On Dit Issue 86.1 by On Dit

ISSUE 86.1

2018

$30 31/1/2019

Upcoming Issue Contribution Due Dates Sexuali-Dit: 2nd March Issue 4: 30th March Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to hear your ideas! Email us at onditmag@gmail.com

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ON DIT CONTENTS Editorial 3 SRC President 4 What’s On 6 Vox Pop 8 Left, Right, & Centre 10 ARTICLES RATH: The history of our new Vice-Chancellor Econ Dit: The end of (uni) days A First-Year’s Guide to University Life as an International Student Law and Order Artist Feature Iran Protests; the good kind of fire and fury SA-BEST, not the Best for SA The Greatest Nope Man A Conversation with Matt Stewart Suitcases and Safe Spaces Life Changes Setbacks

12 16 18 22 25 26 34 38 40 42 46 48 52

Blurred Lines Keep our Metro to Keep Ourselves! christmas in kyoto

54 58 59

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EDITORIAL

EDITORS Connie Tran Ethan Penglase Hayley Mohacsy Nuer Deng SUBEDITORS Dylan Rowen Ellie Stamelos Hilary D’Angelo Kiri Marker DESIGNERS Anzelle de Kock Jennafer Milne Hi folks, and welcome to a new year at uni. New year, new editors and – you guessed it – new On Dit. COVER ART “The Creation of Adam” By Anzelle de Kock CENTREFOLD PHOTOGRAPHY “Arthur’s Seat” By Angus Yallop

On Dit is produced on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge them as the traditional owners and custodians of the Adelaide Plains. Their land was stolen, never ceded.

Pronounced as “on dee” (French for “they say”), this lil mag which started off in 1932 as a newspaper flat lay has evolved into what you, dear reader, are holding in your hands right now. Very much like us when you think about it. We too, have evolved – from being readers, to contributors, and now here we are as your editors. Something that comes with being an editor is that we start seeing the magazine in a completely different light. We’re on the other side this time: compiling the articles, designing the pages, pouring all of our time and energy into making On Dit what we envisioned it to be. We’re putting in the hard yards, and we’re committed to doing this for the remainder of the year.

So here’s our first edition in all its glory. Inside, you’ll find a number of spectacular pieces. Andrew brings us his First Year Guide, a handy how-to-uni for all freshers, Leila exposes how cooked our new vice-chancellor is, Holly writes about her experience being queer and abroad during the same-sex marriage postal vote, and Grace’s prose Blurred Lines is a powerful must-read. Take a look. Flip through the pages. Most of all, don’t be afraid to get in touch with us! Email us at onditmag@gmail.com or send us a Facebook message. We’re friendly – we promise. And on that final note: Welcome to On Dit 2018. Till next time, Connie, Ethan, Hayley, and Nuer

It always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

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SRC PRESIDENT Words by Matthew Boughey

Welcome to all University staff and students, and an especially warm welcome to our new students. For those who don’t know me (which I assume is the vast majority of you), my name is Matthew Boughey and I’m your SRC President for 2018. The SRC was created purely for your benefit. We are an elected body of students whose job it is to represent your interests to the University, State and Federal Governments and other relevant bodies. This year, you’ll see us running a number of campaigns and events concerned with social and political issues that affect students directly. It is absolutely crucial that students have their own organisation committed to fighting for student power and standing up against cooked decisions by governments and the University administration. If you agree, I encourage you (new and returning students alike) to join our student union, the Adelaide University Union, by checking out their stall at O’Week or joining on their website at www.auu.org.au. Or, get involved with one of our campaigns. I can guarantee there will be plenty of opportunities for budding activists to fight against the many injustices students face and to have a say in the direction your education takes. I want to use my first column to make you aware of one such issue your SRC will be at the forefront of. Over the summer break, the Turnbull Government quietly announced universities will be hit with a $2.1 billion cut to funding as well as scrapping the demand-driven system that

allows students from all backgrounds to access the benefits of higher education. Under these changes, an estimated 10,000 students will now be unable to study in the future. Students will also be forced to repay their HELP loans upon reaching a yearly income of $45,000 as opposed to the current threshold of $55,874. Lowering this threshold will have a disproportionate impact on students from lowersocioeconomic and minority backgrounds, as well as regional students. This is an ideological attack on universities. Under the Government’s changes, the higher education sector will be taking a massive step back in time to an era when the wealthy and privileged were the sole beneficiaries of higher education. This is callous austerity politics. Australia is currently facing a skills shortage and a highly educated workforce is always in our national interest.

Government has committed to introducing one year free of tertiary education for new students. Additionally, the UK Labour Party included a plan to scrap all tuition fees in their election manifesto, which saw a huge swing towards Labour at the expense of the incumbent Conservative Party. Your SRC will actively stand against these savage cuts and fight to ensure our higher education

Come down to our stall at O’Week, meet your student representatives, and ask us how you can get involved and fight for our education. If you want to get in contact with me directly, please drop me an email at srcpresident@auu.org.au or I’m sure you can catch me at the UniBar on a Friday night!

From

$170

Your SRC will be organising to beat back the Liberals’ attacks on students. On March 21, your SRC will be coordinating a large-scale protest, in conjunction with the National Union of Students’ National Day of Action for higher education, and demanding not only an end to these cuts, but a higher quality education system in Australia. Australia already makes one of the lowest government contributions to higher education of any OECD country. This is at odds to similar OECD countries looking to invest more into their higher education sector and to make it more equitable. For example, the New Zealand

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O’WEEK

OuTdOoR CINEMA

SPIRITED AWAY

STRANGER THINGS PARTY 23/2 - Garden Bar, Union House @ 7pm Join us and our friends from Student Radio “On Dit Upside Down” as we travel back to the eighties at what will be the strangest Student Media party to be held this year. Exclusive to O-Pass members, expect retro gaming, cheap drinks, and a killer soundtrack from Student Radio. We hope to see you there!

ARTS PUB CRAWL 9/3 - Adelaide’s East End @ 5pm Join the Adelaide University Arts Students Association for the cheapest pubcrawl at uni! With cheap drinks and great people, a good time is guaranteed. Pub crawl badges (not shirts!) can be bought for $5 during O’Week, and more information is available on the club’s Facebook page.

ADELAIDE WRITERS’ WEEK Once a year during Adelaide Writers’ Week, authors from Australia and all over the world come together to share their stories. When an event has free entry and is only a minute’s walk from uni, (set behind Government House) there’s no excuse for not going. Check out the Adelaide Festival’s website for the full program.

FREE W

3/3 - 8/3 - Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden

OU ITH Y R

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1. What’s the best thing you did in the holidays? 2. When should we have Australia Day?

Vox Pop

3. Do you pay for Netflix or do you scab off someone else’s account? 4. What’s the best free thing you’ve ever gotten? 5. Any tips for new students?

JENNY

TOM

EMEKA

RINA

Commerce/Arts

Law/Arts/French

Law

Psychology

I saw the xx - which is my favourite band - in Melbourne, and I went to Laneway.

I think the first of January is a good date, on the 1st of January 1901 Australia federated. It’s good because you can have Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s – roll it out in one go.

I don’t watch TV, I only watch Peep Show.

When I was an editor of a magazine I used to get free tickets all the time, now I have to start paying for them.

Can I change my answer to Laneway?

Whatever the date that the Australia Act was passed could be quite good, because that’s when British intervention into our domestic policies ended.

I pay for it, but a lot of people scab it off me.

The free stuff that you don’t expect. The free stuff you go looking for is not nearly as exciting.

5. 5.

Go to your O’Week lectures so you can get all of your due dates. Join your student union, start contributing to On Dit and suss out Student Media.

Find something that you actually like to do or are actually passionate about and get involved with a few things rather than getting involved in everything. Don’t worry if your first year’s kinda shit.

Road Trips. I went as far as Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Bordertown, Melbourne, WA.

The topic is very sensitive. If you are Aboriginal you have a different opinon from a western Australian. Even if it is the same day, they should change the name. The day should bind people, not divide.

Netflix is for people to share, I have an account with my friend.

I needed to buy a book on law citations, but when I went to the library it was there so I didn’t need to buy it.

Focus on your studies, make sure your grade is what suits you. The sky is your limit.

I went to a conference with a Christian group on campus with people from Australia and other countries. We got to see what God is doing around the world.

