WEEKLY NEWS

Had bad high school counsellors? You might want to give university counselling a go

Tegan Jaggard (she/her)

Seeking help for mental health issues is a tough decision to make. For many people I’ve talked to, their first experiences going to a counsellor and seeking help didn’t go well and it put them off seeking help again, myself included.

I first tried seeking help in intermediate when I was outed as bisexual to my classmates. Those classmates started harassing me about my sexuality and I started experiencing panic attacks.

When I went to the counsellor about this issue, I was given a children’s book about anxiety and wasn’t offered any other sessions, and the classmates harassing me were not spoken to.

A couple years later in high school, a friend of mine passed away. My friends and I were told we could ditch class for a week, the counsellor spewed some clichés about grief and then left us to deal with it by ourselves. These experiences left me extremely hesitant to try counselling here at Massey.

Fortunately, when I did decide to give Massey counselling a go, my first five sessions were free and after those they were only $10 a session.

I was, thankfully, able to get the help I needed at the time and when the help I needed was out of their expertise, they helped me find specialised care. It seems that I am not alone in this experience of having awful high school counselling experiences.

Sarah*, a third-year Massey student, said her high school counselling “didn’t uphold patient confidentiality”. “Counselling at Massey has been so much better compared to high school counselling. They’re able to refer you to the proper resources needed and help you through anything. In comparison, high school counsellors often didn’t give good advice.”

Gabby*, a third-year Massey student, first tried counselling in high school when she was experiencing mood swings and depressive episodes.

“The counsellor told me it was probably just my hormones and to talk to my GP about birth control options.”

After trying multiple different kinds of birth control and mood swings and depressive episodes continued into university, Gabby started counselling with Massey.

“Massey counsellors can’t diagnose or anything, but they helped validate my feelings. Because even if it was just hormones, which it wasn’t, I still deserve emotional support.”

I talked to a group of design students on the Wellington campus and all of them were seeing the same counsellor. They had all recommended the same counsellor to each other because they found him so useful.

Rose*, one of the girls in the group, said, “I normally would ask specifically for a female counsellor, seeing that the male counsellors and doctors I’ve seen in the past haven’t taken my issues seriously, but this counsellor has been so great and understanding.”

If you’re interested in giving Massey counselling a go, you can walk into your campus health centre and book an appointment there or you can contact one of the numbers or emails below for your campus.

Auckland

Studenthealth.auckland@massey.ac.nz

+64 9 213 6700

Palmerston North

Studenthealth.manawatu@massey.ac.nz

+64 6 350 5533

Wellington

Studenthealth.wellington@massey.ac.nz

+64 4 979 3030

*All names have been changed for anonymity.

Selena vs Hailey ‘feud’ pits women against each other OPINION

Sammy Carter (she/her)

I won’t lie, I can get caught up in celebrity drama, but when it comes to Selena vs Hailey, it’s getting old. The internet seems to think that celebrities Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber have an ongoing feud— all over a boy. Selena famously dated Hailey’s now husband Justin Bieber in the 2010s.

With Selena’s huge success on both the stage and screen, she has millions of fans hating on Hailey’s every move. Supposedly, Hailey copies everything Selena does and makes subtle digs at Selena on social media, like posting videos lip syncing to sassy TikTok sounds.

Selena attempted to stop the hate most recently in March. She posted on her story, “Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity. This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying.”

TikTok users were speculating that Justin Bieber texted Selena he still loved her the day before he married Hailey— and this somehow makes Selena better than her? Instead of pitting two girls against each other and bullying Hailey, we should think about Justin’s position in all this. Perhaps Justin should be sticking up for his wife and dispelling rumours that he’s still in love with his ex. If Hailey is copying Selena, perhaps we should think about if Justin is making her feel insecure or unloved for who she is. I don’t like that we are pitting girls against each other over a man. And

Justin Bieber of all men. Really. The same Justin who punched a fan and hit paparazzi with his truck. From just a quick scroll on one of Hailey’s most recent Instagram posts, comments said, “UNFOLLOWED. Mean rude stalker crazy fan”, “What a boring face”, and “I hope Justin divorces you”. All the hate towards Hailey had increased Selena’s popularity. Selena became the most followed woman on Instagram after hitting 400 million followers, beating out Kylie Jenner. Selena’s Instagram comments were looking a lot prettier with users writing, “You look like an angel”, “Selena for president” and “Justin is punching the air right now”.

Late last year, the two women took a photo together at the Academy Museum Gala to stop the rumours. Hailey then went on the Call Her

Daddy podcast to speak up about the lies of her ‘stealing’ Justin from Selena. When asked if she cheated with Justin, Hailey said, “When him and I started hooking up, or anything of that sort, he was not in any relationship … It’s not my character to mess with someone’s relationship, I was raised better than that.”

The model continued, “I understand how it looks from the outside, but that was a situation where I know for a fact that it was the right thing for them to close that door, but of course, there’s a very long history there and I respect that a lot. I don’t want to talk on either one of their behalf.”

However, it’s obvious fans aren’t ready to accept that the Jelena door is well and truly closed. But it’s not Hailey’s fault that they aren’t together anymore. These women are so much more than a man’s ex or wife.

Massey students think twice about Colombia stereotypes after monthlong scholarship trip

Sammy Carter (she/her)

From dancing on the street, to lush new food, to emeralds galore, Massey students find Colombia is not the drug dangerous country they expected. Seven other Massey students and I arrive back from Bogotá, Colombia, this Tuesday after spending a month there on a Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Latin America, studying Spanish and Theatre at the Universidad de Los Andes.

Luciano Lara said Colombia was “not as dangerous and people frame it”. Colombia is often known for its history in producing and trafficking cocaine in the 1990s, however, the country is more than just its narcotics past.

Lara loved the people and the food even more than the country itself. “People here are very human, very genuine. You feel like you can talk to anyone. It’s like they’re not afraid to be judged.”

I and the other students performed with Colombians originally from the Bronx, a neighbourhood destroyed by the national police in 2016 as its resolution to the drug problem.

Lara said, “they’ve seen a lot and still come to class with a smile.” He felt people from South America had “a lot of resilience”.

Lara is originally from Chile and hadn’t seen his Mum in over six years until she flew into Colombia to visit him.

This was such a special moment for him, “who else would do that for me? … she’s the purest thing I have”.

George Wilson said he didn’t have any idea what Colombia was really like other than watching the hit

Netflix show Narcos.

He said, “to my surprise, I haven’t felt threatened at all.”

Wilson said his friends had made drug jokes when he told them he was going to Colombia, but felt it was all 100% stereotypical.

“I think people would be surprised how modern it is.”

He felt the indigenous culture in Colombia shared similarities with Māori culture, “There’s quite a call to action for indigenous understanding.”

“They refer to water, and the Earth in general, as people.”

Aotearoa passed a law granting personhood status to the Whanganui River in 2017, declaring the river as a living whole from the mountains to the sea.

Irihapeti Moffat agreed with Wilson, saying it struck her how similar the indigenous Colombian culture was to Māori culture.

Moffat felt different about Colombia after living there for a month.

“I expected to feel more unsafe, but I really don’t.”

The trip included zip-lining, dancing, museums, markets, tango opera and amazing sight-seeing. However, Moffat felt the trip wasn’t all fun and games and also had a lot of depth.

Students performed plays with Colombian peers bringing awareness to climate change, specifically focusing on water.

“We’re learning about climate change from a new culture’s perspective,” Moffat said.

“It’s a wakeup call in a way, it’s inspiring.” Some students who went on the group scholarship may have caught the travel bug and are thinking about applying for an individual scholarship.