CANTA #8 2020 by UCSA

R ā h i n a , Te r u a te k a u m ā wh i t u o Hō n gon goi Ha or u a | IS SU E #8 | J U LY 2 02 0

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CONTENTS CONT R IBU T OR S Samantha Mythen  Roshanah Masilamani

6 NEWS 12

BURNOUT

Conor Jones  Liam Donnelly  Java Katzur

WHAT LEGALISATION CAN DO

Lily Mirfin Romy Gellen

THE CONNECT ZONE

HEROS OF NEW ZEALAND

George Hampton Leo He Asher Etherington

FORGET FOMO: ITS TIME FOR JOMO

Roger Wilco Nuha Anas

42 44

COLUMNS FLAT FAMOUS

Michael Freeman Robyn Walford Ella Somers

46 48

BROKEN NEWS LUCKY DIP

Tori McNoe Pim Van Duin Reverend Spanky Moore Plus other anonymous contributors

EDITORIAL

One of the best lessons university has ever taught me, is just how important it is to become our own best friend, our loudest cheerleader. I didn’t exactly learn this in lectures or law tutorials, rather I learned this significant lesson through the many mistakes I made along the way to finishing my degree. University was a rollercoaster for me. At the beginning of my degree, I moved away from home here in Christchurch to Wellington, where I began my studies at Victoria University. I was 17 years old for half of my first year, which - not gonna lie - absolutely sucked. I love love love a boogie, but alas, I was put in the non-alcoholic block, and was forced with solo nights in, while newly made friends hit the town. It was pretty lonely. My degree was Law and it was something I also struggled through. I always felt out of place among those Vic law students who worked part-time at Parliament and in embassies. Rather than spending late nights studying, I was dreaming about skiing and working out how I could get back to Christchurch to find myself in the mountains again. A couple of flatting situations occurred which to put it simply, were shit. Here I learned that when your home is not a fun place to be, happiness is really hard to find. There was boy drama, friend drama, heartache, heartbreak. I became a girl I hated. There were panic attacks. Endless tears. Huge self-doubt. I never wanted to spend time alone as I was terrified of my thoughts. Moving back to Christchurch where I finished my degree at UC brought more challenges. Turns out the older you get, the harder it is to make friends; we no longer have that 5 year old playground confidence. I became dependent and attached to those who stuck around. I forgot a bit about my self-worth and my own dreams. There was even more heartache and a huge amount of worry, tears and fears. I ended up finding myself in this negative feedback loop - I worried and gave into anxiety, and then just worried more about worrying...the negative self talk came in volatile doses. I was my own worst enemy. But from this I discovered more about me. I made the time to sit with myself, to figure out me. I now try and think, “how would you speak to your best friend?” and apply this to my own self-talk. This, all packed into four wild years. Wild and turbulent but also wondrous. These were four marvellous years. That was just a brief summary of the lows, but boy were there some epic highs. Those highs were made better too, because of the rock-bottom lows. It was the lowest moments of my life which taught me the best lessons...As mentioned before, it is so so so important, to take time for you, to do the things that make you happy, to follow your heart and your dreams, and to cheer yourself on along the way. So much of our life is out of our control, the only thing we really can take charge of is ourselves... our minds and emotions and how we react to the things around us occurring. I always think, “Be as you wish to go on.” Because shit is going to happen, and we’ve got to be kind to ourselves. We’ve got to look after ourselves. At the end of the day, we are all gripping tight to our own roller coasters, but we can get through anything if we’ve got our own backs. If I could provide any advice from my uni journey, it would be exactly that - learn to have your own back and look after you. Carve out time each day to figure out who you are and what makes you happy. And along this journey, know that it is absolutely always okay to ask for help. Arohanui, Sam P.s Our last issue was all about Drugs...I’d also like to mention here, as part of our Haoura, Mental Health and Wellbeing edition, that if you have an issue with taking drugs, even if you don’t want too, there are excellent support groups out there who will have your back when the burden is to heavy (because sometime the journey to becoming our own best friend is long). For example, Narcotics Anonymous run meetings everyday in Christchurch - check them out at NZNA.org.

Letters To The Editor Letter of the Week Letter of the week wins a ucsa coffee voucher - head up to the ucsa reception with your student ID to claim Dear Editor, Though I do not expect CANTA to be perfect, I do expect the published content, particularly in the previous ‘Drugs Issue’, to not be incomplete or dangerous. Upon reflection, I put far too much time and effort into my various submissions. Had I known the care and attention to detail I engaged in would not be reflected by CANTA staff, I would not have bothered to submit anything, and I would have published my pieces on my own platforms where I could ensure their quality and completeness.

Regards, Asher Etherington

Dear Editor, When I wrote the brief shrooms ID guide, I had no idea there was a risk it would be butchered. I included important safety information/advice and made it clear it was vital that the positive and negative example photos were accurately labelled. Instead, I was horrified when I opened the Drugs Issue to find no ticks or crosses labelling the example photos distinguishing dangerous look-alikes from actual psilocybe, and that half of my piece had been cut and replaced with glaring blank space. I put a lot of work into writing the ‘Mushroom Mantras’ as it was arguably the most important thing for readers to come away with. I include it here for posterity:

All mushrooms are edible; some are edible only once. Dear Asher, Googling “poisonous mushrooms NZ” is not a waste of time. Thank you for submitting your letter. As you know, I was away on leave for the publishing of this issue and in my place, members of the CANTA team took on my Editor role. This was their first time getting a magazine to print, and with all there is to consider and think about, paired with not enough hours in the day, it is to be expected the issue would never be perfect. However, excuses aside, I am sincerely sorry. When I got back from leave and saw the magazine with the mistakes, I empathised with your frustration (I was feeling ready to flip tables). I am continually working to make this magazine something with standing, a sincere platform which works to share the voices of UC students. At the end of the day, this magazine is lacking in budget, and lacking in consistent contributors, but it has a whole lot of heart, and all we can do is keep trying. You are one of the most valued contributors for CANTA this year and I hope you will stick with us as we prove we can keep doing better. Arohanui, Sam

A positive ID leads to a positive trip. Don’t pick pins; let them open and drop spores. Don’t pull out mycelium if you can help it. Shrooms are for sharing. Don’t trip alone for your first trip. Subaeruginosa are potent, so you will not need very much. Plan comfort and pleasantness, but don’t be afraid to face your demons. Yours, Anne Onymous

News

Ardern vs Collins: A populist win or a crushing victory? By Romy Gellen

Election day is fast approaching, and Judith and Jacinda are vying for votes. With September 19 circled on the calendar, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern drives Labour’s mission to ‘keep moving’ while Judith Collins wins National’s game of musical chairs. It is not the first time National and Labour have gone womanto-woman in an election. Twenty-one years ago, National’s Jenny Shipley lost to Labour’s Helen Clark. Today, Collins, 61, and Ardern, 39, share similar stances when it comes to same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia. However, that is where it ends. They are hugely different in their contrasting leadership styles. Their nicknames capture their points of difference. When asked to describe Ardern in two words, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield opted for ‘Prime Minister’. Her mantra is ‘be kind’. ‘Crusher’ Collins derives from the Collins-led law that allows police to crush boy racer cars. She also describes herself as a ‘woman of colour’ — the colour white. Meanwhile, Ardern made headlines around the world for bringing her daughter, Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford, to a United Nations summit in 2018. Collins, who entered Parliament in 2002, is best known for her work as Minister of Justice from 2011-2014. As of

July 14, Collins became National’s new leader, following the resignation of Todd Muller. She has taken over a party leadership in disarray following the rapid departure of Muller, just two months ago after Simon Bridges. Prior to her time in Parliament, Collins practiced law. She holds a Master of Laws with Honours and a Master of Taxation Studies from the University of Auckland. Ardern joined the Labour Party at 17. By 2008, she was a Member of Parliament. Nine years on, she became Prime Minister of New Zealand – one of the youngest to hold the position. Ardern is a strong communicator – having a degree in communications from the University of Waikato. She emphasises the necessity of working as a team, particularly during COVID-19, referring to New Zealand as her ‘team of five million’. Her trademark values are ‘kindness and empathy’. A regular on Facebook, she presents a positive, comforting face. However, Collins comes into the election race all guns blazing. This alone paraphrases her leadership-style. She is very active on Twitter – seen as quick-witted, and known for her sharp tongue both in and outside of tweets. Perceived as tough, straightforward, and decisive, Collins does not bat an eye in the face of a challenge and thrives under pressure. Two women. Two ideologies. Two choices. One vote. *Check you’re enrolled to vote at https://elections.nz/

Better Advocacy for Students - Should the UCSA join the NZUSA Team? By Joe Gauld

The UCSA constitution sets out one of UCSA’s main purposes as providing a representative voice for students. In terms of representing students on matters within the university, UCSA does a really great job, but so many of the issues students face are beyond the remit of UC. They’re issues that only the government can solve. Mental Health services, student allowances, accommodation standards, fees. These are all issues that matter to UC students, but can only really be solved by the government, and right now UC students have no say on government policy that affects us. It doesn’t have to be this way, but unlike almost every other Students’ Association in New Zealand, UCSA chooses not to have a voice in Wellington. VUWSA, OUSA, AUSA, even the Lincoln Students’ Association, are members of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). NZUSA lobbies the government on behalf of its members to get better policies for students. This year alone, the work of NZUSA has seen a Select Committee inquiry into student accommodation, significant new funding for mental health services on campus, and lots of additional hardship support for students due to COVID-19. Alongside quietly lobbying, NZUSA runs loud national campaigns to put public pressure on the government. At the moment they’re pushing for a Universal Education Income, to ensure that studying isn’t an experience that forces young people into either financial hardship or truckloads of debt.

