UniLife Magazine 20.5

MAGAZINE

Issue 20.05 August 2012 | www.unilifemagazine.com.au

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riends and foes, we come to you with sad news. Next issue will be our last. Yes, what they say is true; our time with you is very quickly coming to an end.

While the news may be bleak, we ask that you dry your tear stained eyes and help us with our final request. We want to make our last issue the best issue you’ve read. This is a final call for all illustrators, writers, and potential writers to please grant us our dying wish and submit something – ANYTHING – to Catherine.Moore@unisa. edu.au. Help us in our time of need by giving us all you’ve got.

Cat, Tom, Sam, and Sean

Contents

UniSA VS Australia: Band Brawl begins

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Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

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Hungry Creatives on the Prowl

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A Well-Rounded Decision 08 Ready to Roll 10 It’s Social Sport, Not the Olympics

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LEAD by Example

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UniSA Spring Student Markets

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Calendar 16 Morocco’s Hash Haven

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Obsession 20 The Nipples that Batman Deserves

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Inbox (1) – I <3 You

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Rio+20 Summit 26 Global Experience 28

Cover art by Nicky Irvine Thanks to our sub-editors Lucy Ahern, Ashleigh Knott and Laura Pietrobon Visit www.unilifemagazine.com.au Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @unilifemagazine UniLife Magazine is an affiliate of UniLife Inc. Published 27/08/2012

UniSA VS Australia:

Band Brawl BeginsShow

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arken to the choir of architects! Get a load of the tipsy teaching students mic’d up and overdriven – look at the little one with the tambourine! Aw man, adult battles of the bands are the best.

Take whatever vision you have of your high school regional band contest – where some tie-n-blazer oboe ensemble always rocked up and were so devastated for not placing– and forget it.

The National Campus Band Competition is the big kids’ playground. There are $12000 worth of prizes on offer. And if you want to talk cred, this is the comp that kick-started Eskimo Joe, The Vasco Era, Jebediah, and Transport.

Just think, their 2012 equivalent could be suffering alongside you in a tute, because the only real condition of entry is that at least one band member must be enrolled at a participating tertiary institution.

In South Australia, that means either Adelaide University or UniSA. We have 17 UniSA entrants heading into this Hunger Games of sound, leaping for the jugular in their twenty-minute sets. The heats at The Academy (20-22 August) will decide which UniSA-ian gets to fight dirty for musical glory in the state final on September 8.

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After crowning the South Australian campus kings and queens, the interstate rivals will be flown in for the national final at Fowler’s Live on September 28.

Matt Vecchio, sound engineer and allround entertainment industry dude, has been spruiking the competition for a while. Working closely with The Academy, he’s keen to see more bands compete this year after only seven participated in 2011.

Despite the prizes, it’s been a tough gig just getting names on the list.

“Some bands don’t really like band competitions,” Vecchio said. “They feel that they don’t want to compete because it’s meant to be about art, and they don’t like the idea of being judged. There are also people who just can’t be bothered.”

On top of that, there is the internal conflict of a band split between two universities. Many divided bands prefer to register under Adelaide.

UniLife Promotions Officer Tom Wilson recognises the problem. Both he and Vecchio see it as an issue of tradition, rather than lack of interest.

“Adelaide Uni has a stronger affiliation with live music, having had the well-established UniBar as a home venue for 10-plus years,” Wilson said.

Writer: Ilona Wallace Photo: Genevieve Brandenburg

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“Also, Adelaide University has the Elder Conservatorium of Music on campus, a very well-regarded music institution, which adds further ties to the music scene.”

Hopefully a few more Acoustic Thursdays at the Academy (not to mention less of a campus spread once Magill is demolished) will increase undergraduate pride and help inspire more SuperTAFE musicians to contribute.

As for the bands involved this year, they’re pretty bloody brillo.

Seventeen Fifty Seven always delight with their rousing brand of funk-rock, and the Folko-oh-noes take gypsychic to a new level with smashing vocals and stellar double bass.

Vecchio, glad to be free of judging responsibilities, has picked Horror My Friend, Little Two Eyes, and Bokchoy Boys as his top three.

Horror My Friend got to the state final last year and are keen as beans to get back into the game.

