Cruwsible spring 2014 issue 7

cruwsible UWS STUDENT NEWSPAPER

love guru budget cut demos be nice to the waitress feature film made on zilch

COVER: Benjamin Punzalan

gaza injustice uws poetry slam your right to protest environment meltdown

ISSUE 7//SPRING1 2014

crUWSible n. A melting pot of cultures, backgrounds and interests that make up the UWS student body, the fusion that is UWS - a molten mix of dynamic and interesting content.

EDITORS: WRITE FOR US

Nicole Smith Kevin Korhonen

Send us your stories, artwork, blurbs, photos, articles, reportage, rants, poems, fiction, recipes, good news, not good news and pet photos.

Zahraa Ahadzada

crUWSible@uws.edu.au

Marlene Carrasco

crUWSible.com.au feacbook.com/crUWSible

TAHANI HUSARI

@crUWSible

Murray Robertson

DESIGNERS:

Advertising inquiries: crUWSible.com.au

benjamin punzalan

craig guerrero

sharoon prakash

rohan brown

♥♥♥ Many thanks to all our terrific contributors.

Without you, we would be kitty litter.

♥♥♥

CONTENTS NEWS

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Students fight budget cuts Gaza injustice Thank you Robin Williams Miss World Afghan Eid

FEATURES

|12

Half-hearted environmentalism

|13

Don’t dismiss depression Volunteer and prosper

6 |13

SWEATSHOP WRITERS

|18

STUDENT LEADERS

|23

TRAVEL

|25

SERVICES DIRECTORY

|26

STUDENT LEGAL

|27

POEMS

|28

REVUWS

|30

PLAYERS

|33

LOVE GURU

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editorial rise up and defend without fear A hearty welcome to you, crUWSible reader!

I think it goes without saying that we have all suffered a sudden and shocking loss very recently. A man, perceived by our society and times as one of endless humour engineering, was taken away from us. 'Oh, Captain! My Captain!', I yell from the tops of my imaginary, society-defying table, while looking over my shoulder for a pseudo-nanny beating out the flames on her fake, female chest.

While I do try to remember the greatness of Robin Williams, there are so many other aspects of our society that leave me lost in a forest of contempt. It's hard to shut your eyes peacefully at night when you keep thinking about the hundreds and thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians being slaughtered by land-hungry militants, who are supported by the pockets of North American elitists. It's also hard to get a bit of shut-eye when your mind is inundated with frustratingly Israeli-skewed media blitzes, and snaps of Abbott making offensive justifications for his theft of taxpayers’ money. I also find it hard to sleep because I remember that as I run in and out of university everyday almost 85% of the women in Afghanistan are considered illiterate; as an Afghan-Australian, the guilt of being considered 'educated' haunts my eyelids. In general, before I do force myself into my nightly slumber, I am plagued by the fact that the global community we live in is full of horrible realities. I am also plagued by the unfortunate reality that I can never be Beyonce – but that's a little beside the point...

We as students need to rise and take part in rectifying the mistakes of our global community. Be a proud #activist, and draw people's attention to the crimes of our society. If you see a fellow student smoking on campus, don't be afraid to tell them how you feel about it. If you see a student putting another student down, don't be afraid to defend what you believe is right. If you see something that doesn't align itself with your moral values, say what you feel, homie-gees! Because, the moment you forget to defend what you believe is right, is the moment you accept that many residents of our global community live unliveable lives. And, I, personally, will never accept it.

Join me in a movement. Stand on your metaphorical, human-rights tables, and yell/type out to the feeds of all your social media pages. Yell/type, 'Oh, Captain! My Captain!', and let a semblance of what Williams taught us to live on. Note that I would also support you trying to do that in person – but only if your phones permit it.

Just get out there and be active on the issues you feel need to be heard!

P.S. While you're on your #activism high, don't forget to be active about your units and what you feel doesn't fit right. For the best way to do this, check out page 21.

Happy reading!

ZAHRAA AHADZADA

NO CUTS, NO FEES, NO CORPORATE UNIVERSITIES !

GOODBYE AND THANKS, ROBIN WILLIAMS

By Curtis Mountford-Hiles

Massive cuts to uni budgets stand to hit UWS hardest, but students are fighting to keep education accessible to all, writes EDELLE GETTINGS AND CAITLIN DUNN It’s a bad week to admit you voted for Tony Abbott, as students from universities all around Australia took to the streets protesting the budget cuts with a particular focus on the deregulation of student fees and cuts to higher education. The streets of Sydney in particular became protest ground for around 500 students, who marched from UTS to Town Hall, chanting and parading an array of signs, banners and even carrying a paper maché effigy of Tony Abbott in outrage.

Through megaphones the chant was heard, “No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities”.

Signs of empowerment were on full display as students rebutted recent ignorant comments made in the media, with signs stating “we may not drive but we will march” – referring to the comment made by Joe Hockey, insisting that the poor “don’t have cars, or actually don’t drive very far”.

Macquarie University student Tom Harman spoke about the Tony Abbott effigy he created (which was wearing a F*ck Tony Abbott tee-shirt), saying it could be interpreted as an expression of the ridiculousness of politics at the moment. “The fact that we have idiots like Tony Abbott and Clive Palmer running the country is equally hilarious and infuriating.

Making fun of Abbott seems to have become a global phenomenon”, he said.

But it wasn’t only Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey that were the targets of the day. Education Minister Christopher Pyne also had a target on his back. Rally coordinator, Chloe Rafferty, said ‘Christopher Pyne is a sexist, and I only have to point to the latest 7:30 Report, with

his claims that women won’t be effected with cuts to education as we only do nursing and teaching, not the expensive courses like dentistry and accounting.’ The chant ‘Christopher Pyne F*ck you, we deserve a future too’ was heard as a Pyne effigy was burnt.

What are the cuts and how will they affect us?

The Abbott government is pushing for the deregulation of university fees and interest rates placed on HECS debt. Fees are set to double in price, as well as funding cuts of up to $2.3 billion dollars towards higher education! It’s a bit hypocritical of the Liberal Government to place this debt over the future generations, as all their higher education was free, right?

Tom Harman said “I think the education “reforms” in particular highlight the callousness and hypocrisy of the budget. Most of the ministers imposing cuts and fees got a free university education. Joe Hockey (when a student) in fact protested at the introduction of fees and on top of that, Tony Abbott’s daughter has been exposed as receiving a massive college scholarship!”

I know what everyone is thinking. This US system of education doesn’t work in the US, so why would it be any different in our sunny states of Australia? The average cost of US public college tuition continues to rise 8.3% every year, and 4.5% for private universities.

The expected forecast for these fees in 2029 will be a crazy $355,900 for private universities and $102,900 for a public college. Should this be what we expect for our future university degrees in Australia though? As the Greens say, ‘this is Australia, not America, we get into university with our brains, not our big bank accounts.’

Tragic news broke on August 11 when it was reported that comedian/actor Robin Williams had passed away. As this was being written the cause of his death was unknown but suicide reports did emerge. It only seems appropriate to focus not on how Mr Williams died but how he lived.

Robin Williams’ presence has been much like Santa for kids growing up in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. To kids, his origins are unknown but him being on the screen at home just felt right.

Everything from his role as Genie in Aladdin to favourites like Mrs Doubtfire, Jumanji and Happy Feet meant that kids growing up in any decade could witness his amazing talents.

Williams’ career wasn’t just restricted to children’s movies though. As his audience grew up, so did he. Films like Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society and What Dreams May Come showcased Williams’ incredible acting ability as well his serious take on film.

Even though he won many prestigious awards such as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting, Williams didn’t let go of his comedic roots. Beginning in 2008, Williams began his “Weapons of Self-Destruction” stand up tour that played in 26 cities across the US. During this tour the then 57 year old tore through shows like a hyena on crack.

Telling jokes wasn’t just reserved for the stage though. Just YouTube any interview he’s ever done and take note of this machine gun flow comedy. Everything from appearances on the massively popular Late Show with David Letterman to smaller minute long interviews, Williams always provided improvised comedy gold.

So to the person who showed the world that it could be silly, intense, warm, dramatic, immature, caring, opinionated and above all else hilarious, goodbye and thank you for everything you’ve given us.

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STUDENTs FIGHT BUDGET cuts

“These reforms will hamper opportunities for many young Australians”

Investment in students enriches nation: BILL SHORTEN visits UWS

By NICOLE SMITH There is an odd belief amongst some, that the Federal Government using taxpayer money to invest in students attending university is unfair for the taxpayer, but is this really the case?

Before we can answer this question, it is important to consider the extent that the Federal Government is currently investing in our education system. Investment in our education can be seen by those of us who have a Commonwealth Supported Place at university, where the government pays a portion of our university fees, and again in the HECS HELP scheme, where the government allows us to defer or university fees until we earn over a certain amount of money per year.

This investment has been in place for decades. Yet now, the Education Minister Christopher Pyne and the Liberal Party believe that it needs to be dramatically cut and that investment in students is “‘unfair” to the taxpayer.

I find this proposal astounding. Isn’t educating oneself the best investment that someone can make? And despite what many Liberal Party members may want taxpayers to believe, isn’t educating a student an investment in much more than just that individual?

When you take up a university offer, you are accepting an opportunity to invest in your family, by providing them with a future that would otherwise not be possible. You are investing in your community, who will experience firsthand the benefits of your knowledge as you graduate to become a school teacher, a medical researcher, a nurse, a solicitor etc. When paying for high quality education you are also investing in your future industry, as you study to have the knowledge to make your contribution and to improve and immerse yourself in your chosen field. Finally you are investing in your country so that you will use the skills that you have learnt to go to work every day and make your contribution to this great country of ours.

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Lucky for me, and I am sure a lot of young UWS students, my parents felt that investing in my education and supporting my study was a good investment and I am reaping the benefits of their choices as I write this article during my study break in the UWS Campbelltown Library right now. But these reforms to the education system are going to disrupt the way that many feel about education and hamper the opportunities for many young Australians to better themselves through education.

So what is all the fuss about, what is actually going to change? The facts (as calculated by the National Tertery Education Union):

“When you take up a uni offer, you are investing in your community” Cuts to Government funding The Abbott Government is cutting its funding for Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) by an average of 20%, or $2,120 per student per year.

For engineering students a cut of $4,717 p/a (28%).

For social studies students a cut of $3,566 p/a (37%).

For medicine and agriculture students a cut of $3,206 p/a (15%).

Student Fees The Government wants to remove the limit on how much students can be charged for CSPs, which will see the cost of degrees skyrocket.

For example: A medical degree which currently costs about $60,000 will cost up to $200,000.

Law will increase from $50,000 to as much as $125,000.

Engineering from $34,000 to as much as $115,000.

Accounting from $30,000 to as much as $90,000.

Student Debt The cost of servicing Higher Education Loans Programme (HELP) debts will substantially increase, not only as a result of higher fees but also the imposition of real interest rates.

The imposition of real interests charges make the changes highly unfair to graduates who take career breaks, most particularly women who take breaks to have children.

NTEU estimates (using current 2004 values) shows that for someone graduating with a three year accounting degree: Under the existing (pre-Budget) arrangements, they would graduate with a debt of $30,255 which would take 10 years to repay.

Under the new (post-Budget) arrangements, they could graduate with a debt of $75,000 that would take 23 years to repay a total of $99,000, including $24,000 in interest.

If they took about a six year career break, under the new (post-Budget) arrangements they would take up to 36 years to repay a total of $120,000, including $40,000 in interest.

This week I had the incredible honour of hearing the Federal Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, speak to the students of UWS at our very own Kingswood campus. Mr Shorten’s agenda was clear; to rally support for the campaign against the education reforms that the Liberal Government, led by Mr Tony Abbott and supported by Education Minister Mr Christopher Pyne, are trying to introduce.

It is particularly relevant that Mr Shorten visits UWS in his campaign of “Stopping the Debt Sentence”, as the proposed education reforms go against the core values that UWS has flourished on, growing into one of the greatest young universities in the world.

UWS is at the forefront of equal education in this country. Our leaders, teachers and students pride themselves on having the doors of our university open for all and this is seen in everything that UWS does. UWS has its admissions processes set on academic achievement not how much money you can pay to get in

“The only way we can stop these changes is to rally and fight together”

SHOULD I BE PROUD TO BE AUSTRALIAN? The First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay as foreigners on Aboriginal land, seeking a new and better life. NICKY BETTS asks if boat people are any different and argues for a more humane response to refugees both locally and abroad.

and this is something that we should all take excellent pride in. UWS provides opportunities for our students to learn and grow. We have the UWSCollege that allows students to work their way up to university no matter where they start. UWS is spread across the diverse Greater Western Sydney area, providing a university within reach for thousands of students. Many UWS students are the first in their families to attend university and even more come from the low SES backgrounds of Greater Western Sydney. Every student who accepts their offer to UWS, accepts an offer to better themselves, to better their families and their opportunities.

When these changes come through they will not only be crippling thousands of young Australians and their opportunities to attend university, they will seriously damage the prospects of UWS. Charging interest on government loans loans, cutting funding for Commonwealth supported students, cutting funding for scholarships, is not how our youth will grow, it will not allow the Greater Western Sydney to grow, and with the Greater Western Sydney currently being the third largest economy in Australia, it is not how Australia will grow.

So what can you do?

Go to the National Tertiary Education Union and see the facts for yourself, join their campaign. A degree should not cost a mortgage!

Sign the Australian Labor Party Petition – A Degree Shouldn’t Be A Debt Sentence at the following website: http://www.alp.org.au/debtsentence.

Look for your local Young Labour group and find out more about the campaign.

Join the Australian Labor Party to fight these reforms!

The only way that we can stop these changes to our education system is rally and fight together. The power is in our hands, which is an incredible opportunity to have as a student!

