MASSIVE Magazine - Issue 14 - 2022 by Massive Magazine

MASSIVE 25 JULY 2022

What’s inside

News

Features An Ode to my Cheesy Friend, LeSnak

An Article About the Problem with Articles

The Poetry of the Moana

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James Webb Space Telescope Young Overachievers What Kind of Friend Would the Love Island Cast Members Be?

Columns Massey Confessions Sexcapades Solicited Advice Te Reo & NZSL Puzzle Time Horoscopes President’s Column

Massive is registered under the New Zealand Press Council which allows our readers to reach out to an independent forum for any complaints that can’t be solved by Massive Magazine, or its editorial board. Massive is also a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association. The views, beliefs and opinions reflected in the pages of Massive do not represent Massey University. Please send any queries or complaints to editor@massivemagazine.org.nz

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Editor - Mason Tangatatai Designer - Marie Bailey News Editor - Elise Cacace Culture Editor - Elena McIntyre-Reet Sub Editor - Jamie Mactaggart

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News Reporter - Sammy Carter Feature Writer - Mia Faiumu Feature Writer - Lily Petrovich Feature Writer - Aiden Wilson Illustrator - Kimi Moana Illustrator - Sara Moana Photographer - Amelia Radley

Who’s the imposter? Mason Tangatatai (he/him)

As a boy from the Hutt, one of the first things I noticed when I came to uni was how differently people spoke. For me, this was the first ding of the bell on my imposter syndrome journey. As the years have flown by and I’ve slowly come to terms with my place in tertiary education, every so often I hear that dreaded ding and the feeling comes back as strong as it did on day one. Through chatting with friends, and just hearing people talk, this feeling of being an imposter is super common with university students. At first when I realised this widespread feeling, it lowkey irritated me. I felt as if I was the only true imposter in this situation, and everyone else was just saying it. It’s like when that kid at high school would complain after getting 98 per cent in their math test - fuck off and let me have my moment of self-loathing. But, the fact that people so irrationally yet routinely feel like outsiders suggests that something about our education system makes them feel that way. Most of the time, imposter syndrome starts at trying to differentiate ourselves from others, but we often feel alienated when we try. The expectation to differentiate ourselves is felt particularly in academic environments. In our competitive culture, the pursuit of knowledge is framed as an avenue for individual self-improvement, and intelligence is seen as a metric of moral superiority. School systems are often structured in a way that reinforces these beliefs. When people attach significant moral and personal value to their education beyond the pure enjoyment of it, tackling the mountain of expectations they carry with them to university can be isolating. Part of this feeling is expected. In one sense, spending the developing years of your life in an academic blender can make you feel displaced in a way that is totally normal. However, there are parts of our

tertiary education that make this feeling much worse. The corporatisation of universities, which prioritises cost-effectiveness and sees students as a set of money makers to be churned through, has created a particularly dull and generic experience. Higher education is structured to tell us that we should be special, but deny us from ever feeling like we are. When attending large tutorials with tutors who are overworked and underpaid, communicating with impersonal and detached student services systems, and wondering whether your classes will be cut, it can be hard to feel like you’re achieving the things you set out to. When the idea that you ought to be special comes face to face with an environment that makes you feel like a number, the result is often feeling like an imposter. Because of the individualism with which people view education, they often attribute this feeling to their personal failings – they perceive that the experience could have been different if they had been smarter or worked harder. The flip side of imposter syndrome is that when people are successful, they tend to view it as fraudulent or unsatisfying. Part of this stems from the need to feel productive – it is difficult to savour success when you’re constantly pressured to move on to the next thing. Success requires exhausting productivity routines; removing yourself from them to enjoy success, even for a second, often leaves people feeling deeply purposeless. An effect of these factors is a society where people feel the constant need to prove themselves and compete against others, but where doing so requires a life of unenjoyable grinding. With this way of living, perhaps it’s more surprising that anyone doesn’t feel like an imposter. So if you’re reading this, I think you belong here. Chur g, Mason

25 JULY 2022

MASSIVE NEWS

WHAT’S GOING ON? WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

One-size-fits all approach doesn’t work for distance students Mason Tangatatai (he/him)

With over 60 years’ experience, Massey University is a self-proclaimed world leader in distance education. But, as the distance community grows due to many factors, including Covid-19, the University's one-sizefits all approach to tertiary study is showing cracks. Massey at Distance (M@D), are conducting a three-stage research plan to understand and address the systemic issues distance students face. This research is centered around the historic homogenisation of distance students since the programme's introduction in the 1960s. According to Massey University’s 2021 annual report, 55.9 per cent of students studied mainly by distance/ online, and 59 per cent of all Massey students were aged 25 years or older. “Distance learning needs to have its own design, it shouldn’t be an afterthought, especially as the majority of Massey students' study through distance,” says Jax Watt, Co-President of M@D. “Tertiary policy and funding has been specifically designed with the stereotypical school-leaver, full-time student in mind. This approach is hurting distance students who are typically older and have a unique set of needs and goals,” Watt continues. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), which provides funding to

universities, classifies a successful student as one that finishes their studies within an eight-year period. This one-dimensional criterion fails to account for part-time students, mature students, and students facing boundaries to tertiary education. This homogenisation has directly impacted Massey universities funding of distance students, leaving many distance offerings shells of the internal equivalents.

student. There is significant value in the distance tertiary field within New Zealand. It promotes the position of learning being life-long and breaks down barriers created by privilege and the responsibilities of being an adult. M@D would like to collect data that can be used to advocate for the TEC to engage in less homogenisation of tertiary policy and funding.

“Distance study is the only way I’m able to work towards a degree. I’m a primary solo caretaker of children. I would never be able to attend classes in person which is why quality recorded lectures are so important,” says one distance student.

If you would like to be involved (both distance and internal students welcome), use the link below to access the initial survey. You will be given the opportunity to opt-in to follow-up focus groups and individual interviews at the end of the survey.

“I’m a part-time student, and for me, this is the only way to do uni. I’m a single mum who needs to work to keep the bills paid,” says another distance

https://massey.au1.qualtrics.com/ jfe/form/SV_06uCblyQYrS4b8G

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25 JULY 2022

MASSIVE NEWS

The ‘heal your gut’ trend leaves out individualism Sammy Carter (she/her)

The ‘heal your gut’ social media trend has taken over with chiseled bods and lettuce chips. But with the focus on aesthetic benefits, it's been forgotten that every body is different. A trend of healing your gut has circulated over the past few months. Many posts include users showing off their weight loss and listing foods to cut from your diet. Naturopath Twyla Watson B, who started The Gut Healing Protocol, said a restrictive diet is “not necessarily” the way to heal your gut. “Every body looks different, so we can’t really say that your body has to look one way or you should be trying to achieve this one look and then you’ll be healthy and happy, cause that’s not true.” #guthealing has 137 million views on TikTok, #healyourgut has 47.9 million views on TikTok and #guthealth has 4.2 million posts on Instagram. But, with unqualified strangers telling people how to eat, it can become problematic. “One of the things that is problematic about this trend toward gut healing and using a restrictive diet is that often you aren’t given a clear guideline about how long you should be restricting foods or the process for reintroducing foods,” Watson said. “Everyone is an

individual and there's not one blanket approach that can work for everyone.” While many users have said healing their gut ‘saved their life’, it’s not something everyone actually needs to do. Watson said, “Everyone can support their gut to be healthy, but no, not everyone will need to heal their gut, some people might have a healthy gut.” “Everyone can benefit from supporting their gut health, this may be through nutrition or lifestyle, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone needs to take drastic measures to heal their gut.”

