Issue 18 | Under the Surface

Issue #18

Volume 81

Under the Surface

Tsunamis: Riding the Wave of Disaster – 18 New Zealand and Wales: A Deep Dive – 20 Paedophilia: An Exploration into a Hated Minority – 26

EDITOR'S LETTER 3 NEWS News 4 Politics 9 Opinion 10 *News* 12 Informative Distractions 14 LETTERS & NOTICES 14 INTERVIEW IN A ROOM WITH WOMB 16 FEATURES Tsunamis: Riding on the Wave of Disaster 18 New Zealand and Whales: A Deep Dive 20 Paedophilia: An Exploration Into a Hated Minority 26 POEM 23 CENTREFOLD 24 COLUMNS Presidential Address 30 VUWSA 30 The Poo Review 31 Mauri Ora 32 NT: Te Ara Tauira 32 From the Archives 33 Philosoraptor 34 Talking With My Dad About Sex 35 REVIEWS Films 36 Podcast 37 Television 38 Books 39 Theatre 40 Art 41 Music 42 Food 43 ENTERTAINMENT Triggerfin 44 Horoscope 45 Distractions 46

Editor's Letter Nasty in of my day. I can’t remember the people I met. I can’t remember the meals I ate or the amount of money I spent. I hardly recall my last conversation and what that person said. I know I heard em’ say something, but it didn’t resonate with me. Conversations had with people I love are placed on a packed 12-lane highway leading to a tunnel that feeds into one large channel of chaos, and scenes my mind is unable to paint. My entire day is thrown through the wire and jumbled into an archive file I’ll never actually look at willingly.

This week Louise is snowed under with a bunch of editorial work and cannot do her editorial letter to all of you readers. So you’re stuck with the person that sits parallel to her in the office and whose job description is so dissimilar that she forgets I work here at times.

This week, I think we were supposed to write something about the free speech issue in regards to the whole Don Brash situation; but that’s not what we about to do. I’m gonna use this time to talk about something else.

This week, I want you to take a step back from the static that you hear everyday. Listen to understand instead of just hearing people talk about shit you don’t want to hear.

I find that we latch onto certain sections of an anecdote to respond to instead of listening to the entire story. At the end of it I feel as if one person leaves with misconceptions and the other person leaves feeling unheard. There is no worse feeling than not being heard.

On a dark and damp Tuesday around 11PM, I begin to slip into the ground-zero state of my mind and subconsciously prioritize my need to sleep and forget to reply to any “upto” messages I get from then on. All music goes off and my phone is put on silent so it can sleep under the pillow next to me.

All of the lights dim to black and I begin to embark on the strenuous journey of sleeping.

I’m challenging you to listen more. Take it in and exhale it. As you find yourself turning your lights off and hopping into bed, drift into a 4th dimension knowing that you have collected all you can from your day. You have learned everything you possibly can from your encounters and you are ready to rest for what seems like 30 hours.

My mind races around at a crazy pace as I analyse my deep ambitions, dreams, regrets; my beautiful dark twisted fantasies. My eyes adjust to my room which is no longer lit up by screens and inboxes, rather, by the strobing street light outside. I stop and listen; something I don’t do often enough.

I listen to the wind torture the trees outside and paint blood on the leaves. The static stops. I forget about what I have on my to-do list and the people I have to text back. I step back and realise how much I’ve taken

Wake up Mr. West.

KII SMALL Salient FM Manager

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The News MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Waikato Protests over Proposal to Cut Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies TAYLOR GALMICHE

Photo supplied by DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF

Photo supplied by Justine Murray

More than 80 faculty, staff, and students gathered outside the office of University of Waikato’s Vice-Chancellor Neil Quigley last Tuesday 14 August, to peacefully protest a proposal which would scrap the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies.

The proposal would merge various faculties into four superdivisions, with the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies (FMIS) relocating under the Arts and Social Sciences Division.

Furthermore, the proposal would require individual faculties to go through another level of management to report to the Vice-Chancellor.

Māori and Indigenous Studies student Moerangi Tetapuhi told RNZ that “Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies means autonomy. I feel like as a university, we are leading in indigenous studies”.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley said that the restructure “aim[s] to create more uniform academic unit sizes and organisational naming conventions, greater operational

transparency, and increased capability for autonomous strategic leadership”.

Tetapuhi said the Faculty of Social Sciences also means autonomy in its respective fields of study, and deserve their own separate and unique faculties.

Whakarongotai Hokowhitu commented on a livestream of the protest that UoW was “relegating us, assimilating us — typical coloniser methodology”.

UoW has the highest proportion of Māori students of any University in New Zealand, at 23% of domestic students. Three FMIS academic staff sit on the Waitangi Tribunal, which is more staff on the Waitangi Tribunal than any other university.

According to Associate Professor Te Kahautu Maxwell, submissions from students and staff who opposed the restructure were vetoed last week. A final decision on the restructure will be made early September.

VUWSA Launches Student Mental Health Campaign

statement midday Wednesday 22 August on Bunny Street at Pipitea Campus. The congregation will then cross the road to Parliament.

“We are going for two reasons. First, tertiary mental health services need public funding. Second, we are showing that as a community we are ready to end the stigma on poor mental health,” said Marlon.

The rally will be the first of a series of events, which Marlon hopes will increase awareness of the degree of difficulty students are facing.

“Once we have rallied we will reach out to MPs and bring them onto our campus to hear from our students, face to face.”

VUWSA’s “The Wait is Over” banner was filled with messages of hope and support within a week. They are now working to fill a second banner, which they will present at “The Wait is Over” rally.

Further information about the march, which takes place this Wednesday, can be found on the Facebook event “The Wait is Over – A Rally for Our Mental Health”.

LAURA SUTHERLAND Students are calling for public funding for mental health services in VUWSA’s latest campaign, The Wait is Over.

Student mental health services are in high demand, with Student Counselling wait times regularly exceeding a month.

“Our campaign is about coming together as students and young people to reclaim our mental health,” said VUWSA President Marlon Drake.

VUWSA is calling students to assemble for a public 4

NEWS

MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Vic Books: The Plot Thickens on Vegetarian Yoghurt JESS POTTER Vic Books manager Juliet Blyth states that the café had to stop using this product, as it was not cost effective.

In a follow up email two days after the original, Blyth stated that vegetarian yoghurt would be in use from Saturday 18 August.

It is uncertain as to whether other oncampus food outlets have followed a similar approach to that of Vic Books. However, it can be confirmed that Milk Yoghurt at Vic Books. 16 Aug. 2018 and Honey make their own vegan coconut yoghurt for all you lucky postgraduates and teaching staff, who are clearly receiving the cream of the crop. Maybe that’s a motivation to graduate and do a Master’s degree?

Uncertainty has risen as to whether the yoghurt served at Vic Books is vegetarian and whether it has been advertised as such.

A "little bird” tipped Salient that the Meadow Fresh Greek yoghurt contained halal gelatine, a by-product of meat production.

When we asked for comment, Juliet Blyth, Manager of Vic Books, first responded with “we stopped using Meadowfresh yogurt for precisely that reason”. However, a quick confirmation from Vic Books employees showed that on the contrary, Vic Books Pipitea was still serving Meadow Fresh as of Thursday 16 August.

One employee, who we have agreed not to name, said “at no point have we been given an alternative option”.

They said “[customers are] buying a product under false pretenses, and I believe they have been purposely misinformed.

It's ethically abhorrent”.

Blyth denies that Vic Books had advertised their granola and yogurt pots as vegetarian.

Vic Books had previously used Zany Zeus Greek yoghurt, a local company based in Wellington. The company has confirmed this product is free from gelatine and other stabilisers.

Auckland Students Have Yet Another Reason Not to Vote LOUISE LIN To round off a clusterfuck of a year at Auckland University Students’ Association that saw three student execs quit, AUSA has set themselves up for next year with an election that boasted of nine out of the 13 positions running uncontested.

11 candidates have run as a ticket called “Unf*ck AUSA 2019”. These candidates included the uncontested leadership roles of President, Administrative Vice-President, and Education Vice President. In a press release, Unf*ck AUSA 2019 said they are a “team of candidates’ [sic] sick of the fact that AUSA is out of touch with students and considered altogether irrelevant to the student experience”.

Anna Cusack, president of AUSA, said that she was “surprised” that so many positions were uncontested, but believes that it may have something to do with the fact that “most candidates are running on a single ‘ticket’”.

Anand Rama, leader of the Unf*ck Ausa Campaign and uncontested candidate for AUSA President, said he feels “gutted” that he’s the only presidential candidate. “If it wasn't for our Unf*ck AUSA 2019 campaign we would have EIGHT roles unfilled in these elections. And for a University with over 40,000 students that's insane.”

Over the last five years, voter turnout at AUSA has ranged from 700 to a couple of thousand people — under 5% of the student population of over 40,000 students. Cusack said that low voter turnout was a “historical problem”.

The traditional candidate’s forum, where candidates give two minute speeches and answered questions from students,

has been cancelled this year. The change was passed at this year’s Annual General Meeting. Cusack said that the forum had been “very unsuccessful”, with “incredibly low turnout by students”. In its place, candidates are now asked to submit videos of themselves, and respond to questions posted on their Facebook page by students. Cusack said she believes this is a “positive step for student democracy”.

However, not all students agree. Felix Poole, currently running for Engagement Vice President, said that the videos are “ten times worse”, and the reason that the forum had low turnout was because it was poorly advertised. He questioned the ethics of holding an AGM in which the change was voted in a crowded student bar, saying “they had to bribe people with drinks in order to make constitutional changes”.

In an unofficial Facebook poll posted to Overheard @ University of Auckland, 55% students said that they were unaware that student body elections were happening.

The Unf*ck AUSA Manifesto stated: “So TLDR, AUSA is shit, but it’s actually pretty important… it actually matters which randoms you vote for.”

Salient would like to posit that it would matter more which “randoms” students vote for if students had a choice of more than one candidate.

AUSA elections concluded last Thursday, however, the AUSA Elections Facebook event page stated that "results [of the election] are pending due to an investigation". At time of printing, it is unclear what the investigation is about.

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NEWS

MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Plastic Diet Under Membership Stress SHANTI MATHIAS

Plastic Diet group members washing dishes

Plastic Diet, a VUW club that aims to reduce plastic waste across the university, is stressed for numbers in membership, which may cause the club’s collapse.

Plastic Diet is the VUW branch of an organization whose main body is in Auckland. The club has raised awareness of a number of plastic consumption issues around campus, particularly disposable cups. They have encouraged cafés to provide reusable cups, which a number of outlets such as Louis and VicBooks at Pipitea now offer.

One of the club’s biggest activities is Waste Watchers, where they provide dishes to people eating at food outlets on campus, and wash those dishes as they are returned. In previous years, Plastic Diet held Waste Watchers about once a week in the Hub. As this year has seen fewer volunteers, Waste Watchers has become a rare rite.

“Currently we can’t do anything because we don’t have enough people there to help,” said Club Secretary Charlie Hann. They find the issues frustrating, hobbling their lofty goals, like “get[ting] rid of convenience culture” or even short term goals like having a disposable cup free day on campus.

“Two people cannot run a club,” Hann said. They and Sienna Kelly are heavily involved with Plastic Diet; most other exec members are third years or post-grads, all of whom have other serious commitments that prevent them from giving the time necessary for a work-intensive feat like Plastic Diet to stay afloat. “We [Kelly and Hann] do tend to suffer from burnout

quite a bit,” they said.

“It’s not the clubs system, it’s the student culture,” said Hann.

While Plastic Diet has received some funding through the clubs system, applying for funding is “really hard”, and there have not been enough club members for detailed financial records to be kept.

Since Plastic Diet at Vic was founded in 2016, the number of disposable cups being used has definitely gone down, according to Hann, but they were unsure how much of that was due to them and how much was because of wider societal changes.

Businesses on campus are taking action too. Hann said that The Hunter Lounge and Louis (owned by the same people) are doing particularly well. The Hunter Lounge has been certified

by Conscious Consumers for their composting, recycling, and BYO packaging options, according to Jack Barber, the manager. “[Plastic Diet] encouraged us to purchase second hand ceramics which we can give to people to take away instead of takeaway cups,” he said. The Hunter Lounge’s main waste streams are cardboard, which is recycled, and compost.

“Maki Mono is a really big problem because they only have those plastic containers [available],” said Hann.

Yosuke, a manager at Maki Mono’s Kelburn outlet, said “Our head office is really keen on reducing plastic waste now.

We are shifting to use from plastic items to recyclable items for supply and tools”.

Simran Rughani Resigns from VUWSA

Her departure will be a huge loss to the exec, as she was the last bastion of any sort of attempt to have a cleaning roster for the VUWSA kitchen.

Simran said she has “thoroughly enjoyed” her time on the executive. “VUWSA is an experience like no other,” she said.

“However I have struggled with maintaining balance between my VUWSA duties, study, and my other activities... looking after yourself and your wellbeing should always come first, no matter how hard the decision is to make.”

Marlon Drake, VUWSA President, said “Simran has been an amazing part of our team and we are sad to see her go”.

VUWSA will not be holding a by-election to fill her role as it’s too close to the end of the year.

LOUISE LIN

Simran Rughani, Academic Vice President of VUWSA, stepped down from her role last Friday, due to the stress of a high workload.

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NEWS

MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Where Does Your Student Services Levy Go? SALIENT Ever wondered where your Student Services Levy goes? So did we. It was weirdly difficult finding out where the money ends up — we waited over two weeks for a response from Comms. They said, ”there is considerable complexity in the management of the levy particularly where it is only part of the overall resource allocation for a range of student service categories”.

This is the breakdown for 2017, since the 2018 spending isn’t out yet. We got this info largely from the 2017 Annual Report, the Student Services Levy FAQ, and the Student Services Levy report, which are all available online.

The Student Services Levy for 2019 is currently in the process of being set, which is done by the Advisory Committee of the Student Services Levy.

Advocacy and Legal Advice (7.2%) Student Interest and Conflict Resolution Team VUWSA Student Advocate VUWSA Class Rep Training

Financial support and advice (4.1%) Administering Student Hardship Fund Student Finance Advisors Health services (27.2%) Mauri Ora Disability Services

Careers information, advice and guidance (9.7%) Staff providing course and degree guidance, career advice and guidance, student and graduate workshops Victoria Plus Alumni as Mentors

Media (1.4%) Salient Magazine Salient FM Salient TV

Counselling services and pastoral care (18.6%) Student Counselling Te Pūtahi Atawhai Student Support Coordinators in halls VUWSA Food Bank

Childcare Services (1.5%) Victoria University Creche Clubs and Societies (22.7%) Vic Rec: meeting rooms, clubs funding, financial advice

Employment Information (5.8%) CareerHub Careers expos

Sports, Recreation and Cultural Activities (1.9%) Supporting teams to attend national and international events, organising and supervising recreational activities, providing services to student athletes, group exercise timetable.

