ISSUE 06, VOLUME 05 SEPTEMBER 2019 EDITORIAL TEAM Bec Marshallsay - Editor in Chief Caitlin Burnett - Content Editor Mary Jo Dowsett - Content Editor Courtney Kruk - Content Editor PUBLISHER Jordan Jansen TALENTED CONTRIBUTORS Cover artwork Mary Feeney Editorial Caitlin Burnett - Mary Jo Dowsett Jordan Jansen - Courtney Kruk Bec Marshallsay - Helena Gjone Ashleigh Hartley Creative Lucy Fergusson - Jessie Kemp Anri Kitamura - Juan Mendiola Hayley Penny - Jueun Oh Marena Janse van Rensburg DESIGN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
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Contents Editorial note
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Message from the President
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Geta Writers’ Award
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Geta giveaways
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Secret facts
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Can you keep a secret?
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Behind closed doors
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From ballet to Krav Maga
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The secret life of a grown-up fangirl
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Call out culture
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Secrets on film
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Snapped on campus
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What’s on
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Feature artist: Pub Choir
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Online 38 Entertainment 40
34 42
Being creative
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Get the hell outta here
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EDITORIAL NOTE
Shh…we’ve got a secret! It’s the final edition of the year and we’re finally ready to spill the tea on everything you’ve ever wanted to know (just maybe not what’s inside Area 51, sorry!). Secrets have always been a part of human nature, they intrigue and excite us and we absolutely love knowing something we’re not meant to. Keeping secrets of our own is also a fundamental part of our existence, because not everyone needs to know about the time you walked into the wrong lecture theatre and didn’t realise until halfway through (we’ve all been there). Having said that, there’s definitely a fine line between secrets that should be kept and secrets that probably shouldn’t – relying on our moral compass to make this distinction is usually the way to go.
wellbeing while Mary Jo reveals the secret life of being a grown-up fangirl. And if you’ve ever wanted to know the behind the scenes of modern self-defence, contributor Helena shares her story of transitioning from a ballet class to a Krav Maga class. This edition also sees a contributor delving deep into their personal struggle with a hidden illness. Even though it’s the final edition of the year, we are always eager to hear from you and help you get involved with future editions! So if you’re keen to contribute to our 2020 0-Week Edition over the summer break don’t hesitate to get in touch. But for now, we hope you enjoy this Secrets Edition! Sit back, relax, and remember… mum’s the word. The Geta Editorial Team
In this top-secret edition, Courtney uncovers whether keeping secrets can affect your
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Editorial Article Title note
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Hey everyone! Wow oh wow, what a trimester it has been… and it’s not over yet! With final exams almost upon us, I want to congratulate those who will be graduating at the end of this exam period, and further extend best wishes to those of us strapping in for Trimester 3. If you’re one of the lucky ones taking a break over the summer vacation, then think of the rest of us studying away. Take some time to recharge those batteries and get ready to do it all again next year. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here to help you through it! In saying that, we know this time of the trimester can be pretty stressful, so during Week 12, we’ve got some awesome events and workshops planned to help you relax in Stress Less Week. Be sure to keep an eye out for our awesome Guild Crew volunteers at the library for a treat if you’re around late cramming during finals as well!
This year has been another incredible and successful year for the Guild. Together we’ve experienced a tonne of awesome events, workshops, parties, and support networks, however none of this could have been done without the support from you guys. We’re already planning for next year, and can’t wait to continue providing you all with outlets that encompass fun, success, and support. Thanks so much everyone, it has been a pleasure serving as your Student Guild President over this last year, and I wish you all the best with the remainder of your studies and the kickstarting of your careers.
Jordan Jansen GUGC Student Guild President
This is your chance to tell us what you love, what you want to see more of or suggest new ideas. Maybe there is an issue you think we should be covering or you want to weigh in on the best coffee debate... whatever you need to get off your chest, we’d love to hear from you. Connect with us and stay up to date! - facebook.com/Getamungstit - facebook.com/groups/getamungstit.contributors/ - getamungstit@griffith.ed.au - gugcstudentguild.com.au/getamungstit
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SAVE THE DATE 2019 QCA Graduate Exhibitions Gold Coast Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Opening night Friday 1 November
Griffith University Visual Arts Building (G14) Parklands Drive, Southport
Be inspired by the work of our 2019 graduating students griffith.edu.au/qca
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Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. Benjamin Franklin
GETAMUNGSTIT WRITERS’ AWARD
And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl
Do you have something to say about secrets or the unknown? Do you think we missed a great article opportunity on this theme? This is your chance to have your ideas published. You are invited to submit articles or creative writing on the current edition theme for your chance to win and be published. Submissions must be the writer’s original work and must not have been published elsewhere.
If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself. George Orwell
Theme: Secrets, the unknown side of an event or issue, mysteries Closes: 11.59 pm 5 November, 2019 Prize: Publication in the subsequent issue of Getamungstit magazine + $50 Campus Cash
The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.
Win! $50 Campus Cash + your article published in a future edition.
Anais Nin Conditions Entries are open to current Griffith University Gold Coast students - student number must be provided with entry. Entries must be under 1000 words and must be submitted by email with the heading ‘Geta Writers’ Award’ to getamungstit@griffith.edu.au by the closing date. Entrants grant Getamungstit non-exclusive rights to publish the work in Getamungstit (in print and/or online).The winning entry/entries will be selected by the Geta editorial team and/or appointees based on quality of writing and fit with the magazine. If there are insufficient entries or the team cannot determine a winner, the editorial team may decide not to award a prize. All decisions are final, no correspondence will be entered into.
The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn’t one. Margaret Atwood
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GETA GIVEAWAYS Because who doesn’t love free stuff? Each edition we’ll have loads of goodies up for grabs for our wonderful Geta readers. All you need to do is follow gugcstudentguild on Instagram and email us at getamungstit@griffith. edu.au with your name, email, mobile, Instagram name, the prize you’d like to win and ‘Give me Geta goodies’ as your subject line.
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Movie World single day passes WIN 2 x single day passes to Movie World and live the thrill life! Valid until 19 June 2020.
3. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne The 10th Anniversary edition In this book, you’ll learn how to use ‘the secret’ in every aspect of your life - money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You’ll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that’s within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.
Geta giveaways
Twilight Pack Lush Fresh homemade cosmetics If life is racing by, hit pause and take some time out. As the sun sets, bask in the velvet, purple glow of twilight. Slow down with lavender as it calms and soothes while dusky tonka sends you off to sleep. Stillness settles as you enter the dreamscape and ylang ylang ensures sweet dreams are on the horizon.
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facts Around 60 percent of people will tell at least one lie during a 10 minute conversation, according to the University of Massachusetts.
In WWII, the Allies used homing pigeons to carry secret messages. They also strapped cameras to pigeons for secret surveillance missions.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the longest of the franchise’s films, despite being the second shortest novel in the series.
Famed for claiming aircraft and ships, the Bermuda Triangle does not even feature in the top 10 of the world’s most dangerous bodies of water for maritime activity, according to a 2013 report from the World Wildlife Fund.
The average person is currently keeping 13 secrets, including five that they have never told anyone according to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
One of the great secrets of the universe includes cosmic cannibalism, which occurs when two galaxies collide and one swallows or partially swallows the other. Secret facts
One of the most famous spies of all time, dancer Mata Hari, was executed by France during the First World War, having been accused of spying for Germany with the French alleging she was responsible for the deaths of up to 50,000 soldiers.
Area 51 jumped to the top of the conspiracy list in 1947 when news headlines claimed a flying saucer had crashed in the Roswell area. The US military initially claimed the debris was a weather balloon but later disclosed that it was in fact a secret atomic monitoring balloon.
Self-help phenomenon The Secret has sold more than 30 million copies and has been translated into 50 languages.
Telling someone not to share your secret is likely to give them an obsessive anxiety to share it, according to Dr Shah from the Baylor College of Medicine. Dr Baylor says that people also share secrets to try and maintain close friendships.
The Bond films have surpassed their source material with 24 films about the secret service agent already released, compared to the 14 novels written by Ian Fleming. However there are a total of 39 officially licensed Bond novels written by six different authors.
Allegedly the secret to DYI Sizzler’s cheesy toast is butter, Kraft parmesan and then pan frying the bread toppingside down. 9
CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? Courtney Kruk
Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone… It’s a classic line, isn’t it? One you’ve probably heard or said at least once in your life. I have had many secrets shared with me in a hushed confidence. And I have kept a few about myself from people too (nothing too scandalous, I promise I’m not that interesting). When I reflect on the experiences that I’ve had with secrets over the years, ranging from trivial to serious, I can see the times when certain keeping or telling weighed heavily on my mind. This has been especially true of the ones I have been told. Often, when someone chooses you as their confidant, it is a request for help and an act of unburdening themselves, a need to share the load of what they are carrying with a person they can trust. You then become sworn into confidentiality, needing to keep a secret even though it’s not your own. These
secrets can be hard to carry, particularly when you find yourself embroiled in a moral conundrum as a result. Friend groups and families are potent breeding grounds for these kinds of secrets, and you might find yourself having to betray someone’s confidence in order to keep another’s. Then of course there are the secrets we keep about ourselves. Something we did in our past that we feel ashamed of, a misdemeanour we don’t want our parents to find out about or a piece of information we’re not sure someone we’re close to will understand. Secrets can be complex and powerful, and whether you are told a secret or keeping your own, this can have a reverberating effect on your wellbeing. Stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and low self-esteem are just some of the detrimental psychological effects secrets have on keepers. It has even been linked to symptoms of poor health and the more rapid progression of disease. Can you keep a secret?