NICOLE SMITH - Editor of the crUWSible,

General Member of the Campbelltown Student Campus Council, Contact Service Officer at the Contact Service Centre at UWS, Member of Macarthur Young Labour

A crowded boat journey to Australia fraught with peril, packed with foreigners from a completely different land and culture, disrupting and threatening the life and livelihood of true Australians…

Does this sound like a familiar Coalition refrain? It certainly does, but I am in fact talking about The First Fleet, arriving in Botany Bay on that first fateful Australia Day. Herein, I reflect on what it is to be Australian. Our international reputation is without a doubt a largely positive one; a laid-back, friendly nation that manages to thrive despite being trapped between the menacing jaws of venomous snakes and spiders as well as pointy crocodiles and sharks. As a teenager, being Australian was a source of intense pride to me, living in the lucky country. But as I have

“A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones” matured, the clarity of my satisfaction with my country has been muddied by the actions of its leaders, and the apparent support of those actions by the majority of its constituents. Don’t get me wrong. I feel a sense of immense gratitude to be living the life in Australia that I do, the freedom of behaviour, speech and belief that I am granted, the wonderfully diverse region of the world I inhabit. But I question the way we treat the world’s less fortunate and what that says about us.

An all-encompassing fear of the other has taken hold of Australian immigration policy over the last few years, and it fills me with sadness.

Our once progressive, compassionate treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in the Gough Whitlam/Malcolm Fraser period has deteriorated into a shouting match between the two major parties, a debate on who can sink lower without the Australian public waking up to what is happening. A common reason cited by nationalists for Australia’s greatness is that we’re the country of the “fair go”, allowing everyone a chance, regardless of their

individual context or past. What we’ve lost is made abundantly clear when we consider the National Anthem, written in 1878: “For those who’ve come across the seas, We’ve boundless plains to share”. Even the title, “Advance Australia Fair”, describes a country of fairness and equality, striving towards a better future.

One day I hope for this to once again be true of Australia.

In addition to this, the streams of our generosity have dried up of late, with the Coalition slashing our foreign aid budget by $4.5 billion over the next four years in order to pay for infrastructure projects. Australia made a commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals to increase aid to 0.5% of GNI (gross national income) by 2015, and the current budget is only slightly over half of that, at approximately 0.3% of GNI. In comparison, Luxembourg gives 1% and the UK 0.55%. Back in the 60s-70s, Australia was giving 0.65% of GNI to foreign aid.

Finally, foreign aid is not a waste of money.

Corruption is a relatively small issue in aid, and is getting smaller as aid becomes more transparent and the internet allows people to hold governments, private companies and NGOs accountable. Poor countries are not doomed to stay poor. Aid helps countries grow out of poverty through development and economic growth and helps them grow independent.

In addition, it helps us politically and gives us more partners with which to trade goods and services. Australia, as a nation, needs to stop casting its gaze only upon itself and look out into the wider needs of the world. Australian people and lives are no better or more valuable than those of any other country, and to try to argue otherwise is simply racism.

The immense hypocrisy of our treatment of modern boat people becomes astonishingly apparent when we remember our own history. In the words of the late Nelson Mandela: “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” When we treat refugees and asylum seekers like something less than human, doing our utmost to refuse them entry to our country, prevent them from seeking out a better, safer life for their families, we must not forget our own origins.

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Johan Westen Photography

LAW STUDENT TAKES ON MISS WORLD PAGEANT

Afghan community celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr

By Nelofar Nawabi

By Laura Sullivan When most students were recovering from exams during mid-semester break, one Western Sydney youth took on the world. Aleisha Nair, 19, of Blacktown faced Australia’s best in the Miss World Australia national finals.

A gruelling schedule of preparation for the main event was on the cards for Ms Nair throughout her busy university program.

“The pageant was much more than beautiful girls walking a runway. We committed ourselves to the wellbeing of society,” Ms Nair said.

These events aren’t all smiles, glam and runway modelling. The tasks which Miss World must complete to take home the honourable title are a test to the character and ability of each and every contestant.

“I underestimated how challenging the pageant would be,” she said.

National finals involved an intense four days where the girls went head-to-head in fitness, talent, media interest, personality and beauty.

“We were always expected to look our best and were always on camera representing the Miss World brand. It’s hard to look “your best” when you have had about four hours sleep,” Ms Nair said. Ms Nair did not take home the crown, but did not leave empty handed. She raised $6000 for Variety and featured in the Rouse Hill Times, Blacktown Advocate and the Gather and Stitch website. This wont be the last you hear of Aleisha Nair.

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The Afghan community in Western Sydney has achieved a milestone hosting its first Eid festival. Over 200 people turned out for the celebration, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The Afghan Community Support Association of NSW (ACSA) held its first Eid festival at a park in front of Blacktown mosque. Twenty eight volunteers worked at the event. The all-day celebration raised over $4000, which is all going towards Blacktown mosque to help pay off the debt of the mosque.

“It was good for the community to get together and celebrate” Mid-year, Muslims in Sydney and around the world participated in Ramadan, the month of fasting. This involves abstaining from food, drinks and other physical needs. Ramadan is about purifying the soul, donating to charity, sacrificing needs and focusing attention on God. Eid ul-Fitr officially commenced on Tuesday the 29th of July and traditionally goes for three days. Events were held later in the forthcoming week, including activities such as face painting, a petting zoo, a photo booth, and other fun activities. Food was also sold including succulent Afghan kebab, Kabuli palaw

(traditional Afghan dish), sheer yakh (Afghan ice cream), tea, cake and much more.

Mohammad Nader Azamy, President of the ACSA, said: “The event was very good for our first time hosting. It was successful. It was great seeing everyone happy, smiling and laughing. The food was delicious as well; kebabs were the best! I am very grateful for the volunteers who did a good job”.

“I received many warm and positive responses towards the event. Many visitors told me they had a good time, especially their children.

They also said it was good for the community to get together and celebrate Eid”, he said.

It was a cold and gusty day but the atmosphere was fun and welcoming. The festival was filled with the Afghan community from Blacktown and surrounding suburbs. There were also a few non-Muslim visitors who came to have a look.

Tooba Faizi, one of the volunteers at the event, said: “I loved the event. I enjoyed it because everyone was laughing and smiling. It was good to see the kids running around happy and enjoying themselves with the activities”.

ACSA is grateful to all the wonderful volunteers who made the event happen. The Eid festival brought the local community together along with their family and friends to celebrate with ACSA and share Afghan culture.

FEATURE FILM ON BUDGIE BUDGET GENERATION WHY ASKS THE HARD QUESTIONS

By Maria Kaladze Central Coast local and recent UWS graduate, Tom Danger, is set to release his debut feature film, “Lead Me Astray”.

Having self-funded the film with a budget of $10,000, creating the film was no walk in the park as Danger undertook the roles of writer, director, executive producer, editor, director of photography, and actor.

“When making an independent film, you have to cut corners everywhere, including the amount of people you trick into helping you as well as the number of hours sleep you can manage to get.”

Danger said his university provided opportunities and resources unavailable to non-students.

“I first decided to make a feature film when I was on the train to University one day. I was just going through the ideas I had in my head for a while when I considered the notion of making a feature very cheaply using equipment from my University for free. Once that occurred to me, it seemed incredibly stupid not to pursue it.”

Danger managed to balance university commitments with production, using his university classes to move the film through pre-production.

“Producing the film myself meant I was solely responsible for the film and the way it turned out. No one else was losing money on the film except me. I didn't have to answer to anyone regarding where the money was going, which made me meticulous about how much I spent, and on what.”

“But, since I was using the equipment for free, it allowed me to use the budget for production value, paying for costumes, props, location fees, which makes the film seem bigger and better, like an actual feature film rather than a home movie. Had I needed to rent/buy the equipment, the budget would have been over $50,000. That's why it's crazy to me why more people are not doing what I've done.”

Following his studies, Danger is determined to support himself as a writer and director, despite that fact that the industry seems to be one of the least encouraging.

“I would rather live in financial ruin among the arts, than be rich for something I don’t care about at all. If I won the lottery, I would use it to make a bigger film.“ Adamant that there is local potential to create a thriving film industry, Danger rejects the idea of moving to America in order to secure a job.

“A lot of people ask me if I want to move to America. After all, that's where all the jobs are. I resent that. I want there to be jobs here, I want Australia to have a thriving film industry, I want more students to make features and show that yes, we can do it. We need to bring back quality Australian films and make it something to be proud of, something people can consider a viable career option, rather than a pipe dream that can never happen.

“If anything I do can make that scenario a little more likely, I'd die a happy man. I'd also really like a pet cassowary at one point. “ facebook.com/LeadMeAstrayMovie youtube.com/watch?v=aHj04TjgV_k

By Emily Gorry Members of Generation Y are tackling some hard questions on the Why Generation television show on TVS. The show explores complex issues ranging from politics to relationships and sex. In its second series, it features communications and law students from UWS. With passion they debate controversial topics, evoking great discussion among students.

Generation Y is criticised for not being interested in politics. However, the series proves that Generation Y is passionate about the political and social issues that face Australia and the world. Andrew Olivares and Jake McCallum are the hosts and they have the hard task of keeping the discussions fair and tame. Andrew, a law student from UWS said “the experience was incredibly valuable because I got to meet amazing people, stepped out of my comfort zone and did something I’d never thought I’d do.”

The show was also cast and produced by UWS communications students. The students had to audition to be a panellist on the show. One panellist, communications student James Preston, said “there was a lot of nervous tension as students waited outside during auditions and certain dynamics and connections were established with people immediately.”

Jade Collins, former Australia’s Next Top Model finalist is also a panellist. “Why Generation was an amazing experience,” Jade said.

“I loved everything the show stands for and it gives us a chance to vocalise our opinions on issues from politics to relationships and not many shows allow for such a diverse arena.”

Why Generation screens Wednesday, 10 September at 10:30pm and Thursday, 11 September at 8:30pm on TVS, digital 44.

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THE ACTIVISt

By Beau Dunne In the early hours of the morning, as the great shining globe of light begins to breach the horizon, the activist awakens from a sombre slumber to meet the day with a ‘go get em’ attitude.

For the average person, the most productive day that can be imagined simply means going about daily life. When we think of the life of an activist we ask ourselves “why do they do what they do? Why can’t they just be content?”

It was Plato who first said that “the price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men”. Despite the gendered nature of that quote, the point is still clear, and I would say absolutely correct. To disregard and remain uninvolved in politics, is to hand over the keys of one’s chains, and give them to people who are easily corrupted by their power. In this way the political activist plays a key role in holding the government to account, and maintains personal integrity by doing the right thing – standing up for themselves and those who are suffering. The activist does not always choose sides, nor causes. The activist stands for all the oppressed beings of the world, both human and non-human, and acknowledges their right to live without suffering or threat of harm.

In regards to one current issue making headlines, the Israel-Palestine conflict, it is important to note that both sides have done harm to the other. The activist in regards to this issue calls on both sides for the cessation of all aggression, and asks both peoples to accept the right for the other to live in peace, without the threat of harm. As impartial witnesses to this horror, activists choose the side of humanity, they choose the right to live, the right to education, the right to good health, the right to freedom of religion, and the right to be free of persecution. The normal people who attend rallies such as those at Sydney Town Hall, do not call on Palestine to take over the rest of Israel, nor do they call on Israel to give up its right to exist as a state. The average, decent people, who attend these rallies are a mixed bag of religious, ethnic, and social groups. Now the burden lies with you. Will you remain disinterested in politics and public affairs? Or will you make a change for the good of your own conscience?

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CAN # change the world ?

By Jessica Maher Let’s just all face facts; the world is a little bit messed up right now. From a distance the conflicts and issues seem too great of a problem to fix from the outside, too ingrained in the history of nations to even know where to start. But what we should all remember is that we know that religion, race or any difference should never supercede kindness and individual basic human rights.

Ever since John Lennon sang “Imagine”, calling for world peace, we have held on to this intangible dream of peace. But in the digital age we watch in horror as atrocities and human rights violations are screened before us with an increasing awareness of our own helplessness in light of these atrocities. But, one must ask with the rise of the phenomenon of #activism, is humanity really as lost as the media outlets make us feel? #Activism refers to the act of tweeting or posting on Facebook with a # that refers to an issue. The Urban Dictionary defines it as “The kind of activism undertaken when you ‘do something’ about a problem by tweeting or posting links to Facebook”. In an article in ‘Time Magazine’ by James Poniewozik, critics have used #activism as a put down, lately with the connotation that it’s substituting gestures for action, as if getting something trending is a substitute for actually going out and engaging with the world.

However, despite failures in the #activism with such notable examples being the #cancelcolbert and #STOPkony - the successes far outweigh the failures. The campaign to #bringbackourgirls is one notable success.

The campaign to #bringbackourgirls was started by two Nigerian women who were outraged over Nigerian President, Jonathan

Goodluck’s, failure to act to bring back over 200 kidnapped Nigerian school girls. Although these girls sadly remain missing, the twitter campaign raised awareness and brought international assistance from countries such as France, Isreal, China & the United States of America. The highlight of this campaign was the support pledged by the USA first lady Michelle Obama and girl’s education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. #Activism unites a community in a common goal and a common cause. Twitter has 500 million tweets per day and Facebook has a total of 1,310,000,000 active monthly users.

The kind of reach that social media #activism has is an activist’s dream and a market which may not ever have been available before.

What critics of the #activism don’t realize is that the human race has an insatiable appetite for justice, particularly for crimes against humanity, like the case of #bringbackourgirls.

Although the International Criminal Court is the international venue for prosecutions of such crimes, without the international community, the International Criminal Court may not be able to act. And that’s why #activism support is important; because it can make local issues global ones that attract attention to a cause even when the local media is not paying attention. #Activism gives a new generation of activists a vocal and powerful voice, which may enable our generation to “be the generation that changes the world”. A tweet might not be able to save the world but it certainly can make the world a little brighter and the average activists voice a little louder. #itstimetoratify Jessica Maher - President of the ICCSN – UWS Chapter and Winnie Jobanputra ICCSN – UWS Chapter Campaigns Officer

GAZA INJUSTICE

Palestinians have suffered for decades in Gaza yet recent military incursions present a crushing force of insufferable magnitude. DIMA THABAB and SHAMIKH BADRA address UWS Resistance Club Dima Thabab: As I speak now, the people in Gaza are facing death or dispossession while other Palestinians are living under harsh conditions imposed by the apartheid state of Israel.