We need a day to celebrate how amazing Australia is, but we need to be considerate of Aboriginal people. It must be a horrible day for them to remember.

My friends and I use one friend’s account.

The biggest thing I’ve won is the salvation and healing my saviour Jesus has offered me.

Don’t procrastinate - that’s easy to say. I recommend having a good group of friends to support you. 9

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LEFT, RIGHT, & CENTRE

1. Can Nick Xenophon bring anything positive to South Australian politics? 2. Why should new students join your political club? 3. Trump’s tweeting style – yes/no?

LEFT

CENTRE

RIGHT

SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE

ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY LABOR CLUB

ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY LIBERAL CLUB

DANIEL NESER

ALI AMIN

1. I think the arrival of Xenophon is a symptom of a sickness in SA politics. A man whose campaign is simply that SA gets neglected (hardly the most difficult slogan to run with), he can get pretty far when people rightly feel there has been a convergence of politics from Labor and Liberal. When unemployment has been persistently higher, wages are stagnating, healthcare is a mess, industries are dying, and power prices are setting world

2. It’s not for everyone. However, if you’re someone who thought that the Paradise Papers and the Grenfell Towers of the world happen too frequently to be mistakes in a system, someone who isn’t going to wait around for the respectable centre of politics to wring their hands about the far right and racism when the middle ground is refugee torture, someone who thinks that the timid response to climate catastrophe has

1. On the surface, it would seem like Nick can bring a lot of positive things to South Australian politics. Heck, his party is even called “SA-BEST.” Sadly, the things he’s best at is pushing snake oil.

records, people are rightly taking their anger out on the major parties here and federally (and partly mirroring similar trends internationally).

got something to do with the demands of profit-driven system for the benefit of a few at the expense of the many, if this someone is you then come have a chat. We’re living in the most unequal world humanity has seen. We think it’s time for the rest of us to put an end to this authoritarian capitalism and work towards a principled politics of socialism from below.

pokies” – that is, in fact, one of his only promises. Today, there are more pokies then when he was first elected.

Unfortunately, Xenophon’s alternative is little else than Liberal politics with a smiling, SA-populist face with no answers to pressing problems. Years of neoliberalism have wrecked this state. Unless we start to get a serious left wing challenge to it, state and federal politics will be condemning itself to the same core qualities with anomalous surface appearances. 10

3. Sad.

While he promises great things, the best way to judge him is by looking at his actions. In parliament, he voted to cut $210 million from South Australian schools. He promises “no

This is a man of questionable reliability. The saddest thing is that he might be able to bring something positive, but his track record clearly shows he cannot be trusted to. Although, one positive thing SA-BEST can bring is to cause the SA Labor Party to self-reflect on its massive electoral unpopularity and perhaps consider whether this is a result of a lack of

RACHAEL INGLETON

principled approach or deeper structural flaws within the Party. 2. If you are passionate about the values and achievements of the Labor Party, Australian trade unions and transformative protest movements in Australia, or want to know more, then we strongly encourage you to join. The club is full of students with a keen interest in progressive politics and is a place to come together to discuss, debate and become actively involved in politics to shape the Australia you want. We routinely engage in activism around various issues, including labour laws, marriage equality, climate change, youth wages and other issues affecting students. The Club’s core aim is to provide a forum for people interested in student unionism, with the Club and its members currently being involved in every arm of governance and representation of the student union and the University itself.

We also have great events, including “politics in the pub”, BBQs, policy forums, and an annual camp. The Labor Club has many present and former members within the Labor Party including, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Senator Penny Wong, Premier Jay Weatherill as well as many other current sitting members in both state and federal parliament. 3. Yes, all public policy should be announced on Twitter.

1. Nick Xenophon brings nothing more to South Australia than the X Factor brings to Channel 7 – cheap ratings by broadcasting B-grade talent. At least on the X Factor one contestant will get a contractual term before becoming a has-been. The same can’t be said for SA-BEST candidates. 2. Students in the Liberal Club care about your ability to express yourself on campus. They don’t want to push protests upon you or pigeonhole you because one of your attributes. They want to have a beer, challenge ideas, and be your mates. The Liberal Club is the largest political club on campus, and maybe it’s got to do with loving beers and freedom. 3. Sometimes when I’m drunk at 3am I think it’s a good idea to tweet my inner monologue. In the morning my sobriety tells me it’s a bad idea. Trump should take note.

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: H T RA of our new

y r o t s i h r The o l l e c n a h c e c vi Words by Leila Clendon Artwork by Emily Savage

With the beginning of the new university year comes a new vice-chancellor, Peter Rathjen, who is replacing Warren Bebbington in the top-paid position at the University. The University is portraying him as an enlightened, well-educated geneticist, dedicated to serving the University where he first got his degree. However, what the administration has not mentioned is that Rathjen has a history of course-cuts, staff sackings and scandals over University-funded luxurious overseas trips during his time as vice-chancellor at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). In response to the Government cutting $35 million from UTAS in 2015, Rathjen fired 70 staff. Not only were the lives of 70 teachers and admin staff upended with the loss of their jobs, but the workload of the rest of the staff was increased and students were made to make do with less contact time and fewer

teachers. However, all of this was not as important to Rathjen as increasing his own massive salary by $250,000, to $855,000 per annum. (By the time he left he was receiving $878,000 per annum). But receiving a salary more than eight times than that of the average lecturer at UTAS wasn’t enough for Rathjen. The very same year, the ABC leaked documents showing that Rathjen billed UTAS for $52,000 worth of travel costs in less than six months, for items including spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Mexico with his wife, taking first-class flights, and spending three nights in a hotel that cost the University $1,100 per night. The administration of the University of Adelaide, like the UTAS administration, doesn’t see this as a reason not to put Rathjen in charge. In fact, all of this is completely within the terms of his contract – it’s just what vice-chancellors are expected to do.

Another example occurred last year in Rathjen’s last semester as Vice-Chancellor of UTAS. The University and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) were in the middle of a difficult Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA), the process by which the University and the teachers’ union decide on staffs’ wages and conditions. The NTEU had very simple demands for the new EBA: two percent pay rise for staff, paid family violence leave, equal pay for women, and one EBA for all staff to ensure that everyone has secure jobs. Rathjen refused to even meet with the union. He cancelled meetings with NTEU representatives on the day of the meeting three times, managing to put off the meeting for 40 weeks before leaving on yet another trip paid for by the University to Britain and Germany. Despite the fact that he left UTAS only two weeks after the trip, it was apparently necessary for him to network with other

universities, thus costing UTAS tens of thousands of dollars, rather than talking to the people who run UTAS about their wages. Rathjen left without ever finalising the EBA. Rathjen has a history of refusing to talk to staff and students. In 2015, he refused to speak to a group of students who were concerned about the University investing in fossil fuel. They were denied meetings with the University Investments Committee, the Chancellor or the ViceChancellor until they forced Rathjen’s hand by staging an eight-day occupation of his office. The students agreed to leave in exchange for the opportunity to talk to Rathjen, but even this hard fought for meeting was cancelled on the grounds that the students handed out flyers on campus. This shows that not only is Rathjen dedicated to forging bonds between the University and industries that

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have devastating effects on the planet, but he has an authoritarian approach to managing a university and won’t even listen to students who disagree with how their money is invested. We should be shocked by Rathjen’s disregard for staff and students, but not surprised. We shouldn’t be surprised because Rathjen is a carbon copy of his predecessor, Warren Bebbington, who last year increased his salary to $1,083,000 per annum. Bebbington was also responsible for the gutting of Australia’s only Indigenous Music Institution, CASM, and attempting to merge the University’s five faculties into three. We shouldn’t be surprised, because right across the country vice-chancellors play the same role of attacking staff and students, from the University of Melbourne’s Glyn Davis’s model that forces students to undertake expensive postgraduate study to specialise, to the University of Sydney’s Michael Spence refusing to increase staff wages indexed to inflation. This is because the interests of staff and students: good pay, wellfunded courses and low student to teacher ratio, directly cuts into the profits of the university, and into the pay packet of the vice-chancellor. This disparity between the interests of staff and students, and the interests of vice-chancellors is only increasing. In 1974, tertiary education was free. This was an important government initiative

for industry because the economy was fast becoming more reliant on a highly skilled workforce. There wasn’t much resistance to it, because if a company could hire an educated worker, they would receive a bigger profit from their labour than if they hired an unskilled worker. This made up for the extra tax needed to fund public universities. However, once mass university participation was established, there was a push to move the cost of education from companies that paid taxes, onto students. In 1989 university fees were reintroduced in Australia, meaning that they had to compete against each other to get students’ fees. The more students a university could attract, the more fees they could get, which meant more infrastructure, and a greater ability to attract more students, especially international students, who can be charged full fees up front. Ever since the introduction of fees, the government, whether Labor or Liberal, have cut funding from education and increased student fees, forcing universities to act more and more as private, profit driven institutions. Currently, tertiary education is Australia’s third biggest export. Rathjen has a history of successfully attacking staff and students to benefit himself, and Universities as businesses. If staff and students are going to maintain what conditions we have and fight for more, we must understand our enemy, and start fighting now.

