BULL Magazine 2014 Issue 8

Issue 08, 2014 / FREE

MODERN MUGGERS / FINE PRINT / DIGGING FOR ANSWERS / INDIGENOUS CAMPUS / BEATS IN THE BUSH

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Issue 08 CONTENTS

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Editors

CONTENTS

Eden Caceda Katie Davern Sophie Gallagher Rob North Sean O’Grady Erin Rooney

REPORTERS

Tang Li Barbara Taylor

F E ATUR E S

Contributors

THE MODERN MUGGERS READING THE FINE PRINT 13 DIGGING FOR ANSWERS 18 THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY ON CAMPUS, WHAT NOW? 27 BEATS IN THE BUSH 32 10

Bernadette Anvia Genevieve Canh Tani Edgecombe Lauren Forsyth-Smith James Hennessy Zoe Hitch Tom Joyner Rebecca Karpin Georgia Kriz Sam Langford Zi Yi Lim Madison McIvor Jordan Mullins Katie Stow Clyde Welsh Joanita Wibowo Alison Xiao

Publications Manager Louisa Stylian

Design manager Robyn Matthews

Design

R E GULARS

Simon Macias Peta Harris

What’s On 04 Editorial & Board 06 Letters 07 Opinion 09 Interview 16 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

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The USU acknowledges the Cadigal People of the Eora Nation as the traditional owners of the land we meet on today. The USU recognises that the land belonging to these peoples was never ceded, given up, bought, or sold.

We pay our respects to the Aboriginal Elders both past and present and extend this acknowledgement to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people here with us.

CONTACT

editors@bullmag.com.au 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.

Write for us!

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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!

MON 20

TUE 21

WED 22

THU 23

wk 12 (OCTOBER)

FUNCH Eastern Avenue, 12–2pm

FRI 24 GLITTER GALA THE REFECTORY, HOLME BUILDING, 7PM

PRESENTS

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28

29

30

wk 13 (OCTOBER)

WEDNESDAY MARKETS Eastern Avenue, 9Am

31 LAST DAY OF LECTURES Halloween Party Hermann’s, 4pm

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STUVAC

STUVAC

STUVAC

STUVAC

STUVAC

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EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS

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EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS

EXAMS (NOVEMBER)

EXAMS (NOVEMBER)

STUVAC (NOVEMBER)

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Issue 08 what's on

every week monday – friday

MONDAY

THURSDAY THEATRESPORTS®

1-2pm, Manning BarBar

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR

POOL COMPETITION

4-6pm, Manning Bar

4-6pm, International Student Lounge

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

SOLO SESSIONS

4-6pm, Manning Bar

5-6pm, Manning Bar

WEDNESDAY

$7 steak night

FUNCH

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

Eastern Avenue, 12-2pm

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

TUESDAY

series screenings

Local Bands and DJs

12-4pm, Manning Bar

5:30pm, Hermann’s Bar

FOOD CHALLENGE

Get Up! Stand Up!

$3 dog night

1-2pm, Hermann’s Bar

6-8pm, Manning Bar

2pm, Saturday 29 November // Manning House // 18+

Debating Regionals

FRIDAY

OutsideIN Festival is coming to Manning House!

Yes you heard it – 3 stages, multi-levels, right here on campus. Headlining is 90s hip-hop pioneers The Pharcyde from the US joining Pantha Du Prince from Germany, Seekae all the way from Sydney, Giraffage, Client Liaison and so many more electronic artists and DJs. So whether you dig all these guys or just want to see Manning get transformed into a festival house, it’s a great way to farewell your studies for yet another year.

6-8pm, Manning Bar

1-2pm, Manning Bar

AUSTRALIAN DISCUSSION GROUP

3-4pm, Level 4 Wentworth Building

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR 4-6pm, Manning Bar

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR 4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

50 C WINGS

6-8pm, Manning Bar

5.15pm, Alternating Venues

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR 4-6pm, Manning Bar

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

DJs

4-7pm, Hermann’s Bar

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR 4-6pm, Manning Bar

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

2 for 1 schnitty

free topping friday

6-8pm, Manning Bar

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar All day, Manning Bar

MUST SEE OutsideIN Festival Feat. The Pharcyde (US) + Seekae + Pantha Du Prince (GER) + more

ACCESS: $68+bf // Non-ACCESS: $80+bf Tickets from manningbar.com

COMING UP 23 OCT

C&S AWARDS NIGHT

1 NOV 21 NOV 23 NOV

29 NOV

OutsideIn Festival feat.

The Pharcyde 13 DEC

Radio Birdman RAW SHOWCASE

Rock n Roll and Alternative Market

19 DEC

Sleep

Thy Art is Murder 17 JAN

Every Time I Die

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6

bull usu.edu.au EDITORIAL

FROM THE EDITORS EDEN, KATIE, SOPHIE, ROB, SEAN, ERIN

In one last ahoy-hoy, BULL gets up close and personal with social issues prevalent both on and off-campus. Emily Shen explores shoplifting in the modern age, where technology like the Internet is allowing thieves to share tips and gloat about their achievements.

With comment from various voices in the debate including the newly elected SRC

President Kyol Blakeney and AIME's Centre Manager Nat Heath, first-time BULL writer Joanita Wibowo considers the condition and adequacy of Indigenous support services on campus. Meanwhile, Sam Langford questions whether or not a university can claim to be progressive and consultative when it ignores the environment, Indigenous rights and the wishes of the student body.

In other news, Canberra was recently named the ‘best city in the world’, so Sophie Henry and Erin Rooney have set out to improve its street cred through the exploration of electronic music in the nation’s capital. Erin also fights against the ‘print is dead’ debate in a feature exposing the passion of young indie magazine founders.

All these stories and much much more are enclosed in the glossy mag you're holding; the final edition of BULL 2014.

We're so grateful to have been given this unique opportunity to edit this magazine, and even more grateful for the experiences we've had beyond the editing table.

Most recently, BULL was invited to speak at a Young Journalist Symposium at the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle

where we met with fellow student media editors from Melbourne, Adelaide and other Sydney universities. Coming into contact with people who are in similar situations to us was kind of like discovering that one friend who also loves eating Maccas fries with dollops of creamy soft serve ice cream– you know there are people out there who do it, but sometimes it's hard to feel connected.

As a result, our eyes have been opened to the amazing things other student publications achieve around the country as well as what makes BULL special.

We each came into this role with little to no editing experience, just a drive to create a monthly magazine that packs a punch.

Along the way, we’ve faced challenges, many proud moments and have worked with some fantastic writers who’ve grown with us over the course of the year. Oh, and we helped BULL enter the modern era with a longawaited website (no biggie).

So please enjoy our final edition – we hope BULL has been as memorable for you this year as it has been for us.

goods, and at present there is no system to redistribute this to students, noting that to an extent food safety standards would preclude the Union’s ability to redistribute.

In the past there has been a culture of student organisations working in isolation, but I’m hopeful that across my term we’ll see a unified student community.

B: Given recent trends under your presidency

Q&A: TARA WANIGANAYAKA USU President B: The USU sells a significant amount of food on campus. One imagines that there is wastage involved. Does the Union have the capacity to re-distribute this wastage to at-need students?

TW: At the moment the Union does not have

a significant amount of wastage in perishable

which have seen the USU more meaningfully embracing activism, what can the USU do to work more constructively with organisations such as Sydney University Postgraduate Association and the Students Representative Council?

TW:There is so much we can do, and this

Board is already looking into strengthening our relationship with other student organisations! Across the new calendar year we will be increasing our promotion (on social media platforms etc) of the important services provided by other student organisations, and aiming to work more collaboratively on launching and delivering campaigns which are meaningful to students.

BULL Eds x

B: BroSoc was recently voted down by an overwhelming majority of board directors.Yet the concerns raised by the society – that many men, specifically those from regional areas, have problems dealing with mental health concerns – appear to have some validity.What can the USU do to address these concerns?

TW:The Board essentially resolved to send BroSoc back to the drawing board, but in recognising the importance of men’s mental health, and the unique challenges it faces, we believe there is a place for further discussion in this area. I have already met with a founding member of BroSoc to see how its events and awareness programs can be better facilitated, and the BroSoc executive will soon be meeting with our Wom*n’s and Queer Portfolio Holders.

Issue 08 7 LETTERS & PICK OF THE MONTH

LETTERS BULL wants to hear from you Tell us about the stories you shared with your friends or those you placed on the bottom of your budgie cage. Or just write and let us know you’re lonely.

Email editors@bullmag.com.au

Dear BULL editors, I am a PhD candidate in English literature at the University of Queensland. I love my university but, as far as I know, we don't have a student magazine where I can freely express my views. So, if possible, I would like to request this indulgence from your publication.

The sadistic brutalities of the Islamic State terrorists have shocked the Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

However, before Honorable Tony Big-Ears throws Australia into another ill-planned military confrontation, I would like to suggest a seemingly mad idea that is sure to spread terror in the camps of these violent thugs. It is evident that these terrorists are deeply misogynistic. In fact, a band of Kurdish women fighters have stated that these hoodlums believe they cannot go to heaven if they are killed by a woman.

If feminine assaults are the ultimate destroyer of these fanatics, then I urge, women of the world should unite and donate their used sanitary pads and tampons to fight these terrorists. Indeed, I'm suggesting that we make tampon bombs and drop them all over the ISIS controlled areas. It will terrorize their misogynistic hearts. And I needn't mention it will be a riotous fun.

It should be the patriotic duty of every menstruating woman to donate her used tampons and sanitary pads. Every house should have a separate bin to collect these secret weapons. All the well-used tampons etc. should then be carted off to assembly line plants – which, by the way, will help create new jobs – where tampon bombs are manufactured.

Let’s bathe these sordid men in the menstrual blood of the civilized world until they go on their knees and surrender.

Yours sincerely, ~ Rajiv Thind (University of Queensland, Brisbane) Additional note – Rajiv Thind is a 34 year old, reasonably intelligent and wise PhD candidate in Shakespeare/early modern studies at the University of Queensland

RE: BAKER’S DELIGHT Dear BULL/Isabella, I just wanted to say thank you so much for your advice regarding my baker woes (See Issue 7, p. 46). I am pleased to say that just yesterday, my conversation with my baker went from our usual, cut-tothe-chase pleasantries, to include a few words, albeit record-breakingly brief, about the astonishing humidity that day!

A breakthrough! Thank you looming rain clouds!

Best of all, it was completely, absolutely, 100% initiated by Mr. Baker man himself and not from desperate old me! I didn’t even have to use any bread puns. In fact, I am almost inclined to believe that the continual weekly visits have just worn his apathy down. Maybe that’s all it takes sometimes; a bit of persistence! ~ Fay Editors: Finally, an Ask Isabella success story!

That warms our doughy little hearts!

Sydney Avo Watch The Internet has provided us with so many great things over the years.

Google, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, Neopets, etc. Though all perfectly good uses of the Internet, there is a new phenomenon, which is redefining the usefulness of cyberspace and changing the way we buy some vegetables.

Sydney Avo Watch is a Facebook group solely dedicated to finding the cheapest avocados in Sydney. Its avocado-obsessed members take photos or post about supermarkets that have the most ripe or cheapest avocados in the area. Mixed with articles about avocados and people sharing tips on where they found the best avocados, BULL understands that Sydney Avo Watch is more than just a group.

It’s a representation of Australia as a whole and the opportunity everyone has for a ‘fair go’, or in this case, a fair avo. People near and far bond over the excellence of the avo and in true Aussie spirit, help each other rid Sydney of any cheap quality avocados on stands. We can only hope that their power is being used for good (guacamole) and not evil (smoothies).

