Feelings | Issue 21 by Salient

Salient Issue 21

Feelings

Vol. 79

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POSTGRADUATE INFORMATION EVENING ► Find out about part-time and full-time postgraduate study in a range of subjects at New Zealand’s number one university for research quality* ► Learn about programmes for working professionals at Victoria Business School, one of the world’s top-ranked business schools 5.30pm, Tuesday 4 October Rutherford House Pipitea Campus 23 Lambton Quay, Wellington * 2012 Performance-Based Research Funding Quality Evaluation

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Contents Features

Talking Is Doing

Why You Can’t Kiss Your Mates (spoiler: it’s because of rugby)

VUWSA 2017 - Election Supplement

The Privilege of Them Feels

News 7

TEU vs. VUW

Rating the mayoral candidates

Day of Silence

Regular Content 14

One Ocean

Letters & Notices

Māori Matters

Poetry

Gee Mail

Visual Arts

VUWSA Exec

Music

Queer Agenda

Film

Breathing Space

Games

Mates in the States

Stressed, Depressed, and Well-Dressed

Books

“Sports”

Theatre

W.W.T.A.W.W.T.A.S.

Puzzles

Digitales

Editors: Emma Hurley Jayne Mulligan

Editor's Letter In this week’s issue we’ve got Finn Teppett, whose feature “Why You Can’t Kiss Your Mates (spoiler: it’s because of rugby)” looks into the the strangely cold and emotionless nature of male friendship in New Zealand. We’ve also got Laura Toailoa sharing her story of the realisation that she needed to acknowledge the impact her feelings and mental well-being have on her day to day life. A story that will resonate with so many students who have learnt to prioritise education and academic success over feelings and mental well-being. And we’ve got Faith Wilson who asks who has the privilege to feel things? and considers the way we allow feelings to be felt and by whom. We want you to feel things while you read this issue, but we also want you to think about feelings—to think about the ways you get to feel things and others might not. Feelings are incredibly fleeting as well as familiar like the sensations you know so well: the churning of your stomach to the twitching of your eye. Feelings never really occur independently, instead they’re our experiential thread. They’re bound to everything we do and everything that we are. It’s so easy to get bound up and frustrated about what you’re feeling, about your fundamental reactions to things, but it’s so pointless. Feelings need space—let them live and acknowledge them. Be kind to your feelings.

Stereotypical gender roles dictate what a man is supposed to be and what behaviors he is supposed to enact. It tells us he needs to be a particular kind of masculine and he has to avoid particular kinds of traits, behaviors, appearances that might be construed as feminine. Stereotypical gender roles dictate what a woman is supposed to be and what behaviors she is supposed to enact. It tells us she needs to be a particular kind of feminine and she has to avoid particular kinds of traits, behaviors, appearances that might be construed as masculine. Have you ever heard a woman described as stoic, or the strong silent type? Men are praised for these qualities even when women aren’t. Should these qualities even be praised? Obviously gender roles are real stupid and they hurt both men and women, as well as people who don’t identify with either side of the binary. There shouldn’t be sets of rules and expectations for how we should feel. No one should be expected to be happy or nurturing all the time, nor should they be expected to be unemotional all the time. Feelings are largely beyond our control. When someone yells at us, we feel. When someone gives us a compliment, we feel. While that feeling may differ from person to person, the same truth for us all is that we have little power over our feelings. Any and all external expectations dictating how one should feel only leads to further feelings of self loathing and frustration. This shouldn’t be determined by a gender that we identify with, anymore than it should be determined by the colour of our hair.

Emma & Jayne xoxo

*Interview* with Auckland Mayoral candidate Vic Crone

What is global warming? When everyone in the world turns their ovens on at the same time. Pretty sure that’s not correct. No it is, my good friend Tony Abbott explained it to me at a dinner party one time. How will you solve the Auckland housing crisis? I’m offering to put everyone up in my bach on Waiheke Island, there’s plenty of room and the kids can pitch a tent on the lawn.

Going Up •

Laneway 2017, lineup and location.

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Interesting business podcasts.

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Barista baes who know your name and order.

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Tickets for Toast Martinborough going on sale.

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Gilda from RHOA.

Going Down •

Cold snaps.

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Cool brands with shitty ambassadors.

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Job interviews.

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Losing your debit card.

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We still can’t vote online.

Kanye West or Kendrick Lamar? Cloud-based accounting software.

Correction Humdingers A goldfish has had life-saving emergency surgery after swallowing a pebble. The goldfish named Conquer was anesthetized before having the pebble removed. The surgery cost $500 AUD.

The summer heat has become too much for several Japanese servicebased companies, with management hosting “odour etiquette” seminars to help combat nasty body odour. The seminars are being held to prevent workplace bullying and they involve lessons in the causes of body odour and how to properly use deodorants. 06

Correction to news article Assaults in Aro Valley in Issue 19: Ward did not hear first hand from the student who had been grabbed and chased, she heard the information from a source who wishes to remain anonymous. The article has been updated online.

19.09.16

news@salient.org.nz

News

VUWSA elections

Siobhan O’Connor and Emma Hurley

TEU vs. VUW On September 14 strike action was announced by the Victoria University branch of the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) over disagreements with the university regarding employment negotiations. On September 15 those protesting wore red, played the Split Enz song “I See Red” each hour while at work, and posted on social media under the hashtag #iseered. Traditional strike action has not yet been ruled out. TEU Deputy Secretary Nanette Cormack said the strike action was a way for union members to express their feelings and support the bargaining team during negotiations. She said the union was in dispute about three separate collective agreements which are currently being negotiated with the university. “For the general staff obviously [the dispute] includes their pay scales.” “For the academic staff and the research assistants and fellows, the dispute is around things like the salary increase and some other matters.” The TEU has complained about the university advertising jobs with higher pay rates for those who are not on a union contract. A recently advertised role for a librarian had a pay band of $57,280 to $78,760 if someone agreed to sign up on an individual agreement, and a band of $41,874 to $73,910 if someone wished to be part of the collective union agreement—a disparity of $4,850 between the highest offered salaries, and $15,406 between the lowest offered salaries. The TEU believe this implied that the university “favours people who aren’t in a union.” Victoria University said in a statement that it respected the rights of union members to take strike action, and that the university and TEU had agreed to return to the bargaining table before notice of strike action was given.

Alexa Zelensky and Jennie Kendrick

In the lead up to their annual elections, VUWSA hosted their Candidates Forum in the hub last week. The primary focus was the race for VUWSA presidency, with nominees Lars Thompson, Jacinta Gulasekharam, Rory LenihanIkin, and Dayle Vavasour captivating the ever diminishing crowd (the pizza was long gone by this point). Thompson spent his allotted speech time channeling his inner Bernie Sanders, speaking with passion, empathy, and many hand gestures. Thompson did however quickly lose the highly coveted and extremely respected media endorsement of Salient by throwing the magazine under the proverbial Metlink bus by accusing them of not turning up to enough executive meetings. Gulasekharam, the only woman running for president, advocated her plan for subsidized hygiene products (tampons, pads, toilet paper, toothbrushes, and mooncups) and better representation of clubs by returning them to VUWSA’s control. Former VUWSA Treasurer and current Academic Vice President, Gulasekharam supports the Rental WoF, Fairer Fares, and Living Wage campaign, and called for a student advisory panel on fees. Lenihan-Ikin, current Welfare Vice President, addressed his accomplishments so far including late night dinners and the fruit and vege market, and explained how he would expand on this as VUWSA President. He said “there is no reason why the university should not be a living wage employer,” pledged his advocacy for Fairer Fares, and strongly supported Thursdays in Black and more policy around sexual violence. Outlier candidate Dayle Vavasour, also standing for multiple other positions, intrigued the audience by running on the platform of his apathy. “What we need for a VUWSA that is truly representative is to have a voice that doesn’t care. I am genuinely apathetic. I have some opinions on some things but I don’t hold them too strongly,” he told the audience. A hotly contested position, with four nominees, was the student representative on the Student Media Committee (SMC). Some of the nominees saw the role as an opportunity to hold student media “accountable for their actions.” Luckily current SMC rep and VUWSA Treasurer George Grainger (who is running for another term as treasurer) reminded candidates that the position is mostly just budget oversight, and they would have no editorial control over the magazine.

19.09.16

Rating the mayoral candidates

Kate Robertson and Jennie Kendrick

Seven mayoral candidates faced off in the hub last week in the hopes of winning the coveted student vote. K-Rob and Little J somewhat savagely ranked their performance so you don’t have to.

1. Justin ‘Trudeau’ Lester

but if we’re being honest chlamydia probably affects more students than asthma—just sayin’. Knowing exactly how much a bus fare cost for an adult in Wellington also played well for her, surprising audience members and proving that even rich people take the bus. Salient can neither confirm nor deny that Nicola Yung Lean has ever taken a Metlink bus. The only thing Young loses points for is talking about rates just a few too many times. Even if it does make their rent go up, students deep in the rental game still don’t want to hear about them—Kate.

All it took was a smile and the students were putty in his hands. After rattling off his life story—which if you’ve seen him speak a handful of times you might know by heart— Lester proceeded to present himself as a real crusader for students. He presented himself as a passionate advocate for the Rental WoF and VUWSA’s Fairer Fares campaign. Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Lester’s spiel, for those who are already well-versed on his buzz, was that he plans on taking over the arts portfolio once elected. I have no idea what kind of credentials he has for this or whether it would be a wise strategic decision, but we’ll give him ten points for enthusiasm—and worst case scenario Nicola Young will be waiting in the wings, ready to step up to the plate. Lester gets bonus points for not once mentioning the much-despised phrase “rate payer”—a title many of us millennials may never be able to claim—and for being the only candidate to know the average weekly rent for a flat in the Kelburn / Aro Valley area. Should he lose out on the top job, no doubt students would be happy to take him on as VUWSA President—Kate.

3. Let’s Go Jo Coughlan Much like Lester, Let’s Go Jo’s policies were well rehearsed and felt like they had been told a million times. Her six children—three of whom have been through or are currently at university—are her weapon of choice to claim relatability. With Wellington becoming increasingly like a “little Manhattan,” Go Jo wants affordable social housing, more business investments in the tech sector, and a new venue, bigger than TSB Arena but smaller than Westpac Stadium, no doubt to house all of the Flume, Troye Sivan, and Ellie Goulding gigs we’ve been missing out on. Go Jo tried to clear up confusion around her supposedly telling Renters United she was against a Rental WoF while telling VUWSA she supported it. He said, she said. She seemed to support the WoF on the day and I suppose that’s all that matters. Coughlan does however lose points for thinking that it only cost $1 to travel one zone on the bus, and for implying that university students don’t know how to vote using the single transferrable vote system, mum-splaining that it “wasn’t just ticking a box.” Omg Mum we know how to vote and I will unload the dishwasher soon. Ugh. Note: All candidates could learn a thing or two about

2. Nicola Yung Lean Cultural maven Nicola Young wins the coveted runnerup spot for being the only candidate who didn’t appear dead inside. Having been to all the same debates as other candidates, Young was more spritely than all of them put together. She talked about how cold flats were unacceptable, saying her children’s asthma has made her hyper-aware of the effects that poor housing can have on students’ health. It was a statement that felt genuine and filled with love,

19.09.16

voter engagement from @JoForMayor. There can be no denying her when she said she’s learned more about social media during the campaign than at any other point in her life. Takin’ a sweet ‘gram ain’t easy, so kudos to you Go Jo—Kate

students these days don’t get to experience the “big, buff, burly dustmen” like the ones who used to collect her rubbish to notice their insincerity—Jennie.

6. Nick Leggett back to Porirua 4. Handy Andy Foster Dark horse Andy Foster slides into fourth place not only because of his uncanny resemblance to Jason Gunn, but for coming across as an all-round super genuine dude. Disadvantaged from the get go after some cringey tech difficulties, Foster clawed his way back by convincingly promising to make our already great city “even better.” Handy Andy calls himself a “details man” and thinks the council needs some serious legislative assistance. He also thinks the way we vote for local body elections is pretty archaic, and he used the example of people overseas not being able to vote. Tbh most of us couldn’t afford to go on a Vic OE, so this was a niche and privileged example that was probably lost on most students. The coolest idea he had was a “Welcome to Wellington” package that would see students new to the city given some cool treats, information on how to properly recycle so you don’t get blacklisted, and other super grown up things that students transitioning out of halls and home can struggle with. Handy Andy is the campaign’s metaphoric tortoise. He’s slowly and steadily earning the respect of voters, but not quite fast enough. We predict he’ll still be crawling through the Terrace Tunnel while the new mayor is standing triumphantly in Civic Square—Jennie.

7. Old Mate Keith Johnson Old Mate K actually exists in real life! Yas! The first we’d seen of the mysterious candidate and I immediately knew that I could trust man in pleather shoes with velcro fastenings. Old Mate K proved that as a candidate it is still possible to be totally hip and down with the kids, trying super hard to engage with the youth vote. He wants to offer “relief” for students experiencing hardship and see less “lolly scrambling” from the council, and we truly believed him. There’s a sincerity to the guy that makes us feel low key sad that he has little chance of winning. In between talking policy, Old Mate K managed to drop in some stats about his dope blog—kjohnsonnz@ blogspot.com—from which Salient learned many things. Like this thing: Old Mate is not only a doctor of economics, but also a doctor of luuuurve, with poetry that hit us right in the feels. Keith wins quote of the day with the absolute banger of a mission statement—“Gotta get warm and gotta get healthy.” Billboard that shit—Jennie.

5. Helene Ritchie-Hardcore Helene Ritchie is the Wellington City Council version of Angela Stone from Real Housewives of Auckland. The third ‘e’ in her name seems to be just as redundant as her role on the council, but that didn’t stop her giving off a strong talk back radio vibe and accusing millennials of not knowing where the nearest postbox is (PSA: There’s one at Vic Books on Kelburn campus). Ritchie threw some serious shade when she was accused of not having signed VUWSA’s Student Friendly Wellington pledge, but was no match for VUWSA President Jonathan Gee and Radio New Zealand’s Michael Cropp who truth-slammed her WWE-style. Ritchie went on to mumble what we believe were expletives towards the pair under her breath, already plotting her revenge. There was more than one round of pity claps for Helene, but she was far too concerned about how

Kate Robertson and Jennie Kendrick

Ahhh, Mr Porirua. If I’m being perfectly honest I don’t really remember a lot of what Nick said. He seemed to come across as monotonous and disinterested, just like we were. Leggett based his argument around “new energy and new leadership,” a slogan I’m 93% sure is on the back of the buses with his face on them. He thought it was “appalling” that student bus fares aren’t subsidised and was very concerned about the number of third world diseases we’re seeing re-enter New Zealand, something he believes poor housing plays a significant role in. He raised the issue of e-voting which was valid, but probably still managed to dis the easily-offended baby grown ups by saying “young people don’t engage with the letterbox.” Mate I was an RA, I know how sensitive these 18 year old’s egos are. —Kate.

Emma Hurley

Lincoln University on life support

A Wellington man is seeking $10,000 in compensation from police after being arrested for trying to put his meal on John Key’s tab. Kent Boyd and a friend spoke with Key at the Green Parrot in 2012, and claimed he agreed to pay their bill. Staff rejected this and Key’s security called police who later arrested Boyd and his friend. They were held overnight for theft and breaching bail of a past conviction. Police later withdrew the theft charge and a judge ruled he hadn’t in fact breached bail. Boyd now wants Key to testify for his case against the police. The Independent Police Conduct Authority cleared security staff of any wrongdoing, but Boyd maintains he was unable to ask Key to endorse his claim, and was arrested before being able to pay the bill himself. Boyd’s lawyer Chris Nicholls was told a potential police settlement offer made Key’s involvement “premature.” Key’s office denied he offered to pay and said should Key be asked to testify, “he would deal with the matter at that time.” “The Prime Minister did not offer to pay for the men’s meals and has no knowledge of how their bill was paid,” the spokesperson added. Police denied Boyd’s allegations and will defend the proceedings.

