Isn’t that a safety hazard?
By: Elyssa English
If you have spent any amount of time in the Student Union Building (SUB), you’re likely to have noticed furniture placements that are questionable at best; specifically, the table and two chairs positioned directly along the ENTIRE bottom left step (if you are descending) of the central staircase. It is unsafe, impractical, and, quite frankly, very irritating. There is little to no room available to navigate around them. Any attempt to descend past them is fraught with danger.
I have witnessed more than a few people move the furniture away from the stairs, pushing it a mere inch or two away for the sake of safer stair access and, every time, without fail, within 24 hours the furniture is back to its starting point, blocking the stairs. How is this safe? How many people have been hurt? How many people must seriously injure themselves maneuvering around illogical furniture arrangements before we see change? I want answers gosh darn it! Why are they there!?
The worst time of year to be vegan
By: Andrea Sadowski
I have been a vegetarian since I was 10 years old — that makes 16 years without eating the flesh of an animal. For the past two years I have continually struggled with taking the next step of going vegan; going vegan has a multitude of health benefits, is much cheaper than an omnivore’s diet, and saves the planet from the pollution of industrialized factory farms that process animal products. However, being a vegan is a hassle during the holidays. Thanksgiving, with sides smothered in butter surrounding a turkey stuffed with old bread. Halloween, with those hard-to-resist little candy bars that usually contain milk ingredients and produce copious amounts of plastic waste. Christmas, with endless potlucks and end-of-the-year parties, countless homemade cookies, and a multitude of family dinners to attend in which your only vegan option is a scoop of cranberry sauce. So, with a heightened sense of social anxiety, I serve myself mashed potatoes that are whipped with milk, and peas and carrots that are drenched in butter, in order to not look like the odd one out, or seem ungrateful for having been invited.
Punk is dead and so is the “reclaimed counterculture”
By: Darien Johnsen
If I see another trendy, “reclaimed,” upscale, boutique shop opening in downtown Abbotsford I’m probably going to lose it. I’m not sure exactly why these businesses rub me the wrong way — sure we can throw the word gentrification (the process of transforming a neighbourhood to conform it to middle-class taste) around until we make ourselves sick, but what difference does it make? Poverty, income inequality, and trendy hipsters who can’t drink or eat something unless it’s “craft” will exist anyways. Is that an excuse not to clean up an area that’s historically been pretty downtrodden? Most of these businesses are independently owned, so it’s not big business occupying the area, it’s citizens. They’re free to try and make a living for themselves if this is how they so choose.
What I find most amusing about this whole situation are these businesses’ failed attempt at being countercultural. These alternative little hipster boutiques are just clones of every other heritage town. Buying some old-school chairs, painting your shop white, and calling it reclaimed doesn’t make it particularly unique; it just becomes another homogenized counterculture. These shops are about as genuinely alternative as a punk jacket bought from Forever 21.
Video games just make me sad now
By: Alex Jesus
I remember gaming as a good thing. I used to literally get up on schedule at 5 a.m. before school to play Call of Duty, only to return after school to play the remainder of that day away with my friends. Slowly, this whole becoming an adult thing really changed that. Sitting in front of a TV or a computer gaming bums me out now. I mean sure, I still like video games to some degree, but my sessions have changed from 10 hours a day to 30 minutes if I’m lucky. I just can’t connect with it like I used to, and frankly, I feel the most isolated when I’m sitting in my computer chair on my third cup of coffee trying to level up despite the countless responsibilities that await me. I don’t really know why that’s the case, yet here I am, adulting. World of Warcraft Classic just came out, so pray for me. I’ll keep fighting the good fight, forcing my out-of-shape self to the gym and steering clear of IGN’s game reviews.
Illustrations: Kelly Ning/The Cascade
Elyssa is a BSc student, pursuing studies in Physical Geography while also entertaining her creative side within the visual arts. She is currently the Creative Director here with the Cascade. Having previously been an Illustrator, Production Assistant, and Production Manager, she's been around a while. In her free time she can often be found knitting and watching reruns of outdated shows from the 80s.
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after.
She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.
