Canta, Issue 2, 2014 by UCSA

{Vol. 2 March 5 2014}

{ Contents }

THINGS WE LEARNED THIS ISSUE

6 8

The Letters Section Is Full Of Your Favourite Complaints! Noise, Storage and Sexism.

The Student Allowance Scheme Appears To Have A Number Of Shortfalls, Namely Ignoring The Middle Classes, Is This Justified?

10 There Is Some Amazing Street Art Happening Right Now, Check Out Oi You

Arise Church Crew Volunteer And Clean Up At Your O-Week Events, From An Essay From The Devout

A Beautiful Thing Happens When The World Of Academia Embraces Motorsport.

Want To Know What Is Involved In Disaster Management? Steve Glassey Responds.

There Is A House Somewhere Near Piko Crescent And They Are Giving Away Lemons!

The truth is, us older students are envious. We identify in a newbie those feelings that we not too long ago owned for ourselves and this is why we wish to make you crawl through rotting fish. We fight the transformation into Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket and the Sergeant inside us screams, “what is your major malfunction, numb-nuts!?”

The beginning of the University year is always a difficult time for me. Not because I particularly dislike heading back for another year of cheap food, cheap thrills and unexplainable test scores. It is for one distinct reason, which is that I really hate looking at all the young attractive students walking around campus. These new students that look nauseatingly happy, so naively delighted at themselves and their new surroundings. It makes me sick.

Never fear though! Your beautiful fresh state will not last forever and once it begins to fade I will identify, and I will be happy to walk around campus again. This is going to happen because the university lifestyle is not always conducive to healthy living. You will drink terrible booze and too much of it. The food you end up eating is almost always shit, so you get tired and sick. Too many late nights and days in the library will leave you pallid and uncomfortable in conversation with other normal looking humans.

Nowadays The Student Volunteer Army Throws Paint At People

We Are Giving Away Free Stuff. Who Won? Was It You?

Be not afraid of this transformation, it is natural. It is a gift. If at any stage, even right now, you are feeling like too much of a disgusting creature, if stress or anything else is causing you genuine concern then go visit the many and helpful support services here at Canterbury University. I think that most of you will learn to love that not quite human anymore feeling, and the resounding implied chants of “one of us” will spur you on when it feels like the blood has stopped flowing through your veins and the zombie version of yourself begins to eat the flesh of the Captain Bens Chicken Burger. So welcome! Welcome to your new home you beautifully monstrous things.

Callum Ching Deputy Editor

{ Canta 2014 }

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Danny was arrested for drinking in the Liquor Ban.

Steve Glassey

George Smith

Fleur Mealing

Thomas Hancock

Master of Emergency Management, Graduate Certificate in Terrorism, Postgraduate Certificate in Public Management. Still contemplating my Doctorate!

MEM & BE (Hons) (Civil) ‘14, Age 23

BA majoring in Media and Communication ‘16, Age 19

SOFA Painting Honours ‘15, Age 22

If your first week on campus was an animal, what would it be?

A puppy.

If your first week on campus was an animal, what would it be?

The mullet, as in the fish. Business during the day, party at night.

Capybara.

Did you sign up for any clubs on Clubs Day?

My long-haired German Shepherd puppy, he is constantly fooling me with his cuteness.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Did you sign up for any clubs on Clubs Day? I really only spent time supporting the students crewing the REMSOC stand. They provide loads of great opportunities to members such as discounted swiftwater rescue, disaster rescue and first aid courses.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Not this year.

Golden Sausages (My flatmates specialty dish).

The best thing about autumn is... Friendship.

The thing I’m most looking forward to in Term 1 is... Not having to worry about it this year.

Did you sign up for any clubs on Clubs Day?

Nah I didn’t. I’m a bit old.

The Gentleman’s Club of course. Classy.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I guess a waterbug when I was in Thailand. One of those big cockroach-looking things.

My boyfriend’s attempt at tacos.

The best thing about autumn is...

The best thing about autumn is... Not too hot, not too cold.

All those falling leaves.

The thing I’m most looking forward to in Term 1 is... When Studylink starts to pay me that cashmoney!

Deep fried bamboo worms, I think it was in Chang Mai, Thailand. Dipped in a local BBQ sauce, they were quite yummy – a bit like French fries.

Did you sign up for any clubs on Clubs Day?

The thing I’m most looking forward to in Term 1 is... A$AP Ferg at The Foundry.

The best thing about autumn is...

www.u csa.or g.nz

UCSA OFFICE – UNDERCROFT WEEKDAYS 10AM – 2PM

The leaves falling off trees giving a better view of the Southern Alps.

The thing I’m most looking forward to in Term 1 is... Having our proposed Graduate Certificate in Public Safety being approved for 2015 offering and seeing what creative orientation stunts are pulled this year.

Contributors Tim Bain, Dan Chan, Nicholas Evans, Iain Fergusson, Steve Glassey, Becky Goddard, Thomas Hancock, Madi Jones, Ben Kendrew, Jan Logie, Fleur Mealing, Motosoc, Sarah Platt, George Smith, Jessica Todd

Send us your stories, photographs, epiphanies

Canta 2014 Editor At Large Hannah Herchenbach Deputy Editors Callum Ching Designer Money Honey Webmaster

& Annalee Jones Emily McCormick Simone Missbrandt Ryan Astle

canta@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz

{ Canta 2014 }

{ Letters to the Editor }

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GRUMBLE GRUMBLE

BY ZEUS, THICKE RESPONSIBLY!

Dear Canta,

I’m nauseated by all the cacophony leading up to the start of the academic year at UC. For the past one week UC’s Ilam campus and its surrounding university accommodations only gave out the vibes of a noisy, crowded shopping mall cum nightclub.

Last year, Robin Thicke released the song “Blurred Lines”. The song was broadly criticised for its deeply misogynistic lyrics glorifying sexual violence (“I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two”) and non-consensual sexual activity (“I know you want it”). The song was banned from campus events by numerous Students Associations globally (including more than 20 in the UK alone) for fears that it promotes rape culture, which all too frequently overlaps with campus culture.

However, what really forced me to write this letter was the fact that on the first working day of the academic year 2014, all day long I’ve heard this loud music blaring with cheering and screaming crowds. It was an annoying disturbance for some of us thesis students and, I assume, for many others too. I also remember how last year, around noon, a very loud music gig—sponsored by an energy-drink or some such—started playing at the bottom of Central library while it was packed with students trying to study for their exams. Anxiety-ridden students tried to close the windows; still, the booming music reverberated through all the floors. To all those who passionately believe in the McDonaldization of higher education-- by all means turn UC into a shopping mall and a Live-Concert venue. But, in the name of fuck, don’t do this during business hours. Thank You. Sincerely, Rajiv Thind

Meanwhile, in lil’ ol’ Christchurch, the UCSA promotes its annual alcohol-fuelled ‘Toga Party’ event with an image alluding to the song’s most famous live performance, with Thicke replaced by the Greek God Zeus (whose habit of sexual violation is the stuff of legend) wielding a massive, phallic lightning bolt as he humps the rear end of a twerking Medusa. Young women on campus, particularly our first-years, will be pleased to know that their Students Association has their back and are doing their best to encourage responsible behaviour and provide a safe environment for campus events. Bravo, UCSA. A+++.

