Aesthetics and Accessibility

The museum’s work is a powerful reminder of the importance of educating and celebrating the contributions of diverse communities.

DR. MELISSA KARMEN LEE CEO, CHINESE CANADIAN MUSEUM

Just because you’ve gotten declined doesn’t mean you’re anything less, so just keep trying and never shorten yourself of anything.

SASHA FARHAT

SOFTWARE ENGINEER

The TSSU Strike Vote Timeline

After three years of fighting for RA rights, TSSU has called for a strike vote

Sabrina & Corina: Stories

by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

This contemporary collection of stories is rated just over four stars on Goodreads, though in my opinion, it deserves five. Fajardo-Anstine crafts “a narrative of unrelenting feminine power” that places emphasis on womanhood and female connection as a way to overcome oppression, poverty and systemic injustice. Each story follows a different cast of Latina characters of Indigenous ancestry as they navigate “the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home.” Though their stories are different, each character embodies the relentless force of feminine power in the face of abuse, relationships, and the gentrification of Denver, Colorado, where several of the stories take place.

Sabrina and Corina exposes the lasting implications of what Fajardo-Anstine refers to as neocolonialism, “a set of economic, cultural, and social principles that emerges from

This Is Paradise: Stories

by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Hawaiʻi is often thought of as a luxury vacation spot — a place to enjoy beautiful beaches and warm weather. Often, the existence and needs of the island’s Native Hawaiian people are overlooked. The stories in this book offer “an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived” in modern-day Hawaiʻi. In a collection of six short stories, Kahakauwila explores the tensions between Native Hawaiians and tourists, expressed through slice-of-life stories. There are many misconceptions about Native Hawaiians, and the author carefully and purposefully unravels them, drawing the reader in by taking

Hearts Unbroken

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Hearts Unbroken is a young adult romance crafted by New York Times bestselling author, Cynthia Leitich Smith, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. The novel exposes the isolating experience of being an Indigenous high school student in a predominately white, middle-class town in Kansas. Louise Wolfe is a senior who enjoys spending most of her time working for the school newspaper. When the school’s musical director takes an inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz, the townspeople’s prejudice is exposed through hostile commentary and behaviour, and anonymous threats.

While grappling with the tensions growing between students, parents, and teachers, Louise begins to develop feelings for

colonialism.” In “Tomi,” a woman who has just been released from prison returns to her childhood neighbourhood, and the gentrification reminds her of tornados “demolishing one block while casually leaving another intact.” The author highlights gentrification as a form of neocolonial violence “which continues to displace the lives and erase the experiences, cultures, and communities of contemporary Indigenous and Latinx neighbourhoods — in favour of creating profits for both corporations and local governments.”

Each of Fajardo-Anstine’s unique stories are moving and thought-provoking. She reaches the reader with simple, conversational language. With every story, it seems as though she is unravelling intimate, personal secrets, which keep the reader engaged and critical of the colonial societies we continue to inhabit today.

them on a journey across the islands of Maui, Oahu, Kauaʻi and the Big Island.

Despite transporting readers to Hawaiʻi, the stories challenge the common perceptions of Hawaiʻi as a traveler’s “paradise” by recognizing the positionality of Indigenous people on the island. Tourists often fail to recognize issues Native Hawaiian women face in particular, including laborious underpaid housekeeping work and unaffordable housing. This book “makes the point that lives in ‘paradise’ are just as complicated as anywhere else.”

Joey Kairouz, a photojournalist for the paper, and finds that navigating dating as an Indigenous person is difficult.

I picked this book because it’s comprehensive and approachable for readers, while tackling important issues like systemic racism, microaggressions, and discrimination — all factors which greatly impact Indigenous adolescents. When the townspeople expose their prejudice from something as trivial as a school play, the reader questions how perceptions of minority groups influence internalized responses to casting choices made in popular media. It brings us to reflect on our positionality as settlers and how we can be more conscious of colonialism’s influence on our perceptions of Indigenous peoples.

