Grapeshot Magazine

Issue 4 | Vol 6 | April 2014

Macquarie University Student Publication

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06 Changes to University Fees 08 Interview with Lesley Hughes 09 Australia’s Bigotry 10 The Issue of Privatisation 11 #Budget2014 12 Smoke-free Campus 12 The Dark Side of the Web

29 Light & Shadow 34 Frankie 36 Poetry: Agapi

14 Student Voice: Changeing the Act 16 History: Jesus of Nazareth 16 Revitalise: Colour Therapy 17 Feminism: Women Deserve Better 17 Lifestyle: Normcore

20 Black & White Cinematography 22 Job & Race 24 Student Politics 25 Politics & Religion 27 Contemporary Penny Dreadfuls

38 Advice: Liar Liar 39 Across the Bar 40 Smiling Chef: Chicken Tagine with cous cous 42 The Stew: Sydney’s Cafes 44 Reviews 46 Puzzles & Horoscopes

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EDITOR’S LETTER

S

ession One is drawing to a close and we all are bracing ourselves for the hell that is overdue assessments and impending exams. So dig into the last issue of Grapeshot for this semester and delight in knowledge that the holidays are near.

At Grapeshot this month, we were so impressed with the direction that our lovely contributors have taken the ‘Black and White’ edition. This edition is just bursting with creativity. One of our writers interrogates race (p.22) and another religion (p.25) in some truly eye-opening reflections. There are some beautiful pieces of black & white photography (p.28) that make you appreciate a delicate interplay of light and shadows.

More importantly, we’ve done our market research and discovered that our readers have been divided over in the past few weeks. The lines were drawn: #whatjayzsaidtosolange, Budget 2014 and the Student Advisory Board and Academic Senate elections debacle. (We lied, that last group was just our editorial team).

Fights broke out over whether Jay-Z cheated on Beyonce (I don’t believe it for a second!). Meanwhile, there were lamentations all around for the impacts of the budget on students (see Emma’s article on p.11 for more and our University Fees breakdown on p.6). Finally, we offer heartfelt congratulations (and commiserations) for the 2014/15 student representatives. We look forward to see some positive changes from them.

In making this issue, we drew on a well-known truism that the world is not black and white, but all shades of grey.

However, I’ve found that no matter how aware of this we are, we always seem to fall back on the comfort of black and white, right and wrong, and good or bad.

Why? I couldn’t say. Perhaps there is some comfort in this ingenuous view of the world because a world where there is no right answer can be so disorientating that we would much rather live in a fantasy. If that is so, I’m afraid you’re missing out.

“WE ALWAYS SEEM TO FALL BACK ON THE COMFORT OF BLACK AND WHITE, RIGHT AND WRONG, AND GOOD OR BAD” It is in the conflict and the chaos where light meets dark that true beauty can be found. It’s that ephemeral moment of realisation where you can truly see reality and the vastness of human experience. (Sure, there’s a chance that you’ve just destabilised you’re whole value system, but it was worth it, right? Right? Look, this is what therapy is for.)

The world is black and white.

It is various (50?) shades of grey.

It is colour too. There are more perspectives in the world than there are colours. What else are we studying for, if not knowledge? I think we can all afford to open ourselves up to new possibilities.

EDITORIAL & CREATIVE PRODUCTION Editor in Chief Deputy Editor Features Editor News Editor Regulars Editor Copy Editor Creative Director Illustrator

Mia Kwok Kristina Cavanna Amanda Mahony Emma Vlatko Sarah Basford Claire Catacouzinos Moxfi Designs James Rotanson

MARKETING TEAM Advertising Manager Varun Fernando Marketing Manager Josephine Clark-Wroe Marketing Officer Manisha Josephraja SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Blake Antrobus, Sam Bradshaw, Brendon D’Souza, Nathan Falzon, Alessandro Guarrera, Fergus Halliday, Manisha Josephraja, Giulianna Karoufeh, Raelee Lancaster, Ben McCarthy, Avery Phillips, Nicholas Rider, Marie Claire Selim, Megan Smith, Jack Cameron Stanton, Lachlan Woods, Rabeah Zafrullah, The Bartender EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Alexander West, Emma Grimley, Gemma Quinn, Jack Morgan, Kristofer Gilmour, Melroy Rodrigues, Natalie Morton, Nigel Khine PUBLISHER Craig Oliver The publication team acknowledges the Darug Aboriginal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which Macquarie University is situated.

Happy reading!

As you hit up Google Scholar over the next few weeks, pouring a semester’s worth of knowledge into your final essays and exams, it’s nice to remember that there is more to the internet than pictures of animals doing weird stuff. Sometimes, I forget.

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Macquarie University Student Publication

Mia Kwok

Editor in Chief

Thanks to Buzzfeed’s ‘100 Most Important Dog Photos of All Time’ Source: lolroflmao.com.

PROTESTING: WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR? SETTING OUR UNIVERSITIES FREE GOING GREEN ISN’T BLACK AND WHITE THE ISSUE OF PRIVATISATION #BUDGET2014: HOW WILL IT AFFECT YOU? THANK YOU FOR (NOT) SMOKING THE DARK SIDE OF THE WEB

NEWS

PYNE’S EYE ON AN AUSTRALIAN IVY-LEAGUE

UNIVERSIT

NEWS

local and global

PYNE HAS HIS EYES SET ON AN

AUSTRALIAN IVY-LEAGUE

UNIVERSITY

FUNDING? WORDS

In light of Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s comments over social media, a funding system similar to that of the United States (US) may be on the books for Australian universities.

In response to the recent Kemp-Norton review, the government is considering major reforms to the university funding system. The review suggests the expansion of Commonwealth funding to include private and other non-university higher education providers, an increase in student fees, and the introduction of a tax on HECS. Australia’s current system, a demand driven system, was introduced by the former Labor government, making higher education more accessible to low socioeconomic groups. Rates of participation in higher education also rose due to the increased freedom of bachelor enrolments.

Higher education in the US is strikingly different to Australia. Universities are primarily research-oriented, educational institutions, providing both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Students, however, have many other tertiary options.

The US higher education system was described as an ‘excellence unaffordable for any but the rich’ by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Peter Hartcher. Indeed, university fees are notoriously high, with the average student debt nearing $30,000. The average in Australia is less than half this. Many students enrolled in higher education in the US must apply for scholarships, loans and grants to assist with their payment. There is also a disturbing trend in the US higher education sector of institutions increasingly relying on corporate funding and private philanthropy.

Unlike Australia, US governments have no role in the regulation of any higher education institution. A move towards a US university system would therefore mean a withdrawal of government intervention. An attractive idea for some, but one that is not without concerns. Pyne is hoping to capture the best features of the US system but avoid the worst.

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WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF

Ellen Kirkpatrick The Federal Government’s review of funding for universities, whilst supporting the current demand-driven framework, has also suggested a move toward government funding for private and other non-university education providers. The aim is to get higher education students “work ready” and this change, it is argued, will improve employability for graduates as well as productivity in Australia’s business sector.

However, commentators have argued that this new system will do nothing more than take much needed money away from public universities. Concerns have also been raised over the role of university funding, and whether it, and higher education providers, should be solely concerned with vocational training.

Universities develop critical thinking skills and provide foundations for employment and work over a lifetime. As graduates are likely to change jobs several times throughout their lives, disciplines such as history, philosophy and sociology are preparations for employment just as much as vocational degrees such as accountancy and engineering.

Despite this, students are increasingly being forced to make their education choices based on vocational considerations.

Sally Kift, the Deputy Vice Chancellor at James Cook University said that students drop out of university for many “complex and often intra-related reasons.” Most often these centre on perceptions of course and teaching quality, lack of clarity about what is required for success, limited engagement and a mismatch of expectations. Increased pressure from the government for more vocationally oriented degrees, Kift stated, will lead to a greater drop-out rates, particularly of first year students.

A 2010 study of retention in the higher education sector estimated that the total cost of first year drop-outs was more than $1 billion per year. This places the cost for each public university between $20 - $36 million. So although the government believes vocationally orientated degrees will add to business productivity, it is in actual fact a highly wasteful effort.

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TIES FEES SETTING OUR

local and global

UNIVERSITIES FREE WORDS | Kristina Cavanna

However commentators have argued that this move could compromise higher education quality standards. They question how the government will be able to achieve a fair balance between maximising quality and transparency, whilst minimising red tape burden. Pyne rejects these concerns, claiming that softer regulation by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) will ensure that quality is maintained. Many prominent education figures have agreed.

In an interview with The Australian, the University of NSW’s Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer went as far to say that red-tape “should not be a binding threshold standard but a guiding reference point…” Red-tape regulation, it is believed, can lead to waste in the allocation of university resources, diverting funds away from the core business of universities – teaching, scholarship and research. Pyne statesd in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald that by reducing regulation, education providers will have “more autonomy and… [will be able to] map out their futures according to their strengths”.

NEWS

Last year, in an attempt to “free” higher education institutions, Education Minister Christopher Pyne announced plans to cut red tape and deregulate universities. He claims that the extensive reporting requirements set by past Governments have lead to duplication and inefficiency in the university system.

However, Warren Bebbington, University of Adelaide Vice-Chancellor, noted in The Australian that although there will be a “wider range of choice and price…. that won’t help our position in international rankings which are based on research performance, not teaching.” Indeed, TEQSA Chief Regulator, Carol Nicoll, warns of the consequences of “light touch” regulation commenting in The Australian that, “it may signal overseas, particularly in Asia, that Australia is not regulating higher education.”

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GOING GREEN ISN’T

BLACK AND WHITE WORDS | Emma Vlatko After almost a decade since former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, called climate change the “greatest moral challenge of our time,” the issues threatening our Earth have gotten no less serious.

NEWS

local and global

Macquarie University Professor Lesley Hughes, one of six Councillors on the Climate Council and the convenor of a free online climate change course, says that the world needs to “act now before it’s too late.”

“We have a significant problem and delaying action will make the problem accelerate,” she says. “One of the most difficult things to communicate is that what we do now will affect how our children and grandchildren will live. We can’t turn it around immediately but the longer we wait the more dangerous it will get.”

After completing her PhD in behavioural ecology in 1990, something she confesses had “nothing to do with climate change,” Lesley began researching the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems.

“Australia has somewhere between seven to ten per cent of the world’s biodiversity. We also have the highest extinction rates in the last 200 years of anywhere in the world” Hughes says.

“It’s generally considered that by the middle of the century, climate change will be the main driver of species extinction…

We’re looking at the sixth major extinction event since the Earth began.”

Indeed, this prediction certainly seems to be in line with the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change’s fifth assessment, of which the third and final report was released last month.

Whilst commentators have labelled the findings “dire,” some have also argued that given similarity of all the report findings since 1991, the messages clearly aren’t getting through.

Lesley, a lead author for the fourth and fifth assessments, rejects this. “I think it’s simplistic to say the message isn’t getting across... but it’s influenced by some loud and powerful voices in the media, including some of our politicians.”

