At the end of every year, I like to reflect on the past 365 days. 

With a pandemic that has changed the way we live our lives, to voting in a municipal and provincial election, to switching completely to online learning, 2020 has been a year for the books. 

This year, the Sheaf’s production process is significantly different than it has ever been since its start in 1912. However, the drive to share University of Saskatchewan students’ voices remains strong as ever. As we prepare to embark on 2021, let us take a look back at some of the most memorable opinion pieces of 2020. 

Before we begin, we at the Sheaf want to sincerely thank each and every student who contributed an opinion piece last year. Sharing our opinions and life experiences is incredibly important to connect to other students within the university community and grow and learn from each other. 

Download Meeting minutes from 2022 AGM HERE

COVID-19 pandemic

The year 2020 will forever be etched in our memories as the year of the pandemic. This new experience brought about many interesting opinions. 

Erin Matthews’s piece “Past pandemics: What can history teach us” was an important lesson in how fear is a common narrative, the importance of hand washing and social distancing, and how our societies change in response to a pandemic. 

In a world where wearing a mask has become an important public health guideline, Sakshi Goyal addressed in her article “In a pandemic, we can do better than anti-mask protests” the rising anti-mask sentiment and why we must wear masks for our own and our communities’ safety. 

In 2020 we were asked to step up with empathy and compassion for those in our society. From wearing a mask, to cancelling social gatherings of all types, to changing how we go to school, this year has demanded us to change our actions for the collective good. And yet, as expressed in Beth Zentner’s piece “Why I’m not upset about losing my first year of university to COVID-19,” together we can do so much good and overcome the circumstances. 

The university journey

The Sheaf was born out of a desire to share student voices, and this past year many of us spoke up about our experiences at the university and what we can do to improve them. 

From our “Dear first-years” series, where upper-year students share their experiences with the university, we had Punya Miglani share in “Dear first-years: If you look around, university life is full of amazing experiences” how to make the most out of your university experience by reaching out. 

Cymric Leask shared in “Dear first-years: Getting involved is the best way to enhance your university experience” how the key to a worthwhile time at university is getting involved in the campus community. 

Who could have predicted 2020 would shake our education system and demand a whole new delivering education and learning? Nevertheless, in this pursuit to adapt courses online Vaidehi Ajaybhai Soni shares in her piece “From the other side of the world — thank you, professors” the gratitude she feels towards the staff and faculty who have gone the extra mile to ensure her classes have the same magic as ever. 

Lastly, in an appeal to give students and faculty what a midterm break is intended for — relaxing, reflecting and preparing — in my article “The midterm break should be now” I encouraged the university to consider moving the midterm break up a few weeks. Hopefully, 2021 will be the year of change. 

The fight for justice, representation and equity 

Perhaps the greatest takeaway of 2020 was an internal recognization of racial bias, systemic discrimination and renewed call for justice. This section had many strong pieces that demand just that. 

J.C Balicanta Narag’s powerful piece “Justice for Joyce: How many more BIPOCs must disappear before you see us?” pointently demands racial justice in the healthcare system. 

To raise awareness for Orange Shirt Day, Hope N.S. Jeffery advocated persuasively in “Why we should all wear orange shirts” for the importance of wearing orange shirts on Sept. 30, and championing the cause of reconciliation year-round. 

In the face of the Mi’kmaq lobster dispute, Fiza Baloch in “The clashes over Nova Scotia lobsters are only the tip of the iceberg” took a look at the historical roots of the dispute and how the mobs “are making arguments that are irresponsible and dangerous.” 

Through personal stories, sarcasm and a great dose of truth, Kristine Jones A. Del Socorro shared a powerful account of her experience with gender disparity in “My fight for gender equality started in the kitchen.”

To round out the year, Aleena Bukhari provided in the piece, “South Asian youth have been underrepresented in the beauty industry for too long” solid advice for the beauty industry. She writes that “years of social exclusion within the beauty industry will take a lot of work to undo.” Wise words to take into 2021. 

A year of elections

2020 saw three important elections: the American presidential election, the municipal election and the provincial one. For each, U of S students had a lot of say. 

The Lighthouse became a focal point for the election in the city. J.C Balicanta Narag encouraged us to consider investment, not relocation as a solution to the homelessness issue in the city in his reflective piece “Moving the Lighthouse does more harm than good.”

In the provincial election, Matt Dyck outlined COVID-19 and climate change as two key issues on the table and called on all young people to vote in his article “Provincial election 2020: There is too much at stake to not vote”.

The politics of our neighbours down south certainly do impact Canadians, and Fiza Baloch’s piece, “U.S. 2020 elections: A look at the key campaign issues,” explained the most pressing issues at stake. 

This article was written by a University of Saskatchewan undergraduate student and reflects the views and opinions of the writer. If you would like to write a reply, please email opinions@thesheaf.com. Vaidehee Lanke is a third-year bioinformatics student and the Opinions Editor of The Sheaf Publishing Society.

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Vaidehee Lanke | Opinions Editor