So if you have any passion at all for that squishy green vegetable or want a little something something with your morning toast, it’s time to get amongst it and get on Sydney Avo Watch and praise the Internet for telling you where the nearest best and cheapest avos are.

You won’t regret it.

Issue 08 OPINION

OPINION Murder on the (Manning) Dancefloor

Clyde Welsh The USU should use its monopoly on campus food to provide a greater number of vegetarian and vegan options, and actively advocate for a decreased consumption of meat. It should fund awareness campaigns, limit the amount of meat sold, and have days where limited amounts of meat are made available for sale.

We can all live healthily without ever killing animals for food. The consumption of meat is purely for the sake of its taste. Taking an animal’s life merely for the small pleasure of consuming its dead flesh is immoral.

Animals experience terrible pain upon death and the meat industry is exploitative and always seeking to minimise costs. In consuming meat, we share responsibility for climate change, land degradation and the poisoning of water supplies, generally at the expense of the poorest people.

Stand By Me

Madison McIvor I know what it is like to suffer from mental illness. I am open about how heavy a burden it is. But does the fact that I am open about it, can ask for help when it is needed, diminish someone else’s experience?

In short, the answer is no. In reality, it is more complex. University is meant to be a place where open dialogue can occur.

University ought not just be contained to academic study, it should be a place where we challenge social convention, where we change the way mental health is stigmatised and ignored. If we reduce real illness to something we’re viewing as not ‘bad enough’

When a body like the USU takes an active stance against the consumption of meat, then, at the very least, the increased difficulty of finding and eating that meat will lead to less consumption. This stance would also make it easier for people who are persuaded by the arguments for vegetarianism, but find changing their consumption habits difficult.

Even just marginally increasing the social pressure against meat consumption might encourage individuals to think about their

"Taking an animal’s life merely for the small pleasure of consuming its dead flesh is immoral."

for treatment, we’re denying ourselves a great deal.

I was surprised to learn that the USU’s Health & Wellbeing Program actually existed.

This leads me to question, where is the Union when it comes to discourse about mental health on campus?

Would just knowing about this event be enough to start the discussion we need though? Whilst walking down Eastern Avenue and seeing a free massage tent, or being able to get a smoothie from a pedal powered blender would certainly alert you to the fact that something is on, distinguishing that from other USU festivals might be harder. And finding the ‘Meet the Counselors’ and ‘Intervention Strategies’ seminars amongst the pomp and circumstance might be harder still. You might say there is counselling on campus for those

choices in positive ways that could lead to less meat consumption.

An individual making bad moral decisions for themselves is not a moral right, it is one that we limit all the time.

The USU should not be a body that actively facilitates the morally regrettable choices of individuals and should, even if it compromises the choices that those people can make, given that it has the chance to help influence the decisions of others. The bad consumer choice of eating meat is morally indistinguishable from the USU’s failure to act to prevent or dissuade the consumption of that meat. Further, the USU is complicit insofar as it profits from meat consumption, which is why meat-free days are so important.

The USU is a political body that should be proud of the stances it takes. In supporting the Fossil Free USYD movement, it recognised the obligation that students and the union have to making the world a better place. By continuing to facilitate the consumption of meat, the USU is failing that obligation, and it must take a stance against this.

who need it, but how does one come to the conclusion they need help without us all having that conversation?

MAHsoc is a society that exists to talk about these things, but it is easy to forget it exists. BroSoc, which was recently voted down by the Board, wanted to focus on men’s mental health, but a society that entrenches masculinity as opposed to criticising it doesn’t seem like the best way to get people to join the discussion or seek help.

I don’t want this to be read as a criticism of the USU. I am suggesting that more can be done. It doesn’t need its own week; it is too pervasive for the conversation to be contained to a discrete timeslot. We need to use our resources as a Union to support other students, to remind (or worryingly, perhaps, to tell them for the first time) our mates that it’s not normal to feel horrible and not necessary to just deal with it.

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10 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Emily Shen looks at shoplifting in the 21st Century.

Issue 08 11 FEATURE

With huge advancements in surveillance technology and the growth of security measures in the modern age, one might expect the general population to be forgoing thievery and shoplifting, leaving it behind as a guilty relic of childhood – pocketed Chupa Chups from the local convenience store or a Lip Smackers from Priceline.

However, reports from Australian security firm Checkpoint have revealed that Australian businesses are losing up to $2.4 billion per year to thieves and “five-finger discounters” intent on stealing for both personal enjoyment as well as financial gain from on-selling stolen merchandise. The global growth of online platforms such as eBay has also resulted in an easier method for thieves to ‘re-distribute’ and resell products on an international scale.

In June this year, more than 100 people were arrested in a police operation targeting active shoplifters in Sydney’s CBD and Eastern Suburbs. Over five days, ‘Operation Lightfingers’ lead to the discovery of approximately $9300 in stolen retail goods with alleged offenders brazenly attempting to pull off repeat thefts at the same stores.

Far from professional thieves, the majority of those arrested were ordinary citizens, stealing ordinary goods such as food and perfume.

Redfern Region Enforcement Squad Commander Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Bell told the Daily Telegraph this year, “An increase in pedestrian traffic and busy customer service staff is often seen as an opportunity for light-fingered people to take things from the store without paying for it. [...] Improved surveillance technology and expert skills of store security and loss prevention officers have made a significant impact on retail theft; however, it is still costing the industry billions of dollars every year.”

It seems that this kind of retail theft isn’t just limited to New South Wales, or even Australia as a whole. An entire international community dedicated to shoplifting was found, lovingly termed ‘lifting’ by the users.

With pseudonym usernames like ‘Klepto Bunny’, ‘Stealth Wealth’ and ‘Lifting Cutie’, the group has members from USA, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Informally referred to as Tumblr’s very own “Bling Ring”, a term coined by fellow online observers of the community, the global gang lives up to the exploits of real-life teenager celebrity thieves from Los Angeles in 2009. Using hash tags like #fivefingerdiscount and #lifters, and having developed their very own lexicon to describe their antics, these online shoplifting

teenagers regularly post photographs of their “hauls” and tally up their “total damage” in a strange effort to foster competition.

Members reblog tips on how to better shoplift, recommending different tools for removing security devices and advising fellow lifters on which stores are particularly susceptible to theft. It might sound like a forum for professionals but the average age of these posters are in their teens, which can be expected from the nature and brands of the stolen goods.

While most posts are makeup hauls from pharmacies, or basic clothing hauls, some of the more bold members of the lifting community have tallied single-day exploits into the thousands of dollars, stealing even luxury branded shoes from an American department store. Holding a rather skewed view, the members egg each other on, with one UK lifter writing in May, “I think I’m gonna scope out some designer patches of the department stores near here [because] let’s face it I’m far too good for the H&M stuff I’m used to lifting and this community deserves more from me.”

Informally referred to as Tumblr’s very own “Bling Ring”…the global gang lives up to the exploits of real-life teenager celebrity thieves from Los Angeles in 2009.

Posting carefully worded disclaimers on their blogs, the teens suggest that they are simply role-playing fictional lives, having pre-purchased the items for their blogging enjoyment. “This is a blog for all of my fictional endeavors” writes 19-year-old Olivia, about a post of a haul worth close to US$200. And yet, disappointed, she captions it a “super boring tiny” haul, suggesting it is anything but fictional.

And even for the few members of the community who acknowledge the illegality of shoplifting, they appear to have internally justified their actions. One user ranted to her followers: “Basically what I’m saying is taking a 40 dollar pair of shorts from the local Macy’s is nothing compared to crimes like doing illegal drugs, murder, and rape.”

While another commented, “Haha yeah, I want to work 14 hours at [a store] so I can get one [makeup] palette. Or, I could steal like at least three in 12 whole minutes if

I really wanted to. What a f*ckin waste of time to waste your whole evening TWICE for a f*ckin makeup palette.”

Rachel,* 19, is now a lifting observer on Tumblr and says “they’ve deluded themselves into thinking it’s just one big game. Because it’s all online and kind of anonymous, they think they’re safe from the police.”

But it’s not just young, tech-savvy teens. Back in 2004, researchers from the University of Florida discovered that middleaged adults were more likely to shoplift compared to children, with the 35-54 year old age bracket deemed the worst offenders.

More recently in Australia, research from Crime Prevention NSW indicates that the majority of shoplifters are aged between 2039 years of age.

“Older people are definitely getting more brazen these days because they think they can get away with anything,” said Alin Tse, a 23year-old Australian employee in the retail industry. “One lady tried on a pair of shoes and left the store in them without paying, expecting us not to flag her down simply because she had her young child with her.”

Forgetting clothes or shoes, these older shoplifters also have their eyes on a different market, aided by new technology. Fresh food giants Coles and Woolworths, while unwilling to quote exact loss figures, have seen profits slightly diminished due to theft through self-serve checkouts. Whether it’s because goods initially wouldn’t scan, or because shoppers couldn’t work the machines, the end results all still seem to call for better monitoring at the checkout points.

Mike,* 27, regularly shoplifts from self-check out stores at Woolworths. “If the company is going to lay off staff and replace them with machines, it’s totally fine to steal a few things from them here and there. For things like fruits and vegetables, you can just change the recognition system to think that you’re buying something cheaper. The system is flawed and I’m just pretending like I keep making accidents.”

Whether it’s an online community of thieves, older-aged shoplifters or customers abusing self-checkout systems, it’s clear that technology and social networking has made stealing easier. The very notion of sharing lifting tips online and boasting about hauls on Tumblr is very telling of the modern breed of shoplifters operating in Australia and overseas. The question remains: is shoplifting becoming more acceptable? Or are the consequences of being caught not dire enough to dissuade people from stealing? *Names have been changed

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Issue 08 13 FEATURE

Reading the Fine Print

The five co-founders of Future Perfect

14 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Erin Rooney is relieved to hear that independent magazines are still hopeful for their future.

In September this year, a small part of Newtown’s creative soul died, as its beloved magazine store Mag Nation packed up their papery goods and closed shop, moving into Paddington’s Ariel Booksellers instead. Yet if the dusty wreck left in place of the popular indie hang seems to signify the ‘death of print’ that the prophecies have foretold since the rise of the Internet, Sydney’s otherwise bustling independent magazine and street press culture seems to tell a different story – on paper, of course.

Because, while readership figures for mainstream magazines look gloomy, with lifestyle magazines such as Cleo seeing a 34 per cent decrease in readership over the past year, the future of niche mags keeps looking up. Cute, artsy Frankie remains the fastest growing women’s magazine in Australia, enjoying a 21 per cent increase in readership since last year.

“People like that we assume that our reader has at least a bit of a sophisticated mind and that they can think about things from an alternative point of view.”

“All this shit about ‘the death of print’ is really… it’s garbage!” says James Branson, Co-founder and Editor of Sneaky magazine, a Sydney and Melbourne-based arts and culture publication. He candidly points out that people aren’t still making magazines ‘out of the goodness of their hearts’ – rather there’s still a significant commercial interest in the industry.

Sneaky has seen particular success, printing 30,000 copies monthly around Australia. While the magazine is free around local cafés, restaurants and bars in Sydney and Melbourne, often it’s so popular that the copies are picked up very quickly from these venues. Branson’s solution was to introduce a cover price of $4.95 at newsagencies and online in the case that someone might not be able to find a free copy at their local venue.

For Branson, who originally created Sneaky out of his bedroom in Coffs Harbour last year, part of what was important to his vision was filling a gap in the market to service the lack of long-form journalism targeted at young people. After getting connected with Co-founder Steve Bush, who brought with him a wealth of magazine expertise from starting Smash Hits and Girlfriend in Australia, things started

to take off, and they decided to move the publication to Sydney and Melbourne. The result, heavily influenced by Vice, was a print publication with personality; artistic in design and edgy in tone, and it quickly found an audience for itself.