But why is that? What is it about keeping secrets that can have such an adverse effect on our wellbeing? In 2017, Michael Slepian, a professor of management at Columbia Business School, and two of his colleagues, conducted a study with the aim to explore the effects secrets have on their keepers. Their research, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that 97 per cent of people have at least one secret at any given moment, and people have, on average, 13 secrets. Writing for Scientific American, Slepian says that his research, which surveyed more than 5,000 people, found the harm of secrets doesn’t really come from the suppression, as previously believed. ‘The real problem with keeping a secret is not that you have to hide it, but that you have to live with it, and think about it’. This ‘new theory of secrecy’ found that the harm is less about the
This is presumably more prevalent in the secrets we consider to be more serious than others. Secrets can be kept out of fear and shame, or kept to protect others from being hurt. Boxed inside the mind of the keeper with no release or resolve, it’s no wonder why some secrets are consequently damaging to our wellbeing. Speaking about why it is important for some people to bring secrets to light, Psychiatrist Dr Howard Fisher says ‘for a person compelled to keep 11
a terrible secret, guilt and shame become crippling emotions. If a person cannot get those feelings “out” into the real world, in a
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WHAT IS IT ABOUT KEEPING SECRETS THAT CAN HAVE SUCH AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON OUR WELLBEING?
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content and more about the way our minds revisit the information, over and over again. In an article for The New Yorker Alan Burdick analogises this nicely – ‘not the murder itself but the incessant beating of the tell-tale heart’. Although you might think that keeping secrets is most harmful when you are required to actively conceal them, such as in social situations, Slepian found that secrets had more of an effect on individuals when they were not interacting with anyone. People were prone to think about their secrets twice as much when they were alone, when their minds would wander to the secret, and it was this dwelling that was found to hurt people’s sense of wellbeing.
Slepian discusses this point further, writing that when we think about the concept of secrecy, there is a tendency to imagine a social interaction, two people speaking for example, with one actively hiding something from the other. But as he explains, ‘it is far more common to ruminate on our secrets…simply thinking about a secret can make us feel inauthentic. Having a secret return to mind, time and time again, can be tiring. When we think of a secret, it can make us feel isolated and alone’.
therapeutic release, into the light of day, where they lose some of their power, then these awful emotions can eat at the soul and destroy who and what they are.’ So, how do we resolve this? Alan Burdick writes that ‘secrets are largely solitary creatures and can be tamed with company’. And sometimes, what we need to do is consider who the right ‘company’
There are other ways to confide too. Frank Warren created the PostSecret Project, where he invited people from around the world to share the secrets they never voice by writing it on a postcard and sending it in. The postcards are featured on postsecret.com, an outlet Warren describes as a ‘safe and anonymous “place” where people can hear unheard voices and
share untold stories’. The internet abounds with places where secrets can be released anonymously, there are even apps designed for confessions. Journaling is another tool, allowing you to express how you feel about a secret you have or know, releasing it from the confines of your mind and perhaps enabling a healthier reflection – “what can I do moving forward?”. These are some fairly rudimentary ways to enhance your wellbeing if it is being affected by secret keeping. In truth though, I am no expert on secrets. I don’t know yours, I only know mine. And I only know what has and hasn’t helped improve my own wellbeing when it comes to handling secrecy. I do agree with Slepian’s findings though; the damage is more severe when we are alone with secrets, when they become the inhabitants of our thoughts. If you are reading this and feel that you are having a hard time in your head with a secret, consider voicing it, either to a professional or anonymously. It might help alleviate some of that stressful mental pacing, and help you find the right support and resolve.
Can you keep a secret?
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...the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that 97 per cent of people have at least one secret at any given moment.
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is. There are professionals, like counsellors and psychologists, who secrets can be told to in confidence. This can then facilitate a path towards healing and problem-solving, or even just serve cathartically by presenting an avenue for talking about the information. There are of course closer networks, like friends or family. It may take some serious consideration, but opening up about something you have kept secret with someone you trust can have positive effects. Obtaining social support can not only help the individual confiding feel more capable in coping with the secret or gain a new perspective, but it can strengthen the interpersonal bonds between the teller and receiver.
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Behind closed doors
Caitlin Burnett
Dear neighbours, In case you were wondering, the answer is yes. You did just see me climb naked from my bathroom window, before making a hasty retreat through the back door. I would just like to clarify that this was a totally new experience for me and entirely unplanned. However, in penance for your potentially scarred eyes and in hope of never having to discuss the matter in future, I wish to explain myself. A quote, from Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, comes to mind. ‘The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets?’. In my house, closed doors can mean many things, though I would wager they are all fairly mundane reasons. Except for one. You see, sometimes in my house, a closed door means that the door handle has fallen off and the occupant is trapped inside. Growing up, I recall several occasions when this exact circumstance occurred. My
younger sister, Bronwyn, had a persistent bent for tantrums which my parents struggled to quash. One time, when Bronwyn was sent to her room as punishment for her unruly behaviour, she pulled the door handle so forcefully that it ripped clean off. What was intended as a brief time-out session, turned into a much longer ordeal as my father attempted to explain to his hysterical five-yearold daughter how to reattach a door handle. Not long after this, my older sister, Rhiannon, ran into a similar problem. However, in her case, simply closing the door resulted in both door handles falling off. She and my mother spent the greater part of a Sunday afternoon trying to reattach them from opposite sides. When the spindle unexpectedly crumbled, my mother pulled out her trusty pink toolbox and removed the entire mechanism. However, neither episode can be considered quite as traumatic as the incident involving
Behind closed doors
an unsuspecting foreign exchange student. When her door handle came loose, the poor girl came to the logical conclusion that she was being subjected to some strange form of Western punishment and whispered her sincerest apologies under the door. For the most part, fallen door handles have become a relatively uneventful occurrence. One simply has to bang on the door to get assistance and then wait for the handle to be reattached. Which brings me to my unplanned exhibitionist stint. As you know, dear neighbours, it was a frosty winters morning. I had the day to myself, so I woke at a leisurely pace before heading to the shower. Afterward, I grabbed a towel and was about to put my clothes on when I realised I needed to go to the toilet. Fortunately, the toilet was right next to the bathroom so I quickly dashed across and shut the door behind me. Maybe I pulled the door too firmly; maybe it was because our house was built in
1972 and still had the original door handles. Whatever the cause, I suddenly heard a resounding clang as the outside handle fell, landing on the tiled floor. My stomach dropped. After dealing with the more immediate situation which had led me to the toilet in the first place, I attempted to turn the door handle in vain. I was stuck in the toilet and painfully aware of my attire, or lack thereof. ‘Bronwyn? Rhiannon? Dad? Mum?’ I called, already knowing that I would be met with disappointment. Bronwyn was at school and the others were all at work. It was about ten am, so my Dad might have been home within a couple hours. If not, I would have to wait till four pm when Bronwyn came home from school. Six hours spent in close proximity with a toilet was not particularly appealing. I pushed and kicked the door before trying to remove the entire handle, but there were three tightly wound screws thwarting that plan. Defeated, I sat on the toilet
and wondered how long it might take to die of hypothermia. It is at desperate times such as these that thoughts of mortality are unavoidable. As I sat in deep contemplation, the solution to my predicament presented itself like a message from the heavens. The sun outside moved from behind a cloud and shone down on me, illuminating my exit. The window. As I mentioned earlier, my family is not the most proactive when it comes to house maintenance. The window between me and freedom had not been opened for years and there was a thick wall of cobwebs and decaying spiders behind the fly screen. I’m not arachnophobic per se but I have a healthy level of fear when confronted by eight-legged critters. Cautiously, I removed the fly screen, cranked open the window, climbed onto the toilet lid and assessed my exit. It would be a tight squeeze. My body would be in direct contact with the spider graveyard – clearly, out of the
question. Toilet paper could work to wipe away the cobwebs but as usual the roll was almost finished. Reluctantly, I accepted the answer to my problem and removed my towel. Scrubbing away the cobwebs, I prayed that no living spiders would decide to make themselves known. One obstacle out of my way, I draped the towel over the window ledge, creating a barrier between me and the wall. The last thing I needed was grazed nipples. Climbing onto the ledge, I began my descent, only to be stopped by my traitorous behind. I was stuck, legs dangling out the window, my pale half crescent moon bared to you, my poor, unsuspecting neighbours. Beyond the point of return, I persevered. After some particularly unflattering pushing, squirming and butt jiggling, I was reborn, naked into the unforgiving light of day. I hope that this clears things up; please feel free to continue about your business.
Apologetically, Your shockingly pale skinned neighbour.
