Issue 21 | Looking Back

Issue #21

Volume 81

Looking Back

(Artwork inspired by Fish and chips, Maketu , Robin White, 1975)

FISH & CHIPS PH: 7512774 WINDY POINT TAKEAWAYS

OPEN

VUWSA 2019 Presidential Race – 16 A Survival Story – 18 Where I Came From – 22 Daphne Commons – 26

EDITOR'S LETTER 3 NEWS News 4 Politics 8 Sport 9 Interview 10 *News* 12 Informative Distraction 13 LETTERS & NOTICES 14 FEATURES VUWSA 2019 Presidential Race 16 A Survival Story 18 Where I Came From 22 Koridor 25 Daphne Commons 26 CENTREFOLD 28 POEM 30 COLUMNS Presidential Address 40 VUWSA 40 Super Science Trends 41 The "F" word 42 NT: Te Ara Tauira 42 The Poo Review 43 The International Angle 44 REVIEWS Podcast 45 Music 46 Films 48 Art 49 Books 50 TV 51 Food 52 ENTERTAINMENT Horoscope 53

Editor's Letter Looking Back I read a piece by Rose Lu in the Pantographic Punch recently about the lack of Asian representation in New Zealand literature. She was telling her story, but it somehow felt like my story. I, too, read books to figure out how to interact with the Pākehā world I had found myself in. My school days were full of mispronounced words that I'd read but never had the chance to say aloud. I enacted rituals I'd never seen in action — waking my sister up for that "midnight feast" we'd only read about, shortbread biscuits dusty on our sleep-dried mouths.

Our homeland is New Zealand — how can it be anywhere else? Yet, somehow, it's not ours. When I was 21, I went on exchange to California. I told them I was from New Zealand. And I was believed.

It's hard to express how emotional that made me feel. I was even ecstatic about being mistaken for an Aussie, because at last they were reading me for my mannerisms and my accent, not my skin. But, there is something profoundly melancholy in the fact that the first time I was accepted as a New Zealander was when I had left the country.

There's a lot more Asians in California, and they've been around for longer. The "Asian American" identity is settled.

"Asian New Zealander" feels like an unusual pairing, even though that's what we are, as close as I can articulate it. I had to say the phrase several times to get my tongue comfortable with the feeling.

I showed Preya, one of our feature writers, the piece. She's originally from India, but she said that the story of this Chinese New Zealander struck home for her as well. I said, maybe it's not about the country of origin.

Maybe it's about the experience of growing up, transplanted from one culture to another at a young age.

I don't know what the right word is for people like us — it's not talked about much. Not quite "diaspora", because our Asian identities don’t fit anymore. We spoke for a while about the curiosities that came with living in two cultures — the classic "where are you really from", not knowing when fights with parents were culture clashes or just parents being dicks, the shittiness of white people food (except roasts) compared to the rich cooking traditions we had come from. She said that it was her first time having this sort of conversation.

But we need to have a name and we need to call each other by that name. There's a lot of us out there. The older ones who have been here since the Gold Rush.

The newer ones like me and Rose and Preya, who have grown up here and will have children here, and they will need a name to call themselves too. We need to exist — in books, movies, in the public sphere. We need to be on the census forms, because I'm sick of calling myself "Asian Other". I'm sick of being other.

Welcome to Issue 21, "Looking Back". We've got people writing about histories, stories, pasts. It's also election week, which I'm stoked about. The presidential race is looking tight.

Usually, when I meet another Asian, I am careful not to bring up race. If they have a New Zealand accent, I treat them like their skin is invisible — talk school, books, groceries — whatever. "Where are you from?" has become so embedded with memories of fighting for identity, that the mere question seems like an attack. So I avoid it. But in doing so, we lose the chance to talk about our heritage, our whakapapa.

We lose the chance to acknowledge our identities, and come together in support.

Take care, LOUISE LIN Editor

3

The News MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Vic Beats a Dead Horse Named University of Wellington THOMAS CAMPBELL the council signs off on it. The council is scheduled to make a decision on 24 September, which will then be forwarded to Minister Hipkins for consideration.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that the name change is an important topic for students, but would not comment further about whether she would be comfortable with a sign off from her minister. “I know that what he’ll be factoring in will include the perspective of those who are past and present members or students or faculty members. He’ll be considering everything,” said Ms Ardern.

The Ministry of Education has outlined the four criteria that Hipkins must adhere to during his decision. These include having clear statements of the benefits of a name change, the implications of such a change, evidence of consultation of different parties, and demonstration of support for the change.

The university council’s draft paper on the decision cites a “medium inherent risk level” for ministerial approval.

If the minister refuses to sign off on the deal, there will be a halt to the change, with losses of all funding to that point.

Grant said he will accept it if the university council vetoes the recommendation. He said that if Hipkins doesn’t sign off on the name change, the proposal will go back to the consultation stages. However, he added that if Hipkins’ opinion of the name change is “so negative” that it was obvious he wouldn’t sign the proposal, the management team “might stop”.

Last Wednesday Grant Guildford told Salient that the management team will move forward with the name change, despite student objection.

Grant said they decided it is best move for the universities’ future.

“It’s controversial and it’s painful, but we’ve got to get it right,” said Guilford.

The name change will be discussed in the public part of the council meeting on Monday 24 September, starting at 12.30 pm in the Council Chamber, Level Two of the Hunter Building.

Many on-campus groups, including Stick with Vic and Victoria International Students’ Association, are encouraging students to go to the council meeting.

Submissions collected by VUWSA found that 93% of the 777 students who responded were against the name change.

“Consultation was not done thoughtfully with students in mind,” said the VUWSA submission.

As of 19 September, the university had spent at least $300,000 on the name change. This comprised of legal advice about processes for a change, trade marketing, and research into a possible logo change as well. Guilford admitted he was frustrated with not being recognised as a quality institution offshore, saying he would be “disappointed” if Mr Hipkins does not sign off on it.

A statement from the office of Mr Hipkins said that the minister was unable to give an opinion on the proposal before

Clubs Want to Jump Ship LOUISE LIN and emotionally, as VUWSA has no age gap with students.”

He said that current management “lacks transparency” and isn’t “trying to build communities”.

Lars Thompson, a representative of the Politics Society, said that PolSoc had been supportive of the proposal from an early stage.

“VUWSA seems like a more empathetic and approachable organisation than Vic, being actually overseen by a student executive. Currently Vic and VUWSA share many responsibilities, making it confusing for clubs to know who to approach in any given situation,” said Lars.

The proposal for VUWSA administered clubs include the creation of a new online portal to centralise information, changes in funding allocation to a more sustainable model, and the purchase of gear, such as a marquee and a PA system, to hire out to clubs.

In a recent survey to university clubs, 62% of respondents believed that the administration of clubs on campus should go to VUWSA. Currently, the university manages clubs through Victoria Recreation.

Overall, 39% of Vic’s 174 clubs responded to the survey.

Clubs and Activities officer, Connor MacLeod, said that “it’s clear that there is a mandate for change, and we need to listen to that”.

He said that the proposal to shift clubs management to VUWSA started on a clubs level.

“A lot of clubs share my view, that Victoria Recreation weren’t properly managing clubs.”

Connor said that the reasons the proposed change would improve accessibility, community, and accountability.

“VUWSA is both physically and emotionally accessible to students. Physically, because Vic Rec is down a gravel drive, 4

NEWS

MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Want the Pill?

Well You'll Just Have to Wait JESS POTTER Students are having trouble accessing timely contraception due to the long wait times at Student Health.

Currently, wait times for doctor’s appointments at Mauri Ora are around ten working days.

A student, who we have chosen not to name, recalled a time where she had misplaced her last packet of Norimin contraceptive pills, with a week’s worth of pills left. She was told by Mauri Ora and Family Planning that there is a 2-3 week wait for appointments at both clinics.

“It was stressful and frustrating knowing I wasn’t protected by contraception, and that I had to wait for my repeat prescription to feel back to my usual self,” she said.

She then went to see how much it would cost to get a consultation and prescription at the on-campus pharmacy, but the cost of $40 was too much for her to afford. In the end, she borrowed a packet from a friend.

Another student describing a similar occurrence. However, in this case the student was offered an appointment with a nurse before her contraception prescription ran out, and received the repeat prescription from the nurse. The student still had to attend an appointment with the doctor to sign off on the medication the nurse had given her, two weeks later.

“It’s an absolute mess around and waste of everybody’s time,

taking away precious appointment time from another student for me having to have two separate appointments for the same thing,” she said.

Mauri Ora General Manager Kevin Rowlatt said that students should “plan for repeats well in advance (5-10 working days) to avoid running out of medication.”

National Medical Advisor of Family Planning, Dr Beth Messenger, has stated that repeat prescriptions for contraceptive pills are available through appointments or through their dropin clinic. Some clients may be able to talk to a nurse over the phone and get their repeat faxed to a pharmacy, however this option is not possible for all clients and for every prescription repeat.

Additionally, appointments at Family Planning’s drop-in clinic are scarce, due to high traffic and potential understaffing.

Nonetheless, Dr Messenger said that Family Planning are working to extend clinic opening hours to make it easier for people to get to the appointments that they need.

Rowlatt said Victoria University also have worked to determine high priority areas for students health and wellbeing.

“We are always looking for ways to address waiting times within our resource constraints.”

VUWSA Elections: Who's Who?

“no confidence” vote.

All three Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer candidates, Kellee Candy, Kimberly McIntyre, and Samantha Mythen, expressed enthusiasm for environmental and ethical change.

Sam let her enthusiasm take her as far as to quote MLK’s “I have a dream” speech.

Each candidate for Equity Officer outlined their plans for inclusion and student representation. G Hanley-Steemers talked about his experiences of discrimination from being gay in Singapore.

Komal Singh wants the rep groups to be more diverse and open to people, and will create a second generation immigrants rep group. Tahua Pihema had done her research and talked to presidential candidate and current exec member.

Rhianna Morar, who’s running for Welfare VP, sat on VUWSA this year as Education Officer, Her opponent, Anthony Wilson, was the only mature student.

Michael Turnbull and Millie Osborne are in the running for Clubs and Activities Officer. Everything about Michael screams "first year" and he has leaned fully into this, using tui (the bird and the beer) as a campaign platform. Millie only joined a club for the first time this year and clearly cares a lot about other students not missing out on clubs because they don’t know how to join or miss clubs day. She aims to change this.

Both candidates seemed ignorant of the current push to bring clubs under VUWSA management.

And last but not least, the candidates for Education Officer gave the spiel about why they deserve students’ votes. Katie Ollerenshaw was extremely fixated on the details of the assessment handbook. Rinaldo Strydom focused on the idea of holistic student support. Abigail Hussy wants to work closely with the AVP, and to make the policy around grading more clear.

The audience sizzled out as the event came to a close and students carried on with business as usual. Voting for the VUWSA execs starts on 24 September.

SALIENT STAFF Last week, the Candidates’ Forum in the Hub offered VUW students an opportunity to hear VUWSA candidates speak.

Around 50-70 people attended the event, which was MCed by Salient FM. The themes of student engagement, sexual violence, and mental health were recurring throughout the speeches.

The forum fell on the 125 anniversary of women's suffrage.

More than half of the candidates were women. There was a diverse group of candidates, including four Māori candidates, a mature student, and second generation immigrants.

Presidential candidate Beth Paterson spoke strongly about bringing clubs under VUWSA administration for funding and wellbeing services. Presidential candidate Tamatha Paul spoke of hosting mental health workshops, saying “silence is the enemy of change.”

There were three contestants for the academic Vice-President role. Hassan Tariq was a no-show. Dharma Bratley and Geo Robrigado both admitted to a lack of experience sitting on academic boards and going through nitty-gritty policies, but a willingness to learn.

Delia Fu, unopposed candidate for Treasurer-Secretary, and Josephine Dawson, unopposed for Engagement VP, both had well prepared speeches and platforms despite running unopposed.

The third unopposed candidate, apparent Campaigns Officer Finn Carroll, didn’t think it necessary to give a speech, much less show up.

It is extremely rare for an unopposed candidate to lose to a 5

NEWS

Education Amendment Bill

MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Victoria’s university council has had two student members since January 2016. A new member is elected by students and then appointed by council members in staggered two year terms.

Alexandria Mark, a student rep since October 2016, is in favour of Swarbrick’s amendment.

“My understanding is that in last year's council election the turnout was higher than the VUWSA elections. I believe that a democratic process for selected staff and student members of council is preferable to a process of appointment,” said Mark.

Swarbrick said that “two council members means that the student reps can share and discuss confidential information to come to robust conclusions, and support each other in putting forward that perspective”.

Isabella Lenihan-Ikin, student rep since October 2017, said that it took a while for her to find her feet, “because the high level of discussion, and the breadth of knowledge and experience that some of the other councillors bring, can be overwhelming”.

“Having two students has had real benefits — we can check in with each other and support each other, and the staggered term makes it a lot easier when first starting... it's a huge learning curve, and a relatively intimidating setting, so it was nice to not have the pressure of being the only student voice added on top of that,” said Mark.

NZUSA President Jonathan Gee backs the proposal, saying that the move would “send a signal to tertiary institutions that community wisdom is just as important as corporate expertise when making decisions for a publicly-funded institution which should exist for the benefit all New Zealanders”.

“Universities wouldn’t exist without students, so their voices should be central to decision making,” said Swarbrick.

TAYLOR GALMICHE Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick has sought to put student voices back on university and polytechnic councils, by adding a change to the government's Education Amendment Bill.

Currently, there is no requirement for any student or staff representation, and when students and staff are elected by their colleagues, they must meet certain requirements as judged by the council.

At Victoria, student-elected candidates must have “highlevel public sector policy development experience” and a “commercial acumen and achievement,” to name a few.

If passed, Swarbrick’s amendment would require two student representatives on every council, and for student and staff members elected to the council “to be treated as automatically meeting the statutory knowledge, skill, and experience requirements”.

There were 451 submissions to the Education and Workforce select committee supporting guaranteed places for elected staff and students, with 421 of those submissions commenting that university councils should have more than one student or staff representative.

“That is exactly what the Greens are standing for tonight as well as in support of this bill, and we commend this bill to the House,” said Swarbrick in Parliament.

Tougher Marks Affect Law Students

view of what is an achievement. To cope with less than perfect grades, students should try to adopt this more balanced view of achievement and remember why they are studying in the first place.”

Dr Hoffman said that, “grades in themselves do not tell the whole story about what they have learned from their studies. We know that personal qualities such as resilience, interpersonal skills, and emotional intelligence are hugely desirable qualities by employers (and prospective life partners), not just high grades”.

VUWLSS President Fletcher Boswell, along with Nathan Tse, and Maddy Nash (as NZ Law Students’ Association Education VP) met with the school leadership to discuss these findings.

The dean of the school made clear that the results did not imply lower quality. He was also concerned about employability problems the results could cause, and wanted to “take steps to remedy these apparent differences, including by personally approaching employers”.

Jeffrey Wang, a Victoria student, saw issues with employability. “The main issue with the GPA I feel is more when you go overseas, as I feel like New Zealand employers are more likely to be aware of the discrepancies.”

However, students from other law schools were dismissive of the results of the OIA. Josh Meikle, a student at Otago’s School of Law, felt that too much focus was had by law students on their results, and their university aimed to prevent this. “This competition that develops from a large focus on grades can also potentially be divisive.”

Wayne Saldanha, of Auckland University Law School, felt that Aucklanders were quite dismissive of the discrepancies.

“People I have talked to up here feel that it’s pretty even, and it just seems that it’s lower [in Wellington].”

Victoria University School of Law said that these results were indicative of the high standard of the Victoria law degree. “To obtain a law degree from Victoria you need to demonstrate significant knowledge, skill, and diligence – one of the many reasons we are exceptionally proud of our graduates.”

PATRICK HAYES Students at Victoria University’s Law School may have to suffer the consequences of Victoria’s tougher grading scheme.

Anonymised examination results from 2013-2017, given by three of New Zealand’s top law schools, showed results from across the degree were substantially lower at Victoria than at both Otago and Auckland Universities. Results from Laws 121, an entry level law course at Victoria, seemed to fail more students than the other two schools did combined.

Students have raised concern that this harsh marking system could affect employment opportunities and their overall mental well-being.

Second year law student Helena Avery commented that the result difference should be made available to prospective students, to avoid later frustrations.

“Not making [the information available] is no doubt bound to have an effect on students’ mental health, therefore the more information available about marking standards, especially against other universities, the better.”

