scope week six
scope features | sowmya ram (editor) elin jonsson (sub-editor) halligan quin (sub-editor) bondy banter | nick mclean (editor) the scoop | david simmons (editor) antony scholefield (sub-editor) nicholas o’hara-boyd justine landis-hanley (columnist) sport | rizal redzuan (editor) teagan ridley (sub-editor) photographers | mitchell willocks ben thangkam contributors| the birdcage charlot daysh sasha hanton jenna mcphail matthew stubbs The views expressed in Scope are not necassarily the views of BUSA or the editorial sub-committee. © Bond University Student Association 2013
contents University Rankings Pica Believe! Fashion&Sex Bondy Banter The Scoop Sport What’s On
6 8 10 12 18 19 24 26
from the desk of Vice President (Spor t) Hi Bondies and welcome to We
ek 6!
The last few weeks have been flat out from a sporting perspectiv e with a range of events culminating in Australian Unive rsity Games in Week 4. What a week it was for Bond athletes, taking home eleven gold medal s and the Doug Ellis Per Capit a trophy for the second time in three years, making it Bond’s mo st successful University Games to date. There are plenty more events on the way though, with the weeke nd just past seeing Bond play host to the National School Boys/Girls Rugby 7’s finals and giving away free tickets to the International Rugby 7’s eve nt at Skilled Stadium through ou r par tnership with the ARU. Looking fur ther afield, Footy Fes t (the combination of Business versus Law Rugby and North v South AFL) is set for Thursday Week 10 and should be a ter rifi c night with a host of sporting and cultural clubs getting involv ed. For those Study Abroad stu den ts, USA v Rest of the World Basketball is set for Thursday the 24th of October, so make sur e you get on down to the Sport Hall for what will be a night of s intense competition with bragg ing rights at stake. There are plenty of things happening in the world of Bond Sport at the moment so if you are intereste in getting involved or want to fin d d out something more, feel fre e to drop into the BUSA office anytime and make sure you get out to these upcoming events. See you on the fields, Jake
The Captain’s Corner I trust everyone’s previous week was as great as mine, and you’re all keen for this upcoming one. A lot of big events are occurring, which you need to get around. But don’t forget to find time to hit the books. We have Woodlands on Tuesday, which should be a particulary loose night. Rumour has it McElvie Jnr’s buying us all a round, but it’s only a rumour (don’t quote me, he might hunt me down instead). Cheers Lachie! Later in the week the LSA is running the prime BBQ & Beats. Although I enjoy it for both, I really just go for the fairy floss, so hopefully when they scurry out from the Lawbrary to feed us all they perform on this. Finally on the list of must does is Movieworld’s Fright Night. If you get your rocks off watching gorey horror, this’ll be a sick night. If you’re as big a pansy as I, come anyways, it should be terrific. At the very least I’ll be there (but that is probably a reason to not go!). All in all it should be a bloody fantastic week and I’m excited to see you all over this coming week. On a more serious note the Scope FB profile is being converted this week from a friend to a page. Sounds good right!? Well unfortunately all your precious tags will be gone. F**k! I don’t want to have to do it, but the 5000 friend limit is fast approaching, and FB has already warned me, so sooner is better than never. I’ll be reuploading all the old photos so you can retag yourself, and worst case some embarrassing photos from your younger days will crop back up on the news feed. The transition may be bumpy early on, but it should all smooth itself out. I’m excited for this week – the half way mark of the teaching trimester – and don’t forget to rest during your midsem exam block. I personally endorse a nice pint of the ‘28’, but if that’s not to your taste I suggest you drink two. Have a good week, and I’ll see some of you around this week. You keep staying classy Bond, Jeffers
BBQ and Beats Nothing beats a free BBQ Free BBQ. Beats.
Thursday, Week 6, 12pm. Lawns outside the Law Faculty.
World University Rankings: do they matter? by Hal QUIN
We all want to succeed in life. Unless you’re an intense pessimist (or realist, depending on your perspective), you haven’t made the decision to go to university with the goal of achieving mediocrity. But how do you decide which university will give you the best chance of achieving success? It is extremely rare for anyone to make that decision without first having a look at a university ranking table to see how a potential uni rates. And you wouldn’t be alone in this. i-graduate, an international graduate research company, polled 210, 000 international graduates and found that university ranking was the third-most important factor in deciding which university to go to, behind “teaching quality” and “career reputation”. That put it ahead of cost of study, cost of living, research quality and the overall quality of a country’s academic system. But where do university rankings come from anyway? Can some be trusted more than others? And what does this all mean to Bond?