Watson said her practice is different from the healing your gut social media trend. “It's evidence based and it’s a lot more individualised. I’m definitely trying to make sure that people don’t end up on highly restrictive diets long term.” “I want people to feel better in their bodies and be able to think more clearly so that they can reach their potential.” Watson’s top three tips to a healthy gut are managing stress, eating a variety of plant foods and avoiding the overuse of antibiotics.

SPLENDID 85 Ghuznee St, Te Aro, Wellington www.splendid.nz @splendid.nz 5 • Karere

25 JULY 2022

MASSIVE NEWS

What is a recession and why you should care Elise Cacace (she/her)

Unless you’re a secret billionaire or a greasy landlord, you’ve probably noticed that life these days is becoming a bit of a struggle. Over the past two years, the cost of living has increased by 7.3 per cent, leaving most household incomes struggling to keep up. The reason for this is because we are entering a global economic recession. For those of you saying, “a global, economic…what now?”, a recession is a period in which economic activity significantly declines due to drastic structural shifts in a financial system. The Covid-19 pandemic and RussoUkrainian war are the two primary causes for our current recession, which has been deemed the worst since the post-World-War-II years. “The global economy is extremely volatile and New Zealand is not alone in experiencing higher prices, with inflation at 40-year highs of over 9 per cent in the United States and the UK,” says Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Immediate effects of a recession include the rising of unemployment

rates, falling average incomes, decreased financial opportunities, increased cost of goods and services, and the slowing of general economic activity. Long term effects include the rise in public debt, higher rates of child malnutrition, stunted development and under-academic achievement, a decline in overall mental health and wellbeing, and an increase in the wealth gap. Although a global recession affects just about everybody, students are undoubtedly among those facing the brunt of it. “Students are struggling, significantly. The minority of students who today can access the allowance are in real terms hundreds of dollars worse off a month than students even a decade ago, which is nothing on when education was effectively free prior to the 1980s,” says Chlöe Swarbrick. However, before we all go and sink further into our bubble of despondency and abandon all hope for the future, there are still some tiny slithers of light to hold on to. Compared to the rest of the world, New Zealand is still among the top-ranking countries in terms of resilience against recessions. “We know that inflation is rising across the world, and cost of living pressures are making it tough for New Zealand

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right now. High fuel prices, particularly driven by the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are a global problem affecting households and businesses in New Zealand,” Grant Robertson said. “We have the first cost of living payment going out in two weeks’ time. This payment will support an estimated 2.1 million people aged 18 and over for a three month period,” Grant Robertson said. Additionally, the Government has also announced a series of support strategies which will help New Zealanders stay afloat during this global crisis. These strategies include fuel cost reductions by 25 cents per litre until 31 Janurary; an equivalate reduction in road user charges; half price public transport; parental leave payments boosted by $40 weekly; free school lunches for more than 211,000 children; cheaper GP visits for more than half a million people, and a Best Start payment of an additional $65 a week for parents of newborns. It is a tough time for everyone, but the best thing we can do right now is be frugal, be optimistic, and know that recessions don’t last forever. Eventually, prices will drop once more and when that happens, we can all fly out to a tiny private island and sip margaritas on the beach to celebrate.

25 JULY 2022

MASSIVE NEWS

UniVol programme opens avenue for graduates looking to work abroad Mason Tangatatai (he/him)

Te Tūao Tāwahi (Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA)) is looking for recent graduates to take part in their UniVol programme, sending young adults to aid various Pacific Island communities. This opportunity sees candidates immersed in local communities for anywhere between six weeks and two years. Georgia Dobbe, a recent UniVol with VSA, spoke with Massive Magazine about her 10-month experience volunteering in the Cook Islands. “It’s a funny reality. Although I was there helping other people, I personally got so much out of the experience,” said Georgia. “Even without a huge amount of experience, we as UniVols have a set of skills that are immensely valuable for developing nations.”

Georgia spent her time in Rarotonga working within the Cook Island Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC). In this role she was tasked with getting the youth of Rarotonga involved and enjoying physical activity. This saw Georgia working directly with local schools and after-school care programmes. “Working to get youth involved in sport was a great fit for me. I had just finished my degree in Health Science, so I had a set of skills that could make a difference.” “It felt awesome to do something I enjoy while helping people at the same time,” Georgia continues. For students nervous about taking the leap overseas, especially during Covid-19, VSA has a strong support network before, during and after your assignment. Travel, accommodation, insurance and per diems are paid to volunteers to enable them to provide their service without cost.

Ready to make your mark?

Volunteer in the wider Pacific with VSA’s UniVol Programme! vsa.org.nz/univol @volunteerserviceabroad 7 • Karere

“While you’re on your assignment there are many avenues of support. I was lucky enough to have two programme managers while in the Islands, they kinda acted like my island parents. If you ever needed anything, even just a chat, there was someone to help you out.” "Before we departed there was a fourday workshop that drilled us through different scenarios we could find ourselves in. This gave me peace of mind knowing each situation has been planned for, and I wasn't being left solo." When asked if Georgia would recommend the UniVol programme to Massey students, her answer was clear. “100% yes, just go for it and don’t be scared. I know that sounds easy but UniVol is an experience that changed my life for the better.”

Aiden Wilson (he/him)

Illustrated by Kimi Moana (she/her)

An Ode to My Cheesy Friend,

“Alas, poor LeSnak! I knew him…” – William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 1602

I do not remember where I was when I found out, but I remember the emotions. The flurry of despair, confusion, anger. Once the news had been given to me, I was distraught. I still have not forgiven my father for uttering those words… those terrible, terrible words… “What the fuck? They’re discontinuing LeSnak… anyway so-” For him, it was a mere passing comment. An item of interest which brushed across his laptop screen, then vanished as quickly as it came. For me, it was far more. Here I was thinking the worst thing to happen to me during the uni break would be getting Covid-19.

Every rival cheese and crackers I’ve had since that announcement has left me feeling bittersweet. Sure, fine, they taste decent enough, but they remind me so much of what I had.