Lincoln University’s fate is looking increasingly dire, with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robin Pollard, telling staff on August 8 that they had one year to “get a surplus or we are dead.” Pollard later said the statement was made out of context, and that the university needed to “transform” to be “financially viable” and “flourish into the future.” The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) has criticised Pollard for his lack of response to concerned Lincoln University staff, with Lincoln’s TEU representative, Cindy Doull, saying he is not responding to staff emails and letters asking for clarification of his comments. Doull says Pollard’s statement has caused “a significant increase of anxiety levels” for staff and that the whole situation is a “nightmare.” Pollard’s statement comes at a time of crisis for Lincoln University, with five deputy vice-chancellors having already resigned, and the university recording a net loss of $6 million over the last financial last year. They are also still in the process of rebuilding campus facilities after the 2010 earthquake. The university has already announced they will be cutting “unpopular” programs in order to save money this year, but the financial pressure still remains.

Jimmy Neutron on campus

Day of Silence strikes a chord

A Victoria University student has been awarded a $300,000 Woolf Fisher Trust scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The recipient, honours student Liam Jolliffe, will complete a Master of Advanced Studies at Cambridge, before transitioning to study for a PhD in Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. Jolliffe studied at Wairarapa College before coming to Victoria to complete a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics. Salient was curious if Jolliffe was actually Jimmy Neutron, however he disproved this theory: “I probably fancied myself as a Jimmy Neutron when I was younger, but I’m not sure I’m creative enough for that.” He is looking forward to studying at a university with such an extensive history. “The university dates back to the 13th century and many of the buildings reflect this. Maths has been taught there for hundreds of years and lots of famous mathematicians went there.” Jolliffe intends to return to New Zealand after seeing out the scholarship, and says that this was “quite important to the scholarship committee.” “Hopefully I will end up working at a university. Who knows, I may end up back here.”

Victoria University’s queer representative group UniQ recently pulled off the first Day of Silence on campus. Day of Silence is an international youth movement that seeks to bring attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people. Students across New Zealand took a vow of silence on September 9 to call attention to the silencing effect of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, namecalling, and harassment. At 12.30pm UniQ representative Dani Pickering gave a speech on the importance of the day, which was followed by a loud group scream to symbolically break the silence. Pickering—who has been involved in the Day of Silence on many campuses over the past eight years— sees the event as a positive way of “providing validation and hope to participants who have been silenced by issues of homophobic / biphobic / transphobic bullying,” while also creating a space to be “as disruptive as possible in order to draw attention to those issues.” A second year student who wasn’t aware of the event said, although the screams gave them “a real fright,” and they were prompted to find out what was going on.

Kate Robertson

PM won’t pay on the first date

Alex Feinson

Thomas Croskery

19.09.16

6. What classic novel by Roald Dahl came to our screens this year?

Quiz

7. Who is the local celebrity that star in the current Air New Zealand safety video?

2. On what date was the iPhone 7 released? 3. Which restaurant won the Wellington on a Plate best burger? 4. Which actor, who stars in This Is The End, recently co-created Sausage Party? 5. Who is Billboard’s 2016 top artist?

9. Which city was voted the world’s most liveable city for the seventh time? 10. What was the most popular male baby name this year?

1) Selena Gomez. 2) September 7. 3) Apaché. 4) Seth Rogen. 5) Drake. 6) The BFG. 7) Rhys Darby. 8) Anna Faris. 9) Vienna. 10) Liam.

1. Who is the most followed person on Instagram in 2016?

8. What international actress accompanies the local celebrity in the video?

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We’ve interviewed each of the four candidates vying to be VUWSA President for 2017 about why they deserve your vote. They have answered the following three questions:

What do you think qualifies you to be VUWSA President?

Rory Lenihan-Ikin

Lars Thompson

I’ve spent two years on VUWSA as an officer and Welfare Vice President, so I have a solid understanding of how the organization runs, great relationships with student, university, and city leaders, and the ability to get things done. However it’s what I’ve actually done in those two years that really matters and I’m proud to think that I used my time effectively, having fought for better wages for students as part of the Living Wage Movement, Fairer Fares on public transport, decent housing, and a student community free from sexual violence.

A president should engage with you guys and defend your interests. They should help you achieve your goals. They should lead by example. As president of the Politics Society I have experience leading an executive in an accountable and collaborative way. I am also a faculty delegate on the Humanities and Social Sciences Board and my understanding of how the university operates has helped me fight for your best interests. I’m friendly, energetic, and will bring fresh ideas to VUWSA.

Dayle Vavasour

Jacinta Gulasekharam

There is no one thing that “qualifies” any of us to represent our student body, other than that we are students. The more any of us argue for our qualifications, the more we prove ourselves to not be like other students. As the leader of our representative body we need to be as like other students as possible. What qualifies me to be VUWSA President is that I am a student. What qualifies me above the other candidates is that I lack everything they mentioned—I’m just like you.

As your Academic Vice President I’ve lead the education team to train 600 class reps, looked after 30 faculty delegates, brought back the Alternative Student Guide, and established online class rep training. I am the only candidate with an understanding of student representation across all faculties at Victoria. In 2015 as Treasurer, I organised VUWSA’s budget and understand how to best use student money. My year on the University Council has given me insight into Victoria’s plans for the future and I have another year left to represent your interests. I am ambitious, experienced, and ready to lead this organisation.

What will you do for students in 2017? Rory Lenihan-Ikin

Lars Thompson

Half price bus and train fares for students are within our reach and I’ve been quite clear about the fact that this is a massive priority for me. It’s long overdue, and getting it over the line will make a massive difference for almost all students. In terms of university issues, I also want to ensure that student course reviews are easily accessible so you can see what previous students thought of a paper before selecting it, and you can bet I’ll keep rolling out things that make your life easier like the fruit and vegetable market and microwaves in the hub.

I want a ‘New Deal’ for students where VUWSA’s advocacy, communication, facilitation, and services are improved. This means: more campaigning and more support for the Living Wage @ Vic movement and Thursdays in Black; a cap on international student fees; more pizza and opportunities to vote on and propose Vuwsa policies; extended office hours at Pipitea and an extension of Community Pantry services to all students; free hot meals during peak assignment times; clubs and rep groups getting additional executive training including financial advice and upskilling; a forum for clubs to connect, collaborate, and vote on issues like their administration.

Lars Thompson

Rory Lenihan-Ikin

Jacinta Gulasekharam

Dayle Vavasour

Jacinta Gulasekharam

In 2017 I will represent the actual majority of students: those who don’t really care what VUWSA gets up to. Every year, VUWSA only listens to those who are passionate and try to get involved. For a group meant to have our best interests at heart this is abhorrent and needs to be fixed. What “representing the majority” means is not that I will try to silence other voices, but I will ensure that our apathetic voice is given the weight it deserves in all of the association’s decision making.

I plan to introduce gold coin sanitary items at every campus, student deals to Wellington events, and a monthly question time to the VUWSA executive. I’ll initiate a student advisory panel for fees setting and lead VUWSA getting clubs as student associations know students best. There will be continued support for the Living Wage, Fairer Fares, a Rental WOF, and Thursday In Black. I’ll run a rep and faculty group conference to connect and support these groups with leadership skills. Long-term outcomes include pursuing paying VUWSA officers minimum wage and pushing the Vice Chancellor to prioritise study space and purchase new buildings.

What are the biggest issues facing students today? Lars Thompson

Rory Lenihan-Ikin

The biggest concerns are always around students’ mental, physical, and financial well-being. We should support campus services, Thursdays in Black, and the Living Wage movement as part of this. As a faculty delegate I can see that advocacy at the university has been a real issue. The university has pushed through policy decisions that will shorten our breaks in the future and outsource Foundation Studies courses to independent providers. These are not student friendly policies and as president I will ensure VUWSA pushes back before we see more decisions like these in the future.

Where to start? Terrible mental health, a lifetime of debt, an uncertain job market—the list goes on. Quite frankly, tertiary education in New Zealand is currently a mess and students are on the receiving end. I’m a strong believer in education and that if we give everyone the opportunity to do tertiary study there will be a net benefit for the country. There are of course issues that go beyond financial pressures. Sexual violence is a hidden epidemic in New Zealand and the university is no exception. As a student community we should to educate each other in order to lead the country in a better direction.

Dayle Vavasour

Jacinta Gulasekharam

There are many issues facing students today that I’m sure the other candidates are happily trying to convince you of. Those are not issues that students actually care about as their consequences are remote and abstract. The issue that directly faces students and regards our representative body is that VUWSA notices that we are disinterested in it, and tries to solve this by “engaging” us. (They even have two positions dedicated to this!) There needs to be greater recognition that political apathy is not something to be fixed, but a sincere response from people who’d rather just study.

I like lists so I thought I’d put down my top ten issues the student body face: affordability of living in Wellington, student welfare, student debt, access to health services, mental health of students, quality of flats, susceptibility of students getting sick, careers and job prospects, teaching quality, student voice at VUW as well as at local and national government level. As president I will fight for quality education, expand our services, campaign for increased student health services, build relationships with the university to improve their own services, and lobby local body politicians to vote for fairer fares and a rental WOF.

Maori Matters

One Ocean

Raimona Tapiata

Sina Ah Sam

Kia whakairi ake te kaupapa mo te wiki nei koia, ko ngā ‘feelings.’ Ko tāku he kōrero mo ngā kare-ā-roto me te hē o te noho whakatōngā, wahangū ki ngā aupēhitanga o te ao kikokiko. He kaupapa nui whakaharahara tēnei i ngā rā anamata nei. Kei ngā tōpitopito katoa o o tātou ao ngā kōrero, ngā pikitia me ngā karere mo ngā kaupapa pēnei i te mate pāpouri, te anipā tae rawa ki te whakamomori. Ko ngā wero ki Pukamata, ko ngā whakatairanga ki ngā pouka whakaata aha atu, aha atu. He kaupapa nui ēnei, engari he uaua ka kite i te tangata Māori tino hiahia ki te kōrero. Heoi, me kōrero, ka tika. Kei tēnā, kei tēnā o tātou o tātou ake raruraru, o tātou aupēhitanga, ngā maunga pukepuke e ārai ana i te huarahi ki o mātou ake pae tawhiti. Ki ētahi, ka whati a turi i te taumaha o ngā pōrarurarutanga nei, ka waipuketia te whatumanawa ki te pouritanga, ā, ko ngā kare-a-roto ērā e kōrorirori ana i te puku. Kia pono aku kupu, ehara au i te mātanga hinengaro, te tohunga kare-ā-roto rānei, heoi kua kitea ki wī, ki wā, ko te rongoa matua ki ngā raruraru o te ao, ahakoa tana momo, ko te kai a te rangatira, koia ko te kōrero – ko te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero, whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro, kia horaina ngā kare-ā-roto, kia wetewetehia ngā nawe, kia whāia he rautaki whakatau i ngā raruraru o te wā. He māmā te kite ko ngāi Māori, ko ngāi tāne te hunga kaore pea i te hiahia ki te kōrero mo ngā kare-ā-roto, mo ngā mea uaua whai hāngai ki a rātou anō. Engari kare he hua o te noho wahangū, te noho whakatōngā kia kōrorirori noa atu ngā whakaaro, ngā kare-ā-roto kia koropupū, kia pahū mai. He nui ngā hua o te kōrerorero. Mā te kōrero ka hikina māmā haere te taumaha ki ngā pakihiwi. Mā te kōrero ki tētahi hoa ka whai pou whirinaki koe hei toka tū moana mou i ngā ngaru kaitangata o te ao hurihuri. Mā te kōrero ka whai wāhi koe ki ngā kupu akiaki, ki ngā kupu āwhina a o hoa, tō whānau, ngā mātanga hinengaro rānei. Nōreira e hika mā, kōrerotia te kōrero, huakina te tatau ki te puku, kia maringi iho mai ko ngā kare-āroto, ngā raruraru, kia hikina tahitia e tātou ā-whānau, ā-hoa, ā-Māori.

From September 1–4, the Samoan Students Association (VUSSA) participated in the annual Samoan students’ conference in Hamilton called So’otaga (literally “connection”). The four day program was a celebration of culture, an opportunity to network with other students from across the country, and an important chance to discuss the future of our Samoan people, particularly that of students within Aotearoa. More important than the formalities, however, was the sense of community and value that we felt and took away. For many of the international Samoan students, moving to a new country and studying under a new education system is a constant challenge. The new language, the new customs, and even the new food takes adjusting to, let alone the additional pressure of assignments. So’otaga was an invaluable opportunity for students to express these and other concerns. It was a platform upon which presenters and audience alike felt supported and empowered. At a time when the number of non-Aotearoa-based Samoan students is quickly increasing, such a gathering could not have been better scheduled. For many who attended the So’otaga, being among people who face and overcome similar issues as themselves left them feeling inspired, encouraged, and, most of all, ready to face whatever hurdles their university journey presents them next. So’otaga gave members based in New Zealand the chance to watch and participate in traditional dances, singing, and rituals like the ‘ava ceremony. The sense of inclusion they felt was amazing. Having grown up away from the homeland, Samoa, many students were excited to be involved in activities such as the debates, through which the important social and academic issues of the community were addressed. The association executives called for each university’s Samoan association to put together one team for an English debate, and another for a Samoan debate. This gave the activity both a modern and a cultural feel. So’otaga was a wonderful few days of sports (volleyball being a favourite from back home), Christian themed music and drama, and fellowship. It was a time and place where the homely atmosphere of Samoa was recreated. We went away with great memories, new ideas, and a little sadness that the program was only four days long.

Gee-mail

VUWSA Exec

Jonathan Gee VUWSA President

George Grainger Treasurer-Secretary

Over the last few weeks I’ve felt very stressed. I’ve experienced a feeling of overload as a result of external pressures—that beyond my control. I felt exhausted. I felt like I had very little energy. I took longer to do things. I felt emotional. I know this feeling isn’t dissimilar to what many of you are feeling at the moment. You probably have a raft of pressures coming at you—assignment deadlines, financial pressures, physical sickness, etc. The other day I read an article about someone who’d experienced concussion due to a skiing accident, which happened to occur after a year of extreme workplace stress. She said the nature of her concussion and her stress were very similar. Both created exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, etc. Both resulted in chemical changes in the brain which made it harder for her brain to get from A to B. Both stimulated the ‘fight or flight’ response. This has made me realise that we often treat physical and mental health very differently. When you’re physically sick (or have concussion!) it is acceptable to take it slowly and take some time for yourself. When you’re mentally sick there doesn’t seem to be the same level of acceptability. We need to change the way we think about stress. Be supportive and considerate when someone says they’re stressed. You often don’t have control over external pressures, but you do have control over how you deal with it.Acknowledging that I was stressed, I told myself that it’s alright if I take a little longer to do things than usual and that sleep is good. I told myself that it’s best to rely on to-do lists as my brain probably can’t retain as much information as usual. It’s time we change the way we think about stress. It’s time we looked after ourselves and others, <3.

All over Instagram and bedroom walls are great quotes like: “If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.” — Lao Tzu I reckon that’s 95% weapons-grade bullshit. Little one liners looks pretty, but completely mislead and oversimplify the constant struggle between the individual and their mind. What’s a correct mind? Screw you Lao Tzu, you judgmental prick. It’s been a pretty hard year for the relationship between my mind and I. But I think the most useful thing to remember is: whatever it is, it’s fine. Our minds are all we have. It’s not healthy to constantly question them, criticise them, and wish they were different. Constantly trying to change one’s mind is exhausting. It makes you feel like a shell of a person, where your mind is just a furry ball of poison behind your eyes that you hate. What I mean is, accept yourself as you are. Everyone has people who are close to them. People they respect and love, and it’s all too easy to try and be more like them. Those people are in your life because they like you as you are, not because you’re the same as them. Your preferences, loves, hates, kinks, tastes in music, the people you like or dislike, the way you act in difficult situations, those are the elements, the aggregate of which comprise your personality. That is you. There is no right or wrong and you shouldn’t change. (I mean if you’re really into punching people you don’t know then maybe have a bit of a stocktake, but in general….) Your mind is all you have, it’s wonderful and valuable just the way it is. Come to peace with it.

Laura Toailoa

Talking Is Doing.