“what is easy to measure is not always what is more important”
The System Although ranking universities might seem like an obvious idea, the major ranking organisations that dominate the headlines are all a mere 10 years old or younger. In 2003 specialised staff members of Shainghai’s Jiao Tong University decided to try and “find out the gap between Chinese universities and worldclass universities, particularly in terms of academic or research performance”. They tried to be as objective as possible by only picking objective indicators that were counted by other organisations, and that’s still how it works. The six almostequally ranked criteria are all to do with awards and publications: the number of alumni or staff winning Nobel Prizes and Field Medals, and how many university papers are indexed or highlycited. One of the criterions is getting papers published in Science or Nature, two prestigious scientific journals, and so these points are reallocated for social science institutions. Regardless, the Shanghai ranking system’s focus on research has been criticised
as being too preferential towards science degrees and not really saying much about the quality of teaching. But how are you supposed to measure the quality of teaching anyway?
In 2004, a rival ranking system was created by the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a higher education guide publisher. Their method worked more on the opinions of academics and the employers who recruited graduates. To make things even more confusing, in 2009 QS and the THES split, and now produce their own prestigious ranking tables. The THES ranks teaching based on the “learning environment”, which is calculated through the “perceived prestige” of a university’s teaching and the staff-tostudent ratio. It also considers research, citations, industry income (how much the university helps the industry “innovate”) and international outlook. The QS system is reasonably similar, but puts slightly more emphasis on the proportion of international students and faculty.
Rating the Rankers? Even a precursory look at the “Big 5” ranking tables shows some consistency in the universities that are top of the tree. All the top 10s are dominated by the American Ivy League (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc.) and the UK’s best (Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial). Nevertheless, the whole idea of universities being ranked is inevitably open to criticism. One high profile critic is Dr. Helen Hazelkorn, vice president of research at the Dublin institute of Technology. She says that “age and size matter”, favouring a “small league of well-endowed universities in Englishspeaking countries, usually with a medical school”. One common criticism is that the tables don’t really know how to rank social sciences; the London School of Economics claimed this when its THES ranking dropped from 17th to 59th in 2007 after a criteriachange. You might have noticed that none of the criteria actually judge teaching quality directly. For that, you’ll have to wait until 2016, when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is scheduled to roll out a worldwide test to assess how much uni actually teaches students. It will reportedly be modelled on the PISA tests that are administered to 15-year-olds worldwide as a means of ranking countries’ education systems. Australia could be reasonably optimistic in this case: the 2009 PISA results ranked it 8th in the world.
But even while acknowledging the shortcomings of their own systems, the heads of the major ranking tables still defend them as a necessity: THES deputy editor Phil Baty maintains that “as long as they are serious and transparent, rankings can be a useful tool”, whilst QS director of research Ben Sowter says that rankings are about “helping international students make more informed choices”. Big-picture thinkers will probably take heart in Dr. Hazelkorn’s paraphrased observation in The Economist magazine that “rankings are driven by their creators’ objectives: the Chinese ones were intended to gain more state funding for university research; the European ones aim to give member countries greater status”. Big Business These ranking tables, along with the Leiden Ranking and the Webometrics Ranking, are the main systems by which the world judges universities. Whenever the annual edition of each is released it makes world news, with various universities jostling to promote, contest or explain their results. Understandably, this is a big deal for universities and so it’s no surprise that they attempt to get a leg up. Earlier this year, the Australian newspaper reported on how the University of New South Wales and La Trobe University both advertised for “manager of institutional rankings” positions whose job would be to “maximise” or “optimise” ranking positions. The annual salary: $100 thousand. When UK universities performed well in the 2012 THES table, the editor of the THES’s publication acknowledged it was because of the increased emphasis the UK put on research. And when major Australian universities fell in the THES rankings earlier this month, it was front-page news. (For the curious, Melbourne dropped from 28th to 34th, ANU from 37th to 48th and the University of Sydney from 62nd to 72nd).
Little ambition? So, where does Bond fit into all of this? It is conspicuously absent from the THES and Shanghai rankings, probably because its small size prevents it meeting the research output required to even be considered. QS ranks it at joint 421-430 out of 800 in the world, a place it shares with the likes of United Arab Emirates University, Germany’s Universitat des Saarlandes and Canada’s University of Saskatchewan. For a small private university that does well domestically, Bond’s management would probably be quite pleased with this. But if “joint 421st in the world!” sounds like a weak brag to make to your public-uni friends, perhaps the words of the World Bank’s tertiary education coordinator Jamil Salmi will cheer you up. In an interview with ABC Radio National, he noted that “what is easy to measure is not always what is more important…research situation, publication, that’s easy to measure, but the quality of teaching and learning is much less easy to measure, and that’s really at the heart of a university’s mission”. According to Salmi, “really what we need to look at is how a university is faring related to its own mission statement… if you are a university trying to serve your local community, that’s more important than being high up in the rankings”. Words like that probably give Bond plenty of reasons to be ambitious.
