Issue 3 - Internet by Salient

CONTENTS 04

06-11

Letters

News

Sugar Daddies and Ambassador Programs (Feature)

17-19

20-21

22-24

Centrefold

Simps, Slurs, and Sexism (Feature)

26-27

28-35

36-38

Behind the Scenes of Vic’s Confession Pages (Feature)

Culture & Columns

Entertainment

FuckYeahTumblrBlogs (Feature)

About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA). Salient is funded in part by VUWSA through the Student Services Levy. Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA). The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University. Complaints Complaints regarding the material published in Salient should first be brought to the Editor in writing (editor@salient.org.nz). If not satisfied with the response, complaints should be directed to the Media Council (info@mediacouncil.org.nz).

14-16

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#SocialSundays EDITORIAL My phone tells me how many hours I spent on social media at the end of every week, and it scares me. When I flop on my bed after a hard day’s work and doomscroll for an hour, it’s instinctive. When I flick through reels as I wait for the bus to arrive, it’s mindless. When I send my friends memes to avoid making eye contact with strangers at a party, it’s almost subliminal. Our screentime eats away at our lives without us even noticing. I encourage you to conceptualise your involvement on social media as real labour, a conscious activity that takes time and energy. By being intentional about our online activity, we can regain agency over it. This is especially important in a world where change is often achieved online. For those of us engaged with political content and online activism, apps like Instagram and Twitter can feel like less of a passtime and more of a chore. Social media fatigue and activist burnout can cause us to become apathetic towards movements we really care about. Instagram accounts like @shityoushouldcareabout have been criticised for compelling young people to care about every single political cause, all around the world, all of the time. As a solution to this, I propose to you: #SocialSundays. One day a week when we all collectively agree to take a break from social media and socialise in the ‘real world’. No posts, stories, snaps, or tagging. It’s a two-part concept, where we would abstain from posting our own content on social media and consuming anyone else’s. This would prevent any potential FOMO from creeping in—if no one’s posting, there’s nothing to miss out on. Whether you believe that Sunday is the day of the Lord or the day of hangovers, we culturally recognise it to be a day of rest. Resting from social media for just one day a week could really improve our mental health and social lives. It would be nice to go out for Sunday brunch with the gang… without telling everyone exactly where you went and how

many mimosas you drank. Personally, I miss the mystery of not knowing what folks are up to. Sundays could be for loved ones, for friendships where you sit around and talk about nothing, for exercise, for hunkering down to watch eight lectures in a row, for awkward but endearing first dates. It could be our hall pass to exist free of public observation or media consumption. So I’m making it a resolution for the rest of the year to not tell social media what I do on Sundays. I’m sure some weeks I’ll slip up, overcome by the pressing urge to share how quickly I solved the Wordle that day, or something equally frivolous. But on the whole, I’ll be better off for it, knowing that at least on Sundays, I don’t owe anyone shit. Ngā manaakitanga,

JANHAVI GOSAVI (SHE/HER)

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LETTERS AND NOTICES Are you a keen poet? Salient is accepting poetry submissions! Email your poem(s) to poetry@salient.org.nz, along with a brief blurb about yourself, and shoot your shot at getting published.

Do you have a PSA that needs to be heard? Send your letters and notices to editor@salient.org.nz if you’d like them published on this page

Caramel Slice Concerns Last week’s caramel slice review was deceitful and lost all of my respect the moment it ranked Enigma lower than the lab. Enigma’s base is nothing special, but it allows the slice’s exceptional caramel and chocolate to shine through. It’s called CARAMEL slice for a reason: the caramel. Enigma’s caramel is the best, and their caramel slice will always have my heart for this reason. - James

The caramel slice results have hurt me in a way I’ve never been hurt before. Nevertheless, congratulations Louis! Our friendly rivalry continues to grow - an emotional barista from The Lab

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VUWSA Extension Policy Set to Change Words by Azaria Howell (she/her)

After a survey was sent out to students, VUWSA, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association, will be debating a change to extension policies at university. Within this survey, VUWSA set out two options for students to choose from. The first potential policy, preferred by 13.8% of respondents, states that the course coordinator may require supporting evidence for extensions that last beyond a few days, or if a student requests an extension for more than one assessment item in the course. The second policy, preferred by a whopping 86.3% of respondents, states that a course coordinator will only require supporting evidence for extension requests of over one week. VUWSA Academic Vice President, Jessica Ye told Salient that a policy change would be beneficial. “Currently, the temporary ‘Covid’ policy is to not ask for medical certificates for extensions under a week, in the interest of being empathetic to students in these weird times. It’s not officially set in stone, so course coordinators and lecturers across different faculties don’t always follow this rule and have varying ideas of what ‘empathy’ looks like.”

Ye wants to change that, stating that VUWSA are trying to get the VUW academic committee on board to implement it as a permanent, official rule. Ye said that VUWSA is advocating for the second policy option. Despite a vast majority of students supporting this option, Ye said, “It’s not popular with the Academic Committee.” She hopes the student support for this policy will show the Academic Committee that it is a better option. “Lecturers and course coordinators should trust that students know what’s best for themselves, and not question the validity of students’ issues when they ask for some help. Lecturers and course coordinators shouldn’t be entitled to private information about our lives, especially when shit hits the fan and the last thing you want to do is disclose something deeply personal to your lecturer,” Ye continued. There is a possibility that the policy change may be approved in time for Trimester Three, but will most likely only be implemented in Trimester One of 2023.

Leave Our Doors Alone Words by Beth Mountford (she/her)

The climax of the anti-mandate occupation at parliament on 2 March saw a glass door smashed on Victoria University of Wellington’s Pipitea Campus at the entrance to Vic Books on Lambton Quay. Funnily enough, the vandalism occurred just six days after the Level 1 Rankine Brown door on Kelburn Campus (by Louis’) became operational again. The door is well known for rarely being operational, and was out of commission for more than six months after suffering damage from a storm in July 2021. In a Facebook post from 24 Feb, VUWSA addressed the re-opening of the Rankine Brown door, saying, “This may seem like fake news since it’s been so long since it was last working that we can’t remember exactly how long it’s been, but the door by Louis’ is finally working!!! (Let’s hope it lasts.)”. It is hoped that the Pipitea Campus door will be repaired for the reopening of the campus on 11 April. Jessica Godfrey, general manager at Vic Books said that they made the decision to close the store before access to the building was cut off, as clientele and staff felt unsafe. “I feel really glad that none of our staff were around when [the events of 2 March] happened. The only way they could see it is if they tuned in online and they didn’t have to see that in person,” she said. Professor of Law at Pipitea Campus, Richard Boast said that the effect of the disruptions on his teaching and marking had been minimal as his summer elective course was delivered online anyway, but expressed his condolences to Vic Books.

Source: Twitter

“I felt very sorry for the people who run the Pipitea bookshop because they are all so nice! And go to such trouble to set up interesting book displays; they especially don’t deserve to have their windows smashed,” he said. (Let’s hope they fix it on schedule).

From Illegal RATs to Linda’s Husband: Investigating Trade Me’s Most Crooked Auctions Words by Ethan Manera (he/him) Disclaimer: no Salient news staff were harmed in the writing of this article. One went into self-isolation, one actually got Covid-19, and another suffered a mild headache, but all from totally unrelated circumstances. The government’s shift from PCR nasal testing to the quicker and easier method, Rapid Antigen Tests

(RATs), has seen a sudden increase in demand for the at-home tests. Government supply issues have led to an underground blackmarket with the Covid-19 tests popping up on Trade Me. Salient went undercover in the RAT blackmarket to see if the dodgy alternative to Covid-19 testing is really worth the risk.

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After ordering three RATs, they arrived promptly in an NZ Post bag. Inside the package were three RATs individually packaged in Glad ziploc bags—definitely not sterile, definitely not safe. The tests had leaked their activation liquid throughout the small bags they were sent in. Not a good start. When used, all three of the tests returned false positives, prompting a serious Covid-19 scare amongst staff.

of Trade Me’s most bizarre listings to see what was joining the RAT blackmarket in the Wild West of the e-commerce world.