“I think the key thing with anything is to always seek help. Not just professional help, but tell somebody. Coz they might easily tell you that’s normal, I get it all the time. And if it’s not, then you know you need to escalate...” When my eldest sister sent this message to me and my sisters it shattered my perception of her as the absolutely pragmatic eldest sister who did not think that mental and emotional well-being was something to be prioritised.

Laura Toailoa

use clichés and familiar phrases to try communicate our feelings to eager ears but, unless we can become like Spock and have touch-telepathy, only we ourselves will ever feel our feelings the way our own brain feels them. The best we can do is find new and creative and meaningful ways to bridge the gap between my feelings and yours. When I come across a line like, “my thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations” (The Fault In Our Stars by John Green), or the song lyric “I’m jealous of the way / you’re happy without me” (“Jealous” by Labrinth), I think yes, this is how I feel too! For a moment, I can in a small way understand where someone could be coming from. In these moments, I am reminded that while no one will ever live my life and feel my feelings, I will share some fundamental similarities with other people and I’m not alone in this confusing life experiment that is our existence. Feeling emotionally isolated is a debilitating experience and talking about it with other people (whether it’s confiding in a friend or publicly posting about it online) helps to provide reassurance that, often times, the very things that make you feel alone have the most potential to connect you to others. This sense of connection to other people or a community of people has helped me flourish in more visibly productive ways. I’ve kept several (read: hundreds of) diaries and journals growing up and have been online blogging for six years. It wasn’t until this year that my friends encouraged me to write publicly for the first time, to write for Salient. I felt all sorts of insecurities and doubts at first. I didn’t think what I’d write would be interesting to people who weren’t my already supportive friends, especially because I mostly wrote about my personal thoughts and feelings. What I found, though, was that the more vulnerable and personal my writing was, the more that it resonated with people and encouraged them to reflect on themselves, their feelings, and their lives. I’ve found that talking about feelings doesn’t just make me more productive, but it is in itself productive. I’m still trying to find the balance between deadlines, commitments, and assignments, while taking time to take care of my mental health and checking in with my feelings to ensure they’re not deteriorating in the pursuit of them. I used to think that success was measured by gaining higher academic qualifications and a well-paying income. I now think it’s a form of success, depending on your goals. It’s still a form of success for me. While all forms of success require sacrifice, I no longer want to readily sacrifice my emotional and mental well-being like I used to. I’m going to stop giving myself a hard time for feeling difficult feelings. I’m gonna think about it, talk about it, and find ways to work through them.

I’d grown up being told that the most important thing in life was to get an education, to get a well-paying job, to be able to live comfortably and securely. Education and money were the only ways out of the third-world and low-socio economic background that I and my family had grown up in. Growing up, I always felt that talking about and thinking about feeling was an idle and indulgent activity for people with too much time on their hands, who were too lazy to do anything productive and useful. When Mum and Dad would ask me how school was I’d always tell them “good,” followed by one or two pieces of information to prove I was listening in class. In my last year of high school, when my mental health was at risk, I went to my mum needing to talk and burst into tears and indiscernible words. She saw then for the first time just how poor my mental health was; she saw how this was affecting me and, in turn, affecting my school work. My conversations with my parents were always limited to what high-paying job I’d work towards, how much money would be enough money, and how few Samoan doctors and scientists there were so I’d be an asset in those fields. Maslow’s hierarchy places physiological needs such as food, water, sleep, and shelter at the base (most important), and self-esteem, self-awareness, love, and belonging further up. I understand that my parents are most concerned with my financial security because, in this world, health, safety, and sustenance are reliant on what we can afford. However, in my experience, my emotions, feelings of belonging, and mental stability impact my ability to be productive, creative, and even get out of bed in the morning. I once woke up with paralyzing fear about something I couldn’t put my finger on and I missed a class I was meant to give my presentation in. I emailed my lecturer to apologize and said that I’d take a fail grade over attending class. When I feel culturally or personally alienated in a classroom, or around a meeting table, I’ll most likely passively nod my head and smile at things I disagree with. I’m learning that recognising and acknowledging my feelings for what they are helps me understand the best way for me to deal with them. Sometimes I need to message my parents and tell them I miss them because I need to hear that they love and miss me too. Sometimes I need to talk to a person going through the same situation. Sometimes I need to be physically alone to breathe fresh air and let my mind calm down. Sometimes I need to not be alone. Most of the time, I need some sleep and plenty of water. Language is inadequate to convey how feelings feel. No one else can ever feel the way you do when you’re in love—they can’t feel your churning stomach and they can never know if it’s the exact same churning feeling they’ve felt. They can’t feel your own paralyzing fear and they can’t feel your absolute elation when you receive an email that says your application has been accepted. We

Finnius Teppett

Why You Can’t Kiss Your Mates (spoiler: it’s because of rugby)

experience, and so little was my faith in myself to be able to appreciate them to their max saturation in real time. The geographical departure from New Zealand was easy enough to wrap my head around, but the reality of the cultural departure never really sunk in; i.e. I spent three months marvelling at every tiny boring thing, discovering firsthand the the strange new light that the humdrum of others assumes once you’re forced out of your own boring, featureless humdrum. There was the dinner time (usually like, eleven o’clock PM at the earliest); the tens of thousands of stray dogs who somehow seem to live out their entire natural lives on the street; the hot summer thunderstorms that would regularly kill two or three

Nearly six years ago, at the stupidly young age of eighteen, I spent three summer months wandering around South America with a few mates in hopes of stumbling across some kind of bargain ‘life experience’ I could don and show off back home like a cool leather jacket. In addition to the number of super dumb, eighteen-yearold things I did which made the matter of my survival explainable only by miraculous intervention, the summer was filled up with that budget traveller’s mostly tiresome gallimaufry of twenty-plus-hour buses (preferably overnight, to save on accommodation), mumbled, halfarsed, pseudo-Spanish, and, every so often, sights I could do nothing but photograph, so awesome were they to

isn’t to say that we have totally advanced beyond the emotional stunting of the play’s rugby team; after all we, like those players, still don’t kiss our mates. Drama scholar (and, to a lesser extent, brother of Sam) Michael Neill wrote an amazing foreword to the published script of the play, where he uses the full force of his impressive academic scrutiny to pick apart the questions and answers put forward by McGee. When one of the players, Kenny, announces he feels “like a real girl,” or when the team is denounced as a “pack of poofters,” Neill writes that:

people with lightening every time they (the storms) rolled onto land, reports of which people would watch on the empanada shop telly without really giving a shit. There were also the new hellos. Not merely paired with a little wave or a smile or a handshake, here they came with their own lean-in, one-two, eyes-open, cheek kisses. It felt like it was every time too, no meeting was too inaugural or too regular; it was as normal and unthinking a part of the social experience as anything. And while cheek kisses aren’t of course off-limits for us New Zealanders, our version of them is probably rarer and also strictly gendered (that is, the kiss has to involve at least one woman). I can truthfully say that before I touched down in Argentina I had never, on meeting a guy for the first time, or on meeting up with an old mate for the nth time, allowed for the possibility of giving him a peck or two on the cheek. Because the fact is that you just don’t do that here. You can, of course, if you want to, but no one could say that planting a smooch on your mate’s face when you meet him down at the clubrooms for a cheeky brew was exactly par for the course. And so the question was begged—why can’t we? Why are the boundaries of male friendship delineated so boldly and policed so strictly? As with many things to do with native New Zealand psychology, the answer seems to have something to do with sex. Not that the Argentinian mate-kiss has anything to do with sex, it’s really just significant of a more relaxed set of boundaries around friendship and of social expressions. In New Zealand though, and we’re not alone in this (we might be repressed but we’ve got nothing on the English), a fuller expression of friendship is regulated by our old school ideas about sex. More specifically, how terrified we are of it. For some wisdom about our weirdness about sex and mates our literature can shed some good light, and a good one for this case is one of New Zealand’s most well-known plays, Greg McGee’s Foreskin’s Lament. (The title takes its name from the main character’s changing room sobriquet, though the anatomical pun isn’t accidental.) Produced in 1981, and exploring the behind-the-scenes culture of a local-level rugby team, its premiere was one of the few instances of a play exploding out of the theatre world and becoming a national cultural phenomenon. Seasons were packed out and reaction to the play even reached the front page of the paper, as well as the editorial cartoons inside. Its timing with the Springbok tour goes some of the way to explaining its instant notoriety, but more interesting than what it says about rugby and politics is the explanation it offers for the violence and fragility at the heart of New Zealand masculinity. And while most of us who read this magazine probably think that we (if we’re guys), or the guys we hang out with and love, are more emotionally sophisticated than the repressed, blokey subjects of the play, what’s important to remember is that—as Foreskin, the rugby team’s only university graduate, reminds us—it is we who are living in a bubble. The ‘average New Zealander’, with our tertiary qualifications and our appreciation of single origin coffees, we are not. Which

The insults are not casual, but voice the deepest fears of a male-dominated society which has learnt to despise its own feelings… a society which attempts to control its fears by objectifying homosexuals as ‘poofs’ and women as ‘fluff’. This is the ethos which imagines women’s sex as an alarming ‘gash that never heals’ (an image combining fear and disgust with the threat of sadistic violence), and which projects the male member as an innocent and vulnerable child- poor ‘wee Arnold’ who needs to be taken ‘for a trot’, for all the world like some schoolboy rep. On the topic of this sexual fear, Neill goes on to say: One of the play’s strengths is the clarity with which it reveals the coarse and violent language of masculine camaraderie as an expression of intense self-hatred: ‘fuck’ and ‘cunt’ are terms of abuse for precisely the same reasons that [another player] Clean persistently associates women and shit. It’s such a meme that no one is surprised anymore to discover that often those who are the mostly loudly homophobic turn out to be gay themselves. Their fear of sex, and the resulting self-hatred for carrying that fear, externalises itself as a loud, placard-waving hatred of others’ sex. In a similar way, the men of the play bond together as a defence against sex—safety in numbers— and express their bond by throwing these violent words (“fuck” and “cunt”) like rocks at a steadily advancing enemy, to keep the ideas they signify (sex and vaginas) at bay. The teammates don’t kiss each other on the cheek because the act of kissing is too close to sex and women, those two things they least want to be reminded of. This hypersensitivity to anything relating to sex, including its special kinds of physical contact and language, is what has stripped New Zealand friendship of its kisses. Sex for these men—for, as McGee is telling us, New Zealand men at large—is to be either fought off with a stick or, when that’s not an option, denied all together. Which actually explains one of the most interesting phenomena of our national game—how super gay it is. The full-frontal homoeroticism of rugby is the elephant in the clubroom (or living room, or sports bar) during every game. No one can ever mention it, but it’s undeniable. There’s tackling (angry hugs), rucks and mauls (an orgy of heads, crotches, and bums—to say nothing of the 20

We have not only curated in our national game a space where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re free to express your human needs and desires without consequence, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also cordoned it off and designated it as the only space you can do so.

And while the Argentinians prove that this doesn’t have to be the way, history also shows that we’re living in a particularly feelings-conservative era. A few hundred years ago the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote a whole essay immortalising his friendship with the writer Étienne de la Boétie. Pre-Bromantic era, Montaigne used no uncertain terms to express just how he felt about Boétie. “If a man should importune me to give a reason why I loved him,” he wrote in his essay “Of Friendship”, “I find it could no otherwise be expressed, than by making answer: because it was he, because it was I.” Their very souls, he reckoned, would “mix and work themselves into one piece, with so universal a mixture, that there is no more sign of the seam by which they were first conjoined.” In lieu of ambiguity and anxiety, he fills the essay with a striking passion. The intensity of his friendship is celebrated, is almost beyond words, and in reading about it you can’t help but feel a little jealous—it’s something to aspire to. Montaigne was no coitophobe (see the extended writings on the subject of his own unruly penis), and that freedom from sex-fear opened up for him a whole brilliant world of homosocial intimacy for him. Needless to say, rugby was not a major pastime in 16th century France. Now more modern times have brought with them hypotheses about Montaigne’s potential homosexuality, but it’s hard to say whether the emergence of these theories is because they actually might contain some bit of truth, or if it’s just another effect of our stubborn, sex-afraid ideas about friendship: i.e. our definition of friendship can only stretch itself so far to cover Montaigne’s situation, and it’s gayness that would have to cover the rest. This raises another question though—if emotions and passions are basically out of the picture for New Zealand’s mate population, what exactly is the point of being mates anyway? McGee has a go at answering this too, in an exchange between Foreskin and his coach, Tupper:

grunting), and lineouts (where a tall man can go to get hoisted into the air by two strong men groping his upper thighs), to name only a few basic features of the game. It turns out that all that sexual energy has to come out somewhere. And the fact that we are still yet to have an openly gay All Black underlines New Zealand’s attachment to the idea of rugby as a safe haven from sex. But rugby also serves another crucial purpose for the New Zealand psyche—it’s where we’re allowed to be emotional. In the stands we can scream, we can be worried or scared, and we can even cry. In Neill’s words, “the ironic paradox McGee pursues it that a society, whose predominantly calvinist ethic has systematically discouraged the public display of emotion and the recognition of emotional contact, should discover its self-image in the extravagant contact sport of rugby.” In playing and watching rugby men are allowed to be emotional without being girly, and be sexy without being gay. We have not only curated in our national game a space where you’re free to express your human needs and desires without consequence, we’ve also cordoned it off and designated it as the only space you can do so. Try any of that outside of the game—try patting your mate’s bum, or kissing him on the cheek—at your own peril. And so we’ve arrived where we are. The idea that a male friendship might include physical expressions of affection—even the idea that men might be open about how much they like each other—is so foreign and freaky for us that we needed a different word for it. And while New Zealand can’t lay claim to the invention of ‘bromance’, we did embrace it without question. The wide world of male friendship appears to have an outer limit, get beyond that and you enter the territory of a bromantic relationship. In an episode of the podcast ‘WTF’ a few years ago, Simon Pegg railed against the term and it’s application to him and his mate and collaborator Nick Frost.

FORESKIN: How can we be mates? … We don’t agree on anything important. TUPPER: Important? Important my arse. The best mates I’ve ever had, we never got past the time of day. What’s important? You just get on with it.

You can be affectionate with each other, you can love each other, and it doesn’t have to be some—you know, and even if it does turn into something, which it didn’t, then it’s okay… We always sort of flinch at this ‘bromance’ buzzword that’s come up—there’s no equivalent for women, because it’s not weird if women are friends… because of this homosexual terror that straight guys have, it’s ridiculous. Now there has to be this word for it, and it’s crazy. It’s totally sad. As far as words go, ‘bromance’ is hardly a slur, but it does point to a buried anxiety about the slipperiness of sex. Because in this case the fear is not “what if my mate kisses me?” but rather, “what if he kisses me… and I like it?” And the only way to really stay safe is to draw a line between ‘bratonic’ friendship and ‘bromantic’ friendship—the murky latter of which might harbour the dark possibility of kissing—and to keep your relationships with other dudes planted firmly in the former. To point out someone else’s bromance then is to reinforce your own standing, safely on the other side of the line.

Never mind feelings, McGee is saying, mateship is no place for an intimate expression of the human experience. You just have to “get on with it.” It would be remiss to ignore the fact that this play is actually getting pretty old now, but it is a really valuable insight into where we’re coming from as a national culture. And things these days are definitely looking up, as they should. Back in May, NZ rugby chief executive Steve Tew told reporters he “absolutely” thought New Zealand was ready for a gay All Black, and earlier in the year a good friend of mine pashed me at his leaving party, and it was really beautiful (if a little tonguey). Maybe, with a bit of luck, in a generation or two we’ll get to be as grown up about our friendships and our feelings as the Argentinians.

HAVE A RANT WITH GRANT SEPTEMBER 19 / 4PM IN THE HUB Your chance to share your views on fees before 2017 university fee setting. FEATURING Sir Neville Jordan Chancellor

Grant Guilford Vice-Chancellor

VUWSA ELECTIONS 2016 Vote for your student representatives on campus!

