The Student Snapshot - Edition 2

Mordialloc College

The

S TUDENT S NAPSHOT Edition 2

THE STUDENT SNAPSHOT

letter from the editors -

Emma Schultz and Daniel Loza Wowee! This second edition has touched some interesting, even controversial topics!

This semester our team has been writing, creating, capturing and designing a bunch of new articles covering a huge range of topics. We hope you enjoy the magazine, and we would love to hear about your opinions on the topics we covered as well as the magazine as a whole.

We encourage new members to get involved with next years magazine — but for now, we anticipate your read.

Enjoy!

join the team Want to be a part of the team as a writer, designer, artist, photographer or editor? We are always looking for new recurits with different ideas and perspectives to help expand our future editions. The aim of our magazine, after all, is to provide students with a voice and influence. If you would like to be heard by the school community, you can join our Google Classroom with the code: ul5fawn

design Cover page artwork by: Eliza Wragg Magazine design by: Aaliyah Zaph, Emma Schultz and Jack Crowe Page artwork by: Ruby Treloar

MORDIALLOC COLLEGE

contents 3. Fast Fashion.....................................................Emma Schultz 5. Female Underrepresentation in Sport............Jeneya Tran 7. Creative Artwork...............................................Eliza Wragg 9. Feminist or Equalist.........................................Aaliyah Zaph 11. American Photography....................................Celina Lum 15. EP Review.........................................................Jack Crowe 18. How to Draw an Eye.........................................Scarlet Broad 19. Horror Artwork................................................Nicholas Irvine 21. Socialism Sucks..............................................William Lhuede O’meara 23. Anti-Capitalism................................................George Gorbatchev 25. New Year’s Eve Photography..........................Lilly Fruitman 27. Fundraising......................................................Jade Goodman 29. Underrated Poets............................................Aaliyah Zaph 31. Addressing the Amazon Rainforest................Emma Schultz 33. Save the Orangutans.......................................Aaliyah Zaph 35. Horror Artwork................................................Nicholas Irvine

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fast fashion –

where are your clothes actually from?

by Emma Schultz

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How many times have you thrown away clothing this past year? 30% of Australians have thrown away more than 10 items, sometimes after only one wear. When did clothes become so worthless? It takes more than 2700 litres of water to make a cotton shirt, which, globally, is 32 million swimming pools worth of water. All of this effort put into something which just gets thrown away.

Furthermore, 60% of our clothes are made of synthetic materials such as polyester, for example, our school jacket, shirt and skirt are all made from these materials.

However, polyester sheds microplastics (1.4 quadrillion) which endlessly decompose until they are polluting 20% of the world’s water. These plastics are not only deadly to marine life but also to humans. Polyester products emit more than 106 billion kilograms of CO2, or equivalent to 185 coal power plants. Ultimately this adds up, leaving the fashion industry emitting 8% of all greenhouse gases.

How does the cost add up?

Still, why is the shirt so cheap? Underpaid labourers who work 9-17 hour shifts. In Australia, the maximum working day is 7.6 hours. These poor workers find themselves in unstable positions, with threats of termination, denial of sick leave, dismissal due to pregnancy and often they are fired without notice. Yet, because of the demand for jobs, companies don’t lose if they fire people. These people often work in heat, without breaks or access to water for hours on end. In Dhaka, Bangladesh 1,100 workers were killed when the Rana Plaza factory came crashing down, and 2,500 people were injured because the building had no fire exits. Yet, people were still racing to the shops for the next big sale.

The production of clothing has exceeded 100 billion pieces globally. The fashion industry is a silent killer, and as you walk into Target or Big W, climate damage and labour rights should be on your mind. Simply via phone, people can buy anything. With no thought on the opening hours (open 24/7), guilt of spending (pay by card) or the price (cheap! Plus, if you buy two you can get a third for free!)

The industry is ever-growing. But we must acknowledge that

“

Fast fashion isn’t free.

Someone, somewhere is paying.

“

- Lucy Siegle

So where should you shop? There are hundreds of sustainable and ethical brands across the globe which all aim to be better for the planet. The “Good On You” app can help tell which stores are doing good for the environment and which stores are not, showing a score for labour, environment and animals. However, I believe the principles of the “buyerarchy” are a good guideline to follow: use what you have, borrow from someone, swap with someone, go to a thrift store, make something yourself, last is to buy (preferably from a sustainable and local brand).

It takes more than 120 days, hundreds of litres of water and hours of labour to grow cotton, how is $10 paying the entire cost? With the simple ways to shop more sustainably and for the future, environmental damage and ethical issues should be no more. Lastly, in the few minutes you would have read this, over 3000 kilograms of clothes would have been dumped as landfill, in Australia alone.

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the underrepresentation of women in sport _ the truth about australia’s gender bias article by Jeneya Tran designed by Aaliyah Zaph

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Australia is the sporting nation. As a country, we live and breathe our sport. In fact, Australia still upholds being fourth in attendance in sporting competition throughout the world. We are prestigious and dominant, however there has always been one obstacle that we seem unable to overcome. We live in a society where we continuously allow the media to underrepresent women in sports.

Women are the upcoming pride of Australian sport, however, media coverage is yet to catch up.