National MP, Chris Bishop told Salient, “Currently, rapid tests are as rare as Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, [...] so I’m not surprised people have resorted to buying them illegally online.” The illegal selling of RATs prompts questions about whether enough regulation is placed on our largest online marketplace. Virtually anyone can list an item on Trade Me and there are over 9 million listings on the site at any given time. Salient investigated some

Source: Trade Me

Pakatoa Island: Source: Trade Me

John McAlister: John was listed for sale on Trade Me for $1 reserve by his wife Linda after he disappeared on an impromptu fishing trip, leaving Linda to watch the children. “He has had a number of previous owners, but should remain loyal if kept fed and hydrated”. The listing was unfortunately taken down for a breach of community guidelines: 10/10

Described as “sixty acres of pristine riparian landmass,” $50 million can land you your own private island on Waiheke. This is Trade Me’s most expensive property listing and for good reason. With three white sand beaches, a golf course, a swimming pool, a squash court, and resort facilities to house hundreds of people, Pakatoa Island is exclusive. Very impressive but morally questionable: 7/10

FILM Source: Trade Me

Spherical egg:

Reasonably self explanatory, this NZ free range egg is unusually spherical. The auction states, “the chances of finding a perfectly round egg are one in a billion,” and the seller is confident it’s worth top dollar stating, “they usually fetch hundreds of dollars”. The egg still sits at $1 with no bids: 2/10

Source: Trade Me

Taxidermy Rat: For $60 you can have your new favourite piece of flat décor. Once a living and breathing rat, now a cute ornament, this taxidermy friend will lighten up any room. The auction does not mention the potential health risks associated with owning a stuffed rat but the seller assures the item is safe: 9/10

85 Ghuznee St, Te Aro, Wellington www.splendid.nz @splendid.nz

New Zealand TikTokers Struggle with Creator Fund Words by Azaria Howell (she/her) Jorja Baylee was 15 when she started creating videos on the popular social media app TikTok. What first started as dancing and lip syncing in her room ‘blew up’ to viral internet stardom. After a few years of creating content, she was receiving anywhere between 100,000 to 500,000 views on her videos. Despite her success, Baylee, and many other New Zealand TikTok stars, have been unable to access the ‘creator fund,’ which, according to TikTok, is there “to celebrate and support the best and brightest talent.” TikTok have stated that the creator fund, which pays content creators based on view counts and engagement, gives “all creators the opportunity to earn money doing what they love and turn their passion into a livelihood.” There’s a catch. The creator fund is only available to those living in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, or Italy. Jorja Baylee “tried everything” to join the creator fund, but it is not available to those living in New Zealand. In an interview with Salient, Baylee said, “even though my videos were doing super well, I wasn’t able to apply for compensation. The Tiktok creator fund pays two cents per 1000 views. So even though it wasn’t much money, I still was owed a decent amount.” Baylee says New Zealand creators have had to turn to other means of financial support to fund their TikTok content creation, despite receiving similar view counts to US and UK-based creators. The first solution she has found has been to create cross-platform content, promoting her YouTube and Instagram accounts

through TikTok. Still, it’s not a smooth road, Baylee says: “You really have to sell yourself for collaborations. Sometimes a collaboration will be a brand gifting you with a free item, other times you get paid. But even then, payment isn’t that much.” Another way to get money through TikTok is through livestream gifts; viewers can choose to spend their money buying TikTok coins to send creators gifts in their livestreams, which then turn into financial compensation for that creator.

Revealed: “Anti-Vax” Staff and Students Use Encrypted Chat to Plot Legal Action Against University

Words by Ethan Manera (he/him)

Salient has uncovered a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where unvaccinated Victoria University of Wellington students and staff have spread misinformation about Covid-19 and discussed ways to flout the mandate and organise legal action against the university for “breaching their human rights.”

The group, created 9 December 2021, consists of 67 members and contains both VUW staff and students who consider themselves “anti-vax.” It initially began as a collective effort to lobby against the university’s implementation of a vaccine mandate by sending emails to senior leadership accusing them

of human rights abuses. The group’s focus has now shifted to more dubious means. One staff member, who holds a management role at VUW, attempted to bypass the mandate with a fake vaccine exemption from their GP, which was then

allegedly declined by the university. The staff member is threatening legal action against VUW, saying, “They will need to fire me, then I will serve my personal grievance [...] as my boss told me I was safe.” The same staff member also discussed ways for unvaccinated students to enter campus without a vaccine pass using alternative entrances, saying, “There are only going to be two doors that will be open where you will not need to swipe in [...] worth a try.” Members have also shared screenshots of

be quite constrained.” When asked if staff could face legal issues for defying the vaccine mandate, Anderson said, “While they are free to criticise the mandate, as soon as they try to undermine or evade the mandate they could be liable for disciplinary action which could potentially result in

the termination of their employment.” A university spokesperson told Salient that VUW weren’t aware of the group, saying “The University is committed to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment in accordance with its obligations under human rights laws. Staff and students are entitled to choose not to be vaccinated.” When asked specifically about the potential repercussions for staff members involved in this group who remain unvaccinated, the VUW said, “In the majority of these cases, [we] have been able to work with the staff members to enable and support them to work remotely. Termination of employment is considered a last resort.”

communication with legal professionals discussing how to take action against the university. Another staff member admitted to attending the parliament protest which caused the closure of Pipitea campus, telling the group, “It’s a lot of fun.” Many unvaccinated students in the group have spoken about turning to online study or dropping out completely where online learning was not possible. One group member has emailed the Human Rights Commissioner, calling for him to intervene in the “unnecessary and unethical” mandate which they claim violates constitutional law and the Nuremberg Code—a code of ethics for human experimentation. Professor Gordon Anderson, a VUW employment law expert, told Salient that unvaccinated staff members would have difficulty trying to dispute the mandate, saying, “their ability to successfully challenge it would www.salient.org.nz

Headline Junkie A Bite-Sized Look Into the Big Stories. Words by Salient News Team Self-Isolation Period Dropped to Seven Days Confirmed Covid-19 cases and their household contacts now only have to self-isolate for seven days - rather than the previous ten. The change comes as rising daily case numbers have started to have an effect on business and essential goods and services. The Spinoff quoted Covid-19 reponse minister Chris Hipkins saying “Seven days isolation will break the vast majority of potential transmissions, while ensuring people can get back to work quicker and therefore reducing the impact on business operations.”

Isolation Food From VUW Halls Makes National News Stuff has reported on the poor quality of food being served to isolating students. One depicted meal included baked beans, a slice of salami, and four wedges. Another included baked beans, some mushrooms, and a hash brown with spring onion garnish. Around 30% of VUW students in halls have tested positive for Covid-19. Your Supermarket Budget Is Reasonable—Prices Aren’t The Commerce Commission has released its final report detailing suggestions to mitigate NZ’s supermarket duopoly in the grocery sector. They noted that the duopoly (Woolworths and Foodstuffs) “muted” competition and raised prices for consumers, but no suggestions have been made to break this structure. Recommendations include making more land available to new grocery stores and improving wholesale access. Significant Environmental Law in the Works

Glass Recycling Collection Halted Due to Covid-19 Wellington City Council have announced that the team at Seaview Recycle & Transfer Station are operating at limited capacity due to workers affected by Covid-19. 75% of co-mingled recycling will still be processed, the remaining 25% will likely be sent to landfill. WCC advises residents to either stockpile their glass until services resume or drop it off at the Recycle Centre at the Southern Landfill.

The United Nations Environment Assembly have opened negotiations for global plastics treaty that will be legally binding and address the whole lifecycle of plastic—from oil and gas extraction to post-consumer waste. New Zealand attended the meeting, which was held 3 March in Kenya.

Pressure on Hamiltonian With $103m in Cryptocurrency Despite initial criticism about the first release of NFT characters, Martin van Blerk, 20, now has NZ$103 million to fund the creation of his virtual metaverse, Pixelmon, in which players will be able to catch and trade NFTs through gameplay. Characters were purchased after glimpses of concept art but before an official reveal, the results of which have been described as ‘comically bad.’ Van Blerk still resolves to create the virtual metaverse.

Source: Pixelmon

‘Revenge Porn’ Loophole Closed Posting intimate pictures of a person online without their consent is now punishable by two years imprisonment or a fine up to $50,000. The law states that anyone under the age of 16 cannot consent to such posting. Companies also face fines of up to $200,000 for posting content without consent.