It’s still so hard to believe that the time I spent with LeSnak has come to an end. Never again will I tuck into a box of French Onion, or the ever-elusive Cheese and Bacon. Fuck I’d even go for that weirdo sounding Pizza flavour right now. “But Aiden,” you cry, “You’re pretty much confirmed to be lactose intolerant! LeSnak makes you into a gas giant!”

I wish it was. Having “the Rona” was nothing, I repeat NADA, ZILCH, ZERO, compared to the gut punch that was LeSnak’s discontinuation announcement. I’ve tried its competitors, its imitators. None compared to the original. Once you’ve tasted the sweet cheesy goodness, the crispity snap of the crackers, it’s hard to have anything else.

But, dear reader, that’s what made it so much fun. The forbidden nature of our love, the absolute toxicity of our relationship, knowing that LeSnak would hurt me… I’ll… I’ll… I’m sorry. I must move on from this line of thinking. I have dried my tears and stopped rambling about LeSnak and am now ready for serious discussion regarding this topic.

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Aiden Wilson and The Heat Death of Childhood Snacks

Aging is a bitch.

Do you remember Tiny Teddys? Specifically, the Tiny Teddys that, much like LeSnak, came in a plastic container topped with foil, housing cookies and a dipping sauce. In fact, they were exactly like a dessert variant of LeSnak. What the hell happened to those?

Bet you thought this was just a shitpost about LeSnak, huh? Being a student in the current word climate, unrest, pandemics, and random bouts of political turmoil is fucking stressful. Stuff like this has been going on for years, but we just didn’t notice because we were all too young to understand or even care.

I long for the ignorance of being a kid again, and I bet many of you reading this do, too. Having something like LeSnak was an awesome way to relive a simple childhood memory. Unchanged for years and plastic as all hell, eating one took me back to struggling through English homework on a Wednesday night when I was eight. Not the greatest memory, but still one with a lot less stress. Getting older and having to deal with the whole “responsible adult” schtick is a tough deal, but the small comforts from our childhoods made it a little easier to stomach. It might sound ridiculous but saying goodbye to childhood favourite foods is weird as hell. Kinda just makes you realise that times are changing, things are moving on. Ultimately, it’s for the best. Those things aren’t healthy and are probably produced in a really unethical manner, plus plastic waste and yada yada yada.

These little fuckers! Having those in my lunchbox meant that, as Ice Cube would say, “It was a good day.” Or how about the Tropical Slushie ice block, with the jelly candy in the bottom you were meant to mix in but nearly always ate before eating the ice cream itself? Or how about the Wonka chocolates shaped like hats? Those were awful, but the novelty was fun! Slowly but surely these childhood favourites have gone. With my last bastion of hope, LeSnak was finally put out to pasture in the last month. This event has caused me to conclude that growing up sucks. Whether it be shows, books, games, food, heck even restaurants, the stuff we loved as kids has been quietly getting shelved for years now. The harsh reality of growing up is we gotta say goodbye to a lot of this stuff.

But why LeSnak?? I doubt I’m the only student who at one time lived off that stuff. Easy to chow on when studying, good value in a larger box. And the convenience of it all, oh my! Trying to find a suitable replacement for it has been underwhelming to say the least. How DARE they not consult me before getting rid of it! How. Dare. They.

Remember when Club Penguin shut down? It’s like that. Saying ‘see ya’ to a tonne of memories and really fond moments from our youth that we will NEVER get back. Getting older sucks and we need to address that more. Call this an overly cynical and dramatic look at what’s really just cheese and crackers getting shelved, but it’s still a sign that we’re moving on in the world and not slowing down or going back to being kids any time soon.

Enough of the existential dread bullshit.

GoNutz make a LeSnakalike that’s pretty good.

Go eat that.

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Lily Petrovich (she/they)

An article about the problem with articles No news is good news. Initially, this meant that news tends to be bad news. But its other potential meaning also applies here. The news sucks. Journalism covers a range wider than the Cook Strait. From sports, politics, economics, arts, pop culture, humanitarian crises, to what I equate to boomer memes (you know those cringey articles written by a burnt-out older millennial that could be covered in a single Instagram post). One thing journalism doesn’t cover is itself. Okay, what the fuck am I talking about here? Pandora’s Box, essentially. I came into my degree last year studying Communications, a component of this that I am passionate about (as you can imagine) are the wonders of journalism. A lot of thoughts I had about it were soon, to my horrors, proven right. For starters, journalism itself is weirdly tricky to conceptualise. The less you know, the easier it is to understand and explain. But it’s

a whole thing, a really big, really confusing and high stakes thing. One of the things I didn’t expect were the two realms of journalism: the side we see everywhere, the journalists, the news, the videos and articles. Basic. The other side is the academic side: the theory we learn in class, how money and politics changes the game, why journalists write the way they write, what effects this has on our society, and how we can solve upcoming issues in journalism. There’s a lot of answers to those questions out there, and there are even more questions. But there is almost no connection between the two. There’s journalism in practice and there’s journalism in theory, and no dialogue between the two. How can an industry of communication specialists neglect this connection? Let’s start by breaking down some of the influences on journalism today before trying to answer a question that I’m not qualified to answer. Here we are again addressing the capitalist elephant in the room once more: the influence of the MONEY. Tim Vos, a professor and director at Michigan State University School of Journalism, explains how opposing forces in journalism create the news we are all too familiar with. These are described as poles; ‘heteronomous' or ‘autonomous’. Instead of ‘heteronomous’ we’ll go with ‘financial’, and instead of ‘autonomous’ we’ll go with ‘cultural’. At this point in the year, we’ve all had enough of weird words in journal articles.

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The financial pole represents external forces, which in today’s market essentially means ‘how do we get money to keep working’ (this pole isn’t exclusively financial but for simplicity's sake, today it is). The cultural pole refers to what makes journalism unique (it’s cultural capital). An easy summary is the motivation to do good journalism, to tell a good story, to educate the public, to be unbiased and more. While you’d think good journalism would mean good funding, the opposite is true. Today with digital media and a world that runs on profit, features of quality journalism are being increasingly compromised for profit. Today, getting money means getting clicks. Before the impact of the internet, news outlets would get their money from ads on papers and TV. However, today most of online advertising revenue doesn’t go to the outlets which write your stories, but to the platforms you find them on. Picture this, you’re doing a bit of googling to find out more on the war in Ukraine. You scroll through a couple of suggestions, open a few tabs with decent options, pick your story, skim it and close it. As you scroll through articles from different outlets on Google, you’re getting ads. This money goes to Google, and not to the outlet who’s article you were searching for. The same goes with articles you find through social media. This means there’s a whole lot less money going to the outlets who pay their journalists to write. Over 80 per cent of Alphabet’s (the company that owns Google) profit comes from advertising. This doesn’t just mean 80 per cent of Google, this means across all of Alphabet’s companies. What about Facebook? 97.9 per cent. Nearly all of their profits are from advertising. This leaves news outlets with barely a crumb of advertising revenue to fight over. This means competition between outlets is at an all-time high, which means these financial factors aren’t just ‘kinda’ big, it means they are everything. Figuring out the impact of financial motivation on journalism is more than understanding a part of the picture but understanding the entire thing.