Isaac Rusholme-Cobb, a first year law student, however, sees mark competition as a personal problem rather than a consequence of law as a degree. “I know there are people who feel competitive about their grades but that's more their personality traits than due to law school.”

Victoria University Student Health understood the pressure that grades have on student’s mental wellbeing. Manager of Student Counselling Gerard Hoffman said they had mechanisms to help students cope with less than perfect results.

“We try to encourage students to adopt a more balanced 6

NEWS

MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Student Evicted for State of Mind LOUISE LIN CW: Attempted suicide, miscarriage *names have been changed for privacy When Sam* returned from the hospital after her attempted suicide, she did not expect Cumberland Hall’s response, which was to kick her out.

She and her father, who had flown to Wellington to be with her, met with the hall manager. The hall manager, after asking her how she was, told her she could no longer live there.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “I’d paid for things, I’d every right to be there.”

She said that the hall manager had mentioned that the upcoming exams and the stressful hall environment were the reasons she needed to leave. The reasoning confused her.

“Other people’s stress is not my stress. I am my own person, I know what’s best for me.”

Her father, John*, understood the hall manager’s words differently. “She said Sam staying was risky for the other students. The fact that that there was an ambulance called to the dorms created a lot of drama, a lot of chitter chatter, they didn’t want that kind of attention in the halls. They said it kind of runs along the lines of health and safety. I said, whose health and whose safety are we talking about?”

Under the Student Conduct Statute, students can be excluded from a hall of residence if their misconduct “presents an unacceptable risk to the safety of students, staff, or property; or is likely to jeopardise the work of members of the University community.”

The Statute goes on to state that the effects of the action on the student’s “personal course of study and emotional or mental wellbeing” needs to be considered.

Sam said that having to leave the hall was extremely stressful for her. “I wasn’t going through an easy stage of my life, but they just made it harder.”

Sam had informed the hall of her pre-existing mental health conditions. However, she feels that the halls do not provide adequate support for the health and wellbeing of students.

Earlier in the year, she had a miscarriage on the hall’s bathroom floor. She said she “didn’t feel confident” talking to hall staff, and there had been “no address about pregnancy or anything – just a bowl of condoms”.

The university refuses to comment on the matter. When

Willis St. Hall - Cumberland House, operated by Victoria University of Wellington. Photo by Banji Hartfield.

Salient first asked for comment, they responded that they “cannot publicly discuss” the circumstances of an individual student, or any details around a critical incident “which may or may not have occurred” in a hall.

The following week, we presented to the university a release slip written by Sam, giving them permission to publicly discuss her circumstances. The university’s response was identical, only adding, “We encourage Sam to contact the university if she has concerns about what occurred”.

John said he believes that the university needs to have more accountability. “They’re peddling a service they’re not providing...They should have put her needs first.”

Rainsforth Dix, Director of Student and Campus Living, said “our halls always operates in the best interest of the student and the hall community”.

Need to talk?

Free call or text 1737 anytime for support from a trained counsellor Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) Youthline (for youth) – 0800 376 633 or free text 234 Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)

The Wait is Over But Where to Next?

LAURA SUTHERLAND VUWSA’s The Wait is Over campaign is continuing to make waves, following last month’s march on Parliament. The protest saw hundreds of students march from Pipitea Campus to Parliament, demanding better mental health services for tertiary students. Since then, VUWSA representatives have met with Minister for Health David Clark to discuss the need for improvements in mental health care.

VUWSA president Marlon Drake told Salient the meeting itself was a “massive achievement”.

“It was only possible because of the students who supported our campaign on the banner, online, and on the day. Students

are now on the agenda when it comes to mental health.”

Several candidates for next year’s VUWSA executive have expressed their interest in continuing the campaign at the 2019 candidate forum last Wednesday. Marlon said that for now the focus is on self-care, continuing to hold important conversations around mental health, and maintaining the political connections that will allow the campaign to achieve its vision.

“We’re going to continue communicating with the minister, looking to push for a commitment going into next year’s budget,” said Marlon.

7

Politics MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Political Round Up On Monday 17 September Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivered her weekly press conference after her cabinet meeting.

Military Deployment First up, Jacinda announced five Defence Force deployments. The major development was an extension to the existing deployment to Camp Taji in Iraq to June 2019, which will basically be the end of Kiwi soldiers training up Iraqi forces, who will then keep ISIS in check. She noted that she would be reducing the amount of personnel from 133 to 121. The Defence Force will also be extending their deployment to Afghanistan to September 2019, which would add up to almost 20 years of NZ involvement. They also planned to renew their roles in peacekeeping in South Sudan, Lebanon, and the Sinai Peninsula. For deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Cabinet stated that they would be weighing up all options in the coming year, including withdrawal.

Media Questions I started panicking around the 20-minute mark,the Beehive theatrette abuzz with political journos yelling over each other to get the PM’s responses. I managed to speak over the guy next to me to ask her about the VUW name change. To my surprise she welcomed the question, yet remained nonpartisan in doing so.

Ms Ardern attended Vic for one year, but she acknowledged that gives her no more right than anyone else to have an opinion. “I know that what he’ll [Chris Hipkins] be factoring in will include

the perspective of those who are past and present members or students or faculty members. He’ll be considering everything,” she said.

- Thomas Campbell

The Party Line In recent weeks, several Labour policies — justice, the refugee quota, and employment law — have been diluted by New Zealand First. Are cracks showing in the coalition?

VICLABOUR No. It's called MMP sweetie, look it up.

GREENS ON CAMPUS No. It's called MMP sweetie, look it up.

- Mark Metcalfe VICNATS Not only have cracks shown in this New Zealand First-led Government, but the dam has burst. Since the end of the Labour party’s 100 day plan, the coalition has sat around to-ing and froing on the minor points of policies and pushing through the unconstitutional waka jumping legislation. All the while debating bills proposed by the past National Government and holding an excess of members days. Not only this, but key election promises made by the Labour party have been vetoed

by Prime Minister Peters. Policies such as increasing the refugee quota and the repeal of the three strikes law (while flawed) have been presented

by Labour MPs, only to be vetoed by a minority party. Even last week, the Green party attacked the Government for failing to withdraw troops from Iraq.

A policy near and dear to the Green party’s heart. Proving that out of the 63 MPs on the Government benches, only Winston Peters’ vote matters. New Zealand deserves a strong and stable government, not one divided across the Cabinet table.

- Grahame Woods ACT ON CAMPUS This coalition government is a shambles.

They can’t agree and don’t communicate well. It’s clear to see that Winston wears the pants and Jacinda is just a show prime minister. However it’s a good job that she isn’t running the country because as we have seen this week, she doesn’t even know what GDP is!

These cracks that are showing in the coalition are just the beginning of a larger fallout. Winston has dismantled every government that he’s been a part of previously. It’s only a matter of time before this coalition comes crashing down.

- James Allan

FLIGHTS, TOURS CONTIKI & MORE

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Sport MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Nike Just Did it JAMIE DOBBS The backlash to the ad was prominent. Trump ridiculed the move. Americans who’d condemned Kaepernick for kneeling equally lampooned Nike. Twitter's trending page was sent into overdrive with videos of some Americans not only cutting the tops off of their Nike socks in order to defiantly dissociate from the brand, but going as far as burning their Nike shoes. I'm not kidding. The irony’s brilliant, given these same individuals ostracized Kaepernick for peacefully protesting for a genuine cause.

"Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

If you haven't seen this phrase sprawled over the internet in recent weeks, let me give a brief explanation. It all started with a tweet. Colin Kaepernick, ex-NFL quarterback, sent out a simple, yet inexplicably complicated tweet, announcing Nike's latest ad campaign. The tweet read, "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt". A tweet that was either incredibly naïve or delightfully brilliant. I'm going to go with the latter.

On the other side of the coin, Nike received a wealth of praise and commendation for their bold move. Nike have the fortune of boasting one of the most immense global platforms to address the masses, and in an age where social justice issues permeate the very fabric of our day-to-day lives, a degree of responsibility comes with this. For years Nike have inundated the public with inspiring slogans that appeal to our selfbelief — "Just do it"; "Don't tell people your dreams.

Show them." So, unless they themselves are putting this into practice, their words are fundamentally empty.

With context removed, this comes across as a stock-standard slogan for an iconic sports brand which aims to inspire us to achieve greatness. But it's just not that simple. You see, Mr Kaepernick isn't the most innocuous person to be the centerpiece of your new marketing campaign.

For the last two years, Kaepernick’s been stood down from competing in the NFL — the top American football league. Why? Well, he wasn't happy with the level of police brutality and racial discrimination towards African Americans in the United States. So, how’d he respond? Well, one day, prior to a game back in 2016, while the national anthem was being played as is ritualistic tradition, Kaepernick didn't stand. He didn't sing. He didn't patriotically clench his fist. He took a knee. A knee of protest. A knee that transcended the confines of sport.

Now let’s not sugar-coat this. Nike are no strangers to controversy, nor are they by any means the most upstanding organization. For decades they have come under much-warranted scrutiny for the use of sweatshops in Asia, and the treatment of workers within these conditions. Just this year, a number of women working for Nike spoke out regarding the sexist working environment that has pervaded the company. On top of this, two of Nike’s most notorious athletes in the 21st century, Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong, are now regarded as two of the most disgraced athletes in world sport due to their wrongdoings. Nike aren’t perfect.

In the 21st century, sport and issues of social justice will inevitably collide. Trying to keep the two mutually exclusive is akin to trying to prevent a Soundcloud rapper from drinking lean and getting a face tattoo — you'd have better luck eating soup with a hammer. So, when the two do meet, you know it's going to get people talking. Kaepernick managed to have a seismic ripple-effect with his actions. Over 200 NFL players followed suit, in protest against the racial injustice and systematic oppression which still affects African Americans.

Even top-league German soccer side Hertha BSC, in a show of solidarity to the small contingent of U.S players in their squad, all took a knee prior to a fixture back in October. Subsequently from Kaepernick's actions, no NFL team has reached out to sign the quarterback upon opting-out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers. No team wants to be associated with such a polarizing figure.

Touching on a sensitive social justice issue such as racial discrimination in America is a substantial risk, but a risk which outlines the importance of real-life issues transcending the image of a company. Some may argue that this is a ploy from Nike to gain positive appraisal, and a campaign such as this is in danger of having the real focus of the issue steer away from racial discrimination and rather be more about Nike. But my optimistic-bias on human endeavor leads me to hope that consumers don’t forget the significance of this campaign from a social justice standpoint, and recognize the importance of social change.

9

Interview MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Simon Bridges: “In the end, I decided to get a haircut and a real job” JESS POTTER

Simon Bridges showed off his musical skills in a video at the party's annual conference. Credits: The National Party

This week Salient reporter Jess Potter talks to Simon about sexism, drugs, and rock&roll.

Jacinda and the Labour party seemed to have created a decent youth following, with what the media called a “youth quake” and an increase in voter turnout during the 2017 election, possibly having an impact on the Labour party’s rapid rise in support. What are you and the National party going to do to appeal to the youth as you begin to campaign for the next election?

Look, to make sure we get out and about, get them to see us and the talent that we’ve got. We’ve actually got a lot of young MPs brimming with enthusiasm and energy, and I think our basic pitch to younger people is that we are the party that will ensure that you get a first class quality education and the opportunity to fulfil your dreams and your future career here in NZ, not overseas.

Do you have any plans on how you will do that?

I think people will understand that National is a party that believes in quality and excellence in education and will invest

in that,and I think in the economy, again there are some people that have a sense that we are the party that manages that better and ensures a more vibrant economy where there are jobs or roles in areas like ICT, space technology, horticulture, and manufacturing, and it’s creating an environment that will, you know, ensure that post university people can fulfil their dreams and ideals in NZ. Something I am concerned about with younger Kiwis again starting to move offshore, especially across the ditch to Australia, cause that’s where the economic opportunities might be seem to be.

Are you going to keep the three years free tertiary education policy of the Labour Party if you win the next election?

We haven’t decided that yet, but you know the students I’ve talked to are pretty sceptical about it and it is fair to say I am too. Because at over $2 billion, you’ve gotta ask yourself what other things could you do in education to raise quality, maybe at the early start when we know children’s brains are literally being knitted together and that’s a crucial time for helping them fulfil their potential. Through to university where we have seen our universities across the board not get worse 10

Interview best interests at heart, and ultimately gotta be focused on things that aren’t always the trendy things or the cool stuff, but are things that really matter to you in terms of getting your education and having opportunities here in New Zealand, the economy, health, our environment and the like, I’m caring and focused on you as a New Zealander.

but certainly slip down the international rankings, as other universities rise up. And so, investment in that is required.

So there is difficult choices need to be made about what you do about that but I come back to it, students I talk to and I myself are sceptical about the benefits of the free fees, or be it I understand the need for support around allowances which we’ve seen happen.

What do you want Salient readers to know about you and your party?

Are you a feminist?

I think I’d just like Salient readers to challenge the stereotypes, which are Labour as sort of for the students and the cool party when it comes to this stuff, and actually we care as well. We’re a strong team focused on you now, but also your future here.

I’d encourage Victoria University students to think not just about right now, but where they’re going and which party is going to deliver that future for them.

Yes, cause I have an amazing young daughter that I expect to be able to reach her potential every bit as much as my sons.

Would you have called yourself a feminist before you had a daughter?

I probably would have, because I am surrounded by strong women who I admire and want to see them fulfil their dreams and whether it’s my mum, my sister, my wife, close friends, my senior colleagues. You look at the top five MP’s in my party, three of them a strong effective women, Paula Bennett, Amy Adams, and Judith Collins. But I’m definitely a feminist for my daughter and for them, and because it is right.

Which NZ PM is your inspiration?

Well I suppose it is John Key, because I’ve worked closely with him and I’d like his leadership style of being inclusive and thoughtful.

What is the naughtiest thing you’ve ever done, in Parliament or during your younger years?

Who’s your favourite NZ PM who isn’t in the National party in terms of inspiration?

The naughtiest thing I’ve ever done won’t be told about in Salient magazine, but it hasn’t been in Parliament. Like everyone I did a few stupid things in my youth and that’s part of growing up.

*lots of umming and long time spent thinking* I think I admire various bits and pieces of a number of MPs, David Lange’s wit, Helen Clarke’s strength and no nonsense approach, so I think there are things you can learn from most Prime Ministers we’ve had in New Zealand, and Labour ones as well as National.

Who would win Dancing With the Stars, you or David Seymour?

Have you always considered yourself a good leader?

Why?

I’d back myself on the dancefloor.

No, because I don’t think leaders are born, I think they are created. I think everyone can be a good leader if they put their mind to it. My style of leadership is to listen deeply to people and try forge consensus and agreement where that can’t be done, ‘cause sometimes you’ve got to make a stand.

Thoughts on veganism? Would you ever go vegan?

Look I’ve tried it before, and primarily for health benefits and so not adverse to it. The truth is it does take a lot of discipline, and at this space in my life I possibly don’t have it as I go to a lot of functions and the like, and meat and dairy slip into my diet. But I wouldn’t discount the possibility of me becoming vegan in later life.

Have you ever considered a career as a drummer rather than in politics?

I did at university for a while, when I was at university I played a lot of gigs as a drummer. And there was a brief time there where I was tossing up music, politics, or law. Look in the end I decided to get a haircut and a real job, I don’t know if it was the right decision but that’s the way it’s gone.

Pro-choice or life?

I think the truth is it’s a complex one, and I’m a bit of both. I recognise the challenges as there are different views across a community. I make sure as the leader of the National party where there is broad swathe of views, everyone is entitled to theirs and to have their vote in parliament as a conscience vote. What we’ve got coming on abortion is a law commission report and I want to read that and really think about what that means in terms of, as you say, life and choice. I probably categorise much more on the pro-life side of things but that’s a bit of a cartoon view as I recognise the complexities.

Have you smoked marijuana?

No, and I appreciate that is not a cool answer and there will be plenty of people out there who feel that maybe I should have, I just never have. In fact I’ve never done any illegal drugs of any kind.

Jacinda kinda stole the “face of generational change” idea, so what are you going campaign and promote yourself as? How are you going to stand out?

I think as just someone who cares and has New Zealanders’ 11

News

*

*

NO MESSING AROUND HERE

Plastic Bag Ban Leads to Bruised Fruit Throughout the Country CHUCK SLAUBOT Following Jacinda Ardern’s rise to power, single use plastic bags are being phased out nationwide.

While this is a step in the right direction towards repairing our Earth, many people are struggling to come to terms with the changes. Discarded and dropped produce is becoming a major issue in Wellington, with a noticeable increase in the amount of fruit flies swarming the various vegetables that have slipped out of shopper’s grasps and onto the streets.

