of children in the Canadian system, compared to Indigenous children representing only 8% of the child population. 

As Cyca highlighted, reconciliation is the second stage of a two-part process: Truth and Reconciliation. To begin, everyone, especially non-Indigenous folks, should learn about the colonial history of Canada — “its legal foundations as a country and the agreements it signed with Indigenous People,” she specified. Further, she shared that residential schools and their impacts on Indigenous survivors and their descendants will always be a part of Canada’s history, which is essential to learn. The speakers expressed that the feeling of discomfort is an integral part of the learning process. 

“One of the most accessible ways” to learn the truth, Robertson shared, is through listening to Indigenous voices. Many media outlets provide ways to do this, including literature such as True Reconciliation by Jody Wilson-Raybould, podcasts like Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo by Connie Walker, and television series like the comedy Reservation Dogs. 

Moving forward, McIvor shared that everyone should stand up when racism, misinformation, and bigotry are at work in the country. With the Canadian education system, everybody was likely taught about “Canada, the good.” One virtue of the country that separates us from the US is the protected rights of Indigenous Peoples. “Be proud of that,” he said, “and be proud enough to pick up the phone and call your government reps!” Furthermore, Robertson added, “Part of the process of growth and reconciliation is to make mistakes. It is to do the wrong thing, because we have to grow.” He emphasized the importance of giving yourself grace while you walk this path. 

For Indigenous Peoples, Robertson outlined that one key component of their role is to heal from their pasts. “You can’t heal brokenness with brokenness.” He suggested that if everybody does the work individually, they may be able to heal together and then have the capacity to examine the “larger relationship.” Robertson believes that another role of Indigenous Peoples in this process is as storytellers: broadcasting their truth and voice to spread understanding. He encourages such communities to share more of their stories because people are listening. 

Robertson shared a sentiment of his father, which spoke to a community’s ability to create change.

“I can’t do everything, but I can do something, and if everybody does something, then we have a community of people taking action, and we get to where we need to go. It’s not a sprint.”

— David A. Robertson, author of 52 Ways to Reconcile

Purchase 52 Ways to Reconcile and Indigenous Rights in One Minute at Book Warehouse

What we must confront: Living with Long COVID

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PHOTO: Elliott Marquis / The Peak

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer  

The first winter of the pandemic, I was in Shanghai visiting my family when the first news reports began circulating — something about a new pneumonia, a city in lockdown. Within days, my family and I had boarded a flight to India, seeking temporary refuge. Three days before our flight back, India closed its borders. Airports emptied. Around the world, our lives shrank to the size of our homes. For millions around the world, it meant grieving in isolation, watching suffering multiply. It meant exposure to the deep inequities of our world, where access to safety, care, and health depended on privilege, geography, and luck.

Over time, things seemed to return to normal. However, the virus, though silenced, persisted, reshaping bodies and altering lives long after the headlines moved elsewhere. 

That collective amnesia of normalcy is what Living With Long COVID, a photography exhibition co-hosted by the Museum of Vancouver, SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Post-COVID Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network (PC-ICCN), attempts to break. On view at the museum from October 4, 2025, to March 22, 2026, this exhibition invites visitors into the often-overlooked world of the reality of COVID-19, asking us to confront what our systems and empathy have failed to care for. 

Long COVID affects one in nine Canadians. Its symptoms, numbering over 200, range from fatigue to organ damage and dysautonomia. Those living with it continue to fight for recognition, often gaslit by health systems unprepared to treat chronic conditions and dismissed by workplaces that equate productivity with personal worth. As the exhibition’s co-organizer, researcher, and long-hauler (those who are suffering from Long COVID), Kayli Jamieson reminds us, “The impact of Long COVID is not just medical — it’s economic, social, and deeply personal. We are isolated not only by our symptoms, but from lost relationships. The suffering compounds when we face silence, disbelief, and doubts from friends, family, employers, and even healthcare providers.” 

But the exhibit resists the cruel narratives of ableism that demand a so-called “post-COVID-19” reality. Its community-based participatory arts approach allows it to transform research into solidarity. 46 participants from across Canada responded to a call to document a day in their lives as long-haulers, contributing over 240 photographs and reflections that make the immense impact of the virus all too real.

These images clearly portray adaptation, despair, persistence, and quiet revolt of these participants.