By not being part of NZUSA, UCSA is basically saying fuck you to all other students in New Zealand. We have the same issues and want the same outcomes, so we should fund the same organisation to work for us? But we don’t? We rely on all the other students to fund NZUSA to do mahi that’ll benefit us for free, so we can be greedy and keep cash for ourselves. When you add the fact that UCSA is the richest students’ association in NZ on a per student basis, it’s doubly selfish. When you also look at how UCSA spent $349965 on executive expenses in 2019 compared to around $190000 budgeted by OUSA and VUWSA, our lack of NZUSA membership is hard to explain. We definitely can afford it? ($35k a year is 0.3% of UCSA’s $10mil turnover) We all stand to benefit from NZUSA? (not to mention the membership to national bodies it provides us) And NZUSA needs our support so they have the full strength to run nationwide campaigns that will benefit all students. Recognising that there’s no good explanation for our lack of membership. I’ve delivered a Member Requisition to the UCSA executive. This forces them to hold a special meeting at some point in the next few weeks. We need as many people as possible to turn up to the meeting and vote in favour of joining NZUSA, to bind the UCSA executive. So, if you believe in the power of collective action, and want to see a full-strength lobby in Wellington fighting for students, see you at the meeting!

News

The Trudeau Snafu by Leo He

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may face criminal charges over major conflict-of-interest ethics violation Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his liberal government are facing heavy scrutiny and an ethics investigation after awarding We Charity CAD$1-billion to launch a CAD$900million ($1B NZD) programme aimed at helping Canadian universities and other tertiary students. The stimulus programme is designed to help students by providing paid volunteer opportunities to replace summer jobs that have been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trudeau claims that “We Charity is the only organisation capable of running a COVID-19 volunteer programme.” However, sceptics have asked for the release of government papers which substantiate this as there has been no evidence that this is the case. Whilst both Trudeau and members of We Charity have denied that there is a conflict-of-interest, it has been revealed that Trudeau has personal connections with the organisation. It has since come to light that Trudeau’s mother, brother, and wife have been paid to speak at We Charity events in the past. This has occurred on multiple occasions, and payment for this comes at almost CAD$300,000 altogether. Furthermore, Trudeau’s wife is an ambassador for We Charity, and his mother hosts a podcast relating to the charity.

Conservative leaders have asked the ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, to investigate this misconduct and whether Trudeau was dishonest about his personal connection to We Charity. However, some say that this is not enough, with calls for Trudeau to resign due to his two previous ethic violations. Some belief that a police investigation is necessary, with the intention of charging Trudeau with code 121 (frauds on the government) and code 112 (breach of trust by a public officer) of the Canadian Criminal Code. According to a University of Toronto law professor, for Trudeau to be charged with code 121 “a very high bar of corruption” is required, and the papers or recommendations by the civil servant need to be released to make any type of judgement. However, the government withheld the papers due to cabinet secrecy, and the Canadian parliament has been suspended due to COVID-19. Trudeau has since apologised for his connection to We Charity. However, some say it may be too late to win back public trust, given that this is his third ethics violation. Whilst the government is now searching for new charities to take up the programme, is has proven to be an uncertain time and future for the thousands of Canadian students who have already signed up for the programme.

The Man, The Myth, The Buster by George Hampton

Grant Imahara died suddenly on Monday at the age of 49. He was an inspirational man with many great contributions to the world. Unfortunately, all such people will leave us eventually, and we each have to learn to deal with that for our wellbeing. You may not know his name, but you will certainly know his work. Imahara was an electrical engineer and roboticist, who co-hosted more than 200 episodes of the incredibly popular MythBusters show. He also starred in Netflix’s White Rabbit Project series. Preceding that, he worked for Lucasfilm, making animatronic models for movies including the Star Wars prequels, the Matrix sequels, Van Helsing, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. On the evening of Monday, on 13 July, Imahara died suddenly following a brain aneurysm. A representative for Discovery Channel stated: “We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant. He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.” His colleagues and friends have also shown their grief on social media, as well as his long-term fiancée.

Not only was this man a brilliant engineer, he was also a kind and inspirational soul who will be missed by many around the world. However, Imahara is far from the first great soul to leave us, and he will certainly not be the last. As we progress through life, we are going to find that less and less of our childhood icons are there for us. Finding healthy ways to cope with loss/changes and move on is a key part of maturing as adults. Hauora is comprised of multiple aspects, and it’s important to remember this. Te whare tapa whā is the concept of a house, whose structure depends on the four walls of wellbeing support. These four walls support the ‘house’ of the person as a whole. The walls represent physical, spiritual, mental/ emotional, and social wellbeing. If any of these is weak, the house will not stand strong – meaning the person will struggle. Curating these aspects of our wellbeing is how we grow, and if at first you don’t succeed: “Hopefully, the 27th time’s the charm!”

News

Corona Claims Cash Cow by George Hampton

COVID-19 stole five weeks from us, and now it’s stealing the universities’ cash cow. Chances of international students returning for the coming semester are slim. Increased numbers of returning kiwis mean that the government has to be cautious about new entries. International students are a five-billion-dollar industry in New Zealand. However, they provide more than just money. ViceChancellor of Victoria University, Grant Guilford, said “they contribute significantly to universities’ ability to be world-class. They augment domestic student revenue significantly, but they also help us compete with other countries for the global talent pool that fuels the knowledge economy.” The most important thing that international students bring is diversity. Education Minister Chris Hipkins has said since May that the government is looking for ways to safely bring these students back. He said, “It’s quite possible that we would be able to work with international education providers to manage a period of quarantine at the beginning of, say, a year’s worth of study so they can come into New Zealand.” However, our swift and effective handling of the pandemic has made us a haven of sorts, so now many kiwis are returning to

the country – more than anticipated. Despite the push from opposition to allow more people in, the government naturally wants to be careful about allowing people to return. “Growing our capacity for quarantine that we have absolute confidence in requires facilities that will need to be very carefully designed and used,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. He said then that providing for international students would “take some time”, but now admits that “it is much more likely to be from the beginning of 2021.” Government has ruled out students coming back in July and August in time for the coming semester. They will be announcing a recovery plan next month for the industry. However, this matter affects not only the industry, but the students themselves. Ali Khan, a doctorate student at the University of Otago, says “There hasn’t been any advice from the university or the government and how they’re handling PhD students, doctoral candidates and researchers.” Isabella Lenihan-Ikin, president of the New Zealand Union of Student Associations, added that “we need to make sure that international students who are still in New Zealand are supported.” She recommended refunding the tens of thousands of dollars international students had paid for courses they could no longer sit.

Burnout By: Lily Mirfin

Hi, I’m Lily. I’m in my second year of studying and need to confess that I’m already tired and need another uni break. I think most of us are feeling the same tiredness. Coming back to uni in person seems so much more tiring than it was at the beginning of 2020. Launching ourselves back into “normal” life seems necessary, but we all need to make sure that we take care of ourselves. A very real concern during normal times for students is burnout, and this could become more prevalent due to the stress of COVID-19. There are a lot of preconceived ideas regarding burnout –– what it entails and what it looks like. Because of this, most students don’t know how to prevent it, myself included. So, I went off down the Dr Google rabbit hole of research to learn more about burnout and the effect it can have on the lives of students. Burnout occurs after a prolonged period of stress and/or work. Eventually you have to stop and your body will force you to do this. Burnout can manifest itself in many different ways but for me it manifested in strange ways. I had a pretty mild level of burnout at the end of year 13 at school. I had a hacking cough that had no medical reasoning and was likely due to mounting academic anxiety. I had to slow down before the burnout I was experiencing escalated further. The way in which I functioned for my final two years of school was unsustainable. I remember being continually worried and stressed about academic work and volunteering. I knew that starting uni straight out of this mode would be a poor decision. I made the call to take time off and step away from full-time education for a period. That was the best thing for me, but it isn’t a viable option for all students. The way in which to solve burnout comes in two stages. Firstly, solving the initial health issues of stress and fatigue through rest and taking care of yourself physically. The second stage is altering what part of your environment is causing burnout. In other words, to create a sustainable lifestyle. Creating a personally sustainable lifestyle is a tricky and individualised task. I took a whole year off from studying, by the end of which I still didn’t feel entirely ready to return to studying out of fear that I could spiral back into my previous

behaviours. But uni is very different from high school because I can reduce and increase my workload as I need. I enjoying working outside of uni because it’s a time each week where I don’t feel obligated to be doing academic work. I like having other things going on that renders uni a component of my life as opposed to the entirety of my life. Having something small that can take your mind off studies can be effective also if a larger time commitment is unavailable to you. I was once asked in a course to evaluate the work/life balance of New Zealanders. I found myself thinking about how much students have to balance and how this is unsustainable for a large proportion of students. Returning to studying after the COVID-19 national lockdown has been one massive shock to the system. Suddenly I can see people again and see everyone face-to-face. I love this, but even though I’m extroverted and social I am still struggling to find the energy to see people as much as I did pre-lockdown. The effects of COVID-19 on professionals in the working environment is only just beginning to be explored. The data currently available to us suggests that around 7 in 10 working professionals are suffering from burnout to some degree. Although I can only speculate, I think this could be just as high, if not even higher, for students. We have had to adapt significantly like the rest of the world, but the fact that we are in the earliest stages of adulthood is a further stressor. This time has been a bit rough to say the least. Therefore, collectively as students we need to be looking after ourselves and each other more than we ever have before. If you think you’re not alright, you’re probably not. Don’t keep it to yourself. Take care of yourselves and all of those around you. Most students are finding this period very difficult. Going back to normal life is taking as much effort and adjustment as going into lockdown was. UC was somewhat lenient and understanding during this period. Semester two 2020 is no time to stop this. We need as much, if not more, support now. The new normal doesn’t feel normal yet. The prolonged stress of 2020 is having a collective effect on the student body. We’re just trying to get through it all, have a bit of patience please.