The shelling of the Gaza strip for the past three weeks which has claimed the lives of 1967 Palestinians, 80% of them civilians.

This suffering is not something new to the Palestinian people as they have been suffering from oppression for decades now.

It all started with the colonisation of Palestine in 1948 by the Zionists who wanted to create a Jewish-only state at the expense of the Palestinian people who inhabited the land.

This colonisation was backed by Western imperialist powers and resulted in the displacement of 80% of the Palestinian population from their homeland.

Palestinians who remain on their land continue to be subjected to the harshest, most inhumane conditions imposed by the Israeli occupation; unlawful detainment, electricity stoppage, blockades and killing.

Palestinians in the Gaza strip have been subjected to siege and frequent bombing since 2005 and the conditions intensified in the last month when the Israeli forces started bombing the area under the excuse of self-defence from the Palestinian resistance, Hamas.

How could firing tonnes of bombs and rockets on an area of only 360 square kilometres be justified under self-defence?

This is a weaponry which has targeted civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, UN schools, civilian houses and even four kids innocently playing soccer on the beach.

It is part of the genocidal war against the Palestinians, specifically the people of Gaza, who are unoccupied by Israel.

The Israeli government has been frank about this ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

Member of the Israeli Parliament, Ayelet Shaked, called for genocide against all Palestinians including the mothers and children.

Moshe Feiglin, the deputy speaker of the Israeli parliament, said the correct targets have been hit and “that Gaza will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews”. *** Shamikh Badra: We will never surrender, but we need your support. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in Gaza Strip continue targeting houses with residents inside without giving proper warning or time to evacuate. Nearly 2760 houses have been destroyed or severely damaged. Hospitals in the strip are working overtime to treat injured Palestinians. However, the Gaza Red Crescent Society has reported that medicines are running out in their facilities. Israeli occupation began a ground operation in Gaza late Thursday on the 10th day of their offensive. As the operation began, Israel approved the call-up of another 18,000 reservists, taking the total number approved to 65,000 for this operation.

My family have described the situation to me as genocide. I realise the dangerous situation well, because I suffered, as all Palestinians in Gaza did, from the two previous wars in 2009 and 2012. Everywhere in Gaza now, there is the destruction of homes, the smell of blood and death, funerals, explosions, sound of ambulances, fires, burned bodies, horror among children and women.

Israeli occupation forces describe the situation as a war between two armies. They claim that to justify their crimes. As you know, Gaza has no navy, no air force and no army. This is not a war, it is genocide.

The occupation is responsible for the dangerous situation in Gaza. The occupation is the enemy of the peace, security, democracy and human rights.

Therefore, we rely on the people of the world and their power to change the course of the future. We believe in people-to-people solidarity in order to bring down the apartheid regime. I would like to seize the opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to our international friends and encourage you all to take a leading role in the struggle for justice and peace in Palestine.

We also demand parliamentarians, politicians and human rights activists intensify efforts to end the murderous attack on our people and to criminalise the Israeli occupation in international forums.

In spite of these crimes, aggressions, and massacres, Gaza will never surrender. Gaza will never die, and will resist the oppression and the occupation.

Resistance is a network of young activists who campaign on campus around environmental and human rights issues – including women’s rights, students and worker rights, anti-racism, anti-homophobia, ecosocialism and more. To get involved contact Mia on 18027798@student.uws. edu.au or find us on facebook @ UWS Resistance Young Socialist Alliance, or catch us on campus.

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MENTAL ILLNESS TOP OF MIND

“When talking to a person with depression all you need to do is listen”

a danger to Dismiss depression

By Caitlin Monaghan I find myself thinking about my own mental illness in the wake of Robin William’s death on August 11th. There is the odd time where I can’t deal with the pain but the rest of the time I can deal with it. I want people who don’t understand mental illness, to go and learn about it because depression actually hurts. It really does hurt. By writing this, I am only giving a brief insight to those who lack the knowledge to understand better.

Some of the worst things you can say to someone dealing with depression are “You’ll get over it” or “You can talk it out with someone”.

People with depression find it hard to talk about it and it’s not something they can easily overcome. There is a difference between feeling a

little sadness compared to feeling depressed and feeling that you are a complete failure because depression is always there and is there at the back of your mind.

Being insensitive is never okay.

When it comes to talking to a person with depression or any other form of mental illness, all you need to do is listen. If you dismiss what they are saying, it will make you look like you don’t care. If it were a family member that was suffering from a mental illness, would you dismiss what they were saying? No, you wouldn’t.

If it were a friend suffering from a mental illness, you wouldn’t dismiss what they were saying. People with mental illnesses want their friends or family members to listen to them

Building G1

Diversity Week calendar 9 – 18 September

uws.edu.au/diversityweek 12

and know that the people they hold dear in their lives care about them.

People also need to be aware that someone’s mental illness doesn’t define who they are; it is just a part of them. Take both Jim Carrey and Robin Williams. Both are comedians open about their depression. Robin didn’t let it define him and Jim Carrey doesn’t let it define him. Whilst creative people seem to be prone to the black dog, known as depression, it doesn’t mean other people are less likely to get depression. As I come to a finish, I want those who don’t fully understand mental illnesses to go and learn more and those who are currently suffering from a mental illness to go and talk to someone if you haven’t already.

images by steeedm, John McCarthy, Tim Phillips

ENERGY FUTURE

HALF-HEARTED ENVIRONMENTALISM COSTS US THE EARTH Consumer green-wash and trendy environmentalism obscure the real need for change. It’s time for science-based awareness to take over and for significant renewable energy targets to be set, writes HANNAN LEWSLEY. As a student of Environmental Science and the offspring of environmentalist, left-wing hippies, my social circle tends to heavily sway towards the more nature-conscious type of people. However, more than ever, I am beginning to notice the increasing commercialisation of environmentalism - a concept that no doubt has been trending for many a year.

Currently, my lounge room is occupied by dreadlocked individuals who perpetually self-proclaim their apparent environmental consciousness whilst lights blaze in empty rooms and the fire burns bright as the house is heated excessively with the carbon of felled trees. The hypocrisy is overwhelming. The fashionability of environmentalism infuriates me. Commercial interests can do wonders in terms of awareness and the development of social importance, but when the core value is lost and all that’s left is the superficial shell of unproductive, pretentious drivel, attitudes have to change.

We exist in a time where environmentalism is revered. The term ‘sustainable’ has emerged spectacularly from its dark void of enigmatic perplexity onto the stage of mainstream society. It has been brandished across an endless array of products to the point where it has become a fashionable label of trendy marketing rather than an imperative environmental principle within our modern consumerist society.

But tragically, the credibility of any sense of attainable form of environmentalism is lost

through the extreme acts of a minority who perceive the environment as a fashionable cause to protect rather than anything of significant intrinsic importance. This subsequently fuels the tree-hugging stereotype of environmentalists with the general public, discredits the science as a whole and damages the credibility of the crucial information that it produces.

And little thought is given to this very idea; that whilst a minority sit around in their

“Data illustrates a $10 billion windfall to Australian coal and gas generators if the Renewable Energy Target for 2020 is disposed of” quixotic socialist world of yerba mate and legalised cannabis, warning us of the destruction of society through genetically modified organisms produced by all-evil multinational corporations, the very cause they see to support is tarnished.

Environmental science, as it stands, faces a very uphill battle. Defying the established, profitable, albeit unsustainable world of fossil-fuelled power generation hardly obtains overwhelming support within a society that refuses to change its ancient ways. The age old paradigm ‘If it aint broke, don’t fix it’ is engrained into our mentality. Renewable energy sources in 2011 made up just over 9%

of Australia’s energy production. For a country that considers itself progressive, this number is dwarfed by figures such as 69.38 % from Austria in the same year, 88.88% from Brazil in 2009, and 60.42% in Sweden. All this, whilst countries such as Iceland, Bhutan, Nepal, Norway and Costa Rica all proudly boast figures well over 90%.

The Guardian recently published data illustrating the $10 billion windfall to Australian coal and gas generators if the Renewable Energy Target (RET) for 2020 is disposed of.

The RET aims for 20% of energy produced in Australia to be from renewable sources, putting us on par with countries such as Burkino Faso, Iran and Rwanda.

As a developed country, Australia should be putting more emphasis on the future of energy production and focusing less on the short term gain attained through the burning of fossil fuels. But this requires a balanced and realistic approach, one that considers both sustainability as well as allowing a continued drive in investment. Whilst the environment is arguably our most valuable economic resource in the long term, the protection and sustaining of it is widely not considered a priority, economically.

And as for our hippies, their place is revered in history as the catalyst of our environmental awareness. But their time has passed and it’s time for science-based awareness to take the lead.

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A new campus will serve 10,000 students, writes TIMOTHY HARRISON UWS is set to hit the skies with a campus tower in the heart of Parramatta.

The tower will be stage one of the $2 billion urban renewal project known as 1PSQ, One Parramatta Square. The site will sit between Parramatta’s old Post Office on Macquarie St and Sydney Water on Smith Street. It will be home to more than 10,000 students and cost an estimated $160 million.

Parramatta Lord Mayor John Chedid, Vice Chancellor Professor Barney Glover and Managing Director of Leighton announced the project. “The University’s plan to develop a high-rise campus is an important milestone in UWS’s history,” said Professor Glover.

“This project forms a part of the University’s strategy to expand its international student population, and will be a focal point for our postgraduate programs. The prime CBD location will embed UWS in the social, economic and civic life of Parramatta and Greater Western Sydney.”

The new UWS campus is part of Parramatta Council’s vision to bring Sydney’s West into the 21st century. “We know great universities strengthen great cities and this is a major milestone in our vision for Parramatta Square, helping make Parramatta a true city of the 21st Century,” said Cr Chedid. The campus will stand alongside larger projects such as the Aspire Tower.

The design of the new campus was the result of a competition by a multi award-winning firm, Architectus. They designed a central atrium that reaches eight stories with a plant area on the fifteenth story. The campus will be less than five minutes from Parramatta’s Transport Interchange and one of NSW’s largest shopping centres.

Building is set to begin early 2015 with the first intake of students set for February 2017.

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Nicole Fahey, Emma Ferguson, Connie Smith

UWS REACHES uni not the only way, SKYWARD but it sure helps

By Emily Feszczuk No matter what age you are, education helps you develop, communicate and secure a job.

However, some may question whether education is the most important thing in making a successful life. Is there too much pressure on students to work for something they may still be unsure about?

I interviewed three students from UWS about choosing future pathways at a young age.

Connie Smith, 18: As high school was drawing to an end, UWS student Connie Smith was clueless as to what she wanted to do next, other than feeling she had no other choice than go to uni.

“I did legal studies as an HSC subject and really enjoyed it. I thought that law would be a very good choice considering the broad range of career opportunities a law degree could bring me. I chose social science as my partner degree because I wanted to major in criminology”.

Her choice was driven in part by her Criminal Minds addiction ! While Connie is happy with her course, coming straight from high school has been an eye-opener. “The work is hard and my time management needs major work if I’m going to make it through the next five years”.

Connie juggles working on the four alternate days that she isn’t attending class. “I think there are other ways to be successful rather than just purely having a certificate that says you have a degree. My main motivation for coming to uni was to get a high paying job.”

University is working out and while she has a long way to go she is ready to embrace it whether or not it is right for her. ”Uni teaches you more than just the set ‘education’ of your degree. I don’t think having lots of people going to uni and trying to get a degree is necessarily a bad thing.”

Emma Ferguson, 19: Emma Ferguson was beginning her second year of uni when she realised it was not right for her. She enjoyed creative subjects and creating images in high school, so a teacher gave her courses to look at based on her strengths.

“I was not happy in uni at all. The structure and work that was supposed to be related to my chosen field felt all wrong. In all honesty, I felt too smart to be wasting my ATAR on a course that was so boring and ridiculous.”

She decided to leave. “Now, every workforce expects some qualification. I’ve seen jobs ads for a receptionist who has done a reception course.”

Society is definitely a driving force in pushing kids to make decisions about their future at such a young age. And in return, they swap uni courses a couple of times and add more years of being out of the workforce, putting the individual under more strain”.

Nicole Fahey, 21: One person who went from high school to university to the workforce in full force is former UWS student and graduate, Nicole Fahey.

Nicole did a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in public relations and advertising.

This was her dream career ever since she was a child obsessed with media and television, and she followed her passion.

“I was incredibly happy with my course and university as a whole. The skills I learnt in the comms course were amazing compared to some other unis and were accredited and accurate to the real life industry. I loved uni and highly recommend my course to any other media lovers!”

While she thoroughly enjoyed it, she did feel the need to get a degree in order to get her job. “To become a media planner and buyer in a multinational advertising agency, you generally need a degree or you won’t be accepted at all.”

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS: 11 % of people in Penrith have attended university compared with 14.2 % in NSW and 14.3% nationally (2011 Census). But the future of universities is up for debate with the most recent Federal budget planning on deregulating fees. Some courses could cost a lot more and deter students for fear of not being able to pay off their debts.

TURN UP, TURN ON AND PASS

MEDIA ADVANTaGE

Study your Passion Passion is what drives people in life. It’s what underlies every successful idea and innovation. One of the best pieces of advice I have been given about schooling is to pursue a passion, not a career. The average person changes their career a few times in their life but if you study a passion, maintaining effort and commitment is a given as you will be genuinely interested in learning. Plus, university degrees are expensive, not only financially but time-wise as well. Why bother investing three or four years of your life pursuing something you don’t really care about?

Set Goals Measurable goals will help you to improve your performance at university. Why not aim to improve your GPA by a few points? If you are a pass average, why not aim for a credit?

If you are a credit average, why not aim for distinctions? Writing down your goals and keeping them somewhere you can always see will help you to work towards something better. Telling other people about your goals also gives you a sense of accountability and those you tell can remind you of your goals if you become complacent in giving your best efforts.

Apply Parkinson’s Law Parkinson’s Law is the adage that ‘work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.’ When you get your assignments, create an assignment timetable where you organise when things are due and the marking percentage for each assignment. Then, to apply Parkinson’s Law, you could make your deadlines to complete each assignment at least one week earlier than the actual due dates. This strategy will ensure you avoid the last minute all-nighters and will give you enough time to edit your assignments and submit your best work.