Where and when to vote: Kelburn

Pipitea

Te Aro

Tuesday 20 September 12:00pm - 2:00pm The Hub

Wednesday 21 September 12:00pm - 2:00pm Rutherford House foyer

Thursday 22 September 12:00pm - 2:00pm Outside lawn main entrance/ Inside main entrance

Positions President The President is responsible for ensuring that VUWSA, as an organization, meets its strategic and constitutional goals. They are responsible to the Executive and members for VUWSA’s operations (including Advocacy, Welfare, Representative services, Clubs, events, student media and all services provided by the VUWSA Office). The President is responsible for chairing and providing leadership to the VUWSA Executive and ensuring that the Executive are acting transparently and being accountable. 40 hours per week

Academic Vice President The Academic Vice President (AVP) heads the Education Team and is responsible with the President for the strategic direction of student representation on campus. They work with the Education Officer and relevant staff members to ensure that student representation works effectively at the University and that all representatives feel well supported and informed in their roles. They also have a key role in ensuring the University provides quality teaching and learning across all levels of study. They maintain a close relationship with Education-based Rep Groups. 20 hours per week

Welfare Vice President The Welfare Vice President heads the Welfare Team and is responsible for ensuring that VUWSAprovides a diverse and appropriate range of welfare based services to members and students. They work closely with the Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer and the Equity Officer to ensure that students are provided with the right services and support to ensure their time at Victoria is the best it can be. They work closely with VUW Student Services and Welfare-based Representative Groups on campus. 20 hours per week

Engagement Vice President The Engagement Vice President (EVP) heads the VUWSA Engagement Team and is responsible for ensuring that there is strong communication and opportunities for involvement between VUWSA, its members and students. They lead the Engagement team and work closely with the Clubs and Activities and Campaigns Officer. They work to build a strong stu-

dent community through events, activities, campaigns and discussion, working alongside satellite student representatives both within and across campuses. They are responsible for helping any new Representative Groups start on campus. The EVP works with relevant groups in the community on issues affecting students and helps to build and strengthen VUWSA’s role in the wider community. 20 hours per week

Treasurer-Secretary This Officer role contains the duties of both Association Treasurer and Association Secretary. They are responsible for working with the relevant staff members and the VUWSA President to develop the annual VUWSA budget. They chair the Audit and Finance, Executive Reporting and Publications Committees. They are also an ex-officio member of the VUWSA Trust along with the VUWSA President. The Treasurer-Secretary is the Secretary of the Association and responsible for ensuring that all minutes and Association documentation is up to date and accessible to members. They work to ensure that VUWSA remains efficient and accountable, through regular reporting and strong policy. 10 hours per week

Education Officer The Education Officer works cxlosely with the Academic Vice President regarding academic matters within the University and student representation. In particular the Education Officer works closely with education-based rep- groups, seeking feedback and supporting their activities and initiatives where appropriate. They also take an active role in supporting and training Class Representatives and where appropriate working with the Campaigns Officer to run education based capaigns. 10 hours per week

Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer The Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer works alongside the Welfare Vice President on issues relating to student financial, health, environmental and mental wellbeing. They help to deliver welfare and sustainability initiatives such as Free Flu Shots, Stress Free Study Week and Environment Week on campus. Where appropriate they work with the Campaigns Officer in running welfare and sustainability-based cam-

paigns. This officer has a particular role in the issues that crossover between student welfare and sustainability. This includes the issues of more warm, dry accommodation and increasing the affordability of public transport. 10 hours per week

Equity Officer The Equity Officer is tasked with ensuring that all students have equal access to services, support, academic success and participation opportunities at Victoria University. The Equity Officer has a strict focus on welfare issues that affect students within Victoria and the University Community. They maintain close relationships and work alongside specific groups on campus including Māori, Pasifika, women, queer, international and disabled students, generally through the Rep Group structure, to ensure equity, access and support. 10 hours per week

Clubs and Activities Officer The Clubs and Activities Officer works with the EVP to ensure that all students have an outstanding student experience. In their Clubs role, they have a close relationship with Recreation Services and work to ensure that clubs on campus are well supported and have access to facilities and resources that help develop a vibrant campus on campus. In their Activities role they organise activities and events across all VUW campuses, as delegated by the Executive and works to assist student groups on campus in organising and running activities. 10 hours per week

Campaigns Officer The Campaigns Officer is responsible for running, and helping other Executive members to run, campaigns on campus and in the wider community. In particular they work closely with the Education and Wellbeing and Sustainability Officers to ensure the smooth running of any relevant campaigns. They work alongside the President and Communication Coordinator (staff member) to ensure VUWSA has a strong message on student based issues in the community and media, particular around Budget Day and University Fee Setting. 10 hours per week

President Dayle Vavasour

Jacinta Gulasekharam

Fun fact: As a representative body, the way VUWSA behaves is meant to reflect us. So, it would be handy that they know what we actually want from them.

Hi everyone,

Boring fact: In order for their General Meetings to count, VUWSA needs at least 100 students (“quorum”) to attend. This is just over half of one percent of the people they’re meant to represent (16,855 according to Wikipedia).

This includes bringing you:

I have a plan for VUWSA next year.

•

I believe that most students aren’t particularly concerned with what VUWSA gets up to. Most of us only have vague opinions about issues, but we don’t care enough to actually do anything about it. For us, VUWSA is not good representation.

Gold Coin sanitary and hygiene items at every campus. As president I will make sure there are gold coin tampons, pads, toilet paper and toothbrushes provided by VUWSA. This is about VUWSA delivering real solutions to student hardship. Student deals to Wellington events. This city should be accessible and affordable to students. I will ensure VUWSA works with the Flying Squadron for rugby games and big ticket events to give us students deals that we can’t refuse. Introduce a Monthly Question time to the VUWSA executive. This will allow you to ask where your student money goes and what VUWSA is doing for you. This gives you an opportunity next year to ask us these questions and have the answers publicised. VUWSA needs accountable and accessible leadership.

Some of us are even mildly annoyed when VUWSA campaigns for things they think we care about, when all we want to do is go to lectures, (not) study, and a million other things that are too many to list, because our only unifying trait is that we aren’t the passionate people that VUWSA listens to. For us, VUWSA is terrible representation.

As Academic Vice President this year my experience with VUWSA leading the Education team training over 600 class reps, looking after 30 faculty delegates, bringing back VUWSA’s Alternative Student Guide and establishing online class rep training - has helped me develop the ability to lead and support the VUWSA team in 2017.

It doesn’t matter what vague opinions I have personally, or any vast experience in being an enthusiastic person that I (don’t actually) have. What matters is that if elected, I will provide more of a voice for the disinterested – to ensure that VUWSA gives our views the appropriate weight. As voting can be done online, the ease of bothering to vote now will outweigh the amount VUWSA will bother you if you don’t.

In 2015 as Treasurer I looked after the VUWSA budget and have a solid understanding of how best to use student resources to give the most back to students.

As every year, they seem to have difficulty reaching quorum, even when they bribe us with food, this suggests that the vast majority of students don’t actually care what VUWSA gets up to. Every year, they increasingly advocate for what they feel makes things “better” for us, giving the impression that we are passionate and actually care about things.

•

VUWSA DOESN’T REPRESENT THE APATHETIC

•

My year on University Council has given me insight into where Vic’s plans for the future, and I still have one year in that role to represent your interests. The future is now and as your President I will push for Grant Guildford, the VUW Vice Chancellor, to prioritise our study space and purchase new buildings.

RUNNING FOR MULTIPLE SPOTS As the President represents VUWSA, which represents us, I believe this is the best role for me to achieve what I plan to. However, I will still be able to effectively advocate in any other position. Like the Engagement Vice-President or Campaigns Officer, whose sole purposes are to find ways to bother us more effectively. In those roles, I’ll not do that.

While my new initiatives will move VUWSA forward, it is important not to forget the principles we stand for. VUWSA will continue to fight for the Living Wage movement, Thursdays in Black, Fairer fares and a Rental WOF - we will continue to push for a Student Friendly Wellington. My love for VUWSA from my time on the executive has made me ambitious, experienced and ready to lead your students’ association next year. I want VUWSA to be an organisation that creates solutions for students. A vote for Jacinta is a vote for someone who will make a Real Difference from Day One.

tl;dr VUWSA doesn’t care that you don’t care, so ignores you and tries to “engage” you. Vote Dayle to be left alone.

President

Lars Thompson

Rory Lenihan-Ikin

Kia Ora!

Tēnā koe! I’m Rory and I’ve spent the last two years on VUWSA working on tangible things to make your life better – like the fruit and vege market, and the Fairer Fares campaign. I’m asking for your vote as President to build VUWSA’s capacity to deliver on the issues that matter, and get Victoria and Wellington working better for students.

I’m Lars, the presidential candidate for real change at VUWSA and a new deal for students! This is my third year studying law, politics and criminology. In the past, I’ve been involved in many clubs and class rep roles. I am currently a US Embassy Youth Councillor and president of our Politics Society. I’m one of the student reps on the Faculty Board of Humanities and Social Sciences. In these roles, I’ve always supported students and called out decision makers where it counts!

CONNECTING TO WELLINGTON There are 40,000 students in Wellington bringing talent and energy to the city, and contributing around $2 billion to the local economy each year. We need a students’ association that can effectively push for this to be recognised. I have spearheaded the Student Friendly Wellington campaign this year which is working to secure Fairer Fares on public transport and better flats, but momentum must not stop here.

My new deal for students focuses on four key aspects: 1.

MORE ADVOCACY: VUWSA needs to lead by example and stand up to the uni, city council and the Beehive. When Vic tries to raise fees, shorten our breaks or outsource foundations studies, VUWSA needs to push back. I will put pressure on Mayoralty candidates to stick by their support of Fairer Fares. I shall strive to make VUWSA and Vic, Living Wage certified by 2018. VUWSA should rightfully be the critic and conscience of the Uni and Society. MORE COMMUNICATION: With increased advocacy, it’s important we’re representing students’ values and best interests. I will be proactive in reaching out to students and will create more chances for pizza and participation throughout next year! One way of doing this will be the reintroduction of student representative councils, which allows you to submit VUWSA policy proposals to be debated and then approved by an online voting process. All students, regardless of privilege, should have a hand in our Association’s governance. MORE FACILITATION: Students are strongest when working together! A vibrant and interconnected club community ensures the student experience is not all about study! I’ll create a new clubs congress, where all clubs can advertise events, tackle any shared challenges and get to know one another better. VUWSA will provide volunteer assistance to help clubs hold bigger and better events! MORE SERVICES: We should be expanding what our Community Pantry provides to the wider student community and free hot food should always be on hand at peak assignment times, regardless of campus. VUWSA should be helping students reach their potential, as well as safeguarding their financial, mental and physical wellbeing.

2017 is a crucial year for Fairer Fares. With the Regional Council fare review coming up, we have the perfect opportunity to finally get it over the line. VUWSA will need leadership in this final push - this means efficient and effective lobbying that builds off of the work the Student Friendly Wellington campaign has accomplished so far. CREATING A FAIRER VICTORIA We deserve to know what we’re signing up for when we enroll in a paper. I will ensure student reviews are made easily available online so that when choosing courses, you can take into account how students have rated them in previous years. I will continue my last two years of work as a strong advocate for the University to become a Living Wage employer, and grow VUWSA’s involvement in the Thursdays in Black campaign demanding a world without rape and violence. We know that rape culture is rife within our student communities. This is one of the most pressing issues we face, and by pushing for more university research, training for hall of residence staff, consent education and support systems for survivors, we’ll start to see real change. THE LITTLE THINGS MAKE A DIFFERENCE Since being on your exec, I have brought you the VUWSA Vege Market, $5 dinners at Kelburn, and a soon-to-be-released ‘Guide to Flatting’ booklet. You can expect more of this in 2017, including dinners during Stress Free Study Week.

In 2017, I want a new deal for students where you can be certain that your student Association is accountable, supportive and fighting for your best interests. This year your vote can make a real difference at Vic!

As your President in 2017, I will ensure the University and the City are working in your best interest, and that VUWSA gets things done in a way that you can be proud of.

Candidates Engagement Vice President

Academic Vice President

Bhavana Bhim I’m Bhavana and I am running for Academic Vice President in this year’s VUWSA elections. As a member of my high school student council I learnt how important leadership is creating a sound academic environment. Now in my third year of my arts degree, I am part of the Victoria Plus and Victoria International Leadership Programme. This year I became a Faculty Delegate and student representative of the Humanities and Social Sciences board. My experience as a faculty rep has given me a lot of insight into the workings of the university. I aim for a QUALITY education. As VUW increases the quantity of students, we need to think about the effect this will have on our studying environment. I want to advocate for more study space! Everyone deserves the right to education and you shouldn’t feel pressured or flustered in your study. I want to increase COMMUNICATION. We need to create a holistic learning environment where students are aware of the University system. Whether you are a Humanities, Science, Commerce, Law, Design or Music student, faculty groups need to stay connected. Through a stronger student voice, we can strengthen mechanisms for rating teacher-quality at VUW. By examining our current teaching evaluations, I can push for effective ways to get issues across the board. I would also like to introduce an accessible online guide which overviews, all academic facilities for students. You need someone with experience for this role. With my LEADERSHIP skills I can make a difference.

Isabella Lenihan-Ikin

Nathaniel Manning

Kia ora! I’m Isabella, and I am running for Academic Vice President to ensure that student wellbeing lies at the heart of high-quality education.

Kia ora koutou,

We pay thousands of dollars to come to this university, and although we are privileged to have access to tertiary study, we deserve a high-quality education where we are engaged and stimulated, and acknowledged as valuable members of this community.

Experienced Leadership I have served on the VUWSA executive for two years now; as Engagement Vice-President this year, and Campaigns Officer in 2015. This experience and institutional knowledge allows for a strong Engagement Team that will hit the ground running from day one!

Recently I have been talking to students about what a quality education means to them. Many have raised concerns that things like the myAllocator system and library hours do not suit their needs. If I am elected as the AVP, I will advocate for the myAllocator system to become simpler; central library hours to be extended past 10.30pm and will push for the introduction of a more accessible course-review system where previous student course feedback is available online when you are choosing your papers. Our academic success relies on supportive networks, an effective life-study balance, and a university that puts student wellbeing at the heart of our education. If elected I will strongly support the introduction of a Rental Warrant of Fitness to ensure students live in warm and healthy flats, and the implementation of half-price bus fares for tertiary students. A vote for me is a vote for an experienced and hard-working AVP who is committed to putting student wellbeing at the heart of high-quality education. Kia kaha ki te tautoko, te poti hoki mo au.

I’m Nathaniel Manning, and I’m re-running to be your Engagement VP for 2017!

Strong Event Calendar This year, Orientation was huge, our inaugural ArtsWeek was a massive success, and to quote Salient, Re-OWeek has gone from “usually lacklustre” to one that people actually took notice of this year. I’m also proud to have supported the establishment of Gold and Supreme Club Awards this year at Vic, to compliment the longstanding Blues Awards. I will continue to build on what has been achieved, and continually look to expand what we provide students, including a more diverse Orientation, a Graduation Cocktail night, and continued partnerships with other student groups. Effective Campaigning There’s a saying among political parties that “Local Body is a practise run for the General Election,” and this is a philosophy that VUWSA should take full advantage of too. I’ve helped behind the scenes of the Student Friendly Wellington campaign, and took a lead in organising enrolment outreaches and the Mayoral Debate, allowing me to know what’s worked, and what could have worked better. The student vote is an important one, and next year’s General Election campaign by VUWSA is a real opportunity to strengthen it. Vote Nathaniel for Engagement VP! Ngā mihi

Welfare Vice President

Education Officer

Anya Maule

Lauren Daroux Greig

Tom Rackley I’m Tom and I want to make a #moreengagingTOMorrow for you at Vic! I’m someone who never does anything in halves; if I’m going to tackle something then I will push the boundaries as far as possible to make it bigger than ever before. That’s why I want to be your Engagement VP in 2017. We’re the capital’s university, the city of festivities and yet we’re burdened by too many students being unaware of events, let alone taking part in them. Many students are disengaged with VUWSA, while our OWeek’s are overshadowed by other universities. I want this to change. Although I will be new to VUWSA I am no stranger to leadership and organisation, having served on a Board of Trustees, Student Executives, as a Head Student and a manager. Through these roles I’ve organised balls, raves, functions and more, all of which gave me experience with large numbers of peoples. Communication I will work with students to streamline and increase awareness and conversation about events across the university. Content What’s the point in knowing about events if you don’t want to go? I will work with clubs, societies and beyond to enrich our established events with bigger, better, desirable acts while focusing on developing new and engaging events. Co-operation Our clubs and societies keep to themselves, I’ll encourage inter-club and society cooperation with broader engagement with the Wellington community to encourage new events and improve current ones. Vote Tom and together let’s #engagewithTOMorrow

Kia ora! My name is Anya and I’m running to be your Welfare Vice President for 2017. As the current Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer, I have been working on sustainable initiatives that seek to enhance the wellbeing of students on campus, notably the expansion and streamlining of the VUW Organic Food Co-operative, which is now a monthly occurrence, and my work towards establishing a student community garden. Welfare means being mentally and physically healthy and able to participate actively in society, which is achieved through balancing the different aspects of one’s life; work, education, home life/flatting, relationships, and recreation/down time.

