Nicole Magas
Student criticism of SFU’s Town Hall is misdirected and unproductive
June 8, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor On May 26, SFU Student Services hosted an hour-long virtual Town Hall to address some of the most prevalent student concerns about the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Judging from the comments on the live stream alone, one would think that university administrators suggested that students just get over it and dump wads of cash into the AQ pond. And it may just be because my brain capacity for outrage has utterly short-circuited due to the ever expanding game of apocalypse bingo that 2020 is turning out to be, but I can’t help but feel…
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Proctor software is more risk than benefit for students
June 6, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor Students in MATH 155 were shaken up recently when they received an email informing them that their remote exams would be monitored via proctor software. The news came with alarming suddenness, and although the email stipulated…
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What Grinds Our Gears: Could I get a little content to go with all these ads?
May 31, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor Unprecedented times call for unprecedented media consumption. News articles, blogs, opinions pieces, factoids — like the borderline manic hypochondriac my mother always knew I’d grow up to be, I’m reading all of it. Or, at…
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It’s too early to determine whether tuition needs to be adjusted
May 30, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor In late April, before summer classes had even begun, many students across Canada began to express their frustration that universities would be charging them the same tuition fees, despite classes moving to an online format.…
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Everyone should participate in the COVID-19 survey to ensure the best pandemic response
May 20, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor Look, no one is more surprised than every math teacher who mercy-passed me through high school that I not only excelled in my department-mandated stats classes, but I actually enjoyed them, too. And one thing I…
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Reopening society now is the worst thing we could do
May 17, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor Quarantine is tough, there’s no question about it. Even as an introvert I’m struggling. Sure, it was nice at first — not much actually changed from my usual routine of YouTube and reading. But as the…
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Students should be given feedback on all of their assignments
May 16, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor One of the big downsides in allowing things to fall into a routine is that we begin failing to see the forest for the trees. Take assignments and assessments in university, for example. When students…
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Covid relief for students doesn’t guarantee all student needs are met
May 10, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor On April 22, Prime Minister Trudeau proposed legislation that would grant post-secondary students and recent graduates access to their own pool of COVID emergency relief funding. The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) would provide students with…
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The secret life of The Peak’s pets
May 10, 2020By: Harvin Bathal, Juztin Bello, Kelly Chia, Nicole Magas OK, I’ll admit it — the power of being the Features editor has finally gotten to my head. When the opportunity to interview The Peak’s beautiful animals had been taken with…
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We can’t let nostalgia for “normal” prevent us from addressing systemic inequality
May 8, 2020By: Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor It’s week nine of lockdown in Canada; longer for those of us who took precautions earlier to safeguard ourselves or the vulnerable people we love. Restlessness has set in for some, resignation for others. As SFU…
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