Issue 04, 2014 / FREE
WORLD CUP WOES / DEB BALL REVIVAL / INSIDE VILLAWOOD / CHICKEN OR THE EGG? / UNDERSTANDING GRIEF
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Issue 04 CONTENTS
CONTENTS
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Editors
Eden Caceda Katie Davern Sophie Gallagher Rob North Sean O’Grady
F E ATUR E S
WORLD CUP WORRIES OF OLYMPIC PROPORTIONS The modern debutante 13 VILLAWOOD: SURVIVING DETENTION 18 Foetal Rights? 27 TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS 32
REPORTERS
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Harnsle Joo Georgia Hitch Jonathan Mimo Mary Ward Rachel McGinty Tang Li Kirsty Timsans Tom Joyner Hannah Edensor Peter Walsh Vicki Choh Erin Rooney
Contributors
Katie Stow, Emily Shen, Rebecca Karpin, Alison Xiao, Lisa Xia, Stephanie Paglia, Samantha Jonscher, Julia Robins, Virat Nehru, Craig Law, Whitney Duan
Publications Manager Louisa Stylian
R E GULARS What’s On 04 Editorial & Board 06 Letters 07 Opinion 09 Interview 17 Taste 22 Go 23 Move 24 Learn 25 The Time I Tried 31 Campus Fashion 35 Vox & Classic Countdown 36 Cow & Horns 37 Arts 39 Reviews 40 Experience 41 Club Confidential 42 Shutter Up 44 Comics 45 Ask Isabella 46
/bullmag
/USUbullmag
Design manager Robyn Matthews
Design
Simon Macias Peta Harris
CONTACT
editors@bullmag.com.au facebook.com/bullmag @usubullmag usu.edu.au/bullmag The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of the USU. The information contained within this edition of Bull was correct at the time of printing. This publication is brought to you by the University of Sydney Union.
Issue 04, 2014
Write for us! Whether you’re a budding student journalist or have a random idea that could be a great story, email us and you could get published here. editors@bullmag.com.au
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bull usu.edu.au WHAT'S ON
WHAT'S ON For the FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS – head to USU.EDU. AU AND CLICK THE CALENDAR. Clubs & Socs – remember to submit your events on the website!
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wk 12 (MAY)
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Issue 04 what's on
every week monday – friday
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MUST SEE THEATRESPORTS OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL Thursday 29 May 2014, 7pm Manning Bar // 18+ Hosted by Bridie Connell Free Pitting the best Manning improvisers against the stars of yesteryear, we’re gearing up for a battle of wit and one liners of slapstick and silliness. Our New School cast certainly has a fight on their hands as they face-off against a cast of national and world champion improvisers, so make sure you’re there ready to cheer them on. Entry is FREE, there are great prizes on offer, and most importantly, the bar is open till late. Come along and get ready for a night to remember!
COMING UP 29 MAY
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Coroner 19 JUN
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bull usu.edu.au EDITORIAL
FROM THE EDITORS EDEN, KATIE, SOPHIE, ROB, SEAN It is with heavy hearts
that we present the final issue of BULL for the semester. We’ve been utterly impressed by the work of our talented reporters and contributors, and the features in this issue have made us particularly proud.
Q&A: HANNAH MORRIS Outgoing USU President B: The 2014 USU Student Board elections have officially wrapped up – you will remain on the Board as the Immediate Past President for a further year.What exactly does this role entail, and how does it differ from that of the newly elected and returning Student Board Directors? HM: The USU Constitution provides that the Immediate Past President sits on the Board for a year as a non-voting Director. This means that the IPP is still bound by the same Constitution, Regulations and Directors Duties as the other Directors, however does not exercise voting rights. The IPP’s role has historically been in an advisory capacity, providing institutional knowledge to the Board and assisting the new President in transitioning into their role. B: What do you feel has been the greatest achievement of 2013-2014 USU Student Board? HM: I have been proud to say that the 20132014 Board has been one of the most active Boards in recent times, and I owe this all to the drive of the individual Directors on this year’s Board and their desire to improve
This issue is a tear jerker. Hannah Edensor give us a deeply personal description of what it’s like to lose a parent, BULL Editor Eden Caceda journeys into Villawood Detention Centre and Kirsty Timsans explores Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. This was also our first edition without Editor Melanie Kembrey, who has left the herd to commence a cadetship at Fairfax Media. We wish her all the best! The perilous economic situation of commercial media organisations and the ever-present threat of cuts to the public broadcasters contribute
substantially to the fears of many would-be journalists. But, Melanie's departure and success has given us hope in an increasingly uncertain job market. If and when you get the inevitable blues during the break, no doubt due to the lack of BULL content, simply remember that we’ll be back next semester, let out of our cages once more, ready and raring to go. BULL x
the student experience. Over the last year this Board has undertaken a comprehensive Queer review, Programs review and Transparency review, and has commenced a review of BULL magazine, Student Leadership Positions, internal Working Party governance structures and the C&S Program. We have developed an In Camera policy to regulate our use of in camera proceedings, are in the process of creating a Volunteers policy, and are transitioning towards an ethical investment policy for our financial portfolio. We have created a new Sustainability Co-ordinator position and implemented two new student programs for 2014, Health & Wellbeing Week and Sex & Consent Day. We have also overseen an incredibly successful O-Week which has seen us sell 150 per cent more ACCESS cards than in 2013, secured the USU its largest SSAF allocation in the annual SSAF funding agreement for 2014, and supervised extensive capital developments in the Holme and Wentworth buildings.
the USU as it exists today is not primarily a political organisation, each new Board is entitled to interpret these obligations differently when it is their turn to guide the strategic direction of the Union. It is important to remember however that the USU is a large organisation which is a services and amenities provider, programs and events facilitator and a provider of commercial operations, with several hundred staff in our employment and 14,000 members. USU Board Directors have a duty to act in the best interests of all aspects of our organisation when they make decisions, so any strategic direction future Boards move in, whether activist or commercial, needs to ensure all elements of our organisation are being taken into account.
B: Over the past few decades a number of
student unions have gradually shifted away from providing a platform for student activism, and towards the provision of events and student services. Is it important for student unions to support and maintain student activism? HM: The University of Sydney Union is driven by our Constitutional aims and purpose to provide the best co-curricular experience possible for students at this University, including promoting the intellectual, cultural and social development of our members as well as the best interests and welfare of the Union and the University community. Although the way our Constitutional obligations have been interpreted in recent years means
BULL wants to hear from you Email editors@bullmag.com.au
B: In BULL Issue 3 you gave some advice for Union Board candidates and other students planning to run in the future.What advice can you give for the next Board President? HM: You are about to enter a role that you can never be fully prepared for and that will completely transform your life for the next year. It will test you and challenge you in every way possible, however at the same time you will have one of the most rewarding and inspiring experiences you could ever have at University. You have been given an incredible privilege to lead an organisation that has had a positive impact on the lives of so many students before you and will continue to do so for many years after you, so make the most of every day of it. Finally, stay strong and be brave, have the confidence to back your decisions, know that it's okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them, and never be afraid to ask for help.
Issue 04 7 LETTERS & PICK OF THE MONTH
LETTERS RE: WAITING Dear ‘Name witheld’, Thank you for writing a letter to BULL [Issue 3] which queried the status of various campaign promises which had been put forward by the USU’s student board directors elected last year. People like you are one mechanism which help the USU operate in an environment of openness, accountability and efficiency. That being said, it is also people like you who, knowingly or unknowingly, engage in casual racism. I take a joke as well as the next person, and I understand that my name, as long and phonetically challenging as it is, lends itself to jokes of all kinds. You’re not the first to do it. This time though, I did not appreciate my name being deliberately misspelt. I found it incredibly interesting that my name was the only one singled out for humorous purposes, though being among five other names – Bebe D’Souza, Eve Radunz, Tim Matthews, Robby Magyar and Kade Denton. Were the other names not material fodder enough? Were they not ethnic enough to fulfill your inner comedian? Ironically for you, BULL editor Katie Davern has written a wonderful article about Australia’s racist tendencies in this edition [Issue 3]. It raises some very interesting thoughts and quotes, and here’s a pull-out for you: “In everyday conversations, it is too easy for racism to be trivialised, and disguised as humour… I think the biggest effect on me was obviously being pointed out as different from everybody else,” [Adam] Goodes explained.’ In ridiculing my name, and not those of other directors, you pointed me out as different from everybody else. You trivialised my capacity as a board director against those of fellow board directors. You made it a joke to have a non-white-sounding name. Let me tell you something – I am not a joke. Not unless everyone around me is as well. I am proud of having a name which speaks to my parents’ Sri Lankan heritage. I am proud of having a name that you struggle to pronounce. I hope you take this as an opportunity to learn more about racism and yourself. I’m not angry at you, I’m angry at what you did, so if you would like to apologise to me (and every other person out there who has a name which isn’t ‘the norm’ and has over 5 vowels), I would really appreciate it and I won’t bite. Whether that’s here on Facebook, over a private message, a text or in person. Racism, casual or formal, written or
spoken, small or large, is not okay. Next time I hope you think about becoming part of the solution rather than the problem when you put pen to paper. Cheers, ~ Tara Waniganayaka Eds: This fantastic response was published with Tara’s permission.
PUT DOWN THE iphone Dear Whitney Duan, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with your views and opinions on the smartphone photography revolution [Photographed and Disengaged – Issue 3]. They are simultaneously a blessing and the bane of my existence! In my teenage years hundreds if not thousands of Kodak moments were undoubtedly missed. Without permanent access to high quality and expensive photography equipment so many of the good times went un-photographed and swiftly forgotten. Granted, several of my friends were able to afford good cameras befitting of a semiprofessional, and I was fortunate enough to get some great snaps of my graduation. I’ve also got some regrettable schoolies photos – I appreciate that they are confined to my hard-drive for now, but maybe in the future I’ll share them on social media for a good old fashioned LOL. When the early iPhone models replaced the humble Nokia and Motorola phones I was ecstatic. The majority of my University experience has been immortalised. Everyone had access to a semi-decent camera, and it was with them around the clock! Unfortunately this has proven to be a problem – people aren’t just taking an unnecessary amount of photos of their favourite singers, bands and pastries. They are also whipping their phones out and taking selfies at the gym, leaving the flash on while snapping their own pictures at weddings (and thus ruining the professional photos), and even during university lectures! Yep, you heard right. Last week during a lecture of mine, a student decided it would be easier to take a quick photo of each and every slide rather than take notes. It was obnoxious, unnecessary, and uncool. I’m with you on this one Whitney – there’s a time and a place for the iPhone camera, but the carefully composed shots selective taken by an old expensive camera will always be preferred. ~ Mikaela Griffith, Arts (MECO) IV Eds: Thanks Mikaela – we’re glad to hear you agreed with the opinion. That snap-happy student is taking laziness to a whole new level. We’re not sure whether to be impressed or mad.
N*SYNC You’re probably wondering why we've chosen to focus on the long disbanded five-piece vocal group N*Sync. in this monthly Pick Of The Month. To be honest, the reason is pretty simple – we just miss them so damn much. Last year the boys teased us when they briefly reunited at the MTV Video Music Awards, but they said ‘Bye Bye Bye’ much too soon, with all but Justin Timberlake fading back into obscurity. It was a simpler time when Chris, Joey, Justin, JC and Lance ruled the airwaves together, providing us with excellent and perfectly non-offensive music. Girls wanted to date them and boys wanted to be them. It was a time when we could sport double denim. It was a time when we could wear so much hair spray or gel that you could smell us a mile away, and the boys amongst us begged our parents for frosted tips. But perhaps surprisingly, what we miss most is that their name made sense. The group comprised of five young men singing in harmony; or, in sync. Nowadays things just aren’t so straightforward or clever. We might be putting ourselves at risk of a full scale Twitter war with their tween fans here, but the utterly nonsensical naming of the Australian pseudo boy band (supposedly they can actually play instruments, and therefore aren’t technically a boy band) 5 Seconds of Summer has been driving us up the wall. What the fuck is it supposed to mean? Is their music intended to remind us of the beach season – but merely five seconds of it? That’s not even enough time to finish a Paddle Pop. Their so called hit single ‘She Looks So Perfect’ runs for nearly three minutes and forty seconds, leaving a pretty terrible dividend for listeners seeking the sounds of summer. Come back to us N*Sync, and show these suckers what’s what.