A rare outing in someone’s new wheelchair. A medical journal documenting continuous pain for dismissive doctors. A table top full of medications. A makeshift work station to accommodate life with Long COVID. Each picture insists: we are still here. 

But the exhibition is more than about suffering. It is also about connection and community. Near the end, one finds a wall for handwritten notes from visitors. “Feeling seen,” one reads. “Mask up,” another encourages. These words, fragile and immediate, form a counter-archive to the erasure we see around us. In a society eager to return to “normal,” Living with Long COVID asks what normal ever meant, and who it served. 

Thus, it reclaims the politics of visibility. It reminds us that art, when rooted in care, can hold what medicine and policy too often fail to bring to light: the human complexity of survival. Visit the exhibition and wear a mask as a gesture of solidarity, a recognition that healing should be a collective responsibility. 

 

Speaking to Ashlyn Tegos about The Way That I Am

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Courtesy of Ashlyn Tegos

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer 

Ashlyn Tegos is a queer independent recording artist based in Vancouver. Her music is a soft pop orchestra of gentle yet intentional vocal layerings over lyrics that explore love, heartbreak, and identity. On October 1, Tegos released “Garden Ghost,” a tender song she wrote by weaving her emotions into a story that became a tangible emotional soundscape. Additionally, two of her singles, “Feels Like” and “Autumn Lover,” are out on all platforms in anticipation of her debut album, The Way That I Am. This album, which has been in the works since 2020, is scheduled for release by the end of 2025 and focuses on love, breakups, and above all, self-acceptance. The Peak spoke to Tegos to learn more about her music journey.

“The album has had many different lives and many different names over the past few years,” shared Tegos. The original album, titled Hiraeth, contained six songs. “And then I got my heart broken for the first time,” she recalled. This formative breakup served as the initial catalyst for change in the album, which was then renamed, reworked, and reimagined with every breakup in Tegos’ life. “But in the past year, it’s evolved and changed into more of an album of this is just who I am.” Although the album is very “breakup centred,” Tegos said:

“It contains an undertone of acceptance and self-love and finding the magic in the mess that is you. And so, the album is called The Way That I Am.”

Even for solo artists, releasing an album is a group project. Tegos released a music video for her single “Autumn Lover” on September 5, enlisting some close friends and artists she had previously worked with to make the vision come to life. “I’m really lucky that I have such talented, amazing friends who are so willing to help,” she expressed. Her debut album is now fully recorded, but requires mixing and mastering before release. Her main producer is Mac Ramsay, who she met six years ago, outside an Ariana Grande concert. “He walked me and [my friend] home and was like, we’re gonna make music together one day . . . and now here I am, releasing my first album, and he is the main producer. It’s so cool and full circle,” shared Tegos.

Tegos’ influences are not simple, and neither is her songwriting. “It’s a mixture of folky pop meets musical theatre, harmonies galore.” Citing songwriting and lyrical influences from the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Adrianne Lenker, Tegos said, “I write the best after I’ve listened to their music a lot.” For her sound, she focuses on vocal layering, inspired by the likes of Imogen Heap. Tegos added, “A lot of the songs don’t have the typical format of a song. A lot of it is kind of free verse . . . and not as predictable as some other songs.” Despite this, she reassured me that “there’s going to be something for everyone in there.”

Find @AshlynTegos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for up-to-date information on her album.

The Mush Hole comes to Vancouver

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Courtesy of Ian R. Maracle

By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer

Content warning: Mention of residential schools

The Kaha:wi Dance Theatre (KDT) will, for the first time, bring their show The Mush Hole to Vancouver. The Toronto-based studio will be performing at Vancouver Cultch’s Historic Theatre from November 14 to 16.

The show is centred on the experiences of those who survived Canada’s first residential school, the Mohawk Institute, also known as “Mush Hole,” which operated from 1828 to 1970. The performance incorporates multiple lived experiences of what happened at the site, spanning across generations.

The Peak interviewed Santee Smith, the artistic director of the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and the Chancellor of McMaster University, to learn more about the group itself and the background behind The Mush Hole.

The show will be a vignette that incorporates body storytelling into the theatrical performance. Smith said the set would include settings like the boiler room, cafeteria, and solitary confinement rooms, where much of the brutality of the institution was on full display.