Whoever invented this scheme, what the fuck were you thinking? 80 lockers for thousands of students is not enough. $100 for a tiny place to store your shit is too much. Not telling us how or when to buy a locker is unacceptable. Claiming there is nowhere safe to store the old (free) lockers is a crock of shit. Don’t assume we don’t bring our textbooks or have a car or office to store our stuff. Having a locker should be a right, not a privilege with what we’re paying to study here. Please and thank you.

Sarah Platt If you are suffering from lack of sleep following last week’s antics you are likely to be one of the 50,697 students (and a few plus ones) who attended the 24 events spread over the last 14 days. Whether it was your first, last or one of the ones in between, I hope you had an outstanding O-week where you met some new people, did some fun things and of course went to one or two lectures. However your O-week panned out, hopefully the first part of this week has been more about settling into Uni work and less about nursing a three day hangover. Now while Orientation is all fun and games, as always, the UCSA is here to help you out in all areas of your University life, not just the social aspects and trust me when I say there are heeeeaps of ways we can help you out. No matter what predicament you might be in, even if it falls outside of our expertise, at the very least we can point you in the right direction! The most important thing (and often the most difficult thing) is that if you need a helping hand or you have a question, you ask someone. Here at the UCSA we have an open door policy so if you ever want to pop in and have a chat about anything, anything at all,

we welcome you with open arms. Having said that we do understand it can sometimes be a bit daunting to come into the office (which in case you were wondering is located in the undercroft)…so if you’ve ever wanted to know; how the UCSA can support you academically or financially, how to book a $25 dental checkup, where the nearest bathroom is, how tall I am, where you can buy $2 rice or any other question under the sun we want to make it easier for you to ask us! With this in mind, your UCSA Executive will be out and about in our Exec shirts on a Wednesday 11.30am – 1.30pm outside the Undercroft (by The Burg etc.) if the weather’s nice or inside the Undercroft if Mother Nature is having a bit of a rough day, so come up and have a yarn. Remember we are here for you! Have a great week. Sarah P.S. If you’re not quite ready to let go of the Orientation buzz be sure to buy your A$AP Ferg ticket. ASAP. See what I did there.

Danny

Why don’t you write for Canta? You can meet other smart and clever people, drink beer, put something on the ol’ CV and maybe even polish up those writing / photography / illustration / video game skills. You could have one of the following titles!

What will you write to Canta? Use the QR code to submit, or type out this longwinded address with ‘Letter To The Editor’ as your subject: canta@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz Looking forward to your submissions for 2014 – this space is nothing without it.

Yours,

Love,

Nowhere to Store my Shit

Canta

{ Canta 2014 }

CONGRATULATIONS ON SURVIVING ORIENTATION!

Yours contemptuously,

LUG OR LOCKER It was a huge disappointment last year to find that all the free lockers in the Undercroft were removed, especially considering how many people used them, and frankly needed them. For those of us who don’t drive and actually do all our work at the university, it’s a pain having to lug everything around. I was desperate so I bought one of the fancy new ones and didn’t make a fuss. WELL this year the lockers were released without students being notified, so those who really needed them weren’t given a fair chance.

{ President’s Piece }

Rep your department: (Fine) Arts / Biology / Sociology / Education / Engineering / Classics / Law / Business / Science / Politics Correspondent

Canvas your favourite subject: Snow / Sports / Beer / Fashion / Tech / Sex / Style / Pop Culture / Video Games Correspondent / Fluffer

Be the voice of your hall or street: Uni Hall / Bishop Julius / College House / Rattray / Rountree Correspondent

W A A T N N TS A C

You can talk about anything you want – including but not limited to the issues in progress: Dating and Sex / Arts / Fiction / Crime / Ideas / Culture Shock / Sports / Music Studenthood / Flatting / Travel / Politics The current issue in progress is DATING AND SEX. Are you a regular Casanova? Want to share your tips for seducing the ladies/ lads with the world? Or just searching for a place to lament about the fact you can’t get laid? Write the editor with your interest at canta@ucsa.canterbury.ac.nz by 8AM Monday 10th March for the dating and sex issue. For anything else, anytime, to sort your future self a sweet role at Uni and become part of an awesome team. { Canta 2014 }

{ Point }

{ Counterpoint }

THE INEQUITABLE ALLOWANCE CONSPIRACY Tim Bain

Nicholas Evans

For most students there are only several ways of supporting yourself (for living expenses and so on) whilst studying. Either (a) your parents pay for it or (b) the government does. Alternatively, a relatively small number of students pay their own way through part-time study and a job. For most students however, only the first two are feasible. Like it does with all social services, the government tests income levels when deciding who may receive government benefits. However, it doesn’t just test the student’s income, but also their family’s. If a prospective student’s family is deemed to earn over the threshold, then their children do not get the same benefits as students whose families live below the line. Over the years this system has courted controversy, with many arguing that students should be considered independent of their family’s income level when it comes to divvying up benefits. The following is a defence of the status quo.

or not they will fund their children. This is not the case when it comes to those below the threshold. Secondly, students above the threshold are still eligible for ‘student living costs’ up to $170 per week; a benefit which does not take into account parental income. However, ‘student living costs’ have to be paid back, although they are still interest free. The existence of the latter mitigates the situation of those who do not receive funding from parents above the threshold. Finally in terms of contingency, if there are emergency costs that a student might encounter, those from wealthier backgrounds still have something to fall back on, even if their parents have decided not to fund them.

How does the system work currently? Well, if your parents earn over $55 thousand per annum, then the amount of Student Allowance a student can receive is reduced from its maximum level; with all income capped at $83 thousand, provided that the student lives at home. If a student lives elsewhere, their parents can earn up to $90 thousand. On top of this, the government also looks at whether or not your parents are together, and how many other dependents they have. In terms of testing actual income, all income your parents receive is used for the calculation, including business revenue, and trust funds.

This all begs the question however: why does the government use parental income when looking at benefits in the first place? Aren’t students supposed to be independent? Well, attaching a student’s benefits to parental income may be a blunt instrument, but it is still the most effective one when targeting the least privileged groups in society; which can often go beyond just income. Income clearly indicates whether or not a potential student will have any financial support, but often it is also indicative on the level of education in a family, and thus whether or not support would be given for higher education even if a little money were available.

Obviously then, in theory, the scheme works out that parents able to support their children will do so, and those unable to gain financial support will have it from the state. However, there is then a group of students who may not be eligible for an allowance, but whose parents decide not to fund them whilst they are studying. According to Studylink, there are some exceptional circumstances that do override parental income, however these do not include living outside of your parental house, or if “your parents don’t financially support you.” This has caused considerable argument ever since student allowances were attached to parental income, as it is seen as unfair that the state would be ‘penalizing’ these students. There are two problems with this line of reasoning. Firstly, parents deciding not to fund their children, even if they could, are in quite a different situation compared to parents who want to fund their children but are unable to. Essentially, it is a luxury of choice that some parents can decide whether

{ Canta 2014 }

There are students who would be totally unable to study without some kind of state support, in comparison to those whose parents earn well above the national average, and are in all likelihood from well-educated families themselves. Consequently, even if a group of wealthy parents are not willing to give their offspring any financial support, then at least the students have a background that has put them in a much better position to study, and pay back loans, than those from underprivileged backgrounds. When it comes to funding tertiary education, the state has to try and do it in the fairest way possible, weighing up costs and benefits. Short of it having an unlimited supply of money to fund university for everyone, the government has to pick a policy that will still create the most opportunity. The best way to do this is the current way: by attaching benefits to income level.