But just how bias is gender representation through sports? You may think that women have progressively began to gain more attention in the media, however, it’s disappointing to hear that women’s sport makes up just 10% of live sports broadcasts and only 7 percent of sports programming in Australia. ABC News has found coverage that male sports makes up for a huge 81.1% of television sports news, with women standing at just 7.4%. And even if women do get recognition, it is rarely seen as important enough for the front page. It is so much more than just numbers. These statistics have presented challenges to female sporting role models, including difficulty in acquiring money from sponsors that dismiss female athletes due to their lack of media presence. It encourages young females like myself - who aspire to work in the sporting industry - to only experience dread in regards to the lack of acknowledgement of women, and no equal sponsorship or pay in the future. I’m sure it’s the same towards many other girls around Australia. Surely by now women should begin to be more accepted towards male audiences and leaders.

For instance, secondary school girls who are actively involved with sports are less likely to be involved with accidental pregnancies. Also, the Australian Women’s Foundation states that females engaging in sport are more likely to perform better academically, therefore improving levels of self confidence and self esteem amongst young women. The culture of positive body image that sport fosters is credited as a key factor improving depression levels and unhealthy mental health within teen girls. But surely this is just common sense?

There should not be a distinctive group of ‘women’s sports’. There should only be sports. A label that isn’t divisible and that we all share and doesn’t show bias towards men as the mainstream. Especially now that as a society we are aware that there are more than two genders.

Although there still remains a distinguishable difference in how male and female coverage in the media is prioritised, women’s sport progressively growing serves as an indicator of future success. It shows that although it might take long, we will eventually be able to view a society where women are shown the same amount of support and media representation. It is not just up to the media: it is also our responsibility to take initiative into stopping favouring males in sport, and at least recognise females as a part of something we all love and support.

Interestingly, its also a common mentality in our society to see that sports men are recognised for their achievement, and women - well we are recognised for our aesthetic values. We see brutal remarks towards women that are intended to be all for jokes all over social media, however realistically - are they really jokes? Society treating women as inferior in sport affects participation in females in physical activity, which can lead to countless other seemingly unrelated consequences.

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ARTWORK BY

ELIZA WRAGG

ELIZA WRAGG

ARTWORK BY

feminist or equalist?

_

the debate disrupting the fight for equal rights article by Aaliyah Zaph

The rejection of the feminist label is not an uncommon occurrence. Feminism is often synonymous with the visual of a man-hating, bra-burning, vegan lesbian, waving a quirky poster in the air and demanding equal rights - and these negative connotations make the dismissal of the feminist label much more common than people assume. The truth is, feminism, and its many branches of intersectionality, stem much deeper than just equal rights.

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‘by dismissing the patriarchy’s presence, we are pandering to the illogical concept that male rule doesn’t exist’ Not only uplifting women, the intersectional feminist movement spreads its support across to people of colour, the LGBTQ community, victims of sexual misconduct and many other oppressed minorities. The movement also battles social constructs that ultimately oppress men, such as toxic masculinity, as well as confronting the alarmingly high negative mental health rates of men and offering guidance and support to those affected. Despite this intersectionality, the origins of feminism should still be recognized, and shifting the focus of feminism on men (and targeting a male dominant audience) is angering a lot of people.

However, ‘equalists’ argue that the use of ‘feminism’ panders to the gender binary and excludes people with other gender identifications. Self proclaimed ‘gender equalist’ blogger Betsy Cairo points out that the feminist label only contributes to the binary opposition of men and women, leading to detriment. She says it forces people to only notice the differences between genders, rather than the similarities and only creates tension between males and females.

Other feminists argue that recognising the differences - and oppression - between men and women (as well as different ethnicities, sexualities, etc) is a vital part of activism. The dilution of feminism in order to filter it into mainstream media panders to the concept of ‘equalism’ while simultaneously dismissing a core feminist principle: the predominant presence of the patriarchy.

Good intentioned feminist-actress Emma Watson was called out for giving in to the pressure of ‘equalism’ in her response to the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct, where she shifted the focus from the women affected by sexual assault onto men, writing “in this instance it was women affected but I also stand with all the men, indeed any person, who has suffered sexual harassment.”

Usually, the recognition of male sexual assault is applauded by feminists - however, given the situation she was addressing (the Weinstein scandal primarily inspired women to talk about their experiences), many were annoyed by Watson’s accidental, naive dismissal of patriarchy and the uneven impact of sexual assault in relation to genders.

By dismissing the dominant presence of patriarchy in our definition of feminism, we are pandering to the foolish, inaccurate concept that male rule doesn’t exist.

It’s important to address the other side of the argument.

Many argue that the ‘equalist’ title isn’t as offensive as feminists make it out to be. The name ‘feminism’ is extremely outdated and sends the wrong message, limiting the number of supporters for the movement. A UK survey revealed that less than 1 in 5 women identify as a feminist - and further studies across Europe showed that fewer than half of respondents agreed they were a feminist. In fact, only 8% of German respondents identified with the label of feminist. However, researchers believe these statistics don’t necessarily point to people not believing in gender equality. This is because other questions showed that these respondents did agree with the core values of feminism - they just neglected the label. For instance, 8 in 10 people agreed that all genders should be treated equally in every way.

On top of this, many agreed that sexism is an issue. Thus, making a small, seemingly insignificant change to the name would only be a positive for the growing movement.