1. The timeliness of articles is a battle. Journalists are trying

to get the first story and drop the news before anyone else can. Makes sense, we like to be in the know and the internet makes things happen in the snap of a finger. It means if journalists get their article out first, they get that click, and they get those profit crumbs. But it also means journalists don’t have time to get the background information, interview different people impacted, develop context, and craft stories that are fully accurate. Speed compromises quality, but it means a profit. Time-pressured writers are never going to be able to produce work which matches the quality we, as consumers, expect and need.

2. Infotainment. We’ve all seen it,

we’ve all fallen victim to it, and we all hate it. Stupid catchy titles on stupid stories work. The internet has fucked the shit out of our attention spans and sometimes reading about what Kanye just tweeted about is more appealing than reading two pages on how the UN is dealing with climate crises. Infotainment means clicks but also means already sparse resources are being put into shallow, stupid work instead of stories that could hold governments accountable and inform the public on what’s actually happening in the world.

3. Exclusivity. Journalists want to get

the exclusive interview because we love exclusivity. Remember when Jacinda said the cost-of-living crisis wasn’t a crisis? That interview, exclusive to NewsHub, blew up. Many of us saw it, and it helped spark the agenda of the next elections. Exclusive news gets clicks, and outlets need clicks. Journalists need clicks to keep getting paid. But it also means journalists need to be careful what they write. If they scrutinise politicians and big ol’ corporations too harshly, they won’t get these interviews. Unfortunately, pleasing people in power is necessary to keep your job. While some journalists are as harsh as they should be, they still need to balance the truth and access to powerful interviewees. This means sometimes leaving out the truth or biting your tongue on the important stuff.

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This is just a shallow reflection on journalism today. This article could go on for hundreds of pages and there would still be things left unsaid. Going back to where we started at journalists versus journalism academics, the disconnect is real, but also for good reason. No one has time or money to have these conversations. I’d love to see more of journalism reporting on journalism to begin this. Mediawatch by RNZ is a good example of this, but RNZ is one of our only government-funded outlets, which means they don’t need to worry about profit. To keep their funding, they need to create quality articles. This is why they tend to have articles that lean more towards cultural poles. But if we lived in a world where all media was government-funded, we’d be sitting here with the same root issues in different fonts. At the end of the day, the best thing we can do to facilitate change is scrutinize journalists more. Yeah, we complain about it and disengage, I do it at least once a week. Unfortunately, those in charge of putting the spotlight on issues aren’t going put their own issues on blast. So, it’s up to us, students and citizens, to have these conversations and look for the news we want. There is good news out there, slow news movements are amazing, and there’s growth in independent journalists, either through a subscription service (such as SubStack) or on platforms that give creators ad revenue (such as YouTube). But yeah, mainstream outlets are not it. If you need a quick summary, yeah go for it, I wake up and check my Apple News section. They do get word out fast, but they don’t ask or answer any of the important questions.

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The Poetry of the Moana Mia Faiumu (she/her)

Illustrated by Sara Moana (she/her)

As children of the diaspora, we are always trying to find ways to navigate our way back to our homeland and ancestors. Though we’re vastly different in so many ways, the Moana connects us back to our heritage and to the journey our ancestors made from Hawaiki. Writing can function as a means for this connection to be deepened and explored. Through inheriting our aiga’s intergenerational skills of storytelling, many descendants of the Moana are articulating our stories and journeys through the art of writing and poetry.

Writing and storytelling allows us a means to transcend both time and location, to walk with our ancestors in real time. Western conceptualisations of time have worked to fracture our cultures and disconnect us from past events and history. Stories function as a way for us to speak to and understand stories of our history in truly Pacific ways and understandings of time past. To understand how authors of the Moana engage with their culture and history within their writing, I have had the opportunity to speak with three talented, multidimensional writers.

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Firstly, I had the honour to speak with Lana Lopesi, who is of Samoan heritage. Lana is an incredibly talented, multi-faceted creative who is providing Aotearoa with much needed insight on the lived experiences of Samoans of the diaspora. She is an author, art critic, editor and soon to be Assistant Professor Pacific Islander Studies at the University of Oregon. I also had the honour to speak with Tusiata Avia, who is of Samoan descent. Tusiata is a dynamically talented, attention-grabbing writer who brings the real and often violent histories of colonisation to our consciousness. She is a poet, performer and childrens’ book writer.

Throughout this process of unpacking the wider concepts of the world, Lana acknowledges that this gives her a stronger connection to her wider aiga and also her partner, kids, friends, and other humans. “When the questions I’m grappling with have to do Samoa or womanhood, then of course it enables me to feel connected to my ancestors,” she notes. She acknowledges though, that our ancestors are always with us, no matter if we’re creating or not.

It was also my privilege to speak with Ruby Solly, who calls from Kāi Tahu in Te Waipounamu. Ruby is a beautifully articulate and accomplished writer, among many other skills, who unpacks stories of whakapapa and identity. She is a writer, musician, taonga puoro practitioner, music therapist and is currently undertaking her PhD here at Massey University. Growing up away from one’s homeland or papakāinga is an experience that leaves many feeling lost or isolated from their identity. For some it may feel as if we are unable to access our ancestors and history, but while our experiences are different from those before us, our ancestors remain firmly beside us – guiding our path.

As they walk alongside us on our journey through life, we discover our own ways to connect with them in a variety of ways. All three authors spoke to storytelling and writing as a means to facilitate and deepen that connection to their ancestors and the wider aitu. Being able to write out our thoughts and emotions allows us to work through some of our pain and confusion, enabling us to better understand our own experiences.

“I think it important to remember though that anything you do, just walking through the world as you are, is you carrying your ancestors with you.” “And so through that example, they’re with me all the time and that includes writing. But you don’t need to be a published author to know that they’re with you either,” states Lana. Tusiata Avia speaks similarly to her writing experience, which extends over the last 20 years. Much of her work has discussed her ancestors, both in her blood line and the bigger ancestors in Samoa, particularly goddesses Tusiata feels connected to – such as Nafanua, and Taema and Tilafaiga. The rawness, beauty and savageness of Tusiata’s words encapsulate her ancestors and the goddesses she finds herself drawn back to time and time again. “I think writing is a main way for me to make that connection,” Tusiata states. She tells me a large aspect of this is related to researching, and subsequently engaging with her aiga who have been able to provide her with family knowledge and history.

