Empire Times 46.8 by FUSA Association

ire Emtip mes

Fear & Hope ISSUE 8 // VOLUME 46

Y E AR S EDITORS

CONTRIBUTORS

JOIN THE TEAM

Alicia Wood James Watson Kienan McKay

Amy Bennett Anele Lane Audrey J Menz Bec Manser Carmen Giffen Chris Battam Emily Bridges Evie Cazzolato Hannah Stampke Hollie Gardner James Watson Johar Tesfaye Madeline Hand Michelle Wakim Petra Kotkova Shevaun Rutherford Tommy Ablett

Empire Times is always looking for contributors. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a writer, photographer, or illustrator, send us an email or visit our website for details.

DESIGN Kienan McKay SUB-EDITORS Angelina Taylor Carmen Giffen Courtney Lawrence Elena Koulianos Evie Cazzolato Georgina Banfield Madalyn Short Michelle Wakim Peter Moreman Rebekah Manser Shevaun Rutherford

COVER ART Darcy Holmes

VISUAL ARTISTS Darcy Holmes // "Once and for All" (12) Katara Wolfe // "The Lonely Robot" (17) "The Non-Vegan Guilt" (38-39) Lawson Dodd // "Frankenstein" (40) Nguyen Pham // "Frightful News" (20) Sheydin Dew // "Iridaceae" (28) Tom Murton // "Bricks" (6)

ART SPREAD Penny Parker "Living My Best Life (Online)" MASTHEAD & LOGO Ethan Brown PRINTERS Newstyle Print SPECIAL THANKS Jess Nicole PHOTOGRAPHY Tommy Ablett (3)

fb.com/empiretimesmag @empire.times www.empiretimesmagazine.com empiretimes@flinders.edu.au

EMPIRE TIMES is a publication of Flinders University Student Association (FUSA). The opinons expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editors, Flinders University or FUSA. Reasonable care is taken to ensure that EMPIRE TIMES articles and other information are up-todate and as accurate as possible, as of the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by EMPIRE TIMES for any errors or omissions contained herein. EMPIRE TIMES would like to acknowledge the Kaurna people who are the traditonal custodians of the land Flinders University is situated on, and that their land was never ceded, but stolen. We would like to pay our respects to the elders of the Kaurna nation and extend that respect to other Aboriginal peoples, past, present, and future.

CONTENTS 20

RESTRUCTURE: A REVIEW How has our education changed?

FEARS OF AN ARTS STUDENT Will we ever find a job?

A GLOBAL WARNING

It's time to buy a snorkel

SPEAKING OF MENTAL HEALTH

Talking is part of the solution

AUTOMATION

How will a robot ruin your degree?

HOPEFUL REALITY

The world can be both bad, and getting better

22 28

HECS DEBT Are we fucked?

IRIS FIELDS

A short story on the power of hope

TEN PHOBIAS Discover a new fear, today!

THE OTHER SIDE

Mental health from a new point of view

THE NON-VEGAN

Should we feel guilty?

LOVE OF FEAR Why do we enjoy horror?

OVERCOMING FEAR

Eventually we must face them

EDITORIAL FEAR & CREATIVE

HOPE

ears come and go, and as we prepare to farewell this one, we wonder how it all went by so quickly. At the very beginning of our editorship, we sat down and discussed what themes we were going to use for each issue, and decided that ‘Fear and Hope’ would be our last. Because this is the sickening, exciting duality that many of us will be feeling right about now. For students who will be studying again next year, there’s the fear that we’ll forget everything we’ve learned as we sink into the pleasure of holidays, and the hope that 2020 will be another great year at Flinders.

For graduating students there’s a fear for the future, and a hope that our hard work and education pays off. All three editors, and many of our writers, artists, and sub editors, will be leaving Flinders this year. It’s a scary thing, this moving-on business. Your final class, exam, or assignment brings with it relief, and a brand-new hole in your life that’s waiting to be filled with work and career. You say goodbye to friends you saw several times a week, but will soon struggle to find the time and effort to see. You’ll gladly farewell the outrageous amount of stairs this university has, but miss the abundance of food options available on campus. You will be glad to say goodbye, but with every farewell, there’s a feeling of loss too. Our final note to our readers is this – embrace the fear and embrace the hope, because there’s no fighting it. We want to thank all of our writers, sub editors, artists, and readers for making this magazine as vibrant and fantastic as it is. This issue is filled with enough fear and hope to make you dizzy, so join us on one last journey, and enjoy!

Kienana, mes J Editors Alicia, Empire Times, 2019

on campus

ello friends!

Here we are, at the last issue of Empire Times for 2019, and my last statement as your President. Huge, right? Firstly, a PSA – as we all head into the home stretch of the year, FUSA (and lots of other parts of the uni) will be spreading all kinds of goodness to help get you through. Keep an eye out on our Facebook for a list of everywhere to find free food during SWOTVAC, all the info you need before heading into exams, and some top notch study tips to keep you on your A-game as you smash out your last assignments and cram for exams. It’s been a massive year for FUSA, for Student Council, and probably for you as well. I don’t want to get sappy about it but heck... When I started this gig I was full of hope and full of fear. I had a lot of feelings, actually, and I wrote about most of them in Empire Times. It helped me find more hope than fear, and I hope it did for you too. So I’m going to keep the last one short. Use the extra space on this page to write about your own hopes and fears, and then get out there and smash it. Stay fab,

Katt Hatzi Student Council President

student council

STUDENT PRESIDENT Josh Rayner

MATURE AGE STUDENTS OFFICER Clara Santilli

GENERAL SECRETARY Sean Henschke

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OFFICER Ché Cielens

EDUCATION OFFICER Summer Till

DISABILITIES OFFICER Anu Francis

WELFARE OFFICER Nathan Cheetham

GENERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS Janelle Chaptini Benika Bhoola Kane Abraham Lana Tikhomirov James Glynn-Roe Victor Ephraims Duruji

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OFFICER Aidan Cornelius-Bell INDIGENOUS STUDENTS OFFICER Molly Turnbull INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OFFICER Hoang Minh Son Le WOMEN’S OFFICER Jesy Murphy QUEER OFFICER Imogen Deller-Evans ENVIRONMENT OFFICER Amy Tschirn

EMPIRE TIMES EDITOR TEAM Bec Manser Carmen Giffen Amy Bennett NUS CONFERENCE DELEGATES Grace Hensel Isaac Beckmann Harvey Menadue Artin Arjomandi Josh Rayner Jesse Stevens

hat value do we place on our education? One year ago, a widespread academic restructure took place across Flinders University, changing the way classes are taught and research is conducted. But many students think that this change is negative. Why? One year on I would like to examine what took place in the restructure and explore how this has impacted our institution.

teaching specialists, and research academics – effectively separating the roles of those staff to focus on either teaching or research, not both. About 20 per cent of staff are now in such positions – and this is where the main controversy comes from. Staff who chose not to partake in the restructure and re-apply for these positions were offered voluntary redundancy packages.

WHAT WAS THE ACADEMIC RESTRUCTURE? Changing the structure of Flinders University has been a long process. While it has come to the forefront of the student zeitgeist in the past eighteen months, it’s actually been occurring in different phases for several years now. Looking at the University’s 2025 agenda (released in 2016) such a restructure is the result of long-term planning, and is a slow moving beast when compared to the timeframe most students will spend at Flinders. The fact that the agenda and strategic plan is currently focused on a goal for 2025, six years from now, shows that there is a much bigger game plan being executed than most students will be able to appreciate in their 3-5 years of study. However, that does not mean that the immediate impacts of the restructure can be overlooked.