“I think magazines that are a bit more niche and targeted at an audience that are interested in spending some time with something that’s essentially a luxury product nowadays… there’s still a really huge audience for that.”

Interestingly, their audience figures reflect this interest in longform articles, with 65 per cent of Sneaky consumers reading three quarters or more of the magazine. What has also been so successful – and often controversial – for its audience is Sneaky’s investigation into topics commonly considered taboo, such as pedophilia, war and sex workers, challenging the way that readers think about judgments they might make.

“People like that we assume that our reader has at least a bit of a sophisticated mind and that they can think about things from an alternative point of view,” says Branson.

Although there is certainly still a market for these niche print magazines, there’s no doubt that they’ve had to do some adapting to survive in the digital world. While Branson says that the good folk at Sneaky are still working on nailing their online presence, he is confident that the magazine’s exploration into strange, interesting ideas and people will translate best into video content going forward.

There is increasingly a saturation of content online, and though a large number of online publications for young people such as Junkee and Hijacked are seeing success, many young creatives are still choosing to start ventures in print. One such creative is Nicholas Underhill, one of the five founders of an emerging magazine based in Newtown, Future Perfect, currently in its first issue. Underhill and his fellow founders initially dabbled in creating purely digital content for their website, Literati Co, but it was the print medium that really intrigued them.

“There’s something to be said about being able to hold an object – we didn’t want to create a throwaway magazine or online blog,” says Underhill. “We wanted to create something that you would keep around, that you would keep coming back to – hopefully finding something new each time. We wanted to create something of value.”

The concept of design played a large part in what made the print aspect of the content so special to Future Perfect, encouraging collaborations with local photographers, and providing a sleek collection of written pieces that the reader may not have clicked on had it been an online publication, allowing them to stumble across something new.

Like Branson of Sneaky, Underhill felt that there were content needs that weren’t being serviced in the market – for him, this meant long-form journalism on what’s going on in the world, accompanied by other articles on more random topics like Russian literature.

Issue 08 15 feature

With that vision, Underhill and his co-founders Kevin Loo, Nicholas Watts, Ryan Frazer and Leon Shore were never really in it for the money. Conceiving the idea while travelling, around a table in a dark Czech pub, Loo and Underhill grew the concept inch by inch, eventually investing money with the other founders in the project, never really knowing if it would ever come back.

“Each page is paid for with coffee grinds and time spent teaching” says Underhill. “One of our founders gets paid as a medical radiation physicist. So we’re all kind of doing whatever we can to make it happen.”

And this passion has only worked in their favour within the vibrant magazine community in Sydney. Underhill has said that one of the most rewarding things about the journey they have been on is how welcoming other magazine makers have been towards them. He describes a very collaborative feel to it; a group of switched on individuals sharing strategies with each other.

“It’s a really positive energy. And people aren’t worried about competing because we’re all kind of chasing this awesome magazine reader, and the bigger we can make that market, the more everyone benefits.”

There’s no doubt that we live in a digital age, and holding a Gen Y reader’s attention span when competing with apps, games and quick-to-consume content can be tricky. But independent magazines are still very much holding their ground, finding support from their networks and pursuing a reader who’s as switched on and engaged as they are.

However, all this considered, James Branson is more of a realist. He acknowledges that the market is tough out there, stating simply: “I wish it were the ‘80s. If it were the ‘80s and there were no Internet, I’d be so rich right now…”

16 bull usu.edu.au INTERVIEW

Sydney University Law Society (photography Samuel Hoare)

clubs & societies Joining a professional development or course-related club is a great way to meet new people and develop networks within your field of study. It’s never too late to get involved! To find out more about our Clubs and Societies Program visit usu.edu.au today and get into the fun side of uni life.

The Clubs & Societies program is provided by the University of Sydney Union.

Make sure you have a valid ACCESS Card to join.

Issue 08 17 INTERVIEW

Interview Rodger Bumpass

For a voice-actor who has spent the best part of his life in relative anonymity – the last 15 years as Squidward in Nickelodeon’s submarine cartoon comedy SpongeBob SquarePants – Rodger Bumpass has seen his life flash before his eyes. Twice.

“I'm not sure if they’re hoaxes or just misinformation,” says Bumpass. “Now when I do die, no one’s going to believe it.” Hoax might suggest some kind of malicious intent, though Bumpass sees it more as bad luck.

He explains that en route to a convention in New Zealand in 2006, a Canadian man with the same name died, prompting IMDB.com to erroneously update his profile accordingly.

“The guy who was picking me up at the airport was the organiser of the convention, and he got wind of that. He called the airline and asked if was I on the airplane,” says Bumpass. “I said, ‘Did you ask the airline – was I in the cabin or the cargo hold?’”

At 62, Bumpass is still very much alive and well. With the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, he’s kept himself busy, if anonymous, for the latter part of his career.

Voice acting can often prove to be just as challenging as acting for screen, though with a fraction of the celebrity or indeed the paycheck to go with it. Though this has done nothing to blunt his schoolboy wit: he wears to our interview a brash Hawaiian-style shirt, under which is a faded top bearing Squidward’s comically deflated visage.

“It is acting, but it’s acting with a handicap. You don’t have costumes, gesture, facial expressions or anything,” explains Bumpass. “You have to do everything with the vocal mechanism.”

Like many of his generation, he moved to New York upon graduation from Jonesboro, Arkansas in 1977, the year Elvis died. “I always say that young people should always be required by the government to live in Manhattan at a certain age for a year and work there,” Bumpass says. “When I went there in ‘77 it was a cesspool, it hadn’t been cleaned up like it is right now. Times Square was really a toilet, and now it’s Disneyland.”

But neither mixing with Hollywood types nor living in the Big Apple has really changed Bumpass, and his humility is evidenced by his earnestness. “One day this little audition came by,” he says, recounting how he joined the SpongeBob cast. “I read. I got it. Who knew it would be as successful as it was and is? A couple years later, I heard we’re hip,” he says, chuckling.

Not two months after the first ‘hoax’, someone else with the same name died in California, and a TV station in Bumpass’ home state of Arkansas ran an obituary on the evening newscast. “I called them and tried to explain that I was not dead and they sent me a copy of the retraction and the original broadcast, which was very surreal.”

Bumpass laughs, “No one gets that window

of seeing what people say about you when you’re gone.”

I point out to Bumpass that the show that made his career has garnered a cult following across a generation of children and teens who demanded Krabby Patties for dinner and sung along with the theme every Saturday morning. The show’s popularity has spawned an empire of spin-off toys, films, video-games and even a replica version of Squidward’s underwater restaurant; the Krusty Krab in Ramallah, the West Bank.

“I have not been over there, and I don’t think I'll be travelling to the Middle East any time soon,” says Bumpass. “It can only happen over there because the creator of SpongeBob Stephen Hillenburg would never allow that. This is definitely not licensed

by Nickelodeon.” Despite this, Bumpass is appreciative of the restaurant’s faithful design. “I saw the picture though and it looks pretty real, it looks pretty good!”

Even in spite of the small fame that his role on SpongeBob has afforded him, there are still plenty of errors on his IMDB profile.

“According to the Internet I am married to Amy Stiller, who is the sister of Ben Stiller,” he grins. Apparently he was also born in 1939, lives in Bel Air, has a collection of classic cars, and his middle name is Albert.

“I don't know how the Internet puts these things together!”

Tom Joyner

18 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Digging for Answers SAM LANGFORD QUESTIONS THE UNIVERSITY’S INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS.

I am late to my very first workshop on environmental activism.

It occurs to me, as I listen to people share the “oh, shit” moments that inspired their passion, that this is an apt metaphor for my involvement in environmental activism so far: absolutely none.

The woman to my right gives a wry chuckle when it is her turn to speak. “My ‘oh, shit’ moment was before any of you were probably born,” she says. “It was in 1990.” She launches into an explanation of how, even then, the evidence of the harms of climate change was incontrovertible; the facts chilling. As she speaks, I realise, my “oh, shit” moment is right now. *** It’s easy to think of climate change in abstract terms. For the majority of us, the reality and consequences of mining and burning fossil fuels are obvious – so obvious that they run the risk of seeming trivial. We scoff at climate change skeptics; when asked, we affirm our support for renewable solutions. Rarely though, does it become tangible.

Whitehaven Coal should be a familiar name by now – the company routinely makes headlines for failing to adequately follow environmental procedures, and has been the subject of protests on campus for the past couple of weeks.

Whitehaven is behind the controversial Maules Creek Mine Project, the construction of which threatens to destroy more than half of the Leard State Forest. Were the mine a country, its annual greenhouse gas emissions would rank 75th in the world.

Less publicised but equally staggering are the social harms of the project – the mine has received strong community opposition, especially from the Indigenous Gomeroi people, whose land and heritage is being excavated.

The evidence should be damning. Yet at the time of writing, the University of Sydney hold an investment of nearly one million

in Whitehaven. In response to a Greenpeace email campaign, this investment is now “under review”, but it is unclear exactly what such a review entails. Even more unclear is the need for a review at all: Given the evidence, it’s difficult to fathom how a University which is purportedly progressive, sustainable and supportive of Indigenous rights, can reconcile these values with its investments.

Steve Talbot, a spokesperson for the Gomeroi people, shares this confusion. “That’s exactly right,” he tells me. “How can you turn around and say you support Aboriginal culture, and then invest in a mine that’s desecrating that culture?”

Desecration is a strong word, but as Steve explains the cultural harms of the Maules Creek project, it seems an understatement. The part of the Leard State Forest being cleared to make way for the mine, in addition to being a rare biodiversity hotspot, is traditional Gomeroi land. It contains sacred sites and areas traditionally used for rituals, and a plethora of sacred objects – the plants, animals and landforms form a network of sacred symbols integral to the Gomeroi culture. These sacred sites are supposedly protected under sections 9 and 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. The mine’s progress has already destroyed many of them.

I ask Steve how Whitehaven has been able to get around the Heritage Protection Act. He tells me that poverty is high in Aboriginal communities, and that Whitehaven has used this to their advantage. The company is required to obtain the approval of traditional owners, who survey the land and identify sacred sites. According to Steve, the promise of money means Whitehaven is able to “get people who don’t know much – who don’t ask questions – to check boxes… People who ask questions have been excluded because we wouldn’t sign off on their areas.

We wouldn’t submit to Whitehaven’s bullying.”

Issue 08 19 FEATURE

This experience seems typical of Whitehaven’s interactions with the Indigenous and wider community. Those who are obstructive are ignored. To no avail, the community have extended offers to Whitehaven to discuss their grievances. “There’s only one way for them,” says Steve “and it’s their way.” It’s a dehumanising approach, and one which fails to recognise the deep significance of culture for Indigenous people. As Steve put it, “I don’t put a price on my culture and heritage.”

"As she speaks, I realise, my ‘oh, shit’ moment is right now."

Yet when institutions like the University of Sydney invest in companies like Whitehaven, that is exactly what they do. Steve exhorts investors to do what Whitehaven has not, and prioritise communication and respect in their decision making. “Come down and have a meeting, see how hurt the community is. See whose toes you step on.” I ask him if the University has made any attempts to consult the community about the consequences of their investment. He laughs. “When have you ever known a university to sit down with a community?”

It’s a frustration echoed by those spearheading the divestment campaign on campus. Greenpeace and the Sydney University Fossil Free Collective have been working to pressure the University to divest from Whitehaven and other fossil fuel companies. The campaign seemed to achieve an early success with the announcement that the University would cease all new investments in fossil fuels during its investment strategy review.

