MASSIVE Magazine - Issue 22 - 2022

An Unofficial Guide to Aotearoa’s Must-Read Literature

Do Music Festivals Really Suck?

Money Hungry Apps

Massey

Reo

NZSL

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

Editor - Mason Tangatatai Designer - Marie Bailey

News Editor - Elise Cacace

Culture Editor - Elena McIntyre-Reet

Sub Editor - Jamie Mactaggart

News Reporter - Sammy Carter

Feature Writer - Mia Faiumu

Feature Writer - Lily Petrovich

Feature Writer - Aiden Wilson

Illustrator - Kimi Moana Whiting

Illustrator - Sara Moana

Daylight savings is an L

Mason Tangatatai (he/him)

Why? When the clock struck 3am a few Sundays back, we all jumped in our DeLoreans like dumb-asses and travelled back in time, to 2am. We all repeated that hour, and dealt with the consequences in the morning. This was the completion of a sick six-month cycle that finished on September 26 to maximise sunshine hours, minimise darkness, and let farmers milk their cows at a reasonable time of day.

Screw the farmers. I don’t even eat dairy, so I don’t care. If you can’t already tell, I am not a fan. Passionate hate is what I have for this time of year. Across my 22 years, I have never gotten used to it, understood it, worked out why it exists, or who it is for. All I know is that my body hates it.

If you don’t want to listen to my sleep deprived anecdotes, listen to the experts. Research shows it really is bad for you. Car accidents go up. So do heart attacks and strokes. American hospitals report admission rates rise 24% when the clocks change. That’s how fragile and susceptible your body is to even just one hour of lost sleep.

I’m also adamant daylight savings heightens seasonal depression. Yes, it's glorious walking home at 7pm and feeling sunlight from September onwards, but the winter months are filled with darkness from as early as 4:30pm. A mixture of the chilly temps, and little to no sunlight, makes the saying “winter is coming’ a

reality. My suggestion would be to scrap it all together. This would level out the peaks and troughs of New Zealand’s seasonal weather leaving us with decent winters, and decent summers.

Or, if I’m meeting in the middle, next time we decide to do this cooked clock clusterfuck of a thing, we change the time for just half an hour. Next April, we could all just put our clocks forward 30 minutes and be done with it. Not a second more, or less. It’s a meeting in the middle, Switzerland in the daylight savings war. Morning risers will get their sun, evening lovers will too, and although I said screw the farmers, I’m sure they would suffice. What’s half an hour? It’s an episode of The Simpsons, with ads. It’s a family feast, according to this popular Jamie Oliver cookbook. It’s a decent walk, a solid bike ride, a great swim. It’s a nice nap. Just half an hour. Then we never do daylight saving again. It’s done. Over. Finished. We never have to tinker with our clocks again.

Chur, Mason

WHAT’S GOING ON?

WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

Everything you need to know about Massey’s Graduation

Elise Cacace (she/her)

For many students, the highlight of the entire university experience is that final, freeing moment when you get to don the cap and gown, parade down the street then make an Instagram post captioned something like ‘me and my expensive piece of paper #graduation2022,’ or ‘Cs really do get degrees, lol'.

For Massey students studying in Wellington and Palmerston North, this iconic occasion was unfortunately postponed at the beginning of the year. The Wellington ceremonies are now being held on 11 and 12 October, and Palmerston North from 22 to 25 November.

11 October will see the College of Creative Arts graduating at 9:30am, followed by PACE, College of Health,

College of Social Science and Massey Business School at 2:30pm. Both of these ceremonies will take place on Wakefield Street at the Michael Fowler Centre.

All graduands and their guests must be seated in the Michael Fowler Centre 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony.

The Pacific Ceremony will be held on the same day at 6pm in the Tea Gardens, Museum Building. The Māori Ceremony will then take place on 12 October at 10am in the Te Rau Karamu Marae.

The Palmerston North campus is hosting 10 different graduation ceremonies across the three days in November. All ceremonies will be held at Regent on Broadway, 53 Broadway Avenue in Palmerston North. To find out which ceremony you will be taking part in, head to the Massey website or check your student portal.

Guest tickets are also accessible through the student portal, and guests

will be able to sit in any area that has not been reserved. Guests that wish to avoid stairs or require an aisle seat are advised to arrive early for the ceremony.

For those that need to hire regalia, Massey’s supplier is Academic Dress Hire and can be accessed at masseygowns.org.nz. This is the only cost involved in graduation, and the standard price of regalia hire is $80. All regalia that was hired with Academic Dress Hire at the beginning of the year has automatically been transferred to the new graduation dates.