WHY WAS IT IMPLEMENTED? Again, asking different people will get you a different answer to this question. It is a widely held belief amongst many students that this restructure was an exercise in cost cutting; that more work is being given to fewer staff members and classes are being overcrowded as an attempt to curb spending. While the difference in pay between someone like Vice-Chancellor Colin Stirling and your average student can certainly cause one to question the University’s priorities, the University maintains that this restructure is not about turning the campus into a corporate machine. Indeed, the fact that the University has been hiring new staff since the beginning of this year suggests that it is not about saving money but changing the way education and research at Flinders will be implemented. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students) Clare Pollock confirmed that the University is still hiring staff, stating that ‘We want to find the best staff for our students and sometimes in some specialised areas this can take a little while longer so there are still some positions yet to fill.’ While Professor Pollock did acknowledge here was pushback from some staff and students, she still maintained that the academic restructure was a good decision, explaining that ‘The new structure allowed us to put more

Following a restructuring of the academic colleges in 2017/2018, in which six new colleges were formed comprising of ‘Business, Government, and Law’, ‘Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences’, ‘Nursing and Health Sciences’, ‘Education, Psychology, and Social Work’, ‘Medicine and Public Health’, and ‘Science and Engineering’, the University then moved onto restructuring staff roles within those colleges. This included appointing additional

professional staff in Colleges to support the students and academics, as well as create a more even playing field for students and academics. Previously the course you chose to study would have influenced how you were treated as students; the rules were different in each area of the University and that was just not fair. ’ WHY WERE PEOPLE CONCERNED? When asked about the restructure, FUSA Student Council’s Education Officer Jesse Stevens stated that ‘Students should be highly suspicious of proposals that: appear rushed, appear secretive, occur at times when students are busy with final assessment and/or are away on break and are therefore not on campus and infrequently checking emails, and when there is no genuine attempt to explain to students why the changes are necessary and how they will improve education.’ Ultimately, one of the biggest problems with the restructure was the overall confusion regarding it. This is an ongoing issue, with many students still unclear about what exactly happened and how it affected them. Amongst staff there seems to have been a culture of fear and toxicity, with several teachers and academic staff feeling like they were pitted against each other and competing for their jobs. As a student, I’ve personally seen tutors talk to my classes about their disillusion with the University. I’ve seen lecturers ask for us to give them positive reviews because they’re scared for their jobs. This uncertain and fearful atmosphere was transferred to a student body who frankly had no idea what was going on. Because these changes involved staff rather than students, very little consultation was offered to the student voice. There is a feeling that the FUSA Student Council was not adequately consulted nor a part of the process. According to Education Officer Jesse Stevens, ‘Student Council were largely kept in the dark, often finding out information second-hand. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students) assured me that Student Council was consulted in the process. I was on Student Council last year and was not consulted, nor was any other member of 2018 Student Council who I have asked, including the Education Officer.

When I asked the DVC(S) to provide examples of when Student Council was consulted, I received a response to the email, but no specific examples of consultation were included.’ The University says consultations occurred at College level because that was more relevant. Emails were sent out from College heads to their respective students inviting feedback and discussion. Unfortunately, many students have said that they remained largely unaware and therefore unresponsive to these emails. There was no allof-university student forum until early this year - after the restructure had taken place; some presumed as a reaction to negative attention. Student engagement should be at the heart of the University’s agenda, and therefore each action taken should reflect this consideration for the student body. While these changes may have been justifiable or necessary from the perspective of the Chancellor and University Board, how can they expect students to accept changes they haven’t been consulted on? WHAT IMPACT HAS THE RESTRUCTURE HAD? The restructure is still an ongoing process, and therefore its impact is also ongoing and subject to change. Many current students will not see the proper end to the academic restructure. Naturally, the changes have had different effects on such a large and diverse place as Flinders University. Women’s Studies, for example, has lost valuable and experienced staff members whose knowledge and expertise many feel can’t be replaced (check out our second edition earlier this year to read about it). Further down the hill there is discontent amongst medical students at the larger emphasis on self-directed learning and the use of tutors in clinical skills labs. Those I’ve spoken with say that this has diluted the quality of education they’re receiving. However, the College says its flipped classroom model sees clinicians providing interactive and team-based learning, and it has listened to students and introduced instructional lecture programs in fourth year.

In the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS, or ‘ASS’ to anyone walking past the large neon sign into the humanities courtyard) fewer topics are being offered than previous years. Students say there are much larger class sizes and fewer tutorials or lectures, instead opting for more ‘seminars’ that combine the classes and half the staff required. Perhaps the most pain has been felt by post-graduate students. Many PhD candidates and honours students have lost supervisors, who have either taken redundancy or different roles. As a result, several people in the middle of PhDs have had to change supervisors and disrupt their research. This in turn has made things harder for the remaining supervisors, who now have much larger workloads then before the restructure. While future PhD candidates will not have the same issue of losing supervisors university-wide, those who have grown up and become embedded in the old system have lost valuable relationships and mentors. WHERE TO NOW? The academic restructure has shown a startling disconnect between how the University as an organisation sees events, and how students see them. When exploring this issue, I’ve heard very polarising opinions and reactions to the restructure, and this largely stems from a lack of meaningful student engagement. While there were students protesting at University board meetings earlier this year, they were a minority. The rest of the student body, while seemingly unhappy about the restructure, remained apathetic and disinterested in what was happening to their courses. By the same token, the University should have had more opportunities for student opinions to be raised and listened to. Agendas and reports from the Vice-Chancellor and University Board need to be made more accessible. For example, having them readily available in more obvious places – such as the FUSA website – would go a long way to helping students understand what is occurring around them. While consultation was done via emails and collegebased meetings, larger and broad ‘town hall’ style meetings

may have sated the feeling of inadequate consultation for the student body. If the restructure had been done more transparently, with better student consultation and a more accessible agenda, then far fewer people would feel indignant at the changes that have occurred. While the students and staff who protested earlier this year were justified in their activism, it was too late. The restructure was a done deal. Trying to change it was only going to be a futile attempt, as would opposing it now. There is always going to be push-back to changes such as this, and regardless how things may or should have been done someone would find a way to complain. What everyone needs to do now is learn from this and see the bigger picture. What we need to do now is stop allowing ourselves as a student body to be ignorant, and instead be a part of the ongoing changes. Students should be vocal about what direction we want to see the University take and engage in the events happening around us. The University is bringing in new roles in the colleges for student representation and engagement, and I strongly encourage you to be a part of this. The 2025 agenda states a committed focus on student engagement, stating that they aim to ‘Engage students as partners in the co-creation of a learning experience that inspires achievement”. This needs to be the biggest priority for the University before they continue with any major changes because right now there is uncertainty and confusion amongst students; and the general feeling that they have been cheated out of something valuable and useful. I strongly encourage students, academics, and university staff who have been affected by the restructure to reply and share your stories at empiretimes@flinders.edu.au Check out our website for links to the 2025 Agenda, Annual Vice-Chancellors reports, a Q&A with Deputy Vice Chancellor (Students) Clare Pollock, and info on new opportunities for student engagement.

here’s nothing I dread more than having to answer the (usually well-intended) question of: ‘Well, what’re you going to do after you graduate University?’ On the surface, it seems like an easy question. Growing up with a passion and a talent for the arts meant that from a young age I had the privilege of knowing what my ideal career would look like. At open days and career weeks throughout high school, I made a beeline for what I’ve always known, in my heart, I’ll end up doing. When someone asks what I want to do, the answer’s always been clear: for me, writing books has always been the dream. But that’s just it. It’s a dream. I know what I want to do. But what am I going to do? Whether or not I get published is one thing – whether I’m able to earn enough to pay rent is another. Studying an arts degree means learning skills that you likely won’t ever be able to live off entirely. You know that from a young age, too. When I was 15, I googled how much royalties paid. I discovered how little it was, and I also discovered that many authors didn’t end up earning royalties at all. While my peers considered double degrees, I considered the looming possibility of a double career. Now fast forward a bit. I went to Flinders Open Day and saw BCA darling Nick Prescott talk about his passion for the degree, so I took a chance on a dream. I applied for and got accepted into the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing), and in my second year I was selected as a student representative for my degree at the same Open Day I visited a few years before. The one question everyone asked me is the one I hate. ‘How does this degree help you get a job?’ I tried different answers: this degree is about refining skills, to give you a competitive edge. It’s about

networking. It’s about learning the theory that allows you to create beautiful art in real-world post-grad practice. I gave budding creatives the same answers I tell people at parties, or my parents, or even myself when I have my doubts. Surely, this degree will give me some sort of distinct advantage, with my graduation certificate as my chance card telling me to pass ‘GO’ and collect a living wage? My answers to that question weren’t lies, but they weren’t what I really wanted to say. The real answer is this: being a creative means having backup plans to pay the rent if you don’t find the Wonka golden ticket of a NYT Bestselling first novel. I didn’t go into this degree because I’m hoping it gives me a better shot at financial security; I know it likely won’t. More than anything, studying the arts has allowed me to prove that this is what I want to do. It’s given me a drive, a purpose, and has shown me that my art is worth the risk. In first year, Nick showed us Neil Gaiman’s ‘Make Good Art’ speech. In it, Gaiman says: ‘You have the ability to make art. And for me, and for so many of the people I have known, that’s been a lifesaver. It gets you through good times and it gets you through the other ones.’ When people ask what I’m going to do after University, I say I might work at Kmart. Perhaps it’s me being afraid that if I really say what I want to do, it won’t ever happen, but I love how horrified certain family members look when I say it. What gives me hope is that, however my ‘career’ ends up looking, I know I’ll make some damn good art along the way.

ur aim for the magazine next year is to make it more accessible, helpful, and fun. Empire Times is designed to be read by people who attend university, and we want to connect with and improve that full student experience available here at Flinders. We aim to work on increasing the physical visibility and presence of the magazine through moving the stalls and creating posters to increase awareness of the magazines’ existence, that it’s free, and that it’s designed for students. We also want to focus on ensuring that it’s not only the Bedford Park campus that has easily available copies; we want to broaden the locations of the stalls in order to make the magazine available to as many Flinders students on as many different campuses as possible. We also believe encouraging students to contribute is just as essential. Fostering a creative community is integral in showcasing the combined skills and effort of those at Flinders. Making suggestion boxes more publicly accessible is one part of this and creating posters to advertise photography, art, and writing contributions is another, with the intent of creating student interest from across a range of colleges, degrees, and disciplines. Maintaining existing values and themes, while also creating new segments, is also something that we plan on implementing into the magazine next year. For example, a recipe page, household living tips, or making the student body more aware of existing parts, such as the FUSA calendar, events, and pet section – as everyone needs to know when and where to find those pancake stalls and a good dose of cute pets – would be potentially beneficial additions to Empire Times that would enrich student lives.