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Issue 04 OPINION
OPINION Comically Incorrect
Harnsle Joo I’m an Asian, devout Christian, and more right than leftleaning. Long story short, I’m the potential butt of the joke for almost every comedian out there. I love comedy and I rarely take anything too personally, though I do have strong feelings about the clear imbalances in what society seems to deem fair game for ridicule and politically incorrect. I’m not denying that many of the jokes we hear on stage about Asians, Christians
Real communities face the axe – just...
Georgia Hitch When the federal government’s National Commission of Audit (CoA) released its recommendations, my social media feeds and email inbox were quickly flooded with angry and impassioned responses. The five volume report suggested restricting the allocation of government funds to a number of services, including (perhaps not surprisingly) Medicare, the aged pension, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. While these recommendations generated plenty of attention, another area of the report was almost entirely overlooked: the suggestion to cut all funding to Australian community radio. Fortunately the Abbott Government opted not to swing the axe – the total abolishment of the Department of Communications’ Community Broadcasting program did not occur and as a result thousands of community radio stations nationwide will remain in operation.
and conservatives can be considered funny – but when the jokes, stereotypes, and sometimes unfair caricatures are repeatedly aimed at some groups, more regularly than others, I think that there is a slight problem. Remember blackface? Back in the day it was one of most popular sources of comedic entertainment. These days when it appears it is duly met with criticism and labelled as racist. Yet we still have comedians imitating Chinese accents or squinting their eyes, and we say that it’s just “in good humour”. One of my favourite comedians, Joel Creasy, got away with characterising Christians as “maniacally fisting…to Antiques Roadshow” but you rarely hear comedians take a similar crack at many other
religions, and when they do, they’re usually criticised heavily. We laugh at jokes about Kyle Sandilands’ weight and appearance but it will probably never be ok to do the same to Jackie O. Jokes about anyone right-of-centre being elitist, racist and a sexist seem to be the norm, but we hardly hear the same sort of jokes about those who are left-of-centre. Either all of these jokes should be labelled offensive, or none at all. Some of my favourite comedians are the biggest perpetrators, like Wil Anderson and Joel Creasy. I absolutely love them, but I can’t help but ponder if their jokes and shows have come to reflect an inherent imbalance in social standards.
If community radio is safe for now, why should I care? Well, the answer is simple. The threat of a funding cut regularly rears its ugly head, and the CoA indicates key misunderstandings which are influencing the decisions of policy makers at the highest levels. These must be addressed and rectified. The CoA suggestion was based on the tenuous justification that the government already spends $1billion a year on the public broadcasters – ABC and SBS. This decision to lump in community broadcasters with their government owned and run counterparts demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the purpose of community radio – something you would hope they would understand before even considering to shut the entire sector down. In addition to being a wonderful platform for people of all ages to become involved with broadcasting, the beauty of community stations is that they stand as a point of difference from both public and
commercial broadcasters. These stations give listeners a unique alternative to the mainstream outlets and speak for otherwise neglected or overlooked communities around the country: from JOY FM in Melbourne giving voice to gay and lesbian communities, Radio for the Print and Handicapped (RPH) providing those with reading difficulties and the blind access to newspaper and magazine reading services, or the many Sydney stations such as Eastside FM, 2SER and FBi Radio. The kicker to this whole situation is that community stations are run off the smell of an oily rag. With most surviving on the donation of time, money and baked goods of dedicated volunteers, if there was ever a sector that both truly needed and deserved its small amount of allocated government funding it’s the troopers in community radio.
The kicker to this whole situation is that community stations are run off the smell of an oily rag
Georgia Hitch is the host of ‘Up For It’ on Sydney community radio station FBi 94.5FM
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10 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE
Issue 04 11 FEATURE
Jonathan Mimo investigates the potential legacy for the world’s biggest sporting event in Brazil.
With June rapidly approaching, millions of football fans across the globe are preparing to watch what they believe is the world’s greatest game, hosted in its spiritual home: the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. When the country was first confirmed as host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in October 2007, television news cameras captured scenes of jubilation. Many Brazilians were adamant that the country had been rewarded for its strong development and others were simply overjoyed to have the tournament return to their country for the first time since 1950. But just six years later, the celebrations were a distant memory when the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup (essentially a dress rehearsal for the tournament) was marred by violent protests on the streets of Brazil. These protests were sparked by a rise in public transport prices, the last straw in a series of grievances, many of which sound all too familiar in the aftermath of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics: government corruption; the forced removal of favela (slum) dwellers; the failure to address a substandard education and health care system; and, ultimately, the decision to spend $US22.8 billion in public funds on stadiums in a nation that lacks basic infrastructure in some of its largest cities. In light of the protests and these concerns, and with the FIFA World Cup looming and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on the horizon, a troublesome question remains: What kind of legacy will these sporting events leave for Brazil? “I think that any country hosting a mega event is taking a huge risk,” says Robert Baade, a sports economics expert at Lakeforest College in Chicago. “In the case of Brazil, the problems have been exacerbated by social unrest when people begin to realise the sacrifices required to host these events.” “There is not only a sacrifice in terms of tax dollars but sacrifices in terms of educational opportunities, higher costs, and in general diminished social services,” says Baade, “so I think there is a real disenchantment in Brazil with the World Cup.” But organisers and officials remain positive. Aldo Rebelo, Brazil’s Sports Minister, has argued that despite these concerns there was a strong reason for awarding Brazil the World Cup and Olympics two years apart, as reported by Time.
“I think [the world] was basically saying that a country that today has the sixth largest economy in the world, democracy and international policies, has what it takes to host a World Cup and Olympics,” said Rebelo, adding, “not only when it comes to material matters but also spiritual ones.” FIFA officials have also pointed to the fact that Brazilian fans have applied for tickets in “huge numbers” and claim, “most Brazilians are in favour of the country hosting the tournament.” According to the Brazilian Ministry of Sports, the overall economic impact was to exceed US$100 billion with 332,000 permanent jobs created and 381,000 temporary jobs being available in 2014. Based on these figures and the promise of a $US400 billion plan to overhaul the nation’s airports, roads, subways and urban bus systems, the bids for the World Cup and Olympics received strong public support. Yet most of these promises have been delayed, cancelled or reduced in scope. “I think that of course the government and other boosters are arguing that this will be an incredible boost for the Brazilian economy and for all the cities that are going to accommodate the game,” says Baade. “But I think the citizens of Brazil are becoming increasingly unconvinced and neither are people in the academic community who are looking at it dispassionately and from an objective point of view.” One such academic, Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, believes megasporting events overall have a negative net impact on host cities. “Brazil has roughly spent $28 billion combined that could have been, and should have been, put to much better uses,” says Matheson. “The $600 million they spent on a whiteelephant stadium in Brasilia could have purchased lots of lower cost bus tickets with this being the event that sparked the first protests in Brazil last spring.” Matheson argues that mega-sporting events like the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics are underpinned by mega-public subsidies, which drive unsustainable overconsumption based on the short-term imperative of private capital accumulation at the expense of society as a whole. “Brazil has focused its efforts on preparing its cities for a small, short-lived influx of foreign tourists instead of promoting living standards for the typical resident,” says Matheson. “These events
will leave a legacy of debt with little to show for it in the medium and long-run.” However, Dr John Mikler from the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney is more optimistic. “Culturally, it is wonderful in terms of bringing the nation together. But if you break down what Brazil’s problems are, what Brazil needs, it won’t be provided by these one-off events.” Dr Mikler cites the Sydney Olympics as an example of a mega-sporting event that had a positive legacy. He says it put “Sydney on the map.” However, he also warns that the Brazilian World Cup and Olympics could go down the path of the Athens Olympics with their preparation, highlighting endemic issues within Greek governance. “The key thing you are presuming is a functioning government, which Brazil has, but the question is will this transform to a greater capacity of governance and the capacity of the state to perform a more guiding role in the development and wellbeing of Brazil.” It is possible then, that these events will be remembered not in terms of their economic impact but rather the unrest in the community it has created. But Brazilian national David Sanchez would rather remember it for the football, which he believes could unite the country and its people. “People are very enthusiastic or very angry about Brazil hosting the World Cup but when that first ball is kicked off, the nation will unite behind the Seleção,” says Sanchez. “You cannot hide our love of football.” However, Baade warns about the consequences if the Brazilian national team does not do well in the tournament. “I really fear that if the Brazilian team does not do well then things are going to really turn south… we really need to hope that they do well,” says Baade. “If the national team does well, then a lot of sins will be forgiven. However if they do not do well then I’m concerned it is going to magnify what they have experienced already in terms of problems.” “There is a lot riding in terms of the outcome and an inordinate amount of pressure on the Brazilian national team.” Time will only tell what legacy these megasporting events will have for Brazil. More than likely, these events will show the country still has a long way to go.
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Issue 04 13 FEATURE
The
modern
Debutante Mary Ward explores what place this traditional coming of age ritual has in modern society.
14 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE
“I hope to gain greater skills in presenting myself in public and how I should act as a young woman.” Alyssa has just paid a successful visit to Brides of Beecroft in Sydney’s northern suburbs. The gown is a sweetheart neckline number. A traditional white, it’s tight with a bodice covered with a sheer, floor-length chiffon skirt, which falls from a simple beaded belt around the waist. “I was never a fan of the big ‘prom style’ dresses,” she says. “And I knew I liked strapless.” In between dress shopping, drawing up her final guest list and waltzing lessons (which the part-time dance teacher is proud to report she is acing) it’s a wonder that the HSC student has any time to study, let alone fulfil her duties as school vice-captain. But Alyssa isn’t planning to walk down the aisle any time soon. In fact, she isn’t even in a relationship. Alyssa is one of twenty-odd girls at her school who are currently busily preparing to be formally introduced to society. Alyssa is a modern debutante. Since the mid-20th Century, debutante balls have been on the out. Replaced by nightclubs and Arts degrees, the former marriage market of the upper class has increasingly faced obsolescence.
Even the English Court decided to get rid of their debs, with Queen Elizabeth II abolishing the ceremony in 1958. And yet, if you squint and tilt your head slightly to the right, you will find the institution of the debutante being celebrated by schools, cultural clubs and other community groups across both regional and metropolitan Australia. Alyssa’s co-educational school in Sydney’s Hills District has been offering the debutante ball to Year 12 female students for as long as she can remember. “My mum and I have been looking forward to my turn to be a debutante for years,” she says. While traditional debutante balls can still be found in some parts of the world – Dubai’s London Season Ball made headlines when it was established by a group of UAE expatriates last year – the modern debutante is a slightly more progressive affair. The white dresses remain except, rather than being presented as a pure marriage prospect to a ballroom of potential suitors, the debutantes invite partners to the event. As the vice-captain of her school, Alyssa
thought it would be appropriate to ask her fellow-vice captain to the ball. “He loved the idea of going to the debutante ball – he actually asked me if I would let him be my partner!” A Matron of Honour (or Guest of Honour) is present, but they are more likely to be an esteemed member of the community than a professional matchmaker. Many modern debutante balls also raise money for a particular charity. This is the case at the Sutherland Shire’s Mayoral Ball, the only remaining council-run debutante ball in Australia. The Mayoral Ball can be traced back to Sutherland Shire’s Presidential Cabaret Ball, a ball organised in 1940 to raise funds for the war effort. In more recent years, the event has raised more than $400,000 for charities such as the Save the Children Fund, Boys Town, Sutherland Shire Rural Bush Fire Services, and last year’s charity Sutherland Shire Family Services. This year’s ball will support the St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation. While the tradition of the debutante is still followed, Sutherland Shire Mayor Steve Simpson says the focus is on seeking out
Issue 04 15 FEATURE
sponsorship from local businesses and community groups to support the Ball’s chosen charity. “They work really hard to get ready for the Ball, and are rightly proud of themselves for their fundraising achievements and the ability to be in the spotlight on the night in front of family and friends and their school community,” he says. “It provides a great social event for the community each year and a way for the students to give back to their community.” Caitlin made her debut three years ago at a ball for senior students organised by her co-educational independent high school. It was a long-standing tradition at the school, and an event that the speech pathology student had wanted to participate in since she was a young girl. However, not all of her peers were supportive of her choice. “A particular person said that it was a misogynistic practice and that we were basically selling out our gender by participating,” she says. Though, Caitlin thinks that those who criticise the institution of the debutante are reading too far into the event.