Massey Communications Advisor, Dale Wicken, says, “We know celebrating and capturing the moment of graduating is a highlight, and we look forward to seeing students walk across the stage and celebrate with whānau and friends in October and November.”

For those students still slightly confused about their graduation ceremony, head to massey.ac.nz or email wgtnevents@massey.ac.nzwith any questions.

Sammy Carter (she/her)

Adaptions of classics lead to outrage from racists, but long-awaited representation for people of colour.

Last month, The Lord of the Rings new series Rings of Power as well as the live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid received thousands of angry comments over the diverse casting.

But the New Zealand Film Commission is encouraging diversity. They tell Massive, “When we champion representation on screen and in our storytellers, underrepresented communities will see and hear their voice on screen and feel seen, heard and valued.”

The Lord of the Rings’ Twitter account stood against the hate saying, “We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment and abuse some of our castmates of colour are being subjected to on a daily basis. We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.” The tweet continued by saying, “Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white.”

Just days after the Lord of the Rings’ Twitter shut down racist comments, people ran to the first look of Black singer Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid live action. The YouTube sneak peek has over two million

dislikes. Twitter went in with hashtags such as ‘#notmyariel’. Trolls even went so far as to say Ariel couldn’t scientifically be Black because she lives deep in the sea. Bruh, mermaids aren’t real.

The New Zealand Film Commission launched its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in June to “increase understanding of diversity, improve access to systems and create equitable pathways for better representation on screen and behind the camera”.

They said, “Screen stories serve as a powerful medium to encourage diversity. They affect how people view themselves, how they see others, and can help break down stereotypes that are detrimental to individuals and limiting to society.”

After The Little Mermaid trailer was released, a trend of young Black girls reacting to the trailer started on TikTok.

The girls could be seen jaw dropped, screaming and jumping up and down at Halle Bailey’s Part of Your World.

The New Zealand Film Commission said, “Empowered inclusion of diverse storytellers creates more possibilities for authentic stories to be told … New audiences are reached through inclusive screen stories.”

“There has been a shift in focus globally for diversity in screen stories. Distributors and streaming services are recognising they can reach more audience demographics by incorporating diverse casts and creators.”

The Commission not only wants to focus on diversity on screen, but also accessibility, training, skills development and developing cultural safety policies to create an inclusive environment for the Aotearoa screen sector.

Racism in film: where does NZ stand?

Where are the student elections at?

Sammy Carter (she/her)

Massey’s student elections would usually be well under way by now, but with a new student representation plan on the way they will have to wait till next year.

In September, it was announced that all 10 student associations plan to combine into one association. This hopes to fix confusion over who represents students and create a united voice across campuses. But while the change is complicated now, it will be for the better.

Khushboo Singh, vice president of the Massey at Wellington Student’s Association (MAWSA) and president of the Massey Association of Pasifika Students said, “Obviously it is a little scary, this is a new process and it is different to what we know. But I don’t think it means that students aren’t getting a say in whose representing them.”

Speaking on behalf of Massey University Students’ Association Federation (MUSAF), Singh explained that if we were to elect student representatives now it would be under the current system which is set to change. However, elections will happen in March next year when students are back on campus.

There are currently 12 student presidents, but the new association will have three student presidents - A Māori, Pasifika and General/Distance president. While presidents are usually voted on by students, the three presidents will be appointed by the MUSAF board.

Singh said, “It’s one voice, even though we’ve cut down on numbers collectively we’ve become stronger.” Currently there are 58 student reps, more than any other NZ uni, but the new plan allows for 23 student reps.

16 of these will be elected by students and seven will be appointed by the board.

In a survey, 44% of students said they would like a mix of appointed and elected roles. Singh said, “the feedback that we got from students is that we should have a mix of appointed and elected roles. From that feedback that’s what we’ve decided to do.”

The student presidents will go through a recruitment process where a panel will interview and appoint them. Singh said, “A lot of us in these roles find that we’re thrown in the deep end, like you don’t fully understand what these roles are until you're in it. So, I guess this appointment process will help build that understanding before someone goes into the role. Like what it really means to be representing students.”

“Being part of a structure where we’ve had so many people, it’s hard to imagine what it would be like without having all these people. But I think it isn’t impossible to do. I think in terms of strength as a whole over Massey it will strengthen our voice so that students on.”

Students will have the opportunity to approve the new representation plan in the special general meeting on the 19th of October. After this, the board can begin appointing student presidents. Singh said an election after the meeting would be too late as students would be on study break.

“Once the structure is put in place next year, it will be a bit of a trial-anderror because it is something that hasn’t been done before. So, there is room for change within this new structure.”