The Mysterious Pica by Sowmya RAM
With the advancement in technology, particularly in the field of medicine, one might assume that we’d have found the answers to most age-old medical mysteries. Well, here’s one that continues to remain quite the puzzle. Pica, is a term meaning “Magpie” in Latin, a bird known for its abnormal eating habits. It was first referenced by the Greeks and Romans in the 13th century as an eating abnormality but its medical relevance was not established till 1563. Pica was also known as Geophagia in southern USA in the 18th century, the practice of eating mud and clay, commonly prevalent in the slave population. Back then, Pica was suspected to be a symptom of other disorders and not a disease by itself. Late 20th century saw the emergence of Pica as a condition by itself. The standard definition of Pica describes it as ‘a tendency or craving to eat substances other than normal food, particularly metal, clay, ice or dirt.’ It has recently been identified as a mental disorder. There has been very scant research on this disorder and
the symptoms include eating one or more of the following: Starch; faeces; soil; clay; chalk; glass; sand; pebbles; stones; rocks; mucus; paint; wood; paper; hair; urine and here’s the best one ‘SelfCannibalism’ or eating one’s own body parts. Scientists have put forth a fair few theories to explain the causes behind these impulses including iron and mineral deficiency but all they could settle for was ‘mental disorder’. It is very hard to exactly state the prevalence of Pica as the definition is too non-specific and also because patients do not generally admit to having abnormal food cravings unless they come in showing a bunch of coins, keys, stones, etc obstructing their GI tract. The prevalence is statistically between 8% and 65% of the population depending on the study – VERY specific indeed! Although it sounds like a harmless enough eating disorder, the complications caused by it are a bit scary. Eating hard substances especially ice and metal objects can cause tooth-breaking to jaw dislocation, eating dirt and faeces can lead to a variety of infections like toxoplasmosis, hookworm and other parasitic infections, eating paint or paint-soaked objects can lead to lead poisoning and eating large metal, stone and clay
objects can lead to anything from GI obstruction to haemo-toxicity, cardiovascular conditions and if caught late even death. Since we know so much about it, someone must have found a cure – WRONG! While most mental and even genetic disorders now can at least be effectively managed, if not cured, Pica still remains untreatable due to the simple fact that no one knows what to treat. Without knowing the exact cause, management of the disease has to be done on a case-by-case, symptom-to-symptom basis and management includes distraction methods to psychotherapy and physical restraints. It becomes all the more confusing for diagnosis and treatment as diagnosed schizophrenics, psychopaths, pregnant women and most children have abnormal food cravings. While it’s dangerous to let it pass off as a phase it’s also pointless trying to restrain them if it’s actually just a phase. It is just one of those diseases that are still filled with ‘Ifs’. There is no single test to diagnose or confirm Pica. Other animals like cats and dogs have been known to present with Pica but unlike humans, the exact cause is known in animals: immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia. Funny that there still exists a disease clearly established in animals but not even researched enough in humans, right?
Believe in you! by Charlot DAYSH If there is one thing in this world that you should believe in, it is yourself. Believing in yourself is absolutely crucial if you wish to live the life you desire and succeed in your endeavors. If you do not believe in yourself, you cannot expect anyone else to do it either!
Many people hold disempowering beliefs about themselves, and are often unaware of the negative effects they have. Beliefs like “I am not good enough” and “I will never be able to do that” are classified as destructive beliefs and are unfortunately far too common.
Bond University’s psychologist and counselor Deborah Jackson knows first hand that most people struggle on some level, to believe in themselves.
“Life can be quick to put barriers and challenges in our path. It’s a common human trait to focus on the fear or worry, rather than on the personal strengths that can help us navigate the worry,” she says.
Destructive beliefs limit people in their lives and hold them back from unleashing their full potential and feeling content with themselves. Research suggests that people who hold empowering believes about themselves are much more likely to succeed then people who hold disempowering beliefs. The destructiveness of disempowering beliefs does not stop there; research has also found that disempowering beliefs can decrease a person’s overall happiness.
‘It’s a common human trait to focus on the fear or worry, rather than on the personal strengths that can help us navigate the worry.’ – Dr Deborah Jackson Canadian Psychologist Albert Bandura has greatly contributed to what we know about human development. Dr Bandura invented the concept of Self-Efficacy. According to Dr Bandura Self-Efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations.
“It is the notion of to what extent a person thinks he or she
will be able to succeed in a particular situation or how they will handle a challenge,” he says.
“People that have a strong sense of self-efficacy will approach challenges in a more positive manner, than people who have a low sense of self-efficacy.
“People who are low in self-efficacy will often believe that complex tasks and challenges exceed their capabilities.”
Many different kinds of research on Dr Bandura’s Self-Efficacy theory state that high self-efficacy lead to higher levels of task performance.
As seen there are many reasons to start adopting empowering beliefs about oneself, which Dr Jackson places great importance on.
“When someone believes in themselves they are likely to take risks, to embrace opportunities and to approach life from an open place, they know that they have the resources within them to deal with whatever may arise,” she says.
Fortunately, you can begin the process of changing the beliefs you hold about yourself and make them work for you and not against you.
Create empowering beliefs In his book “Awaken the Giant Within” American life coach, self- help author and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins provides some very useful steps to change your negative beliefs.
1) Critically approach negative beliefs.
Start questioning your old beliefs, create doubt and challenge them. If you question anything enough you will eventually start doubting it. You will no longer feel certain that the beliefs are accurate.