What Legalisation Can Do.â&#x20AC;Ż By: Lily Mirfin The widespread war on drugs that began in the mid20th century has had a long-lasting effect on policing and punishment throughout New Zealand. The modern prosecution for relatively minor drug offences has only largely affected certain racial groups; something that has been largely unacknowledged by the wider New Zealand public. Will decriminalisation and potential legalisation of cannabis allow us to move forward in become a more equal society?â&#x20AC;ŻThere are heated opinions on both sides of the discussion of legalisation. It is a good thing that our nation can propose referendums of this kind, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unclear what the results will be and how it will affect the political landscape of New Zealand. I set out to understand more on the topic and encountered a lot of opinions that left me even more divided than when I started. This is a very complicated decision that should not be taken lightly by any New Zealander.

Upon attempting to find information on the topic of cannabisrelated crime in New Zealand and the potential effects of legalisation, I encountered a large amount of conflicting information. This conflicting information and opinions were somewhat startling, and left me confused and unable to form a clear and decisive opinion for myself. Previously, I had believed that the legalisation of cannabis in New Zealand would have a significant effect on imprisonment and law enforcement. Research published by the New Zealand Drug Foundation states that the legalisation of cannabis will not do all that much as there are a relatively low number of people who are imprisoned for cannabis-related crime. There are pros, with most people citing the legalisation of cannabis in other countries as evidence that this model could work in New Zealand.

This, compounded with widespread systemic racism has allowed for the prosecution of relatively minor cannabis-related drug offences to disproportionately affect those of Māori descent. As a wider society, we have failed to address the racism that our government collectively perpetuates. The “war on drugs” mentality that was adopted in New Zealand can be deemed a failure, much as it can be seen overseas. This failure has not been acknowledged by any major legislation change. This year we have opportunity to completely change this, and to alter the way our nation treats the use of cannabis. Will New Zealand descend into absolute chaos if cannabis is legalised for both medicinal and recreational use? Using other nations as an example, we can see that decriminalisation of cannabis can lead to widespread regulation, increased GST revenue, and decreased incarceration rates. This is the key reasoning I found for legalising cannabis after research. The cons were also evidenced by research too, notably in research published by the New Zealand Drug Foundation. The cons largely focus on how illegal drug trade does not stop with legalisation or decriminalisation. It can also leave some groups behind, and can still have negative effects on drug addicts. Therefore, the pros in this argument largely on fall upon middle-class high-functioning recreational drug users, and those that require cannabis for medical reasons. Asking family members about this controversial issue brought out all kinds of opinions. My extended family seems somewhat divided on this issue. Some relatives are in favour of decriminalisation but not widespread legalisation, and some are in support of cannabis being legally available for recreational use. My opinion on this topic has not been fully formulated as I feel as though I haven’t

consumed enough information on the topic to make a considered and timely decision. This, compounded by the new controversy of funding of anti-cannabis groups by US lobbying groups, has left me confused on what effect the upcoming referendum will do to politics in New Zealand. The conflicting information I have encountered was startling and slightly dumb-founding. I am a decisive person who honestly has a few too many opinions. The fact that I am still unable to accurately weigh the pros and cons of this topic has been unusual. We are a young and progressive nation that has the ability to make swift and encompassing legal decisions. We decriminalised and regulated sex work, so should we do the same with cannabis? There are staunch arguments on both sides and I’m not entirely sure where I stand on the topic. Yes, we need to acknowledge the short fallings of our police and justice system. But is legalisation of cannabis really the only way to bring these ideas to light? It will take collective consciousness, continued effort, and an ongoing open conversation to approach the wider topic of racism within legislation changes in New Zealand. The referendum, and subsequent legalisation, has the potential to bring in longterm positive changes in New Zealand society and we should be including this in our discussions surrounding this topic. Talk with people your own age, but have a discussion with older family members to understand other viewpoints on the topic. The upcoming referendum will be historic, and I strongly encourage everyone to get out there and vote. I will be voting, just as soon as I’m able to form my own conclusion on this topic. Make sure you’ve done the same too.

The Connect Zone - Piecing it Together By Roger Wilco

I’m not quite sure what I expected when I met Kendra the first time. She was wearing a faded army jacket with jeans, and looked suspiciously friendly… like she was a secret lottery winner or something. Turns out the UC Alumni had packed quite a bit into her pre-Uni life. She’d spent a few years in the military, had dabbled in disaster relief, and volunteered overseas as a humanitarian. I must admit, I was tempted to confirm my lottery suspicions (or hint about how much I’d like a Lamborghini) but I held my tongue.

What’s the ‘Connect Zone’? So glad you asked. It turns out Kendra and her mates care enough about other students to (successfully) pitch an idea to the Vice Chancellor. They wanted to create a space at UC where any student would feel welcome, could meet new people, and have fun with ‘no strings attached’. Of course, board games, cards, free food and drinks will be supplied each

The giant puzzle to piece

To my surprise, Kendra had her fair share of struggles as a student before she found her stride at UC. When she returned to Aotearoa, she didn’t know many people in Christchurch and noticed that many students seemed to stick with their high

Meeting and make friends with many of the international students at UC

week, while a bunch of friendly students offer their own time up to ensure it runs smoothly-ish. Eight months later, with the odd global pandemic and social isolation spanner delaying plans slightly … the Connect Zone is now good to go. The Zone launches this Wednesday 29th July, 12-2pm, and will be held at this time each week. “The heart behind the Connect Zone is to create more of a ‘family’ environment, where anyone, no matter their age, race, beliefs or abilities can come, find community, have fun and a few laughs around a table”. Kendra and her mates are also keen for other students to contribute too or suggest how the zone could be even more epic. Let’s just say I’m convinced and will also be bringing my mates. Kendra promised there’ll be a few board games favourites to whet my appetite and (perhaps) boost my delicate ego... If you want to join in too, head to the UCSA building and lawn every Wednesday. You can also bring your own board games if you’re a connoisseur, whatever that means.

Kendra in the military (right)

school friends. As a result, she had to “put herself out there” first year, which stretches most people out of their comfort zones. Thankfully, she fell in with some “epically awesome” flatmates and friends … but it was these initial struggles which sparked the idea of the ‘Connect Zone’.

P.S. If you see brightly coloured jigsaw puzzle pieces around UC please bring them to the opening day on Wednesday. Together they will make a giant puzzle, to be made while we are fed and perusing the games. Please, for the love of all those with OCD tendencies, DO NOT be that one student who walked by the missing piece on their way to the UCSA.

Post Lockdown Munchies? Stay Local & Try These! By Nuha Anar

Kia Ora & Salams to my UC lovelies, I’m Nuha and I’m on the UCSA Exec this year. I had many wideeyed aspirations to encourage diversity and culture on campus buuuut COVID-19 came around and shat on all of them –– classic. Alas, I still wanted to make some sort of a difference and chuck a smile on some dials using the great power of food. With NZ now living that ‘Level 1 lyf’, we are all back scrambling outdoors again! I would like to say that with the return of our strong consumer powers we should heed the advice of the wise and “Stay Local”! I will tweak that slightly to “Eat Local”, for my own glory and for this article. It’s more important than ever to

retain the diverse flavours of our city so stop uber eating and get uber moving! I was quite the nomad during my youthful uni years (I’m 5th year going 6th, ew); usually ditching the campus bubble to stick my feelers out into the city. My aimless explorations led me to uncover HEAPS of interesting and delicious outlets. These would range from nostalgic Sri Lankan food like my Umma makes to the hottest veg/vegan delights with pretty harbour sights. You already have Ben’s 10s but here I reveal my own beloved kai mongers in Christchurch (also love your work Ben –– big fan)! There are so many more so there will be honourable mention.