PERSONAL BIOS Hello, Bec here! I’m super keen to be one of your Empire Times editors next year! I come from around Mount Gambier where I grew up a quick walk away from a beach and half an hour away from any store. I’m currently finishing up my second year at Flinders, studying the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing), and have found an amazing group of people whose crazy matches mine. My life long passions are visual art and reading YA novels. Hi! I’m Carmen, I’m the token city girl out of the three of us and grew up by the beach on the opposite side of town. I’m studying Creative Writing with Amy and Bec and having them in my topics makes attending my lectures worth the commute. The dream, of course, is a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees, but if I can’t manage that I’ll settle for a half-decent rental and enough spare time and money to practice whatever art I’m able to. Howdy, I’m Amy! I grew up in the country town of Renmark with my parents, three siblings, and a revolving door of all different kinds of pets. After high school I had two gap years where I lived up to the millennial cliché of “finding myself” before deciding I actually wanted to go to uni. Now I’m halfway through my BCA in Creative Writing and kinda loving city livin’ for all its commodities and the friends I’ve made here. In my spare time I’m a big ol’ nerd who really goes crazy for video games, books or anime. I want to live up to my two lifelong dreams: having my own dog one day or writing a book.

s a society, we have become more knowledgeable about climate change, discussing it at length in the media. In his New Yorker article on climate change, Jonathon Franzen voices his doubts that society will ever be able to come together to combat climate change. Protests are becoming frequent, with students missing school or university to participate, many of them supported by these institutions. But are the world leaders and politicians even listening? World governments have come together for conventions and agreements. According to the Parliament of Australia website, the Kyoto Protocol was established with developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% between 2008 and 2012 to 1990 levels. Australia agreed to a limit of 8% increase in emissions as a result of expected population growth and land use change. The Paris Agreement began in 2016, with the aim to limit the global temperature increase to between 1.5-2C. There were two parts to this agreement, which were to reduce CO2 emissions and to create "flexible market mechanismsâ&#x20AC;? to allow for green energy to become cheaper in the market. However, the Kyoto Protocol is the only legally binding treaty for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and without it, countries arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t held accountable for their emissions.

Impacts of climate change will be experienced differently. According to Oxfam International, the poorest half of the global population are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts, but produce only 10% of total global emissions. This means that those most responsible for increasing greenhouse gas emissions will not only receive the least of the impacts, but be in the best position to recover from those impacts. If individuals and governments feel less threatened, they will be less motivated to act. Climate change is a frightening thing, and it sounds like there’s no saving it sometimes. Is there a sense of helplessness that leads us to resign to our fate? In his 1968 book The Population Bomb, Paul Ehrlich brought attention to overpopulation and its impact. Though it focuses on resource depletion and not overall climate change, the book confronts ideas of a deteriorating planet. Ehrlich developed the concept of the “ecological footprint,” which looks at a country’s biocapacity and assesses whether a country is in ecological deficit or surplus. Environmental concern isn’t a brand-new idea that few have heard of – there is no excuse for ignorance, regardless of your generation. With an ocean of facts engulfing us, it’s hard to believe that there are still climate change sceptics. The evidence is there, in the form of melting glaciers, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and coral bleaching – just to name a few. Iceland’s Okjokull Glacier was its first glacier to melt because of global warming, and in mourning, the glacier was given its own plaque. Pacific Island countries are among the most vulnerable to sea level rise. Climate change is even affecting The Great Barrier Reef. When ocean’s absorb CO2, this causes the water to become more acidic, having negative impacts on coral. If these impacts aren’t observed

firsthand, then it would be harder to believe in climate change – but when educated experts are trying to tell you that there’s a problem, you should probably trust them. It seems that a vast majority believe in climate change, and are willing to take action, as seen by rallies and protests. We have a moral responsibility to take action. Even if the impacts aren’t experienced equally, we all share responsibility. We all share this one planet. Impacts of climate change that were predicted and observed decades earlier are only becoming more frequent and more severe. Individuals, organisations, and governments are all responsible for making a solution. The approach of “business as usual” is not going to save our planet. We must accept the reality of climate change and understand that our way of life must change across the whole globe. Greta Thunberg is one of the newest faces of climate change. As an individual of only 16 years, she is powerful in her message. She believes that striking for climate change outside parliament will make more difference than going to school, and states that we should look for action and hope will follow. Despite her powerful message, backed up by scientists, there are still far too many keyboard warriors that are eager to bully this young woman – they call her the Antichrist, an actress, or a puppet in the comments section of her Facebook posts. Blind belief and hope that the world will be saved will not be enough. People need to change: our attitudes, behaviours, and actions. We need to change so that legislation, government, and businesses do too. Because climate change is here, whether you believe it or not.

t’s 3am and I’m tossing and turning in bed. Sleep evades me whilst anxiety prevails. My mind is once again overwhelmed with worry. ‘Did my friend misinterpret my message? I didn’t mean to sound rude. I should’ve added an emoji. Ugh why did I send it in the first place? Also, why didn’t that girl wave back at me today? I thought we were good. I hope she’s not mad at me. Why did I leave my assignment so late as well? Why did I even pick this degree? I have no future. Will the editors even like this article? I’m such a bad writer – why did I even offer to write again? I don’t want to let them down. Ugh, I hate myself.’

I sigh and take a deep breath. These are feelings I am familiar with, and I know they will not last. I’m hopeful that tomorrow, none of this will matter. The storm will pass and I will be calm again soon. When I was 14 years old, I recall walking myself into the counselor’s office whilst crying uncontrollably and telling him something was wrong with me because I had been sad for no reason for a while. Then I remember when I was 15 and 16, that my science teacher would go out of his way to download documentaries for me and put them on a USB to cheer me up. Then there were those first few years out of high school, when I would isolate myself and avoid socialising with my friends for long periods of time, because my anxiety had become so debilitating. But no matter how scared I was because of how long it had been since I’d seen them, at the end of the day, my friends were still there. They remained as supportive and kind as ever. There were the many times throughout my degree that I got so overwhelmed and anxious that I wanted to drop out. But my topic coordinators would reassure me that everything was okay, that I could have extra time on my assignments if I needed, and that they believed I would finish my degree and live a successful life. I was listening to the radio recently, and they were discussing how the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners had published a survey that two in three GPs stated psychological issues as the number one ailment they had been treating. The radio hosts were discussing this as a problem, and to some degree it is. But on the other hand, how great is it that so many people are now becoming more aware of their own mental health and are proactively seeking help? The number one reason I am as happy and as well as I am now, is because I did the same thing as these people. I started to talk about it with those around me and seek help. To think that others who are struggling just the way I was are overcoming it makes me hopeful and excited.

I also get excited thinking about how much society is collectively working towards reducing the stigma associated with mental health, through initiatives like RUOK? Day, Beyond Blue, Lifeline, University Mental Health Week, Headspace, and many more. The more we talk about it, the more comfortable people will be to reach out and seek help, which is fantastic! Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot more that needs to be done, but the narrative and the conversation around mental health has changed, and is continuing to change, in a positive direction. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self not to be so afraid of my own feelings and wellbeing, that this is a bad time, not a bad life. But despite my personal challenges along the way, I am now in the last semester of my degree. I couldn’t have done it without the support and reassurance of my GP, the counselors at Flinders, my friends, and my family. You have those people around you too – all it takes is a conversation. I am incredibly optimistic and hopeful for not only my future, but also for those of you who may be currently struggling, because things are only going to get better for you. The culture we have around mental health, as well as the services provided to help, are improving and becoming more accessible. The stigma of talking about mental health is finally lifting. If you or someone you know needs help, please reach out: - Flinders Health Counselling and Disability (8201 2118) - Lifeline (13 11 14) - Kids Helpline (1800 551 800) - MensLine Australia (1300 789 978) - Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467) - Beyond Blue (1300 22 46 36) - Headspace (1800 650 890)