2017 Student Services Fee Revenue

Advocacy and legal advice 7.2% / $881,000

Sports, recreation & cultural activities 1.9% / $228,000

Careers information, advice & guidance 9.7% / $1,190,000

Clubs & societies 22.7% / $2,782,000 Childcare services 1.5% / $184,000

Counselling services and pastoral care 18.6% / $2,280,000

Media 1.4% / $173,000

Employment information 5.8% / $709,000

Health services 27.2% / $3,342,000

Financial support and advice 4.1% / $507,000 Total $12,276,000

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NEWS

MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Queer Coverage: Local, National, and International LGBTQIA+ News KATE ASCHOFF Petition to End Gay Conversion Therapy On 18 July a petition to “end gay conversion therapy” was presented to Parliament.

The petition was presented by Young Greens representative Max Tweedie and Young Labour representative Teri O’Neill.

The petition encourages the House of Representatives to “ban gay [and transgender] conversion therapy, being any form of treatment or psychotherapy which aims to change, eliminate, or suppress same-sex attraction, or to cure a lack of oppositesex attraction [or changes to gender identity]”. Labour list MP Marja Lubeck accepted the petition on behalf of the New Zealand Government. Combined with member of the public Amanda Ashley’s Change.org petition — also to end conversion therapy — 20,000 signatures were received.

the process for amending gender markers on birth certificates.

These changes would: • replace a Family Court application with a statutory declaration process that enables a people to affirm their self-defined gender identity, • remove any other eligibility requirements, such as the need for medical evidence, and • enable gender markers to be recognised as male, female, or as a third, non-binary gender.

Community organisations Gender Minorities Aotearoa, Rainbow Youth, and InsideOUT released a joint public statement along with several other rainbow organisations and community members in support of these changes. Sally Dellow, speaking on behalf of those involved with the joint public statement said, “This makes a huge difference to takatāpui, trans, and non-binary people when they get married, have children, sign their parent’s death certificate, or have to show their birth certificate. It has no impact on the equivalent rights for other people”.

Changes on the Horizon For Gender Markers on Birth Certificates The Select Committee for Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995 announced changes to

It's a Bad Year to Be a Plastic Bag in New Zealand SHANTI MATHIAS On 10 August, Jacinda Ardern and Eugenie Sage announced that single use plastic bags will be phased out over the next year. Over 40 countries around the world have restrictions or taxes on plastic bag use.

Plastic bags are often replaced by paper bags or cloth bags.

However, there are environmental consequences for these seemingly conscious alternatives. Paper bags degrade easily, but require about four times as much energy to make. Cotton bags are effective, but cotton production is linked to heavy water and pesticide use, which causes problems in countries where it is grown. Polypropylene bags, made from a heavier kind of plastic stamped with a fabric texture, take more energy to produce and don’t degrade naturally.

Currently, many shops offer “compostable” or “biodegradable” plastic bags. However, these bags need specific conditions, like the high temperatures of a commercial biodegrader, to break down, and so will often end up in landfill anyway.

Before the ban was announced, New Zealand’s major supermarkets made steps to eliminate plastic bags. After a successful trial period earlier this year, one third of Countdown stores have become plastic free as of 13 August. They offer a number of alternatives at their stores: an affordable 15 cent bag for emergencies when someone can’t afford the $1 “Bag for Good”, or the jute and chiller bags also available for purchase at their stores. Since beginning the trial of 10 stores without single use plastic bags, Countdown estimates that 4.2 million bags have been prevented from entering the environment.

Foodstuffs, which owns New World, Pak‘nSave, Four Square, and Liquorland, is embarking on a similar project.

“Our focus is 100% on reusable bags, and we’ve done a lot to encourage customers to remember to bring them when they shop with us,” said External Relations Manager Sue Hamilton.

Foodstuffs estimates that by the end of this year, their reduction campaign and bans will have kept 350 million bags out of the environment.

Some people are concerned that the plastic bag ban will increase the likelihood of cross-contamination for people with severe food allergies. Mark Dixon, chief executive of Allergy New Zealand, said that this is “potentially” a greater risk, particularly for food bought in bulk, rather than prepackaged.

“A [plastic bag] ban means other means of raw food separation need to be offered,” he said.

But Petra Fleming, a VUW student who is coeliac and has a number of other severe allergies, thinks the absence of plastic bags will force people to take “proper bags and packaging” more seriously.

“We can’t possibly know if a customer has severe allergies unless they advise us but believe that if they keep their own bags in good order this will reduce any potential contamination,” said Hamilton.

While the single use plastic bag ban is good news for the environment, there is still a great deal of single use packaging on products, much of which is currently not recyclable.

“We’re also encouraging our suppliers to work with us and to drive change in their own brands,” said Kiri Hannifin, Countdown’s Manager of General Corporate Affairs.

Countdown has removed 70 tonnes of packaging from their produce section, such as plastic around bananas. Meanwhile, Foodstuffs has committed to 100% recyclable or reusable packaging for their private brands, Pams and Value.

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Politics MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Post Cabinet Roundup It was the second post cabinet press conference for Jacinda Ardern since returning from maternity leave. She wasn’t the only one running the show on a Monday arvo; she brought along Ministers Meka Whaitiri and a tallerin-real-life Shane Jones along for the ride. Shane could not look more bored when he was talking about the taxpayer funded gardening that was to follow.

An Insight into Jacinda’s Weekly Schedule On Tuesday she announced a pay equity scheme, for female support workers in education, but admitted that it was a relatively small step in addressing these problems. Thursday was tiki tour day to the Wairarapa, making her first regional trip since being back in office.

Friday, she was due to address a bunch of construction workers and engineers at the National Infrastructure Conference.

One Billion Trees by 2028 $245 million more from the Provincial Growth Fund will be spent on the One Billion Trees program. It’s great to see one of the government’s goals was to make 1/3 of the trees planted OG NZ species. Trees are to be planted in strategic places, with the East Coast falling away underneath people’s feet as a possible reason for planting in that location. Meka Whaitiri elaborated who was doing “the mahi” for the planting, saying that there was increased participation of women and Māori workers.

Political Round Up Simon Bridges Travel Costs Leaked National Party Leader Simon Bridges has saying that he wants a full inquiry into the leak that revealed he spent over $114,000 on business travel.

The information, which was leaked to Newshub, showed that the MP had spent this money on travel expenses and accommodation in April and June. Speculation about who leaked the information to the media was rife, with most people pointing the finger at National Caucus members, who had exclusive access to the information.

National members attending caucus on Tuesday 14 all denied snitching, with Simon Bridges saying he retains full confidence in all his MPs. "I don't

think it's about me or the Opposition, it's ultimately about the fact that a leak such as this can potentially affect all members of Parliament." Every MP’s travel expenses are given to party caucus members to review before release to the public.

The Labour Party were also accused of being a source of the leak, with party leader Jacinda Ardern maintaining that her party didn’t have access to the information that was only available to National Caucus members. "The only groups as I understand who will have had access will be the opposition themselves and the Speaker."

David Seymour ACTs on a New Game Plan ACT Leader David Seymour is opting for a significant shakeup following his party’s latest conference.

In an address in Orakei on Saturday 11th, he presented his “Smaller Government Bill”, which would reduce the number of MPs currently in Parliament from 120 to 100. He also pledged that he would want to see a smaller executive ministerial branch of government, and the abolition of Māori seats. This would slash the number of seats in Parliament Labour holds by seven. Seymour’s bill has the chance of making it to the house for debate only if it is picked at random from the ballot.

NZ First and National have both expressed some form of support for a smaller government and legislature size in the past. National spokesperson for electoral reform Nick Smith stated that while National is sympathetic for the bill, they will not support it in its current form. "It comes at substantive expense to the government and taxpayers, and we don't necessarily think that's going to result in any improvement to the quality of government."

- Thomas Campbell

The Party Line

Under the current housing shortage, landlords and property management have major leverage on prospective tenants (i.e. bidding wars at open house, asking for bank statements). Do you think this should be addressed? Why or why not? If so, how?

VICLABOUR The little regulation free-market route isn't working. Rentals can be both damp and cold which has resulted in 9

many being unsafe to occupy, yet we have little choice. Rents continue to rise unjustifiably, while we may be evicted from our homes within a few weeks, with no reason necessary and while the rental enforcement system our bonds pay for is by and large used against us by landlords. Currently, with a leftie council and a leftie Govt — we have a once in a decade chance to fix this.

Renters United have delivered a comprehensive policy platform which would fix security of tenure, affordability, quality, and enforcement. VicLabour backs their plan. You can find it at this link: fixrenting.org.nz.

When our government (local and general) ask for consultation, be heard!

The voices behind the big money in property management will be submitting, but we have far more invested. The quality of our livelihoods depends on this action being a comprehensive and strong stance. Our houses should be our homes.

VICNATS The best way to level the playing field is by increasing the housing supply. The previous National Government had a comprehensive housing plan that was addressing this issue. On the other hand Labour's Kiwibuild program is already proving to be another broken promise.

The Government needs to deliver the housing program they promised instead of pushing the traditional Labour/NZ First line of blaming foreign buyers.

- Grahame Woods ACT ON CAMPUS The number one issue with housing is the lack of it. All you need is a simple understanding of the principles of economics to know that the more availability, the lower the price (supply and demand). This is why ACT stood alone campaigning for an RMA overhaul to free up land for building and in turn making more affordable homes.

National has since jumped on board with this idea and the government has also recognized that something needs to be done and has no doubt set up a working group to discuss it. As for tenant rights, asking for bank statements is an invasion of privacy and is not acceptable. People have a right to spend money on what they like without the threat of landlords judging them. Tenants could potentially be protected from this through a change to the Residential Tenancies Act.

Opinion MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

A Brief History of Brash

H

J.T. WALKER New Zealand, such as Māori seats in Parliament — an “anachronism,” he called them. He questioned the use of powhiri at official events, and the treaty settlement process or, as he put it, the “Treaty of Waitangi grievance industry”.

That speech set the benchmark for the 2005 election campaign, a campaign that had just been infused with the race card and billboards emblazoned “Iwi vs Kiwi”.

And quarter-acre-section living, Heartland rugby watching, Lion Something beer drinking, overdone mutton eating Mr and Mrs Average New Zealander lapped that shit up.

Immediately after the Orewa Speech, National received a 17 percent surge in the polls. The election campaign was now neck-and-neck between Brash and Helen Clark’s Labour.

“He would’ve done a lot of opinion polling on that and he knew it would strike a chord,” said Clark last year on The 9th Floor, an interview series with former Prime Ministers. “Why do I say that? Because we had opinion pollsters too. And we knew that policies which aimed to support Māori were not popular.”

But 13 years later, why do we see Don Brash so often, and why does he keep going with this? One only needs to go to the bottom of a Stuff article, listen to the torrent of feedback Espiner receives when he speaks te reo, or look at the debate regarding Māori representation in New Plymouth, to see that the spirit of Orewa still resonates.

Don Brash persists because he knows he still has support.

He knows that beneath a placid surface of rolling hills and dairy cows is a bubbling undercurrent of resentment towards anything Māori that isn’t rugby players.

e’s a man who is offended by Guyon Espiner saying “kia ora” on Morning Report, the public broadcaster’s flagship news show (“Why should I listen to Māori?” he asked in a fiery interview with

Kim Hill).

He’s a man who’s dismissed early Māori society as “cannibalistic”, and who last month fronted a lobby for the rights of two Canadian neo-Nazis, in an effort to protect “free speech”.

It’s clear that former Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash has no appreciation for Māori. To many, he’s just a flat-out racist.

Worse, a racist who is wheeled out by the media, cobwebs and all, whenever a contrarian take is needed for anything Te Ao Māori.

As his comments have popped up in the past year like a whack-a-mole, Brash has been dismissed as an anachronism.

A sign of a whitewashed past, with views that no sane person with even the most cursory knowledge of New Zealand history could possibly hold.

But many people do hold those views, and many more don’t even have that cursory knowledge of New Zealand history.

In fact, Don Brash’s views nearly saw him become the Prime Minister of New Zealand only 13 years ago.

On 27 January 2004, Brash, the then leader of the National Party, stood before a Rotary Club in Orewa, a beach suburb and retiree’s haven north of Auckland, and delivered a speech now infamous for racial discord.

He castigated “separatism” and “Māori privilege” in

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Opinion MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

Moral Panic, a “Juke-box Killer”… and Did Someone Say “Prison Reformation”?

T

TE PAEA HOORI

in New Zealand, despite only making up about 21% of the he story of New Zealand teenager Albert Black has it population, a 2017 report from the Ministry of Justice reveals all: love triangles, jukeboxes, a tragic demise, a secret that Māori make up 64% of all youth convictions. Despite the pregnancy, an aesthetically-pleasing setting fit with number of youth offenders decreasing, the proportion of these cool clothing and the “50s diner” look. Like the visual appeal offenders that are Māori is only rising. America’s stats are just of Riverdale but with, you know, substance. as bad, with the juvenile detention rates of Hispanic, Native In Auckland in 1955, a 19-year-old labourer from Northern American, African-American, and other minorities each at least Ireland named Albert “Paddy” Black came to find himself in double the number of white youths being detained. an ongoing feud with one Alan Jacques. Jacques too was To write Black off as a “juvenile delinquent” (like many social nineteen and an immigrant to New Zealand. Clearly having commentators of his time), or conclude he was a bad apple, a good grip on the concept of personal branding, Jacques rotten egg, whatever your idiom of preference, is to ignore all had cultivated the pseudonym “Johnny McBride” — who was the factors that lead Black to have his Tarantino-esque milk-bar a character in American Crime Novelist Micky Spillane’s book moment. And I won’t spoil the plot-line for you, but hardship, The Long Wait, and embodied the tough and violent reputation “othering”, and racism all come into play.

Jaques was after. This feud ended in July of 1955 when, after Maybe getting a few As in media studies has given me the the provocation of Jaques, Black stabbed him in the neck, near unfounded confidence to play armchair sociologist. But with so the jukebox at a dimly-lit Queen Street milk-bar known as Ye much up in the air right now — as Olde Barn.

Mama Cindy and Labour deciding The series of events is so obviously a “film noir” movie in the making, We’re overdue for once again on a back-up plan after scrapping National's proposal for a superit’s easy to forget that they really stepping back and taking prison — the reemergence of Albert happened. Albert Black went on to be the last youth hanged here in New a good hard look at our Black’s story seems pretty freaking timely. We’re overdue for once Zealand, and his case helped spur corrections system… and again stepping back and taking a the New Zealand prison reformation that would later take place. then perhaps stepping back good hard look at our corrections system… and then perhaps stepping Last week, the Whangārei even further to look at the back even further to look at the Girl’s High School production of Peter Larson’s original play Albert problems that lie under that. problems that lie under that.