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Sugar Daddies and Ambassador programs: What’s up with the bots in my insta DMs? Words by Maia Ingoe (she/her) His name is Antony Smith. His profile picture is of a bearded older white man, probably on a boat somewhere. And he’s sliding into my Instagram DMs with a “hello beautiful”. The recipe differs. Sometimes the name is Steven, John, or Tanner. The profile picture features greyhaired men posing by an undetailed background or sometimes just a selfie. The message in my requests might start off with a “Hey pretty lady…” or a “Hi gorgeous…” Sometimes, I’ll get multiple requests in a week, all with spelling mistakes and bad grammar, offering a sugar daddy relationship. Sugar daddies aren’t the only scams in my DMs, although they are by far the most numerous. There are messages from private accounts, saying they’re looking for ambassadors and asking me to DM a larger brand for more information. White women in suits request to follow me, promoting investment and cryptocurrency schemes that echo pyramid schemes. My Instagram account is set to private and I don’t post anything abnormal for a 20-year-old university student. Almost every social media user has experienced a DM from an unfamiliar profile and most of us delete the request without replying. From my little corner of Instagram, I polled followers on whether they’d ever received a sugar daddy message as an example—over 80% tapped yes. Instagram has over 1.3 billion users worldwide: for scammers, that’s a gigantic field of targets who are only a follow and a DM away. Sugar daddy scams seem to target younger people, and mostly women—but sugar mommies make the rounds as well. Some of mine directly referenced knowing “poor students” like myself needed money. Ambassador scams—starting contact with, “I love your account! Send @ officialherteam a message ASAP”—target growing influencers and users with smaller accounts. I set out to reply to some of these scams and see how far they could take me.

aw, I’d love to be your sugar baby! Tanner Reynolds, my first sugar daddy target, messaged me on a Friday, starting off with a polite, “Hey pretty lady, nice to meet you.” I followed his profile for a bit of background: his bio said “FORKS,”’ his picture was of a worker in front of a pine forest. Grainy, film-filtered photos of tattoos, beer, and hunting—the most recent one posted in 2020 and the rest older than 2016. He pulled off a grungier look than other sugar daddy profiles— by comparison, Anthony Smith’s profile showed someone who might actually have the money to support a random university student from another country. His pictures showed a man with thick grey hair and sunglasses, posing beside the sea. All six photos were posted on the same day—21 November 2021—and despite Anthony having over a thousand followers, only one person had liked each photo. Tanner promised payments starting from $8000 for being his “sugar baby, sugar girl”—a sum that could pay the majority of my course fees for the year. I replied on Wednesday and he immediately tried to call me. This shook me—I wasn’t expecting it, and I didn’t answer. He assured me that he was looking for a “mutual and virtual connection,” so the sugar baby relationship would remain online. The next message told me to “relax my mind okay,” and assured me he was “really serious on this to make you happy”. Then came the jump away from Instagram, and Tanner asked to message on WhatsApp “so daddy can spoil you with $8000.” WhatsApp was a favourite of the sugar daddies I messaged. After one or two messages, or even initially, the accounts send through a WhatsApp

you got a nice smile:)

spoil with $7000 I just need one

I must confess sugarbaby

$2000 as your weekly allowance

So pretty the perfect woman things to spoil a baby with My Interest has been piqued

number and pressure you to text them on the encrypted messaging app for big cash payments. Messages from Steven Dye said, “Can we text more on WhatsApp hun… some other babies are disturbing me here that I don’t wanna text with,” while Anthony Smith repeatedly asked me if I had texted him yet, saying that he was waiting for me. Tanner continued to convince me of his legitimacy as a sugar daddy and guaranteed that there would be no sexual activity required, only wanting to “keep my company as best friends.” When I asked about other sugar babies, he sent a video of a girl in a red Harley Davidson sweater saying, “Thank you for the $5000, after I got my bitcoin for verification, this is not a scam.” Bitcoin, apparently, was for the transaction charges. He messaged me repeatedly asking where I was from and my age, and sent multiple messages asking to message on WhatsApp. He tried calling again, and again I didn’t answer. This was by far the pushiest scammer I encountered, and I didn’t appreciate the invaded feeling. Bitcoin was the reddest flag that there was a scam here. I asked other sugar daddies how they made

their payment. Anthony Smith said over PayPal, while Steven Dye just sent an exact copy of an earlier paragraph about what he wants from a sugar baby—his intention being to “share[his] riches to the world also so [he] can be blessed by God almighty.” By using a third-party website for transactions, sugar daddy scams send over fake payment receipts for thousands of dollars before asking us to pay smaller sums as transaction fees or charges. While there are legitimate sugar daddies out there, you won’t find them through an Instagram DM. Instagram’s customer support page warns of romance scams, which build relationships through conversing online before asking for money, and scams of fake identity which also extort money— an example of this is the classic ‘Nigerian Prince’ scam. CERT NZ—the Government’s cyber security response team—also warns people of such scams, but expects the scams to be from someone who has gained a user’s trust before requesting money. While we are warned about scams of the generic kind, there is nothing that has details on the fake sugar daddy.

Sure, lets collab! Tell me more about your brand.

was full of models posing in t-shirts saying, “Babes empower babes” and blocks of colour with phrases such as, “Girl, you’ve got this!”

I’ll admit, at first it’s flattering to be told I’m a perfect fit for a brand ambassador. This is the stuff that makes real Instagram influencers, and popularity is always enticing. Plus, who doesn’t love free or discounted stuff? Unfortunately, DMs from clothing ambassadors are often just as fakeas sugar daddies. Usually, these find their way into our DMs through a random profile, asking us to message the main branded account about an ambassador opportunity. A generic woman’s profile—account now deleted—slid into my dms telling me she loved the look of my account, encouraging me to contact @officalherteam, a brand selling clothing imprinted with messages empowering women. Their feed

The first few messages discussed Her Team’s mission and products, and with mutual followers it wasn’t hard to believe it was legitimate. When the account responded to my question about manufacturing with an automated reply, lacking an answer, it showed tell-tale signs of being a scam. They gave me a discount code and free shipping for the US and encouraged me to share this with followers on my story. A few months on, @officialherteam has been long revealed as a scam: the account has been deleted, and the website has disappeared. Many of these brand ambassador scams encourage people to purchase goods with a discount code, rather than

marketing team to promote our brand Message our main account

collab with us✨

This outfit 🔥🔥🔥🔥

giving away free samples. The goods will either never arrive, or if they do, are cheaply-made knock-offs, resold on a scam website at a much higher price than their worth. Ambassador scams can be connected with professional-fronting accounts and websites, making it hard to tell its trustworthiness. The fronts for Her Team, or other ambassador scams such as Belizza Desires jewellery or Freya Treasures, might seem elegant and put together, backed up by thousands of followers. A quick Google search should reveal whether other people have been scammed by these websites. The followers are likely bots, which also probably run the accounts messaging system. Check if the posts have a level of engagement expected for a large account: if it has thousands of followers but under a hundred likes, it’s a red flag.

We would love to have you DM us

Offers to collaborate with branded accounts are a type of scam Instagram describes as an ‘inauthentic seller.’ Their website says these accounts “may try to use under-priced items to lure buyers into a scam,” but as with sugar daddies, there is limited information about the kind of accounts that specifically ask us to be ambassadors. Opportunities to earn money easily seem like a godsend, especially when dropped right into our DMs. But most of the time, scam accounts are easy to judge. Bad grammar, dodged questions, fake followers, messages that seem automated, and an entire feed posted in one day are all signs of an inauthentic account. Requests for you to put money down first, as well as asking to message on another platform, are the ultimate red flags. In the end, sketchy insta sugar daddies and schmoozer ambassador programs aren’t worth the time of day.