But why should we have to change our identification - a label so valuable and important to many people - to appeal to random people who might not even join the movement in the end? Feminists were disappointed

by Miss USA 2017 when she rejected the feminist identification and referred to healthcare as a privilege rather than a right. After years of effort by equal rights advocates to show that ‘feminist’ is not a dirty word, its extremely disappointing to see a woman in position of power publicly reject the label and show reluctance in using it.

Some equalists are sometimes criticized for their rejection of categorizations: many self-proclaimed equalists condemn feminists for their advocacy of women and LGBT rights because they prefer to view everyone as people, rather than straight and gay or dependent on racial groups. This lack of recognition for these issues is actually pretty problematic - we can’t just ignore racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia in the hopes that it’ll just disappear. This uneducated, unfounded opinion is one reason why feminists view the change to equalism as a bit of a joke.

Spending too much time debating the label feminists use is time consuming, wasteful and useless. This time arguing about what we should call those believing in gender equality could be spent protecting the 80% of women affected by domestic violence. Or raising awareness about Australia’s alarmingly high sexual assault rates. Or recognising the 1 in 3 girls under fifteen who have experienced rape. Or creating safe places where people of varying sexualities and genders can experience the acceptance they are too often denied.

You cannot seriously call yourself an ‘equalist’ or a ‘feminist’ if you’re willing to spend valuable time - that could be spent uplifting marginalised groups like LGBT people or people of colour - on a pointless debate about what to call ourselves. Ultimately, the feminist organisation is an intersectional movement devoted to not only uplifting women, but also men, non binary people and everyone else regardless of gender, sexuality, race and any other factor.

photography –

travelling around America

by Celina Lum Here’s a brief look into my trip at the states.

LOS ANGELES -

We walked down Hollywood Blvd and saw the famous Hollywood stars and all the attractions like Madam Tussauds, the Dolby Theatre (where they hold the annual Oscar ceremony), the Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre.

WILL SMITH’S FOOT AND HANDPRINTS

HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME STAR

HOLLYWOOD BLVD

DOLBY THEATRE

CHINESE THEATRE ENTRANCE

REAL OSCAR AWARD

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UNIVERSAL STUDIOS + WARNER BROS. STUDIOS

We spent a day at Universal Studios: Hollywood and finished the night with the lights show at Hogwarts castle.

THE BIG BANG THEORY SET

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REAL COSTUMES AND PROPS

SIX FLAGS: CALIFORNIA

HARD ROCK CAFE

SALT LAKE CITY, LAS VEGAS + ARIZONA

We visited a Mormon temple at temple square where the tabernacle choir performs, and got to hear someone play the massive organ (which holds 11,623 pipes).

NATIVE RUINS

IMAGINE DRAGONS PERFORMING

GRAND CANYON

LAS VEGAS STRIP

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balloons don’t float here – an EP review of Dunbar’s stunning musical debut written by Jack Crowe

18 months ago, Isaac Dunbar was almost unknown to the music world, writing and producing songs in his bedroom and posting them to Soundcloud (an online streaming service for amateur musicians). Since then, this sixteen year old has taken his love for music and transformed into an emerging pop artist, his listeners eager to watch him grow and dominate the charts. With a smooth, crisp and sophisticated voice, Isaac began his musical journey by covering songs and posting snippets of them to his Instagram and YouTube. In doing this, he began producing his own backing tracks to them, progressing to his own professional songs. Not only does he make pop music, but experiments with his style and sound, incorporating cinematic and trap elements into his songs. His debut EP, entitled ‘balloons dont float here,’ features 8 songs of which (as a long follower of his music) I was extremely excited to hear upon the release. Yes, this review may be slightly bias, but regardless, I would recommend his music to anyone who appreciates the bedroom pop genre.

Critically speaking though, you must listen with an open mind and give it a chance.

Please note:

It may be ideal to listen to the EP first before reading the review if you are really interested, as there are some surprising production and lyrical elements of his songs that I will be spoiling.

“Silhouettes of gold remain upon your face, it’s like an aftertaste.”

- diamonds are a girl’s best friend

Isaac provides a delicate taste of what’s to come in the EP, beginning with the first track, ‘pharmacy’. It entails an unhealthy relationship with another person whom only brings temporary happiness to them before the side effects kick in. ‘Hurt me, I kinda developed a taste for it’ intrigues the listener straight away. This craving for pain seems uncanny and relatable for the broken hearted at first, until Isaac admits that this is more of an obsession blinded by the highs of love. Consisting of some interesting pads, kicks, hi hats and sharp snares, it becomes clear that Isaac wants to be heard, fitting into the two most appreciated genres of music right now – trap and pop. Although the beginning may seem like a slight divergence from generic radio hits, the final chorus dominates above the entire song, numerous layers of vocals and instrumentals collaborating to conclude a dramatic and epic finale that we don’t get to hear on the charts anymore. After hearing this track personally, I smiled in awe. I’m not even exaggerating; this is the music I’ve been waiting to hear.

‘your chandelier is now one light.’ Narrative wise, this would have to be my favourite song.