Study after study links poverty, Black opened. And just last month, unemployment, and marginalised acclaimed Kiwi novelist Dame Fiona communities to higher rates of incarceration. And incarceration Kidman published her own creative non-fiction adaption of the to higher rates of poverty, unemployment and, you guessed it, tale. The story of Black and Jacques is one that has continued to marginalisation. All the while, providing material for the more resurface over the 63 years since shit went down. And looking prejudiced of our population to weave harmful stereotypes, and at the story in relation to the current status quo of Correction propel the adversity of the disproportionately affected further Systems — its themes feel more relevant than ever. into the cultural peripheral (Mike Hosking, I’m looking at you).

It’s easy to get caught up in the click-bait style sensationalism "No one likes prisons … but the reality is for the prison muster of Black’s case. But as both authors have discussed, it’s not the it's required,” Simon Bridges told Radio One back in May, “teddy boy” inspired outfits and milkshake-sipping characters after hearing that the plans for the $1Billion corrections facility that drew them in. It was the injustice and the empathy they felt had been canned. “What [Labour] is going to do is soften towards these barely-adult social outcasts. up the bail,” Bridges continued, “Look, I take the perhaps old Just prior to the opening of the play’s latest run, stories were fashioned view that [this] makes communities less safe.” surfacing of Californian prisoners fighting fires for $1/hour Meanwhile in Finland, the incarceration levels have dropped alongside salaried firefighters: a job the inmates are ineligible by two-thirds since the 1960s, with reports showing no impact to apply for on their release. Among this team of detained on crime trends. And of those detained, about one third go to volunteers are at least 58 youth offenders.

“Open Prisons”, private rehabilitating communities that look far Like Black and Jacques, it’s statistically likely that many of more like Edward Scissorhands suburbia than they do Orange these offenders hail from low socio-economic backgrounds and is the New Black lockup. Simon, if Albert’s case has taught us marginalised communities. Capital punishment may have gone anything, when it comes to correctional systems and reducing out of favour in most countries, but youth sentencing remains the crime rates; “old fashioned” might not be the way to go. cherry on top of a crapload of systematic shortcomings. Here 11

News

*

*

IN THERE LIKE SWIM WEAR

Newsthub: No need to kill cats Mittens, owners should be responsible Wellington Mayor Justin Lester NEWSHTUB Wellington Mayor Justin Lester is refusing to heed calls to banish cats Mittens from the city as it tries to go predator prejudice free.

The city was awarded $3.27 million in funding to go predator Mittens free, with plans to begin in Miramar and eventually remove pests Mittens across the city.

But Mr Lester told The AM Show he wouldn't quite go that far "They keep their cats Mittens in at night, they put a bell on and that’s satisfactory have him seeing a therapist," he said. "That means the cats Mittens has a much reduced rate of catching birds and killing them telling other cats to go back home " Garner suggested perhaps the owners that aren't responsible are the problem, but Mr Lester said in Wellington the majority keep an eye on their pets Mittens.

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Breakfast with Jasper

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Talk shit, donʼt get hit

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"No one wants their cat Mittens to bring in a dead kākā bust out the N-word… you don't want to see that, you don't want to see a [dead] tūī a role-model fail, so people take precautions."

Mr Lester said cats Mittens shouldn't be the main target when there are other animals bigots roaming Wellington and preying on wildlife others just tryna survive the concrete jungle.

“They do [kill], Mittens is racist, that’s their his nature, but we have to live with that, other things do are as well. Humans are probably the worst predators racists but we're not going to kill humans so let's not be silly about it," he said.

"Let's make sure we can get some balance and we take precautions. We're focussed on getting rid of rats, stoats, weasels, possums fighting flame wars on the Stuff comments section."

Sunday

Breakfast with Jasper

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*NEWS*

On Campus Food Personality Types

MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2018

You bring your own lunch You’re a morning person. You know the difference between a soup spoon and a normal spoon. You are kind to spiders and mice.

Maki Mono You talk fast. Your favourite show is Black Mirror. You are often unintentionally ironic. You think you like Asian culture, but you have no Asian friends.

The Lab You have never eaten sugar, only crystallised cane juice. You are patient. Ninety-five percent of your outfit is black at any given time.

Krishna food You are naive in an endearing way. You have discovered yourself, but no-one wants to hear about your trip to Cambodia.

Your favourite essential oil is sage.

Revive Do you even go here?

Milk and Honey You are a fast writer, by necessity not practice. No-one has ever seen you off-campus. You can’t decide on your favourite academic journal.

SHANTI MATHIAS Hunter Lounge You haven’t gone to a lecture for the last 3 weeks, and you’re proud of that. You are always relaxed, and are good at making time for friends.

Vic Books You only read literary fiction and articles from the New Yorker.

You think this entitles you to have a semi-educated opinion on everything. You may not be wrong.

Wishbone You’re very efficient, you always get exactly eight hours of sleep, you are excited about the release of Android 9.0 (Pie).

Vending Machines You have food wrappers in your pockets. You always have change. You believe in numerology. You have an iPhone 5.

Score Steamed Walking Bus Gains Hams with Seymour Popularity Over for Society Soirée Metlink Disaster KATIE MEADOWS

VITA MOLYENUX

As part of a fundraiser for their annual ball, the Victoria University Politics Society has placed an auction on TradeMe to go to lunch with none other than part-time Dancing With the Stars loser, and full-time general loser, David Seymour. In line with his support of legalizing assisted dying with the End of Life Bill, David will push you to the brink of death with an afternoon of small talk and other mouth sounds over a delightfully devilish meal for two, presumably in an upper class metropolitan area that doesn’t scare him.

The Act MP, who is somehow only 35 years old, will generously pay for both of your meals himself; however, since the current bidding sits at $500, at the end of the day there remains no such thing as a free lunch. Not only will the auction winner get to choose the restaurant at which this unforgettable luncheon takes place, but it will also ultimately be up to them to decide whether to give David the final rose or not, and to perhaps even continue on to The Bachelor overnight suite.

Unfortunately, neither the Politics Society nor TradeMe can guarantee that David will not savagely ghost you on all social media immediately after your time together, only to hit you up eight months later with a “wyd?” text at 3am because he’s sad-drunk again after remembering he holds no real power in government.

While one can only wonder what goes through the mind of someone involved in a bidding war past $500 to spend an extended period of time with David Seymour, we are at this point so deep in the simulation that nothing really matters at all. Bid on this auction. In fact, get all of your money out of the bank and set it on fire in the street. Capitalism is a prison.

Control is an illusion. Embrace chaos. All hail Suzy Cato.

The recent changes to Wellington’s previously impeccable bus services has led to city wide unrest. With service disruptions continuously upending routines, a new way of commuting is taking hold throughout the city.

The once heralded “walking school bus” has regained traction this week, and many commuters are banding together in pairs to hold hands and walk to work in lines that have reportedly reached up to 20 meters long.

This new movement is being called “revolutionary” by some and “a massive pain in the arse” by others. While the environmental and economical benefits are obvious, the disruption caused by hordes of business men holding hands down Willis Street is evident. When questioned on the necessity of the hand holding, one man was quoted saying “it may hold up some people, but the reality is, it’s still dark when I leave the house in the morning and it’s spooky to walk by myself”.

With no sign of Metlink improving its services, the walking buses are taking over the city. Some of the fitter citizens are creating “express” services where “passengers” have reportedly reached speeds of up to 5kms an hour – ten times faster than the current buses are able to run.

Quit Yo Shit Quinovic Dear Quinovic,

Updates on Kylie Jenner's Baby

Lol you thought it was a good idea to tell the world what assholes you are. No ragrets amirite?

Luv from Salient

Oh wow. Kylie Jenner’s baby is receiving kidnapping threats.

That took a dark turn. So much drama. The life of a celebrity is fascinati… No, Salient still give no shits about Kylie Jenner’s baby.

P.s. boycott the fuck out of those guys they are assholes.

13

Week in Tweets JUST GIVE BLACK PANTHER “BEST PICTURE”, COME ON On New Zealand “People of Wellington: The weather sucks and the coffee is too expensive, but at least we have a reliable public transport network that suits our needs and community. Greater Wellington Regional Council: Whoops! Let us fix that for you!”

— @buzzandhum “Why are all the White-y bits of the Commonwealth sending us all their shitty people rn? Three types of racist misogynistic Canuck, Toad of Toad Hall, and now that bloody ginger twat from over the ditch. What have we done? Why are you being like this??” — @_Xas_ “I know I’m a pretty big dog for not posting things that could happen anywhere in the world and captioning them “meanwhile in New Zealand...” but the entire of the public and all the politics arguing about whether it’s okay to say cunt is New Zealand as fuck” — @fancylettuce “Queer Eye but it’s 5 mentally & physically ill students telling Grant Guildford why he should fund health services instead of changing the uni’s name” — @alexa_ruthless “bow ties are fucking stupid if i want to look like Peter Dunne I'll run a failed political party” — @johaganbrebner

“what i enjoy about food intolerances and also aging is that i can look at any image of any #visawoap burger and just hear my colon screaming in fear” — @em_ma_maguire On the new “popular film” Oscar category — “This whole Popular Film thing is like when you work your ass off in drama club in high school. You wait until senior year to get recognized only to get elbowed out by a popular jock who was wooed to star in a musical for the first time to drive ticket sales.” — @JoeyMoser83 On Mission Impossible 6 — “mission impossible people: tom please we have green screens and sets. tom cruise, pulling on his boots: i want to die” — @ pacinoed “MISSION IMPOSSIBLE must be a rad gig for a composer because you are basically mandated to write in 5/4, aka the best time signature.” — @mistertodd “We went to see the new Mission: Impossible movie tonight and as we left my husband said, “That Tom Hanks, he sure is good at what he does” and I will tell everyone about this and laugh for many days” — @JewelStaite

Quiz

World Facts

1. If a bill proposed by Tracey Martin goes through, what four options will be available as gender on New Zealand birth certificates?

1. The Keiunkan hot spring inn in Japan is the world's longest operating hotel, first established in 70 AD.

6. The world's most expensive milkshake cost $100 USD and comes in a glass covered in Swarovski crystals.

2. A school in Mississippi had racially segregated proms until 2008, when Morgan Freeman funded the first integrated one.

7. When Canada was changing to the metric system, a woman was charged for selling carpet in yards instead of metres.

3. Simon Bridges has spent how much public funding on travel and accommodation between April and June? a) $83 000 b) $97 000 c) $113 000 4. Which netball team won the ANZ Premiership grand final, becoming the first franchise to win back-to-back titles?

5. A video of a naked man going through a carwash in what New Zealand city has gone viral? a)Hamilton b) Rotorua c) Palmerston North

3. Amsterdam has a "Night Mayor", who governs the city's nightlife.

4. It is estimated that there are 303 currently undiscovered mammal species.

5. When Danes lived under Prussian rule and were forbidden from raising the Danish flag, they bred a pig that resembled the flag in protest.

World Facts by Courtney Powell, Week in Tweets by Emma Maguire & Quiz by Alister Hughes

8. The Bumblebee Bat is the world's smallest mammal, only weighing 2 grams.

9. The UK Prisons Service created a taskforce to stop drones from flying contraband into prisons.

10. The Mall of America collects $24,000 USD from its wishing fountains.

Quiz Answers 1. Male, Female, Intersex, X (unspecified)pedestrians 2. Manchester 3. c) $113 000 4. Southern Steel 5. b) Rotorua

2. Ten people were hospitalised as a result of a shooting in which UK city?

Letters Send your letters to editor@salient.org.nz

Dear Salient, What are the perks of being the Salient editor?

Salient: Getting to stare at Brad Pitt's naan on the daily. Yum.

Notices Send your notices to editor@salient.org.nz

An Apology In the article “Victoria: Call Me By Your Name” (Vol. 81 Issue 16), we wrongly reported that Te Rangi Waaka’s name is spelt “Te Rangi Waka”.

Dear Editor, I want to write you a letter, but subjects are difficult to come by. What are my opinions?

In the public library I used to visit there was a poem written on the wall.

Dear Reader, it said, writing as I do from a bog of MOURNFULNESS..

My bog of mournfulness has me mired in my lack of creativity. We are all too mournful these days, but then again there is much to be mournful about, even if we don't call it that.

I hope we are some day cured of our collective mournfulness.

There.

A subject.

I remain, as ever, Yours

Graduate Programmes on CareerHub Applications are closing soon for 2019 Graduate Programmes and internships with the following companies: Kiwirail, DXC Technology, Kin, Allen & Clarke, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Ministry of Justice, FNZ, Plant & Food Research, Powerco and more… Apply now on CareerHub! Dominion Documentary Screening KKLT301 5.30pm Thursday 24 August Come along to see this new documentary from the makers of Cowspiracy, free vegan snacks and pizza provided!

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Join at yha.co.nz, use the code VUWSA18, SAVE $10

5 Reasons why staying at YHA is your BEST option 1. It’s cheap - beds from $29 2. Clean, comfortable, quality facilities (and free wifi*) 3. Private ensuite for shy types, shared dorms for more social travellers.

4. Central locations, you can walk to the pub!

5. $10 off membership, then keep saving 10% on direct bookings at YHA.co.nz *2GB of Free WiFi per day at all YHA Managed hostels

www.yha.co.nz

"

In a Room with Womb WORDS BY LAUREN SPRING PHOTO BY ELISE LANIGAN Womb are a trio of siblings that make deeply emotional, textural music that might just allow you to transcend to a new emotional plane. You really have to experience Haz’ synth alchemy, Georgette’s flair-filled drumming, and Charlotte’s pained melodic howls live and in person to be able to fully absorb their brilliance, but they also have a wonderful debut album that they released earlier this year, entitled Like Splitting the Head From the Body.

cause we all enjoy that and the energy that’s involved in that. So we had that as the foundation, but Charlotte really enjoys the home recording stuff, and being able to reiterate different things and go over and do lots of editing, so the live recording is kind of a fusion of those two things.

C: Yeah, the home recording becomes an obsession, like “oh, let’s do another vocal take” even though it probably doesn’t need it that much. It’s just really fun to do.

G: Maybe we’re intuitively texturally motivated.

The three of them sat down with me to have a natter about The Weeknd, how cool their mum is, and a whole bunch of other things too saucy for print. You can check out some of our conversation below.

S: Rad! So, obviously, you’re a family, you’ve been playing together for a while — was there an epiphany kind of moment where you were like “wow, we’re super magical together”, or was it just a gradual and kind of organic process?

C: Well, we all went travelling separately at the same time in 2015. I think Womb was still just me at that point, and it came to the point where like, that can only go so far. Then I feel like when we all got back, it just kind of happened.

We played a show, and then we were a band! It did feel like the natural thing to happen, because I always feel quite musically shy around other people. Like I had jammed with other people and it was really cool, but it wasn’t like the sound was very different. Whereas with Hazzie and Georgette, it’s like they do just exactly what I want and I don’t even know I want it.

H: I guess it would come from like, cause Georgette used to play music for us when we were way younger, and now we all show music to each other. Although Char just listens to The Weeknd now.