Why do we always have to talk about our identity in order to prove that we should be making art, to get funding to make art or be part of a show?

ARIES — Mar 21–Apr 19

This is your week to CHILL OUT. The last few weeks have been brutal for you, so take it easy. Go to a pilates class in a fancy gym, go on a long drive to a place without much going on (I’m looking at you, Mission), learn how to make that Gigi Hadid pasta you’ve had saved on your TikTok since the pandemic started — the possibilities are endless.

TAURUS — Apr 20–May 20

Keep calm and carry on. SIKE. These are NOT words to live by this week. Unlike Aries, this is the time to be aggressive. Sharpen those horns and bulldoze through everything that’s been bothering you lately, whether that’s an assignment you’ve been procrastinating on or a Tinder chat that’s going nowhere. Do what you need to do!

GEMINI — May 21–Jun 20

Time to switch things up and break out of your routine. Instead, adopt The Rock’s routine: waking up at 3:30 am, 50 minutes of cardio, a breakfast of steak, eggs, watermelon, and toast, and an intensive back workout followed by an ice-cold shower. Don’t be too tempted! Start today!

CANCER — Jun 21–Jul 22

Venus, the planet of love, is currently zooming toward Earth to orbit around you. That’s right, this week, invest time into your love life. Forgo Pokémon Go and download that dating app your friends have been pestering you about. Head to the SFU Surrey Engineering Building and pretend you’re lost — an engineer in the making will be happy to help. When all hope is lost, put on a UBC hoodie and scope the scene there.

LEO — Jul 23–Aug 22

Time to assert your dominance in your friend group by becoming an alpha. Our pro tips include keeping a straight face when your friend shows you a silly (but funny) TikTok, finally making that LinkedIn page, and getting your finances together for your first home — okay, maybe not in this economy. A Minecraft house will do.

VIRGO — Aug 23–Sept 22

The planets are aligning and telling me you’re the best star sign and deserve the most. This week is your time to shine and be a little narcissistic. Treat yourself to some new drip. Post those photo dumps you’ve been withholding for months. You. Are. A. Star.

LIBRA — Sept 23–Oct 22

Happiness: declining. Urge to curl up in a ball and hide in the depths of RCB: increasing. However, things are looking up for you this week. Visit your local spirituality store and stock up on crystals because now is the perfect time to manifest.

SCORPIO

— Oct 23–Nov 21

Eenie. Meenie. Miney. Oh no! You seem a little lost. Time to start investing more time into self-care. During your free time, crank up a Nicki Minaj 2010s era playlist and go on a nature walk. Find peace amongst the trees and yassification amongst the Roman Zolanski soundtrack. You’ll be slaying the day away in no time.

SAGITTARIUS — Nov 22–Dec 21

STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW AND MAKE THAT IMPORTANT DECISION YOU’VE BEEN HOLDING OFF ON.

CAPRICORN — Dec 22–Jan 19

Have you recently been bothered by friends who won’t stop giving you unprompted updates about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour? Are you annoyed by notifications about changes in her setlist and new outfits? Well, don’t be! It’s time to give in and submit your life to being a Swiftie. So enter that lavender haze. Are you ready for it?

AQUARIUS — Jan 20–Feb 18

You got the whole squad laughing. No, actually! Now that Venus is aligned with Mars, your inner silly, goofy persona is emerging. Embrace this newfound humour by saying the first thing that comes to mind in any situation. Get rid of any filters you have and start blurting. Someone in the room will be doubled up laughing — I promise.

PISCES — Feb 19–Mar 20

It’s time to finally do that spring cleaning session you’ve been putting off! This includes (but is not limited to) getting rid of the pile of pebbles you gathered at the beach as a “souvenir,” unfollowing everyone who you speed-walk by on campus to avoid making eye contact with, and composting those flowers from your ex that you tried to press in a YellowPages. Marie Kondo would be proud.