Featuring two UniSA students, Josh Battersby (Multimedia) and Al Cristophel (International Relations), as well as Adelaide Uni teaching student Tom Gordon, the punk-rock outfit have two singles set to drop in September. The group is hoping to bolster the releases with a National Band Comp win.

Really, though, it’s anyone’s game.

It’s a chance for a small-time band to take their amateur indie jingles and turn them into a summery junglepop record. Or the opportunity for a mature-age ensemble of hardened gothic rockers to hammer out a hellish EP*.

With so much to gain and only dignity to lose, what’s the harm in having a shot? Registrations may be closed for this year, but start practising now to take out the title in 2013.

For now, keep an eye out on the final bill for any of these bands – your classmates could be in any one of them.

BlackRain Upon Us / Bokchoy Boys / Causing Hammock / Collection Day / Horror My Friend / Inferiority Complex / Little Two Eyes / Love Cream / Seventeen Fifty Seven / SouthCoast / Ten Days Waiting / The Ceiling Effect / The Folko-oh-noes / The Giveaways / The Rocketeers / The Stonyfellas / Try Your Luck. *There are no mature-age gothic rockers in this year’s competition.

Sad face.

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Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

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rthur Miller once wrote, “Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.”

But what are the right regrets? Are regrets a wasted energy, or a driving force towards new and better opportunities? Do you channel your regrets or wallow in self-doubt as a result of past errors? How have your regrets shaped you?

For various reasons, few I actually remember, I dropped out of school when I turned 17.

After dropping out, I went off to study hospitality and ventured into a haze of years that were indeed the best of times, the worst of times, and mostly drunken times.

During that era, I often swore I’d never drink again and would learn from my beer swilling, table dancing, karaoke-warbling mistakes.

After a few years of good laughs and ridiculous behaviour, I knew I would regret it if I didn’t at least try to better myself educationally.

At 23, I sat the STAT test and commenced a degree in Secondary Education as a ‘mature’ age student, although at the time I was not the least bit mature.

The degree was a struggle, mainly because I hadn’t attempted year 12. Essays, deadlines, referencing and research skills were foreign concepts to me.

But I persevered and completed my degree, earning a qualification in teaching and a career where I learned so much from my incredible students, ranging from elite private school kids to young offenders in the state’s juvenile centres.

I’ll let you in on a little secret though; as much as I loved teaching some of the loveliest, funniest, brightest, toughest and most entertaining teenagers in South Australia, I always wanted to be a journalist.

Last summer, I walked past a nursing home at Glenelg.

I mused about the residents, sitting in the sun, seeing out their last days. But then I wondered – what would I regret if it were me inside those walls, seeing out the rest of my life?

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Writer: Libby Parker Artist: Alexandra Stjepovic-burgess

Would I be happy with how I’d lived my life and the choices I’d made?

So here I am, back at uni, studying a post graduate in journalism.

Starting again a decade later hasn’t been easy, but I’m studying with some of the loveliest, funniest, brightest, toughest and most entertaining adults at UniSA, and loving every moment of it.

I spoke with some UniSA students about regret.

Occupational therapy student Clare said, “My regrets are mostly things I’ve said or done which caused me to lose friendships and relationships.

Sometimes, you don’t realise the effect words have until it’s too late.”

Alyssa, ironically studying a Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery, said she regrets pushing a kid off the playground when she was in kindy, but assured me she stopped listening to her evil conscience and now tries to be nice to everyone.

Fellow postgraduate journalism student Josh said, “Everyone makes mistakes, but I don’t believe in living a life of regret. People who dwell on things get miserable because they can’t move past something and it’s better to just get over it.”

But regret can have more serious consequences too, as Clare explained: “My biggest regret is wasting time holding grudges. My wakeup call was when I realised I had been missing out on seeing my little sister grow up (because of a grudge). But the best way for me to cope was to get everything out in the open and work through it.”

Regret can make you stronger, more self-aware or shape the way you are; it’s the desire to avoid regret that motivates me.