The fruit flies are becoming more dangerous every day, with clouds of up to ten thousand swarming the pavements outside supermarkets during peak hours.

Without their reusable bags, many people are having to abandon their heavier items mid aisle. Countdown is in the

process of hiring extra staff purely to cope with the issue of “relocation”. As one source tells us: “it’s been insane. People can’t carry everything, so they just abandon it wherever suits them. I found a steak behind a loaf of bread the other day – it’d been there for hours. It was moving.”

The flies are not the only issue however — frustrated shoppers are reporting a 30% increase in the amount of produce they are dropping, and a 50% decrease on the number of snacks their pudgy little hands can carry.

“How can we expect to maintain our place as the third most obese country in the world if we can only eat what we can carry in our hands?” said Brian Slough, supermarket goer.

Boomerang Cups: The Mug That Got Away

A University or DHB? An Investigation

CARDIGAN BACKYARDIGAN

LONG MEAT MARCUS

Boomerang cups, a coffee mug returned to the store after use, is the latest waste reduction initiative from Vic Books. The campaign started in early August. A time when life was simple.

Not long after they featured on News1’s Breakfast show, customers from all over were asking for boomerang cups, coming from as far as Strathmore to get their hands on the trendy green-washed vessels.

“From what I understand, they’re free and you bring them back when you want them washed,” said one mom who just finished a tour of Parliament.

Baristas told Salient that the boomerang mug social justice craze had gone too far, as customers were keeping their mugs to brag about their environmental practices.

“It's like Kony 2012 all over again. When we ran out of boomerang mugs, they started taking our have-here mugs.

Then our water glasses, our forks, even our aprons.”

A 10 percent Vic Books discount will be rewarded to anyone with any information regarding the stolen booty.

Vice Chancellor and our favourite veterinarian Grant Guilford is rumoured to have said “are we a DHB or are we a university?” during a staff forum recently at the university. His statement was in response to the growing outrage and protests over student health at Vic. In response to his comments, we at the Salient news office have decided to take Guilford’s comments as seriously as he meant them and have decided to help our Supreme Vice Chancellor in supporting his comments. Below are the wide differences between a DHB and Victoria: DHB - Constant maintenance problems and mouldy rooms University - World class quality maintenance and no mould in Student Union Building DHB - Increased funding from government and little to no changes in the last three years University - Fees have risen consistently over the last three years and the university has changed so much that a name change is actually widely appreciated

Updates on Kylie Jenner's Baby

DHB - Long wait times in heavily populated areas University - Short wait times at student health and optimal pricing for students

Kylie Jenner’s baby has made a weekly appearance since issue #3 of Salient this year. Each article space takes up approximately 1/8 of a page, which equates to $190 of weekly advertising space. Thus far we have lost $3610 discussing how we do not give a single fuck about Kylie Jenner’s baby.

Kylie Jenner’s baby may be the death of Salient, but the official stance remains — NO FUCKS GIVEN.

Guilford’s main point is that the university is here to inspire students to research and teach, and we take everything he says very seriously.

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Week in Tweets On the Beatles ‘cum together’ news - “Thanks to Paul McCartney, now when people ask about my 25 year relationship with Andy Richter, I can say, “we’re friends but we’re not ‘masturbatetogether’ friends.” - @ConanOBrien “Wait a minute, Jacinda does a full 40 minute speech and not ONCE addresses the elephant in the room that is the Beatles being jack-off buds? Open government eh?” - @ThomedySci On the new Predator movie - “my favourite part of the predator was when olivia munn’s character said, "we have to find out if a human fucked a predator" and then that plot thread was left completely unresolved” - @em_ma_maguire “We should use “Kiwi” as the first word of a film/tv title as much as Americans use “American” how excellent do these movies sound. Kiwi Horror Story. Kiwi Hustle.

Kiwi Gangster. Kiwi Beauty. Kiwi Pie.” - @josephmoore1 “I recently interviewed a 19 year old who told me "I am an old soul, so I tend to identify with millennials."” - @liamstack

“the lack of john cho daddy content is disappointing. ya'll so focused on jeff goldblum's "smells like sandalwood and cigars" daddy energy you're missing out on equally as good and valid "remembered the kids' doctor appointment and cooked a last minute dinner" energy” - @jaboukie “tfw u realise you’ve been dancing in an empty lift and there are cameras so Kia Ora Koutou to all the security people who have seen me shake my pankeke in the uni lifts this weekend.

Ma te wa.” - @friesfanclub “I know a lot of you might think they’re just cute but having spent a bit of time around Keas I find news that they’ve learnt how to use tools concerning.” - @oneforthedr “Just want to state for the record that the fact that shazam exists is still incredible to me. I am also very impressed by the thing that counts how many people are on the top level of the double-decker bus.” -@stuartfdrake

“you kids and your rock music and your fortnite and your sonic fanfiction and your crippling student debt and your ravaged hellplanet awaiting you to become dust and your avocados” @SamSykesSwears

Quiz

World Facts

1. Which three women took part in a historic photoshoot, celebrating 125 years of Women’s Suffrage?

1. Mark Ruffalo is on the US Terror Advisory list.

3. Donald Trump has escalated a trade war with which country, after imposing US$200 billion worth of tariffs on products produced there? a)France b) Germany c) Italy 4. Which chocolate brand has teamed up with Tip-Top to make three new, permanent ice-cream flavours?

5. An American woman broke the cycling speed record after reaching what speeds, on the Bonneville Salt Flats? a) 78kph c) 236kph

b) 127kph d) 296kph

2. Medical bill debt is the no. 1 reason Americans file for bankruptcy.

3. Queen Elizabeth owns all the swans in the United Kingdom.

4. China only has one time zone for the entire country.

5. "Yesterday" by The Beatles has been covered 2200 times, making it the most covered song in history.

6. If a crime is committed at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the US attorney in the district of Hawaii will handle the case.

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

8. Organised cheerleading was an allmale sport when gaining popularity in 1877, and only became open to women in 1923.

9. The world's largest parking lot is in Canada and can hold 20,000 vehicles.

10. The Adventures of Tintin comic was originally far-right propaganda published in a Catholic and highly conservative Belgian newspaper.

Quiz Answers 1. Jenny Shipley, Helen Clark, Jacinda Ardern 2. 36-34, Springboks won.

3. China 4. Whittakers 5. d) 296kph

2. In a surprising outcome, what was the final score of the Springboks-All Blacks game at Westpac Stadium?

7. Bobbie the Wonder Dog walked 4105 km to Oregon between 1923-1924 to return to his owners, after getting lost on holiday.

Letters Send your letters to editor@salient.org.nz Hi, I am one of those mature students Geo spoke about. I don't hang out with him but I do take only one paper. It cost me $1313.20 to enrol in POLS 112 of which $402 is Student Services Levy and Student Asst Scheme. That is 31% of the amount it cost me to enrol for one paper. If you enrol in a fulltime course you still pay $402. I do not know what a fulltime course costs so I am not going to worry too much about the percentage but there is no doubt it is unfair. I say increasing 2% just increases the unfairness. Peter Walters

Notices Send your notices to editor@salient.org.nz WASTE FORUM: NZ’s Response to China’s Trash Ban 5.30pm, Thurs 4th Oct, MCLT103 Waste management systems around the world are under immense pressure to cope with Western consumer culture, oceans are choking with plastics, and recycling systems are fundamentally flawed. What can we do?

Come along to this Victoria Development Society event to hear from a range of great panelists, including Eugenie Sage MP, Associate Minister for the Environment, Councillor Iona Pannett, Wellington City Council, Keith Smith, CEO of Flight Plastics, and Lyn Mayes, The Packaging Forum, at this informative event chaired by Waste-Ed.

The contemporary significance of Karl Marx Thursday, September 27, 6:00pm AM101 Alan MacDiarmid Building Amid the deepest breakdown of the capitalist system since the 1930s, this meeting will argue that classical Marxism is more relevant than ever. It remains the only basis upon which a fight can be taken up to build a mass movement of the working class capable of reorganising the world in the interests of human need, not the profit interests of a tiny corporate and financial elite.

Hear Our Voices, We Entreat.

6.30pm, 26th Sep, Biz Dojo, 115 Tory St. Aotearoa’s current support for asylum seekers and convention refugees is far from satisfactory. However, change is on the horizon. This event is a unique opportunity to hear a diverse range of perspectives on current refugee policy.

Our inspiring speakers include: Marama Davidson MP, Abbas Nazari from the World Vision #KidsOffNauru campaign, Waikato University Lecturer Dr Arama Rata, winning historian and novelist Ann Beaglehole and PhD candidate Bernard Sama .

Free event. Register on Facebook @ 'Hear Our Voices, We Entreat'.

Hosted by the Asylum Seeker Equality Project

Have your say to fix renting Did you know the Government is considering the biggest changes to renting laws in at least a decade?

In their review of the Residential Tenancies Act they will decide whether to end no-fault evictions and rent-bidding and to allow renters to keep pets and make minor alterations to their home. They are also consulting on standards for the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act, which is intended to make sure rental homes are warm and dry.

Have your say on both consultations by filling in this simple form before 21 October: fixrenting.org.nz/submit. Spread the word!

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POSTGRADUATE

INFORMATION EVENING Discover postgraduate and professional programme study options—part time and full time—at your capital city university, New Zealand’s number one university for research quality.* 6PM, THURSDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2018 Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus 23 Lambton Quay, Wellington Register your interest victoria.ac.nz/postgraduate

* 2012 Performance-Based Research Funding Quality Evaluation

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

VS Tamatha Paul (21)

Bethany Paterson (22)

3rd year – BA in pols and IR graduating at the end of this tri From Tokoroa – south Waikato No political affiliations

5 year of law degree – ecology and biology BSc Christchurch No political affiliations

BY JOANNA LI The two candidates for the VUWSA presidency in 2019 – Beth Paterson and Tamatha Paul – have a lot in common: they’ve both been in VUWSA for two years, and they’re both passionate about helping students.

Policies aside, what really makes them tick? What will they be like as leaders, and as changemakers for Vic?

university: “the uni and the exec has not always seen eye to eye on the topic of sexual violence prevention, especially when we’re asking for resources. There’s always tension when students are pushing at a faster rate than the institution is willing to go, so I’ve been in some pretty tense meetings. I’ve got a good poker face, so I think I’ll handle it fine.”

Tam, as the first person in her family to go to university, says that she’s running for President because “students should only be worrying about one thing at uni – getting a degree”. She talks fast and with intent – there’s a “take no shit” aura around her.

Tam talked about the importance of having the two work together: “the President’s job is to frame the problem in a way to the uni why looking after the student’s wellbeing is so important, and the easiest way to do that is to hit them in the pocket. That means talking about how all these things – mental health, sexual violence, means students are dropping out, means less fees being paid.” She credits her time on the VUWSA exec (as the longest serving member out of the current executive, and staff, having been involved since the end of her first year in 2016), as having allowed her to build up a good relationship with the senior leadership team, and that she respects them as peers. “But in the end when it comes down to it – I will hard ground always have the students’ back, and I won’t be lobbied. I’m not afraid to call out bullshit.”

Beth answers with her personal experience: she’s running for President because “when I came to uni, there were a load of issues I struggled with that I didn’t specifically connect to being ‘student problems’”.

There’s genuine enthusiasm behind her words when she says she wants to reconnect VUWSA with the community. “You shouldn’t need to wait until you’re on the VUWSA exec to know about it.”

As the connection between the students and the university, the President will have to front the inevitable conflict between the two. Beth assured me that she was no stranger when it came to conflict with the 16

"Going" on their campaign event pages, she's well in the lead (Currently 263 for Tam and 105 for Beth).

But Beth’s style — although of the less showy sort than Tam’s — will resonate with many too. Her law school background would stand her in good stead for the nitpicky policy sides of student politics. And she's nice.

"Nice" sounds like those shitty fill-in adjectives, but the role of President requires you to form many positive relationships. Having tact, patience, and diplomacy will go a long way when change doesn’t come as fast as you hope.

Both candidates are extremely well qualified, so it’s looking to be a pretty tight race. Their willingness to share their stories — Beth on sexual assault, and Tam on mental health, show the great strength behind both the policies and the person. Tam's a powerful orator, unapologetic in her beliefs. The image of a Māori wahine, first-in-her-family-to-attenduni at the helm of the student body, is some pretty strong symbolism, and she talks with the confidence of one that knows her worth. And judging from the very accurate and official method of counting the FB

SPICY HOT TAKES What’s your opinion on the name change?

T: Hmmm…. A word that’s popped up loads of times on this campaign has been Mana wahine.

And I’d say strong, genuine as well.

T: Personally not totally for or against name change, but I’m concerned with the amount of money that’s been spent – it could be put on better things like uh, maybe the fact that there are students literally dying? The only good thing that’s come out of it is that it’s shown how shit the uni is at consulting students.

B: Hardworking, stubborn, introspective Which one of the seven deadly sins do you most relate to?

T: Um… oh god. Probably wrath? I dunno, a lot of the reasons I do the things I do has been connected to the way people like me having been treated.

I’ve learnt to use that anger to motivate me.

B: Everyone I’ve talked to is against the name change, and feels pretty strongly on that. It’s more the question of whether the university has consulted properly on this, and asked what the thoughts of students are. I support the change with the Māori name, but nothing else.

B: Lust!!! Probably because I’ve been so involved with Sex in the Hub so sex positivity is on my mind right now.

If you could ask anybody for some advice on how to be a great VUWSA President, who would it be?

What do you think is your opponent’s strongest point?

T: Maybe Marlon? He’s done a really good job to bringing VUWSA down to the student level.

You’ve got Rory with his memes, of course, and Geoff Hayward the first and only Māori president.

I’d love to ask him about identity and managing the role, and the role of Ngāi Tauira as Treaty partners.

T: Beth’s very meticulous – she’s really aware on how to read and write policies, and how to be strategic. Yeah, I’m super upfront. Open book, no poker face – what you see is what you get.

B: Tam has a lot of really great qualities – but I think I admire her most for her bravery. She shared her story with the exec at the beginning of the year, and she’s really got guts.

B: I just watched Lord of the Rings last night, so I’m gonna say Samwise Gamgee – I bet he could give some real practical advice about friendship and love. A big problem in the VUWSA exec is burnout – I’d love to bring in some of Samwise’s kindness.

Finally – what’s your campaign tagline, and why should people vote for you?

Three words to describe yourself?

T: “Tam’s got your back” – I don’t care about internal bullshit. It’s about what we can do for the student community.

T: Strong, steadfast, determined B: Friendly, driven, passionate

B: “Together let’s be big” – it’s all about going down to the community and building up. Without the people you can’t have effective campaigns or engagement and everything just falls apart.

Three words that other people would use to describe you?

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CW: Child abuse, sexual violence I don't really remember the night I was sexually abused.

I'd always been a daddy's girl, desperate to please him and earn his attention. But as a man from Southeast Asia, he was culturally difficult to please.

Words of affection did not come easy to him, so whether he intended it or not, it felt like his love had to be earned. I topped my class academically, learned to play several instruments, and was happily trotted out as his show-pony on more than one occasion, all under the understanding that I was his world, and he would protect me.

Oh, I remember bits and pieces. I remember my dad sliding a glass of wine across the table, imploring me to drink it. I remember his drunken gaze, lewd smile, his body gently swaying back and forth in tipsy anticipation. I remember his words — key phrases that haunted me for years, through every sexual experience I've ever had: "Your mother was promiscuous before she met me. I've always wanted a virgin. If you give it to someone else I'll understand, but I'll be disappointed. You'll make an old man very happy."

So when he did what he did, both our worlds shattered. He hurt the one person he loved most, and I subconsciously decided that if my father could destroy me as he did, I must have been unworthy of love and protection.

It felt like someone stabbing me in my gut — the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life. I remember telling myself to be brave, and see the night through — things would be better the sooner we all forgot.

So begins the story of the end of my family. We didn't know it then, of course. We were too busy writing other stories, ones that would allow us to go back to the happy-family ideal we'd lived before. These stories would cloud the truth and create rifts between us for years and years.

What I didn't realise was that there were things I would never forget. But so many more things that I would never quite remember. But this isn't a story about sexual abuse — what I want to share is a story about stories.

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A Survival Story why was I ruining everything with my complaining?