Afghan Restaurant (Halal) $ Where? 316 Lincoln Road, Addington Okay, so with this place all I can say is you’re in for a ride ... if you can catch the shop open. It’s so elusive that there is even a 2,000 strong Facebook group called “Is AFG open?”. Any place that has a cult following FB group has to be good, right? Well it ding-dong-diddly IS! If you are lucky enough to find it open then strap yourself in because there is only one question the chef will be asking: “How many people?”. There are no menus, there are no choices, only good times and FANTASTIC food prepared by the one man show Abdul (the chef/waiter/entertainer). Dosa Kitchen (Veg/Vegan options) $ Where? Riverside Market, Oxford Terrace CBD Have you ever wondered whether there is more to Indian cuisine than your local butter chicken and garlic naan? Well here’s the short answer; of course, there is dummy. But there is a longer answer that may interest you –– imagine a giant savoury crepestyle pancake that is rolled and measures about half a metre long with fillings in the middle –– this is a Dosa. You will find an abundance of these big bois at Dosa Kitchen, ranging from their popular Masala Dosa (Vegan + my fave) to fillings of more of a meaty disposition. GO GET UR GIANT PANCAKE TODAY! Ceylon Kitchen (Veg options) $$ Where? The Yard 173 Saint Asaph Street, CBD

I really don’t feel like I have to explain this place, y’all know where this is AND that there are other locations on Cashel Street and the Arts Centre. This place will fill any void you have with sweetness, and it works. For example, post accidental killing of your beloved Minecraft parrots (RIP Pablo & Pablo II) OR for totally normal, non-Minecraft related reasons too of course. That got weird, fast. Chi Chi Kitchen (Veg options) $$ Where? 270 St Asaph St, CBD Think traditional Italian pasta and sauce with a Korean spin. The chef Eugene is a dear pal of mine and cooks up some of the best pasta dishes ever to grace my palette. Not even actually going to Italy changed my mind, no sir. Settle in and be ready to get transported to Eugene’s version of Italy. The Lotus-Heart Vegetarian Restaurant (Fully Vegetarian/Vegan/Halal) $$ Where? 363 Saint Asaph Street, CBD Opposite the rock n’ roll of the Darkroom is a beautiful oasis of a restaurant. Not only serving hearty meals but also (humbly) boasts an organic food shop, gifts, and a world instrument store! 100% vegetarian, but even the most exclusive consumers of meat will find something they fancy. I personally ADORE their humming burger that uses a patty made of nuts and is stuffed with pickled vegetables and cheese. You will arrive peckish and leave enlightened.

Close to my big ol’ heart is Ceylon Kitchen; another one man show that banishes hunger and the homesickness of some with every dish. Sri Lanka is known as the pearl of the Indian ocean. Ceylon Kitchen, in my eyes, is the pearl of St Asaph street (RIP Engineers). Sudath (the chef) serves traditional Sri Lankan food such as Kottu Roti (curried strips of Roti topped with meat or vegetables) and String Hoppers (think thin rice noodles in pikelet form) among other DELICIOSO Sri Lankan yummies sure to spice up your life

The Shroom Room Cafe (Fully Vegan/Veg/Halal) $$

Thai Container (Vegan/Veg options) $

Red Snapper (Veg Options) $

Where? 151 Bealey Avenue, CBD

Where? 25 Wakefield Avenue, Sumner

When I get home tired from Uni or just being tired from lying on the couch (Shout out to L3), then Thai Container saves the day. The container serves up steaming hot dishes packed with flavour such as their creamy Penang Curry or Tom Yum soup as well as literally 50 other eatables on the menu. The beauty of the wee Thai Container’s menu is that almost anything can be flipped to be Vegetarian or Vegan if you decide to give the flesh a rest. You may be waiting out in the cold while your food is prepared but once it’s done, your puku will never be warmer.

Blasphemous against Patron St Capt. Ben, but this has to be my favourite Fish n’ Chip shop in Christchurch. It has everything you desire: fish AND chips among all the other super obscure crap you find on chip shop menus. It even has a fish breed poster on the wall for your visual enjoyment! But wait, there’s more! On a sunny day you can stroll down to the beach and (attempt) to have a picnic there before the seagulls assault you. What more can one want?

Rollickin Gelato (Vegan/DF options) $ Where? (You know, don’t lie to yourself). If you seriously don’t: 37/35 New Regent Street

Where? 48 London Street, Lyttelton I. Cannot. Stress. How. Much. I. Love. This. Place. Yummo. Another fully vegan/vego cafe offering up a scrumptiously different vibe on meatless eating. As someone with a sweet tooth, my mouth enjoys all of the beaut raw desserts that this establishment provides. Just try the Raw Snickers Slice –– a true natural high.

I’m SUPER (I crack myself up) paranoid that I have missed some real diamonds on this list. In that case, you guys will have to do some exploring and uncover your own new favourite eating locations! Salams and Ciao for now xo

Heroes of New Zealand

Mental Health Support Workers By Michael Freeman

We live in an all-round wonderful place. From towering mountains to serene rivers winding through native bush, our country has astounding natural beauty and the communal spirit to match. Heroes of New Zealand aims to not only highlight those members of our communities who go underappreciated but also embody the attitude that makes New Zealand the greatest country in the world.

The term Hero means something different to each person who hears it. For some, it conjures up images of stoic Greek men fighting monsters, for others it is the soldiers who fought at Gallipoli. But few will think of the workers who make the society we live in possible, the unsung heroes of the modern world. There are many different underappreciated professions, but today we focus on the mental health support workers. These individuals look after those who cannot look after themselves, putting both their physical and mental wellbeing at risk for little reward, and it’s time someone took notice. Mental health support workers help make the mental health system function smoothly; their primary focus being to help those with disabilities in their day to day life. They support people with a wide range of disabilities, from those who are near being able to function on their own to those who will need care for the rest of their lives. Support workers are on the front line, helping people with daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning, and allowing them to live their lives to the best of their abilities. This job is not without its risk, however. Each day working as a support worker brings different challenges, from being assaulted to having to deal with someone who has soiled themselves. The care the patients require is ongoing and challenging, and those who provide this care must be compassionate and patient. The type of people who go into the field of mental health are, generalising of course, those who care about their fellow Kiwis. They feel compelled to help look after the bottom line. As a nation, New Zealand is remarkably bad at looking after our own. We coined the phrase ‘Tall poppy syndrome’ –– used to describe the cutting down of those who are doing well –– and we have one of the highest youth suicide rates in the OECD, almost five times that of Britain. The exemplary people who work in mental health are not to blame for this as they are the ones trying to help our peers who have fallen on rough times. They get none of the fanfare they deserve, but are crucial in holding together the fabric of our society. In general, the support professions that we rely on so much do not get the recognition they deserve. Firemen, EMT’s and Garbage men (my bad, I meant police) provide us with services

we rarely use but are crucial when we need them, and mental health support workers do the same. Imagine if you were to have a brain aneurism –– it could happen to anyone, at any time, and will completely derail your life. If you were lucky, you would need months of both physical and mental rehabilitation to get some semblance of your life back and the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. The people who would help you through this ordeal are the support workers mentioned in this article. They don’t ask for thanks, hell you’ll not remember half the time they spend with you, but they help you through this tough time nonetheless. Mahatma Gandhi is often attributed the quote “The measure of a civilisation is how it treats its weakest members” and while he didn’t actually say it (it was some American in the 70s) the sentiment still rings true. It’s all well and good a country having the best healthcare in the world and a billion-dollar budget surplus, but if these resources are not put to use helping those who need it then can a nation really be called great? Support workers are the embodiment of this sentiment. They do not seek fame, power or money, but help people in need out of the goodness of their hearts. While New Zealand has a way to go on many mental health fronts, these individuals who put the good of others before their own self-interest set an example for how the rest of us should act. The government has long purported to be focusing on mental health but it seems that they too often put money towards the more flashy things instead of those that matter. This is not a partisan issue; both sides of the aisle are guilty of putting money towards services that may not help the most but look good to the public. This is not acceptable. Money is needed in the places the public doesn’t see, from the rehabilitation homes for people who are coming out of mental hospital to the hospitals themselves, and this money will make a solid tangible difference in the lives of those who need it. The money will also make a difference in the lives of the support staff by allowing them to do their jobs better and feel more secure in the workplace. New Zealand needs to start caring for her carers. The world we live in glorifies the lucky. The man who made a billion dollars on horse racing, the student who accidentally discovered penicillin, and the investors who made a big bet which paid off are the ones the media focuses on, not the people who actually make a difference. Mental health support workers may not get the most recognition, may not bring in millions of dollars a year, and may not be the first people you think of when the word hero is used, but they are the ones who help those who cannot help themselves and for that they deserve our applause.

Forget FOMO ... it’s time for JOMO by Robyn Walford

veryone at one point or another has experienced FOMO (the fear of missing out) and it sucks! Countless times I have dragged myself to a party or night out, despite starting work at 7am the next morning, just because I don’t want to miss out on the action –– even though the people who will be at the event are the same people I live with or see every single day. It’s such a curse, or at least it was until I discovered JOMO –– the joy of missing out. It sounds odd but trust me, by the end of this piece I hope to change your mind on needing to make an appearance at every single event because sometimes, all you need is your dressing gown and a binge-worthy series! God-forbid you miss out on this sesh –– all your best friends are going to hate you forever; you’ll miss the opportunity to find the love of your life and die alone surrounded by your cats. Oh wait, that’s not going to happen, so it’s time to embrace the JOMO. Not going to lie to you, at first it’s pretty tricky, but the more you do it the more you’ll enjoy it, and soon you’ll be going to the events that you want to go to rather than all the events that you feel you have to. The first step to eliminating FOMO is to pop your phone away. As tempting as it is to watch all the Insta stories and the

Snapchat videos of your mates drunkenly singing away that they’ll inevitably want to erase from history the morning after anyway! This will prevent you from dwelling on the fact you’re not there. The philosophy of JOMO is all about living for the now and enjoying whatever it is you’re choosing to do. If you decided tonight you don’t want to party until 4am only to wake up at 7am for work, then own it! Your body will thank you for it the next day and you might finally be able to finish that essay you’ve been struggling on or catching up on that Netflix series you’ve been meaning to do for weeks. Regardless of your reasoning, it is super important to remember you did this for you. It’s not because you weren’t invited but rather, you weren’t feeling it tonight! Also, JOMO will give you extra confidence as well. It helps you learn to say no to things you don’t want to do. Just because your mate wants to go on a date and wants you to come to keep her friend entertained doesn’t mean that you have to! Don’t settle because you don’t want to disappoint your friends. Sometimes it is okay to be selfish. Sometimes it is okay to turn down that ‘bring a friend HIIT class’ because you would rather have a lie in. It’s time to put yourself first! Remind yourself of the reasons you said no if you feel yourself slipping into the spiral of FOMO.