With such a triumphant beginning, Isaac lets us catch our breath with ‘woman on the hills’. The first verse is almost deceiving, ‘I saw a new girl around’ making us think that he’s found a new love interest. However, he clears it up in the pre-chorus. ‘She told me to take the whole world by the throat, boy you have something no one else has got’ alerts the listener of the song’s true meaning – a Hollywood wannabe whom has captured the attention of a ‘trustworthy’ agent. The song moves to subtly condemn this woman, ‘she needs more from you, she needs less of you’ epitomising the greed for money and fame in cutthroat industries.

‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’. A title that immediately caught my attention. Surely enough, the song is flawless and remains as my favourite track on the entire EP. Isaac frequently displays his diversity as a songwriter and producer, but this introduced a cinematic style to his discography that I personally love and crave. I feel as if this song is a continuation of ‘blonde’ and ‘cologne’, as this tells of Isaac’s unsuccessful attempts at impressing another girl by giving her ‘the world and all of her pearls’ (my favourite lyric off the entire EP also). I could talk about this beautifully tragic song forever, but I think it’s best you give it a listen. Just be prepared.

‘blonde’ is the true pop bop – as they say – and will have you dancing and singing along. In saying this, I also believe that this is the most relatable track amongst the listeners, telling of a story where you become manipulated and hypnotised by someone you’re trying to impress, mislead by false love. The conclusion to the song, similar to ‘pharmacy’, takes the song up a notch, and will make your fist pump harder than before.

Could the perfect conclusion exist? ‘blueberry brows’ basically throws you into a melancholic trance of slow dancing in the night’s dark and desolate suburban streets.

The gentle piano, crisp, yet silky vocals and heartfelt bows evoke an emotional atmosphere, yet the lyrics seem to be in a commiserated celebration of love. Beginning shy and subtle, the song explodes in the final chorus with soulful pitched vocals and autotune, reinforcing the cinematic tone. Not many people in the Isaac fandom know how to explain the meaning of the song, as this has been hidden

by Isaac to be revealed in the future. This mysteriousness ultimately allows you to consume the entire project with a sense of fulfilment and emptiness at the same time, curious as to what the next chapter will entail. The solemn, stunning, dramatic and energetic ‘balloons don’t float here’ is a masterpiece, and I can’t wait to hear his next project dropping early 2020.

It becomes evident that Isaac loves to take on different perspectives to appeal to a variety of audiences. ‘mime’ is told from the perspective of a girl who finds herself in an unhealthy relationship, learning to cut it off for the benefit of her wellbeing. While the song pities her as submissive – ‘dress me however you like’ – she stands up for herself and cuts ties with the narcissist in her life, undermining him as weak and insignificant to enact her vengeance –

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The genius behind ‘ferrari’ isn’t just Isaac, but the 18 yearold Australian songwriter, Rory Adams. On my first initial listen, I wasn’t able to decipher the lyrics very well, but after some replaying and research, the song is actually about old friends spreading false rumours around to taint your social image. Ouch. To match this feeling, the chorus evokes a slight grungy-punk vibe which really makes the song worthy of being added to your ‘greatest music ever’ playlist. After all, you always have to appreciate an artist that incorporates something new into their music.

Opening ‘cologne’ with some deliciously delicate layered vocals, Isaac sets up the song for its big finish. The song’s lyrics reference back to the girl he sings about in ‘blonde’. Therefore, this song reflects the aftermath of his attempt at trying to impress her, jealous she has fallen for someone else that isn’t worthy of her admiration.

become an artist –

learn how to draw an eye

by Scarlet Broad

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2.

3.

4.

Draw the shape of your eye and the eyebrow.

Now draw the iris, pupil and tear duct.

Add the eyelashes.

Lastly, add some colour and highlights.

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“JASON”

NICHOLAS IRVINE

NICHOLAS IRVINE

“ G H O S T FAC E ”

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wake up –

socialism sucks! written by William Lhuede O’meara

It seems silly that in 2019 we are discussing the rising popularity of Socialism and communism. Nearly 30 years since the end of the Cold War, when we basically won the war over communism, we are confronted with the reality of millennials ignoring every bit of history on socialist states and coming up with the grand idea that “Socialism sounds decent”. To put it bluntly, I’m starting to think that the old folks that say, “Young people are fools,” are quite right—what are we thinking, exactly? That somehow we uneducated, naïve individuals have the right to ignore all commonsense and basically destroy our own livelihoods?

2016 you have food shortages and mass starvation (sounds like the USSR all over again!). And 2019 sees the military massacre innocent civilians, alongside rapid inflation rates—1,698,488% to be exact (what a lovely place!).

I could go on and on, but for today I’m going to give a short history lesson just to widen the mind on past and present Socialist states. Starting with the past, and famously grand, USSR—practically the first named communist state. What did it achieve? Mass starvation (literally over 100 million people starved), complete economic collapse (because Socialism is a flawed system), gulags, and secret police being used; it literally sounds like ‘Big Brother’. And to the people who think the USSR is a ‘one-off’ (ignoring the forced socialist state’s “Iron Curtain” and the millions of people that fled), let me introduce you to the other 53 failed Socialist states. I would list them all, but even I myself, the Grand William, cannot be bothered, so here are some of my favourites: Cuba, Congo, and literally the entire Balkans. Why are these my favourites? Because in order, one almost ended the world through nuclear war, the next is literally the rape capital of the world, and the last, like my bedroom, is a complete and utter mess.

Moving forward to the modern day, we have three major Socialist/Communist states: Venezuela, North Korea and China. “But these states are working!” You might be thinking, but let’s debunk that.