Cringe-worthy moments I might like to strike from the record, however, include spectacularly falling down the stairs at the launch party of a new club in Adelaide, being completely football illiterate and asking Gavin Wanganeen oval-side if he knew much about the game (in my defence I was merely trying to flirt, I had no idea who he was), and rolling a golf buggy at a posh Queensland driving range.

I’m not sure if these are the regrets Arthur Miller spoke of, but if I can look back and laugh at silly things I’ve done, then when I get to that nursing home in Glenelg I’ll at least have plenty to entertain my fellow geriatrics with.

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Hungry Creatives on the Prowl

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ear arts students wondering where your degree will get you, stop grinding your teeth and unclench that fist you’re currently shaking towards the heavens – Hungry Creatives has arrived.

Art director and former UniSA marketing and communications student, Haylie Craig, conjured up this spiffy little concept just over a year ago after completing AWARD school and various advertising internships.

Despite her experience, the crown to the creative throne still seemed a little too far out of Haylie’s reach, so she teamed up with film student, Bayley Broome-Peake, and together they set out to bridge the gap between amateurs and professionals in the creative industry.

“This project features two groups,” Haylie explained. “The first group is made up of people ‘trying to make it’, such as students in their final year of study, or people out there who…still haven’t quite broken into the industry and deserve a chance to showcase their work.”

“The second group is those who have ‘already made it’: people working full-time in the creative industry, have an interesting story, (give) excellent advice or insight and have done some great work as well.”

Haylie and Bayley capture artists’ inspiring accounts through filmed interviews, which are then uploaded onto hungrycreatives. com. The interviews are released every Thursday, alternating between a Hungry Creative who is ‘trying to make it’ in a particular field, and a Hungry Creative who has ‘already made it’ in that same field.

From there, the public can provide feedback and a proactive brief, or offer work experience, an internship, freelance opportunities and, hopefully, a job.

And major media outlets are starting to take notice – since the project’s official launch this year, Hungry Creatives has been featured in InDaily, Campaign Brief, The Advertiser and ABC Radio. “The more people who know about it, the higher chance we have of helping one of our Hungry Creatives,” Haylie said.

Perhaps the cherry on top of this delicious treat for our ravenous artists is Haylie’s recent acceptance of the Adelaide Advertising and Design Club Silver Watering Can award, a state-wide recognition of her outstanding contribution to the advertising industry with Hungry Creatives.

Evidently, this ever-evolving project is only growing. Producers, photographers, a scriptwriter and a creative director have already been interviewed, but Haylie and Bayley continue their hunt for more potential applicants lurking in the city’s shadows. “The way in which we find Hungry Creatives to be interviewed and be a part of this project is mainly through word of mouth, or we see someone’s work and approach them ourselves,” Haylie enthused.

Feeling inspired yet? Good. Get out there, wring out your creative juices and serve up a slice of your imagination. Who knows, you might be the next Hungry Creative ready for a bite of the industry. As Haylie noted, “Don’t give up, keep persisting, continue to make new contacts and find different sources of inspiration.”

Writer: Trish O’Loughlin Photos: Courtesy of Hungry Creatives

Then someday you may find yourself in a situation like this…

Acquaintance: Oh, hi there. Long time no see. What are you up to these days?

You: Oh, I’m just this super-duper bigshot megastar film director/screenwriter/ producer/animator/architect/graphic designer/copywriter working on the latest project for this really famous international icon that everybody knows of. No biggie.

Should be getting a promotion soon. And a private island.

Interested? Head to hungrycreatives.com or visit their delectably satisfying Facebook page.

Co-creators Bayley Broome-Peake and Haylie Craig

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A Well-Rounded Decision

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famous Beatle once uttered this truism: “[T]hey’ve tortured and scared you for twenty odd years. Then they expect you to pick a career.”

Such a point of crisis is nothing new to university students, but it is to those whose degrees are now coming to a close.

We all know it’s a big bad world out there, and we’re supposed to be doing what we love. That’s why we’re at university in the first place, isn’t it?

Perhaps we’re no longer as certain of our decision as we first thought…

Well if you think you’re heading in the wrong direction, don’t give up hope. Time is a deceiver.

I recently met a lady who’d been having the same trouble at uni; she liked what she was doing, somewhat, but felt it wasn’t directed to her most prominent areas of interest. Jackie Wykes, now a postgraduate student in Melbourne, had always considered herself a little, shall we say, portly.