“It was all about the girls,” she stresses. “Even though we needed to take a partner, it was clear that we were being promoted as independent women. I don’t think getting dressed up and having a nice evening meant that we were being patronised or reducing our standards.” While Alyssa hasn’t experienced any principled objections to her debutante preparations, some people have commented on the amount of time and money spent on just one night. “A few family friends held the opinion that the deb ball was not worth the expenses,” she says. “However, if anyone was critical it was my older sister – only out of pure jealousy because she didn’t have the opportunity at her senior school.” As her parents’ only daughter, Caitlin was also the first child in her family to make her debut. They supported her throughout the whole process, which Caitlin views primarily as a community event for the school’s families. “It gave them the opportunity to socialise with other families from school. It was actually a really nice family occasion.” And, for all of the pomp and ceremony that came with the ball, there were times
when it could have been mistaken for the generic Year 12 formal the school held later in the year. After the girls had been introduced to the Matron of Honour, eaten dinner and performed their waltz – Caitlin rates the ability to waltz as one of the most important skills she gained from making her debut – the night became like any other big party. “We had a fun, muck-around dance as a whole group, then we just danced for the rest of the night,” she says. “It was just a fun evening to share with all the special people in our lives.” Alyssa will make her debut in June, after three months of preparation. But, after the dress has been worn its requisite once, the waltzes have been danced, the photos taken and the night ended, what is the modern debutante left with? “I hope to gain greater skills in presenting myself in public and how I should act as a young woman,” she says. “As well as greater confidence in myself.”
Images courtesy of trbimg.com and etiquipedia.blogspot.com.au
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Issue 04 17 INTERVIEW
Interview STELLA YOUNG
She’s been described as ‘rude, clever and hilarious’ by critics, has declared her war on ‘inspiration porn’, and performed an accessibility audit on her local strip of shops at the age of 14. Stella Young is equal parts comedian, journalist and disability advocate, and has been making waves in the last couple of years with her irreverence and sheer determination to make a change. It was only five years ago that Stella entered Raw Comedy, Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s amateur comedy competition. Her friend George is a wheelchair user and had previously competed in the contest and encouraged her to give it a whirl. “Whenever I’m in public, people will want to engage with me and ask me questions and there’s a feeling of having to be ‘on’ all the time. When I was in my early 20s, I kind of started to get annoyed about that so I decided that if people were going to stare at me all the time, I was going to spend at least some of that time on a stage with a microphone in my hand. They can stare, but they also have to listen,” she says. And thank goodness for George – Stella reached the state finals that year and has been lighting up the local comedy scene ever since. Her debut show, Tales From The Crip, featured at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival and has earned her a Best Newcomer award and critical acclaim. As her show’s name suggests, Stella isn’t interested in tip-toeing around the issue of disability. Rather, she brings it to the forefront of every show. As Stella explains, “Comedy is a good way for me to vent my frustrations about inequality.
One of my favourite parts of performing is coming out on stage and telling the ablebodied people in the audience how brave and inspirational they are for being out and about. That’s something us disabled people hear all the time, but no-one thinks it’s ridiculous until you turn the tables and patronise nondisabled people for no reason at all.” As well as being a provoking comedian, Stella Young is also a prominent journalist and disability advocate. She is the editor of ABC’s Ramp Up, an online platform dedicated to the news and discussion of and about disability. ‘Practising pride in the face of exclusion’ was an article Stella wrote earlier this year which was published on Ramp Up, and makes note of the insincere use of the word ‘inclusion’. She reveals just how many times her well-meaning friends and colleagues have invited her to parties and only upon her arrival, has she realised that the party is inaccessible. In her article, Stella highlights the failings of institutions when it comes to disability and how these are rarely raised in the public discourse. In doing so, her article attracted a mass reader response with people engaging with and sharing their own experience of this artificial ‘inclusion’. Reading the comments, one realises just how geared our society is towards providing for the able-bodied over those who are disabled. Late last month, Stella was able to bring these ideas and more to one of the world’s most esteemed discussion forums, TEDxSydney. Stella enlightened the audience of 2,200 people about why ‘inspiration porn’ is so cringe worthy and why sometimes a positive attitude isn’t
enough, contrary to popular, social media fuelled belief. She points out how many times pictures of disabled people carrying out ordinary tasks are posted and shared with tacky ‘inspirational’ captions. She told the TEDx audience, “I want to live in a world where a 15-year-old girl watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer in her bedroom until all hours of the night isn’t an inspiration just because she’s doing it sitting in a wheelchair.” “We are taught that disability is a deficit. This prejudice is so ingrained in our culture that it feels uncomfortable to question it.” But questioning it is exactly what Stella encourages. Through her work with Youth Disability Advocacy Service, she has helped to establish the LiveAccess project, which advocates for better access to live music venues. As a member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, the Ministerial Advisory Council for the Department of Victorian communities and Women With Disabilities Victoria, Stella is able to keep in touch with all that is happening in the world of disability action. If there is one theme that runs through all of Stella’s comedic, journalistic and advocacy work it’s that she wants to change the way disabled people are viewed in society. “I want to see disabled people on television, in magazines, on the radio. There are voices that need to be heard and stories that need to be told. We’ve been locked out for far to long.” “Disability does not make you exceptional. But questioning what you think you know about it does.”
KATIE DAVERN
18 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE
Villa wood Surviving Detention
Issue 04 19 FEATURE
Eden Caceda visits our most notorious detention centre to find it IS not as his family remembers it.
Forty years ago my grandparents arrived in this country escaping the economic and political upheaval of 1970s Argentina. The prospects of a similar military coup, as seen in Chile on 11 September 1973, were very high and my grandparents, like many other South Americans of that time, fled to the promising land of Australia. Arriving in Sydney on a cloudy morning with three young daughters and three suitcases, they were settled into one of Sydney’s three migrant hostels: East Hills, Randwick and Villawood. Migrants never understood why they ended up in different hostels. My grandparents were moved into East Hills while many other members of the South American community were put into Villawood. As a young child my mother remembers visiting family friends at Villawood and overhearing stories about torture, kidnappings and disappearances from the refugees within the centre.
Convention to the Status of Refugees (1951), but also a moral duty to these displaced asylum seekers. In 2011 only 0.7 per cent of the world’s refugees were resettled and currently Australia is doing very little to help the cause. From the time of my mother’s arrival in Australia to now, the attitudes towards these refugees have changed significantly; slogans like ‘We’re full’ and ‘Keep the terrorists out’ have been adopted, consequently rejecting the idea of refugees seeking safety as a necessary human right. Globally, Australia is ranked 47th for hosting refugees according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Currently the UN resettles 20,000 people with a legal refugee status each year in Australia, and so our country is listed in the top three nations most likely to accept a legal refugee. However, for the asylums seekers who aren’t able to apply to the UN, those whose refugee status won’t be approved by our government, and those who need to escape and seek protection immediately – Australia does not welcome them. In 2012, Australia accounted for just over a mere 3 per cent of the global share of asylum seeker applications. That year, there were 17,202 arrivals of asylum seekers in Australia by boat. While this may seem like a large number of refugees, according to the UNHCR 23,000 people leave their homes each day. For the past ten years, the influx of people in Villawood have been refugees arriving by boat, among people who have overstayed their visa permit or had it cancelled because of failure to comply with visa conditions. What has brought the most attention to the centre are the numerous accusations of human rights violations. In 2008, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission said the high security section of the detention centre was ‘prison like’ and demanded it be closed immediately.
the number of suicides in IDC s in the last 18 months suggests that suicide rates may be at least ten times in excess of the general Australian rate
Four years ago, an Afghani architect, Omar*, escaped the country’s civil unrest, fleeing to Indonesia before paying $10,000 to be smuggled by boat into Australia. However, on the fifteenth day of a 21day voyage, with no water and little food left, the Navy intercepted the boat and he was sent to Christmas Island for four months, before being transferred to Villawood, where he remains today. Opening in 1949, Villawood was the largest migrant hostel in Australia. A great symbol for multiculturalism and acceptance after World War II, it contained accommodation, dining halls, a TV hut, movie hall, recreation hall, sports ground, classrooms, childcare centre, shop and a post office. But, the arrival of the first refugees in ‘76 saw a new mentality arise, and refugees were anything but innocent victims seeking asylum to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. They were to be treated with extreme suspicion and imprisoned. This ushered in a new era of treatment for refugees as the hostel closed and reopened as Villawood Immigrant Detention Centre (IDC) in ‘84, a place of unwarranted oppression, a far cry from the former hub of acceptance that welcomed my grandparents just eight years earlier. The issue of asylum seekers – by definition: people who are seeking international protection but whose claim for refugee status has not yet been determined – has divided the Australian political landscape. With the United Nations (UN) estimating there are 42.5 million people displaced by persecution and conflict worldwide, the relatively affluent Australia is looked to fulfill not only their obligations as a signatory to the UN’s
It was an overcast Sunday afternoon when I visited Villawood IDC. She strolled in before me on light feet, buried under plastic boxes of her own homemade food, greeting me cheerfully with: “you could’ve gone in without me, you know.” Marlene Carrasco is a refugee activist, running the group Advocates for Refugees in Sydney, having migrated to Australia during the same Chilean coup of ‘73 as my grandparents. She visits every Sunday with her own group, and this weekend, I decided to join her.
20 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE
The security guards referred to Carrasco by name, and she greeted them without the bitterness I expected from one who is fighting so passionately against the institution. Our phones and recording devices were confiscated as we were scanned for anything we might be trying to smuggle in. Carrasco is dedicated to giving a face and a voice to asylum seekers. “Australians need to understand that these are people in this centre too,” Carrasco tells me, as we enter the facility. Passing through the outside seating area, Carrasco asked a young man how he was, to which his reply was “alive”. “Building relationships between these people is what I aim to do,” she said as I sat down with Omar in the common room. “Congratulations,” I said; he had just gotten married on the Wednesday to a woman outside. They had fallen in love during her many trips to the detention centre as a volunteer, and after two and a half years, he proposed to her. The ceremony, only allowed on a weekday, was attended by 80 people including detainees and the general public. He is only allowed to see his wife during visiting hours and until his application for asylum is accepted, this will be the extent of his marital relationship with her. His friend, Hassan*, is also getting married the next week to another volunteer. When I spoke to Hassan I asked him if he had concerns about marrying someone he couldn’t spend time with every day. “I love her. I don’t want to stop just because she is outside and I am inside. I can live too,” he told me, a testament to his resilient optimism against the seemingly glum direction our government has taken towards asylum seekers like him. “I just wait day by day, until someone can tell me I can leave,” said Budi*, an Indonesian asylum seeker who has been detained for two years. He was particularly happy when Carrasco arrived, greeting her warmly. “I’ve been here for four years. Nothing has really changed. I just wait and I can’t do anything,” said Omar, as we share some food Carrasco brought in to share with all his friends. As I spoke to the detainees, it became apparent that little has changed in the stories my mother heard from Villawood Migrant Hostel in 1974, and the stories of asylum seekers in Villawood IDC today. Even Carrasco herself recalls the stories shared when coming to Australia with many refugees. “I heard about the torture and death my family witnessed and I have never been able to erase it from my memory.” Carrasco soon highlighted that many of the refugees aren’t in control of their lives and that’s where many of them struggle inside the centre – from what they eat to their sleeping schedule to what their future holds. The statistics seem to reflect this as an issue of mental health for asylum seekers, which has resulted in a number of suicides, suicide attempts and self-harm inside Villawood IDC. According to Suicide Prevention Australia in a report to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the number of suicides in IDCs in the last 18 months suggests that suicide rates may be at least ten times in
excess of the general Australian rate, and three times that of young adult men, the age and sex group at highest risk. After a long few hours hearing the travel stories of these detainees and how little happens in their current lives, I left feeling emotionally exhausted. It was sad walking through the gates back to the promising land my grandparents were given and leaving behind these men and women who were promised the same yet treated differently. In early April over 60 protestors and activists clashed with police outside Villawood IDC as a number of detainees were transferred on buses to the Western Australia IDC in Curtin, with the government citing “construction work” for moving them. Marlene was among the protestors. So too was University of Sydney student and activist Clo Schofield, who says the transfer was a deliberate move to isolate detainees from their support networks. “Asylum seekers are being shifted away from metropolitan centres, where they are intermingled with citizens and have access to adequate services, and being placed in areas rural, remote and offshore,” said Schofield. Schofield described the protest as “immensely disturbing”, condemning the excessive use of police violence towards the activists. “They twisted the wrists of arrestees, dragged them along the ground and unnecessarily body-slammed non-violent protestors.” University of Sydney student Brigitte Garozzo, who was also there that day, had her wrist dislocated by police. “We were distressed, the people being forcibly transferred were distressed, and the police were using excessive force. We were sleep deprived, the people on the buses were holding their cuffed hands above their heads, and victims of police violence were screaming and crying. It was hard,” Schofield commented. A member of Students Thinking Outside Borders, a politically independent refugee ally group, Schofield promotes the use of the term ‘Future Australians’ to refer to asylum seekers, refugees, boat people and detention survivors. “To us they are not the stamp that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection places upon them; their journeys are their own and do not need bureaucratic, officious validation…Together we’re creating the world we want to live in, and that’s one where people fleeing persecution can be safe, flourish and grow old.” Among some of the asylum seekers transferred were people who had spouses, partners, close friends, and allies living in the area. Allegedly one of the asylum seekers to be transferred was previously a detainee at Curtin, but was moved to Villawood due to the necessity for access to mental health facilities. Speaking out about the protests and asylum
“I just wait day by day, until someone can tell me I can leave.”
