Salient Magazine
04/10/21
23
1
03
Editorial
04
Letters and Notices
06 - 11
News
12 - 15
She’s Started To Have Visions If you were a bird , what bird would you be?
16 19 - 21
Artist Profile / Centrefold Ko te toi o te tū tika/ The trick of standing upright
22 24 - 27
Columns
To Be Frank (24), Rice To Meet You (25), Disabled Students Association (25)
28 - 35
Culture
Students are 6% of the population, are they heard in Parliament? (28), Album Review (31), Hotline Q&A (33), Beaches and Beer Matches (35)
36 - 38
Entertainment
About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA). Salient is funded in part by VUWSA through the Student Services Levy. Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA).
Complaints Complaints regarding the material published in Salient should first be brought to the Editors in writing (editor@salient.org.nz). If not satisfied with the response, complaints should be directed to the Media Council (info@mediacouncil.org.nz).
The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University.
Sink your teeth into it!
2
Editorial
See ya see ya later “Know Your Mind” is NOT an accurate representation of what one goes through here at Victoria University. It’s more like “Lose Your Mind and spend the next two years trying to find it”—Sally, Salient, May 2020 As Trimester Two comes to a close, so does Salient 2021. We’re officially signing off as editors. We love our print publication; it’s pretty awesome having physical copies in a time when everything’s online. Our thanks go to everyone who has contributed throughout the year and put their energy into this long-running organ of student opinion. And to all you readers out there, thank you. This year, students have pissed around and written about what body mod they’re going to get next and rated the best stoner sneakers. We have seen writers develop skills in research outside of the academic context, through interviewing and all that good journalistic stuff. We know some of you will go on to be NZ’s next greatest journalists. Salient is a space to have fun but also tackle real serious topics. We’ve written about racism in the COVID age, gambling addiction, the state of renting in Wellington, the overwhelming workload of our tutors, and the climate crisis. These topics were brought to us by you in order to have our voices heard. It’s truly been a pleasure to write, capture the student perspective, and make embarrassing mistakes. Please enjoy our favourite spelling cock-ups on page 04. Here’s our little abridged history on how we got here—maybe you’re looking for a path? Matthew I started my time here in 2019, hosting a political show on Salient FM and writing about the parallels between MMP and WWE by comparing the National Party to Vince McMahon. After that, I became the first podcast manager because of VUWSA’s cutting of Salient FM. RIP SALIENT FM. Brought to you by Peoples Coffee
Post interviewing far too many politicians, I was fortunate to join up with Sally and become a coeditor in 2021. It’s taught me a bunch and it’s been a pleasure. I literally started on the radio so I didn’t have to write. 23 issues later, I’ve stopped talking and ended up typing. I’m very hopeful about the future of podcasting. Fran has done an awesome job this year and maybe one day there will be student radio at Vic again, or is there already? Podcasts are the future so make sure you’re tapping in! Sally I saw a call out on the back of a toilet door at Te Aro. I pitched an article about cheese scones which understandably got no response so I came into the office and made my case. I continued writing food reviews most weeks. In 2020, I started writing features about orgasms, sleep, and NZ music. As an editor I have loved working with writers and reporting on stuff that I care about, like being able to have a safe house to live in and how we can address the climate crisis. Producing a magazine every five working days is a fucking mission. By Thursday (print day) my brain was blurring and I’d wonder how we’d be able to pull it all off again, which I couldn’t have done without Matt, and Padraig’s calming use of InDesign. I had to get new glasses, and developed a strange affliction for Castle Point lager. If you’re interested in media and student issues, this could be you—applications to be the next Salient editor are open now and other roles should be announced early next year. With love and watery eyes,
Sally Ward (she/her) and Matthew Casey (he/him)
www.salient.org.nz
3
NOTICES & LETTERS NZ English speakers are needed for an online reading study We are looking for participants for an online reading study. Participants will receive a $20 e-voucher that can be redeemed at over 20 different venues, including Farmers, Kathmandu, Liquorland, Whitcoulls, Dominos, App Store & iTunes. The whole procedure can be completed online and will take no more than 1.5 hours. We are looking for students between 17 and 30 years of age, who are native speakers of NZ English. Due to the nature of the tasks and measures used in the study, participants need to have normal (or corrected-to-
normal) vision and hearing and no diagnosed reading or learning disorders. This research has been approved by the University Human Ethics Committee: #29212 If you would like to take part in the study, please email Ross van de Wetering <ross.vandewetering@vuw.ac.nz> If you have questions about the study, please contact Irina Elgort <Irina.Elgort@vuw.ac.nz>
Our favourite fuck ups: Issue 1, welcome to VICRORIA
Imagine making a spelling mistake in your own editorial
Forgeign. Sorry Janhavi
Any time you saw a ^, no you didn’t
4
Letters and Notices
Thank You! Aakifa Chida Adriana Che Ismail Alex Marinkovich-Josey Alexcea Apostolakis Alice C Alice Chrisp Alice Mander Alyssa Faafua Anna Atkinson Anna Saxton Annabel McCarthy Anoushka Divekar Anthony Bichan Ao Brown Areta Pakinga Ashley McGregor Azaria Howell BDR Billie Angus Callum Turnbull Emáni Sefilino Cha’nel Kaa-Luke Clémence Williams Connor Beere Daniel Khamis Danielle Endacott Dara Jagose Dylan Eden Roberts Edwina Harris Eleanor Tausilua Penn Elisapeta Dawson Ella Hoogerbrug Emile Commarieu Emily Hollis Ethan Ethan Wellington Etienne Wain Fatima Ahmer Felisa Mulini Lini Francesca Georgia Pietkiewicz Francesca Strano Frankie Dale Frankie Goodenough Freya Scott Fugala’au Mafi Gilbert Ostini Grace Paie Hamish Besley Hannah Mahon Hannah Pym Hannah Wood Helen Howell
Hililo Savea Humaidi Ridwan Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho Isis Wright Jack Walker Jaime Eaton James Holt Jamie Clarke Janhavi Gosavi Jasper Elliott Jean Campbell Jeanne-Claire Gordon Jessica Thompson Carr Jessica Ye Joe Roy Nicholson Johnny O’Hagan Brebner Jolénna Deo Jonathan Morrish Joseph Slicker June Ha Kaea Hudson Kane Bassett Karl M Hoffman Kate Jensen Kate Mabin Kate Morris Kate Schellekens Kate Seagar Katelynne Pōtiki-Clune Katrin O’Donnell Khadro Mohamed Kiretin White Kirsty Frame Koa San Luis Lachlan Ewing Laurelei Bautista Lauren Davis Liam Powell Lily McElhone Louise Barnes Maata Hamiora Maddi Rowe Madison Walker Maia Ingoe Maisy McLeod-Riera Malachi Feterika Malia Poole Maryann Olive Penn Mason Lawlor Matt Fretwell Lola Coulthard-Miller Maurice Tupua-Wilson Michael Turnbull
Thank you to those we missed, the friends and family who helped us, and the readers! Mohesh Radhakrishnan Mosi Siosiua Kaleti Moala-Mafi Nakisa Wilson Nat M Natalie McDonald Ngakura Ngatai-Toopi Nicole Geluk-Le Gos Niell Amundberg Nigel Sutcliffe Nina Weir Niva Chittock Norm Mohammed Nosiphi Mapukata Oli Cheyne Oliver Donaldson Olivia Edginton Olivia Lu Padraig Simpson Phoebe Sullivan Puck R. Whaitiri Rachel Lockwood Rebekah Ward-Johnson Renati Waaka Reni Broughton Rhianna Morar Ronia Ibrahim Rosie van Beusekom Ruiha Evans Saiah Wade Sam Bell Sarah Saunders Saul Grant-Drummand Shaadiya-Lee Filoa Shuari Naidoo Siana Whatarau SJE Slice Studios Sophie Dixon Taeaolelei Estelita Filo-Masoe Tahlia Conrad-Hinga Tamatha Paul Thea Mataiti TK Frances Tom Watson Una Dubbelt-Leitch Valerio Micaroni Zianna McCleod Zoë Mills Zola Prendeville
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5
News
Broken Door / Community Immunity / Blues Awards VUWSA Results / Shit News
What’s happening with the Rankine Brown broken door? Joseph Slicker (he/him)
Information released by VUW in response to a request under the Official Information Act reveals that over $22,500 has been spent on the maintenance on a single set of doors at the Kelburn campus. The doors in question, which lead in and out of the Rankine Brown building (near Louis’, and Milk and Honey) have required repairs 33 times since their installation in mid 2011. At the time of writing, the doors have been unusable for a little over three months, since they were damaged by “bad weather” on July 16 this year. The University is pointing to a lack of available parts as the cause for the delay in repairing the doors. The reason for the repeated issues wasn’t confirmed by the University in their information release, though workers at nearby Louis’ pointed to poor weather as the culprit. The position of the doors in relation to the buildings around them forces them to take the brunt of Wellington’s infamous wind. Rushing from the east, the wind is channeled through the courtyard between The Hub and the Kirk and Student Union buildings, creating a wind tunnel effect that the doors jut into at exactly the right angle to get buffeted by the oncoming winds. Since their installation in 2011 $22,553 has been spent on the doors —an average of $2255 a year—rubbing many the wrong way. Salient spoke with a Master’s student, Chelsea, who pointed out that “it’s annoying when it’s raining, I don’t want to get wet.” On a more serious note, Chelsea and other students noted the apparent hypocrisy from the Uni in terms of its spending, with an Honours student, Oliver, highlighting that this is off the back of VUW asking staff for voluntary redundancy.
fire exits to avoid driving people further into the Hub building to find an exit. Despite frustrations among students and staff alike, the University has said that it has no plans to replace the doors and has no alternative designs on file, suggesting that ongoing issues with the doors might be here to stay, even if they do recover from the most recent damage.