umanity seems to constantly be in a state of technological revolution. From fire, to tools, to agriculture, then the Industrial Revolution, and now the phone in your pocket, it seems there has always been some new invention that while initially perceived as terrifying, ultimately improves our lifestyles. But the artificial intelligence revolution is different. In the past, technology has taken over difficult, dangerous, and unwanted jobs while improving the overall living standard for the masses. While all have created uncomfortable times of transition, the current technological revolution threatens to leave the majority with no jobs left to do at all. As of 2018, Australia employed 445,000 transportation workers, roughly 1.8% of the population, according to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee. This position includes taxi drivers, public transport drivers, truck drivers, and deliverymen. All of these positions are at risk with the ever-increasing capability of self-driving vehicles. According to a 2018 report by WHO, car accidents kill over a million people worldwide every year and millions

more are injured. But unlike drivers, self-driving cars donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get fatigued or distracted, and they have perfect reaction times. You might feel uneasy about the idea, but self-driving is already being implemented in cars through emergency features, such as emergency braking. The self-driving cars of today are still far from perfect, but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be perfect â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just better than humans. In 2018 in the US, over 2.4 million people were employed as janitors and cleaners. Their jobs are at risk from already popular household items such as robot vacuum cleaners, robot lawnmowers, robot mops, and newer concepts such as window cleaning robots. Even if robots cannot complete all the tasks of current cleaning positions, or any position, the number of hired humans will dramatically decrease, leaving possibly millions without work. You might have seen one or two of the bright-eyed red robots at Tonsley campus. These are Baxter and Sawyer, two robots designed by Rethink Robotics, founded by Flinders University graduate Professor Rodney Brooks. These two learn by watching humans, and can do whatever

work they can copy. Designed for factory work, they can learn a new skill like bartending within minutes. These two are the closest we currently have to general purpose robots. Computers, like robots of the recent past, were once only efficient in highly specific scenarios. The first computers were essentially glorified calculators, until the generalised home computer and its ever-decreasing price revolutionised its use. If you have seen Baxter, Sawyer, and other revolutionary robots, like those made by Boston Dynamics, it’s easy to see that robots are not the clunky machines of the past. As of this year 923,700 Australians (over 3.6% of the population) are employed in accommodation and food services, over 44,700 of those working in fast food. If you’ve been overseas recently you may have noticed that many other countries have done away with fast food cashiers, much in the same way self-serve checkout has dominated in grocery stores. Customers order their food and pay via large touch screens. You might think the people who work in the kitchen are safe from automation, but I have personally seen the effects of automation in my job at a fast food establishment. In my own workplace we have recently installed a “kitchen management system” which is able to predict what food staff need to cook, how much and when according to years of sales data with impressive accuracy. It’s not the mundanity of my job that is being done by a machine now but the thinking. You might think that because the job you are studying for right now requires thought and ingenuity that you are safe from automation, but machine learning is steadily

encroaching on decision-making jobs. Computers can now beat you at any video or board game you can think of. Machines have beaten the world’s best Chess players for years now, and even the world’s best Go players, which is the world’s most complicated board game.

And even if automation never impacts the creative industry, an economy of artists seems unlikely – already most creative's struggle to find work and pay, and a growing population of them could not realistically be supported.

Already the stock market is almost entirely comprised of AI trading with AI. AI are beginning to be used in lawyer firms to trawl through documents to find correlations and mistakes. AI does most of the flying and landing of our airplanes. If you’ve read a newspaper or magazine article lately, you’ve probably read an article written by an AI. AI is used all the time in major publications such as Bloomberg, Forbes, The Washington Post and The Guardian to write press releases, sports stories and business reports. While their writing sounds dry now, they’re only getting better at it.

Multiple studies1 have predicted around half of all jobs in the US could become automated in the next two decades, leaving roughly 50% of all people unemployed. The Great Depression saw an unemployment rate of just 25%. A machine can’t get tired, or bored, or form biases. They’re the perfect employee, and they don’t even need to get paid. In today’s capital driven society of laissez-faire governance, this spells disaster. If unemployment does get that bad, there wouldn’t be enough people left able to afford the products and services created by AI, leading to economic collapse.

Even medical practitioners are at risk of job loss. Watson is an AI doctor, used in hospitals to guide treatment. While human doctors accidentally misdiagnose patients all the time, Watson won’t forget elements of its patients’ medical history, or how one treatment will affect another, at least after much more honing. Watson has had considerable successes and failures, successfully guiding some treatments and completely missing obvious conclusions in others. But the neural network, like Baxter and Sawyer, is designed to be generalised, and as well as a doctor, is being taught in workplaces how to be a building inspector, teaching assistant, weather forecaster, accountant, marketer, film editor, and even fashion designer.

One possible solution is Universal Basic Income (UBI), a salary given by the government to all of its citizens. Minimum UBI would allow all citizens to live above the poverty line in a society with low job availability due to mass automation, but still provide the incentive of extra spending money for individuals to seek out what work is left. UBI trials are being run or considered all over the world, and are so far seeing great success. For a thorough explanation of how UBI could function, YouTube channel “Kurzgesagt” has a great video on the subject. If UBI is successfully enacted, humanity could see the extensive benefits from mass automation, such as ease of daily life and cheaper products and services, without the negatives.

Some think that as the machines then replace thinking jobs, this will allow the masses to enter creative jobs. However, machines are even learning to become artists. Emily Howell is an AI that writes classical music indistinguishable from music created by humans. Creativity, like thinking, is a code that can be cracked. Our minds, after all, are the most complex machines of all, but they are still machines.

While UBI is a drastic solution, it may be a necessary one. The rise of AI is already here. The question is not if mass automation will come to pass, but when. It might seem like a distant future, but humanity must prepare now in order to prevent a deadly transition.

Nedelkoska, L. and G. Quintini (2018), "Automation, skills use and training", OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 202, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/2e2f4eea-en.

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very day of our lives, we worry about the future. Whether that be about our own fate or that of the planet, we are all plagued with doubts and fears. Through the media, we are constantly reminded about everything that's going wrong in the world today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether that be population growth, climate change, or the American president's latest tweet, it seems we are fixated on the things that rightfully make us feel anxious. With so much going on, it's understandable to feel depressed at the apparent hopelessness of it all. Yet when we let fear rule us, our perception becomes cloudy and we can't quite see the reality. Yes, there are real issues we should be concerned about â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the planet really is changing around us, and people, animals, and entire ecosystems are in peril. But there is still hope for the future, and there's really no better time to be alive than right now. Coming out of the success of the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame films, there was a movement of people creating memes about how Thanos, the main villain of these two films, did nothing wrong. Jokingly siding with his quest to cull half the population they, with some sense of irony, agreed that he was saving the world from overpopulation. People really are anxious about the growing population

rate and the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to sustain it. With the world seemingly having a finite amount of resources, many see this genocidal maniac as some kind of dark saviour. However, the real solution to population control may actually be in continuing to save lives rather than snapping them out of existence. The population is growing because people are moving out of extreme poverty, and are more likely to survive today than ever before. This is thanks to vaccines, better nutrition, improved medicine, hygiene, increased availability of food, and other factors. There are two billion children in the world today, and the UN predicts that the number will be the same in 2100. Yet the population will still increase by four billion. This will be because of more adults, not children. As education rates rise and poverty declines, people are less inclined to have more children, since they no longer have to compensate for child death. With contraceptives becoming more available, parents now have the incentive and the choice to have fewer children, knowing they can better support a small family. The World Population Forecast has been predicting as recently as this year, that population growth will slow down

and eventually level off at around 11 billion people in 2100. These UN population experts are considered reliable as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had a good track record of predictions in the past. While 11 billion people will not be easy to sustain in the world, it is possible. The majority of these 11 billion will be living in Asian and African countries. A continent like Africa is full of agricultural possibilities. The average African farm performs about 40% of its potential, and Africa's rivers are barely tapped for irrigation. With hard work, technological improvements and help, low-income countries like those in Africa could grow to help sustain the planet.