“I was studying at the late lamented School of Creative Arts at the University of Melbourne,” Jackie reflected.

“I majored in Media Theory…I’m now in the Cinema and Cultural Studies program.”

Jackie was unsatisfied with her first degree, and it was only towards the end of her new degree she found something which suited her ‘unusual’ interests. You see, Jackie is interested in…fat.

“A lot of the subjects I studied in my (second) undergrad talked about ‘the body’ and the idea that subjectivity was at least partially formed through embodiment,” Jackie explained.

“We looked at gender a lot, and at race and class and ability and age, but size was never mentioned, except to talk about the imperative of thinness.

“I knew that bodies mattered, but bodies like mine weren’t really talked about even in theory about ‘the body’.”

After seven years, Jackie knew she’d found her calling, and an unusual one at that. Due to complete her PhD at the end of the year, Jackie has carved her way into a rapidly emerging field of academia.

It’s called ‘Fat Studies’, and it’s more popular than you’d think.

Writer: Wade Stephens Artist: Alexandra Stjepovic-burgess

“It kind of started around the late 1990s, early 2000s, pretty much as a response to the growing hysteria about the obesity epidemic,” Jackie said. “[T ]he general impetus is to critically interrogate and denaturalise ideas and assumptions about fatness, fat bodies and fat subjects.

“It’s definitely come about in response to the media hysteria, and medical hysteria about fatness.”

Along with her studies, Jackie spearheads several unique fat activist projects, including a fat synchronised swimming team Aquaporko, Melbourne’s first fat burlesque group Va-Va-Boombah, and even the fat association ‘Chub Republic’. Jackie says the inspiration for these projects is to challenge and intervene in some of the assumptions commonly made about overweight people.

“Synchronised swimming is supposed to be beautiful and elegant and feminine, which are things that fat women are told we can’t be, so it challenges a whole load of those ideas,” explained Jackie.

Despite Jackie and her colleagues’ intentions, the media criticised ‘Fat Studies’ at a recent conference, claiming it misguidedly promotes obesity. Jackie, surprised by the attention the conference was given, understands it’s easy to fault a new discipline.

“There is a relationship between fat activism and fat studies, but they’re definitely not the same thing,” Jackie conferred.

“Besides, I don’t think fat activism is about promoting obesity at all, I think that’s a ridiculous notion.”

She says the field of study and her activist projects are about community building, providing an outlet for people who are, as Jackie puts it, commonly “the brunt of the joke.”

Jackie’s journey into a degree well within its teething stages was a bold move, but one she hasn’t looked back on.

“It’s very much interdisciplinary,” Jackie assured me. “[O]n the whole it’s been an incredible experience. I’ve had the opportunity to travel, visit archives, go to conferences, and meet some amazing academics and activists.

“Despite being overwhelmed at times, the opportunity to undertake sustained research on a topic that matters to me is an incredible privilege, and one I’m very glad to have.”

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Writer: Freddie Lovegrove

Ready to Roll

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discovered Adelaide Roller Derby (ADRD) in the same fashion as most: a girl who works with a friend of mine is one of the skaters, and she told me to come along. It was a pretty easy call to make – I love sport, so I thought why the hell not.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Short skirts, even shorter shorts and sexy girls on roller skates...and yes, when you go to the roller derby you will see all these things, but there is so much more to it. Derby has everything you could ask for. Speed, power, grace, finesse, tactics, passion, heartbreak, wins in sudden death situations, and fullcontact 1980s styled football tackles, minus the mullets and on skates.

Formed in 2007, ADRD consists of four derby teams and a team of referees. Each team has its own colors, themes and uniforms, and everyone is aware they are on show to a certain degree. The spectacle is all part of the experience, with every bout having live music, a commentary team, grandstands, food, drinks, the lot! It is seriously impressive stuff.

I have never seen a sport that produces such a strong sense of community. The whole league gets together during training sessions, improving their game and getting to know one another. After bouts, win or lose, the roller derby girls all go out for a drink…together! I only wish more sports were run in this way.