This news came in late August, and since then, information about the reviews contents has not been forthcoming.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” acknowledges Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule. “But it doesn’t go far enough. The University already has all the information it needs to conclude that an investment in Whitehaven Coal falls outside of the parameters of its Environmental, Social and Governance principles as outlined in the University’s Investment Policy.”

This raises an obvious question: why is a review necessary at all? Nikola describes the only appropriate response for the University as immediate and total divestment. His sense of urgency is justified – November first marks Whitehaven’s intended resumption of clearing the remaining forest; Indigenous sites and endangered species with it. If the University of Sydney maintains their current level of investment, it will be complicit in this destruction.

I ask Nikola if he’s able to speculate as to why the University remains invested in Whitehaven, in face of the abounding evidence. He is unsure. “That’s a question for the University,” he tells me. “You should ask them.”

Transparency, however, is not the University’s strong point.

When I am finally put through to the Media Office, I speak to a woman who is apologetic but unhelpful – she doesn’t have the information I’m looking for. My questions are forwarded to “someone who might know something.”

20 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Several days later, I receive a response. Attributable to “a spokesperson from the University”, it is evidently copied and pasted from a press release. It addresses none of my questions, and reads as follows: A few weeks ago, the University of Sydney advised interested parties that it was consulting with advisers and stakeholders to review its investment policies. The University has issued an instruction to make no further purchases in Whitehaven Coal while the review is underway.

One can only speculate as to who the university considers to be “stakeholders”. Certainly not the Gomeroi people – Steve tells me there have been no attempts to make contact. Nor, apparently, students – Clo Schofield of Fossil Free USyd reports that the collective has been unsuccessful in acquiring further information from the University, despite overwhelming student support for divestment.

Indeed, the student movement stands in stark contrast to the University’s reticence. Students have worked closely with Greenpeace to raise awareness of the issues at stake, attempting to engage with the University Senate and on a grassroots level with the student body. The campaign’s engagement with mainstream students has, according to Clo, been overwhelmingly positive.

“People love this campaign,” she says. Describing the process of collecting student signatures to force a referendum on the issue, she notes that “people were snatching the petition out of our hands.”

Despite the lack of further University response, the campaign refuses to lose momentum. Collaboration with Greenpeace has provided the movement with the resources and information student campaigns often lack – the result is a joint

effort Clo describes as “very vibrant, creative, well organised and well resourced.”

It’s an accurate description: the campaign on campus has been anything but monotonous. The recent Divestment Day on the 10th of September provided an information stall on Eastern Avenue, as well as workshops enabling students to upskill in campaigning and their understanding of the cause. A few weeks later, Greenpeace activists capitalised on existing construction on Eastern Avenue to stage a performance protest, in the form of a fake coal mine in the middle of the University.

Nikola, who was involved in the organisation of the performance protest, describes it as an attempt to communicate with both staff and students about the University’s investment, aiming to keep interest and awareness high. The signs around the performance stating “Campus Closed for Coal Mining” seemed to have the intended effect – the campaigners were able to speak to hundreds of confused and curious students who might have passed by more traditional forms of awareness raising. Nikola describes the event as “a huge success”.

The student movement so far has culminated in a referendum put to the student body in the recent undergraduate SRC elections. The result was a predictable but encouraging success for the campaign – nearly 80% of voters were in favour of divestment. While the referendum is largely symbolic in that the SRC has no immediate power over the University, it reinforces more formally the point at the centre of the Fossil Free Collective’s campaign: students are engaged, and decided.

Far from being the lazy, disengaged generation often lambasted by the media, students are prepared to lead the change. It’s the University that isn’t listening.

Issue 08 21 FEATURE

Clo feels this is unfair, describing students as both “primary stakeholders of our University, and primary stakeholders of the future of the planet.” She hopes that the University will recognise this, and “engage in meaningful dialogue with the SRC, the USU and SUPRA, all of whom have come out in favour of divestment.”

The University does not have to be the villain here. Yet with every day it fails to respond, it reinforces itself as an ivory tower, disconnected from the issues most pertinent to those around it. As an institution of learning, and a place of critical thought and argument, how can the University justify ignoring student attempts to join what is evidently a critical ethical discussion?

Whether the University will respond remains unclear. If it wishes to continue marketing itself as a progressive, ethical institution, it had best respond soon. As Nikola puts it, “Vice Chancellor Michael Spence has an important decision to make.

Will he affirm the University’s reputation as an ethical and green institution by standing with the thousands of people who have written to him about this issue, and dump the University’s shares in Whitehaven Coal? Or will he take the side of a destructive coal company that is bulldozing endangered forest, trashing indigenous heritage sites, compromising prime farmland, and driving dangerous global warming. We think that ought to be an easy decision to make.” *** As students, the lack of consultation from the University about what is done in our name highlights a power imbalance that locks key stakeholders out of critical decision making processes.

However, both Nikola and Clo are optimistic about the power of student movements to make a change. They highlight awareness raising as a key way to get involved – what the movement lacks in institutional power, it hopes to make up in size.

The most important part is being involved. Clo stresses that “on

our campus, it’s important for the divestment campaign to come from us, the University community, so that it’s clear that there is broad support for an end to profiting from climate change.”

Change begins with an ‘oh, shit’ moment.

22 bull usu.edu.au TASTE

TASTE I Can’t Believe It’s not Bacon

FAKE MEAT

Sean O’Grady In the 1970s, Peter Singer published his book Animal Liberation, and thus began contemporary debate surrounding the manner in which we treat and consume animals. For some, it changed their thinking around farming and the killing of animals for food. It is permissible, the argument goes, to consume meat just so long as it lives its life in relative comfort and is killed in a way that minimises pain. For others, the moral implication of consuming animals runs deeper and as a result, cannot, under any circumstance be justified.

For some though, there is an additional problem: they fucking love meat. Enter the world of fake meat.

Tofurkey: It is easy to ridicule meat analogues. With names like ‘Tofurkey’ and ‘Facon’, derision comes naturally from a populace so used to the consumption of meat, that alternatives can easily seem ridiculous, well before marketing departments with limited creativity get hold of products.

This though, belies the fact that meat analogues have a storied history throughout the world. Tofu and Tempe, soy based products, have long been consumed as substitutes for meat throughout Asia and the Middle East. It stands to reason that modern technique and technology can bring us ever more convincing and mass producible alternatives to the consumption of meat.

Tofu Sweats: With technological advancement comes increasingly convincing

substitutes. Of particular note is King Street’s newest, vegetarian butcher, Suzy Spoon’s. Starting at Marrickville Markets before becoming Tobey Macguire’s personal chef, Suzy was encouraged to open her own shop by the Gatsby star.

A venue on Enmore Road quickly gained so much popularity that the business moved to a bigger premise on King Street to cater for demand.

Customers can now purchase a range of products hand made in store, or sourced from a number of local vegetarian and vegan providers. There is an online shopping arm, catering and even an in-store cafe. The (Seitan) Schnitzel Burger is delicious.

Meat Fetish: Convincing meat substitutes may increasingly be readily available, but there is also a growing number of more radical animal rights activists condemning the movement. Even consuming meat substitutes, they argue, contributes to a social narrative that fetishises the consumption of animal products. Indeed, critics of Spoon have contended that even the use of the word ‘butcher’ has the effect of legitimating butchers that sell actual meat.

In a world where food politics is increasingly complicated, more people are choosing to either opt out of buying meat, or limit their consumption, so as to decrease demand for the product but not alter their lifestyles entirely. Meanwhile, radical vegetarians and vegans argue that any actions which can implicitly justify or further ingrain the consumption of meat within society best be avoided. Others just don't like the taste of meat at all.

Futuristic Food Trends: 1. Soylent Green: Who needs taste when you can get all your nourishment from goo?

2. Moon Farming: While only in its preliminary stages, NASA plans to grow cress, turnips and basil on the Lunar Landscape.

3 LeftoverSwap: An App that lets you give your leftovers to strangers, preventing wastage.

If this is more your style, then check out Sandhana Kitchen and Lentil As Anything in Newtown, Yulli’s in Surry Hills or our very own VegeSoc on campus.

The Future: One need only look at the battery farming of hens, or the conditions of an abattoir to feel uneasy about their consumption of meat. But ingrained social norms and a love of the taste present consumers with barriers to changing their behaviour.

One potential star on the horizon is In Vitro Meat. Long promised, but yet to be fully realised, 3D printing technology is hoping to provide the technological breakthrough needed to deliver you cruelty free steaks and shoes (leather is also ethically problematic).

Modern Meadow is a startup which has received investment from PayPal founder Peter Thiel that aims to do just this.

With mainstream investment going into providing cruelty free meat, and the success of businesses like Suzy Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher, the supply and demand of crueltyfree meat alternatives is only going to get bigger. Perhaps in the future the choice between meat or tofu will be redundant, replaced by innovations such as 3D meat, featuring all the taste and none of that pesky guilt.

Issue 08 23 GO

GO ITALY

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

Zi Yi Lim It was April 2014 when, with nothing but a sprinkling of Latin and two Italian words, I made my way to Rome.

I was glad to have finally arrived after my 13 hour flight. Though largely pleasant, the uncomfortable crossing over Eastern Ukraine and subsequent connections had sapped me of much energy, to say nothing of the eight-hour time difference.

Eleven months previously, I had scored a final-year public health internship at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO was founded in Rome from the ashes of World War II, and was charged with the noble goal of ending world hunger. As a major source of protein, animals have much to do with achieving this. The prior five years of Veterinary School had robbed me of a social life and had continually denied me holidays.

Final-year rotations presented me with a rare opportunity to travel overseas in the name of my degree – an opportunity that I immediately seized.

Ironically, FAO Headquarters itself is a Mussolini-era expanse of white fascist marble, ostensibly built in the 1930s as the Ministry of the Colonies. Upon receiving my pass at the embassy-grade security gates, I proceeded to my assignment at FAO’s Animal Health Division. Soon, I became acquainted with the machine. My supervisor was Dr Katinka de Balogh, internationally renowned veterinarian and speaker of seven languages (not uncommon at the UN).

Much of my time was spent with the Crisis Management Centre in Animal Health,

a committee of experts that met frequently in a room, not unlike the White House’s Situation Room, analysing and assessing global animal and human trans-boundary disease threats. Avian Influenza, MERS and eventually Ebola, became part of the daily vernacular. Reassuringly, Australian vet Dr Ian Douglas headed this operation, employing modified Australian government standard operating procedures, which is a testament to this country’s successful biosecurity programme.

So there I was: suiting up to work at the UN, facilitating meetings with international governments and contributing to work so meaningful to the global community that I even had the satisfaction of watching it on CNN that evening. For all the sense of self-importance this brought, no workplace was complete without friends. Thankfully, FAO abounds with the youth of other interns such as myself, and some say the organisation wouldn't function without them.

True enough, these were people from all over the world. The generous lunch and coffee breaks afforded by the Italian setting saw us dining at the rooftop cafeteria, sampling what are arguably the best views of Rome.

These would be washed down by tax-free €0.60 macchiatos which Campos has yet to beat. Friday nights would be spent at the Yellow Bar across the road, offering winebottle sized Peronis and a smoke-friendly atmosphere for those cigarette-obsessed Europeans.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, even paid a visit to FAO in my second week. Sadly, there was no opportunity for the obligatory selfie with the man, although his security detail granted me access to his bulletproof Maserati instead.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it’s impossible to see it in one either. No itinerary would be complete without visiting the Colosseum, Roman Forum, many piazzas, the Spanish Steps, numerous churches and that countrywithin-a-city, the Vatican. The advantage of my extended stay meant being able to view the many Renaissance fountains and piazzas in their midnight glory, without the hustle and bustle of tourists. One only had to resist the temptation to pull off Gregory Peck’s Vespa ride á la Roman Holiday. Did I mention food?