Make Friends Having friends at university helps you in so many ways. You can share textbooks and create study groups for exams. You can

brainstorm ideas together for assignments and clarify any unit material you don’t quite understand. Your friends at university can encourage you to get organised and help you with better time management as you organise and work through unit material together.

Ask Questions ‘There is no such thing as a stupid question’ is a popular phrase because it rings true for everyone. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is better to sound stupid for a few seconds than to pretend to know something and end up repeating a unit or discontinuing a course. Your tutors are here to help you learn. Ask them to clarify any content or assignments you don’t understand. Take advantage of the discussion board on vUWS. If you don’t understand your assessment feedback, ask your tutor to explain what they mean so that you can improve on your next assessments. Asking questions could make the difference between a credit and a distinction.

Develop Your Academic Skills University has many student workshops to help every student learn better. Whether it’s help with referencing or writing essays, there is a workshop for you. Go to the PASS sessions if your units offer them and take advantage of any student mentors around campus.

You could even ask another student to mentor you or proof read your work before you submit it. Honing in on your academic skills will ensure that you graduate with a plethora of skills from public speaking to writing concisely.

Attend Your Lectures and Tutorials This is where you really get to delve deeper into what you have read in your readings and it gives you an opportunity to discuss the unit content with other students. Your tutorials are like a practice lab for developing employable skills. Attending your lectures and tutorials will help you to absorb the subject material better than if you study alone. Plus, if you don’t go to your lectures and tutorials, what are you really doing at university anyway?

By Nancie Clarke Getting a Communications Degree from UWS is not seen as second best, UWS graduate and media advisor to a former NSW Premier, Mark Tobin, told students earlier this year.

“You can turn being a student at Western Sydney into a major advantage,” Mr Tobin said.

With the surge in citizen journalists, online bloggers and social media enthusiasts, Mr Tobin gave students a sense of hope. He said hard work, determination, perseverance and networking with people in the industry were essential to move forward in a journalistic career.

“There still is a big need for journalists.

Newspapers are still hiring people, TV is still hiring people. If you are determined and you show that you are determined, you don’t have to be the smartest person in the group, but if you have the hunger for journalism you will get a job.”

Another former UWS student and producer at Channel 7 News, Mark McKeown, said getting published can give students the edge when it comes to journalism.

“Try and get published,” Mr McKeown said.

“Letters to the editor or something like that, no matter how small; if you get those things in, that is how you get to the next thing”.Mr McKeown was asked by UWS students if journalists were more responsible to the public, employers, governments or personal interests when investigating and writing news.“Journalists face a delicate balance. They have a duty to the public, a need to benefit their employers and the need to remain employable,” he said.

Mark McKeown

Seven steps to getting by at uni: GABRIELLE LAWSON makes it sound easy.

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VOLUNTEER AND PROSPER

I would love to tell you what an average day as a volunteer firefighter is like, but to keep with the cliché, there is no such thing as an average day. My first exercise involved sitting in the back of a LandCruiser for 8 hours, cleaning up after a charity race. Not exactly the exciting time I envisaged.

Last October, the worst fires since 1968 hit two suburbs up from me in Winmalee. We were the fifth truck on scene, and to be honest, I’ve never been more scared. That was the actual firefighting part. I’ve also frozen my ass off in Leura looking for a lost man for about two weeks in last year’s uni break.

Often in Autumn or Spring, all the smoke that hangs around Sydney is caused by me and the rest of the RFS, reducing hazards around people’s homes.

My name is Clancy Henderson, I’m 19 and studying a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering at UWS. In my spare time I play rugby, but my favourite hobby is being a firefighter. I volunteer for the NSWRFS at Faulconbridge, in the Blue Mountains. I started in 2010, and have enjoyed every minute. I chose the RFS because my friends were in the local brigade, but since joining I have realised the opportunities that being a volunteer can open up.

My duties vary with the time of year and with the strength of my brigade. The more people that are involved with the brigade, the more things we are able to do like hazard reductions (back burning) or the countless hours of maintenance on trucks, tools, sheds and trails in my local area. My volunteering takes up only as many hours as I can spare each week. During Summer I might have to sit in my shed for 8 or 9 hours on standby, but during winter it is a lot quieter.

Juggling work, study and volunteering can be difficult. During Summer there is no uni, but work and fires are a lot more frequent.

Volunteering is fulfilling and helps work out some of the stress that uni and life can bring. If you want to go ‘gung-ho’ and be at your Brigade every day, or run a command and control point, it’s up to; there is a course for everything. I recently completed my village firefighting course, and am training to be a remote area firefighter that gets winched in off helicopters into the bush to stop fires before they are a big threat.

MOUNTAIN YOUTH RESILIENCE

By Leah Hutton

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This year I started studying part-time at UWS while working part-time for a not-for-profit youth organisation in the Blue Mountains called Mountains Youth Service Team. MYST supports people aged 12-24.

On our team are Youth Advocates, people who speak up for the rights of young people, Case Workers, to help with housing and Centrelink, Adolescent Counsellors, to listen to your woes, and Outdoor Recreation Workers, who will take you on an adventure into the wilderness and have you hanging upside down from a 40m abseil. We also offer free recreational programs for young people during the school holidays such as aerosol art workshops, beach trips, snow camps and trips to the Easter Show. MYST hosted an abseiling day for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We spent the day at Narrow Neck in Katoomba with 20 Young People who eagerly chatted with the Duke and Duchess.

I have been working at MYST for 18 months. It is an amazing organisation to work within, with big hearts from the management committee right through to the guys on the ground. Not only do I appreciate working within such a tight-knit team, I feel a lot of gratitude toward the young people I work with. To be allowed into someone’s life with an ear to listen or even just to have a laugh with gives me a lot of job satisfaction.

It can get difficult at times, some people definitely keep you on your toes, but that’s what it’s all about.

It’s difficult to know if you’re making a difference and I have to remind myself that’s not what it’s about. It’s about having support and services available to young people.

I have learnt that most young people are just ridiculously resilient. The weight of the world could be hanging on their shoulders and they keep soldiering on, doing what they have to do or what is expected of them.

If you know a young person living in the Mountains who may need assistance, contact Emilly or Leah on 0423 375 842.

Going Down In History Remember me with love, writes FENELLA HENDERSON-ZUEL My first thought when I was recently asked how I would like to be remembered was "That's easy!

I'd like to be remembered as kind and clever, funny and successful. Attractive wouldn't hurt, either. I'd like to be remembered for accomplishing something meaningful, whether it be founding a company, helping to achieve world peace or winning an Academy Award.” But what about the small things? The more personal things?

In the grand scheme of things my life is unlikely to make a difference in the world. I can talk and people will listen, tell a joke and make them laugh. I can even help to change the world if I try hard enough. Yet for all that and more I am an ordinary person. History is unlikely to remember my name. Friends and family will remember what I was like and may talk about me from time to time. My children will be extraordinary in their own right but are likely to be as ordinary by global standards as I am. They will tell their children about me and once they are dead and gone my name is unlikely to remain.

Do I really need any more than that?

I think that in our own way we each want to change the world and leave our mark. It would be amazing if our pictures were to be featured in history books so that generations from now we would be remembered as truly exceptional people. And we should strive for that. Go the extra mile to change things for the better, to help people and show that we are worthy of being remembered. Even if we never accomplish anything beyond making people laugh or keeping an orderly household, that's ok. Those are our accomplishments and ours alone. They don't need to be weighed against the success of others.

So after all that, how would I like to be remembered? Fondly. If only one person remembers me that will be enough, as long as they remember me with love.

RANT and be happy PLEASE be nice to the waitress

By Fenella Henderson-Zuel It is a truth universally acknowledged that when it comes to manners, there is no universal practice in the treatment of waitresses.

Most people know how to behave. You wait to be seated when required, you say please when ordering, you politely signal when you are ready to order and you wait to be attended to.

Most people get this. Those who don’t, I split into two categories; those who think they are being reasonably polite and those who don’t give a damn. The former aren’t terribly offensive, they are often simply annoying.

At the café where I work Mother’s Day is the biggest day of the year. The place is always packed and regular customers have to be turned away if they forget to book. Now you might think these dismissed regulars might be the problem, but no. Last Mother’s Day it was the people with bookings who were troublesome.

“Is it on the menu? No? Then you can’t have it.

We are not your personal chefs.”

The most prominent of the largely-inoffensive-but-still-fairly-annoying group was the woman whose booking couldn't be found.

She let me know repeatedly that this was “my fault” and I “had better fix it”. But it wasn't my fault, I was just the messenger.

You might think that the trouble ended when her group was finally seated and their orders taken. But that was when she really became the badly behaved customer.

“I don’t mean to be a pain, but…”

These are without a doubt eight of the most annoying words a waitress can hear. Why? Because it means that the customer does want to be a pain.

Then the cold coffee thing: It is not my fault if you were chatting for so long that your coffee went cold.

Thirdly, there is the not-on-the-menu question. So many times I have wanted to make like sassy Max from 2 Broke Girls (who obviously doesn't have any worries about being fired) and say to customers: “Is it on the menu? No? Then you can’t have it. You know why? Because we are not your personal chefs.”

We have a seven-page menu, plus separate ones for drinks and kids food. It’s not like you’re starved for choice.

I'll finish with the worst customers, the ones who seem to think wait staff are their slaves.

To those people: • Clicking your fingers to attract the attention of the waitress is not okay.

• Demanding to know if your waitress is deaf, blind or stupid because she didn't notice you trying to attract her attention (from behind and many tables away, while she was serving another customer) is not okay.

• Asking a 14-year-old waitress about her personal life? A no-no.

• And placing a hand on the small of a waitress’s back to attract her attention and then joking that you’re a married man? NOT OKAY. Most of these people don't mean anything sinister by their actions, but the point still stands: The waitress is not there to be touched.

Next time you go for a coffee or a meal, remember to be nice to your waitress. She’s probably been on her feet all day and had to deal with the odd horrible customer while being paid a pittance to boot. Just smile, wait your turn and please only order from the menu.

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Western Sydney Literacy Movement

Dawn

By Stephen Pham

Tuyet says, ‘Fuck bro, you’re black as.’

We’re staring at the dresser mirror, sitting side-by-side on her single mattress, huddled under a $300 quilt cover from Myer. It’s wine-coloured, except for the crusty toothpaste stains and splotches of menstrual blood; the latter doesn’t camouflage well.

Her xinh-ass white skin makes my mild yellow look rice-paddy-worker black. It takes a while for me to come up with a quip about her chinky eyes, which close right up when she smiles. Tuyet nods. She doesn’t smile.

I whisper sorry, but I don’t really have to: her parents sleep out back, so it’s just her and her two sisters up front. Trang’s probably KO’d. The other one I don’t know.

She explains, ‘Yeah, Linh’s my older sister.

I don’t really like to talk about her. She had a thing with drugs, went to the hospital, something with psychosis, and yeah. You have big eyes,’ she says, and pulls her eyelids up with finger and thumb. She turns to me. ‘Stephen “Tây” Pham. Hey, let’s smoke before Van gets out.’

‘Who?’ ‘Linh’s boyfriend,’ she shrugs. ‘They’re probably smoking ice right now.’

She gets up off the bed and grabs the last two joints from her desk. We go out to the porch and sit at the glass and metal side table. The sun’s rising over Endeavour Park: light poles and netball hoops hold up the night sky as peach bleeds upwards into blue-grey.

‘I dunno why you ever moved out to Newtown,’ she says, and pauses as she brings up her phone, takes a picture of the scene, and then inspects it. ‘Ooh, that’s pretty. I’m Instagramming this – what should I caption it?’

18

Before I can answer, the flyscreen door bursts open. Linh’s boyfriend Van stumbles out, durry in mouth, bottle of white in hand.

Blue dragons dance up his brown arms. A black t-shirt clings to his lean frame. He glances at us. I slide my elbow off the table and bolt upright. He snatches a lighter from beside me. His right hand flicks the wheel a couple times, and his left hand is cupped in front of his angular face.

“Hey, you look kinda pale...Newtown really turned you into a white boy, huh?”

When he finally lights his cigarette, he inhales and walks past us to the front lawn on my left. As he does, a blue koi peeks out the back of his collar from under a mullet. Van takes a swig from the bottle and swaggers around a car parked on the lawn, alternating between drinking, smoking, spitting, and swinging fists at the air in front of him. Tuyet is saying, ‘Hashtag 2165?

Hashtag “welcome back”? Hashtag “morning eshays”?’ but I can’t answer. Instead, I hear the slosh of the bottle, the crackling tobacco, and the hocking and spraying of phlegm bounce in my head, and I can’t tell if Van’s still at it or if it’s just my imagination. I glance to the left.

He catches me, and stops to stare back.

His eyes are small and dark and piercing. I close my eyes and concentrate on the weed in my system, feeling of electricity pulsing through my body.

I’m hit with an ungodly stench: top notes of tobacco smoke, middle notes of cat piss, and base notes of alcohol seeping from sweat glands. I open my eyes. He’s standing right in front of me, looking down at me, cigarette dangling out the side of his mouth. He’s skinny – short, too – but I‘m stoned and his dark skin probably means he survived Cabra circa ‘94 while I was still crawling around and shitting my nappies in Marrickville.

He shifts his weight to his front foot and raises his right hand, curled into a loose fist. My body freezes up. His eyes narrow before they flick down and he re-lights his cigarette. He tosses the lighter at the table, where it bounces off and clatters on the floor.

'You,' he says.

My hands are clenched into tight fists. His mouth moves and flat sounds come out and maybe he has a central Vietnamese accent because I can’t understand a word he’s saying. I sit still, but Tuyet replies for me with a firm, ‘No.’ He slinks back into the house. I turn to Tuyet, my mouth agape.

‘He asked do you wanna watch a movie,’ she says. ‘Hey, you look kinda pale...Newtown really turned you into a white boy, huh?’

Her skin glows golden in the sunlight as she laughs at her own joke.

The Diet Starts Here

Western Sydney Literacy Movement

by Tamar Chnorhokian In a month’s time my novel The Diet Starts on Monday is finally getting published.