Amelia Radley

An Unofficial Guide to Aotearoa’s Must-Read Literature

Mia Faiumu (she/her)

This week, I’m giving you an unofficial list of the top eight must-read books in Aotearoa literature right now. While this list is incredibly biased, and could rather be interpreted as a recital of my own favourite books, I hope you endeavour to read some of these titles and lose yourself within their pages.

Unintentionally, this list consists of all indigenous wāhine, along with Imagining Decolonisation which provides a collection written by both wāhine and tāne indigenous writers, alongside one Pākehā ally.

If anything, I think this demonstrates the immense creativity and excellence that exists within our indigenous communities in Aotearoa, and teases of a world in which indigenous voices are uplifted and treasured. A world that will be flourishing and abounding with our stories.

Greta and Valdin

Rebecca K. Reilly (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Wai)

The first book on the list is a 2021 novel by Tāmaki Makaurau writer Rebecca K. Reilly. While I am not normally one for romance novels, I devoured this book at a rapid rate.

The writing is simple, yet powerfully descriptive and engaging. The characters are beautifully developed and told with such effective storytelling through switching narrators between both the brother and sister’s perspectives.

It is a perfect summer read to lose yourself in while lapping up the sun on a beautiful beach.

NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women

Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua ki Te Ahiwaru me Te Ākitai, Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao, Arorangi, Temakatea, Oneroa)

NUKU is a beautiful book, written by Māori and Cook Islander Qiane Matata-Sipu. Many may have listened to the NUKU podcast which, together with the book, lays the foundation for a multimedia movement amplifying the voices of indigenous women.

Providing space for indigenous wāhine is ever important, and this book presents such an phenomenal exhibition of indigenous excellence and joy.

In a world where the media is oversaturated with negative depictions of indigenous peoples, it is refreshing to read a book that focuses purely on the successes and triumphs of our incredibly talented and successful wāhine in Aotearoa.

The Platform: The Radical Legacy of the Polynesian Panthers

This history is one of vast importance to our country and to the Pacific communities that the Panthers served. It is heart-warming to see the significant leaders that fought for our liberation, and freedom for the future, to be archived in this exceptional way.

The book not only tells a very important history but lays down the incredibly empowering three-point platform of the Panther Party, that promoted education as a tool for liberation.

With this book, Melani has created another tool for liberation that tamaiti across Aotearoa can utilise to understand themselves and how they can use their education to help their communities.

Melani Anae (Sāmoa - Sama’i, Si’umu, Lalovaea)

The Polynesian Panthers, pioneers of Pacific activism in Aotearoa, have been documented within Panther alumni Melani Anae’s newest book, The Platform.

5.

Imagining Decolonisation

Bianca Elkington (Ngāti Toa Rangatira), Moana Jackson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou), Rebecca Kiddle (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi), Ocean Ripeka Mercier (Ngāti Porou), Mike Ross (Ngāti Hauā), Jennie Smeaton (Ngāti Toa Rangatira), and Amanda Thomas (Pākehā)

This book is not only written by a range of incredibly talented contributors but also provides an immensely helpful learning platform for understanding decolonisation, and the ways in which we can work towards it within the context of Aotearoa.

Like Melani Anae’s book above, Imagining Decolonisation leaves readers with tangible information and values on how to live by the goals of decolonisation in your everyday. It is not overly academic, written in an accessible format but in no way feels low-brow or simple.

It is heavy-hitting and effective – unpacking not only the positives decolonisation provides but also open and honestly discusses the pitfalls that can, or have, happened with the decolonisation movement.

How to Loiter in a Turf War

Coco Solid (Ngāpuhi, Sāmoa)

How to Loiter in a Turf War is a fast-moving novel following the lives of three best friends in Tāmaki Makaurau. It is a work of fiction, but uses genre-bending techniques by infusing poetry throughout the book.

It is simultaneously a love letter to Tāmaki, while also putting the spotlight on the pressures of gentrification and property development that befalls the city.

The story follows friends Te Hoia, Rosina and Q for a short moment in their lives that, while brief, still provides an incredibly engaging character narrative.

This novel is a beautiful and cinematic genre-bending piece of work, that leaves its mark in your memory long after you’ve put the book down.

1. Bloody Woman

Lana Lopesi (Sāmoa)

This book has my heart, in so many ways. Lana Lopesi writes with a such a sense of genuine truthfulness and rich narrative, that you can barely slow down to take in all the writing in its immense glory.

While I do not know Lana personally, she seems to be someone of an incredibly humble and attentive nature. Her words do not require an over-the-top narrative structure, but rather makes her points effectively and sharply.