Join the National Union of Students’ protest against the $2.1 billion education cuts on March 21.

Lease your own piece of University real estate.

Grab a locker. prices start from $15 for a year or $10 for union members. It could be the best investment you make all year. — For more info visit www.auu.org.au or visit us at Level 4, Union House

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The end of (uni) days Words by Michael Reschke The Global Financial Crisis was a bad time for a lot of people. If you’ve seen The Big Short then you know the main drill. There was a subprime mortgage crisis that led to the global financial system almost crashing. If you want to know more about this though, pick up any textbook on macroeconomics written since 2008, or Google it. Today, I’m going to focus on an entirely different aspect of the GFC. One a little more relevant to us as students than the intricacies of the mid-2000s’ US housing market dynamics. We’ll look at something we really care about: getting a grad job. The impacts of the GFC, as well as other financial crises, have a huge impact on the opportunities available to us when we graduate. This is less discussed – in part because most economists have forgotten about the chronic anxiety experienced by students as we pray that someone’ll be willing to give us a job.

I don’t think anyone will be surprised to know that the GFC killed grads’ chances of getting a grad offer. Employers stopped hiring grads because there was suddenly a pile of unemployed skilled people. Plus, grad salaries weakened. Even if you got a job, your starting salary was weaker and you’d get smaller pay rises for the first decade of employment. People who graduate during a financial crisis on average get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars less over their lifetime. (That’s a lot of brunch). Thankfully, this is a good news article. I’m not Trump’s biggest fan, but his first year in office has led to massive economic confidence in America (and they set the economic tone globally). Hence, Australia and Trumble (Trump’s pet name for the Prime Minister) have been doing pretty well. In fact, the unemployment rate now sits at 5.5% - the lowest it’s been in four years.

Join the National Union of Students’ protest against the $2.1 billion education cuts on March 21.

This means we’re living the dream. The unemployment rate is low, so all those skilled people who lost their jobs in the GFC have jobs now, and employers still need more people. So, the baby boomers who are running the big reputable employers have to scrounge around for employees and they’re turning to the meme generation, us.

most of your university life) make sure you’re keeping on top of your studies and getting involved in the uni community. You can make a difference, do good work, and make sure that you’re looking employable for when you finish your degree.

So, to everyone graduating now, go into the employment markets knowing that you’re a valued commodity. We have great graduate employment rates and strong starting salaries, especially graduates from the University of Adelaide. My one piece of advice would be to consider applying outside of South Australia though – while this economic growth has been strong, it is centralised in Sydney and Melbourne.

If you’d like to get involved in the Economics Club, sign up to the Facebook group and tag along to some events.

And to everyone not graduating, I recommend that as an insurance (just in case there is a crisis between now and your graduation, and also because it’s the best way to make the

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It’s finally your first day of University. You’ve been to O’Week, done the tours, had the chats, and picked up loads of random goodies. Your bag is packed with pens, a laptop, and an unnecessarily large notebook. Chances are you’re feeling a bit like Will from The Inbetweeners on his first day. Fortunately, you aren’t likely to get called a “briefcase wanker”.

A FirstYear's Guide to University

So what do you need to do? How can your transition to University life be as smooth as possible? Here are some tips and tricks you’ll need to survive your first year at the University of Adelaide.

FRIENDS The most obvious piece of advice you need is also the most important, make friends. Creating new friendships in your first year at university is so important if you want the next few years to be enjoyable. Sitting in a lecture or tutorial by yourself every week is not fun, and it gets old fast. It’s totally understandable that you’ll be anxious about meeting new people after going to high school with people you’ve known for years. Don’t let that hold you back. Engage with your fellow students, especially your fellow first-years. Even if it’s just someone in a tutorial or at a lecture, talk to them and find some common interests. Chat about those characters you loathe on Game of Thrones or discuss the growing pile of assignments you have coming up. What’s there to lose? And who doesn’t love hearing their mate say those four magic words: “I haven’t started either”?

Words by Andrew Showell Artwork by Emily Savage

STUDY Drafts, remember those things? Sadly, you will need to get used to the fact they are pretty much non-existent at university. Some first-year courses do have them but doing your own effective proofreading is an important thing to learn, and will become a big help throughout your time at university. One incredibly handy thing the University does, and something which you’ll really come to appreciate, is having lectures and tutorials begin ten minutes into the hour. If you have a class straight after another on the other side of campus, never fear. You’ll make it in time. Lectures are also generally recorded, which is pretty handy. Definitely check that this is the case with your lecturers however, as some lectures aren’t or can’t be recorded for a variety of reasons. There will be times when you’ll have a lot of assignments on your plate. You can usually hand them in late, but seriously, don’t. Each day after the due date that an assignment isn’t handed in, a certain percentage of your grade will be deducted. A late submission could ultimately spell the difference between a Credit and a Distinction. They say “Ps get degrees”, but what’s the harm in doing a little better?

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ACTIVITIES Get involved, and join a club! Clubs are one of the cooler parts of university life, and there are so many of them. From motorsport to politics, gaming to coffee, there’s likely to be one that piques your interest. And again, it is a great chance to meet people who like similar things. A student’s life is not complete without a trip to the UniBar. There are enough drinks, parmis and pool tables to turn you into a hermit. Play a spot of bingo when you’re there, while the staff read out everyone’s order number. Of course, I’m not saying you should blow off a class to go there…

GENERAL TIPS

Lazy Brea k fast

Before you come in for the day, charge your phone, your laptop, everything! Finding a spare power outlet is a massive game of chance that everyone has to play. Word to the wise, trying to find one anywhere in the Hub can be near impossible on a busy day. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so don’t leave the house without being all powered up. However, the Hub is open literally 24/7. Your Student ID can get you in after-hours, so take full advantage of that. There will be a point in your University career where the assignments will be piling up and you’ll need one long study session to knock them out. There are loads of spaces to set up shop and study to your heart’s content. Remember though, to be awesome and not leave your stuff lying around. All too often people will leave their gear at a table for hours, which means a person who genuinely needs to study can’t get a place. It’s totally not fair on anyone.

Ultimately, just try to enjoy your first year. There are clubs to join and people to meet. Make the most of every opportunity you are given because you never know where it might lead. Stay calm. The University will soon claim your soul (and your money).

Friday 23rd February | 11:30-1:30pm

The Cloisters Free breakfast, coffee, games and more! #getmore #AdelUniUnion

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Life as an International Student From an Asian’s perspective Words by Ciana Chin It is now time to face the day. The day when you start your university studies as a first-year student. It may be nerve-racking for a domestic student, but nothing can describe the level of anxiety that an international student experiences. The international student is forced to leave everything that they know behind for the chance of academic success abroad. Some are lucky to enrol in the same degree with their friends or have relatives living in the country. Others like myself had to tread the academic waters alone with questions of doubt. Now that I am in my final year of a law degree, I can reflect on my experience as an international student in Adelaide.

Cultural Differences between the East and West Being from an Asian (more specifically, Malaysian) culture, it was tough for me to integrate into the Australian culture for several reasons. Generally, some Asian cultures place an emphasis on academic competitiveness with anything less than a Distinction unacceptable to parents. Asian parents also prefer their children enrol in niche degrees, like law, medicine, and engineering. Studying intellectually demanding courses does not necessarily translate into skills such as outspokenness or critical thinking. As such, we would not speak up for the fear of

embarrassing ourselves. The thought of having a sense of personal freedom in Asia to express an opinion that the government might find seditious or offensive and ending up in jail, getting fined or both, as a result of voicing that opinion, is never far from our minds. I have come to observe that Australia places an emphasis on individuality. Parents do not expect their children to study or enrol in a degree that they are not personally interested in. In addition, domestic students are more outspoken as compared to their international peers.