C: Yeah, I listen to The Weeknd. You can definitely quote that. I would go out with him in a heartbeat.

Salient: Can you describe your music without using any music words?

Charlotte: This is always the hardest question! Ok, I’m relying on you two for cool words.

Haz: Post-Trump.

C: Wait, did someone call us that?

H: No, I’m just being a dick. Post-New Zealand gothic!

Georgette: Emo! C: I think you forgot that we’re really bad at answering questions!

S: So, with the new album being more textured, were you aiming towards a fuller and more experimental sound, especially looking at playing with vocal samples on “Feeling Like Helium” and that sort of stuff?

H: I don’t think we had an intention necessarily in mind, it’s just kind of the product of us recording together live, where all our instruments are being recorded at the same time. I guess that’s just from playing live shows together, 16

In a Room with Womb G: We do have our own separate music tastes as well, but there’s also a lot of crossover, and I feel like what we do brings each of our unique tastes in.

S: What other parts of your life influence the way you play music?

G: I feel like I approach it in a very similar way to the way I approach visual art.

C: Yeah, even in the new song, the way Georgette plays drums kind of forms a figure 8, so it’s pretty visual.

G: I like listening to other songs and maybe thinking about how to steal the drumbeat. Oh, and Charlotte’s emotional states.

C: *Laughs* do they inspire you?

G: No, they inspire you to write lyrics!

C: Oh yeah, totally. It’s quite fun that anything that happens around us could inspire a song, you know? [...]

And our mum! She inspires us.

S: Following on from that, I remember being out on the balcony at a show you were playing at San Fran a while ago. I’d had a few little puffs of a joint, and then ended up super inexplicably blazed and started freaking out, anxiously trying to get off this packed balcony that I thought was going to fall off the side of the building!

Then I finally got inside and you guys were playing and it was like “Ahhhhhhh”, I did feel like I was enveloped in a womb of lovely tenderness and calm. I feel like that’s a reflection of your beautiful relationship and level of sublinguistic communication with each other, it almost feels like we’re being temporarily let in on your connection with each other through the music, and it’s super tender and emotional and evocative in a way that most music isn’t. Do you feel that? Do you feel like the kinship thing gives it a whole other dimension?

C: That’s so nice!

H: I feel like that’s just what’s there, that’s what’s available, and it just works.

C: Yeah, there just wouldn’t be another way.

H: Yeah, like I find it really hard to make music with other people, especially in a live setting. I would just never be in a band with anyone else, it would be so hard.

C: It’d be so awkward, I don’t know how you would do it!

H: Maybe it’d be more professional, if you had more of a structure.

C: *Laughs* But yeah, we definitely have it where we’re communicating without saying anything when we’re making the songs, so that’s really cool. I think someone once said me and Hazzie do this thing where we rock together, in sync, so I feel like it’s this very subconscious thing because we’re so used to each other.

S: Speaking of your mum, what kind of role does she play in your collective musical lives?

G: I just can’t get over how cool it is that we were all inside her stomach! Or her womb I mean.

C: She’s just so cool! I have this weird thing where I really need her approval for stuff. Knowing that she’s got our backs, it’s a really nice to be able to make music and know that she likes it. I would understand if she didn’t like it and we’d still make music — G: Well, we might not. Would we still make it if she didn’t like it?

C: Maybe not! She can be harsh. I was just thinking about this time when I was drawing and she didn’t like it, and Georgette says I haven’t drawn since then!

G: And I was trying to make illustrations for a children’s book and she didn’t like it, and then I just couldn’t do it anymore.

C: We’re whipped! Whipped on our mum.

S: That’s beautiful, but also a little bit sad.

C: Yeah actually, don’t put that in, we’ll sound like freaks!

S: You’re not freaks, you just love your mum! Ok, now I’m gonna wrap it up with a hard question: if you could choose any band or artist to cover any song of yours, which band and which song would you choose?

C: I’m gonna say The Weeknd, covering our song “When The Night Breaks Up”. I feel like that song would just suit him.

G: I want Charlotte to cover “Pure Morning” by Placebo.

Or Micachu to do a Womb cover, of "Here We Bend (To Smell the Dirt)".

C: Ooh yeah, that’s a good one. Alexa Casino didn’t do a cover, but she did a remix of “Satellite” and it’s so cool, I wish we’d written the song like that.

H: Yeah, it’s got bells and stuff in it. So cool.

S: You’re all quite different on stage as opposed to in your general daily lives, Charlotte especially. Do you feel that you have to separate your music personas from your private selves?

C: I don’t feel like I have to separate it out from myself, more that it’s just a different part of myself. A lot of the music is quite sad, so it’s not something that I want to be in social situations. I think I get quite scared on stage, so it’s probably partly that as well.

G: I think maybe I feel a bit more reverent. Like, it’s a pretty great honour to be on stage. I also probably have to pay the most attention, because I’m the most novice still at my instrument, so I have to not let my guard down otherwise I’ll fuck up.

C: You do look like you approach it with a reverence, it’s quite cute.

G: I’m still really stoked to even continue to be asked to come back to play in the band, and it’s always a great honour that people want to come and watch.

H: Yeah, totally.

Womb are currently working on new stuff, and don’t have any live shows on the horizon. In the meantime, you can find their debut album at w--o--m--b.bandcamp.com 17

BY KATE GREEN When I was little, I had a big fear of natural disasters.

I wouldn’t go to the school bathroom alone, in case an earthquake struck. Visiting my Auckland aunt meant stepping into volcano territory. And in the scene outside a window, my mind would conjure a giant ship, riding a giant wave, coming nearer and nearer to little me, set to run me down and drown me on dry land.

But as it turns out, earthquakes became a part of my daily life in Christchurch in 2011. Volcanoes are still horrifying, but not as prominent in my mind as the fear of leaving university and not finding a job. And I learned, just yesterday, that tsunamis are not actually one big wave, but a succession of waves, like the ripples that form when you drop a pebble in a pond.

Which is worse actually, if you think about it.

The word tsunami comes from Japanese tsu, meaning “harbour” and nami, meaning “wave”.

Although the word can operate as both singular and plural, because of English language trends, tsunamis is also commonly used and accepted. Tsunamis are often caused by an earthquake out at sea. The waves are a result of the seabed moving violently upwards, pushing water out in all directions. A tsunami wave seen from the air is a circle. Events such as landslides, even meteors, can cause tsunamis too, as the water is

displaced by something huge and heavy falling into it. Most waves are around 3m high, but the biggest tsunami ever recorded was the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami, caused by a landslide, which reached 524m in height.

It’s easy to underestimate the force of a tsunami. If the wave is only 3m tall, what’s the big deal? YouTube is overflowing with videos of people standing in the path of a tsunami with their phones out, waiting to record the disaster as it happens around them. But a car is barely 2m high, and you wouldn’t stand in the way of a car, would you? A car, presumably travelling at even 50km/h, could kill you. A tsunami, despite being made up of a non-rigid material, can reach speeds of 800km/h. Ouch.

The size of a tsunami wave grows in proportion to water depth. In deeper water, you might not even notice it, but in shallow water, such as the Wellington harbour, the wave maintains the power it had in deep water, but instead grows in visible height. Out on the sea, these waves can be hundreds of miles long, but no taller than a few feet above water. They can travel at the speed of a jet plane. When the waves approach land, they will slow, and begin to grow in height as the wave enters the harbour.

18

Tsunamis: Riding the Wave of Disaster As if this wasn’t bad enough, a harbour can then exacerbate the effects of a tsunami, creating a phenomenon known as harbour resonance, or a seiche (“saysh”) wave. Basically, if two waves are travelling past each other in opposite directions at the same rate, the place where the two peaks overlap will become one big peak, and where the two troughs overlap will become one big trough, resulting in one huge wave made up of two smaller ones. This occurs in places where waves bounce off the sides of something resembling a container, such as a lake, or the Wellington harbour.

and you won't even notice. If you’re in the harbour you should get further out to sea, as the wave in the harbour will likely push your boat inland and smash it against the shore.

The number one thing WREMO say is; don’t wait for a tsunami alarm. I know it can feel like an overreaction to run for the hills (literally) after every little shake — after all, we’ve been fine so far. But you’re better up the hill than dead, and a small earthquake here could have been a large one out at sea, resulting in a giant wave with time to build before it reaches us.

So What Do I Do??

This is all sounding Pretty Horrific. Researching this did nothing to ease my fear of tsunamis, and the inner five-year-old in me was very close to asking my flatmate to accompany me to the bathroom, just in case. But then, I looked up the The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) evacuation map. To my relief, more than half of the city is in the safe zone. Wellington, despite being in the unlucky location of a harbour, is also nicely surrounded by natural tsunami safe zones; hills.

The best way to survive a tsunami is to get out of its way. To do this, you first need to know the warning signs. There are tsunami sirens in all coastal areas and the central city, which sound a little like WWIII is starting. You won’t miss it. WREMO advises that, “if you feel an earthquake that is either longer than a minute OR strong enough that it’s hard to stand up, as soon as the shaking stops, get to high ground, out of all zones (past the blue line)!” Some suburbs, like Houghton and Owhiro Bays, have blue lines painted on footpaths showing the maximum water run-up height in a tsunami. In Wellington, the safe zone line follows roughly along Lambton Quay, Manners, Courtney, and along Oriental Parade. Officially, the danger zone is 1 mile or 1.6km within the coast, and 15m above sea level.

If a tsunami is forming out at sea, anyone on the beach or waterfront may notice the water drawing back from the shore, sometimes leaving the seabed exposed much further out than it is at the lowest tide. This water is being sucked back to fuel the giant approaching wave, and this, accompanied in some cases by a rushing, roaring sound as the water gathers power, is the sign of an impending wave of watery doom. At this point, you should probably get gone. A local earthquake means a tsunami could be minutes away. If you can see the wave, you should assume you're too close to outrun it. In this case, try to get as high off the ground as possible. This could be a building, or even a tree. If you happen to be on a boat in the open ocean, you are bloody lucky, and should stay there. The wave will likely pass under your boat

But What Do I Take??

You may need to stay in the evacuation zone for up to 4 hours. In the worst case scenario, you won't have a home to return to, but let’s think positive. Take your pets, unless you’re a heartless monster, and a leash or cage, your phone, phone charger, and keys — remember to lock up! Take your wallet, and any medication you need regularly. If you’re within easy reach of important documents such as passport or birth certificate, these might be useful and, more to the point, are expensive to replace. If you can, put other expensive or sentimental items up high in case of flooding. Take a water bottle, and if you’re feeling hungry (when aren’t you?) perhaps some snacks.

Ideally, the bag you take to work or uni will be semipermanently contain most of these things, allowing you to just grab it and go. Plus, you’ll save those expensive textbooks! Chuck on a warm jacket and good walking shoes, and head up the nearest hill.

If there’s been an earthquake, watch out for downed power lines, and be careful of debris falling from buildings or bridges in an aftershock. Stay away from rivers or streams, as these provide easy routes for tsunami water to hurtle down. Go on foot to ease traffic congestion, and if you can’t get to a hill in time, a building will suffice. A reputable (and only slightly sleep-deprived) fourth year architecture student has informed me that the best buildings to withstand pressure from an oncoming wave are those with concrete foundations and steel framing — for example, the Wellington Central Police Station. The bigger the building, the better, as it’s more likely to have deep foundations.

Most importantly, wait for the all clear from authorities before returning home, as the worst may be yet to come. If you’ve taken a phone or something capable of receiving internet, perhaps even a radio, listen in for the all clear. Before disaster even strikes, WREMO recommend you regularly take pictures of rooms for insurance purposes, and this could be helpful in any disaster. Keep these up to date, as it could save you time and hassle later. Personally, I recommend you always take a friend to the bathroom. Just in case.

19

BY ANNELISE BOS In June, a lone southern right whale visited Wellington Harbour. We named him Matariki, and scores of people flocked to the waterfront, and later the South Wellington coast, to catch a glimpse. We even postponed the fireworks because we didn’t want to frighten him. But we haven’t always been so protective of whales. We used to commercially hunt them, right up until 1964.

Although the number of permanent coastal whaling stations declined into the 20th century, advances in technology meant it was still viable industry. The most successful whaling station was on Arapara Island in the Tory Channel of Marlborough Sounds. Established in 1924 by Joseph Perano, the station was the first to use a motor boat to chase after humpback whales.

Around 50 families lived there during the whaling season in winter. Although Perano Station was the relative powerhouse of the industry, their catch was actually quite small. There were never more than 3 whales caught per day, because the processing plant on the island lacked the capability for greater numbers. Former whalers say they never caught mother and calves either, as their jobs depended on a sustainable population. Whaling was so important that men employed in the industry were exempt from serving in WWII.

The commercial whaling industry in Aotearoa began in the 1790s. It was the first instance of Western trade, as American whaling ships flocked to exploit the abundant whale population. The industry employed both Europeans and Māori, although Māori had no existing custom of hunting whales. As the industry grew, permanent whaling stations were established on the coast around Otago, Marlborough, Kāpiti, and the Hauraki Gulf to exploit the migration routes of southern right, humpback, and sperm whales.

Whalers would wait ashore to spot a whale, and chase after in their rowboats and harpoon their target. Whales were hunted for their oil, which was used to make soap and margarine, as well as lighting lamps and lubricating machinery. The meat was sold as dog food.

However, in the post-WWII era, the humpback whale population began to decline. Perano Station whalers began to hunt sperm whales instead, but this was difficult as the whales were in deeper waters further afield in Kaikoura and Cape Palliser. In addition to the dramatic decline in whale numbers, the demand 21

New Zealand and Whales: A Deep Dive for whale products also dropped. Kerosene could be used to light lamps, or even better, electricity. Whale oil made very smelly soap, so it was only used for industrial cleaning. Vegetable oil was developed to make a nicer, non-smelly margarine. On 21 December 1964 the last whale was caught in the Tory Channel. It was no longer a commercially feasible industry.

their cultural practises). Norway and Iceland have registered their objections to the moratorium and continue to hunt whales. In 1986, Japan began a lethal research programme conducted by the Institute of Cetacean Research, who argue the programme is justified under a provision in the Schedule. In practice, the meat from the whales killed is sold for human consumption.

But why had the whale population declined so dramatically? Was it all the whales we killed from New Zealand? It was only in the 1990s that marine biologists discovered that the whale population in the Southern Ocean had dropped dramatically in the ‘60s after rampant overfishing by vessels from the USSR. In the 1959-1960 season, the USSR killed approximately 13,000 humpback whales. Soviet catcher ships would sail in a line formation to efficiently trap and kill the greatest number of whales. The carcasses would be taken to factory ships for processing, although it is estimated that only 30% of the whale would be used. Strangely, this unprecedented slaughter was compelled by rapidly rising quotas imposed by the USSR State Planning Committee, rather than any real market demand for whales.

New Zealand has vociferously opposed the Japanese lethal research program as a matter of foreign policy.

