Nejdana Houshyar
How to not be an NPC during your first week on campus
September 6, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, Staff Writer Have you ever played a video game and come across background characters who have no real purpose? These characters are called NPCs, or non-playable characters. The citizens in the Grand Theft Auto franchise roam the streets, drive, and have jobs — basically doing the same thing every day. Unproblematic? Yes. But also deeply boring! And have you ever walked the SFU hallways? Every day, along the wide, prison-like walls, one might see an endless line to Renaissance Coffee, a sea of people flooding the halls, and students on the verge of a breakdown working on…
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Art in service of queer empowerment and resistance
July 13, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, Peak Associate The Health Initiative for Men is a not-for-profit grassroots health organization, whose primary mandate is to “strengthen the health and well-being” of queer men throughout the province. As part of their efforts to spread awareness…
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Mi’gmaq dancer Cheyenne Seary explores her artistic vision
June 29, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, Peak Associate On June 5 and 7, Mi’gmaq dance artist Cheyenne Seary debuted her latest piece, “Casseiopia,” with the All Bodies Dance Project at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at the SFU School for Contemporary Arts.…
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Book talk explores the nuances between tradition and modernity in Iran
June 15, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, Peak Associate On Friday, May 29, guest curator Pantea Haghighi, along with Iranian architect and artist Hossein Amanat, and scholar Jeff Derksen, came together at the Vancouver Art Gallery to discuss their contributions and the historical backgrounds…
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Nutritious Nibbles: Chelow kebab
May 31, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, Peak Associate Persian cuisine is known for its intense, colourful flavours. It often uses ingredients such as saffron, dried herbs, fresh meat, and delicate fruits like pomegranate — staples in a Persian household. Each dish is intensely…
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Music as a healing tool: A review of Teresa Alfeld’s Hearse Chasing
May 31, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, Peak Associate Content warning: brief mention of domestic violence and substance use. Music can transport one into a completely different world. In Hearse Chasing, a harrowing documentary by SFU alum Teresa Alfeld, music serves as the central…
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Monday Music: An escape into the many lenses of shoegaze
May 18, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, SFU Student Shoegaze is defined as “melodic rock music typically characterized by heavily processed electric guitar and indistinct, often distant-sounding vocals.” Shoegaze works well because of the emotions — like sadness and melancholy — poured into the…
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What Grinds Our Gears: multi-factor authentication
March 10, 2026By: Nejdana Houshyar, SFU Student I can’t be the only one who despises multi-factor authentication (MFA). If you are a student at SFU, you have likely experienced the frustrating process of trying to log in to Canvas or goSFU only…
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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.
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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.
For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]