Smith explained the name came from the fact that students at the Mohawk Institute worked on a school farm, where they were not allowed to eat any of the produce, and were restricted to only eating the mushy gruel served to them.

This level of detail was something Smith focused on when developing the script for the theatre production. “My family attended so it’s a personal story,” she said, “I did a lot of cultural research at the Woodland Cultural Center, which is a museum organization that oversees the Mohawk Institute, and they had a lot of work with survivors.” She went on to say that the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission helped reveal facts on what happened at the Mohawk Institute, and thus played a key cultural part in this production. The militarized nature of the education institution and symbols in the school was also on full display in the show, “So, throughout the piece, there’s very specific imagery [and] gestures—it was, at one point, a very militarized program.”  

Founded in 2005 by Smith, the Kaha:wi Theatre Company has focused on giving a platform for Indigenous voices and ideas. Smith told me the company emerged from her prior work as an independent dance artist and has now produced over 14 major works for various media sources. 

This is the first time the show has come to Vancouver, with most other theatrical performances mostly taking place in the east of the country.

“This is important for us, because we wanted to reach audiences across the country, and knowing that the similar history of Indian residential schools and the long-term impacts are still relevant,”

— Santee Smith, artistic director of the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre

Smith also saw her show as an important learning platform for all Canadians on the horrors of the residential school system, “I think it’s really important, it would be a great way to access, to understand that history . . . often people are coming to Canada because it’s safe and it has all these opportunities, which it does. But people don’t understand the extent of [its] colonial history and the impacts that are still happening.”

See The Mush Hole at the Cultch Historic Theatre from November 14 to 16.

Starbucks CEO addresses store closures and layoffs

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Employees working inside a bustling Starbucks.
PHOTO: Asael Peña / Unsplash

By: Persephone Alexander, Your CEO’s Underpaid Secretary 

Subject: Brewing Change Together: A message from the heart of your dear CEO

Dear Starbucks Partners (and soon to be “former partners” — semantics, really), 

I hope this message finds you well, or at least six blonde shots deep to even care about what is happening. As you may have heard, we will be closing a select number of stores and parting ways with approximately 900 partners across Canada and the United States. 

I would like to personally reassure all of you that this decision was made with deep compassion, rigorous analytics, and an Excel spreadsheet that analyzed your stations’ key performance indicators. Such indicators definitely do not weigh unionized stores any differently! This is just for the benefit of everyone. Really, we are doing this for you, our valued partners. Trust me!  

To those affected by these changes, we want to say: thank you. Thank you for not calling in sick when you actually were, and thank you for showing up with your own shovel when our stores were knee-deep in snow. Your tireless service is rewarded with freedom — from work. 

We will be offering a severance package consisting of an array of absolutely necessary heartfelt thoughts, a reusable cup to promote our efforts of sustainability, and one free drink voucher for your last working shift (which is already offered to all of our partners as a perk).

For those who remain, congratulations! You have been promoted from “partner” to “leftover.” Included in your new benefits are added shoulder tension from the newly implemented mandatory speed checks. The new system of work monitors will proceed as follows: your floor leader will ensure you are caught up with the four streams of orders (drive-thru, cafe, mobile, and delivery orders) by asking you if you are preparing the drinks — while standing over your shoulder. If you find yourself concerned over who is monitoring their monitoring, do not fret. Our executive team pulled an all-nighter to solve this dilemma. The solution is that store managers will be standing over their shoulder, while floor leaders will be standing over yours. Senior managers will be standing over the shoulders of store managers, while an AI-generated hologram of me will be watching over their shoulders. 

I can further anticipate your concern regarding the efficiency of this monitoring system. Do not worry, my team has gone on a month-long retreat to Las Vegas to rectify this problem. The solution is as follows: we will have our newly installed AI inventory system perform the job that humans have been doing since forever. Does the AI always count correctly? Um, not really. But who cares? We are cool. We are hip. And we are hip–hopping all over the place. Just do not ask why we are doing this. Focus on the progress we are making by relying on AI. And do not fret, when that system makes errors, we will find a human to blame!

As a last note — I would like to repeat — this has nothing to do with unionization!  

Warm regards (as warm as a forgotten mobile ordered Venti Americano),

Brian Niccol, CEO of Starbucks Inc.