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FROM BALLET TO KRAV MAGA THE SECRET TO MODERN SELF-DEFENCE Helena Gjone
Post dancing days I have found it hard to stay active. I hate exercise for the sake of exercise. I don’t enjoy running on treadmills like a hamster. I liked ballet because I was learning a skill and there was a huge cognitive element involved. Ballet never felt like exercise. At the same time, I find it depressing returning to ballet classes, watching my technique gradually decline, knowing that I’ll never again be as good as I was while I was training full-time. After watching my fitness levels slowly decrease over the past few years, I decided it was finally time to do something about it. I have always been curious to try a selfdefence class and heard someone recommend Krav Maga, so I googled it and found InDefence: Krav Maga, a local business owned by military law enforcement and security industry veteran Ashley Gard. When I showed up to my first class, it felt like Billy Elliot in reverse: I was the only female among eleven strong-looking older males. ‘Is this the beginners?’ I checked
with Ash. ‘Yeah. All levels’ he replied. ‘Shit.’ I thought. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ I expected this to go the same way as it does with all my gym memberships: I stay until the free trial is over and then I disappear into the horizon, never to be seen or heard from again. But three months later, I think it’s safe to say that I am hooked. Krav Maga means ‘contact combat’ in Hebrew. It was originally developed as a form of self-defence for members of the Jewish community to protect themselves against the brutal Nazi forces according to Krav Maga Worldwide. One of the benefits of Krav Maga is that it is a modern combat system that is regularly updated and addresses today’s problems. There’s no convoluted grappling, uniforms or bowing, like with some more traditional styles of martial arts. It is one of the quickest ways to learn how to defend yourself as there are a small number of core techniques that can be adapted to a multitude of situations. From ballet to Krav Maga
The other great thing about Krav and the way Ash runs it, is that each class deals with different scenarios and weapons including knives, sticks and guns. Generally, you start slowly, taking turns with a partner until your body gets the gist of the movement, then you speed it up and perform it under the increased pressure of timed drills. The evening classes end with an ‘optional’ ten-minute workout, so you’re guaranteed to leave the building feeling utterly spent and drenched in sweat. ‘I learnt more about defensive violence in two years of Krav than in seven years of karate,’ said Ash. ‘If I found a better system, I would use it’. Ash has spent years working as a bodyguard for celebrities. He established his business because he realised that there was no one defending the average citizens who could not afford to hire protection. He wanted to give normal people, and his children, the skills to be able to protect and defend themselves. Most of the people who come to Krav have been the
casualty of some kind of assault, or work in a profession where there is a threat of violence. You constantly
1 in 3 women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
hear about things happening on the news. Stabbings, muggings and various malicious attacks. You think it will never happen to you. Until it does. As Ash says, ‘It’s hard to accept. But sometimes bad things happen to good people’. Statistically speaking, the World Health Organisation estimates
that 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In the US, 1 in 10 men have experienced physical or sexual violence according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. In Australia, 1 in 5 children are emotionally, physically or sexually abused. Every 30 seconds, a person is forced into slavery under the threat of violence. I think it is important to have a basic understanding of selfdefence. One of the main skills that people acquire from Krav Maga is the ability to identify problems in the environment. If you can see bad things starting to happen, you can remove yourself from the situation. To quote Kevin Michalowski, ‘The best fight is the one you avoid’. Ash says that in order for an attack to happen, there must be three things in place. 1) the attacker must have the intent to attack. 2) the attacker must have the physical capability or the means, such as a weapon, and 3) they must have the opportunity. There is nothing 17
that we can do about the intent or the physical capability of our attacker. However, there are many measures we can take to reduce their opportunity to attack us. ‘Often an attacker will look for someone who is isolated… preferably intoxicated’. Ash explains that ‘it’s hard to talk about this concept without getting labelled as a victim-blamer’. In an ideal world, we would have the right to be safe and go where we want, when we want. Obviously, it is not okay for someone to attack you. But we can’t control the actions of others. Often attackers are victims of abuse themselves, caught in a vicious cycle trying to assert their own dominance. Sometimes you have to take responsibility of your own safety. Krav Maga can help give you the skills to do so.
THE SECRET LIFE Mary Jo Dowsett When you think of the term groupie, fan-girl or fan-boy, you probably envision a young pre-teen screaming or crying hysterically over their favourite actor, singer or even fictional character. While you’re not technically wrong, you’re not technically right either. Many of you reading this probably spent your early teen years infatuated with celebrities such as Jesse McCartney and Hilary Duff (because let’s be real, who wasn’t?), but as you entered adulthood you most likely left your fangirling (or fanboying) safely behind you. However, this was not the case for almost-twenty-year-old Alex, who kept her obsession comfortably intact. Alex is a hardcore One Direction fan and has been ever since
she was 11, following the bands every move for almost a decade. Even though Harry, Louis, Liam, Zayn and Niall have all gone their separate ways (for now), Alex’s love for the British boyband still remains strong. ‘I’ve loved them since they formed as a band in 2010…they’re so down to earth, caring, selfless and talented,’ says Alex. ‘I feel like I can relate to their personalities a lot!’. Alex is in her third year of university, but that hasn’t stopped her dedication to the band. In between the chaos of studying for exams and maintaining a job, Alex’s daily schedule still consists of religious Twitter checks and keeping in constant contact with her global ‘Directioners’.
The secret life of a grown-up fangirl
‘I usually wake up, check Twitter and Tumblr, then I check all of my group chats! I have group chats with my friends from all across the world where we all fan about 1D,’ Alex says. ‘Throughout the day I keep checking my Twitter and during my free time I love watching videos and reading articles about what they’re up to.’ But being a One Direction fan when you’re a third-year university student can bring its many challenges. Alex believes society is to blame when it comes to adults growing out of their ‘fangirling’ or ‘fanboying’ stage, saying many feel they’ll be judged for their excitement over a ‘celebrity’. ‘I think society makes them stop. The amount of eye rolls and
OF A GROWN-UP FANGIRL e On f o n ent re i erc fans a p s “60 tion ear y c e 5 Dir act 2 er...” f ld or o
idols is an important and vital part of life. Looking up to people who inspire us to be better, even if it is just your mum or your teacher, helps us evolve into the people we want to become. Maybe you don’t look up to them in the same way a fan would to One Direction, but you get the point.
sarcasm I receive when I tell people about my love for bands and celebrities is unbelievable,’ Alex says. ‘I think people see it as a big waste of time, but I definitely can compare it to people who are obsessed with sport teams – they get to go out and pay money on merchandise, tickets and travel. ‘People can have so many negative stereotypes about adult fangirls.’ Specifically speaking, a fangirl is formally defined as ‘a female fan, especially one who is obsessive about comics, film, music, or science fiction.’ However, statistics show that most fangirls are actually adults despite the misleading title. According to Pandora, approximately 60 percent of One
Direction fans are in fact 25 years or older, a statistic that strongly goes against the stereotypical ‘pre-teen’ image. So why do we become so dismissive when people above the age of 18 get excited over their favourite celebrity? Unfortunately, when we enter adulthood, we are expected to lose our carefree attitude and any form of overexcitement is deemed uncool or childish (especially if its excitement over a boyband). This set expectation to always be ‘serious’ causes us to hide our true passions in life, because how will we ever be liked if we don’t conform to the adult template? Basically, society is designed to squeeze all the fun out of us by the time we hit our twenties. But no matter what your views are on adult fangirls or fanboys, having 19
OK, I admit it, just like Alex I too am one of the many adult fangirls that still gets excited when my favourite celebrity comes to town. But adulthood shouldn’t include ridding yourself of guilty pleasure’s should it? And who says you can’t still have Harry Styles as your background? Or have Taylor Swift’s Instagram posts on notification? Those who roll their eyes whenever you get excited about pop culture news need to calm down (no Taylor Swift pun intended). Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you have to take all the fun out of your life, if the music’s good – you dance. So go on, buy that Harry Styles concert ticket, we won’t judge. At least you’re having more fun than the hater ever will, cause after all, the haters gonna hate (hate hate hate hate).
CALL OUT CULTURE Bec Marshallsay
‘The judge will consider X and then he will do Y’. As a law student, hearing this kind of statement in a lecture is not uncommon. And it makes me squirm. The regular assumption that a judge will be male is less than ideal. The normalisation of patriarchal structures in the justice system through careless language is frustrating. Should it change? Absolutely. Is my lecturer a woman hating monster? Certainly not. At many colleges and universities in the US, I would have the opportunity to report this to a bias response unit or a microaggression reporting body. According to Jeffrey Snyder and Amna Khalid, writing for The New Republic, more than 100 higher education institutions in America have instituted bodies where students can anonymously report statements, publications, images or actions that have offended them on campus, whether they be from lecturers or other students. These types of bodies have the ostensibly lofty goal of trying
to create safe and inclusive environments on campus. However, the fallout suggests that instead of being a helpful tool to make students and staff feel safe and comfortable, they have become emblematic of some of the most damaging aspects of callout culture. ‘Students are being explicitly told that just about anything they find offensive can qualify as an incident worth reporting to administrators’ according to Jesse Singal writing for Intelligencer. Author of Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt, suggests that this is having devastating effects on the relationship of trust between staff and students, with many lecturers steering away from teaching or discussing topics that may make some students feel uncomfortable. He argues that if people cannot talk about uncomfortable ideas then everybody suffers. Fields of study such as gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, and visual and performing arts are high risk
Call out culture
areas for complaints, according to Synder and Khalid. Haidt suggests that unintended slights are also being escalated into larger issues and cites the example of a professor who in response to a minor frustration threw away the comment ‘just shoot me now’. The professor was subsequently counselled because a student had reported that he was making fun of people who had killed themselves.
SHOULD IT CHANGE? ABSOLUTELY. IS MY LECTURER A WOMAN HATING MONSTER? CERTAINLY NOT.
Concerns about this type of call out culture include argue that we have lost the resilience that comes with being offended. Sometimes
we will encounter things that make us uncomfortable. Sometimes people will say and do things we don’t like. And we should be okay with that. Haidt suggests that instead of teaching to a reasonable person standard person, staff are being forced to cater to a most sensitive person standard instead. This is not to say that simply because something is, or has been, accepted by most that it is the most appropriate way of doing something; our standards undoubtedly need to shift. Haidt is very clear that he is not advocating for us to turn a blind eye to things like racist jokes or off the cuff sexist comments, simply because they may offend just a few. But he is suggesting that anonymous reporting or public shaming for any behaviour that is less than ideal is not the way forward. What was reasonable 20 years, or even five years ago, may not be reasonable today, this is evidenced in the way that the ‘reasonable person’ standard has changed when it comes to talking about issues related to a wide range of topics including gender, race,
sexuality, the environment, body issues, mental health and more. Provided that the standard of the reasonable person remains fluid and open to nuanced discussion about culture, language and normative attitudes there is no reason why this cannot be the standard for teaching and discussion. Once we know better we should certainly strive to do better. So what is the difference between calling out versus speaking up?