HOMESICKNESS I am sure being homesick is familiar to most international students. It is already hard making the decision to study abroad, but to leave everything behind for the duration of the degree takes courage. An international student has to weigh all the pros and cons of pursuing a tertiary education in a foreign place. They might regret their decision when the initial excitement of living abroad wears off. On top of this, the festive seasons might be worse for an international student because it reminds them of what they are missing in their home country.

with a suspicious eye and was guarded, even in front of my good friends. Let’s just say that I struggled mentally and emotionally in my first year. Do not follow my footsteps in staying away from people. I did not like making friends because I felt that I was at a disadvantage as an international student. It did not help that I refused to confide in my friends for the fear of burdening them. I wanted to just complete my studies and graduate with the testamur. Looking back, I realised that I would not have suffered from homesickness if I had simply learnt to open up.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

I understand that making new friends may be difficult, but you should always try your best. After all, you would not know who you might meet. Reach out to your friends whom you trust and confide in them. They will help to cheer you up. In addition, the friendships you have with them might turn into life-long ones. This is why I now believe that having a good support system is essential to

A strong support system to lift you up when you’re down will make it easier to deal with homesickness. The people who support you are your friends and they want to see you happy as well. I didn’t know this when I first arrived in Adelaide. I glanced at everyone

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LAW & ORDER Words by Sidharth Prasad

As household incomes across the country continue to fall year by year, it has become increasingly important that grassroots services are able to maintain a level of safety for those who need it most. Over the last fifteen years, the Adelaide Law School has established a range of free clinics around the city to help those with no other way to access legal assistance. Each of these clinics has a different focus and is staffed entirely by students from the University of Adelaide in their penultimate and final years. overcoming difficult circumstances. If you’re uncomfortable with sharing your predicament to your friends, you can always seek the assistance of a University counsellor. Talking to your parents might also help because you are getting all your preoccupations off your chest.

REverse Culture shock In all honesty, I think this is something that we international students don’t give much thought to. Everyone expects the culture shock, but not the reverse culture shock. Nobody expects their hometown to undergo drastic changes during their absence, right? When I returned to Malaysia, it felt like I was looking at the place from the eyes of a visitor, not from a local perspective. There was too much going on. New buildings that I

didn’t recognise, my favourite joints either moved to another place or have closed down and there was an extension of the light rapid transit (LRT) to my suburb. The LRT is similar to our Adelaide trams, but with a couple of differences. The trams are operated by a driver and it features street running, in which the tram driver shares the road with other drivers. LRT, on the other hand, is an alternative form of public transport that uses a similar railway to trams. It operates electronically, eliminating the need for a driver. Before this, I had to take the train to the transit hub and hop on the LRT if I wanted to head to the city centre. I also struggled with the lack of civic consciousness among vehicle drivers, who might not allow the pedestrians the right of way. They may also slam the horn to get their way.

Students research and draft documents under the guidance of a practicing solicitor, allowing them to develop practical legal skills while also making a difference in the community. Although there are some limits to the services offered by these clinics, students nevertheless aim to assist clients with managing their own cases or can refer them to other agencies who have the capacity to handle more complex matters. At the start of this year, the Adelaide Law School embarked on a joint venture with the Equal Opportunity Commission to establish a new legal service: the Equal Opportunity Commission Legal Advice Service (EOCLAS). Based out of the Equal Opportunity Commission offices, this clinic focusses primarily on matters concerning discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. The EOCLAS represents the first legal clinic of its kind in South Australia and is a long overdue measure in helping those who are most at risk of discrimination. With the aim of giving a voice to marginalised members of society, the EOCLAS is able to offer an array of services. From determining whether clients actually have a claim, to advising them in legal matters - the extent of these services is considerable. They also provide advice on the conciliation process and making complaints to the Equal Opportunity Commission, as well as documenting preparation for hearings at tribunals. By advising clients of their rights, the service empowers them to assess their rights and feel confident in their action. The EOCLAS operates every Monday out of the Equal Opportunity Commission offices located at 45 Pirie Street on Level 17. To make an appointment call 08 8207 1977 or head to www.eoclasappointment.as.me

I hope that by sharing my personal experiences living in Adelaide, it will help any struggling international student to understand that they are not alone.

For more information about this and other clinics head to the Adelaide Law School website.

– On Dit –

Artist Feature

Anzelle de Kock Follow me on: Website anzelledesigns.com Instagram instagram.com/anzelledesigns Store redbubble.com/people/anzelledesigns/shop Facebook facebook.com/anzelledesigns/

I was born in a small town not too far from Johannesburg, South Africa in 1996. In 2009, my family and I moved to Adelaide. I completed year 7 here and moved to Whyalla the year after, where I completed high school. When I was younger I loved to draw and create but lost that as I grew older. Five years ago I had no idea how to use Photoshop, but I liked this guy who I knew was taking up the design class in year 11, so I decided to take that same class. By the time the class started in second semester I didn’t like him anymore but I found love in Adobe. Later on I

designs on shirts, phone cases and stationery (definitely go and check that out!).

taught myself how to use Illustrator, InDesign and After Effects by using YouTube and online articles.

course overseas in Florence, Italy with a bunch of Australian students and a few others from Vienna, India, Ukraine and even America. We had industry professionals teaching us new skills in areas such as branding, digital publication, photography, and typography. I was shown a completely different way to approach a design project, which since has proven to be beneficial in my work.

Designing content for the Adelaide University Media Association (AUMA) is where my confidence started to grow. I put my hand up to design a poster for a small event in 2016, and since then have been doing all of their graphic design work. This experience has helped me to develop my skills. In 2016 I launched my website where I showcase my work including personal, university projects and paid work. I have recently started my design Instagram where I promote my work in a fun way while also learning about social media marketing through this experience. I have also started my online store through Redbubble where I sell my 26

Since starting my freelance business I have worked for organisations who empower women from all over the world. My work has been featured on Good Morning America, and has been used by women all over the United States and Canada last year. I have made film posters, Fringe show posters, and pub crawl shirts for the AUMA. Last year, I studied an Advanced Graphic Design

Now I am starting my last semester of university, and I am nervous about what happens after. I would love to work as a graphic designer involved particularly with promotions or publication, or maybe even some packaging design (that sounds like a fun, yet challenging task). I’ve come a long way from being the kid who used to esign stuff on Microsoft Paint (R.I.P. 1985-2017), to making designs that can be seen worldwide.

– On Dit –

Iran Protests:

the good kind of fire and fury Words by Jack Crawford

Iran has recently undergone its most profound radicalisation since the revolution of 1979. That revolution brought down the Shah’s regime, but was destroyed by the Islamic Republic, which had to fight for months to subdue the labour movement, women’s rights protests, and rebellious national minorities. At the time of writing, people are marching through the streets calling for a new revolution and giving the government such a heart attack that it has had to shut down the Internet in many areas. The regime may survive the current unrest, but we have witnessed a massive development of radical political opposition. The protesters have been incredibly brave in defying the repressive state and attacking its institutions with a seething hatred. Across the nation, workers are ripping down posters of the Supreme Leader and burning them. Police stations, cars, and motorcycles have been attacked and set on fire. Strikers have not been silenced when threatened by employers’ goons. Women have publicly protested their repression by tearing off headwear. The demonstrations also have an obvious class character. Signs of affluence such as rich people’s cars and banks have been attacked. Moods in crowds have seemed totally electric and riotous. Merely to watch snippets of footage online is exhilarating. In Tehran, with more widespread repression and a generally more affluent population, the protesters have been up against pro-Government demonstrations, which have held pictures of Ayatollah Khamenei and chanted “Death to seditionists”. But sectarianism and Persian chauvinism, some of the key means by which the Iranian state has divided its population, have collapsed outside the capital. In the words of a friend of mine, an Ahwazi Arab refugee from Iran, “persecuted ethnic minorities such as Ahwazi Arabs, Baluchis and Lure people are in the heart of this struggle. This is now a full fight for the liberation of all working class and oppressed people in Iran.”