Furthermore, questions have been raised about potential safety issues. During Level 2 and above, the other In the meantime Louis’ remains open for business, and nearby exits are locked. One barista at Louis’ said that in from a very reliable source, word on the street is that recent fire drills they had had to unlock the impromptu their pies remain top quality.
6
News
University Vaccine Rollout Continues With “Community Immunity” Event Azaria Howell (she/her)
The “Community Immunity” event hosted by student representation groups from September 22-24 was a success, with 538 students receiving a vaccine against COVID-19 over the three day event. Vaccinations are still available at Student Health’s vaccination clinic in Kelburn. Mauri Ora Associate Director Kevin Rowlatt told Salient that it was a “really fun three days”. He is grateful to VUWSA and for the event organised by the Pasifika community.
organising”, they added. “These groups made sure this event was as awesome as possible for as many students as possible.”
In addition to student representative groups, the event was also supported by local District Health Boards, the “It was a really nice community event, especially because Hutt Valley Pacific Health Service, Tū Ora Health, and we haven’t had community events on campus, so it was the Office of the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika). nice to see that vibe back.” Pasifika Students’ Council President Edwina Harris told Salient that Friday’s clinic was a Pasifika-led event which Rowlatt added that “Tuora [Student Health’s Public encouraged the community to get vaccinated against Health Organisation] were really pleased with the numbers given that so many people now have had their COVID-19. The day featured performances from cultural associations, music by Faaliga Leota, and comedy with first dose”. Nathan Lopa. Despite being the last group to be eligible to receive Harris described the event as “an important the COVID-19 vaccination, people aged 12-19 have had collaborative effort, being supported by Positively the fastest uptake in vaccine numbers, with over 64% Pacific”, who brought in their Pacific nurses for the receiving their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. vaccination clinic. There are over 1300 Pasifika students at Te Herenga Waka; the Pasifika Students’ Council Victoria University Students’ Association President hoped the event was a “safe space” for members of the Micheal Turnbull said he was proud the event “helped community and their families to be vaccinated against celebrate making our campus COVID-free”. COVID. “Events like this, especially given the truly disruptive Vaccinations are now available to all staff students, year our tauira have had, help bring some life and including those not registered with Student Health, at vibrancy to campus. Regardless of the outcome, we’re Student Health’s Kelburn clinic. These can be booked stoked to have worked with such a passionate team of online via https://bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz/. volunteers to get our student community immunised.” There is a code available via the Student Health website. Turnbull dedicated the success of the event to student Vaccinators have been able to provide support and representative groups. He said it would not have been answer questions for those who are vaccine-hesitant. possible without the mahi of the Pasifika Students’ People are encouraged to talk to their vaccinator or GP Council, Arts Society, Disabled Students’ Association, for more information. UniQ, and Victoria International Students’ Association. Disabled Students Association Co-President Gwen Palmer Steeds told Salient the event brought the community together. “I think one of the most successful things about the Community Immunity event was how many student representative groups were involved with
Note: This article includes information and discussion about vaccination. For more information, visit the Ministry of Health’s website for up-to-date information about group eligibility and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination. www.salient.org.nz
7
End of Year Sporting Celebrations Move Online Due to COVID Niva Chittock (she/her)
This year, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s premier sports awards will be announced online due to COVID-19 Alert Levels. There are seven categories for 2021: Sports Coach, Sports Club, Sports Administrator, Pasifika Sports Person, Māori Sportsperson, Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, and the supreme award of Sportsperson of the Year. Nominations are for sporting achievements from 1 September, 2020 to 31 August, 2021. The University is putting together videos of the finalists to release online. They hope to announce all award winners by the end of this week, though the categories below have already been published online. Sports Administrator of the Year Finalists: Rebeka Bowling - Korfball Club Thomas Walsh - Rowing Club (winner) Tommy Boyd - Athletics Sports Coach of the Year Finalists: Torven Schalk - Handball Lachie Griffiths - Water Polo Grant Baker - Futsal (winner) Sports Club of the Year Finalists: Victoria University Squash Club VUW Handball Club (winner) Victoria University of Wellington Athletics Club
Vice Chancellor Grant Guilford commented on this year’s programme that: “The recipients [of these awards] deserve our applause, not only for their sporting achievements but also for looking beyond the academic realm to make the most of the wealth of opportunities the University offers its students.” The Sports Blues are VUW’s highest sporting honours, presented since 1902. Blue has been the colour of choice since the 1830s, when Oxford University and Cambridge University in England adopted blue as their sporting colours and named their sports awards “The Blues”.
Female Sportsperson of the Year: Sammie Maxwell - Mountain Biking
University Recreation also hosted a satellite centre for Women In Sport Aotearoa Summit last Wednesday, 29 September. The annual, nationwide event began in 2019 following the launch of the Government’s Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation Strategy. It seeks to bring together women in sport and encourage participation and equity within the sporting sector.
VUW normally hosts a formal evening in the Hunter Chambers for the awards. High Performance Sport New Zealand, the vice chancellor, finalists, and their families and friends are invited to come along to celebrate the University’s sporting success.
Due to COVID-19, the programme was moved online. The focus of this year’s summit was “young women and their experiences” with guest speakers and panellists including former Silver Fern Irene Van Dyke, Olympian Brooke Neal, CEO of Sport NZ Raelene Castle, and Rachel Māia, a record-holding para-climber.
Māori Sportsperson of the Year: Erin Roxburgh-Makea - Beach Handball
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News News
VUWSA Election results for the 2022 Executive available via www.salient.org.nz We are not able to report on the results this week, as the 2021 AGM was hosted on Friday, 1 October and the issue went to print Thursday, 30 September.
Shit News.
Don’t mistake it for the real thing.
Maroon V announced as headliners for Grant Guilfords leaving party Eugene Pipefitter (he/him)
Minister of MIQ—Chippy, has announced that he has granted special exemption and a placement for all 6 members of the band Maroon 5 for rooms in MIQ leading up to Guilford’s March retirement. When asked why there were six people granted exemption if the band is called Maroon 5, Chippy said to Salient “There’s six, how do you not know this? I can name them all”. Salient told him this was sufficient, but he insisted on listing them “There’s Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, PJ Morton, and Sam Farrar. Grant absolutely loves them so I pulled some strings”. Wiggles fan and advocate for getting them into MIQ, S Bridges, said “Onya Grant, hope you have a mean as send off! If we can get the Wiggles in, Maroon 5 should too.” Salient is unaware if the rumours of Maroon V being Grant Guilford’s favourite band are true, but apparently they are cheaper than SIX60 because those boys are priceless.
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10
News
Tweets of the Week
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11 11
She’s Started To Have Visions
A Short Story By Ronia Ibrahim (she/her)
There wasn’t much to say about the place when they first moved in, except that it’s right next to the zoo! Mona said. Lennie had rolled her eyes, hugging a box of books to her chest as they surveyed their new home. It was damp and empty, as all new rentals are, floor discoloured with the sweat of past sofas, spilled drinks, and ghost cabinets. And it was an apartment, which meant no yard. Lennie said we’ve got to claim this god forsaken space somehow so they decided to saturate their tiny balcony with plants, a lush territory spilling over the railings in soil and green. When Lennie left in a huff to wash the dirt from under her fingernails, Mona stayed for a while. She liked the view from up here, even if it was just the block of flats one the other side. It was a good place to think about new beginnings and such. Mona had always been a bit of a dreamer. Her English teacher first coined the term in Year 10. She liked English because she liked that teacher, who always told her things that made her feel special. That year, heaps of people did their speech on global warming and how so many terrible things were happening and the world was on fire, while Mona did hers on how we could still save it, with the help of bicycles and sunflower seeds. “You’re a dreamer, aren’t you, Mona”, Miss Trentham had chuckled and Mona had felt a glow of pride inside her cheeks. She got four Excellence credits from that speech.