The late Professor Hans Rosling felt that generally, people had an upside-down perspective of how the world really is. He dedicated his life to pushing for a fact-based worldview to combat ignorance and show that the world can be both bad and better at the same time. He felt that there were three factors muddying people's worldview. Firstly, that we see through our own experiences which are extremely biased and don't necessarily represent the whole world. Secondly, the limitation of the average education. Many classes taught in schools are based on dated facts, so many of us are carrying around outdated worldviews in our heads. Thirdly, the news tends to focus more on short term changes and highlights the unusual, rather than slow changes in significant trends that show real progress. In a 2017 study, Rosling shared some interesting basic facts about the world that most people in the wealthiest countries had been absolutely wrong about when surveyed. For example, in the last 20 years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has almost halved. Ending extreme poverty is actually possible in our lifetime, and the United Nations have set a goal to stop it by 2030. 80% of the world's one-year-old children today have been vaccinated against some form of disease. Deaths per year from natural disasters has decreased to less than half of what they were over the last hundred years. 60% of girls in low-income countries across the world complete fifth grade. Women around the world spend an average of nine years in school, almost catching up to men's ten. 80% of people in the world have some kind of access to electricity. Finally, the life expectancy of the world population has risen to 70 years. To help get a better perspective, Rosling recommends that we address some general misconceptions about the world and replace them with some general rules of thumb. The first misconception is that everything is getting worse, when the truth is that most things improve. The second is that the world is divided into two, the rich and the poor,

when the majority actually live in the middle. The last is that if we see anything that makes us feel afraid, then we should be suspicious of it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we should question the information we've been presented with, and investigate both the reliability and the motivation of that source. A lot of the time, the news is sensationalised. When it comes to real issues, they are often buried under articles that have nothing to do with the actual state of the world. The media chooses instead to focus on unfortunate accidents and violent crimes, or the latest reality TV and celebrities because they sell. But these things don't best represent what's actually going on in society. When Trump makes the news, it is often for the weird things he says or does rather than the real concerning matters that are happening under his presidency. When the media talks about climate change, it often ignores the issue and focuses on the personalities involved in it, rather than the ideas they are trying to share. When consuming the news, we should ask ourselves some critical questions, such as would this source know best? Are they trying to inform me properly, or just grab my attention? It's good to be passionate about changing the world, and while worry and concern have their place, we shouldn't be feeling anxious or afraid. We should be motivated rather than despairing. Today we have more opportunities and freedoms than any generation before us. Statistically, all the worst things in the world are down dramatically. We have the least amount of poverty, racism, unnatural deaths, diseases, and wars in the entire history of humanity. Of course, we can't be content until these issues are solved completely, but the progress we've made in such a short amount of time is admirable. We might not have won the war, but we have been winning many battles. The only time better than right now is the future ahead of us, and we have the opportunity to help shape it with hope and action.

he Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), formerly known as HECS, has clouded the minds of young Australians for decades. As citizens, Australians are fortunate to have access to Commonwealth supported places where tuition costs are largely subsidised by the government. But the fine print of HELP debt can be confusing and convoluted, so letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s try and break it down. STUDENT CONTRIBUTION BANDS Different degrees accumulate varying amounts of HELP debt, and it can be difficult to find information from any university on predicted costs. Every subject is classified into a student contribution band depending on its subject area (this can differ from the degree subject itself, i.e. an accounting student taking a history elective.) There are three student contribution bands: Band 1: Humanities, behaviour science, education, clinical psychology, foreign languages, arts and nursing. Band 2: Computing, built environment, allied and other health, engineering, agriculture, surveying, mathematics, statistics and science. Band 3: Law, dentistry, medicine, veterinary science, accounting, administration, economics and commerce. Consequently, each student within a single degree can study different subject areas. This makes every personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree cost slightly different. Your student contribution cost also increases annually to match inflation costs.

DEGREE COSTS Here are some examples of approximate HELP-HECS accumulated debt amounts. All of these examples exclude inflation estimates. - At the University of Sydney, studying a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (5 years) will cost a minimum of $55,000. - At the same university, a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine (7 years) will at the very least cost $65,000. - At the Melbourne University, a Bachelor of Arts (3 years) will cost a minimum of $20,000. - An Engineering degree at Melbourne University (5 years) costs over $48,000.

job with a starting salary of $55,000 pa. That puts you in the 2% repayment rate bracket, costing you $1100 a year in HELP repayments. At this rate, it will take 31.8 years to pay off your HELP debt.

The cost of each degree is influenced by how many years it takes to complete the degree and what topics you choose to study.

You can opt to make voluntary payments to pay off your debt sooner. However, there is no interest on a HELP debt, so the amount doesn’t grow over time. One thing to note is that having a student debt can impact how much you can borrow if you’re looking to get a loan. Seek professional financial advice if this is a concern for you.

PAYING IT OFF Just this year, the minimum income threshold dropped from $52,000 to $45,881 which means anyone earning over $45,881 before tax will be paying off their HELP debt. While this is a low income threshold, if you earn just over $45,881 (approximately $39,000 after tax) then you pay off your HELP debt at a 1% repayment rate which equates to $459 a year, or $9 a week. It can be tricky balancing living costs like rent, food, health, bills, petrol etc., but this $9 a week comes out with your tax. You don’t have access to it in the first place, so you never had it anyway. As your pay increases, so too do your repayment rates. In 2019, if a person earned $70,891–$75,144, the repayment rate was 4.5%. If a person earned $94,869 – $100,560, the repayment rate was 7%, and so on. These thresholds change annually, so always check the ATO website for up to date information. EXAMPLE Here’s a hypothetical situation: You’ve just graduated, and the total cost of your degree is $35,000. You get a graduate

After five years you’ve earned a $5000 pay increase ($60,000 pa) because of your skill, age, etc. This bumps you up to the 3% repayment rate bracket. You’ve already paid off $5500 of your HELP debt, bringing it down to $29,500. So, 3% of $60,000 is $1800 pa which means it will take 16.3 years to pay it off. That’s half the original time it was going to take. Therefore, the more you earn, the quicker it is to pay off your HELP debt.

STILL STRESSED? Well, firstly be thankful that you don’t study in the US where it is a much less forgiving system. Secondly, remember the important distinction between different kinds of debt. Having a student debt is okay. A HELP debt is not the same as credit card debt. Having HELP debt means that you have invested in yourself; you have made a commitment to learning, and are improving your intelligence and ability. And thirdly, it’s not a race! There is no such thing as a student debt collector. Your HELP debt exists to lessen the financial burden of higher education. HELP debt shouldn’t be some dark overwhelming concept. Think of it more as a little grey cloud on a bright summers day.

THE SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE 1) Who can ignore the movement now? It’s so refreshing to be among 20,000 people in Adelaide, people who’ve declared that enough is enough, that they’re not waiting for some election or for someone else to do things on their behalf. How beautiful it is to see huge crowds forcefully placing big demands on a system that would otherwise send us to catastrophe. We shut down the city that day for hours. We need to do it again. There have been some excellent blockades of main roads recently and we need more and more participation in disruption like this. Ultimately, we need industrial strikes to fight the system and to shut down the economy if we really want to get what we want. It’s a system that gives the heads of coal companies millions per year, that sees the Bight as an oil production opportunity, and locks up climate activists. The whole system needs to be replaced with one for human and ecological need. Every rally is a step closer to that end. The next global strike is on Nov 29. 2) We argued last year that these shake-ups would mean a further entrenchment of profit making mainly at the expense of staff and students.

FLINDERS UNI LABOR CLUB Those stories of a lack of support for staff in teaching their courses, after the sackings of 100+ staff, are heartbreaking. It's a nationwide trend of "streamlining" focused on the bottom dollar. We’re starved of money from the federal government, and university boards are full of corporate hacks. They will be coming back for more. If we didn’t decide to spend on those useless submarines, we could have solved the problem with free and fully funded education for all. 3) While campaigning we came across many students who expressed little to no interest in the elections. This is an indictment on the status quo in the student union where there is a lack of involvement with the student bodies social and political interests. Unions are, by their nature, political entities, yet FUSA has acted strongly apolitically recently. There was a time when student unions would seek to consistently mobilise the student body to enact real social or political change in the wider community. However, most students hold many strong political positions which an activismfocused union could harness and change the world around them. It’s the job of representatives to take a lead and bring students into the fight for our collective rights.

1) The Global Climate strikes in September saw 300,000 students, unionists, and concerned Australians take to the streets to demand climate action from the Federal Government. These demands included a commitment of no new coal, oil or gas projects, 100% renewable energy generation and exports by 2030, and funding for a just transition and job creation for all fossil fuel industry workers and communities. We were glad to join the event to demand better from the Liberal Government, which still largely denies climate change. It is important that we continue to build this movement; steadfastly demanding climate action and holding our elected representatives accountable. 2) You only have to walk around campus now as compared to previous years to see the disastrous effect that the restructure has had on our university. Topics and entire teaching programs such as Women’s Studies have been completely gutted, to the detriment of both staff and students. We’ve lost almost 400 staff across the university in the past two years alone, and now we’re seeing other universities across the country trying to emulate the destruction of the corporate Flinders University management. This restructure hasn’t

students care about what happens in them? With only a small number* of students participating, what should be done for more student engagement?

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY LIBERAL CLUB just impacted the staff who have left, but also the staff who remain. Increased workload and job insecurity have had a huge impact on the quality of lives of our staff, and consequently the education we receive. 3) As the governing body of FUSA, Student Council is your loudest, most effective voice on campus. It is important that body is made of progressive students. Given the magazine youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re currently holding, we assume you also care about your independent student media on campus, Empire Times. The editors are elected to ensure this publication can best represent the audience that receives it. Our delegates to the National Union of Students are also important because we need national representation. Participation in student union elections across the country is quite low, which is a deliberate outcome of a conservative effort of universities to reduce the power of student unions. The same is happening here at Flinders University. Policies such as Voluntary Student Unionism have gutted the resources of student unions across the country, greatly reducing their capacity to represent students. The only body capable of stopping this trend is the NUS.