Kia ora, I’m Lauren and I’m running for Education Officer!

The welfare service that VUWSA runs seeks to plug some of the gaps; we provide free food to students via the community pantry and at stressful times of the year leading up to exams; we also provide free flu shots coming into winter; we advocate on behalf of students on things that adversely affect students, such as rental property regulations and council annual plans. Another campaign VUWSA is involved in is Thursdays in Black, which seeks to educate around and eradicate sexual violence. The Living Wage movement which I have taken a key role in this year seeks to advance a living wage which, for students, means less hours at work and more time spent studying.

I want to push for subject-specific tutor trainings, run within faculties, to help tutors prepare for teaching their subject, resulting in better tutorials for students!

As Welfare Vice President, I would seek to build on and expand the current services so students can thrive, both on and off campus, and set up the conditions in which students can succeed.

I’m in my fourth year of Arts/Law. I care about the quality of students’ education and have been involved as a tutor (2015,2016), PASS Supervisor (2015), PASS Leader (2014), and mentor (2014-2016) – right here at Victoria! If elected, I will push to make education more affordable by cutting textbook costs. Where ‘compulsory’ textbooks are used for the sake of a couple of chapters, I will work with the university to get these put in the course materials.

I think it is important to work with the university to use more te reo Māori in coursework to celebrate and normalise the use of our national language. Vote for Lauren and we can make these much-needed changes!

Dayle Vavasour Clubs & Activities Officer

Dayle Vavasour Dayle Vavasour

Evelyn Walford-Bourke 30

Clubs and activities promote students’ wellbeing and help us to get involved in #unilyfe, but more collaboration is needed between VUWSA, Victoria Recreation and all of Vic’s clubs, associations and sports teams.

Campaigns Officer

Why? To make sure all clubs, at all of Vic’s campuses, have access to the resources and training they need to do things bigger and better! I have volunteered for VUWSA events, I am the co-president of iEngage, and a VILP Ambassador. These are three roles which have given me experience with running events, working with Victoria Recreation and VUWSA, and finding out what it is students really want during their time here. I will work with the Engagement team to make Victoria’s clubs better supported and better able to support Victoria’s students in having the time of their lives! Vote Evelyn for VUWSA Clubs and Activities: Visible, vocal, and here for making 2017 your best year yet!

Marlon Drake Kia ora! My name is Marlon Drake. I’m running to be your VUWSA Clubs and Activities Officer.

Raven Maeder Kia ora! I’m Raven, and I’m running for Campaigns Officer to strengthen VUWSA’s campaign power to deliver on the issues that matter. Effective campaigns need people power. I will create a VUWSA volunteer community involving and upskilling students at every level of campaigning. This would put more knowledge and experience behind campaigns – strengthen our student voice. Students deserve warm, dry flats and cheaper public transport. I will ensure VUWSA runs a general election campaign, which puts these issues on the political agenda, and holds local councillors accountable to their Student Friendly Wellington pledges. I will also ensure VUWSA stands for a safer and more supportive Victoria by decreasing wait times at Student Health; growing the Thursdays in Black campaign; increasing lighting to make university pathways safer, and campaigning for a Living Wage Victoria. Vote Raven for an experienced and passionate Campaigns Officer who will deliver on the issues that matter.

The ability of students to get involved at Victoria is key in sustaining a vibrant student culture. Clubs are a great way to facilitate recreation, or an opportunity to contribute back to the community.

Second, management. We need to make sure the club system is responsive to student voice.

Dayle Vavasour Equity Officer

Third, equity. Showing that Clubs and Activities can quite powerfully contribute to VUWSA’s commitment to ensuring equity at Victoria.

Zoe Roche Hello, I’m Zoe Roche and I am a fourth year LLB/BA student. Having been on the executive of CanDo for two years, a representative group for people with disabilities, I am no stranger to the realities of the work Equity Officer requires.

Diversity: Recognising every individual has different needs and working alongside rep groups and students to ensure services are provided to them. Awareness: Enhancing all students’ access to resources, representative groups, support systems, and connecting students’ as necessary. Voice: Re-establishing VUWSA’s relationship and relevance to students through greater visibility and affirmative action.

Further detail on policy will be available on my Facebook event. Giving me your vote means real improvement in sustaining a thriving student culture.

Along the way I’ve engaged with so many people, whose wairua has given me the courage to stand here and run as your 2017 Equity Officer. I believe the key to this role is building relationships, engaging, listening, and then advocating. Above all, I can truly say that I care about the diverse needs represented by each group at university, and I’ll work my absolute. hardest to ensure each groups needs are fulfilled.

I grew up in a small Central Otago town, and as such, a sense of community has always been close to my heart. I intend to bring that crucial sense of community to Vic through the following initiatives and goals:

What I have to offer are simple ways to improve three aspects of our current clubs system. First, accessibility. Students need to actually know how to join a club, and have a better way of finding out info about clubs.

This year has been crazy. I’ve learned the ins-and-outs through being on the Women’s Group Executive, learnt about the prevalence of sexual violence in student communities and the importance of student safety through working for Thursday’s in Black, and marched proudly for Wiki ō Te Reo Māori. I’ve protested with No Pride in Prisons, attended and learnt so much through JustSpeak events, and even managed to attend the Network of Women Students’ Association 2016 conference in Sydney!

Tamatha Paul 31

I intend to achieve these initiatives through: · a closer relationships with rep groups · “check-in” time · hire-a-blanket.

Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer

Clinic and the Student Wellbeing Awareness Team. I have been running BBQs and been giving out free vegetarian food. I will ensure that we get the following done: enhance community and club support to cultivate holistic wellbeing, get a Queer space at Vic for LGBTQIA students, get a Living Wage here at Vic, begin a bike rental program, and have wonderful puppies for stress-free study week and free flu shots. I am honoured to be here for all you amazing students!

George Grainger

Beth Paterson

Yeah gidday,

Kia ora, I’m Beth!

My name’s George Grainger, your 2016 VUWSA Treasurer-Secretary and I’m putting my hand up to do it again.

I’m a third year law and ecology student. I love drinking piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. But arguably more importantly, I care about making student-life cleaner, greener and meaner. As an example, when living at Weir, I noticed there was no incentive to conserve energy (as you pay a fixed fee no matter what!). So I worked with VUWSA to create and implement an inter-hall energy competition, which rewards students for switching off. As Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer, I would improve and keep this comp going. I would develop a plan to get electric pool bikes so we can zip between campuses on the fly and streamline VUWSA food-services to make it easier to get the goods. I am friendly, pragmatic and capable. Vote for me and I’ll make sure you get the best sustainable bang for your VUWSA buck.

Treasurer-Secretary

Jessica Shaw Hey, I’m Jess Shaw and I’m a little obsessed with Harry Potter, striped t-shirts and the All Blacks. I am running to be your Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer. Simply put, this role is about: growing a healthier tomorrow, for all of us. Not just some of us. As students, friends, family members, partners, human beings. Sustainability is not just about environmental issues. Sustainability is about growth, people and it is absolutely about wellness. Together, we can grow a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow for ALL OF US. My campaign for Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer in 2017 is going to be a really incredible journey to make student life at Victoria as brilliant as possible.

This year I’ve worked hard behind the scenes, ensuring VUWSA has the policy and procedures it needs to work for you. I’ve made sure VUWSA has the funds it needs to run, and importantly that we’re open and accountable to our students. My ability working with the budget has saved a huge amount of your money while maintaining, and often growing, the quality of service to students. This experience makes me the best candidate to make sure your student money is safe again next year. Next year I plan to build up on my work this year, to help students start enterprises by investing in and mentoring them. There’s No Danger re-electing Grainger. I have the vision of a strong student’s association, and the ability to get it done.

I wholeheartedly want to invite you to join me, in every way possible, in all discussions and through all the highs and lows. Together, I promise you we can make incredible things happen. #ShawForMore

Dayle Vavasour

Jason Chappell Hello. My name is Jason Chappell. I am running for Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer this year and am loving it! I have a great passion for helping other people and enhancing peoples’ lives through love and commitment along with a strong, hard work ethic to get goals accomplished. This year I have been involved in numerous environmental and wellbeing clubs – Gecko, Plastic Diet, The Climate Change

Student Media Committee

Casey Diver Tena koutou katoa I’m Casey and I believe I’m the ideal candidate to take on the role of one half of your representation on the Student Media Committee for 2017. If elected, I will work with all student media to deliver high quality, tangible outcomes. I want to ensure that students are presented with content that talks about the real issues in New Zealand, and provides as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions. I will place a high priority on clubs being recognised for their achievements in student media and will push for them to be able to have advertising subsidies and rights not currently afforded to them so they can grow as student media grows. As students, we are entitled to the highest-quality media possible, and if elected, I will ensure that all student media outlets accomplish the quality needed in today’s modern world.

Robbie Coutts

Zac Klavs

Kia ora, I’m Robbie, and I’m running to be one of your representatives on the Student Media Committee for 2017. Like you, I’m an avid reader of Salient and a consumer of SalientFM – our student run and operated radio station. Last year, I wrote for Salient and ran a weekly show on SalientFM. Because of these experiences, I gained a keen insight into how our student media is run, and how it could be improved.

Hello, Media is possibly the most powerful force in the world today. It wields the power to inform, inspire, convince, and mould. However, when improperly marshalled it can be a dangerous tool. I believe that Salient and Salient FM are already well on the way to becoming a finely tooled instrument at the hands of every Victoria student, but that more refinement is necessary. As the Media nominee i pledge to bring Salient up to the NZ press standards in order to make Salient a more reputable editorial. I would also hope to encourage more serious journalism to better inform the individuals who read the current selection on offer.

If elected to the Student Media Committee, I’ll work with Salient’s next editors to place Salient on the next level of publishing. By getting Salient accredited with the Press Council seal of approval, Salient will be raised to that level of standards, ensuring that students are presented with the best content possible, and that Salient continues its reign as one of New Zealand’s most successful and widely-read student publications. I would also push for SalientFM to receive more funding, allowing for weekly podcasts, as well as updated equipment, giving Victoria students a greater voice across the airwaves. SalientFM is a quality service that simply doesn’t get enough credit for the fantastic job that it’s doing. As students, we are entitled to the highest quality of media possible, and if elected, I will ensure that both Salient and SalientFM reach the standards that I know and believe them to be capable of achieving.

As an individual who has formerly co-hosted a show on Salient FM, as well as one who has participated in other fields of media such as reality television, I believe i have insider information on the way that media operates; on its dangers and strengths. In essence, a vote for me is a vote for a higher quality student magazine with an increased range of editorials, as well as higher standards bringing the magazine in line with national standards. I believe this move will make our combined voice on student issues that much stronger. We will be heard! Zac Klavs

Jason Chappell

Where and when to vote: Kelburn

Pipitea

Te Aro

Tuesday 20 September 12:00pm - 2:00pm The Hub

Wednesday 21 September 12:00pm - 2:00pm Rutherford House foyer

Thursday 22 September 12:00pm - 2:00pm Outside lawn main entrance/ Inside main entrance

The Privilege of Them Feels

Faith Wilson

race. There’s a difference between anger and violence. There’s also a difference between violence and gratuitous violence. Anger is the emotion and feeling, violence is a behaviour that’s displayed sometimes when angry. Anger does not always amount to violence. The conflation of these two is a critical error. If violence is used by someone in a position of power, how is it fair to say that the victim should not use violence back? These are tricky ethical and moral dilemmas for sure and in no way do I want this to be read as condoning police violence, but what I am saying is that we should always think about the codes with which we often unflinchingly refer back to for our definitions of what is right and what is wrong. To bring it into a more real realm, the video that was snapped a few weeks back of police attacking a young boy on his bike in South Auckland depicts an act of violence. The appropriate reaction to that should be, in my opinion, anger. Not violence. But anger. Anger against injustice, blatant police brutality and bullying, racial profiling, and the abuse of power. The violence in this instance seems to me to be rooted in racism, which is rooted in hate, which is rooted in fear. Instead of being encouraged to identify the root of the feeling we’re just made to think that emotions fit into different categories—negative and positive. It’s great to be happy, but it’s bad to be angry. Instead of encouraging appropriate dialogue around these feelings, we begin,

Who else can’t stand Angela from The Real Housewives of Auckland? From the moment I watched her interact with the other women, I knew that she was a snake underneath that fucking killer fake smile. I literally felt like vomiting after watching her attack Gilda at Michelle’s dinner party on the second episode: I could taste the saccharine drivel dripping from her dazzling mouth and through the TV screen as Gilda tried to hold her own under Angela’s merciless provocations. And then she, as snakes are wont to do, manages to turn the situation around and victimise herself. Yeah, I totally love to hate on her because that’s what reality TV is made for, but if you were to lift this situation out of the streets of Remuera or mansions of Coatesville, and pop it into your average ‘Kiwi ladies’ hang out, Angela becomes just another one of the people you probably hang out with, kinda can’t stand, but put up with anyway because #harmony #friendship #bffs and Gilda is your coloured friend even though #idontseecolour and #alllivesmatter. I can only speak for myself and the situations I’ve been in and witnessed, but my experience has shown me that only certain feelings and their associated behaviours are socially acceptable, and this is tied to the politics of class and race. You can look through the annals of history or even just head on over to stuff.co.nz to see the way anger and other so called ‘negative’ emotions are narrativised through 35

I could have written about anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; about how happy I am when I see my friends, about the love I have for my familyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but I took the stick and decided to make it about something bigger. 36

against the injustice and I can implore others to do the same. I can use my privilege to encourage you to feel that social injustice is wrong, because it is. And that not doing anything about it or ignoring it or leaving it for others to speak up about is shameful. I can say that I’m disgusted with the privilege and apathy that I encounter in most New Zealanders on a daily basis. It’s not enough to just be aware of your privilege, to just acknowledge it. You have to go further. I’m not saying I have answers. I don’t know how the fuck to stop racism, to stop fear-mongering, to stop hate, and hate crimes, and police violence, and apathy… but I know that saying nothing allows it to fester, allows the wrong people to be criminalised and hated on, and allows the real villains to get away with it. I’m also aware that my little and probably annoying af voice is going to be read by maybe a handful of people, and that from that handful maybe only one or two, or maybe none, are going to seriously consider what I have to say. So how did a piece that began with a flippant remark about the Real Housewives of Auckland turn into an imperative about checking your privilege and doing something about it? I’m in a position where, as a brown female writer with a strong social conscience, I am often burdened with the talking stick when it comes to writing about race, colonialism, and identity. I am given free reign when I write for Salient. I could have written about anything—about how happy I am when I see my friends, about the love I have for my family—but I took the stick and decided to make it about something bigger. Because I see it as a responsibility. I have a platform, one with a pretty small reach in the general scheme of things but it’s a platform nonetheless. For me not to make it about social injustice in Aotearoa feels wrong. Once you come out of the cave, you do not crawl back in. It’s an interesting quagmire: on the one hand I feel burdened by the need to say something, and, on the other hand, if I don’t what’s the point of my writing. Why have yet another voice putting words out there into the aether to be consumed and forgotten? And while the things I have to say are important to me, and I think that they should be important to you too, I still cannot speak for anyone else. How do you not only speak about injustice but encourage action against injustice, through words? I hope that by writing this, I encourage at least one person out there, who is afraid to speak, whose words are silenced and undervalued, who too feels enraged by the social injustices in this country, to speak up. If I can encourage more of the voices that aren’t heard, I will try. If someone can look at me, a brown girl who has decided to speak, and feel encouraged to do the same, then I will keep speaking. I will keep speaking until my own voice is quieter than those whose voices matter. I will speak until my voice is no longer needed. Only then will I be silent.