Austerity and the state The main political character of the movement is being militantly anti-regime. Some of the main slogans include “Death to Rouhani,” “Death to the dictator,” “freedom for political prisoners,” etc. And yet the outburst has been largely explained as resulting from the deteriorating economic conditions for masses of people in Iran. To explain this, we need to understand that the economic and political become completely intertwined and inseparable for people during times of crisis. Iran has undergone a neoliberal austerity offensive that is all too familiar across the world today. A few simple facts illustrate the dire economic situation. Poverty and unemployment are widespread, with the average Iranian’s income falling by 15% in the past decade. Four in ten people live below the relative poverty line. Labour rights are dreadful, and

There has been a strike wave in the lead-up to the recent movement, involving teachers, nurses, and industrial workers. This has shown how the people’s struggle to gain some extra pay or assert some industrial dignity is met by resistance from the state. Political freedoms of speech, assembly, the press, and organisation are repressed. Economic impoverishment and political repression are especially acute when combined with the particular repressions of rights aimed at women, non-Persian national minorities, and non-Shi’ite religious minorities. President Rouhani’s recent budget exacerbated public outrage by continuing austerity measures. No wonder then, that an explosion of protest, rooted in economic grievances, could so quickly find revolutionary political conclusions: overthrow the

the minimum wage is shit-all – $230 per month – and often isn’t enforced.

ruling system!

But combined with this economic state of affairs is the public knowledge of their rulers’ stark priorities. Iran increasingly wants to assert its regional influence and compete with rivals such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, and so has been spending billions of dollars to fund its military and its numerous foreign interventions in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. In 2017 alone, Iran increased its military budget by 145%, while the population is given more austerity.

Anti-war slogans The other major aspect of the demands being raised by protesters, is that Iran cease its foreign interventions throughout the Middle East. Popular chants have included “Leave Syria alone and think about us” and “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my soul is for the redemption of Iran.” Plenty of people have commented on the nationalist tone of these demands. However, I think we need to recognise them as progressive.

– On Dit –

Over the years, the rulers of Iran have been trying to project their regional power to successfully wage their regional Cold War with Saudi Arabia, a key ally of the West. These two states mirror each other in terms of authoritarianism and war-mongering. Iran’s tools have been political influence in countries like Lebanon, brutal sectarian militias in Iraq, and most aggressively of all they have become the main force on the ground in Syria - propping up Assad and slaughtering the 2011 revolution. That the demands of the current Iranian uprising totally undermine this imperialist strategy shows the extent of radicalism, the fullness of the break with Iran’s rulers. The anti-war demand to do with Syria in particular, is exactly how internationalist solidarity is supposed to work: the funding of military ventures both takes much-needed resources from Iranian public welfare and brings untold violence to ordinary Syrians. The people voicing these chants understand that they have nothing to gain from war, only their rulers do. This is not to deny the plurality of the politics within the protest movement, or the mixed nature of consciousness. It is to show a general progressive content in working-class aspirations.

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Western snakes The protesters should not be associated with shitheads like Donald Trump who have voiced very shallow and cynical support for the movement. No imperialists want genuine liberation for the people in Iran, they just want a government they can do business with. What we have seen is an independent movement of masses in Iran, challenging a status quo that is all too familiar around the world: neoliberalism, inequality, authoritarianism, militarism, etc. If a similar movement raged in the US, the golden letters on Trump Tower would be the first symbol torn down, doused in petrol, and set alight. No matter the immediate outcome, the protests reveal a great potential in the world today for working-class action and revolutionary defiance. They should be an inspiration for all of us to resist our Trumps, our Ayatollah equivalents. The upsurge reveals that capitalism in crisis is still as prone as ever to generate fierce resistance to itself. It reveals how masses of people can become fed up with moderate reforms, and demand so much more from their lives: revolution!

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ease your own piece of University real estate. – On Dit – Nick Xenophon was elected as an independent in 1997 and has frequented the upperhouses of state and federal parliaments ever since. Originally the “no pokies” candidate, he has rebranded himself numerous times, now presenting himself as “fighting for South Australia” against parties dominated by the interests of other states. By contesting lower house seats in the upcoming state election, his aim is to gain the balance of power. He has repeatedly stated that he will not accept cabinet positions if he achieves this aim. This approach may seem harmless, but if realised would do terrible damage to the concept of accountable government.

SA-BEST, not the Best for SA Words by Felix Eldridge

Cabinet portfolios are coveted amongst MPs, because they symbolise a rise in personal power and prestige. To parties, especially junior coalition partners, control of important portfolios displays political clout. However, ministerial positions also bring huge responsibilities as ministers become the public face of their departments. In a scandal, the public will first blame the minister, and by implication, their party, regardless of whether they or their department were at fault. This is the socially accepted arrangement; more power equals more responsibility. This social contract is under peril if SA-BEST gains the balance of power, because Mr. Xenophon will sit on the crossbench, extorting whatever he wants from whichever party forms government, $15 fornoapublic year or $10forfor union while taking responsibility any failings – even members. if they were directly caused

Grab a locker.

prices start from by his policies. This plan to quietlyyou shirk responsibility is very clever politically, but It could be the best investment make all year. circumvents executive — accountability, the foundation of all healthy democracies. For more info visit www.auu.org.au Political parties broadly separate into two groups: those who intend to form or visit us atand Level 4, Union House government, those who wish to extort concessions from governments.

Xenophon’s party is the latter, because it does not contest all seats and attempt to win power outright. Instead, it positions itself as - well let’s be honest - a “parasite party”, created to feed from someone else’s majority because it cannot conceivably survive on its own. If Mr. Xenophon truly believes that he can bring positive change to South Australia, he should strive to form a majority government. He should be prepared to accept the responsibilities of cabinet positions and he should be eager to demonstrate if his “common-sense alternatives” work.

March 9 · 12pm – 2pm BBQ (vegetarian, vegan & GF options) Barr Smith Lawns Free for Members $5 non-members

The sad thing is, Nick Xenophon has many admirable qualities, both personally and politically, and he has served us well in the Senate. Make no mistake though, a vote for SA-BEST is not a vote for the stable and accountable government that SA needs.

#AdelUniUnion #getmore

– On Dit –

T S E T A E THE GR

N A M E NOP Words by Caitlin Ellen Moore Artwork by Nozhat Hassan

P.T. Barnum, dubbed “history’s greatest showman”, was not a great person. He owned slaves at a time when slavery was outlawed, started an industry notorious for its cruelty towards animals, and exploited people for their disabilities or “oddities”. None of this, except a slight inclination that he may be using his band of performers for his own gain, is shown in the film The Greatest Showman. From the opening scene of the film, I was hooked. Hugh Jackman’s top-hatted silhouette called me into a magical musical that touched on love, loss, acceptance and family. I was tearing up in the first ten minutes for a boy who gave everything for the love of his life. Then came the ensemble cast of bearded ladies, tattooed men, Zac Efron (#WILDCATS), and a dwarf, who sang catchy songs that I was already committing to memory and adding to my Spotify playlists. I left the cinema with a

beaming smile, humming the last song of the film. Then it hit me. The Greatest Showman does what P.T Barnum did back in his day; fooled us all into thinking we need what he’s offering.

Here’s the thing: We don’t need any more stories glorifying shitty people. I’m not saying we should stop making films about problematic people. I’m saying we should stop making films that paint these people in shiny lights. Films should expose them, teach the public that their additions to society came from a place of cruelty, and that their intentions were never pure. Barnum was in it for himself, and his selfish motivations started a hundred years of animal cruelty and exploitation of people for their differences.