I first wrote this story during a creative writing class at UWS. Who would’ve thought that12 years later my book would be published with the assistance of the University of Western Sydney’s Writing and Society Research Centre.

Certainly not me. But here I am.

So where do I start but to go back to the beginning I guess when I was pondering for days about what short story I should write. I had watched the movie Shallow Hal the previous year and I absolutely loved the storyline.

Finally a movie that portrayed what I thought was true all throughout my teenage years.

Boys aren’t interested in fat girls.

In hindsight I wasn’t even fat. I was tall with a broad frame and a disproportionate body; my arms and legs were skinny compared to my chest and waistline. Unlike Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, in Shallow Hal, I was far from morbidly obese. However I still thought I was fat because I kept comparing myself to the smaller and petite girls in my year at high school. I was convinced that the reason why everyone else had a boyfriend and I didn’t was because of my size. I was constantly going on diets to attract the attention of the boys I liked but no matter how much weight I lost it didn’t make a difference.

This yo-yo dieting to gain the guy of my dreams did not help my self-esteem. It’s this topic of self-esteem which I know about all too well and was the reason I was able to write my novel.

The main character, Zara, is obese. She’s 17 and in her last year of school. Zara lives in Western Sydney and is of Armenian background. She loses weight for the boy she has a massive crush on.

Although my high school years are now a lifetime ago, I don’t think the issue of weight for teenage girls has changed much. Most girls are always striving to lose a few kilos here and there, no matter what size they might be. It’s for this reason that lots of girls will be able to relate to my novel and perhaps boys as well.

In the last few years I’ve noticed how the pressure of looking good has now also shifted onto the boys. When I was a teen it was okay if boys had a bit of a pot belly, no biceps and hair on their arms and legs. Now boys can’t get to the gym fast enough to produce washboard abs and pumped up muscles while my friend who works at a laser clinic said ‘I’ve got more male clientele than female.’

“This yo-yo dieting to gain the guy of my dreams did not help my self-esteem”

I remember in the 90’s weight loss commercials were more about vanity than about health. Jenny Craig and Gloria Marshall (whatever happened to her?) were selling, look good, feel good, ads to consumers who want to look great in a mini cause short skirts were in or should I say back?

on The Biggest Loser. The whole of Australia can watch contestants sweat it out as they reveal their most private feelings on national television while standing on the edge of a cliff with the Commando’s voice insinuating that they are indeed losers if they give up.

Thank goodness for the fitness guru couple who have carved out a new career path for girls and boys with fat phobias; if all else fails you can always become a personal trainer.

Am I sounding like a jaded fat girl, hating all the skinny, health obsessed people out there?

Probably. But I can’t preach what I don’t practice? Or can I? Zara does lose weight. However, unlike those unrealistic weight loss reality shows she goes from a size 22 to a healthy 14 - which I might add was not a plus size back in the day.

She doesn’t become the new poster girl for Subway or Australia’s Next Top Model. Zara learns a more important lesson in life than the one the media sells to her everyday.

Other than your diet, another thing you can control is how you choose to feel about yourself whether it be on the inside or out. Just like Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

The Diet Starts On Monday will be launched on Saturday September 13, 7 pm at the Bankstown Arts Centre, 5 Olympic Pde, Bankstown.

More Info: www.sweatshop.ws RSVP: Info@sweatshop.ws

Now you can rely on Michelle Bridges to sell you everything from breakfast sprinkles, protein bites and a whole lot of personal training 19

tell her

By Hasan

from the heart love and socks

By PAULINE SEMAAN Sifting through my sock drawer, I find a handful of individual socks that have lost their equal to make them a pair. An interesting notion strikes me; love is like a pair of socks. We sometimes lose our mate and end up with another. On the good days, we are paired symmetrically, although on bluer days we keep a fair distance.

One of us remains in the bedroom and the other somewhere else around the house. Each individual sock in my draw is different. Some have holes you long to mend, some are soft and warm, others rough and damaged. Just like humans. I adore all the socks in my life, the human ones that is. The ones that belong on my feet are negotiable; I may need to go shopping. But that’s a different thought…

After a steaming hot shower and with an apple in hand, the front door sees the back of me as I sprint for the bus stop. 7:58am on a Monday morning, just in time for my means of transportation to arrive at eight o’clock. Secretly I high-five myself knowing I will be just on time for class. After sitting myself down next to an elderly woman who holds the strong scent of lavender, I fumble through my backpack for my notebook. The short distance from my foster home to my high school is too great a distance to sit still and stare out the window, like they do in the movies, you know, where the central character mopes by staring through the glass window.

I would much rather just look over my school captain speech I am giving today at assembly and concentrate on not choking on the overbearing floral aroma. Making sense of my scribble handwriting, I begin to read…

‘To continue to acquire both a breadth and depth of understanding about who we are and where we come from, we must carry our past with us, in order to move forward and take steps closer to better and richer adventures. But as they say, the windshield is larger than our rear view mirror because it’s more important to know where you’re going rather than reflecting on where you’ve been. The sun will always come up the next day; it’s up to you whether or not it shines.

Good morning teachers and staff, friends and family and the graduating class of 1988! Today is the day we wave goodbye to high school forever.

For those of us looking forward to more education, good luck. To those who are travelling the 20

world, be safe. All of those entering the workforce, excel. And to all those, including myself, who are yet to decide on the next move, don’t stress as I believe we will find out when we are supposed to. We shall do things in a meraki way, which is to do something with soul, creativity and love. Love what you do, give your mind and soul and do it with meraki; put something of yourself into your work. Personally, I aspire to inspire.

“Having just turned 26, my life seems to be at a stage where I question what the hell I am doing”

‘Mia, tall latte, one sugar. Mia! Tall latte! One sugar!’ The barista grew more impatient as my coffee order was ready and I lived within the world of flashback frenzy. Coming back to earth, it is Monday morning, 7:13am and, on the way to madness, I visit Andie who makes my tall latte with such delight, drawing patterns and leaves within the bed of textured foam. Today, even Andie looks off. His comb-over is not perfectly jelled nor does he wear his endearing smile which, between you and me, melts my heart. I wonder what Andie was like during high school.

Perhaps he was the born artist trying to find his way amongst the mess of adolescence and puberty? Or maybe he was the wonderful boy next door? High school days, huh? Who would have thought that once you left, the days remained in you? It is unfortunate, however, that we often consider our own reflection of self to be the one in a mirror. We do not consider that the greatest resemblance of our own identity lies within our brains and better yet, our hearts. Having just turned 26, my life seems to be at a stage where I question what the hell I am doing.

My name is Mia and the thing I want you to know is this: My biggest hope is that there is an even amount of human beings on this earth, purely so each individual is loved and, in turn, that admiration is returned.

10th grade As I sat there in English class, I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called "best friend". I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before and I handed them to her. She said "thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

11th grade The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn't want to be alone, so I did.

As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said "thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

Senior year The day before formal night she walked to my locker. “My date is sick" she said. “He's not going to go”.

Well, I didn't have a date, and in 7th grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together just as "best friends". So we did. Formal night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step. I stared at her as she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she didnt think of me like that, and I know it. Then she said "I had the best time, thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

Graduation Day A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her certificate. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said, "You’re my best friend, thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

A Few Years Later Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married now. I watched her say "I do" and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn't see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said "you came!” She said "thanks" and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

Funeral Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my "best friend". At the service, they read a diary entry she wrote in her high school years. This is what it read: I stare at him wishing he was mine, but he doesn't notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love him but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me! `I wish I did too...` I thought to myself, and I cried.

get with the program Get the most out of Summer study Considering studying at UWS over Summer but not sure what to expect?

UWS Summer is a shorter, more intensive teaching session than Autumn or Spring and students are restricted to studying a total of two units (20 credit points) across both Summer A and B. Last year, some students found the pace of UWS Summer more demanding than they expected so you should think carefully about the work involved when choosing what units to study.

Here are some tips and tricks for getting the most out of your UWS Summer study: • Regardless of the delivery mode, each unit in Summer A will require around 22 hours of study; Summer B, around 30 hours.

• Read your Learning Guide before you commence study as this gives you important information on your reading list, assessment tasks and due dates.

• Check whether any pre-work needs to be done before classes start.

• Be organised and schedule your reading, studying, assignments and/or group tasks.

• Check vUWS and your student email every day for communications about your unit(s).

• If taking an online unit, discussion boards or online consultations can be a great way to discuss material with other students.

• Census Dates for UWS Summer are: 8 January (Summer A) and 12 January 2015 (Summer B). Speak with your lecturer before Census Date if you notice you are falling behind or withdraw before the deadline if you find UWS Summer just isn’t for you.

With 237 units (see www.uws.edu.au/summer) on offer this year, there are even more opportunities to fast track your degree and finish sooner, lighten your load for next semester or redo missed or failed units.

Don’t forget to check out what last year’s students thought of UWS Summer on the Summer Testimonials page.

fill out the form and be heard grab a mate and make a video

By Caitlin Monaghan, Jessica Hanley and Wendy Astudillo For some people, moving somewhere new or starting at a new place, like work or school, can be daunting at times.

The MATES@UWS program is designed to help new students settle into university, make new friends and gain knowledge and skills, like where you can find help.

The MATES program is not an academic program. It is a social, mentoring program with the mentees driving the mentoring sessions.

Mentees may just want to socialise and hang over a cup of coffee. They may want to be guided around campus and shown the different services or taken on a library tour.

The program runs across all UWS campuses and meeting times are flexible.

Anyone is able to sign up as a mentor or a mentee by going to the MATES@UWS website.

As part of Diversity Week, MATES@UWS is hosting a Video Project. MATES@UWS wants to hear your story! Your video will become part of a longer film about starting out at university. MATES@UWS will have a video booth set up at Parramatta on September 17 and Bankstown September 16, where you can create a vlog about your first year experience. Alternatively, share your video online at the MATES@ UWS website.

Jump online to find out more: www.uws. edu.au/mates

Unit surveys provide vital feedback to make courses better As a student in my final semester, the many units that made up my undergraduate study have often been brilliantly structured to aid my learning, along with the assignment tasks, the required readings the tutors and the lectures.

Just the same, all students have or will encounter units where the assignments, readings, tutorials and lectures fail to help us learn. As we socialise at the university over time, we hear stories of these failings and yet only a small portion of students commit to giving feedback on these unit issues. Surveys are your direct voice to the university.

Towards the end of each semester, students are asked complete unit surveys. These are sent online to your student email with links to surveys for each of the units you have completed for that semester.

Student surveys are important as they can change teaching techniques and units for the next person as well as increasing the external value of your final degree.

Through my journey as one of the two elected Academic Senate Undergraduate representatives, I was recently surprised to learn that only around 25% of the student body fills out unit surveys, yet they only take about 5 minutes to fill out. This means that students the following year may encounter the same issues with the unit. It can also mean an accolade for a unit coordinator that has perfected the learning style and outcomes for the unit are not being recognised.

I have consistently found when talking to all levels of staff that they are hungry for student feedback on all aspects of the student experience. This very much includes the school administration staff. I wish to encourage you as a student earning a degree at UWS to help the university help you.

Dean Walker - Academic Senate, Undergraduate Representative 21

DEBATING CLUB

The Road to Malaysia

By Robert Barrie - Debating President From the start of semester 2, an end point is in sight. A goal is sighted, preparations are made and debates are had. We are on the road to our second World Championships, to be hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from December 26 – January 4th! We’re pretty excited. By the time this issue has reached you, trials will have been completed and teams announced. Check our facebook to see the results and wish our teams luck!

But let’s look at what’s been happening in the lead up, and what is to come!

Australasian Championships During the July break UWS Debating headed to Otago, New Zealand to compete in the Australasian Championships! This was a big success for our society. Our adjudicator, Winnie Jobanputra, was selected to adjudicate the finals! This is the first time UWS has ever featured in the finals series of a major tournament, either adjudicating or debating. Winnie did us so proud as she broke new ground for UWS Debating.

Our teams also saw good results, with improvement across each speaker individually from what we achieved last year. Congratulations to all members of our contingent: Justin O’Connor, Chris Kocx, Sonyia Juarez, Nicole Gismondo,

Luke Ryan, Winnie Jobanputra and Robert Barrie.

Australs was eventually won by a team from the University of Victoria Wellington, in a high quality grand final against a team from Sydney University.

Australasian Women’s Championships Less than two months after New Zealand, we’re off to our next internal tournament: Womens!

Only this time, it’s being held a little closer to home with the University of Sydney hosting this prestigious tournament from September 26 – 29.

We’d like to publicly congratulate our contingent: UWS 1: UWS 2 UWS 3 UWS 4 UWS 5

Holly Pitt and Winnie Jobanputra Riskarella Prime and Jodie Rodrigues Sonyia Juarez and Kim Hansen Priya Goyal and Megan Crambrook Nicole Gismondo and Merna Maher

Adjudicators: Kate Flannigan, Laura Sampson and Stephanie Fawzy This is the largest contingent we’ve sent to any competition and we wish them the best of luck!

Affordable d e n t a l services for Domestic and International students.

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Suite 1, 28 Burwood Rd, 6/43 Ware St,

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Burwood NSW 2134

Fairfield NSW 2165

Mon & Wed 9am-6pm

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02 9747 6835

02 9727 0364

UWS Debating celebrates 2 year birthday In July this year we turned 2! To celebrate, we’re hosting a tournament at the Parramatta campus on September 20th. We’ll have teams from across Australia (and even internationally- hello debater from Cambridge!) come to UWS for a day of competitive and fun debating. Any UWS person interested in attending should send us a message and we’ll sort you out!

Weekly meetings and training If you would like to join us, or check out what we do, or learn how to debate, or adjudicate, or anything else related to debating, please come and join us at one of our weekly internals. We run training and practice debates each week at the following times and places: - Campbelltown, Monday 4pm, 10.1.15 - Penrith, Thursday, midday, Kingswood Library - Parramatta, Thursday, 4:45, EA.2.09 And as always, if you want to get in touch or support us from the sidelines, connect with us!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/uwsdebating Twitter: @UWS_Debating Email: uwsdebating@gmail.com Orgysnc: Search for “UWS Debating”

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LOCAL LEADERS SENT TO SCOTLAND BLAKE TATAFU will talk climate change and youth unemployment at a youth leadership conference in Scotland What is the 33Fifty young leaders program?