from an early age, to just stop expressing some emotions altogether out of fear of vilification and other punitive consequences. Moreover, the freedom with which we feel safe to express some of these emotions has a lot to do with the construction of racial stereotypes. Let’s not forget that I’m talking about this from a position of privilege—I’m free and able to talk about the expression of emotion in a public platform that’s going to be read by mostly white middle class liberals, without consequence. I am free to talk about the philosophical problems of police brutality and I’m not going to get profiled or arrested because, even though I’m brown, I’m the acceptable, educated, and articulate kind of brown. So what is the relevance of talking about freedom of emotional expression to you? Perhaps so that you’ll be aware of the privilege of emotional freedom of expression. Maybe so that you can recognise that you have the ability to be angry and the police are most likely not going to arrest you for it, or paint you in the media as a demonic P freak. Going back to the event of the recording of police violence against a young boy and the appropriate reaction of anger and disgust—who is socially ‘allowed’ to have this reaction? If a group of young brown boys from South Auckland decided to speak out about this, would this get the same kind of response or public support as say a group of wealthy white people who decided to take umbrage against the very real existence of racism in Aotearoa? Definitely not. In the Real Housewives example, if Gilda, who is Iranian, decided to call Angela out for being a horrid bitch, she would most likely have been labeled as a bitch herself. If Louise had stood up and said “Angela, you’re being a bitch,” everyone would have congratulated Louise on doing what’s right, on standing up against Angela, on being an intelligent woman etc. etc. Our perceptions of anger are so tied up with our perceptions of class and race. If I say South Auckland what are your first reactions: Gang violence? Domestic violence? Armed robberies? Yeah, this shit goes on there. But this isn’t the only place in Aotearoa all these forms of violence happen, and it’s not the only thing that happens there. But how can that not be your reaction when these stereotypes are thrust in your face by mainstream media? The scrutiny of suburban Auckland aside, it seems crucial to recognise that reactions to feelings are social constructs, as are the expressions of the feelings themselves. But it goes beyond just being cognisant of this, how can you use this knowledge and your privilege in constructive ways? How can you use your right to feel anger and rage at social injustices to do and say something against them? For me, it’s a social responsibility. I’m not saying that every person of privilege can take the platform and speak for those whose rightful expressions of anger are less valid than others; I can’t speak for anyone other than myself. But I can speak up

Queer Agenda

Breathing Space

Uni Q

Autumn

This column discusses queer mental health and includes mentions of suicide and self-harm.

A recent survey from the Ministry of Health suggests that 45 per cent of New Zealanders have experienced some form of mental illness. That’s 20 per cent of us at any one point in time. The most common forms of mental illness are depression and anxiety, with others including schizophrenia, bipolar, and eating disorders. These disorders impact a diverse range of people including students, professionals, young, old... I should know, I’m one of them. In the last few years I’ve been diagnosed with both Bipolar and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This has made university a real struggle for me at times, and has affected every aspect of my life. It has meant learning how to juggle study, part time work, exercise, and socializing, while my moods are rollercoastering between being so high I could kiss the sky and so low I’m crying on the floor. Sometimes I get so anxious that I can’t breathe or I hear and I see things that aren’t there. When I was first diagnosed I stubbornly resisted any sort of treatment. I wasn’t crazy! I could still do anything I wanted! I didn’t need counselling or meds! And I most DEFINITELY did not need to see a psychiatrist! I’d absorbed the cultural narrative that ‘crazy people’ were different, limited, and would never lead a meaningful life. Unfortunately this attitude led to me not seeking help, determined to prove to the world that I could deal with it myself. I was strong, not weak, right? I overloaded myself. A hospitalization, several withdrawals, disciplinary meetings with my work supervisor, and several damaged friendships later, I had to conclude that actually, I needed help. My friends have been a huge help and I’ve learned so much from them. If a friend reaches out to you, be kind to them—it’s scary asking for help. Ask what they need. Listen to them without judgement. Remember, you can’t cure them, but you can make it suck so much less. Mental illness can be ongoing so remember just how important and amazing your friend and you are. If you’re struggling, be kind to yourself. You’re not weak and good people won’t reject you. Talk about it, even to one person, even if you need to write them a letter. Victoria has resources to help such as the Bubble and Student Health Services. Try to do one thing every day just for you. You are so very very worth it. Breathe, and know that one day the sun will shine again.

Your mind can be a dangerous place. In queer communities worldwide there is a higher prevalence of mental illness than in their heterosexual counterparts. There are clear associations between sexual orientation / gender identity and increased rates of self-harm, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. This is no less true in Aotearoa. Despite this, there are no queer-focused mental health support initiatives or programs funded by any of the district health boards throughout the country. The general services that are available are often highly insensitive to the cultural and queer specific needs of those who seek help, further alienating them from finding support and healing. And that’s assuming they can afford treatment at all. So why do queer people have it worse when it comes to mental health? While there is obviously no silver-bullet magic answer, a lot of the harm comes from (you guessed it) heteronormativity. The continuing social stigma around non-cis / heterosexual identities creates, perpetuates, and exacerbates the negative internal world that many queer people experience. Homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and general heteronormativity are constant oppressive force in the lives of queer people. They shame and isolate us, and lead to internalisation of harmful self-hate. What can you do to help? We’ve been beating this drum for a while now this year, but CALL OUT YOUR FRIENDS WHEN THEY SAY HOMOPHOBIC SHIT. Refuse to tolerate a society that ignores queer suffering and perpetuates hate. Donate (time, money etc.) to support services that openly work to help queer folk. We don’t need to settle for this. We can do better. <3 UniQ If you or someone you know is having issues with their mental health and would like queer friendly support, there are organisations who want to help: OUTLine: 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463) Rainbow Youth: http://www.ry.org.nz/ NZ AIDS Foundation: www.nzaf.org.nz 38

Mates in the States

Stressed, Depressed, Well-dressed

Renee Petero and Tessa Cullen

Jess Scott After exploring the US for the last month, our bubbles have officially been burst. Following a four month hiatus from assignments, lectures, and tutorials, we’re back at it again, but this time going full throttle in the American education system. Just as you’re all preparing for the end of your trimester, we are literally just beginning ours (really sorry for taunting you with our holiday tales and pics,* we now feel your pain). We can’t even begin to describe the differences between VUW and American University (AU), but lol, here we go anyway:

How not to dress for various social situations based upon life experiences I may or may not have had: Part II Transition from post-sexual endeavour to Friday morning tutorial Let’s be real, how often do you actually attend this class? Will you really fail the paper if you don’t go, just this once? Would it even be that bad if you did fail, subsequently prolonging your degree, and with it the alarming frequency of your quarter-life crises, and the amount of time you can blatantly ignore the fact that you’ll likely never be able to pay back your ever-increasing student loan? Is this a reality you want to face at any point in the near future? Wouldn’t you rather just skip the tute, in favour of cleansing yourself of residual bodily fluids and Eau de “second-hand cologne X post-sex aroma” using your flatmate’s Lush body-wash whilst they’re in a lecture (sucker)? Nobody is stupid enough to believe that your slept-in, flaking eyeliner and smudged brows were a conscious sartorial decision. Don’t do this to yourself.

#1: Class have a maximum of 20 people, ten people on average. AND, attendance is compulsory. At VUW, you could actually never attend a lecture for the whole term and no one would ever know (asides from all you law suck-ups). But here it’s like being back at primary school, attendance is called at the beginning of class, and you get a gold star for turning up. #2: Be prepared to talk… and get graded for it. Participation can be up to 30 per cent of your grade, professors expect you to contribute, and they know your name from the first day of classes and aren’t afraid to call you out (even lecturers are having trouble pronouncing Tessa’s name).

First non-date because you have a boyfriend, but kinda date because he’s really fucking cute, but also this is totally platonic and fine The key here is to seemingly-effortlessly look absolutelyridiculously attractive, while maintaining an appearance of really not caring less. Never reveal the fact that you spent the past 17.5 hours since he asked you out staring into the void that is your four overfilled clothing racks complaining about having nothing to wear, before proceeding to try on every single item of clothing you own, flinging them into piles on the floor, sitting topless amongst the chaos, complaining about various aspects of your body for at least an hour, then snapchatting outfit options to 100 of your closest friends + mother, and (now ex) boyfriend (lol).

#3: AMST (American Studies). Yup, that’s a major here. We are both taking a class called “DC: Life inside a Monument” where we essentially visit museums and monuments every Wednesday afternoon. #4: AU apparel. So, you know how at VUW, literally noone wears those atrocious “Victoria University” bomber jackets you can buy at Vic Books? Ya, well, that is so not the case here. Everyone rolls around with their classic tees, sweatshirts, sweatpants, drink bottles, bags, and towels, all of which are emblazoned with: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY. There are even “AU Mom” and “AU Dad” t-shirts available (we know what OUR parents are getting for Christmas).

Spontaneously meeting the parents and seven year old child, without blatantly coming off as the teenage trophy girlfriend This situation was never going to be even remotely okay, whether I was dressed in a sequinned bikini or a nun’s habit. I, however, don’t imagine that the ‘mesh shirt, no bra’ aspect helped.

We are the epitome of clichés right now, sitting in a starbucks, attempting to get this column in on time, and avoiding doing our 4983497235 readings (which are also compulsory btw). 39

"Sports" What We Talk About When We Talk About Science

Joe Morris In the Olympic charter, the Games—both ‘para-’ and otherwise—are to be accessed by “the widest possible audience,” through the “fullest-coverage by different media.” Yet Sky TV severely inhibited the licensing of content to NZME (Herald) and Fairfax (stuff.co.nz) during the Olympics. The situation is now even worse during the Paralympics. The economic incentive is not there this time around, and finding good media coverage is proving impossible. However, there is still an Olympics going on and it’s as good to watch as it was a month ago. Here is a reviews of the news, to help you on your way:

James Churchill New Zealand has long been proud of being clean and green. The image seems to have gotten into people’s minds and tourism continues to grow off the back of it. But most of us are aware that it’s not quite the reality. In 2012 John Key compared the 100% Pure slogan to that of McDonald’s, i’m lovin’ it. “I’m not sure every moment that someone’s eating McDonald’s they’re loving it,” he said, very astutely. 100% Pure is a marketing campaign, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to consider it something to strive for. The recent outbreak of waterborne illness in Havelock North raised serious concerns. 5000 people got sick and an elderly woman lost her life. It will be a long time before the town fully recovers. As of writing this no one knows how the water in Havelock North got infected. Maybe it was cows, maybe it was just bad luck; an inquiry has been launched. What is clear, and has been clear for a long time now, is the damage that intensive agriculture causes to our environment. Besides the fact that ruminant animals account for 48% of our greenhouse gas emissions (which they remain exempt from accounting for), intensive farming has a massive impact on waterways. The ground can only absorb so much cow piss. If we are not careful it will sink down into the shallow bores that are pumped to our taps. A new dam is being proposed in Ruataniwha in Hawkes Bay—more water allocated to more cows. We need to start seriously considering whether we want this trend to continue. Is it good enough that 60% of our rivers are unsafe for swimming? The dairy industry generates almost $14 billion dollars a year, but at what cost? Change will not be easy. The status quo benefits those with many vested interests, and discussion of stricter regulations around farming seems well outside the current mainstream political dialogue. But I don’t think we should continue marketing a lie forever.

Stuff: They have gone from a full homepage spread a month ago, to five news stories at the top of their Olympics tab. To be fair, we are in the middle of a hectic news cycle, including the mandatory headlines: “My Accidental Pregnancy” and “Horse Gets Stuck in Aussie Pool”. Ironically, it is easier here to find the schedule for the concluded Olympics than the current Games. Buzzfeed: Their coverage is awkwardly funny. The interview of the American archer Matt Stutzman, who was born without arms, is case and point. Matt attempts to teach the interviewer how to write with her toes. While picking up a crayon *with his toes* he flips and catches it *with his toes*. It is impressive, but the interviewer melts in overreaction: “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!” in a convincing Sarah JessicaParker impersonation. Matt replies with the hilariously sardonic: “I. Don’t. Even. Know. It just happened.” Like we treat the paralympics as a side show. BBC: The BBC was my go to site for streaming live events of the Olympics: they were the primary contractor. They failed, however, to obtain substantial TV rights to the Paralympics… Channel Four …They were instead bought by Channel 4. Here you will find, after installing a VPN extension like Hola (essential for all international sports viewing), extensive coverage. Ultimately, the Paralympics are a crash course in empathy for us ‘walkers’ (and seers and hearers and hand-havers), and a schooling in the ability of the human body. The achievements of New Zealand’s athletes are the perfect cure for our tall poppy syndrome. Hunting out a highlights reel is well worth the time. 40

Digitales Matt Plummer “At the same time that machines are increasingly taking over workplace tasks that don’t require any uniquely human abilities, our education systems continue to push children to think and to act like machines… we need to stop training students for exams that computers can pass.” — Mitch Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab.

Or, more frightening, because it might transcend these shortcomings and thus open up the chance that we’ll be usurped by this technology, that we’ll literally be traded in for a better model. At which point it’s check and mate. While 2001 remains the stuff of science fiction, there is an increasing convergence between the way people and computers think. In my first column, I discussed self-proclaimed cyborgs who embed technology in their bodies in order to augment and transcend traditional human experience. At the same time as such “body hacking” is becoming increasingly popular (in a month’s time the first Cybathon, a kind of body hack Olympics, will kick off in Zurich), modern computing is increasingly looking to the human brain for inspiration. Take the rise of artificial neural networks. These complex systems comprise a multitude of connected computer nodes which simulate the brain’s densely interconnected cells and processes. Capable of responding dynamically to external inputs, neural networks are able to learn for themselves via a series of cascading, interactive processes and have been put to use recognising handwriting, compressing images, and even predicting the stock market. In your social media feeds you might have seen pictures altered by the popular Prisma app. Able to mimic a host of artistic styles, from Picasso to Lichtenstein, Prisma uses neural networks to intelligently alter the source image, making it more than just a simple photo filter effect. And those annoying Catchpa puzzles currently used to determine if you’re a human or a robot? Before long they will not be up to the task if said robots can make use of neural networks. If there is a lessening gap between computational and human thinking, what does it mean for the future of education? My opening quote from Mitch Resnick reminds us that it’s important to ask ourselves what we can offer a world saturated with readily-accessible information, ubiquitous automation, and algorithms of increasing sophistication and complexity. It seems to me the uniquely human capabilities he mentions are becoming an ever narrower subset, and that’s precisely why the creative and critical thinking that tertiary education seeks to foster is crucial—they’re the last things machines will be able to mimic.