“I write for myself first and foremost to try to think through something or find an answer to a question that I’m grappling with,” explains Lana Lopesi. “Working with ideas and thinking about humanity and the way we as Samoans and women have and continue to live our lives gives me a greater sense of empathy and care for other people, it helps me see what other people’s situations may have been and that connects me to people,” she continues.

Tusiata explains that for Samoans of the diaspora – who were not brought up at our grandmothers’ knee – the onus is left on us to find these stories ourselves. In this way, unpacking these stories connects us further with our own histories and aiga. It’s often hard for many of us within the diaspora to negotiate our own identity and where we fit within the

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world. Tusiata acknowledges while we need to do as much asking and researching as we can, we also need to find comfort within the middle space that is led by our imagination and intuition. “There’s that middle space – that vā between knowledge, intuition and imagination. For me that space is really important, that’s how I actually create a relationship between myself and my blood ancestors who have passed and our greater ancestors,” explains Tusiata. “I guess I’m always writing that out – writing my way towards that.” “I think it’s in our bones, literally in our physical bones, in our DNA. That’s how I get there – I trust what’s there to inform me,” she continues. In this way writing has also been a way for Tusiata to connect with those who have passed. This was specifically the case for one of her books which surrounds the narrative of her father and his death. She explains that the book has been a way for her to maintain her relationship with him after his passing.

“I’m aware that they’re all still there and that we do have access to them. I don’t think it’s as easy as it was once was but we have to use what we’ve got.” Ruby Solly notes this has also been true within her work, including her book Tōku Pāpā which allowed her to explore her whakapapa connections. “There’s a Maui storyline that goes through the book showing that we are our ancestors and we are living these same things again and again,” she says.

While it is true that we feel deep connections to our ancestors, part of this feeling is often an understanding of the sacrifices made to allow us to stand in our own shoes. This often leaves many in the diaspora feeling overwhelmed or shameful, feeling as if they’re not living up to certain expectations. Lana Lopesi spoke of the burden of carrying the weight of her aiga’s sacrifices and how she manages this within her own career. “I had this epiphany where I realised my pain was real, but it was incredibly different to the lives of my grandparents,” she tells me. “…and not to take away from my own difficulties, but being on a scholarship to study at PhD level where I read and think all day is actually such a luxury in the scheme of things, and a dream that I’m proud to live out for all four of my grandparents who left their home countries and never to return.”

“So I think navigating that burden is about understanding the privilege you have.” “It’s about being grateful for living the lives we do, because they were often only unfulfilled dreams for previous generations.” It is possible to be grateful and fulfil our expectations while still experiencing our own personal hardships, despite these looking very different to the struggles of our ancestors. It’s not necessary to punish ourselves for feeling pain throughout this process. In the same sense, it is important we remain cognisant of our positions of privilege and uphold the sacrifices our families have made for us. “We love to hold onto a struggle narrative in Pacific storytelling,” Lana notes, “but we also need to be able to have critical reflexivity to see our class privileges and upward mobility.”

“That really provides a lot of roadmaps of being from how those things were dealt with by our tīpuna or what they faced.” “I think that that speaks a lot to how Oceanic peoples, indigenous peoples view time,” she continues. “It’s completely different to how the western world views time. I think that the book does speak to that as well, there’s lots of points where it seems like the history is right there with you as you’re walking,” states Ruby.

“I think the greatest honour I can give my grandparents and parents is to honour their struggles, and differentiate them from our own, because my successes are theirs.”

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Ruby Solly’s work reflects this, honouring her whānau and those who have enabled her to create in the ways that she does.

"I find it liberating to be honest. I think holding onto things, and hiding them inside, living with shame – that’s draining,” she says.

Her book Tōku Pāpā was a mihi to her wider whānau, and specifically to her father. She wanted to acknowledge and give gratitude to him and the rest of her whānau, who managed to pass on their culture and Kāi Tahu identity despite being raised in the North Island away from their iwi.

For Ruby Solly, writing through these issues and unpacking themes of identity and whakapapa is a way for her to create resources for Kāi Tahu across the country. She notes this is especially so for Kāi Tahu living in the North Island, who may have minimal connections to whānau in Te Waipounamu, and for whom resources would be particularly meaningful to.

“I wanted this to be a mihi to him and to my whole family and the fact that they’ve managed to pass all this culture on,” Ruby tells me. “Despite that we didn’t live in the South Island anymore, despite colonisation, despite all of these things and other difficulties.”

“They’ve still managed to create and nurture and nourish children who have a staunch Kā i Tahu identity and can tell stories in this way.”

“It’s really important to me to be able to create those resources so that Te Waipounamu can be accessed by Kā i Tahu tangata in other places as well ”. “I’m definitely trying to create things for mokopuna of my lines and for mokopuna o Te Waipounamu,” she continues. For Tusiata Avia, growing up in Christchurch in the 1970s and 1980s as a young brown girl was an experience encapsulated by a very real presence of white supremacy and racism.

In this way, writing is able to provide a way to unpack these deeper thoughts and concepts relating to identity, culture and family.

“I think there is literally a spiritual heaviness about this place and I think you feel that as a brown human being,” Tusiata says.

“I write because it’s part of my process of understanding, so it’s a way to work through or understand something that I’m grappling with,” explains Lana Lopesi.

Writing, again, is a way to navigate through some of these issues that one feels when placed in these environments.

“I don’t think that’s ever been a matter of me intentionally writing about identity. I get that my work can be described in that way but it’s not how I think about it,” she continues.

“I just write about my life and what’s in front me, and if other people describe that as me writing about my identity then so be it.” For some, writing about these topics may seem difficult or taxing, although Lana doesn’t view it this way.

“It’s the thing that we are all challenged by and struggling with, kind of finding our way through,” she notes.

“I definitely used writing as a way of exploring that and coming to terms with that as well.” For those looking to dive deeper into writing and research, don’t be scared to explore yourself and your identity in this public way. Unpacking these ideas in writing creates further resources for indigenous people – something so needed for those across the diaspora. Our stories need to be told and shown to the world. As Lana Lopesi noted to me, no one can take your truth away

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from you. This is essential to remember as you put your work into the world and field the opinions of strangers and critics. Our stories, across the Moana, are diverse and vast, and everybody’s experience needs to be portrayed in our depictions of the world. “Live in your complexity because that’s what makes us all beautiful, that’s what makes the world beautiful, so thrive in that and speak from that position, because no one can take that away from you,” Lana Lopesi advises.

“Be brave, be vulnerable, we need your words in the world.”

