Personal essay - The Ubyssey

February 19

She's just a friend

When you see women as friends your whole life, it’s jarring to suddenly be holding hands, and not in the platonic way you do with your close girl friends. You begin to romanticize a connection that feels wrong, as if you’ve broken the girl code and are teetering somewhere colourfully unknown. Read More.

cultureAlexis Jacobson with illustrations by Seneesha Ekanayake

February 19

How the patriarchy messed up my crossword score

cultureAlexandra Smitton with illustrations by Samriddhi Kejriwal

A nervously happy person surrounded by cheering T-Birds fans in a football-shaped-frame.

September 23

Homecoming: A rookie's perspective

I consider myself a football fan. It is, without much competition, my favourite sport. But as a student from England who is here at UBC on international exchange, football is no longer familiar to me. Read More.

sportsKian Gadsby with illustrations by Effie Huang

Colourful illustration of pride, half the page at Vancouver and half at Seoul

August 22

Pride in the rain: Seoul, Vancouver and the weight of visibility

What Vancouver does better than Seoul is this: it offers safety without having to fight for it on the day of the event. What Seoul does better than Vancouver is harder to name, but it has something to do with clarity. Read More.

cultureJess Lee with illustrations by Abbie Lee

An illustration of two girls speaking to each other via string-can phone through two windows in a brick house with a green door

May 25, 2025

Speak freely

cultureShubhreet Dadrao with illustrations by Ayla Cilliers

An illustration of multicoloured yarn knitted into a heart-shaped pattern

May 25, 2025

Awit natin ay ‘wag na ‘wag mong kalimutan

cultureArianna Aportadera with illustrations by Ayla Cilliers

A person watches a Seattle Seahawks game in a living room wearing a 'Wagner' jersey and backwards Seahawks hat.

March 26, 2025

Proud to be a fan

sportsCaleb Peterson

A girl with blonde hair lights a cigarette in the mouth of a girl with dark hair, both of them leaning against a pole

February 27, 2025

Google, how do I untie the knots in my heart?

cultureTiana Khandelwal with photos by Saumya Kamra

Two people about to kiss and holding each other's faces. There's a glass brick wall behind them.

February 27, 2025

First steps

cultureAnonymous with photos by Saumya Kamra

Hands holding a book open, with snow in the background.

February 26, 2025

Me, my parents and the elephant in the bedroom

cultureJoyce Park with photos by Saumya Kamra

A person with light brown hair with bangs holds a strip of red tape reading "DANGER" over their eyes.

February 25, 2025

A fragmented account of your local kinkster

cultureAditi Mankar with photos by Saumya Kamra

Two people hold books in front of their faces so only their eyes are exposed as they look at each other. The one on the left has red hair, a red top and glasses, and the one on the right wears a black beanie and fingerless gloves.

February 24, 2025

Search bar

cultureAva Dunkel with photos by Saumya Kamra

Illustration of a rack of clothes, a floor lamp, books and household items with thrift store tags hanging off of them.

February 8, 2025

Do you smell it too?

cultureAva Dunkel with illustrations by Abbie Lee

An illustration of a person running through the hall of an airport with a suitcase while wearing a backpack.

January 28, 2025

Tradition: Catching the flight

featuresSrijaa Chatterjee with illustrations by Emilia Onar

An illustration of two silhouettes sitting under a Christmas tree through a window. The star on the top of the tree illuminates the room in yellow and the tree is decorated in red ornaments.

January 28, 2025

Tradition: Abbi and our dopey Christmas tree

featuresErin Greenwood with illustrations by Emilija Vītols Harrison

An illustration with a swirly orange and yellow backdrop. In the forefront are two sets of hands extending from either side of the frame. They are outlined in black. The pair on the right holds a bowl of stew and is handing it to the pair of hands on the left.

January 28, 2025

Tradition: Silent threads of home

featuresSyeda Sunehra with illustrations by Abbie Lee

An orange wreath with a skull sitting inside it hangs on a wooden door. Through the windows, there is a lit-up room containing silhouettes of Ronald McDonald, the Lorax and Ghostface.

January 7, 2025

Why Halloween is what I'll miss most about university

cultureThea Turner with illustrations by Emilija Vītols Harrison

A girl with long brown hair rides a yellow bike. She is wearing a dark green raincoat and brown pants, and the trees behind her are blowing in the wind.

December 3, 2024

South of the English Channel

cultureMichelle Huang with illustrations by Eylül Kara

Lower half of a person in a mud-stained pink dress, with dark brown skin and bloodied knees. Teal and blue geometric shapes are in the background.

November 28, 2024

Beneath the umbrella

cultureSrijaa Chatterjee with illustrations by Emilija Vītols Harrison

An open laptop on a table with a teacup beside it. A window is visible in the background, displaying a slightly aged-looking building.

November 19, 2024

I was a tea person in Poland for two weeks

cultureJoyce Park