Edition 2 | 2015

The Voice EDITION TWO

the fresher 5 | volleyball | commencement dinner | culture shock |menzies memories | holi|meet your exchanger |5 classic Films you need to see | horoscopes

HERE’S TO THE KIDS WHO USED TO MAKE FUN OF MY SALAMI SANDWICHES. As we get older we become more aware of how great culture is, whether it be our interest in yoga or our celebration of Saint days, Christmas, Ramadan and many more wonderful ocassions. At university you will find exchange students, international students, students who speak multiple languages and students with the most interesting family history.

Culture is a form of Art. You may not believe you possess it but your studies, your musical taste, your interests and behaviour all argue otherwise. You own a different way of thinking than anybody else, and that truly is culture in itself.

So here’s to this issue, the celebration of culture whether it be heritage, social or the culture of Robert Menzies College. Whatever it may be, in the words of a wise mother “Don’t let anyone wreck your enjoyment of a salami sandwich”.

Jack + Ivana

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Here are 5 tips to help you combat the ‘Fresher Five’ because it ‘s not just a Menzies Myth.

The fresher 5 Keep being active - remember that membership to the Macquarie University gym is free for Menzies kids. Just show them your keys and student card and fill out the form.

Keep it interesting. Variety is the spice of life. Try new exercises, new walking or running routes, new classes at the gym etc.

Don’t skip meals. This slows down metabolism and leads to overeating at future meals.

Don’t feel down on yourself if you cave and eat something unhealthy. Uni is stressful. Coles is open till midnight. At some stage you are going to find yourself walking over to the Mac Centre and purchasing a family sized block of chocolate.

Set goals you can achieve. Don’t over reach with your goals. Keep them attainable.

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Volleyball Not even a time mix up, a lack of a volleyball net or an awol sports co-ordinator could stop Menzies from continuing our winning streak! The Menzies men were in fine form, thrashing DLC in just two games. They were in such fine form that the Village didn’t even bother showing up! Standout performances from Jim and Sank.

The Menzies women put up a formidable fight, being pipped to the post just at the end. Some incredible points were played by both sides, taking the match into a third round. Standouts from the Menzies women include; Pip, Maddie and Peta (when she’s serving).

Since the Village were terrified by Menzies sheer skill and failed to attend (or because they didn’t even know it was on...), a mixed game was played to finish the day. DLC triumphed again but with Menzies historic win in the Fresher Dance Off, Menzies luck is changing for the better!

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CULTURe SHOCK (noun) the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.

A. B. C. D. Long ago, the Old Blocks lived in harmony. But, everything changed when the New Blocks were built... It has been just over a month since Menzies welcomed us all, either for the very first time, or for some of us what feels like the 10th. During your first weeks here you will have noticed just how different Menzies is to other places. While it may not be as intense as four bending nations at war in a world where only the Avatar can save them, Menzies is like stepping out of the real world and into a dramedy about boarding school. Entering into a foreign environment can result in ‘Culture Shock’.

Those experiencing Culture Shock will go through four phases.

1. Honeymoon Phase

2. Frustration Phase

During the first phase of culture shock, you view the changes between your old life and your new life through rose tinted glasses.

Things are new, people are new and maybe even you are new. You relish in the differences.

But as Nelly Furtado says, all good things come to an end.

Now that the honeymoon is over, you have settled into your new life. The differences have become more apparent and while they once were a source of joy, they can now be a source of anxiety. Like chewing gum, the flavour has just worn off. The key to overcoming this phase is communication - you need to remain open and approachable.

3. Adjustment Phase After the Frustration Phase, you move to the Adjustment Phase. This is where you find yourself adjusting to your new life. Things don’t feel so new and you have begun to develop a rhythm for yourself. The differences in culture that once baffled you (like the third Matrix movie), now seem commonplace and almost normal.

4. Mastery Phase Congratulations! You have moved from Padawan to Jedi Master! Menzies has become your home, (Helpful Hint: to avoid parental tears, don’t refer to Menzies as home around them).

You can now move around totally in your element.

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HERE’S TO MENZIES Over the last 43 years a culture by generations of collegians has been in the making.

While we make our own legacy of our time in college, people before us have made their own. To them and to us, here is a collection of Menzies memories.

Songs of the recent past 2014 Timber - Pitbull ft. Ke$ha

2013 I Love It - Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX

2012 You Make Me Feel - Cobra Starship ft.

Sabi 2011 We R Who We R - Ke$ha

The oldest Voice Issue we could track down was from 1999 which was in the form of a newsletter on a double-sided A4 sheet

7 YEARS OF BEING SECOND-BEST, NOW WE’RE THE BEST! 2015 has marked the start of something remarkable - we claimed our title in the Fresher DanceOff. After 7 years of waiting, we finally got some half-decent judges - note ‘half’ after DLC was appluaded for better cheography.