Essentially, it is a luxury of choice that some parents can decide whether or not they will fund their children.

Debt is a part of being a student. Come the end of the financial year, it’s a flat ritual to open up the notices from the IRD, compare loans, and try to drag up enough Year 11 maths to work out how many years’ salary we will have to hand back to the government to pay for those bottles of vodka that were absolutely justifiable as course-related-costs for LAWS101. As Noah Levenstein would say, it’s a perfectly natural and normal part of life. What’s not normal and natural is that one flatmate might end up having $20,000 worth of debt more than another, even if they do the same course of study and live the same lifestyle – simply because one of them receives government assistance and the other does not. Nobody (under-24) is eligible for the Student Allowance if their parents earn a combined total of $90,770.68 (if you live away from home) or $83,622.14 (if you live at home). Since the average household income is $85,588, this means around half of the population (or rather their children) are ineligible for assistance. The logic is that parents earning above this amount will have enough cash to support their university-age kids to the tune of $172 a week. This makes sense if you live at home for the duration of your degree, but not many students are happy to stay at home for that long – if you’re doing a five year degree then that could be until you’re 23 (ironically the year before your parents’ income no longer determines whether you get government support). Even if you would be happy to stay at home for that length of time, you don’t always have the option – say if you live in Christchurch and want to study medicine, or if your parents’ home is too far away from the local university for it to be practical to stay at home. So straight away you’re looking at another $6,000 (for a flat) to over $15,000 (for a hall) per year. Since not many first-year students can afford that themselves their family will have to front it – no small feat for a family where each parent is only earning $45,000 in total. The upshot is this: the Student Allowance is means-tested because it is assumed that a family earning over $90k a year will be able to support their child through university, so they will be in a better financial position to handle a larger student loan than a child of poorer parents. But while that is true to a point, it is not true that a child of parents earning $45,000 salaries will always (or even mostly) receive $7,000 a year in support from them. So that money instead comes from borrowing from the government, resulting in a higher debt burden when those children graduate with the exact same degrees as their flatmates from poorer backgrounds. That isn’t ideal – especially when you also acknowledge that

What’s not normal and natural is that one flatmate might end up having $20,000 worth of debt more than another…

the system of means-testing has big enough loopholes that the richest parents (who earn a LOT more than $90,000 a year) are often able to game the system so that their kids receive government support. But the biggest issue of all behind means testing Student Allowances is this: being a student means that you can’t work fulltime, which means you will never be able to support yourself. That means that part of the price of getting a tertiary education is the shortfall between what you make on your part-time job and what it costs you to live. The Student Allowance isn’t welfare – at least no more a form of welfare than free public schools. It is a part of the education system. We do not tell the children of wealthy parents that they have to borrow money to attend private schools. We don’t do that because we recognise that education is the means to make our parentage irrelevant – it is the institution that levels the playing field of society, and so has to be made available to everyone equally. On the other hand, we means-test benefits because they exist to give people enough money to survive – if they have money then they don’t need the benefit. People on the Student Allowance are not given money to help them survive. They are given it to help them study – because in this country we support those who are participating in the education system. If that support is given to anyone it should be given to everyone – because the point of getting an education is that you don’t have to rely on your parents’ hand-outs any more.

{ Canta 2014 }

{ Profile }

Fleur Mealing

George Shaw and Shannon Webster, co-founders of the street art company Oi YOU, have been collecting street art since 2005 when they were living in the UK. Their hobby turned business has now come to Christchurch in the form of RISE, after successful similar events in Sydney and Adelaide. Now the husband and wife team are hoping to make their love of street art a permanent fixture in the Garden City. Fleur Mealing decided to find out how their love of stencils and spraypaint has become one of the biggest street art festivals in the southern hemisphere. George Shaw, co-founder of street art company, Oi YOU!, and an organiser of the current RISE Festival which is making a scene throughout our CBD at the moment, says that the turning point of his life came when someone said the word ‘Banksy.’ Ten years ago George and his wife, Shannon, were heading off to a 40th birthday party – fancy dress themed. For the occasion, Shannon managed to talk George into buying a striped shirt, complete with stencilled characters in full toxic waste gear printed on the back. That evening, when a fellow partygoer asked if the picture on his shirt was from Banksy stencils, George asked, “Who?” “He proceeded to tell me all about this guy from his home town,” says George, who was immediately fascinated by this Banksy fellow. “Through my hangover the next morning I googled him, and for the first time ever, I saw artwork I really wanted to own.” Banksy, a pseudonymous street artist from the UK, rose to noteriety when his politically themed stencils began to take on issues prevalent to many who walk the streets of London and Bristol. Now an internationally

renowned street artist who has taken over spaces in LA, New York, and the West Bank wall on the Gaza Strip, it’s easy to see how Banksy’s subversive punk essence struck a chord with George. “I’m a punk, I left school in ’77 at the height of Thatcher’s Britain. The country then was the closest that it had ever been to proper civil unrest, even verging on civil war at times.” Banksy was one of few to provide a form of political commentary on these issues. George believes the artwork speaks a lot about how many people feel and that in turn is why Banksy is so popular. “He manages to sum up, in a very simple image, how a lot of us feel about some quite complex issues.” After moving to New Zealand four and a half years ago, George and Shannon knew they wanted to bring what they had experienced in the northern hemisphere to New Zealand. A believer in the wisdom of author Tom Wolfe, George thinks that you should “put your good where it can do the most good.” And that seems to be exactly what they have done. “People from The Ministry of Awesome got to hear about what we were doing and invited us down here. We realised very quickly that this is where we wanted to be. We made a commitment; if Christchurch wanted us then we would put all of our effort into making something really special happen in the city. Things like Gap Filler and the Student Volunteer Army are making older people realise that young people are cool, and good people. And there is already a Do-It-Yourself culture here. Those things add together to create an environment where the city is perfect for street art.” The Oi YOU! RISE Street Art exhibition, which can be found in the Canterbury Museum and all over walls along Christchurch streets, has attracted a lot of attention over the past few months. So much in fact, that it is now the most highly attended street art exhibition in the southern hemisphere. Oi YOU! and RISE

We realised very quickly that this is where we wanted to be. We made a commitment; if Christchurch wanted us then we would put all of our effort into making something really special happen in the city. have shied away from the traditional, clinical gallery where people walk around in hushed silence. Instead, the urban setting encourages interaction so people feel involved, rather than distanced. “We want to create situations where people feel part of the art” says George. He also thinks that art should be talked about, and not just admired. “We as individuals decide whether we like the art or not and that’s the way it should be.” To see what you make of giant portraits, optical illusions, and a Banksy or two, head down to the CBD and the Canterbury Museum before the 23rd of March. For more information about Oi YOU! and RISE, check out streetart.co.nz

Image courtesy of Canterbury Museum

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4/02/14 11:45 am

SPEED DEMONS

{ News }

Hannah Herchenbach

“Automotive generally isn’t favoured in academia. Too lowbrow, basically,” Tim White explains. “No one at the University had ever done this competition before, and very few of them had ever come into contact with a car, aside from changing a spare tire – and not on a race car.” But the students dug it. “Engineers get excited about big noisy mechanical machines, especially when they go fast. I think that’s why people get passionate about it.” Academic interest in automotive projects started to build back during White’s final year in 2012 as an undergrad after Aero Motors contacted his team to design a replica of a Formula One racecar for a local businessman. They produced few physical artefacts, but “it was a huge amount of design work,” White says. Senior Lecturer and Academic Supervisor Don Clucas and Design Engineer and Technical Services Manager Bruce Robertson both backed the automotive project. When they also were looking into building an actual race car from scratch as part of the first University of Canterbury Formula SAE team, they came to White for advice. He first took on the role more of a guide.