FuckYeahTumblrBlogs:

Reflecting on an Internet Relic Words by Bridget Scott (she/her)

CW: Mentions of paedophilia

The first time I logged onto Tumblr was June 2015. I was fourteen, and the infamous microblogging site was characteristically overrun with memes about fleeing a dinner date with bad opinions, while shoving breadsticks into your purse to go. Founded in 2007, Tumblr’s popularity peaked in early 2014 with over 100 million posts created daily. Standing in sharp contrast to the curated personal brands dominating today’s social media landscape, the largely anonymous and non-monetized platform allowed subcultures and fandoms to flourish. Brooke Kinajil-Moran has a passion for cricket and between 2014 and 2016, she accumulated 700 followers on her blog @ nzcricket. While attending an all-girls high school she found her mates weren’t interested in the sport and boys assumed she didn’t know anything. Watching Blackcaps’ games alone at the Basin Reserve was alienating and “the fact [she is] an Asian woman” caused people to assume she was dating a player, despite still being a teenager. Tumblr provided an alternative community when real life failed. She shared team updates, cross-posted social media content, and live blogged games, eventually finding around five solid friends to discuss the sport with and occasionally attend matches with. For Brooke, the blog gave her people that “liked what you had to say and listened.” According to Senior Lecturer of Media Studies, Dr Michael Daubs, Tumblr uniquely lends itself to community. Blogs are easily customisable and when individual posts are shared, the whole post has to be copied to respond—making individual conversations easily viewable and contributable across whole fandoms. Additionally, Tumblr was and remains largely uninterrupted by algorithms: the dashboard shows posts in chronological order and requires

users to seek out new content by actively searching across blogs, followers, and hashtags. As a result, thousands of subcultures blossomed, each with their own hierarchies and celebrities. For some, like third-year student Kate, this allowed Tumblr to function as a public diary: a quiet corner of the internet away from real world stressors. Despite joining the website as a Swiftie, she never sought or really accumulated followers. Instead, Tumblr was a place where all her interests could converge. Taylor Swift, dystopian YA moodboards, therapised essays on empathy, and shitposting all sat alongside one another, without any pressure to homogenise her interests for the palatability of an audience. As one popular textpost reads: “This blog is not a well curated museum. It’s my bedroom and I’m putting things on my shelf and taping things on the wall.” To this day only one person in Kate’s life knows her handle. Others however, became bonafide celebrities. Melanie Bracewell is one of Aotearoa’s premier comedians. A writer on Wellington Paranormal, a regular 7 Days panellist and an award-winning stand-up, she was first famous on Tumblr. Known for absurdist textpost humour, her blog @meladoodle amassed over 200,000 followers, at its most popular between 2013 and 2016, and continues to accumulate hundreds of post likes and regular asks from fans to this day. For Melanie, Tumblr required sifting through “black and white photos of scene

girls holding flowers” until she discovered textpost bloggers that signified that “[she] was in the right place”. However, reaching the coveted status of Tumblr Famous is a mixed bag. She describes the experience as “surreal” and “a very special thing at the time. I wasn’t super popular in school but I could go home and get online and people cared what I had to say.” But Tumblr is also renowned for intense stan culture and the site imposes almost no consequences for users harassing others anonymously—even without an associated user name. This made Melanie’s online popularity simultaneously “scary” as “people

standards officially banning adult content. Defined by the platform as “Photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life (or photorealistic) human genitals and any content […] that depicts sex acts”. The ban was extremely poorly received. To users’ furore, the ban was wider than what could reasonably be described as adult content. Queer, body positive, and artistic content were all blacklisted or wiped from the platform by overzealous censors. Furthermore, Tumblr’s historic refusal to mine user data developed its reputation as an organic social media, distinguished from corporate behemoths like Facebook and Twitter. Users expected a reciprocal relationship with site administrators and were blindsided by this development that contradicted the public attitude of CEO Jeff D’Onofrio, who told The New Yorker: “We’re not telling people how to behave, not telling them what to do or how to comport themselves here.” It was this culture that meant, until 2018, Tumblr was a key platform for sex workers to promote or engage in their work. Notably, due to the lack of algorithm, most of this content remained within the specific sub-cultures with those who had sought it out. Then overnight, massive numbers of blogs becamee only accessible to their creators, thereby stripping sex workers’ abilities to generate income.

sending anonymous messages were full on and I had to get a thick skin quite quickly.” Brooke reports a similar experience from the other side of the ask box. She began to feel disconnected from the cricket community as other members became “invested in players’ personal lives to a degree that was a little too celebrity culture and disproportionate to the fame they were experiencing.” Eventually becoming “uncomfortable” with the fascination over players’ private lives, she deleted the blog. The lack of accountability built into Tumblr’s structure allowed massive amounts of toxic content to take hold alongside the fandoms, activists, and rebloggers. One astounding example was the ability to repost another person’s content, edit it completely, and still present it as though written by the original account. This feature was only removed in 2015, after a notorious post made by YA author John Green was edited to appear that he’d penned a 125-word soliloquy on the joys of performing blowjobs to his mostly teenage followers. In 2018 Tumblr announced a new set of content

For sex workers, social media censorship poses a massive threat to the ability to preserve their sense of wellbeing and safety. Spokesperson for the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, Cherida Fraser,

noted that the one of the benefits of Aotearoa’s decriminalised model of sex work is that it gives workers choices, so if one mode of work doesn’t

feel comfortable or safe, they aren’t cut off from opportunities to generate income. Just as important are sex workers abilities to access community. When sex work blogs are banned other workers lose access to specialised knowledge and the ability to “work together, just like any other worker: by bouncing ideas, chitchat and support,” a key method of preventing isolation and loneliness. As a result, the banning of online adult content created real world harm. Following the ban, Tumblr’s user traffic dropped by 33% and by 2019 the company was sold for $3 million—a fraction of its once billion dollar valuation. Discontent and discussion brewed among bloggers and the company became eager to grow their user base. Dr Daubs describes how white supremacists saw the opportunity to hijack user discord to spread alt right and conspiracy theories. The same infrastructure that allowed communities to grow allowed whole ecosystems to be corrupted by malicious actors. Hashtags on Tumblr are specific and were used to help groups find, define, and distinguish between each other. But they were just hashtags—anyone could contribute or join them, and private blogs were rarely employed on the site. Mobilised on 4Chan, white supremacists spammed threads about social justice and feminism with massive amounts of hate speech, that was amplified with every reblog, even if the reblog was intended to be innocuous. Tumblr’s terms of service bans hate speech, but the relative difficulty distinguishing a political post from one perpetuating alt right ideologies is a difficult one. This is especially true when moderation decisions are made by algorithms or people who are given as little as ten seconds to judge content legitimacy. Additionally, the same overzealous censorship applied to adult content has been weaponised against minority voices. Malicious outside actors invade threads, reporting reasonable posts that are automatically flagged as offensive and removed from the site—leaving communities to fight to share their message. Executive management of the platform has remained stuck, turning a blind eye to censorship inequalities and freedom of speech abuses ever since.

the site after being unexpectedly entertained by the bizarre, out of pocket screenshots posted on r/tumblr and deciding to explore further. In fact, nostalgia for a simpler, pre-pandemic age has driven a pop tumblr renaissance. Consider: Olivia Rodrigo’s good4u video, Tiktok mood boards, K-pop fandoms, and Grimes reading Karl Marx as iconic moments with roots in Tumblr culture. At this stage though, the era represented by the platform is more popular than the website itself. Searching for “Tumblr 2014” on TikTok reveals thousands of videos with hundreds of millions

of views. Whether driven by those hitting their mid-twenties romanticising their youth or today’s teens looking for inspiration in unlikely places, the “tumblrcore” aesthetic has become firmly entrenched. Thankfully, the term ‘SuperWhoLock’ remains conspicuously absent.

For the few who never left, Tumblr remains a special corner of the internet. Melanie Bracewell describes it as “microclimate” where “[t]he only people on there now just genuinely want to blog, not fight for fame.” Time will reveal how the site’s resilience evolves for the next generation.

In 2022, 9.4 million Tumblr posts are made daily. Unlike some have assumed, the site has not yet eroded into obsoletion. The platform is seeing the spark of new users: first-year student Harry joined www.salient.org.nz

CHERRY, SPACE GIRL, 2022

Simps, Slurs, and Sexism: Online Radicalisation of the Alt-Right Within Online Gaming Spaces

Words by Stevie Malcom CW: Discussion of terrorism, racism, anti-semitism, sexism, homophobia, harassment, and brief discussions of pornography. Specific mention of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.

