Opinions

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What grinds our gears: Escalator etiquette-breakers

Trevor Roberts January 29, 2019

Escalators. They’re loud, they’re expensive, and if they’re in a SkyTrain station they break down all the time. But they’re not that hard to use. There is one rule to using an escalator: stand on the right, walk on the left. As simple as this should be, I’m stuck behind too many people each day who think they’re “exceptions.” Apparently, people need some clarity about how this fairly intuitive rule always applies. First, stay to the right if you really want to stand. If you’re choosing to take up an entire escalator step when you don’t actually need to, then…

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4 min 0 2180

Commercializing hip-hop risks the loss of its afrocentric roots

Youeal Abera January 27, 2019

I’ll never forget being six years old and seeing Jay-Z on television for the first time. It was July 2001, and my cousins from Toronto were over for the summer holidays. I vividly recall a muffled voice escaping my television…

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2 min 0 1496

What if . . . all lectures were recorded and uploaded online

Gene Cole January 26, 2019

Imagine a lecture with less than 10 students inside. Students still sit in the back rows, forcing the lecturer to unnecessarily raise their voice. One student is eagerly sitting in the front, prepared to share anecdotes whenever the floor opens…

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3 min 0 1356

Opinions of the Hour

Gene Cole January 26, 2019

A sobering amendment - Meera Ulysses, The Varsity Back in December, Canada’s impaired driving laws changed to let officers give breathalyzer tests more liberally, fines for being overly intoxicated within two hours of driving, and higher maximum penalties. Meera’s piece…

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4 min 1 2214

When will it click for SFU that iClickers are pointless?

Zach Siddiqui January 24, 2019

Excuse me as I do my best Tina Fey-playing-Ms. Norbury voice . . . “Class, raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by the iClicker.” For those who haven’t, iClickers are grotsky little devices that some professors force…

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2 min 0 1339

What If . . . SFU had formal school uniforms

Gene Cole January 23, 2019

Even though many of us at SFU are adults in at least our early 20s, it’s common for us to be treated like children just for being students. I’m sure most of us have had the wonderful quips when you…

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2 min 0 1360

Political Corner: Canada is being put in the crossfire created by China’s conflict with the US

Kelly Grounds January 22, 2019

In December 2018, the CFO of Huawei, a Chinese telecommunication and electronics company, was detained by Canadian authorities in Vancouver. Authorities detained the CFO, Meng Wanzhou, to assist US authorities seeking Meng on charges of fraud. Even though this is…

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2 min 0 1497

What Grinds Our Gears: Computer-lab desk-hoggers

Kitty Cheung January 20, 2019

When you’re walking through the library during peak study season, a free desktop computer can be a rare sight. As someone who doesn’t want to lug her brother’s bulky hand-me-down gaming computer out of the house, I revel in the…

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5 min 0 1989

Failure shouldn’t be how you learn to be a good student

Gene Cole January 19, 2019

When I first got to SFU, one of the first jokes I heard was that the most relieving thing you could hear from a peer is “I haven’t started either.” It’s not exactly an extreme statement, but it’s far from…

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3 min 0 1299

Most unnecessary things SFU will force you to buy

Jennifer Low January 16, 2019

Winter break is over, there’s no denying it anymore. It’s time to once again shell out that hard-earned cash for those absolutely useless essential school supplies that profs will be asking students to purchase. “Required” Textbooks: Why go to the…

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