Climate change policy has had a controversial history in Australia, most recently with the divisive “carbon tax,” which Hughes calls, “an appallingly bad marketing strategy.”

“They brought it in without making the case of why. It was seen totally as a negative instead of being their for a reason,” she says. “If they had come out and said “this government absolutely believes that climate change is a huge issue for Australia. This is one of our responses to that”... Then I think the acceptance of it would have been much greater.”

While there is a clear need for action from politicians and scientists, Lesley maintains that communication of the issues is “everybody’s job.” Unfortunately, she admits that the environment isn’t always the first priority, especially in Australia. “If people recognised that the environment is our life support, it would come first, not last.”

Aimed at increasing public understanding and awareness, Lesley runs a free, four week online course, in collaboration

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with Open Universities Australia. Largely, she says, the responses have been positive.

“As of May, over three and a half thousand people had enrolled...

The comments that have meant the most to me have been the ones who have said they were former climate skeptics that have now changed their mind having done the course.”

However, when it comes to solving the Earths problems, Lesley confesses that simply ‘understanding’ won’t be enough. “My motivation is to move people from ignorance to understanding, to concern, to action… it’s action that makes the difference.”

Lesley is confident that action on climate change will come, “the question is, how quickly?”

If you want more information on climate change in Australia, visit the Climate Council’s website at www.climatecouncil.org.au or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/climatecouncil

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AUSTRALIA’S RIGHT TO BE

FREELY RACIST

Fredrick Toben, founder of the web and print publication, the Adelaide Institute, served a prison sentence in Germany in the 1990s, and again in Australia in 2009 after he was court ordered to refrain from posting discriminatory words on his website. Toben is a staunch Holocaust denier, claiming the number of Jewish people murdered by the Nazi’s was “exaggerated.” His supporters, however, argue he is merely exacting his right to freedom of speech.

This same argument is being used by Australia’s AttorneyGeneral, George Brandis and Prime Minster, Tony Abbott, an attempt to justify the Federal Government’s move to repeal s18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA). In an address to the Senate, Brandis said that people, “have the right to be bigots…In a free country people do have rights to say things that other people find offensive, insulting or bigoted.” A spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated that the Coalition wish to repeal Section 18C of the RDA because “it enables the censorship of free speech”.

S.18C states that it is unlawful for any person to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people.” The Government’s plans would remove all but “intimidate” from this section, thereby limiting offences to “physical harm.” The proposed changes would therefore exclude acts of emotional or physiological harm. This is particularly concerning given that, in Australia, verbal abuse is the most common form of racism.

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Under the proposed changes, it will be unlawful for a person to racially discriminate if the act is likely to “vilify another person, or a group of persons”. In the Macquarie Dictionary, vilify means to “speak evil or, defame”. However, the RDA’s definition of vilify is notably different, being defined as inciting, “hatred against a person or a group of persons”. This narrow scope again raises concerns that verbal abuse may no longer be considered an offence under the RDA.

NEWS

In August 2009, Andrew Bolt, a News Corporation journalist was taken to the Federal Court over his article, ‘White fellas in the Black’. The article questioned the legitimacy of “white Aborigines”, who Bolt claimed were, “representatives of a booming new class of victim you’d never have imagined we’d have to support with special prizes and jobs.”

local and global

WORDS | Raelee Lancaster

Indeed this is certainly the opinion of Gillian Triggs, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, who commented on the changes. “The bill reduces the level of protection by providing a narrow definition of vilification and… intimidation,” she said, “It is not clear why intimidation should not include psychological and emotional damage that can be caused by racial abuse.”

Further to these concerns are the government’s plans to allow racial discrimination, “spoken, broadcast, published or otherwise communicated in the course of participating in the public discussion of any political, social, cultural, religious, artistic, academic or scientific matter.”

Simon Rice, director of Law Reform and Social Justice at ANU argued that these changes would be “the closest we’ve come to unconstrained racist speech in 20 years—since before the current law was enacted.”

Unsurprisingly, Andrew Bolt supports these proposed changes.

He stated that they would uphold “the freedom of every Australian to speak freely, read broadly and decide for themselves”.

However, support for these changes is not widespread, with concerns even being raised from within the Cabinet.

They are therefore unlikely to pass through both houses of Parliament. Commentators are now left wondering what the compromise is likely to be.

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THE ISSUE OF

PRIVATISATION WORDS | Rowan Taylor

NEWS

local and global

Mike Baird’s rapid rise to power has left New South Wales with a relatively unknown Premier. However, given Baird’s background in economics, talk of “cost cutting” and “budget balancing” was not wholly unexpected.

His first few weeks in office have seen preliminary moves to sell electricity poles and wires, a proposal to privatise NSW health, and the sale of Newcastle Harbour. These actions have many people worried about exactly how far the State and Federal Governments will go in their quest for a budget surplus. Yet is this fear well founded? Or is privatisation the savvy way to secure Australia’s financial future?

Selling government assets to private parties is tempting, with sales injecting large amounts of cash into government coffers.

A recent example is Newcastle’s Port facilities, sold for $1.75 billion. This hefty sum will be used to fund infrastructure in Newcastle, Sydney and rural areas. The potential flow-on effects of this, extend to a revitalisation of rural economies and the expansion of Newcastle as a global trading centre. Mr Baird has said that the decision to sell Newcastle Port will turn the city into ‘The Jewel of The Pacific’.

Similarly, the privatisation of hospitals in NSW could theoretically inject enough cash to upgrade other facilities regularly, cut down on waiting times and provide better pay for healthcare staff. The Premier believes that “such a decision would transform and improve healthcare services completely”.

However, the government’s plans have raised concerns from politicians, journalists and citizens about possible long term repercussions. NSW Health Services Union Secretary, Gerard Hayes cautions that “the private sector doesn’t work out of the goodness of its heart… it does so to make a dollar”. He warned that in the pursuit of profit, privately owned hospitals could cut staff wages and offer an inferior service at an inflated price.

There are also concerns over the permanency of control.

Although the government signs away any control of the asset in a sale, the private company buying it has no obligation to keep their purchase. So even though Newcastle Port was sold with a 98 year lease, it may not stay in one pair of hands for the entire time.

Peter van Duyn, a maritime industry expert from Melbourne University, noted, “GIP sold their stake in Brisbane Port after three years… the first sale might be to a passive investor… but who knows who the owner might be further down the track?”

Further to this, Mr van Duyn raised concerns over the potential loss of regulatory control. The owners, he said, “have what is basically a monopoly… they can set the Port rates with little or no regulatory oversight from the government or ACCC.” Whilst these concerns have not been fully realised in NSW, the problems arising from privatisation can be readily seen in the American public health system, largely operated by private companies.

Hospitals in the United States are legally bound to treat patients who have life threatening illnesses or injuries. However, treatment of illness, disability or injury that isn’t immediately life threatening requires health insurance, or a government grant. The former is too expensive for some and the latter can take months, or even years. As a result, the privatised system is tiered, with some hospitals receiving large amounts of money from wealthy patients and others with outdated equipment and insufficient staff due to a lack of funds.

Privatisation is in many cases an excellent way to stimulate the economy and finance infrastructure. However, concerns raised over the State Government’s actions so far are well founded. A lack of transparency over conditions of sales and of concrete longterm contingencies may result in irreversible damage. Only when the concerns have been publically addressed can we be sure about the repercussions for our future.

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#BUDGET2014

HOW WILL IT AFFECT YOU? WORDS | Emma Vlatko

local and global

On Tuesday the 13th of May, Australia’s Treasurer, Joe Hockey, delivered his first budget speech. For a long time the government had been warning Australians that this budget would bring “pain with a purpose.” Indeed, as far back as 2012, Hockey has been preparing the country for “equally shared” fiscal pain, most notably in his speech, “The End of the Age of Entitlement.”

On the morning of the budget, the Prime Minister Tony Abbott concluded a press conference by attempting to reassure the public. He said that, “if you’re looking for the national interests you will be cheered.”

From January 2016, university fees will be uncapped and government funding for universities will be lowered by 20%. The ramifications of this are obvious - higher university course fees.

Although Education Minister Christopher Pyne did not follow through on his threat to privatise HECS debts, the loans schemes have been subjected to a few changes. For all new students, HECS debts will no longer be increased in line with inflation. Instead, it will be increased in line with the Australian Government 10 year bond rate, a maximum of six per cent a year. Of this extra money raised however, institutions will need to pay $1 out of every $5 to a new Commonwealth Scholarship scheme to support disadvantaged students.

FEE-HELP will be available to students studying diplomas, post-graduate courses, or who are studying at private institutions. The 25 per cent loan fee applied to FEE-HELP will also be abolished.

Finally, students will be required to pay of their loans off sooner. The minimum income threshold for students to begin repaying their debts will be lowered by 10 per cent, bringing the threshold down to 90 per cent of the average weekly income.

Unfortunately, this budget will affect young people in more ways than just their education.

In an interview with Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s 7.30 program, Joe Hockey stated that what he wanted was for every “unemployed person to get a job.” Indeed, welfare has been a key issue for a government who is keen to end “the age of entitlement” and to begin the “age of opportunity.”

As such, the age of eligibility for the Newstart payments will rise from 22 to 25. Those under 25 seeking welfare payments will

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instead receive the lower-valued “youth allowance,” receiving roughly $100 a fortnight less in payments.

Furthemore, those under 30 seeking Newstart benefits will have to join a six month waiting list. Once on the program, recipients will go through six month on and off payments, a system that Hockey believes will encourage those able, to go and get jobs. Jobseekers on “work for the dole schemes” will now have to do 25 hours of work a week in order to receive benefits.

NEWS

For all this talk of “sharing the pain,” one thing is resoundingly clear. Students and the Australian youth are among the hardest hit.

For those arts students seeking a career in film and television, think again. Public broadcasters, the ABC and SBS, will face a one per cent cut each year for the next four years, the equivalent of roughly $43.5 million. The Australia Network will also be cut.

Overall, $87.1 million will be cut from arts programs, including the Australia Council and Screen Australia.

A large justification for these cuts was that so more money could be put into infrastructure, $11.6 billion more to be precise.

But whilst the government has plans for new roads, airports and building programs, Australia’s digital upgrade has all but been put on hold. The government will cap it’s NBN investment to $29.5 billion, almost $10 billion less than Labor’s estimated costs.

The budget confirmed that the government will seek out private investors for the remainder of the needed costs.

If you think the doctor can give you some relief from all this pain Hockey promised, you’re wrong. Those visiting a GP will now be required to pay a $7 co-payment.

All in all, it seems that when Hockey talks about a national building budget, he forgot to consider Australia’s young, sick and poor.

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THANK YOU FOR (NOT) SMOKING WORDS | Lily Davis

Students may have noticed that it’s now harder to smoke on campus. Changes in April saw the removal of five designated ‘smoke areas’. There are now just four left: E3B, C7A, Y3A and Gymnasium Road.

The recent decision signals the next phase in Macquarie’s plans to be a completely smoke-free university by 2015.

However, smoking is divisive issue, a habit that people either cannot live with or cannot live without. Unsurprisingly, responses from students to these changes were equally divisive.