Beyond the glossy postcards, the Eternal City may be crowded, chaotic and crumbling – but it is never old. This is what makes it an irresistible place to work or visit.

WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO: 1. Coffee: Italians never drink cappuccinos after eleven in the morning. If you don’t want to be frowned upon as another ignorant tourist, neither should you.

2. P ickpockets: Gentlemen, back pockets are

not for stuffing wallets into. Rome's beauty is marred by its reputation for harbouring the lowliest of scum, pickpockets.

3. Buses: No bus timetable exists in Rome.

Buses are supposed to arrive every 20 minutes, but rarely do, even when there isn’t a strike. You may get better mileage on two feet, or better still the Metro.

4. H eels: Ladies, as tempting as it is to

parade through the streets of one of the world’s most romantic cities on your best heels, the cobbled streets don't make for good walking.

5. N asoni: Fancy a bottle of genuine Italian

spring water? For free you ask? Simply provide the bottle and fill up at any of the city’s 2,500 water fountains (nasoni), constantly streaming fresh water daily.

24 bull usu.edu.au MOVE section heading

MOVE Exercise And The Mind

Physical Exercise, Mental Enhancement

Tang Li If you’re still lacking the motivation to get up and exercise, here is an incentive that’s worth noting – many physical exercises are tremendously beneficial for brain health, in particular cognitive learning.

Arguably the most vital organ in your body, the brain is constantly working as the major control network for your body’s core functions and abilities and it’s about time to give it some lovin’. Physical exercise can do this by training the brain through assistive cognitive learning.

You utilise the gym to stimulate the growth of muscle cells, just like you use a brain fitness program to improve auditory processing in your brain. But, lo and behold, you can actually achieve the latter by donning your runners and hitting the gym.

Two birds with one stone, my friend.

According to a study by the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia, the benefits of physical exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, have many positive effects on brain function. These range from molecular to behavioural levels where simply exercising for twenty minutes facilitates information processing and memory functions.

Aerobic exercise, specifically, provides cardiovascular conditioning, whereby

breathing controls the amount of oxygen that can make it to the muscles to help them burn fuel and move. Examples of aerobic activity include swimming, running, cycling, walking, rowing and elliptical training.

Over a decade of research in both animals and people demonstrate that engaging in regular aerobic activity leads to changes in the brain associated with improved cognition.

Compared with non-physical mice, researchers discovered that physically fit mice (when given a wheel) had double the number of new nerve cells in a region of the hippocampus – an area of the brain involved in learning and memory.

Exercise also stimulates the brain’s plasticity by stimulating the growth of networks between cells in cortical areas of the brain – making it easier for the brain to grow new neuronal connections. It also aids in the bodily release of hormones, all of which contribute to providing a nourishing environment for the growth of brain cells.

However, the same study from the University of Georgia concluded that extended exercise that leads to dehydration compromises both information processing and memory functions.

Recent human studies also show an association between physical activity and improved cognitive performance across the lifespan. Even people who hold off on regular aerobic activity until later in life may

still be able to gain from exercise in their senior years.

Where memory decline is the number one complaint of older adults, and science shows that aging decreases mental efficiency, research from the Centre for BrainHealth at the University of Texas demonstrates the benefit of aerobic exercise on a person’s memory and demonstrates that it can reduce both the biological and cognitive consequences of aging.

John J. Ratey, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of A User’s Guide to the Brain said, “Exercise is really for the brain, not the body. It affects mood, vitality, alertness, and feelings of well-being.”

Master of Surgery Christ Anderson, wellness and fitness coordinator of the University of San Francisco explains that exercises affect many sites within the nervous system and set off these pleasure chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine that make us feel calm, happy and euphoric.

“When one exercises, you can think more clearly, perform better, and your morale is better. This is pure science – stimulate your nervous system and function at a higher level,” he said.

It is clear that the benefits of physical exercise far outweigh any discomfort one might endure and there are many ways to make workouts fun and enjoyable.

Issue 08 07 25 section heading LEARN

LEARN Accidental Discoveries

Four Kick-Ass Scientists Without DegreeS

1. Gregor Mendel An uneducated monk and straight up legend, Mendel’s experiments with pea plants observing genetic inheritance are still taught in science classrooms around the world to this day.

The Most Brilliant of Blunders

Zoe Hitch It can often be overwhelming hearing stories of the genius innovators responsible for the inventions we find so vital in our lives today.

But every now and then a successful creation is born out of chance, coincidence, or mere mistake. If thinking about all the visionaries and go-getters out there makes you feel a little inadequate, not to worry, you too might stumble and fumble your way to success!

Post-it notes: 3M’s famous sticky notes were over a decade in the making, and it all began with Dr. Spencer Silver in 1968.

When attempting to create super glue for the company, Silver ended up with a weak, reusable adhesive that left no residue.

Silver was convinced there could be a commercial use for his botched glue and continued to promote it within the company, distributing samples to his colleagues.

One of these co-workers, Arthur Fry, used Silver’s reusable glue to keep the markers in his hymnbook in place. After Fry told Silver and 3M executives about his idea the Post-It note was born, saving people the world over from a life of disarray and disorder.

Coca-Cola: The Coca-Cola Company often attributes its success to its top-secret recipe which, as it turns out, was the result of a great deal of good fortune and timing. The

origins of the soft-drink lie in the work of pharmacist John Pemberton whose French Wine Coca tonic was developed to treat a whole array of ailments. The drink consisted of wine, coca and kola nut amongst other ingredients, and was sold mainly in Atlanta.

But after prohibition hit the city in 1885, Pemberton changed his recipe, substituting the wine for sugar and creating syrup, which was later added to carbonated water and distributed at a popular soda fountain.

It remains hotly contested whether or not the addition of carbonated water was an accident or a deliberate move, but either way the redevelopment of the Coca-Cola recipe came as a result of necessity, timing and opportunity, rather than pure invention or discovery.

Viagra: The now infamous little blue pill was not envisioned to keep men standing at attention. Rather, scientists at Pfizer discovered it unexpectedly during trials for a new drug designed to treat heart disease, with many participants left awkwardly pitching a tent. As the pill had not proven very upstanding in its intended purpose, pharmacists decided to erect a new trial, testing the drug as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The trial produced hard evidence that the pill was effective and as a result of the unanticipated and accidental side effect, Pfizer was able to produce Viagra, which is now one of its best selling drugs.

2. Mary Anning Not only was she the inspiration for the tongue twister ‘She sells seashells’, but Anning also convinced 19th Century England that dinosaurs once existed by collecting and trading fossils. No biggie.

3. Michael Faraday Born to a poor family

in London, Faraday made up for his lack of science education by discovering most of it, inventing the electric motor, electric generator and the Bunsen Burner.

4. Caroline Herschel Though astronomy

started as a hobby for Herschel, she eventually became the first woman to be recognised for discovering a comet and paid a salary for science services, receiving a Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1828.

Microwave Oven: It’s difficult to think how we would survive today without one of the most versatile and crucial kitchen appliances, the microwave oven. However, the invention of this sacred machine occurred as a product of chance.

When working on active radar sets (whatever those are), scientist Percy Spencer noticed a chocolate bar he had in his pocket had melted. Spencer decided to investigate the potential causes of this strange phenomenon by attempting to heat other foods with the microwaves emitted by his radars. After this proved successful Spencer created a metal box, which he then shot waves into, and it was this design that evolved into the microwaves we use today.

Issue 08 27 FEATURE

The Indigenous Community on campus

what now?

Two years after protests over cuts to the Koori Centre, Joanita Wibowo reflects on the current condition of Indigenous support services at Sydney University.

The door is locked. Not even my student card can open it.

When the librarian told me the room is just for Indigenous students and staff, I began to understand that the Koori Centre is indeed a culturally safe community space for those identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander at the University of Sydney.

When it was first established in 1989, the Koori Centre was an initiative under the University’s Faculty of Education. The centre, with its Indigenous education programs and support services, became an independent academic faculty in 1994.

However, concerns regarding cuts and changes to Indigenous programs incited protests in 2012. As a result, the Koori Centre and its support staff were successfully retained, the support services were moved under the administration of Deputy ViceChancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services), Shane Houston, and the academic programs were moved under other faculties such as the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Education and Social Work in 2013.

Sharon Galleguillos, lecturer in this latter faculty, and formerly part of the Koori Centre’s academic staff, supports this change.

“I guess part of the reasoning for that list is so that the Koori Centre wasn’t just an isolated, enclaved faculty. So the concept of making every faculty – not just us – have some personal advisor to mentor and advise those students is a good thing.”

With its main campus standing on Cadigal Land, the University has had a considerable history of support for and acknowledgement of the Indigenous community through its programs and initiatives. Other than the Koori Centre, the University’s Indigenous support services provide important programs such as The Cadigal Alternative Entry Program, which is a pathway program to enrolment, and the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS), which focuses on providing tutorial assistance for Indigenous students.

Kyol Blakeney, an Indigenous student and the newly elected president of the SRC was part of the former program.

28 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE “I was a person who entered on this pathway to study Primary Education. For me, this was an asset as it gave students a head start in knowing what to expect from university. It’s also a great bonding opportunity for the students to get to know each other… and being from a community culture, it is something that is needed,” Blakeney says. “Currently the Australian Government is proposing to cut funding to ITAS nationwide by next year. So many times we hear about symbolic gestures and acts of tokenism to ‘close the gap’ yet when there is a service that is specific to creating equal opportunity to Indigenous people academically, it comes under the knife.”

The Social Inclusion Unit (SIU) is another of the University’s initiatives. Focusing on raising awareness and increasing student participation in higher education, SIU connects Indigenous high school students from all over Australia through programs held in the University with partnerships with AIME, The Smith Family, Souths Cares and others.

“So many times we hear about symbolic gestures and acts of tokenism to ‘close the gap’ yet when there is a service that is specific to creating equal opportunity to Indigenous people academically, it comes under the knife.”

Director of the SIU, Annette Cairnduff says, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are significantly underrepresented in higher education and in HSC completion. Essentially what we’re trying to do is to maintain a sense of connection and interaction with young people about their education, and support them in reaching their career goals.”

“The idea is a multifaceted approach, so putting a series of programs around [Indigenous students] that support them in different ways.” Cairnduff explains, “It’s about inspiring and motivating students so they can continue to feel connected not just to this university but also to each other, and so that they’re in a good position to make really informed decisions about their future.”

Apart from programs held on campus to prepare students for university, SIU will be launching a website with studentgenerated content across Indigenous issues as well as other student interests. Aptly named A*, the website will be launched on 7 November.

Nat Heath, the Centre Manager for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) at Sydney University, shared how the university has supported AIME. “Our entire program that now works across Australia very much started at the University of Sydney. We started back in 2005, when our Founder and CEO, Jack Manning Bancroft, got together with 25 of his Indigenous and non-Indigenous mates from Sydney Uni, and walked down the road… to meet with 25 Indigenous school kids. Since that day, we’ve seen thousands of Sydney Uni students step up for the chance to be an AIME mentor.”

AIME works with 3500 Indigenous students across Australia and aims to reach 10,000 students each year by 2018. As Heath says, “Without the support of the University, we definitely wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Nevertheless, there are varied opinions of the University’s efforts in closing the gap for future students.