2) Link massive pain to your old beliefs.
Because humans will do anything to avoid pain and gain pleasure, it is important that you link massive pain to your old beliefs. Acknowledge that they have been causing you pain and will only continue to do so. Realize that they are destructive and that they are stopping you from going after what you really want.
3) Find references to support your beliefs.
When you have destroyed your old beliefs it is time to create new ones. Adopt empowering beliefs about who you are and what you can do. Then find references that support your belief. For example if you are about to have an exam you can create the belief “I will do well on the exam” back up your beliefs with arguments of why you will do well on your exam. I will do well on the exam because 1) I have studied 2) I am well prepared 3) I am smart.
Dr Jackson suggests that if your self-belief is starting to get a little shaky, slow down and take a moment.
“Get a little reflective and start remembering the good times, the fun times, your past achievements, times when you felt in the flow and in the zone,” she says.
“What personal qualities were you drawing on in those moments, how did you help create those experiences?
“Now, become more aware of when those qualities are at play in your own life, draw on them consciously as you go about your day, to deal with challenges, to create connection, to step towards your goals.”
Dr Jackson emphasises that practice makes perfect and that consciously applying these tactics in different situations over time will be of great personal benefit.
“With practice it gets easier, start to notice the strengths in others too and reflect it back to them. This way we can start to create mini communities or networks of people who support each other to operate from their strengths and the whole thing starts to get easier,” she says.
Discover your top 5 unique character strengths Candice Dixon Dr Jackson also advises to do a scientifically validated strengths assessment tool questionnaire. The questionnaire takes around 20 – 40 minutes, and it will reflect back to you your top 5 unique characteristic strengths.
“Notice how they operate in your life today. Bring them into play more consciously and start to experience the rewards of feeling more authentic, at ease and creative,” she says. Link to questionnaire: http://www.viacharacter.org/www/
Ultimately what you need to do is eliminate your disempowering believes and replace them with empowering ones. Start thinking differently about yourself and what you are capable of. Ask yourself the question, can I really afford not to?
Fashion&Sex: the advertising power couple by Sasha HANTON
Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, what do these two have in common? One, they are both designer labels, and two; they have both caught the flack for controversial advertising. But they aren’t alone in using sex to sell their products; it’s an age old issue dating back to the 1900s.
Where did it all start? As long as women have been interested in fashion, there has been a market to advertise it. And as society became more risqué, sex became an integral part of this. The Maidenform bra campaign that ran between 1949 and 1969 picturing a model in cowboy attire with only a bra to cover her upper half is a famously recognisable start to sex in fashion advertising. Lingerie advertisements obviously have a reason for sex appeal being used so blatantly in their ads; it’s to model the product so it looks comfortable and enticing. However just before the start of the 1900s many marketers were in debate about whether corsets should be visible in ads. And yet in the 1800s sex was far more prominent in advertising. It just hadn’t slunk into the fashion world quite yet. The negative connotation that surrounds using sex in fashion advertising did not really arise until the 1990s when Calvin Klein launched his ‘Obsession’ perfume campaign and used Kate Moss as his model of choice. The ‘Obsession’ campaign, along with the many Calvin Klein jeans ads, started the real controversy. In the ads, Kate Moss was suggestively posed and wore nothing at all. And yet while we have grown to be used to this sexual bombardment in advertising, it only takes one little thing to set the whole debate and controversy back into motion.
The Underage issue Since Calvin Klein used Kate Moss, whilst she was a teenager, to much controversy, the new faces of fashion labels have gotten younger and younger. Dakota Fanning became the face of Marc Jacobs at age 12 and her younger sister; Elle Fanning, is following in her footsteps at age 14. It’s not just the brands normally deigned in controversy who are recruiting the young either; Prada branch-off Miu Miu is using fifteen year old actress Hailee Steinfeld. And this is where the controversy gets messy: using young girls to advertise fashion in sexually provocative ways. For some it’s not such a big deal, but for others it is a serious, offensive issue. Marc Jacob’s ‘Oh Lola!’ perfume campaign is inspired by the novel ‘Lolita’, the premise of which is an older man falling in love with a twelve year old girl who later becomes his niece. However, it’s not the inspiration behind the campaign that caused the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority or ASA to ban the ad. No, the reason for the ASA banning the ad was how it presented Dakota Fanning. In a Daily Mail article on the ban the ASA said that they “considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality.” And “Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualise a child. We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offence.” Here in Australia our Advertising Standards Bureau cleared the campaign, though they were met with protests. And in America the campaign sailed smoothly through with no complaints, it’s quite the reflection on the differences in our society.
Why? Oh Why? So why is it that sex sells? Why can’t products just sell themselves and stand on their own legs? The answer is simple: it’s not a matter of they can’t, it’s a matter of this being what produces better revenue. Recent research by the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA) has found that using sex in advertising is more likely to make the consumer buy it. The study showed that ads that used non-rational influences, such as sex, triggered the part of our brain that controls impulse buying, whilst bypassing the part of our brain for processing ideas logically and rationally.