Issue 04 21 FEATURE
Image courtesy of Ian Waldie/Getty Images
Image courtesy of naa.gov.au
Image courtesy of smh.com.au
seeker rights to media, Schofield was still getting abusive calls from 2GB listeners about her comments. “I received 14 abusive phone calls, and there have been a number of nasty comments directed at [the Students Outside of Borders] blog. There is a small intense minority still not against the treatment of asylum seekers.” The University of Sydney Anti-Racism Collective (ARC) were also at the blockade against the forced removals from Villawood IDC. Having been involved in a number of rallies promoting asylum seeker rights and guaranteed resettlement in Australia, the ARC is a student organisation standing for a prorefugee campus and believe that a just refugee policy can only begin by welcoming the boats. Schofield, also a member of the ARC, has too been inside the walls of Villawood IDC. “Villawood is disturbing both in how normal it is, and how absurd. People often feel really traumatised after leaving Villawood. It’s hard to see people who have been through so much, trapped, restless and uncertain of their futures. But it’s not a zoo, and they aren’t a spectacle,” Schofield commented. With the plight of asylum seekers worsening as more conflict continues elsewhere and reluctance to accept refugees is
growing, further exemplified by new political policies, public support continues to build from refugee groups to universities to families. But it must not stop there. “It is the responsibility of all Australian citizens to listen to the voices from inside detention centres, reject these brutal laws and to stand up against these policies. I think that there are many different ways to resist the ALP and the LNP’s horrific human rights abuses, and many ways to support people in detention. Not all of these ways are protest, and not everyone should choose protest as a method of resistance and compassion,” said Schofield. A month ago, my family celebrated 40 years since being welcomed into Sydney. My grandparents, who are 81 and 86, live happily today with six grandchildren who are proud young Australians, including me. But while the phrase “For those who’ve come across the seas, we’ve boundless plains to share” is still included in the second verse of the Australian national anthem, until Australia truly opens its doors to refugees and asylum seekers from around the world, whether by boat or plane, I will refuse to sing those lines. * Names have been changed
22 bull usu.edu.au TASTE
TASTE N2 Extreme Gelato
Science and Ice Cream Meet
Rachel McGinty Do you even gelato? The concept is simple enough – liquid nitrogen apparently makes for good ice cream. According to their website, N2 Extreme Gelato is ‘a cross breed of science and art creating a microstructure of ice crystals, air bubbles, fat droplets and a vicious solution of sugars, polysaccharides and milk protein’. But what about the liquid Nitrogen part, is it safe to eat? It is, even though it sounds like something your science teacher kept locked in the back cupboard, only to be brought out when everyone was head to toe in a hazmat suit. So how does this gastronomy work? Is this just another victim of genetic modification? No! Using liquid nitrogen, the gelato plays on the strength of a phenomenon called nucleation-dominated ice crystallisation (say that four times really fast). This forms a large number of microscopic ice crystals in a matter of seconds, which results in a smooth creamy texture to indulge in. Also, because the nitrogenised ice cream sits at a colder temperature to normal ice cream, the coldness accentuates any flavours once it hits the warm tongue. In other, more exciting words, a flavour explosion! To add to the science feel, it even comes with a chocolatefilled syringe – my kind of drug!
Whilst the science behind N2 might be enough to get you there, the incredible taste of their gelato should really be enough. Served straight from the mixer, the gelato is made to order so it’s not as fast as your usual scoop-and-go type of places. But N2’s setup should be enough to keep you entertained while you wait. The staff resembles a group of mad scientists dressed in white coats and glasses, busily mixing and creating in their lab-like workspace with steel benches and Perspex surroundings. Then there’s the price tag, which is perfect for the poor university students we are. At $6 a scoop, there’s truly enough to leave you satisfied and best of all, the place shuts at 11pm so you can tackle your late-night sugar craving head on. The menu rotates weekly, delivering innovative and tasty flavours such as butter popcorn and crème brûlée. For the true devotees of the Heston Blumenthal craze of molecular gastronomy, N2 provides flavours for the highbrow, adventurous types such as Salt and Pepper Calamari. Made from milk gelato with Szechuan pepper and sea salt, topped with dehydrated calamari, it’s definitely for the brave at heart. I chose to go with the Ferrero Rocher flavour, and the only way to explain it is by adopting my best Matt Preston impression: as I look down at my gelato, I begin to salivate like a Pavlov dog, before I ruin this liquid nitrogen madness in front of me. It appears that to capture the delicate intricacy
of the humble Ferrero Rocher, there are four components that N2 create. Inside the cup sits a deliciously streaky concoction of Nutella and hazelnut, with crumbled nutty pieces to give texture against the sheer smoothness of the gelato. Above the gelato is what I can only describe as crunchy rice bubble and chocolate topping to create the ‘exterior’ of the Ferrero Rocher. My favourite addition to this wacky gelato is the chocolate ganache syringe, which allows you to control how rich you want your gelato to be, accompanied with a crispy wafer piece. Eating it is a messy mission but definitely worth it. Within five minutes, my boyfriend and I sadly looked down at our empty bowls and resigned ourselves to the walk to Town Hall station to burn off this latest, calorie-crazed indulgence.
Top 5 Weirdest N2 Concoctions: 1. Potato and Gravy: Potato gelato with sea salt chips mixed throughout and served with a side of warm lamb gravy 2. Spam and Mustard: Spam gelato topped with wholegrain mustard 3. Tofu: For the vegans amongst us 4. Oh my Guinness: You guessed it, Guinness beer gelato topped with a gold coin for St Patrick’s Day 5. Happy Little Vegemite: For the very patriotic, try gelato with Vegemite and butter SAO crackers
Issue 04 23 GO
GO Sydney
Booze n’ Snooze Cruise
Sean O’Grady We’re at the halfway point of dinner. I stand up and pause for a second and compose myself. I reach for my suit jacket. I miss. The couple at a nearby table looks at me. I try again, and I’m successful this time. But the moment required to steady myself at the conclusion of this arduous task draws giggles. “I’m not drunk,” I say as I force out a congenial laugh and suppress the urge to vomit. I don’t know why I am bothering to explain myself to them. “We wouldn’t care if you were,” they respond in good nature as we share a few more awkward chuckles. When I start to walk away the ground shifts from under my feet, and I lurch heavily onto my left foot, nearly losing my balance completely. The couple’s laughter is more pronounced now. They definitely don’t believe I am sober. In fact, I was more sober than I would have liked. A member of staff told my dad that four cubic metres of glass and one cubic metre of aluminium cans were disposed of after our three days at sea. This was after it was crushed and compacted in special machines aboard the ship. The majority of it being alcohol, I drew the conclusion that the only way to have fun on a cruise was to be well liquored.
The destination of our cruise was Sydney. Our port of origin was also Sydney. I’d made a paltry joke of this at dinner on the first night. Perhaps the most sexist and least funny stand-up comedian I have ever encountered made the same joke at about 11:30pm. I left ‘the gig’ soon after. Beyond the bout of insanity that saw my mother book the trip to celebrate the conclusion of my father’s sixth decade, I had absolutely no reason or desire to be out at sea. The opportunities for diversion on board were as plentiful as they were uninspired. Live ice sculpting, golf competitions and trivia were all compared by overly enthusiastic and unoriginal members of staff. Each night there was a variety of shows and at each of them actors, musicians and dancers took their cues before crowded houses in contrived and asinine spectacles. Veteran cruisers debated the merits of an early or late dinner relative to the entertainment they would be able to take in. Were we not all trapped on a boat, I wondered, would people want to watch this at all? The word ‘posh’ has, as its origin, an acronym. It once stood for ‘Port Out, Starboard Home’, the side of the deck which was most likely to be in shade, where the wealthy would congregate as they travelled to and from their colonial postings. Of course at that point in history, the trappings of food, booze and entertainment had a purpose – to keep people entertained as they journeyed between continents.
In spite of change for the better (read: less colonialism and the invention of aeroplanes) cruises and the entertainment they offer still exist. In a nod to a more genteel time, we were asked to wear collared shirts to dinner. However, a Hawaiian shirt was sufficient. One group of men, well into their autumn years, wore the same Hawaiian shirts the whole weekend, each with a bespoke pocket marking the reunion of their “ ‘87 Booze n’ Snooze Cruise”. Given that they and seemingly everyone else on board began drinking at 11am, and continued until they went to bed, it seemed like an apt description. Joining them in their drunken stupor almost seemed like the best option. But going back to my cabin to vomit and count the hours until I could set foot on dry land won out.
Tips for Surviving a Cruise 1. Stay at home – or, if you simply must go… 2. Get an anti-nausea injection Tablets were woefully insufficient 3. Drink I imagine it is the only thing capable of making the entertainment actually entertaining 4. Drink More 5. Commandeer a life raft and get the hell out of there
24 bull usu.edu.au MOVE section heading
MOVE RUNNING
Get your heart rate up
GEORGIA HITCH Winter (break) is coming. As the weather begins to cool and the days get even shorter, making yourself venture into the cold to get that ‘recommended daily exercise’ can be tough – especially on Mondays. Whilst it might not be high on your to-do list, throwing on your joggers and facing the outdoors for a healthy dose of fresh air is actually one of the best ways to clear not just your lungs, but your brain too. Hang on a tick, isn’t running supposed to harm your joints? For many years it was believed that the repeated impact on your knees when running was the lead cause of damage to the joints. Good news! Despite misconceptions, studies have proven that running actually increases bone density. As a weight bearing activity, running aids in the growth of bone mineralisation and having healthy bones means a decreased likelihood of getting debilitating diseases like osteoarthritis later in life. Not only will it help you keep up your fitness now, but it’s looking out for future you too. Another advantage of running is its impact on your mental health. The benefits of setting aside specific time everyday to escape your work to pound the pavement does wonders for the chemicals up in your noggin. Running has not only been proven to stimulate hormones that relieve stress, anxiety and depression, but it also causes endorphins to flood your brain – it will
literally make you feel happy! Fun fact: The New York Times thought in 2008 that you could get high from running. This is all good and well but if you’ve ever attempted to start running from scratch you’ve probably experienced a hideous kind of chest pain and utter exhaustion that makes you feel like you’re having a heart attack. So why on earth would you ever want to put yourself through that again? Although it can definitely be hard at first, you only need to get your heart rate up for 15 minutes, three times a week to start increasing your endurance. Just think how easy those stairs up to Wentworth bridge from Redfern station would be after a week! If you’re having trouble staying motivated because, let’s face it, everyone has days when your bed’s warm and loving embrace is just too good to give up, here are a couple of tips and tricks to keep you on the right track. John Ryan, Personal Trainer and Fitness Manager at the Hilton Sydney’s Living Well Health Club suggests, “If you really struggle to break free of that comfy bed, set your alarm and place it somewhere in your room that you would have to get up and walk to to stop that infernal tone and resist the urge to snooze… and snooze... and snooze. It also helps to get your running gear ready the night before and neatly placed next to your bed or within reaching distance.” As students, a lot of whom are often hard pressed for time, it’s also dangerously easy to start making excuses and let the dust begin to collect on your flashy Nikes. It’s important to know, however, that not every run has to be a two-hour marathon.
