controversy

This is a photo of the outside of the Academic Quandrangle at SFU Burnaby Campus. There are students sitting below on the grass. It is a sunny warm day.
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Associate criminology professor wins 2022 Sterling Prize

Clarence Ndabahwerize November 2, 2022

Associate professor of criminology, Alexandra Lysova, recently received the Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy, honouring years of research on men who are victims of domestic violence. The prize is committed to recognizing work that provokes and contributes to the understanding of controversy. The spirit of such work should present new ways of looking at the world and challenging complacency. Lysova opened this year’s Sterling Lecture by acknowledging former SFU president Andrew Petter’s statement on freedom of speech in universities. “Universities operate on the principle that freedom of speech is a core component of intellectual inquiry and is central to…

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S'dahl K'awaas Sterling Prize event poster
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Sdahl Ḵ’awaas receives 2021 Sterling Prize

Gurleen Aujla October 23, 2021

Content warning: mentions of anti-Indigenous racism in paragraph four On October 14, 2021, Sdahl Ḵ’awaas received the Nora and Ted Sterling Prize award. The Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy recognizes work that “contributes to the understanding of controversy” and…

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Cancel culture gives voice and power to those who need it most

Kelly Chia July 25, 2020

There’s no question that the internet has brought us intimately close with many of our favourite artists and content creators. Unfortunately, this also means that we now have a front-row seat to all of their flaws and problematic worldviews. In…

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SFU faces renewed backlash for “Clan” athletics team name

Michelle Young June 30, 2020

This is a developing story that The Peak will continue to cover in future articles.  SFU’s athletics teams, known as The Simon Fraser Clan, have recently been facing criticism for their name. While being criticized in the past, the rise…

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The Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy looking for nominations

Paige Riding February 11, 2020

The Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy is looking for nominations until February 15, 2020. This prize may be awarded to any individual in any academic field whose potentially controversial work positively affects Simon Fraser University or academia while meeting…

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Doug Ford’s concerns about uniformed police marching in Pride is a convenient excuse not to go

Gabrielle McLaren June 16, 2019

Doug Ford, Ontarian premier and gift-that-just-keeps-giving, announced at the start of June that he would not be attending Toronto’s Pride Parade. As one CBC article pointed out, Ford breaks the tradition set by his openly lesbian predecessor Kathleen Wynne, who…

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SFU student wins Nora and Ted Sterling Prize for work on fat activism

Srijani Datta September 12, 2018

Layla Cameron, a journalist, fat-stigma activist, filmmaker, and PhD student at SFU is this year’s recipient of the Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy. She is being awarded for her work on body size and image issues.…

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Drug policy reformer wins SFU’s controversy prize

EIC September 14, 2017

An SFU professor is being recognized by the university for his groundbreaking contributions to drug policy and public health. Donald MacPherson, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition in the faculty of health sciences, has been awarded the Nora…

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Say “cheese” and embrace your femininity

EIC May 11, 2015

[caption id="attachment_2492" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Credit: Christopher Paquette (Flickr)[/caption] Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox has recently been under both praise and scrutiny from the media and feminist communities due to her recent nude photo shoot for Allure magazine.…

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Universities should market themselves however they wish

EIC February 2, 2015

Universities often compete with one another for the brightest students and the best athletes. This has led to an era of university branding, where each school tries to sell you their campus life and academic prestige. Understandably, controversy has arisen…

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