The alt-right are a silently-growing ideological group that seems to infiltrate more online spaces every day. Over the past few years, online radicalisation has been pointed to as the key cause to motivate the growing number of alt-right terrorist attacks. Thanks to sharp algorithms and social media feeding echo-chambers, members of the altright have been able to infiltrate online spaces to radicalise young people by slowly pushing more extreme content and ideas. This is often referred to as the ‘alt-right pipeline.’ The world of online gaming has become one of the most talked about spaces at the start of this pipeline. In recent examples, the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque attacks was radicalised to the alt-right online through white-nationalist forums. The perpetrator was then praised as a hero within these forums, with his followers even

developing a twisted first-person shooter game to mimic the attack (which has now been shut down). Over the years, gaming culture has developed a reputation for fostering problematic and offensive views, often due to the sense of anonymity players feel online. So how do we distinguish between a light-hearted community of people with shared interests, and something much more sinister? I spoke to two gamers who both have experienced first-hand the effects of this type of gaming culture. Rose, a gamer based in Wellington, explained to me that her encounters with sexism while gaming online were not isolated incidents: “I pretty much avoided online gaming because everyone who I knew was a girl would get harassed […] so I haven’t delved too much into it because of that, and when I am online, I’m pretty much always pretending to be a boy.” Rose

explained that the misogynistic comments were considered the norm, and that men speaking out against misogyny would be shamed. “If you’re pro-women, you’re a simp,” she put it bluntly. While Rose acknowledges that these attitudes are common, they vary depending on the types of games she’s playing. “I think [these attitudes are] more common in mainstream video games, like [first-person] shooters”, Rose explained. “In games like Rainbow Siege, Overwatch—typical shooter games, it’s pretty big. But in more like ‘hardcore games’— people playing games for gaming’s sake—theres more of a maturity […] it attracts a bit more of an older crowd, so I find there’s a lot less harassment in those types of games.” When asked whether she thinks that these environments can foster hate and further discrimination, Rose replied,“100%. How familiar are you with the Gamergate movement?” Gamergate was a harassment campaign in 2014 that promoted the de-politicism of gaming across online gaming spaces. It was associated with the rise of the online alt-right movement, because it was centred around anti-progressive ideologies. The campaign itself is long-winded and complex. Wikipedia describes it as a “culture war over cultural diversification, artistic recognition, feminism in video games, social criticism in video games, and the social identity of gamers.” The purpose of the campaign was to oppose the new ‘political correctness’ that ‘Gamergaters’ claimed was being inserted into video games. Gamergate was mostly organised through forums and message boards such as 4chan and Reddit. Game developer Zoë Quinn was the initial target of the harassment, after her ex-boyfriend shared a post accusing her of sleeping with a gaming journalist for a good review of her video game. Quinn then began receiving a series of assault threats and death threats online. Alongside Quinn, Gamergaters have harassed other women and gender diverse gamers who have spoken up about misogyny in gaming, such as game developer Brianna Wu. The campaign itself expanded into a type of culture war among different online games.

Rose described to me how the Gamergate movement infiltrated the online game Overwatch. She explained that when game developer Blizzard developed a new first-person shooter game, certain players became upset. “They were trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience. At this point they had all of the female [characters] in the exact same physique and all the males in various shapes and sizes. A lot of women were like “What the fuck, why are all the women the same?” So Blizzard, to combat that […] they released two different characters, a plus-size character and a very very butch woman.”

Thanks to sharp algorithms and social media feeding echo-chambers, members of the alt-right have been able to infiltrate online spaces to radicalise young people by slowly pushing more extreme content and ideas. This is referred to as the ‘alt-right pipeline.’ When asked how Blizzard’s audience took that, Rose replied, “People lost their shit.” “The game developed a very very sexual nature,” Rose explained. “There was a huge ban on porn for it because you couldn’t Google [Overwatch] without getting porn.” “The way to fuck with the company was to fuck with all of the women.” From Rose’s perspective, that was the moment that gaming started to develop a more sexist culture. “Girls started coming in and pointing out sexism in it, and guys felt very threatened because their [...] space was being invaded.” Robert Evans, an investigative journalist specialising in extremist ideologies and communities, explained that Gamergate worked because of who it catered towards: “Part of why Gamergate happened in the first place was because you had these people online preaching to these groups of disaffected young men.” Ben, a gamer based in Auckland, is aware of Gamergate’s impact on the politics of modern gaming culture all too well. Ben explained that they became accustomed to hearing slurs in most gaming lobbies they were in. “I would be surprised www.salient.org.nz

[…] if there wasn’t one vaguely problematic remark, if not one actively problematic remark”.

whereas the blunt competitiveness of other games can really foster aggressiveness.”

When asked whether she thinks that these environments can foster hate and further discrimination, Rose replied,“100%. How familiar are you with the Gamergate movement?”

President of VESA (Victoria University’s E-Sports Association), Laura Westney, weighed in on the matter. Unlike Ben, she doesnt think radicalisation poses much of a threat to the gaming community.

Ben was mostly gaming with their brother when they first started to notice the language their sibling was using. They explained that after they came out as bisexual, they noticed homophobic and racist language a lot more: “Just the way he and his friends in chat rooms would very casually use racial slurs, homophobic slurs, that kind of thing.” Ben says that language was used so frequently that it put them off gaming with their brother altogether. Ben confronted their brother when their brother’s friend started yelling homophobic slurs after losing a game. “A month later, my brother very sheepishly came up to me and was like “you know [my friend] isnt actually homophobic, right?” He said it was just kind of a thing you do, that he didn’t actually mean it. I was like “Well if he didnt mean it, he shouldn’t say it.” Another common occurrence that Ben noticed was the casual use of anti-semitism within the community. “Every now and again, I would see [my brother’s friend] change his emblem to something antisemetic. Usually ‘as a joke’, swastikas, because he thought it was funny.” Ben explained that the creative control gamers have over their avatars and emblems easily allows for hateful imagery and messages to be displayed. Similar to Rose, Ben noted how different games can result in different crowds being drawn. “Some games tend to draw more of a discriminatory crowd than other games,” they explained to me. “Games that foster teamwork and cooperation have much less to do with that sort of thing,

“I think genuine alt-right radicalisation is definitely happening in gaming somewhere, just not on a broad, general level,” she stated. “It’s very niche. I think the same can be said for most radical groups as well.” Ben notes that echo-chambers radicalise gamers through normalising problematic ideals: “It’s probably that bizarre community type of thing where you play games that you enjoy with the people that you like and then you start to use their cultural terminology.” “And then, you slowly [funnel] yourself into [more] groups that don’t care or are actively charmed by it. Then before you know it, you’re in places that are way more happy to foster anti-seminitism, racism, homophobia.”

After Ben came out as bisexual, they noticed homophobic and racist language a lot more While gamers across the internet can debate whether gaming culture actually contributes to farright radicalisation, it’s clear that problematic ideas are growing in a community that was originally built for much less menacing intentions. To say that all gamers are prone to these behaviours would be vastly incorrect. However, it is unfortunately clear that a small minority of gamers are becoming targets to radicalisation from the alt-right. Coming out of my investigation, it’s clear to me that the strongest tool to prevent radicalisation is increasing awareness. To offer new perspectives to those at risk of radicalisation to stop the normalisation of hateful ones. Because normalisation does not make hateful ideas correct. It just makes them appear more acceptable.

How The Internet Makes My Flat Feel Internet can be good, Not always Trends and times a-changing Egos rise and are cancelled, Revelling in a moment of fame. Nobody can be everybody, Either consume or be consumed Time’s up, battery is dead - Raymond I wake up and go on my phone for an hour, But I am not addicted. Without my phone I feel naked and weak, But I am not addicted. I can’t like that, it’s not my aesthetic. I can’t post that, it’s not edited. I can’t be myself, that’s too authentic. But I am not addicted. - An addict lol it’s 2am and my need for dreams is quenched quenched by the infinitely mediocre conveyor belt of promises promises of limitless entertainment and yet that is not good enough for me i keep pointing out how i can live without it and yet i always find an excuse but i can do what i want i’m just having a me day and yet i forgot that yesterday was one too i’m sure i will free myself one day - Benji

The internet is an “amazing horrible thing”. Thinking about it is scary and makes me sad.