Game of Thrones show sex scenes, songs glorify drugs and books such as Fifty Shades of Gray place as best sellers. So it could be said that advertising is indeed far more “tame” in what it shows. And the hanging torso
In an interview with the Daily Mail, UCLA’s Dr Ian Cook explained “In response to non-rational sensory inputs, activity was lower in areas of the brain that help us inhibit responses to stimuli” and that “The lower levels of brain activity from ads employing NI images could lead to less behavioural inhibition, which could translate to less restraint when it comes to buying products depicted.”
But on the other hand there is a heavy negative air to using sex for advertising, which warrants the negative connotation. Whilst sex in advertising might not be as explicit as it is in popular culture it does slowly add to the desensitisation of our society. And as society’s level of sensitivity lowers so does it appear that youth’s level of modesty falls, or at least the modesty of what is designed for youth.
So basically it’s easier to trick and seduce people into buying a product they don’t really need. Because let’s be honest, if you really thought about it you probably wouldn’t bother buying designer jeans when you can get the
Take for example the recent attack on Target; the super store was selling what parents deem age inappropriate clothing. We are talking shorts for 6 and 7 year olds that
same quality for less, or perfume that frankly doesn’t smell all that nice if it wasn’t worn by a movie star.
The upward hips of it “Sex is scandalous and corrupting our youth”. You’ll hear it everywhere and especially after a fashion ad has aired or a Calvin Klein billboard has gone up. However surely sex in advertising is not so bad? After all sex has been used in advertising since the 1800s, and in fashion advertising since the 1900s. Considering how long the two have been entwined, why is it that we question it? Not only has it had a long standing relationship with advertising, but sex is also fast becoming a feature of our modern society that can be seen everywhere. Which is probably why advertising agents don’t see how people can be so offended by what appears in ads. As Advertising Veteran Winston Fletcher said in a Market Week interview “The sex in advertising is tame and full of innuendo compared with the sex in books, TV and magazines - it could be argued that far from pushing sex, advertising is far too reticent and does not reflect society’s much more open attitude.” It is true that popular culture has become more and more out there in terms of what it displays. TV shows like
ride up your backside. Mother Gretta Hawkhead let her thoughts on it out in an interview with The Age: “It’s very provocative and not appropriate for young girls at all”. In a way it’s not surprising that clothing for youth are being made more and more provocative considering how young the faces of designer labels have become. And this is why the negative connotation surrounding sex in fashion advertising has grown and advertising has received flack where popular culture has not.
The Climactic (or rather, Anti-Climactic) Conclusion Even though fashion advertising has received a scornful glare and much lip for its use of sex, we can be sure it won’t stop using it. The bare truth of it is sex sells and controversy creates publicity. The most we can hope for is that with the aisle of complaints, fashion designers and advertisers might pull back from using such young models and designing inappropriate clothing.
week six Photographer: Ben Thangkam | Mitch Willocks Events: Thursday @ Don’s | Graduation Ceremony | Dean’s Awards
bondy banter a place for all bondies to throw the banter around
Join the banter for next week by emailing publications.busa@bond.edu.au or texting in at 0481 311 994. OPEN LETTER An arbitrary and often passive-aggressive letter aimed at certain stereotypes of people that need some serious advice.
PHRASING Poorly phrased Facebook posts that just look bad.
Dear Bar Wench, I didn’t pay for water. Yours truly, A Functioning Alcoholic
OVERHEARD Quotes or anecdotes based on [mostly] true events around campus AN irate and well-watered BUSA member was OVERHEARD at Grad Party. Allegedly the bus driver was threatening to leave despite some party-goers not yet being on the bus. The BUSA member had this to say: “I am the Vice-President. We paid for this bus. You will leave when I say you can leave!” PS. He did not pay for the bus.
DR
ond
Academic Solutions Dear Dr Bond, Last night I showed this girl my GPA and she laughed at how small in size it was. It has really impeded my ability to study. What should I do? – Mr 1.0 Mr 1.0, I suggest you do a lot of cores to boost your GPA’s performance. Then get down on your business portfolio so you can impress all the girls with your ability to generate a strong HD.
Sharing is Caring
Arrested Development
Dear Dr Bond, For as long as I can remember, I have always played as the bicylce in a good game of Monopoly. But last night my best friend took it away from me. What should I do to reclaim it? – Miss Pass & Go
Dear Dr Bond, Last night I rode a tricylce for the first time at the Twin Antlers. Two of the wheels had spokes. Should I be questioning my mode of transport? – Tobias Funkë
Thanks for your question Miss Pass & This question is better directed to a Go, priest. I recommend auctioning off your assets and having the Community Chest filled with a load of money. Do you have a question for Dr Bond? Message the Scope Magazine FB page!
the scoop
Teenager Wankst by Nicholas O’HARA-BOYD
Like Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear found themselves back in 2003 when no one was watching, I’ve been stuck on something for the last few days. I can’t decide whether it’s simply a heinously exhausted Hollywood cliché that all young adults need to be Tolstoy-pondering, philosophising poets in need of a Prozac party, or it’s a truism and accurate representation of that stage of psychodevelopment. In recent weeks I’ve stumbled upon three separate pieces of acclaimed cinema – Slacker (1991), Clerks (1994) and Stranger than Paradise (1984) – and traced a facepalmingly obvious pattern through each: kids are moody twats.