That was their story, and they stuck to it for years and years. I use the word story, not perception, because it wasn’t that they couldn’t see the truth, it was just that it was easiest not to. My extended family often told me how wonderful my dad was, how he’d just made one mistake, and that I was lucky to be his daughter. Despite knowing and feeling the effects of that traumatic night, their narrative overwhelmed my truth, and I began to doubt myself. I thought I'd been reasonable in protecting myself from my abuser, but maybe I'd really been selfish. After all, I wasn't the only one suffering — my brothers had suffered too, although they didn't know what had happened. Their version of events was that Dad had yelled at me one night, and I had thrown a hissy fit and demanded that the family break up. They resented me, and I felt it.

That added to my guilt.

As soon as my mother found out, she kicked my father out of the house. But divorce was out of the question — you don't do that in our culture. Nor are men allowed to ask for help. So he went to live at a relative's place, licking his wounds and denying his actions, while mum tried to put things back together. Keep daughter away from father, keep sons in the dark, let space and time heal what's been broken, and then we'll be a family again.

But that narrative conflicted with other stories that were being written at the same time — my dad's, the rest of the family, and mine.

Dad felt he'd been cast out unfairly — yes he'd transgressed, but was what he did so bad that we couldn't work it out? He sent us angry emails, trying to manipulate his way back into his rightful place.

And oh dear lord, did I feel guilty. My parent's marriage was ruined, my dad was contemplating suicide, and it was all my fault. If only I'd kept my mouth shut. If only I'd been stronger. Any self-confidence I’d had was decimated in the conviction that my dad had abused me because I deserved to be abused. I suffered from depression and anxiety because I deserved to.

The extended family were placed in the position of mediators and counselors. They tried to support my mum in her quest to keep things together, but this sometimes turned to putting the blame on me. Their story was that I was being unfair, even petty, in my desperation to keep myself away from him.

So a new story was cemented, and it was a doozy.

I was useless, not worth loving, a waste of space.

I sought out romantic relationship after romantic relationship, in a desperate attempt to prove my worth — and it all blew up in my face. University went downhill — I went from being a mostly A student, to flunking out. I punished myself mentally for failing, failing, failing.

"You're tearing this family apart," one aunt told me, crying.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" another asked.

"Can you not let him come home, and work it out?" a wise uncle posited.

Meanwhile, I was desperately telling myself my own story, about resilience and duty. I told myself that I had to stay away from my father, but be strong, and I would be completely fine. All the tears, all the breakdowns, they were all overreactions — quash those, and I would save my family.

Where were the dreams I'd had as a little girl? My whole life I'd been told I was smart, and here I was being trash. I would curl up in bed day after day and dream about who I could have been had nothing ever happened, and then blame myself for not being her. I was isolated and lonely, with no confidence, no self-esteem, no prospects. The desperation I’d once felt to earn my dad’s approval turned towards other people — I would go out of my way to please everyone around me, and if they ever expressed ire for whatever reason, I would cower and cry. Like a puppy. It was exhausting. But. I. Deserved. It.

Mum told me to tell myself every morning that the day would be a good day, and it would be. So I did, every single day, for three years. And I believed they were good days, until my friends pointed out that I was actually fucking miserable and sent me to counselling.

To my surprise, I was diagnosed with PTSD, severe depression, and anxiety. I had tried to control the truth by pretending I was okay, and I had failed. My narrative of strength was shattered.

One day, I was in the car with my dad, and we were having an argument. I could feel my anxiety starting up, so I asked him to stop the car so I could get some fresh air. He refused. I asked again. He refused again.

I raised my voice and demanded that he stop the car.

He stopped the car, let me out, and drove off.

But my family still refused to take my problems seriously. It was all in my head, my life was wonderful, 20

A Survival Story In that moment, I realised that my dad would never be able to make up for what he’d done. I’d stuck around for years and prayed that if I proved my dedication, I’d be taken care of in return. But that wasn’t fair — it was expecting too much of a tired man with his own heavy burdens. It was time for me to stop blaming him and start supporting myself.

of Pepsi next to me accuses me of not taking better care of myself. It's getting dark outside quickly, and I realise that I have to go to a pub quiz in about an hour, which my team will most definitely lose despite our best efforts.

But I am so fucking happy. I haven’t redeemed myself, but the potential gives me hope. Now, I live day by day, and look to the future, because the past is blurry, fragmented, and convoluted. Whatever I think of my father, I don’t know the truth — only he knows what drove him to do what he did, and maybe he’ll never be able to tell me why. How can I tell the story of us with only half the picture?

I decided to make a fresh start. I changed my name, changed my phone number, and vowed to rebuild myself into a person I could be proud of. Every story has a redemption arc, and this would be mine — I would become a survivor, and like every other survivor I've ever read about, I would become famous and secure and finally feel worthy of my life. I put together a plan — work hard, ace uni, start a career that would catapult me quickly towards stardom, earn enough money that I would never have to live with my father ever again, and shine so brightly I could never be invisible.

And stories change, with time and distance. The same aunts and uncles, who once told me I was being selfish, began to tell me that I was strong. An aunt once told me she admired me for isolating myself, after she had to isolate herself, because the family’s narrative machine had bulldozed us both. Another said that had she been in my mother’s place, she would have called CYFS. After years of being told I wasn’t important, that I was overreacting, the acknowledgement of my struggle was a massive relief.

I filled page after page in my diary with inspirational rhetoric, plans and to-do lists. I joined a gym, fired up my CV, vowed to eat healthy and get the appropriate amount of sleep. My writing was my key to success — I was destined to become a big name in the literary world, and my debut novel was bound to be a smash hit. I was going to prove to everyone once and for all that I was worthy of everything I’d had to give up — my family, protection, respect, love, admiration.

To this day, my personal version of our story remains hazy and genre defying. Some days, I see it as a tragedy. On other days, it’s a Victorian-esque bildungsroman. Some days, it’s all my fault. On others, my father takes all the blame. Trying to shoehorn life into a single narrative is like trying to hold water in our hands — somewhat futile, but how else do we drink?

Stories can help us, or hinder us. But our greatest hope lies in our ability to rewrite them.

And now, here I sit, in mediocrity, a sixth year student of a four year degree. I’m overweight. I never wrote my novel — I never really started. An empty bottle

Rape Crisis 0800 883 300 For support after rape or sexual assault 801 8973

Women's Refuge Crisisline 0800 733 843 (0800 REFUGE) For women living with violence, or in fear, in their relationship or family

Hutt Rape Counselling Network 04 566 5517 Crisis Line 0800 22 66 94

Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Crisis Line 04 801 6655 Sexual abuse counselling

Shine 0508 744 633 Confidential domestic abuse helpline

Safe to Talk 0800 044 334 or text 4334 Sexual violence

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Mosaic - Male survivors of Sexual Abuse 022 419 3416 Shakti Crisis Line 0800 742 584 For migrant or refugee women living with family violence Free call or text 1737 anytime for support from a trained counsellor

WHERE I CAME FROM Cavaan Wild

Turn off that radio I can't hear myself above the drums of flava 106 I want to tell you about where I came from Specifically: Karamea St, the “nice end of Spotswood” (We weren't part of a suburb till 2008 when the new subdivision came in and we were officially Whaler’s Gate, before that Mum addressed everything with “Barrett's Farm”, a place that only she knew existed Named after Dicky Barrett, a whaler who helped the Te Atiawa Hapu defeat a war party from the Waikato and Ngati Maniapoto led by the feared Te Wherowhero) But I'm getting distracted — Karamea St nonetheless Raised up between Mt Taranaki, where a dumbass church group saw fit to take a barbecue to the summit then complain when the local hapu pointed out the spot was tapu, And Maungaroa, where the Ahi Kaa still burns Follow the tyre tracks along the tarseal (I saw my first police chase aged 14 and the car crashed into the house on the corner and it was the third car the cop had written off in a month and I used to love dogs

but gee whiz the police German Shepherd was a scary pooch) And when you get to the fence that was once so bedraggled with moss and mould my friends Mum thought it was green, you'll reach my whare.

There's a bus stop directly opposite but I wouldn't have a clue when it comes No one catches the bus in New Plymouth apart from the people who don't have cars And everyone in New Plymouth has a car So be careful of the people on the bus They have the bum bags all the hipsters in Wellington wear to be cool Except they had them in 2003 and they bought them from the $2 shop.

Hop off the bus at Spotswood College It's got a basketball court; I can grab the rim, want to see?

Come down the road with me, past the bros having a boxing match in the front yard with cricket helmets for headgear and step past the dirt bike parked on 22

FISH & CHIPS PH: 7512774 WINDY POINT TAKEAWAYS

OPEN

Where I Came From the berm We get our takeaways from Windy Point, it's our local 5:00pm Dad calls, he says "hello, what kind of fish do you have tonight?"

(As soon as he says this they know it's him, who else opens up a phone call with this?)

He's from Southland, he knows his fish (hot tip, gurnard is best fresh but if you can only get frozen get snapper, it holds its flavour better) He'd like 4 pieces, crumbed please, and 2 scoops of chips And he'll pick that up at 5 to 6, he says.

West again of the Port is Back Beach, where I got the best waves of my life, honest where I nearly drowned surfing one summer cause I wanted to be skux and wear a t shirt which got stuck over my head under water and I got held down for three waves and I started to black out Where my car got broken into and my wallet and phone got raxxed $20 and a cracked iPhone 4s I still park there, that’s just Back Beach.

And if you carry on the road and turn left through the cornfield Along the worn tar-seal, blackened thickly with skid tracks Back along Barrett's Road where my sister and I used to deliver magazines But only to the flash streets with flash houses, per the instructions of the editor You are back home, where I never really leave and a part of me will always be in my single bed and the security light I broke playing basketball, layups half illuminated in the dying light Where I will always return to, like its 2010, walking home with wet feet in wet sandals, half the school field on my legs as Mum would say I’ll wake up to tui warbling and that bastard down the road mowing his lawns again, before 10am (the accepted time in the unspoken neighbourhood agreement) Spotswood ‘till 6 feet.

And though the paddocks are subdivided, the pylon hiding behind flash houses and driveways neatly laden with gravel and smooth asphalt, Spotswood never changes; the weary characters weaving their bikes along Endeavour St as I drive to Windy Point Takeaways and the matte-finished V8s on the grass berm just waiting for a gearbox rebuild have been here forever So as I push through the ribbon curtains, dodge the barefoot children at the end of their mother’s tempers and see the red sky I know it’s going to be a good day tomorrow (red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning, red sky at night, shepherd’s delight) I’m back home.

We pick it up at 5 to 6 And when I got old enough to drive I would blast RnB all the way down the road, window down and pink sky dappled across the 1999 Nissan Maxima windscreen Brush through the ribbon curtains and there’s the NZ fish species poster on the wall If your fish and chip shop doesn’t have this poster you need to leave straight away I cannot stress this enough But with that being said stick to the tried and true favourites on the menu. My friend tried ordering a quarter chicken and it had been in the deep fryer so long it was blacker than the sand, which is very black Iron sand The rule of thumb for the egg foo young is: don’t order the egg foo young.

Across the road from Windy Point someone got stabbed around 2008 Gang disputes Except he wasn't even patched But it’s a blue sea over here so don’t bark or wear the bulldog.

We read about it in Crimes 214 at Law School It’s a funny thing when your community is distilled into course materials for the countrys creme de la creme to read Mens rea, actus reus and all that The judges and lawyers didn’t talk about Blagdon, about Windy Point, Or the fish and chip shop, for that matter.

But if you take a left at Windy Point you come to Ngamotu Beach, the port And if I say so myself an unbeatable view on a good day, but don’t go down the western end cause there’s a pipe there that smells like sin It’s a great place for a picnic, better spot to take your year 10 crush Even better to get in fights under the Norfolk Pines, black eyes with a seaview.

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KORIDOR JACK MCGEE

On the wall outside my sister’s room, there’s a painting that looks like a cross between a coffee table and a penis. It’s a flesh coloured shape on a black background, with little veiny oil paint wrinkles. I can remember Bill asking me what I thought the painting was of, though I can’t remember what I told him.

All my memories of him from them are hazy. I don’t think I really saw him as a person yet. He was more of a hero; everything I knew about him was coated in mystery and awe. I knew that he spent most of his days painting. I knew that my parents valued his friendship so much that they’d pay him to garden, just to keep him round the house all weekend. I knew he was my godfather, or whatever the atheist equivalent was. This was all a long time ago, before his girlfriend got jealous of our family dynamic and stole him away to Auckland, leaving the penis painting as one of the many pieces of him for me to put together.

The rest of those pieces were strewn across Wellington. Midnight Espresso, his old hangout. The various tiny apartments that doubled as studios. The American Embassy where he got arrested trying to take some photos for the National Library. Wellington was his city, but he wasn’t here to live in it, and that was all Debbie’s fault. Why else would he have stayed in Auckland if not for her seduction? Auckland was the city of traffic jams and rich people. It was singlehandedly responsible for the continued influence of the ACT party.

At the start of 2018 I went with a couple of friends to Auckland to see The National perform. I was also booked to see LCD Soundsystem, and my opinion of Auckland was further cemented when they cancelled due to “conflicts”. As my friends were boring “go up late and leave early” people, and I had an extra day to kill because of the Auckland Aura’s effect on James Murphy, so I sent Bill an email.

I was shocked when I got a reply. My parents had always had an incredibly difficult time contacting him, and most of the times we’d seen him since he’d left had been when he’d pop in at 8am without warning.

Supposedly Debbie was so evil that he had to sneak

off to visit us without her knowing.

I set a time to meet up at Real Groovy, remembering stories my parents had told me of how he used to spend what little money he had on CDs at the now dead Wellington store, burn them and then return them for half of what he paid.

So, we met up.

And he was everything I had hoped.

I didn’t get an earth-shattering realisation about the nature of humanity. He lived up to every expectation I had, and I didn’t leave feeling that love was a lie or that dreams were fake. All that changed was that I understood why he was still in Auckland. I had spent a couple of hours wandering through Papatoetoe that weekend, and I saw a lot. I saw a missing persons sign.

I visited the world’s most depressing New World. I saw a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses preying on people. It took me a while to realise that I’d ended up in the mythical “South Auckland”. I’d been raised my whole life alongside upper-middle class Khandallah kids saying “at least it’s not as a bad as South Auckland” about places like Porirua or the Hutt. While my older, hyper-liberal brain would never admit it, some part of my subconscious was shocked to find that “South Auckland” was a normal place, with normal people.

Bill described Papatoetoe to me as one of Auckland’s “Eight Newtowns”. Bill’s Auckland is one of raw culture and wealth inequality. It’s the second most multicultural city in the world, where one suburb can be almost completely dominated by one race and the neighbouring one filled with another. It’s a city that could’ve just as easily birthed a penis coffee table as Wellington.

We email a lot now, and he talks a lot about Auckland. He described to me the other day how he can see the estuary where “Obama and John KeeWee” played golf from his window. I thought about the missing persons poster, and I thought about how Midnight Espresso is kept afloat by upper middle class white Gen Xers buying scones — and I knew that Auckland was more Bill’s city then Wellington would ever be.

DAPHNE COMMONS Lenette Breytenbach

Meet Daphne Commons. She’s your typical student, bright and bubbly and excited to see the world.

She’s studying abroad, trying to get her diploma in massage therapy, worrying about passing her exams and getting good grades, and which hot young doctor she could go out with. Oh, and also World War One’s going on.

to her family every week of the war, sometimes more than once a week. And National Libraries has every single letter.

Now, unless you’re a major history nerd like me, you’re probably thinking “Oh, ok. So what?” which, like, fair. But it’s a pretty huge deal for us to have this wealth of archival goodness, especially from a period of time where losing a letter in the postal service was so common that people often repeated themselves in letters, just in case.

No, this isn’t some shitty blurb for a YA novel. Daphne actually existed. She lived through World War One, volunteering and studying while also taking care of sick and wounded soldiers at the No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital, Brockenhurst, England. We know all of this because she wrote it down. She sent letters

So picture it. Here’s this woman, she’s just turned 32, and she’s just graduated from nursing school with 26

Daphne Commons grades so good she gets a fancy medal. She was officially working as an entry level nurse at Auckland Hospital. To progress further, she would have to study while working full time. And on top of all this, I remind you, the world is at war for the first time ever. So what’s an unmarried patriotic lady to do? Sign up, obviously.

pulled her grade up, right? Which honestly, have you ever been a student if you haven’t tried to work out the minimum grade you needed in the exam to pass the course?

Reading Daphne’s letters is really intimate. You’re peeking in on the day to day life of someone you’ve never even met, sort of like reading their diary. She wrote about pleasant gossip a lot, probably because all around her she was seeing the worst side of humanity. But it’s really refreshing to get this take on the war that isn’t *blood death gore horror* non-stop.