On May 11, 1997, an event which “had the impact of a Greek tragedy” unfolded in a televised chess game. Facing off were Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov—who’d famously boasted he’d never be beaten by a machine— and Deep Blue, an IBM supercomputer trained in chess strategy by a team of programmers and chess masters. Things had begun well enough for Kasparov, who’d won the first match in Philadelphia a week earlier despite some impressively unconventional play by the supercomputer. By the time of their last game in New York, however, the competition was all squared up. Then, just nineteen moves into this sixth game, the inexplicable happened. Caught on the back foot, Kasparov spat the dummy and conceded. When pressed for an explanation, he stated simply: “I lost my fighting spirit… I’m a human being. When I see something that is well beyond my understanding, I’m afraid.” It later emerged that some of the Deep Blue’s most creative, unpredictable, and effective moves were the result of a bug. What Kasparov was most fearful of, what he perceived to be an advanced, unfathomable intelligence, was actually a software glitch. He lost because in the face of uncertainty he began to doubt and second-guess himself in a way that computers do not. And that is indeed the stuff of tragedy, Greek or otherwise. “I’m afraid” is also the most famous line uttered by HAL, the fictional supercomputer in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which for many acts as a cautionary tale about the dangers of artificial intelligence and an over-reliance on computers. Showcasing a poignant uncertainty, the “I’m afraid” moment is HAL’s most human, but arguably the film’s scariest. And here’s the rub with AI: it’s frightening because we trust it too much, despite it bearing the frailties, foibles, and fallibilities of the humans who created it. 41

Notices

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Win free tickets to The Julie Thesmo Show! Victoria Ancient Theatre Society's 2016 production sees a top-gun journalist take on the playwright Euripides in a modern retelling of Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusae on September 28/29/30 at 7:30pm in the Memorial Theatre on Kelburn campus. Email vatsbookings@gmail. com with "VATS LOVES SALIENT" in the subject line to go in the draw for two free tickets! Entry closes on the 26th.

International Youth and Students for Social Equality public meeting: The US navy visit and the drive towards war Wednesday, October 5, 4:00pm, room SU220, Student Union Building We will discuss the integration of New Zealand into Washington's preparations for war against China, and a socialist strategy to build an anti-war movement based on the uniting the working class internationally. We encourage all students to attend.

Letters Fish are Friends Not Food Solid review of The Shallows that manages to endorse and encourage cinemas misrepresentation of sharks from the first sentence. Sharks were lifted to the super scary creature they are known as today by films such as Jaws. The Shallows is an inaccurate portrayal of sharks and further contributes to the kind of fear that created the shark culling in Australia. Considering that this year your content has been giving voice to the neglected groups in society even more than usual, I am disappointed that you let something like this slander one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet. Sharks are friends, not horror movie antagonists. SharkFan

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The Arts Section 44 Poetry 45

Visual Arts

Music

47 Music 48 Film 49 Film 50

Games

51 TV 52

Books

53 Theatre

The Arts Section is sponsored by:

glass refugee Emma Shi

Poetry

in a dream, i am born with wings. i keep telling my mother about this dream but she’s talking about the outside again. i see flickers of it sometimes in the gaps between my fingers. nowadays, my mother covers my ears as well so the sound of gunshots turn fuzzy and it’s almost like my brother is calling me through the clouds. when this happens, i softly whisper back to him and my mother looks at me with her mouth pulled tight. i have this other dream where i buy my mother a castle. i don’t know where i get the money from and it doesn’t matter. maybe in this dream, sand is a currency that everyone has. so this castle is made out of glass and there is a turret right up at the top and i run and run up to it. my brother is running with me too and the glass reflects in all directions so there is a rainbow across my eyes and skin. when i reach the top, i see land stretching out in all directions. it is like the world is a compass and my glass castle is at the centre and for the first time in my life, everything is quiet. my brother died in the water. i was only twelve. my mother came home sobbing and i asked her what was wrong. she just said his name over and over again and i stared at the floor. they had gone out across the ocean trying to find somewhere like my castle. i sat there trying to remember what the last thing my brother said to me was. it felt like the most important task in that moment even as my mother lay there, eyes filling with rain. after a while, i gave up on remembering and settled on, goodbye. i slept with the taste of salt in my mouth. in a dream, my wings are like eagle wings. they are a proud tawny shade of brown. i spread out my arms and my fingers but even then, i cannot touch the edge of my own wings. they are that great, that grand. my feathers are softer than anything i have ever touched and the wind whispers through them like a slow dance. they are even better than glass; they do not break. and when it is time to fly, my brother says to me, fly, little bird. and i fly and i fly and i never fall.

Bad reviews and failed ideas

Louise Rutledge

every good idea an artist has, there are many more that are not; the reasoning being as intuitive and rational as they are economic and practical. Title is important laid bare this reasoning, exposing parts of artistic production usually reserved for notebooks and studios, for individual thoughts and tentative exploration. I wish I had a better metaphor here than to say it was like reading someone’s diary, but it felt invasive. Exhibitions are presumed to be a definitive, cumulative point of an artist’s practice, yet here I was looking behind the curtain—all while being stalked by security mirrors. Across town at Westspace, Isabelle Sully’s project Guest Book addressed failure of a different kind. The exhibition brought together artworks that had previously received negative reviews in the mainstream press and included works by Martin Creed, Hany Armanious, and Juan Davila. Were these works truly radical, or, as the newspaper criticisms declared them, a waste of taxpayers money? In framing the newspaper review as a site of productive tension, Sully questioned the role of criticism, where it occurs, and the polarities between art and nonart audiences. Do works like Martin Creed’s Work No.312 (which is literally a lamp going on and off every second) offer a common ground of uncertainty or just further isolate a more general audience? Who has the authority to speak and who are we speaking to? If newspaper reviews are the most public forum of discussion, what then is the relationship between negative reviews, a lack of public faith in the arts, and decreases to arts funding? It’s a thin line between a terrible idea and a great artwork, and between good press and a bad review, but, as these two shows proved, there is productive ground to be found in the space between.

Whats On The tech-savvy golden child of the art world is back and in our national museum. If you (obviously) missed it out on seeing it in Venice, Simon Denny’s Secret Power is now showing at Te Papa. 45

Visual Arts

Last month I visited Melbourne and I set about trying to visit every goddamn gallery within walking distance of the CBD. The result: I needed a foot massage, bought a pair of sneakers, and saw more art than I thought was possible in just over a week. I keep threatening to write more on my binge session but I haven’t been able to bring myself to sort through the stack of exhibition catalogues and show texts sitting on my desk. Instead, I’ll start with just two. For the exhibition Title is important, at BLINDSIDE, curator Laura Couttie invited seven artists to re-consider moments of failure, revision, and self-censorship from within their own practise. Taking inspiration from David Critchely’s 1979 video Pieces I Never Did, the artists remade or reworked ideas that, for a variety of reasons, had never quite made it. Having previously exhibited a list of ideas at another gallery earlier in the year, Sean Whittaker decided one of those worth realising: he installed a series of convex security mirrors in the corners of the room, exposing both the blindspots of the gallery as well as placing the viewer in a position of voyeuristic uncertainty. Catherine Clayton-Smith’s painting wow (2015) was endearingly underwhelming as the composition of a cursive ‘wow’ trailed across a purple background was a successful gesture, but the application of oil stick (a kind of fancy pastel) on oil paint had caused the surface of the work to crack. On an enlarged smartphone (rotated tv screen) Jarrah de Kuijer’s work, #ideas_never_made (2016), played. On the screen the artist’s Instagram account scrolled along, rolling past renders of possible works. This was more interesting as a commentary on the social currency of the app than as a double layered ideas-of-art-works-as-an-artwork. In an effort to expose the ironies of constructing a porn film with a narrative, David Attwood set about downloading the world’s biggest budget pornographic film, Pirates II, just so he could make a version without the sex scenes. During his research he discovered someone else has already made a clean version, only to later find that it had been retracted. In the gallery only the DVD case was presented. Whether he remade the edited version was never specified. It could be argued that some of the work should never have left the studio, even for this exhibition. For

Salient picks of Laneway The lineup for the 2017 St Jerome’s Laneway Festival was announced last week with a new venue for the festival, Auckland’s Albert Park. The lineup features emerging local and international talent, as well as some established headline acts like Tame Impala. Salient is excited so we thought we would share some of the acts we are looking forward to.

Music

Tim the Sub Editor: Clams Casino (United States)

she sort of fits in. She’s folk, she’s alt, she’s country, she’s even a bit grunge. From Blue Mountains in Australia, she is like Aldous Huxley meets Courtney Barnett with some Angel Olsen mixed in. Slurring and dreamy vocals, smooth beats, and wistful lyrics—her music is like a sleepy afternoon nap, those naps you don’t want to wake up from. Her album Don’t Let the Kids Win comes out October 7 and, if her first single “Pool Party” is anything to go by, this album will be on repeat this summer.

2011 was the year witch-house met hip-hop: Clams Casino dropped the mixtape Instrumentals in March (which included tracks produced for Lil B and Main Attrakionz), his debut EP Rainforest in May, and somehow by October he’d produced nearly half of the tracks on Live. Love. A$AP—the first, and I would say best, release from the A$AP Rocky. The hazy instrumentals stood so well on their own, as fusions of hip-hop rhythms and drums to the melancholy witch-house aesthetic, and a five year younger A$AP Rocky gave them an unforgettable energy—I was 17, impressionable, and this was the cusp of a new sound. Yet in listening to these releases again, for the first time in a while, the awe resurfaces. You might catch me floating in the sun, enjoying the atmospheric Clams Casino at Laneway.

Emma the Co-Editor: Whitney (United States) Whitney’s sound is smooth and indulgent, like driving with the windows down on a summer’s day. Made up of former members of Smith Westerns (Max Kakacek) and Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Julien Ehlrich), Whitney are not afraid to be earnest in their lyricism, and their debut album Light Upon The Lake is an easygoing but powerful work centred on love, loss, and tinges of hope. With sombre tracks such as “No Woman” that starts and ends with “I left drinking on the city train,” the nostalgic “Golden Days” that laments a lost relationship, and the more upbeat like “No Matter Where We Go” with lyrics like, “I wanna drive around with you with the windows down,” Whitney will have you smiling through sappy tears about the tribulations of your non-existent relationship.

Kate the News Editor: Car Seat Headrest (United States) Bringing some authenticity to the indie-rock genre that has in recent years been tarnished by indie-pop crossovers desperate for some more street cred, Car Seat Headrest fill a void you didn’t even know existed. Frontman Will Toledo is incredibly self-aware for such a young musician and has subsequently acquired a knack for producing music that is close enough to what’s current to be palatable for a wide audience, while still situating the band just ahead of the curve. The band’s latest release Teens of Denial will have you longing for experiences you haven’t had, remembering ones you’d rather forget, and feeling a bunch of emotions all too familiar for 20-somethings getting meta and figuring out life. They’re the garageband you fangirled over when you were 15 and brought back to life in your twenties, and I have no doubt they will deliver an absolutely kick arse set.

Robert the Salient FM manager: White Lung (Canada) “I will give birth in a trailer.” I’m not actually the biggest fan of punk. It just feels too messy. But White Lung released one of my favourite albums this year, Paradise, and I won’t lie I’m super stoked to be able to see it performed live. The album carries an energy and aggression that feels like it will be incredibly visceral and potent when they’re right there in front of you. With the knowledge that frontwoman Mish BarberWay quite literally tore her vocal chords on her last tour, you know they don’t pull any punches. While I wish I could see them perform in a dirty dingy garage, I’m certainly more than happy to see them performing at Laneway next year. I just hope the acoustics are good.

Jayne the Co-Editor: Julia Jacklin (Australia) If my friends were to describe my music taste to you it would be “female singing to guitar,” so it only fits that I am most excited about Julia Jacklin coming to Laneways. She’s one of those artists with slashes between the genres

Peanut Butter Wolf at San Fran Review by Cheapskate Charles Music era DJs and the burgeoning hip-hop scene of the 80s—an education that fell on the deaf ears of the drunk boys up front. The night was a one man sideshow at the start of a larger Stones Throw 20th anniversary tour of Australasia with names like J Rocc, Mndsgn, and Egyptian Lover, whose ingenuity continue to make Stones Throw relevant even after the success / death / moving on of the bigger names of the 2000s and early 2010s. Earlybird tickets were a ridiculous $10 (the Stones Throw gig in Melbourne is going for $55) which made for a busy Sunday night at the bar. PB Wolf moved initially through said disco and funk, towards outright hip-hop tracks like Big L’s classic “Put it On” and Dilla and Madlib samples—their inclusion obligatory. And I haven’t had tingles down my spine like when Madvillain’s “All Caps” beat hit in like, forever. It is the closest I will get to these artists. The night felt like it wound down slowly. Of the few words he spoke, Wolf questioned what the fuck we were doing: “Don’t you all have school? Work? Drugs to sell? Y’all are going to have to leave, because I can keep going for hours.” Up until this point I wasn’t sure if he was enjoying himself: he had come on stage and, while he was killing it, he hadn’t said a word. Wanting to play all Sunday night to a crowd at the bottom of the world shows just how gracious PB Wolf is.

THE EDITORS OF YOUR HUMBLE STUDENT MAGAZINE HAD THE CHANCE TO GET FREE TICKETS TO SEE THE INTERMINABLE, THE INIMITABLE, THE VIVACIOUS, THE DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS MR. PEANUT BUTTER WOLF: THE FOUNDER, THE CREATOR, THE INSTIGATOR OF STONES THROW RECORDS. OF JAY DEE DILLA, OF JONWAYNE, OF MADLIB. BUT THEY DIDN’T RECOGNISE THE NAME. THEY. DIDN’T. KNOW. WHO. HE. WAS. GODDAMN. So with sadness, you have me telling you how the man’s show was two Sundays ago. A Sunday gig is a thing in and of itself to negotiate. Getting out the door at the end of a weekend is an unlikely thing, and once you’re there everyone else is as tired as you are—they don’t really want to be sardined next to you, trying / failing to dance. On this occasion, however, most everyone was enamored by the presence of a hip-hop legend; a feeling demonstrated as the crowd erupted in the few silences of the hour and a half set. Luckily, no one really cares how you look boppin at a gig like this. I needed this reminder as the set began and continued on a disco / funk / dance bent, as one Diana Ross number, in perfect obscurity, faded into another Prince-esque guitar track. Only a disco aficionado—which I am not—would be able to list the many more tracks played here. PB Wolf was on a mission to highlight those early influences on Grandmaster Flash-

Star Trek Beyond

Bad Moms

Director: Justin Lin 4/5

Director: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore 3/5

Review by James Keane

Film

Review by Caitlin Attenburrow

Bad Moms is an American comedy about upper middleclass moms and their ‘first world’ problems. Directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (the guys that brought us the cinematic wonders known as The Hangover, The Hangover II, and more recently The Hangover III), Bad Moms will inevitably be 100 minutes of laughs. The film stars overworked, overtired, and overcommitted ‘bad mom’ Amy played by mega-babe Mila Kunis, wet-fish bad mom Kiki played by Kristen Bell, and the mouthy, slutty bad mom Carla played by Kathryn Hahn. We follow the efforts of the ‘bad moms’ in their battle against PTA control freak Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate). The three band together to stay out past bedtime, take store bought doughnuts to the school bake sale, and eat fruit loops—without buying them first! There are husbands in it too—although they’re all pretty useless (apart from the widowed hottie) and don’t get much screen time (apart from the widowed hottie). The general moral of the story is that all parents are just doing their best (aw) and they don’t always get it right (no kidding), but they really do love their kids (aw again). Did you need to hear any more clichés or are you good? It’s basically a middle aged Mean Girls written by dudes who think “punch her in the tit” is a comedy highlight. Despite all this it does manage to be funny at times, usually when Kathryn Hahn is allowed a break from pashing girls or punching tits and gets in a line about her atrocious parenting. If you tune out a bit and just accept that it’s trashy, mildly funny, and reasonably feel-good I suspect you’ll thoroughly enjoy it. Not to mention Mila Kunis is effing hot. If only it were written by Tina Fey.

Like finding out you had one more beer left than you originally thought, Star Trek Beyond is one of those pleasant surprises. Not to incite a feud with the other ‘Star’ franchise, but similar to The Force Awakens this film is essentially a modern update of original material, with better effects and pacing, that manages to work as a standalone. The film follows the USS Enterprise crew who find themselves marooned on a hostile world inhabited by vengeful forces, a world which they seek to escape. Unlike the previous two Star Trek films where a fresh start was promised, but only a vehicle for Benedict Cumberbatch’s burgeoning film career was produced, this film makes an effort to do more. The main cast other than Kirk and Spock are allocated more screen time, and actually have roles in the story as opposed to being there simply because it’s Star Trek. The action feels more scaled back this time despite the inevitable final showdown at the end, which works because the movie doesn’t end with the Earth being threatened like the previous two. There’s even some actual trekking this time round, among the stars too. Inevitably there are setbacks in the story: the villain isn’t particularly memorable nor are his motivations, and a scene involving a certain Beastie Boys song feels a little out of place. Overall, however, it’s pretty fun. Check it out.