And last, but most certainly not least, China—a world superpower and leader of the socialist platform. Let’s just skip over the 100 million dead due to starvation over the course of Mao’s reign, the MILLIONS EXECUTED, and the definitely non-existent massacre at Tiananmen square.

Venezuela—in 1992, it was the 3rd richest country in the Western Hemisphere. In 2001 a Socialist president was elected. In 2014 the opposition leader was imprisoned. By

North Korea—what do we know? Not much, because anyone that talks winds up dead or missing, nobody is allowed in or out due to it being Socialist, mass starvation (again MILLIONS die), and the black market thrives. Just a coincidence? Sounds more like history repeating itself to me.

Considering that in each instance of Socialism and Communism there has been persecution, execution, oppression, submission and high rates of fleeing civilians, it probably means that the idea is utterly terrible.

By this stage if you still feel like after a century of trying, You are the person who is going to be able to implement socialism correctly, You are just a lunatic. Let me say it clearly—Socialism will never work. Any form of state where power is centralised and left unchecked—any state where the head decides what is appropriate and what is not—will never work, no matter the situation, or time, or era. It will never work. If you want to go Socialist, go to China—enjoy being starved to death, killed when you mention that you are starving, and then wanting to flee and realising like literally everyone that has lived, or does live in a Socialist state that it can’t work. Good realisation, that one is.

A

And on that note, have a lovely day, and don’t be an idiot.

Learn some history. Please.

“Socialism is the

philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

“

- Winston Churchill

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O I L S 22

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”

-Mahatma Ghandi

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anti-capitalism –

economic inequality throughout history and our modern society

by George Gorbatchev We all have people who we strive to be like - idols, if you can call them that. Our favourite singer, sports star, writer, or poet. For me, this idol is Gandhi, arguably history’s most influential person. I was reading Mahatma Gandhi’s biography recently, when I came across this quote, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” This forced me to think about how our modern societies are ruled and the way people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East starve, because the greed of a wealthy organisation in a first world country drove them there - into an inescapable abyss, in which they are powerless and left to die. To think about just how lucky we are, for example, even being able to read and understand this article. This is something that needs addressing, as its effects quickly increase onto unmeasurable levels.

I'd like you to think about the word 'capitalism' for a moment. The official way to define capitalism is "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.'' This system allows the population to live independently, protecting people from the world's most lethal economic virus, poverty. After all, the world's most influential economic giant, the United States, has shown that capitalism is the best way of running an economy.

Right? Well, although capitalism may have its benefits, it creates a problem humanity has been battling since the creation of currency. A problem that poses a major threat to the functionality of our generic social hierarchy, one we solidified during the start of the past century, as the industrial revolution sparked invention after invention, revolutionising the way we live and think. Being part of the 2nd generation of the 21st century, we face countless problems: climate change, political instability, constantly growing levels of plastic, and of course gender inequality.

These issues are being dealt with, receiving funding and media attention. Although we face a constantly changing world, in which issues come and go, economic inequality in our modern society is an issue which has been around us since the creation of currency. This is an issue not receiving attention from the media, nor our governments. This is an issue which most of us don't realise the scale of. It could force us into re-enactments of previous historic events, we could waste the lessons learnt through Ghandi, through the Russian revolution, and the French revolutions. Economic inequality in our society is undoubtedly the biggest issue we currently face, it's bigger than environmentalism and gender inequality, however we often don't see its scale and impact on our modern world.

If you were to scale down the world's population to just 100 people, however keeping it proportional, then just 6 people would have control over 56% of all the world's economic wealth, 80 people would live near poverty, 70 wouldn't have the ability to read, 50 would starve on a daily basis. 1 in 100 would own a computer. Just to quickly ask, how many of those 80 people living near poverty, have the potential to become the world's best doctors, leading researchers, and inspiring leaders? I would argue that the majority, however they are currently being left behind in a mechanism which squizzes as much money as possible from every single one of our wallets. Finally, if you have any money in a bank account, you are richer than 92% of the population. I think we should take this into account, especially when we complain.

However, this information is from a study over 20 years ago! This gap between the rich and the poor has drastically increased in the past 20 years. And will continue to increase, as our current lives are powered through an instinct only humans have been gifted with, greed. The general 4 step action plan in life for an average person would be something like: 1; Graduate from school.

2; Get a job. 3; Earn money. 4; Make a family. Would it not? However that 3rd step, making money, is the problem I am talking about. Running societies the way we currently are, forces us to be better than others, have power over them, living on an arguably remote island where we still intervene in wars thousands of kilometres away, wars we have no benefit from, and for what? What we are doing now, allows wealthier countries to thrive, whilst others are stuck in poverty. And this isn't just politics, this is how our modern societies function and have been functioning since time itself. We let the wealthy get wealthier, and the poor get poorer; something that could in turn lead to catastrophic consequences such as restatements of the Russian revolution.