Moving from reclamations of being a tautalaitiiti girl to critiques of the ‘girl boss generation’, Lana does not miss in this collection. It reflects so strongly on the experience of Sāmoan womanhood in Aotearoa and acknowledges the multifaceted ways in what each of us understand that to be.

I could write an entire essay about Lana’s work so I will end it here, and simply say: please read this book, you will not regret it.

A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand

Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Manuhiri) and Alison Wong (Chinese)

A Clear Dawn is an expansive anthology comprised of Aotearoa’s Asian creative writers, the first ever of its kind. It contains a diverse range of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Each story is beautifully unique, offering a wide ranging perception of Asian experiences within Aotearoa. At one moment, you’re peering into the memories of Saraid de Silva (Sri Lanka, Pākehā), who allows us into her personal story of her late grandmother, and the next you’re entering the minds of a fictional young boy Fei, through an excerpt of Bernadette How’s (Singapore) unreleased novel.

This anthology gives an insane amount of range and diversity of genres. You can be certain to discover something for everybody in this collection, as you come upon more and more unique stories.

Rangikura

by Tayi Tibble (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāti Porou)

Tayi Tibble is your Insta baddie, Welly cool girl and sharp af wordsmith. Her newest book, Rangikura, is some of the most exciting and refreshing poetry I’ve read recently.

Bringing you in through the familiar locations of Porirua and Pōneke, Tayi infuses both te ao Māori and a connection to the atua in her work, while simultaneously steeping her storytelling with a tone of sexiness that makes her writing so uniquely her own.

As someone from Pōneke and of the same generation, Tayi’s poetry drips of nostalgia. Her storytelling transports you between past and future, dropping you into her memories and her dreamland.

As Ana McAllister wrote, “Tayi shows us that, in 2021, we CAN be both – a spiritual Māori angel and a horny baddie.”

DO music festivals really suck?

DISCLAIMER: This article was written before the Laneway 2023 line up was announced. I am a mentally ill homosexual and I’d sacrifice my firstborn to see Phoebe Bridgers and Joji on the same damn day.

Elena McIntrye-Reet (she/her)

Illustrated by Sara Moana (she/her)

Festival season is upon us, and with the borders freshly opened we’re seeing a lot of old favourites return with international acts gracing our shores once again. I’m sure lots of people are excited to visit small town New Zealand and pay extortionate costs to either stay in a tent or a nearby motel. I’d like to preface this article by acknowledging one of the good points about music festivals: they're a great opportunity for new artists to get exposure and a great way to support local talent. However, the following is an unhinged rant about why I personally would not like to attend one of the big New Year’s festivals this year. First, I’ll paint you a picture and then I’ll get into some slightly more serious analysis.

Festivals like RnV and Northern Bass offer camping as a way to fully immerse yourself in the music festival scene. You dig out your old family tent or invest in a new one from the Warehouse. To be honest, I can’t imagine anything worse than waking up surrounded by my sweaty friends, hungover and dehydrated, listening to the sounds of my fellow festival troopers being exposed to the harsh heat of a New Zealand summer.

What follows this awful morning routine is a walk of shame to the shower with hundreds of other campers suffering the exact same way you are. There’s no way to feel sexy when you’re shuffling across a field with your travel toiletries tucked under your arm. By the time you’ve gathered yourself it’s time to start again, pre-drinking with alcohol you smuggled in like a drug mule, or the stuff you paid one week's rent for.

As you unzip the canvas of your temporary abode and face another day of the best summer ever, you’re faced with another dilemma: figuring out where the fuck you’re going. Pleasing everyone and prioritising different acts is a logistical task on par with the Christmas holidays when your parents are divorced. Friend A wants to wander over to the DNB stage, but Friend B wants to go catch their new favourite indie band they coincidentally discovered the same week the line up came out. Meanwhile, you’re more concerned about lining up your next port-a-loo break so you can time your nose beer perfectly for the headliner. Eventually, your plans might come together and you decide to divide and conquer to meet up afterwards for the act you all want to see.

It’s finally time to reunite with your besties, you get out your phone which is on 5 per cent from taking videos of the sets that you know in your heart you’ll never watch. You go to your group chat to figure out where everyone is, and low and behold you have no service! You’re off your tits though, so you don’t mind, and decide aimless wandering is the way to go, hoping you’re reunited at some point. You drop $40 on three drinks and go enjoy the headliner. You don’t remember getting back to the tent but you wake up and get ready to do it all again.