It’s her talking about things like what she’s going to do for Christmas, in October of 1918, and wondering if the war will be over by the following Christmas.

She didn’t know what was going to happen, at all.

Which makes finding her November 10th 1918 letter so excellent.

Daphne was sent to Cairo with a brigade of 50 other volunteer nurses, as part of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZAS). This service was only open to unmarried women, by the way. The reason? They didn’t want any mothers to die and abandon their kids at home. Yeah, I know this is a bit gruesome to read while you’re pretending to pay attention to your lecture, but you chose to read Salient during class time, my dude. You signed up for this.

The NZAS were deployed to Cairo in 1915, during which time Daphne was mentioned by name several times in newspapers in NZ. I like to think it’s because of her excellent gossiping skills, but likely it was due to her brilliant nursing abilities. It was also probably to encourage more single ladies to volunteer, because it wasn’t like they could do conscription for the nursing service. Between her daily tasks as a nurse and her (rather limited) social life, Daphne continued studying her specialisation in massage therapy. She was taught by her matron and senior medical staff at the hospital where she worked or at the nurses’ residence. Daphne was occasionally seconded to other hospitals while on deployment, to get experience with specialist cases such as infantile paralysis. Her hard work and busy life did not go unnoticed, and prior to her move in 1916 she was promoted from “nurse” to “sister”, an enviable rank for female medical staff.

“When I wrote last week I knew things were going well, but still I did not think they would be quite so near the end today. It seems almost certain that Germany will sign the armistice by tomorrow – even if not she will have to do so very soon…

I can just imagine how grateful all of you at home are feeling, even though there is a difficult time ahead, and peace will bring with it any problems.”

And truly, the time was full of many problems for Daphne, as two paragraphs later, we see this gem of a topic shift: “I am sorry I am trying for these two exams together, though of course if by any happy chance I get through I shall be very glad. I really have not time to work properly for both and when I am at my electricity feel I ought to be at the anatomy, and when I am at the anatomy, feel I am neglecting the electricity.”

Daphne moved to England in 1916, which is where she remained until 1919, when she finally returned home.

She made a life in the small village of Brockenhurst, often wondering where she’d end up after the war.

She wanted to return to Auckland, but there was a rumour her class would end up in Rotorua, which she was super less than pleased with.

Mood.

Daphne Commons went on to receive her massage therapy diploma in 1921 back in Auckland. She continued working as a nurse after the war until her retirement and eventual death in 1968.

Daphne wrote about the war, because, well, duh. She couldn’t escape from it. She also wrote about all the hot gossip. All of it. From the mildly interesting to the straight up Tea, Daphne knew it all, and wrote home about it. She even knew what was going on at home, thanks to her mum replying in kind. She wrote about news, and her friends, her classes, even her quick holiday she took with friends to “study” in peace at a spa resort. Which, same, Daphne. Same. She also wrote about worrying whether she passed the written part of her exam on musculature, but then mentioning that she did great on the practical so that probably

Daphne’s November 10 letter is on display at the Alexander Turnbull Gallery, Level One of National Library, in an exhibition entitled “Goodbye to All That: Armistice 1918” developed in conjunction with VUW postgraduate students from the Museum and Heritage Studies programme.

Lenette Breytenbach is a postgraduate student pursuing a masters degree in Museum and Heritage Practice in the school of Art History.

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Windowsill Flowers

There is a girl who has little yellow flowers sitting in a little glass vase in the corner of her window.

I don’t know the story behind them, but I often find myself staring, letting my mind go blank while crisp yellow and green stems bloom in my mind.

- Nakisa Wilson

submit poems to poetry@salient.org.nz

Voting takes place online between 24-27 September at: voting.vuwsa.org.nz/login Paper ballots can be cast at the VUWSA Kelburn office between the hours of 10am and 4pm

President

Beth Paterson

Tamatha Paul

Kia ora, talofa, hello! I’m Beth and I’ve spent the past two years on the VUWSA exec working on making your student life better. I’ve advocated for healthier and cheaper food on campus (and will continue to do so!). I’ve spearheaded Thursdays in Black, co-organised the March on Midland and launched the #metoo blog.

TĒNĀ KOE! I’m Tam :) Maybe you’ve seen me around before... running dope events on campus, leading the charge on important kaupapa such as Thursdays in Black or The Wait is Over, or just in class getting dem good grades. I’ve put my heart and soul into our student community since day one. I’m graduating at the end of this tri (cheehoo), and I’m ready to give my full attention to our community.

I’m asking for your vote to make VUWSA communityfocussed.

* HAUORA & MENTAL HEALTH *

Building strong communities to support each other

- I’ll continue to lobby decision-makers of our city + our country to support our mental health services. Wait times are too long. The leaders of today must take action to support and nurture the leaders of tomorrow (us!).

- We have to keep up conversations around mental health going. Silence is the enemy of change. Let’s run community and faculty specific wellbeing workshops to keep our voices heard.

VUWSA needs to be investing time and aroha into clubs and rep groups. We should apply for grants from third party donors to set up a student mental health fund. This could be drawn upon by faculty/rep groups to run community-specific wellbeing weeks. These would open up conversations about mental health for each group. This way, VUWSA is better prepared to fight for more resourcing at student health/counselling. We need to bring clubs back into the VUWSA fold to be run by students, and provide a space for faculty groups to communicate.

* ELIMINATING SEXUAL VIOLENCE * - It’s time our university implemented a sexual violence policy that places survivors at the centre of all reporting and disciplinary procedures.

- Reporting pathways and procedures must be easy to locate, understand and use. We have to give survivors the power and tools to act with dignity and full autonomy.

- Let’s back Thursdays in Black on campus to keep dialogue going and to show our awhi and tautoko to survivors. He waka eke noa.

Ending sexual violence against students We need to start a Thursdays in Black club, that has rep groups and clubs like Ngāi Tauira and UniQ as members, to make sure that this movement is organised, long-lasting and powerful. 2019 will also be crucial for making sure that the #metoo blog stories aren’t forgotten. I will make sure they are heard.

The university is already planning harassment policies and sexuality education. My approach means that we will be prepared as a community to work alongside them, but also hold them to account.

* STUDENT HOUSING * - Living in a shitty flat makes studying 100x harder.

Period.

- With the Residential Tenancies Act under review, Local Body Elections upcoming, and new regulations for landlords underway – we are in a powerful position to change the “shit student flat” norm.

- I’ve been working on this all year, and I won’t stop pushing to make sure that shit flats are no more!

Reconnect Te Aro VUWSA hasn’t properly turned its attention down to Te Aro for a long time. From my chats, I reckon there’s a number of practical, tangible things VUWSA can do to improve studying down at Te Aro. • Advocate for more counselling and health clinic time available at Te Aro. The wait time is in the realm of months not weeks down there.

• Make sure more events are hosted at Te Aro, like Arts Week.

• Work with staff on the redevelopment of Te Aro campus to include more social spaces.

I got your back, and if you throw a tick my way, I will give it my all for you.

Wanna know more?

Hit me up on IG @tamathapaul or visit my FB page: facebook.com/tamathaforpresident

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Academic Vice President

Dharma Bratley

Geo Robrigado

Hassan Tariq

My name is Dharma Bratley, and I’ve chosen to run for Academic Vice President to promote bringing back the basics of student academics. After studying here for two years, switching between law, arts and commerce, I believe that the best place to start will be focusing on accessibility, engagement and study groups to ensure students are maximising the support that Vic currently offers, and adding in a few improvements.

Tena koutou katoa, ko Geo toku ingoa. I am running to be your Academic Vice-President with over 13 years of experience in student representation both back in the Philippines and here in New Zealand as your current VUWSA Campaigns Officer. To date, I’ve fought for students’ academic rights, representation, better access to education, and better educational quality.

In my role as Academic Vice President, I will work closely with the Education Officer and the Student Representation Coordinator to ensure that there is student representation and voice at all levels of the university.

The areas I would look to build on first would be increasing student awareness on available study rooms, to reduce the congestion of the library and other popular study areas, and to increase accessibility to these. I would also look to promote engagement with student reps and faculty members by emailing them regularly to see how we can better support different classes and asking about any issues or concerns to ensure these are looked into. A third area to build upon is looking into options for creating organised study groups for 200 and 300 level classes, similar to PASS for students struggling with more advanced content.

Looking forward to an incredible 2019, let's bring back the basics!

The AVP role is crucial in ensuring that we get the best deal out of our stay at university. Our voices deserve to be instrumental in setting the direction that Vic is taking and to ensure this, I will work to: • Get our academic rights into focus by initiating the ‘Magna Carta for Students’ where all students’ rights are codified • Empower our student representatives by comprehensively reviewing Vic’s student representation model • Own our education and our university by lobbying for more transparency and accountability regarding student fees As a migrant student, Vic and VUWSA have allowed me to grow and thrive as a person. And this has empowered me to take ownership of our community. You can too - this is OUR community, this is OUR university. Let us own it and be proud of it!

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This is a very interesting role and as a Ph.D. student, I have plenty of experience in working for these kinds of roles as I believe I can help engage students in long-term and sustainable academic activities.

My preference will be the ensuring the quality of education provided to compete in national and international arenas. This will include the provision of necessary research and training opportunities to all students. This will also ensure the promotion of equal and justified teaching and assessment standards for all students regardless of their sex, age, color or religion.

I will emphasize facilitating students for more cheaper and subsidized accommodation and health facilities. I will also emphasize on generating more scholarships and financial aids for students.

Welfare Vice President

Engagement Vice President

Rhianna Morar

Antony Wallis Wilson

Josephine Dawson

Sexual Violence

Kia Ora, Malo e lei lei, bulavanaka and Hello to you all. My name is Tony Wilson and I am running as your vice president welfare. I am a 59 year old returning student (I began my degree in 1981) studying under the free fees initiative.

I have a passion for people, and deep down I am just a student wanting to bring change and improvement to the student experience! below are my policies;

I am a direct descendant of the original Pitcairn Island settlers and therefore am of Pasifika descent. I have been a chef for 40 years and have extensive life experience to bring to the position. I am married with 3 adult children and two imminent grandchildren.

a. For VUWSA to stand for and engage with that which students believe is most important.

Our approach to combating sexual violence can be improved by having those most affected by sexual violence at the centre of preventative measures.

The current approach to sexual violence does not provide this. We must have those most affected at the decision-making table, with a focus on how the structures of power and oppression are integral to perpetuating sexual violence within our communities.

Mental Health ‘The Wait is Over’ had students leading the charge with seven students to three exec members.

We all intersect with different groups so we must continue to have students at the forefront championing the many student experiences. The rally had a powerful Māori and Pasifika presence which I am extremely proud of. We must focus on empowering different communities to deal with mental health, which is not always counselling.

I am deeply concerned with the pressures of modern study and life and would work hard for the welfare of the student body. special areas of concern for me are mature students and those of Pasifika extraction.

RA’s RA’s are students taking on responsibilities well-above their pay grade. This is a live-in pastoral care and the University must recognise this. I want to create a forum where RA’s can share their experiences and be heard. I will elevate the voice of RA’s and explore improvements - RA’s I’ve talked to would like more in-house training and better training in difficult situations.

1. Engagement with issues

b. VUWSA did this this year through The Wait is Over campaign around mental health, combating sexual violence through the Thursdays in Black campaign and targeted student housing conditions.

1. Cultural engagement a. For VUWSA to engage with other student groups b. VUWSA currently already has regular events every year - O Week, Stress Free Study Week and there’s lots of potential for us to make these bigger through meaningful engagement with different clubs and groups. eg; this year VUWSA sponsored the Sports Ball and contributed to the Ngāi Tauira Ball.

Safe and accessible events a. As EVP, I will be working on campaigns such as Thursdays in Black with the engagement team.

This is a campaign I’ve been engaged with since first-year and I really want to see that all the principles of this campaign manifest in our events. #votejoyourbro

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Campaigns Officer

Continued...

TreasurerSecretary

Delia Fu

Finn Carroll

Hey all!

Yo! My name's Finn, I'm a second year BCOM/BA majoring in Management and Film. I've always been pretty interested in the social and political issues of Welly, but when my property manager tried to charge my flat $1437.50 to add two names to the lease, I was kind of thrust into it! I was on TV with Marlon, and have been campaigning with VUWSA's current staff to end letting fees.

My name is Delia and I’m running for the position of Treasurer-Secretary for VUWSA. I’m in the third year of my law and commerce degree. I absolutely love it and believe it has given me the necessary skills to take on this role. Over the past two years I’ve worked as an RA at Helen Lowry Hall – working alongside new students and helping foster awesome communities.

I’m applying for the role because I want to work to make positive changes within the university, and make sure students are at the heart of all decisions, making sure we are consulted, heard, and listened to on issues that affect us, and our time at uni.

VUWSA runs a number of amazing events and campaigns throughout the year – and these would not be possible without the funding that follows them. I’m looking to develop open and transparent processes that put the interests of students first, ensuring accountability and transparency within VUWSA – so you know where your money is going.

When the VUWSA elections rolled around this year, I knew I wanted to get involved and do a whole lot more. My campaign is based on a pretty broad variety of issues: Getting this whole letting fee shit sorted away for good, improving the representation and voice of Māori and Pacifika students as well as the LGBTQ+ communities, and campaigning the Uni and Govt for better mental health support services. Even though these will probably evolve through my term, I reckon they're a pretty good start.

- Finn :)

I’m looking to maintain a healthy financial state for VUWSA, allowing optimal opportunity to develop, grow, and ensure the continuity of the awesome work that VUWSA does.

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Wellbeing & Sustainability Officer

Kellee Candy

Kimberley McIntyre

Samantha Mythen

Kia ora ko Kellee Candy taku ingoa,

MY APPROACH:

I’m Sam and I’m running to be your Sustainability and Wellbeing officer!

I am extremely excited to be running for VUWSA’s Wellbeing and Sustainability portfolio in 2019.

I can not think of two areas that excite me, or encompass my values, more than wellbeing and sustainability.

In 2019 I will be in my 3rd year of study at Victoria University, working towards my double degree in laws and arts. In 2019 I would like to broaden my horizons and join VUWSA, and I thoroughly believe that I have the skills, empathy and work ethic to do so.= Some of the initiatives that I intend to implement in 2019, to improve VUWSA’s commitment to wellbeing and sustainability, include: • Creating “safe places” at all 3 campuses where students who are feeling anxious/stressed/overwhelmed can go to ease their minds.

• Working alongside the Victoria Development Society to get VUW fair trade accredited.

• Running a ‘fair trade’ expo day on campus, where our favourite ethical brands can showcase (and hopefully discount!) their amazing products.

• Running regular wellbeing activities (yoga, zumba, running, walking and talking groups) • Discounting keep cups and re-usable shopping bags I promise to work hard in this role should I be elected to do so.

Nga mihi.

Sustainability: Reducing single-use waste; specifically through introducing plastic free O-week bags and cracking down on single-use coffee cups.

My approach to sustainability is a student driven one. I believe that the most effective way to implement change is empowering groups, like Plastic Free Diet, to work in collaboration with on-site cafes to ensure that reusable options are available, eliminating the ‘convenience’ excuse.

Wellbeing: Healthy and Consensual Sex Sex in the Hub is a great event which provides a safe, inclusive space to learn and discuss sex.

Knowledge is power and education can go a long way towards improving attitudes and behaviours. Next year, pushing for more University funding and more collaboration with rep groups to ensure cultural inclusivity will build on this event, allowing it to continue to grow.

Utilising the Metoo blog to guide VUWSA and the University as they implement policy’s to combat sexual violence will ensure that action is targeting areas where problems are prevalent. This is a valuable resource and will ensure that victims are kept at the centre of the drive for change.

If you like what you see, vote Kimber-ley for Wellbeing and Sustainabili-ty!

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My policies: 1. On a certain day each week we bring the Bubble to the Hub, setting up something similar at Te Aro and Pipitea campuses + have the epic wellbeing workshops that are avaliable, given in these public places, in quick 15 min sessions with resources available and tea and coffee so you can catch them in between lectures.

1.5 I'm all for random acts of kindness and want to see simple weekly events at each campus where there's things like free baking, random sweet compliments and free flowers given out it's the little things in life that count.

2. Continuing the big push for reduced wait-times for health care and for a better distribution of the health resources between the campuses. There needs to be better accessibility of counselling at ALL campuses.

3. Overhaul of the waste systems at all campuses and getting compost bins for all our food scraps!

4. Making Victoria University fair trade accredited!

As your SUSTAINABILITY and WELLBEING Officer, I hope to spread some happiness and sunshine into your lives and to stand by your side on this mission through university.