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Feature: She’s Started To Have Visions
The next morning they awoke to the sound of lions. It was a Sunday, the air was milky-warm. They made pancakes from the bit of flour and egg in their desolate pantry and slow-danced to “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” Then they spent the rest of it lying on the floor among their boxes of belongings half tended-to, curling their toes to the sun’s shadows. When did we get flowers? Mona laughed as the last bits of daylight descended over the stack of New Yorkers, still in their boxes. But then Lennie said what flowers? and the daffodils turned into her elbow.
It was as if they switched places—the absurdism of dreams replacing real life. Whether it was the pear on the coffee table that melted into a puddle or toast that jumped out like a fold of skin—brief, freckly, tanned, then just toast. Real life and its sober impossibilities were tiring. Sometimes, she would wake up to the immediate thunder of cicadas, ricocheting off the bedroom walls like a swarm of zig zags. Sometimes it was the yawn of lions next door. Every morning that question felt a little more overused, a little more pleading: everyone sees things sometimes don’t they?
It was the day after they moved next to the zoo that she started to have visions. As in, seeing things— random, odd moments where the inanimate turned animate, or an object began to wriggle into life before her very eyes.
She did not tell Lennie because she thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. She did not tell Lennie because she did not want to be thought of as crazy.
In contrast, her dreams were awfully plain. They usually involved going to the supermarket, losing something, or the cute barista near her old work. They would usually play out in ordinary fashion; she would find her keys in her pocket, or she’d walk out the cafe with a mocha again, blushing the same colour as the tomato stack at New World.
I’m going for a walk, Mona announced, on the third day of visions. The concept felt thrilling and adventurous, and the prospect of non-domestic air seemed appealing. She thought it would be good to familiarise myself with the area, ay, so I’ll see you later, then she was out the door and descending. Then there was the zoo. Somehow the neighbourhood seemed to shrink at its welcome sign; the bronze bear statue’s presence more dominant than their ten-story apartment block. She felt the urge to turn away from it. Yes it was wonderful to think of all the birds and mammals and lizards right next to her flat, but she thought it a little unsettling that she was the human newcomer while the monkeys had been wriggling around these parts for years. It was lucky that she discovered a small bush walk, at the opposite end of the street. The plaque at the bottom of it said that 40 Tōtara trees were planted here five years ago in lieu of conservation efforts. How tall they had grown in that time! Five years ago Mona was in high school, doing speeches, having crushes, and yearning for validation from her English teacher. It was odd to think that she had thought herself so grown up back then, all the while these trees had stood in the same place, inching towards the sky in quiet photosynthesis. They were humble, blissful in their stagnancy. If the world was ending they did not know it.
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13
And am I dreaming? she muttered and knocked on her forehead a few times. She felt a dull thudding on her skull, but no awakening. She suddenly felt the urge to lie down, feel her spine mould against the earth beneath her. Although there was something that felt so vulnerable, almost illegal about it, being horizontal to the earth, parallel to the sky. But if there was something sacrilege about that moment, there’d be a sign from the universe. A pine cone from above to split her head open or something. But nothing came hurtling.
Suddenly Mona became overcome with sorrow. But why should she ever feel sorry for herself in the first place? She could never be expected to be a tree. Likewise a tree could never be her. A tree could not go to uni or pay bills or go flatting. A tree did not go through puberty. It did not know English. She tried to affirm that her own growth, while leafless, was still valuable. But when she stood under the Tōtara, she felt like the youngest and smallest thing of all time.
So Mona laid down and closed her eyes. In the womblike orange of her eyelids she began to imagine a series of flax bushes, a fringe of harakeke, setting the scene of a memory from primary. Katikati was what they called the flax bushes back then because they had a habit of slicing your shins if you weren’t careful. You wanna watch out for the katikati at the end, her classmates warned her. She was standing on the edge of the flying fox platform at Year 6 camp, plucked into the air by a harness. Nothing else about this memory is vivid, because the rest is windy blur of black that went zzzzzzzzzzip, the feeling of scrunched-up eyes, a deadening smack, and then at the other side already, in front of her classmates, and the full, raised thumb of the instructor. And her ankles were untouched. Katikati— that wasn’t their real name, but they had a habit of slicing you open. ***
Something vibrates, stirring wind into Mona’s chest, forcing her eyes open. For the briefest moment, the world is colourless, as if she’s just woken up after a forest The bushwalk led up to a small lookout on a patch of hill. fire. Slowly, her conscience returns, and she knows this From up here the town looked simple. weather-board because it becomes easier to define the treetops’ subtle huts perched on a strokes of concrete, toy buses and yellows and olive, the grey clouds are more saturated. cars tracing the streets. The apartment looked like a And the vibrations are coming from her phone, flashing minor crater, throbbing slightly with the currents of heat. lightning green next to her. It’s Lennie. And the zoo was visible too, but only the tops of the Yo where are you? You’ve been gone on your walk for chimpanzee exhibit. A playground model made out of like 3 hours. Are you ok? popsicle sticks. There was something about the way the A few feet away in the bush, she sees a black wig, world looked Outside and On Top, that made the Inside rustling among the leaf floor, breathing. and the Bottom so comfortably insignificant. Oh god, she mumbles into the phone. Yeah. I’m ok. I fell asleep on the hill. She breathed a sigh of relief. At what, she wasn’t sure. You fell asleep in the forest? Bro how are you not dead? The visions did not escape her here. Nor did the sound of I don’t know. Sorry. I’m on my way now. cicadas. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that a flax bush was waving at her in a friendly motion. Like it was She gets up and brushes the pine needles off her saying I know what’s up. Like it was saying I understand. jeans, like the Tōtara had begun burying her. It starts to rain slow watery blades. In front of her, the wig rises, You’re a dreamer aren’t you? stumbles, then swells into a black bird, soaring into the Yes I think so. But I think she meant naivety not ambition. air in a flurry of feathers and pWieces of glass. In the Or do you think it’s stupidity? Or insanity? distance, a chimpanzee cries. The flax bush did not reply.
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Feature: She’s Started To Have Visions
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My favourite question to ask people is “if you were a bird, what bird would you be?” No one sees it coming, but many get invested in introspectively finding an answer. “I would be a kererū, cos they’re chunky and drunk like me.” “A kea for sure, they’re quite smart but also really funny.” “I’d have to be a tūī. You can hear them from a mile away and immediately recognise their voice. And they’re usually around, you know exactly where to find them.”
I’m always pleasantly surprised at how many people chose a native bird as their answer. New Zealanders have historically felt a close connection to our indigenous manu—we’ve been referred to as “Kiwis” since the First World War. But this deep relationship is rooted in te ao Māori, according to Local Councillor Tamatha Paul (Ngāti Awa, Waikato Tainui). “My reverence for our native manu and my desire to protect them is because they are deeply intertwined with my culture”, she says. Tamatha explains that Māori pass down pūrākau and pakiwaitara, or stories, about how cheeky, smart, and observant native birds are. Different species have distinct personalities and “there are many lessons we can learn from observing and protecting them”. Manu also connect Māori to their whanaunga in wider Polynesia with stories about species found in Aotearoa that came from other islands in the South Pacific.
If you were a bird, what bird would you be? 16
Janhavi Gosavi (she/her)
I first felt connected to our manu through the Bird of the Year (BOTY) competition, launched by Forest and Bird in 2005. Imagine explaining to another country why every year Kiwis enthusiastically engage in an election-based online competition to vote for their favourite native bird. Campaigns get heated, ruffling many a feather. Birds can receive celebrity endorsements, from notable figures such as Irene van Dyk, Taika Waititi, Helen Clark, and Annabel Langbein. Countless instances of voter fraud have made headlines, with the most recent scandal being the dismissal of 1500 illegitimate votes for the little spotted kiwi in 2020. As a kid who grew up glued to Animal Planet, I used to think Aotearoa’s wildlife was bland. Our bush felt too tame, too safe. There were no large predators stalking the trees that could leap out at me. BOTY taught me to find excitement in the small things: how stout takahē stroll through grasslands, how ruru gently put me to sleep with their hooting. While our environment does not pose a threat to me, the same cannot be said for our manu. Colonisation introduced small predators, such as rats, stoats, and possums, which have since decimated native wildlife. And now there is another threat, one that cannot be eradicated with traps. Climate change is here, and it’s threatening our native birds. Graham Parker and Kalinka Rexer-Huber from Parker Conservation say rising sea levels can significantly impact sea birds. Low-lying colonies, such as those of the New Zealand fairy tern and the Whenua Hou diving petrel, are “already vulnerable to storm surges and at risk of inundation as sea levels rise”. Climate change also affects seabird prey. For example, the red-billed gull, commonly found throughout the country, depends on krill for successful breeding. However, krill stocks are impacted by changes in temperature, wind, and currents. The Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Principal Science Advisor Jenny Christie expressed concern for the hundreds of kilometres of traplines that could be flooded by rivers, and for the infrastructure on pest-free islands which is vulnerable to sea-level rise. Rising temperatures increase seed production in trees, providing more food for pests, which could allow them to move further into alpine areas. “This would increase the pressure on birds such as rock wren, kea and Hutton’s shearwaters”, says Christie.