Of course, there are alternatives to the camping festival experience. You can go for a classic one-day job like Laneway in Auckland or Bay Dreams in Tauranga or Nelson. The benefit of these festivals is the ability to simply only be stuck in the sweltering heat for a single day, and get to go back to your accommodation when it’s time to call it a night. Unfortunately, if the event is held in a small town, it’s really difficult to get to and from the event. If the buses are booked out, or you miss the last one - getting home becomes a Bear Grylls-style adventure. The alternative is to designate a sober driver, whoever that poor bugger is must have done something horrible to deserve that - unless of course they’re sober by choice in which case God bless.

The common theme across these music festivals is that they’re fucking expensive. Often people will book tickets to see one of the headliners because the bands won’t tour New Zealand otherwise. People will sacrifice their bank accounts to buy a ticket so they can see their favourite band. The issue is, the cost of attending a music festival goes way beyond the cost of the ticket. You have to pay for accommodation, flights (or petrol), drinks, food, and maybe a special little bag of something if that’s what you’re into. New Zealand is isolated so getting the chance to see huge international artists is a rarity – I do understand the desire to see your favourite artists for probably the only time.

At the end of the day, the way you spend your money is 100 per cent your business and I understand the need to get the experience of festival season. It’s kind of a rite of passage to completely ruin your body for a few days,

and I guess you can’t decide how you feel about music festivals until you’ve attended one for yourself.

Well, the Wall Street Journal did a story where they tried to figure out the app’s algorithm by creating a couple hundred fake bot accounts. They assigned each bot special interests, and only indicated them by having the bots watch the full videos which were around their interest. Within two hours, all accounts were on sides of TikTok that reflected these interests, some taking only 40 minutes. Sounds good so far, why not have an app that gives you what you want before you even have to look for it?

TikTok, again, is motivated to get you to stay on the app, not to satisfy your thirst for good content. These interests quickly got dark. We’re gonna watch shocking content, and the algorithm knows this. Accounts which were concerned with love and relationships quickly ended up on ‘depression TikTok’, with content around suicide, eating disorders, anxiety and a lot more, while accounts concerned with politics ended up bombarding with farright election conspiracy theories.

This is of course incredibly problematic, especially when you consider the number of children on the app in a

Algorithms can’t measure quality, it’s a robot, and we haven’t developed technology that can measure that shit yet. They simply measure relevance. What’s relevant to a robot isn’t inherently true, and TikTok is absolutely a shitstorm of misinformation, feeding into our little

Tinder has a much more interesting and complex story. While profits = length of time on app for TikTok (not quality content or satisfaction), Tinder’s profits come from singles. What I’m saying here, is that if Tinder was an effective app and everyone was finding love on it, they

(I heard the straighties don’t get the latter but this is coming from a lesbian writer), and you just don’t get as many matches as you used to. This isn’t because you’re missing out on matches, Tinder actually made this an intentional feature. They start to hide potential matches, but ensure that you get one more just as you’re about to delete the app. This keeps you on the app, you mindnumbingly jump back into it.

Maybe after a month forgetting all about it... BOOM ! You open the app and you have all of these missed messages and matches, so you send out the rounds of messages... and all of these accounts are as inactive as you were a week ago.

They also have a rating system, where an algorithm gives each account a score based on how ‘desirable’ one is, which Tinder then uses to decide how often to show your profile.

The app genuinely used to be good according to anyone who was on it around 2014. This was its startup era. It was a new app and among the fastest growing at the time. There were plenty of matches, meeting new people, all that jazz, until Tinder’s investors started demanding an earning, and this is where Tinder started pulling all this shit.

That’s when they began to take features away from free versions. For example, the limited swipes and matches. Premium accounts began getting pushed, and there were more and more ads on the app as time progressed. They lifted prices consistently and removed features from the free version.

So, Tinder has employed a series of techniques to not do

You could pay to access what once was free. Then you could do your little reverse swipe, boost your profile, add a fun little border and so on and so forth. They even charge your subscription at a rate based on your gender, age and location. Men and those over 28 pay more, this is why they don’t advertise their pricing.

For starters, if you’ve used it in the past few years, you might remember that first week when you installed it. You’re getting matches, left right and centre, finding cool people you get on with. But then, your love life starts to dry out. You run out of swipes or people in your area

TikTok and Tinder are decent examples of where prioritizing profit can go, but in fairness they are earning a shit tonne more than me so I can’t really judge. A lot of companies are set up in complex ways which can make creating a profit hard, regardless of being a good app. It sucks that this is how things have to be, but it’s capitalism baby, if you aren’t making money, then what are you doing ?

Marie Bailey

Speaking Up.