If you have to muse then muse eloquently and intelligibly, I suggest. While I will still have wet dreams of you suffering an eternal purgatory alone (or, perhaps, with only Big Brother’s Tully as company) and miserable, the fact that you can turn a phrase, at least, makes for some kind of redeeming factor most sullen youth of today lack. In 2013 if I’m a minimum-wage 17-year-old with daddy issues, ‘stepping out of your comfort zone’ means taking to Facebook to share a Paulo Coelho quote (cursive text, with perhaps an oak tree on a grassy hill as a background) before, once again and hermit-like, retuning to my Tumblr den and reposting pensive bearded men in a faded colour palette. Ah, the social media pleasures that go hand-in-hand with being conspicuously glum! The fatal flaw, however, is that not only is there no original thought (this is a pattern through the ages for these irksome angsty types), but that now you don’t need any thought aside from to remember an 8-12 one capital one numeric figure password.
Slacker’s set in Austin, Texas, and is a day in the life of random characters moving seamlessly in and out of one-another’s, connected thematically only by geography and the fact that
they’re clear social outcasts and misfits. (And, might I add, chronic kvetches if not existential idealists.) Highlight characters include a girl trying to pawn Madonna’s pap smear, and a UFO buff who adamantly insists the U.S. has been on the moon since the 1950s.
I was maybe the last fellow in the Free World to see Clerks, but it lived up to the hype. Its sharp dialogue, odd characters and refreshingly touching way of getting to some base human truths make it a film worth writing home about. Essentially, it’s just another day in the life construct of two jaded convenience store clerks, Dante and Randal, and their interactions between themselves and with their customers who do everything from fapping themselves to death, to rousing an in-shop no-smoking protest (a gum salesman’s thinly-veiled attempt at allowing his product to play Christ the Redeemer).
Stranger Than Paradise is about an ‘80s hipster living in New York City who is paid an unwelcome visit by his 16-year-old Hungarian cousin. Over time their affection for one-another grows before they decide to take to the road together, heading to visit their aunt in Cleveland. Is it dull? Yes, it is. Did critics love it? Yes, they did. Would I, in good faith, recommend it to you? I would sooner recommend a honeymoon to Nauru.
by David SIMMONS Never has Southbank’s cultural forecourt been flooded by so much pop-culture in one contained burst. A truly confusing mixture of people descended onto the banks of the Brisbane River. ‘Festy head’ collided with hipster, and the odd bogan was spotted among the throbbing masses keenly surrounding the three stages of the festival.
I can only offer my personal perspective of the festival as I have not yet worked out how to split my soul into two and place it in the body of an unwitting dog (because dogs are f***ing awesome, who wouldn’t want to do that).
The day began with a stellar set from Rüfüs. The Aussie boys were as fun as expected. The trio played the biggest hits of their latest album Atlas, and proved to be a very exciting live act. A good portion of the music was actually played live, a surprise for myself, and the sound they produced was as good as the album. The drumming in particular was a highlight, especially on ‘Desert Night’, where an extended drum fill got the crowd really revved up.
Just as cool were the sweet tonalities of AlunaGeorge, a very polished Britpop act that tore up the 909 stage. Whilst they didn’t leave an incredibly lasting impression on myself, they were undeniably talented. Especially Aluna, the female lead singer half of the group, who was pitch perfect the entire performance.
Azealia Banks had been making headlines on music news sites because of two less than desirable performances in Melbourne in Sydney, in which she stormed off the stage before finishing the first song. So it was really a miracle when we got to witness an entire set from the Harlem rapper. Even better was the fact that she closed with ‘212’, a moment I won’t readily forget.
But the highlight of my night wasn’t headliners Disclosure, although they were incredibly good, rather it was TNGHT
(trap producers responsible for a good chunk of Kanye West’s masterpiece Yeezus). Naturally, heaps of Kanye was played by the duo, along with a ton of their own original stuff, which resulted in many a euphoric moment.
Unfortunately the crowd my group were surrounded by during Disclosure were less than polite. There was a point where a girl literally just twerked on me #stop. But the performance sounded incredible - just as good as recording quality.
For a brand new festival, Listen Out really outdid itself. The venue was incredible, the atmosphere was brilliant and the acts were of the highest quality. I do hope that Listen Out doesn’t descend into the depths of forgotten music festivals in the years to come.
ARTS VOX POPS Over the coming weeks the Arts boys will be finding and interviewing you in relation to a few questions. They’ve given it a go, and this week your turn will begin!