DOC have taken preventative measures by developing their Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan, a long-term strategy to protect our biodiversity. They are also implementing the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, and are working towards the Zero Carbon Act. Remaining optimistic can be difficult. Whenever I see a $50 note, adorned with our beautiful kōkako, I feel disheartened. The South Island kōkako is believed to be extinct, while the North Island kōkako remains threatened. But then I hear that Capital Kiwi, an ambitious local conservation project, is planning on releasing kiwi in parts of Wellington by the end of this year. News like this shows that New Zealanders care, not just with our words but with our actions. There are many ways students can get involved in conservation efforts to protect birdlife. Zealandia suggests that students “advocate on a local and national level for policies which address climate change and habitat destruction”. They also recommend getting involved in community conservation, such as joining a local Predator Free group. The Predator Free Trust is pushing for Aotearoa to be free of predators by 2050, and its volunteers run pest control projects throughout the country. A handy map on their website showed me that there’s at least 25 Predator Free groups in the suburbs surrounding the Wellington CBD. You could also volunteer at Zealandia itself or with Polhill Protectors, who look after the Polhill Reserve which receives a lot of spillover birds from Zealandia. It might seem silly, but using social media to rally for the BOTY competition helps with raising awareness. If you’re feeling extra, you can plaster old movie posters around town with your favourite bird photoshopped onto them. An iconic poster that comes to mind is The Rocky Hopper Picture Show: a different set of brows from the 2019 campaign for the beloved penguin. I write this article perched in my room at the top of Aro Valley, watching flocks of kākā fly overhead whilst pīwakawaka flit in the treetops. Our manu are precious taonga who deserve to be protected and celebrated. Take some time over summer to trek through our reserves and birdwatch. Aotearoa’s native birds have shown such resilience in the face of adversity; we have much to learn from them.
www.salient.org.nz
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It’s almost December By Sloane Peters
The days are going by slower and slower It’s been two too many weeks I’ll go for a walk
this afternoon
I said that yesterday I’ll say that tomorrow I’ll actually
do it
this time
I said that yesterday I’ll say that tomorrow I want to go easy on myself None of this is going easy on me
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Poem / Artist Profile
NO MERCY COLLECTIVE Email: nmaotearoa@gmail.com IG: nomercy__nz
*What is NO MERCY?* Emerging from the flames, NO MERCY (NM) is a dedicated club night and collective based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara for QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) and WOC (Women of Colour) visual artists, musicians, DJs, and performers in Aotearoa. NM is devoted to carving out a safe, collaborative and mesmerising space that centres brown and indigenous excellence to express and explore their true form and show NO MERCY. The NO MERCY Collective Sustaining intentional spaces for QTBIPOC and WOC is exhausting and we have seen our brown communities burn out while running up against mainstream structures and barriers. As a result of this hard mahi, marginalised people are often accused of being demanding or overly sensitive which can lead to them tapping out of mainstream art and music scenes. We envision that the collective power of NO MERCY will be an enduring feature of our kaupapa to uplift and ignite the fire within these artists and communities. The NM Collective acknowledges and is inspired by the following decolonisation groups that helped pave the way for NM, such as Āhua Collective (NZ), Frills (NZ), Filth (NZ), and Pxssy Palace (UK). We have received support and love from activists and BBIPOC creatives and know that coming together will strengthen our collective power so that we can serve our communities’ needs in a powerful and nourishing way. DECOLONISING the art and music industry NO MERCY is here to decolonise, therefore all mahi is underpinned by te Tiriti o Waitangi. NO MERCY acknowledges the mana whenua of Te Whanganuia-Tara: Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Rangitane o Wairarapa, Te Atiawa /Taranaki Whānuiki te Upoko o te Ika, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Whakarongotai, and Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai. NM knows this mahi is occurring on stolen land and supports the shift from oppressive and harmful colonial structures to indigenous sovereignty in Aotearoa and in every other colonial settler state. NM is inclusive and welcomes all energies who are mindful and respectful of the kaupapa being a BBIPOC space of expression and freedom. Complex and careful work has been done to carve out an intentional space for BBIPOC creatives. Allies must take meaningful action themselves to contribute to this space and support this kaupapa. NO MERCY does not define or impose any inhibitions on what kinds of BBIPOC sound and visual art can be showcased. NO MERCY is solely devoted to providing a platform and support network to nourish BBIPOC talent to express themselves with no inhibitions or barriers.
WHAT IS TO COME? As we try to navigate the global pandemic and explore intentional spaces to best showcase BBIPOC talent, we encourage BBIPOC creatives, including sound and visual creatives, to get in touch via email or DM the NM Instagram page if you wish to be part of the Collective. Watch this space as our first activation in Pōneke is coming very soon. Follow us on Instagram @nomercy__nz to stay engaged and connected. Get ready to RISE, IGNITE AND UNLEASH with NO MERCY All of our beautiful artwork is by our gorgeous friend @loser_art.
ARTIST PROFILE
Loser Art IG: @loser_art
My name is Shezaana Sadikeen, aka Loser Art. I’m a graphic designer residing in Melbourne for the last eight years. Loser Art is the ripple of an awkward South Asian kid growing up in Taranaki, trying to navigate identity. As time has passed and I have grown, all of those isms and cultural connections are things I have come to celebrate through my art and design. I use grotesque imagery that incorporates deities, fashion, bold colour, and unhinged typography to explore a core set of themes: mental health, re-generation, and sexual expression. These deities I portray are alter egos—ideations of strong femme poc. Although some of the imagery I create has darkness within it, I find it’s a cathartic way of connecting with the broader community. I think those feelings of vulnerability are so common and relatable there is always a sense of hope behind my artwork. www.salient.org.nz www.salient.org.nz
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By Shezaana Sadikeen @loser_art For NO MERCY Collective
Ko te toi o te tū tika/ The Trick of Standing Upright Lachlan Ewing (he/him)
Tēnā koutou ki ō tātou tipuna katoa nāna i whakaniko te wharenui o te Tumu Herenga Waka, nāna i mātakitaki a mātou i ō mātou akoranga reo. Ngā mihi nui ki a Ruka Broughton, nāu i whakatākoto te mauri o te marae nō Rangitāne. Me mihi atu ki a Wiremu Parker, nāu i tuku te ingoa o te marae. Ngā mihi ki ngā mana whenua o te Upoko-o-te-ikaa-Māui, ko Rangitāne, ko Te Ati Awa, ko Ngāti Toa, ko Raukawa. Nā ōu manaakitanga tonu e tū tika ana tēnei whare wānanga ki te Whanganui-ā-Tāra. Ngā mihi ki Te Kawa a Māui me ōku pukenga: ko Awanui Te Huia rātou ko Vini Olsen-Reeder ko Mike Ross. Tēnā koutou ki ōku hoa karaehe, ko te rōpū tino rawe ki tēnei whare wānanga! After four years of study I am on the verge of completing a major in te reo Māori, and can safely say that a first-year change of heart to enrol in MAOR101 was the luckiest decision I have made in my time at Te Herenga Waka. I am not writing to flex my reo rangatira. I am rooted firmly at the bottom of my class and regularly misunderstand our kaiako and stumble over my own kupu. Furthermore, Kelly Mitchell (Ngāti Māhanga, MAOR321 student) thinks that it is very important for Pākehā and tauiwi to choose their end goal in learning te reo very carefully. “[...] it’s all for nothing if those tauira only ever use the reo for themselves or for economic gain.” She lays down a wero for tauiwi learners to commit themselves fully to working throughout their lives to uphold Te Tiriti. Katelynne Pōtiki-Clune (Ngāti Porou, WaikatoTainui, Tapuika, Ngāi Tahu, MAOR321 student) also emphasises the importance of language learners
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Ko te toi o te tū / The trick of standing upright
being self reflective about their motivation. “Te reo Māori is more than a language […] to properly engage and learn reo you will have to engage with some aspects of Te Ao Māori and whakaaro Māori.” She also sees a connection between learning te reo and upholding Te Tiriti, but thinks that people have to be ready to properly confront what they will have to learn and unlearn in order to do so. I also do not want to preach that we all ought to learn te reo. I understand my incredible privilege that a reo opportunity presented itself for me at the right time and place. It is also a damning reflection of white privilege in Aotearoa that there are fewer barriers in the way of my people stepping into the reo for the first time than returning to it for many Māori. I would simply like to share some important lessons a tauiwi can learn in studying te reo, and encourage those who are interested to begin their own haerenga reo.