33Fifty is a leadership program for young Commonwealth leaders, and looks to develop their leadership skills and enable them to bring people together, reconcile differences, lead change and use the Commonwealth’s networks effectively. “33Fifty” comes from the fact that 33% of the world’s population lives in the Commonwealth, and 50% of those are under 25. This program will be held in Scotland and will bring together 100 of the Commonwealth’s young leaders. There are only two representatives from Australia and I’m so delighted to be one of them – to also represent my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at a national level.

What qualities make a good leader?

Passion, honesty and integrity are essentially what I like in a leader, but it’s important for a ‘leader’ to have the ability to actively listen and consult with people who are at a ‘grass roots’ level. I usually have never liked a division of powers or having the metaphoric ‘ivory tower’ in place anywhere. I also like to see a leader have a vivid imagination and to actively innovative.

What aspects of Indigenous culture do you hope to highlight at the forum?

I will be taking with me my knowledge and experience in a range of issues that greatly affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

WOMEN STUDENTS CONFERENCE My name is Berlina Singh and I am the student representative for UWSC (UWSCollege) in Nirimba. On July 14 to 18, I attended a conference called Network of Women Students Australia at Edith Cowan Uni, Perth. The NOWSA Conference is a space where women students can gather and engage with personal, political, social and cultural issues that are relevant to women.

people in mental health, community controlled leadership, education, employment and justice. I’m really excited to be able to meet with so many other young, like-minded people who care about their local and national communities and hopefully through that network we can capitalise on all of our individual strengths to bring forth some positive change.

What issues do you think young people in the Commonwealth today find most important?

Every community, regardless of whether it be local, state or nationwide has different issues and there’s been an interesting connection in regards to youth unemployment. Climate change and the shift of our world’s ecosystem is something we will all, as a Commonwealth, discuss.

What you are studying ?

I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Community and Social Development on the Kingswood Campus (Penrith) and will be moving into Psychology once I’ve completed this degree. I have a diploma in Psychotherapy and mental health has always been a passion of mine.

What are your other interests ?

I really enjoy music! It can completely change the mood I’m in and/or my motivation. I usually fall weak for amazing vocalists, regardless of the genre. For example, my favourite singer is Mutya Buena who has done a range of As a Women of Colour, I loved the atmosphere in sessions relevant to me. The conference helped me learn about many aspects of being a women today, with caucuses and workshops such as Women of Colour, Disabilities & Mental Health, Low Socio-Economic Status and Queer. These caucus were a place to share experiences.

Workshops included Consent 101, which focused on what consent is, The Patriarchy & Women’s Mental Health, which discussed the effects of sexism, gender roles and expec-

STUDENT leaders genres but it’s the voice that keeps me there.

She’s the best! I call my music taste eclectic because I always find amazing songs through all different Genres: Reggae, Soul, Pop, R&B, Heavy Metal, Opera, Aboriginal Traditional Music, K-Pop, German Pop, and Pacific Islander Music – you name it!

How did you get to be involved in the 33Fifty program?

I was anonymously nominated at first. I still had to apply and be selected and amazingly I was selected not only to participate in the program but also to deliver the findings from our discussions and research to high profile leaders in United Kingdom, which I never expected!

What is your message to the leaders of this country?

Never underestimate the power of experience.

The leaders of our country (at present) have failed to listen to and consult with the general community about changes that affect them.

It’s a shame really, but you can’t please everyone. I’d also like to make a statement that regardless of age, sex, income, appearance or experience, everyone has something valuable to offer and deserves to be listened to with respect to ensure that they are being heard.

A lot of our young people are becoming more tokenized and patronized by leaders which is really disheartening.

tations, Surviving Student Housing, which reviewed renting and finding ways to get along with roommates, Cultural Appropriation 101, which encouraged the student unions not to put on racist parties, Can Men be Feminist, The Federal Budget and the Feminist Fight back, which discussed how the Federal Budget would hit women worse then others, and ideas for including women with invisible disabilities and chronic illness.

To know more about NOWSA email Berlinas13@ gmail.com.

23

24

Find yourself in thE sahara

By Jessica Chehade

discover sunny spain

UWS EXCHANGE PROGRAMS: uws.edu. au/globalmobility/goglobal

By Fenella Henderson-Zuel

Full-length stories at crUWSible.com.au

The beautiful mediaeval city of San Sebastián boasts magnificent beaches and stunning architecture. In northern Spain, the city is not only the new food capital of the world; it may just become the go-to holiday destination.

It is after dark that the city truly comes alive.

The narrow terrace houses and imposing medieval churches of the old town which block the sun to the cobbled streets during the day become magical structures at night, lit from below by carefully placed streetlights which bathe them in otherworldly golden light.

The restaurants and cafes that are serene and sparsely populated during the afternoon ring with the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses as people of all ages spill out into the narrow thoroughfares, eating and drinking with smiles on every face. Small children run beneath the feet of their parents, giggling as they shepherd soccer balls around the tight corners. Families and couples and friends and acquaintances relax and treat themselves to the choicest foods. It is 2am but never have I seen a city more awake.

To someone who has lived their whole life in and around the Sydney CBD, the city of San Sebastián-Donostia in the northern Basque region of Spain can be a real culture shock.

It isn't simply the language. Even those with a decent knowledge of Spanish might have trouble conversing with locals here, as the Basque region has employed its own language, Euskara, for centuries.

San Sebastián also stands out due to the climate. The area boasts a radically different natural environment to the better-known tourist hubs of Barcelona and Madrid. Rather than the dry, red flatness much of central Spain has become synonymous with, the Basque region offers lush, hilly country with regular rain to feed the green landscape.

Yet perhaps the most startling difference between Sydney and San Sebastián is the lifestyle: A late start to the day, afternoon siestas and more bread and pork products than one knows what to do with.

MORE AT crUWSible.com.au

TRAVEL

exchange to canada

I invite you to travel with me to Morocco, to the northern outskirts of the desert where burnt orange landscape meets the borders of Algeria. This is a place of wonder, where nomads survive with only the clothes on their back, water from a desert well, and the guidance of their instincts. Let go of everything you know to find yourself amidst the wonders of the desert. Welcome to the Sahara.

“You should bring your passports into the Sahara desert”, our scrawny tour guide suggests, with a smile in his eyes. “We may be in Morocco but the sand dunes of the Sahara will shift overnight and we will wake up in Algeria” Mama Africa beats lively tunes inside the tour van and all of us bop in our seats, the hot breeze blowing on our faces, our shirts billowing in the breeze from the open windows.

Flashes of orange, red, green, brown, grey, flitter by my eyes, and vast rocky mountains rise above a narrow alley. Wide oak trees sip from the still bed of water that lies beneath. I blink. I’m sure I’ve seen paradise.

It’s at Mezrouga that our mini bus comes to a rattling halt, a hotel a short distance away from our camp for the night. It is here at the foot of Erg Chebbi dunes that we dump our luggage bags, don head scarves and have our backpacks tied onto our mode of transportation; camel. Bags have been prepacked with only the necessary amenities; warm clothes for the evening, toilet paper, sunscreen and soothing balm in case of any bites. I grow jittery with excitement and nervousness with each passing minute, my hands damp with sweat, and my voice tongue-tied at the thought of venturing somewhere I’d never dreamed I’d be. With 12 companions by my side, including mother and sister, our Intrepid tour group has become our family in this unfamiliar landscape, and we all jitter about together, waiting for the moment we meet our ride.

FULL STORY AT crUWSible.com.au

By Tonya Symons

In high school, I read a book which took me to the wonders of Canada. Little did I know I would actually get there five years down the road. When I found the UWS exchange program offered study in a country I always hoped to visit, it sounded like the perfect opportunity.

Of course I studied at the university but that was honestly a lower priority. My friends and I often went on journeys into the deep soft snow in the Rockies with squirrels, social grocery shopping in -25C where you pray the bus doesn’t slide off the road, had regular dinner nights at the local pub for incredible butter chicken and live bands, and arranged evenings where we would invite each other over for study breaks and chocolate.

My exchange certainly wasn’t short of fun.

I joined a couple of partner dancing clubs, played a lot of squash, saw student volleyball and basketball matches, made use of the huge gym, sang in concerts with the university choir, went on a trip with the ski club, went to free theatre shows with acting students and even attended some Sex Week lectures.

I got cooked a Danish dinner, indulged in Austrian chocolate, went to a Brazillian party, got skiing lessons from my French friend and experienced a lot of warmth and kindness from the Canadians themselves.

I don’t think my exchange changed me but it did remind me that life is worth living properly.

25

SERVICES DIRECTORY

PODIATRY

SEXUAL HEALTH CLINIC

UniClinic at Campbelltown campus offers podiatry services to the general public at a reduced rate, including nail surgery, foot pressure analysis, diabetes assessment, orthoses, vascular/neurological/biomechanical/gait assessments, and muscle rehabilitation. For students most of the services cost just $10.

Ever have unprotected sex? Get tested, it’s easy.

Many Sexually Transmitted Infections have no obvious symptoms. Sexual Health Clinics at Nepean Hospital in Kingswood and Blue Mountains Hospital in Katoomba offer FREE confidential testing and treatment. The Nepean Hospital Clinic also offers the ‘Men Out West’ Clinic with HIV testing in 10minutes. No Medicare card needed.

Visit nbmlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/Sexual-Health or phone Nepean Sexual Health Clinic 4734 2507 or the Katoomba Sexual Health Clinic 4784 6550.

Phone 4620 3700 and visit uws.edu.au/uniclinic

Study and Life Skills

Family Planning NSW

Mates@UWS

These free workshops include academic writing workshops, library roving, maths, dealing with exam stress, mastering your memory, time management, planning, getting motivated, strategies for stress-free presentations.

Email mesh@uws.edu.au for maths workshops, hall@uws.edu.au for academic literacy workshops and counselling@uws.edu.au for life skills workshops

Reproductive and sexual health experts on contraception, pregnancy options, STIs, sexuality and sexual function, menstruation, menopause, common gynaecological and vaginal problems, cervical screening, breast awareness and men’s health. Clinics in Ashfield, Fairfield, Penrith targeted to marginalised communities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, refugees, people with disability, young people and same sex attracted people.

Visit fpnsw.org.au or call 1300 658 886

Did you find starting Uni hard? MATES@UWS is looking for volunteer mentors for Autumn 2014 to help new students settle in and make their first session at UWS a positive one.

Being a ‘Mate’ not only gives you the opportunity to help new students with their transition but allows you to meet other students, connect with UWS staff, receive free goodies and most importantly, have lots of fun along the way.

Visit uws.edu.au/mates

Students’ Rights Advocate

Indigenous Australian Students

GET HEALTHY

Student Representation and Participation offer this free service to help you with study-related issues such as academic and non-academic misconduct, review of grades, special consideration, exclusions and appeals, higher degree research supervision issues, decisions made by uni staff as well as help raising complaints with the university.

Visit uws.edu/advocacy, call 9772 6136 or email advocate@uws.edu.au

Badanami Centre provides support and encouragement for every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student enrolled at the University. Students can drop in to Badanami anytime to study or relax Badanami can put you in touch with a range of services across campuses, from study skills courses, careers advice, counselling and medical assistance all the way through to opportunities to study abroad 1800 032 923 or email badanami@uws.edu.au

Student Welfare Service

PASS: Peer-Assisted Study Sessions

Sometimes you might need assistance from other services, such as a counsellor or a government agency. UWS welfare officers can help you with information and advice about the right services to talk to in relation to accommodation, financial assistance including food vouchers Centrelink support, tax help, textbook vouchers, sexual health, bullying, advocacy on misconduct, review of grades and special consideration and budget meals.

Email welfareservice@uws.edu.au or visit uws. edu.au/askwelfare

In PASS you work with other students to understand the content of your units and develop study strategies to help improve your academic performance. Each PASS group is run by a student facilitator who has studied the unit previously. PASS is free and voluntary.

Regular attendance of PASS will help improve your grades and make study more rewarding.

Visit uws.edu.au/pass

The Disability Service is a team of professionals to assist students with all types of disabilities including chronic illness, mental health conditions and learning disabilities by providing reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments, such as exam provisions, are steps taken to ensure all students have equal access to university. A previous student said: “Every disability is different, but registering with the service made uni much less stressful, especially around exam time or when I became unwell” Visit uws.edu.au/disability, call 9852 5199 or email disability@uws.edu.au

Careers

Chaplaincy

Counselling Service

With CareerHub you may search for jobs, internships, work experience, overseas positions, book in to career expos and access career information and resume advice all in one place.

This free service is available to all UWS students and recent graduates. Register with your current MyUWS Account.

Email careerhub.uws.edu.au 26

The chaplaincy team offers a caring presence to all staff and students at UWS; encouraging spirituality, offering hospitality and creating community.

We do this by embracing our diversity, encouraging conversation and respecting our similarities and differences. Chaplains come from a variety of spiritual traditions.

Email chaplaincy@uws.edu.au

Trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle? The Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service offers free info and health coaching to help achieve your goals in relation to healthy eating, physical activity and lifestyle. It’s a free, confidential phone-based coaching service by health professionals. You can opt to receive information and/or coaching from the Get Healthy Coaching Service.

Visit uws.edu.au/gethealthy

Disability Service

A team of qualified social workers and psychologists to help you with any issues affecting your study. If you’re not sure that university is for you, a counsellor may be able to offer advice and support or help you improve your study skills.

Counselling is free, confidentail and can be carried out as e counselling if preferred.

9852 5199 or email counselling@uws.edu.au

STUDENT LEGAL

EXERCISING YOUR RIGHT TO PROTEST

Everyone has a right to protest and here, solicitor NINA LAU spells out what your rights are and what powers the police have when you next meet them at a demo.

Everyone has a right to protest, however this is subject to legal limits, which you should be aware of. Police have powers in order to carry out their duties. It is important to be aware of these powers in order to exercise your individual rights, without getting into trouble.