We all know or at least have heard about the Russian Empires destruction by the communist Bolsheviks, however we often miss their true reasonings in doing so. The Russian Empire was well known for a hugely capitalist system which allowed economic inequality get so drastic, that the Bolsheviks decided to use this to an advantage in overthrowing the government, one which left a huge amount of its population searching the streets for food. I'm not approving the actions they took, but this is something our modern societies could face in the near future. Unlike homelessness and gender inequality, economic inequality has been around for an immeasurable amount of time. It's existence even inspired authors to write stories about it, stories like Robin hood, where drastic actions were taken to save the lives of people in economic need. I'm not saying all revolutions are caused by this divide, but revolutions can be sparked or sped up when this gap persists for a long enough time. Do we truly want our futures to be chaotic, filled with greed and turned into a survival of the fittest scenario? Well as we currently stand, our world is plummeting towards this future. And this isn't something only I've talked about. In the first third of the twentieth century, Mahatma Gandhi said the following words; "There can be no rule of God in the present state of iniquitous inequalities in which a few roll in riches and

the masses do not get enough to eat.� He argued that there was too large enough of a gap between the rich and the poor, something I am currently talking about almost 90 years down the timeline. Why? Because absolutely nothing has changed. This issue hasn’t been put out, but rather more fuel has been added to the fire.

Throughout humanity's history, people from all over the world have thought of ideas to try and bring this gap to a minimum. Although socialism and communism can have their drawbacks, they completely destroy this issue. One such person was Tom Picketty, who managed to flip the world's economy on its head. He argued that the wealthy percentage of the population should have to pay a higher tax rate, or the average person wouldn't need to pay tax at all, in theory this would bring economic inequality to a bare minimum. However, his name was lost in history, as people like Bill Gates and Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple Inc, criticized his work, saying that it was based on accusations and misleading facts. But the fact that he was fighting for economic equality stands strong. So although we currently accept the state in which our modern societies currently are, being realistic that making a system to makes everyone of us happy is something we could only dream of, we need to know that the world hasn't changed, and as it currently stands, is unfair, and a place for the rich to thrive, and the poor to fight the clasps of poverty.

So everytime that we complain about our economy or opportunities being limited due to wealth, we need to remember that economic inequality in our modern society, is a problem that not only affects you, but also 4.6 billion people. A problem which has been fought by people like Gandhi, The Bolsheviks and recently Toma Picketti, whose lives were dedicated to finding an economic system in which all thrive, a utopian society in which poverty and inequality don't exist, a world in which economic inequality as a whole, are forgotten chapters in our history. However right now, as I speak, this is the biggest chapter humanity has ever written, and probably will continue writing for quite some time.

Sources: https://www.azquotes.com/author/5308-mahatma_ghandi/tag/equality https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/capital_in_the_twenty-first_century https://youtu.be/8TDHOEUn0Oo

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photography -

new year’s eve captured by Lilly Fruitman On New Years Eve, we walked up the Patterson River.

The second I heard, “Happy New Year!” fireworks shot in the air and sparkles trailed around the tops of buildings.

With my trusty pocket-sized Nikon 100, I managed to capture the vibrant colours with the fireworks camera mode. Because of the quick popping (and disappearing) of fireworks I didn’t prioritise my camera angles. Even though the pictures are not as good as the real thing, I enjoyed trying out different settings to see how they came out in the end. I chose my favourite pics, please enjoy them — I encourage other photographers to try their hand at taking pictures next New Year. I do advise to dress warm and stay awake so you don’t fall into the Patterson River, but, on the other hand, that could be a real spectacle!

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FUND RAISE 27

fundraising –

a how-to guide

by Jade Goodman

fundraising –

There may be many times in which you need to raise money, for example world challenge, in which many participants are currently fundraising. Or maybe you want to donate to a charity such as beyond blue.

Sometimes fundraising this money can be hard, so it’s helpful to have a multitude of fundraising methods available to utilize.

a how-to guide

by Jade Goodman

There may be many times in which you need to raise money, for example world challenge, in which many participants are currently fundraising. Or maybe you want to donate to a charity such as beyond blue.

Sometimes fundraising this money can be hard, so it’s helpful to have a multitude fundraising methods The first method is fairly of simple.

Try and get a job! available to utilize.

Different part time jobs tend to have different age

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requirements, but most places have a minimum age of 15 years. However, if you have a family member who owns a business you can ask to work their earlier. While part time jobs at this age don’t pay much, and may not result in the amount of money you need, they also provide the valuable tool of experience, which can be utilized greatly in later such as onTry resumes.

The first method is life, fairly simple. and get a job!

Different part time jobs tend to have different age requirements, but most places have a minimum age of 15 Another method is have to have a fundraising night! years.

However, if you a family memberday whoorowns some friends or to family provide some food! a Invite business you can ask workover theirand earlier.

While part You canatcharge fordon’t entrypay as much, well, orand it can free entry, time jobs this age maybenot result that’s for you decide! the event, you canthe hold in the amount of to money youDuring need, they also provide raffles, tool games (pay to play)which such can as chocolate tosses, valuable of experience, be utilizedcoin greatly or even a trivia to participate only is this event good in later life, such asin.onNot resumes. for raising money, it’s also a good way to connect with family and friends, and make them more knowledgeable aboutmethod what you’re fundraising for, whether be a Another is to have a fundraising day orthat night! charity, world challenge, or something else.food!

Invite some friends or family over and provide some You can charge for entry as well, or it can be free entry, that’s for you to decide! During the event, you can hold Oftengames you can gettofamily members or friends sponsor raffles, (pay play) such as chocolate cointotosses, youtofor competitions or only sports events. or even a trivia participate in. Not is this event good Typically summer, events suchway as long distance runs, for raising in money, it’s also a good to connect with bikeand rides, swims, or more similar events are very family friends, andtriathlons, make them knowledgeable common.