Why don’t we make this film about the people who actually made the show worth seeing and how Barnum used their rarities for his own personal gain? Show us who the Oddities were and use that as a way to show how problematic “history’s greatest showman” actually was. This could have explored the interracial relationship between Zefron and Zendaya’s characters - something that was frowned upon at the time. It could have opened up insights into the struggles of bearded ladies, tattooed folk, dwarves, and animal cruelty. It could have been nicely wrapped Disney-style musical gift that teaches kids that life was shit back then and people can exploit your differences, but as long as you know who you are, you can beat that. The biggest song to come out of the film, This Is Me, attempts to shine a light on the minor characters. Led by Keala Settle’s Bearded Lady, the Oddities

realise Barnum is ashamed of them and doesn’t want them consorting with the high society he aspires to be a part of. He’s using them. We then get 10 minutes devoted to these characters who are what Barnum has built his own industry on. We see that they know who they are, and that no matter what words are thrown at them they are together and can fight anything. But the issue is that we have no idea who they are, we don’t even know their names. We just know that they can pull off a great ensemble piece. Society is calling “times up” on problematic people. Cutting them out of the film industry and holding them accountable for their actions. Whilst a stunning film with a powerful soundtrack, The Greatest Showman shows us that we need to take a step further and cut problematic characters from our stories. Let’s shine a light on the hidden gems of history, not glorify people like Barnum.

– On Dit –

A Conversation with Matt Stewart Interview by Austin Frape

I had the chance to talk with Melbourne comedian Matt Stewart, who is performing at the Adelaide Fringe with his touring stand up performance DRY GINGER MALE (how could you pass up seeing him based on that pun?). Matt Stewart is the 2014 RAW comedy award winner, co-owner of the production company Stupid Old Studios and co-host of the factual comedy podcast, Do Go On. We discussed his beginnings in the Melbourne comedy scene, his process of making jokes and what makes stand-up a unique experience. On an unrelated note, he also brought up famous University of Adelaide alumni including another comedian Shaun Micallef, and we discovered facts about William Lawrence Braggs. Matt was a great guy to talk with and a really fun interviewee. To begin with, how did you get involved in the comedy scene and how did that lead towards stand up and your other mediums like Stupid Old Studios or Do Go On? MS: Comedy has always been something I’ve enjoyed ever since I was younger when I would go to Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but it never seemed like something that I could actually do. It seemed like a different breed of skill sets was needed, even with people in my life telling me that I should give it a go. I became a part of a youth radio station called SYN (Student Youth Network) because I wanted to get involved in radio or television. I eventually met Andy Mathews, Evan Munro-Smith, Bec Petraitis, and Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall, where we made sketches and posted them on YouTube. We formed Stupid Old Studios, which is a production company for comedy-based content. With Do Go On, one of the hosts, Dave Warneke, had an office at Stupid Old Studios. He had an idea for a podcast where each week one person would have a topic and discuss it with their co-host and it would rotate between the hosts. We recorded a few episodes and it was so much fun and was something that we wanted to continue. We decided to also bring in a comedian friend of ours, Jess Perkins, who was interested in the idea and now, three years later, we’re up to 110+ episodes. We’ve done some live shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and we’re also looking to go overseas soon. Al and Andy started doing stand-up soon after we founded Stupid Old Studios. I was still hesitant on doing it, but I was kind of forced into doing a performance when one night, I was told that I was booked to do a show at the end of the week, which was fun (laughs). But that eventually led me to doing all these shows and winning RAW in 2014. And that’s my boring comedy background (laughs).

– On Dit –

Describe the process of what type of jokes you want to include in your shows; do you prefer planning punch lines beforehand, do you prefer improvising, or a bit of both? MS: DRY GINGER MALE is based around different current topics that I thought were worth putting a comedic spin on. Masculinity and politics are sort of a key themes that are integrated into the show and I kind of go from there with finding what I think are good jokes. It makes it easier to have jokes planned beforehand, even if they don’t always land. I think audiences also like a good humorous life story that ties into the theme without necessarily describing every single detail. It kind of goes “here is the story and I’ll emphasise on the funnier parts”.

FREE W

MS: It’s definitely an experience that can’t be captured when watching a comedy at the movies or on TV. Both the comedian and the audience are sharing kind of an intimate moment where one person is trying desperately hard to engage a large group of people while that group is responding to the idiot standing on a stage, in a both positive and negative way. Whether it’s the funniest joke that captures everyone’s sense of humour or the biggest crash and burn imaginable, you pretty much need to be prepared for whatever can happen.

OU ITH Y R

Lastly, what do you think makes stand up comedy a unique experience for both the comedian and the audience?

FREE W

Improvisation requires a lot of quick thinking and it can be pretty fun at times. Improv moments are great if you have someone with you on stage or interactions with audiences. But when doing a show, you do need to have something in mind beforehand otherwise the crowd is just watching a moron trying to be funny.

Wed 21 Secret Lineup Feb

See the best of the Adelaide Fringe right here on campus

Matt Stewart’s show DRY GINGER MALE will be playing from February 15th to March 2nd at The Cranny at The Producers. Don’t miss out!

UNIBAR DOORS OPEN 4pm 44

Previous acts have included: Luke McGreggor, Joel Creasy, Arj Barker, Dave Hughes and more

#getmore #AdelUniUnion

– On Dit –

– On Dit – perfectly curating your friendship group to be as supportive, welcoming, and fabulous as possible, it is a little bit daunting to be so upended, with a group of entirely new people. Again, this feeling of displacement is the same for all exchange students, except for the times when it’s just a little bit different. The times when you want to talk about things directly related to being queer. When you feel like you need that little safe space. A place where you can be yourself, and talk about the things that affect you, with people who understand. And then there are the times when the prime minister of your home country decides to organise a postal vote on marriage equality.

Suitcases & Safe Spaces Words by Holly Nicholls Artwork by Genevieve Mohacsy

This time last year, I was on exchange. On the other side of the world, alone, in the snow. The snow! So beautiful, so cold, so easy to slip on. These are my strongest memories of my first week living in Copenhagen. My second week, I was less alone. I had made friends. The snow was starting to melt. I was walking through the park, still mind blown at the fact I lived here now, when I saw them. Lesbians. Holding hands. I was staring. Nobody else cared. “Welcome to Denmark”, I thought to myself, “the first country in the world to allow same sex civil unions, home of the progressive Nordic ethos, and a whole street of gay bars. Now stop staring before these women think you hate them.” You see, there were two things nobody told me before I went on exchange. The first was straightforward; how often your phone will just turn itself off in the cold. Here’s my advice: if it’s below zero, a portable charger is your hero. Catchy, right? The second was a little more difficult; navigating the

intricacies of being on exchange when you’re queer. Well, “intricacies” is not really the right word. It’s kind of the same feeling for all exchange students, except that sometimes it’s not. Not only are you removed from your home and familiar surroundings, you also move away from a community that’s important to you, and that you spent a long time becoming comfortable within. Sometimes you make a new friend, and you think, “do I have to tell them I’m gay?” And then you think, well, I am wearing tartan pants, a flannelette shirt, and my hair is dyed pink. But they are from Texas. Oh, but Austin, Texas. And then you tell them you have a girlfriend, and they don’t care. But a part of you wishes they cared! Where can I find other gays? Can you post in your mentor group Facebook page “WANTED: fellow homosexuals and other queers to visit the entire street of gay bars with.” Can you go alone? Okay, so maybe I overthink things slightly. But when you’ve spent your university years

I wasn’t technically on exchange at this point – I’d taken a semester off to backpack around the rest of Europe – but I remember exactly where I was when the announcement was made: sitting on my bed in Glasgow. I’d just woken up, it was a miserable Scottish summer’s day, and I could feel the clouds outside begin to envelop me. The thing about hostel rooms is that they’re not really a socially acceptable place in which to scream at the top of your lungs. I did a lot of walking that day. Suddenly, my country was holding a survey asking, “should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” – which we all know was a proxy vote on who could actually accept my queer existence. I was removed from the vitriol at home. I watched from afar as hate poured through our community through ads, or pamphlets, or verbal and physical violence. But I was also removed from the support of my friends and loved ones. From people who understood the anguish this was causing. I would meet other Australians, and it would be the first thing they’d talk about. “Oh, isn’t it just awful,” they’d say. They’d assume I was straight. I’d meet people from America, or Europe, flabbergasted to discover Australia didn’t have marriage equality already. “Your country is so backwards,” they’d say. They’d assume I was

straight. There was no asking if I was okay, no thought that, oh, this person might actually be hurting as a result of this. I never brought it up, of course. I was backpacking, I was supposed to be having fun, to be living in the moment. Who introduces themselves to a stranger

“... you need that little safe space. A place where you can be yourself, and talk about the things that affect you, with people who understand” in a backpacker’s bar and says, “oh, a government minister today suggested that if I can marry my girlfriend, I might decide to marry a bridge next! Ha ha ha.” If this was an agony aunt column, I would suggest that you should reach out like this. And sure, sometimes that works. When you’re on exchange, or you’re travelling alone, you’re already so far out of your comfort zone you can afford to put yourself out there. You know that if someone doesn’t respond the way you want them to, you literally never have to speak to them again. You can be brave, and go to the gay bar alone, or find a university group. See if there’s a pride march on. Buy those rainbow-sequined jeans and go to that dress up party as the actual rainbow. But some days, that just won’t be easy to do. The happy ending is that I came home, and we won. But that win does not negate the pain it caused at the time. At the time, all I wanted was a safe space.

