11 minute read
ARTS & CULTURE
The Association of Latin America Students (ALAS) welcomes all members with open arms
You hear it said time and time again. Joining a club at any level — high school, university, adulthood — can be a life changing experience. This is true for both domestic and international students navigating post-secondary, and especially beneficial for international students adjusting to the traditions and culture of an
Arturo Pacheco, president of SFU’s Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) and third year criminology major, has experienced these benefits firsthand. Coming to SFU as an international student from Mexico, Pacheco joined the club back in Spring 2019 to meet new friends.
Since its beginnings in the 2000s, ALAS has provided a “safe environment for entertainment and a place to share Latin American roots, culture, festivities, food; we want to promote the best of having a multicultural community,” said Pacheco.
Part of having a multicultural community is embracing all identities. ALAS isn’t just home to Latin American students, explained Pacheco. “We don’t really care where you’re from or who you are. We just want to share our cultural backgrounds, and we expect for you to respect our festivities and food. We just want to have a good, healthy, peaceful community.”
That being said, the club is still dedicated to helping Latin American students gain their footing on campus through running events to help students make connections and making them aware of what the university has to offer.
Their first event of the semester, which Pacheco described as a “networking, getting to know people from your same background” icebreaker, took place on May 27, but the club has many other events upcoming. “The ones that are already on the table, and waiting for the weather to clear up a bit, are [trips] to Kitsilano beach to play volleyball. We’re going to have volleyball tournaments on Saturdays,” Pacheco said.
Additionally, to help students to better understand the events and opportunities SFU and the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) have to offer, ALAS vicepresident Lester Pino created a podcast called The Latin Corner.
The club has currently released four episodes on Spotify featuring members from Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry, SFU350, and the African
Much like the club, the podcast isn’t just meant for Latin American students. “That is why we also wanted to touch on other clubs, and give them a platform to introduce themselves, where to find them, and what they do,”
He explained the idea for the podcast is to highlight groups who’ve had a “huge impact on campus,” such as SFU350 whose mural protested SFU’s lack of “SFU350 rocked the campus with their protest. That was amazing, I loved the mural! So, that’s why we wanted to get in touch — to give them another platform to show their club and their activities.”
Connection, collaboration, and community are priorities for ALAS and they have kick-started initiatives to give back to local communities.
“Last winter was super cold and there are some social, economic issues everyone knows about, everyone can see in downtown, and we wanted to do something about it. We’ve come so far from Latin America, we are so happy to be here and give back to the community in any way we can,” he said.
ALAS hosted a clothing drive this past March along with UBC Mexican Student Association. The clothing drive was an idea by Pino, which Pacheco referred to as a “goldmine” for how much they were able to collect. Donations from the clothing drive went to Lookout Society, an organization working to reduce barriers to accessing housing.
ARTURO PACHECO // ALAS PRESIDENT
“We arranged for a bucket in the Convocation Mall for people to drop stuff in, mostly winter stuff. We donated 20 killos (44 pounds). Their smile was so heartwarming, it was so worth it,” said Pacheco.
He added the club has always donated proceeds from ticketed events to various organizations.
Normally, ALAS meets once a week to discuss club matters. As of right now, meetings are hybrid. For those who are able to make it, ALAS meetings take place on the third floor of the W.A.C. Bennett Library in the Media and Maker Commons. However, as the weather heats up, they will be looking to host meetings outside. They also use WhatsApp and Discord for cultural and personal conversations throughout the week and to circulate event invitations.
For the last three years, Pacheco has made “beautiful connections” thanks to ALAS that have extended past the club. He still goes biking with the former vice president of the club. Pacheco encouraged readers to give their events a try. Whether you want to talk about food, culture, or the World Cup Qualifiers — which sparks tons of playful debates among members of the club — ALAS welcomes all. “If you’re a first year student or you feel like you need more interaction, give us a message, reach out; we will do whatever we can to make you feel at home.”
For more information about ALAS at their future events, check out their Instagram @sfu_alas. They also have their podcast linked for listening in their bio.
Unread Message
Re: Are they incomplete assignments or just boundaries?
Maya Beninteso, Peak Associate
Dearest Professor,
Thank you for your email. While your message says I haven’t completed the assignment, I counter that I’m merely asserting an emotional boundary. I don’t claim the assignment’s due date. I didn’t consent to that due date, and I should’ve been directly consulted since it affects me. Further to that point, stop gaslighting me by saying that I was “informed of all due dates at the beginning of the semester” and “would’ve known this information had [I] attended a single lecture.” You should learn to communicate better. I have a life, too, you know. It mostly consists of chugging iced coffee and contemplating the meaning of life, but it’s still a life. I would like to communicate to you that I haven’t felt validated by you at all throughout this process. I just thought you would like some feedback, too. Consider this my course evaluation. You, and your class, deserve a failing grade.
First of all, my therapist, Richard, expressed that asserting boundaries is essential to my mental health. Accordingly, I refuse to do the assignment. I hope you can come to appreciate my boundary-setting as this is what I need to heal my inner child. Could you just forget me like how my mother forgot me at the mall when I was a child?