Aiden Wilson (he/him) Illustrated by Kimi Moana Whiting (she/her)

CW: Sexual assault

If you follow current events, you have most likely heard of Jayden Meyers. Meyers was convicted of 10 various sexual offences, including four rape charges. He was sentenced to nine months’ home detention and a further 12 months of post-release conditions, those conditions including a ban on associating with anyone under the age of 16, as well as attending a sexual violence prevention programme.

This “sentence” is essentially a slap on the wrist for Meyers. Aside from his current home detention sentence and requirement to attend an educational programme, Meyers has essentially gotten out of any major punishment, while the victims of his crimes will have to live with what he’s done for the rest of their lives.

The prosecutor on this case, Anna Pollet, has defended Meyer’s home detention sentence by saying that a “rehabilitative approach is to protect the community in the long term from reoffending”.

Instead of properly punishing the criminal, this “rehabilitative approach” is harming those who have been assaulted, not just by Meyers but in general, deterring them from speaking out against their offenders due to fears they will not receive the punishment they deserve.

The lack of a real punishment for a perpetrator of this type of crime leaves those who have been assaulted confused and hurt, and incredibly unlikely to speak out about what happened.

Without actual, real repercussions for offenders, the system is just dissuading people from speaking out, along with potentially encouraging repeat offences.

Outcomes like this are why we can never back down when it comes to sexual violence within our society. Sentences like Meyer’s contribute to the isolation which many who have been assaulted feel. They stop people from feeling they will be taken seriously if they come forward.

When the system fails is when we need to support people the most, not that they shouldn’t have support to begin with. But it’s when people like Meyers get what is a glorified warning to not reoffend, that we need to support those who are most affected. Whilst multiple protests took place on 7 September, with huge turnouts, much of it was overshadowed in the media by another event.

The focus is this: occurrences like this happen far too often. We see it all the time with athletes, especially younger male athletes, who do not face punishment because “it will ruin their career”. Not to mention the “boys will be boys” mentality that can come along with it. As I’ve said, the people who end up getting punished because of this are the victims. A broken system doesn’t help anyone but the offender, which is why we have to stand up and speak out against people like Meyers when the system doesn’t.

To say the sentence is light is an understatement. It is a downright joke.

This failure of the system happens far too often.

Support.

Supporting your friends who have been harmed through sexual violence doesn’t need to be anything major. Simply checking in, especially when things like this are blasted all over the media, is more than appreciated. Let yourself be known as a safe space, as someone who will just listen and be there if needed. And if a person doesn’t want to talk about it with you, respect their decision and don’t push.

Stand.

Protests aplenty have been going on in the wake of this miscarriage of justice. For the people in charge to actually take notice and know that these kinds of things can’t go on and won’t be tolerated, we need to stand up against it where we can. Even if you don’t (or think you don’t) know someone who has been harmed by similar events, stand in solidarity with those who have been harmed. Simply attending a protest, signing a petition, or even just sharing information showing how far from okay these situations are helps to stand against the injustices occurring.

If you wish to sign it, here’s the link to the petition calling for a larger sentence. JAYDEN MEYER DESERVES MORE THAN HOME DETENTION: https://chng.it/7JdkSpKSc7

Listen.

When someone speaks up against their abusers, one of the things that is most terrifying is being ignored. Being a set of ears for someone to talk to in confidence might sound daunting to some, but when a person speaks it’s important, they’re listened to. People like Meyer’s get away with things when no one listens. Even when people do listen, offenders can still get away with it, so it’s important for those who have been harmed to not feel alone when they reach out for support.

It is absolutely disgusting that no matter what happens, people will still get away with their crimes. To be completely candid, it’s fucked. As a society we all have to actively stand up against the Jayden Meyers of the world, especially when the courts are refusing to do so. The rape culture within our country is sickening. How much longer will these events repeat before we can see some real change, some justice for the victims? And I know I’m repeating myself here, but that’s because it’s so important – when nothing happens, no one feels safe speaking up.

Some resources for support.

RPE Rape Prevention Education

Rape Prevention Education (RPE) is an Auckland-based organisation that is aiming to prevent further sexual violence within our country, while also supporting those who have been harmed, educating on rape culture, pornography, consent, and harmful sexual behaviours as a whole, and offering easy ways to locate support services within your area of residence.

Rape Prevention Education -https://rpe.co.nz/ Local support services - https://rpe.co.nz/find-your-local-support-service/

RPE also has a small section discussing the bystander effect, and why it’s important to be an active bystander as opposed to passive if you witness sexual violence occurring. Whilst it can be hard to confront sexual violence if you see it, it is important to be an active bystander to help ensure the safety of others, and to help prevent further violence occurring in the future.