David Simmons – Arts Editor
Favourite song: ‘Paranoid Android’ by Radiohead Favourite artist: Radiohead Guilty pleasure: Miley Cyrus all the way. Favourite book: Atonement by Ian McEwan Favourite movie: Pulp Fiction Always cry watching: Les Miserables, that’s a rollercoaster and a half. Celebrity crush: Beyonce #demcurves Most hated artist: Paris Hilton. Please go listen to her new song. It’s the worst. Would have sex to: Anything by Lana Del Rey. Sexiest voice in the biz.
Antony Scholefield – Arts Sub-Editor
Favourite Song - Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn Favourite Band - AC/DC. Guilty Pleasure - Anything from The Voice. Also ‘Living La Vida Loca’. Also, The Voice’s live version of ‘Living La Vida Loca’. Favourite Book - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey Favourite Movie - Die Hard Always Cry Watching - The Green Mile. Also, I cry laughing whenever I watch Hot Fuzz Celebrity Crush - Megan Washington Most Hated Artist - Michael Bublé. KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL Would Have Sex To - ‘Porn Star Dancing’ - My Darkest Days
MY NECK OF THE WOODS COFFEE + BREAKFAST Justine LANDIS-HANLEY
meet our fate. Who knows, maybe we can be victor too? But there are only so many nights you can go sleepless, meals you can skip and days you can live on fast food breakfast wraps before something has to give. So when you need proper food that will spread warmth to your fingertips, or a coffee to keep you sustained as you venture into the unknown pain of week 7, here are six of the best cafes around the coast to get your hit:
Well, Bondies, it has happened: Week 6 has hit us, text book in hand, to sit beside us until the wee hours of the morning, as we study for the midsemester exams and assignments that have so deceptively crept up on us.
DOWN THE ROAD
Time is of the essence: sheer adrenaline trumps lack of sleep, the need to study up until the last few minutes of that exam replaces the thought of a semi decent breakfast.
Even though it’s a five-minute walk from campus (or two minutes if you are extremely hungry and prepared to run), I’m always surprised at how many people are yet to discover Blackboard Coffee. Started up by one of our own Bondies, Nick Pearce, based on his assignment for Entrepreneurship class, Black Board Coffee is a real treat for us locals. It fuses Melbourne charm with a simple, well-sourced menu and great kitchen staff to bring it all to life. Most importantly though, they are renowned as connoisseurs of coffee. They love the stuff so much, they are obsessed (Their words, not mine).
When it comes to mid-sem, we make like Katniss in the Hunger Games- sure we feared the day would come when our name would be called to submit that assignment or sit that test, and we are blindsided when it does. Nonetheless, we walk forth, with sheer adrenaline-fuelled determination, to
1
BLACKBOARD COFFEE
! 2
LAKE
Although often overlooked by Uni students as the expensive looking place on the water, Lake is anything but. Yes, they have tablecloths and waterside views, but their food is down to earth and downright tasty. Their coffee is arguably on par with that of Blackboard, and their menu has far greater variety (it has everything). Not to mention, their soy-hot chocolates are somewhat addictive. Lake is a family run operation, and the owner makes the most delicate European cakes on site every day (because when it comes to post assessment meltdown, cake can constitute breakfast).
BY THE BEACH ! 3
NO NAME LANE SPECIALITY COFFEE
No Name Lane is a tiny little coffee shop down at the Oracle Building at Broadbeach that looks like a little piece of a Sydney back street plonked into a flashy building. This fantastic little alcove of brick walls, cement floor and industrial fittings also specialises in coffee. It’s a real go and grab place for the busy working types, and so is the perfect place for a drink on the way to the surf one breezy Saturday morning. ! 4
NEW REPUBLIC CAFE
“Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy and happy people don’t shoot their husbands.” Ah, Elle Woods, you are too right. So if you need to qualm any murderous tendencies or post exam stress, why not head down to Broadbeach nice and early for a long barefoot walk in the sand (it sort of exfoliates all of your troubles
WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK
SEE:
See comedian and national Triple-J raw finalist, Mattt Okine, at the Basement in the Gold Coast Arts Centre, t h i s F r i d a y n i g h t ( 1 8th October) at 8:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase on the Gold Coast Arts Centre website.
away) and head on back to New Republic Café for a sit down brekkie. Warning: this place is super popular to the point where it is sometimes difficult to get a table, so you need to be ruthless and get their nice and early come the weekend. Packed with locals, hipsters and a favoured array of furry little pups back from their morning walk, this ain’t no tourist trap by the beach. In this heat, skip the coffee and grab an egg based breakfast and a juice to feel totally cleansed after a week of studyinduced malnutrition.