{ Canta 2014 }

Engine MaxW Power: 52keel at the wh

ECU: Link G4 Extreme

Engine: 2008 Yamaha R6

4130 Steel space frame chassis

Nine days remain for students across departments and colleges to secure their place in the team that is building, promoting and funding a brand new race car through 2014. Last year, 13 undergrads designed and built their own race car from scratch for their customary final year Mechanical Engineering project. It ended up being the first team from Canterbury to enter the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (Formula SAE) design competition. Now that another academic year has come around, a few of them want to have another go at making a racecar for the second year in a row. PhD student Tim White is at the head of it.

{ News }

Wheels: UC made centerlock Brakes: Wilwood callipers, custom floating hats & discs

Tyres: Hoosier 20.5x 7x13

“It’s a huge difference between just conceptualising and making prototypes,” he says. “There’s a big learning curve, when you go in fresh on something like that.” Though White isn’t exactly fresh – he worked as a mechanic in a local race shop before undertaking his Mechanical Engineering degree; he has since moved into a PhD. He laughs. “But those pressures of having to get it across the line… I think that’s where the good stuff comes from.” The pressure of having to get something across the line in December in Melbourne for the Australasian division of the competition was not without its challenges. “There was a little bit of a stuff-up when we first got there,” White admits. “We had shipped the car in a container, which was supposed to be dropped off at the event.” It ended up being held up in customs for a couple days instead. “It ended up being a massive debacle,” White said. “We had this one rented van; we were supposed to have a whole 20-foot container full of car and spares and having to do all these missions across Melbourne, van full of students plus every seat taken, covered in wheels and jacks and bolt boxes and oils and whatever we tried to carry each time… It was pretty hectic. So we ended up getting a little bit rushed to get the car there to test.”

Those pressures of having to get it across the line… I think that’s where the good stuff comes from

{ Canta 2014 }

{ News }

{ What I Do }

But the car performed well when it was there, though it didn’t enter the top ranks. “We built something much more akin to a race car than a Formula SAE car,” White explains. “In FS Agility is a huge part of it. Outright speed isn’t really so relevant.”

WHAT I DO

“There were two things that happened at the comp that were great; both at the end really. First off the reception of the car – people were blown away. They kept asking who built it for us – other teams, and officials. They didn’t expect us to turn up with that. Generally first year teams are pretty shoddy, and they turn up with something that barely makes it through the process. It didn’t fit the event very well in some ways, but the build quality was really high, and the attention to detail was really good.” In the end, the first year team took out the Inspired Engineer Award for the Australasian division – and at the end of it, had professional driver Karl Reindler select their car to drive out of the 23 entries in the competition. “Being a professional driver, they are trained to give lots and lots of feedback. I sat there with him for probably 45 minutes, just writing down pages and pages of quickly scrawled notes – there was lots of great feedback I got from him. Almost directly lifted from what he said will directly go into the car. Particularly ergonomics.” “Then of course we asked him afterwards if he knew anyone who could give us a job.” Two months later it is time to assemble the next generation. “Almost all the students are gone,” White says. First they need to find the build teams, with a manager and other leaders within each: Powertrain, Electrics and Data Aquisition, Chassis and Suspension, and a new one, Aerodynamics. “Last year it was just 3rd Pro Mech Eng students. This year it’s a lot more broad. We’re not only running three Final Year Mech Eng Projects, there’s now an Electrical one too. It’s

{ Canta 2014 }

Steve Glassey - Associate Director, UCR3 and Rescue Manager, UC Rescue

great that it’s interdepartmental for the first time as well.” And they are on the hunt for fellow students. “While the guys designing it are predominantly Mechanical Engineers, it’s the people out there who are studying something else or have something to add or an interest, we will welcome them to the interviews and see what they have. For sure.” This year the team is also looking for younger year levels to ensure that there is continuity for the 2015 team – as well as students from Commerce and Business, Marketing, and Fine Arts. “We want to get someone on board to document our process as far as photography and videos, whether that person is studying that or is doing it as a hobby or something related or they’ve got a personal interest to it. That was something we didn’t do well last year. We need someone to go and hunt down sponsorship for us – a sponsorship manager. We don’t want to make this an insular Mechanical Engineering thing. It can be University wide.”

You may be surprised that living in a flat while studying at Canterbury is much like responding to an international disaster. You are living on noodles and rice, the shower shared with many others only provides an invigorating cold water experience despite being set to hot and the lounge at night time is saturated with tired folk all hovering over their laptops and tablets to the early hours of the morning.

GET INVOLVED Assigned Roles Faculty Advisor: Bruce Robertson Academic Advisor: Dr Don Clucas Team Principle: Tim White Technical Director: Dino Kudrass Lead Chassis & Fabrication: Shaun Mucalo Lead Powertrain: Dino Kudrass

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Welcome to responding to an international disaster – it’s what I have been doing for the past decade. Just a couple of months ago I was deployed to the Philippines to assist with the security planning of humanitarian operations as part of an international humanitarian organisation’s response to Super Typhoon Haiyan. If you like meetings, you will enjoy working in emergency management. It is an industry that is far from jumping out of helicopters and saving babies. On my Typhoon Haiyan assignment, it was working with local and ex-pat humanitarian professionals to develop situation reports to support donor funding that led to needs-based lifesaving interventions. But within a few days, the role morphed into liaising with the United Nations Department of Security & Safety (UNDSS) ensuring our security plan was in place and operations were safe, given the various anti-government and communist organisations active in our operational area in the Western Visayas. The deployments are a welcome distraction from driving a desk at the University, but more

importantly they are a humble way to help disaster affected communities and to maintain a current collection of anecdotes for teaching disaster management here at the University’s Centre for Risk, Resilience and Renewal (UCR3). I often get asked “how do I get into disaster management?”. There are many ways to get involved. During my first deployment with the United Nations to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, even though I was in my early 30’s, the majority of the international staff were young interns just out of University – I was the old one! So first thing to take away, is that being a young student works in your favour with lots of internship and volunteer placement programmes. However, your chances of receiving such a door-opening volunteer opportunity are greatly improved if you have the magical masters degree (yes, everyone starts off volunteering – it is not a get rich quick, or at all, career). There are also plenty of ways to start getting practical experience and applied qualifications beyond your bachelor’s degree while studying

Being a young student works in your favour with lots of internship and volunteer placement programmes at UC if you want to head into the exciting and varied world of international disaster response. These opportunities include joining the UCSA Rescue & Emergency Management Society (REMSOC) and UC Rescue, both of which are on Facebook (yes, go and join REMSOC online now!) and can provide valuable training and networking opportunities. UC also plans to offer a Graduate Certificate in Public Safety with endorsements in Search & Rescue or Emergency Management from 2015. In fact the SAR endorsement will create the world’s first graduate qualification in search and rescue offered by a University (I am totally stoked about that!), subject to approval by important people of course. So if noodles and meetings are your thing, then you should consider a career in disaster management. In conjunction with REMSOC, I will be giving a lunchtime seminar talk on Thursday 6th March at Undercroft 101 “Developing a career that ends in disaster: working for the UN and NGOs” on the REMSOC facebook group, so join them today (it’s free!) and see you there!