In 2010 New Zealand supported Australia’s action against Japan in the International Court of Justice for breaching the International Convention on Whaling Regulations. Former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson appeared as an advocate during the hearing, and in 2014 the Court released a judgment finding the lethal research breached Japan’s obligations as signatory to the Schedule. However, the Institute of Cetacean Research continues to pursue their whaling policies, and during the 2017 whaling season killed 333 Antarctic minke whales.

The whale population in the Southern Ocean had dropped dramatically in the ‘60s after rampant overfishing by vessels from the USSR.

New Zealand’s position on commercial whales has changed dramatically in the space of 50 years. A formerly thriving industry quietly languished in the 1960s due to a falling whale population, not the typical whale activism we are familiar with today.

It’s arguable that we didn’t have enough facts to compel us into action. The IWC was founded with a sustainable management purpose, because the true extent of the whale population was unknown. It wasn’t until the early 1960s that the IWC commissioned more thorough studies to accurately measure whale populations. This task was somewhat thwarted by the USSR destroying accurate records of their catch. By the 1980s, a total ban was deemed the only option left to save the whales.

During the 1970s, whales had become a focal point for global conservation. Organisations like Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd drew attention to the declining whale population. Popular TV shows like Flipper and The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau endeared marine life to the public on an unprecedented scale. In Australia — where a similar sized industry involving a handful a coastal whaling stations operated — commercial whaling was banned by the government in 1978 after public outcry. Similarly, in 1978 whaling was officially prohibited in New Zealand under the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

By the 1980s, NZ had become a staunch anti-whaling advocate on the world stage. NZ was a founding member of the International Commission for Whaling, an organisation established in 1946 to regulate commercial whaling in response to the dwindling population. Over time, the focus of the anti-whaling nations shifted from sustainable regulation to an allout ban, and in 1982 the IWC voted to establish a moratorium on commercial whaling of large and medium whales. There are exceptions in the ban for sustenance hunting for indigenous peoples (for example indigenous peoples in Alaska are allowed to kill a small number of whales a year to fulfil

Now New Zealand is a vocal anti-whaling advocate on the world stage, campaigning for strong protectionist policies. We’ve taken whaling nations to the International Court of Justice, and sent our legal and political heavyweights to advocate for the cause.

And the whalers of Perano Station? They now assist the Department of Conservation in their annual whale population survey, putting their whale spotting skills to good use.

22

Sky Burial

I think I would like a sky burial – No photographs allowed as the vultures take me skywards.

I’d have to live in Tibet, get friendly with the locals – Earn somebody’s respect.

Those gigantic birds would circle overhead, Waiting patiently, then swoop, My body parts would be swept up in talon and beak – The easiest way to take to the sky.

More practical than cremation When the ground’s too hard and rocky to dig a grave – This would be my exit strategy.

Instructions can be found in the Tibetan book of the dead For this ceremony intended to help my spirit move on from The uncertain plane between life and death into the next life.

Who’d want to be hanging around on planet Earth When you could be digested by greats of the sky, Something with a decent wingspan And spend your after death, pre-digestion hours, Hovering high in mid-air, Waiting to be born again.

- Laura Solomon

submit poems to poetry@salient.org.nz

BY ROSIE WILKINSON

But is it a sexual orientation? I sat down with Professor Tony Ward, a professor of clinical and forensic psychology at Victoria University. He said “I would describe it, broadly as a mental disorder”. He said there are two variations of this mental disorder that we associate with paedophilia. The first being people with paedophilic interests (described as more of a preference) and those who have paedophilia (an exclusive sexual attraction). The members of the Virtuous Pedophile movement fall into the second of these categories. This is shown though their online site; they identify themselves as “having paedophilia” and describing it as a “strong and persistent sexual attraction”.

Imagine being ostracized from society for having a mental disorder. It’s a crazy thought, but it's the reality for one minority that lives alongside us in our world: non-offending individuals suffering from paedophilia.

Picture this: a basic white girl sitting in the library, sipping kombucha, and reading an article published by the “Virtuous Pedophiles movement”. A strange sight, I know. Due to being around soccer mums for the majority of my childhood, I had never been exposed to this argument, yet I found the subject compelling. I, like the majority of the people I surround myself with, viewed “paedophiles” as unfavourable individuals who are immoral and not deserving of the same rights as the rest of the population, but quickly after scanning the Virtuous Pedophile’s website, I quickly found that I didn't know enough about this subject in order to form this opinion. Everything I had ever been told about these people was being completely contradicted on the “Virtuous Pedophiles” site. I set out on an interesting journey full of curious conversations in order to educate myself on this ongoing stigmatization of paedophiles, and why this may not be a good thing.

But I guess the real significant question underlying this is, is this a choice? And the answer is no. Professor Ward states, “Sexual preference is something that we do not choose to have. If they could choose then they wouldn't have experienced the trouble they have over the years.” Edwards told me that they “did not choose pedophilia and they cannot make it go away”.

“Sexual preference is something that we do not choose to have.

If they could choose then they wouldn't have experienced the trouble they have over the years.”

Is it was possible for someone who suffers from pedophilia to refrain from committing unlawful acts for their whole life? Professor Ward said, “all I know is, over the course of my career I have worked with people who have paedophilic interests and have never been charged with an offense, and there's no evidence to suggest that they have ever committed an offense.

These people range in ages from 20 to 70 so I would have to say [non-offending paedophilia] is possible based on what I have seen”.

The Virtuous Pedophiles movement is an online based support group and movement aimed at providing support for those who suffer from paedophilia and removing the stigma that surrounds it. They do not want any laws changed or ages of consent lowered, and they think any sexual interaction with a child is completely wrong.

I reached out to co-founder of Virtuous Pedophiles, Ethan Edwards*. He stated that if a young male was to openly confess to having paedophilic sexual preferences and urges, “He could be kicked out of school, removed from his home, and forbidden from being anywhere children are. His parents might disown him”. And keep in mind this is only confessing that he feels this way. The imaginary individual we are talking about hasn't even committed an unlawful act.

Edwards said that very few past-offending paedophiles (people who have committed paedophilia, but have now stopped) have joined the site. “Our online peer support group has over 3,000 registered accounts. Of those who have posted to describe their situation, I would guess five percent (5%) are in [the situation of being a past-offender].” But how are we supposed to effectively test these claims?

Virtuous Pedophiles simply want acceptance from our community, and from themselves. Edwards said “we encourage celibate pedophiles to let go of feelings of shame and distress”. They view their paedophilic interests and urges almost as one would view a sexual orientation.

All in all, we have no idea how many “virtuous” paedophiles exist. It is extremely rare to find a nonoffending individual who is open about their sexual disorder. This means we cannot know how many nonoffending paedophiles are in our population, and therefore cannot know the percentage of how many offend in their lifetime.

27

Paedophilia: An Exploration into a Hated Minority There is an obvious link that the less stigma surrounding the condition, the more people will come forward confessing to this sexual preference, and therefore more people can get help. When discussing this with Professor Ward, he agreed with me. “I think [the stigma] is a serious problem, and related to that, a false representation of what paedophilia is and the condemnation around it makes it much harder for people to seek help.”

so has anyone complained?’ And if the answers are ‘no’ then consider him just a person.”

Professor Ward said our need and instinct to protect our children is spurring our hatred, and the weight that child sex abuse crime carries. “Children are more vulnerable, children can be easily physically harmed, and children cannot consent, they are not psychologically equipped to consent and they don't know what they are consenting to. That is not going to change,” he said. The other reason we hate paedophiles is the harmful nature of the crime. “It has devastating effects on people. That's really the issue,” said Ward. I have known and talked with people close to me who have dealt with child sexual abuse, and the trauma and the emotional damage from this offense is huge. Another huge factor is that the majority of these people who suffer from paedophilia are male. I believe due to the typical male body type being a lot larger and stronger than a child, this could be another factor to add to our stigmatisation of paedophiles.

There is reason to believe that we can actually somewhat effectively help paedophiles control these urges. Edwards said, “the help that is needed is help in avoiding harmful actions. That can involve staying out of tempting situations, building a life with strong social bonds and healthy pursuits, and perhaps someone to contact for support if things get very difficult”. Ward elaborates on the most effective (and most easily attainable) help for this disorder is in fact in professional treatment. “There are a number of sexual reconditioning techniques used in treatment programs that are helpful, but certainly we need to be creative and think about other possibilities.

I think the use of sex robots or virtual technologies are worth exploring.”

When reaching out to the Virtuous Pedophile movement, I was extremely nervous. I made a fake email address and made a conscious effort to not include my full name, my country, my age, or anything personal about me. Why did I do this? My little brain couldn't fathom in that moment that I was strengthening the stigma that surround paedophilia though my apparent fear of these people, even though the are self proclaimed completely law-abiding citizens (probably more law abiding than me). I was, in that moment, prejudiced. I realised that these people feel this fear and misunderstanding of who they are every single day.

We see, first hand, the pain and damage that child sexual abuse crimes can cause and we, rightly so, fear this pain and damage.

Professor Ward stated that paedophilia “doesn't define the totality of the person”. He then said that many people with disorders and problems “can contribute enormously to society”. However because paedophiles have harmful urges, doesn't that make them dangerous and therefore different to most of us? “The questions are what do they do with those inclinations and motivations, and how do they respond to them,” said Ward. “I think the sign of being a good person or a virtuous person is that you realise this is a harmful motivation, that you don't act on it and you do everything you can to ameliorate its influence.”

Though this investigation into this issue I realised that the stigma was unavoidable. It was strengthened by the co-founder of the Virtuous Paedophiles going under a pseudonym as it showed that they were bowing to the stigma they are fighting against. I think I, myself, also had a hard time dealing with this stigma; I have tossed and turned over putting my name on this article due to its controversial nature.

This lines up with the Virtuous Pedophile movement’s beliefs. They do not offend, nor do they encourage offending. They believe no sexual act with a child is ever acceptable. They simply want to create awareness of the individuals suffering from paedophilia so they can remove the stigma surrounding it, so these people can live full, happy, law-abiding lives. Edwards said “it will really help when many people know a nonoffending pedophile, the reaction is not just ‘Eeeek!’ but ‘Has he molested anyone? Do people think he has done specific things with children that are worrisome?

Has he done lots of things with kids in the past, and if

In these last few weeks my sheltered, basic, brain has been blown away by these issues that I’ve never thought about. But I don’t believe the issue of society ostracising paedophiles will ever really be solved.

While the issue remains highly relevant, and we as a society need to stop ignoring it and address what 28

Paedophilia: An Exploration into a Hated Minority is happening, I don’t know if this fear surrounding paedophilia is wrong.

attracted to our children, whether they have offended in the past or not. This stigma we have created looks like it is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

We have reason to fear. Due to the internet age, we are now more aware than ever of the crimes being committed in our communities. We see, first hand, the pain and damage that child sexual abuse crimes can cause and we, rightly so, fear this pain and damage.

The stigma towards paedophiles is caused by our attempts to protect our children.

*Ethan Edwards is a pseudonym

Where to go for Help or more Information Free call or text 1737 anytime for support from a trained counsellor Safe to Talk (sexual violence) - 0800 044 334 or text 4334 Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) Youthline (for youth) – 0800 376 633 or free text 234 Outline (LGBTQIA+) – 0800 688 5463 Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) Healthline – 0800 611 116 to talk to a registered nurse Samaritans – 0800 726 666 Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757 Anxiety New Zealand 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY) The Lowdown NZ (for youth) — free text 5626 or visit thelowdown.co.nz

I like to think that this small journey I took into the mindset of an extremely hated minority of nonoffending individuals changed my views significantly, but I honestly still don’t know. My eyes have definitely been opened however to the different world that these individuals have to live in.

Paedophiles are human beings like us and many of them haven't done anything legally wrong and just want help. I feel sorry for these people as they will never be able to have a fulfilling romantic and sexual relationship with a consenting adult. It is not a choice or something anyone wants to suffer from, but I don’t believe our society will ever be able to completely look past the fact that these people are sexually

29

Columns

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

VUWSA

MARLON DRAKE

TAMATHA PAUL

I’m somewhere around 2 metres tall and I absolutely love basketball. That makes me a bit of a cliche, but it also gives me an advantage in a game I really love.

I’ve been shooting hoops since I was a kid, and I played in high school for a couple of years. I wanted to dedicate this column to Coach Tai, who passed away last week.

It’s been a busy, busy week in the VUWSA office as we prepare for the big rally on Wednesday! We want to foster a community where, when someone asks “chur bro, all good?”, you don’t have to lie. But it’s easier said than done, so I asked your friendly VUWSA exec how they’re feeling and here’s some of their responses.

I spent hours and hours on the court with him on the sideline, always backing me. When I started playing under him, I was a lanky skinny giant who wasn’t coordinated enough to shoot, and by the end of it I was a lanky skinny giant dunking and smashing hoops. He taught me a lot over the years I knew him, about basketball and myself. So a special shout out in today’s column to Tai and the family, as well as the Western Springs College senior boys team of 2013 who learnt so much from him.

Marlon: “I've been a sleepy boy. Lots of work means lots of pressure, and myself and the mental health campaign team have been having 9am — 9pm days, but I’ve got awesome people around me who keep me going!”

Ella: “I'm pretty stressed about studies but not letting it get me down! Loving all my work for VUWSA and seeing changes happening around me that make students happier and safer! Having a great Welfare team to rely on and share with helps too.”

Community is so so important and I encourage anybody reading to reflect on the community they are from. Some of us in Wellington are a long way from home, and it’s easy to feel disconnected, but our upbringing is always a part of us through the words we say and the things we do. So go on, reach out to those people who helped you become you. Real friendships don’t disappear, they’re just sleeping, waiting for you to wake them up!

Rhianna: “Kei te ngenge au — it's coffee for breakfast, 8.30am contract law starts, and yesterday definitely ended in a few tears. So much emotional labour is going into this campaign — but that just emphasises the important kaupapa making the mahi worth it. Thanks to Tam and the 2018 Te Ao Marama team I’m feeling super connected to my roots and finished a piece on Māori in prisons! Ngā mihi.”

As for myself, It’s been a really stressful and emotional week in the lead up to the Wait is Over rally next Wednesday. We’ve had student forums all week and hall visits every night of the week. Some of the stories we’ve been hearing have been really rough, but on the other hand they motivate us to keep striving for our goals. I haven’t been to the gym in a week and my body feels shit but I managed to design ActionStation’s new report on youth well-being and I am starting design on Te Ao Mārama, the Māori version of Salient, which has been really uplifting. All in all it’s the passion for the kaupapa that keeps me going!

30

The Poo Review LEVEL 2 KELBURN LIBRARY MALE TOILETS

BY F. SCOTT SHITZGERALD This brand new column seeks to identify the best and worst toilets on campus at Victoria, so you’ll know exactly where to run after that bad plate of Krishna Foods. Have a toilet you want reviewed, or want to contribute? Drop us a line pooreviews@salient.org.nz

one end and COMMUNISE at the other. Outstanding work overall, and more than fulfilled my recommended daily dose of surrealism.