It’s relatively easy to for, findwhether these events, a simple about what you’re fundraising that be a google search canchallenge, find a multitude of theseelse. sport events charity, world or something in a relatively close area. There are also many ways to inform people of your events, such as word of mouth, posters, social media,members etc. Make or sure to saytowhat you’re Often you can get family friends sponsor fundraising so people have a reason to sponsor you! you forfor competitions or sports events.

Typically in summer, events such as long distance runs, bike rides, swims, triathlons, or similar events are very common. It’s relatively easy to find these events, a simple google search can find a multitude of these sport events in a relatively close area. There are also many ways to inform people of your events, such as word of mouth, posters, social media, etc. Make sure to say what you’re fundraising for so people have a reason to sponsor you!

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rupi kaur is not the epitome of poetry

& these five slam poets prove it written and designed by Aaliyah Zaph

the instapoetry craze In 2018, it was virtually impossible to scroll through Instagram without disruptions of Instapoetry: a new genre of short, easily accessible poems - heavily popularised by Rupi Kaur’s stunning 2014 poetry collection ‘Milk and Honey.’ Her sharp, often two to three line poems received attention from all over the globe, spending over a year on the New York Times Best Sellers list. However, Kaur’s immense success has overshadowed many other deserving poets. Here’s five female poets who have the same talent as Kaur—but not even half the recognition.

olivia gatwood Widely accredited for her work in sexual assault education and recovery, Olivia Gatwood is author of two poetry collections. In My American Best Friend, Gatwood explores the transition from girlhood to young adult years, her personal exploration of sexuality and her childhood—often from a feminist perspective. She is known for spoken word poems such as “Manic Pixie Dream Girl,” “Alternate Universe in Which I am Unfazed by the Men Who do Not Love Me” and “Backpedal.”

Recently, she released her second book Life of the Party - a poetry collection drawing inspiration from true crime and murdered women. I originally found Gatwood’s work through her collaboration with Megan Falley in ‘Speak Like a Girl.’

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brenna twohy Brenna Twohy’s clever poetry finds the subtle connections between childhood pop culture and her mental illness, sexual assault and other traumas; her famous poem “Anxiety: A Ghost Story” uses the analogy of RL Stine’s Goosebumps series while explaining the burdens mental illness entails. Author of Forgive Me My Salt (2016), Zig-Zag Girl (2017) and Swallowtail (2019), Twohy offers an exploration of abuse, loss, grief and healing in her three poetry collections.

blythe baird Being the first slam poet I found, Blythe Baird set the bar very high. Spoken sharply with wit, Baird’s carefully articulate artistry leaves lines that resonate deeply with her audience, offering valuable insight into the trauma and experiences of sexual assault, eating disorders and exploring sexuality. Baird originally rose to fame with her powerful feminist pieces such as “Pocket-Sized Feminism” and “Girl Code 101” and has received praise for her discussion of fluidity in regards to sexuality, as well as experiencing this questioning in an unaccepting household.

sabrina benaim Canadian slam poet Sabrina Benaim started spoken word poetry as a way to cope with her health complications after being diagnosed with a throat tumour. Raising awareness for mental health disorders (such as depression), Benaim’s poems additionally explore universal experiences of complicated love and relationships. She represented Toronto in the Women of the World Poetry Slam, and currently is the author of one book: ‘Depression and Other Magic Tricks.’

All of these poets have books you can purchase online on various platforms, including Button Poetry and Amazon.

You can also access their spoken word work on Youtube - accounts like Button Poetry have good quality footage and sound. Despite being primarily American, you can even see these poets perform in real life when they tour - in October, Desiree Dallagiacomo came all the way to Australia for a six week tour, performing poetry from her first collection, ‘Sink.’

desiree dallagiacomo Through her patient yet sharp anthem of self-love, healing, loss and survival of girlhood in a working class family, Desiree’s first collection Sink includes some of her most famous work such as “Thighs” and “One Side of an Ongoing Dialogue with Sharon, My Therapist.”

Dallagicomo has been nominated for and received many poetry awards, and was ranked 3rd in the 2015 Women of the Slam competition.

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the amazon rainforest –

what can you actually do to help?

by Emma Schultz

The Amazon is dying. Fire is blazing away, and in its path killing hundreds of thousands of trees—all of which are hundreds of years old, supporting an ecosystem and, perhaps, more importantly: our entire world. The Amazon Rainforest provides 20% of the world’s oxygen, but at an ever-increasing rate, it is being destroyed. Tree by tree, the Amazon is under some of the most stress it has ever been. But what does this really mean? Why is this happening? And most importantly—how can we help?

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The Amazon encompasses approximately 7,000,000 square metres, shared by 9 different countries. In this lies the problem. These third world countries have nearly nothing to benefit by preserving the forest. In actual fact, they lose a lot more in terms of money by keeping it stable. This land is bought and sold between private investors, as it is technically private land. The problem is when people seek to make money from the rainforest, and a bunch of trees are not paying the bills. There is no incentive to save something that’s losing you money. While burning the Amazon is illegal, that doesn’t stop people from setting it ablaze; nor does the Brazilian government truly enforce these laws.