SFU employee spills the tea about her embezzlement-obsessed colleague

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PHOTO: Gudrun Wai-Gunnarsson / The Peak

By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Investigator

The following is a satirical and fictional commentary. 

Oh boy, do we have some juicy tea for you. Have you ever wanted to say, “Fuck the system!” and chug some milk while your boss has his back turned? Way to go, you sabotaging legend. But what if I told you an SFU employee stole $200,000 from the university to fund a luxury vacation to the Pochonos? How would you feel then? 

An SFU employee, Jane Doe, has allegedly done just that. The Peak spoke to a staff member of the academic and administrative services office to learn more. 

We will refer to the staff member as Madge to protect her identity. Madge volunteered information to the publication when a member of The Peak staff met in front of her car.

 

How did this fraud go unnoticed? 

“Basically, here’s what happened. Jane had been working here since 2007, and she was an alright lady. A little chatty, but we can’t all be perfect. Now, she was talking very openly about [the fraud] the whole time she was doing it. We all thought she was joking! Someone asked her how she financed her Rolls-Royce when she rolled up, and she said, “SFU paid for it.” I thought she just had a bad sense of humour. That’s no crime! One time, we were all out for a staff dinner, and she paid the bill. She asked all of us to e-transfer her, then said, “I’m just gonna pocket it all, though,” and everybody laughed. I guess she used the company card and wanted to skim us for our cash, too. That’s the kicker, huh? Steal from the man, sure, baby, I’m for it. But steal from your coworkers? Honey, a lawsuit isn’t the only thing coming your way. If you’re reading this, you better watch out.”

 

Why didn’t she have a boss? 

“Well, you know them top schmucks. They were trying to save money! Hah! That didn’t work out for them, did it? They assumed she could be trusted. Boy, oh boy, are they bad at reading people. And you know, I always thought I was a little wrong for eating all the office chips or yelling at people to hurry up with the microwave, but I think I’m in the clear! Hah! Alright, get this mic off me now. I’ve got things to do.”

We reached out to Madge to clarify that she was pro-theft. Instead, we received an out-of-office message that said, “Beat it.” 

SFU’s press release statement was released on an underground Reddit thread. Although they didn’t address how the fraud went unnoticed, why the employee lacked supervision, or how they plan to prevent this from happening again, they did issue a warning about any criminal activity among staff. 

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our money. We love our money, and it is our top priority, always. If any of our employees are currently engaging in fraudulent activity, please step forward and let us know so we can sue you. It makes us so sad to have to do this, but we must. Compliance in this manner will be a requirement; otherwise, staff will be denied use of the Nespresso machine in the staff room. We mean it.” — SFU

CHRISTMAS CANCELLED: Mariah Carey refuses to defrost

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Mariah Carey, with enlarged cheeks due to her plastic surgery, kicking Christmas decorations in the air.
ILLUSTRATION: Cliff Ebora / The Peak

By: Heidi Kwok, Staff Writer

BREAKING NEWS — Mariah Carey, the official “Queen of Christmas,” is refusing to defrost. The beloved American singer, best known for her 1994 hit “All I Want For Christmas is You,” remains stubbornly encased within her ice cube in the North Pole, despite desperate pleas from Christmas enthusiasts across the globe. This unprecedented act marks a shocking departure from her annual thawing pattern, which occurs every October 31 at precisely 11:59 p.m. EDT. Usually, Carey emerges from her icy hibernation to declare, “IT’S TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME.” 

Shopping malls worldwide were the first to notice the glitch, when, upon pulling up their festive playlists at 7:00 a.m. on November 1, store managers were horrified to discover that “All I Want For Christmas is You” had mysteriously vanished from existence. In North America, megachains such as Walmart and the Real Canadian Superstore were left scrambling without Carey’s seasonal anthem to force minimum-wage retail workers into a state of holiday cheer. Miraculously, a merchandise stocking associate we interviewed didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they even celebrated this misfortune. “Last year, I had to endure an endless loop of Carey’s ear-splitting, whistle vocals, and jingling bells for the entirety of my 12-hour shifts during November and December. My ears are still undergoing therapy for the trauma.”