He reo, he mātauranga
spaces. Te reo Māori cannot be learnt for the self benefit of any tauiwi. It must be learnt with careful Within te reo Māori is a thousand years of mātauranga goals in mind, and an honest intention to strive to on how to make it on these lonely islands in a remote uphold Te Tiriti. corner of the world. For our tipua Pākehā to rock up on these shores and assume they could do without it To honour Te Tiriti, we don’t need an army of tauiwi was the height of imperial arrogance. Understanding spouting off in fluent reo. We need a community te reo and the whenua around you begins to open up equipped with the listening skills to understand with meaning. At Pipitea, shellfish could be gathered tāngata whenua when they stand and kōrero. When from the beach in abundance, before the harbour rangatira signed Te Tiriti 181 years ago, do you think was filled in and an industrial port took its place. they envisioned a house of parliament where some of Karori was originally Kaharore, where there were a their mokopuna deliver kōrero tino ātaahua, but it falls great number of snares placed to catch birds on a on mostly deaf Pākehā ears who zone out or scroll on once forested flat. Before it became known as Mount Twitter? Our prime minister has talked at length about Victoria, Matairangi was known as a place from which crossing “te arawhiti” (the bridge) into te ao Māori. to scan the sky. Every puke, awa, and kāinga across But will we have the open ears and humility to receive the motu has history and significance contained the lessons from the other side of te arawhiti once we within their ingoa reo Māori. get there? Furthermore, within the grammar of te reo are fundamental concepts that outline the relationships between people, places, and things. In English, we ask where a person is from. The reo Māori equivalent, “nō hea koe?”, instead asks “to where do they belong?” In English, the relationship between me and my cat, my daughter, my mum, and my school are all described by the same possessive pronoun. In Māori, however, different relationships call for different pronouns. Things fall into either the “ā” or “ō” category depending on the nature of the relationship between them. So my cat and my daughter are tāku ngeru and tāku kōtiro, as I exercise a degree of control or mana over them. However, my mum and my school exercise their mana over me, so they are tōku whaea and tōku kura. These are just two examples of how in te reo Māori you do not just express exactly the same ideas as English in different words, but instead describe the world from a different standing point.
Ko te toi o te whakarongo: the art of listening Far more important, however, than any particular vocabulary or grammar is learning how to whakarongo. I believe this is the most important lesson for tauiwi. Learning English, my young mind loved the feeling of being listened to, rather than listening. It would be a lie if I were to deny that when I enrolled for MAOR101, I entertained prideful fantasies of one day delivering fiery, eloquent kōrero from the pae.
Closely related to learning to listen is learning humility. For us tauiwi, I believe one of the quickest and most beneficial ways we can be humbled in regard to our place on these motu is diving into te reo classes, if appropriately available. In my experience studying here, you will likely be in the minority, not understand a lot of what is being said, and be confronted by challenges to your ancestors’ actions. Getting outside of your comfort zone in this way requires you to leave your ego at the door and turn on those taringa. In 1949, standing before the skeleton of a towering moa, feeling uneasy as a Pākehā in Aotearoa, the poet Allen Curnow wrote: “Not I, some child born in a marvellous year, Will learn the trick of standing upright here.” It may seem that we need only our legs to stand, yet canals deep in the inner ear actually help us to maintain our sense of balance. Perhaps the trick to standing upright here is turning our ears to the reo of this whenua. After all, it is a lot easier to stand confidently when you understand where you are, the history of the ground beneath your feet, and the world of your hosts. As a tauiwi, I may never stand like a moa, but have found a lot of meaning in taking my first awkward pūkeko steps. Nā reira, nau mai, haere mai ki te Āo Reo Māori, ki te Āo Mārama.
But my hubris was checked by lessons such as those from Kelly and Katelyne, that are abundant in reo www.salient.org.nz
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Frankie Dale (she/her)
Sex and dating advice from Wellington’s rankest, pessimistic, anxious, and most dramatic woman. This is my final column. Yep, that’s right. Some of you will be reading this while crying with happiness because you are so fucking over hearing about my vagina—no worries. Fair. Others, I hope, have taken some solace in knowing there’s someone out there just like you who religiously free bleeds and double texts people who don’t care if I’m dead or alive.
much of our life is spent worrying, so like, don’t worry too much. Don’t take your friends for granted Every couple of hours, I will have an existential crisis to which my friends will have to talk me through—“Frankie, smallpox was eradicated in the 1900s, you cannot have it”. To keep it simple, my friends are the backbone of my existence—hug them a bit tighter next time you see them. Maybe if I listened to my friends more I wouldn’t have cut my hair like Rod Stewart.
I definitely don’t know the secret to a happy life; I still sit on the bottom of my shower and pick at my toes. However, I certainly pretend I do. The secrets to success I am about to tell you aren’t going to be good. But, maybe it could be useful for those days when nothing else Please for the love of God, move the fuck on seems to be working. I am essentially a hoarder of memories, as well as plates in my room. If I’ve spent more than three hours with Don’t centre your life around the pursuit of love someone I will struggle to accept they are no longer Being obsessed with finding a partner is exhausting and in my life. Someone’s absence in your life is not always it doesn’t work. After my breakup, I was so obsessed with personal—I’ve ended things before just because they moving on that I would’ve gone on a date with Charles weren’t the right fit for me. Stop waiting around for the Manson. Let it happen naturally. It doesn’t mean you’re person who doesn’t care about you to care. Sex doesn’t not good enough; being hot is all a mindset. So, own your mean commitment, and silence IS deafening—read the shit because there is nothing more attractive—or maybe signs and stop pretending that you are in the “area”. I’m just one of the ugly ones. It’s never worth bad head, or Please don’t end up like my old self and pretend you in my case, joining a sex cult. Fake it till you make it, it’s accidentally texted them to see if they would reply— what everyone else is doing anyway. it’s not worth it. There is no right or wrong way to get over your ex. Even though I wish I had gotten over my Learn the true value of fresh herbs ex through hot yoga instead of starting a column that You probably wouldn’t expect me to be offering you serves as my diary, I still got over him and his obsession cooking advice in this column, but I really believe this to with dressing like he’s always ready for Burning Man. be a valuable life lesson; no more dried thyme. Please. As you and I both know, none of this is revolutionary. But, If you worry, you suffer twice the whole point of this column is to take life a little less This is for all my anxious babies out there. I spent so seriously. Most things work out and if they don’t, they much time worrying my (now) ex was cheating on me build character. At the end of the day, we are all doing with my best friend, and it turns out he was. But instead I our best (except when I’m giving head) and that’s what’s could have used that time to write the biopic I always talk most important, right? Thank you for reading about my about, or nurse my sea-monkeys back to health. I hate to experiences, from rim jobs to abusive relationships. I say it but if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. So hope it made someone feel a little less alone.
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Columns : To Be Frank / Rice to meet you
Hi! We’re Anoushka and Laurelei and it’s Rice To Meet You. From dating, to pronouncing ethnic names, to racial imposter syndrome, we’re Salient’s resident Asian aunties giving completely unsolicited (but somewhat sage) advice.
The Seasoned Finale Rice to Meet You has been the brainchild of Laurelei and I that we have poured so much love into to see it blossom and have an impact on the people around us. Now as I write this column for the last time this year, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a little bit sad. Even though we were given plenty of notice, and all the deadlines were written in bold on my VUWSA wall planner, I can say very confidently that most of my columns were written the night before they were due (sometimes after they were due too, sorry Sally and Matt). But not many things brought me as much joy as sitting in my bed, with my dry-ass brain spouting on about genuinely serious race issues that I had the privilege to discuss. It’s been a real opportunity to provide an insight into my life and culture, and really talk about the issues that are important to me. It’s so important that race-related issues remain topical and talked about because we are miles away from even a notion of equality. The fact that we had to write about things like increasing violence against Asians is a really poor reflection on the world we live in, and it’s not something I would like to do. But I guess so long as there is shit going on in the world that deserves my unsolicited opinion, I will deliver. Until next time, stay safe and good luck for exams. It has been very rice to meet you :))
Anoushka Divekar (she/her)
As the academic year draws to an end, so too does this column. Anoushka and I came up with Rice to Meet You within an hour of first meeting each other, after a heated discussion about Orientalist stereotypes and other joys of growing up Asian in Wellington. It’s been a wild ride of exceeding word counts and missed deadlines, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s still a lot of topics that we haven’t yet covered, so I challenge you to keep consuming Asian media. We’re just two individual voices, and with 50ish countries in Asia I can guarantee that there’s a whole lot more to read up about. And if you’re a FYP deep into Berries and Cream TikTok, then congrats, I just gave you a miles better way to be spending your time. This year alone has highlighted just how important tackling anti-racism and increasing minority representation is. Hidilyn Diaz won the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was Marvel’s first Asian-centric film, and the list of Asian excellence goes on. While we won’t settle for representational crumbs, we can still celebrate the small victories. At the same time, this year has brought a whole lot of tragedy. The Atlanta shootings, the ethnic cleansing in Palestine, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the farmers’ protests in India—while they all may feel geographically far, they still hit so close to home for so many diaspora in Aotearoa. Especially with the rise of COVID-related anti-Asian sentiment, it’s important to recognise that this country isn’t immune to acts of racial discrimination. We hope that this column has brought some comfort and humour to the fatigue that comes with uni, work, and just generally existing as a person of colour. To reference the very first one we wrote, exam season do be feeling like an academic pressure cooker right now. But keep your head up, king—vaxxed girl summer is just around the corner.