Effectiveness of Facilities The door locked properly. Toilet paper stocks were adequate. Flushing was effective. For some reason soap is only next to the right hand sink, so a hygieneconcerned left hand sink user may have to awkwardly lean across a complete stranger for an end that does not justify the means. No paper towels, so had to resort to the hand dryer that was better at impersonating a Soviet-era cargo jet than actually drying my hands.

Added point: the solitary urinal is placed right next to the sinks in full view of the mirror, so anyone pissing there increases their big dick energy output by at least 143%.

For the inaugural VUW Poo Review, I chose to review a toilet where most Victoria students have probably been at least once — the Level Two toilets in that weird black corridor thing near the stairs. I picked the cubicle on the left as the right one was occupied, and prayed the person next door wouldn’t hear me taking photos of all the graffiti.

Cleanliness/Smell While the cubicle and toilet itself was relatively clean, the whole bathroom stinks. Not of raw sewage, but more of cheap cleaning products that somehow smell worse than raw sewage. Users are advised to avoid breathing through their noses.

Interior Design Impressive. Most impressive: “JEWS” written in huge capitals on the inside door, with no qualifier. Was the author anti-semitic, or just liked the look of the word? I will take that question with me to my grave.

Other notable examples include: a pointed attack on the VUW name change; an always appreciated riddle-turned-degree-joke (What comes once in a (m)inute, twice in a (m)o(m)ent and never in a thousand years? An engineer with a real woman); a wholesome birthday message to “my sweetheart” Miles Smith was overshadowed somewhat by the neighbouring words “RiPe PuSSy”. Most inexplicable was a graphlike loop labelled DO NOT EAT THE MiND HolE at

Cleanliness/Smell

(2/5)

Interior Design

(4/5)

Effectiveness of Facilities

(3/5)

Total

(3/5)

VERDICT: Worth a look for the graffiti, but this bathroom is suited to those without a sense of smell. Useful and conveniently located for an emergency, but if you’re looking for a place to sit/read/cry/sell drugs, you’re better off heading up a few levels.

31

Columns

MAURI ORA

NT: TE ARA TAUIRA

GERARD HOFFMAN

TE RANGI WAAKA

Guest Post by the Sustainability Trust

As we all know by now Victoria may be having a name change in the very near future. So let this column be an approval for this change. There are many historically despised people whose names are used to officiate buildings, fields, nature reserves, landmarks etc. Arguably one of the most striking for Māori would have to be old Victoria herself. As the other half to a treaty broken countless times, Victoria represents the continuous disrespect, dishonour, and mistreatment towards Māori people, Te Ao Māori, tikanga Māori and te reo Māori. So why venerate a person who is one of the biggest blights to have stained our shared tapestry? This University has historically been at the forefront of multiple progressive social movements, so by extension let its name no longer reflect an out of date colonial imperialist queen. Holding onto Victoria’s name reflects the ever constant myth that permeates the minds of colonial descendants, convincing them they are losing their colonial history or that Māori culture is being forced upon them (the irony in that one is deafening). This myth usually rears its ignorant head when anything is done or wanted to be done in favour of Māori visibility or inclusion in Aotearoa’s wider society, such as teaching te reo Māori in schools or even simple changes to place names. Yet in huge contrast, colonial history and culture is visible at all levels of our society, it’s in the architecture of our cities, it’s at every party and every board meeting, in our streets and our homes. It’s found in our behaviours and customs, our values and traditions. Don’t believe me? Take a look around you and ask -on a daily basis how much of what you see, hear, feel, and interact with is Māori? … Change the name already.

At Sustainability Trust, we’ve been helping people create warm and healthy homes around the Wellington region for the last 14 years, and are well aware of the challenges students face finding affordable places to rent that are warm and healthy. We’ve heard some common themes: power imbalance between landlord and tenant, high electricity bills in winter, lack of awareness on how to properly look after a property.

As many of you will know, the biggest difference to a warm house is proper insulation. An uninsulated property can lose up to 35% of its heat through the ceiling. Solutions like portable heaters will then just lead to sky rocketing power bills.

However times are changing. The new Residential Tenancies Act means that all rental properties (with accessible floor and ceiling space) must be insulated

by July 2019, or the landlord risks a fine of up to $4000.

We have been working with landlords and property managers around Wellington, insulating thousands of rental properties over the last few years.

But there are still A LOT of houses left to do. Too many to fit in before the deadline.

If you have a landlord that doesn’t use a property manager, they may not know about the new regulations. They may want to wait until the last minute to get it installed. Or they may think they can just throw some insulation bales up in the ceiling space and call it done. They can’t.

So we have a plan to help. If you introduce us to your landlord and they proceed with an insulation install through us* before the end of 2018, we will give you a $100 voucher to spend in our EcoShop, and give your landlord a 10% discount. Everybody wins!

Not sure how to start the conversation? Email us at jamesb@sustaintrust.org.nz and we’ll even give you a template email with all the necessary information – all you’ll need to do is change the name.

Get in touch! *Ts & Cs apply 32

FROM THE ARCHIVES MAX NICHOL Students operate within an extremely dumb and arbitrary hierarchy. When you first get to university, you immediately feel you’ve left behind the youthful trappings of high school students, no longer a child but a cosmopolitan young adult. In second and third year you talk derisively about the naiveté of first years, while doing all the same stuff you did in first year, except now you eat unseasoned spag bol five nights a week. When you become a post-grad, you sip coffee in Milk & Honey, laughing smugly with your fellow thesis students at the undergrads passing by.

It’s the circle of life, baby.

Underpinning the university hierarchy is an understanding that uni is, at some level, an obstacle course which gets easier when you possess certain knowledge. A lot of this information has to be accrued over time, but some can be passed down from those who’ve gone before. While making fun of freshers is a universal theme running through back issues of Salient, so too is the distribution of advice on learning how to navigate student life.

Salient 1954 provides some examples of these nuggets of sage senior student wisdom, a lot of which still hold up. For example, B.C. Shaw provides a wealth of tips on making the most of the resources available to students:

Fashions may come and go, but the crux of this advice is timeless – try out some goofy shit with your dress sense while you’re at uni. You might never be able to wear David Bain sweaters or a Jim Beam cap every day with impunity again. Carpe diem.

I cannot so freely endorse the advice of the author of “Around the Bottles With R.T.B.”. It starts strong with recommendations for good bars near uni, undoubtedly crucial intel, before suggesting a feral concoction from The George:

This is the kind of mixed drink you hear about just after you turn eighteen that you reckon will make you look like the absolute loosest unit for drinking. You talk it up all week – “yeah bro, reckon I’m getting on the Georges this weekend” – then as soon as you take the first sip you realise that a) it tastes like death and you want to vomit, and b) no one’s even really that impressed that you’re drinking a strong, shitty drink.

You could be drinking raspberry Scrumpy, but instead you paid $80 to have two almost full bottles, one of whisky and one of rum, that you’re never going to want to drink ever again. But hey – now you know for next year.

Wedged next to Shaw’s practical advice is a column explaining how to affect a bohemian student look:

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Utilitarianism is an ethical doctrine which states that the morally right action is the action which maximises net welfare. Formulated most famously by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 19th century, utilitarianism is a radical ethical theory with a number of counterintuitive conclusions. Among these conclusions is the doctrine of “negative responsibility”: the claim that our moral obligations to prevent harm from happening are just as strong as our obligations not to cause that harm ourselves. For example, according to utilitarianism, our moral obligation to donate money to a charity that will save someone from starvation is just as strong as our moral obligation not to murder that person.

In the mid 20th century, utilitarianism enjoyed considerable support among philosophers, but since then its popularity has declined. This decline was in part due to several powerful critiques of utilitarianism advanced by the moral philosopher Bernard Williams in the 1960s and 1970s. The most famous (and most frequently misunderstood) of these critiques is the so-called “integrity objection” to utilitarianism: the charge that the moral obligations of utilitarianism assault our integrity.

By “integrity”, Williams does not mean honesty or uprightness. Rather, he is referring to the state of being a whole, coherent person, rather than just a bundle of psychological sensations. But how does utilitarianism threaten our wholeness as persons?

According to Williams, our status as coherent agents arises from our ability to have self-directed goals and “projects” towards which we strive. Importantly, we lose our integrity if we become merely conduits or tools for the pursuit of someone (or something) else’s projects, since we would thus lose our ability to have autonomously-chosen goals.

With this premise established, Williams argues that the threat to our integrity comes from the doctrine of absolute negative responsibility espoused by utilitarianism. The doctrine of negative responsibility commands us to “drop everything” and devote our lives to the impartial maximisation of everyone’s utility. But this robs us of the ability to have any selfdirected goals: utilitarianism provides us with a single all-consuming goal, and prevents us from having any personal, self-directed ultimate goals. Thus, the doctrine of negative responsibility demolishes our integrity.

Williams makes use of two famous examples to illustrate his point. One of them involves Jim, a tourist in South America, who enters a remote town square and finds 20 “Indians” (Williams is writing in the 1970s, after all) lined up against a wall. A military officer explains that the Indians are about to be executed for rebellion. But since Jim is an honoured foreign guest, the officer says that if Jim personally shoots one of the Indians, the other 19 will be set free as a symbol of the occasion.Utilitarianism obviously recommends that Jim accept the offer and kill one of the Indians himself.

Now, Williams’s point is not that this is the wrong conclusion: in fact, he thinks utilitarianism produces the right pronouncement in this case. What matters is the manner by which utilitarianism arrives at that conclusion. In considering Jim merely as an instrument for maximising utility, utilitarianism allows Jim to be co-opted into the projects of the military officer: Jim becomes a conduit for the exercise of that officer’s will. And this violates Jim’s integrity.

Williams concludes that a world in which utilitarianism is true is a world which lacks coherent agents. And this seems to him to be sufficient to make the truth of utilitarianism highly dubious.

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Talking With My Dad About Sex Hi I’m Lena. My dad is a sex therapist and I’m studying to be a sex educator – we’re here to talk relationships and sex, so send your queries and worries our way (sex@salient.org.nz).

Please note: We are assuming that you are asserting that you have a vagina in this question, though there are many people who aren’t female that have vaginas and many people with vaginas who don’t consider themselves female.

Dear Salient, Today I sat in shit at the park while reading your magazine. I think you owe me one. Please provide a how-to on masturbation; ya girl is lost in this department, and as you mentioned in the Opinion edition, we're not taught this in Sex-Ed. Yours truly, Tired of Hearing About Orgasms Being The Best Shit Ever.

Lena says: I guess the first thing when it comes to anything sexual, but especially such a shamefilled topic as female masturbation, is to try and be comfortable with the notion of giving yourself pleasure. The idea that it’s totally fine, and pretty bloody beautiful, to take time to pleasure yourself is not really part of everyday discourse. Mental barriers can make masturbating really difficult, not only do they prevent people from trying it at all but they can also hinder one’s ability to be aroused, i.e. your vagina may struggle to lubricate itself.

On a more physical level, there are lots of different ways people like to masturbate. For people with vaginas, some common ones are rubbing their clitoris, vaginal penetration (with a sex toy or other objects – just clean anything before and after insertion!), grinding on pillows, vibrators, anal play, shower heads, or a combination of the above and more. The best thing you can do is experiment to try and find what feels good to you. Buying and using some lube can be helpful to get the party started if you are struggling to become physically aroused, sometimes even just using your own saliva on your fingers before rubbing your clitoris and vulva can make a real difference.

I would also encourage you to think of masturbation as not simply trying to reach orgasm but instead as any time you take to pleasure yourself and connect with yourself erotically. If you are a seasoned masturbator, you may be pretty used to just whacking things out before bed and that’s totally fine, but if you are struggling to enjoy masturbation I’d recommend setting aside time to just explore without pressure to come. Things such as putting on clothing that makes you feel sexy, listening to sensual music, reading erotic literature, or watching movies you find erotic (which may or may not include some kind of porn), or even taking erotic images of yourself can help you reach a state of arousal, making masturbation more pleasurable.

Dad says: Following on from a couple of Lena’s points I would stress that pleasuring yourself is as much about what’s happening between your ears that what techniques or tools you use. What’s erotic for you is a very personal and sometimes very idiosyncratic thing.

Some people have erotic fantasies and notions that are at odds with what they want in real life (e.g. rape fantasies or enjoying watching orgies). Other people don’t like to think about anything directly sexual when they masturbate (e.g. a focus on the build-up to sex, the sexual tension, is more of a turn on than picturing people having sex). So as well as the permission to give yourself pleasure, you also need to gift yourself the permission to like what you like, to be turned on by what turns you on. Part of the joy of solo sex is that you don’t have to worry about anyone else’s feelings, judgements or preferences. You do you, and enjoy it.

Having said that, there are things that can be learned about the practical techniques of masturbation. If you’re brave, you could talk with friends about the nitty gritty of what works for them.

However if you want to keep it more private, there are lots of suggestions available online. Try googling “masturbation guide” and have a read. Some offer very specific advice on techniques you can try. ( I particularly enjoyed one on the BBC website subtitled “A guide to dating your down under” that had titles like “Scissor Sisters”, “Princess and the Pea”, and “Escargot”!). As well as being useful for self-pleasure it can also give you language and techniques to share with a partner. Have a look and try and find one that interests or appeals to you. But remember in the end, there’s no “right” way to do it — what matters is what you enjoy.

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FILMS THE TIES THAT BIND REVIEW: STEPHEN HUGHES & MONTY SANSOM

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

By Stephen Hughes

Little Woods

By Monty Sansom

This movie felt to me like the musical version of Eat, Pray, Love. A woman goes on a journey to find herself, eating good food, and getting the D in exotic places — all underpinned by wonderful ABBA music, and comedy gold. Special shout-out to the zingers from Christine Baranski’s Tanya every moment she was on screen.

As one among many in my two week binge of NZIFF films, I wondered what would make Little Woods stand out from the bizarre, intriguing, charming stories I had already consumed. The answer comes in the form of a sisterly bond that withstands the financially arid landscape of middle-class America.

Ollie (Tessa Thompson) is close to the end of her probation period, after getting caught at the Canadian border with medication for her dying mother. Putting her life as a peddler behind her, she serves coffee and food to oil rig workers, until her mother’s house is threatened with foreclosure and her sister Debbie (Lily James) is pregnant with her second child. Ollie has to come up with money for the house and to support her sister by resorting to dealing OxyContin to the residents of Little Woods.

Every scene had ended on elements of delight.

Even when there was conflict, it never felt tense. The plot was a bit confusing from time to time, but that just added to the fun, I mean what else was Cher’s purpose in the film otherwise? The film always let us know things would work out; with flashbacks to the past, and a continuation of the future in one film, we are in a position where we know exactly what happens. The film wants us to know this is a film about happy endings. It is a celebration of love, life, and the magic of letting go. (And yes, being the crowd pleaser that it is, Meryl Streep is in the film).