• The search must be carried out by an

officer of the same gender as you, • Police can only perform a strip search if they have reasonable grounds to believe it is necessary. In such cases, they must provide you with privacy.

PUBLIC DISORDER Where there is large-scale public disorder or threat, Police have emergency powers to control such situations. This means that the Police can stop and search you, your belongings and your vehicles if you are in the area of the public disorder, even if you have not done anything wrong. These powers include

“MOVE ALONG” DIRECTIONS If you are in a public place, Police can give you directions if they believe on reasonable grounds that you are:

• • • • • •

• •

Roping off certain areas Setting up road blocks Requesting identification Issuing directions Searching people and vehicles Seizing and detaining things like vehi- cles and mobile phones Declaring alcohol-free zones Asking people to move along

SEARCHING PEOPLE AND THEIR PROPERTY Police can search you and your property, if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that you are carrying: • Stolen goods or goods unlawfully obtained • Prohibited drugs • Items used in a serious crime • Knives or weapons.

A search can involve the Police giving you a pat down, asking you to remove your outer clothing, looking into your clothes and belongings, and finally asking you to shake your hair and open your mouth. It may be an offence if you do not comply with the search. Your rights…

• You have a right to ask the police of

ficer their name, their station and the

reason for the search,

• Obstructing another person or ob-

structing traffic • Harassing or intimidating another person • Causing, or likely to cause, fear to

another person • Unlawfully supplying, or intending to

unlawfully supply any prohibited drug • Attempting to obtain prohibited drugs If you are INTOXICATED in a public place, Police can tell you to leave an area for up to 6 hours if they believe that your behaviour may cause injury to someone or be a risk to public safety.

ARREST Police have the power to arrest you in certain situations. In situations such as protests, a police officer may arrest you if; • •

•

You are committing an offence They have reasonable grounds to suspect you committed an offence You are breaching the peace

Police will have to ask you to accompany them to a Police Station if they wish to question you.

You do not have to go to the Police Station if you are not under arrest. How should they arrest you? The Police Officer arresting you should: • •

Tell you that you are under arrest; and Why you are under arrest; and

•

Provide you their name and station

REMEMBER… If the Police Officer does not provide you with those details, do not argue with them. You can always lodge a complaint later on. Resisting arrest can sometimes make things worse and may even result in being charged for resisting arrest or if things get physical, assaulting a Police Officer.

MISUSE OF POWER If you believe that the Police have misused their power, you can make a complaint by: • Going to the Local Police Station and

asking to see the duty officer of the

Local Area Command; • Contacting the Commissioner of Po-

lice; or • Ombudsman.

HOLDING A PROTEST For those wanting to hold a protest in NSW, the NSW Police have a form called “Form 1- Notice of Intention to Hold a Public Assembly”. This form needs to be completed and provided to the Police with notice. Providing this notice can also protect some protesters from being charged or arrested for offences related to the protest.

NOTE: Some of the above information has been extracted from Legal Aid NSW “Police Powers” brochure.

Nina Lau - Solicitor, Student Legal Services Disclaimer: The information is general and should not be relied on as legal advice.

Should you require advice, contact Student Legal Services on 8688 7875 or email studentlegalservices@uws.edu.au UWS Student Legal Service is a joint venture between Macquarie Legal Centre and UWS. Located at UWS Parramatta Community Justice Clinic, Parramatta Local Court, it provides advice to currently enrolled UWS students through SSAF funds.

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crUWSible poets

By Ahmad AL Rady

By Houda Boucetta hit, miss, run, hit again the first a warning, little child how I wish I could hold you shelter, protect and defend you but I can’t.

They defend themselves hit, miss, run, run to where? a coffin of rubble don’t worry child you’re safe now bury, arm and kill you just one missile.

They freed you. hit, miss, run, miss what? what there was before little child this is what you were born to death, loss, we leave you befriend loneliness.

They need you. you unite Them, bind Them, give Them focus you are Their king wear your crimson cape with pride They treat you like a king. little child you are the son of God your brothers forget but He does not.

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the dead things all spoke the same name there are no graves in the ocean just history passport prayers a stack of one way cotton tickets and a live stream the leaves still speak well of you he walks to the woods drags a shovel with his left unearths two-serpentine bones to fashion a smile out of rain; too proud to be gentle it stutters into the barrel wet bullets crave the warmth of flesh he looks up eyelids forfeit brow O' how holy the night can be today we praised the machine hiss that her body became the stanzas in her ventricles the withering stampede of her eyelashes "I grew up too quick" she would say drinks tea after fajr walks the tomato fields at Maghreb she looks outside their bedroom window traces his features on the window sill counts the days to meet again

Basra he picks up his fishing net takes two buckets leaves the third one at home she packs him two loaves of bread a cucumber, half a tomato , milk in a glass bottle he kisses her forehead walks to the river rolls up his pants above the knee water softer than winter it whispers floodlights through the alleyways of his toes slices river with his net birds chirp the lazy ones stare Sam Cooke on the soundtrack he would've been 85 today she asked the sky for answers, all it did was make space at 4am she wakes up walks towards the balcony surrenders the blanket folds of her wrinkles to the sliding glass door she holds it, gently her breath cuddles the glass the moon is too well brought up to stare back he whistles awkwardly she looks beautiful tonight, like a piece of paper is beautiful sincere no lines to read in-between of she let’s go of the night time, cuddles her ribs with her palms, she can feel again she 's a field again

(Y)our path

crUWSible poets

By Julian Enrico Pecora Your path was golden, a pavement lined With royal rubies, sapphires, gems of every kind.

My path beside yours was an empty sight, Not a single colour kissed the plain white.

The rain’s entrance was grand, no attempt to be discreet

Your path was a marvel with an eternal gleam

Small puddles of water hurriedly fashioned at my feet.

Met by the serene air of a nearby stream.

I sauntered on; in life there’s no time to sojourn.

My path was cracked, rugged, my feet ablaze

It is but a cosmic game of chess, with humans the pawns.

But you never noticed, not a passing gaze.

But there are no distinct teams or black and white pieces

Yet when thorns crept at the edges and lunged at my sides

Neither defined boundaries nor clear-cut creases.

You’d just keep on walking, covering your eyes.

And it is you versus the world, an unrelenting foe

You were oblivious, ignorant, but not just of me

A constant battle ‘til the end from embryo.

She was Naïve and stupid and little bit in love.

It was your own downfall which you’d fail to see.

Though many puddles formed, they remained alone,

Her down fall was believing in the goodness of people.

For your path was perfect, and those who walked it, the same

It was a familiar sight; it struck close to home.

But if cracks should appear you’d be the first to exclaim.

I wished they’d merge into a small pool or stream

And fall to your knees, and shed many a tear

They were separate, isolated, stuck as it seemed.

And wave your white flag in a panicked fear.

In an abrupt rage I stamped the ground,

Sometimes your path seemed an arm’s length away

A liquid dance enacted as water spattered around.

But I couldn’t just jump over, no we must stay

But in that instant, as the water majestically flew

True to our track, staunch to our spoor

That missing gap, I think I finally knew

speak like them, sound like them.

Keep on the journey we once adored.

In my wild fury I realised so fast,

That’s how you’ll make it.

That final void, it forever lasts.

she

By Bernadette Rihana

Telling herself that she could rely on others was what helped her sleep at night.

But the truth was far more distressing.

For she was all alone in a world full of consumerist garbage and hoards of people battering her with their own beliefs and ideas.

In a world where it was a crime to encompass a grain of individuality.

Be like them, dress like them, think like them,

But her goal wasn’t to make it.

She couldn’t care less about that.

The wind had picked up now, quite fiercely it raged

When you love someone you must make a fateful leap

She wanted happiness.

Rain would soon follow – just my book’s next page.

Across onto their path, though the ravine looks deep.

She wanted to smile and laugh

I wish you would taste the elements, I wish you’d feel it too

I took a chance, and hurled myself over the abyss

But your path was paradise, skies ever-blue.

I barely managed, caught your path with my fingertips

Maybe she wanted to be a chosen for a change.

We were teenage trains soaring neck-and-neck,

But as I heaved myself up I was taken aback

To be truly seen.

But shouldn’t railroads align and switch and connect?

Your path was like mine, worn, jagged and cracked

You’d once told me you loved me, it was a feeling mutual I’d never thought you’d travelled on a journey so rugged You were lithe and voluptuous, a raw kind of beautiful.

I guess jealousy paints with such curious colours.

Our paths had inched closer – it was but a cruel trap

Where was your path to? I didn’t know or care

For there was always something missing, a final unclosing gap.

But I knew it was warm, and you’d be there.

the sheer emptiness of this world.

For her company to be sought out.

For her presence to be needed.

But that was a want she wasn’t willing to admit to.

And so she still wanders all by herself.

Still holding to this notion of good people.

As long as she holds onto to it she thinks she will be fine.

Though part of her is weary of the truth

I searched it for it frantically, yet I could never quite tell And I feared that this circuit would remain parallel.

and be surrounded by people that made her forget

****

it dares not to tell the rest of her.

For as long as she keeps believing in good people, she will survive 29

revUWS why i prefer writing fanfiction over original fiction It may not be profitable, although sometimes it is, but in the world of fanfiction the audience is ready to read, writes SABRINA ISLAM I accidentally and luckily discovered fanfiction back in 2006. Fanfiction is, as its name indicates, fictional writings by fans. Fanfiction can be based upon television shows, novels, video games, graphic novels, plays, films, and even historical figures and celebrities. The stories can utilise the pre-existing characters, situations, and settings of fictional worlds in a variety of ways. The stories can have a great deal or very little in common with the canon of their chosen fandom (fanatic domain).

Fanfiction is enjoyed for its endless possibilities and serves as a great medium for budding writers to hone their skills. It’s a rather versatile platform for people to build confidence with their writing and to experiment. Not all fanfiction is wonderful though, which is hardly surprising when you consider how easy it is to post online and how many people do so.

Fanfiction writers can explore characters and situations in splendidly creative ways. I love reading alternate universe (AU) fics, and stories with ships that deviate from canon. Canon in fanfiction terminology refers to the creator’s original work. For example: It is canon that Severus Snape killed Professor Dumbledore at the end of Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince, and any story that changes that fact deviates from canon.

Some fanfiction writers have gained notoriety through later publishing their own stories.

Many people are aware that EL James first penned her novel Fifty Shades of Grey as a Twilight fanfic, and that Cassandra Clare first wrote the infamous ‘Draco Trilogy’ of Harry Potter fanfic before going on to write her series The Mortal Instruments. I’m not arguing that fanfiction writing builds the skills needed for writing novels or screenplays, but it doesn’t get in the way of it. I am pro-fanfic.

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Fandoms are brilliant communities for developing ideas and theories. Fanfiction is an irreplaceable way of participating in a fandom.

Many people argue that fanfiction is pointless and that aspiring writers ought to put their efforts towards creating original works.

However, this isn’t why fanfiction writers write fanfiction (try saying that fast, five times).

Worldbuilding and character development is not always a fanfiction writer’s desire. Having the foundation of some elements of a story or situation laid out is a great appeal of fanfiction, providing many opportunities to write and read the stories the fans want to see with the characters and settings they desire.

Fanfiction is supported by many authors – Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and JK Rowling for instance. However, other prominent authors such as Ann Rice (Interview With the Vampire) and George RR Martin (A Song of Fire and Ice) have openly spoken out against fanfiction because they dislike their creations being used by others, and find it harmful to their intellectual property. Incidentally, the writings of Rice and Martin have acquired very strong and large fandoms.

Fanfiction is not a profitable medium, and although that tends to give the form a bad reputation, it is better that way where ethics are concerned. Legal issues with fanfiction deal with copyright infringement when fanfiction writers begin to acquire financial gain from publishing fanfictions. As a derivative medium, fanfiction is not illegal to write or publish.

There is so much that can be moulded out of existing fandoms of novels, films and all the other mediums mentioned in the beginning. In fanfiction Bella Swan can die during childbirth. In fanfiction Joffrey Baratheon never has

a King’s crown touch his head. In fanfiction Rose and the Tenth Doctor aren’t sealed off in parallel worlds. In fanfiction Snape doesn’t have to kill Dumbledore.

With fanfiction something familiar can be adapted into something new and exciting.

Fanfiction saves me the trouble of creating my own context when I don’t need or want it.

movie ticket giveaway: STEP UP ALL IN If you can‘t dance, sorry about that. But you can watch others dance, right?

We have ten double passes to Step Up All In to give away.

Email crUWSible@uws.edu.au from your student email.

This next exciting chapter in Step Up draws stars from previous instalments to glittering Las Vegas, fighting for their dreams on the only battlefield that passes the moral test: The dancefloor.

Step Up All In opens September 11.

FILM REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy

Book Review: City of Heavenly Fire

By Charlotte Tai

By Curtis Mayfield M-H Director James Gunn doesn’t have a large amount of titles on his directorial resume. He does have a couple of cult movies to his name (Slither, Super) but nothing in the blockbuster category.

Marvel Studios have taken a gamble allowing Gunn to direct one of this year’s biggest action movies that doesn’t feature robot trucks or Tony Stark. What Guardians of the Galaxy does have is a talented cast, a tight script and enough action to make George Lucas go back to the drawing board. So it’s safe to say that the gamble has paid off. Lucky for us that means we win too.

The story may be a tad conventional but the characters are not. There’s the good looking, witty leading man (Chris Pratt) who gets thrown into a situation he wasn’t seeking.

Then by coincidence a rag tag team of intergalactic outlaws is formed. There’s alien babe Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and a gun toting raccoon. There is a talking tree with a limited vocabulary named Groot (Vin Diesel) and Drax (Dave Bautista), a beefed up martian with a blood thirst.

Yes the story is essentially one of good versus evil but the funny dialogue, impressive special effects and lack of corniness makes the movie worth watching. Chris Pratt seamlessly fits into the role of Peter Quill, which showcases the actor’s comedic background as well as his eligibility to be a leading man.

Another aspect of the film that should be noted is the undeniably classic soundtrack of 70s music and how it manages to fit perfectly with the backdrop of outer space. What’s more dizzying than the special effects themselves is the hundreds of names that appear in credits for the digital effects team.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a bright rose in a pavement made up of reboots, teen novels turned into movies and 3D films that are one-dimensional.