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Behind the Scenes of Vic’s Confession Pages Words by Janhavi Gosavi (she/her) CW: brief mentions of paedophillia and sexual assault. When we were kids, we’d pass notes in class and graffiti dirty secrets on bathroom walls. When puberty hit, anonymous forums like Ask.fm became all the rage. But then university came along and something shifted. Instead of moving in small school circles where everybody knew everybody, we became little fish in big ponds of strangers. The need to connect—to be seen, heard, adored, argued with—became more pressing than ever. That’s where VuW: Meaningful Confessions and @vic_uni_confessions come in. Whether you had a crush on your tutor, hated your landlord, or knew the ideal bathroom to take a dump in on campus, these were the best places to make a university-wide PSA. These two online confession pages scratch our itch for gossip like no other. The first is a Facebook page that boasts over 8300 likes and the second is an Instagram account that has amassed over 3700 followers. While both pages thrive off of publicising the innermost thoughts of our students, the admins themselves

have stayed pretty private… until now. Meet Frank, Tony*, Rose*, and Tyler*—the admins behind VuW: Meaningful Confessions. They all wanted to use pseudonyms, apart from Frank, who didn’t give a shit. Frank started Meaningful Confessions in 2018. At the time he was a fresher who had seen confession pages created by Otago and Auckland University students, and noticed a gap in the market at VUW. “I just made it to piss around, I wanted to see if it would blow up or not,” he said. The admins described the page as being “by students for students.” In recent times, it’s Tony we have to thank for keeping Meaningful Confessions alive. Tony told me he isn’t the most social person, so running this page is his way of staying involved with the community. I asked the admins what their strategy was for getting good engagement. For Tony, it comes down to being consistent, ensuring the page adheres to Facebook guidelines, and posting confessions that will spark conversation in the comments section. For Rose, good engagement means being in tune with

their intended audience. Reeling students in when they first came to uni meant that the page would be relevant to them for years to come, creating long-term relationships between the page and its followers. Ultimately, though, the Meaningful Confessions admins don’t run on a posting schedule, and Frank describes it as “pretty much a free for all.” The admins all agreed they had a great relationship with their followers, who feel “very comfortable” with them. Sometimes a little too comfortable. They humorously described many of the students who submit confessions as “weird and horny.” Rose also questions why so many of them are so damn angry: “Someone will submit a complaint about how they heard loud sneezing in the blue zone of the library. Those people need to get a life and touch some grass.” The wildest confessions they receive are always sexual: guys looking to get laid and students having sex in uni bathrooms. Rose says one of the worst confessions they ever got was about the New World Chaffers incident regarding a pedophillic manager, which even prompted Stuff to get in touch with them. In the past, the page has received backlash for posting submissions about sexual assaults which were detailed enough that the victim could be identified. The admins took those down after receiving complaints, and have gotten better at moderation in recent years.

started vic_uni_confessions on IG in May 2020. They had seen confession pages for individual halls that “massively breached privacy” by naming students, revealing who they had slept with, and posting their room numbers. Welly kid created a page that was carefully moderated, so that confessions could be aired in a way that didn’t incite bullying of specific people. They emphasised that preserving the mental wellbeing of their followers was important to them, which is why they have mental health resources linked in their bio. The admin believes the page has gotten more ethical over time, and said that if their followers wanted something harmful taken down they are “more than prepared to do so.” Welly kid has garnered thousands of followers in under two years. When asked about their strategy, Welly kid said they followed accounts that were already following VUW halls’ IG accounts, “but once it had around 100 followers it picked up on its own for the most part.” Tons of students, however, recall being immediately unfollowed after they followed the account back, which one student called “desperate.” Welly kid currently follows a mere three accounts.

When asked if they think their page is ethical, the admins said “yes and no.” Tyler explained that while the page had guidelines, they’re still ultimately “looking for juicy stuff.” Frank said while it was a good platform for students to express themselves, “in another way it’s just cap about shit, lying about stuff, we still post it cos it’s sensational.” While the admins from Meaningful Confessions were happy to hang out with me on Zoom for an hour, it was a very different story with vic_uni_ confessions. This Instagram page only has one admin, referred to as ‘Welly kid,’ who had no interest in revealing their identity. “The whole point of the account is that people anonymously confess to someone who is also anonymous. It’s a two way thing.” They answered my interview questions via email. Welly kid is a third-year science student who

I wrapped up my interviews by asking what the pages thought of one another. Meaningful Confessions had a LOT to say about vic_uni_ confessions. Tony said it “gave off really preppy Auckland school vibes,” while Rose asserted that Meaningful Confessions was “the true confessions page.” Welly kid initially had no idea Meaningful Confessions even existed, which they admitted was “kind of embarrassing.” After checking out the page, Welly kid described it as more “serious and practical” compared to their own “lighthearted platform.” www.salient.org.nz

Salient Energy Drink Review: The Best Caffeine on Campus Words by Azaria Howell (she/her) It’s no secret that I’m a caffeine junkie—I can’t go a day without it. Despite this and the fact that I live in Wellington, I despise the taste of coffee. Over the years, I have become quite the connoisseur of energy drinks, with a refined palette and the same level of pretentiousness as a snobby, middle-aged wine critic. Over the past few weeks, I’ve embarked on a journey to taste every energy drink a Kelburn campus vending machine has to offer. Prices are included in this review because, let’s face it, you probably only have a couple dollars in your spending account at the moment. Sugarfree Blue V: 8/10

Green V: 5/10

Price: $4.50 for 500ml, $3.20 for 250ml

Price: $4.20 (glass bottle)

Sugarfree Blue V, as well as Sugarfree Green, have just recently hit the energy drink market and are getting mixed reviews. I am personally a fan of Sugarfree Blue V—it managed to replicate the taste of regular Blue V quite well. In addition, it contained enough caffeine to make it through a 9 am lecture unscathed. It’s missing that ‘wow’ factor of regular Blue, so it gets a solid 8/10.

Green V is controversial; opinions on this drink can definitely cause a fight. It has that typical sugarloaded energy drink taste, and is less unique of a flavour than its Blue counterpart. It’s still good for a caffeine and sugar boost but is much more basic and average than most energy drinks.

Blue V: 10/10

1setstion

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Price: $4.20 (glass bottle) Blue V has a cult following, with New Zealand social media meme pages often posting about the iconic drink. I’m a proud member of the Blue V fandom—I used to drink one of these a day, but have since cut down for the purpose of health (and this article). In my opinion, Blue V is quite literally the nectar of the Gods. With flavour profiles of peach and passionfruit infused with guarana, I can’t fault this drink.

Sugarfree Green V, 1/10 Price: $4.50 for 500ml, $3.20 for 250ml Sugarfree Green V removes everything that is good about normal Green V’s taste—the copious amount of sugar it contains. Upon my first sip, I was greeted with a weirdly metallic taste that never really went away. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with working taste buds and a sense of self-respect. It gets a 1/10 (instead of a zero) on this review as I didn’t end up throwing it away. If you were to lick a battery, you’d experience the same taste and feeling that I got from Sugarfree Green V.

V Pure: 8/10

Rockstar: 7/10

Price: $4.20 for 330ml

Price: $4.20 for 500ml

Containing less caffeine than most other drinks on this list, V Pure is more of a chill energy drink rather than an ‘oh shit, I have an essay due tomorrow’ drink. V Pure tastes similar to apple juice and is made with all-natural ingredients, so you can feel a bit better about yourself for choosing it over the other chemically-infused concoctions. I’d describe it as a caffeinated version of Just Juice: weirdly nostalgic for some reason, yet delicious.

The taste is somewhat hard to describe, the closest match I could think of was a passionfruit if it were slightly sour, accompanied with notes of guarana. I enjoyed Rockstar’s unique taste and the punch of energy it gave me. I think this strength is also its weakness, however, as the taste was weird and off-putting at first but grew on me eventually. For a unique experience, get yourself one of these from the vending machine by the Cotton Building. You (probably) won’t be disappointed.

Red Bull: 7/10

Red Bull Sugarfree: 6/10

Price: $4.70 for 500ml, $3.20 for 250ml

Red Bull gets a few bonus points on this list, as it is often given out for free at O-Week events. It’s also the only energy drink served at The Hunter Lounge and seems to be a favourite among students, particularly for its ability to be mixed with vodka. It didn’t give me wings, but it did give me a good caffeine boost and a slight headache. It’s a classic energy drink, if not a little basic.

Red Bull Sugarfree did a great job at tasting similar to full-sugar Red Bull. This drink is not bad but is nothing special, either. It contains a lot of caffeine, bringing it up a few points. This is a decent choice to get you in the right headspace for a full day of studying without a sugar crash.