Tessa Thompson and Lily James, especially, are the standout of this film as they create a strong relationship of unconditional love, layered with a profound, aching undertone as they tread water in their impoverished hometown where “being pregnant costs $8000”. While the story of Little Woods is far from unusual, showing the protagonist going back to their illicit past and leading up to “one last job”, the narrative is presented with artistic care by Nia DeCosta, and lacks the usual stylish loudness of most Hollywood Westerns. This is exemplified in moments of tension which are devoid of scoring, which elevate the two leads even more.

The film was heartfelt, gleeful, and uplifting. It truly brought comforting good vibes, conflict resolution in each scene, often doing it so through the power of song. Straight from the get go, the healing power of song and its capability for expression was set out in the opening number of “Thank You For The Music”.

Not only is the film a feel good film about love, life, and self-expression, but it is an open love letter to music and song itself. That is the magic driving this film.

Overall, Little Woods is an expertly shot, dire representation of the turmoil that middle class citizens face on a daily basis. It’s carried along by two stellar performances, despite the heavy subject matter it deals with.

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PODCAST “LORDE: BEHIND THE MELODRAMA” THE SPINOFF REVIEW: TOM WHITE

“‘These are the games of the weekend, we pretend that we just don’t care — but we care.’ And I feel like that is the essence of Melodrama: we pretend that we just don’t care — but we care, we fucking care! and I’m going to show you. This record is a document about that care.”

and I am an artist, but for the most part I’m a writer.”

“You’re your mother’s child,” said Oliver. “I’m my mother’s child.” And at this she laughs.

She’s laughing throughout ngā kōrero; you can see her smile behind the microphone as she’s given the chance to tell some of the stories behind her record.

The album is so full of break-up angsty sadness, yet when Oliver says “the bit that I found the saddest,” he’s drowned out by Lorde’s giggles. The record has become her “suit of armour” — as Lorde relates, “I wrote it when I was sad and I’m happy now”.

What is Melodrama? It’s “the vivid nature of all the emotions that connect all of these songs.”

It’s the intense, singular, fucked-up emotions, the brief lightning flashes that had to be captured and crystallised, the element of humour, the Greek piece of theatre, the making big out of small, the royal court out of the domestic house.

The editing and technical side to the podcast is decent enough: some quibbles here and there. My major qualm with the show is actually in the use of the songs themselves. The song of the episode will appear intermittently throughout, but arbitrarily: sometimes to demonstrate a point just made, at other times boldly for a wholly inordinate length of time, at others timidly entering before fading away apologetically. Perhaps I’m trained in the school of Song Exploder, but it seems a gaffe that the song isn’t included in its entirety at the bottom of each show: it will surface at the end, but only to be trampled on by the credits, when it could have been allowed instead to stand proud and free on a new pedestal of discovered background and stories each time.

The thing is, Melodrama is more than that, and that’s what the Spinoff’s Music Editor Henry Oliver sought to discover when he sat down with Lorde over two afternoons mid last year — the stories, processes, and influences behind the record; the inspirations and the emotions. The series takes the form of a track-by-track exposition in the vein of Song Exploder, each episode devoted to one of the eleven tracks from Lorde’s sophomore album. We are brought along for the noho, and over the course of the conversations also seek to chart the DNA of her process in making a powerful and meaningful record. Of course, we are all aware of Lorde’s undeniable talent; by the end of the series we are left with a rediscovered appreciation of Lorde’s musical thoughtfulness, her voice, we discover, an instrument not only of music but of storytelling too.

An evocative kaikōrero, Lorde is the perfect interviewee, diverting her interviewer’s sometimes uninspiring pātai to tell interesting stories peppered with mellifluous phrases describing the “fog of grief” or “melodic language”, throughout combining words like an experimental chef ingredients. “I am a writer,” Lorde, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O’Connor and whose mother is the poet Sonja Yelich, affirms to her host at one point. “I am a singer and I am a performer

That aside, Lorde herself is a magnetic personality to listen to, and a terrific subject for the patapatai.

Evident in her voice are both the joys of the creative process of working with her favourite collaborators, and the anguish when she describes “the big sun soaked dumbness of just falling in love, your whole head like glue”. Provided with entry passes into the conversation, we get to whakarongo to both processes. It’s worth the listen.

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TELEVISION TRAGICOMIC WEBSERIES WATCH ON YOUTUBE & RNZ WEBCOMIC AVAILABLE ON RNZ REVIEW: NAVEETH NAIR

Tragicomic is a re-envisioning of Hamlet and the latest project from local production team, The Candle Wasters. In a similar vein to their previous projects Nothing Much To Do, Bright Summer Night and Happy Playland, Tragicomic is a web series that tackles Shakespeare in a true-to-life modern context.

The series follows Hannah Moore, a fifteen year old cartoonist who struggles to cope with her missing father and her mother’s new beau, all while navigating the fucked up waters of teenage adolescence.

Hannah’s sexuality. It distinguishes itself as a story of a character who is queer, but is defined also by her aspirations to be a cartoonist and her longing to find her father, and have her pre-adolescent life back.

Tragicomic succeeds in its moments of fragility. Nova Moala Knox (Hannah) gives an honest portrayal of Bipolar Affective Disorder. From Hannah’s bouts of depression through to her moments of mania, the audience doesn’t always support Hannah’s actions but we do understand and empathise with her. While Tragicomic succeeds with Hannah’s characterisation, it struggles with its supporting cast. The cast itself is charming and diverse, delivering overall strong performances. However, there are moments of tailored awkwardness and stilted dialogue that don’t quite stick the desired landing, instead contributing to what seems like throwaway moments.

Tragicomic blazes a trail by telling its story through cross-media means. The series incorporates Hannah’s thoughts and feelings throughout the series in the form of her webcomics depicted in the show. The artwork is beautifully drawn by co-creator and cartoonist Sally Bollinger and provides a further layer of meaning and description to the narrative. The show’s poetic animated sequences tell the story of Hannah the knight, haunted by a skeleton ghost, and her battle against the villainous Onion King. Prolific cartoonist Dylan Horrocks even cameos his art in the webcomics, and plays himself as Hannah’s hero on the show.

Tragicomic’s dedication to its Shakespearean source material, though admirable, disadvantages the series.

Certain storylines and scenes are uneven or appear undeveloped and disjointed at times. It’s questionable whether these plot lines and issues are left to the audience to resolve or complete by scouring through their knowledge of Hamlet. Furthermore, certain character relationships are set up only to be quickly discarded and never given the opportunity to be explored.

The series is a showcase of passion. For Hannah’s it’s her passion for cartooning. For The Candle Wasters team, there’s a passion for telling emotional, meaningful stories that accurately represent perspectives of mental health, queerness, and the teenage female experience. If there’s one thing that shines in Tragicomic, it’s the creative team’s awareness of its young feminist audience and its sense of purpose in accurately portraying an experience that is relatable, affecting, and entertaining.

In spite of my reservations, Tragicomic is a captivating watch. Its presentation, music, and moments of raw and poetic storytelling leave a lasting impression.

Small, personal stories dealing with affectations like Hannah’s need to be told more frequently, and Tragicomic does so in an inspired and inventive way.

The Candle Wasters have crafted another important and charming web series which, but for a few blemishes, is a wonderful meditation on the difficulties of high school and maintaining relationships with family, friends, and self.

The series’ approach to Hannah’s sexuality is refreshingly multi-faceted and unique. The creators go beyond the coming out story or a fixation on the panic and confusion surrounding young romance. Hannah has a crush on her friend’s older sister — the Ophelia to her Hamlet. However, the series doesn’t exhaust its narrative focussing solely on the exploration of 38

BOOKS SPOTLIGHT ON CHRIS KRAUS: I LOVE DICK (1997) AND AFTER KATHY ACKER (2017) REVIEW: XANDRE STEPHENS

The obvious place to start when talking about I Love Dick is with the title, which is why the book is infamous for being hard to read in public. It alludes both to how its protagonist literally falls in love with a guy called Dick, who she writes (but doesn’t send) letters to throughout the course of the novel.

biography about fellow NYC writer/artist Kathy Acker.

After Kathy Acker describes the life of the artist, from childhood up until her death from cancer in 1997, with the focus being on her contributions to the NYC underground art scene, particularly in the 70s – 90s.

The book incorporates numerous excerpts of Acker’s writings, including from her personal letters and from her novels, while also making sure to clarify that Acker was a writer not because she was known for being particularly good at writing (Kraus quotes multiple scathing reviews of Acker’s works throughout the book), but because she wanted to be one.

I Love Dick has achieved feminist cult classic status.

In it, Kraus reflects on various women’s issues, and provides insight into her experiences with being a woman in NYC’s art scene, and the treatment that women artists receive in comparison to their male colleagues. But she particularly focuses on the idea of women’s sexuality – one of the main ideas of the book being about how our society “[presumes] that there’s something inherently grotesque, unspeakable, about femaleness, desire”. With I Love Dick, Kraus upends the expectation for women to be quiet and/or ashamed about their sexuality.

The book argues that the important thing about Acker’s writings, and how she lived her life in general, is her contributions to postmodernism and feminist theory, particularly regarding sex-positivity and the use of language.

However, there’s an unfortunate issue, in that this book isn’t a total work of fiction but rather is based on Chris Kraus’ own real-life experiences with real people (including Dick), making a lot of it pretty inappropriate. It’s fascinating to read, and there’s a lot to learn through Kraus’ in-depth research about various subjects – from women artists/humanitarians to schizophrenia to critical art theory. But there’s probably feminist literature which is less morally questionable out there.

Again, there’s controversy surrounding this book, considering that since I Love Dick Kraus isn’t exactly known for making clear distinctions between fact and fiction. The book opens with her claim that it “may or may not be a biography of Kathy Acker”, with the uncertainty being due to the fact that Acker apparently “lied all the time”. So, basically, almost everything in it must be taken with a grain of salt.

Like I Love Dick, After Kathy Acker is often somewhat morally questionable, but the content is extremely interesting, especially for anyone fascinated in women artists from the underground art scene and/or interested in feminist writings, as both of Kraus’ books include detailed representation of and knowledge regarding both these subjects.

It’s also worth noting that the author went to Victoria University. Thus, there are often references made to our streets and other familiar things, and how these things influenced her work as a writer and filmmaker, something a lot of students here might relate to and/ or find interesting.

With Kraus’ interest in issues concerning women’s sexuality and the experiences of women in the art world well established, it makes perfect sense that twenty years after I Love Dick she would publish a 39

THEATRE MATING IN CAPTIVITY BATS THEATRE INTERVIEW: KATE ASCHOFF

I will always be happy to see queer stories on stage.

No matter what shape they take, they are defying the norms of heterosexuality or cisnormativity, and that continues to make me lean in for more. Mating in Captivity had the potential for a beautiful queer story, inside the captivity of Annie and Rob’s heterosexual relationship and their one-bedroom apartment.

Gay!” (His Girl Friday, 1940) Well, a bit gay. It’s complicated.” And it was a bit gay. But it felt like the heterosexual’s version of a gay play. Rob’s queer experience was something hidden away in his past, that his partner didn’t know about. The fact one of his exes was a man, rather than all being women, like Annie assumed, caused tension between the two of them. My kind of queer theatre is where we get to live out our queerest dreams on stage. Forget the reality of where we are in society and be free for an evening.

I feel that Mating in Captivity reflected a common and almost banal experience many queer people go through. This is okay though! It stills gets people thinking, laughing together, and all in all addressing their own internal bias. Which, in my opinion, is the best thing you can want from an audience. Plus, the story being presented is a very real one for many people, and I think that’s important to note.

Page, writer and director, presents a somewhat time old awkward interaction, over one very long night.

What happens when your current partner meets your ex? What’s the protocol? What’s off limits?

Should you do MDMA together? All vital questions that plague Rob, Annie, and Jacob throughout the play. Even though the play is set in a one-bedroom apartment, it contains a high level of comic physicality, such as Annie chasing Jacob around the room saying “Look at my tits! What do you think of them?” I was impressed with the actor’s commitment to this element of the storytelling and wish them luck for the nights that go on, it just wouldn’t be the same without it. The play largely touched on themes around sexuality and attraction, but at its heart it has some very soft and emotional themes around intimacy, love, and what happens to them over time. Page’s actors presented these complexities perfectly, every one of them giving their all on stage.

If you drink, I imagine this play would go along nicely with your chosen alcoholic beverage and few a friends — definitely not ideal for a first date. Page knows how to make his jokes hit, and his actors know how to serve them. I would have liked to feel more satisfied at the end, not left with more questions about who wants who, but I think it's easiest if I put them to bed for myself, and just imagine the romantic queer ending I was after.

Page has written some great jokes — mostly about sex — into this play. All the characters jest with one another about sexual conduct throughout the play. Some will say these kinds of jokes are easy to get laughs off, but sometimes that’s just what you need to contrast with raw emotional depths being presented on stage, even the subtextual ones, in this case. Shout out the stage designer for making the flat number “69”.

If you’re putting on a gay play, I want you to go all the way. I want my identity to be affirmed to hell and back. Mating in Captivity sits on the edges of this but left me wanting for much more. The Bats websites says about the play: “The year's wildest, wittiest whirlwind of a love battle... Outrageously racy... Sparkling...

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ART GOOD TASTE REVIEW: JANE WALLACE

In her book Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag writes that a “novel insistence on good taste in a culture saturated with commercial incentives to lower standards of taste may be puzzling”. Sontag was writing in the context of depicting atrocity, but somehow, the dictate of “good taste” tends to prevail in our society: a video of a kidnapped journalist being executed is removed from a Boston news website, an Urban Outfitters Kent State University sweater is pulled from production.

encouraged to feel nothing towards representations of injustice.

We already get it. It is not that the depoliticisation of this material is shocking, but that it is not. We got the joke a long time ago. Leonard is obviously aware of this; a clip from a Maharishi fashion show that appropriated jihadi aesthetics is another empty provocation. It is such a trendy thing to be socially aware, or to capitalise on the political/feminist movements. Fast fashion companies smear “THE FUTURE IS FEMALE” across a t-shirt made by exploited women in a faraway country. It is in this zeitgeist that Iconography of Revolt was surely conceived.

Good taste is a strange criteria. In many ways, it feels like a performative thing. The notion of good taste shows us as proving our own moral capacity, and also attempts to establish some sort of concrete line of acceptability, where none can ever actually be found.

The flattening effect of following an international drift is felt in the gallery space. There is an uneasy absence of revolt or resistance in the context of Aotearoa in the show. There is a scattering of New Zealand artists, but none that address content from New Zealand, and not for lack of it. In 2000, City Gallery mounted a show titled Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance, in collaboration with the Parihaka Pā Trustees. There could have been an opportunity for Iconography of Revolt to remember this show, to understand the absolute necessity of resistance in this colonised land. Instead, Arwa Alneami, whose Never Never Land occupies an upstairs gallery, and SODA_ JERK’s TERROR NULLIUS, playing in the auditorium space, are left to counteract the deadpan stance that Iconography of Revolt cannot shake.

