Opinions in Dialogue
Opinions in Dialogue: Should we worry about performative activism?
July 23, 2024By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer, and Olivia Visser, Opinions Editor Content warning: brief mentions of death and police brutality. Performative activism refers to actions taken by someone to project a persona of allyship without true dedication to the cause in their personal life. This can include sharing social media posts to uphold a desired image. Many have expressed valid concern over rising levels of performative activism, but what can we do about it? How do you know the intentions behind someone’s post, especially if you don’t know them personally? Does calling people out for performative activism detract from opportunities to…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: The commodification of Lunar New Year
February 14, 2024By: Izzy Cheung, Staff Writer and Kelly Chia, Editor-in-Chief Content warning: mentions of racism. With all the Christmas hype leaving our local malls, storefronts are now being swamped with limited-edition Lunar New Year promotions. Anything from red-and-gold advertisement schemes to…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Unpacking beauty standards and its effects
September 11, 2023By: Izzy Cheung, Staff Writer and Gurneet Lohcham, SFU Student Perceptions of beauty tend to change depending on where you are. Notions of “ideal” and “desirable” features change over time, too. Media, pop culture, and even colonialism can play a…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Strategies for advocacy work
September 5, 2023By: Nushaiba Nanjiba, SFU Student and Michelle Young, Opinions Editor From climate change and gender inequality, to 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, there are countless issues that could use more of our attention. However, time is limited for all of us. Common forms…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: The Ambiguity of Gender and Sexuality
February 15, 2022By: Ciara Reid, SFU Student; Maya Beninsteso, Peak Associate Though gender is not inherently sexual, it does bear influence on the relationships we form — be they sexual or otherwise. SFU Student Ciara Reid and Peak Associate Maya Beninteso discuss. CR:…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Reaching out and Checking in
January 25, 2022By: Maya Beninteso, Peak Associate; Kelly Chia, Staff Writer Over the pandemic, many of the methods we use to interact with one another have become formalized. With quarantine, distanced education, and work, we’ve had to adapt the language we use to…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Why are pronouns so important?
March 22, 2021by Madeleine Chan, Jacob Mattie, and introduction by Dev Petrovic Incorporating the introduction of personal pronouns on day-to-day occasions has become increasingly normalized. The sharing of pronouns is evident in group introductions, social media bios, and Zoom usernames — the…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Should teens be sexualized on TV?
February 16, 2021by Madeleine Chan, Brianna Condilenios, Kyla Dowling Countless teenage melodramas, like Riverdale, have littered our television networks and streaming services over the years, and their popularity doesn’t seem to be waning. However, this has only amplified existing concerns of how…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Is SFU’s U-Pass system fair?
February 8, 2021by Gurleen Aujla, SFU Student, Dev Petrovic, Staff Writer, Madeleine Chan, Opinions Editor Over the years, there’s been a lot of conversation from students about the equity of SFU’s U-Pass system. Specifically about whether students who don’t want the U-Pass, and…
Continue reading
Opinions in Dialogue: Systemic change can’t happen without racial solidarity
June 13, 2020By: Kelly Chia, Features Editor; Meera Eragoda, Arts Editor; Nicole Magas, Opinions Editor Introduction 2020 has been a difficult year for a number of racialized communities. The pandemic spread of COVID-19, which precipitated violent anti-Asian backlash and which disproportionately affected Black…
Continue reading