NEWS

local and global

Stephanie, a non-smoker, argued that smoking was, “a really terrible and unhealthy habit... anything that discourages people from smoking on campus is a good idea!” However she raised concerns about the university’s approach, “I am not sure if this will mean that people will stop smoking on campus, or if it just means they will smoke wherever they want.”

Brad agreed, noting that he’d already seen evidence of this on campus, “Just today I saw a lady smoking a cigarette that was in an area with way more traffic than where the original smoking zones were.”

Indeed, whilst changes may discourage some from smoking on campus, the addictive qualities of cigarettes mean that it is unlikely to be fully successful. Less designated areas may mean smokers will choose to risk a fine and smoke wherever they want.

On this point Brad emphasised that “these people [smokers] are already very well aware of the consequences.” He questioned what good would come from further outside intervention.

But there is little doubt that achieving a smoke-free status would promote a healthy atmosphere. Many facilities, venues, businesses and public spaces, whether by choice or by the Smokefree Environment Act 2000 (NSW), are now choosing to restrict or ban smoking. It is arguable that university campus should be no different.

As to how successfully this new effort will be adhered to, students will just have to wait and smell.

THE DARK SIDE

OF THE WEB There is little doubt that the internet has a dark side. In recent months, one of its more awful parts has begun to have increasing prominence in Australian society. Trolling.

“Trolls” are people who use the internet to spread hurtful comments and content. Although their actions vary, from harassing targeted individuals, to posting inflammatory remarks about a race, gender or appearance, trolling is enough to make any regular internet user sick to their stomach. Unfortunately, it’s also a much more common occurrence than we might hope.

A Canadian report, conducted by Erin Buckels, Paul Trapnell and Delroy Paulhus, investigated the psychology behind the trolling trend. The report found that trolls were, at a base level, “everyday sadists,” people who found enjoyment in cruelty. More specifically, Buckels described them as those who, “gain some emotional benefit from causing or simply observing others’ suffering.”

Trolling was thrust into the media spotlight last year, when Australian celebrity Charlotte Dawson, took her own life after being subjected to a torrent of abuse via Twitter. Dawson had long been an outspoken campaigner against cyber-bullying, frequently re-tweeting online abuse to expose the behaviour, but the attacks became too much.

It’s not only celebrities who receive this abuse, anyone can be a target. Bradley, a current student at Macquarie University recalled the death of a student from his high school, “Not long after, some random troll started posting on their Facebook wall page 12 | grapeshot magazine

… pretty gruesome pictures of dead bodies. It was shocking and so many people were upset.”

The anonymity offered by online interactions often allows trolls to be left unaccountable for their actions. It is this anonymity, some argue, that makes trolling so attractive. Erin Buckels agrees. Her research found that “trolls also want to be mean to people in real life,” but that, “direct action is far more risky, unless the situation is relatively anonymous.”

As the grave effects of trolling have become more prominent in Australian mass media, support services available to victims has also grown. These networks offer advice for victims on how best to respond to online bullying.

Firstly, ensure that you have the highest privacy settings possible. This way, only people you know have access to and can comment on your shared information.

Secondly, ignore and report. For the most part, these people do what they do to provoke and hurt others. If you don’t respond in the way they desire, they won’t gain any satisfaction. Reporting this behaviour will also help prevent others from experiencing the same attacks.

Most importantly, if you have been the victim of cyberbullying or “trolling,” seek help. Often, many of the online and over the phone anti-bullying networks offer free and anonymous counselling and support.

If you need help, contact lifeline on 13 11 14 or make an appointment with Macquarie University’s free, on-campus counselling and psychological services. grapeshotmq.com.au

REGULARS Student Voice 14 | 15 History in Review 16 Revitalise 16 Lifestyle 17

CHANGING

STUD VOI WORDS

Sam Bradshaw

The Abbott government has provid Discrimination Act Section 18C (s get away with racist slurs, harassme

understand the concept of free

No one wants people to be racist, right? Obviously the government should stop these people. And surely any such commentary wouldn’t add much to the public debate anyway?

Have you ever heard someone say something racist? Maybe that crazy uncle or another uni student who told that joke?

Australians have long had a reputation for being far more casually racist than most countries, despite laws that are supposed to prevent it.

So, who has to fear the dreaded Racial Discrimination Act? Journalists do. Will Australia’s newspapers start vilifying people because we repeal this law? Probably not. The unfortunate side effect is that they can’t discuss, for example, a program for Indigenous people that isn’t meeting its objectives. They refuse to discuss Indigenous public policy even when it’s failing, because if they say anything about it they might offend someone, and breaching s.18C would be too disastrous to their business. This is the freedom of speech issue – we’re not having a debate about an important public policy issue because of this law.

And what about that one broadcaster who just insists on being racist? No one enjoys it, but there is a benefit – any time a public figure says something offensive, the country rises up to refute them. This has always been a more effective way of changing minds than an Act of Parliament. Racism festers because people can be racist with impunity. We can’t challenge them publicly if it happens underground.

Write a law that actually tackles racism and I’ll stand behind it; but s.18C doesn’t. It fails so egregiously while stifling debate on issues that we desperately need to talk about.

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Sam Bradshaw is the former President of the Macquarie University Liberal Club and is basically Ron Paul with better hair.

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G THE ACT

DENT ICE

ded proposals to change the

s.18C).

Racial

Does this mean people can ent, and derogatory language? We e speech, but is this too much?

WORDS

Lachlan Woods The Abbott government’s proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act represent an abject failure to understand how racism affects people in the real world.

Racism is not just rude jokes at the pub, it’s a collection of systematic disadvantages that cripple the ability of people to live free and prosperous lives. Everyone from anthropologists to psychologists have repeatedly linked racial vilification with racially motivated violence. The repeal of s.18C should not occur because it not only protects people against racial harassment, but also has minimised social disharmony for many years.

Yet the proponent of these changes, Attorney-General George Brandis, wants to excise these safeguards based on his misunderstanding of how free of speech works. People cannot be free in a society that permits racism, they cannot be free to speak their mind, they cannot be free from harassment because of their race, and they cannot be free to participate equally in public discourse. Nothing kills freedom of speech more than the capacity for unabated prejudice in public discourse. This is not about enhancing freedom, this is about restricting it to those already in positions of privilege. Particularly given to those who the changes are intended for.

Lachlan Woods is a member of the executive of the Macquarie University Greens and enrolled in the Bachelor of Planning degree

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It’s transparent that the amendments are in response to conservative commentator, Andrew Bolt, after being reprimanded for soap boxing from beyond the realms of human decency. Not to mention the factual inaccuracies, with his comments about people of Aboriginal decent in 2009. Racism is a real thing that affects real people. Therefore, to prevent Andrew Bolt from playing amateur anthropologist is a small price to pay so that we maintain social cohesion in a free society.

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HISTORY IN REVIEW

UNVEILING JESUS OF NAZARETH: WHY DO WE THINK HE WAS WHITE? WORDS | Claire Catacouzinos

A

rt history over the years has depicted Jesus as white, blue eyed, with long shoulder length hair and a long beard. Where has this image come from? There were never any physical descriptions about Jesus in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, so why in the 21st century are there films and images produced of Jesus looking this way? People rely on relics, like the Shrowd of Turin that is a cloth bearing an image of a man (with long hair and a beard) who has suffered from physical trauma from crucifixion. Many believers think this is the cloth that covered Jesus after he was crucified, but how can that be when radiocarbon dating has shown it to be from medieval times?

Over two thousand years, Art history has depicted Jesus with a changing face. First, he has short, light brown hair, he’s white, and he looks like a young boy from the Byzantine era, then in another century he’s bronze, dark haired, and looking like a thirty year old, then during the Renaissance era they made him white, with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. In different Western and Eastern cultures, Jesus has been imagined differently, he either looks Hispanic, Arabic, European, or Black. And if Jesus was white and blue eyed, don’t you think the eye witness accounts, according to the gospels, would have stated that Jesus was a different looking man from the norm? Is this why there was no point in writing a physical description about him, because he looked like men at the time in Judea and Galilee?

It all comes down to how artists have interpreted the face of Jesus. We will never truly know what he looked like. However, we must not forget historical facts and evidence from the 1st Century AD. The BBC’s documentary series, Son of God, looks for the historical figure of Jesus, behind years of theology and faith. With forensic techniques, the makers of this documentary reconstructed an interpretation of Jesus’ face from a Jewish man’s skull in the 1st Century AD. What do you think?

COLOUR THERAPY WORDS | Sukriti Gautam

C

olour therapy is the latest discovery of an ancient science. According to science, colours have wavelengths that are visible through our naked eyes (electro-magnetic energy). The colour we see is what is ref lected from the object. So, a red ball attracts all colour wavelengths but the red. Colours not only have the power to change one’s mood, but also have healing properties.

The oldest known colour therapist was Orpheus in Greece, in the 6th century who used the vibration energy of light for healing and spiritual purposes. Let us understand the qualities of some of these colours.

Red is associated with power and is very useful in curing arthritis, pains and backaches. Excess of red leads to a dominant and angry nature.

Yellow is a liberating, inspiring and thought-provoking colour that is known to increase clarity of thought and mental

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awareness. It has an influence on pancreas. Excess of yellow leads to lack of concentration and malice.

Green is a balancing and neutralising colour that is known to connect us to unconditional love and harmonising our whole being. Green affects blood pressure and all conditions of the heart. Excess of green leads to jealousy, insecurity and lack of motivation.

Blue is a relaxing and tranquillising colour that is known to promote communication and speech. It is associated with openness and peace, and is useful in curing throat-related diseases, like a cough and cold. Excess of blue leads to doubt, distrust and sadness.

Violet is a spiritual and divine colour that is known to enhance creativity and self-awareness. Violet is associated with a state of perfect bliss and contentment, and is useful in curing depression, autoimmune disorders, and psychosis. Excess of violet leads to fanaticism and extreme passion.

White is the best colour as it is formed by all colours; in perfect balance and harmony. White light raises the vibration of one’s consciousness and the body, bringing harmony in all aspects of one’s life. Directing white into a part of the body that needs healing, is one of the fastest ways to bring about healing.

By imagining that the desired colour falls upon us or the desired part of our body, we can heal the mind, and the body will surely follow suit.

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Feminist review

WOMEN DESERVE

BETTER

A few weeks ago, an article about celebrity-wannabe Josie Cunningham was brought to my attention. She was planning to get an abortion in order to fulfil her career and I was very much like “you go girl!” (Until I realised that her career aspirations included Big Brother and a pink Range Rover).

WORDS | Jo Clark-Wroe

However, it shouldn’t matter what her career aspirations are or what I think of them. What matters is that a woman, regardless of her reason, should be entitled to one of her basic human rights, which is, yes, you guessed it, abortion.

Choosing to have an abortion is a complicated and confusing decision that doesn’t need to be made more difficult by legislation.

You can argue over and over again, “but a foetus has a heartbeat and fingernails.” However, it could be able to do the Macarena and that would still not change the fact that it is the person who is pregnant that has the RIGHT to make the decision.