“The Indigenous student community, as I understand, makes up 0.8 percent of the student body,” says Blakeney. “Obviously the main goal is to increase the enrolment of Indigenous students and supply adequate support facilities to retain those students. The Koori Centre has been one of the main reasons why retention rates have increased in the past few years to become the largest across the board. This, however, still shows that universities – including ours – have a long way to go in achieving equal opportunities for Indigenous students to study at a tertiary level.”

As the President of the SRC, Blakeney aims to encourage more involvement from Indigenous students in rural areas. “For this to happen, there needs to be ways in which the University can assist in housing these students in affordable accommodation, and assist with financial support for academic tools such as textbooks and readers.”

The University’s programs and facilities for current students are also debated. “[The Indigenous community at Uni] is a little bit dispersed, because they’re all around the university,” says Galleguillos, who is also a mentor to Indigenous students in her faculty. “But in many ways, it’s probably a good thing for lots of Indigenous students to make friends with the whole diaspora of the University. You want those Indigenous students to get involved just as Kyol did in the SRC, and then you can have a great experience. And if you’re an Indigenous student, I think that in many ways you can find there’s quite a respectful approach from a lot of foreign students who are interested in Indigenous culture.”

“The Koori Centre has been a huge support base for myself and many other Indigenous students for many years now,” Blakeney says. He further tells his plans, “I would like to see the Koori Centre promoted and much more well-known around the University. This is to boost the presence and recognition of Indigenous students on campus and, hopefully, create a culturally aware university that is proud to embrace our culture in more ways than having the seldom Acknowledgement to Country in the Great Hall or just the signs at each entrance acknowledging the Cadigal people as the traditional owners. I want a university that acts on pushing students further than they thought they could go; more than symbolism and numbers.”

Issue 08 29 FEATURE

Friday 24 October 7pm – midnight The Refectory, Holme Building Official after party hosted by SHADES At a secret location to be revealed on the night ACCESS $40 | General Admission $50 Tickets available at the ACCESS Desk and online

/USUAccess

@USUAccess

@USUAccess

/USUonline

usu.edu.au

Issue 08 31 THE TIME I TRIED...

THE TIME I TRIED...

Making Friends on Tinder

Erin Rooney is actually a fan of the friend zone.

The challenge of an app like Tinder is that there is such a variety of people on there for completely different reasons.

And while some people’s reasons may be arguably more… gallant than others, part of the fun comes from sifting through the tattooed mirror selfies and shirtless Stereosonic pics to find someone who’s on there for the same reasons as you.

But what’s even more challenging is that sometimes even you don’t know why you’re on there. Before I started using Tinder a year ago, I never once thought I would use a dating app to meet interesting people and make friends – I imagined that was reserved for the likes of Omegle users and lurkers on Chat Roulette. But the world works in mysterious ways.

Like many others using the app, I started off my Tinderella fairy tale as a joke, sussing out the personalities of potential Tinder princes and enjoying the occasional looselipped attention I got. I was in a Frenchspeaking city at the time, experiencing culture shock, and it provided a humorous escape from the cruel mistress that is the language barrier.

And boy, are there some duds on there.

From someone who was a self-proclaimed

‘shunner of mediocrity’ to a guy who had never, ever watched Friends before, the subpar pick up lines and painful small talk on the app was making things look like I would die old and alone, surrounded by my faithful cats. Because as it turned out, there was only so much I had in common with guys using Tinder to boast their gym PBs. It’s disheartening, and for many, this constant lack of connection is reason to abandon the app altogether.

Until, unexpectedly, you find someone with a particularly fascinating story. For me it was a guitar-making apprentice from Vancouver.

We met at Comic-Con. Neither of us had ever been to a Comic-Con, but something about taking the leap to meet a stranger made us both want to try something a little new, and definitely a little dorky. Going in with doubtful expectations, surprisingly it was an epic day, followed by many more epic days to come.

In the months that followed, we ice skated, watched hockey over drinks, caught up on the latest Walking Dead episodes on the couch and drank hot chocolate together in the snow. All of them were wonderful, carefree days spent together – and all entirely platonic for both of us.

At first, I thought it was just the openness to meeting new people that comes from living

in a new city that made it so easy to make a friend off Tinder. But when I got back to Australia, more and more of my dates on the app turned into great nights out, without the desire on either end to take anything further.

Instead, we were both meeting someone new who we otherwise wouldn’t have crossed paths with.

I never went into Tinder with this intention – on the contrary, I always go in with an open mind – but being friends has always just been the way it’s worked out.

And this is an interesting phenomenon that has occurred amongst many of my other friends who use the app – the experience of getting along incredibly well with the people they meet, yet lacking the spark of chemistry. As in a bar setting, feeling a spark is something you only know once you’ve met someone in person, so with Tinder this often feels like a trial and error process.

I’ve learnt that chemistry is a two way street – it’s not something you can force or feel that you are entitled to. So for those who condemn the ‘friend zone’, open your mind up to what it can create. Because the next time you swipe right, it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

As for falling in love, if it were as simple as going on a Tinder date, things would just be way too easy. And where’s the fun in that?

32 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Issue 08 33 FEATURE

Sophie Henry and Erin Rooney believe electronic music will finally make the nation’s capital cool.

In Canberra, the music scene doesn’t have quite the same hustle and bustle to it as Sydney. As a general rule, the nightlife operates on a Thursday to Saturday basis, and energetic vibes at gigs can be hit and miss, ranging from the ghostly silence at The Basement on a Thursday night to the ecstatic, sold out shows at Transit Bar. Yet this hasn’t stopped electronic acts like Peking Duk, Jaytech and The Aston Shuffle from making a name for themselves.

Signing to RCA/Sony worldwide, scoring international tours and winning a regular slot on triple j respectively, their humble origins have had little to do with their ability to break through and ‘make it’ in the music industry.

With the increasing influence of bloggers and online charts provided by sites such as Hype Machine, it’s clear that the state of the industry is changing. Having an understanding of how these platforms work has become important to forming a fan base and earning airtime, and has provided access for musicians in smaller towns to distribution channels.

And according to SAFIA, an emerging electronic act from the nation’s capital, it shouldn’t matter where you’re from as a musician. Along their music journey, they’ve been told from all angles that moving to Melbourne or Sydney would be an essential step to breaking into the industry, but have always rejected this idea. Although it’s small, Canberra has been the breeding ground for SAFIA’s now vast fan base.

In fact, SAFIA’s biggest fan has been Canberra itself, becoming somewhat of a ‘trophy wife’ to the proud city. From their song ‘Listen to Soul, Listen to Blues’ being featured on Canberra’s CBR: Confident, Bold, Ready ad campaign last year, to the always adoring words of The Canberra Times, their successes have been recognised at every corner. Their large and loyal following at ANU has provided constant support and has spread the good word about the local talent.

The three guys, each with their own distinct personality and look, have known each other since primary school. SAFIA was formed on a whim when lead singer Benjamin Joseph was asked to play a local gig in Canberra. Reluctant to face the crowd alone, he called up his old friends for support, and as a result, the group was born. Michael Bell, known in high school for his insane guitar solos and Harry Sayers, known more as ‘the popular guy’, were the missing pieces to Ben’s ambitious music career, adding a bit of an edge to his mainstream, acoustic solo sound.

But like many others in the industry, SAFIA chose to pivot this genre and pursue electronic music instead, because they were fascinated by the opportunity to stretch the limits of sound.

Reflecting the bored and restless attitude of Gen Y, the electronic music industry took off because of its limitless sound, offering many new and interesting spheres of music and avenues for selfexpression. SAFIA describe themselves as a ‘sort of hybrid thing’, bringing together various traditions of music and combining approaches to create a sound that stands out.

“When we write, if it sounds anywhere near any other artist, even if by mistake, we will get rid of it,” says Ben. “We like taking risks rather than fitting in.”

It is this approach that has caught the attention of many ears around the country, particularly the indie blogosphere and triple j, who have been key to their success after receiving a slot on the 2013 Hottest 100. They’ve even managed to establish a localised following in the Middle East thanks to their accidentally Arabic band name.

Striving to shake the negative stereotypes that it has earned over the years, Canberra is trying its very best to be cool at the moment, demonstrated by newly established trendy suburbs like New Acton, an image that SAFIA has really benefited from. Like most Canberrans – ourselves included – the guys have a love/hate relationship with the town, but are grateful for the opportunities the city has provided them with.

“There’s really hardly a focus on music here,” guitarist Harry Sayers explains. “But there are little niche kinds of clubs that support musicians so well and I guess that is where we stand out.”

But now, having toured with Lorde earlier this year and collaborated with James Vincent McMorrow, Peking Duk and The Aston Shuffle, their ambitions are getting too big for the small pond, and their frustrations with the place are evident. Despite this, like artists such as Bon Iver and Dustin Tebbutt, having the time and space to write music and escape to less distracting places can be the best thing for their sound and success; something that has proven true for SAFIA. In light of their success, drummer Michael Bell explains that it comes down to forming an identity for themselves and owning it. “I guess it’s very important to embrace your weirdness. Once you do that, you really flourish, don’t you?”

Flourish they certainly have. With a bright future ahead, SAFIA know that with the right attitude, for them there are no limits.

Issue 08 35 CAMPUS FASHION

CAMPUS FASHION SRC Student Elections

TANGY LI // Media/Law II

RIKI SCANLAN // Arts II

MONIQUE NEWBERRY // Science I

Sunglasses: Quay Australia Tee: Heist Jacket: Kathmandu Leggings: Nike Runners: Nike

Jacket: From the street Tee: Grassroots JEANS: Dirtcheap bargain from Rozelle Markets

Sunglasses: Bargain on Amazon Tee: Stand Up! Shorts: Vintage (discovered online) Shoes: Hype DC

Style icon? Lorde, with a side of Kylie Jenner.

What’s your advice on how to wear a campaign tee?

It’s hard with loud colours. The only thing I’m feeling at the moment is an entirely otherwise black ensemble (i.e. my gym gear).

How would you describe your style? I’m pretty gender queer so I love anything that looks androgynous.

Style advice to people at uni? Wear what you feel like wearing (and if you think it looks good).

Where do you take your inspiration from? From the street. Street fashion yo – keep it real!

Describe your general style. People have called my style gothic before... I prefer the term ‘grungy’.

How would you describe your style? I’d say it’s pretty laidback, I like being comfortable at uni.

What trends are you enjoying at the moment?

I love loud colours, things that stand out and look different.

Style icon? Wednesday Addams [Fashion team: greatest answer ever? We think so].

Watch and Learn: It’s time to tear your eyes away from your phones; we’re going old school to tell the time. Take a hint from our friends at Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs or even your pal from

primary school, the notorious Baby G. Chunky watches are back, and we love them in every colour – gold, silver, black or even rose gold.

They’ll liven up any outfit transforming you from uni geek to runway chic.

By Emily Shen, Katie Stow and Rebecca Karpin.

36 bull usu.edu.au CLASSIC COUNTDOWN & VOX POPS

Top 5 Self-Referential Celebrity Fashion Statements

5 4

Tay Tay

LAURA BLUE // ARTS IV (MECO)

Willow ‘Fresh Princess’ Smith

Listening: ‘Heavenly Father’

by Bon Iver Reading: The ‘Who Are We’ section of the CBAA website Watching: Party Tricks.

Taylor Swift’s fans sent the singer and her touring band these shirts featuring their own faces.

When your parents’ fame facilitates your own fame, all before you meaningfully reach your teens, then it’s worth paying homage to your roots. Willow Smith rocks a shirt referencing her Dad’s breakthrough role.