Be an Active Bystander - https://rpe.co.nz/be-an-active-bystander/

Safe To Talk

If you ever need someone to just listen, Safe To Talk is an amazing and convenient service. They provide a safe, judgement free environment for you to talk about your experience with sexual violence, be it in their live chat on their website (link below), through an email, over text or over the phone (numbers below).

Sometimes reaching out to your friends for support can be incredibly hard, but services like Safe To Talk exist for you to be able to get the support you need.

Safe to Talk - https://safetotalk.nz/ Phone – 0800 044 334 Text - 4334

Thursdays In Black

TiB is a national campaign against sexual violence, run by students, for students. TiB aims to help prevent sexual violence occurring in tertiary spaces. Their website contains resources to help find local support services, as well as where to find your local Thursdays in Black club for your campus.

As the name implies, Thursdays in Black also asks you to wear black on a Thursday, a small and easy way of showing solidarity and support.

Thursdays in Black - https://thursdaysinblack.org/ Local Support Services - https://thursdaysinblack.org/get-help

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.

Just remember, University's are businesses and are out for money, not your wellbeing!

Wiser words have never been spoken

It's just hungover g, don't worry

Massey Staff are preparing to strike, get ready to see this all unravel.

Uni is a lucky dip unfortunately; you have to take the good with the bad, but try relish the good.

SE XCAPADES

Sub zero on. Obviously I'm turned on by this and get to work going down on him. I’m giving an a+ experience, gagging on his balls, going crazy on his dick to get him all worked up.

I’ll keep this one short and sweet. I’ve been on my hot girl winter grind recently. This means alot of sex, alot of men and alot of unique experiences. Sexcapades seem like a column where you send the worst of your experiences, so I'm putting my shame to one side and revealing it all for you to see.

I had just met Sam on tinder. He was cute, but not my usual type. Sam was a softer looking boy, he had nice Wellington style, and looked like the type of guy who wants to take care of you. For these reasons I decided to give Sam a run, the night went like this.

Drinks at a bar, deep conversation, alot of sexual tension and eventually at $24 dollar uber back to his immaculate room. I’m used to gruff rugby boys who have no decorations and a single pillow. Sam had decorated his room to perfection. He had a record player, rugs, house plants, and candles. The list goes

He turns around and decides to return the favour. It starts off amazingly. He takes his time and works his way down my body. I can tell he knows how to use that tongue of his. I keep squirming as he hits the right spots. About three minutes in the warm sensation of his tongue quickly freezes over and an icy blast shoots straight up my vagina. I instantly shove him off, sprint to the bathroom, grab the showerhead and try to wash the feeling away.

He told me before we started going at it he popped 4-5 extra strong eclipse mints because he thought his breath smelt from the cocktails we shared earlier. Now my pussy feels like the inside of a icemaker. Thanks.

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.

Takaro

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.

Maybe, rather than telling them that you don't want to live with them, tell them who you do want to live with. They prob will hate confrontation as much as you and not ask you the question "so you don't want to live with me?" because the answer to that is a little scary. It's way easier to ask them what their plans are for next year, and let them know you're taking a room in xyz's flat, or flatting with another group. At the end of the day, housing is a genuine horrific stress and it needs to be right for you - don't live with someone just because you don't want them to feel bad. If you have the time to do the groundwork to check if they will have somewhere to live then that's cool, but forreal sometimes you gotta fend for yourself.

What summer festival should I go to?

1. Northern Bass: JOEY BADA$$ r u kidding me lol, I kind of want to go now but also can't step foot within the realm of Akl or I'll turn into ashes. This has the same lineup as RnA/V but with him basically + some Aotearoa legends Tiki Tane, Ladi6 & co. I reckon the best line up (1 and 2 are pretty close tho).

2. Bay Dreams: Diplo, Denzel Curry and DJ Sirvere <3 (warning: Bay only!!) Still less of a slay as previous years. 2019 - Cardi B, Rich the Kid, Sheck Wes, 2020 - Tyler the Creator, Skepta, Gunna, Cordae. What happened :((

3. Twisted frequency: I just wanted to be nice, I've never heard of this before. DARTZ tho (I guess), and could be nice for something a little less full of 1 year olds.

4. Rhythm and Vines: I only recognise Lady Hawke and her only song I know is Delirium lol. I had a look at previous line ups, 2017 - Schoolboy Q & Biq Shaaq, 2018 - Juice Wrld, Vince Staples, Kyle, 2019 - Playboy Carti and it seems like the festival hasn't recovered since COVID. There aren't the same big American rappers that used to be flown out. I wonder if this is me being an old lady (born in 1999) so I expect that because 2017 was my heyday and rap was big and now that's being replaced by DJ type stuff? Idk, not vibes but I guess I'm 5 years older than the main audience these days.