Sonya Renee’s poem, ‘What Women Deserve’ highlights the issues with governmental policies and a society that doesn’t support single mothers “that just flat out don’t want to pay for shit, but want to control the woman who’s having it.”

estimated 68 000 women die every year from unsafe abortion, and the millions more who are injured.

Enough is enough with people who are more outraged at abortion than they are towards the hypocritical culture that is embedded in our society. Enough is enough with people who are more outraged at abortion than they are at the fact that an

We cannot place abortions on a spectrum of “good” or “bad,” and the women who choose to have an abortion cannot be ranked on a scale of deserving to undeserving. Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy. It’s about time more people realised that.

NORMCORE WORDS | Megan Smith Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the age of normcore. “What is normcore?” Oh, you lucky bastard, I’m about to enlighten you.

Normcore, and its unfortunate moniker, gained traction through a New York Times fashion column titled “Normcore: Fashion for Those Who Realize They’re One in 7 Billion”, and is now a legitimate thing. It is sadly not about a newfound, frenzied fandom for Norm from Cheers.

Essentially, normcore is a response to the outlandish hipster get-ups that have been clogging up the streets for the past five years. The aim is to dress like the average civilian.

Here is a list of things with the essence of normcore: • Larry David.

• Middle aged tourists wandering around Circular Quay wearing rip-off North Face jackets, taking pictures of seagulls.

• You, that time you slept in and came to uni looking like shit and didn’t worry about it until a stupidly attractive grapeshotmq.com.au

person came near you, so you went to the bathroom to try to make yourself look better, and you resolved to make an effort next time, but you just end up doing the same thing the next week. Nope, just me? Cool.

However, don’t get ahead of yourself, you can’t just wear your average clothes and be considered truly normcore, oh no. It is, of course, intended to be a little more sophisticated than the hoi polloi’s. This is a movement that is over hipsterdom, but doesn’t want to desert the subculture’s beloved investment in irony. It’s basically just rebranded 90’s minimalism with a steeper price tag, because it’s just not fashion if it’s not out of the average consumer’s reach.

Still want to dress normcore? Think sneakers with luxe t-shirts, skivvies, button-ups, Birkenstocks and some utility jackets, and you’re on the right track. The look is meant to be the classic “I’m not trying to look this gorgeous, but I actually spent half an hour last night deciding which Bassike grey marl t-shirt would make people question if I’m taking out the rubbish or about to be snapped by We The People.”

I do tip my hat to it though, pretending we’re all special snowflakes has become nauseating. So, my biggest piece of fashion advice is, wear whatever you want, wear some clothes, or don’t. We’re all going to die anyway. Quite frankly, I don’t know how much longer I want to live in a world that doesn’t celebrate seminal alcoholic Norm Peterson anyway. grapeshot magazine | page 17

THE A-MUSEING STUDY SPACE WHICH STUDY SPACE IS RIGHT FOR YOU? WORDS | Brendon D’Souza

F

rom the moment the presenters of a HSC preparation workshop told our year eleven cohort of the memoryboosting qualities of using coloured pens, I made it a point to switch to coloured inks in my note-taking. I raced to the shops and picked up the two packs of Papermate Kilometrico’s in standard and neon colours and got to work, filling the pages of my exercise books with scribbles and scrawlings, that would help me remember the facts. Due to the added choices, my notes were soon accompanied by images and diagrams that suited the text. Not only were the notes easyer to read, but they were fun. Suddenly, study became like walking through a personal art gallery, where I viewed and critiqued the works, which my brain photographed into its banks.

Our mental awareness is not the only system that can be aided by colour. Mixing up the colours on your dinner plate is a good way of ensuring your body is getting a the full spectrum of nutrients naturally occurring in foods. (Breif about the various qualities of coloured foods).

With the opening of the MUSE space on the second floor of the old Library this year, came the opportunity to experience a new way of studying – in colour. Woods Bagot, the architectural firm behind the alternative design divided the area into coloured sections, each with its own mood and purpose. So which space is right for your study?

Yellow: As you enter MUSE Street from the main entrance you will find the trapezoidal, lemon-yellow walls of the first shared study space . Within this room expect to feel clear, bright and uplifted . Yellow is known to aid memory so this space is perfect for last minute cramming. Yellow does however evoke irritation , so group work is definitely a no-no here.

Orange: The enclosed spaces are perfect for group work, with enough seats for eight to ten people per room. It’s hinged panels can be adjusted for privacy. Orange is a natural anti-depressant and promotes creativity, but it is known to induce hunger . Let’s hope your group leader remembers to pack the secret stash of goodies for break time.

Blue: The Study Square is the perfect zone for creative thinking and relaxation, as blue has a powerful sedative effect on the body .

It is the perfect spot for individual study: especially drafting ideas when you first tackle that assignment. Blue helps to suppress hunger , but too much of it can be depressing, so avoid spending too much time in here.

Green: At the very back of MUSE is the MUSE Garden space.

Parsley green walls, foam couches, armchairs, daybeds. The only thing not green is the grey carpet. With its strong connection to nature, this space will help you relax and feel refreshed ; even the neon ‘Recharge’ sign is hinting at this. Perfect for flicking over notes or light reading. page 18 | grapeshot magazine

Pink: Adjacent to the ‘Garden’ are the pink and black individual study booths that are handy for recharching laptops and other electronic devices. Pink will alleviate the loneliness of self-study , but has the ability to lower one’s heart rate, so it’s probably not good for anything too rigourous, or you may risk falling asleep.

White: The white booths with the aluminium frames are perfect for group discussion or light communal study. White is the symbol of purity and peacefulness so it will be useful when negotiating ideas with your group members. grapeshotmq.com.au

FEATURES B&W Cinematography | Job & Race | Student Politics | Politics & Religion | Contemporary Penny Dreadful

WORDS | Raelee Lancaster

“THE AUDIENCE CAN WATCH THE FILM WITHOUT BEING DISTRACTED FROM THE ACTION BY COLOUR,” SAID FILM-MAKER, WRITER, FILM EDITOR, FILM THEORIST, AND THEATRE AND OPERA DIRECTOR, ANDREI TARKOVSKY IN HIS 1966 INTERVIEW WITH MARIA CHUGUNOVA. BLACK-AND-WHITE FILMS HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRANSCEND TIME. THE AUDIENCE IS NOT ENRAPTURED IN THE BRIGHT, STRIKING COLOURS. INSTEAD, THEY ARE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THE FILM ITSELF AND SOAK IN THE WONDERFUL FILM TECHNIQUES, DIALOGUE AND MOTIFS, AS WELL AS CHARACTER AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT.

BLA -AN WH

ATSBY

THE GREAT G

The Great Gatsby is a great novel that has been turned into a film five times. At first, it was a black-and-white silent film. This was filmed in 1926, and sadly, this version has since been lost. The second was also a black-and-white film from 1946. The sequential film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literally creation were filmed in colour. While I quite liked these films and I wholeheartedly agree with critics who say that the 1920s were encapsulated perfectly in technicolour, I did feel as if I was being hypnotised by the colour aspect of the films, especially after watching the 1946 version.

4)

SABRINA (195

Sabrina (1954) is a personal favourite of mine, starring Audrey Hepburn. It follows the life of a chauffer’s daughter who is hopelessly (and almost fatally) in love with her father’s employer.

At the beginning, Sabrina is always hidden by shadows, and literally on the outside looking in. In the scene where Sabrina attempts suicide, it is shrouded in darkness. After her time spent abroad, she cuts her hair short as a symbol of her newfound maturity and sophistication, a trademark used by Hepburn in several other films, including Breakfast At Tiffany’s. In 1994, Sabrina was remade, this time in colour. While I enjoyed this version, I felt as if it was missing elements that the 1954 film captured explicitly, that made the lack of colour as a positive because they used strong techniques to convey the emotion and personality of the characters.

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ACK NDHITE OLD NEWS OR NEW FASHION LIST SCHINDLER’S Schindler’s List is another iconic black-and-white film. Filmed in 1993, Schindler’s List was created in a time where coloured television and cinema had been around for decades and was the cultural norm.

However, Steven Spielberg, the creative genius that he is, decided to film this movie in black-and-white. He was critically acclaimed for this, and the movie went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Best Film at the BAFTA Awards and Best Motion Picture (Drama) at the Golden Globes.

By filming in black-and-white, Spielberg was able to make the focus of the film on the plot and characters, who were the focal point of the film; not the colours of war-torn Germany. He used colour in certain parts of the film, namely for the red coat, to highlight an important aspect of the film and to make sure it captured the audience’s attention. Spielberg also filmed in black-and-white in order to give his film a documentary-type feel. The flim is based off a real person and Spielberg wanted to encapsulate that.

Another film which does this is To Kill A Mockingbird. This film was also filmed in a time where technicoloured films were the norm. I strongly believe that the movie would not have been half as good if it was filmed in colour. The strong, deep plotline called for a more serious undertone, which the black-and-white cinematography provided. Facial expression and shadows were used incredibly well and the segregation between the African-Americans and the “white” Americans was emphasised.

The black-and-white cinematography also gives it a documentary-type feel, like it did in Schindler’s List. This is an important aspect because the things that are portrayed in the film are based off things that had happened to real people, and it drove home the message that this type of power and behaviour must never happen again.

This would be no article about the intriguing nature of blackand-white films without mentioning Alfred Hitchcock. His films drive home the notion that black-and-white cinematography really is timeless. Half a century on and we’re still studying and enjoying his films regardless of their lack of technicolour. grapeshotmq.com.au

Some may let out groans of torment when I mention Mr. Hitchcock as he was studied quite fervently in high school.

Psycho (1960) is a timeless classic. Everybody knows the film and that iconic shower scene, even those who have never seen it before. Birds (1963) is another classic of Alfred Hitchcock’s.

He directed against a time of technicolour, and I’m glad he did. I have watched the black-and-white version of Birds, and the digitally remastered technicolour version, and I was quite disappointed with the latter. Hitchcock was able to capture the suspense and horror of this film in black-and-white perfectly, which the technicoloured version did not live up to the standards of the original.

Andrei Tarkovsky called colour film a “commercial gimmick,” and I would have to agree with that statement because colour and commercialism do seem to go hand in hand. We tend to associate a certain colour with a particular object or emotion. When seen on screen, these colours have the ability to evoke emotion from an audience, whereas blackand-white films have to use camera techniques, dialogue, and motifs to convey emotion. This allows the director to explore their artistic tendencies.

As previously stated, black-and-white films are timeless, and while they may be deemed “old-fashioned,” they seem to be making a comeback. In 2013, Noah Baumbach filmed Frances Ha in both black-and-white and technicolour. The former version is the only version I’ve seen, but I truly loved it. CBS News compared Frances Ha’s style to the works of Jim Jarmusch and François Truffaut. Tim Burton, whose creative genius is adored by millions, filmed his fourth stop-motion film, Frankenweenie, in black and white.