Call out culture Call out culture is the seedy underbelly of speaking up and advocating for change. Call out culture occurs when people become more focused on identifying real or perceived wrongs and showcasing them as publicly as possible, than they are focused on having conversations, educating and informing people about an issue. Call out culture occurs when the real problems at the source of these issues are all but forgotten in favour of maximising the humiliation for the subject and the 21
prestige for the person identifying the wrong. Without a doubt there are people who need to be held accountable for their actions, speech and decisions. The #MeToo movement is an powerful example of leveraging our networks to speak up for change. However there are countless examples of people paying a huge cost for things such as taking a stand on climate change and then flying first class; or celebrities who have failed to meet the public demand for them to vocally condemn a colleague who has been accused of sexual assault; or having worn a costume to a dress up party more than a decade ago that would certainly not fly in 2019. One of the reasons for the rise of call out culture, according to Haidt, is that we have built a culture where we earn points and gain esteem by publicly
shaming undesirable behaviour. While our position might be morally justifiable, behaviour typical of call out culture is ego driven. So this means that even minor offences are more likely to earn a social media rant, rather than a quiet conversation where someone voices their concerns and gives the other person a chance to respond accordingly. Rising political polarisation and increasing feelings of fear, hatred and aggression is partly responsible for this relatively recent cultural development, according to Haidt. This is coupled with the extreme force multiplier of social media. Haidt suggests that we see ourselves in opposition with those who hold different views to ourselves that we have become fixated on playing a game that is designed to defeat the other side. He suggests that a truth seeking game would be a healthier way to resolve our differences however call out culture doesn’t leave room for nuance.
One of the reasons it is worth steering away from call out culture is because it cannibalises your cause. Think of environmentalists turning on other environmentalists, feminists criticising feminists for not advocating in the same way as they do, LGBTIQ advocates being lambasted by other advocates for having failed to take in account all experiences of gender and sexuality. Favouring a call out culture over considered conversation makes people on your team too scared to speak up and it makes people who are already against you disinterested in taking you seriously. So perhaps we have a responsibility to take an active role in trying to create a positive solution that will contribute to a lasting and sustainable change rather than screaming ‘Offence! Outrage! Shame!’ as loudly as possible and then walking away. Querying a decision, or expressing concern is speaking up, telling people why something needs to change is constructive. Using literal or
Call out culture
figurative ALL CAPS to make your point has never solved anything. Perhaps we can encourage good efforts. And remember that it is okay to be offended. There are real problems out there that absolutely require us to kick scream and shout for change. But we need to pick our battles, our method of warfare and perhaps, most importantly, our opponents… crucifying celebrities, teachers, acquaintances and friends because they could have been more thoughtful or more correct in their actions or speech (now or in the distant past) is not the way to create a safe, diverse and inclusive environment.
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SECRETS ON FILM There’s nothing like a secret to create great drama. With exams just around the corner, we thought the most helpful thing to do was to provide you with a list of films that you can prioritise over refining your notes, submitting that last assignment or listening to 12 weeks of lectures ahead of your 60% exam.
The Truman Show (1998) Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) has an idyllic life on Seahaven Island with a nice job, good friends and a lovely wife. Little does he know that his entire reality is set in a giant Hollywood studio, and that he is the star of one of the biggest reality television shows in the world. When odd things start to happen Truman begins to write his own script as he pushes the boundaries of his closely controlled world.
A Simple Favour (2018)
Gone Girl (2014)
Atonement (2007)
At the cinema, this film had people literally asking out loud ‘What the f#%k is happening?’ With secrets layered upon secrets and a few twists thrown in to boot, A Simple Favour, is a dark comedy thriller designed to keep you on the edge of your seat feeling intrigued and very confused. When Vlogger mum, Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) meets the enigmatic Emily (Blake Lively) she is drawn to Emily’s glamourous lifestyle. When Emily disappears a few weeks later, Stephanie steps in to support Emily’s husband and to try and find our what happened to her new best friend.
Based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name, Gone Girl is a thriller about the secrets people keep behind closed doors. On the surface, Amy (Rosamund Pike) and Nick (Ben Affleck) have the perfect marriage, but when Amy disappears all of their secrets will begin to surface. The police and media scrutinise Nick’s every word and gesture as they try to determine what happened to Amy, and whether Nick is a grieving husband or responsible for his wife’s disappearance.
Secrets and lies are closely intertwined, and Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan/Romola Garai) knows this better than anyone. After stumbling on a secret affair between her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy) when she is a young girl, Briony makes some devastating decisions about how to deal with the secret that will haunt her for the rest of her life. Set in and around WWII, Atonement is a romantic tragedy reflects on consequences and accountability.
Secrets on film
The Island (2005)
The English Patient (1996)
Love, Simon (2018)
Living in an isolated facility, residents exist in the belief that the outside world has been all but destroyed by a near apocalyptic event. The ray of hope is a weekly lottery where residents are randomly selected to leave the facility to live on a contagion free island paradise. When Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) begins to have strange dreams of things he cannot explain, he starts to question whether his reality has been fabricated and if there is a sinister purpose behind his existence.
The English Patient is adapted from Michael Ondaatje’s novel and is set in Italy at the close of WWII. Nurse Hannah (Juliette Binoche) has set up residence in an abandoned villa to take care of a badly burned mystery patient who is too frail to be moved with the army hospital transport. When an intelligence operative David Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe) moves into the villa, the patient begins to share his secrets and the story of love and betrayal that brought him into Hannah’s care.
Simon (Nick Robinson) is keeping two secrets. The first is that he is gay and the second is that he has connected online with another gay student from his high school ‘Blue’, whose identity remains a mystery. As Simon tries to work out who the mystery Blue is, he faces increasing pressure to come out to his friends and family. This romantic comedy is the right mix of drama and tension, with the promise of a feel good outcome.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Savannah is a town dripping in secrets. Based on John Berendt’s non-fiction novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil follows reporter John Kelso (John Cusack) who has arrived in Savannah to cover a society Christmas party hosted by wealthy antiques dealer, Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). That night a young man is murdered in Williams’ home and Kelso stays on to cover the trial. In doing so he discovers that the grisly murder is not the only intriguing secret held by the eccentric people of Savannah.
Set shortly after the fall and imprisonment of Napoleon Bonaparte, a young sailor, Edmond Dantés (Jim Caviezel), finds himself framed and imprisoned in a political scandal. During his time in prison, Dantés meets another prisoner who knows the whereabouts of a famed stash of treasure that will secure their future. He begins to prepare for life after prison, crafting a secret identity that will allow him to carry out one of the greatest revenge stories ever told. The Count of Monte Cristo is based on Alexander Dumas’ classic of the same name.
It’s hard to think secret service without thinking 007. Although not the first of the Bond franchise, From Russia With Love is one of the top ranked Bond films of all time. While Bond is tasked with obtaining a Lektor decoding machine, the international organisation of bad guys, SPECTRE has enlisted a former Sovietcounter intelligence (SMERSH) officer to assassinate Bond in a complicated game of deception. If Daniel Craig is the only Bond you’ve ever known it is time to take a step back in time and check out Sean Connery in action.
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r mA- knitting
7 August @ The Function Centre
Snapped on campus
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r-adayc- e
10 August @ b The Gold Coast Turf Clu
Snapped on campus
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inbility Sust-afair3 September @ The Library Lawn
Snapped on campus
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SEPTEMBER
What's on?
3 SEPTEMBER SUSTAINABILITY FAIR
W (refer to legend) 8 September
Market Day 11 September 25 September
Stress Less Week 30 September
12SEPTEMBER R U OK DAY
28 SEPTEMBER 2019 NATIONALS DIV 1
What’s on
OCTOBER
STRESS LESS WEEK
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OCTOBER HALLOWEEN
2019 Nationals Division 1 1 - 3 October
Oktoberfest 4 October
Queen’s Birthday 7 October (O)
OCTOBER
1-4
Study days 8 - 9 October
Exams 10 - 19 October Legend: W - Withdrawal Date Last day to withdraw without failure for the trimester O - Public Holiday
gugcstudentguild.com.au/events 33
Feature artist – Pub Choir Bec Marshallsay
Born in Brisbane, Pub Choir has evolved from a fun idea with friends to an event with cult following that is selling out venues throughout Queensland, around Australia and even overseas. This edition, Getamungstit spoke with co-creator, Meg Bartholomew, to find out more about the Pub Choir experience.
What is Pub Choir? It’s really in the title, Pub Choir. What we do is we get everyone into a pub. We found that people are usually a bit more comfortable with a beer or a beverage, or just in a group together… and we just get them singing. Ash teaches everyone a threepart harmony in 90 minutes and then we perform – usually it’s a popular song, everyone’s usually a bit so that everyone is usually a bit familiar with it– we perform it record it, and then we do it again. So, it’s really lovely.
How did the idea for Pub Choir come about? ISo, Ashleigh and I studied at university together. We met doing a music and education degree. When we graduated we always talked about
Feature artist
how much we enjoyed choir and singing, and how good it was but we never felt that there was something there for us. So, we thought we would get our mates involved, get them singing and just do it really theatre-y and just do it in a pub. And it just exploded from that first one with just 80 people, just our mates. It seems like a really powerful experience in terms of community and connection… Definitely. Every single place that we go to, every single choir is different but every single choir has such beautiful coming together. I’m really lucky because I get to sing in the choir so I get to look around and can just sing with people and they are just blissed out. They’re just happy. They’re all having a good time. They’re all doing something
Photo credit: Jacob Morrison
special which is creating art together in a really relaxed way, in really accessible way as well and it’s a really beautiful thing to see them create it together and then reflect on It and then celebrate it at the end.
exciting. I was a massive fan of Lior on high school so that one was a little bit special for me..
Sometimes you get artists involved, such as Lior in Adelaide recently. How do they find the experience?
I basically yell at everyone at the beginning of the night, telling them what’s going to happen, where to stand, behaviour management and jokes all out of the way at the beginning of the night. I create that space where we are about to create something altogether and get them moved around into the right spots.