The cycle continues.

This all poses the question: Should first world countries be paying for oxygen?

We lose one and a half football fields of the Amazon each minute. But for what? Cattle farms require kilometres of land in order to properly raise and finally slaughter for meat. Farming is a huge part of the economy in Brazil, so by using your wallet to change is very effective. The majority of the fires are man-made, citizens find themselves in poverty, needing more land to sustain themselves, so they divert to the most logical solution: clear the land.

In a Capitalist world focused only on money, the poor only get poorer so the rich can get richer.

While you can argue that people deserve this, it shouldn't be at the expense of the environment and the ecosystems built on it.

Are we doing anything to stop this?

For three weeks the media ignored the issue.

Little to no coverage of the fires was shared. Yet as people found out, the story rapidly grew. Outrage!

Why hadn’t we known about this? The amazon is known as the world’s lungs, for a good reason—we should’ve been told! Why is it that the Notre Dame fire was headlined within minutes of the first flame while record-breaking fires broke out in the Amazon and we didn’t even know? While many more people are now aware of the fires that have been raging for months, it is still not enough. Sharing a post on your phone is not going to bring about real change. That part starts with you.

With such huge numbers and such dire circumstances, it seems like it would be impossible to do alone—let alone make a dent in the problem.

The Amazon is huge! Nothing you can do can change it.

You would be wrong.

My point is, if you don’t buy from them, they will go out of business.

If you don’t buy from them, they can’t burn the Amazon.

If you don’t buy from them, you can divert up to one hundred and five kilos of greenhouse gases.

Just by not eating meat.

Simply by going without meat once a week, you can be saving the environment. Changing your food consumption is about the biggest thing you can do the save the ecosystem in the amazon. Explore the different options instead of meat which can give you all the nutrients you need. And, even if you don’t stop eating meat, you could buy only Australian meat (which supports Australian farmers and uses less transport emissions).

We are constantly playing the blame game, but now is not the time. Everyone needs to wake up, stop forcing the problem on others and root for change.

We complain about other countries when we are driving cars, powering our houses, wasting food, etc.

As citizens of the world, we must help protect the earth. It is not fair that third world countries are taking the blame, while we live it big. The media is clearly not covering the protection of our planet enough. We need to act now, so through changing your dinner plate, you can make a start.

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orangutans will be exinct in 25 years due to palm oil & here’s how you can help stop this

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article by Aaliyah Zaph

Let’s say you got up this morning, had a shower, shampooed your hair and brushed your teeth with your whitening toothpaste. After doing your light makeup, you buttered a slice of toast and left for school.

Then you got to school, where you raced to the canteen to buy your fried rice and cookie. When you finally got home, you quickly got the dishes done and out of the way, slathering detergent in the soapy water. Maybe you ate a bowl of ice cream before using cleansing wipes to clean your face.

Inescapable. Unavoidable. Ineludible. It’s in our makeup. It’s in our food. It’s in our shampoo, our milk, our toothpaste, our bread, our biofuels… even Oreos aren’t exempt from the list. On average, we use almost 11 palm oil products every single day without even realising. Palm oil is in virtually everything, which makes cutting it from our lives seem realistically impossible. But why would we want to boycott such a predominant necessity?

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So what is actually happening?

The heavy expansion of palm oil plantations is taking over South East Asia. A steadily growing demand and insanely cheap production costs has put pressure on these countries to provide palm oil. In order to make room for all these palm oil plants, companies destroy millions of hectares of land - wiping out entire ecosystems and making already endangered species such as elephants, tigers and orangutans essentially homeless. Even if portions of the natural rainforest are left untouched, this lack of biodiversity is literally unable to sustain the various life forms it needs to.

An inescapable product However, the palm oil industry is not easy to escape. Not only is palm oil in virtually every packaged supermarket product - it alone makes up 11% of Indonesia’s export earnings and is viewed as the nation’s most valuable agricultural export. Indonesia produces over 27 million tonnes of palm oil a year - and this isn’t even the worst part: in 2015, almost 62 million tonnes of palm oil was produced globally. This was years ago. Imagine how much this number has increased in four years.

A lot has happened in twenty years...

In the past twenty years, the detrimental impacts of deforestation have only worsened. Over 3.5 million hectares of precious rainforest has been completely cleared.

Almost 80% of orangutan habitat has disappeared. Every week, we lose 100 orangutans. Every hour, we lose 300 football fields of irreplaceable forestry to make room for palm oil production sights. Indonesian farmers treat orangutans as pests and kill them - in 2016, it was reported that there were barely 45,000 orangutans in Borneo, and the entire species is expected to be extinct in the next 25 years.

How can I help?

The most obvious way to help is to boycott palm oil.

Thousands of websites offer numerous alternatives for different palm oil products, or lesser known, palm oil free versions of the same item. Using your voice is also an easy way to show resistance against the overuse of palm oil. Many orangutan conservationists urge people to write to companies that use palm oil, encouraging them to use sustainable palm oil or other replacements. A hugely common misconception is that your voice as a consumer is useless - don’t underestimate your influence. A slightly less involved way to use your valuable voice is petitions support palm oil labelling and the removal of palm oil as an ingredient from various products.

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“FRED DY”

NICHOLAS IRVINE

NICHOLAS IRVINE

“MICHAEL”