There will always be a next time! Just because you’re missing out tonight doesn’t mean you’ll be missing out all the time. Tonight, change the FOMO into JOMO and enjoy your evening to yourself!

On Silence & Mental Health By Anonymous

CANTA printed my article “Lessons from the Psych Ward” in March and “Lessons beyond the Psych Ward” in May. It was humbling to receive such strong positive feedback on my articles from those who have lived experience of mental illness, as well as those who work in the mental health field, and I feel very privileged to have been asked to write again for Canta in this Hauora issue.

After spending most of January in a psychiatric hospital under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act I was transferred into outpatient care where I have been receiving treatment for the past six months. A few months ago, I was placed in a skills group which I have recently completed. I and a small number of other mental health clients learned how to manage distress and crisis in healthy ways. To be honest, I went into the group cynical, anxious, and silent. I didn’t expect to learn anything helpful and I certainly didn’t imagine I would be able to connect with other group members in a meaningful way. I thought I would hate going to the group every week –– I have never been happier to be proved wrong. I have always lived with silence. I often struggle to find my voice, to speak, to be heard. My silence is something I have always been ashamed of –– the part of myself that I believed needed the most forgiveness. I frequently have all these words floating on the tip of my tongue and inside my chest that I just can’t push to the surface. It is horrible to have so much to say but to have no idea how to express those thoughts verbally. As much as my silence frustrates others, it absolutely crushes me. To live with so much silence is a painful burden to carry and I wish speaking came easier to me. I wish I could open my mouth and let the words just tumble out but I can’t –– I’m not entirely sure why. It is the worst experience in the world. I also get a lot of comments about my silence –– all negative. I don’t speak enough, don’t express myself enough, don’t try hard enough to overcome my silence. As you can imagine the constant negative feedback on my voice –– or more accurately my lack of a voice –– only serves to make me curl up more inside. Ironically, the constant negative focus on my inability to speak only makes it harder for me to find my voice.

Eventually –– and to be honest I’m not entirely sure why –– I started to speak. I wanted to speak more than I’d ever wanted to speak in my entire life. I didn’t talk in faltering, unsure sentences, but with clarity and purpose. I was surprised to learn I had a voice that didn’t want to disappear into the background. To my shock, I could use my voice to convey emotion, support, humour, and enthusiasm. I continued to speak for the remainder of the course, and I also connected with some of the other group members outside of sessions and have made some good friends that I plan to continue spending time with now that the skills group is over. The skills group became more than a mental health treatment tool for me. It became a place where I began to want to live again. I started to regain some control over my life and my emotions. But most importantly, I got a glimpse of what my life could be. For the first time I was shown a future that wasn’t marred with silence and isolation, and it is that future that I am fighting for. I had been silent for so long I had honestly started to see my muteness as a security blanket instead of a gag or a muzzle clamping my mouth shut. I had so often hidden behind my silence that I didn’t know what I would do without her. I am grateful for all my silence has done for me. She has helped me through some very traumatic experiences, she has held my hand in the dark when no-one else could see me. She has loved me and accepted me when no-ones else would and she has protected me from some of the harshness of the world. But my silence has also kept me isolated and alone. She has denied me connection and community and support. She has kept the darker parts of my story sealed shut even when to speak would have helped me to heal.

For the first few sessions of the skills group I only spoke when prompted to participate in an icebreaker and other group activities, and I’d speak for as little as I was able to get away with. If I was not forced to engage, I was silent –– a very common occurrence in my life. The silence that had plagued my life came with me to the group and settled in my heart.

I am grateful for all my silence has done for me, but she has cost me too much and I now need to learn how to create a healthy balance between silence and speech. I need to learn how to walk through this world without silence being a constant presence at my side.

But the skills group was an experience like none I had ever had before. The two psychologists who ran the group were so enthusiastic and so full of hope. Every week they would come to group incredibly passionate about their work and with a desire to connect with us. They created an environment where the other group members felt comfortable to speak and share and ask questions. I was surprised to learn that many in the group struggled with a lot of the same issues I struggle with, and I felt a kinship to this small group of women who seemed so like me.

It won’t be easy; change never is, but the skills group and everyone in it gave me the gift of my voice, and I refuse to hand such a precious gift back. I want to learn how to bring my voice out into the open beyond the skills group and begin to speak and engage and interact in the other parts of my life. It won’t be an overnight journey and I have a lot of work to do, but I really do believe that with the right support and encouragement I can learn how to break the bonds of my silence and finally share my voice with the world.

Where to find help and support:  Need to Talk? - Call or text 1737 Youthline - 0800 376 633, text 234, email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat If you are currently feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start searching for support book an appointment to talk with your GP

ARTWORK BY Pim Van Duin SUBMIT YOUR CENTREFOLD ARTWORK TO

EDITOR@CANTA.ORG.NZ

Why the UCSA Elections Matter, From Someone who has Been at University for Too Long. By Liam Donnelly

Okay so the UCSA Elections are coming up. And you all need to get involved. Please, please nominate yourself for the elections. The more people who run, the more likely the exec that ultimately gets elected will be able to represent all students. Here at UC we’re lucky to have such an engaged student body, our voter turnout is far higher than any other university in New Zealand and the average student is pretty aware about what the students’ association is up to. Unfortunately, there can be some issues with that. Some students get very vocal about their disapproval of what the exec and the UCSA does, mainly on the UCSA noticeboard, and then never bother to back up their passion for complaining by putting their hand up to run. So shut the fuck up and actually nominate yourself for the UCSA Election. There are no specific requirements for what kind of student can run for the election. Any student can! If you are passionate about student politics, want to change just one thing for students, or simply have an original idea. You should run. Also, don’t forget that a portion of the student levy goes to the UCSA. So if you want to ensure that your money gets spent in a way that you approve, why don’t you nominate yourself and

potentially become one of the people who gets to determine how that might be used? It is after all called a ‘student’s association’ so it’s only logical that if you, a student, enjoy being a student, then you should work for an organization that is there to advocate for students. But even if you don’t nominate yourself, you HAVE to vote! MAKE SURE YOU VOTE. Voting is key because it gives the exec a bigger mandate to act on the policies that they were elected for. If you have a candidate with some policies you particularly like, then make sure you vote for them and get ALL your friends to vote for them too. Every student gets emailed a link to the voting form and have a three-day window in which they can vote, so there is absolutely no reason for them not to vote. If every student voted, then the 2021 UCSA Executive could be sure that students want them to act on exactly the issues they said they would. So, in conclusion, make sure you nominate yourself and make sure you vote in order for student democracy to function at its best.

Get yourself to the NZ International Film Festival (Whānau Mārama) Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival is a national event to enhance the appreciation of, and engagement with, global art and culture by providing access to a diverse range of high-quality film. Due to the impact of the global pandemic COVID-19, NZIFF will be delivered online this year, with limited screenings in cinemas and venues. On a positive note, this means that the festival will now be accessible nationwide for the first time. Online films are available as Online Rentals –– viewed within 48 hours of purchase, or Online Premieres –– viewed at a set date/time and including special Filmmaker Extras and selected live post-film Q&As. If you’re interested, check out their website (www.nziff.co.nz). The full programme of Whānau Mārama: NZIFF features 79 feature films and seven collections of short films from 41 countries, screening from 24 July to 2 August. Below is a curated list of films that you might want to check out.

WHĀNAU MĀRAMA: NZIFF WATCHLIST: The Girl on the Bridge: In the increasing public discourse on mental health, Leanne Pooley’s inspiring and fearless documentary tracks an extraordinary young woman’s journey from suicide survivor to advocate for those struggling. The fact it leaves you hopeful and with tangible advice makes it vital viewing. Rūrangi: Premiering their forthcoming web series as a special festival presentation, director Max Currie (Everything We Loved, NZIFF14) and writer Cole Meyers’ queer and trans-celebratory drama swells with character and heart. The Perfect Candidate: Saudi superstar director Haifaa AlMansour’s latest is a winning homecoming; a seriocomic look at the daily struggles of a doctor running for council – and her fellow women and outsiders – within an Islamic society undergoing dramatic change.