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There lies an old farmhouse somewhere near Piko Crescent, where Turoa, Katrina, and Ellie all live. Though the inside is modest – and we mean modest – including an oven built “at height, so farm wives didn’t have to bend over,” MotoSoc president Turoa tells us. “And horrendous lime green accents.” But the real prize of the place is the section. The Farmhouse boasts a huge vegetable garden out the back, with a white greenhouse right in the middle of it. It’s a bit of a jungle at the moment.

The

farmhouse ELEANOR ALDRIDGE

The flat is just the three. “It’s good,” Katrina says. “It’s never lonely.” The flat is fresh as a daisy; they just took the lease February 13th. It’s a scorching hot Saturday nine days into the lease, and the flat is reminiscing. Ellie and Katrina both narrowly escaped being in the city on the fateful Saturday celebrating its third anniversary. “I didn’t miss them,” Turoa said, his voice flat. “I was in town; I almost got squashed.” The air fell silent with respect. “I used to work in town, and was just working under a car at some stage. It started shaking, I got out and the light almost smacked me in the head. I thought, ‘Alright, I’ll bolt out of here,’ and I ran out the door, and then as I ran out the tyre rack fell over. So that was interesting. Then the building next door fell on top of ours.” He laughs. “Are you serious?” Katrina whispers. “Yeah.” “Where was this?” “On Montreal Street.” “Was that before your degree?” “I was still part-time then because it was like the second day of Uni.” Intense, and yet here he is. Turoa is leaning on a hot tub. He’s trademark understated about it. “My old flatmate built it, and he didn’t have anywhere to put it, and I said, ‘Aw yeah. It’s just a wood-fired spa.’ The house is covered in instruments. “They’re Ellie’s,” Katrina says. “She’s a musician.” Ellie is Eleanor Aldridge, 18. She’s doing a Jazz degree at CPIT. Ellie and Katrina met during their first year at CPIT and TCol, respectively. They were both in Bishop Julius. “It’s a wee way out of here,” Ellie says of the Riccarton flat a

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KATRINA MAXWELL

TUROA ROYAL

stone’s throw from the University campus. “But that’s not too bad in this town.” She would have studied at UC, were it not for its classical lean. “If it caters to your needs that’s awesome,” she concedes. But her heart lies with other things – she started in pop, and is now doing a jazz degree. They’ve found knives about the place, and strawberries. And courgettes, and lemons, and grapes, and peaches. “I have the feeling this is going to be a giving flat,” Katrina says, as she sends me away with lemons. Ellie is from Timaru; Katrina, Nelson. Turoa is from Wellington. “But this is home,” Ellie says. “Yeah.” Katrina smiles. “It is.” Left to right: Katrina Maxwell, 21, Turoa Royal, 22, Eleanor Aldrige, 18

Turoa is leading MotoSoc out to the Wild Foods Fest this weekend. Learn more on page 30.

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As anyone who has traipsed through Clubs Day, or simply looked around a lecture theatre could tell you, UC’s campus is a pretty diverse place to be. And although we’re not trying to ‘define’ anyone here, or ‘label’ them as such, we thought we’d give you a taste of the kind of people we’ve got on campus. From jocks to art buffs, ideas people to whistle-blowers, you’d be surprised at what the characters on this campus get up to in their spare time. Big ups to Thomas Hancock for his sweet illustrations.

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THE

Activist

I was in Sri Lanka on a human rights fact finding mission ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Before going there, I had read a number of reports from Amnesty International and the United Nations that claimed there were ongoing human rights abuses. The Sri Lankan government denied this, so I was keen to go and hear directly from the local people. While I was in the office of an MP, meeting with a Sri Lankan human rights lawyer to hear about the torture of one of his clients by immigration officials, immigration officers came in to detain us. They took our passports and told us we were breaching our visas by talking to people about human rights. We were held for several hours before being released on the condition we did not talk to the media or any other people.

Jan Logie

Human rights abuse is a huge issue the world over, but often one that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Jan Logie of the Green Party went to Sri Lanka to find out more about what is really happening, and hopefully, give some voices the chance to be heard. 20

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As I was an MP travelling with an Australian Green Party Senator, logically I knew we would be safe during this, but the fear of the local people was infectious. We were just about to meet with a human rights activist who has been raising issues for minority communities in Colombo. She initially tried to hide to avoid any record of meeting with us because the Government had recently started following and harassing her, but the immigration officers searched the building and there was nowhere for her to go. At the time that immigration turned up we had already spent two full days hearing incredibly disturbing stories from over 30 people in Sri Lanka. We heard of the regular rape and sexual abuse of women in woman-headed

households by army personnel, even up to the level of General. We heard of people being followed and threatened for criticising the Government or raising human rights concerns. We met with journalists from the Tamil newspaper in the north and looked at photos of murdered journalists. We saw the bullet holes in the walls of their office from what they believe to be ongoing military attacks. All of this was consistent with the critical reports – the reality of people’s lives in Sri Lanka today is if you criticise the government, raise legitimate questions of human rights, or talk to foreign investigators, there is a good chance you will be targeted by the Government and harassed. The continued denial of any wrong doing by the Government or of any proper reconciliation, in addition to a lack of response to the issue of the disappeared and on-going reports of rape and torture, seems to indicate that rather than being interested in holding accountable those responsible for any war crimes, the Government is treating all Tamil people and other critics as a threat. New Zealand has a role in the safety of Tamil people as we continue to take Tamil refugees and have a growing Tamil community here in New Zealand – most of whom came as skilled migrants. New Zealand has a proud history of standing up for peace and human rights, but we need stronger leadership from our Government to address the human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. International pressure can make a difference and that is why we are telling the stories we heard there. The future of Sri Lanka, as well as individuals’ lives, are at stake.

We had seven guys all flatting together for the first time and while it was a lot of fun, our finances were chaos

THE

Innovator

We saw the bullet holes in the walls of their office from what they believe to be ongoing military attacks

George Smith

The first week of the academic year is a time of excitement for everyone on campus. Whether it’s a first year giddy at the prospect of entry into a student bar, a COSC student eager to get back to the crypt after a testing summer of outdoor activities, or a postgrad student silently mixing excitement with hope that this will finally be their last year on campus, everyone seems to be optimistic and happy.

However, nobody’s excitement is greater than that of those going back to their flats. As always there will be that fleeting two week period of no assignments, constant drinking and awesome fun. Sadly, the greatest highs are followed by the greatest come downs and this is no different for flats. This initial excitement inevitably turns to horror when they encounter a pronounced lack of food, their first power bill, or notice that a flatmate hasn’t paid rent all summer. These were the exact problems Duncan Keall and I faced when we first flatted together back in 2011. We had seven guys all flatting together for the first time and while it was a lot of fun, our finances were chaos. We had people not pay rent, we over drafted our accounts, and we nearly lost power from not paying our bills. As a flat we needed an effective solution if we were to have any chance at lasting the year. We searched everywhere but couldn’t find anything that would work as we needed it to. So as a pair of engineers, we said ‘F**k it let’s build our own’. And we did. We designed a simple to use software programme that we called Glassjar – a web app for tenants (i.e. our flat) to manage shared expenses in a manner as simple and transparent as the traditional bench top glass jar. After a decent spell of planning we became convinced that this would work perfectly for our flat and particularly as everyone would have access to it through their laptops and phones. So we settled on the concept and Duncan, who is a flipping amazing programmer, got to work and over the next two months built the first version of Glassjar.