Education Officer

Katie Ollerenshaw

Rinaldo Strydom

Abigail Hussey

Better support for students.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rangatira, tēnā tātou.

My name is Abigail Hussey and I am running for the role of education officer so that I can create a barrier free education at Victoria University.

Assessment Handbook Compliance!

This means pushing the university to ensure their Assessment Handbook is universally followed.

Including clauses about feedback on assessments, Information regarding extension policies, and transparency within assignments.

It is not good enough that these clauses are not currently being adhered to. I will work closely with the Academic VP to come up with creative ways to advocate for stronger adherence, and I will push for students to have a central voice in these conversations.

Better support for Postgraduates!

This means continuing to foster a relationship between SWAT and the PGA in order to continuing building a united Postgraduate community. Continuing the conversation around Postgraduates struggles are key to finding solutions that will work well for the entire Postgraduate community.

Increasing Aegrotat Knowledge!

Aegrotats are a vital resource to support students who are struggling because of circumstances outside of their control; and yet so many Vic students are unaware that they exist or do not know how to use them. We as students need to advocate for greater knowledge on these support services and how to access them. This is key to greater equity in education, and something I will fight to achieve. #KatieOforEO

I am Rinaldo Strydom, a second year Finance/Marketing major who wishes to represent you as your next Education Officer. When you think about it, our time at uni really isn’t long. My goal is to make our time at university effective and optimal.

My role revolves around supporting your education and providing a student voice within the complex uni environment.

As Education Officer, I will focus on three things: 1. “Are you okay?” programme where I’m personally in contact with students about academic issues; 2. Advocating for lectures to be recorded throughout university; 3. Increasing awareness around student services for students with special needs.

Studying is not easy. I am only the second person in my family to be studying at university and many of you will have similar stories.

Students need support beyond the “cliché” policies. From cramming six weeks’ worth of lectures just before a test to starting that essay due tomorrow, simply put, uni can be difficult. As an ordinary student, I know how difficult things can be sometimes, which is why I am best placed to support you as VUWSA Education Officer.

Talk to me!

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This means creating a forum that students can use to voice their concerns about any discrimination they have encountered on campus.

VUWSA will provide advocacy services to students and provide support when liaising with faculty.

The goal being to set an example that VUWSA is here to support all students and does not accept discrimination of any kind.

Furthermore, I plan to work with staff to ensure they are using trigger warnings and handling sensitive topics with the appropriate care. These things can be massive barriers to education because if students feel un safe on campus they cannot fully engage with their education. I want to also create a positive learning environment by connecting all three campuses and encouraging students to use their voice through student reps and clubs.

A vote for Abigail, is a vote for equal access to education for everyone.

Equity Officer

G Hanley-Steemers

Komal Singh

Tahua Pihema

Kia Ora. I am G and I want to be your next Equity Officer for VUWSA.

Jai Sia Ram my VUW parivaar!

(Hey VUW fam!) I am ready to be YOUR VUWSA Equity Officer for 2019. I come from a progressive Hindu family (an oxymoron I know) and have been brought up to believe that we all deserve the same opportunities, representation, respect and appreciation.

I am a young woman from Gisborne, who has been raised on the concept of family, culture and the way in which diversity enriches our lives. I am a passionate person.

I cannot emphasise the passion I have for my culture.

The reason for me doing this is mainly because I understand what it is like to be minority but also at the same time to come from a position of privilege and opportunity. What I mean by this is that I was born and lived in Singapore basically until coming to University and the privilege that comes being expat (I am Dutch-New Zealander).

One of the ways have been in discriminated against is that I am gay and in Singapore that is still illegal. Even though the law is not enforced it was still there. It meant that me and my ex-boyfriend couldn’t be public about the relationship and this had it many problems as you can imagine.

I am very lucky to be a New Zealander but I am under no illusion that we live in society that is still inequitable and has many of its own problems like the institutionalized discrimination that people still suffer all the time and I have as well. This why my strategy for this role is so important and can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/IamyourG/

I wish to provide a platform for representative groups, vulnerable and minority communities to speak and advocate for an equitable university environment. I believe this role is NOT about me, it is about the issues which overshadow our community. Equity Officer is about communicating and including EVERYONE. My policies focus on 1. Consistent advocacy for sexual assault victims, inclusive safe sex education and activism for minority groups.

2.

Improving communication between rep and club groups.

3. Increasing and keeping Maori and Pasifika representation consistent in the University’s decision-making processes as well as reimburse them for their time.

4. Prioritise making VUWSA events, especially O -week more inclusive for international students.

My 5th policy is to create a new rep group for immigrants and immigrant children. There is a gap in our representation initiatives when it comes to including immigrants and the second-generation immigrant community and this must be filled.

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I understood that receiving a ta moko would alter my life forever.

Friends often ask me about the sacrifice I have made. It wasn’t a sacrifice. I was offering my body, normalizing the representation of our indigenous culture.

I live and breathe diversity, a lifestyle which motivated me to run for this role.

I want to support the Rep Groups in their goals and aspirations. I hope to not only accommodate for, but also foresee and understand, the issues surrounding equity and the balance of opportunities within VUW. My policies reflect that. All students should be able to start their careers with the same level of opportunity.

We need to increase the accessibility and transparency which will benefit students of Victoria University, so we can break a cycle of underrepresented cultures in New Zealand. A cycle which is repetitive, destructive and I have seen again and again. A cycle seen, acknowledged, and needs to be broken .

Clubs & Activities Officer

Millie Osborne

Michael Turnbull

Kia ora! I’m Millie, a third year LLB/BA student. I like a boogie, crispy m&ms and a cheeky bit of D&D! I would LOVE to be your Clubs and Activities Officer for 2019!

Kia Ora!

I truly believe University is much more than just sitting in lectures, it’s about the people you meet and communities you build. Clubs are imperative in fostering community/well-being. The importance of this is something I’d like to emphasise. Below are my main focuses: 1. Accessibility I’d stretch clubs/activities accessibility, events and information to all campuses and give more information for sign-ups during the term.

Also regularly highlighting club events which are open to students outside the club, eg performances.

2. Encouragement Making the processes of establishing/maintaining clubs, funding applications, and communicating with Vic as simple as it can be is very important. I’d create ‘Club Starter Packs’ with important information, tips and documents about where to find help and ask questions.

3. Celebration Clubs do awesome things on campus which should be recognised more frequently than once a year. I’d like to have a club of the week, highlighting achievements and offering incentives for clubs to keep being superstars!

My name is Michael Turnbull and I am that special breed of Uni Student known as a freshman. I currently study the truly unique degree of Law conjoint with Arts.

I know, #individual.

Hailing from the area of South Auckland known largely for potatoes, I grew up in the small rural area of the Awhitu Peninsula.

I am super excited to be running for Clubs and Activities Officer for 2019. I believe I can really bring some fresh perspective into this role. As a first year, I have learned through experience how great clubs and activities are for full immersion into the university life and getting amongst things around campus.

I do believe, however, that the clubs and activities around Vic can have a little bit more assistance than they currently do. Therefore, one of my main policies is to establish a shared resource pool, with items such as a barbecue, camera, fold out gazebo and the like, to assist in helping the clubs fundraise, advertise and get the membership needed to excel!

Cheers, and remember to vote #MikeyTee4thawin

Ngā mihi, Don’t be silly vote for Millie!

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Voting takes place online between 24-27 September at: voting.vuwsa.org.nz/login Paper ballots can be cast at the VUWSA Kelburn office between the hours of 10am and 4pm

Columns

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

VUWSA

MARLON DRAKE

PADDY MILLER

This week’s theme is “looking back”. I’m a real badass, and a rule breaker, so instead I’m gonna look forward. What the fuck am I doing next year?

A few weeks back, VUWSA hosted its first annual Body Positivity Day. To promo the day, I really wanted to create a video interviewing students about the topic of body positivity. Some of responses were just beautiful. Here are some of my favourites.

I’m halfway through my degree and I decided to take a year off to VOLUNTARILY do full time work? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? Why on Earth did I decide to take this on?

What do you love about your body? “ I shaved my head a few days ago and it’s looking crisp — I like that” “I just really love that I have one, it gets me places” “I have really strong legs that can take me up mountains and also I have a cute butt”

Don’t get me wrong, I love this role. I’ve been able to meet amazing people and do some pretty important mahi. I regret nothing. But how the shit do I follow this?

I’ve still got two and a half years of a law degree to go, but I kind of can’t be arsed. I need a break. I’ve also got like 10 people telling me to run for NZUSA, but the more time I spend in student politics, the higher my blood-cynicism-content goes up. I’m way too young to be a cynic, I’m 21 years old. I shouldn’t be worrying about anything. I also miss my university friends. Social life is a completely valid part of the picture, and I’m a very social person. I like to chill, party, yarn, and skuxx it. I want to do all of that now.

What do you do to feel body positive?

“I look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I am myself, there’s only one of me in this world and I should take care of myself” “I’m me for a reason and there’s no one else like me” “It’s about not being ashamed of what you’ve got.

You’re blessed with the presence of being on Earth and it’s about being comfortable in your own skin” However, as I feared, some people were uncomfortable with the topic. One girl kindly told me that she was really struggling with her attitude towards her body and said she didn’t want to do the interview. I told her that was absolutely fine, but to be honest it broke my heart. I couldn’t stop thinking about her all day.

This isn’t a plea for help (although if anybody knows of a part time job next year, please email president@ vuwsa.org.nz), rather just a kind pat on the shoulder to all the students who are facing graduation, or facing the fact that they might want to change subjects, or who are just a bit worried. Everyone is nervous right now. It’s a stressful time of year.

So if that girl is reading this, I have something to say.

At the end of the day, I remind myself that I am so so privileged to have done the work I’ve done. Things are scary and confusing right now, but ultimately I’m going to be fine. I’ll give you the same advice I’m giving myself: take one day at a time, follow your heart, use your brain, figure out what you want (not your parents or anybody else), do that, and things will fall into place.

I hope you are doing better since the last time we spoke. What you said struck me. I want you to know that you are not alone. Loving yourself takes time and practice. Be patient, and most importantly, be kind to yourself. Hit me up if you want to grab a coffee on me <3 P.S you have such a beautiful smile.

Now, I’m going to update my CV. 40

Indigenous Knowledge Is Lit In the Northern Territories of Australia, birds of prey such as the black kite, the whistling kite, and the brown falcon have been observed catching small mammals and insects that flee from brush fires. In a study published last year in The Journal of Ethnobiology, a team of researchers recorded how these “firehawks” take this hunting strategy one step further by carrying flaming sticks and grasses from existing brushfires to start new fires and flush out more prey elsewhere.

The Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, where the bulk of the study was conducted, were already well aware of firehawk behaviour, which has been represented in certain sacred ceremonies.

Notably, the team from the firehawk study made the point to incorporate the local community’s knowledge of the birds into their research. The team plans to continue working with Aboriginal ranger groups to further study the behaviour of the firehawks, and incorporate indigenous knowledge into local fire management initiatives.

This is just one example of a ongoing push to acknowledge indigenous knowledge, or Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Encouraging scientists to work alongside indigenous peoples of colonised regions and incorporate their TEK into research is becoming a vital part of ecology and the earth sciences. While institutions have been getting better at employing indigenous people in science roles through policy initiatives, Western science has been slow to acknowledge indigenous people’s perspectives, especially in regions with a history of colonialism such as Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas.

The main hurdle to collaboration is that Western scientists often do not perceive indigenous knowledge as scientifically valid, because it doesn’t derive from a recognised scientific method of observation. Western thought tends to delegitimize indigenous speakers by arguing their traditional definitions are stagnant

and resist innovation (which is patently untrue*). But looking at the firehawk example, when you break it down, it’s recording an observation (birds setting fires) and preserving it (through ceremony) as important enough to be disseminated to a community. Indigenous Australians and Māori transmit knowledge down the generational line through oral tradition, but without additional resources or infrastructure to preserve that knowledge, those kinds of insights into a region’s natural history will continue to be overlooked. This is where scientists and indigenous communities stand to benefit the most from one another, as incorporating TEK in this way adds another knowledge base to a body of research, and better preserves indigenous knowledge as important to the natural record of a region.

However, it’s not enough to just use indigenous knowledge as a springboard for a research grant. The World Conservation Society estimates that a quarter of the Earth’s land surface is owned or maintained by indigenous peoples, and according to a recent UN report, over half of government climate change plans from 86 countries fail to account for indigenous people. Intensifying natural disasters and rising sea levels stand to impact indigenous communities the most, as they often lack the resources or institutional support to recover in the wake of a crisis. Scientists and custodians of indigenous knowledge now have to take a far more dynamic role in preserving climate records and influencing policy.

Representing indigenous knowledge will only strengthen science’s importance to the global community, and vice versa, provided we learn how to question our biases and broaden our understanding of how different global communities preserve and share information. *As an etymology geek, I find it super interesting how te reo Māori, for instance, creates words for scientific practices and devices. Did you know that pūrere whakawaho is the Maori word for centrifuge?

It roughly translates as “outward spinning machine”.

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Columns

THE "F" WORD

NT: TE ARA TAUIRA

TARA Ó SÚILLEABHÁIN

JADE GIFFORD

The myth of the morning after pill

Many tauira Māori feel the pressures of what it means to be the first in their whānau to attend university.

What it feels to have the weight of our tīpuna on our shoulders. And the inherent pressure to succeed that comes with that. Drop-out rates for Māori students in tertiary education are still disproportionately high.

One reason I see for this is the fact that the university itself is a Pākehā institution — one that constantly breeds feelings of not belonging, of being isolated from our Māoridom and our whenua. How is it? That on our own land, we are still made to feel like aliens in the land of OUR ancestors. This triggers me on the daily tbh.

It’s 8.30am on a Saturday and there are three of us in the waiting room at family planning. Three women, likely all here for the same thing: the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP), also known as the morning after pill. I’m here because the guy from last night finished quickly and was embarrassed to tell me, so I kept going, oblivious to the fact that the friction was pushing his jizz down and out the base of the condom.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, and it likely won’t be the last. Accidents happen, condoms fail, sometimes you go home with someone you assume is an adult, only to learn they don’t know basic physics.

I’m pissed about last night, but mostly I’m pissed that I can’t just walk into a chemist and get the ECP for the regular $5 prescription fee.

Here’s why I think that needs to change. Firstly, the ECP is incredibly safe. You’ve probably heard the myth that it can harm your chances of getting pregnant in the future. That’s rubbish. Secondly, if it’s an “emergency” medication, why does it cost $40 at the chemist? You have a 72 hour window to take the ECP, and those who live week to week can’t always find the money, or get to a family planning clinic in time. Thirdly, why do pharmacists have the right to refuse to sell emergency medications on grounds of conscientious objection? Especially considering the ECP can’t abort a pregnancy, it only prevents a pregnancy from occurring. But my number one reason why the ECP needs to be more accessible is because: without access to emergency contraception, we lack autonomy of our bodies.

There are plenty of ways I see that this university could do better for Māori students. One of which is having more Māori student leaders, especially in organisations like VUWSA. When I was in first year I went to the orientation day and vividly remember looking at the exec on the stage and thinking “well, none of them look like me”. Not to mention having more Māori representation in Salient.

A few weeks ago was Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. I felt empowered by the kaupapa and the ways that more and more students and staff were adopting reo into their daily lives.That week I felt more like I belonged at this institution than I ever have. Hearing and seeing people express an interest in things Māori, and seeing people reading Te Ao Mārama was one of the most validating things ever. So let’s take it further than just one week! Kia kaha te reo!

When regular contraception fails, the ECP is our only chance to prevent against pregnancy. Make the ECP more accessible and affordable, and let us make the right choices for ourselves.

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The Poo Review LEVEL 2 FEMALE TOILETS IN TE TOKI A RATA BLOCK (TTR) TERE SILAS The VUW Poo Review is back for another week!

This column to identify the best and worst toilets on campus at Victoria, so you’ll know exactly where to run after that bad plate of Krishna Foods. Have a toilet you want reviewed, or want to contribute? Drop us a line at pooreviews@salient.org.nz Dear F. Scott Shitzgerald, As someone who enjoys nothing more than finding a quiet, clean bathroom, (I have found a great many), I have one I would love to contribute — which could potentially ruin everything I once had going for me.