– On Dit –

Life Changes Don’t expect to see a change if you don’t make one... Words and Artwork by Emma Agars

Time and time again I’ve learned that some of the smallest things can have a large impact. Not unlike a ripple in water, the waves can go on and on still affecting things. In my case, a series of small but significant changes and big decisions created substantial ripples in my life. My first year out of high school proved to teach me a lot more than I’d bargained for, and most of these lessons happened outside the classroom. I’m also a big believer in controlling how you react to situations, because the reaction itself counts more than the situation. This was a massive motivator in making those changes after seeing what I could have done better, and then deciding the best course of action. From mistakes, from lack of action and from late realisations was born experience. An invaluable teacher which only comes if you’re really living.

– On Dit –

My first year at university was an emotional rollercoaster. The first six months were fuelled by late nights, alcohol and a need to search for where I would eventually fit in. However, the price to pay for a lot of late nights was getting horribly sick during the Winter School holiday period. Even worse, I was shaken by a break up and the loss of my wonderful grandfather not too long after. Needless to say, it taught me to look after myself. After scraping through Winter School, I slipped into survival mode, not allowing myself to grieve for either of these significant losses. It took me a long time to see that I had shut down emotionally, and an even longer time to slowly come out of it. During this process, I cut down on alcohol, forced myself to go to bed early to get better sleep (despite being a night owl) and eventually, I began to let myself feel again. I started to choose people I felt genuinely supported by, limited time on my phone and opted to spend quality time with people I cared about.

Aside from having atrocious habits, I was also plagued by an ongoing injury. I made the mistake of not using what spare time I had to work on rehabilitation. The lack of exercise took its toll and caused a second injury. Only now, after being in pain at work, home, and just enjoying myself with friends, did I make the effort to rehabilitate. Another change I made during the holidays was putting more effort towards my passions. Brushing up on skills I’d had an interest in previously, or wanted to pick up, was a great way to expand my versatility and relate to more people. I put a lot of outside work towards graphic design for my degree, not only to keep up my ideas but to push them further. My grades were decent, but I didn’t feel in the ‘designer’ mindset yet. The more I drew, sketched and practiced, the more I became comfortable. Essentially, I began to prioritise the things that would continue making an impact in the great ocean that is my life. I know I’ll still be feeling the waves from these decisions for years to come.

Through better habits and routines, the fog of late nights and dreadful sleep finally let up. Things became clearer and more solidified. A more balanced and happy life emerged. After university finished, the long break divulged a new opportunity in the form of a part-time job. Having never had one before, I was unsure how I would handle it. At first, the hours and expectations were overwhelming. I became tense and stressed, but it was a good learning experience. Over time, I became better at managing long shifts and still getting a good night’s sleep.

My ideas and goals for the future are to build on the changes I’ve made. I think I’m on the way to having a strong foundation, which is essential to having confidence in these important decisions. I aim to eat a more balanced and healthy diet, get back into sport, keep developing my passions and hobbies, reach out to more people who really see my value, take opportunities, take risks, and to not be afraid. Life has thrown me a few curveballs, but I’ve always known I had the strength to handle them - it took some time to find it, but it was always there.

– On Dit –

• Prioritise sleep • Choose people carefully, they either inspire you or drain you • Push yourself, but know your limits • Work hard • Don’t live on your phone • Develop your interests • Take risks, be gutsy • Follow your heart • Expect the unexpected • Organisation is key • Balance • Take time out for your soul

Artwork by Kiri Marker

– On Dit –

SETBACKS SETBACKS AND WHY WE POSSIBLY NEED THEM IN LIFE

Words by Francesca Castandiello

Going way back into our childhood, many of us are familiar with the notion that “hard work always pays off”, or that things, without fail, will turn out the way we want them to as long as we put the effort. In primary school, as long as we completed our homework and tidied up after recess, we would always come home with a big star stamped on the back of our hands to proudly show off to our parents with a pleased grin. It was this kind of harmless naivety that led us to believe as adults, that the world is a piece of cake as long as we did what was written in the manual of life. Contrary to this childhood perspective, growing older has unfortunately made me realise that this is not entirely true. If you are still yet to experience your good share of them, setbacks are something that temporarily impede our success and progress and are also (to the dismay of many) an inevitable part of life. Getting that disappointing C grade, a rejected job application, failing a driving test, losing the championship league, an overly demanding boss, or the general feeling of helplessness – these are all setbacks. Just a year ago, I was faced with a piece of news that rendered all the blood, sweat and tears that I have shed the past eleven months of school futile. I received a call informing me that I did not receive an offer on a program that I have been dreaming of getting into since I was fourteen. I spent the next

few weeks convincing myself that I did my best, yet I was still confounded by the fact that all the effort I exerted did not really pay off at all. In my mind, I thought that working hard always (I mean ALWAYS) meant you would get what you wanted right away – but this notion failed me at that time. It was not until six months later and after lodging another application despite my growing apprehension to fail again, that I eventually received an email stating that I was finally accepted into the program I had always wanted. This incident opened my eyes to the reality of the world, and for someone who isn’t used to experiencing life hiccups like this, this was merely a test on whether I was strong enough to bounce back and rise above it.

Millennials hate waiting, but in reality, certain things take time. The world we live in has no doubt become increasingly high-tech throughout the years. People like us who were born around the late 20th century are just so accustomed to everything happening at the snap of a finger – may it be video-calling someone living across the planet in high-definition video, cooking a meal out of a packet, sending live photos through countless media platforms or even getting an Uber which now usually takes less than ten minutes. We want things to happen as fast as they can and

when we want them to happen. But the thing is, not everything can be earned all at once. People do not traverse their way through life on a completely straight path, as most of the time, there are obstacles that we come across and eventually have to overcome in order to keep moving forward. These hindrances slow us down and it may even make us take a moment to pause and re-evaluate life at some point – and that’s normal. Our love for expediting processes in life for the sake of instant gratification is overrated. It’s a clichéd term for most people, but the truth is, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that means one cannot be successful in a span of twenty-four hours. Joy and fulfillment takes time, and achieving those things is a product of waiting and enduring all the curveballs life throws at you.

Detours in life are okay. Didn’t get what you wanted the first time? That’s okay. It may be necessary for some of us to embark on less direct and slightly crooked paths to achieve the outcome we want, but life is all about the journey right? Sometimes having to go through countless of gruelling jobs and dealing with perverse colleagues makes landing your dream job a million times more rewarding. Having to experience a number of heartbreaks only lays the groundwork that ultimately prepares us to do the right thing when the right person comes into our life. Pain equates to growth, and growth makes

one equipped to deal with adversities better in the future. To quote the acclaimed Paul Coelho, “We make a lot of detours, but we’re always heading for the same destination”. Delayed success simply reminds us that even humans make mistakes, and the more willing we are to accept that reality means we are creating more space to learn, grow and use these setbacks as stepping stones to personal development and success.

Setbacks make us imperfectly human. Commencing a new year and a new and unfamiliar stage of your life, (in this case, starting university) will always be terrifying. Suddenly, you no longer walk into buildings where you know every single room, and the safety net of high school walls are now a thing of the past. This year, you’ll meet people of different ages, beliefs, cultural backgrounds, opinions, intelligence, and it will feel like a whole new world. The real world. And just like it is in the real world, you won’t be immune to setbacks and challenges. Living life without having to struggle at all makes life too easy and stagnant. We humans are programmed to experience the entire spectrum of emotions and happiness is just one of them. What makes life worth living is braving the anxiety, sadness, nervousness, and fears of life because the only way we can truly appreciate happiness is knowing what it’s like to be without it, even for a short while.