This initial software took control of our flat account, interpreted the transactions and showed a ledger of exactly which flatmates owed what to, or was owed what from, our central flat account. All of our flatmates could log on and see the state of the accounts which gave great transparency, it was brilliant.

The initial success within our flat inspired us to continue working on the concept. So at the start of last year I decided to enter the concept into Entre – a student run organisation that aims to encourage and cultivate entrepreneurship among university students. Their main vehicle for doing so is through organising the 75K challenge which is a business competition that offers $75,000 worth of prizes. Whilst the competition was a significant amount of work it was certainly worth it. Glassjar did very well – we won the prizes for ‘The Most Market Ready Venture’ and ‘The Best Pitch,’ and with that just over $20,000 worth of cash and services. In addition to the prizes we received from entre, Glassjar has had support from UC innovators who provided mentoring with Dr Rachel Wright and funding support which included a $5K scholarship and additional seed funding being invested into the company. All of this money was invested into the software developing and early stage marketing expenses. We saw this as validation of the concept and knew that it was worth sticking at it. The combination of Entre and UC Innovators ensures the University of Canterbury is a really effective environment for developing new businesses. Without a doubt, Canterbury is the leading University for supporting student entrepreneurs, if you have an idea you can get so much help to develop and validate it.

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Artist

THE

Jessica Todd

I’m running late. My flatmate did a hot wash and shrunk my cashmere cardigan, which I was going to wear over my op-shopped buttoned-to-theneck shirt. I was planning this outfit because I thought it really said “I own good quality fashionable clothing but I am also thrifty and responsible with my money.” 22

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Due to the mishap with the cardigan, I have to bike extra fast on my fixie to uni this morning. I narrowly avoid near death on the roads – probably my own fault. I was listening to ‘Intro’ by The XX on my iPod in order to make my journey seem more cinematic. Despite this, I make it to campus just in time for my lect- to meet my friend for coffee. We meet at Café 101 because as every image conscious art student knows, Café 101 a) serves free trade coffee and b) offers 50c off if you bring your own cup – 50c OFF MUTHA FUCKAH! It’s also located between the main lecture theatres and the Fine Arts buildings, which is probably where I will be spending the majority of my class time. Only very occasionally do I have to venture into the logical abyss across campus. I still remember the looks of fear and confusion on our faces as we had to navigate a building with pictures of rocks and fossils on the walls to get to Art History last year. The memories distress me, but my friend offers consolation, reminding me that we brought a small amount of culture to those poor science student’s lives. As you’d expect from the first week of university, my classes are uneventful and consist mostly of introductory material. Although when I say classes, I really mean class. Specifically, I mean my one elective paper per semester that I take along with my studio subject over in Fine Arts. No, I am not kidding and yes, you are in the wrong department.

I spend the week meeting with lecturers, planning projects for the year, and hanging out in the courtyard trying to snag food from the first year barbeque. Freshers are pretty easily intimidated, so if you line up and act like you know everyone, you’re in for some free food. While perusing the barbeque, I intend to try and network with my lecturers in order to score some prime studio space. Instead, I end up with my friends, waiting until the first exhibition opens at the campus gallery and we can get free wine. Art and wine are truly the perfect mix. Over in film, we crowd around someone’s Macbook to watch the latest Gopro Hero video. As per usual the conversation turns to opinions on James Cameron’s Avatar. I think it’s lame and unoriginal. Someone else argues that it was ground-breaking. We are divided. But that’s okay – when you’re an arts student, being at university is about having healthy academic debates, and arguing about films definitely counts as study. Despite the picture I have painted of a fine arts student, I do actually have a huge year ahead of me. Between trying to remember the correct way to reference things in an essay, juggling a part time job, and working on my studio subject, I’ll be trying to pretend that I have a social life outside of talking to people in my tutorials. It’s a lot of hard work, staying as classy as we do.

THE

Devout

I was listening to ‘Intro’ by The XX on my iPod in order to make my journey seem more cinematic.

Ben Kendrew

Good Lord! I’m not even sure what this is. It can’t be wise to touch it. Amazing the things you find on the ground at an O-Week concert. I guess it better go in the bin. I’m thankful for the inventor of latex gloves. Not complaining though, this is, after all, how I got into the biggest O-Week gig without paying a cent – by agreeing to pick up trash, scan tickets at the gate and help people find the water stations. Some of the perks of being part of the ARISE Church crew.

Just to help you out, the sausage isn’t saved. The free food and drink doesn’t come with a Bible verse, it’s just that: free food and drink. Enjoy.

From the outside it might not look like the most fun way to experience orientation – handing out cups of water to revelers, turning over sausages while others are dancing the night away. But to be honest, it’s not bad at all. Certainly a great way to meet people when you’re on the gate, 4000 eager beavers filing through in some outrageous costumes. Helping out at the O-Week events is one of the best ways to get into uni life. As a part of Huge! (the ARISE Church club on campus) we get stuck in and help out with pretty much anything the UCSA have got going on. And we’re not the only ones – other Christian clubs find ways to be part of campus life too. Actually, behind a lot of the o-week activities, you’ll find Christian students volunteering their time to make it happen. “Here to help” is something we pride ourselves on. It does make for an interesting viewpoint though. I’ve mentioned the costumes – they’re always a highlight. I’ve seen some peculiar dance moves too. It’s the people around the fringes, the ones who look for a bit more room than your average mosher that provide the most entertainment. I like to commend people on their dance-floor-acrobatics and bring them some water to keep people hydrated – doing our bit to keep the party pumping.

The other highlight of volunteering at the O-Week gigs has to be the yarns. People love a good chat. And as most seem to acknowledge that we’re Christians, it can make for some interesting dialogue as the night rolls on and the drinks have been flowing. I always find it funny that people will happily have a D-and-M beside a table of paper cups or a BBQ in the corner of the event. Happy to oblige though, I’ve made some good friends here. Some people aren’t so agreeable however. Here’s one for ya – the person who refuses a free sausage or drink because “you’re from a church.” Just to help you out, the sausage isn’t saved. The free food and drink doesn’t come with a Bible verse, it’s just that: free food and drink. Enjoy. As the concert wraps up, our good deeds don’t stop at the end of the night. Each day you’ll find us getting amongst the action with the other clubs and businesses, dishing out free stuff, welcoming students into hostels and helping them get settled in. As Huge! is part of a church close to the UC campus we have a bunch of students, new and returning, who regularly make their way to the Aurora Centre on Sundays for services and then hang out afterwards. This has been the best way many of us have made great friends at uni. Our parties don’t stop after O-Week. It’s an open-door invitation, whether you grew up in church or have never considered it before, you’re welcome.

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UC SPORT

THE

athlete Dan Chan

Dan Chan is the man on the scene if you want to talk sports at UC. On the 2014 Exec as the dude in charge of sporting clubs and events, and a proud member of UC Basketball, what better strapping young man could there possibly be to give us the run down on how the typical uni athlete spends their O-Week? 24

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I drank far too much and ate enough Captain Ben’s to hopefully get a burger named after me.