Running Up Hills: The Playlist 1 ‘Household Goods’ – Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs 2 ‘Running to the Sea’ – Röyksopp 3 ‘Carried Away’ – Passion Pit 4 ‘Foreign Formula’ – Indian Summer 5 ‘Do You Feel The Same?’ – Hercules & Love Affair 6 ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ – Taylor Swift (let’s not lie, everyone loves TSwizzle to some extent) 7 ‘When A Fire Starts to Burn’ – Disclosure 8 ‘Hymn’ – His Majesty Andre 9 ‘Kickstarts’ – Example 10 ‘I Need Your Love’ (feat. Ellie Goulding) – Calvin Harris
If you’ve only got a limited amount of time during the day to dash outside while your TV show of choice finishes buffering/ streaming/downloading, then be sure to give interval running training a whirl. Interval running recommendations from Ryan are to break down your nearest hill or closest stretch of slight gradient into three sections. Ryan suggests that you should jog in section one, push up to 75 per cent of your maximum pace in section two and “the third – flat out!” Going down the hill will give you time to recover before you repeat it all again. Ryan’s pro tip #365: “Ensure you have warmed up and stretched down before and after all of your runs.” Most importantly, when it comes to running, the best thing to do is to experiment until you find a style that you like. If you enjoy it, your dedication is much less likely to wane. So, what are you waiting for?
Issue 04 07 25 section heading LEARN
LEARN PIT BULLS
The six cutest mixed breed dogs: DEBUNKING THE MYTHS
TANG LI If I were to ask you what you thought about pit bulls, I’m fairly certain your answer won’t contain the words ‘affectionate’, ‘loyal’ or ‘obedient’. Much of the blame for this can be placed on the media’s misrepresentation of pit bulls, which has caused the perpetuation of bully breed myths. However, according to the American Temperament Test Society, 82.5 per cent of pit bulls pass standardised temperament tests, passing fourth out of the highest 122 breeds. This is compared to an average 77 per cent pass rate, which includes ‘family dogs’ such as the Border Collie, Beagle and Golden Retriever. It’s important to note that the pit bull is not actually a breed but rather a type of dog that encompasses a myriad of breeds with strikingly similar characteristics. These include the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and approximately 25 other breeds that are commonly categorised as ‘pit bulls’. Like any breed, proper socialisation and training at a young age is imperative for a dog’s temperament and overall mental health. A common myth derives from the history of breeding pit bulls to become dog fighters and bull baiters, but this is a small component of the breed’s history. While some may carry the potential for aggressive tendencies, the vast majority are far-removed from the ‘fighting lines’ of their descendants. Research conducted by the United States
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that no specific breed of dog is inherently vicious. Most dog attacks stem from the fact that their owners have neglected them and failed to provide proper socialisation and training, says the Director of the National Canine Research Council, Karen Delise. Daniel Cung, President of the Animal Welfare Society at the University of Sydney said, “Like people, all dogs (including pit bulls) have unique personalities and isolated ‘dog attack’ incidents shouldn't lead to generalisations about an entire breed. Attacks are more likely to be the result of how the dog has been socialised, not because of a genetic disposition towards aggressive behaviour.” Recently, Barack Obama’s administration came out against BreedSpecific Legislation (BSL) where a number of jurisdictions have enacted this type of legislation as a knee-jerk reaction to highly publicised reports on dog bites. Further research by CDC shows that BSL is highly ineffective and recommends alternatives such as stricter enforcement of existing dangerous dog laws and nuisance ordinances, while encouraging animal welfare agencies to provide responsible dog ownership seminars and canine safety education. In a press release, Glen Bui, Vice President of the American Canine Foundation said, “To make claim that the American Pit Bull Terrier can cause more severe injury than other breeds is ludicrous. Over 30 breeds of dogs are responsible for over 500 fatal attacks in the last 30 years, where every victim was severely injured.”
1. Chusky: A cross between the Chow
Chow and Husky, this total fluff-ball looks like a bundle of fun.
2. Cocker-Pei: What do you get when you
mix a Shar-pei and a Cocker Spaniel? Absolute adorableness, that’s what.
3. Pomsky: Imagine the gorgeous fur of
a Husky on a tiny Pomeranian. If you cross-breed these two, you won’t have to imagine.
4. Horgi: Want to add a touch of royalty to your strongly built Husky? Add a bit of Corgi!
5. Goberian: Award for one of the most gorgeous dogs would have to go to the Goberian, a combination of Siberian Husky and Golden Retriever, with its blue eyes and gorgeous fur. 5. Bullpug: Pugs are arguably the cutest dogs around, and if you combine it with the roughness of an English Bulldog, it is scientifically proven that the cuteness increases tenfold. The Pit Bull Rescue Central states that there is no evidence that pit bulls are a riskier adoption choice than any other breed. Of the many abandoned dogs available in shelters, bully breeds are among those most in need of adoption. So, maybe it’s time for the pit bull to be better understood, not as a vicious animal, but as a dog that can be as affectionate as any other. Science confirms that the pit bull isn’t as dangerous as we are led to believe, and it seems that many other breeds inhabit risky traits, frequently caused by mistreatment and a lack of care from owners.
26 bull usu.edu.au section heading
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Issue 04 27 section heading
KIRSTY TIMSANS EXPLORES ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY AND THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE RIGHTS OF AN UNBORN CHILD.
28 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE
“It is extremely worrying for me because these women are victims... the idea we would lock them up because they didn’t stop drinking during pregnancy is scary.”
In the Phillips family there is a “no-blame policy” following 18-year-old Morgan’s diagnosis with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) at 11 years of age – the result of her mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy. In an interview with SBS’ Insight, Phillips recalled her struggle with basic mathematics, reading, spelling and handwriting that marred her education. “If I don’t understand something, I have always just zoned out because I know I am never going to understand it, but I have always just learnt to nod and sort of pretend I am listening and I know what is going on,” she said. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, as the name suggests, is a spectrum of disorders resulting from exposure to alcohol in utero. The most severe disorder is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which is made apparent by the physical abnormalities on the exposed child’s face including an indistinct philtrum (the area between the nose and upper lip), a thin upper lip and narrow eye openings. These are usually caused by exposure to alcohol during the first trimester when facial and major organ development is occurring. Children without physical abnormalities may encounter significant learning and developmental problems related to vision, hearing, memory and attention span. In 2009, the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines were altered to state that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. However, it is estimated that 3000 babies are born in Australia with FASD, though the WA Department of Health has advised that this figure may be an underestimate due to screening and diagnosis failures. At present, FASD is not recognised as an official disability in Australia making access to support difficult at best. Perhaps this non-recognition stems from the dominant public discourse that prescribes FASD as unique to Indigenous communities. On the contrary, and as Sydney
University Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health and Consultant Paediatrician at Westmead Children’s Hospital, Elizabeth Elliott, told the Australasian FASD Conference in November last year, “Indigenous and non-Indigenous women drink about the same sorts and levels of alcohol in pregnancy.” According to the results from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health 2012/13, 82 per cent of Australian women were still drinking alcohol during pregnancy, although the majority were consuming at low levels. Earlier this year, the Northern Territory AttorneyGeneral John Elferink announced the NT Government was considering legislation that could result in the prosecution of women for drinking whilst pregnant as they were infringing on the rights of their unborn child. In an interview with ABC’s Lateline, Elferink said, “Here in the Northern Territory, we are currently exploring – without pre-empting a cabinet decision – but we are currently exploring the antenatal rights of the unborn child...either prosecute or alternatively restrain [pregnant women] from engaging in conduct which harms their unborn child.” This is not the first time in Australia that legislation has been considered to recognise the rights of the unborn child. On Christmas Day in 2009, Brodie Donegan was out walking when a driver under the influence of drugs crashed into her and caused serious injuries – her baby did not survive. This tragic incident inspired Zoe’s Law, a bill that recognises the ‘personhood’ of a 20-week-old foetus. The bill is presently delayed in the NSW Upper House, after it was passed in the NSW Lower House in November 2013. This delay is amid fears that such legislation awarding legal status to the foetus will seriously infringe upon reproductive rights, most notably, a woman’s right to an abortion. Similarly, there is concern that this type of legislation will subordinate maternal rights of bodily integrity and autonomy in favour of foetal rights. In a series of written submissions
Issue 04 29 FEATURE
“Indigenous and non-Indigenous women drink about the same sorts and levels of alcohol in pregnancy.”
to the NSW Attorney-General, Women’s Legal Services NSW declared its opposition stating any legislation that prescribes rights to a foetus has the obvious potential to undermine women’s reproductive autonomy. Likewise, SRC Women’s Collective Officer Phoebe Moloney said, “As soon as it is recognised the foetus has equal or overriding rights to the mother...it lays the foundation for an argument that [abortion] could be considered murder in the law.” Academics, too, refrain from support of foetal rights legislation arguing it disadvantages those most in need of protection: alcohol-dependent women who are at risk of giving birth to a child with FASD. Sydney University Professor in the Discipline of Addiction Medicine Kate Conigrave said, “Women who are dependent on alcohol find it very hard to stop in pregnancy. And the individuals most likely to be dependent drinkers are those with social problems and mental health problems... you are penalising someone for their life circumstances and for a behaviour that is recognised by the World Health Organisation as part of a medical condition – alcohol dependence.” Deputy Director of the Musculoskeletal Division at The George Institute for Global Health and ARC Future Fellow, Jane Latimer, was at the “coalface” of this issue as she described it. Latimer participated in the Lililwan Project, a research collaboration formed between health experts and the Indigenous community to assess the prevalence of FASD in Fitzroy Valley. “It is extremely worrying for me because these women are victims... they’re the most vulnerable, they live in over-crowded housing, [are victims of] domestic violence and the idea we would lock them up because they didn’t stop drinking during pregnancy is scary.” Other ventures by the NSW Government in the protection of the unborn include the altering of legislation that would permit babies to be taken away from drug or alcohol-
dependent mothers, should they refuse treatment for their addiction during pregnancy. Under this new legislation, pregnant women suffering from drug or alcohol abuse will be made to sign a Parental Responsibility Contract (PRC) ordering them to attend rehabilitation programs, seek counselling or other forms of treatment. Whilst PRCs already exist under the current system, these contracts only apply once the child is born, thus allowing dependent mothers to continue feeding their addiction during pregnancy with dire consequences for their unborn child. Although NSW Health does not record the number of babies born with drug addictions, the John Hunter Hospital on the Central Coast recorded that from 2008-2011, 238 babies were born with drug addictions. With heroin-addicted babies born every year numbering in the hundreds, the Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward has said, “Parental Responsibility Contracts... extending those to before the birth means we have the opportunity to require a mum to go to a drug or alcohol abstinence program (to) manage her addiction to ensure that the baby has a much better chance of being born normal and she has a much better chance of keeping her baby.” Not unlike any debate about women’s reproductive rights, this juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down in the near future. The understated prevalence of FASD as a result of increasing numbers of alcohol-dependent pregnant women in Australia is a pressing issue and doubtlessly needs addressing. But if Elferink’s legislation is passed, one must ask – at what cost? Can we be certain all other avenues of address (i.e. prevention) have been exhausted? Or is Australia on the brink of thrusting open the floodgates for the criminalisation of other actions that may be construed as ‘harming’ the unborn child?
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Issue 04 31 THE TIME I TRIED...