Story update (posted 3 minutes ago): We are back with an update. Carey’s frozen state has prompted the US government to issue a DEFCON 1 alert. The Pentagon has deployed crisis negotiation officers to the Arctic and is actively monitoring the crisis. They are attempting to establish communication with Carey’s long-time publicist, who has reportedly barricaded herself, along with the ice cube containing Carey, behind the heavy steel vault hidden beneath the singer’s winter fortress. 

“My fellow Americans. This is an urgent priority of my administration,” President Donald Trump stated in an Oval Office address. “If Mariah doesn’t smarten up, I might just have to replace her with Onijah Robinson. I’ll do it. Don’t make me do it, Marinara Carney!”

An official list of demands has been published by Carey’s publicist, which, among 75 other stipulations, asks for “exclusive rights to the ‘Queen of Christmas’ title” and a “formal apology from Canada for allowing Michael Bublé to defrost before Carey, which ‘severely undermined the sacred timing of the holiday season.’”

Without Mariah Carey’s signature five-octave range and champagne-glass shattering G7 whistle register note, the world has been plunged into an eerie silence. In an effort to accelerate Carey’s defrosting, the Trump administration has proposed a controversial plan to speed up global warming by slashing more carbon reduction and climate action policies. 

“We do not negotiate with terrorists,” Trump yelled in his second Oval Office address of the day. “I’ve known this was coming for a long time, and I’ve personally baked in a contingency plan. As a first step, I’ve already withdrawn our great nation from the Paris Agreement! I will also personally oversee the suspension of US climate regulations, amp up oil and gas drilling in the North, and ensure that all renewable energy projects are cancelled. #Drillbabydrill #MakeMarianaSayItsTimeAgain.”

This is a story that The Peak will continue to cover as developments continue. We reached out to Mariah Carey for a statement, but received an autographed chunk of ice in return. 

 

The life of an SFU president

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SFU president Joy Johnson in a stunning sequin dress, extending her arm into the air. Falling from her pockets are wads of cash. The crowd is cheering for more!
ILLUSTRATION: Olivia Blackmore / The Peak

By: Matthew Cullings, SFU Student 

[Verse 1: SFU student]

Her name was Joy Johnson, 

Spent SFU’s money without precaution,

While every elevator on the mountain was stoppin’,

That’s OK, she’s was online shoppin’.

This is her playhouse,

We’re just all dolls in a jailhouse,

Johnson’s the warden while we walk,

She screams, “STAY ENGAGED OR ELSE!” 

 

[Pre-chorus: SFU student]

I waited by the stage door — oops, I mean the AQ floor,

Someone stomped on my face. I looked to the exit door,

Wow, Joy Johnson stomped on my face with her stilettos.

I said, “You take all my tuition fees,

At least spend them responsibly.”

 

And she said. 

 

[Chorus: Joy Johnson]

Hey, thank you for your feedback to me, 

But I’m the Microsoft Excel balance sheet Queen. 

You don’t know how hard it is to be me!

And you’re never ever gonna — 

Wait, is that a wad of cash in your hands? 

NOT ANYMORE, I’m gonna buy a Mercedes-Benz, 

You don’t know the life of a queen of this universityyyyy, babe. 

Be right back, gonna increase my car allowance —

 

[Verse 2: SFU student]

She was a legend. 

Joy Johnson — they called her Dennis the Menace. 

The accounting department looked all anxious,

When she walked in and demanded more blank cheques and mansions. 

 

[Bridge: SFU student]

They said she’s got a plan,

It’s not wise if she wrote it on a napkin in Comic Sans.

“It’s not budget cuts. I call it fiscal responsibility!” 

But no one knows what that actually means. 

If you’re a real one, you’ll let our money get laid,

Planting healthy seeds of real joy, not funding genocide, babe. 

It’s not fiscal responsibility,

If her name is GI Joy.

Joy isn’t spreading Joy — this song is getting very off beat. 

 

And I said, (Back to the track!) 

 

[Verse 3: SFU student]

JOY, LISTEN TO ME. Hey, the balance sheets have gone MIA,

Blew the budget on some new fancy art building,

All the while my department is underfunded, babe! 

Photo op’s scheduled at 3:58, you can’t be late!

While you’re still stomping on my face,

Can you actually stop? It literally hurts. Like, what the fuck? We get that you’re queen B and all but this a little bit TOO MUCH. I’m not going to keep on singing while you’re standing there and literally destroying me. Fiscal health is mental health, babe. And right now you’re destroying my physical health. 