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James Webb Space Telescope Elise Cacace (she/her)

For the rough 300,000 years that humans have existed on earth, our universe has always remained somewhat of a mystery. Stars have evolved from being ancient gods, and deceased Pharaoh’s, and portals to the heavens, to the large chemical bodies that we know they are today. Now, with the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) that was launched on December 25th 2021, our understanding of the universe is about to be greater than ever before. The James Webb Space Telescope is more powerful than anything that has ever been sent into space before, and after 30 years in the making, 1 million miles travelled from earth, 50 successful deployment missions and 10 billion USD spent, it has finally delivered its first full-colour images and spectroscopic data. The initial images were released to the public via television broadcast on July 12th 2022, and revealed not only the oldest and furthest galaxies ever seen by the human eye, but evidence of water on a planet 1,000 light years away, and incredible details about the birth and death of stars.

“We are going to be able to find some of the earliest galaxies that have formed in the universe. The Hubble deep field only looked at one part of the sky and stared there for a long time. That was really our first look into the distant universe. James Webb is a big step beyond that, so not only will we be able to look at objects that are much further away from us and much deeper into the universe’s history, but we are going to cover a much larger area of the sky. We will be able to observe many thousands more galaxies than we could before with the Hubble deep field,” says Dr Jeyhan Kartaltepe, Associate Professor from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

JWST operates using infrared technology which means it has the capability to study atmospheres, light frequencies and dark spots that have always been invisible to its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST is also positioned much deeper in space, at 1 million miles away from Earth compared to Hubble’s 340 miles. This allows us to see 13.5 billion years into the past, only 200-300 million years after the big bang.

“With Hubble, you don’t see very many of these early universe time periods, and what you can see is a bit of a smudge, or a blob. With JWST, we are able to resolve structure and learn a lot about the properties of our very early universe, and how the earliest structures are starting to grow. JWST will also tell us a lot about how these galaxies evolved from the very early universe until today, and will put together a timeline because we can see galaxies across a wide range of distances.”

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The James Webb telescope has been in planning since as early as the 80’s, even before the Hubble Space telescope was launched. Its undertaking was so complex and intricate, with numerous science goals and technical challenges, that it required the collaboration of NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Building a telescope that has enough power and sophistication to enable such a vast array of projects is not a straight forward task. Engineers had to come up with a completely original design in comparison to Hubble. The JWST stands at about 4 storeys tall, has a giant mirror measuring 6.5 meters across and 22 feet high, and it has a sunshield the size of a tennis court. Because this telescope was too big to fit inside a rocket ship, engineers had to fold it up and then allow it to unfold once it was in space. As space bound rocket ships fail from time to time, over three decades worth of work and 10 billion USD were placed on the line. Furthermore, because the JWST telescope is positioned so far from Earth, if something went wrong with its deployments, there wouldn’t be repair missions like there was with Hubble. “Honestly, the launch was definitely not the hardest part of this mission. Following the launch, we had two weeks of very intense, complex, complicated deployments to get this telescope unfolded. Everyone was really on the edge of their seats waiting for these deployments to happen,” says Dr Amber Straughn, Astrophysicist for the James Webb Space Telescope.

“The deployment of the sunshield was particularly intense. The sunshield itself was five layers and it had to unfold and then deploy the five layers, and there were hundreds of release mechanisms on the sunshield that all had to release at just the right time in just the right way. There were quite a few single point failures, so if one release mechanism didn’t work there would be nothing we could do to fix it. So this particular part of the deployment, watching the sunshield deploy, was incredibly stressful. But everything went off so well. The engineers had built an amazing, incredible telescope and after that two weeks I think all of us took a deep breath and there was definitely a big celebration after the last part of the deployments happened.”

The launch was so efficient, using less fuel than anticipated, and this extended the mission from 5 years to an estimated 10-15 years. But it is not all about stars and galaxies. JWST was also built with a relatively new, exciting field in mind. Exoplanets, and in particular exoplanets that sit just outside of our solar system. “We will be looking about 40 years back in time, which is literally in our backyard. The Trappist-1 system is what we can call the rock star of the exoplanet. This is a star that is very small, not much bigger than Jupiter, and has not one but seven planets transiting it. We know that these planets are of a mass and size similar to the earth, and three of them maybe four are in right in the habitable zone. This system is very close to earth, only 40 light years away, and this is the one that we will be looking at very hard, to find out whether these planets have atmospheres. If there is a system to point to where there is maybe life, this is the one, the Trappist-1 system,” says Professor René Doyon, Director of the Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the University of Montreal. Big telescopes like Hubble and JWST only come along once every couple of decades, but according to Dr Amber Straughn, “the next big telescope is just around the corner.”

“The next big telescope like this that we are building is called the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. So this telescope is not as big or expensive as JWST, but it is also an infrared telescope that is designed to see the universe in more of a broad sort of spot. So telescopes like Hubble and JWST are designed to see small parts of the universe very deeply, but by looking a little less deep and a little more wide, we can learn different things about the universe.” Apart from JWST, many ground based telescopes will be coming online in the next few years complementing the size of the James Webb telescope. On the topic of James Webb’s first images, Professor René Doyon says “nobody could predict this. We don’t know what’s next, and that’s the most exciting part.”

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IMAGES: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

So much potential...

YOUNG OVER ACHIEVERS Elena McIntrye-Reet (she/her) Being selected to go to the Gifted Kids Program was the highest honour given to anyone at my primary school. I was never selected, but I used to tell people it was because I was too intelligent for it, in fact I was simply too gifted. It's not just being singled out as a gifted child that gives people a sense of superiority, but other academic markers as well. To this day I still like to brag about how I had a 13-year-old reading age when I was nine. Similarly, I like to cling on desperately to the fact that I played in a cricket tournament for Wellington one time. Believe it or not, this is not a shameless brag about me peaking in primary school, but more an investigation into what us overachievers are up to now, and how the pressure of performing well in school has impacted our adult lives. One thing I've never really known how to do is study, I had people telling me I was intelligent from a young age which meant I expected things to come easy to me. In high school I expected to just know how to do physics despite never showing up to class or actually listening. The reason I didn't listen though, is because I wasn't immediately good at it, causing me to lose interest quickly. Ruby is a self-confessed overachiever, and struggles with the same issue.

"If I'm not immediately good at something I have no motivation to do it. If I can't do it easily I don't want to do it at all." Focussing so intently on grades and achievements can take away the fun of learning. When you get a bad grade you don't think 'oh that's okay because I learnt so much'. You panic because you can't get excellence endorsed or whatever the fuck. Daisy – on paper – is an overachiever by the very definition of the word, she was Dux of her high school and will soon be off to Oxford to do her PhD. Despite this, the pressure of academic achievement has had a huge impact on her life.

"If I don't get something instantly then I feel like a failure, especially for subjects like maths that I'm not immediately confident in. It means I'm really bad at pushing through things that are hard, and also bad at asking for help in case everyone realises I'm an idiot. I'm not an idiot, but that's always the worry I have." 24 • Aronui

It's not just academic achievements that can leave us feeling pressure in our adult lives. Billy was a competitive diver and represented New Zealand overseas.