THE TIME I TRIED... Not Shaking Hands
Tom Joyner will stare awkwardly into your eyes On New Year’s Day 1907, then President of the United States Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt held a reception at the White House. Seizing the opportunity, the exuberant Roosevelt managed to shake the hands of some 8,153 people before the evening’s end, whereupon, we can only imagine, he collapsed in exhaustion. His record stood for 70 years, until Joseph Lazarow (a mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey) surpassed him by almost 3,000 handshakes one afternoon in 1977. We can learn two things from this. First, history favours the bold and the socially uninhibited. Second, even in the face of absurdity, politicians will never pass up an opportunity to press the flesh. Shaking hands – that fumbled ritual, an odd mix of intimacy and assertion where your hand is sweaty, eye contact unfaltering, and you are overcome with a desire to just let go – is my greatest fear after sharks. As far as social rituals go, shaking hands is marginally better than bumping fists and small talk, but comes in several places below keeping your distance and offering a small, polite wave. After all, no war was ever started by a small, polite wave. This last week I pledged to avoid all
handshakes, though I should mention it has not gone very well. Having spent much of my adult life shaking the hands of everyone I have met, agreed with, or congratulated, a job interview over lunch one Tuesday suddenly seemed like an inopportune time to begin my experiment. “Tom!” his face beamed as he proffered his hand. We were standing close enough that I could smell his sickly cologne and make out the food stains on his lapel. My face ashen, I was nervous. I didn’t move. “A meet to pleasure you too.” (Shit!) In a moment like this, five seconds can seem like an eternity. Our eyes locked, one hand awkwardly extended, my interviewer slowly turned his gaze to something behind my head in the middle-distance, and his hand retreated to his pocket. Five more seconds passed. My mind flashed back through my most embarrassing teenage memories, and I prayed silently for the feeling to go away. These things never do though, and clasping your hands behind your back, muttering aloud, and shutting your eyes is not the best thing to do when you’re interviewing for a job in customer service. So how do you avoid a handshake? This age-old question has gripped mankind for millennia. What are we meant to do when someone presents their hand? Or worse yet, when someone swings their cupped hand
backwards in some kind of slow, expectant arc, their face contorted, and determined for you to do the same? a) The Wet Fish. Go on, give them your hand if that’s what they want. But don’t you dare return their grip. Let it hang there and stare into space – best to just ride this one out. b) The Brick Wall. You don’t know them and you certainly don’t know why they’re offering their hand. Just pretend you’ve never met, brush past them, and delete them from Facebook when you get home. Crisis averted. c) The Befuddled Grandparent. Just pull a coin out of your pocket and place it firmly into their outstretched palm. Don’t spend it all at once! It was precisely that slow, expectant arc that I was faced with yesterday, at the end of my week long experiment. Harry Di Giorgio from high school made a beeline across Eastern Avenue. His approaching hand swung forth without remorse. I couldn’t do it, so I did the worst thing imaginable: I went for a high-five. Anyone who knows anything about social interaction knows that you don’t mix handshakes with high-fives. Blushing, Harry made some comment about needing to get to class and made a vague commitment to message me sometime before hurrying off in the other direction. Crisis averted.
32 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE
Time Heals
Megan, her brother Gareth, and her dad Barry
HANNAH EDENSOR CONFRONTS THE LOSS OF A PARENT. It was 4:40am when my mum died. I was holding her hand while she lay still in the hospital bed. Her breath was ragged, like she was swallowing knives. She hadn’t opened her eyes in 17 hours. I woke up my step-dad and sister, and we took our turns saying goodbye. I wish now that I had stayed longer, stood with her lifeless body a few minutes more, just to tell her how much I loved her. But we’d done that already, in the days prior, when we could still see feeling in her eyes. That morning, at 4:40am, would be the last time I ever saw my mother, and it’s a memory that will linger, unwelcome, forever. People say it gets easier with time. I’m not one of those people, because grief isn’t some cookie-cutter condition that people experience equally. It’s as individual as a birthmark. We long to understand how grief works, and why we experience it differently. Is it rational to hate the world one day, feel lifeless the next, and smile occasionally through teary eyes? Even when you have three people from different families, all experiencing the loss of a parent, there are few similarities. No one will ever know how you feel, and that can be the scariest thing of all.
Hannah and mum Janien
Megan’s dad died in September, four months before my mum. She was 20 years old. He suffered from acute myeloid leukaemia. The day he was diagnosed was the last day where he didn’t wake in a hospital bed. I watched Megan and her family suffer for months in the lead up to his death, not knowing that my family would soon be experiencing something similar. “I was there everyday, twice a day, during the time that he was sick,” Megan explained to me one day. “It all happened so quickly, I was just trying to keep my head above water.” Megan has been my best friend since we were 15. We have one of those indestructible bonds that we built, brick after brick, throughout our parents’ illnesses. From my mother’s diagnosis in 2010, to each losing a parent, there hasn’t been a single thing we haven’t shared. It’s one of the most poignant aspects of our friendship. To bond over the death of a parent is the most heartbreaking thing of all. Jake* lost his mum when he was 10 years old. She died from ovarian cancer, just like my mum, but at 10, it meant something entirely different to him than it does to me at 22. He tried to read about it, but couldn’t fully understand the consequences of the illness that took his mother. It came as a shock to him, but when he thinks about the difficulty of explaining to a child that their mother was dying, he doesn’t hold anyone to blame. “I only really think about it when I’m asked, or if I’m wondering how different life would be
if events went otherwise.” Jake and I have never really talked about our mums before, but when you hear the sound of sorrow in another person’s voice that comes from a similar place as yours, it can be overwhelming. “I wouldn’t describe it as hard. Describing it as hard implies there is something you can do to change or work at to make it better. It seems better to describe it as an event that you either choose to grow with or let it destroy you.” It’s probably the most heartrending and intelligent thing I’ve ever heard Jake say. We joke about a lot of things, and in my mind, mothers were always off limits. I’ve never felt entirely comfortable talking to people who suffered before I did. They know where I’m coming from – they’ve already been here – and I feel like the last thing they want is to relive it through the eyes of someone else. I was overseas when I got a phone call telling me to come home. I’ve never felt more sick, sleepless or hopeless in my whole, entire life. I flew for 32 hours to get back to my mum’s bedside, where I watched her scream, cry and fight just to look at our faces for a few more days. I’ll never forget the day she asked my sister and me for permission to go. She held our hands and whispered, “I just can’t do it anymore. I’ve had enough.” All I could do was wipe away my tears and, through blurry vision, take in her beautiful face, knowing that saying yes was all she needed. She died three days later.
Issue 04 33 FEATURE
all Wounds Hannah, Janien and sister Claudia
Megan and Barry
A friend of both Megan and I once told us that Then cancer wracked her body. It was indiscriminate. Her cells, her spirit and her she was in awe of the fact we could still get out vitality fell victim in equal measure. of bed each morning. I still don’t know how to “Cancer is a shit way to die and I don’t like respond. Some days are hard, and it takes a lot of to accept that people die.” I’m asking Jake if he stumbling and strength to drag myself out of the holds any resentment, but at 22 he’s wise house. Other days, I just forget. I push every sad beyond my years. thought that lives inside of me to the perimeters “You don’t really have a choice, of my mind, and just get on with the day. Then so if you accept it or not, it sometimes, out of nowhere, I’ll smile for no reason, and walk a little taller than the day before. [death] will still happen.” Jake tells me it gets Most days are a step forward, and even though easier with time. He’s more I’ll have days that send me spiralling backwards, than a decade ahead of me I feel as though each day is getting easier. in grieving time, but I can’t “I think about him every second of every help wondering how you day,” Megan told me. “But the hardest thing is grieve at the age of 10. accepting that this is the way he was taken.” He explains that he didn’t Grief can only really be explained by analogy. fully comprehend the situation, It is neither precise nor discrete. It is coming and it makes me question if it home to a once lively house and finding it empty. takes a few years to sink in, that It’s watching flowers wilt on the mantelpiece, maybe the grieving starts later when you and it’s feeling like you’ve got a heavy sack of finally understand. potatoes pressing down on your chest. It is also “I’m not sure if I could say it gets easier many other things. with time.” I’m asking Megan the same question. I remember my mum fondly as someone “Maybe you just become stronger, or maybe you who was vibrant, ambitious and adventurous. just get used to the fact that that person is gone.” She used to dance to every song on the radio, I ask myself some of the same questions, laugh at the Specsavers ads on TV, and eat but I feel that at three months, I’m not the right little crumbs of food she found lying around person to ask. I still feel resentment, I still feel the house. She would talk about wanting like there’s a clichéd ache in my bones, and I still grandchildren, and encourage me to travel, cry when I see anything that mentions Mother’s Day on TV. then cry and beg me to stay with her instead.
Megan tells me that perhaps the strongest people are given the biggest battles, and that we suffer like this because no one else can. Jake tells me that despite what people may say, the only thing for grief is time. For me, time has made things harder and I still have to stop myself from dialling Mum’s number because I’ve forgotten she’s not here. The world can dish out some shitty deals, we just have to find a way to keep moving forward. In the end, I think we all grieve in our own unique and heart-wrenching ways and there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. We can’t judge because someone is devastated by a break-up, while you’re battling through the death of a parent, despite often thinking it might be smaller by comparison. Even when it feels like no one understands, we can’t always pretend that everything is ok. Admitting to grief is hard, understanding it is even harder. But when all you’ve got is that five-letter word, and a small sliver of hope poking out from behind the clouds, all you can do is close your eyes and know that someday it won’t hurt so badly.
To bond over the death of a parent is the most heartbreaking thing of all.
*Name has been changed.
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Issue 04 35 CAMPUS FASHION
CAMPUS FASHION LAW
Bridget Harilaou // International & Global Studies/LAW II Jacket: Myer Vintage shirt: Street stall in Melbourne Jeans: Vinnies Boots: A shoe store in Westfield... How would you describe your style? Comfy and casual. Who’s your ultimate style icon? Mindy Kaling. Why did you pick this outfit for today? It was warm and comfortable enough to last seven hours of uni. Style hates: People who appropriate traditional cultural fashions that aren't their own, like Bindis and Keffiyehs. It's not hipster, it's not cool – it’s just awkward!
Our style hate of the week: Fashion Week Divas Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia was overflowing with top-notch fashionistas (from bloggers to magazine editors and designers), but with every A-lister there is a sneaky D-lister waiting to spring the diva on anyone that will listen. And who took the crown this year? None
Aleksandra Pasternacki // Arts/Law II
Rachel Mannion // Arts (Media & Comm's)/Law II
Glasses: Ray-Ban Dress: ASOS Shoes: Doc Marten
TOP: Asos Jacket: Topshop JEANS: Dr Denim Sunglasses: Glassons Necklace: Egyptian markets
How would you describe your style? Girly with a rock-glam edge. Who’s your ultimate style icon? Zooey Deschanel Why did you pick this outfit for uni today? I was meeting up with a guy I like and I wanted to look cute. It worked. He said I looked cute. What’s your personal pet fashion hate? Jeggings are fashion suicide.
How would you describe your style? Basic, minimalist, off duty model look Who’s your style icon? No. We don’t need no inspiration. Why did you pick this outfit today? It was easy, breezy, beautiful. Style hates: Jeans and joggers and joggers and dresses. Scanning down someone’s outfit and you’re like good, good, good, good, BAD! Unless you’re running somewhere take them off and put on some decent shoes people. If you insist on this sporty style then Converse can do the job.
other than Imogen Anthony. Haven’t heard of her? Yeah, neither have we. Well, it’s Kyle Sandiland’s girlfriend. (Leave pause to be impressed… Wait a little longer… ah we give up). Her sour face lurked on every second row, demanding to be moved to the first but her big *cough* fashion week moment was strutting down the catwalk for the group swim show wearing only a ‘sand bikini’. Yes you heard correct, she had sand in places that not even Mr Sandilands
himself has explored. This was perhaps the biggest cry for attention and the toughest attempt to jump the gun to A-lister stardom. Did it work? No. But kudos for the effort love, and good luck with the post-show scrub.
Your Fashion Team is Katie Stow, Emily Shen and Rebecca Karpin.
36 bull usu.edu.au CLASSIC COUNTDOWN & VOX POPS
CLASSIC COUNTDOWN The Best Dog Movies
VOX pops
Nothing says childhood like watching movies with dogS performing the most unbelievable stunts ever, making you become obsessed with the idea of owning your very own puppy and consequently bugging your parents into buying you one.