It’s really fascinating. We chat to them afterwards and we usually ask ‘How was it for you?’ and a lot of artists find it quite a moving experience to have a thousand or hundreds of people singing back a song that they’ve written, and they’re singing that song along with you and in harmonies… you’re creating something really special together. So those nights are really something special and a little bit
And your role personally is in an MC capacity…
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Photo credit: Jacob Morrison
Any favourite experiences? I loved the first night that we did it... I think we realised how special it was. And now, every gig for me is really wonderful, really special. I love the Brisbane event. Just coming home and doing a gig at home which is 1,500 people every month and just knowing that it’s always going to be fun. Our Christmas event at Brisbane City Hall with over 2,000 people singing. That was amazing. We’ve also just come back from a US tour as well. I don’t think there’s one that stands out. But they all stand out for me. It’s people coming together to create something really beautiful.
teaching still. This year I am just doing a day a week but teaching beginner violin at a school, which is really special.
What type of advice would you have for creatives… writers, musicians, anyone… who has an idea that has an idea that they want to put out into the community? Go for it! You never know what is going to happen. And it is so special when you can do it with your friends. Get involved. Just do it. Find a way. If you’ve got an idea or you’ve got something in you that you want to share just go for it. Give it a crack – you never know what’s going to happen.
You also run a poetry event in Brisbane? I do. I have a couple of other events. I also run Ruckus Brisbane, which is a poetry slam that has been going for about six years now, which is again, a community event about getting people on stage for platforms to share. I also run a cabaret called Wham! Bam! Cabaret!. I run a community theatre group for adults with disability or mental illness which is a really special part of my week as well. And I’m also
Feature artist
Find out more about Pub Choir and keep an eye on their touring dates at: pubchoir.com.au @pubchoir @pubchoir
NEED A TUTOR?
INTR O DU CI N G
GUGC’S NEW TUTORING APP P O W ER ED BY
TO LEARN MORE AND DOWNLOAD THE APP, VISIT:
GUGCSTUDENTGUILD.COM.AU/TUTORING
Online Caitlin Burnett
RAIN RAIN App If you’re having difficulty relaxing or falling asleep, you may benefit from the Rain Rain app. The app offers wide range of free calming sounds, such as light rain, ocean waves, crackling fire and thunderstorms. Premium noise tracks, such as white noise, café sounds and woodpecker can be purchased at a small cost. According to their website, continuous, soothing and repetitive sounds help to calm the brain and promote deeper sleep and relaxation. You can choose to set a fade-out timer or listen for the entire night. rainrainapp.com
DAISIE App Daisie co-founder, Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) describes the app as ‘a platform for creative people to share their work, upload projects, work together, collaborate and build their network of contacts within the creative industries’. The app is designed to promote collaboration between creative types, to create more rounded projects that combine work from people with varying artistic specialities. Daisie has a similar format to other social media apps, such as Instagram and Facebook. However, as the main goal is to promote artistic collaboration, there are no follower or like counts. If you have a creative project in the works that seems to be missing something (lyrics, artwork, music, scripts, artistic direction or similar), then Daisie could be the app you’re looking for. daisie.com
Online
GOOGLE TRANSLATE App When you’re travelling to a foreign country, knowing the local language can be incredibly useful. But learning a whole new language in a couple of weeks isn’t always feasible. So, before you set off on your next international vacation or student exchange, think about downloading the free Google Translate app. Most people have used the online predecessor and the app offers similar features with a few added extras. You can translate English text to your chosen language, and vice-versa, or use the audio function to learn basic pronunciation. You can also translate real-time conversations and handwriting, although the accuracy of these are less reliable. However, the most useful function is the translation camera! Point your camera phone to any sign, label or text (limited) and Google will translate it. I found this incredibly useful while grocery shopping (it’s harder than you’d think!). translate.google.com
GOOGLE SEARCH SECRETS Chances are, you’ve found yourself procrastinating online at some point and discovered some of Google’s secret Easter Eggs. If you haven’t, here are a couple you might want to check out the next time you have an important deadline to avoid. Google search: • Askew – Sometimes it’s good to see things from a new perspective. • Google Gravity – not even Google can defy gravity. • Do a Barrel Roll – avoid when seasick. • Google Sphere – everything revolves around Google…literally. Google search games: • Pacman • Zerg Rush • Play Snake And just for fun, the next time your internet is down, don’t forget to play the Chrome Dino Runner! Just press the space bar to begin.
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Entertainment
Angel Has Fallen Bec Marshallsay (2019) 121 minutes Genre: Action Director: Ric Roman Waugh The art of dissembling, misdirects and double bluffs might be an essential part of life in the secret service, but Angel Has Fallen clearly felt no obligation to weave any of these elements into its delivery. The villains are basically wearing ‘bad guy’ name badges, their motivations are very clearly spelled out for those playing along at home, and the film is all but subtitled with important plot point: remember this. Angel Has Fallen is the third film featuring president-saving secret service agent, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). This time Banning has a new president to protect, President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) and his situation is greatly complicated when he finds himself framed for an assassination attempt on his newest charge. On the run, Banning must find a way to clear his name while escaping
detection by the FBI and a nefarious enemy intent on pinning the blame on Banning (for various loosely contrived reasons). Like any good patriot, Banning is also hell bent on continuing to protect the president from hidden threats. The film gets off to a slow start with a dreary exposition designed to reinforce the fact that Banning is feeling old and decrepit (I’m sure Gerard Butler was reminiscing about the days when he had Phantom of the Opera strength and vitality). With this energy sapping subplot out of the way, Angel Has Fallen slowly builds to a series of enjoyable action sequences and an as-expected performance by Butler. Angel Has Fallen integrates some banal political commentary about the state as an all-powerful panopticon, leading to one of
Entertainment
the film’s most satisfying action sequences when Banning is forced to seek refuge in an off the grid location. There is also a half-hearted attempt to tap into the America-as-war-machine motif, and the age old paranoia about Russian interference in US affairs. With not so subtle cultural call backs as the vice president vowing to ‘make America strong again’, even the most politically disinterested viewer will get the satisfaction of saying ‘Oh, I get that reference’. You don’t need to rush to the cinema to see this but if uncomplicated action films make you happy then this is an enjoyable two hours of pew-pew-pew and explosions.
Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet Various authors Ashleigh Hartley
A misadventurous first date with just the right person. Waiting out the cops in the bathroom at a house party. A miraculous dressmaker comes to the rescue. These are all tales from Meet Cute, an anthology of short stories that follows the first meeting of couples, whether its love at first sight or a chance encounter. Each story is a mix of new age romance, relatable for anyone who has ever joined a dating app or fallen in love with the wrong (right) person. The collection features stories from some of today’s most popular YA writers, including Julie Murphy, author of Dumplin’, and Sara Shepard, author of the Pretty Little
Soul Searching Mary Jo Dowsett Bazzi American singer-songwriter, Bazzi, has just released his mixtape Soul Searching following the success of his 2018 debut album Cosmic. If you’re not familiar with Bazzi, he is the artist responsible for the smash hit ‘Mine’, a single that became certified platinum in numerous countries and even became its own snapchat filter. After the success of Cosmic, Bazzi has been working tirelessly to produce a bigger and better sound, cue Soul Searching. Bazzi opens the album with the track, ‘Humble Beginnings’, where the lyric ‘Can’t believe that we made it’ is repeated throughout the
Liars series. Their voices are unique and powerful, each one brining a fresh perspective to the genre of romance. Every character is as diverse as their story and readers can expect to find themselves immersed in and relating to the variety of romances described in Meet Cute. The book is filled with innovative stories such as 259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan, which follows the teenager Philip who, in a chance to escape his life, signs up for an expedition to Mars. Other stories incorporate the everyday settings we all know, such as Oomph by Emery Lord which tells a beautiful story of kindred spirits Johanna and Cassidy and their chance meeting in an airport.
stripped back chorus, reminding not only his fans but himself of just how far he has come. The track resembles Post Malone in some senses through the dark slow beats filtered throughout the song, as the twenty-one-year-old combines his rapping and impressive falsetto on top. Although Soul Searching is ultimately an RnB meets pop album, Bazzi has cleverly punctuated elements of Hip Hop and even Gospel throughout. On tracks such as ‘Conversations with Myself’, Bazzi has included the gospel choir to provide a more soulful experience for the listener, as he delves deep into his personal fears and anxieties. Soul Searching is an album that
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Meet Cute tells an abundance of beautiful, funny, relatable, and heart-stopping stories, and is a recommended read for all the romance literature lovers out there.
manages to effortlessly meld genres together without you even realising. Bazzi has been able to conjure up an interesting and exciting collection of music, and if ‘Mine’ was your favourite song of 2018, then I’m pretty sure Soul Searching will become your new favourite album.
Being creative
HIDDEN IDENTITY Lucy Fergusson
As I walk through a crowd of people, their eyes pass over me. To them, I appear like any other ordinary person. Why shouldn’t I? I learnt to hide it well. My secret. My hidden identity. The burden I have carried with me for years, though you would never know it if you met me. I talk as though nothing hinders me. I smile as though nothing pains me. I laugh as though my world isn’t spinning. On the outside I am like everyone else, going about my day. But inside, I feel as different and as misunderstood as a zebra in a herd of horses.
I only share my true identity with a special few. Those I trust not to take away my opportunities because of their perception of my ability; those who know I will push myself to breaking point to achieve my goals, even if my breaking point is closer than most. The people who know that one day I will climb a mountain beside them, and then spend the next three days in bed. The people who know I would put my health concerns aside to be there for them – but would never abuse that. Those are the people I treasure, trust and always count on.
I keep my secret close to my heart, concealing it from the world. The fear of judgment, pity, and misconception plays on my mind daily. How would people react? Would they treat me the same? Would they still stand by me?
I keep my illness a secret because I don’t want it to define me. It is a part of my life but it’s not who I am. Although some days are consumed by my illness, others remind me who I am as a person; my freedom, strength, consciousness and creativity. The days I spend staring at paper, unable to order my thoughts make me appreciate the days when ideas flows easily and productively. I have gained gratitude for seemingly insignificant things, like walking and breathing fresh air. Because not everyone has the privilege of experiencing these things.
