What Grinds Our Gears
What Grinds Our Gears: Charity campaigns at the checkout
January 12, 2026I recently moved close to a Walmart and inevitably find myself there for essentials. Every time, I’m asked if I want to add a donation onto my bill. This seems like a convenient way for shoppers to make a small difference, with wallets already open. It’s typically only a couple dollars — much less than the five perishable items that somehow came to a whopping $38 being held hostage at the register. But I’m shopping at Walmart because of the rising cost of groceries, like the low-income families that have always been Walmart’s main customer base. So why is the…
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What Grinds our Gears: Train to Braid
December 20, 2025Do you ever switch trains at Columbia, only to see the wait time for the next Production-Way line is . . . 15 minutes? And of course, we cannot forget the growing mob of similarly ill-fated individuals like yourself, who…
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What Grinds Our Gears: Friend who guesses the movie’s plot
June 24, 2025Never have I ever had a friend guess the plot twist of the movie I was showing them in the first 20 minutes. Oh wait, yes I have. And I’m guessing you have too. There’s always that one person in…
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What Grinds Our Gears: Wet SFU seats
June 16, 2025SFU has completed multiple outdoor renovation projects over the last five years: updating the convocation mall, the top of the Rotunda, the applied science building, and the AQ gardens. You’ve spent millions of dollars to make bench-shaped art sculptures. So…
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What Grinds Our Gears: Non-removeable promotional stickers on books
January 13, 2025While it’s important not to judge a book by its cover, the consumer has every right to be upset by non-removeable promotional stickers. These stickers usually advertise an accomplishment the book has achieved, like an award, or a television or…
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WGOG: SFU doesn’t provide a list of vacant/occupied rooms on campus
February 2, 2023Picture this: you need a quiet space for a quick Zoom meeting on campus. You fly through the AQ, WMC, or wherever, looking for an empty classroom. You find one! Go, you. But moments after you log into the Zoom…
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What grinds our gears: A lack of campus study spaces
April 8, 2022As a student whose home has more distractions than it does workspace, I usually come to school to get my work done. My favourite place to work at the SFU Burnaby campus is the fifth floor of the library. It…
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WGOG: The need to imitate meat in vegetarian food
March 24, 2022It is ridiculous for vegetarian food to imitate meat. For the first 19 years of my life, I followed a strictly vegetarian diet, with a protein intake coming from curries, stews, stir fries, and dried fruits. It’s a pretty good…
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WGOG: The varied thrush
March 16, 2022I’m sleeping soundly in my bed, feeling toasty under the blankets. Then, the sound of a whistle. Not once, not twice, but from the early morning to early evening — at irregular increments. It is the varied thrush: a tiny…
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What Grinds Our Gears: SFU Burnaby being one big design flaw
March 4, 2022Burnaby campus is ugly. The buildings are glum, the hallways are dark, and the overall vibes suck so bad. Walking through the AQ at 4:00 p.m. in November feels like I’m dragging my feet through a wasteland where happiness goes…
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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.
For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]
Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.
For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]