My first derby experience was a slap in the face, but in a really good way. I had no idea how big this sport was. While the game is tactical and complex, its core premise is very simple. It does not take long to get into the swing of things despite the frenetic pace of the action on the track. You will soon be screaming along with the other 1500 people of all ages on the sidelines.

At the end of each season, the league takes on applications for ‘fresh meat’.

Females interested in becoming a derby girl, as well as guys and gals interesting in refereeing, can try their luck for one of the squads. Competition is fierce, but if you think you’ve got what it takes, tryouts for freshies are coming up soon. Check out adelaiderollerderby.com.au for more details.

The event was run ultra-professionally, and the volunteer girls and guys who play in and run this league must be applauded. They do it for the love of the sport and it shows.

League participants, including the referees, also assist with merchandising, marketing, events, and training to ensure the shows run smoothly.

Just a warning though, kids – once roller derby has sunk its claws in you, it does not let go.

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It’s Social Sport, Not the Olympics

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ocial sports are fun – seriously.

Apart from the obvious health benefits (playing one quarter of netball is better than sitting on the couch, right?), you have the perfect excuse to hang out with a bunch of friends for a couple of hours every week.

And let us not forget the important postmatch debrief, which inevitably ends with you debriefing your weekend rather than the game.

To me, that is the whole point of social sports. I believe they should be (as the name implies) SOCIAL, and fun too! It’s not just because I play D-Grade social netball, either. Sometimes teams take the game a bit too seriously. I’m all for a little friendly competition, but when you’re more concerned about avoiding ‘accidental’ shoves than having a laugh, maybe you’re missing the point.

While competition is an integral part of any sport, there’s competitive and then there’s downright bloodthirsty. If the following tips can just save one person from a broken elbow*, then I’ve done my job.

1.Be friendly to the opposition Say hi. Comment on the weather. Complain about the game’s lateness (honestly, who wants to play sport at 9pm? Even the umpires want to be in bed). Try smiling at them. Not only does this establish a friendly atmosphere, it also has the added bonus of being a confusion tactic. Plus it makes them feel bad when they shove you, or score.

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2. Make sure you debrief after the opposition has left Regardless of how good-natured you intend the game to be, even the best of us can play a little dirty in the heat of competition. And the ump NEVER seems to pick up the other team! Sometimes the opposition will openly admit this, acknowledging the umpire’s favouritism (probably because of their superior punctuality and organisational skills). Others, however, will blatantly complain within earshot that your team is always in the wrong. But keep it clean and don’t rise to their childish taunts. Save your venting till they’ve left – we want to avoid any broken bones or post-match scuffles.

3. Apologise if you knock someone over We all make mistakes. For me, it’s most notably in netball, which is technically a ‘non-contact’ sport. If you accidentally trip someone over, elbow them in the eye or concuss their wing attack, APOLOGISE AND HELP THEM TO THEIR FEET. You look like a heartless cretin if you remain stationary, repeatedly professing “but she tripped over my foot.**” Team spirit is what sets us apart from the professional leagues.

4. Don’t take it too seriously Of course you want to win – that’s the whole point. But have some fun while you’re doing it! Jovially heckle your teammates, have a good-natured laugh when someone throws the ball straight to the other team and cheer loudly when anything goes right.

Writer: Laura Pietrobon Artist: Rohan Cheong

Don’t nit-pick umpire decisions, it won’t do anything to help your score. It doesn’t matter how much you lose by; you’re not getting paid, there’s no pressure (except for whoever brings the oranges), and your energy is better spent focusing on playing the game as well as you can. *Yes, this has happened. I was there. **Your foot, which you deliberately put in front of me!

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Writer: Nicola Allison Haywood

LEAD by Example

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on’t get me wrong, I am the first to applaud and herald the new dawning of vibrancy in our beloved city, but…

I recently walked into a small arty space on my own, looking like a cat who’d just been dragged through the bush thanks to some heavy rain and wind. Immediately upon entering, I realised something was wrong.

The numerous eyes staring up at me quickly decided I didn’t quite belong, and not just because of my dishevelled appearance.

What was I to do? What did I need?

A bucket load of confidence, some fast communication skills and an army of knowledgeable contacts would have been useful – but where could I find these things?