UC also has a wide array of sports clubs for you to be a part of. These clubs offer opportunities to be part of events, activities, meets, tournaments and to play in local sporting competitions. For a full list of UC sport clubs, visit www.ucsa.org.nz, but in the meantime, check out a few on the list below:

Australian Football

So pretty safe to say I was amping for O-Week 2013. And why wouldn’t I be? The UCSA had put on a mint week for us! Toga Party, Paint Party, Comedy and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – freaking Macklemore and Ryan Lewis! Anyway, the point is that UC put on an awesome social calendar where I drank far too much and ate enough Captain Ben’s to hopefully get a burger named after me. A pretty good welcome to UC O-Week indeed. Social events aside, I distinctively recall how O-week was about reacclimatising back into the uni lifestyle – attending class for the first time and shitting yourself about the workload while simultaneously procrastinating on Facebook, checking out clubs day,

University Cougars provide a supportive environment for those new to the game and experienced players the opportunity to grow their game.

Backyard Cricket

2013 was the first time that Rec Centre memberships were free for students. While this seemed like an awesome deal at the time, I later realised that the only reason I was getting a free membership was because I was paying over $7000 in fees and a $600 student levy. So, in reality this was the most expensive gym I could’ve possibly joined. All in all though, O-Week 2013 didn’t disappoint. While it might add up to be pretty expensive when you account for O-week shenanigans, booze, books, and Captain Ben’s burgers, it’s also one of the best parts of the year and really kicks it off in the most awesome way possible. Even if I did neglect all forms of fitness and exercise, while going out of my way to gain my fresher five for the second time. Oh well. #WorthIt #Yolo #MyOWeek

1. Go to UC RecCentre Homepage - www.reccentre.canterbury.ac.nz 2. Click on ‘Apply Now’ Link for Free Student Membership,

If you’re living in the halls this year, get amongst the Inter-Hall Sport Competition – it runs throughout the year and involves ten different sporting events. We’ve also got futsal, netball, turbo touch, and basketball for those who are keen for just getting out there, getting active, and meeting new people. And for those who have a bit more of a competitive drive to them, we have the Uni Leagues for touch, basketball, and football.

Catering for both the weekend warrior through to world-class athlete, the UC Athletics Club will help keep you on track!

complaining about having to use course related costs on text books, actually using your course related costs on a MacBook just to fit in with the other Law students. And of course, signing up for the UC Rec Centre.

Wanting to work on that cardio for the impending zombie apocalypse? Perhaps you’d like to channel inner zen during a yoga class? Or maybe you’re just a self-professed gym buff? Whatever your fitness needs or aspirations, the UC Rec Centre will help you reach those goals. If you’re enrolled at UC, the dosh you used to pay for your student levy gives you access to the Rec Centre all year round (as well as a bunch of other awesome facilities). All you have to do is follow these steps, rock on up, and get moving!

The team at UC Sport aims to give you the chance to participate in a variety of sports on campus. Whether you want to play in a social setting, or take on something a little more serious, like one of our sport leagues, or the structured athlete development programme, UC Sport has got you covered. Games are never far from UC, mostly on Ilam Fields, or at the Rec Centre behind Kirkwood.

Athletics

I guess here is where I admit that I pushed the boat out a bit too far during O-Week last year. It really had nothing to do with playing sports – the only reason I was sweating during O-Week was because I was attempting to eat my third chicken burger from Captain Ben’s in two days, and the only sport I was playing was NBA 2K13. No, the reason I pushed the boat out a bit too far was because it was actually my first O-Week. You see, in my first year, I wasn’t old enough to go to O-Week, and not cool enough to have a fake ID. It’s even more pathetic when you factor in that I’m Chinese and could’ve just pulled the race card if my fake ID was questioned.

UC REC CENTRE

As a fresher you will enjoy a fair few beers, some yarns and progressively degrading cricket (all free) at some random good c**t’s flat on all of our crawls. Girls welcome.

Badminton If you enjoy all facets of the game UCanBC is the club for you! They have weekly sessions, offer racquet stringing and physio advice. All levels welcome!

Basketball

3. Log in with your UC Student Username and Password, 4. Accept the Terms and Conditions, 5. That’s All Folks - We will take it from here! Your membership should be activated and ready to go within 2 working days. Head to the website to check out group fitness timetables, more information about our rock climbing and squash facilities, training programmes, and some sweet term one events we’ve got coming up.

Climbing UC Climbing like to climb stuff, particularly rocks and cater to any level of climber from complete beginner to the pros.

Fencing – UC Fencing Club Are you tired of running away from duels because you don’t know how to fence? You’re not alone; it’s a common problem. At the UC Fencing Club, we can help you become a sword-wielding maniac, so you’ll never have to run away from one again.

Football The only top tier Christchurch football club run by students, UC Football boasts 12 senior teams in as many leagues (including men’s & women’s premier) as well as social Saturday and Wednesday leagues.

Yoshukai Karate Instructors promote a friendly environment and culture, for all that want to learn.

Netball Suburbs University is the UC netball club. We offer both competitive and social teams, playing on Saturdays at Hagley courts.

The UC Basketball Club caters for men and women and competes in the Canterbury Basketball club competitions. Teams are a mix of current students and graduates/nonstudents. We also have social leagues on Fridays (mixed) and Sundays (men) run at the UC Rec Centre. All levels welcome.

Rowing

Canoe

Rugby

UC Canoe Club offers a range of equipment, training and most importantly a way to get in contact with other like-minded and skilled people.

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for an average rugby season, I can tell you we don’t have that. But what we do have are a very particular set

Built on a long tradition of doing f**k all training, partying hard and still being able to pump clubs like Otago, we pride ourselves on being a social club hidden behind the sport of Rowing.

of skills; skills we have acquired over our time at uni. Skills that make us a nightmare for our opposition. If you come and join us now, that’ll be the end of it. We will look out for you, We will entertain you. But if you don’t, we will look for you on the field, we will find you, and we will….”

Snow Sports Aside from shredding the slopes at their very own lodge, Canterbury University Snow Sports Club runs several events here at sea level.

Touch Regardless of ability the UC Touch Club invites all students who enjoy playing touch rugby, from the social novice to the competitive player.

Tramping Do you want to enjoy NZ natural beauty up close? The Canterbury University Tramping Club knows all the best kept secrets, coordinates trips, training courses and even hires out gear!

Ultimate Do you enjoy the fast paced nature of Ultimate Frisbee or just want to give it a go? The UC Ultimate Club welcomes all interested players.

Volleyball The UC Volleyball Club welcomes members of any level, whether you want to play in a competitive team or for fun, the UC Volleyball Club is for you.

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COLOUR RUN

NOTICES You’re getting more internet! Each month UC gives you a free internet allowance to help you with your study and life. This year they’ upsizing it: · Undergraduate students receive a free 5GB allowance per month · Postgraduate students receive a free 10GB allowance per month For more about the allowance and other IT account information see http://www. icts.canterbury.ac.nz/services/charges/ internetAllowances.shtml UC’s wireless network is eduroam. To get set up, connect to the UC-setup-wireless network. Once connected, open a web browser and you will be redirected to a setup page. More instructions are available at http://www.icts. canterbury.ac.nz/web/wireless/.

Preview your timetable before you pick your courses with the Timetable Publisher The Timetable Publisher tool lets you enter any 2014 courses and preview how they will fit into a timetable. It’s an easy way to see what your schedule will be like before you sign up, and where you might have clashes. Check out all the details at http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/ theuni/timetable/timetableviewer.shtml

We’ve got an exciting event coming up in Christchurch! Outward Bound and MoreFM are hosting a 3.2k run around South Hagley Park on Saturday 15th March 2014. The morning will start at 8:30am with a PT session, led by our team of Outward Bound instructors. Following the run, we will have a BBQ, spot prizes and the chance to hear about scholarships up for grabs for Cantabrians. We will especially be promoting our August Caregiver/Teen course Leaps & Bounds for Canterbury families.