Other honourable mentions include, Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist, Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, and Frank Miller’s Sin City. While some of these films do use colour, it is only a small amount and only to highlight important aspects of the films, and to capture an audience’s attention like in Shindler’s List. grapeshot magazine | page 21

“My teachers said, ‘don’t you wanna become an athlete?’…

I wanted to become something that was outside of the paradigms of the people in power.”

–Neil DeGrasse Tyson WORDS | Alessandro Guarrera

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n odd look, a pout of the lips, someone stumbling over your name. A person asking “where are you from?” The question having nothing to do with state or suburb. These are some of the lighter forms of casual, everyday racism that many of us experience. Research suggests racism can be defined, broadly, as an arbitrary set of criteria based around one’s culture, bodily and facial characteristics, language, and other signs which a person is born with or given when young (signs used to judge and discriminate against people on a totalising basis of difference and inferiority).

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Racism, unfortunately, is a very active reality in many of our lives. Racist judgments are made of us without any basis in a geo-political reality, our face is our ‘race’. Does this mean our faces carry with them baggage through our lives which effects our choices, and the opportunities available to us, even in this enlightened age? I believe they do, otherwise problematic phrases in relation to race, such as ‘person of middle eastern appearance’, ‘ethnic’, or ‘oriental’, would be completely abandoned. What’s more, we would not have to suffer the indignity of reading the uneducated opinions of certain columnists who believe they’re the authority on what race is and should be based on skin colour.

CASE STUDY Student Tim Law, and staff member, Dr Elaine Laforteza, were interviewed and asked what their thoughts were on racism in Australia, and how it might have affected their job opportunities, career choices, and their lives more generally.

One of the aims was to determine whether ‘race’ played a role when deciding to embark on their study or career path. “Definitely,” said Elaine. Her thesis and research interests use critical theories of race and whiteness, examining the origins and pathways of radicalising practices, identities, and stereotypes.

Tim said no, “Unless we’re talking about the invisibility of whiteness and how I longed to be a part of it.” When Tim began working in news media, there were only “five other Asian guys,” with a friend of his having broken through certain ceilings to become the first Asian manager outside of the IT departments.

Though he is happy with his job, further discussions revealed, the all too apparent reality, that a career in front of the camera would not have met similar success.

When asked if their study and career choices were affected by any influential figures, such as their parents, Tim answered no. He reached his current job as an editor at a major network station through a chance meeting when he was a clerk at Blockbuster. Media is something he moved into through a love of ‘make believe’ and storytelling, and a documentation of the real, rather than racial considerations.

For Elaine, she was inspired to become a lecturer by some of her high-school teachers and her third-year university tutor.

In her words, her teachers taught her that “…cultural studies attempts to dissect something that was necessary to imbibe in order to live an ethical life. All of them made me see that classrooms can be sites of activism and that knowledge (or more specifically, challenging dominant knowledge) is a very powerful thing.”

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“Some people ‘inside’ my race have been encouraging, but many also feel like I am being a trouble-maker, in terms of failing to fit the model of an assimilated ‘model minority’. “ –Dr Elaine Laforteza This notion of invisible whiteness has coloured many class discussions, essays, and projects which Macquarie University’s cultural studies departments have facilitated. Professor Joseph Pugliese has spoken previously of the ‘quasi prior,’ a state in which an individual is categorized according to certain signifiers, making and unmaking themselves as an individual, falsely grouping them according to certain racial stereotypes.

Pugliese often speaks of how he’d be stereotyped as an ‘ethnic,’ of ‘middle eastern appearance’.

Whether applying for jobs, courses, or simply trying to pass through social encounters, this kind of ‘quasi prior’ thinking is frighteningly damaging. Society has structured itself where whiteness becomes the norm, and all other considerations are passed over or made secondary. This sort of prejudice results in a racial profiling that extends from police procedure, such as being the only one who is asked to strip off clothing in the airport, or in social situations where people may suspiciously avoid sitting next to you, on an otherwise full bus. As Elaine put it, “My body came before me, prompting people to assume a discrepancy between how I look and what I sound like. My body came before me, already formed by the convergence of whiteness and Orientalism.” To combat racism, we must step beyond these naturalized dichotomies of white/other, and have open dialogues of inclusiveness and understanding. Otherwise we will forever be impaired as people by a primitive notion we should long have left by the wayside.

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STUDENT POLITICS WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

WORDS | Satyajeet Marar

Let’s be honest. ‘Student representation and ‘student election’ aren’t exactly the sexiest phrases. To some they conjure up images of pouty busybodies or popularity contests.

To others though, they’re a chance to sink one’s teeth into a platform for real change and to make a difference in the lives of others at

Macquarie. In recent years we’ve

witnessed the steady marginalization of student representation.

So the

question is, what’s wrong and why should you care?

A

t 4:40pm on the 17th of April, polling for the student advisory board and academic senate grinded to a halt.

Turns out a minor procedural flaw by the university had resulted in the voiding of all student votes.. Weeks of campaigning by candidates, many working through intense assignment periods, disregarded. Now as hilarious as that situation is, it is a cause for concern because the marginalization of those representing students means the marginalization of the issues they are fighting for – including parking availability, tutorial hours, speedier wifi and conception day plans. The error in question? The failure to display a preferential voting option on the online voting page, contrary to university by-laws. Allegedly, no-one noticed this error until the very last minute. This incident has occurred within a wider context of university policy that has slowly taken away from the voice of the student.

the to

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In 2012, newly elected members of Macquarie University Student Representative Association (MUSRA) were unceremoniously told their body was to be shut down and replaced with a less democratic ‘advisory’ student board, functioning for half planned tenure and with far less power. It had only limited means make recommendations to the university – let alone to implement them.

Major changes to university policy had been undertaken with no prior consultation of the SAB and the ability of these students to make a change had been compromised by excessive procedural requirements. Associations such as Macquarie University Postgraduates Association (MUPRA ) – the peak representative body for postgraduates has been shut down completely, denying postgraduate students a forum to voice their concerns, as well as the many services that they provided. We’ve also seen sudden changes to various degree programs, the changes to the Department of Chiropractic being the mostly controversial in recent times.

A wider culture that doesn’t respect student representation means more mistakes, less consultation and less regard for the concerns of those who attend here. There is no denying that the university has done a lot for us in recent years with improvements in various student services, great new facilities such as the MUSE study space and other improvements. For these, they ought to be commended. However, student elections should not be seen as some irksome burden to be done away with before the real work can begin.

They provide an opportunity to listen to the student voice, to build a less cynical, stronger, more united and passionate community and active campus life. They are a great platform for feedback that improves outcomes for all. We’ve committed ourselves to years of study, incurring swathes of debt in the process – often against offers from competitor universities. Students and those who represent them deserve to be treated with respect and professionalism and for the university to keep faith with longstanding historical practice and our rightfully justified expectations. grapeshotmq.com.au

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WORDS | Ben McCarthy

From the very first time you step foot in just about any university around the country, students’ exhibits of countless political and religious groups around campus are ubiquitous.

From Labor and Liberal clubs, to Christian to Muslim and atheist groups, educational institutions provide a fantastic outlet for students to express opinions and recognise fellow students’ preferences. However, as we see during our daily newspaper pondering, politics and religion can act as catalysts in often fiery debates around, not only the country, but also the world. In keeping with the black and white theme of this edition of Grapeshot, I have explored the myriad of political and religious groups around campus, and to uncover whether or not such fiery debate exists.

Now, unless you live under a rock, (or alternatively skip every lecture you can possibly afford) then you are bound to see either posters or people advertising various political groups and clubs that have been founded with Macquarie’s campus. From Labor, to Liberal, to Greens, and yes, probably even to the much revered ‘Sex Party,’ you can be assured that a student group probably exists. No matter what your political preference, it is encouraging to see that the very systems that run our country have been able to manifest themselves within an educational setting. Combine this proactive mindset with the many political units on offer at Macquarie and you’ve got yourself a university full of future game-changers. In order to unearth the answers to some of my political queries, I consulted good friend and former Young Labor member, Tim Grellman.

‘It’s

great to be a part of a political group,’ Tim said. ‘It allows you to meet new people that not only have the same views, but differing views as well. B eing in a university where people are given the decision to freely choose their political party, provides a different perspective, one that you may

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not have been privy to. enlightening.’

Definitely

When asked about any possible animosity between political groups on campus, Tim was, to my surprise, strikingly full of praise. “In my personal experience, everyone gets on reasonably well. Many of my friends are in political groups that oppose my views, but we are respectful of each other’s preferences, and I think it’s good to see that.”

While acknowledging the “odd nutter,” as Tim so eloquently put, it did surprise me to not detect any blatant bitterness towards opposition parties.

Of course it wouldn’t be too sporting of me if I didn’t include the views of those affiliated with the Liberal party.

However opposed in political terms, one Young Liberal member who wishes to remain nameless was equally as diplomatic in his response. “Things are very relaxed at Macquarie University. No one takes themselves too seriously.

I am actually good mates with the current Young Labor president. It provides opportunities for networking as we are affiliates with like-minded groups at other universities.”

Perhaps our current Federal and State politicians could learn a thing or two from these groups at Macquarie.

Similar to politics, religion is also a hot spot for debate around campus. “It is good being a part of a religious group on campus,” Christian Union (CU) member Alex Bennett says to me when discussing religion on campus.

“It definitely makes you think deeper about your faith and gives you a place to express that faith.” This ‘space’ provided by university can’t be missed as you journey through campus. When asked about the relationships between other faiths on campus, Alex contently says that, “there’s a definite mutual respect between faiths on campus. I have shared spaces with people following other faiths and it seems as though there is a mutual understanding between us all.” Through learning of this willingness by other faiths to share space and communicate openly with other students, it became increasingly apparent to me that there is an unbreakable bond between the groups and their respective members. It is perhaps the mutual appreciation that fellow students and classmates have taken the time out to join these groups and celebrate the decisions in life that make them unique. Yet these student groups in an educational setting provide a rather peaceful and respectful exchange of political and religious ideas for other students to learn about. We’re all in this together!

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CONTEMPORARY PENNY WORDS | Blake Antrobus

I

t’s to my relative embarrassment, or my relative relief, choose whichever you seem fit, that I haven’t yet read the widely regarded abhorrence, more commonly known as the Twilight series. Call it an error of judgement on my part, but with the self-masturbatory tween fandom running rampant around the bookstores, I can hardly be blamed for shunning the bandwagon.

It isn’t simply out of spite. As if to prove that current fads and trends are just ‘too mainstream,’ I enact similar sentiments to How I Met Your Mother, business-trade chai tea, and SIDS (reasons unrelated). It’s more so because the very idea of trampling all over dedicated fans seems the same as holding candy just out of the reach of a sleep deprived three-year-old. Much to my sadistic delight, and the derivative anger of the child, it begins to look just plain dumb after a while.

This act of sadistic bait and switch overshadows part of my career as a writer, if not all of it. After all, there’s now the ‘expectation’ (note ‘expectation,’ not ‘leisure,’ or ‘right’) that people in the profession are to be widely read. And from that, possessing the ability to discern good fiction from bad, if ever history provided a case. So my love of Orwell, Austen, Tolkien, and Proust are marred by the very instance of all of them being in storage and inevitably unreadable. This leaves only enough room for Jack Daniels and a copy of Writer’s Forum on my desk.

