Balqees Jama

Two young Black men sitting casually and smiling in front of a display of garments hanging on a rack, with colourful patterns.
4 min 0 2225

Union Street captures Vancouver’s vibrant Black community through history

Peak Web October 17, 2023

Content warning: mentions of systemic racism and displacement. Union Street is a documentary film highlighting Vancouver’s historic Black neighbourhood located in Strathcona. Known colloquially as Hogan’s Alley, it was systemically disrupted and displaced by the City of Vancouver’s construction of the Georgia Viaduct in the 1970s. Union Street features archival visuals and local Black community members’ current efforts in building Black community spaces. The film was directed by Jamila Pomeroy, a “Kenyan-Canadian writer, director, actor, and producer.” It debuted at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) in September and sold out all three showings weeks beforehand. I could feel the…

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A photo of a fridge in a dimly lit room.
6 min 0 2993

Free resources of SFU

Peak Web July 25, 2023

The university offers many resources, and students self-organize a variety of supports too. This non-exhaustive list highlights lesser-known free* resources available on the SFU Burnaby campus for graduate and undergraduate students, including Fraser International College (FIC) students. SFU Burnaby campus,…

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This is a photo of the outside of the Vancouver Public Library, where the event was held
3 min 0 2142

Building Black community in Vancouver on social media

Peak Web March 2, 2023

On February 15, the Vancouver Public Library hosted an event called “Building Black British Columbia with Social Media.” Moderating the discussion was Dr. Handel Kashope Wright, the director of UBC’s Centre for Culture, Identity, and Education. It also featured SFU…

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“Monday Music” in orange block text on a yellow rectangular background with rounded corners and an orange border.
3 min 0 2426

Monday Music: Uplifting Afropop

Peak Web January 19, 2023

Listening to Afropop makes me wish I fully understood Pidgin so I could get even more lost in its euphonic bliss. Afrobeats is an umbrella genre of contemporary pop and music from Nigeria, Ghana, and their diaspora. Afrobeats is not…

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7 min 0 3332

Black excellence at SFU

Peak Web February 20, 2022

Dr. David Chariandy  [caption id="attachment_121246" align="alignnone" width="350"] Courtesy of SFU[/caption] One of the most accomplished professors at SFU is Dr. David Chariandy. A professor who teaches creative writing and literature, Chariandy is also a well-known writer for his fiction and…

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Simon Fraser Student Society office in Maggie Benston Centre.
5 min 0 4107

SFSS Spring 2022 Referenda: Equity Through Democracy

Peak Web February 16, 2022

Editors note: The author is president of SOCA and is currently advocating for this referendum. The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) 2022 Executive Elections are currently underway and among the five referenda questions, two are about establishing long-term financial supports…

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5 min 0 1916

President of Students of Caribbean & African Ancestry removed due to negligence

Peak Web April 3, 2021

On March 12, 2021 former president of SFU Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA) Tim Maruti was removed for failure to fulfill his presidential duties throughout 2020 and 2021.  Upon removal, Maruti posted a statement on the SFU Undergrads Facebook…

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2 min 0 1607

SFU C19 Coalition condemns tuition hikes

Peak Web October 29, 2020

The SFU C19 Coalition is asking SFU Senior Administration to formally defer tuition and withdraw fee increases for the 2020–21 academic year. The Coalition is a grassroots organization of students and staff at SFU fighting for the Senior Administration to…

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5 min 0 2653

SFSS 2020 AGM: Moving towards equity and democracy

Peak Web October 19, 2020

Recent SFU Student Activism SFU has witnessed a wave of student activism over the last couple of years that was inspired in 2018 by an interconnected combination of movements on campus. This includes women’s rights advocacy sparked by the impeachment…

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4 min 0 1611

Board Shorts – July 24

Peak Web August 2, 2020

Roundtable discussion regarding Fall U-Pass With the deadline approaching to make a decision about reinstating the U-Pass program for SFU students, the Board discussed its options before agreeing to vote at a later time. VP External Relations Samad Raza summarized…

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