The part of my world I keep hidden is filled with pain, exhaustion, medication, doctors, hospitals and 23 operations. I am someone who sufferers from a silent and invisible illness. However, when you meet me, I appear like anyone else in their 20s. I spend time with my friends playing games and laughing at jokes that are slightly on the darker side. I go to uni; I talk to people about current world issues and try to solve them all over a cup of coffee. Looking at my social media, you’d see I am an active person. Those are the things I let people see. I don’t post about the days I spend recovering after an adventure with friends, or the naps I need to take after only two hours of class. All the times I feel nauseous, and the hidden medications I must take to simply hang out. These are my secrets.
My secret, my hidden identity, my life; they made me who I am today. I am strong, I work hard to achieve my goals, and I have learned to see people beyond face-value; you never know what secrets a person is hiding behind their smile. Everyone has secrets, a hidden identity tucked away in fear of being judged. If someone trusts you enough to reveal their secret, listen with care, observe without judgement and always respond with respect.
Being creative
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Image: Lucy Fergusson
Being creative SANDALWOOD Hayley Penny I’m not a fan of sandalwood. Its woody stench inevitably smacks me in the face each time I’m here, the same way waves do when trying to jump them. I consider cancelling these appointments an hour before arriving, every fortnight. I check in at reception, ignore the other patients and sink into a cobalt blue cushioned armchair. A smoke line sails between two shelves and floats over a table piled with spiritual pamphlets and self-help books; some with a black dog on their cover. I can tell it’s navigating its way to my nostrils. I beg it to dissipate the fuck out with an unorthodox prayer. Stay the hell away from me you relentless motherfucker of a smell, or I swear to god… It drifts toward a canvassed quote hanging on the wall. Twisting my waist and leaning up, I squint to focus. Hmm, Brene Brown is gone. Nudging my specs with a forefinger, I sneeze. Fuck I hate you, sandalwood. ‘GROW THROUGH WHAT YOU GO THROUGH, STARS CAN’T SHINE WITHOUT DARKNESS’ Pulling my phone out, I take a photo and text it to Ash. ‘I’m a star, right?’ adding a winky face emoji. She replies, asking where I am. ‘At shops. Call you later doll.’ My heart rate spikes. Why do I do that? I always pretend I’m somewhere else. She must think I have oniomania. ‘Kelly.’ Dr Cheryl Symonds; the clinic’s resident psychologist, beckons me into her office. I switch my phone to silent.
to stop being so ungrateful, and harp on about how lucky I am. ‘Who else gets to laze in the sun three days a week?’ I can just imagine the resentment screaming out of her eyes. Ash will freak. She’ll stroke my hair, wrap me up in a blanket sushi roll, spoon feed me ice-cream and demand every sordid detail. Will they though? I click on Facebook, scroll past mindless, supposed pheromone inducing pug videos and cat memes, before switching to my own profile page. Ew. Too many ‘be kind, be brave, be strong’ posts. I even shared a Psychology Today article a week ago. Fuck, when did I lose my sense of humour? I need to unfollow myself. The ‘What’s on your mind, Kelly?’ box glares at me like a schoolyard bully eyeing off my lunch money. The butterflies won’t let up either. They’re chanting like a goddamn symphony now, calling me a fraud. I down the third wine while they torture my ribcage, which I don’t think is very butterfly like. Although maybe they’re still caterpillars? Perhaps they’ve remained in their cocoons and are rolling around my ribs, slamming into each other having a whale of a time. I suppose that isn’t very caterpillar like either. For fucks sake Kelly, grow a set. Type!
I’m back home and there are butterflies doing those stupid fricken somersaults inside my guts for the seventeenth time today. I fill a wine glass to just below the brim and drain it within four point eight seconds. Then repeat.
There. Done. A status update. Full disclosure.
I’m not sure why I haven’t told anyone yet. Actually, I am. It’s because my friends are arseholes. It’s not like I am splayed over a chaise lounge with a hippy dreadlocked psychic hovering her arms all about, Mister Miyagi style - trying to voodoo the trauma out of me; but that’s what they’ll think.
I close the laptop and opt for more wine; the perfect accompaniment to judgement. I check for notifications on my phone. Nothing. Oh no. Maybe I should delete it? Down goes the fourth.
I pour another, walk into my bedroom and sit at the bulky desk that makes my queen size bed look like a single. I pull open the laptop.
I’m all good being inside a cage when I visit the Butterfly House, I’m just not so great with the reverse. You can fuck off now flutterbys.
My phone rings; it’s Ash.
‘What the fuck?!’ Oh great. She’s mad.
‘Ahh, what the fuck, what?’
Would they really give a shit though?
‘At the shops aye? I can’t believe you never told me you see a shrink?!’
I’m damn sure Sarah will. She’ll scoff at me, tell me
Being creative
‘Ash, I’m sorry. I just…’
‘Oh babe. Please don’t be sorry.’ Silence. ‘I mean, really… I should’ve known. I’m so sorry.’ Placing the empty glass on the kitchen bench, I lumber to my bedroom and flop onto the bed like a dead fish. More silence.
‘Kelly? Tell me you’re ok?’
‘Well…that would be a lie. And like I wrote in that post. No more secrets.’ Now she’s the quiet one. My chest heaves. I try to stop the butterflies, or caterpillars, or whatever the fuck they are, from pushing up a surge of tears as they scale their way to my throat. ‘Kel, hun. Go have a shower, wash your hair, and please, get some sleep. You’ll feel better. Promise.’
‘I will, thanks doll.’ I hang up.
The butterflies escape. Out of my mouth. In a spluttering, thunderous wail. ~ It’s been a year since I came clean about counselling. I never expected it to be more cathartic than actual therapy. Ash is typing incessantly at the desk opposite mine. She looks up at me and scowls. ‘Stop daydreaming woman! Just write…Now!’ smirking, she resumes tapping.
doings. Criticism and judgement are also a consistent explanation to the fear of disclosure for many mental health sufferers. Yet, the question I wish to pose is; what if revealing their secrets is part of the answer?’ My phone beeps, pulling me back to reality. It’s a text from my brother. Luke lives in Singapore, he’s an IT Project Manager for one of the major World Banking Corporations. More successful than I will ever be. I roll my eyes. Here we go. What smart arse insult shall I receive this month? I open the message. ‘Wanna know a secret about your tough emotionless no nonsense brother, that I can only share with you?’ The butterflies appear again. Fuck. I look up at Ash. She’s deep into whatever article she is working on. ‘Of course, I would love you to share.’ Watching my phone as the three dots blink, I shake it. What the fuck Luke, hurry up and answer! Somewhere in the air, I see the word ‘affair’ blink too. ‘Well, I’ve been seeing a counsellor now for a while about anxiety, lack of self-confidence, and fear of loneliness…and feeling empty and hollow. You gave me the confidence to do it. I’ve only felt like that for twenty-seven years. Thank you for being the brave one.’ I freeze, but only for a moment. Prickling heat creeps in and the butterflies don’t like it. It’s a frenzy inside. I read the text again.
The cursor on the MacBook in front of me flashes on a new word document. Blank if it weren’t for the title, ‘Secrets Revealed’. There are a hundred secrets I’ve held on to, hundreds more acquired following my social media confession.
‘Oh bro. I’m not brave. I just got sick of my internal battles.’ My MacBook screen has switched to its screensaver. A picture of Ash and I clinking champagne glasses on the day we launched our Advocates for Awareness imprint.
I flick through notebook pages to one that is paperclipped; illegible scrawl to anyone else reading it. The transcription is another woman’s story, her innermost fears which are not unlike my own. This article is going to change her life. I start typing.
‘You ARE brave, and I’m proud of you. Sandalwood incense rods burning into my skin don’t haunt my memories anymore… thanks to you.’ Two, or maybe three butterflies escape. Ash peers over her MacBook and stands up.
‘By definition, resilience is having the capacity to recover from difficulties; toughness. It’s the ineffable ability to have your life all but drained from you, to then rise up stronger than you were before. When it comes to mental health, the majority of sufferers exacerbate their condition and its complexity. Stigma is still somewhat to blame. Many people keep their anxiety and trauma private, delaying any reprieve. To them, seeking support could mean reliving an incident they would rather not, or divulging their own wrong
‘Babe, what’s going on?’ she walks around her desk and perches beside my keyboard, one foot on the ground, the other one dangling. ‘Um, it’s Luke...’ I hold my phone up so she can read the message. ‘Oh, my god honey! I knew he had a heart in there somewhere!’ Surrendering my phone to the desk, she drags me up from the chair, pulling me into her arms. I chuckle, welcoming her embrace, and let my tears flow freely. 45
Being creative
SECRETS AND RUMOURS Juan Mendiola Secrets and Rumours was a project I created for my Experimental Writing course at Griffith University earlier this year. Its development spanned over several months and included a variety of ideas from different origins to bring it to fruition. Secrets and Rumours is based on the culmination of anonymous submissions made by various people. The project consisted of a box holding many origami cranes, each one hiding a secret or a rumour written in its unfolded form. It will not be confirmed whether what one person read was a secret or a rumour and should be interpreted by the reader alone. In a world where communication is so easy, it can be hard to distinguish what is meant to be kept to ourselves and what should be spread to other people. Whether the words are true or not, what we do with it is our choice. This project was symbolic of that idea. Each submission has been written in the fragility of an origami crane with no way to determine if it is a secret or a rumour. You can unfold it and reveal its words or you can leave it untouched to remain in its box. The decision is yours. The project began when an idea sprung from my love and skill of creating origami cranes. As simple as they may look, they require time to memorise. Second, I familiarised myself with Candy Chang’s project, Confessions. Her project consisted of various people writing anonymous confessions on a wooden plaque before Chang displayed them on gallery walls. Lastly, listening to the Fleetwood Mac’s album Rumours sparked the entire idea in my mind. The combination of these three ideas and aspects helped me to create Secrets and Rumours. While I drew inspiration from Candy Chang’s project, there are less similarities between mine and hers than there are differences. While Chang hung all the confessions up on a wall for the public to see, my project had the words hidden in a piece of paper and drawn from a box. This created a more intimate experience with the piece, which was very important. From the intimate environment, people could decide
which cranes to unfold and fold it at their own pace. They could also determine themselves if it is a secret or a rumour and if they should share it with others. So, while a little bit similar to Chang’s, the differences add to the many elements of this project’s layers. Examining the significance of paper cranes, the idea to use origami was based on the Japanese legend of a thousand paper cranes. The legend states that creating a thousand paper cranes would grant an individual a gift from the gods. While it would have been impractical for me to make a thousand paper cranes for this project, a significant number of cranes was made. The use of paper cranes was an effective symbol. The fragility of the cranes can be symbolic of how easy it can be for a secret and a rumour to be released, while the hardship of unfolding it can represent how far people are willing to go to discover information. The very essence of secrets and rumours is an important aspect in this project. According to psychologists and mental health experts, keeping secrets and spreading rumours is not healthy for anyone. While I believe the statement, I wanted to challenge that with the idea that it could be good in some cases. To put this challenge in place, readers had the option to fold the crane again, share it with others, or even destroy the crane to hide it forever. All of these aspects helped develop the project of Secrets and Rumours. The combination of original ideas I had and inspiration I drew from others helped create the foundation of the project. Meanwhile, the significance of certain elements added to the creative design. Because of all this, I was able to produce the final product of what I call Secrets and Rumours.