– On Dit –

Content Warning: Sexual Assault, Self-Harm

BLURRED LINES Words by Grace Burke

A name all pretty in blue can make my whole body seize up. A couple of shades brighter than my own eyes, a similar blue to February skies, it’s a Facebook hyperlink. The blue name leads to this profile where you can see: Hey, this guy studies at the same university I did. He likes anime. Other people think his status updates are funny. I never knew seeing someone’s name like that could consume me in this forgotten terror. I am choking. Every time feels like a new bruise; his name in blue. Yet another hue of lilac blossoms across my collar-bone. My mind is indigo storm clouds. Thunder reverberates through an empty car-lot; echoes off of cold concrete and the worn white smudges of the black tarmac. My ex-boyfriend used words like “rape” and “sexual assault”, but it all seems too extreme for what really happened. The voices in my head keep reasoning with the other parts of me, the sad parts, the angry parts. I once believed people shouldn’t use your need as a gateway. A window carelessly left open, an entryway to rob the home. Strip it bare. Tear the plasma screen off the wall. It’s the age-old analogy: who actually leaves their front door unlocked these days? Talk about careless. When you let yourself get too fucked up, the usual boundaries become obsolete. What’s left is a picket fence half demolished. Everything is white and shiny until the paint peels. A suburban nightmare. The night comes back to me in fragments: scattered specks of faded white paint, worn down and broken. It was during Fringe time. The atmosphere is electric. The air sweats anticipation as we meander along the riverfront. We swap stories, exchange dreams like it’s the highest form of currency. Lights reflect off the stoneblack water of the Torrens. Tongues twitch for travel - thirst for the silvery juices of the moon. Dripping – we are present. We are alive. I should have gone home.

Hours pass and I am in the upstairs room of a club. My boots painfully peeling off the sticky graveyard of vodka-soda limes, like fresh lime, and VCRs. RIP. Nothing matters. I could be anyone. My mind is a prison, chains taught against my neck, crushing the breath from me; crushing the words in my throat before they can reach my scarlet bitten tongue. Voices echo. A borrowed banknote later, and the chains are silvery coils of moonlight floating like ribbons around me. Euphoria is in the silence of my mind, in being lost in the now. The boy in the plaid shirt who is kinda cute, keeps handing me drinks, golden cider sloshing over the rims of stained plastic cups. Maybe I keep handing him drinks? Everything’s a blur, a dictionary cut apart and glued together, definitions are not so clear from now on. Words are scattered like memories across my damp garden. My lounge room swarms with people. What is happening? I am crying on the cold bathroom floor. The contents of the cabinet scattered across the off-white tiles. Defeat burns the back of my throat, worse than cheap vodka. My head feels like the entire world spinning off its axis, out of control, pounding. I couldn’t find the razors. I couldn’t find the sharps. The words are icicles unable to penetrate skin. I am shaking. The boy in the plaid shirt who was kinda cute picks me up off the floor. He wraps his arms around me and holds me. My voice crawls, defeated, into his left ear, “I just want to die.” The boy in the plaid shirt fastens his leather-wristband around my own, pale, paper-thin wrists. He tells me no. He tells me, “it’s gonna be okay.” My face softens into his blue shirt – the blue of his fingerprints on my upper arm – the blue of his comfort. He tries to kill my pain with his body, because he cares. My muscles are rioting but I am feeble. My attempts are worthless. I am pushing at him. Shoving. “No.”

– On Dit –

His body is an avalanche. A tsunami.

I order him a cab.

His weight crashes into me.

I give the boy in the plaid shirt a hug goodbye.

Everything,

I am hollowed out sycamore, a puppet.

blue.

I do what I have been taught to do my entire life:

No.

“Be polite. At all costs, dear, don’t make a scene.”

Am I even saying this out loud anymore?

The perfect hostess is left alone in her wooden dollhouse, forever playing her part.

My voice has battered and bloodied hands from trying to beat down the stone walls of its prison. There’s no escape. I can barely breathe. If he hears me, he gives no indication. Every part of me stiffens. This body no longer belongs to me. Torn apart, everything transcends into darkness. *

I wake in my bed, gasping. It doesn’t feel like my bed. The boy in the plaid shirt has his head between a pair of legs. I think they belong to me. Everything is wet and

Social media agrees. The blue letters blur on my phone screen, the white light harsh against my sore, swollen eyes. It has been months of raining splinters, fragments of wood propelled from storm clouds onto the hollowed body I have been slowly learning is my own. Is there a name for the way the boy in the plaid shirt acted? Everything seems harsh, too real. I did say no, but eventually the words became silent, my mouth opening and closing like the gullet of a fish.

Throughout it all, my eyes were screaming, my arms pushing against his weight. There were tears, over-intoxication. Shock choked out the words, after a while, a frozen body. A head lulling in and out of consciousness, eyes rolling back, his face seized with determination, desire, and pain.

My favourite colour used to be blue.

drowning.

Throughout it all, he kept saying, “We like each other. We like each other.” His words a plea, that echoes through my mind daily. I’m still not sure who he was trying to convince.

I am drowning I am drowning

How could I let this happen? Sunlight streams down onto the polished timber floorboards. I make him a coffee.

This is my fault. I bought him drinks. I smiled at him. He took my refusal as coyness. He thinks his body was my anchor. He saved me. He thinks if we cannot be anything more, at least we are friends.

I don’t think he knows what he did.

– On Dit –

Keep our Metro to Keep urselves! Words by Brayden Johns, a Commuter

The wind is miserable, and the bus is late, and in ten minutes (maybe) you are late, and the bus is miserable. The way of the Metro. Fashionably hated – as much as driving in the city, even. Honk! It’s true – buses pick you up physically, but never emotionally. I like it. It’s humanising. The Metro will never take you where you want to go, but it will take you where you need to be – the real destination was inside us all along. Mussolini was the man who taught another man how to goose step, and we now know that other man as the brutal dictator – General Franco. His (Mussolini’s) very first idea was to make the trains run on time, and very shortly afterward a lot of his people were dead, and quite a lot more had surrendered and taught the English the secret to Bolognese. If God wanted the English to have cuisine, it would have been so. It was a secret their minds were clearly not meant for – now Nigel Farage is clinging to the Cliffs of Dover and vigorously paddling. Thus, one man’s transportational ambitions have led to so many atrocities; the trains, evidently, are meant to be late. Last year, riding the T840 back into the distant rolling hills, I met a man, and I’m glad I did. He was an elderly Vietnamese man who offered me a Mentos. I did not double-check to confirm that it was a Mentos, for I was a simple, trusting country boy. He then showed me his bullet scars and declared that the Chinese would invade, and that he would fight them again when they did. I err: he claimed that the Chinese already had invaded, because you could already see them everywhere. I peered closer, and saw that his wrinkles were normal ones, and that he was not Pauline Hanson dressed in the skin of her latest victim. I pulled out my phone, and I learned how millennials were hooked on this 58

new smartphone craze. Then he pulled out his flipphone and took several photos of me. I do not know if he still has the photos. That day I stopped being a simple country boy and learned not to take candies from strangers. It is the day I became a man. And another day, tween girls were karaoke-ing Katy Perry, and not especially well. Or when some dicks play trap music on their phones, so that we can admire their taste. I love it all. If the Metro were cleaner, faster, timelier – more polite, more efficient, cheaper, serviced more places, serviced them better, whatever – we would, I think, be unhappier. It’s the story. A NuMetro – with a NuMetro, what would be the plump punching bag to distract us from the real causes of our unhappiness? What would we bond over, as

christmas in kyoto words by ann jackson

the whispering snowfall sounds just like your footsteps each snowflake a moment that we spent apart and i think of you, seven thousand ks off, slapping at flies in the dead summer heat –

students – schoolwork? Hardly likely. Where would go the bus-stop moments? There would be no meetings of soulmates, or even mates, on the NuMetro – there’d be nothing to break the ice with. You’d be too happy, warm and transported on those cold winter days. We, as Australians, are a society of whingers – sociable, happy-go-lucky, larrikin whingers. The miserable state of our public transport system is directly related to our friendliness as people. The people of the Tokyo subway, the Swiss, the German – notoriously cold and withdrawn. And what would I write for On Dit? Legitimate commentary? What tales would I tell? I’m a boring person. I need anecdotes. Let’s keep our miserable commutes, and stay happier. 59

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– On Dit –

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