Shaming other writing has never been above the professionals.

Stephen King famously compared the works of J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, concluding that the latter “couldn’t write worth a darn.” Swelling, tears, and heartache from the mob ensues, and King is cornered by his own accusations. It makes me wonder how both of them would wash up, had Hollywood not jumped the shark and approached them for filming rights; millions, and literally, millions, are still being made from the publishing rights alone. Cut the profits, cut to the chase, and we might have ourselves two people sitting at their desks, waiting for the cash to arrive in the mail.

As depressing as it seems, this may well be the lived reality for many writers who never made it out of the gate. Strip a hardcover down to its barebones, and you’ll find the tedious allocation of pennies to the publisher, agent or bookstore, and eventually, the mind behind the masterpiece. All that’s left, at the end of the day, are pennies necessary to run an empire. Rarely will you find someone in the likes of Ian McEwan or Martin Amis, who have been heralded as literary legends with a paycheck to boot.

Quite often I’ve heard the argument put forward, that some of the novels are considered ‘literary abominations’ (i.e. Twilight, Fifty Shades, and virtually all internet fan fiction). They act as popular encouragement to entice people to read again. An almost novelistic opiate, so to speak. We should have a greater respect for their position in the bookstores, drawing people away from virtual and digital reality and into a far more valuable pastime. I suppose it is true. However, the same can be said for any other novel that has encouraged people to keep reading. Novels are hardly an issue of black or white. Even John Green, credited with Looking for Alaska and The Faults in our Stars, can be slid alongside the ranks of Meyer in terms of ‘popcorn-crunching crowds’. I genuinely enjoyed Looking for Alaska, for its humane characters and tale of teenage love and sacrifice, even though it looks and presents itself like a melodrama. Although, if we’re going to get people into reading, we need a better plan, not tossing them hardened fantasy or sci-fi and a good cup of tea. Penny dreadfuls may exist to draw the non-readers into the sunlight, and then a firmer anchor to keep them attached, whetting their appetite for the books that have transformed history. grapeshotmq.com.au

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Otherwise known by his pseudonym ‘The Ant’, Blake Antrobus is an Australian writer and poet. He is the author of The Escapist Set Free and Natsukage. His debut novel Chasing Summer is slated for a 2014 release. He lives in Sydney, Australia. Visit his blog at: www.theantblog.com.

grapeshot magazine | page 27

CREATIVE Light & Shadow Frankie Poetry: Agapi

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LIGHT A N D

Bert Flugelman’s Cones. Located in the sculpture garden of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. The stainless steel sculpture is more than 20 metres in length.

SHADOW WORDS | Nicholas Rider Light and shadow flood the city Roaming the streets in search for refuge An open window, an open door

A sky-scraper Circular Quay.

Dancingoverlooking on rooftops of high rise buildings Then falling gracefully To the crowds below

At the footsteps of work bound strangers Before quickly disappearing To continue their journey

Light and shadow flood the land

PHOTOS | Nicholas Rider

Skirting their way through sculpted gardens An open space, an open playground

Crossing the lengths of wooden bridges Through dappled forests And over ebbing waters

Intervals taken to possess the sea As well as the cloud covered sky above A journey never ending

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grapeshot magazine | page 29

The roof of Parliament House. Each year Parliament House receives around one million visitors from Australia and overseas. It offers a great view of Canberra.

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Throughout the streets of Bern, Switzerland, there is a range of statues. This picture depicts one.

A walking track in the reserve that surrounds Lake Alexandra, Mittagong.

A street art covered wall in Newtown. grapeshotmq.com.au

grapeshot magazine | page 31

The Urunga Boardwalk, in the Bellingen Shire south of Coffs Harbour. It is close to one kilometre in length.

Avoca Beach on the Central Coast and its rocky headlands at each end of the beach.

page 32 | grapeshot magazine

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LIGHT

Bert Flugelman’s Cones: located in the sculpture garden of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. The stainless steel sculpture is more than 20 metres in length.

WORDS | Nicholas Rider

A

N

D

SHADOW

Light and shadow flood the city Roaming the streets in search for refuge An open window, an open door Dancing on rooftops of high rise buildings Then falling gracefully To the crowds below At the footsteps of work bound strangers Before quickly disappearing To continue their journey Light and shadow flood the land Skirting their way through sculpted gardens An open space, an open playground Crossing the lengths of wooden bridges Through dappled forests And over ebbing waters Intervals taken to possess the sea As well as the cloud covered sky above A journey never ending

A sky- scraper overlooking Circular Quay.

A street art covered wall in Newtown.

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grapeshot magazine | page 33

FRANKIE WORDS | Jack Cameron Stanton

I patched Frankie’s scalp using scissors to cut the hair around the wound, ignoring his cries when the alcohol dosed the sore. Roach came outside with another six-pack of Three Gents.

‘Damn, you weren’t kiddin, the fucker’s a mess.’ Roach sat by the bannister. ‘Got anything to show?’

‘Any what?’ I asked, sitting next to Roach.

‘Don’t gimme that, the man with the poor memory has an

page 34 | grapeshot magazine

excellent pen, right?’

‘Shame, I lack both right now.’ I reached into my jacket and retrieved the paper. I had to close one eye to tame the blurriness enough to decipher my scrawl: ‘Maybe I should tell you how hungry I am,

or how the days of sloth –

– made my chest flabby and fingers deflated.’

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Frankie peered over my shoulder. ‘Ah, ‘ow come ya writin is all over the joint?’ I stopped squinting. White blotches twinkled in my periphery, then dissipated.

couldn’t tell, couldn’t see her eyes. . . some party was raging at the farm, nothing “too rowdy,” she assured, “but enough to let loose.”

‘Couldn’t see so well in the dark, and the pen kept running dry on me.’ I kept at it.

The next section had been washed with beer and become illegible. ‘ – she blamed distance, I heard her sweet German voice. She accused the impossibility from the beginning, I saw rosebuds in her cheeks.’ My hands shook venomously. I lost my place again. ‘When she spoke of the Canadian boy, after all the bullshit, she said, “I think it’s love this time.”’

‘Yesterday, I stared at my belly, watched raindrops cascade down my stomach, greasy gruyere melting in the fryer, my mind runs on reveries –’ Roach cut me short. ‘Jaheesus-fuckin-christ, I thought you were writing a story, not homage to Plath.’

I shoved the notes back into my pocket. ‘Just raw ideas.

Hadn’t planned on using them. Wrote them last night at the beach.’

‘I mean, they’re not bad. But, you know,’ he drained a beer, grabbed another, ‘they lack resonance, know what I mean?’ Here we go, more fuel for writing myths. Stories aren’t written, they’re discovered. Drink coffee, smoke Camels, fuck women. Grab a glistening suit while you’re at it, Jack, my boy, there’s hope for you yet.

‘Show ‘im the one with the girly an’ all that,’ Frankie said. The words came out muffled between his grinding teeth.

‘To me, it migh as well be fuckin poetry.’

‘Alright, yeah, lemme hear it,’ Roach said. He cracked his Three Gents and another for me. I pulled out another set of notes. I could wet my appetite for melodrama later.

‘I knew Melanie for years before I loved her. It happened without contemplation. Some call it poetic…’

‘Yessir, poetic to the fuckin gills.’ ‘. . . but I think it’s the plague. Your hands sweat, the hairs on your chest become repulsive, and better go easy on the whiskey, Sonny Jim. I remember her German accent, enchanting, stumbling. One Sunday, in bright seven-inthe-morning sunlight, Melanie tip-toed towards me. Her lapis-lazuli eyes widened when she grew excited, drooped in crescents the night after she drank. ‘She asks me, “Jack, please, I want to spend time away, adventure to further places. Maybe the central desert, or a farm in the backwaters of the cities. I found a place wanting work for the season fair, way West of Melbourne.” We had discussed this before. She knew I couldn’t come. Work at the bookshop was demanding and the pay handsome.’ I stopped to smoke. ‘She played the silent coercion card, and I had to fold.’ My dormant heart reignited, palpitating with anxiety.

Roach interrupted. ‘Skip over a bit, get to the crux of it.

I’m itching for some tequila then dig into the blotters.’

I did as he wanted, scanning past the aimless digressions of the loveless, want in neglect, pacing of rooms, so on. Then I found it.

‘She called close to 11:00pm. She may have been drunk, I

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‘Ahhhh, don’t let her get the best of you, my brother,’ Roach said. ‘She’s just another woman living in her insulate world.’

I lit another cigarette. I believed him. ‘Think I loved her too much to resent her now. Can’t stop loathing the emptiness, the ennui. Don’t know how to write fiction anymore, either.’

‘PITTER-PATTER PITTER-PATTER CAN YA HEAR THE SKELETONS ON THE ROOF? CAN YA? GET MAH CAMERA OR SOMETHIN, WOULD YA JACK, WOULD YA CHIEF?’ ‘Be cool Frankie,’ I said. ‘It’s just the possums. Last owners built a wooden house in the jacaranda right next to the roof gutters. Goddamn philanthropists, those ones. No wonder they sold the place.’

‘Alright, I know what’ll cheer you up,’ Roach said, face transparent as drenched tissues. The drink had taken its hold on him, but I felt sober and cold in the descending darkness.

His feet tippity-tapped and his hands jittered on the bannister like hungered eels. ‘Think about it my brothers,’ he began. ‘Plenty of space in my basement to brew it. All we need to do is sack the couch and then we have room for a fermenter, condenser, big-ass mahogany barrels, you name it.’

I mulled it over. ‘I guess we wouldn’t worry about selling chess pieces for grog?’

‘I knew you’d like it my brother.’ Roach’s eyes bulged like those of a praying mantis. ‘Whadda bou you Frankie?’

Frankie stood up, one hand nursing the back of his head, the other holding an unopened Three Gents. ‘Ya fuckers aint ever catchin me, no sir, I aint ever goin for no lerbotermy, no sir, not ever.’

And I wondered, sculling my own Three Gents, feeling the drink invade my system, whether a diligent nail through the skull could allay these horrible memories, gnawing in my skull. On paper it seemed a quick fix indeed. Maybe I should write that down, could make a story one day. When I escape from here.

Roach stood up and passed through the screen door, returning with blotters and a bottle full of amber tequila.

There was nothing left to do tonight, my pendulum man, except keep swaying back and forth, back and forth . . .

grapeshot magazine | page 35

A

GAPI WORDS | Claire Catacouzinos We’re a bow you’re one loop I’m the other our love tying us together.

Side by side lying in your room you hold my hand trace lines on my palm

tickles ripple like you and me.

You kiss me tenderly in Greek you whisper

agapi mou

my love.

I close my eyes huddle to you

your warmth

your touch

your smell replenishes my soul.

Flick a tear away I know I will miss you I will love you until the day comes when we draw

our last breath.