5
Soccer Dog (1999-2004)
Kimble, renamed ‘Lincoln’ by his new owner, was the Portuguese Podengo who ran onto the field in his first flick Soccer Dog: The Movie, and helped a local soccer team win the championship. In the sequel, he heads off to the European Cup to play the ultimate tournament and wins again (naturally).
4
Air Bud (1987-PRESENT)
Playing ‘Comet’ in six seasons of Full House, real-life Golden Retriever Buddy soon got his own movie in Air Bud where he ran away from his abusive owner Norman, an alcoholic clown, and flaunted his incredible talent for basketball. Loved by many, Buddy eventually died from lung cancer in 1998, but the Air Bud franchise lives on to this day.
3
Red Dog (2011)
Everybody was shocked to learn about the story of Tally Ho, the Kelpie/cattle dog that was known for his travels through Western Australia. Named ‘Red Dog’, from the red dirt of the Pilbara Region, he also travelled to Perth with his second owner. His death by deliberate strychnine poisoning made him an Australian legend, got him a statue and stemmed this award-winning movie.
2
Listening to: Classical music. Otherwise, Justin Timberlake and Eminem Reading: Perfume by Patrick Süskind Watching: Suits. And that’s about it.
Maddy Beauman // Political Economic & Social Sciences III Listening to: A whole bunch of stuff. Modest Mouse, Tallest Man on Earth and Purity Ring Reading: Unfortunately only Uni readings… Watching: Game of Thrones
Beethoven (1992-2008)
Written by John Hughes under a pseudonym, the St Bernard dog named after the famed composer has long been a classic. Stolen by two thieves, Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt, Beethoven ends up with Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt and her children.
1
Brett He // Commerce/Law I
Lassie (1859-2008)
Everyone’s favourite female Collie first appeared in Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story The Half-brothers, where she rescues two half-brothers who are lost and dying in the snow. It was here, where the ‘Lassie saves the day’ storyline we’ve come to love for over 150 years began.
Stephanie Holmes // INGS III Listening to: Arctic Monkeys Reading: Sense and Sensibility Watching: The Big Bang Theory
Issue 04 37 COW & HORNS
HAVE A COW Alison Xiao has had enough of these devastating, out-of-nowhere television bloodbaths *SPOILER ALERT* It was two in the morning. In a pitch black bedroom, lit only by a laptop, I began to tremble. With tears streaming down my face, my fingers fumbled to my phone to call my friend. WTF JUST HAPPENED!? My internal screaming escalated as I paused my screen on the shot of Will Gardner’s lifeless body lying tragically on his hospital bed. But then the meta seeped in. What would this mean for the show? Why on earth would Josh Charles want to leave The Good Wife at the peak of its critical acclaim and storytelling genius? I began to be more distracted by the shock-factor of his ‘surprise’ death,
rather than properly mourning one of my favourite characters alongside the characters within the show. Writers of shows have convinced themselves that abrupt grisly bloodbaths are bold and true to reality. They pat themselves on the back for being daring, as if they’re trailblazing a never-before-seen path of literary genius. And they totally are… given you’ve never watched Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, House of Cards, Scandal or any other television drama ever made. For crying out loud, how much of television has to be about death for it to be enough? Offing characters because their actors want out has become so common it’s more of an annoyance than a genuinely intriguing storytelling manoeuvre. Patrick Reid from
Offspring, Allison Argent from Teen Wolf, Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey: these are prime examples of an exploitative ratings grab, an underwhelming sendoff, and hitting the reset button on your show’s plotline. These are done without proper consideration of the continuation of the show beyond immediate emotional manipulation. Having these characters mysteriously up and disappear wouldn’t be a much better alternative, but surely these writers have enough talent to craft a logical explanation. Though I’m certain the death of some characters will go unforgotten within and outside the realm of the show, the creators of Downton Abbey are kidding themselves if they think we will remember Lady Sybil Branson’s death at the end of the day.
Lisa Xia will always be carrying her yellow umbrella thanks to How I Met Your Mother.
Stephanie Paglia argues ‘Smelly Cat’ is the song of a decade and Friends is the show of a generation
Challenge accepted. How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) didn’t have million-dollar per episode paid actors, but it sure had the biggest shock ending of the decade. As of 2014, HIMYM became the best circular sitcom that has ever graced our television and laptop screens. There is something about an older Ted, holding that blue French horn that melts our hearts and gives cue to the line: my 2005 self told you so. Truth is, the whole sitting down narrating thing actually works. Unbeknownst to Mosby’s children is the fact that they will sit in the same position for the next nine years as Ted circles around New York finding bitches that either remove his tattoos then leave him at the altar or rally against his architectural ventures, to finally finding the mother, and then naturally end up with the girl he was meant to be with all along and has loved consistently throughout every season. It’s practically a Romeo & Juliet story, except separated by Thanksgiving slaps, the Bro Code, the perfect burger, Barney Stinson and a desecrated house. The show all in all was truly legen–wait for it … wait some more… wait nine years – dary. HIMYM’s life lessons are truth. Most of all, we will never forget the words of Barney Stinson: “Whenever I’m sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.”
So no one told you life was gonna be this way! You clapped really fast repeatedly, didn’t you? That’s what we fans like to call ‘the Friends effect’. Seriously, Google it. Filled with catchphrases (how you doin’?), relatable characters (we all have a Monica in our life) and life lessons (Ross taught me the difference between ‘y-o-u-r and ‘y-o-uapostrophe-r-e’, without him I would be lost to the Grammar Police). The show set the standard for future comedic sitcoms who will forever be in the shadow of Friends’ success. The epic finale was watched by more than 50 million people. The words ‘I got off the plane’ forever seared into our memory as the moment that Ross and Rachel’s will-they-won’t-they saga was answered. The very fact we are still debating which is the superior show lends itself to the relevance of Friends to all generations, despite whether you grew up watching the show or just discovered it last week. I mean, come on, it’s 20 years old (yes, you are that old), and we are still talking about it! Put simply, without the standard set in sitcom comedy by Friends, there would be no How I Met Your Mother. HIMYM may be the modern revival, but Friends will always be the original. I dare you to try and find someone who has never seen an episode of Friends and if you do, you have my permission to kindly cut them out of your life. #RachelandRoss4eva
LOCKING HORNS How I Met Your Mother vs. Friends
N OW OPEN C L O T H I N G & A P PA R E L C O U R S E C O L L AT E R A L ACADEMIC DRESS MEMORABILIA & GIFTS
HOLME BUILDING
Issue 04 39 ARTS
ARTS OUTKAST REUNION
Down and Outkast
Robert North Successful comeback stories are extremely rare in the entertainment industry. The returning stars will not only be competing against the latest crop of manufactured celebrities and legitimate prodigies, but they’ll also be competing against the public’s memories of their former selves – in order for the comeback to be successful, the returning entertainers generally need to be as good, if not better, than they were. Returning to the spotlight earlier this year after a seven year hiatus, the influential and seminal hip-hop duo Outkast seemed to be the perfect group ripe for a successful (if potentially short-lived) comeback. When the infinitely talented and effortlessly cool Big Boi and André 3000 announced they would be teaming up to play Coachella before embarking on an international tour, fans around the world were ecstatic. If anyone could pull it off it was these guys – they were music royalty back in the day, and could do no wrong. Unfortunately, their first performance at Coachella was anything but perfect. You can plan a pretty picnic but you can’t predict the weather. The music press instantly began churning out article after article about the lacklustre performance, and fans vented their frustration on
social media. Some argued that the duo were simply out of form. While Big Boi has been steadily releasing solo records and touring, it has been a long time since he collaborated with his erstwhile partner. Meanwhile André 3000 has been channelling his creativity into acting. They were unpractised together and André was rusty. But they’ve got plenty of shows left to hone their performance, right? Friend and guest performer Janelle Monáe preferred to blame it on the Coachella audience. This was the end of a long day at a festival with many other artists. The majority of the audience were casual fans at best, and those hard-core fans that turned out were likely burnt out, tired and had their vibe killed by the remainder of the crowd. But other crowds will yield a better show, right? I’m not so optimistic. I think the problem is deeper, and fans around the world, including in Australia when they visit for Splendour in the Grass, will be fundamentally disappointed. Outkast will always be competing with, and will never live up to their former glory. Prior to Coachella there were hints that this would occur. Appearing last year on MTV’s RapFix Live Southern hip-hop and soul star, and childhood friend of André 3000, CeeLo Green, said the star was struggling with returning to the limelight. “He just said he had a severe case of stage fright and just kind of been away from
the game and didn’t know if he could truly live up,” he said. “He just said he was bothered by this bar that had been set and maybe he wants to do something different, and he’ll always be his worst competition, his worst critic, and maybe he don’t want to live up to what people think he should do.” Perhaps it was better for the duo to head in their separate directions and master something new: for Big Boi a solo career, for André 3000 an acting career. Coincidentally some nice parallels can be drawn with ‘The Governator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Outkast went on hiatus, Schwarzenegger had only recently left his acting career on a relative high note with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and was conquering politics. Having recently returned to acting, he has yet to make a decent critical or box office hit (save for the self-referentially outrageous Expendables series). It seems he is trying to relive his glory days, but can’t possibly expect to live up to the high audience expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I honestly hope Outkast can pull it together by the time they visit Australia, and I wish Arnie all the best for the Twins sequel Triplets (…yep, that’s happening, with Eddie Murphy no less). But I just can’t see them ever reaching the dizzying heights when their shit truly didn’t stank, and they were oh so fresh, so clean.
40 bull usu.edu.au REVIEWS
REVIEWS
LISTEN: AVRIL LAVIGNE AVRIL LAVIGNE
LISTEN: THE SLEEPER CAITLIN PARK
WATCH: MAD MEN – S7 MATTHEW WEINER
Go: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival
Our favourite sk8er girl is back. Or rather, she never left; we just stopped paying attention to her. And let’s be honest, we are only thinking about her now because she made that culturally exploitative and racist video clip for her new single, ‘Hello Kitty’. The song is a perfect metaphor for the state of Avril’s career 12 years after ‘Let Go’. ‘Hello Kitty’ opens with an Americanised slaughter of the Japanese language but actually goes downhill from there as she regresses into her publicist’s conception of what teenage girls are actually like. It’s out of touch, tasteless and sort of creepy. Creepy all the more because Lavigne is within spitting distance of 30. The album’s first single, ‘Here’s To Never Growing Up’, speaks volumes about Avril Lavigne. There is nothing wrong with wanting to cultivate a lasting artistic career, but Avril has gone about it the wrong way, reinventing herself in the image of what publicists think 16-year-old girls are like. Avril Lavigne is full of things that even people in their early 20s don’t think about anymore: summer vacation, hoping mum isn’t home, and making it to third base. But maybe that’s the point. Underage girls buy music with their parent’s money; at least Avril has a target market.
‘Folktronica’ or ‘neo-folk’ is how Park’s hearty musings have been described, and armed with loop pedals galore and a weakness for an intriguing sample or two, the Sydney singer/songwriter is living up to the genre modifiers and proving that folk has well and truly stepped it up. The record sets the energetic standard from the word go: ‘Wake Up In A Whirr’ and single ‘Hold Your Gaze’ exude a revitalising sense of alertness. In the latter, a jam-packed soundscape provides a colourful backdrop for Park’s eloquent, no-holdsbarred storytelling. As the follow-up to her warmly received debut, Milk Annual, released in 2011, this album relies less on guitars and more on Park’s folky innovation. Luckily, Park’s lyrics still pack a sassy punch; in ‘Hunt For The Young’ she sings, “Babe I don’t know much, but I know”. The refreshing second single ‘Lemonade’ is an album highlight as it combines a sun-drenched chorus and Park’s characteristic syncopated beats with a sprinkling of vocal samples from the likes of Kira Puru, Aidan Roberts, Emma Russack and Shanna Watson. With sleep and dreams as driving motifs, and unexpected vocal treats at the end of almost every track, The Sleeper sounds like the folk that would emanate from a rainforest at sunrise.