 

[Outro: Joy Johnson]

You don’t get the life of Joy Johnson, babe!  

Hahahahahaha, thanks for the unforgettable song. 

Guess who owns the electricity in The Peak’s office, baby? 

Joy Johnson (moi) runs this show. This is my article now! 

Thank you, Hollywood! 

Yes I’ll probably be unemployed in a few years — just let me drive the university to the ground! No, there won’t be a penny left! Budget cuts! Cut, cut, cut! 

I love you, Sabrina!!!!! Come to SFU. I’ll pay your airfare!!!!!!!!

Good night! 

 

Dining workers speak to poor working conditions

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The SFU dining commons and food service workers interacting are pictured. The photo faces toward the ceiling, and there’s a sign that says “breads.”
PHOTO: Roshi Chadha / The Peak

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

On October 7, a Reddit user posted to r/simonfraser concerning the possibility of a dining worker strike across SFU’s Burnaby campus. The message, which is from Contract Worker Justice (CWJ) @SFU, asserted that SFU “hasn’t budged on insourcing workers and is now trying to walk back its commitments to living wage.” The post also mentioned “a very heated labour environment on campus with several possible strikes and actions for precarious workers upcoming.” 

The Peak corresponded with Preet Sangha, a UNITE HERE Local 40 union representative, who spoke with two dining hall employees and forwarded their responses to us via email. Local 40 “represents workers throughout BC who work in hotels, food service, and airports.” Names have been changed to protect their identities. The Peak also reached out to CWJ but did not receive a response by the publication deadline.

“Working conditions are horrible, people often skip bathroom breaks and even return to their station earlier so work doesn’t pile up,” Luke said. “Imagine how mentally drained most of us feel at the end of the day.”

“A coworker of mine was standing in a few inches of water in the dish room one day. He was told to continue working because there was no solution, and dishes needed to be done. His socks and shoes were soaked,” another dining hall worker, Kam, told The Peak.

“For many of us, this job has been our entire life,” said Luke. “We have been here for decades. I feed these kids like they are my own,” he added. “They are our future, and I want to make sure they are well taken care of. That can only happen if the workers here are treated fairly.”

As of earlier this year, dining hall workers make $22.60/hour. For Metro Vancouver, Living Wage BC lists the living wage as $27.05 per hour. 

“Once we buy our transit pass or parking pass for work, and pay our bills, most of us have nearly nothing left over,” said Luke. “A coworker of mine, who has a toddler, was crying to me about groceries. She said she felt so guilty leaving behind a packet of cookies that her daughter really likes,” Kam added. “She has to cut costs and so she felt that she should only be grabbing the basics [ . . . ] this is the situation for many of our workers.”

The Peak also asked about SFU’s living wage employer commitments, last outlined by the university in January.

“It’s all talk, no action on SFU’s part,” said Luke. “It seems like SFU is more interested in telling people they are a living wage employer rather than actually being one,” added Kam. “If SFU wouldn’t hire an employee who isn’t fit for the job, then why are they hiring a contract company who isn’t fit for the job? It’s hypocrisy. They need to do better,” he said. SFU does not employ dining hall workers directly; instead, it contracts through the food service company Compass. SFU stated that “matters relating to their specific working conditions should be addressed with Chartwells,” a sector of Compass.

Compass’ website states that it is a “people-centric organization,” noting that “safeguarding the health and safety of our people and customers is our moral responsibility and essential to the success of our business.” They previously reached an agreement with Local 40 around increased pay following SFU’s living wage commitment in 2022. No recent statement has been made available on the matter since workers have raised new concerns.

In the past, SFU has stated that they continue “to implement a living wage for employees who regularly work on our three campuses, whether they are employed directly by the university or by third-party contractors.” They have stated that contract workers have benefits like “access to recreation and fitness facilities, library borrowing privileges, and priority access to on-site childcare.”

“We are in the bargaining process and giving the employer a fair chance to respond; otherwise, we will certainly take action,” Kam told The Peak. “We will strike if that is what it takes,” Luke said.

“Taking care of students is what drives us all to continue our work. We want to continue doing this important work, we are pleading with Compass and SFU to give us the contract we deserve.” — Kam, dining hall employee

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024