1) The student strikes would have been more helpful if they targeted the world's biggest contributors to climate change, including China and India. This is particularly because Australia only contributes about 1 per cent of global emissions. Hence, the inconvenient truth is that if we switched to 100 per cent renewable energy today, the world would almost certainly continue to get warmer. Furthermore, additional strikes would be unhelpful for students and the school education system generally. Australian schools are falling behind other countries in maths and science and our students appear to be too busy striking to get the most out of education. 2) The restructure's effect appears to have been mixed. Faculties such as Law do not appear to have been meaningfully affected. However, we have heard suggestions the restructure has negatively affected faculties such as Medicine through, for example, fewer placements and contact hours.

3) Students should care about student electoral outcomes as they meaningfully affect how students themselves influence life on campus. Further, student politics would benefit from direct consultation with students enquiring into why they are apathetic towards student elections. This may also help ascertain why young people are generally more politically apathetic than older voter demographics.

*Editor's Note The percentage of students voting in the FUSA elections for the last four years are as below: - 2016: 8.86% - 2017: 8.87% - 2018: 6.28% - 2019: 9.50%

he sun set over a vast purple field, and the breeze carried a sweet scent. Oscar drew his cloak tighter and turned back to his sister. He saw her hand curl around the dagger at her waist, a new anxious tick, and tore his eyes away, focusing on the flowers instead. Their heads bobbed in the breeze. ‘These are irises, aren’t they?’ she asked, reaching a scarred hand out to graze the petals at her waist. ‘I’ve never seen them this tall! Must be a good omen. We could rest here for a bit.’ ‘We can’t Nadya, not if we don’t want the General to find us.’ Oscar’s hand moved to the bandage round his arm. Nadya pushed a dark curl behind her pointed ear, the corner of her mouth curved in thought as she looked to the road behind them. ‘He’ll have to rest, even if it’s just his dog.’ ‘He’s a necromancer’s lackey – the dog’s probably a corpse.’ Nadya frowned, watching him with concern before looking back to the sunset. ‘There’s a forest that way, see the shadows on the horizon?’ Oscar looked to where she was pointing but only saw

distant, lumped shadows in the twilight. ‘If we can make it, there’ll be proper cover, maybe even a dryad – ‘ A low whistle rang out and Nadya pulled him down into the irises and crouched before him, shoulders tensed, hand on her dagger. A large dog appeared on the road. Through the shield of irises, it shook its head and growled in frustration as the flowers’ aroma seemed to grow stronger. Oscar’s heart pounded in his ears. Eventually another low whistle rang out and the hound turned away from the field and trudged back over the hill. A few more cautious minutes passed before Nadya exhaled. ‘He couldn’t track us. The irises hid our scent.’ She laughed quietly and placed a hand on his, nodding quickly to the flowers in gratitude. ‘I told you they were a good omen.’ Nadya’s touch was small but comforting, and for a moment Oscar was back in their bedroom, curled beneath a blanket while she read him a bedtime story. He blinked and saw the tension that drifted beneath her dimpled smile, and she suddenly looked so much older. She’s prepared to die for you. And you’re cowering behind her. ‘He nearly found us.’ Oscar’s hand tightened around the bandage on his arm. ‘Nadya he’s going to find us eventually.

‘You’re only three years older.' ‘But you survived the General’s branding and you figured out how to break out of our cell. We wouldn’t have escaped without you. Your right to survive isn’t based on your ability to fight.’ She picked an iris and handed it to him. ‘You told me once that the iris is a symbol of hope. Hope is what’s kept me going, and now I’m giving you some of mine.’ She pressed the flower in his hands. ‘And I will never let him lay a finger on you again.’ Nadya was right, as a forest rose out of the iris fields and hid them from the rising moon. Oscar focused on the tension in Nadya’s fingers as they gripped the dagger. He knew she was being strong for him, but she was just as worried. He’s going to find us. Oscar tore his eyes away and noticed the stray clusters of irises beneath the trees. He could not think about the horrors that awaited them if the General caught up. Not of the laughter that echoed as their home burned and their parents lay motionless in a dark pool of blood. Not of the cramped cages and iron cuffs that stung his skin. Not of the hot blade that tore his skin and marked him as a tyrant’s property. Oscar’s vison blurred and he angrily blinked them clear. He couldn’t afford distractions.

'I can’t –' ‘Hey.’ She placed both hands on his shoulders and turned him to face her. ‘Oscar, look at me. Breathe.’ His eyes found hers and mimicked her breathing until his heart slowed. ‘We are going to get through this. You’re so brave little brother, you always have been.’ ‘But I haven’t – ' ‘You have.’ She looked down at her dagger. ‘I fight because I can, and I have to– '

Oscar was pulled violently back to the moment as Nadya slung him behind her, dagger raised. Get behind me!’ The General stood at the other end of the clearing, slowly winding the thin whip back towards him. His eyes burned with a malice that rooted Oscar to the spot. His breath hitched. ‘Elf children, always so difficult to track.’ The General began slowly, savouring the moment. His movements were unnaturally slow, deliberate. Like a predator stalking its prey. Victory gleamed in his eyes as he blew into a whistle.

The dog sat back on its hunches, its sharp teeth visible beneath rotting flesh. ‘But you were easy to subdue once and will be again.’ The General eyed them greedily. ‘And your souls are powerful too. Powerful enough to help our Queen rule entire lands.’ He struck, whip lashing out like a viper. Nadya screamed at Oscar to run and shoved him back. Oscar fell to the floor, stunned with terror, arm burning as he watched her duck away from the whip. She charged the General, her dagger gleaming in the moonlight. He sidestepped the blow, but Nadya was ferocious. She struck again and again, her hand caught the General’s jacket and she slowed him enough to slash his shoulder. Blood dripped from her blade and he staggered back, bewildered. Nadya whirled back to Oscar. ‘What are you doing? Run!’ Oscar scrambled backwards into a small cluster of irises and his hand hit something hard. He looked down to see the flowers parting to reveal a large stone beneath them, their heads tilted towards him knowingly. He reached for it as the General pulled his whip back, his eyes burning. Time slowed. His mind raced as his hands dragged the heavy stone towards him. Nadya wasn’t looking at the General. He cried a hoarse warning as the General brought his arm around, but it came too slow. Nadya’s eyes widened as the cord grappled around her throat. She gave a scream as she was yanked backwards, falling heavily. The general stood over her, pulling her up by the whip. She kicked and struggled but the General pulled tighter, his face twisted in feral triumph as her struggle weakened. Oscar launched himself forward, bringing the stone in a high arc to connect with the General’s skull. Nadya gasped loudly as the cord slackened. Oscar dropped the stone and fell to his knees, his shaking fingers helping her to free her throat.

‘You… didn’t run.’ She managed between heavy breaths. ‘I’m sorry.’ Hot tears sprung in his eyes. ‘I couldn’t let him hurt you.’ Nadya pulled him into a fierce hug. Oscar gripped her tightly, his mind reeling. The General moaned on the floor and his hand twitched towards the whistle. Oscar brought his foot down to shatter it and the dog collapsed, undead no longer. ‘How is he not dead?’ Nadya pulled away. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Oscar pulled her to her feet. ‘He can’t track us anymore. Let’s go.’ Oscar led the way, taking Nadya’s hand to guide them through the forest. As they ran he took out the iris from his pocket. A small symbol of hope, but enough for them to follow.

year ago, I wrote this passage in an article: ‘In Australia, our sporting stars are considered royalty, and our sporting world reflects wider social movements. The gender constructs upheld in sport have been prevalent for as long as we can remember. The men who play sport resemble dominant male personalities in Australian culture, and often they identify as "the lad." Over time, the lad has become a figure head for the complex nature of masculinity. As the lad is not free to display fear, sadness, or anxiety, substances such as alcohol are often used to tend to emotional wounds. This behaviour leaves emotional residue lingering on their conscience and has been linked to the rise in mental health issues amongst men. Organisations such as Beyond Blue, Movember, Man Up, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics have allocated specific time, funding, and research to this particular area, and affirm the correlation between toxic masculinity and mental illness.’ Now, a year on, it is enlightening to look at where we stand with men’s mental health. I believe, particularly in the last year, mental health struggles have penetrated the “unbreakable” lad façade to a point where it can no longer be ignored. Lad culture is becoming detrimental to the men who engage with it, and this is finally being acknowledged by men in our sporting spaces and in our wider everyday interactions. It is time to let the lad go. The epidemic that is men’s mental health has existed in the peripheral for a long time; however, it has finally made its way to centre stage. What brought men’s mental health to the forefront? I believe the AFL had a large role to play. Perhaps it began two years ago when Buddy Franklin, an AFL great, unapologetically took time away from football to tend to his mental health. Or maybe it was when Wayne Schwass, past premiership player, came forward to share the silent battle he faced with suicidal thoughts during the

peak of his career. It could have been the early retirement of Tom Boyd, a 24-year-old footy player, who took to the media to share his story about his struggles through his short career. It could have been the raw interview with Brian Lake, another retired AFL champion, who was left red-eyed and completely exposed after explaining his experience hitting rock bottom. Without question, the tragic death of Danny Frawley just last month – one of the most energetic and charismatic personalities in the sporting world – has highlighted the urgency associated with men’s mental health. I have only mentioned a few and the most publicised cases here. But these stories are not a coincidence, nor are they just a run of bad luck. There is, undeniably, a problem. There is an overwhelming amount of fear. The men facing these struggles are fearful, and the society which surrounds them is fearful. The thing about fear is if we acknowledge it and listen to it, it can help us uncover the damaging and dangerous parts of our society. If we face these fears head on – as a collective and united community – we have the power to combat what threatens us most. Because of these "royal" sporting figures speaking out, we are now making leaps and bounds forward. Most importantly, we are seeing glimmers of hope forming as stigma is starting to dissolve and new narratives are being written. At Frawley’s funeral, it was stated that ‘Manning up in the past was to suffer in silence. Manning up now is to put your hand up.’ There is nothing that offers more hope.