We’re a lucky few that get to live here.

page 36 | grapeshot magazine

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ACROSS THE BAR

HOROSCOPES

LIAR LIAR My friend is a pathological liar. It’s gotten so bad that I never know when he’s telling the truth anymore. He’ll lie about anything and everything, even super mundane things.

Lately, it’s just becoming too exhausting. Is it worth saving this friendship?

WORDS | Manisha Josephraja

J

ust admit it, white lies are kind of fun. They have their place in social etiquette and within reason, they can sometimes get you out of incredibly uncomfortable situations. They can enhance just about any story, especially when used to build upon actual events. Lies can also be very tricky, and depending on their level of complexity, have the tendency to backfire.

Pathological liars, however, take lying to the next level, and in many cases it has become second nature. Pathological lying can also be indicative of greater problems, such as borderline personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder. The foundation of any fulfilling relationship is trust, so without this, maintaining this friendship is not going to be an easy task. If this kind of behaviour is affecting your relationship negatively, which I suspect it has to be, maybe it’s time you make some decisions. You can either confront this person about the issue if this relationship is important to you, or decide to cut ties instead. You should never lie about important things to people you care about, there’s no excuse for that, except, well, being a shit person.

Basically, if you’re going to lie, try and make them somewhat believable and only tell them to strangers. Also, hope to Christ that you’ll never see this person again because your next encounter will be so awkward when you can’t remember which story you falsified.

Is there really a difference between lying and just leaving imperative information out? Probably not, but I’m a big fan of the latter. I’m beginning to realise how my stance on lying is making me appear… your new Lena Dunham inspired haircut really suits you though, I swear.

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ACROSS

THE BAR grapeshotmq.com.au

s t h g i N e m e h ?

T r a P ! b U ’ U #U to rty pho bar a r prize s a b e u s imate this is lt u in e d h e t Featur apeshot wins r First to G

Dear Bartender, So I have this really great guy friend who I have been best friends with for more than a year now.

Our friendship started off with me trying to be his wingwoman, and him being my wingman. We’d help each other get dates, but eventually we stopped bothering and just hung out at the bars. We both live on campus together and we also hang out heaps and even Skype during the holidays.

Dear Wingless Wing-Woman, Look, I’ll start off by saying that it sounds to me that you like this dude more than ‘just as a friend.’

Gah! The heart! It’s a fickle bitch isn’t it?

One second it’s all, ‘yo, we’re chill, I’m totally in sync with how you wanna feel today,’ then the next minute it’s all *BAM* UNREQUITED LOVE ATTACK! It’s like the rouge Pokémon you never wanted to own, ruining your life.

Recently, however, he told me he isn’t interested in just random Brutal truth my friend is that you’ve gotta make a move on this guy. ‘hook ups’ and is looking for something more serious. That’s when Let him know how you feel so that the stalemate you’re currently in I started to question our relationship. can move forward in one of two ways.

1. He likes you too, and thus public displays of affection and We’ve started talking about dating people more seriously, and now canoodling commence.

I find myself not wanting him to be with anyone and getting really 2. He only wants a friendship from you. After which point you sob jealous seeing him – even just talking with other girls when we go into a tub of Ben and Jerry’s for a night, accept that it is his greatout. I don’t know what to do! mothereffin-loss, wake up in the morning and continue your single-handed domination of the world.

Please help!

Wingless Wing-Woman grapeshotmq.com.au

The Bartender grapeshot magazine | page 39

COOKING WITH THE SMILING CHEF:

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE can y Moroc t r a e h a with e kitchen h t in p u Spice things !

Aussie classic

an twist on

T

he Indian within me has taken control in the past two years, instilling within me a craving for spice. He slowly boiled away my obsession with pasta: which began at the age of eight when I was convinced that an entire jar of tomato paste equaled the perfect sauce for my spaghetti, and continued to a pilgrim-esque adventure to the heart of cucina italia – Bologna. Upon my return to Oz, what started with the addition of sliced red chili to make an arrabbiata, was followed by the inclusion of cinnamon, cumin, and garam masala to my soups and casseroles.

Before I knew it, my experiments had evolved into pungent curries and tagines, which I harmonised by balancing the sacred six tastes that are essential to these cuisines: sweet, salty, spicy, sour, umami (savoury) and bitter. Moroccan cooking, I’ve found, best encapsulates this ideal with the combination of meat, vegetables, onions, spices and surprisingly, fruit; the latter of which adds both sweetness, and zing, mostly from the prized preserved citrus.

This month I hope I can inspire you to give spices a chance with my twist on the good old fashioned “Aussie” Dish, Apricot Chicken.

To the titular ingredients I’ve added cumin, cinnamon and chili, balancing it with the zest of a lemon and combining the savoury mushiness of chickpeas. The thing with spices though, is that you’ve got to play around with them according to your personal tastes, so use my recommendations and a guide and add more cinnamon for sweetness, cumin for savouriness or chili for piquancy. Who knows, perhaps you too will sprinkle through a spoonful of spices in your dinnertime dishes more often!

For more great recipes check out my website: brendonthesmilingchef.wordpress.com Brendon D’Souza a.k.a. The Smiling Chef :) Website: brendonthesmilingchef.wordpress.com

Like: Brendon The Smiling Chef Tweet: @bthesmilingchef

page 40 | grapeshot magazine

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CHICKEN TAGINE WITH COUS COUS & PINE NUTS Cooking Time 15 mins Serves 4-6 I pity the poor cabbage that was snapped up in an instant, then left to rot at the bottom of the fridge.

Introduce Mr. Savoy Cabbage to Ms. Desiree Potato (or maybe he’d prefer Mr. Coliban Potato) and you have a match made in veggie heaven.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Olive oil 1 medium red onion, peeled, finely sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tsp cinnamon powder 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp chili powder 400g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced 150g dried apricots 425g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed 400g can chopped tomatoes 2 tsp thyme leaves Small handful parsley, washed and chopped 200g cous cous 50g pine nuts

Toast the spices by heating 1tbsp olive oil in a tagine, or stainless-steel pot with a tight-fitting glass lid, over a low heat. Add the onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin and chili and cook stirring for 5 minutes until the spices are fragrant.

Add the chicken and brown over a medium heat.

Sprinkle the apricots over the chicken mixture, adding the chickpeas, tomatoes, thyme leave and 100mL cold water and stir. Cover the tagine with its lid, or use the glass lid for the pot and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. If you don’t have one of these simply crunch up a piece of baking paper large enough to cover the tagine, unroll and carefully place into the mixture. This will provide the same effect as the tagine lid, allowing the mixture to cook in its own juices.

While the tagine cooks place the cous cous in a glass or ceramic bowl, add 1tsp olive oil and black pepper. Cover with boiled water and stir. The safest way to do this is to use the same volume of water to cous cous so for 200g use about 200mL. Cover with a plate and leave to steam. This is probably the easiest way to cook cous cous.

Toast the pine nuts by heating a small frying pan over a medium heat. Toss the nuts into the dry pan for 1-2 minutes, or until golden.

When the tagine has cooked serve with the cous cous and sprinkle with pine nuts. grapeshotmq.com.au

grapeshot magazine | page 41

THE BARON, CASTLE HILL By day it’s a boutique coffee shop, by Friday night it’s a swanky spot for dinner and drinks. With an industrial aesthetic and laid back atmosphere, The Baron provides a welcome reprieve from chain coffee joints dominating the surrounding area. The daily queues around lunch time are a testament to its reputation as the place to be. Stop by in the morning for a cold-brewed coffee, meet up with a friend over a citrus iced tea, or mourn the results of your last assignment over one of the numerous beers they have on offer during a Friday night.

Avery Phillips

DISCO SYD CAF

THE STEW This issue we were on the lookout for some of Sydney’s cool-as-cucumber bars. What we found were some slick watering holes that offered a quirky night out.

THREE WILLIAMS In a neighbourhood that is abound by the hippest of brunch spots, Redfern’s Three Williams is the absolute best. Situated in an inconspicuous, transformed storage space on Elizabeth St, the décor is rustic and chic, with enough achingly attractive and famous patrons to give you whiplash. Don’t feel daunted, the staff ’s so sweet they’ll give you a toothache. The place is far from intimidating, and it just gets better when it comes to the food.

They are famed for their “narnies,” decadent sandwiches made with naan bread and mouth-watering fillings; but my personal favourite lunch consists of their peanut caramel milkshakes and chips, accompanied with garlic aioli sauce. It’s almost too difficult to decide what to choose, but rest assured, the menu will have your cravings covered. page 42 | grapeshot magazine

Megan Smith

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THE STEW #DiscoverSydney

GLENORIE BAKERY

OVER NEY FES

CAFÉ DELICATESSEN Voted Australia’s number one bakery, Glenorie Bakery is the kind of place you write home about. Owner and baker, Robert Pirina is known for bringing the famous cronut to Sydney’s shores. I ordered a latte, coffee éclair and of course the famous cronut. The latte wasn’t anything special, but the éclair was the best one I’ve had in Australia (and trust me, I’ve tried more than I like to admit), maybe even the world. The cronut, however, was on a level of its own. The lashings of vanilla crème and icing sugar brought the perfect level of sweetness and decadence to the pastry. I would absolutely recommend you take the drive down to Glenorie to try one of their divine pastries. You won’t regret it!

Giulianna Karoufeh

#DiscoverSydney Got a fun place, activity, or experience in Sydney to share? Tweet us your discoveries or Instagram photos, both @grapeshotmq to us with #DiscoverSydney and #grapeshot for a chance to win special prizes!

Visit online for more details.

THE GROUNDS OF ALEXANDRIA Welcome to the Grounds of Alexandria. Sounding more like an ancient site than an inner city café, this cafe roasts (hehe) a great range of specialty coffee for all you coffee connoisseurs. The café can be found within an early 20th century pie factory and if that, itself, isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, then maybe the onsite organic garden that is tended by a full-time horticulturalist could. Okay, so what about the coffee? The menu changes with the coffees seasons, but in the past, they have showcased blends from Africa, India, and even Guatemala. So, if you love your coffee a little bit fancy and in an oxygen rich environment, stride on down to the Grounds of Alexandria.

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SarahBasford

grapeshot magazine | page 43

REVIEWS Culture

GAMES

SIR, YOU ARE BEING HUNTED

You are alone, hungry and being hunted by packs of murderous robots wearing tweed jackets and top hats. An awfully inconvenient situation for sure, but if you can keep a low profile, then you may be able to make it out alive. While the repetitive quests and environments are uninspiring, the main appeal of Sir, You Are Being Hunted comes from the dynamic and unscripted behaviours of enemy patrols, creating a realistic and surprisingly terrifying experience of being on the run. That, and the existence of quintessentially British robots. Where else can you hear that your enemies have “lost the blighter”?

Avery Phillips

MUSIC

SHEEZUS | LILY ALEN

Lily Allen’s Sheezus is not her best album. Just as Allen is no stranger to controversy, her third studio album has not strayed from her overtly opinionated persona, however, there are more misses than hits. ‘Hard out Here’, the first single, does not seem to deliver the necessary oomph required of a single, but notably stands out for its ironic approach to feminism and probing lyrics.