5. Rhythm and Alps: I recognose like 2 names but couldn't name a single song. I'm sorry. Pretty website, horrific UI. R&V basically seems to be what R&A used to be like, so I don't get the point?

6. Sound splash: I like that they describe themselves as boutique lol, the vibe I always hear was it was full of infants and smuggled in miniatures..Update: post google I can confirm this is an R16 event lol.

I think the overall vibe is there's just not the big headliners that there used to be, or they're just not people that I have heard of.

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

Bonus different type vibes:

• One Love - I actually want to go lol. UB40, LAB, Sean Kingston, Stan Walker, and FIJI??? Cheehooo sign me tf up babyyyyy

• Laneway - one for the girls, gays and theys. Pre-sale sold out real quick. Looks good, not my thing but doesn't look like I'd fear that I'd have a man's armpit hair in my mouth like I did at Post Malone 2018 (rip)

How do I tell my current flatmate I don't want to live with them next year?

Horoscopes

cAPricorn

There is such a thing as working too hard, Cap. Go get yourself a face mask and a $7 bottle of wine to wind down when you can – you deserve it, Queen.

cAncer

Cancers thrive in happy and clean spaces – so if you’re looking for productive procrastination, the stars (and your flatmates) would highly recommend cleaning the flat! Thanks!

Flatmate pissing you off? Partner being annoying? We’ve all been there and no, using your StudyLink to get a one-way flight to a random city to escape is not overdramatic. Do it.

AquArius

Overthinking is a bitch, Pisces. Make an effort to get out of the house this week and take every opportunity presented to you to socialize. Whatever you do, stop listening to sad love songs.

Pisces

Only like a month left of university, Leo. Try not to piss anyone else off.

Leo

Take advantage of the spring weather this study season, Virgo. I know it’s easy to lose track of time but sure you leave the library or your room to give your brain some fresh air.

VirGo

Aries

The recent new moon is very exciting for your love life, Aries! More specifically, this is the perfect time for the enemiesto-lovers arc you’ve been waiting for. Kiss that asshole!

LibrA

Happy Libra season! The world is your oyster this week, Libra, and with Venus in your sign and the recent new moon, love in relationships and clarity in your career is coming your way.

TAurus

Try setting smaller, realistic goals as you get into the business end of the semester. You have a habit of overestimating what you can do in a day. Be kind to yourself and your brain this study season.

scorPio

When the party calls this weekend, do not pick up. Avoid social situations if you can and, if you can’t, avoid adding alcohol into the mix. Bad decisions are on the horizon, so keep your wits about you.

You are entering your bad bitch era, Gemini. So, stop thinking about that situationship that went wrong and more about yourself and how hot and sexy you are. Slay.

Gemini

Procrastination is your worst enemy this next week or so. The best time to catch up on uni was yesterday, so get onto it. Do you want to graduate or not? Get it together.

Ptime uzzle time

Puzzle

Across

5. Festival played in Mount Smart over the weekend (6,2)

6. To sweat (8)

Animal on the Porche logo (5)

Copying word for word (10)

He want a ____ (5)

Te reo for play (6)

Cells in the brain (7)

Country that produces the most coffee (6)

Hottest planet (5)

Down

1.

Netflix show following serial killer Jeffrey

Twitters OG name (5)

Bee's have how many eyes?!

The 'D' in DC

MAWSA ball theme

method of breaking and entering at malls (3,4)

The scale earthquakes are meausred on

Word Wheel

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

sudoku

LAST WEEKS CROSSWORD ANSWERS ACROSS: 3 BOTOX 8 JEGGINGS, 9 GLASSONS, 11 KAREN WALKER, 14 BIRKENSTOCKS, 16 POINTE, 17 JORDANS, 19 HARAKEKE, 21 TUXEDO, 22 CROP DOWN: 1 ROWS, 2 VOGUE, 4 VANS, 5 MULLET, 6 MINIMILIST, 7 FAST FASHION, 10 HAREM, 12 NIKE, 13 LAPEL, 15 OODIE, 18 TĀ MOKO, 20 GUCCI

1 BIKINI

ABSORBS

Josh M@D

Hello again, Josh from Massey @ Distance to remind you to find a healthy balance as we charge towards exam season!

What I mean by balance is I’ve got some friends that are all about living in the moment, spending every last penny they own, and partying the weekends away. Others I know are big future-planners, focusing on their grades, employment opportunities, even saving for a house (somehow)!

But somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Work hard and make sacrifices, but remember to take time for yourself, because joy in those little moments is good long-term too!