Moreover, I noticed the angry tone in your email and I don’t claim that negative energy. Your reactivity is giving unhealed trauma and maybe you should get that checked out. If you’re a fan of strong reactions, might I suggest an occupation in the field of chemistry, instead? Perhaps the abysmal paragraph at the bottom of your syllabus entitled “Health and Counselling Resources” should be consulted . . . by you. You have incited much reflection in me over the past few days since your email.
In the wise words of Britney Spears, “Don’t you know that you’re toxic?” Although I try to convince myself that obstacles are “good for the plot,” I’m not currently in the right headspace to tackle your toxicity. I hope you can respect my decision to cut you, and this ridiculous assignment, out of my life as it’s causing undue distress. I need to reclaim my #girlboss energy and, frankly, you‘re inhibiting my ability to do so.
Most importantly, what would possess you to make an assignment due a measly 13 days after “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” was dropped? I need time to recover. I’m, in fact, still recovering from the 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” so you should have some consideration for my emotional needs. This burden doesn’t belong with me.
If you have a problem with me asserting my boundaries like a healthy and well adjusted adult, take it up with Richard.
In the meantime, since I’m such a generous human being, I thought I would share some resources since you clearly need help. I sincerely hope you can become as self-aware as I am one day.
Peace and love on planet Earth,
Maya Beninteso (she/her) B.A. in Humour Mechanics without Distinction
Five exquisite ways to luxuriate in the dark academia aesthetic
Max Lorette
peak associate and portrait holder of dorian gray
Have you recently finished reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt? Has the slow ascension of summer made you yearn for the cool breeze of autumn? Do you revel in enforcing your superiority complex over your fellow scholars? Then you may be swept up in the warm embrace of the dark academic aesthetic. I implore you to ask yourself, “Is this the right aesthetic for me?”
Allow me to assist you in achieving such an esteemed lifestyle. I insist you forget that this movement is deeply rooted in classism, colonialism, and western-eurocentrism. There is little use in dwelling upon . . . unpleasantries. We do not believe in personal analysis here.
Embark with me upon a riveting journey in caffeine overload, tweed jackets, and academic burnout! You don’t need to attend a gothic university in order to achieve such a curated aesthetic. Read on and discover how best to live a prep school-esque lifestyle from the comfort of SFU! Who needs classical and gothic architecture when you have a style of architecture commonly compared to a prison?
I. I hope you feel honoured that I am divulging my greatest secret to you: my study spot. I urge you to study ONLY in the catacombs of the
RCB. There is little as inspiring as the endless labyrinth of blood-red floors and melancholic concrete walls. Remember, if you have a cell phone signal, you aren’t deep enough. Though I too struggle with romanticizing such bland architecture, the perfect study playlist will surely assist you in immersing yourself in your studies. May I suggest my own curation of symphonies? Of course you would like to listen.
II. Upon submitting your written masterpieces to your professor, be certain to put some thought into its material presentation. Tea stains and coffee cup rings will make it appear as if they received a document from an academic straight out of the 40s! Better yet, type everything out through a vintage typewriter! Frankly, it is my firm belief that Microsoft Word is the single utmost inhibitor of creativity, and that analog is the best method forward. If your professor complains, you’re probably more intelligent than them anyhow.
III. My dearest pupil, take it from me. The simplest way to assert your academic dominance over your peers is through constantly making unfounded and often irrelevant literary references! Don’t know any? Make them up! Attribute any and all quotations to the likes of
Shakespeare, Gandhi, John Lennon, and Karl Marx. Want to appear well-read? Reference Greek mythology (naturally, the end-all-be-all of ancient civilizations)! Don’t know anything about the Hellenic period beyond what you read from Percy Jackson? Me neither!
IV. Never be seen without a yellowed book in your clutches. It is essential that people never forget how well-read you are. As quoted from a littleknown book, Norwegian Wood by the unsung literary genius Haruki
Murakami, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” Thus, I have made it my mission to provide you with my favourite underground novels to assert your intelligence over all those around you. No need to thank me!
The Illiad by Homer Simpson Pride and Prejudice by Britney Spears Animal Farm by Elon Musk The Grapes of Wrath by Rihanna
And of course…
War and Peace by Meryl Streep
V. Finally, perhaps the most vital way to achieve the dark academia lifestyle is to have a thesaurus beside you at all times. Are you struggling to find the perfect word to fabricate the facade of intelligence? Choose a synonym. It doesn’t need to make sense. As long as it’s long, you will appear all the more intelligent. Make it sound as though you are trying to hit the word count in real-life conversations.
No, I haven’t been doing this the whole time I’ve been writing this article and I am frankly insulted that you would insinuate so!
This is a way of life that is as beautiful as a rare volume, as intricate as a Baroque fresco, and as sustainable as a dual-ended candle burning into itself. And I sincerely hope to further indoctrinate you all, dearest readers, into my exclusive academic cult club.