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Best of

The Salient Podcasts’ Starter Kit: Check out our favourites from 2021 and some other shows that inspired us. Jess and Kate from Zeitgeist say that their best episode is: “1: Catch Catch a Break” The episode that best describes Zeitgeist: “4: Dismantle & Rebuild” A podcast episode that inspired Zeitgeist was: “Live Interview: Police ‘Defunding’ That Never Was and Abolitionism as a Long-Term Social Project”, an episode of Citations Needed Tom, Norm, and Levi from Dusty Sunday say their best episode is: “Episode 7: Mental Health” The episode that best describes Dusty Sunday is: “Episode 8: McChicken Hunger Buster” A podcast that inspired Dusty Sunday was: The Agenda Alex and Gil from Stranger at Home say their best episode is: “#12: Beauty in the Gap” The episode that best describes Stranger at Home: “#11: Men at Work” A podcast episode that inspired Stranger at Home was: “Stuff The British Stole” an episode of Headhunters Sam and Jack from Go On, Mate say their best episode is: “Wellbeing with New Zealand’s Most Ineligible Bachelor: Art Green” The episode that best describes Go On, Mate is: “Leadership, Resilience, and Boys’ Schools with Jake Bailey” A podcast episode that inspired Go On, Mate was: “Episode 7: Mental Health” an episode of Dusty Sunday Tahlia, Nosiphi, and Jolénna from 20Somethings say their best episode is: “What’s Poppin?” The episode that best describes 20Somethings is: “20Somethings: Uncut” A podcast episode that inspired 20Somethings was: any of The Unpack Podcast with Thabi & Kii’s “Coffee Break” episodes Ella and Alice from Above Standard say their best episode is: “#5 Colonisation” The episode that best describes Above Standard: “#7 Nest Fest ft. Harry Pettit” A podcast that inspired Above Standard was: Happy Hour with Lucy and Nikki Zola from SheCess says her best episode is: “Cherida: Sex Work in Aotearoa” The episode that best describes SheCess: “Becki Moss: The Female Gaze” A podcast that inspired SheCess was: Canary: The Washington Post Investigates

BROADENING HORIZONS: METAVERSE BOOT CAMP Helping You to Be Better Than Basic Words by Dylan Todd (he/him) Pushing for the synchronisation of real life and the internet, online superpowers like Facebook are trying to do away with Zoom and replace it with more immersive formats, commonly referred to as ‘the Metaverse.’ To help you wrap your head around what exactly the future of the Metaverse holds, I’m going to point you towards some good starting points for preparing yourself for the digital dystopia that society’s embarking towards!

example of the trials and tribulations of trying to achieve a common goal in an online setting as a team. All the while you’ll be dealing with teammates who have their own ideas about what they wanna do and how they wanna do it. Might be worth the practice to build up some soon to be much-needed patience, right?

VRChat

The ambitious concept of the Metaverse extends further than just the workforce, however. Companies of all kinds are trying to cash in on this theoretical trend and integrate themselves into an online environment in a way they haven’t before. From shopping to socialising, corporations are betting big on the Metaverse. So how about you try and put a stop to their bizarre machinations by taking a step back from the realm of Wall Street and their attempt to hijack the internet, and instead get out and go for a walk. If you’re thinking of ordering delivery from a takeaway chain, or buying clothes online from a sweatshop retail front, why help fuel the impending Metaverse when you could go to any of the dozens and dozens of locally owned shops and eateries in town? You don’t need to invest in some uncanny valley digital avatar to do that!

VRChat is a free social program that allows you to enter and interact with a digital environment using a 3D avatar, with no limits to how you might represent yourself. Filled with bizarre roleplaying, socialising, and gaming experiences, VRChat is arguably the prototype for what a lot of these tech companies are pursuing. While you won’t be able to show yourself as a buxom anime girl or a dragon when you’re implanted into the capitalist hellscape of the Metaverse, VRChat still helps acquaint you with the format these Silicon Valley suits want us to operate within. Plus, going off the nightmarish video we’ve seen of the various Metaverse prototypes, it’s really just the corpse of a VRChat clone, lazily propped up in a soulless corporate environment.

The Real World

Minecraft The Metaverse is all about enhancing productivity and co-operation as we begin translating workforces into a blended, digital landscape that better facilitates working from home. So, what better way to prepare yourself for trying to work together with your peers in a remote, online setting than with a classic game of Minecraft? I know, a lot of you reading probably remember playing it as a primary school kid, and don’t want to play a silly game like that again, but I’d argue there’s no better

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VOTING OPENS 19.03.2 VOTING OPENS 19.03.22

STUDENT SAY STUDENT SAY

BY-ELECTION & REFERENDUM RESULTS ANNOUNCED 23 MARCH AT THE VUWSA IG

Nominations close: 9am Wednesday 16 March 2022

Voting closes: Midday Wed 23 March 202 voting.vuwsa.org.nz/login

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Voting is open from 19 - 23 March for the VUWSA 2022 By-elections. Have your say the 2022 Student Executive by voting at:

Nominations are open from 14 - 16 March for the VUWSA 2022 By-elections! Nominate yourself to be on the Student Executive as either Campaigns Officer or Equity Officer.

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Nominations are open openfrom from - 16 March for VUWSA the VUWSAVoting Voting open 19 - for 23 the March for t Nominations are 1414 - 16 March for the is open is from 19 -from 23 March 2022By-elections! By-elections! Nominate yourself to be VUWSAVUWSA 2022 By-elections. Have your Have say onyour s 2022 Nominate yourself to on bethe onStudent the Student 2022 By-elections. Executive as as either Officer or Equity Officer. ExecutiveExecutive by voting at: Executive eitherCampaigns Campaigns Officer or Equity Officer. the 2022 theStudent 2022 Student by voting at vuwsa.org.nz/nominations

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BY-ELECTION & REFERENDUM RESULTS ANNOUNCED 23 MARCH AT THE VUWSA IGM

BY-ELECTION & REFERENDUM RESULTS ANNOUNCED 23 MARCH AT THE VUWSA

Pasifika Student Council Maison Margiela The era of digitisation is upon us, and everyone’s racing to get the competitive advantage. Businesses are moving into automation, university is now completely available online. Technology is a tool for global communication and self-expression, as Pacific Islanders know. We’ve dominated Twitter, Tumblr, and TikTok from the get-go. But as we adapt to take ourselves online, businesses and popular culture continue to take from us. And I think we’re owed a few cheques.

E E E E E E R

the say on t:

2022

A IGM

From Pia Mia who ripped off J Boog, to Disney for everything, and Paul Gauguin who owes Tahitians all the cheques. The cheque I want to talk about most is owed by the most popular haute couture luxury fashion house, Maison Margiela. In a very dark and avant-garde Parisian café, Martin Margiela, in a white lab coat, changed contemporary fashion forever. His debut Spring–Summer 1989 collection was particularly distinctive—luxury garments like no one had seen before. He showcased a mix of sewing extremities and masculine-inspired feminine style, moving away from a traditional and wealthy standard of beauty. He sidelined pearls and conservative skirts for what would soon become 90s skuxness, epitomising edginess and grunge-chic. The pieces, models, and materials pushed the boundary of fashion, form, and footwear of the time. They had ripple effects on ideas of wealth and sense of self. To see his influence, all you’ve got to do is walk down Cuba Street. One of his revolutionary pieces from the show is a long-sleeved sheer shirt, covered in markings imitating Polynesian tattoos. It was dubbed the “Trompe L’oeil Tattoo T-shirt,” an art technique translating to “deceiving the eye.” Don’t believe me? Check it out, it’s on the Met Museum website. If this garment sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The concept was later ‘celebrated’ by Jean Paul Gaultier in 1993, and began its commercialised transformation into a more digestible and appropriate long-sleeved tattoo shirt, by names such as Ed Hardy, Vetements, and Shein. They even make ones for children on Etsy. A collector of the garment stated in MoMu

Magazine: “After the show I chose the ‘trompe l’oeil’ tattoo T-shirt and sleeves. The transparent weave with dark-blue tattoo motif appealed to me as I had no tattoos. The idea was to give you the chance to wear a tattoo. Even when my skin and body grew old or transformed, the tattoo would remain in shape. Brilliant.” This begs the question: What is the difference between this luxurious conglomerate’s influential début, and Disney’s ‘Maui tattoo sleeve’ merchandise. Spoiler: it’s accountability, forced by the masses, through online petitions and campaigns. How was all of this revealed? Shout out to @blissfoster on YouTube. A fashion fanatic whose obsession with Maison revealed the Pacific inspiration for Martin Margiela’s culture-shocking début. Offering specific truths like these into public forums enables us to analyse the extent of uncredited and appropriated cultural identities within pop culture, particularly prior to the era of digitisation. With all its evils and exposure, the internet is a tool at our disposal. For information, spheres of opinions and education, irregardless of borders or curriculums. We can unearth truths hidden by time. Restorative justice starts with courageous wisdom. Everyone wants a competitive advantage. To quote Two Can Play That Game, “If you disagree with that, then you don’t know. But you better ask somebody.”