"Being apart of such a competitive space when I was so young, left me with a need to be constantly busy. Otherwise I feel unproductive and my anxiety gets in the way of keeping things. It left me feeling not good enough all the time and restricted what I took part in because I thought I would just fail." Billy can't really shake her high achieving spirit and finds she always feels pressure to excercise in a competitive way – she participates in competitive running now. The common theme among this focus group of overachievers is the sense of anxiety that happens as a result of being congratulated for your abilities. Caitlin did well in school but, when she didn't do well, she realised that her mental health took a huge hit if she didn't get the grade she wanted.

"It kind of made me realise that I was an extremely anxious person, which led to me being depressed. I based so much of my self-worth on how well I did in school and it impacted me hugely." The education system in New Zealand is facing a 'truancy crisis' with fewer than 60 per cent of students attending school regularly. This number has been on the decline since 2015 and was made worse by Covid-19. The Government has a plan to get stricter about informing parents on absences faster and making sure students aren't regularly missing school. At some point though, it might be worth realising that the damage is coming from inside the house. With an education system that values you based on your booksmarts and assigns you a level of intelligence before you can even spell the word (I could spell it because of my reading age), isn't it worth thinking about the pressure kids are under? It might seem like this attack on the education system comes from a place of jealousy because I didn't turn into the child prodigy I was clearly meant to be, but it's not. A traditional school system isn't for everyone and instead of beating around the bush with truancy solutions we should think about how the education system actually serves young people. It's clear from this very scientific focus group that measuring a child's intelligence and telling them how smart they are has a huge impact on how they interact with the education system in the future, and even how they value themselves.

Big love to all of my young overachievers (except the ones that went to Gifted Kids Programmes). 25 • Aronui

What Kind of Friend Would the Love Island Cast Members Be? Sammy Carter (she/her) Babes, it’s that time of year again. For eight short weeks we get to take a dive into chats, texts, flirty banter, British accents, competition, fights and, oh yeah, love. Over a month into the hit reality show, we’ve gotten to know the islanders pretty well, obviously. They’ve become our besties that don’t know we exist. As I wrote this, the latest episode showed movie night. The exposé of many islanders. And if TikTok would stop

spoiling the new episodes before they get to New Zealand, I could pretend I don’t already know what happens next. Have I got MUG written on my forehead for God’s sake?! Before we gather at the firepit, let's get this straight. I am 100 per cent in no way biased about the islanders. I do not believe Ekin-Su is a God on this earth and I definitely don’t think Gemma needs to drop Luca... or whatever.

Ekin-Su Wanna feel like a bad bitch – go for a chat with Ekin-Su. She will hype you up to do anything. She won’t allow any fear or anxiety because you can do whatever you want! And she won’t let anyone, especially a man, tell you otherwise. While she is your hype man, wing woman, and girl boss, she is also the gossiper in the friend group. Be careful what you tell her because you never know how it will come back to bite you in the ass.

Indiyah When the group chat gets into a fight on the girl's holiday, you can count on Indiyah to keep everyone mellow. Anything could go wrong but she will always reassure you that at the end of the day, it is what it is. *lip purse*

Luca *sigh* He’s the friend who teases you a lot, so much it stops being funny very quickly. He’ll take little jabs at sensitive topics until you explode, but he ain’t sorry one bit. When it’s your turn to mock him back, he can’t take it. He’ll get super defensive, roll his eyes and scoff. Hurt his pride and he won’t let you live it down. What kind of friend would Luca be? One you should not be friends with.

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Danica If you need to write an essay last minute, Danica is your girl. Just get her talking and write down everything she says. While she speaks like an HR executive, you can always count on her to get down on the dance floor with you. But don’t try and steal her spotlight because it will not work! Her hips don’t lie.

Gemma You’ll always be forgetting this gal’s age. She’s the youngest one in the friend group but seems older than everyone else. She won’t let anyone publicly disrespect her or you. Getting catcalled on a night out? Watch her sit that man down and point by point explain to him why he is a menace. But no matter how close you get to Gemma, her mum will always be her number one bestie.

Davide He is the mysterious friend. He’s the quiet guy in the corner that every so often makes his mark with an iconic line. No one actually knows much about his past or family, but you will remember him just by his one liners. Oh, and that accent too. But he’ll keep you on your toes trying to figure out where that strong accent comes from. Is it Italy or New York? Maybe both?

Paige She is the boy crazy friend. You never know where she will be in her relationship the next time you see her. One minute she’s crying to you because her man cheated on her. The next day she is texting you that’s it's all okay because he brought her a glass of water. He’s doing the bare minimum, honey! You always have to ask her what she’s wearing on a night out because her style is constantly changing. You never know what era she’ll be dressing in this time.

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CONFESSIONS Everyone loves a scandalous confessions page. You’re never sure if what people saying is fake or not, but that’s what make these pages great. Massey Confessions is a facebook page based from the mighty Manawatū. These legends anonymously post unfiltered content from the very students you see in your classes every day. Below are a selection of some of the finest confessions over the summer, with a sprinkle of Massive commentary. Go and give the page a follow, you won’t regret it.

s like a but sound e bottling, n o d n o c 't . I don sport spectator

e" "experienc nui for an

Whanga Don't go to

@TongsW

lerated! ll not be to a h s r e d n cation p sla MUSA sho its primo lo in is e lu a yv The mone sucker

ming NEVER co heheh it's 28 •• Rangitaki Rangitaki 28

back...

good

SEXCAPADES That's nuts! Tinder hookups are always a coin flip. Many times you’ll end up with an average shag and a boatload of regrets, but that's the price you pay for dick nowadays. It truly is a lucky dip, different ethnicities, body shapes, sizes and smells - but I hadn’t experienced many odd kinks in my year of serial hookups.

Me being a try everything once type of person, I agree. He proceeds to unbuckle his pants, lower the zip about halfway, and whips out his nuts.

I was optimistic for this date. He had offered to take me out to a bar for some drinks, which is chivalrous in comparison to many others. Upon arrival he greeted me with a friendly smile and a big hug, the vibes were on and I was pretty horny after feeling his body pressed against mine. He was quite a softly spoken dude, very polite, always making sure we were doing what I wanted to do - this was the first sign of what I was dealing with. After a few drinks we walked down to an uber we had just called. On our way my shoelace untied, he quickly leapt to the floor and offered to tie them up. He then bolted around to the side of the uber and opened the door for me to get in.

Now I’m not one to kink shame, but this was fucked up. I stood on his nuts with one foot, not wanting to hurt him. I’m not the lightest lady so I was being cautious. He then aggressively tells me to use both feet. With all my force I’m standing on this dude's nuts and he’s loving it. I’ve never seen a guy more turned on. He confesses that he likes to be put in his place, the pieces start coming together in my head.