3

Air Yeezy

Nike collaborated with Kanye West/ Yeezus/ whatever self-aggrandising title he gives himself next to release a line of shoes, the first Nike released with a nonathlete. He wears them proudly.

2

DAVID NUTTING // ECONOMICS II Listening: Lese Majesty by Shabazz Palaces Reading: For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway Watching: Ray Donovan

T-Shirtception

Mcauley Culkin (that guy you loved when you were 4) and Ryan Gosling (that guy you love now and forever) engaged in an increasingly meta fashion war, wearing pictures of each other wearing pictures of each other ad infinitum.

1

VOX pops

RIP Hannah Montana

Amidst the weed smoking, general rebellion and twerking of the Miley zeitgeist, one final nail in the coffin was needed to kill off her pre-teen persona. Enter the RIP Hannah Montana T-shirt.

LAUREN BEECH // ARTS/ COMMERCE IV Listening: A collection of short stories called Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges Reading: Still Life by Dawn Golden Watching: Excessive amounts of Bondi Rescue

Issue 08 37 COW & HORNS

HAVE A COW James Hennessy In Defence of the Goon Sack As Australia backslides into destructive, USstyle neoliberalism, the one true victim is our enduring egalitarianism – the deep-rooted belief that no one person is better than any other. We live, strive and thrive in pursuit of a singular goal: to make this nation a beautiful place to live. There is a deeply corrosive belief, however, that threatens the very fabric of our equality.

It is, of course, the dangerously unpatriotic assertion that the goon sack is classless and gauche: an artifact of cultural humiliation. This is wrong. The goon sack is the last enduring icon of Aussie fairness, and

I will not hear it besmirched in my presence.

In its bloated silver form I see the hopes and dreams of a nation manifest, an opportunity for rich and poor to join, dispense with their differences and fight for a beautiful utopia where poverty, war and disease are only myth.

Allow me to explain. While in Dan Murphy’s a few weeks ago I chanced upon a box of cask wine – I don’t remember the label, not that it matters – and I was made aware of two things. Firstly, it cost $9.

Secondly, there were 42 standard drinks in it. In a world where growing wealth disparity has created a permanent underclass, the goon sack offers a simple promise: for a small price, you can get so drunk that you might die.

Jordan Mullins can’t get enough of a good rose ceremony and Osher’s newly STYLED hair.

The Bachelor is by far the more entertaining show to watch. It brings romance back to Australian television. The dates, the dresses, the diverse selection of crazy ladies. It’s all about women trying to find love... with one man.

It’s also groundbreaking in its feminism – no, really, bear with me here. Sure, at first the premise is reminiscent of a harem: numerous girls vying for one man’s attention. But actually, it reverses gender roles. This time it’s the girls that have to woo. They have to come up with the corny pickup lines. They have to write love letters and serenade him, and it’s up to them to make him weird key chains.

Meanwhile this season of Big Brother is focused on a group of people pimping out their relationships under the one roof. Really, it’s just an onscreen reminder to us all of why it’s a terrible idea to hook up with your housemates.

Worse still, it has to try really hard to instigate drama. At best, it’s an interesting social experiment to see how the modern person reacts to prolonged periods without WiFi. So at the end of the day we’re just watching a bunch of people lie on couches and stuff their faces with food because they’re bored. And if I wanted to watch that, I wouldn’t have to turn on my TV. I could just set a mirror in front of my couch and watch me and my own housemates do that.

Andy Warhol once said that the triumph of consumerism was that every person, regardless of income, consumes the same basic goods. Bill Gates drinks the same Coke as you; his Coke isn’t any better than yours.

The same principle applies to the noble goon sack. It doesn’t matter whether you were born in Bondi or Rooty Hill – every man, woman and child in Australia is entitled to the same goon.

All Australians must embrace goon as the last symbol of stability in a world spiraling out of control. If you want to tell me that the goon sack is somehow compromised, a symbol of the poor and uncivilised, I’ve got one thing to say to you: “you wanna go, mate? You wanna fuckin’ go?”

Eden Caceda prefers his reality TV to be more Orwellian.

LOCKING HORNS THE BACHELOR VS. BIG BROTHER

Unlike The Bachelor and every other dating show ever (see: The Singles Project, Dating In The Dark, Millionaire Matchmaker and The Bachelorette), Big Brother is about more than just finding love. It’s much BIGGER than that.

We’re talking about an incredible social experiment, live on TV – ordinary people shoved together into a manufactured house and screened across the nation. This isn’t some boring quasi-fight-to-the-death reality series about a bunch of girls doing whatever they will to date a guy they hardly know. This is captivating stuff.

Captivatingly over the top, contrived, stupid and inane stuff that is so bad, it’s good.

Its psychological torture, worthless tasks and inclusion of everyday peeps just make it the perfect recipe for reality TV because it’s so pointless, yet so exhilarating at the same time.

Whether it’s a former magician getting into a dance fight with a self-confessed ‘male Lady Gaga,’ or the heads of house making everyone eat replacement protein shakes so they can get $30,000, it’s preposterous and brilliant.

There’s a reason Big Brother succeeds worldwide: it’s an examination of human behaviour.

Sure, everyone in the house flirts and gossips about each other, but these aren’t two-dimensional soap opera characters like the girls on The Bachelor – Big Brother has housemates that shock and surprise us with how they change their minds and why. Yes, it turns the audience into voyeurs, but who ever denied liking having a little peak at what humans become when put in this situation?

v e rg e ga l l e ry e x h i b i t io n ca l lo u t

Verg e Ga l ler y is welcomi ng a pplica tions from stud ents, Fa culty a nd the g enera l publ ic for exhibi tions a nd events to be held a t Verg e Ga l ler y i n 2015.

For more i nfor ma tion a nd submissions visi t

verg e-g a l ler y.net deadline

26

O cto b e r

2014

Issue 08 39 ARTS

ARTS ANIMATION

Studio Ghibli

Bernadette Anvia “What does one know about this world?

The world isn’t simple enough to explain in words.” So states Hayao Miyazaki, one of the world’s greatest animators, in a documentary about his work at Studio Ghibli, befittingly titled The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness.

In 1985, Miyazaki and his longtime colleague Isao Takahata co-founded Studio Ghibli, a Japanese film and animation studio. Since its establishment, Miyazaki and Takahata have captivated international audiences with their explanations of the world – some of it real, most of it imaginative – through stunningly detailed and breathtakingly beautiful animations.

Studio Ghibli’s various successes ultimately culminated in the studio’s 2001 film Spirited Away winning the award for Best Feature at the 75th Academy Awards.

However, the official retirement of Miyazaki and Takahata in 2013 after the release of their last films, The Wind Rises and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, has triggered fears that the closure of Studio Ghibli may also soon follow. Although the studio itself has denied these suspicions, many fear that the retirement of Miyazaki and Takahata will mean the end of the unique hand-drawn animations and cultural diversity that the two men have provided for decades.

Studio Ghibli stands very much as an anomaly in an industry dominated by

American animation corporations like Disney who have recently abandoned altogether the traditional and painstaking techniques of hand drawing and painting retained by Miyazaki and Takahata. While other non-American animation studios have managed to crack into the industry, none have been able to do so with the same success and reach that Miyazaki and Takahata have achieved.

Ben Pollock, a representative from Madman entertainment, the official distributor of Studio Ghibli films in Australia, believes that the ‘real magic’ behind the success of Studio Ghibli is that their films mean so many things to different people.

“Once you have seen a Studio Ghibli film, chances are you have been profoundly moved and you will never forget it,” says Pollock.

The numerous films produced by Studio Ghibli have come to captivate international audiences not only with the enchanting tales they each weave and the endearing characters that they bring to life, but also with the cultural intricacies that are such integral components of their animations.

The appeal of the films of Miyazaki and Takahata lies not only in their beauty or their fantastical elements, but also in their ability to open up a whole new cultural experience for audiences, exhibiting Japanese customs and beliefs to audiences that are often only ever exposed to American productions and Western traditions.

The simplistic and childlike quality of the animations also belies a deeper concern

with pertinent themes that resonate with adults as much as they do children. One need only look at the deep anti-war tones of The Wind Rises, or the feminist themes behind Howl’s Moving Castle and The Tale of Princess Kaguya to realise what makes the films of Mayazaki and Takahata so beautiful is their capacity to capture both the beauty and horror of a world capable of undertaking horrendous wars and condemning women to a life of submission.

According to Pollock, Mayazaki and Takahata have achieved success by consistently creating worlds that are “emotionally welcoming, yet strangely otherworldly and sometimes quite dark in the elements that populate them.”

While Pollock acknowledges Miyazaki and Takahata have indeed created for themselves a legacy of ‘unrivalled quality, technique and imagination’, he does not believe that this is the end for Studio Ghibli.

“I don’t think Studio Ghibli could ever really disappear from the industry, even in the unlikely event they did close outright,” says Pollock. “Their mark has been too great, their contribution too significant. Of course, people would be devastated, but I think there’s a level of respect for what they do that would ensure the legacy would continue through generations of discovery.”

Perhaps Miyazaki describes the potential closure of Studio Ghibli best in The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness: “the end is a new beginning.”

40 bull usu.edu.au REVIEWS

REVIEWS

WATCH: BROAD CITY ABBI JACOBSON & ILANA GLAZER

READ: LUMBERJANES BOOM! Comics

Flicking through a wasteland of trashy television, I was rescued by Comedy Central’s Broad City, in which Abbi and Ilana are two mad BFFs trying to survive in NYC. Based on their real life friendship, the series is written, created and acted by the talented comedic duo.

Obsessively organised, Abbi is the perfect balance to Ilana’s fly by the seat of your pants attitude.

When these raw characters strive for the smallest of victories, such as Abbi’s goal to procure her own weed instead of using Ilana’s, you’ll find yourself cheering them along.

Many of the hearty belly laughs come from the absurd script writing, sprinkles of TMI and the profound acting ability of Glazer and Jacobson.

Due to the female leads, Broad City has attracted comparisons to Girls which is largely unfair: Broad City light-heartedly rejoices the absurdity of youth and depicts NYC simply as a place to live without touching on grandiose dreams of success.

With frequent sexual references and episode titles such as ‘Pu$$y Weed’, this is definitely not one for the whole family, just you and your near-empty tub of chocolate chip ice-cream. Hilarious and grounded, Broad City is one to put on your must-watch list.

I’ve never been to summer camp.

In fact, as a child, I pretty much avoided anything involving summer, other children and/or bead crafts. Because of this, when I read BOOM! Comics Lumberjanes, I am transported seamlessly into a world where girls’ summer camps involve cursed crystals, achievement badges for superior pun-making (called the Pungeon Master Badge), and midnight battles against threeeyed foxes.

Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, and drawn by Brooke Allen, Lumberjanes is an action-packed, visually beautiful and witty comic series. This sounds hokey, but Ellis and Stevenson are unconcerned with making the scouts ‘cool’ by restricting their enthusiasm, and instead Allen’s colourful, expressive panels are home to sincere characters who unabashedly care about one another and about experiencing the world with depth and interest.

Made entirely by women, Lumberjanes clearly has feminist ambitions, without being preachy or pedantic. It simply is, and it is refreshing and brilliant to have a diverse all-girl cast of characters.

The appeal as an exemplary text for kids (and everyone) is pretty well expressed in the Lumberjanes Oath which holds the girls to promises of bravery, truthfulness, selflessness, compassion and respect for nature.

In fact, while the Oath is pretty wordy, the Lumberjane’s motto is simply, “Friendship to the max!”

Not a bad motto, if I do say so myself.