FURTHER AWAY ! 5
ELK EXPRESSO
I love the woods. I mean, I have never been to a forest, but it’s my equivalent to, say, someone loving Paris, or Rome or New York, without ever actually having gone there - something deep inside your soul just knows that if the two of you ever came together, it would be awesome. So even though I have never been to Elk Expresso, the mere fact that there is an Elk painted as a feature wall tells me that I would like this place. Other people also tell me that this place has slightly pricey, but high quality nosh. Their milkshakes are apparently so amazing they literally bring the boys to the yard. ! 6
COMMUNE CAFE
One of the most famous and renowned left-ofcentre cafes on the Coast, Commune Café is the place to grab a wholesome, organic meal in Burleigh Heads. The queue starts early, so get there before the post-Saturday night hangover crowd rock up in the later stages of the morning. If dessert for breakfast sounds like a treat, try their blueberry pancakes with organic coconut icecream, banana and a small river of maple syrup.
DO:
Want to be the one to say they saw the likes of Angus and Julia Stone before they made it big? See local group, ‘Band of Frequencies’ at the Sound Lounge upstairs at the Currumbin RSL,165 Duringham Street. Currumbin.
EAT:
Head to Bangkok Thai in C h e v ro n I s l a n d f o r a n inexpensive, authentic Thai dinner with friends. Make sure to book, as it is packed every night with local fans. 62 Thomas Drive, Surfers Paradise.
sport
Inside look into Lacrosse
by Jenna McPHAIL
The game of lacrosse is a mystery to most people around the world, but for some Americans, it has become a way of life. The growing culture around the game of lacrosse has been overwhelming in some areas, as more and more youth leagues are being established across the United States and Canada. The sport was created by the Native Americans, who created the first lacrosse stick out of wood. Contemporary lacrosse sticks have a hollow aluminum or fiberglass shaft that is connected to a plastic frame and pocket. The pocket is made from string and small strips of leather, in most cases, and acts as a net for the ball when it is being caught or thrown. The rules of lacrosse are fairly simple. At the beginning of the game, each team has the opportunity to win the ball in “the draw”, and the game begins directly after the ball has been secured in someone’s stick. When running with the ball in your stick, the proper technique is to “cradle” the ball in the pocket by using your wrist to flick the ball back and forth in your stick’s pocket. This momentum that results from doing this keeps the ball in the stick and thus in that team’s possession. If the ball falls out of the stick or a ball is not caught when thrown, all players on the field are allowed to approach the ball and scoop it up into their sticks, using a motion similar to shoveling. The ball can be passed between teammates when the stick is in both hands and the ball is released with the extension of the top arm. The stick is most commonly vertical when throwing, but in men’s lacrosse, the ball can also be thrown when the stick is horizontal. These same motions can be used when shooting the ball towards the net, except the amount of power would of course vary depending on what you’re doing. The goal is fairly small and triangle-shaped, with a heavily padded goalie standing in front of it. Similar to most sports, each goal is worth one point and the team
with the most points at the end of the hour-long game wins.
There are ten players from each team on the field at once, which includes one goalie, three attackers, three defenders, and three mid-fielders. Each position has a unique role but players can move about the field wherever they’d like, as long as there are three players behind the “restraining line” to prevent an “offside” offense. Attackers are the players who shoot the ball, for the most part, and run plays around the goal area. Midfielders are those players who run up and down the field transitioning the ball from end to end, playing both defense and offense as needed. Finally, as the name suggests, defenders try to prevent opposing players from entering the goal area and attempting to score. There are a variety of penalties in the game of lacrosse, which are vastly different between men’s and women’s lacrosse. For example, men are allowed to hit their opponents’ bodies with their sticks because they wear padding all over their bodies, but women are only allowed to hit their sticks because they only wear goggles and a mouth guard to protect their face. Women can also be penalized for “dangerous shot”, which is when the person shooting releases their stick within a dangerously close proximity to another player’s head. If caught doing something disorderly, players are removed from the game for a short period of time before being let back in, similar to hockey or in rugby being a ‘sin bin.’ The culture that surrounds the sport of lacrosse is very easy to spot, especially in the United States. Many former or current lacrosse players can be seen wearing their practice pinnies, uniforms, or shorts in any type of situation. This same idea goes for the mid-calf socks that are extremely popular within the lacrosse community, as they are worn on and off the field quite often. The lacrosse culture is also very competitive as it grows across the U.S. The sport is played at all levels of college competition: Division I, II, and III, with I typically being the largest programs and most competitive. The college lacrosse programs in the mid-Atlantic (Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia), upstate New York (Syracuse, NY) and Midwest (Northwestern, Illinois) have seen especially extreme success and growth in recent years.
Touch Carnival Semester 133 by Matthew STUBBS Saturday, 19th of October (Week 6) the Bond University Touch Club will host their Semesterly Touch Carnival. The ever increasing popularity of Monday Night Social Touch has seen a substantial number of teams already sign up for the event. Kicking off at 11am with last games in the mid afternoon, the day will consist of lighthearted social touch with many laughs and Subway catering provided for all participants. Registration is still open, and we encourage everyone to start up or join a team. Entry is just $50 per team, which is paid upon registration. With roughly 100 participants taking to the fields and Redbull showing their support for the event, we anticipate a fun day for everyone involved. We look forward to seeing everyone down at the Bond rugby fields on the 19th of October.
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