Demolition Director: Jean-Marc Vallée 5/5 Review by Dana Williams

Film

Karen (Naomi Watts), an employee of said vending machine company, receives Davis’s letters and becomes strangely attached to him. After exchanging numerous letters, Davis manages to track Karen down and so begins a strange but wholesome friendship. Davis also starts an unlikely friendship with Karen’s eccentric son Chris (Judah Lewis). Chris, suffering from societal pressures as a young homosexual teenage boy, relates to Davis’s troubles, and the pair embark on a journey in which they demolish everything in their lives and examine it from within in an attempt to start afresh. What makes this film so gripping is a foreboding sense of chaos. Gyllenhaal expertly captures a sense of loss within his character and his mixture of sadness, rage, helplessness, and loneliness sets up a nail-biting plot from start to end. When, and if, Davis will “break-down” is completely unpredictable as he approaches life after Julia’s death. Gyllenhaal’s performance is only aided by Vallée’s vision for the film. As clumsy and metaphorical as the plot is (“if you want to fix something, take it apart”), Vallée is able to produce something that is not only watchable, but grotesquely funny and at times touching. Cinematographer Yves Bélanger’s artistic camerawork is essential to the rollercoaster of emotions that unfold within the plot. If you’re stuck for something to watch this weekend, and want a film you can’t find at Reading Cinemas, give Demolition a go.

The director of Wild and Dallas-Buyers Club, Jean-Marc Vallée, brings us the latest addition to his critically acclaimed collection of films—Demolition. Opening at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 Demolition was highly acclaimed on the festival circuit, and was released in New Zealand in April. The film, written by Bryan Sipe, is a recycled ensemble of all the cliché parts of drama films you’ve seen before (there’s even a moment lifted straight from Sean Penn’s The Crossing Guard towards the end). Despite all this, Demolition managed to captivate me from start to finish. The story follows Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), an investment banker, living his day-to-day life in the same, lacklustre routine. Made numb by the mercurial nature of society and the untimely death of his wife, Davis falls into a spiral of despair from which the reality of the state of his marriage boils to an unpleasant head. Vallée submerges us in the plot with a scene between Davis and his wife Julia (Heather Lind). Julia, immersed in an unhappy conversation with Davis who has failed to fix their leaking fridge, is cut short by a dramatic side on car collision that leaves Davis a widower. Unable to deal with his grief, Davis tries to escape his bleak reality by purchasing a packet of peanut M&M’s from a hospital vending machine, only to find that the candy becomes stuck after he has deposited his coin. Understandably distressed, Davis writes to the company’s customer services team and explains his dire situation. Rather than stating that the machine had simply failed to deposit his candy, Davis writes a lengthy letter explaining every event that had happened in his life up until this point.

Games

No Man’s Sky Developer: Nerial Publisher: Devolver Digital Platform: PC, Mac, iOS, Android 4/5 Review by Cameron Gray

of them. There is quite a lot of fun to be had in trying out different tactics each time a king dies, but you will have to be careful, because the actions of previous kings can help to influence the outcome. While the swiping can get a bit old, much of the real meat of the gameplay is in fulfilling the different objectives and unlocking everything from new citizens and members of your court, to experiencing the numerous ways that you can die. On that front, the old standbys of overthrow, assassination, and choking on your pie are there, and you’ll probably get these more than anything else, but I’ve enjoyed trying to find new and interesting deaths. That said, the gameplay is at its best in short bursts; it’s what I call a ‘loo game’. I appreciate the visual design quite a lot, as well. The game lays out its propositions for you much like a deck of cards, giving further credence to the gamification of power and absolute control. With a minimalist art design, perhaps inspired more by the technology that influenced it rather than the period it is set in, it certainly is not difficult to look at. The weird language spoken by the characters adds a bit of eeriness to the intrigue, as does the music. Reigns is ultimately just a fun, simple game that will no doubt make you hungry for power and eventually go mad, before dying a violent death at the hands of the peasants, before doing it all over again. It’s good to be the King, indeed.

I’ve never been a very big fan of Tinder or anything of its ilk. It’s probably killed any chance I had of a love life, but, to me at least, the idea of instantly judging someone based on a (probably fake) picture of themselves just cheapens the process of dating—I’d prefer to just meet someone at random and hope there’s a spark there. If I ever need to make an instant decision, it had better be for a life and death situation. While that probably won’t happen, Reigns is a fantastic way to simulate that experience, with an entire nation’s fate at stake. You are a newly-installed king in a medieval land and everyone is coming to you for help. You are tasked with imposing your will upon the kingdom, fulfilling (or ignoring) requests from your court, keeping the peasants happy (or crushing them for their insubordination), and just trying to stay alive with your enemies knocking at your door. You can crawl through dungeons, fight monsters, wield magical powers, and establish a dynasty that can literally never end. And how do you do all this? By swiping left and right, just like Tinder! I cannot believe how engaged I was with such a simple concept. The world-building that would take an experienced Age of Empires player many hours to pull off takes just minutes in Reigns, and with far less stress on your fingers. Each decision has weight that can affect one of four areas: the church, the peasantry, the army, and the treasury. The key to staying alive is to balance each 50

Top five saddest TV episodes Review by Katie Meadows

“The Body”—Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“Go West Young Meowth”—Pokemon

Along with The Lion King, the episode of Buffy where her mom dies was super formative in my understanding of death and mourning. This episode is so heart breaking, from the jarring absence of a soundtrack to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s frantic sobs and complete emotional collapse (especially when she screams, “we’re not supposed to move the body!” and covers her mouth in shock as she is forced to deal with the reality of her mother’s death). The scene when Anya, ex-demon turned mortal, expresses her inability to comprehend mortality breaks me every time.

In this episode we get Meowth’s backstory and an explanation of how he learned to walk and talk—Meowth grew up as a stray on the streets of Hollywood and was initiated into gang life when he was young as a means of survival. One day he met a pretty female Meowth with a wealthy owner and tried to woo her, only for her to tell him that he was and always would be beneath her because of social status. In an effort to impress her he learns to speak Japanese and walk upright, only for her to reject him once again for being “a freak.” Distraught and heartbroken Meowth joins Team Rocket and returns to a life of crime. Shiiiet. TV

“The Ties That Bind”—The OC “Jurassic Bark”—Futurama

The OC was my everything in high school and Seth Cohen was my dream babe. I distinctly remember being inconsolable for months when Seth sailed away on his yacht at the end of the first season, running away from his cushy California life after hearing that Ryan was going back to Chino. What if he never came back? Who would be my new alt crush? Who else would name drop Death Cab for Cutie every week? Spoiler: he came back. Spoiler: Marissa dies in season three, but it wasn’t that sad because she was honestly the worst.

Maybe the saddest piece of animation ever? Even in .gif form the end of this episode is brutal. When Fry finds his old dog fossilized and on display in a museum he petitions for access to the body and asks Professor Farnsworth to clone his pet. During analysis the Professor notes that Fry’s dog, Seymour, would have lived another twelve years after Fry was initially frozen. Deciding that Seymour would have lived a long and fulfilled life Fry puts a stop to the cloning process. In flashback, we find that Seymour lived the rest of his life patiently waiting outside Fry’s work for him to return, eventually dying alone of old age. Someone put this on at a party once and I’m still angry.

“Marge Be Not Proud”—The Simpsons There are a lot of sad episodes of The Simpsons, especially in the early seasons, but as someone who owes everything to my amazing mother this episode gets me super hard— nothing is as crushing to me as even the mere thought of letting my mum down. When Bart gets caught shoplifting it is the full emotional nightmare that the words “I’m not angry, just disappointed” create. Marge has always been one of my favourite characters because she reminds me of my own mother, and even the end of this episode with Marge getting Bart the wrong video game makes me teary because mothers try so damn hard all the time and don’t get nearly enough credit for their endless love and support.

Special Mention: “Losing My Religion”—Gray’s Anatomy Not for me, but my flatmate rewatched all of Gray’s Anatomy lately and Denny dying really affected him—the sobbing was audible through the wall and he went on a low-key bender to deal. Sorry for your loss, Connor. We are all here for you.

What are Vic Books reading? This week Salient asked the folk at Vic Books, who have the delight of getting advance copies of new releases, if they would tell us about the books they’ve been reading. Pop into Vic Books Kelburn or Pipitea to reserve or buy a copy of any one of these books.

Juliet is reading… The Atomic Weight of Love Author: Elizabeth J. Church Publisher: Harper Collins A debut novel from Church, set in the 70s in New Mexico. The narrative follows Meridian Wallace, who sets her dreams of being an ornithologist aside after falling in love a professor 20 years her senior. Meridian grows oppressed by the marriage, yearning to study birds. At times the novel feels a bit cheesy, and it definitely feels like a debut. But it still overcomes itself: this is a great book of women’s liberation, and makes a great weekend read.

Marion is reading...

Books

Beck Author: Mal Peet Publisher: Chatto & Windus This is an epic story for YA readers, older teens, and adults, from the award-winning author Mal Peet. Beck is a sweeping coming of age story that reads softly about hard issues. This is Peets’ lost novel; he died before it was finished, but had asked his good friend Meg Rosoff, another well-loved YA author, to finish it for him. Set in the Depression, as experienced by a black man, it is a story of survival and romance.

Jayne is reading… Swing Time Author: Zadie Smith Publisher: Penguin RandomHouse

Luke is reading…

Her first novel since 2012, Smith says it focuses on “two brown girls [who] dream of being dancers.” They live in the projects in Britain and Smith paints the toughness of this world well. The children are obsessed with the vaudeville—taking tap dance classes after school. The novel is 400 pages long and spans decades over which the characters grow, and, as things become more politically fraught around them, their once strong friendship slowly breaks apart. The characters are in many ways a vessel to take a look at the time they grow up in.

The Nix Author: Nathan Hill Publisher: Penguin RandomHouse Sitting at 620 pages, this is an epic novel spanning decades of American history from 1968 to 2011. This is also a debut novel and an ambitious one. This book is funny and self deprecating. There are many threads and the narrative pulls you through the book, with enjoyable and accessible writing. 52

Getting Involved with Theatre in Wellington: Fringe Festival 2017 Review by Ruby Hansen

Quote from the Fringe Festival director, Hannah Clarke:

What is it? The New Zealand Fringe Festival is an open-access, nonprogrammed festival—anyone at all can enter a show. If you pay the registration fees and the show is (basically) legal, you’re in! Does it cost? There is a one-off compulsory cost with Fringe and this is the registration fee and refundable bond. The fees differ depending on the type of show that you enter. Beyond this fee it is up to you how much you spend on a show, it could be $0. What are the benefits of participating? Participating in Fringe means that your event will be listed in 25,000 copies of a printed programme and included on the Fringe website. You are provided with a platform to launch your work and the festival atmosphere allows you the chance to wow audiences. This is the biggest and longest running Fringe in New Zealand and all Fringe staff are available to offer one-on-one advice. A series of free workshops are also held on a range of subjects including production and marketing, budgeting, and front of house.

Coming Up: Short + Sweet Festival When: October 19–22, at BATS Theatre Book tickets: bats.co.nz Another groovy festival to look out for is the annual biglittle Festival called Short+Sweet. The programme consists of ten ten-minute works which cover a range of styles and subjects. Each performance concludes with the audience being asked to vote for their favourite work to help determine the top productions that make it to the Gala Final of each genre.

At the end of the festival there is a chance to win Fringe awards for outstanding work. When do I need to apply by? The deadline for applications is OCTOBER 10, 2016. How do I apply? Step One: Go to fringe.co.nz and everything you need is on their home page.

PlayShop Live When: Every Friday night until October 28, 9pm, at BATS Theatre Book tickets: bats.co.nz

Step Two: Click on the “Artists Information” tab which gives you information regarding fee information, a sign-up cheat sheet, and funding guide.

Live is late-night improvised comedy without limits— fast, physical, and unpredictable. A team of four skilled actors and a musician create spontaneous theatre with nothing but each other, the audience, and their fiendish imaginations.

Step Three: Click on the “Register Now” tab which will take you to the registration page (this page explains everything you need to know about signing up and has a step-by-step registration guide).

Theatre

“I’ve just spent time at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe sleeping on a sofa and submerged in the greatest art and it was wild, intense, and inspiring! The whole time I couldn’t stop thinking about Wellington’s Fringe and all the great art we have here. NZ Fringe Artist Services Manager Sasha Tilly has been seconded to one of the biggest venues in Edinburgh, the Pleasance, and together we’ve been working through everything you need to register for Fringe 2017. Check out our artist resources on the Fringe website—fringe.co.nz/artists—and get in touch with any questions or for advice, we’re keen to help you find the right venue for the best Fringe time in 2017. Looking forward to hearing from you! Rock on Fringe 2017!!!”

Puzzles Made by Puck

Crossword: 'Political Correctness'

Medium Last week's crossword solution

Target goals

ACROSS 1. Popular Cocktail (with coconut in it) (4,6) 6. Member of a chamber choir, perhaps (4) 10. EyjafjallajË&#x2020;kull, for example (7) 11. Organise with effort (7) 12. Zesty (5) 15. Patrol Cruiser (with flashing lights) (6,3) 16. Pink Cat (voiced by Amy Sedaris) (8,7) 22. Page Collator (made of metal) (5,4) 24. Signs of an impact (5) 27. Where you'd find EyjafjallajË&#x2020;kull (7) 28. Soother of a sore throat (7) 29. Beauty pageant wear (4) 30. Profiterole Creator (wearing a toque) (6,4)

Good: 22 words Great: 25 words Impressive: 27 words

DOWN 1. Turn quickly (5) 2. 'Inception' director Christopher (5) 3. Unhinged (5) 4. Second half of Willy Wonka's helpers (7) 5. Wooden rod (5) 7. Straightforward and reasonable (7) 8. Swamp (7) 9. One of the water signs, in astrology (6) 13. It's often inhaled (3) 14. Spirit that was sometimes flavoured with turpentine (3) 16. Symbols of Anzac Day (7) 17. Leave a mark on, physically or emotionally (7) 18. Sanitarium offering, perhaps (6) 19. Someone who might make an inflight announcement (7) 20. Number that is its own factorial (3) 21. So far (3) 23. Fur Patrol song with the chorus "My baby, my baby, don't you want me any more?" (5) 24. Lightheaded (5) 25. What the US Supreme Court is currently lacking (5) 26. Place for knickknacks (5)

Contributors

About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association (VUWSA). Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA). Salient is funded in part by Victoria University of Wellington students through the Student Services Levy. The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University. Salient is printed on environmentally sustainable paper, and with vegetable ink, and is completely FSC approved. 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.

Editors Emma Hurley and Jayne Mulligan editor@salient.org.nz Design and Illustration Ella Bates-Hermans designer@salient.org.nz News Editor Kate Robertson news@salient.org.nz Chief Sub Editor Tim Manktelow Sub Editors Georgia Smith Ali Kaye Matty Reeves Distributor Joe Morris

Feature Writers Faith Wilson Finnius Teppett Laura Toailoa

Read Salient online at salient.org.nz

Section Editors Cassie Richards (Books) Dana Williams (Film) Ophelia Wass (Theatre) Ruby Joy Eade, Lucy Wardle, Louise Rutledge, Robbie Whyte (Visual Arts) Cameron Gray (Games) Katie Meadows (TV) Contributors George Grainger, Jonathan Gee, Jonathan Morris, Tessa Cullen, Renee Petero, Sina Ah Sam, Raimona Tapiata, Autumn, James Keane, Caitlin Attenburrow, Emma Shi, Matt Plummer, Jess Scott, James Churchill, Ruby Hansen, Puck.

News Reporters Alex Feinson Jennie Kendrick Alexa Zelensky Thomas Croskery Siobhan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor

Contact Level 2 Student Union Building Victoria University PO Box 600, Wellington 04 463 6766 Printed by SMP, Wellington. Advertising Jason Sutton jason.sutton@vuwsa.org.nz 04 463 6982 Social Media fb.com/salientmagazine T: @salientmagazine I: @salientgram S: salientmag

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