By the time you’re reading this, the final season of Mad Men will have gone on hiatus until 2015. A relatively new trend amongst would-be art television (see: Breaking Bad), this mid-season break allows the show’s runners to heighten tension before their finale. Gimmicks like this seem incongruous when adopted by Mad Men. This is a show that has consciously refused to entertain cliffhangers or kill off characters, despite the success these devices have had for, say, Game of Thrones. Instead, they adopt a ponderous, sometimes labouring, examination of Don Draper and his agency, Sterling, Cooper & Pryce. Characters are framed like statues, rarely moving within shots, standing as archetypes of the 60s’ social ills. Season seven starts in January 1969, showing Don Draper’s tentative steps into a new New York whose liberalisation of love, race, and gender is quickly altering the social fabric. These politics play out in the office, in Cooper’s reluctance to have a woman of colour at reception, and Don, for all his ills, seems unaffected by the upheaval. Showrunner Matthew Weiner’s dense visual symbolism, not plot, is the driving force of the show. Across 85 episodes, Weiner has crafted wholly living characters from a decade’s political vices. They grow subtly, gradually, and by the time you reach the decade’s end, they’re unrecognisable without seeming to be.
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is an interesting name for a festival that provides a wide variety of music of which only one aspect is Jazz in the traditional sense. Walking to the festival I see bright cheery tourists. As they walk past a church which lists those from the local community who have been murdered this year (already well over 20), on the way to the festival no one even bats an eyelid at the realities of the city they’ve come to celebrate, and instead stand in the hot sun where the scent of marijuana mingles with amazing music, oblivious. The line-up is as incredible as it is diverse; Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Rodriguez, Vampire Weekend, Public Enemy,Trombone Shorty, Alabama Shakes, Irma Thomas, Tab Benoit and Jon Cleary were among the highlights we could only dream of in Australia. The festival runs for seven days, and at $55 a day, the value is unbeatable. The location is almost as attractive as the music. Running from 11am till 7pm, the city is yours to explore at night. For every amazing act you find at the festival there are two in the local bars and clubs, many of which are playing at the smaller tents of the festival.
Samantha Jonscher
KATIE DAVERN
Peter Walsh
Julia Robins
Issue 04 41 REVIEWS
EXPERIENCE Underground Cinema Presents ‘Rome’
Underground Cinema (UGC) holds themed screenings of classic movies at which they promise an entire ‘experience’. Naively, I thought this would mean free food and a novelty photo booth. How wrong I was. As I looked at the crowd I felt a wave of uneasiness come over me. My sister and I had chosen our costumes conservatively, I wore a red soldier-like playsuit, yet everyone else appeared to have travelled back in time for theirs. Convinced that failure to adorn ourselves in head wreaths and armaments made us stick out like sore thumbs, we scurried out of the central thoroughfare and took shelter next to a woman selling beards, taking time to acclimatise. Almost as soon as we left our safe space, a half-naked figure covered in dirt appeared before us. Begging for food, the ‘ex-leper’ was quickly shooed away by a Roman guard, but not before they grabbed our matching duck umbrellas. As they marvelled at our ‘contraptions’, I felt the heat rising in my cheeks, they were beginning to match the shade of my jumpsuit. I adore live performances, however I’ve never been comfortable when the spotlight is reversed and I become a part of them. I tried to mask my self-consciousness with my best attempt at convincing laughter, and minimum eye contact. Much to my relief it worked and they took their leave. Before I knew it my sister grabbed my arm and linked it through hers, my tense state was not as subtle as I had hoped. As someone who leads a normal and relatively uneventful dayto-day life, walking through a mini city filled with very friendly actors, speciality ‘Roman cuisine’ (which I’m convinced included pigs ears), a palace and everyday people speaking as though they were truly Roman citizens was too much for my logical brain to comprehend. It was the alpaca, though, that reduced me to a fit of giggles. Slipping into the ‘palace’, we scurried onto a seat before Caesar called us to attention. It occurred to me that communal escapism was at the heart of UGC. Whilst I didn’t immerse myself fully, watching people get joy out of existing temporarily in an imagined world made me understand the importance of events like this. After a couple of hours we were all rounded up and escorted into the nearby Hoyts cinema to watch Monty Python’s Life of Brian (the lady selling beards now made sense). Unexpectedly the movie, which I assumed would be the main attraction, became merely a reason for everyone to finally leave their Roman paradise. For all its wackiness, Underground Cinema took me well outside of my comfort zone and to a place I would never normally go – an experience everyone should invest in.
Georgia Hitch
Dyson Airblade Fanclub: Postmodern wonder. Peak Internet.
Captain America Winter Soldier: Budgetary constraints prevent Hollywood studio enlisting the rest of the Avengers to more efficiently save the world (1/2).
Captain America Winter Soldier: SHIELD is a metaphor for #realworldproblems with @NSA. It's dissolved, star employees go work for CIA and other scary peeps (2/2).
Pharrell Williams and ‘Happy’: Have we already forgotten that we hate him for his part in rape/club anthem 'Blurred Lines'?
Game of Thrones: Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. I can’t believe that just happened.
People who have read Game of Thrones Novels: Smug fuckers.
Your Study Habits: Despite promising yourself they would improve, they are just as shit as ever. #gameofthrones
42 bull usu.edu.au CLUB CONFIDENTIAL
CLUB CONFIDENTIAL USU International Festival
On Campus // 29 April – 1 May 2014 Remember the time when you jet-packed across the seven seas to sample the delights of the Middle Kingdom; of France’s home-baked croissants, of Portuguese tarts? When you boarded the steamy Chennai Express and hopped off for a front-row view of Bollywood splendour? No, never happened? That's okay. USU doubted it, so they flew back to base to bring uni-goers a taste of the world for three days along Eastern Avenue. Think K-pop. A slice of the martial arts. Foot painting. Impossible competitions and decibelbusting pop-up karaoke. Think food, and platters of it. Not even the loudspeaker could handle the excitement when performers took to Eastern Avenue with their exotic dances. With both a bang and a smoky sultry whimper, the loudspeaker passed away, leaving a trio of K-pop dancers in pastel minis and bow ties to jive to the naked beat of handclaps and cheers. Backstage, the chorus of “uh-ohs” and “oh shit!s” could not revive the loudspeaker, which was resting-in-peace. And just as beards and maroon drop-to-thetarmac-length knits are back in main campus fashion, so too were eunuch court dresses. Bollywood skirts billowed and threw many a jewelled light into the squinting eyes of their onlooking fandom. Passers-by Sharpie-scrawled the places they hope to visit on the ‘Before I Die’ banner. One planned to fly to the moon. Another, to the fortress city of Pyongyang. A tent later, cheeks purpled and brows furrowed into Yellow Rivers of sweat over the Guess the Photo Comp. In the cool of the white tent, urgent whispers rose like heated yeast, eyes went rolling, and exclamation marks went a-multiplying. Over the picture of a popular hot springs resort, somebody shrieked: “Oh em gee Luke. I’m telling you, it’s Iceland! Iceland!! ICELAND!!!” And so it was.
Forget #insta, sundried photos are the way to show.
Touch wood!
O-my-gre! Wave, it’s Princess Fiona!
Oh hey there!
VICKI CHOH
Year 10 Geography revisited
Eunuch court dresses are so 2014.
Issue 04 43 CLUB CONFIDENTIAL
SULS + MINTER ELLISON MID-SEMESTER DRINKS
the white horse, surry hills // 1 May 2014
So that's where all the action happens!
I'm just the designated driver
Wait, what? No-one said we were doing our LinkedIn poses!
These guys think I’m a DJ or something
Conor’s curly heaven #sawkyute
Is there a better way to take the piss out of the oft-stereotyped (and frankly envious) tag of the self-proclaimed ‘pretentious’ faculty, than by holding a get-together at a place so audaciously titled, ‘The White Horse’? Don’t answer that. In any case, the star attraction was not the venue itself, but the Messina Gelato place beside it. The ever-present extended queues outside Messina with law students humbled by the chilly weather resembled a holy abode – the type of pilgrimage you’d make to get ‘blessed’ by a saint or a hermit in order to get yourself cured of whatever affliction you were troubled by. Fortunately, there isn’t a cure to free yourself from the addiction of delicious gelato…yet. Whilst the pilgrimage seemed to be a roaring success outside, the scenes inside The White Horse were sufficiently amusing at best. Undoubtedly, the best part of a SULS gettogether – apart from a generous bar tab and the presence of actually edible food – is the tendency of law students to think of any social gathering to be on par with Milan Fashion Week. Sartorial splendour often tries to make an indignant comeback at almost every SULS social event, only to be put away till the next one, like a recurring guest star trying desperately to be relevant on a TV show way past its prime. Even with the best of intentions, navigating to and fro from the bar, back to your friends, and back to the bar again, can prove to be a tricky enterprise. The sheer number of law students in one concentrated area can be quite scary. If you manage to get your drink – after being pushed, squished, stepped upon and violated in the politest way possible – without spilling half your drink on someone’s dress or shirt that they bought specifically for this event, you’ve done exceedingly well.
VIRAT NEHRU
Look! We know how to brush our teeth properly!
44 bull usu.edu.au SHUTTER UP
SHUTTER UP Winter is Coming PHOTOGRAPHER: Craig Law Sony SLT-A58 FOCAL LENGTH: 50.0mm SHUTTER SPEED: 1/15 APERTURE: F/2.0 ISO: 3200
snap!
Send us your unique, arty or just plain cool (as in, not another quad shot) campus snap to editors@bullmag.com.au We’ll publish our fave each edition in full page glory. High-res, 300dpi jpegs only – portrait orientation.
Issue 04 45 FUN
COMICS SEND YOURS TO US AT EDITORS @ bullmag.com.AU
by WHITNEY DUAN
by ERIN ROONEY
46 bull usu.edu.au ASK ISABELLA
ASK ISABELLA USE THE FORCE Dear Isabella, Niece of Aunty Irene Lover of Daddy Mack Mother of three and to all those who need advice I am woman, hear me roar
My long-term girlfriend and I have a fantastic relationship, but things have been lacking in the bedroom of late, leaving me frustrated and tense. It has always been a fantasy of mine to sensually re-enact the Star Wars saga in full, but I’m worried she’ll lose interest before I reach the climax.What should I do? ~ Luke
Charlie my tepid petal, it appears to me that you don’t understand the needs of this roommate of yours. Clearly Jack is begging you to join him in his late-night escapades, whatever sickening song contest that includes. I suspect that you too are lacking in the facial hair department, but don’t worry my bald-chinned boy! As my great grandmother used to say (before she flew into a sliding door, god bless her soul), birds of a feather, flock together. Ponder that one over breakfast. ~ Bella xxx
Dear Luke, I find your lack of faith disturbing, Luke. Confidence is key, and right now you’re more Ewok than Wookiee. Power up your lightsaber, shower her with midi-chlorians, and prove you’re the Obi-Wan for her. If you do this, I promise there will be no more Han Solo sessions in the future. Kind regards, ~ Colin (Jedi Knight; Work experience student, Madame Isabella’s Girls) xxx
LATE NIGHT HABITS Dear Isabella, I keep catching my roommate Jack watching reruns of Eurovision in the early hours of the morning. I peer through his window outside and watch him as he strokes his non-existent beard at 3am. It’s really weird. I’m beginning to question my choice of roommate. How do I get him to stop?
PREEN & CLEAN Dear Isabella, What is the meaning of life? ~ Anonymous Oh, Anonymous, how you please me! Long have I waited for a poor little student to ask me to bestow my life experience to a patient ear! Of course young Colin is very receptive to my pearls of wisdom – he laps them up like a dog freshly-infected with scabies. Let me say one thing dear “anonymous”, you can’t be shying away from the world with a hideous name like that! Do what I do, chest tuft forward, plumage feathered and preen, and you’re ready to take on whatever citrus fruits life gives you. ~ Bella xxx
~ Charlie
Don’t miss your chance to see Strictly Ballroom the Musical! Global Creatures present STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL. Now playing at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, this “big, bright and joyous” (Daily Telegraph) production has audiences dancing in the aisles! Enter now for your chance to win one of 5 double passes to the hottest show in Sydney. Simply email editors@bullmag.com.au with your full name, number and ‘Strictly Ballroom’ in the subject heading. Competition closes 15 June 2014. Winners drawn 16 June 2014.
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