Being creative
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Being creative THE GAME Marena Janse van Rensburg The night it all started. Navy lace, brand new as if waiting to be torn, waiting for someone to claim them from my body. White jeans – tight. Form-fitting. Hips swaying left, right. The light is perfect thanks to a $200 mirror from eBay. Lipstick - blush pink. A last touch, rose mist and straightened blonde hair, where the tips kissed the small of my back. Black ankle boots, heels not too high.
minute they discovered he could actually dance. Our eyes locked and I moved towards him. His one hand grabbed my waist, while the other held my left hand. We danced, hips connected. His hand slid to the small of my back before he pushed me off and spun me around. We were dancing in a filthy nightclub to Cher’s ‘If I could turn back time’. We got home around four in the morning, I fell asleep with Dan’s checkered shirt tied around my waist.
Jackie, Seb’s fiancé, rushed in, flustered. “I need your help, I can’t get this eyeshadow right,” she handed me her makeup bag. “It’s okay,” I smiled, “you just need to balance out the colour a little.” “Ladies, the car is ready, we’re all ready to go,” Pierre leaned against the doorframe. He flexed, popping a brow and his bicep. I rolled my eyes. “Get out. We’re almost done.” “Yes ma’am,” he said, winking at me. I wasn’t into it, but he was. Dan waited at the car as we filed out fifteen minutes later, hands in his pockets. “Do I look okay? I haven’t done this in a while,” he motioned to his ironed chinos and checkered shirt. Of course he hasn’t done it in a while, he’s thirty with a wife and two kids. He looks like he’s going to a business meeting, not a dirty nightclub.
It was my idea to go hiking the morning after we went clubbing. After a shower, I put on a pot of coffee and started packing sandwiches. Dan was the first to join me in the kitchen. For Christmas, I had bought him knee-high socks adorned with bright pineapples and flip flops to match, he got me a pink rubber pig that squealed when you squeezed it. He was wearing the socks with a pair of vans, board shorts and a white Volcom Tshirt. The drive was an hour long. They complained. We walked a total of five hours. They complained. All of them except Dan. We encountered snakes, I almost stepped on two. The rock pools were crystal clear, ice cold. I was thrown in. Dan explored on his own, silent. He remained that way until we got home. Sweaty and grimy, as the lot trudged back into the house, I stripped into a black bikini, grabbed a Corona and lazed into the pool. He came outside and sat on the edge, cigarette in one hand, beer in the other. “I, uh, I just wanted to say thank you for today. I honestly enjoyed that hike – even if the others didn’t.” “You’re welcome.”
“You look good for a dad,” I said winking at him.
“Can you do me a favour?” he asked.
“You look beautiful.” He did the thing. The Dan Look, where his eyes softened a little and he smiled, biting his lip at the same time. He looked dorky, but it was him. Dan. It was the first time he said I looked beautiful. Retro’s was crowded. The music pulsed through my body. Seb, my cousin, popped his hip and tapped his foot to the rhythm, holding Jackie’s hand. Pierre just looked daft. His glasses made his eyebrows look even thicker than they already were, his hair cut militaryshort. Lord. Then there was Dan. Women in their forties skulking around with drinks flocked to him the
“Anything.” “Don’t walk around wearing only that. It’s not fair.” I stared back, grabbed my Corona and got out of the pool, dripping chlorine water carelessly onto the hot cement. “Fuck, Leah…” he rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. The air outside was warm the way only Australian evenings could be. I needed a break. This situation couldn’t be more fucked up. The stairs were my
Being creative
solace, but it seemed I wasn’t the only one with that idea. “Please tell me I’m not going crazy,” he mumbled, coming down the stairs behind me. “Leah, tell me I’m not the only one that feels this way.” “You’re not crazy,” I say. He comes down one more step. “Because you’re driving me insane.” One more step. “You walk around in that bikini. You’ve started this game, but you won’t finish it.” Last step. His breath - hot on my cheeks. “Chicken shit.” “Try me,” I whisper. “Oh yeah?” he grabs my face –
When he danced, his ass popped out like Johnny Bravo. He irked me. The group walked ahead along the walkway of Surfer’s Paradise beach. They were miserable because we missed the main fireworks. Dan slipped after the group and went behind the dune onto the beach. “For fuck sake,” Pierre moaned, “there he goes again.” “I’ll find him. You guys go ahead,” I said. I ran after him as the rest left. “Dan!” He turned and smiled, waiting for me. “Where are you going?” I asked. “I just needed a break from Johnny Bravo.” He took my hand and our fingers intertwined as we walked on the dune.
“Wait -”
“I wish I knew you when I was young. I wish we did this together,” he murmured after a while.
“I knew it.”
“Are you admitting you’re old?” I tease.
“No, there are too many people around,” I hiss, waving my arms around, “what if someone sees!”
“I’m saying you’re twenty-one. You have your whole life ahead of you.”
“Right,” he chuckled as he walked off. Shaking his head.
We stop at the base of the dune, sitting on the cold sand. He pulls out two hotel mini-bar sized whiskeys and cigarettes from his pocket. We smoked and drank as fireworks went off in the distance.
I would regret that moment for the rest of my life. New Year’s quickly came around the corner, and before I knew it, Dan was standing in our kitchen once again with the same chinos and checkered shirt.
“Happy New Year,” he says.
“Tell me you have a plan for New Years, ‘cause there was a beautiful air hostess ready to take me to Tokyo tonight,” Dan said, flopping on the couch.
His phone rings.
“Maybe you should have gone then.” “You know the only reason I’m here is for you, right?” “I know.” They were miserable – the lot. Jackie had her best friend tag along this time, and Pierre wouldn’t miss a chance for a night out. He bought his shirts two sizes smaller, he reckoned they made his torso look filledout. I thought he just looked like a fucked-up Popeye.
We don’t kiss.
“Hey babe,” he says walking off, “happy new year.” His wife. I drink his whiskey. Smoke another cigarette. We already had three beers in the car on the way there, and I had a shot of Sambuca while we were getting ready. I was starting to feel it. “Shit.” I muttered into the bottle. I was hoping his wife wouldn’t call tonight. She would move to Australia next month, once his training was
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finished. They used to have countless fights over the phone. Some nights, the screaming sessions lasted just short of an hour. I could hear everything through the thine bedroom walls, and he would softly knock on my door on those nights, asking if I was awake. He’d sit on the edge of my bed and I would rub his back. He needed me. I needed him. I can’t remember the rest of the night, I think we danced. I ended up in the very backseat of the land cruiser, next to Dan. Pierre was driving. He was pissed because I didn’t kiss him under the fireworks. My vision blurred and my head lulled. Dan slipped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him. I lay down with my head in the nape of his neck. He covered me with his jacket. I woke up alone in my bed, pants unbuttoned, but still on, with my bra and shoes off, left on the edge of the bed. Brisbane airport was quiet considering it was a peak time of the year. I was sitting in a row of chairs at Gate 23. Dan sat next to me, we half-heartedly sipped our coffees. “We need to set some rules,” he said, “when Jane gets here, this game we’re playing, it’ll get messy.” “We can stop this if you want,” I say, keeping my eyes downcast. “We were just supposed to ‘mess around’, but the one minute I want to fuck your brains out, the next I want to run away with you.” “I’m sorry,” I say.
“Don’t be. I’m the married one.” I don’t say anything. “Have you fallen for me?” he asks. “If I say it, I’ll scare you away.” “Try me.” “Then yes, I have fallen for you.” He sighs before he squeezes my hand. “That means we’re going to have to be careful from now on, okay?” “Okay,” I say. We sit there as the clock starts to count down. A voice announces the boarding for his flight. “I’m sorry,” I say, “I knew you were married, but I played it anyway…now look where we are.” “Let’s see how it goes,” he says, “nothing will change my mind.” “Nothing?” He pulls me into a hug and holds me there for a moment. “Nothing. Wait for me at Gate 23.” I walk away, turning back just in time to see him disappear down the boarding tunnel. Family dinners are awkward now. I sit there and they don’t speak much – my cousins. We used to be so close, then I left for eight months. I see him. Dan. He’s not the same. Maybe it’s the wife. She’s beautiful…blonde hair, blue eyes. Maybe he doesn’t want to play anymore. He won’t look at me. He won’t speak to me. When they leave I go to hug him, he angles his body away and I get one arm. “Goodbye,” he says, “good to see you.” Fuck. Who would have thought I’d fall for my cousin?