This idea of good taste teeters on the edge in the newly-opened Iconography of Revolt at City Gallery.

Curator Robert Leonard prefaces this with a sort of disclaimer in an interview with Olivia Lacey for the gallery’s website: “'Iconography' means both the visual language used in art works and the study and interpretation of that language. I called the show Iconography of Revolt to emphasise that it isn’t simply about revolt. It’s about the way it’s pictured, about the way images work.

I could have called it Picturing Revolt or Rhetoric of Revolt.”

In claiming that the iconography of revolt can be isolated from the contexts and conflicts that inform it, Leonard attempts to neutralise the imagery included in the exhibition. The Pussy Riot protest at the Sochi Winter Olympics, where all members wear balaclavas, set alongside a glass case with a series of balaclavas, is inescapably in dialogue with the Terrorist Teapot sitting in the gift store. The aesthetics employed in each of these scenarios are built of the same iconography.

Yet, reducing something that is so recently part of our social conscience into aesthetics means that we are

Correction: Death and Desire in Salient Issue 16, was written by Nina Dyer, not myself as it was wrongly attributed to.

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MUSIC YUNOREVIEW: SALIENT EDITION REVIEW: JOSH ELLERY

Tierra Whack – Whack World Whack World is the blistering debut from 22-year old Philly rapper Tierra Whack, and it flies by. Whack’s debut consists of 15 tracks, each only a minute in duration, and engages with everything from country to trap. In a year where the concise record has been in vogue – looking at you, Kanye – this 15 minute album seemingly re-writes the conventions of the “album”.

Many of the songs settle into a groove, only to sharply transition into the next track. This is often jarring, and disrupts any sense of sonic continuity throughout the album. Still, Whack is an exciting and eclectic rapper who is pushing the boundaries of hip-hop and popular music in general. Looking forward to what she does next.

Followers of Anthony Fantano's YouTube channel, The Needle Drop, will be familiar with his YUNOREVIEW section, in which Fantano reviews various albums he didn’t manage to get to in a full review context. As we approach the mid trimester break, I thought I’d make my own version of Fantano's segment.

The Internet – Hive Mind Hive Mind is the fourth and latest album from LA neosoul group, and former Odd Future aficionados, The Internet. Capitalising on the success of 2015's Ego Death and various successful solo projects from the group's members over the last few years, Hive Mind is an on-brand continuation of a winning formula for the band. The album is a little front-loaded, in that the two tracks I enjoyed the most happened to be the first two – the groovy “Come Together” and promo single “Roll (Burbank Funk)” – prior to a run of fairly similar sounding songs that kind of mush into one after a while. Still, fans of The Internet and neo-soul in general should find plenty to like here.

The G.O.O.D. Music Friday releases It would be remiss of me, in 2018, to not voice an opinion on the weekly releases driven by Kanye West throughout June. To my ears, only two of the five albums were particularly good – Pusha T's Daytona and the self-titled debut from Kids See Ghosts. Beyond that, I found the projects by Kanye, Nas, and Teyana Taylor to all lack a semblance of artistic identity – there was something missing on all of them. In contrast, Daytona in particular showcased an artist at the top of his game, flexing gritty bars over hard Kanye beats, showcasing a perfect take on the concise 7-track album. I wish the others had embraced the concise album style in the way Pusha T and Kids See Ghosts did, instead of producing albums that were just okay.

Ha the Unclear – Invisible Lines The latest from Kiwi rockers Ha the Unclear is stupidly good. I’ll admit to have not been as familiar with the band’s earlier material as I would have liked prior to listening to Invisible Lines, and I kinda regret that now. Opener “Where Were You When I Was All You Needed?” is equally angular and poppy – I love how the edgy melody in the verse gives way to a stellar major melody and chord progression, as well as the anthemic chorus that follows. “Wallace Line” is surely a contender for song of the year, again showcasing a strong grip on indie-pop songwriting, vocal harmonies, sharp lyricism and earworm melodies. Fans of The Mint Chicks and earlier indie-pop out of New Zealand should love this.

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FOOD OBITUARY REVIEW: SHARIFF BURKE

A few weeks ago I regrettably learnt that Ilott Café, otherwise known as “Revive” has officially shut.

While the reasons for their departure are not clear (something about a lease and mutual agreement, sigh), their departure has left a lacuna in the university and my heart, not just for what it was, but for what it represented.

Surveying what is on offer at Kelburn, it seems that my options are to pay for overpriced cabinet food or sushi, wait in line for The Lab, resort to some type of fusiony-Indian or head to the marae. Of course, there's pizza in the Hunter lounge, but only if you have friends to sit with. Recently I spoke to exchange students from Singapore, unsurprisingly they lamented the dire food situation on campus. If you didn’t know better, you’d think they had been robbed.

“Kia kaha”, I responded, as I slumped deeper into my chair.

If I were an international student, probably hailing from a food culture richer than ours, I would never come to Vic, based on the food alone. I shouldn’t have to mention the importance of affordable, warm, and decent food for tired and hungry students. I recall wee visits to other top unis elsewhere, tucking into gorgeous falafels wraps and revitalising noodles soups. Nothing to fancy. I also observed the existence of food courts on campus.

It seems odd then, that in a stated attempt to lure in more international students and up its globalised game, this uni thinks it a better idea to spend major dough on a superficial name change, rather than investing in tangible improvements for all students i.e. better food. It is almost tiresome to say now, that in all aspects of life, the neo-liberal imperative of the bottom line and profit maximisation mean some things, like tradition (unless bankable), get bulldozed in a brazen march towards riches (for some).

When I first came to Vic, my mum asked me if “the twins” from Ilott Cafe were still around. Excited to learn of their longevity, she told me that back in 81 one of the twins was dating a close friend of hers and that both twins were such “fun- loving” guys. The twins have

been working in this little shop for decades, serving us the honesty of fried chicken and chips (and wedges) from their row of domestic deep fryers. They also did staples like fried rice and noodles and a even touch of something else like nachos, burgers, and hotdogs.

Walls lined with lollies, energy-drink packed fridges, and a even pinball machine; for me, while Ilott Café seemed a little stuck in a time bubble, it was precisely that reliability and enduring nature that made it great.

It was impervious to fads, like that of trendy “healthy” eating, overpricing, or even hip aesthetics such as the exposed lightbulbs at The Lab. Socially, Illot Café was accessible to all, but also an undoubtedly popular spot for all racial minorities, which to my mind reflects positively on the eatery. It seems that Ilott Café and its patrons never suffered from class-consciousness. It just wanted to feed you reliably, cheaply, and with a smile, no bells, no whistles.

Hearing that Vic plans to change a name a century in the making, and the news of the demise of Ilott Cafe, we mourn the long-standing and the symbolic. We are left to ask where the line between mere nostalgia and inalienable tradition is drawn, in the face of indecent, know-it-all, profit-fetishising money men. It seems clear that these money men don’t know it all.

If they did, a little food court would be built, Illot revived, and an old uni name enhanced in the process. Just to be clear, I don’t really care about the name “Victoria” much. It is a name that is redolent of a shameful history, based on seeds of the same capitalist impulse, where wealth for some was built, and lives for others destroyed, at the barrel of a gun.

Yet, it is now New Zealand tradition all the same. No one is perfect, which is to say, nobody’s ancestors were perfect.

I read in these Salient pages that one of the twins was last seen driving an Uber. Make of it what you will. Whether true or not, I would like to thank them from the bottom of my grease-laden heart for sharing their labour of love with us through all these years, and for them to know how important and appreciated they were, in this stodgy material world.

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Film

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Horoscope Brutally honest & highly accurate readings from the stars above.

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22) Practice makes perfect. But nobody’s perfect, so why practice? Use this exceptional logic to justify your decision to do shittily on your assignments and eventually, your degree!

Aries (March 21 - Apr 19) If you’re ever feeling sun deprived in this forever gloomy weather, simply find the nearest law student and bend them over.

Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20) If you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, just remember that whatever you decide will never be as bad as the people who chose to live at the poon.

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21) This week, dodging sick people at uni is almost as difficult as a law student not mentioning how hard their architecture degree is.

Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21) Top tip for getting a flat: gradually move your possessions one by one into your desired flat. The current residents won’t mind; another person just means someone else to spoon for warmth and talk shit about your landlord with.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) When you find yourself wanting an extension and need a legitimate doctor's note, eat at Boulcott hall.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) It’s time to take the plunge into that hiphop career you’ve been considering, Cancer. Your rap name is “lil” followed by the last thing you did to procrastinate; get on SoundCloud and drop that mixtape.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19) You know you had a mean weekend when you wake up still drunk curled up on the floor around a road cone you got from who knows where.

Leo (July 23 - Aug 22) It’s great to be yourself, you do you, (wo)man!

Just don’t also be doing him, and her, and maybe another one. Let people know if you ain’t into just them, no-one likes a jerk!

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18) Nothing like repressing your emotions through alcohol and chocolate, they warm you up inside like your significant other never did! Hahah.. No seriously, go see a therapist.

Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22) Your sexual awakening awaits you in Mamma Mia II’s young Bill and Sam (plus Harry). I don’t care about your sexual orientation, you are lying if you say you wouldn’t tap that.

Pisces (Feb 19 - March 20) This week will be the unwanted Cherry Ripe from the box of favourites. No-one wants to be subject to it and its very existence offends you. Salient bids you good luck to finals week of the first half of the tri.

LARRIKINS

Triggerfin by Gus Mitchell, Horoscope by Ashley Parker, Larrikins by Anton Huggard, Sudoku by Nathan Hotter, Crossword by Scurryfunge.

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Distractions CROSSWORD

BOGGLE

L

K

I

M

S

S

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Words must be at least three letters long, and cannot be proper nouns, abbreviations or contractions.

Eh: 30 Wow: 70 Wtf: 100+

SUDOKU

FUN

ACROSS 9 Highly-valued fruit gets smashed (7) 10 Mixture can be filling (7) 11 Island otherwise known as Rakiura (7) 12 Trips to Lilliput, Brobdingnag or Glubbdubdrib (7) 13 See 2 Down 15 Spyri's little girl in the Alps (5) 16 Retreats after ridiculous decrees (cryptic) (7) 19 Concealed start is annoying for craftsperson (cryptic) (7) 20 See-through clue is utterly understandable (5) 21 An Australian cake. There, I said it. (9) 25 Spooner's dinner is almost ready in eastern suburb (cryptic) (7) 26 Condition caused by vitamin D deficiency (7) 28 Stewed tea sure is spartan (cryptic) (7) 29 Land of the, cough, free (7)

DOWN 1 Young woman usually in distress (6) 2/13 Wandering loungers managed Professor Boyd-Wilson's field (cryptic) (6,9) 3 Native parrot in plentiful supply in and around Zealandia (4) 4 Military identification for Rover? He's in. (3,3) 5 1940 Disney animation featuring The Sorceror's Apprentice and some dancing hippos (8) 6 World's largest landlocked country (10) 7 Spanish churches, maybe for Julio and Enrique (8) 8 [Where's the clue? - Ed.] (8) 14 Like a hidden spy keeping dry (10) 16 Thai tuk-tuk an alternative taxi (8) 17 Deep glacial crack is a fissure, for sure (8) 18 Phoney realigns for Holden Caulfield creator (cryptic) (8) 22 Flight of the Conchords fictional manager? "Presen t" (6) 23 Dissertation as thespians lose sleep (cryptic) (6) 24 Second largest stock exchange in the world (6) 27 A consommĂŠ professional (4)

Last Week's Answers Across: 7 Karma 8 Apple pies 10 Kimono 11 Sorority 12 Maternal 14 Clause 16 Mittens 18/15 Plimmer Steps 21 Rewind 23 Asterisk 27 Muppet 29 Dandelion 30 Gruel Down: 1 Bali 2 Impotent 3 Apostle 4 Clerical 5 Sparta 6 Beat 9/25 John Campbell 13 Anime 17

LITERAL MURDER

Ned Kelly 19 Morepork 20 Galleon 22 Impede 24 Tame 26 Ajax 28 Even

The People to Blame Editor Louise Lin Designer/Illustrator Ruby Ash News Editor Taylor Galmiche Sub Editor Sally Harper Distributor Danica Soich Chief News Reporter Shanti Mathias Angus Shaw Feature Writers Kate Green Annelise Bos Rosie Wilkinson Interview Lauren Spring Poem Laura Solomon Guest Editorial Kii Small News Writers Laura Sutherland, Jess Potter, Kate Aschoff, Thomas Campbell

Section Editors Laura Somerset (Books), Tom Hall (Food) Priyanka Roy (Theatre), Josh Ellery (Music) Navneeth Nair (TV), Emma Maguire (Film) Jane Wallace (Art), Hannah Patterson (Podcast) Centrefold Martin Orza www.martinorza.com.ar @martinorza Contributors Grahame Woods, J.T. Walker, Te Paea Hoori, Katie Meadows, Vita Molyneux, Courtney Powell, Emma Maguire, Alister Hughes, Marlon Drake, Tamatha Paul, F. Scott Shitzgerald, Gerard Hoffman, Te Rangi Waaka, Max Nichol, Shakked Noy, Elena Beets, Stephen Hughes, Monty Sansom, Tom White, Navneeth Nair, Xandre Stephens, Kate Aschoff, Shariff Burke, Gus Mitchell, Ashley Parker, Nathan Hotter, Scurryfunge FM Station Managers Kii Small & Jazz Kane TV Producers Elise Lanigan & Lauren Spring Contributor of the Week Te Paea Hoori

Social Media fb.com/salientmagazine T: @salientmagazine I: @salientgram S: salientmag Contact editor@salient.org.nz designer@salient.org.nz www.salient.org.nz Level 2, Student Union Building, Victoria University PO Box 600, Wellington Printed By Inkwise Advertising Josephine Dawson advertising@vuwsa.org.nz 04 463 6982 About Us Salient is employed by, but editorially independent from, the Victoria University Students’ Association (VUWSA).

Salient is a proud member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association.

Complaints People with a complaint against the magazine should complain in writing to the editor at editor@salient.org.nz and then, if not satisfied with the response, to VUWSA. Read Salient online at salient.org.nz

VUWSA is now hiring next year’s Salient editor/s. The job starts in January 2019 and is a paid position of 40 hours per week if one editor, or 20 hours each if two.

The job entails putting the magazine together each week of trimester, liaising with contributors, managing a group of paid staff and volunteers, and engaging with the student body. If you’d like to get a more detailed job description, email editor@salient.org.nz.

Applications should include a cover letter outlining your vision for Salient ‘19, your CV, and a portfolio of your written work.

Send applications to associationsecretary@vuwsa.org.nz The deadline for applications is Friday 7 September at 5pm.