Lauren Forsyth-Smith

Barbara Taylor

SEE: WICKED – CAPITOL THEATRE, SYDNEY Winnie Holzman & Stephen Schwartz It’s been four years since Wicked left Sydney and a decade since it opened on Broadway, but seeing Wicked at the Capitol Theatre feels like it hasn’t aged a day. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, the story starts well before Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz reaches the Emerald City and focuses on the unusual friendship between the Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba and the Good Witch of the South Glinda.

Big budget and truly magical, Wicked does not disappoint. Lucy Durack returns and shines as the frustratingly optimistic Glinda, though occasionally overplays the character and mimics the performance done by Kristin Chenoweth when the show opened.

Jemma Rix, who was the understudy for Elphaba last time, takes centre stage again and plays the character astoundingly well. The preinterval song ‘Defying Gravity’ is exhilarating, however, the rest of the show doesn’t quite match up to the excitement of that moment.

The deep themes of the musical – conformity, social security, the nature of evil and anti-establishment – all make for singularly complex musical entertainment which, in combination with the amazing set and costuming, establish Wicked as an unforgettable and wonderful night of musical theatre. Don’t miss it.

Eden Caceda

LISTEN: OUR LOVE CARIBOU Artist and electronic music industry veteran Caribou is back after a fouryear absence from the scene with his seventh studio album, Our Love.

Reminiscent of old school British raves and the late night music sometimes played on Mix 106.5 during our childhoods, this album is deeply layered and thoughtfully crafted. With a PhD in mathematics, it’s not hard to understand how Caribou has managed to balance breakbeat drums and phasers with mesmerisingly repetitive rhythms and his softly sung, almost ghostly melodic motifs to chilling effect.

Title track and first single ‘Our Love’, weirdly interesting ‘Mars’ with its flute solos, and full-bodied tune ‘Back Home’ couldn’t be more different, but continue to typify the signature shape-shifting style of the Canadian-born producer.

The longer the listen, the more you realise just how skilled Caribou is in overlapping sounds to create a surprising and unpredictable mix.

Mostly though, this album will make you feverish for summer when it’s just too hot to dance like a maniac and all you want to do is feel the tripped up basses and move your body around like you’re a Willow tree. It’s probably considered bad musical form to describe something as “funky”, “smooth” or, god forbid, “grooving’’, but that’s just what Caribou’s newest achievement is.

GENEVIEVE CANH

Issue 08 41 EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE Kanye West // The Yeezus Tour

With a gutful of Tsingtao and Pork mince pastry from our favourite Chinatown haunt, a mate and I headed into the Qantas Credit Union Arena for Kanye West’s much anticipated Yeezus show.

Kanye, in my opinion, is one of the most impactful artists of the modern day. He is both a symbol and critic of the complexities and struggles of our time. He satisfies all of our present cultural values: success, wealth, fame and the self, and has the honesty and humanity to publicly struggle with their vapidity and their allure.

Celebrity culture has elevated him to the inhuman status of a modern myth, which he criticises by at once ironically embellishing this creation stating, “I am a god,” and by expressing his human desire to live a simpler life, “All I want is a good home and a wife and children and some food to feed them every night.”

He’s ‘Lost in the World’; he’s ‘So Appalled’; he’s a ‘Monster’ and he’s a ‘New Slave’, just like the rest of us. In his own words: “The regular dude: the guy who believes in God but still likes pussy.”

My expectation was that seeing the man in concert, alive in the same room, would definitely clear the air of this selfcreated convolution between man and myth central to his critique of the modern world.

However, when the show started he materialised in a flash of red smoke, and then proceeded to spend a majority of the show performing either wearing one of his many bedazzled fabric masks, or in silhouette, created by the huge LED screen behind him, which for most of the show held a live and digitally altered image of his face lording of his real one. The show was at once highly controlled (Kanye making three perfectly timed costume changes) and at the same time spontaneous (Kanye restarting multiple songs, once because people weren’t standing). The entire performance was designed to perpetuate this convolution and confusion, not to dispel it. Creative and unceasing, just like Kanye himself.

When the show ended, the lights came up almost immediately and within 5 minutes my mate and I, the last in the stands, were swept from the arena, as was the man or the myth that seemed to have occupied the stage.

Tani Edgecombe

‘Regular’ students during the SRC Election: @hacks I’m a postgrad from UTS who voted a week ago. Leave me alone pls. #deathtocolouredshirts

Stupol hacks post-election: All the pyjama shirts. ALL OF THEM #kyolo #allthewaywithamyk #whypaulene

FKA Twigs’ LP1: A heartbreaking yet powerful record, brutally honest about sexuality and love. ‘Pendulum’ is a true highlight.

Amal Alamuddin: Powerful, intelligent, beautiful – can I be you pls. #perf #dreams #georgeclooneyispunching

Doctor Who Series 8:@malcolmtucker What are you doing in space? Get back to Number 10, m8. #omnishambles

Mid-semester break: The dream of getting ahead & doing those 15 readings you’ve missed this semester isn’t real

End of semester exams: Should have tried to make that mid-sem dream a reality, instead of binging on HBO #dying #stress4eva #why

42 bull usu.edu.au CLUB CONFIDENTIAL

CLUB CONFIDENTIAL Radical Sex and Consent Day Party

Manning Bar // 4 September 2015 Look, let’s be honest: this correspondent is neither radical nor a particularly good partier. I spent most of the RSCD party chatting with mates on the Manning Balcony, but I saw a bit of the Real Party Action that The Youth were enjoying through the windows so I will write about that as best I can.

The evening began with the preposterously talented DJ Wyldstyle (aka Lucy Watson aka ACCESS desk lackey extraordinaire) churning out some sick beats (read: Miley covers, originals and remixes). One Board Director got particularly into this section of the night.

The gorgeous Fran Giapanni wowed the steadily growing crowd next. I didn’t hear what she sang (because balcony) but she looked utterly fabulous as ever; glad I could see her through the windows.

Then I got concerned that I had accidentally ingested some sort of illicit substance because these people called Simo Soo started playing and dancing/spasming and kinda warbling a lot SO LOUDLY I COULD HEAR FROM THE BALCONY and it felt like what I imagine “tripping” (is that what the kids call it?) would feel like. v. good all the same.

I went home after that because it was well past my bedtime, but I am told the fierce Toxique Haze and the confronting and edgy Betty Grumble kept the crowd amped for the rest of the night.

All in all, it was a pretty tops evening and the pictures tell me that partygoers who actually went inside and partied had a great time. 9/10 would observe RSCD party from its fringe again.

An artist’s impression of what Simo Soo’s music would look like if music could be seen

That’s as much as you get to see, babes

Georgia Kriz

See I told you she looked fabulous

Board Director getting the party started

That Hansel’s so hot right now

Issue 08 43 CLUB CONFIDENTIAL

SHADES Does Nature

I LOVE TO PARTY

The Vault Hotel // 28 September 2014

So fierce in the wild

That feeling when your favourite song comes on

Couples are disgusting

Are there any nights more sweaty and salacious than a good ol’ SHADES party? Even in a zombie apocalypse, there is one thing you can always count on: SHADES knows how to throw a good party.

It was at this festive gathering, that this writer lost their SHADES party virginity. With two assignments waiting and a 7am start the next morning, what better way to welcome the midsemester break than with some shady happenings among nature?

This was a night to flirt and let loose. With a name like The Vault, one can rest assured their secret drunken escapades are locked away in good company. Surrounded by couples shimmying and couples near fornicating, it was a true display of humanity in their natural habitat - intoxicated or in love.

While SHADES shows strong support for its dedicated student minority, another sector of university also showed strong representation.

Student politicians came out in full force, still in the midst of their #kyolo victory highs – a victory which occurred four days prior. It seems SHADES was a mere detour in their post-election after party, as a few unnamed BNoCs still proudly donned their campaign t-shirts, which also blended well with the green nature theme.

As the end of the night rolled round, this devoted investigative journalist stayed till the dance floor was nigh-empty save for a few stragglers. The cool people had left but it was really their loss. They missed an opportunity to scream themselves hoarse to Taylor Swifts ‘I Knew You Were Trouble.’ Absolutely no regrets.

Would do again.

Alison Xiao

Into the wild

#Flawless

44 bull usu.edu.au SHUTTER UP

SHUTTER UP New Law Photographer: Whitney Duan Camera: Nikon D40X Focal length: 18-55mm Shutter: 1/125 Aperture: f5.6 ISO: 400

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 08 45 COMICS

COMICS SEND YOURS TO US AT EDITORS @ bullmag.com.AU

GRADUATING BY BARBARA TAYLOR

Who needs Uni when you have all this at home?

By Andrew Sinclair

46 bull usu.edu.au ASK ISABELLA

ASK 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

EUROPE’S-A-CALLIN’

Dear Shelly,

Dear Isabella,

Sometimes it is hard to detect a kitten in the engine, but as I always say, my shellencrusted petal, kittens are best kept out of machinery of any kind. Heaven knows I know what it feels like to have a misguided purr in the wrong place! Lure the little kitty out with a plate of warm milk and your engine will be as good as new.

I simply must get to Europe this summer break but my parents are refusing to pay for my trip, saying that they overspent on our new tennis court and now can’t afford my annual 6-week, 10 country European adventure. How preposterous! Why are parents so inconsiderate and unfair? ~ Steve

~Bella xxx

Dear Steve,

HONEY BUNCH, SUGAR PLUM, SWEETY PIE

Although I can relate to your travelling dilemma, (some long-nosed aves refused my extra baggage full of shoes one time during migration!) Aunty Bella needs to let you know that you are being what we bird creatures like to call, if you’d excuse my French, a foolhardy, obstinate dick of an ibis. Now Stevie dear, no one likes someone who can’t pay their own way, with money or otherwise... Think of some creative way to sweeten the deal for your darhling parentals. Also, what in the sky’s name are you doing still living at home, you silly feather of a boy! ~ Bella xxx

PURRING ENGINES Dear Isabella, My car is making gurgling noises whenever I switch on the ignition. It kind of sounds like there is a kitten somewhere, but I’m not sure.

What to do?

Dear Isabella, My girlfriend insists on calling me ‘honey bunch’ and wants me to call her ‘sugar plum’ on a regular basis, publicly, in front of all of our friends. How do I let her know that this is not ok? ~Ben Dear honey bunch AKA Ben, My first question to you is: why is the beckoning of a loved one by an affectionate name so wrong?! Ever since I returned to Madame Isabella (duly upgraded from intern to junior shit-kicker/intimate-assistant, oh yeah!), I’ve learnt not to push away affection when it is so clearly in front of your eyes the whole time! I’ve been a fool, Ben, and you should just shut your mouth, put on a smile, and take what you can get. ~ Colin (Madame Isabella’s new PA) xxx

~Shelly

WIN 1 of 15 double passes to see WHIPLASH

In cinemas September 25 passion to achieve perfection In WHIPLASH, Andrew Neyman (Teller) is an ambitious young jazz drummer. Terence Fletcher (Simmons), an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band. Andrew’s

quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability and his sanity.

To enter: email your name, contact details and ACCESS number to h.awick@usu.edu.au.

Competition closes 27 October.

WARM UP TO THE SYDNEY STORE WITH THE NEW WINTER RANGE

Hood i e $ 64.9 5 AC C ESS $55.2 1

F I N D U S ON T H E G R OU N D F LOOR OF T H E H OLM E B U I LD IN G OR S H OP ON LI N E AT U S U. E D U/S H OP

Be an early bird and save at Iglu

For Semester 1, 2015* bookings Iglu Chatswood

Iglu Central

6 bedroom share apartment

5 or 6 bedroom share apartment

* Hurry, places are limited.

Don’t wait. Start living cool today.

iglu.com.au