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WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 50 YEARS?

rowing up, I had a younger grandmother (she had my dad at 18). Whenever we came to the house, she would deliberately put on funny wigs or hats to make us excited. To this day, she still dyes her hair pink. She got the name groovy grandma. Many people think of age as something scary, where your life is ending and your body isn’t working. I think of old age as a celebration, a time to have fun. You’ve worked and studied all your life, perhaps raised children, stressed over stupid things that probably no longer matter in your old age. Why not have a little fun, relax, do things you always wanted to. The type of old person I envision myself to be, is rolling down the street of my old folk’s retirement village in my gofer, wearing a gucci tracksuit, probably with rap music connected to my bluetooth speaker. I won’t be mean, nor nice. I’ll be like one of those oldies who have an attitude where they don’t care, they still make jokes about sex and marijuana, and the hardest thing they have to think about all day is what they’ll be having for dinner. The most important thing however as an older person, would be to keep my family close. Young children can learn from older adults. Not "general knowledge" or "lessons in life," just that age doesn’t hinder connection. You’re only ever as old as you think you are.

DO YOU LOVE TO BE AFRAID?

WHAT GIVES YOU HOPE WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST?

s a kid I used to be so afraid of leaving my comfort zone. I would think of worst case scenarios whenever it came to trying something new. The adrenaline rush would quickly turn into panic and chaos inside my head, leaving little hope for resolution. This used to be a big deal for me as I would avoid change at all costs. Now, I look at fear as a way of moving forward. I’ve accepted that everything happens for a reason – it’s up to me to choose how I react. Albert Einstein once said ‘A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.' I try not to let fear dictate what I do so I can learn and grow from each new experience. To step outside my comfort zone to learn, to feel that rush, to experience something new – that is why I love being afraid.

think I speak on behalf of my peers when I say it is easy to get caught up in what society expects of us – work, study, saving for a house. Young people like myself have a huge amount of pressure on them, often depleting them of confidence and autonomy. Because of this, I often reflect upon those outside of my generation to seek hope. On my journey to becoming a teacher, I have been left in awe of the children I have encountered. While they are growing up in a generation with pressures different to our own, they maintain a kind of innocence that has taught me not to sweat the small stuff and remain hopeful that things can get better. They have bold aspirations that others may discredit (or are threatened by *cough* Greta Thunberg), but to me, children are inspirational and carry an infectious optimism.

ver several months, I went from a straight-A year 12 and Treasurer of the SRC to coming incredibly close to dropping out of school. Such is the nature of mental illness and everything that comes with it. Before my first year of university came to a close, I was in the Weight Disorder Unit of Flinders Medical Centre. It’s kind of interesting being in an inpatient psychiatric unit with people who have weird behaviours around food – you pick up tips and get ideas, similar to prisoners learning more about crime in jail. Two years later and I’d had another admission to the Weight Disorder Unit – I’d purposely overdosed on my medication and completed a 40-week Dialectical Behaviour Therapy program. I ended up on the waitlist for an interstate hospital specialist treatment program, before making a real commitment to recovery. Fear was what motivated me – fear of missing family events, Christmas, New Year’s Eve. Recovery is hard, it’s shit, and there is intense shame associated with having to gain weight when everyone around you knows why. One of the hardest things, and seldom discussed, was what was left underneath my illness when I’d stripped it away. It wasn’t a lot. I had no hobbies, no idea what I valued, and virtually no friends. It is incredibly frightening realising you’re in your early 20s and have no idea who you are. Everyone around you is growing up, but you’re focusing on just getting by. So I did what I’d been doing before my illness took over – I focused on studying. Having gone from just one subject per semester whilst doing a full day a week of group therapy, it was a tough ask to triple that, but I did it. Eventually, I ended up back in the mental health system. Though this time it was not as a patient, but as an employee. I’d been brought on as a Graduate Personal Assistant and

had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Having to organise someone else’s day when I’d never learnt to organise my own, and dealing with a constant stream of incoming phone calls and emails – it was all so terrifyingly unpredictable that my anxiety went through the roof. The transition is strange, like looking through a window into the past from an entirely different perspective. And as I progress through my career and studies, it seems like a lifetime ago I was on the ward, lining up in a hospital gown and undies waiting to be weighed by the nurse. I can barely believe we are the same person, or that we share the same brain. Since starting my job, I’ve told a few people these aspects of my past. It’s not a secret or something I’m ashamed of. It just doesn’t come up in normal conversation. But perhaps it should – almost half of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime, after all. Looking back, if anyone had told me in eight years’ time I’d be involved in a project redesigning adult community mental health services, I wouldn’t have believed them. I didn’t think I would make it to 25, let alone be able to hold down a full-time job. It’s not easy being able to relate so easily to some of the heartbreaking stories you hear within mental health, but many clinicians are able to do so, because of their own lived experienced with mental illness. But what I’ve learnt along the way is that self-care

is really important, for all of us, regardless of the field we work in. It’s about making conscious choices for the good of your physical and emotional wellbeing, even when it becomes incredibly challenging to sustain. It’s going to the gym when you don’t feel like it, being the designated driver, making sure you pack lunch AND snacks, or throwing away self-harm implements. Happiness isn’t a choice, but making healthier choices can help you move towards a better frame of mind. I live a life now wishing I had known years ago how to make those choices, and how to prioritise my own wellbeing. I’m doing more now than I ever have in my adult life, and I’m coping. Though the fear may always be there. This brain took me there once, so who’s to say it won’t again? But, with better choices and a great support network, hopefully that won’t be the case. Driving home from Flinders just before midnight, music blasting, I reflect on all the people I’ve met, the people who may not have made it, who are still struggling, the myriad of fears I’ve conquered and am yet to face. The incredible, inspirational clinicians I’ve met who have advocated for me, and the things I hope to achieve. In the future, I hope to support people living with mental illness to live their best possible lives, guided by my own experience.

admit, Your Honour – I am guilty as charged. It’s true I am not vegan nor vegetarian. But I do care for animals. And I care for our planet. Your Honour, and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let me present my defence; I am a lazy person, a horrible cook, and a picky eater… and I also love cheese too much (I never said my defence was any good). As a university student, my days are usually hectic due to my poor time management skills and adept procrastination skills. As a result, I prefer my daily meals to be easy, cheap, and fast to prepare. I need food that is filling and doesn't need much thought to put together. For me, preparing a vegetarian or vegan dish takes a lot of effort. Not only that,

a certain level of creativity is necessary for such meals – a level which I just do not possess. As mentioned above I am also a picky eater. I do not like to eat any kind of beans, nuts, seaweed, mushrooms, soy, tofu, or any vegetables from the cabbage family… basically the building blocks for any vegetarian or vegan diet. Many of these foods have the vitamins necessary for a healthy non‑meat diet and also serve as sources of protein. If I was to avoid eating meat and all of these foods, I would need to take synthetic supplements to provide my body with the necessary nutrition (such as iodine, omega‑3 and

omega‑6 fats, zinc, calcium and much more), which is not ideal for me, physically nor financially. I have met many vegetarians and vegans in my lifetime. Some of them were the stereotypes of angry "meat‑eater" critics. They expressed their disgust with my life choices and wished me a happy ‘you’re‑the‑reason‑for‑global‑warming’ life. Many of them though, were knowledgeable and reasonable people, with whom I was able to have a fruitful discussion on this topic. They respected my arguments while explaining their reasoning to me. They did not judge me, hate me, or try to persuade me to become a vegetarian/vegan. Rather they cooked me a meal and showed me how colourful a plant‑based diet can be. Maybe that’s it, Your Honour! If someone was patient enough to take their time and show people like me, how to prepare fast and cheap vegetarian/vegan meals my lazy ass may actually try to make them. Also, if the vegan replacements available were much tastier and less expensive I would definitely consider buying them. I tried vegan cheese multiple times (homemade, expensive, less‑expensive‑but‑still‑pretty expensive ones) but they all tasted somewhere on the scale between a shoe sole and a dish sponge. Do I feel guilty for consuming meat, drinking milk, or eating cheese? I feel confused. Everything my parents taught me about drinking milk to get strong bones and eating meat to grow up healthy is now controversial. People get judged for eating meat. People get judged for not eating meat. The more I look into it, the more contradictory it all seems.