Laurelei Bautista (she/her) www.salient.org.nz
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Kia ora, e hoa! Looking for a job? We can help with that. Full-time jobs, internships and graduate roles, available to you, up to two years after you graduate. Find yours at sjs.co.nz 26
Disabled Students Association
Best of Both Worlds Hannah Pym (she/her)
I live a double life, just like Hannah Montana—except fewer sequin belts and wig changes. I sit in a Wellington Council boardroom, speaking loud and proud. Ensuring accessibility and inclusivity are at the forefront of the discussion. Not taking no for an answer when people dismiss the need for ramps, or closed captioning in the media. Having someone with lived experience staring them down at the table is a great method of persuasion. When addressing government ministries or uni head honchos, they will listen or receive emails with clear instructions for action. Then I bus back to uni, stumble into class, and fall into an empty seat, in excruciating pain and narrowly avoiding passing out. However, I draw no attention to it. My goal is to get through the lecture without anyone asking me if I’m alright. I’m a student who shudders at the thought of being seen as different. Or worse—less competent. I run myself ragged, constantly overextending myself to keep my A+ average. God forbid I am seen to be struggling.
Why is it so easy for me to advocate for minorities who are unable to, or uncomfortable in, voicing their own needs, but so difficult for me to accept an extension when I’m bedridden? If I have to step outside my meticulously manufactured bubble that allows me to mask certain aspects of my life, I feel like absolute crap. Control is a double-edged sword. It is my greatest safety and most restrictive prison. Constantly debating whether an interaction calls for Miley or Hannah is exhausting and totally unnecessary—but a habit I have perpetuated for so long. As Miss Montana said: “Who said, who said, I can’t be Superman. I say, I say, that I know I can”. Surely she was describing meeting with city councillors right? What else could it have been about?
NEW SUMMER STOCK n o w i n s t o r e
@
VINTAGE CLOTHING IMPORTERS
164 CUBA STREET www.salient.org.nz
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Students are 6% of the population, but are they heard in Parliament? yeah, nah, yeah, kinda, not really Matthew Casey (he/him) When starting this article, I thought it would be funny to look at why the media always talks to Chlöe Swarbrick about student issues. Other MPs care about students— but when it comes to it, do students rank highly on their priority list? Last week I spoke to an academic, two MPs, and two former VUWSA presidents to investigate. Students aren’t a monolithic group with supremely shared ideals. Students care about their future job prospects, owning a home, climate change, getting paid a decent wage, and simply just surviving. Being a student isn’t their only character trait. Students vote for every party on the political spectrum. Some who study do not like being lumped into the group ‘students’ because of the connotations that the word holds. Students as a group make up 6% of the population so, in theory, there should be about seven MPs who care about students. The nationwide tertiary student body is 380,255 people, so if we were a city, we’d be New Zealand’s third largest, narrowly behind Christchurch. On the topic of speaking on student issues, Swarbrick told Salient “I’d love it if others wanted to front up and do their bit on it. [...] There’s a reason politicians go silent on issues and it’s because they don’t want to talk about them”. Politicians deserve recognition for their help in the student space from time to time. National MP Nicola Willis is proud of her advocacy for VUW students— like Swarbrick, she called for halls of residence to
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Students are 6% of the population
drop charges during last year’s lockdown. She also mentioned her action “around the Vic name change, and for those funds to be better applied to more pressing student concerns”. Labour MP Ibrahim Omer’s work in the Living Wage movement has also meant better pay for typically lower-waged work that is commonly undertaken by students. Swarbrick is the youngest MP in Parliament, and she’s got relatively recent experience of the realities of student life. The problem, however, is that she is not a part of the majority Labour Government—she can’t fix everything. Labour has 65 MPs in Parliament, and as Nicola Willis told Salient, “many senior Labour politicians themselves were student leaders before they entered Parliament and in those roles, sometimes were calling for some radical action, but as cabinet ministers they’ve changed their tune”. Willis talks about Labour as a party that cares a lot pre-ballot, “but perhaps aren’t quite as present when we get further out from the election”. As former VUWSA President Marlon Drake told me, “Lots of MPs actually care but when they’re balancing interests, do they understand that the issues being faced need priority?” Both Drake and another recently former VUWSA president, Tamatha Paul, agree that when it comes down to it, Swarbrick is the only MP sticking her neck out. When Drake was asked if any MPs care about students, he said “Firstly, definitely Chlöe”, and after literally a
minute of umming and ahhing he offered up current Minister of Education Chris Hipkins. He then retracted that, saying, “I think the problem is, they don’t get the reality of being a student, they don’t understand in relation to the costs of living and how the demographics of universities are not what they should be”. Swarbrick states that she doesn’t “know whether it speaks to a lack of policy, a lack of representation, or a lack of concern in those political parties”. Paul believes that “some MPs care about, and believe there should be free tertiary education—I’m talking more about Green MPs.” She talks about those who helped politically during her time as VUWSA president— “only really the mayor and councillors”, but says people “like Nicola were helpful in terms of talking about housing, but no one is actually talking about students”. “I think if you truly care about students, you have to be a strong advocate for free education.” Paul believes that “Student debt is a core tenet of neoliberalism.” She continues,
“Cuts to tertiary education and to the Arts is killing conscious debate and objection to the way the Government is run.”
In relation to student power, Paul says “When you look at the history of New Zealand, students have led in every major area, pro nuclear-free, Springbok Tours, any key moment in New Zealand has had strong student involvement.” Paul believes that Swarbrick understands the way students are being politically targeted and that “The underfunding of the health system, out of control housing and rental market, the privatisation of transport, all of these things are the things that make being a student so difficult.” University of Canterbury Adjunct Fellow Syliva Nissen, Author of Student Political Action in New Zealand, sums this up, telling Salient: “Students are facing a number of compounding issues that are compromising their wellbeing and ability to participate fully in their studies. As the only group in New Zealand to have to borrow to live”, with rising living costs and high levels of employment during study. The current issues need to be addressed as “they have the potential to further amplify inequalities that exist within our higher education sector.” As we’ve seen in the past, there are alternative ways for politicians to engage with students, through youth wings and other activities. Politicians do care about the student voice, but as mentioned this article is about where students rank on their priority list. Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop have held ‘Potluck with Politicians’ as a way to reach out and speak directly with the student and flatting population of Wellington. Willis said that rather than discussions of student loans and university fees, those they ate with wanted to speak to them about “New Zealand’s economy and ‘am I going to be able to get the jobs that I want’ and what is New Zealand going to do to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions”. So who are students looking to? The answer is Chlöe Swarbrick. I wrote this article to disprove that, but I was wrong. There aren’t really any other MPs who are making students a priority—I’d be stoked to be proven wrong.
This is an idea that Swarbrick echoes in her discussion about student advocacy—“we have not put our finger on the best possible systemic solution for advocacy for the rights of students”. She believes that student In May this year, Nexus (Waikato Student Mag) Editor advocacy “has very intentionally, through political policy, Hannah Petuha wrote that interviewing Chlöe Swarbrick been whittled down to what some would argue is a shell “on a crochet-knit-covered-couch is a rite of passage of what it once was”. in the realm of student magazines.” It’s funny, and sadly seems to be true, because she is the only one that is Swarbrick believes that there are great people involved in following through for students consistently. So when you student advocacy, but the tools they are working with are read the headlines from this year and the next, going “less advanced than they should be because of the under“sheesh, they need to start talking to other MPs”, just resourcing of the sector”. Policy decisions—such as remember that there isn’t really anyone else in the big making student association membership voluntary—has house who’s listening. made a “recipe for less engagement, less representation, and less action”, which she believes “is reflective of how little power students feel stepping into their literal power.” www.salient.org.nz www.salient.org.nz
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Review
Album
Michael Llewellyn Oh My Darling Words by Oliver Cheyne (he/him)
Rising with the sun, coming out of its long winter shadow is Michael Llewellyn. The Te Whanganui-aTara based songwriter has emerged with a gift in the form of his debut album, Oh My Darling. Resplendent and pensive, it is a welcome breath of life into the local music scene and a panacea to the tristesse of isolation and the short, cold winter evenings. The first song from the album to be unleashed to the world was “Whangamatā”, a rolling tune that will be sure to make an appearance on your summer roadie playlist. Llewellyn followed that up with “Time it ain’t easy”, a soulful folk-esque tune with shades of Kevin Morby and the likes shining through in its lyricism and sweet guitar riffs. “Time it ain’t easy” prominently features Pōneke singer-songwriter, Violet Hirst, who sings throughout the album. Her soaring harmonies give flight to the song, lifting it to new territories that are rarely met within a debut effort. Llewellyn’s third and final single before the album release was put out on September 24—“Another Guy” is a laid back yet groovy track about heartbreak and captures that melancholy of break ups. Drip feeding three singles over the past few months, Michael Llewellyn has paired his poetic writing with deep and hushed vocals, and a melange of guitars and rock and roll rhythms that point the album forward down highways and backroads, turning off to find quieter places in some tracks that unveil close human connections and reflective moments of the places that have shaped this album. You would be mistaken for thinking he had been doing this for a lifetime, already fully formed and assured in his creativity and direction, but Oh My Darling will be his first album release—the product of a turn in his life to create with intention and honesty. Michael Llewellyn suffered a chronic and mysterious neck injury that saw him incapacitated for the best part of a few years, a weight that he still carries today. He returned home, but did not find any quick cure. After
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Album Review
years of living fast at university, he was left burnt out and crushed; “I went back home to Warkworth which sits on the Mahurangi, north of Auckland, and it forced some introspection, and me reevaluating my life. It taught me to live with integrity and purity.” During this time he faced some of the darkest moments in his life, and seeing his shadow appear before him, he chose to face it. “In those old tales there is a dragon under the mountain that appears, and the town lives in fear of it, frozen. It’s only when they confront the dragon and defeat it they can live on, so that was my mission to go underneath the mountain and face my dragon.” Developing the album over the past couple of years in many places around the country—Taranaki, Tāmaki Makaurau, and Pōneke—he set out to create the album to explore this world of duality and shadows to everyone, but Oh My Darling is a breakup album, baring hurt and healing as a means of processing and understanding it. He explained that his second album that he has been working on recently deals with the emotional and physical journey of trauma and injury, and a personal exploration of his shadow. Inspired by artists like Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen, he has captured that same honesty and intention in his art, lyrically, musically, and spiritually: “I love the music and the nourishment it provides, and in some ways there is a lack of something in our world today that used to be filled with religion or community, but that’s been ripped out of our society, and music for me has the potential to fill that gap.”