STRENGTHS: Humour (+1) In the midst of drama and angst, Cassandra Clare manages to deftly weave sharp and witty humour, particularly in the dialogue shared between characters.

Foreshadowing The Dark Artifices (+1) There was a good amount of foreshadowing The Dark Artifices, a trilogy that follows the events of The Mortal Instruments.

Simon’s Plot Twist (+1) Heart-wrenching to read, involving sacrifice and memories stripped away by magic.

Sebastian as a Villain (+1) A villain who’s repulsive to the core. I hoped there would be a moment when Sebastian would regret what he’s done. Clary stabs her brother with Heosphoros, burning him with the heavenly fire, his eyes turning from pitch black to green.

Romance (+1) The tone is right for adolescent characters.

The sex scene between Clary and Jace will be a particular favourite for readers who have been smitten by the couple since the beginning.

The Importance of Family (+1) By focusing on characters who are tied to the families central to the narrative, Clare really humanises and grounds a story world that is otherwise fantastical.

The Bittersweet Moments of Death (+1) When a character dies there is a form of resolution tinged with sadness and the hardships of war.

Love is a Choice (+1) The person we choose to be in this world, the choices we make, and how we treat others, is a very human notion that Clare taps into.

WEAKNESSES: Isabelle Didn’t Become a Vampire (-1) It would’ve worked.

More Fight Scenes With The Heavenly Fire (-1) I would’ve loved to read moments where Clary effortlessly swings the sword and all the fire comes out, multiple times, rather than just using it at the very end.

8/10 - a satisfying conclusion for fans

revUWS BOOK REVIEW: James Franco’s Palo Alto

By Raelyn Junior Dela Rosa

Pretty-boy actor James Franco releases his first literary piece with a compilation of short stories in Palo Alto. We follow a handful of delinquent teenagers through their journey in finding their place within their social groups and in their lives. Crammed with underage drinking, driving under the influence, sex, drugs and all the profanity you can fit into a teenager’s vocabulary, Franco unveils his modern take on the teenager. With the elements of a standard teenage-angst narrative, it lacked in depth, which in turn just left me with mixed feelings and a very nasty after taste.

Stupidity seems to be a constantly woven theme in this novel, good old teenage stupidity. Is this how Franco perceives the modern day teenager or is he presenting some elements of past experiences? This lack of empathy for most (if not all) of the characters created a repetitive and unpleasant read in a handful of sections. The portrayal of female and male characters in the novel is separated with males being disgusting sex-crazed pigs and females seen as almost very submissive.

I think Franco is commenting on the expectations within the social life of teens, where guys are expected to have a sexual desire for women to be deemed masculine and females to give in. In the topic of gender, I felt that although the female characters in the novel still retained that trait of stupidity, I did feel like the female chapters were more enjoyable than the males. Palo Alto is not a purposeless novel, but the relentless portrayal of forgettable apathetic teenagers became very old, very quickly.

Franco is no Sir Oscar Wilde or Mary Shelley, but he holds ground and proudly shakes his fist to the literary world in his debut novel.

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SPORTING SUPERSTITION players throw science to the wind and get spooky Lucky sox, lucky gum and rubbing that bald guy’s head. Welcome to weird and wacky world of superstitious sports stars, a world where grown men bring their orange monkey to the Olympics. By ADAM GREEN. The world of sports is riddled with superstitions, some of which are so peculiar that they stretch one’s imagination.

The reason behind superstition in sport is that athletes always feel that they’re most comfortable when they have a sense of control over the outcome. However, sometimes situations are out of one’s hands and this gives birth to superstition. In today’s sporting world margins are so fine that the mental strength that a superstition provides can be the difference in whether an athlete makes it to the top or is left to live with the thought of what may have been.

One of the most common superstitions in baseball is to never mention to the pitcher that they are in the process of completing a “Perfect Game”. Another notorious superstition in baseball is that if you are not a pitcher, you do not touch the mound. Another common superstition that some pitchers have is that they will never wash their hats.

Probably the most famous superstition of baseball is that when you are entering the field of play, you must never step on the foul line. Some players fear this so much, such as Turk Wendell, who would perform a running jump in order to avoid any contact with the foul line.

Basketball is also no stranger to some unusual superstitions. Michael Jordan, considered

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by many as the greatest player of all time, was all for superstition. Each game he played in the NBA, he would wear his North Carolina shorts from his college days underneath his game shorts. This superstition became so well known that it even featured in the movie “Space Jam” where Michael Jordan performed a leading role.

“These superstitions allow athletes to prepare for a world of extreme pressure, where every little bit helps”

NCAA coach Jerry Tarkanian has become infamous for sucking on damp towels during games.

It is not just predominantly American sports that are stricken with strange superstitions.

Tiger Woods, for example, will always wear a red top on his final round of a tournament. He does so as his mother told him to do so when he was younger. She believed that this would benefit Woods as the color red best matches with Woods star sign of Capricorn. Soccer

also contains some unusual superstitious rituals. In the soccer World Cup of France 98’, Laurent Blanc of the French national team would kiss the bald head of his goalkeeper, Fabian Barthez, before each game.

In Germany 06’ the Ecuadorian national team adopted an even more bizarre practice. A witch doctor travelled with the team to Germany and visited each of the twelve stadia that were to be used for the World Cup. Even the upcoming Olympic stars have there own quirks, with young British Thomas Daley who always brings his orange monkey toy to every event he attends.

Serena William always brings her shower sandals onto the court, ties her shoelaces in a certain way and bounces the ball five times before taking to the court. Bjorn Borg decided to adopt the beard superstition and decided not to shave during the Wimbledon Tennis Grand Slam until he was eliminated.

The weird and wacky world of sporting superstitions is one that can be laughed from a spectator’s perspective. This is understandable as some of the superstitions, as shown above, can be considered bizarre at the best of times. Nonetheless, these superstitions allow athletes to prepare for a world of extreme pressure, where every little bit helps.

vlogger Julia Berry

are games getting worse or are we getting cynical ?

By Christie Williamson

The 90s was the dream decade for video games. The industry boomed, bringing in scores of new players. The economic uncertainty of the early 80s was all but forgotten.

Now, 14 years into the technologically advanced 21st century, gaming should have reached its absolute pinnacle. Games look better than ever and the consoles are faster and more powerful than a child in the 1990s could ever have dreamed. Some would argue that this does not make them better. In recent years, the gaming industry has faced criticism that only seems to grow. “Video games aren’t as good as they used to be!” The cry has been taken up by veteran gamers everywhere, mourning the loss of originality and creativity in the games of their childhoods.

Is this criticism fair? Some think yes. Jim Sterling, a popular YouTuber who has his own series dedicated to discussing and criticizing issues within the gaming industry, posted a video called “An Industry of Pitiful Cowards” and blamed video game companies for the recent lack of creativity in gaming. “Video game companies tricked themselves into seeing monsters that weren’t there,” he says in the video. In a desire to appeal to a wider audience, the industry started to remove and change parts of games that didn’t need to be altered.

He’s not alone in his thinking. Julia Berry, a video game enthusiast and budding vlogger who uses the website Twitch to broadcast her gaming, has similar ideas regarding the apparent failings of the video game industry.

“I think that game developers invest too much time into graphics and visual appeal, and less time coming up with a realistic, de-

cent and understandable storyline,” she says.

However, Julia is more optimistic when it comes to the future of gaming than Sterling, despite her doubts about the quality of games.

And with the rising popularity of “retro” and old-style platforming games, she has high hopes that the gaming industry can right itself. “I think that trying to get people back into retro games is a great idea,” she says.

“Everybody wants the latest and greatest, always having to have the best technology for gaming. I think it’s great that there are still game developers out there creating retro-style games to get people back into it.”

Not everyone shares the opinion that video games have gotten worse. The gaming blog “The Psychology of Games” posted a blog entry on the relationship between gaming and nostalgia, declaring that the games people remember were rarely as good as they thought.

“Feeling down in the dumps or displeasure over current circumstances is likely to prompt people to reminisce about some uplifting experience in the past,” the blog states. “This is despite the honest fact that today we’d rather chew our own faces off than use pencil and graph paper to find our way around a dungeon or type IP addresses into a command line to find a multiplayer match.”

So have games really gotten worse? The gaming community is divided. Technologically, video games today are immensely superior to 20 years ago. Maybe gaming companies are producing low quality games, or maybe adult gamers just don’t have the time and energy to invest themselves into games the way they did as children.

GAME PLAY FANS DEmand MORE THAN GRAPHICS

By Michael Smith The Role Playing Game genre has been around for many years. In 1997 Japanese RPGs began crossing into the English-speaking world, namely with Final Fantasy VII, often cited as one of the best RPGs overall. In a genre where customizable characters and freedom were common, Final Fantasy VII was the first taste of something different. It evolves into an epic tale of eight warriors fighting to prevent the destruction of the world at the hands of the Black Materia.

The term Development Hell refers to games that remain in development but never advance to the production stage, leaving fans to wonder if the game will ever be released. Final Fantasy VII offered the English speaking world a deep and emotional story that hadn’t been seen before.

Possibly the most iconic scene of the game is the death of the main heroine Aerith, set to be the most important character of the game and yet killed off in the first third of the story.

This moment is still listed in many polls of the most emotional moments in video game history, showing the influence this title has had on gamers everywhere.

To prove this wasn’t a one-off, within five years the game was followed up with equally ground-breaking and epic stories, in Final Fantasies VIII, IX and X. The Final Fantasy series is one of the staples of the genre even to this day.

However, there are fears that the legacy is not being properly upheld.

By the time Final Fantasy X was released, creator company Squaresoft (Now Square Enix) had begun changing their release strategy. While all Final Fantasy games were unrelated to each other before this stage, direct sequels were being developed for the subsequent titles, continuing the stories of these characters we had grown to love over the course of their often 50+ hour stories. While this wasn’t a choice accepted by all fans, the games certainly held their own charming personality despite often lacking the serious tone of the original games.

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LOVE GURU JESSE NEO Hey Jesse Neo! I have been carrying two voices around in my head for a while now. One voice shouts exciting but bad stuff to me and looks like a crazy teenage penguin from Japan. The other voice drones on with boring, sensible stuff and looks annoying like Rove McManus. I know I should listen to Rove but the penguin is cuter and gets me dates. Am I listening to all the wrong people? Is there a third option because lately I can hear a purple one-eyed whale whispering weird limericks to me?

The reason you have five senses is because having one is unreliable. You hear the sound it’s safe to cross the road, but a drunken driver has just sped through the lights, headed

SPRING INTO FASHION OF THE stars As spring arrives, let's use astrology to see what fashion style best suits us this season. Besides your normal star sign, make sure to check your rising sign Aries: You were born a fashion icon and your closet is full. You know exactly what is trending and you're not shy about what you wear.

Black and red most suit your fiery nature.

Perhaps you can use these colours for your makeup too.

Taurus: Brands are not good enough. Your clothes also need to be high quality and you are not scared to spend your hard-earned money on them because you will keep them forever. You look great with fancy necklaces and scarves. Earthy colours like brown and green suit you well.

Gemini: You are fun and creative when it comes to dressing up. Your style changes all the time. You just can't say no to denim or tank tops even though you are a bit conscious about spending money. Bracelets and other arm accessories look great on you.

your way. Despite the comforting sound, your eyes are telling you otherwise.

Do you see yourself in a better situation if you followed the penguin? The reason you are hearing a riddling third voice can only mean you have already forgotten to use your other senses. Take in the time to connect with and feel your past, present and future self.

Dear Love Guru The TV remote control has become a point of friction in my house. Sure, TV brings us all together, but only when I am allowed to watch Midsomer Murders and Le Clubz on TVS. If I don’t get my way, sometimes I poison my friend’s food. Should I speak up about my preferences or continue to slowly murder my flatmate?

Cancer: What you wear depends on your mood. One day you may go Zen, another day you may be a kaleidoscope of colours. Aim to blend different pastel colours to create a watery look. You may also try to get wavy beach hair. Avoid belts.

Leo: Attention is what you seek so your clothes should be well-cut and noticeable.

Wearing garments with vibrant colours made of silk suits you perfectly. For hair, many Leos go for curly hair, so get a body perm if you don’t have it.

Virgo: You are sensible with your clothing with a touch of sweetness. This does not mean you won’t wear revealing clothes. Colours of purity like white and pink should be what you seek, as well as delicate embroidery. Avoid huge pieces of jewellery.

Libra: You are conscious about beauty and know exactly how to match accessories with any clothing, even a dress code. In fact, you should try sewing designs on them too. Aim for outfits rather than separate pieces. Your colours are pastel pink, blue, black and grey.

Scorpio: You are the sexiest of all the signs and leopard prints can totally work for you.

Tight shirts and jeans are perfect for men while woman look great in crepe or strapless

Instead of turning TV time into a bone of contention, work with your flatmate towards something beneficial. Sharing a place can be troublesome. How long should one stay in the bathroom? Who should take out the trash?

Because you both view TV with such longing, why not use it as a reward for the person who does the thing neither of you wants to do? This way, being the one to clean the toilet won’t be as sad if you get the chance to control the remote.

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dresses. Try to avoid anything too loose.

Sagittarius: You may not be totally into fashion so create your own styles even though it may be a total failure. Be experimental. On the upside you are able to wear traditional fashion with a modern twist. Beige and yellow work best for you.

Capricorn: Unless you have to be in the spotlight, your clothing is casual and you don’t give much effort to improving your physical appearance. You look fine with the good old jeans and T-shirt, but your allure comes when you are in a devilish black suit or classical dress. Vegetable colours like green and red look great on you.

Aquarius: What you wear holds shock value and you want to be known for your own style.

Even boots and a bikini can look hot on you.

You should mix designs from different cultures. The designs should be geometric and dark.

Pisces: Your clothes are simple because it shows your sensitivity. You don’t care much about the latest trends and may find your old denim the most faithful garment to wear. Suitable colours include turquoise, blue or green.

You may want to wear a scarf or handbag for the focal point.

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