On Sunday 23 February, the happiest 5k on the planet came to town and a group of hardy Student Volunteer Army volunteers helped to ensure it lived up to its name! Armed with a poncho, some bags of paint, and a load of dedication, volunteers braved winter-like temperatures and torrential rain in a variety of jobs, which included checking runners in, throwing paint at them while they ran, and perhaps most exciting of all, directing traffic in the car park. The rain soon cleared but the volunteers remained – a successful start to 2014 indeed! We’ll let the pics tell the rest of the story – but just to let you all know – the SVA has some awesome plans for 2014. From llamas (they were actually alpacas but shh…) at Clubs Day to Flashmob Flat Cleans and Random Acts of Kindness week, we will be much less focused on disaster response, much more student focused, and there will be more perks and rewards in it for you. All will be revealed at our inaugural launch event on March 20th, about which more details will be posted soon. In the meantime, like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ StudentVolunteerArmy) and if you haven’t already, sign up through our website (http://www.ucsva.org/) for updates!

Participants can enter as an individual, pair or team. Tickets are only $10 with all proceeds going toward Outward Bound scholarships for Cantabrians. We’ll be giving away prizes for the first individual, pair and team of four over the line - plus, there’s the chance to win awesome Kathmandu spot prizes. This is a great opportunity for your community to find out more about the benefits of an Outward Bound Course. We’d love it if you encouraged your team and your contacts to come along and get involved. To book tickets please visit http://www. eventfinder.co.nz/2014/outward-bound-3kmfun-run/christchurch-city

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WHAT’S ON UC Basketball – Social Men’s League Gathering

Casual Arrangements – Saskia Leek

26 February - 20 March Ilam Campus Gallery, Block 2, SoFA Fine Arts Exhibition

Redcard – An Original Comedy from Dramasoc

Wednesday 7 March – Saturday 8 March 7.30pm Jack Mann Auditorium, Dovedale Campus Tickets $10 with student ID, $12 without

Summer Sevens Football – World Cup

Wednesday 5 March – Wednesday 9 April Ilam Fields $80 per team Tickets available on the UC Football Facebook page A favourite social sport competition with a World Cup theme. Contact socialcaptain.ucafc@gmail.com

Thursday 6 March UC Rec Centre – Sports Hall 5pm FREE Contact Piet Van Hasselt 0273248498

UC Volleyball Trials

Wednesday 12 March 6.30pm Christchurch Girls High School Gymnasium Contact Hannah Duder for more details: president.ucvolley@gmail.com

The Green Gig

Friday 7 March Okeover Community Garden (on Campus)

RAW Stand Up Comedy Competition Heat 2 Sunday 9 March The Twisted Hop Tickets $10

16 comedy hopefuls vie for the chance to represent the south island at The RAW national finals up in Auckland during the NZ Comedy Festival. Christchurch finals 23 March.

Suburbs Uni Netball U19 & 2nd Grade Trials Sunday 9 March 10.00am Tuesday 11 March 6.15pm Thursday 13 March 6.15pm (if needed) Hagley Park Netball Courts Contact Bridget at bridget.southeyj@ gmail.com, or on 02102850566

Sustainability clubs mix and mingle to the sweet sounds of smooth jazz. Free pizza oven pizzas and beer. BYO toppings and drinking vessels.

Sumner Rocks Village Street Party

RSVP to uckakariki@gmail.com

Sunday 9 March 11am – 6pm Sumner Community Centre, 28 Wiggins St

Culture Galore

There will be live music from Hera, Best Mates and The Billie Jean Project, along with Street Performers and craft stalls lining the closed off streets of the central Village.

Saturday 8 March 12pm – 4pm Ray Blank Park on Maidstone Road A celebration of culture, featuring music, dance, arts and crafts and global food.

Comedy Jam

Tuesday 11 March 8pm Darkroom

Coming Way Up.... AMI’s Standard Contents Cover lets you choose how long you’re insured for and has a minimum sum insured of only $5,000. That means you can choose to insure just a few special things, like your laptop or furniture. So the only hard decision now is, what will you spend your gift card on? Ask us about contents cover on 0800 100 200.

The Early Early Late Show

Thursday 6 March – Sunday 16 March The Court Theatre Tickets $20 Comedy Madness for the whole family.

The Political Party

Thursday 6 March 4pm – 6pm Staff Club (Ilam Homestead) FREE for members of UCPols, membership sign up $5 at door Enjoy food, drink and all things political.

AMI policy criteria, terms and conditions apply. Offer ends 11 April 2014. Promotion terms and conditions apply. These can be found at ami.co.nz/noelstudent. Noel Leeming gift card terms and conditions apply. See www.noelleeming.co.nz

Eden Mullholland “Beside Itself” NZ Tour Saturday 8 March Wunderbar

ARISE Church Orientation Service Sunday 9 March 5pm Aurora Centre FREE

UCom + UCSA present A$AP Ferg Wednesday 26 March 8pm start The Foundry $35 UC students, $45 public Tickets from ucsa.org.nz

{ Canta 2014 }

{ Haberdashery }

! ? U O Y S IS THI

IF SO, FIRSTLY, GREAT MO. SECONDLY, YAY! YOU WON! GET YO’ ASS DOWN TO THE UCSA OFFICES TO CLAIM YOUR MYSTERY PRIZE.

THINGS TO BRING TO HOKI { Motosoc }

As they do every year, Motosoc is once again gearing up for the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, coming up on the 8th of March. That’s pretty soon, so if you haven’t started getting ready for sampling huhu grubs and various animals’ testes yet, then you better get onto things. Luckily for you slackers, the lovely lads and lasses at Motosoc have put together a list of essentials to take the stress out of packing and get you pumped for a wild weekend on the coast. Go with a uni club - A club gives you a better trip, you get to meet a few random hilarious people and go in a theme. Ideal for spotting people you know as you inevitably get lost. Also clubs usually receive package deals from Wildfoods, which makes it cheaper.

Food - There is still a definite need for a bit of mad butchers finest

precooked Saus and patties to fill your hungry little holes for that late night snack/bbq breakfast.

{ Canta 2014 }

Alcohol - You can’t shit without an arse and you can’t party without the shit. But drugs are proabably bad, mmmkay?

A place to sleep - You could bring your own tent, sleep in the car, steal a randoms tent, sleep on the beach (not recommended), or go home with a bush pig. The opportunities are endless.

Clothing - There is probably no real need to bring any ‘clothes’ as such,

just bring such an awesome costume that you want to wear it all weekend! If you wanna be a pussy I guess you could bring a change of clothes.

A towel - Someone once said a towel is about the most massively useful

thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Good for those casual skinny dips in the river, after falling over in mud, or when cleaning up various bodily fluids.

A sense of humour - This goes a long way and if you are attending, better bring a glass of concrete. Jumping back on the horse at 8am to play danger can is no easy feat.

Take a photo of whatever you’re up to right now, tag it #ucnow in instagram or upload at ucnow.canterbury.ac.nz and you’re in to win big.

Snap a photo & be in to WIN Daily $50 Prezzy cards & a $1000 grand prize!

Y START. AWESOME. MASSIVE NIGHT. EARL