The nourishment that music can provide to the artist and listener has raised a few questions about how music should be created—for as many plays as possible and to pack out bars on a Saturday night, or created as an expression of emotional states and in fraternity with those around you? Michael asks, “What are we chasing, what are we seeking on the horizon? For me it is about creation, my idea of success or ideal life is to have a family and land to live on, making and creating with no pressures or worries.” This idealism and intention behind his creative methods shine through in his music, making it a cathartic experience to listen, just as it would be for him to play these songs. Michael Llewellyn held a candle-lit set at Meow on September 11, just as the motu emerged into Level 2. The restrictions meant that only 40 people could attend, and they all had to be seated. This suited Michael perfectly, pairing with Nikau Te Huki (Casual Healing), he hosted an intimate and emotional night in which he laid bare his music and poetry in the setting
it was destined for. That intimacy and connection that happens in smaller shows like this are infinitely more memorable and engaging, building a relationship that feeds both the artist and the audience equally. Llewellyn hints that he may want to do more of those performances, with a dream of a solo tour to the far reaches of the country whilst filming it along the way. But in the meantime, he is hitting the road with his band The Darlings, who are: Josh Dominikovich (drums), James Morgan (lead guitar), Henry Smithers (bass), Isabella Smith (backing vocals, rhythm guitar), and Violet Hirst (backing vocals, keyboards). They will be searching the corners of Te Ika a Maui in October and November, playing Leigh, Auckland, Oakura, Hastings, and Gisborne, with their Wellington show at Meow on October 30 marking the beginning of this odyssey, supported by Violet Hirst on all legs of this tour, along with several local acts. Oh My Darling will be hatched to the world next Friday, 15 October, and is available in all of the usual spots online, so feed your soul with this true gem. www.salient.org.nz
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A sit down with local director and filmmaker Leonidas Smith, who has let his experiences shape his new short film,
So what’s the go with your new project, Hotline? Hotline is a 30 minute short film that I started working on in December. I wrote the original script four years ago and it’s a psychological thriller with some horror elements and some neo-noir elements. The story is centered around this dude, Johnny, his life is going down the toilet and he is suffering from some undefined mental health issues. The arc of the story is his spiral into insanity until he has completely lost it. The whole film has been done from a first person perspective, you are seeing it through the eyes of an unreliable narrator, so you always have to question if everything is true. The story is told through some unusual means, like it does not hinge on a lot of dialogue and is mainly done through imagery. It is just an abstract portrait of insanity.
What has been the drive and influence behind making the film? For one it is just me pushing myself and just trying to realise my potential, using all the skills that I have picked up from working on smaller projects. Just proving to myself that I could make a serious film, you know a proper film. I first wrote it after an incident. I had a girlfriend of three years who went on a trip to Europe, and while over there she ended up in a coma after getting meningococcal and us back home were told that there was a 2% chance of survival. So during that time I was freaking out, her mum got asked where they wanted to bury her (she came out of the coma and survived). So I was just in a crazy place and wrote this film expressing what I was going through as a way to deal with it all. Now actually making it four years later it is actually processing all of those emotions that I didn’t talk to people about at the time.
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Hotline Q&A
What has been the biggest challenge making a short film on a budget? You need to be really crafty with everything and you have to call in a lot of favours. Because obviously film is expensive, it’s finding people who have a drive outside of money, that are passionate about the project, that have the same passion as me. Because we don’t have money yet to pay people well, if I can get them on board they can see my passion for it and get on the same level. It’s kinda hard to find them but once you have them everything becomes less challenging.
You touched on it before with finding You have made other short films in people who are passionate about a similar genre before, what keeps the project. Who has been pivotal in drawing you back to it? making Hotline come to life? There have been two people that have been very pivotal I’d say, and that would be the main actor Angus Dunn and then my producer Jack Matthews. So Jack signed on to this basically in December and he’s been there every step of the way, he’s like my right hand man. He helped me fund the film, he helps with the paperwork and he just fills in the blanks, like if I’m not there or just not up to it he will pick up the slack. The second person would be Angus. He really just caught my eye in the audition because he just had a level of excitement about the film and straight away we knew he was the guy. Since then he has had a really active role in the film, he has actually written some of the stunts. He’s helped in the most random ways, like lighting and was always keen to lend a hand. Other than that all the crew has been really good. We had this guy Ethan Austin who did the blood effects for us, he also doubled as an actor and I think he has the most deaths in the film, dying four times. So every time we were kind of lacking an actor we would just get him to jump in and wear a different costume. So we have to give credit to him as well.
I have been operating for a while in a thriller-y horror-y space and what I like about it is that it gives you an excuse to be dark. People kind of accept dark concepts when it is shown to you in the framework of a horror or thriller. At the risk of sounding pretentious, in my artistic expression I like to draw from a dark place because in my outward persona I am not much of a dark person, but like everyone does I have got some stuff going on under the hood. It just gives me a good outlet. The genre, for some reason, works well for me and I have sort of developed my own, almost subgenre within it. At the same time I want to branch out and do something completely different like a comedy or a love story, just a complete 180.
How do you see your film fitting into the New Zealand scene? I kinda ask myself this sometimes as well. I think it’s good because it’s different from the general stuff that we see, it has its own place. A lot of the media’s portrayal of New Zealand is happy-go-lucky almost, you have the Taika Waititi style of humour where it’s kinda silly. Hotline shows a different side of the coin and I think that the mood of it does exist in New Zealand. There is a dreary undertone, we have our mental health problems which is one of the main themes of the film. I don’t know if people are going to be receptive of it because it’s so different, but it offers an alternative to everything that’s out there.
What’s next after Hotline?
What has been the most satisfying thing to come together? Just the editing process, seeing the edit done. Once it starts taking shape and goes from the script to the shooting to the end of the edit [it] is a really satisfying process because it takes so long and is such a mechanical process. For me having that done is better than sex, like there are not many things that beat looking at a finished edit that has take hundreds of hours and it just works.
I’m always scheming, I’ve always got things in the works. In terms of a short film project I want to do a mini series that is called Panopticon, I don’t want to spoil it too much but we want to take the production up a notch. We are also looking to get a studio to get a bit of a creative hub going. After this and seeing what we can do with limited resources I have got my confidence up and would want to look at making my first feature length film. I have always had an idea of what I want it to be. So that’s the plan going forward. This was a conversation between Padraig Simpson and Leonidas Smith. Hotline is looking to be released in November. Keep up to date with the progress on IG @hotline_film
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Salient Staff
Beaches and Beer Matches Going to the beach in Wellington is iconic. It’s fucking windy and it’s colder than any other North Island landscape even in the height of summer. Give us a halfway sunny day and the whole city hightails it to the sand because we don’t take oceanside lounging for granted. These beer pairings are suggested for those who want to have a tipple. Make sure that you put your beers in the recycling bin when you’re done.
Oriental Bay
You can slip off your Docs and dip your toes straight into the sand at this city central beach. It packs out quickly from 4 p.m. if the day is sunny so it could be worth taking a midday study break to beat the rush. You can study when it gets dark. Chaffers NW is right there which makes it easy to have a cold one. It is in a liquor ban area so just like, be casual. Sun stays there longer than the beaches around the other sides of the coast. Beer match: Bavaria You’ve spent far too much money this year and you’ve parked up at Oriental. Bavs are a top choice. They are the local skate park drink and pair really well with a JPS cigarette. This is heralding back to when you could get a soft pack of JPS’. Smoking’s shit, but I’m nostalgic.