I am talking about the underdog of bathrooms — Level 2 female toilets in Te Toki a Rata block (TTR). Honestly, it's wild because I think very few people have come across it (especially those who never have classes in that area). Also, you can knock one out in there (alone or with a special partner) and it's no big deal.

very distressing. Plus it is one less bathroom that our great cleaners have to deal with. If I wanted to read PSAs and insults, I would use the unisex toilets in the hub, TYVM. Effectiveness of Facilities Toilet paper, soap, and paper towels are always adequately topped up. Toilets have a strong flush, which is good for the lingering poo stripes — none of that weak shit, we're not here to play. I can't say a bad thing, this loo is up to standard. PLUS it is a NEW bathroom so the toilet seats are COMFORTABLE and can cater to all kinds of female ass, as well as being sturdy as heck.

Cleanliness/Smell Doesn't usually smell like anything apart from a hint of soap (that's before I've used it, mind you). Always very clean, would be spick and span with a wipe down at the end of the day. The rubbish bin is usually half to fully empty as well, which all up is a sure sign that this is the bathroom to be in. Not a shit stain in sight! This is the closest thing to the ideal female toilet fantasy.

Cleanliness/Smell

(4/5)

Interior Design

(4.5/5)

Effectiveness of Facilities

(10/5)

Total

(6.16/5)

Verdict: Private, quiet, comfortable, and if you need to get away from your annoying friends for a quick 10 then this is the place to be.

Somewhat inconveniently placed but worth the walk — even in the case of a Krishna curry emergency, because it is less embarrassing (soundproof wise — that shit echoes). Although there is also a chance you might shit yourself en route, it is really a case of wolf-it-down-and-GETYOUR-ASS-TO-TTR-LEVEL 2.

Interior Design Not a speck of graffiti on the wall. While it adds a sense of comfort to just read the back and forth arguments between permanent-marker warriors, it is also incredibly peaceful not to, because sometimes you put people's voices to the commentary and it gets 43

The International Angle VAELYN LUO

Mental health is not a unique problem to international students. But international students coming from different cultural backgrounds face unique challenges.

International students come with high expectations of ourselves thriving in New Zealand. But the reality is that we face stress, lack of sense of belonging, language barrier, relationship problems, crises from home, and financial problems. Most international students avoid professional help due to the stigma (of “craziness”) attached to mental problems. Neither do they tell their closest family members. In many of our home countries, it is a taboo to talk about mental health. International students spend around $50,000 per year on tuition and accommodation fees, which for most students is funded by their parents. A V-ISA survey carried out in 2016 showed that 69% of international students stated that their parents are willing to forgo their savings just to fund their studies.

Seeking help or even talking about challenges they face with their family is seen as adding unnecessary burden on them.

Low self-esteem, not speaking-up about their problems, and self-blame are characteristics that many international students identify with. Many of us feel an overwhelming sense of shame and guilt for spending our parents' money while watching them struggle back home. We often compare ourselves with domestic students. We envy the fact that they can be so independent and move out of home, to work; yet many of us are still relying on our parents. Most of us struggle with university because of the above reasons. We cannot afford to work because that extra $100 per week from working in a part-time job could result in having to retake a $3,790 paper. Grades are

highly valued overseas, we come here to get good grades. If not, we fail our parents.

Rising living costs and shitty accommodation add to our stress. What we are getting out of our investment in our education falls significantly short from our expectations and the promises made to us before we arrived in New Zealand. What can we do? Nothing much. We can protest but when we do, to the university or to our landlords, we get nothing out of it. Many of us just keep to ourselves, because we are jaded by the fact that we will not be taken seriously.

Worse, we need to compete with domestic students to get our voices heard and get our points across because we are “them”, the “foreigners”. Another common stereotype is that international students are loaded, that we have the money and we should not complain. In reality the majority of us are not rich.

Most international students want to engage with domestic students, we want to break the cultural barriers. We want to work together as a community to fix the common problems we face.

I sometimes, or often enough, contemplate dropping out, and just getting the fuck out of New Zealand. But part of me want to stay on because I feel that without someone to encourage students to speak out or to represent them, we will continue to be marginalized.

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PODCAST “MEDIUM PLAYBACK” MEDIUM REVIEW: TOM WHITE

Should an industry which now regularly designs devices that go inside human bodies need professional licensing? Should we continue to lionise a psychological study that was a sham? How accurate do I want my online data profile to be if its primary purpose is to encourage me to part with my time, attention, and money? And how has “good oldfashioned” evangelism gained popularity in “famously liberal Hollywood” among “statistically progressive millennials”?

Medium, an online cornucopia of quality modern essays and articles, has recently launched its first podcast, Playback, which addresses questions like these. Every second week, journalist Manoush Zomorodi or writer Kara Brown introduces the author of a highly popular article from the site; accompanied by music and sound effects, the author narrates their work, with an interview between author and host afterwards discovering “the story behind the story”.

The impact of hearing the author recount their own essay cannot be overstated. Through speech they can relate exactly what they are trying to say: pausing for effect, adjusting their intonation for attention, emphasising the kupu they want to highlight. People sometimes talk of “the writer’s voice”. In this podcast, we get “the writer’s voice”.

As such, their emotional direction lies not far beneath the surface: the anger of one writer, newly sober, in a world where everyone around her is “super double tanked”; the frustration of another, post-weight loss surgery, in a “shortsighted” world that “mandates to discipline the fat body”. The determination of a creator who wants to hold accountable his fellow designers is evident behind his bleak humour, as is the unsettled concern of a techie at discovering the extent of the information internet companies hold about him.

The authors’ strong emotional commitment comes out through their voices in a way their writing could not convey.

These kaituhi are not trained presenters, and yet, generally translate their stories for audial consumption pretty well. Some problems of course exist: for instance,

while in text the problem of distinguishing what is the essay and what is a quote is neatly resolved with the use of punctuation, in the retelling the absence of such can be slightly confusing. Yet while this is a drawback of the audio medium, any complaints are quickly forgiven with, say, the entrance of David Foster Wallace’s lost voice. When his well-known speech “This Is Water” is quoted in the third episode, we don’t receive it in an italicised indented block; we get his voice. In this podcast version of the article, he is not quoted — rather, he speaks. The same later: we do not get a transcript of an interview with Philip Zimbardo of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment; we get his voice from the interview itself.

The value of audio rings out not only in the quotes but also the music and sound design. This podcast is polished. Foley comes in helpfully every now and then — professionally; unnoticed — and the use of music throughout the pieces serves rather than distracts: in the third episode, the author paints a scene of a modern baptism; when the “soft and low [music of the band] crescendos”, the podcast happily demonstrates, placing you right there in the watching congregation, inexplicably cheering on.

The articles are different mixes of personal accounts, journalistic reporting, and opinion, and as such the kaupapa covered by the podcast are varied.

A distinctive assurance with this podcast, however, is the confidence that, whatever its topic and wherever its direction leads, each episode is going to be of quality: each piece has demonstrated its merit already by being one of the most popular recent articles from a thought-provoking site. While of course the quality of a piece’s preparation and presentation does not necessarily entail endorsement of its premise, there is value in confronting and exploring new ideas, and a well-executed exploration is exactly what this podcast provides.

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MUSIC AVANTDALE BOWLING CLUB INTERVIEW REVIEW: JOSH ELLERY

Around a month ago, legendary Kiwi rapper Tom Scott released the self-titled debut from his new project Avantdale Bowling Club. This record presents a sonic shift towards a cosmic jazz influence but, at the same time, embraces and furthers the same sense of autobiography, realness, and honesty that has made Scott’s work in Home Brew, @peace, and Average Rap Band so revered. I was fortunate enough to have a chat to Tom on the release day of Avantdale Bowling Club.

T: Yeah, that’s just how it is. Like, don’t put all the light on me, it’ll just show up all my flaws [laughs].

J: But maybe the flaws are a good thing too! I feel like, with this album, it’s so personal and so real and maybe that’s the thing that people are embracing in the first place you know.

T: Yeah, for sure man. It’s way easier to talk about your flaws when they rhyme [laughs]. And I guess the pessimist in me is like, I see the opportunity for a hipster to rubbish the album because it’s been acclaimed. So it’s kind of like my paranoia’s kicking in today a bit. If I hinged this on the people that didn’t vibe with it then I’m really missing out on the whole point of existence you know man. I’ve got to take all this praise I’m getting today and store it away for when I need it you know.

Josh: How’s the feeling around the release of this project compared to your previous albums? I’ve seen a lot of positive response to it already!

Tom: Yeah, you know how compliments are. It’s hard enough to take just one of them, let alone like hundreds. And I’ve been working for so long that I’ve been deprived of any kind of recognition that, when I get it, I feel like I don’t deserve it you know.

J: When was the Avantdale Bowling Club project conceived? How did the name come about, and how did it all end up where it is today?

J: Yeah I can imagine. Maybe that’s the humble Kiwi in you coming out [laughs].

T: I got a text from my old man one day, I was in Melbourne, and there was just a picture of the 46

Avantdale Bowling Club Interview Avondale Bowling Club. I think he might have been playing a gig there, funnily enough, or he was just there, but I just thought it sounded like a good name for a band [laughs].

record, it was draining bro. I wanna make sure I’m not gonna forget this, I might f**k around and do it again you know [laughs], gotta learn from your mistakes. I’m scared I might attempt this again and have a nervous breakdown. It was really hard because it was solely my responsibility at the end of the day. That’s not to say I didn’t have help — I had f**kloads, I couldn’t have done it alone – but once the session musician goes home, he’s not thinking about your record.

J: Did you ever consider just using your own name?

As opposed to the pseudonym? Because it’s so clearly your vision and all about your life, was there ever a point where you thought about your own name as an option?

J: What is the writing process like for a project like this?

T: I had this vision that one day I’d be this perfectly formed version of myself, or at least be able to articulate the perfectly formed version of myself as a musician and that would be it, that’s the Tom Scott record. I don’t think that will ever happen. I don’t really know if it’s right you know? Like, when people call me Tom Scott it’s like “Yeah! I know who that is!

It’s like this ever f**king fluid, contradictory mess of a man that I am”, you know? Like, when people call you by your name bro, you know who you are – you have this illusion of self-belief. I don’t think it would be accurate to sum it up…

T: There’s something I read, I can’t remember who it was, it’s like “to be a writer is to forgive yourself the horrors of the first draft”. As a rapper, you start believing this myth that you go into the studio, write the verse, go home or whatever. Or that you have to do it in motion you know. But no one would write a novel like that, and I’m sure rappers don’t even write like that to be honest. It was just some kind of myth that I had believed. But in the last couple of years, I’ve just been more into re-writing. I heard someone say “I’m not a good writer, but I’m a good rewriter”.

That idea… just being able to go back to it and touch it up, instead of catching lightning in a bottle. I might catch a bit of lightning, but then I might just have to add to that. Some of the verses I wrote 3 or 4 times. I scrapped heaps of songs – like, fully fleshed, realised songs. There must be at least 8 – not demos, but like, have recorded, paid all the musicians, f**king mastered it and everything.

J: You evolve over time and different things come out of you. Who knows what the next 10 or 20 years of that would look like, I suppose it leaves room for that creative evolution you know.

T: Hard, bro. If you solidify yourself as one thing, then that’s what people know you as. The name that your mother uses has now been tainted by this record that you thought could solidify you, that would suck – “Hey Tom Scott! You’re the guy that…” you know?

J: What does the rest of this year look like? Touring?

J: A lot of the music you talk about for influences fits that jazz, cosmic jazz realm. Were you always wanting to make a jazz album, or an album with this strong of a jazz aesthetic to it?

T: That’s probably what I’ve gotta do next. I’d love to pour as much effort into that as well. I just kinda want to see the world. I’d love [to be like] f**k the touring, and go to Nepal or something like that. I feel like I deserve a break at the moment.

T: Who wouldn’t! [laughs] I always wanted to do it.

I mean, I didn’t always want to do it, but as soon as I started hearing that music. You know, all we ever do with music is attempt to imitate something we like, or try to make something that doesn’t exist that we wanna hear, so yeah. As soon as I heard Alice Coltrane or Pharoah Sanders, it was like heroin, it was like somehow losing your virginity twice [laughs].

Avantdale Bowling Club is out now through all the usual streaming/online music outlets, go get stuck in.

Catch them live at Meow on October 25.

J: In terms of how you come to make that happen, your creative process – and obviously there’s a whole host of musicians all over Avantdale Bowling Club, and a pretty stacked lineup too, how did that all happen?

T: It started as little skeletons here and there, and then when I opened the can of worms that is making a live

47

FILMS IN DEFENSE OF THE SHITTY SCI-FI SEQUEL REVIEW: EMMA MAGUIRE

Alien Covenant, 2017 Pacific Rim Uprising, 2018 The Predator, 2018

a bunch more teenagers. While it was a fun film, in many ways, I question the necessity of killing off fanfavourite characters and the obvious sequel-baiting within.

I grew up on sci-fi, so you better believe that I’ve seen a lot of it. While my peers were watching appropriate things as children (Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, etc), I firmly became besotted by Doctor Who, Stargate, and Star Trek by the age of nine. That’s probably why I’ve still not seen most Disney films, but that’s a story for another time.

The Predator is a film about a Predator going around and killing people. There is other bits of plot involved, but really, it’s just about some war veterans with severe PTSD fighting against a couple of space aliens. One wonders if a schlocky action film was quite the place to try and seriously cover mental illness, but props to them for trying.

I love sci-fi, and I have a particular penchant for those sort of Hollywood sci-fi sequel films that are released under the radar in April or October and get thoroughly maligned by critics.

These three films are not good films. There’s so many things with them that don’t work. The philosophising, the attempt at seriousness — a film that’s aimed at a bored late-night audience doesn’t need those things to work.

Look, I get it. Fantastic sci-fi is hard to make. You need to balance technobabble with a realistic premise, add humour and fully-fleshed out characters, and you also need to make the whole thing correctly-paced and interesting. Pacific Rim does that very well. So does Alien.

What does work in this genre (shitty sci-fi sequels) is the comradery and the action. Covenant has some of the best action scenes I’ve ever seen. Brutal murder on an alien spaceship in Fiordland? Fantastic! Uprising has a series of giant robots fighting against Kaiju.

Predator’s action scenes aren’t all that memorable, but it does have some pretty rad monsters. All three of the films are worth seeing just for those parts.

These films… do not.

Alien Covenant (2017), Pacific Rim Uprising (2018), and The Predator (2018) are all sequels that seemed vaguely pointless to make.

However, I loved them. Not because they were good, but because they weren’t.

What I also love about action films — of this ilk — is the ensemble work. Putting characters into high-stress situations really allows for beautiful relationships to form. Baxley and Coyle’s arc in Predator is heartbreaking, and I ended up caring so much about Amara in Uprising. Though the films themselves aren’t fantastic, it’s parts like those where they really can begin to shine.

Alien Covenant is a batshit-insane follow up to Prometheus (2012) — and sixth addition to the Alien franchise. A spaceship crash lands on a planet with aliens on it, there’s some cloning, and Michael Fassbender has an utterly ridiculous level of sexual tension with himself. I didn’t exactly expect an Alien film, of all things, to be the place for some Fassbender on Fassbender kissing, but it was clothed in a layer of mysticism and bullshit science wankery, so I supposed it worked plot-wise.

In truth, not all sci-fi films have to be Oscar-worthy.

A fun film can exist because it’s fun — not because it has to reign triumphant in the pretension stakes. The world’s shit enough, can we not just watch things that are a bit silly sometimes?

Pacific Rim Uprising is the original Pacific Rim, except without the grim realities of apocalypse life, and with 48

ART CHANGING TIDES REVIEW: JANE WALLACE

“While the notion of a collective identity centred on Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa is reminiscent of a pre-colonial world, it is perhaps also an imagination enabled by a connectedness made possible both through our uptake of new technology and our ability to be mobile again.”

- False Divides, Lana Lopesi

complexity of Asian names for Pākehā means that people of Asian heritage in New Zealand are often asked to choose a English name or word, to be referred to instead of their real name. At my high school, Asian exchange students would be introduced in assembly by their real name, and then their “new” name would be announced. This practice only shows that Pākehā value their own convenience over respecting a significant part of someone else’s identity.

The exhibition text for a temple, a commons, and a cave, curated by Amy Weng at MEANWHILE, is a reminder of this “current critical moment in the South Pacific,” where new means of communication can be used to navigate a reconnection of this region.