Being creative
Being creative
I’M HOME Velvet Favretto
‘Honey, I’m home.’ The familiar scent of honey-roast duck filled the air. George was speaking more to the glazing on the crisp wings than to his wife, who hummed to herself in the kitchen. He had detected the sweet scent from the driveway and, salivating, came in to greet his Honey. ‘Perfect timing,’ his wife said. He slumped down at the kitchen table, the aroma dancing around his head like dreams. A bowl of unripe fruit sat on the table for decoration – a colourful accessory to the spotless kitchen, like his wife, he thought. A tall, French lady with a voice as sweet as her cooking. ‘Here you are, Pumpkin.’ She laid down his plate of food. Served with pumpkin. Her blouse had fallen slightly, but George was more interested in the duck breast. They ate without speaking. Kissed without feeling. Slept without touching. This was their eternal cycle. Work, eat, sleep, on endless repeat, circling in the sweetness of the kitchen’s gentle aroma, masking every sour moment with the flavour of their favourite meals. Until one, day the flavours disappeared. His wife was gone. His Honey was gone too. His Pumpkin. His CherryPie. His Sugar. His Cupcake. The entire kitchen was empty. Each day he came home to a void, like the one in his chest and the one in his stomach. He sat at the kitchen table, staring at the bowl of fruit. No flavourful foods simmering in the oven. No sweet scents swirling around his head. Only emptiness. The taste of bitter guilt. The lovely woman who had cooked his meals had moved away for good. Good, perhaps, for her. But for George, what would he eat? He sat with a troubled mind and plucked an avocado from the now-ripened bowl of fruit. He sliced it with careful precision, right down the centre, splitting the two halves. One side kept hold of the pit, the other
et, winner of Congratulations to Viol from the Geta Writers’ Award your chance the Avocado Edition. For see page 5. se plea win and e writ to
left with an empty crater – a different kind of pit. The kind of pit that sinks into your chest when your wife leaves and tells you it’s ‘for good.’ The pit sank to his stomach, along with the avocado, and he decided for the first time in years to cook something. He rummaged through the kitchen for ingredients, pulled out every delicious flavour he could find, and before long, a mild aroma began filling the air. He tried humming to himself like his wife did, but it was no use. The pit remained. It occurred to him that love is like an avocado; when it splits, only one side can keep its heart. The food’s aroma was pleasant and homely, but with an air of confusion – muddled, like all the items he’d strewn over the kitchen. Just then, as if an offering of rescue, the sound of footsteps approached from outside. Like someone had been lured towards the kitchen’s scent after a long day of stale misery. Heels clicked on the wooden porch, and George felt himself being filled, the sweetness of home returning at last. A soft voice wafted in through the front door. ‘Honey?’
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Anri Kitamura Bachelor of Design
Being creative
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Get the hell outta here Courtney Kruk The turmoil of another trimester is over, and congratulations, you made it! For this edition of Get the hell outta here we want to help you have a summer full of days to remember, with a few nights you might forget. To help you on your way, we’ve put together a list full of suggestions - be it a night out, wilderness escape or just an event to pop in your social calendar before the new academic year begins.
Get the hell outta here
COCKTAILS & BARS If you’ve been spending your weekends stuck in academic agony, you’re probably in need of a night out. To assist you in this endeavour, we’ve compiled a list of places perfect for post-trimester celebration (other than our beloved Uni Bar), a few secret spots for you to discover and somewhere you can let your hair down (or have it held back).
Frida Sol
Soho Place Bar
Located on the Gold Coast Highway in Palm Beach, lovers of Mexican will find house and home at this double storey bar and taqueria. With décor as beautiful as the bar’s namesake Frida Kahlo, keen drinkers will also enjoy beach views, margaritas, jugs of sangria, and of course, plenty of tacos.
For those of us who won’t be travelling to London’s West End anytime soon, you can get a little taste of the ritzy Soho bar scene right here on the Goldy at Soho Place. An iconic British red telephone box marks the entry point to this drinks-only venue located close to the highway in Broadbeach. And if all the drinking and dancing has you working up an appetite while you’re there, you can call in an UberEATS because this bar is BYO food.
Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall
Fortitude Music Hall
Caxton Street in Brisbane isn’t just a place for Suncorp Stadium pre-drinks. For a bar that is like no other, you need to experience Lefty’s at least once in your life. A saloon-style establishment with three unique bars in the same building, live music and heaps of vintage leather, Lefty’s above average atmosphere will haunt you long after you’ve gone.
Hardly a secret anymore, Brisbane’s newest live music venue, Fortitude Music Hall in The Valley, opened a few months back and now boasts the largest ballroom/theatre styled venue in Australia. The live acts are already aplenty, with The Flaming Lips, The Jungle Giants, The Cat Empire, Grinspoon, Hermitude, Two Door Cinema Club, Mac DeMarco, Pixies and The National all announced to play in the coming months.
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Aloha Bar & Dining A short stumble back from Soho is another hidden gem for a memorable night out. Aloha Bar & Dining in Broadbeach is a nautical, tiki-themed bar, decked out to make you feel like you really made it to Hawaii to sip strawberry daiquiris. The cocktail menu is a big drawcard for this bar, especially the Return of the Gidget, a sweet little number that comes served in a hollowed-out pineapple.
The Walrus Club An ode to the 1920/30’s Temperance Movement (aka Prohibition) is The Walrus Club in Toowong. Step back in time through the sunken black cellar door underneath Brisbane’s Regatta Hotel and discover the secret stratosphere that lies below. A speakeasy bar you’ll want to dress sharp for, The Walrus Club has over 300 types of rum, cocktail combinations you’re guaranteed to of never tried and live music on the weekends.
WILDERNESS ESCAPES It can be hard to squeeze in a weekend away while studying, working and just generally keeping your head above water throughout the trimester. We’re suggesting a wilderness escape that won’t break the budget and bringing you some lesser-known camping spots to switch off and pitch up for a well-deserved break these summer holidays.
Bluff Creek Campgrounds Kenilworth While our pristine east coastline never gets old, it’s nice to do something a little different every now and then. A few hours north in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland is Kenilworth, and the Bluff Creek campground situated on the tranquil Mary River. In between swimming and sitting by the fire, you can check out nearby Conondale National Park, Booloumba Falls and the insta-famous turquoise waters of Booloumba Creek.
Fingal Head Holiday Park Just south of Duranbah and the entrance to the Tweed River is Fingal Heads, a slice of paradise a little quieter than our busy Gold Coast beaches. The holiday park campground is located only 10 minutes from central Tweed Heads with the option to up the stars on your accommodation with Surfari tents or luxury cabins for your weekend away.
Broken Head Holiday Park There’s an abundance of spots down and around Byron Bay to choose from for a camping adventure, but Broken Head is up there with one of the best. The campground is situated at the base of the Broken Head Nature Reserve and besides the many beach breaks you’ll be taking, you can fish, picnic or hike the Three Sisters rainforest walk to the lookout.
The Rainforest Campsite and Green Mountains camping area If you really want to go rogue and stretch your legs, head inland from the Gold Coast and camp at the Lamington National Park. Both campgrounds are within or close to Lamington National Park, Binna Burra and the many walking trails and hikes in the area. The grounds have shower and toilet facilities so you won’t have to get too far back to nature, and we recommend packing plenty of supplies for a relaxing post-hike feast. Get the hell outta here
EVENTS Brisbane and the Gold Coast have an array of events happening all year round, it’s just that many of them tend to fly under the student radar. To help keep your calendar full in the coming months, we’ve dug around to find a few worthy occasions and dates to keep free for social activities and study-free relief.
Buskers By The Creek 18-20 October Fourteen stages and everything from musicians, to mimes and acrobats over this entertaining weekend. The ‘Battle of the Buskers’ will kick off the festival at the Currumbin Pub on the Friday and the weekend will finish up with an after-party to be held at Balter Brewery on the Sunday. This free event will be all sorts of extravagant, with highlights of live music, plus everything from sword swallowing world record attempts to samba dances.
Brisbane International Film Festival 3-13 October Whether you’re a film buff or film buffoon, there is something for everyone who has an interest in cinema at the Brisbane International Film Festival. Over 100 films and 28 special events will take place during the event which will launch at GOMA on Thursday October 3 with the Queensland premiere of Judy & Punch. Along with premieres, director Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby, Romeo + Juliet) and his collaborator of over 30 years, Academy Award-winning costume and production designer Catherine Martin, will take part as the Festival Patrons. They will bring their style and expertise to the program with a hand-selection of favourite films to screen as well as five cinema outings.
Oktoberfest Brisbane 11-13 & 18-20 October Cheaper than a flight to Munich and (nearly) as much fun as the real deal is Brisbane’s own version of the world-famous Oktoberfest. You will want to dust of the Dirndl and lay out your Lederhosen for this Oktoberfest Brisbane, featuring German favourites that align rather well to the Australian palate. That is of course a reference to the copious jugs of German bier on offer and all the customary dishes like Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle), bratwurst, schnitzel and freshly-baked pretzels. There will also be generous offerings of entertainment with the Munchner Buam Bavarian Oompah band, Yodeller Heidi and the Alpenrosen Dance Group all performing on the main stage.
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30 SEPTEMBER - 4 OCTOBER Your experience at university will normally be smooth sailing but life gets busy from time to time and we are here to help. Take a break before exams hit and put your health and happiness first. The Guild is bringing you workshops, yoga, Wellness Day, a movie night and a jam packed stress less schedule. Find out more at gugcstudentguild.com.au |
GUGC Student Guild
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