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Beaches and Beers
Princess Bay
This is one of the most ruggedly lovely spots you can get to with relative ease. Hit up your mate that has a car. The water is usually colder here than Oriental and there’s a ridiculous amount of seaweed. It’s great for dates, swims, or fish and chips with friends. Beer match: Voodoo Bloo Hazy IPA by Boneface Brewing Co. Hazy beers simply taste like summer. Drink this awesome brew while listening to Voodoo Bloo, the local band behind this collaboration. These cans are available at Pak N Save Kilbirnie and are worth the purchase.
Breaker Bay
Have you been to Breaker Bay? It’s not for the faint hearted and we simply cannot do nakedness like the Europeans do. But we have Breaker Bay to explore this. One does have to look out for seedy people and it’s not for everyone. But we went there last week and there was absolutely no one there.
Beer match: Tall can of Kingfisher Strong The taste of Friday nights in a Wellington flat goes perfectly with attending a “clothing optional beach”. Having a singular can is as helpful as it is easy to carry with you across the rocky type beach, and so you can take it home and recycle it to keep the beach tidy.
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Crossword: Buzz Cuts Puck writes: This theme wasn’t big enough to fill a whole crossword, so I made a mini-size American-style grid for it. I’ve tried to restrict myself to using ‘real words’ only, but you can always Google things.
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ACROSS
DOWN
1. Middle of some preferred pronoun sets 4. Duplo and Bionicles, for example 8. ‘13th’ and ‘Selma’ director DuVernay 9. Actor Costner or Bacon 10. 1998 Massive Attack album with a stag beetle on the cover 12. Face part to boop, cutely 13. Lead-in to Vegas or Alamos 14. City invaded by the Greeks in a wooden horse 15. Headey who played Cersei on ‘Game of Thrones’ 19. Type of wood, or what it can be reduced to 22. In a foul mood 24. 2017 Tyler, the Creator album with bees on the cover (2 words) 26. Fast-paced 27. Word sung at a football match 28. Actor Wilson of ‘Loki’ 29. Ancient
1. “Steamed” meats in a Simpsons meme 2. Social happening 3. Shaver 4. New Zealand sculptor Lye 5. Deeply malevolent 6. Rodriguez who played the title role of ‘Jane the Virgin’ 7. ‘A Room of ___ Own’ 9. 1975 Steely Dan album with a grasshopper on the cover (2 words) 11. San Diego or Central Park attraction 16. Make a mistake 17. Home planet of Padmé Amidala, in ‘Star Wars’ 18. Ring-shaped coral reef 19. ?uestlove’s hairstyle 20. KFC side dish (it counts as a vegetable, right?) 21. What was left in Pandora’s box after the evils got out 23. Stared at 25. ‘All I Do Is ___’ (DJ Khaled hit from, fittingly, ‘Victory’)
Puzzles
Word of the Week
Skuxdoku
“summer” Te Reo Māori raumati New Zealand Sign language
Last weeks answers
student discount
ALL TREATMENTS WAXING
SPRAY TAN
NAILS
LEVEL 1 - 23 WARING TAYLOR ST 0211 566 905 WWW.BRAZILIANSECRETS.CO.NZ
MASSAGE
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D Aries
Taurus
Gemini
You’re feeling confident this week, which is great, but is not the only thing you need to finish this uni year with a bang. This can also be a tense time relationship-wise, so you need to make sure you’re giving time to those around you. Whether it’s platonic or romantic, you need to share the love and listen.
You’ve got a productive week ahead of you, but remember to stay grounded. Make sure as well that your productivity is going to a good cause; watch that you don’t come out swinging too hard even if someone’s fucking up your vibes. And remember: it’ll all be over soon.
Good vibes only this week twins. Looking outwards it seems like a good time to open yourself up to new prospects in love, whether that’s the start of a new relationship, or maybe trying something new if you’re already cuffed. This week is also a good time to turn that love inwards and resolve some internal stuff, past and present.
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Be confident, you got it this week! But make sure you channel that confidence into productive avenues, don’t let yourself get distracted by naysayers who are just trying to bring you down. That said, the stars aren’t pointing you towards new love this week. Just take a breather and dive back in when the time is right.
Get up and at ‘em this week! The stars are lending you some much needed energy and enthusiasm, and now’s a great time to show people what you’re made of. Remember not to come across as too cocky, but things are looking good and you shouldn’t be afraid to let others know what you’re capable of.
Virgo season has just finished and you think it’s time to get lit because your confidence is shining through. This will lead to you being surprisingly appealing this week, so if you’re single then love is on the horizon and if in a relationship, love shall be passed unto you.
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Slooooooow down! It’s been over a week since daylight savings and your body clock is still cooked. You have extra energy this week but that’s not always a good thing. Proceed with caution, you may get stuck in a group chat that sucks all your energy if you’re not careful.
Check in on your friends this week, at least one of them needs some of your sage advice, even if they don’t know it yet! That’s really the theme for you this week, stay calm and hand out some solid advice to those who need it, this is not a week for conflict. Pay attention to the details and don’t be afraid to slow down to smell the flowers.
Capricorn
Aquarius
You’re truly an inspiration this week, people are picking up what you’re putting down. People are listening to you, but it’s important that you harness this to work towards positive change rather than taking advantage of it for your own benefit. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. On the brighter side though, this seems like a good week to turn your new found charisma to matters of love of all types.
Damn, cool it Capricorn. Summer is just around the corner, you just gotta chill for a sec. Deal with this pent-up energy constructively if you don’t wanna face further consequences. Focus on listening to others and turn inwards this week—learn to accept the hand life has dealt you and you’ll be happier in the near future. Take your time with work, and be ready for surprises when it comes to love.
Someone’s a bit of a smooth talker this week, but I’m here to tell you the planets are liking what they’re hearing. You’re extremely lucky, so be ready for opportunities to present themselves and for your manifestations to present. Just remember logic and reality are important. I know you’re an air sign but don’t get swept away in a confidence cloud, it’s not the only key to success. All I’m saying is be mindful.
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Columns : To be Frank Horoscopes
Pisces
Looks like you’re feeling a little over stimulated this week and it’s running your battery close to critical, my friend. Don’t take out this extra energy on those around you, instead try reconnecting with yourself and being self-aware. If you’re stressed about exam season approaching, grab someone you like and try turning that frustration into passion. When it comes to romance however, don’t bring your work home. www.salient.org.nz
The Team Editors
Sally Ward & Matthew Casey editor@salient.org.nz
Design & Illustration Padraig Simpson designer@salient.org.nz
Sub Editor Jamie Clarke
Chief Reporter Niva Chittock
Staff Writers Janhavi Gosavi Ronia Ibrahim Lachlan Ewing Azaria Howell
Feature Writers Ronia Ibrahim Janhavi Gosavi Lachlan Ewing Matthew Casey
Contributors
Joseph Slicker Frankie Dale Anoushka Divekar Laurelei Bautista Hannah Pym Oli Cheyne Padraig Simpson Francesca Georgia Pietkiewicz Puck
Social Media & Web Manager Kane Bassett and Brittany Harrison
Podcast Manager
Francesca Georgia Pietkiewicz podcasts@salient.org
Centerfold
Loser Art for No Mercy @loser_art @nomercy__nz
Find Us
fb.com/salientmagazine IG @salientgram Twitter @salientmagazine www.salient.org.nz
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Bon
us
Crossword: Punions
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ACROSS
DOWN
1. Enthusiastic (7 5. Alfre of ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Luke Cage’ (7) 9. Green onion from Rome or Venice? (7,8) 10. See 4-Down 11. Fruit that comes in Concord and Crimson Seedless varieties (5) 12. With 20-Across, “No need to put that onion relative in this particular salad” (3,3,7,2,2,5,5,3) 15. Destination for a Chevy in ‘American Pie’ (5) 17. Nathan Drake’s video game franchise (9) 20. See 12-Across 22. Laced steampunk garments (7) 23. Country whose Bundestag must have at least 598 legislators (7)
1. Musical featuring the song ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ (5) 2. Jodie’s character in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (7) 3. Femur (9) 4. With 10-Across, author of ‘The Divine Comedy’ (5,9) 5. Kansas city that’s home to a musical lineman (7) 6. Bird associated with Athena (3) 7. 1988 film that spawned a lot of screaming “Kanedaaaaa! Tetsuoooooo!” (5) 8. Word that can precede ‘delver’, ‘crawler’ or ‘master’, to gamers (7) 11. Either of the Oasis brothers (9) 12. Like the architecture of the Dome of the Rock (7) 13. Places for teacups (7) 14. Shakespeare fairy who says “I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again” (7) 16. Snake that has a vindscreen, in a lame joke (5) 18. Hold tightly (5) 19. Librarian who created a namesake decimal system (5) 21. Feeling of wonder (3)