Run the cheque, Margiela. www.salient.org.nz

Manawa Ora is a support service for student wellbeing. They provide helpful tips, access resources, courses, and workshops. There are also a range of peer support groups and spaces for students available. Manawa Ora has a range of options catered for rainbow students and students with refugee backgrounds. You can find them in the Student Union building.

How The Internet Impacts Your Wellbeing Everybody has a different opinion on how the internet factors into wellbeing. Let’s start with the pros. You could learn practically anything online these days, no matter how niche your lockdown-inspired hobby is. The wonderful World Wide Web is a gateway to endless resources for information and self-care, e.g. you could learn more about gender and sexuality to support yourself, a friend, or a family member. For marginalised communities, the internet is often a much-needed place of diversity, representation, and shared experience. And let us not forget how necessary a digital mode of connection is during a global pandemic, when we’re often unable to physically spend time with those we love. But of course, as the generations who have grown up saturated with internet, there are certainly some cons to counter. Oh boy, did social media do a number on us as teenagers. Spending the formative years of adolescence comparing ourselves to other people’s carefully curated highlights reels? Sure, that’s healthy. Living through an apocalypticseeming climate crisis and getting constant updates on the terrible state of the earth when we don’t have the power (yet) to enact real change to make it better? Not at all anxiety inducing. Then there’s the fact that the world tends to suck sometimes. In 2022, we’ve gotten a front row seat to some of the most gut wrenching social and political injustices in the world via Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Youtube. And no matter how involved we get in activism, there’s only so much we as students can do at this stage of our lives. It’s easy to forget with the constant barrage of “look at all of these horrible things you should care about.”

The internet has provided a great avenue for young people to become involved in activism, but activist burnout is an enormous consequence of it. The answer for how to walk the line between the internet being a resource for wellbeing and a detriment to wellbeing is different for everybody. Manawa Ora—Student Wellbeing has Wellbeing Workshops running all trimester to help students navigate all areas of life that cause stress or unease. If you’re suffering from the exhaustion of internet oversaturation, look into our Recharge and Relax Workshops running in week four. Our Connect Workshops and Assertive Workshops will also be running for students who may be struggling with making new friends at university, or standing up for themselves. You can register for workshops via Careerhub up to three hours before they begin. Being at university right now isn’t easy. The past week had us watching a literal war unfold in Europe, while right in our own city, our parliament grounds were up in flames. The big, intense events you should care about don’t feel so far away from us anymore, and it’s hard to pull yourself away from doomscrolling through every heart-sinking news update. Make sure your relationship with the internet takes into consideration your own wellbeing. There are friends to make, online or in person, new things to learn, ways to connect with people all around the world, and an archive of photos and history and discovery. Maybe give yourself an hour or two entirely offline every day to look for the good around you. Everything else will still be floating around online for you to read about when you’re ready.

Kick off your studies with some extra cash in your pocket.

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Word of the Week: Internet Te Reo Māori: ipurangi New Zealand Sign Language:

LAST WEEKS ANSWERS

Crossword: ‘No-show’

ACROSS 1. Without victory (12) 9. Bone in the forearm (4) 10. Orb; globe (6) 11. Swiss currency (5) 12. Drawer handle, frequently (4) 14. Main character in 21-Across (8) 18. Former Prime Minister John (3) 21. Samuel Beckett play in which, famously, nothing happens (7,3,5) 23. Average golf score (3) 25. Main character in 21-Across (8) 29. Japanese wrestling form (4) 31. David Bowie persona Stardust (5) 32. Staple ingredient in Italian food (6) 33. See 30-Down 34. Violently removing from power (12)

DOWN 2. It was the world’s last surviving Hindu kingdom until 2008 (5) 3. Flip; topple (3) 4. Eric Clapton band; dairy product (5) 5. Less risky (5) 6. Anne who wrote a famous wartime diary (5) 7. Main character in 21-Across (5) 8. Deets (4) 13. ‘Edward Scissorhands’ director Tim (6) 14. There are five main ones in the English alphabet (6) 15. Oscar-winner Mahershala(3) 16. Island the Vengaboys were going to, in a 1999 hit (5) 17. Villainous character in ‘Othello’ or villainous parrot in ‘Aladdin’ (4)

19. ‘Shaun of the Dead’ director Wright (5) 20. ‘Friend’ played by David Schwimmer (4) 22. Canine (3) 23. Main character in 21-Across (5) 24. Rapscallion; X-Man played by Anna Paquin (5) 25. Home to the Nile delta (5) 26. Hobbes, Shere Khan, or Tony, say (5) 27. Item kept in a quiver (5) 28. Astral hunter (5) 30. With 33-Across, NBA team named for a music genre (4,4)

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Aries We’re moving into Aries season, which means getting your groove back baby! After a rough start to the tri, look forward to more time with friends and not being stuck alone so much.

Cancer Time to stop procrastinating. This week the moon passes through your houses of money and routine. You’ll reap the benefits of hard work if you actually get off your phone for once.

Libra Man, you’ve been looking good and we’ve ALL been noticing. Don’t feel guilty about not responding to every DM. Now’s your time to go and break those hearts.

Capricorn You and I both know that it’s time for you to learn how to have fun without spending all your money. Everyone knows house parties are cheaper than going to town. Come on now.

TITLE

Taurus Dropping ‘subtle’ hints isn’t cute but being direct and saying exactly what you need is. No one can meet your expectations if they don’t know what they are. Communication is key.

Gemini Wow, have you been keeping busy! Have you really got a lot of work to do or are you doing that thing where you distract yourself? That’s right, Gemini, it’s time someone finally calls you out...

Leo

Virgo

Stop feeling like you need every decision validated by your friends. The moon is lighting up your first house of self, so step back into your confidence and start being bold again.

Damn, Virgo, who got you smiling like that? I know they’re cute, but it’s only the second week. Stop daydreaming about them and pay attention to your lectures.

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Mars has been moving through your house of illness... The good news is, if you’re reading this, you’re probably finally back on campus and actually able to make those friends you’ve been waiting to make.

Aquarius Yes, you have been having fun and yes, you can out drink all your mates, but Saturn is in your first house asking you to slow down. Please. Your body is begging you.

Stop doubting yourself. You’re still getting used to all the recent change. Whether you’ve moved into a new place or enrolled in a course out of your comfort zone, this is your sign that it’s gonna be okay.

Pisces This is by no means the week to be shy. Speak up in lectures and let that creative perspective of yours add to the conversation. Time to tell the imposter syndrome to back down.

THE SALIENT TEAM YOU CAN THANK THESE PEOPLE FOR YOUR WEEKLY FIX.

Editor Janhavi Gosavi

News Editor Beth Mountford

News Editor Azaria Howell

Designer Alice Brown

Chief Reporter Ethan Manera

Sub-Editor Lily Holloway

Features Editor Ronia Ibrahim

Staff Writer Bridget Scott

Staff Writer Maia Ingoe

Staff Writer Zoe Mills

CENTREFOLD ARTIST This week’s amazing centrefold is brought to you by Cherry: Instagram: @cherry_cocoa

Social Media Manager Seren Ashmore

Podcast Manager Francesca Pietkiewicz

Website Manager Annalise Scott

Contact Us features@salient.org.nz poetry@salient.org.nz editor@salient.org.nz designer@salient.org.nz chiefreporter@salient.org.nz news@salient.org.nz podcasts@salient.org.nz

CONTRIBUTORS Elisapeta Dawson

Sophia Willis

Cileme Venkateswar

Dylan Todd

Puck

Niamh Vaughan

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Reckon you’ve got the gift of the gab? Salient Magazine is looking for contributors! We’re particularly interested in pitches for news stories, feature articles, reviews, culture pieces. Send a pitch to editor@salient.org.nz. If you’re something of a wordsmith, we’re also on the lookout for a crossword-maker.

Are visual arts more your thing? Get in touch with designer@salient.org.nz to see how you could contribute photography, illustrations, and centerfolds to the magazine.

Applications to be our Te Ao Māori editor are open! We’re looking for a proficient writer and editor who will be responsible for overseeing the Māori content in Salient. They will also need to regularly produce written content themselves. This is an exciting new position on staff for 8 hours a week. The ideal candidate will have a thorough understanding of te ao Māori and tikanga. To apply, send a CV, cover letter and writing portfolio to editor@salient. org.nz. Previous experience in writing and journalism is desirable, but not required.