24 July 2 August

Animation NOW! 2020: A celebratory showcase of some of the year’s best and brightest animated shorts. If you’re looking to sample the animation ecosystem in all its multi-coloured, variously-shaped glory, there’s no better place to begin. Coded Bias: “Algorithmic justice” is one of the most important civil rights issues today, says computer scientist and digital activist Joy Buolamwini, in this accessible and compelling documentary about artificial intelligence and the biased algorithms that power it. Hong Kong Moments: Vivid and strikingly objective, Zhou Bing’s in-the-field documentary covering both sides of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement examines the personal and political identities at odds in this ongoing conflict. No Hard Feelings: Understated yet emotionally resonant, Faraz Shariat’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama is both timely in its exploration of a global humanitarian crisis and a testament to the transformative power of queer love. Sick, Sick, Sick: An intense teenage romance morphs into a hypnotic tale of resurrection and saudade in this visually lush meditation on all-consuming love from emerging Brazilian director Alice Furtado. You Will Die at Twenty: Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala’s beautifully realised fable of a child living with the knowledge his life will end the moment he becomes an adult is a coming-of-age tale like no other.

Email in to editor@canta.co.nz what movie you want to see and who you’d want to bring and be in the draw to win tickets! Competition ends 31st July!

Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival At Home — Online

Selected films also screening at Isaac Theatre Royal & Lumière Cinemas

NZIFF.CO.NZ

Has the University of Canterbury lost its way? By Anonymous

I attended a lecture recently in which I found out that it was acceptable to use a light green marker on a whiteboard. Strangely I couldn’t make out the scribblings/diagram from my roughly middle position in the theatre due to the lights reflection on the white board. So being someone who doesn’t want to complain without trying to solve the problem, I asked the lecturer to use a black whiteboard marker in the future to which he replied “Sorry that’s all I could find” seeming to forget the other times he has made this mistake. This may seem like a small mistake to the reader but it is akin to forgetting to tie you shoes before taking off to school. Frustrated by this, I did a quick bit of maths – figuring that this particular course brings the university approximately $1mil in fees between students and the government. It doesn’t seem acceptable to me that for a course that brings in that level of revenue that a lecturer can’t find the appropriate stationery. This led me down a metaphorical rabbit hole – thinking of other examples of poor lecturing.

The lecturer who could have been replaced by a text to speech program. The lecturer who doesn’t respond to any emails. The lecturer who doesn’t have any office hours. The lecturer who doesn’t do any examples in class. The lecturer who answers a student question by walking up to them, not restating the question and answering for the rest of the class (never mind Echo360). The lecturer who is using data from 20 years ago, prior to significant changes in the corresponding industry. Now you’ll all be saying, why didn’t you use the class rep system? I have used it with many other people to seemingly no effect on a fairly…poor course. This may be cynical of me, but the class rep system has devolved to being a point on a 20 year olds C.V. showing “leadership” by being bribed by a couple of biscuits for turning up. Peanuts and monkeys? What about contacting other personnel in the department (incl HOD)?

I’ve found that bringing up a problem, sometimes this means you are the problem despite how reasoned and eloquent your email is. Learning how to learn you say? Then what’s the point of turning up to lectures? – I think I should get more value from a lecture than a search term to pass into google. With a professors workload said to be 40% research, 20% administration and 40% lecturing we will always have the individuals who swing one way or the other. Is it acceptable to be bad at 40% of your job without trying to improve? Additionally this justification seems forget one key fact – we pay fees, especially the international students who pay up to $5500 for undergraduate courses and therefore we are customers and should get a quality service. For some degrees we are in a form of regulatory capture – in that we can’t drop a course because it’s stipulated in the regulations, which makes it easier to just accept the sky is green and get on with it. When a student finds the lecturing to be substandard, individually we don’t want to fail, so we find other resources to learn. Professor Gilbert Strang (MIT) has taught me more about linear algebra than the University of Canterbury. On a large

scale, this creates a feedback loop artificially inflating the course average and hiding the given lecturers (lack of?) skill. How do we deal with this systemic problem? A friend of mine has been paid $x,000 to teach an undergraduate course for a term. No professional development, no instruction on how to lecture. I would argue that every lecturer should have training on adult learning (wait, isn’t there a college of education?) initially and on an annual basis – A cost in terms of time and space to be sure. But that would affect the annual profit margins… It seems to me that the University of Canterbury of fallen foul of Goodhart’s law. “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” A university should measure success by the calibre of graduates and the quality of research produced, and the profit should naturally follow. I would argue that this university cares more about a couple of zeros on an excel spreadsheet. Now back to reading about how a UCSA café totally has value for money food on campus….

A Tale of Ilam Apartments by Anonymous

Ilam is an odd suburb. It is laid out like the board from The Game of Life, university at one end, retirement homes at the other; a place for freshmen and old men alike. What, I wonder, is the difference between the retirement villages and the student villages? Both are for people at certain life stages. Both house copious amounts of drugs. On any day, families visit the residents of either place. People die in both. But it is in the student village that last year, the forensic disaster squad entered to identify Mason Pendrous’ decayed body…. That doesn’t sound like safe and happy student accommodation. A couple of years ago, I moved into the concrete edifice on the corner of Homestead Lane and Waimari Street, with its windows painted in pigeon shit, obscured by prison bar privacy screens. A google of Ilam Apartments will return a few juicy results. One, the mystery of how an Indian marketing firm named ‘Savage Humans’ hijacked the street address for well over a year on Google Maps. Two, the increasingly negative reviews slamming CLVs absolute lack of service and greedy policies. Three, the recent article on Stuff about how those aforementioned privacy screens are so badly maintained that one broke, plunging a student three stories and nearly to their death this year. It’s a place where foreign students and locals with more money than sense can enjoy halfway-house-style living for a rate that seemed to get very expensive after the Labour government increased student living cost payments—what a coincidence! What do you get for your rent? In my case, electrical sockets hanging out of

their fitting. Holes in the walls. Bugs and larvae in the carpets. Windows that leaked when it rained. Broken heaters. Mouldy bathrooms and badly fixed ceiling leaks. A kitchen that was falling apart. Cleaners that sit on their phones in your living space until they realise you are home, one who would go through our fridge and handle our food, and another who stole shampoo. Shared washing machines that eat your money and do not work. The list goes on. Only one guy ever showed up when we requested maintenance help, so very little got done. There was always an excuse why something could not be fixed, and many of the issues went ignored. When CLV upgraded their website last year, what I assume was a glitch allowed me to see the complete record of maintenance requests sent to the company. Some of these issues had been reported several years ago and were still not addressed. I wonder, then, where did all the bond money go, especially when CLV are so keen to hold onto it? When I left the place, they held onto my bond for a couple of months longer than they should have, and only paid me out when I finally contacted them. Meanwhile, an overseas friend who stayed at Ilam was not refunded at all and claimed the company was fobbing him off. It is a common experience if you believe the online chatter. The only redeeming factor for Ilam is that you get to live with an interesting bunch of students. The people, the parties, the sense you are part of a little community that will last for a short time. Because Ilam Apartments is popular with international students, a new wave of people come and go every semester. The downside is saying goodbye so soon. As the only local assigned to my apartment, I would get a new bunch of flatties for a short time, then suddenly find myself living alone again. The sound of suitcases skipping along the concrete outside indicated the semester was over and the cycle would repeat. One of my flatmates, in my final stint at Ilam, described the experience of being a local student as “like being a human among old dogs.” I am sure there was a compliment in there somewhere.

A sense of community is not guaranteed. It is not always easy to meet people at Ilam. Unlike halls, Ilam Apartments is—as the name suggests—styled after independent apartment living, so you have less connection with your neighbours unless you go knocking on the door. This means that if you are meeker and quieter, like I often was, you could feel very isolated. The people you live with may have other ideas about who they want to spend their time with, and cliquey attitudes were rampant. For some, Ilam Apartments is a lonely, disappointing experience. Miserable, even. Among the low points was when Mason Pendrous died. He did not live at Ilam, but was up the road at Sonoda Hall, a facility also owned by Campus Living Villages. Pendrous, who apparently would spend time alone in his room, died in his bed and was failed by CLV staff who did not find his body for weeks despite claiming to provide “pastoral care.” The director of the company, John Schroder, reportedly had the nerve to tell Pendrous’ grieving stepfather that, across all CLV facilities collectively, death is a common event in the student accommodation business. What a charmer. When my flatmates learned about Pendrous, there was an eerie lack of surprise that such failings could happen. As much as I resent Schroder’s blasé comments, student deaths at UC are not isolated to Pendrous. Among the other public cases was a tragedy in Rochester and Rutherford in 2016. It later turned out that Pendrous probably died of an illness or a medical event, but the details will never be clear. His body had decomposed too heavily to pinpoint a cause of death, a process accelerated by the heater in his room: 209 in the wing known as Hinoki. I wonder how long it will be until CLV tries to resell that room, presumably under a different name and number. Perhaps someone is in it right now, unaware of the ghastly scene it once was. Back in my own room at Ilam Apartments, I wondered if death had graced these walls, too. Pendrous’ death was not in vain. It caught the attention of national and international journalists alike. It prompted law changes, namely to the Education Act, to set new mandatory regulations for student accommodation providers and universities. UC made their own changes, too, including a decision to better monitor student attendance. It sparked a new debate about falling standards of care for students, and accommodation providers across the country began reviewing their practices. Independent investigations into the incident found CLV had failed its duties, was understaffed, and had not adhered to good practice. A staff member who left the company in 2011 notably claimed they had warned CLV about their under-staffing, but it fell on deaf ears. I recently met with a student who shivered when I mentioned CLV; they explained they used to work as an RA for the company, and the