We get back to my place, sit down on my bed and instead of ripping my clothes off he asks me questions about my life for probably 45 minutes. Now, this isn’t what I’m used to, but I entertain his curiosity and chat to him politely. Eventually I get bored and just grab his face and start kissing him, he lets me take the lead and follows my movements, it’s nice but at this point I wonder if I’m his first. I motion towards his dick to give him a blowjob but he quickly stops me and asks if he can give me head first. This selflessness is unheard of in our generation! He does his thing and I finally ask if he wants to fuck me. Instead of leaping at the bits, he nervously asks if we can do something else…

“Take your socks off and stand on them,” he says with a newfound conviction.

“Now stamp on them.” Like a marching band I’m trampling his nutsack. I can feel each ball sliding around between my toes. I’m cringing at the thought of it. Every man I’ve ever talked to has said being hit in the nuts is the most painful experience, but this man did not feel the same. After stamping, slapping, even punching his nuts for like 20 minutes he finally cums. He asked if I wanted to finish, but by that point I was not in the mood. He tucked away his purple bruised nuts and went off into the night.

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SOLICITED ADVICE

Solicited advice is a weekly column where an underqualified anonymous guru answers the questions you want answered. This won’t include the stock-standard, sugar-coated advice you’re used to hearing – we’re talking about the truths that are REALLY on your mind.

Should I text first? Yessir. I for one have never been a fan of coy texting tactics or playing hard to get vibes… Firstly, nothing is more swag than enthusiastic consent, and an open dialogue that isn't a chase is a good intro to that. Secondly, the kind of person I want to be with is the kind of person that thinks it's cool that I text first and reply quickly and wants to text me back quickly too! Soul mate vibes only. Generally, if you are editing yourself to be lesser for someone then it's probably bad, the right person for you will find everything you do the coolest thing ever, including texting first and if they don't, then they SUCK and they weren't the right person!

Should I prioritise grades over my social life? I would actually lean to yes to a certain extent. I think in terms of your life and job prospects, being a straight A student doesn't really serve you that well. People don't actually ask for your academic transcript, but they will want someone they can talk and relate to. However, I think you can genuinely have both - it's not really one or the other. Find a way to study effectively by relating to the content and find a way to socialise without losing the next day and you'll be sweet. Things tend to work out.

Should I invest in crypto? I have no idea babes.. ask a man or literally anyone who's not me please xx Do you have a question you’re dying to have answered? DM Massive Magazine on Instagram and look out for next week’s issue. Also, follow us while you’re at it x 30 • Rangitaki

Te Reo and NZSL Words of the week Revitalising Te Reo Māori and NZSL is of paramount importance. Take a few minutes out of your dat to learn and memorise these words.

It’s the least we can do.

Uiuinga Interview

taea Succeed

Ruri Poem

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Puzzle time e m i t e l z z u

12 13

Across 3. 8. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20.

Chinese cabbage (3,4) Lacking interest or excitement (7) NZ investment app (9) Everyones least favourite star sign (3) NZ born, Irish rugby player (3) Video game played in Redbull campus showdown (8) Massey re-o-week (12) A fictitious name (9) Play Gorr, in Thor (4) Australian hiphop star (3,5) Discontinued snack (6)

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Down 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 9.

10. 17.

Recently resigned Prime Minister Easily scared (8) Superior email provider (7) Fizzy alcholic drink (7) NZ most trusted brand (10) Te reo for week (4) Not friendly, or willing to part take in things (5) Wellington hosted festival (9) Against the odds (9)

Get Lost

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16 UNIQ, 17 ELNA

LAST WEKS CROSWRD ANSWER ACROS: 4 CONVERSIO, 6 ALLY, 7 ASEXUAL, 8 THIREN, 10 GENDR FLUID, 1 JUNE, 12 GRIND, 14 SUB, 15 RUPAULS, 18 TWELV, 19 TRANS

20 by 20 orthogonal maze

The target is to create as many words as possible from the letters within the Word Wheel.

Word Wheel

Sudoku

Horoscopes It’s fun to daydream, I know Cap, but let’s make some things happen, why don’t we? Buy those tickets overseas! Quit your job! Dump your mans! Let’s shake things up!

Feeling a bit down? Let’s really lean into it, Cancer! Cut some bangs! Dye your hair! Go off the grid! The best waves are the ones you ride after all!

Cancer

Capricorn

Aquarius

I would highly recommend investing in some paints and a canvas. You’re a creative soul, and this winter has not been very fun for you, so let’s get out of the dumps and doing some painting! Yay!

Leo

Virgo! Let your hair down this week and go a bit wild. You don’t have to plan everything down to the minute – it will all work out, trust me.

Break down those walls this week, Pisces. It will be an emotional roller coaster but remember, the lows are there so you can really enjoy the highs.

Pisces

Aries

Virgo Enter a pub quiz with your mates and when you suggest answers, say it with your chest. This is your chance to be stubborn – you don’t want to risk losing the quiz because you’re trying to be nice to your friends!

Libra

You are hot and perfect in every way, don’t change a thing xoxo

Scorpio

Taurus #JusticeForGemini. Don’t let the haters bring you down this week, Gemini. They’re just jealous of your social butterfly skills! Keep doing what you’re doing and the rest will follow.

Gemini

Finally! It’s the time of the year you’ve all been waiting for … Leo season!! It’s the one season a year where you will actually get away with being the centre of attention, so enjoy it, Leo.

Spend a couple extra minutes on your appearance. I’m talking make sure your buttons line up, your shoes are clean, your nails aren’t chipped… the stars tell me you’ll meet a very important person this week.

Spend as much energy hyping yourself up as you do hyping your mates up this week, Scorpio! And while you’re at it, try investing some time in your own relationship rather than giving advice out to everyone else.

Time to do some inward-looking this week, Sag. You don’t have to be a bad bitch 24 hours of the day and keeping your feelings in really doesn’t help anyone.

Sagittarius 34 • Rangitaki

Presidents Column

Fiona & Lizzo MAWSA Kia ora e ta whanāu, we hope your first week back has been fabulous and you’re feeling inspired for the last half of the year! Some things we’re looking forward to this semester are local body elections (enroll/ update at vote. nz), more themed weeks and a ball!!!! If you have any thoughts on ball themes DM us <3 otherwise stay hydrated and warm y’all!

Jax and Jac M@D INTERNAL STUDENTS! WE NEED YOU! Our research project was launched a week ago (more like 2 weeks ago by the time you read this) and we have already had over 300 replies! This is great and we thank all those who have responded so far. We are collecting data from both internal and distance students and, ideally, we would like to get over 600 responses. We also really need more internal POVs and ask (pretty please with cherries on top) that you fill out our quick survey. You can find it pinned at the top of our FB page (along with more info): Facebook.com/MasseyDistance

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