I do admire the people who are capable of being vegetarian or vegan, for being able to do something I cannot. At least, not yet – I do hope to change to a plant‑based diet, once I grow up (aka graduate, and hopefully have more money and time). Please don’t get me wrong, I do think that meat should not be over-consumed. With everything, moderation is key. Animals should be treated with respect and nothing should go to waste. We should all be kind to the people around us – regardless of their diet.

hen the sequel of the film adaptation of Stephen King’s IT was released, many people flocked to the cinema with the sole purpose of being terrified by an evil clown who literally lives to terrorise children. Talking about IT with friends is an interesting experience. Some nod along in gleeful anticipation of watching the film, whereas others will look at me with barely masked horror as if I’m the evil clown. They just don’t get it.

It isn’t just horror films either, it’s also roller-coasters and other thrill-seeking activities. Some people can’t comprehend why other people like things that scare them. That for people like myself, being scared isn’t necessarily a negative experience, but actually an enjoyable one. There’s even science-based reasoning behind this love of fear. It’s all got to do with a heightened physiological response. When we get scared, our adrenaline kicks in. This makes our hearts race, our blood pressure increase, and our breathing quicken. Some people like this feeling. As writer Lucy Vine says, 'It’s not that I don’t feel fear – it’s that I love it.' Now, there’s a difference between real fear and what psychology professor Steve Joordens dubs “controlled fear.” What we’re talking about with horror films and show rides is a controlled fear which has an undercurrent of safety. We know that when we’re on a show ride and are plummeting to the ground from a hundred metres up in the air, that we’re on a ride and we’ll get off safe and sound. Likewise, we know that we’ll be okay watching The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, because the bent-neck lady isn’t real and she’s not actually coming for us. Of course, there are some horror films that like to play on this idea to really scare their viewers. The Blair Witch Project is one such film. It was initially marketed as found footage which sent its viewers into a frenzy. It did this because people don’t like experiencing the real fear that comes from real danger. However, there are some people that do struggle with controlled fear. Emma Ledger, writer for the Stylist, is one of them. She says, “You might think me a wuss, but I simply do not enjoy being afraid.” And she isn’t the only one. Dr Deirdre Johnston found in a horror study that variables such as a person’s level of empathy and sensation-seeking desire, as well as their identification with characters, can affect how much that person enjoys a horror film. For example, people with low empathy and high sensationseeking desire are more likely to enjoy gory horror films than those with high empathy. Other research shows that it can also depend on people’s COMT gene, which is a gene

involved in transferring signals between nerves. People with similar COMT genes experience higher levels of anxiety and fear, making it harder for them to shake off a horror movie. Although being frightened is one of the main reasons people watch horror movies, it isn’t the only reason. Sometimes people like watching horror movies because it makes them feel good. That doesn’t necessarily mean they like watching people fight for their lives against axewielding maniacs – it just means they like watching people triumph over axe-wielding maniacs. Sometimes horror films purposely make us feel bad, so that our joy and relief will be more powerful at the end when the hero survives. I mean, who doesn’t relax when they see Jack’s frozen body at the end of The Shining? This is the feeling of catharsis. It also means that when we watch or do something scary, it can help us get rid of bad emotions and release some aggression. An interesting example to think about is Jordan Peele’s Get Out, a recent horror movie whose original tragic ending was scrapped for a happier one. The director had this to say about the change: ‘The ending needed to transform into something that gives us a hero, that gives us an escape, that gives us a positive feeling. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing the audience go crazy when Rod shows up.’ A few Stephen King film adaptations also follow this trend of the strangely optimistic horror movie ending. In Christine, IT, and Gerald’s Game, most of the likeable characters come out alright, a little shaken and bloodied perhaps, but alive. Scott Menderson, Hollywood and Entertainment writer for Forbes, has even noticed a correlation between tragic horror film endings and bad audience reception. I think it says a lot about horror movie watchers. This desire for the happily ever after. That it’s not all about the doom and gloom. That they might be looking for a little hope too, even in the darkest of times.

What was the theme of Empire Times’ first edition this year?

What is Empire Times editor Alicia Wood's natural hair colour?

Who won the 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series?

Is University of Adelaide student magazine On Dit worth reading? True or false?

Where will the 2020 Olympics be held? What was on the front cover of Empire Times’ Sex, Love and Beauty edition this year? Which politician was interviewed in the fifth edition of Empire Times this year?

Was the academic restructure a good thing? Have the editors stopped taking this quiz seriously? How many ducks live in the lake?

Which band headlined O’Fiesta at the start of the year? ANSWERS 1.) Seasons of change // 2.) Phoebe Waller-Bridge for her titular role in Fleabag // 3.) Tokyo // 4.) A used condom // 5.) Kate Ellis // 6.) The Jungle Giants // 7.) We’re not sure… probably brown… // 8.) No. // 9.) Yes. // 10.) Trick question. Of course it wasn’t! // 11.) Absolutely // 12.) Count them yourself, we don’t have time

stand on the edge of the rocks, clinging to the cliff-face as my grip-less sandals scrape for purchase where the water has worn the stones smooth. The icy surf splashes up onto my toes and a vicious wind pulls like fingers at my hair. I watch as my friend jumps into the water with a squeal and a splash, brushing her hair out of her eyes when her head pokes above water once more. She grins at me, buffeted by gentle waves. ‘Come on.’ Yet as much as I want to jump in and join her, I can’t. The water laps at the cave entrance beside us, the stone rift gaping and round, and so much like a mouth I can’t picture anything else. I watch the cloudy green waters grow black in its depths. A fear, small and slimy, digs claws into my head. ‘What do you think lives down there?’ It asks. I think of scales and claws. Of something long and sleek and eyeless, a hooked jaw and needle teeth with tiny barbed ends. I think of it feeling me as I slip into the waves. Of how it would brush beneath my feet as I swam, long body coiling. Waiting as I made for the rocks once more before it struck. I think of it pulling me under. I know it’s not real, but I can’t stop thinking of the dark and what lives inside it. I don’t swim that day. I barely even dip my toes.

It’s 3am and I take another sip of my drink as I check the bus times on my phone hidden under the table brim. The group around me bursts into laughter and I join in even though I missed the joke. Leave in 40 minutes, my phone reads and I sip the drink faster. When I tell them I’m leaving, a few offer to let me sleep on their couches for the night. I hug them and thank them, but all I can think of is the leftover stir-fry in the fridge and the soft woollen-socks I left on my bedside this morning. I’m going home. I go to stand, and the young boy across from me stands too. ‘I’ll walk you to the bus stop,’ he says and even though I want to say no, I don’t. He’s polite and kind and I don’t want to insult him. I stay quiet instead. He follows me as I bounce down from the rooftop bar and across the dance floor to the exit in time to the music. My head is fuzzy and I’m bizarrely aware that my jumper slides off my shoulder to show my bright red bra strap when I bop. I try to fix it and watch as it slides again. The boy follows me to the stop. He waits until the bus comes. ‘How are you getting home from the depot?’ He asks. Part of me is afraid he’ll insist I stay in the city if I tell him I’m walking home. I lie. ‘I’m getting picked up,’ I say and tell him goodbye.

It’s not the first time I’ve lied like this. Told people I’m driving when there’s no way home but to walk. I’ve learnt not to tell people I’m walking. They don’t like to think about young girls out at night. They like to tell me how women who walk home get hurt. Get lost. Encounter things that live in the dark. They make me think of things with sharp claws and hooked teeth and faces that are too human. Faces that are cruel. My jumper slips yet again, exposing the strap. The bus depot is empty, the lights dim. The gumtrees in the distance stretch over the road making a tunnel that is gaping and round and so very much like a mouth. Again, I’m staring into uncertain waters. I watch as the streetlights fade distantly to black. Again, I’m standing at the edge, scared of diving in. A fear cold and slimy digs claws into my head, ‘Who do you think lives out there?’ It asks, and I think of what people have told me. Of the people who are swallowed up by the darkness. Of the people who hide in it. I can’t cling to any rocky walls this time. There’s no option but to dip my toes in. So I think of my bed, and then I walk. Tonight, my fear will not overcome me. Tonight, I’m not afraid of the things that hide in the dark.

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