pressure of looking after so many students with so little resources was too much to handle. In short, CLV’s horrible reputation is common knowledge among anyone who dares to care. Following the Pendrous incident, CLV instructed staff at Ilam to check on the wellbeing of students. A woman showed up to our apartment with a clipboard. In our cohort of five, only two of us were present. She asked us if everyone was okay but did not bother to check the rooms. Had everyone else been hanging by rope above their beds, the clipboard would have been signed off with a green tick. It was a sloppy token effort. The kiwis in our apartment got emails asking us if we were doing okay, myself included. The international students I lived with said they did not receive emails. “I guess they’re looking out for their own,” a flatmate joked. It probably was not far from the truth. The priorities of CLV felt distinctly self-interested, more so than one would expect even from a company like this. New Zealand ought to be better than to let cost-cutting and corporate nastiness dictate the landscape of student accommodation, particularly when these incidents are so heavily tied to the brand of the host university, in this case our own UC. Whether it’s the bad press the university received, the misery it caused to Pendrous’ family, or the grim sense of hopelessness it spreads into the student community at large, the ugliness of these incidents trickles through society and sends a bad message. Why is it, then, that the University of Canterbury is still indulging Campus Living Villages and not revisiting their contract with a company who are increasingly brazen in their disregard for student welfare? Vice chancellor Cheryl de la Rey had the unfortunate job of fronting the media over this failing, with a memorable sound bite: it was “inconceivable to

imagine how these circumstances could have occurred.” But was it, really? Could anyone familiar with the practice of CLV really be surprised that the company failed in the way it did? What is inconceivable is how CLV can continue to plough on, dragging their heels on repairing their buildings and meeting student welfare obligations, whilst raising rent prices, snatching bonds, charging students for rooms they could not access during the COVID-19 pandemic, and having the gall to charge Pendrous’ grieving family after he had died. This is exploitation at worst, wilful negligence at best. When the semester ended in 2019 and my tenancy was complete, I felt nervous about the end of it all. I would not miss the building, or the awful service, but I was fortunate in that 2019 had been a good year for me. I had lived with some amazing people who helped distract from the shoddy digs. But for the final time as I watched the last student bounce their suitcase along the footpath and into the back of a shuttle taxi, I could not help but wonder, what of Pendrous? He had arrived to a hall at UC, unpacked his things like the rest of us, but he would not leave with the rest of us. Now he was gone. In the hours before I said goodbye to my apartment of two years, I sat at my desk and reminisced about the all the faces I had seen come and go, and all the memories made. And then I thought of Pendrous again. Locking the door to my room for the last time, I felt a great sense of sadness and nostalgia. It was finally my time to join the old dogs, pack my bags, and flee like everyone had before me. But it was not everyone. I was reminded that leaving, apparently made me one of the privileged ones; today I would not be one of Schroder’s “common events”.

An open letter to CLV from an RA

When I took a job as an RA at CLV it sounded like a great opportunity. I got to live close to the uni, it would look great on my CV, and I did actually want to make sure that my little group of freshers had a smooth transition out of home. Unfortunately, my experiences have not reflected this. The mismanagement and lack of communication from CLV has made this job the exact opposite of what I had hoped. CLV is in a constant state of restructuring. The management is moved from site to site and role to role, with little direction or idea of what their responsibilities are. While CLV continues to claim that ‘big changes are coming’ that will solve all the issues, days continue to pass where nothing changes and everything stays up in the air. As a result of this, there is little accountability for mistakes and failures, and there are certainly a lot of them. RA’s are constantly being made promises which simply never come to fruition and are given no explanation or remedy. For example, several residents reported missing scanners from their keychains on move in day. Not only did these scanners not arrive when we were told they would, management offered no explanation as to where they were or how this situation would be remedied. This meant these residents had to spend several weeks with no scanners to get themselves inside their own buildings. The most egregious example of mismanagement in my opinion is the pastoral care team. There are very few staff members, stretched over the 6 CLV sites and dealing with the issues of over one thousand residents. I have had members of this team miss several meetings with me about problem residents, and when I do meet with them, they can only afford me a small amount of their time. This often leads to small incidents ballooning into much bigger issues, as the team is rushing to put out only the biggest fires. This is worrying not only for the residents but the RA’s themselves. Being “on the ground” at the halls, we have to deal with a wide range of difficult situations, including residents who self-harm, or are victims of sexual assault. While we were assured during training that there would be adequate support for us through these difficult times, this help has not manifested because the pastoral team is simply stretched too thin.

On top of this, there are many other practices in place at CLV which show their abysmal commitment to pastoral care: Our training was incredibly mismanaged, with overlapping or even contradictory information from one day to the next and even one instance where we sat around doing nothing for hours because the staff just didn’t seem to know where the next trainer was. Many of us have been left feeling unequipped to deal with many of the situations we have experienced. Despite the recommendation from Justice Toogood for a 30:1 resident to RA ratio, this quota still has not been met. Some RA’s have up to 40 residents, but are still expected to provide the same amount of care as RA’s with only 14 residents while also managing their own studies. CLV is still looking to hire new RA’s almost half way through the year, but the RA’s who have been hired are receiving little to no training. Despite knowing about all of these problems, and receiving many complaints from the RA’s and other staff members, CLV has had little concern. They continue to fail to communicate with the RA’s, dissolve necessary positions, and even had the nerve to put in a tender to manage the newly-built residential hall at UC. All of these issues I have listed have a huge impact on staff morale. I’ve seen some of the most empathetic people I’ve ever met reduced to shrugs and indifference when a resident needs help, because we’re all so withdrawn to the fact that nothing ever really gets done in this company. When we receive no information from CLV it makes us lose faith in the company, and in turn it makes residents lose faith in us. I’m not writing this to get anyone in trouble or simply just to vent. I’m writing this because there needs to be some accountability. CLV is not a burger joint. The consequences of mismanagement are not a burnt scoop of chips and an angry patron. The consequences of mistakes made here could result in a young person being seriously injured or even dying. And as we know all too well at the University of Canterbury, those consequences can and do occur. Sincerely,

(Despite these complaints, however, I would like to stress that I don’t blame this team themselves. They are dedicated and resilient workers who are simply suffering (like the rest of us) from incredibly bad management.)

an RA

Entertainment by Ella Somers

TV: I May Destroy You Trigger warning: I May Destroy You features themes around sexual assault and this review By: Talisker mentions sexualScott assaultHunter as well.

Even though 2020 has been a terrible hellfire year on so many levels, it has redeemed itself ever so slightly with the release of I May Destroy You. Watching this series filled me awe, as it is FLAWLESS. Yes, even I, Queen of Complaining, cannot find a single negative thing to say about this series and it is hands down my favourite thing I’ve watched so far this year. I May Destroy You stars Michaela Coel as Arabella Essiedu, a millennial writer who first finds fame on Twitter before becoming a novelist. Arabella is trying to finish her second novel when, on a night out with friends, her drink is spiked and she is sexually assaulted. The series follows her through her journey of trying to remember what happened that night with the help of her best friends. I’ve always been a huge fan of Coel since her work in Black Earth Rising and Chewing Gum (which she also wrote!) and she somehow managed to blow me even more away with her work in I May Destroy You. Coel doesn’t just star in this series but also created, wrote, produced and co-directed it, and it’s obvious because the whole series is perfection. 10 out of 10 hellfires.

Book: This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay One of the reasons why I love This Is Going to Hurt – not just because it’s a bloody great read that will make you cry with laughter AND heartache — is because this book kickstarted my obsession for medical memoirs. Everyone has their weird obsessions; the ones that no one else understands, and mine happens to be reading medical memoirs. SUE ME. This Is Going to Hurt is a collection of diary entries that the author Adam Kay gathered from his real medical diaries that he kept during his seven years as a junior doctor. Kay never sugar-coats any of his experiences or how he dealt with them and the entries vary from hilarious to the truly awful. It’s so interesting and also heart-breaking to see Kay’s journey from a fresh-eyed junior doctor wanting to do his best, to leaving medicine seven years later. All because the physical and mental tolls of what every NHS doctor is expected to face nowadays was – completely understandably – too much. 8 out of 10 hellfires.

Book: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy Everyone and their horse could not seem to get enough of this book during lockdown and being the weak-willed person that I proudly am when it comes to buying beautiful books, I caved and bought it. I wasn’t expecting it to live up to the hype but OH MY GOD did it live up to hype! The whole book was so good for my soul and has now become one of my most precious possessions and I will never be parted from it. Described best as part comic strip, part art gallery, the book follows – you never would’ve guessed from the title – a boy, a mole, a fox, and a horse who take a journey together, discovering things about themselves and the world along the way. Charlie Mackesy is such a talented illustrator and managed to tell a tiny magical story on every page and there is something in here for you, regardless if you’re 8 or 80. Could not recommend this book enough but NO you can’t borrow my copy, get your own. 10 out of 10 hellfires.

Podcast: Just Listen After digging around online for podcasts on mental health that actually have something interesting to say and weren’t completely pointless, I found Just Listen, an absolute gem of a podcast. Through seven episodes, Just Listen takes the listener – with the help of host Juliette Sivertsen – through the mental health experiences of six different New Zealanders. I found the episodes on anxiousness versus anxiety and high-functioning depression the most interesting and the seventh episode on what self-care really means was excellent as well. 8 out of 10 hellfires.