The oldest yearbook we found was from 1983

The Ranch opened in 1990

Robert Menzies Collegians 1983

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Jess’s mum in the birthday pond.

Jess Moran yet to be kicked out

Jess’s mum was kicked out of RMC for copying a master key

THE LEGEND OF THE POND The legend of the Birthday Pond has been around since anyone can remember. Jess’s mum was ponded in 1983 on her birthday. Celebrations included chucking into the pond and a BBQ. Unfortunately everyone knew the tradition at the time but her. So here’s to the birthday pond and many more happy birthdays to come!

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In 1995 things weren’t all that different. Freshers arrived, to the traditions of The Scav Hunt, Pub Crawl, The Ball, Sport, International Night and Harbour Cruise. In some ways we’re merely repeating history this year. In the words of Jamie (1995) ‘DLC in desperate attempt to retain the sports shield’.

This gang was not much different to our own. Like us, their struggles were told to one person for most of college to find out. Their rooms were vaccumed early in the morning after a big night out. Also like us, they felt the challenge that Treen (1995) felt ‘I wish I could leave myself alone. I’m really pissing myself off at the moment’.

Some problems we don’t have that they did: 1. You’re in the shower and someone flushes the toliet 2. You only have to print off one page but it takes 4 hours to get to and turn on the computer The Freshers of 1995

RMC STUDENTS TOP TUNES 1983 1. Is There Something I Should Know? - Paul Barnett 2. I’m Mad About You - Jill Nugent

3. Two Hearts Beat As One - Peter Rogers 4. Love Is In The Air - Peter Rogers

5. The Shape I’m in - David Clement

6. Gotta Give the Grog Away - Mark Filmer THEVOICE 10

Lee Sam (1983) Mother of Benjamin Sam

Notice in the yearbook (1983) and sometimes the things they complained about still make sense today

As the years have gone by traditions have been created, memories have been made but the strangest thing of all is no matter how far you look back a legacy of their own has been made. For each year of Menzies is a lifetime of memories and friends that will always stay with you. So here’s the all the years of Menzies and the year/s of our own time here. May we create a legacy of our own.

(1995) no matter how many years go by, some things will never change...

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Red and Yellow and Pink and Green. No Purple, lots of Orange and no Blue. I can stain my clothing, stain my clothing, and skin and hair too.

Holi is a an ancient Hindu religious festival which is celebrated at the approach of the vernal equinox (when daytime and nighttime are of equal hours). Holi is also known as the festival of colours or the festival of love and the festival is observed to celebrate the beginning of Spring. For many Hindu’s, Holi marks the beginning of a new year and is also a time to reset any bad relationships, to forgive and to forget.

BEHIND THE NAME The word ‘Holi’ originates from “Holika”, the sister of King Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu was a tyrannical king, who viewed himself as God. Prahlada, his son, disagreed with his father and stayed loyal to Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu was outraged by this and he made his son endure cruel punishments in an attempt to break his spirit. But Prahlada’s spirit could not be broken.

Holika, sister of the Demon-King, managed to trick Prahlada into sitting on a pyre with her. Holika was wearing a shawl that protected her from the fire. As the fire burned, however, the shawl flew off Holika and covered Prahlada, protecting him from the deadly flames. Prahlada survived as his evil aunt burned. Vishnu materialized and killed King Hiranyakashipu. Prahlada’s defeat of Holika is symbolically remembered by the fire. The day following the ‘Holika Bonfire’ is called Holi.

Thats the Holi story.

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Cover photo and Holi photos by Caleb Lim

HOLI

WHAT THE COLOURS ARE TRADITIONALLY MADE OF Red: The flowers of the palash or tesu tree.

Yellow: Tumeric powder.

Green: Dried leaves of the gulmohur tree and Mehendi.

Purple: Beetroot.

Blue: Indian berries, Indigo, blue hibiscus, species of grapes and jacaranda flowers.

Black: Gooseberry, charcoal and species of grape.

Brown: Clays and dried tea leaves.

Meet your exchanger...

March Horoscopes

By Nicole O’Dowd Aries March 21- April 20th Like the United States your influence stretches far and wide and often where no one wants to hear it. Keep it real this month Aries and most of all, keep it to yourself. Unless its delicious and sugar-coma inducing food in which case share, share, share!

Taurus April 21-May 21 With International Night fast approaching, maybe now is a good time to remind you that your stubbornness in eating all the free food will definitely lead to a gastro disaster. Be kind to your neighbours Taurus and fight your true nature.

Gemini May 22- June 21 It’s Lunar New Year! New year, new you! Or maybe its just the perfect timing to take a break from university and switch places with your evil twin again.

Cancer June 22- July 22 Try not to be too crabby about the end of O-Week.

