Opinions

Desire, gender, and the hetero masculine gaze Content Warning: this article discusses eating disorders and racism, which may be triggering for some readers. It is with a reddened face that I confess that my first (fictional) gay crush was Anatole Kuragin from a manga adaptation of Tolstoi’s War and Peace. Those with conservative upbringings who

Navigating UofT as a Jew In an article by Layla Rudy critiquing The Strand’s stance on Palestine, the first reporter she labels as anti-Israeli is me, Jessica Beswick, a Jew. As a Jew, I have had my fair share of slurs and violent name-calling; before coming to UofT, I have been called a “kike,” a

The pitfalls of becoming a political activist and why there is always hope 2024 was the year of elections. Throughout the past year, an unprecedented number of people went to the polls, culminating in the US election, which was labelled the most seismic election in the history of the United States. With the year of

Navigating the good and bad of the social media landscape Right before New Year’s Eve, I found myself making a bingo card for 2025. In one of the squares, I wrote: “3-day social media cleanse.” While I cannot promise that I will be able to tick off that box in the future, my intention was

On Métis identity, temporality, and (de)territorialisation Where am I from? What a tricky question. There are four answers I typically give depending on the context. The first simply answers the question of my permanent address: I am from Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. The second answers the question of my origins: I am from a small

A conversation with Professor Janett Vengoa This interview was conducted in Spanish, and all translations are the author’s.  Located two hours away from Cusco in the Peruvian Andes, is the town of Pomanchi. Wherever I looked, the imposing cordilleras reminded me that there were bigger, more important things than buildings and cement. People in Pomacanchi

The privilege, courage, and longing tied to the universal pursuit of home I consider home to be a feeling. A feeling strongly associated with family, comfort, and belonging. I am originally from British Columbia, yet despite being away from my family and home city, I have been able to slowly begin viewing Victoria College and