In 2015, real estate data was leaked showing that the Labour party used Chinese-looking names as evidence that the housing crisis in Aotearoa was influenced by foreign investment. This sent a clear message to Chinese residents who owned homes that they would automatically be othered by virtue of their name alone. Barely three years later, Kaoru Kodama has produced Orange Notes (2018). Orange is the colour of bureaucracy in Aotearoa, avoiding any political allegiance. Orange Notes is a 20 minute long audio work, comprised of sections of various institutional culture and heritage documents, including an opinion piece written by the Prime Minister and Labour leader, Jacinda Ardern. The state is willing to accept our dependence on Asia in economic terms, but underplays the cultural contribution of people of Asian heritage in New Zealand. Consequently, their responsibility to culturally support Asian communities is often overlooked in strategic plans.

Arapeta Ashton and Wai Ching Chan’s video Pātai (2018), has no audio. We see harakeke being gathered. Its threads are separated out in thin wiry strands, then the fibres are rubbed across the shin until they form a rope. It is very long and slender. It is put into a pot of water with a brick, and left overnight, so the earthen pigment can seep in. In the finished object, suspended among other objects, we can understand how one location can host a multitude of different perspectives and approaches to existing in a place.

Blessing Machine by Peng Jiang and Thomas Lawley (2018) is a metal structure, like an arcade game, free-standing in the gallery. Visitors are able to type their name in, and a receipt printer that is an internal component of the machine will print out a small docket. The machine is futuristic and exciting. The docket assigns you a Chinese name, accompanied by a short message of blessing from the Chinese gods.

a temple, a commons, and a cave is a changing sea tide. The isolation myth is over. Aotearoa has never been isolated, we have always been part of an interconnected web of islands and people and water, and these relationships are being strengthened once again.

What is in a name? What can names communicate about ourselves and our heritage? They tell us about connections, to land and to people. The changing nature of identity can be stabilised by the certainty of a name, or severed from it if it doesn’t fit right.

When I encounter Blessing Machine, I think of the re-naming that occurs in Aotearoa. The supposed 49

BOOKS BOOKS WITH PROTAGONISTS OUR AGE (THAT DON’T SUCK) REVIEW: ELEANOR WEST

Here at university we’re all about finding gaps in the literature, like the fact that there are barely any books with characters that are your average university goer’s age. What’s up with that? Characters that are too old to fall in love at first sight or defeat some evil overlord using previously undiscovered powers, but too young to have a midlife crisis or be a detective.

We’re missing that sweet early 20s age range where the characters are mature enough that their actions are somewhat believable and yet their lives are still relatable. I have consulted some people who also read books, and here I present the pitiful fruits of our brainstorm.

is dashed when he’s instead apprenticed to the Met’s resident wizard. Though Peter’s age is never specified, he’s definitely a youngin’. His A-levels seem very fresh indeed, and at no point in the book does he experience a midlife crisis. Admittedly, he does discover some secret powers, and I assume this series will round up with him defeating an evil overlord, but sometimes you just can’t win.

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell Fanfiction has never been my jam, but I really enjoyed Rowell’s earlier novel, Eleanor & Park, so I gave this one a go. The protagonist of this book, Cath, is refreshingly relatable. Her experiences as a freshman at college ring true, and she behaves like a realistic, normal person. Cath feels thrown in the deep end at a college where she has no friends, and where her twin sister is pushing for some distance. This is a modern coming of age story that deals with some reasonably tough stuff, but isn't too heavy. The characters are well rounded and believable, and the romantic subplot is adorable. This is an easy, well written read, with fanfiction-related plot points as that aren't as off-putting as I expected. Still not my jam, but an understanding of fanfiction is not fundamental to enjoying this book.

The Secret History

by Donna Tartt I know this was reviewed a wee while ago and that the reviewer wasn’t a fan, but I am. This book centres around a group of college students who study classics, may or may not have murdered their buddy, and fit the criteria for my round-up. They’re relatable in that they remind you a bit of every arts student ever, unrelatable in that they’re all pretty awful human beings. The author paints a very surreal picture of life at a posh American college, and makes some pretty bizarre plot points seem almost normal. This book is clearly targeted at smarty pants people and I admit, some of the references went over my head, but I was hooked.

Rivers of London

by Ben Aaronovitch This book is the first instalment of a truly delightful series that centres around Peter Grant, a police constable/ apprentice wizard in his early twenty-somethings. This book is a bewildering mash-up of urban-fantasy and murder-mystery. It’s quintessentially British, extremely nerdy, and straight up hilarious. After accidentally meeting a ghost and attempting to collect a witness statement, Peter’s dream of joining the murder squad 50

TELEVISION “MY SMARTNESS IS SHOWING!” REVIEW: NAVNEETH NAIR

5 TV shows that *might* fool others into thinking you’re a history wunderkid

and drawing gasps of intrigue. I’ve watched this show both actively and passively and with so many dense layers of information, it’s beautiful what new tidbits of information you pick up on each sitting.

Victoria Want to pretend you know the Royal Family beyond Queen Liz, Wills, Kate and the newlyweds? Look no further than the period drama based on the matriarch to rule them all, the woman who succeeded the throne before even Queen Elizabeth could — Queen Victoria.

Jenna Coleman shines in a British role that has nothing to do with Dr Who. With a narrative that resonates with women today, witness Queen Vic struggle to be taken seriously and avoid becoming the puppet of various powerful men. Romanticise history and take a deep sigh when recalling the lavish costumes and attires of days gone.

Frontier Diving into the North American fur trade of the 1700s, Frontier follows mixed Irish-Cree outlaw Declan Harp, played by bolstering hero and all around badass Jason Momoa as he butts heads with the Lord Benton and his monopoly over Canada’s fur trade. The show plays like an action-packed game of cops and robbers, with Lord Benton constantly failing to catch that meddling Declan Harp and his band of outlaws.

If you’re looking for a niche area of history you’ll almost never have cause to converse about, here’s your number.

11.22.63

Band of Brothers

Stephen King’s sci-fi thriller adapted for the silver screen. It’s not the most historically accurate telling of the events surrounding American president JFK’s assassination (far from it) but boy is it a tense clusterfuck watching a time travelling James Franco trying to prevent it from ever occurring. Find yourself feeling sorry for Lee Harvey Oswald and surprisingly enjoying tender moments where Franco jeopardizes his mission by stopping to live a normal life as an English teacher in the 60s!

Not particularly fond of war films, I remember staying up all night glued to this incredible experience which manifested itself on my TV screen. The show follows the men of the 101st Airborne division and their exploits at Normandy, Operation Market Garden, and the Siege of Bastogne through to the end of the war. Boasting the same sense of realism as Saving Private Ryan, the journey of these individuals clinging to brotherhood and hope through an onslaught of gruelling conditions on the battlefield is an emotionally cinematic experience that could only be captured in a longer form television series format. If you ever get the chance to watch the documentary which accompanies the DVD and Blu Ray releases, be prepared to be astounded by the factual accuracy and attention to detail that went into the show’s creation. Not to forget the interviews with the survivors of the 101st Airborne “Easy Company” and their memories of their fallen brothers, which left me with a tear soaked sleeve at six in the morning.

World War II in HD Colour It’s the second World War… in colour! If you’re like me and grew up thinking the past was actually black and white, get ready to have your horizons broadened.

Showcasing original and colourised footage, the show provides valuable insights into the narrative of World War II. Recount details like the German military tactic known as Blitzkrieg, or the decimation of the Third Reich, with vivid detail and nuanced knowledge , impressing all your dinner party guests 51

FOOD FORAGING VIDEO RECIPES COLLATED BY: SALIENT TV RECIPE: JOHANNAH KNOX

Johanna Knox is a local foraging expert, featured in this week’s Salient TV video showing you how to take foraged greens you might find on the street or in a park and make them into delicious food. To accompany that, here are some of her recipes, so you can easily make them yourself — they are all cheap, vegan, and can be made gluten free. Check out our Facebook page later in the week for the video to see the foraged greens that she found, what they look and taste like, and hot tips on how they can be used.

Onion weed garlic bread Pizza base Vegan butter alternative Foraged onion weed 1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. 2. Cut your pizza base into quarters, and spread your butter alternative onto the top side of each quarter.

3. Sprinkle chopped onion weed over two of the quarters, and then place the other two quarters on top, butter side down.

4. Bake for 10 minutes until the base is golden brown.

This is a great, milder alternative to garlic bread, and is a brilliant substitute for people with IBS or other people who generally can’t have onion or garlic!

Foraged greens pakora 1 c chickpea flour 1 ½ tsp curry powder ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt Pinch chilli powder 2 c chopped foraged greens (can use any mixture of greens, but pūhā and chickweed are great) 2 tbsp grated onion Water Neutral-tasting oil, such as rice bran oil

Kawakawa pizza Pizza base Tomato paste Foraged kawakawa leaves Vegan cheese 1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. 2. Spread a thin layer of tomato paste onto the pizza base.

3. Add a handful of full or ripped up kawakawa leaves (depending on preference) to your pizza. Top with grated vegan cheese.

4. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked to your taste.

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together, then add foraged greens and grated onion.

2. This mixture works best when it’s very dry, the liquid from the onion and greens should be enough to bind it together. If not, add some water, a few drops at a time.

3. Add 1 cm of oil to a pan and put it on medium-high heat. Add spoonfuls of the mixture to the pan, and fry until golden brown on each side.

4. Once cooked, put the pakora onto a paper towellined plate. Serve with yogurt or relish.

Kawakawa leaves have a delicious fruity and peppery flavour, and make a great addition to pizza. They can also be boiled and used as a tea, and they were traditionally used by Māori for medicinal purposes.

You can find kawakawa all over the place, and generally, the more holes the leaves have, the more nutritional they are!

The types of foraged greens you use in this recipe will change its flavour, and you can use whatever edible greens you like, get experimental! Pūhā is mustardy and somewhat bitter, and works very well in this dish, and chickweed is fresh and somewhat spinach-like in taste, and is great in salads. Onion weed can also be used as a milder alternative to the onions.

52

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

Aries (March 21 - Apr 19) Your life may have been somewhat turbulent recently, Aries. This is normal for people living under a false identity. Try not to worry, you're unrecognisable now. Besides, there's no going back to your old life anyway.

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22) Have you ever considered joining a cult, Libra? It would suit you. You'd, like, get to meet loads of interesting people. You'd get to learn all about a new belief system and be part of a community. Plus, you look really cute in a hood. You should hang out with Leo on the full moon.

Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20) The stars have not been kind to you Taurus. Hang on in there. Keep the peg on your nose and watch out for rats. Hypothermia, starvation, and cholera haven't been fun, but at least you're not dead yet!

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21) Scorpio, you may have been feeling a vague sense of unease and kidney loss recently. This is normal.

You've only ever had one kidney. Huh? No, that thing sticking out of my bag is someone else's kidney. Haha, Scorpio, you're so suspicious.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) Patience, Gemini. You have a hammer, but you mustn't be too hasty. Get something to hide your work. Escape is on the horizon, but you have to keep moving towards it. Dig a little more each day.

Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21) The stars were kinda hard to read last time, it turns out you were going to be promoted, not fired. Oh well. At least you told that jerk of boss what you really think of him. Also, make sure you find another job quickly, it looks like there's going to be a recession soon.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) Your stalker is still after you, Cancer. You have been careless and you will pay the price. Make sure to never be out after dark and to lock your door. Be careful what you say. You never know what you might let slip that could cause your demise.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19) Have you ever considered Egyptology as a career option? No? Huh. Weird. It seems like the sort of thing you might be interested in. Maybe you should try running for mayor.

Leo (July 23 - Aug 22) The ritual is almost upon you, Leo. Make sure you bring a virgin and that your blade is sharpened.

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18) Your new job making wooden toys has had a really positive impact on your life. The villagers all respect your craft and the children all love your toys. You really should have started this sooner.

Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22) You are doing very well, Virgo. 76% of test subjects have not made it as far as you have. Make sure to keep the operational end of the device pointed away from your face. Avoid deep breaths around the fumes.

Pisces (Feb 19 - March 20) Damn it, Pisces. You need to get this little habit of yours under control. Last week one of the buildings you burnt down still had people inside it. You're getting your free-will privileges revoked for this week, to stop you from burning the whole town down.

LARRIKINS

Horoscope and Larrikins by Anton Huggard, Sudoku by Nathan Hotter, Crossword by Scurryfunge

53

Distractions

BOGGLE

CROSSWORD

H

E

F

I

L

K

U

C

L

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

Eh: 15 Wow: 20 Wtf: 30+

SUDOKU

FUN

ACROSS 1 Slim Whitman's yodelling saved the day (spoiler) in this 1996 Tim Burton film (4,7) 7 Legend has it that you could get a seat on one of these (3) 9 Honey drinks for Pinetree (5) 10 Sing unaccompanied, i.e. in the manner of the chapel (1,8) 11 Suburb somehow hears tone (cryptic) (9) 12 Japanese tennis star topped outraged Serena and kept at peace (cryptic) (5) 13 At one with nature, they like to let it all hang out (7) 15 Han will go it alone (4) 18. See 18 Acrossâ&#x20AC;Ś (4) 20 Thicker? Longer? You should eye up a cosmetic. (7) 23 Follow path (5) 24 Noughts and crosses out in America (3-3-3) 26 Area surrounded by a barrier is, confusingly, also the name of a barrier surrounding an area (9) 27 Striped animal known as the forest giraffe, ain't no zebra (5) 28 It crucially both locks and unlocks (3) 29 Former Seven Sharp presenter might be described as shining wit spoonerism (4,7)

DOWN 1 Aside from in the brain, Cypress Hill says this skin is also insane (8) 2 Queen's Bohemian made Gershwin's Blue (8) 3 Fired illegally? (5) 4 Beverage sachets. May contain traces of nuts. (3,4) 5 7 Across fleet, possibly with Hansen and Henry onboard (7) 6 Ancient Greek playwright loses chop.

Tragedy! (cryptic) (9) 7 Song that tells a story (6) 8 Sailor sounds suspiciously salty (6) 14 Held captive, I've really become a fan of this Scandinavian city (9) 16 Smoked beef as small child is taken from confused pharmacist (cryptic) (8) 17 Reacting badly to provided food... (cryptic) (8) 19 ...so it might be best if everybody brings a plate (3,4) 20 Shakespeare play is best left unsaid (7) 21 Piece of meat takes direction for nude run (cryptic) (6) 22 Spongebob SquarePants' pirate proves inconsistent (6) 25 They make up everything, the liars... (5) (cryptic) (6)

Last Week's Answers Across: 1 Fedora, 4 Instance, 9 Ernie, 10 Buttercup, 11/1D In My Feelings, 12 Taxi, 13 On air, 15 Gets off, 16 Golf, 19 Gaur, 20 Offside, 23 Amigo, 24 Snow, 25 No-no, 27 Mark Twain, 28 Drake, 29 Register, 30 Hearst. Down: 2 Dynamite, 3 Rues, 5 Nothing To Go On, 6 Tree of Life, 7 Nectar, 8

LITERAL MURDER

Empire, 10 Beaufort Scale, 14 Pocahontas, 17 Minotaur, 18 Deforest, 21 Palmer, 22 Oil rig, 26 Adze.

The People to Blame EDITOR Louise Lin DESIGNER/ILLUSTRATOR Ruby Ash NEWS EDITOR Taylor Galmiche SUB EDITOR Sally Harper DISTRIBUTOR Danica Soich CHIEF NEWS REPORTER Shanti Mathias FEATURE WRITERS Joanna Li Maria Anderson Cavaan Wild Jack McGee Lenette Breytenbach NEWS WRITERS Jess Potter, Thomas Campbell, Patrick Hayes, Laura Sutherland POEM Nakisa Wilson

SECTION EDITORS Laura Somerset (Books) Jane Wallace (Art) Emma Maguire (Film) Navneeth Nair (TV) Tom Hall (Food) Priyanka Roy (Theatre) Josh Ellery (Music)

CONTACT editor@salient.org.nz designer@salient.org.nz www.salient.org.nz Level 2, Student Union Building, Victoria University PO Box 600, Wellington

CENTREFOLD Rachel Salazar rachel.marie.salazar@gmail.com CONTRIBUTORS Mark Metcalfe, Grahame Woods, James Allan, Jamie Dobbs, Chuck Slaubot, Cardigan Backyardigan, Long Meat Marcus, Emma Maguire, Alister Hughes, Courtney Powell, Marlon Drake, Paddy Miller, Gus Mitchell, Tara Ó Súilleabháin, Jade Gifford, Tere Silas, Vaelyn Luo, Tom White, Eleanor West, Salient TV, Anton Huggard, Nathan Hotter, Scurryfunge

TV PRODUCERS Elise Lanigan & Lauren Spring

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ABOUT US Salient is employed by, but editorially independent from, the Victoria University Students’ Association (VUWSA).

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