There’s a silver lining to every storm cloud. Sure you have to go to class now, but so does that hottie you’ve got your eye on.

Leo July 23- August 22 You have been described by some sources as “actually emperor Kuzco”. In the upcoming month avoid suspicious older women, llamas and throwing off your groove.

Virgo August 23- Sept 22 Let’s be real virgo, if you were half as enthusiastic about your studies as you were your school supplies, you’d get nothing but HDs.

Libra Sept 23- Oct 22 While your abilities to compromise are admirable, its probably not best to compromise all the time…especially at Ranch.

Scorpio Oct 23-Nov 21 As blatant as the paint at Holi you know how to make a splash all over the boring and mundane.

While its easy to get caught up in all the mess and confusion, keep your eye on the prize. The prize of course is churro night in the dining hall.

Sagittarius Nov 22- Dec 21 Sagittarius, while out adventuring in the world this month be wary of long dirt roads, but more importantly be enraged that six months later they are still dirt roads.

Aquarius Jan 21- Feb 19 You feel a sense of dread approaching this month Aries. You’re not mistaken. One of the time honoured traditions of RMC is a friendly catapult into the pond. Be vigilante.

Capricorn Dec 22- Jan 20 Oh mysterious Capricorn, who could ever really know what’s going on in your mind…or what a capricorn even is…seriously man what dimension of Hades’ underworld did that thing crawl out of.

Pisces Feb 20- March 20 Haters gonna hate, Freshers gonna date. Oh wait, this horoscope is a year late.

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5 Classic Films You Really Need to Watch Life is Beautiful (1997) Set in Italy during the 1930s, Guido is a joyful Jewish man who is forced into a Nazi concentration Camp with his father and son. This is a story of true love as his wife decides to follow her family.

Guido tells his son the camp is a game in an effort to maintain happiness. This film captures beauty of life by potraying the darkness of history.

Pulp Fiction (1994) The definition of the 90s, filled with thickshakes, epic dance moves and thrills. Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta are hit men who spend most of their time interchanging on such topics as the French names for American fast food products. This movie is considered one of the most influential of its time in America.

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Heathers (1988) Not your typical high school romance flick. Think Clueless with chainsaws, slightly darker and mostly cynical. Veronica is part of the popular clique at school but disapproves of their actions, with her new boyfriend J.D things get a little radical. A good classic for those people who despise someone and would potentially poison them.

12 Angry Men (1957) If law is your go-go and you don’t mind a black and white film, this classic is a good sit-down.

An insight into the early American Legal System with a jury of 12 men trying to reach a verdict on a murder trial of a teenager accused of killing his father. A high-roller on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Featuring the handsome James Dean who plays Jim Stark, a kid who moves into a new town in aim to create a clean slate. However he runs into a troublesome classmate and falls for the local girl. A classic coming of age movie that still resonates with modern audiences.

MARCH 1-15 Charlotte: (to James) ‘don’t be bogan’

Matt: ‘Your birthday comes after mine’

Jack: ‘It’s in July. It’s the one time I come before you’

Darcy: ‘Can you do toast in the microwave?’

Back in 1995 and 2000 things were getting rowdy at Menzies Smith (1995): ‘Let’s do it. Somebody, please?

C’mon Please?

Cleaning staff (2000): ‘ Please include your bedsheets and don’t include your underwear by mistake’

Kade: ‘Mushrooms just have the texture of frogs’ Erika: ‘Oh my god! I’m so excited for ice cream, if I was a guy I would have a boner’

A special mention to Laura Coleman who managed to steal things out of people’s rooms and return it moulded in raspberry jelly.

Tayhla Ryder: ‘ We don’t have enough assassinations these days Taylor Anderton: (while staring directly at the harbour bridge we need a good assassination’ and Opera House) ‘Is that the Sydney Harbour Bridge?’

Elly Maxted: ‘I might just join a cult’ Sal (2000); ‘Doesn’t this CD make you want to straddle something?’

Chris Marlow: (while ragging on Taylor) ‘Is that the Sydney Opera Bridge?’

Grace Gavagna: ‘This is going to sound so white. But they put a lot of pepper in the baked potato.... It’s kind of spicy’

Mac: ‘I wish I had boobs so I could put things in them’

All overheards and memorable moments can be submitted to The Voice via Facebook message FACEBOOK.COM/thevoiceofrmc

Quote of the year 1995 by Adam Kaid Burgess: ‘Matt Everett studies Ancient History, he doesn’t waste any time.’

Noah Bos: (while talking about African Americans) ‘It’s a bit segregated but it’s great.’

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CONTRIBUTE TO your VOICE are you a creative soul, a drawer, photographer, enjoy writing, been or done something cool recently or anything in-between? talk to Jack Bailey (B106) or Ivana Stojanovic (CG04)