C OLU MN S If you would like to submit a column piece, enail your idea to editor@canta.org.nz

Dept of Spiritual Engineering. Rev. Spanky Moore I remember visiting the SPCA a few years ago to choose a kitten. It was a big moment of commitment –– and walking into the communal cat pen I was overwhelmed by the variety of furballs attempting to win my affection. But clinging to the wire door was a giant ginger cat, screeching a blood curdling “rreeeaaoowwll”. He’d just had one of his back legs amputated and looked horrible. I quickly choose the cute four-legged kitten I liked the look of

by your parents, and is pretty cush? Or, say, taking home a three-legged cat, rather than the cuddly ball of fur you’d always dreamed of.

and tried to leave the pen without seeing too much detail of his stump. “Who would ever take that guy home?” I said to the SPCA carer. “Yeah,” she replied. “His chances aren’t great”,

do it, that, for you, is evil.”

Have you ever made a big decision that went against the logical thing to do, but seemed like the right thing to do? Like taking a job that pays less and involves working with hard people, rather than the one which pays more, requires less hours, is respected

James Freeman Clarke famously said, “Strong convictions precede great actions.” The writer of the book of James puts it in even stronger terms: “If you know the right thing to do and don’t

As it turns out, without some sort of conviction most people tend to just make the easy choices, rather than the right ones. So, it’s worth asking yourself: what are your deepest convictions? What do you believe in so much that your willing to risk your life to stand up for it? And why would you ever choose a yowling threelegged cat over a four legged fluff ball of delight?

F L AT F L AT F L AT F L AT F L AT F L AT F L AT F L AT THE LEMON TREE FLAT.

When life gives you lemons, shit gets sour. You win some you lose most. 5 boss lemons (1 in absentia) taking on the world one disaster at a time (often self inflicted)

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FOR THIS FLAT TO CLAIM THEIR PRIZES CONTACT EDITOR@CA NTA.CO.NZ OR COME TO THE CA NTA OFFICE IN HAER E-ROA

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Broken News

Avalanche at CUBA Jib Chaos ensued last week at the CUBA Jib event after an avalanche was caused. The event, which sees an artificial ski and snowboard course constructed on university grounds, experienced an avalanche caused by extreme amounts of bass shaking the slope. The sheer amount of bass coming from the DJ

booth caused enough shaking on the slopes to loosen the snow and caused an avalanche. “Too much bass, not enough drum, man” said one eye-witness.

Kanye now expected Judith Collins to to run for UCSA Turn UCSA Building into Detention Centre President if Elected Judith Collins has announced she will turn the UCSA Building into a detention centre if elected in September. Collins identified the UCSA Building as a prime example of the type of building her government would acquisition for her new Detention Policy, that would see all non-whites placed in detention centres. “This is a perfect example of the kind of building I want” claimed Collins, “somewhere big and empty to shove all those pesky non-white people.” The Foundry is expected to remain open in the building

After missing the deadline to apply for presidential candidacy in many major states, Kanye has his eyes set on the other major election happening this year, the UCSA Election. Kanye has announced that he intends to run for presidency of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association. “Yeah I’m gonna run for President of the UCSA, and I’m gonna win. There’s so much we can accomplish to change world.” Among his policies, Kanye intends to abolish the Health Centre and make prayer at the start of every lecture compulsory.

Upcoming Events 29 July

30 July

18:30 @ Bentleys

22:00 @ SIN After Dark

TIB Presents: Sex Quiz Night

Silent Disco

31 July 31 July, 19:00 @ Bentleys

UC Pols Formal: Election Extravaganza

31 July

31 July, 19:30 @ FLUX

Dolphin Friendly Live

1 Aug

19:00 @ Ngaio Marsh Theatre

CUBA X GC Present: Full Moon Party

3 Aug

20:30 @ Isaac Theatre Royal

12:00 @ Ara student Plug-In

Screening: Flash Gordon

Ben & Jerryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Scoop Shack

5 Aug

11:30 @ The Undercroft

UC Volunteering Expo

8 Aug

19:30 @ Isaac Theatre Royal

The Butlers Live

1 Aug

20:30 @ Space Academy

First Name Confusion: ESP Tour

3 Aug

19:00 @ 43 St Martins Road

Mike King Public Talk

14 Aug

19:00 @Milton St Substation

ENSOC Presents: Masquerade Ball

p i D y Luck Presents

itted, without

inted as subm Lucky dip is pr

proofing

ce to shoot n a h c a d n a ks dinner, drin nta.co.nz a s c lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; @ a r S o a it t d e n a il W Ema LUCKY DIP? in t o h s r u o y

One Side Holy shit I’ve never been so nervous in my life. I was freaking out! Not only is this my first blind date, it’s my first official date ever. My friends all encouraged me to sign up, and I did because I never expected to actually be picked for it. I’ve enjoyed the single pringle life, but I hyped myself up for a week and was fully ready for this date. I arrived first but luckily my date wasn’t far behind. She was stunning. I basically had to pinch myself because she was so hot, I couldn’t believe this situation was happening. I panicked slightly as I was unsure how to greet her but I got up and gave her a polite hug. We sat down and just started yarning. We got on like a house on fire, the conversation was great! We talked about the usual uni stuff, and we found out we actually even shared a couple of classes.

They’re political science classes so it was inevitable that we had a yarn about politics. We didn’t necessarily see eye to eye on everything, but we respected each other’s opinions. I was fucking starving, so I was so glad when the food came. We continued to eat and have a few drinks, we laughed a lot and I think there was a bit of a spark between us to be honest. Maybe my single pringle life will come to an end soon?? Watch this space I guess. Unfortunately, as the night went on, she had another event to get to, so I asked for her Instagram so I could slip into her DMs later. Hopefully there is going to be a second date in our future.

The Other Side FINALLY, my time had come. I was selected for Lucky Dip! I got all prettied up and headed off to my date. As soon as I arrived, I knew immediately who my date was. Fuck. I recognized him from a couple of my lectures, but not because I had noticed him across the lecture hall, but because he always puts his hand up to make dickhead fucking comments. Upon arriving, I realized I didn’t need to bother getting all dressed up, he had made no effort whatsoever. He was in trackpants and running shoes. WHAT THE FUCK? Put in some effort hun. He gets up to hug me and he doesn’t smell particularly pleasant either. So, we just start having a chat, and unfortunately, I can’t avoid the fact that we’re going to connect the dots that we’re in some of the same lectures.

He gets all excited when he realizes and immediately starts asking my opinion on a million different things. Turns out, of all the classes we have together, he hates all the ones with female lecturers. Between that and some of his political opinions, I gathered he was a misogynist piece of shit. Also, hearing him rant on about his political beliefs made me think he was better off living in the 50’s as a member of the KKK. When the food arrived, he ate literally most of it, stuffed his face completely. Then to finish the night he asks if I want to come back to his. I make up some shit about having a friend’s party and then get the hell out of there. Thanks CANTA, that was a shit night. One star.

Missed your Sals fix? all stores (excl The Terrace) are open for Uber eats & Pick up in Level 3

HAPPY ENDING

Show your appreciation for your favourite little friend by helping keep him safe from HPV-related cancers and genital warts. HPV immunisation is free* from the Student Health Clinic, so get yourself down there right now or visit bestshot.co.nz to find out more.

* GARDASIL® 9 is a prescription medicine, for females aged 9–45 years and males 9–26 years of age. It is a nine-valent recombinant human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. GARDASIL® 9 is indicated for 9–45 year-old females and 9–26 year-old males, for prevention of cervical, vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancer, precancerous or dysplastic lesions, genital warts or lesions, and infection caused by the HPV types in the vaccine. Each 0.5 mL dose contains the following HPV L1 Proteins by type: 6 (30 µg), 11 (40 µg), 16 (60 µg), 18 (40 µg), 31 (20 µg), 33 (20 µg), 45 (20 µg), 52 (20 µg), and 58 (20 µg). GARDASIL® 9 has risks and benefits, and should be used strictly as directed. Ask your doctor if GARDASIL® 9 is right for you. Tell your healthcare professional if you or your child have ever had an allergic reaction to any vaccine or to any of the listed ingredients for GARDASIL® 9, or if you or your child has a serious illness, blood disease, bleeding disorder, a high fever, or a weakened immune system (e.g. due to medicines, a genetic condition, or human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection). Common reactions are headache, fever, and injection-site pain, swelling, and redness. Fainting can occur. Allergic reactions are rare but serious. If you are worried by any side effects, see your doctor, pharmacist, or healthcare professional. Go to the nearest hospital if you experience wheezing, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing; or pinkish, itchy swellings and rash, especially on the face. Immunisation does not replace the need for regular cervical cancer screening. Additional product information and Consumer Medicine Information is available from www.medsafe.govt.nz (October 2019), and from Seqirus (NZ) Ltd, Auckland, on 0800 502 757. GARDASIL® 9 is funded for both males and females aged 9–26 years – normal charges will apply for other patients. Copyright © 2019 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All Rights Reserved. NZ/GAR9/0120/0073a TAPS NA12097 INSIGHT 10219A.

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