Ashima Shukla

A young man is smiling, raising both of his hands up in the air. He seems to be lifted up by the crowd around him, who are also dancing. The setting is a banquet hall, and a TV in the background has a bright gold sign displayed on it, though the words are illegible.
4 min 0 169

Indian Student Federation’s Diwali brings students and families together

Peak Web November 11, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer On October 10, SFU’s Indian Student Federation (ISF) hosted a Diwali celebration at Crown Palace Banquet Hall in Surrey. The event, held in collaboration with the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS), featured live dance performances, Indian cuisine, and a dance floor for guests to enjoy. The celebration was open to all, with the ISF inviting guests to come dressed in their best traditional attire. Diwali, often referred to as “the festival of lights,” is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India and across the global Indian diaspora. Although interpretations and customs vary regionally,…

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An Earth globe, with a focus on Latin America. There are floating musical instruments around the globe. With a deep purple background.
4 min 0 26

Latin music is integral to our playlists

Peak Web November 11, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer   I was first introduced to Latin music in grade nine, when I began studying Spanish. Somewhere between the syncopated percussion, rhythmic guitar strums, and magnetic vocals, I fell in love with the music. Around that…

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A headshot of Sarah Law behind a bookshelf.
7 min 0 67

SFYou: Sarah Law

Peak Web November 11, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer A recent SFU graduate with a master’s of arts in sociology, Sarah Law currently works as the director of community engagement of the feminist science and technology lab Doing STS. She is also an organizing…

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An illustration of a closeup of a group of cleaning workers gathered at a table sharing Indian dishes.
6 min 0 68

Remembering Kulbir Kaila

Peak Web November 10, 2025

Interview and translations by: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer Written by: Petra Chase, Features Editor Kulbir Kaila worked at SFU for 17 years. On July 28, she died at the age of 61 while working a cleaning shift on the Burnaby…

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Two people standing side by side, speaking to one another. Speech emerges from them. One person says “Hello! How are you?” in capital letters, while the other says “Fine, thank you” in italics.
4 min 0 33

The myth of a “correct” English keeps us policing ourselves

Peak Web November 10, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer  When my family moved out of India a decade ago, I landed in an American school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was a bizarre reality to comprehend: students with MacBooks connecting to Apple TV projectors in…

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This is a photo of a lone cleaning equipment cart at the end of a hallway at SFU.
8 min 0 68

SFU cleaning worker dies during shift, amplifying long-standing calls to improve working conditions

Peak Web November 10, 2025

By: Hannah Fraser, News Editor (writer and interviewer), and Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer (interviewer and translator) Since 2020, Contract Worker Justice (CWJ) @SFU has been leading the push for better working conditions at the university.  At the heart of the…

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This is a photo of a folk music festival scene
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We are the folk: the 48th Vancouver Folk Music Festival returns to Jericho Beach

Peak Web July 17, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer From July 18–20, the salt-kissed shores of ʔəy̓alməxʷ / Iy̓ál̓mexw (Jericho Beach Park) will become a living, breathing experiment in togetherness — a place where folk music exists not merely as a genre but as…

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This is an illustration of the Fairy Creek protests showing protestors standing face to face against the police
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Despair and devotion: a review of Fairy Creek

Peak Web July 15, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer The year is 2025, and the world is in chaos: marked by economic instability, growing authoritarianism, ecological collapse, and an ongoing global erosion of human rights. In this moment, Fairy Creek arrives not just as…

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This is a shot of a row of people’s laps. Several people are holding a notebook and taking notes, while one person in the back is holding their phone.
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SFPIRG’s Organizer School builds grassroots power through political education

Peak Web July 14, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG) is currently hosting Organizer School, a 10-week political education program that focuses “on the theory and practice of political organizing and mass movement building.” The program takes place…

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An illustration of a person standing on a stage with a microphone in hand. Four arms reach out to grab the microphone from them.
4 min 0 716

Hot takes are killing our capacity to think

Peak Web July 14, 2025

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer and Zainab Salam, Opinions Editor There is a genre of content that only grows louder with time: a viral clip where someone argues against abortion, climate change, or immigration issues — with the knowledge of…

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