‘Our Time’ is melodically reminiscent of Allen’s previous work but is alas, lacking her usually outspoken lyrics. Overall, this album is not comparable to It’s Not Me, It’s You, her previous release, which was more personal and ground-breaking for its time. Regrettably, although there is a subtle feel for Lily Allen’s signature style, Sheezus has failed to deliver a generally alluring and genuine record. Let’s just hope her appearance at Splendour in the Grass 2014 features more of her older tunes.

Marie Claire Selim

LUMINOUS | THE HORRORS

CHILD OF LIGHT

The core creators of Far Cry 3 have conjured up an entirely different experience devoid of blood, guts and guns. Child of Light is one of the most visually gorgeous games I’ve played. The story revolves around a young girl, Aurora, who must reclaim the sun, the moon, and the stars which have been stolen by an evil queen. Though sounding like a formulaic fairy-tale, this game offers so much more. The gameplay format follows the trend of sidescrolling indie games, but adds elements of RPG with a levelling up system.

Reminding me more of Pan’s Labyrinth than Sleeping Beauty, this game is a must-play for fans of beautifully drawn scenes, fluid gameplay and a penchant for thoughtful stories.

Sarah Basford

HEARTHSTONE

Blizzard’s Hearthstone throws together the World of Warcraft with the addictive card-gaming shenanigans of Magic: The Gathering to create something that’s practically guaranteed to become the next big, nerdy pastime. Hearthstone strikes a solid balance between being approachable and complex, while making it easy to transition to more competitive gameplay. The game is free to play with booster packs of cards costing either in-game gold, or real-world money, if you prefer.

Fergus Halliday

page 44 | grapeshot magazine

The Horror’s latest release was not what I expected to hear.

Apparently, they’ve released two albums since 2007 and they don’t dress like Robert Smith anymore. Instead, Luminous takes on a more 80s inspired, dream pop direction, showcasing more energetic tunes. Synths fly all over the place and Faris’ vocals scream out Britpop, but luckily, the overall ambience is just fun and will give you plenty of reasons to cabbage patch dance to.

Sarah Basford

BUILT ON GLASS| CHET FAKER

Built On Glass presents an eclectic mix of distinctively intermingled sounds. The Melbourne native displays a characteristic blend of electronica, house, R&B and soul with standout, ‘1998’, closely resembling the sounds of peers, Flume and Disclosure. ‘Talk is Cheap’ highlights Faker’s uniquely mellow tone, whilst blending it with electronic sounds, saxophone and lyrics that fortify the silky vibe of the tune. Overall, the album reveals that Faker is not afraid to push the boundaries and there is no predicting what he will do next.

Marie Claire Selim

COMPETITION BOX:

Send an email to grapeshot@mq.edu.au: What’s your favourite issue of Grapeshot and why? the winner will receive a double adult pass to the IMAX Theatre. Competition closes June 20.

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FILMS

BOOKS

UNDER THE SKIN

Under the Skin is a science fiction movie that follows Scarlett Johannson as a seductive alien, Laura, who trawls the streets of Scotland searching for prey. Given the film’s lead and premise, it would be easy for the director to drift towards the territory of pulpy, exploitative, and generic slasher films, but instead, Jonathan Glazer adopts an almost Kubrickianapproach to the film with very little dialogue, abstract visual sequences and a firm commitment to leaving interpretation in the hands of the audience. His cinematography is top-notch and he does a masterful job of ‘defamiliarising’ both modern society and the gender roles it exhibits. The film’s soundtrack plays a big part and the rising drumbeat that builds as Laura closes in on her victims was used to great effect throughout the film.

Under the Skin demands a lot of its audience, but if you’re looking for some Kubrick-inspired science fiction, it’s not to be missed.

Fergus Halliday

PLEASANTVILLE (1998) David and Jennifer are transported into the black-and-white world of Pleasantville, a 1950’s television show. On the outside, the town is perfect, but they soon discover that behind the smiling faces, there is only fear and ignorance.

For those seeking to be entertained, it is witty, original, and quite enjoyable, however, on a deeper level, it is extremely thought provoking. Colour is used as a symbol to represent the changing perspectives in regards to women’s rights and racial integration. The film says it best, “nothing is as simple as black and white.”

Emma Vlatko

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE The film follows a pair of vampire lovers who try to rekindle their relationship in gloomy, gothic Detroit.

Tom Hiddleston’s Adam is intellectually and emotionally weighed down by his old age while his lover Eve, played

by Tilda Swinton, offers an unparalleled youthful fervour that really brings the movie to life. The movie’s soundtrack is also quite good and the main theme stuck with me long after seeing the movie.

GONE GIRL On the day of their fifth anniversary, Nick Dunne finds out that his amazing wife, Amy, has gone missing with signs of a struggle. The police soon arrive to search for clues, but when they find a silver box marked ‘Clue 1,’ the first part of the Dunne’s anniversary treasure hunt begins. Everything seems to be going fine, until all the evidence starts to point to one suspect, Nick Dunne. The macabre treasure at the end of the hunt only helps this implication. In this brilliantly crafted thriller, readers are sucked into the horrors of an unraveling marriage with twists and plot turns that divide opinions and debunk perceptions. Each part of this three act book brings something new and completely unexpected to the table, reeling you further into its psychotic darkness. Gone Girl might be difficult to start, but is a gruesome pleasure to read.

Rabeah Zafrullah

DIARY OF A FOREIGN MINISTER This book is an explosive insider’s account of our political system.

It unveils truths about the innerworkings of international bodies, as well as describing the calamitous nature of the Rudd-Gillard drama that was unfolding. Even if you are not a fan of politics, you may appreciate Carr’s wry observations and selfaggrandisement seen in such lines as, “I am the best chairman I know,” and, “I have the energy of more than sixteen gladiators.” Either way, it is a gripping read, providing more drama than most modern-day films.

Nathan Falzon

ANNIHILATION Vandermeer tells a chilling albeit short psychological thriller that follows the members of an expedition into the surreal and Edenic jungle of Area X. He builds an unparalleled world of suspense and mystery that’s part Heart of Darkness, part Lost, and reminiscent of Lovecraft’s work.

Annihilation captures the terror of the unknown like no other and has me very excited for future books in the Southern Reach trilogy.

Fergus Halliday

Fergus Halliday grapeshotmq.com.au

grapeshot magazine | page 45

 CROSSWORD

 HOROSCOPES ARIES As your ruling planet – the fiery Mars gets

into full swing and so does your love life. Try not to be a dick and bite your tongue, if you have to. Or let someone else bite it for you?

TAURUS You like your finances organised but as

Venus enters, you can go a little crazy. Go to a strip club, or better yet, donate to your favourite charity.

(Perhaps the latter, but hey, I’m not your mother).

GEMINI This is your month to party, but don’t

listen to everything your alter ego has to say.

Maybe stop after your fourth tequila sunrise… or tenth – you know your limit.

CANCER The return of Saturn is a harsh

reminder that there are rings for everyone except you. Have fun being the token single of your friendship circle.

LEO As the weather cools down, you should too.

You’ve been working hard, take a break. Treat yo’ self. Hell, its 5:00pm somewhere right?

VIRGO Embrace YOLO, (sorry not sorry).

Especially when a friend asks you to break the law for them; it may do you some good. (It could also land you in jail, but like I said – yolo).

LIBRA As Jupiter enters so do some life ACROSS

1. Hunter constellation with a belt and a dog 4. Snow rapidly going down a mountain or a slanted area 9. Spherical shape, crystal ones used for prophecies 10. Greek god of the underworld 11. America Online 12. One who questions 13. Direct descent from an ancestor 14. Fixes smiles 17. Allocate 18. North state of Australia 19. Any action punishable by law 20. A square found in London 24. To decide not to do something/ to put something on a shelf 25. A Child Called _ 27. Short for Mercenary 28. Used to make utensils non-stick 31. Instead 32. Planes moving slowly on ground before take-off or after landing 33. She doesn’t have to put on the red light 34. Act of moving through air

page 46 | grapeshot magazine

DOWN

1. Laetes’ sister, drowned herself for the fictional prince of Denmark 2. Archipelago above Australia 3. Longing for things long past 4. Something unpleasant that became less intense 5. A minor illness 6. Not an acid 7. Coffin 8. Gradual decline into disorder 15. To make angry 16. Sat, unwelcomed, next to Little Miss Muffet 20. @defintion used for #supershort communication 21. To not succeed 22. Often used with the word ‘behold’ 23. A decision, usually on a criminal case 24. Back of a person/animal’s neck 26. A tangible representation of an idea or fact 29. Continuous change 30. Sound of a gun shot 31. Fib

complications. Make sure to try out some breathing techniques, pilates or yoga. (Maybe just have a good cry or drink… or both).

SCORPIO Seeing as your ruling planet Pluto

isn’t even a planet anymore, this month you will be the same as every other person. One. Giant.

Existential crisis. Try to steer clear of the vodka this month though, yeah?

SAGITTARIUS You’re not actually surrounded by free-spirited hippies. You’re just uptight. Do something crazy. Jump out of a plane or swim in the fountain at your local shopping centre.

CAPRICORN As Venus rolls in, so do the

compliments! Woohoo! Don’t reject them – no one likes a jerk. Will it kill you to say thanks?

(Answer: No. No it won’t).

AQUARIUS Just like your ruling planet, Uranus, this month, you’ll be the butt of all your friend’s jokes. Don’t take it personally, or do. I really don’t care.

PISCES Neptune is not only your ruling planet,

but also the fictional town where Veronica Mars grew up. None of this actually matters, but it’s kind of cool.

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Macquarie University Student Publication Get out that typewriter (you hipster, you) and get writing over the holidays. Grapeshot is running an

awesome competition to celebrate the launch of the Jubilee festivities!

Simply submit an article to Grapeshot’s Jubilee Edition by June 30 and you can win free stuff and see your work published in our special edition.

WHAT: Write about anything you like! It can be a short story, poem, literary journalism, fan fiction, feature article, you name it. The topic is memories.

HOW: Enter by emailing your work to grapeshot@mq.edu.au by 5pm 30 June 2014.

WHY: We’re celebrating 50 years of Macquarie University AND our 50th edition by giving away free sh*t. The stories will be judged by three people: one from the Editorial Team, the Editorial Review Board and a MQ staff member.

WORD LENGTH: 2500 words, or 30 lines (poetry) maximum

The winners will be published in Issue 5, 2014. Other highly commendable works may be contacted for publishing in subsequent editions. As a condition of entry, you will need to complete the Submission Form found at grapeshotmq.com.au/submit or by picking up the form from Grapeshot Office, Level 1, C10A. Follow us on Facebook for hints, tips & tricks for submitting. cher ntre gift vou 1ST PRIZ cher ntre gift vou e C e ri a u q c utlets) : $100 Ma n campus o o st o 2ND PRIZE m t a ers (for use @MQ vouch U 0 5 $ : E IZ 3R D P R IMAX le Passes to b u o D o w T : 4TH PRIZE quarie Ce E: $200 Mac