Well, luckily, UniLife have developed a program called ‘LEAD’ that helps eradicate awkward situations like the one above… forever!

I went along to one of LEAD’s workshops and spoke to its developer Jason Bilberry to find out what the fuss is about.

“The main reason for developing the program was to provide additional training for the three main groups of students within UniLife: student representatives, club organisers and volunteers,” he said.

“The program centres around areas that may be helpful to the students in these roles, and hopefully help them to do their role better.”

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LEAD participants are involved in three strands that take about 25-30 hours to complete.

“Students who complete the program will receive a signed certificate of completion.

Students who do well in the program can be recommended to continue in UniSA’s Experience Leadership program,” Jason said.

The workshops, held at the City East campus (C2-44), focus on communication skills, conflict management, grant proposals, effective meetings, working in teams and safe food handling. You decide which session you want to attend and roster yourself on accordingly.

Seminars are free, open to anyone and repeated every four weeks.

“Leadership comes in all sorts of forms,” Jason explained.

“Some skills take time to develop, so people can come to these sessions, get some info and start to experiment. My aim is to have some fun in these sessions and get people to talk about their experiences as I believe that a lot of learning comes from this.”

Were you born to lead? Contact Jason Bilberry at unilife.voice@unisa.edu.au, or head to the UniLife website for upcoming training sessions.

Writer: John Hunt

UniSA Spring Student Markets

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tudent Markets are coming…to Fenn Place, City West on September 14, 11am-4pm.

Launched earlier this year

by Experience Plus and with collaboration from UniLife, the Student Markets were created to give students an opportunity to show off their skills and talents.

Whether you are an emerging artist, designer or entertainer, or have a knack for selling snow to the Eskimos, the markets allow students to sell their goodies and make some cash along the way.

The inaugural markets were held on April 3 at City West and coincided with the Easter long weekend. For the 1000-plus people who attended, it was a chance to pick up a few bargains and finish their holiday shopping.

Stalls ranged from arts and craft, fashion and second-hand goods, to food, entertainment and much more.

The Burger Theory van proved very popular, feeding the masses with their delicious burgers.

Long lines of students and staff eagerly waited to taste what some would call “heaven in a bun” from Adelaide’s very own burger aficionados.

For those feeling like they missed out, don’t worry; the Spring Student Markets are going to be bigger and better with a variety of goods that will delight and intrigue you.

There will also be a wide range of entertainment on offer, and plenty of food and drink stalls to keep you refreshed, including a free BBQ from UniLife.

And who knows, maybe the organisers will be able to coax Burger Theory’s van ‘Pearl’ and her much-loved burgers back?

If you’d like to have your own stall, email organiser Caleb Osborne Caleb.Osborne@unisa.edu.au or call 8302 0668 by August 30. For more information, check out the Student Markets Facebook page or visit the Experience Plus website unisa.edu.au/experienceplus/whatson/market.asp.

August/September 2012 M.

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UniSA Sabres’ Cheerleading Introductory Program @ Magill 6.30pm

KeloSphera Wine Club Kickoff Party @ The Academy 6pm

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Peter Helliar headlines Adelaide Comedy

University Educated Speed Dating @ The Havelock Hotel 7pm

SARC presen Dark - The L Listening’ @ 6pm

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The Academ Sessions (3Thursday)

‘Permit: An Exhibition’ opens @ The Academy

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Grab a $2.50 coffee @ The Academy

‘Light the Night’ walk for cancer @ Elder Park 5.30pm

Lennon Bro begins @ Bo Park

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- The Australian University Games athletes during the holidays?

- The mid-semester break is from S something to the mag).

nts ‘In the Lost Art of @ Format

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01 (September)

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National Campus Band Comp Final @ The Academy 7pm

Masked Ball @ Adelaide Town Hall 7pm

Mawson Lakes Cricket Club - First Training Session @ 11am

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It’s showtime! Royal Adelaide Show starts

Made in Tanzania’ exhibition @ Nexus 12pm

Journalism Pub Crawl

my Acoustic -6pm every

s Circus onython

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It’s…closing time.

Royal Adelaide Show ends

City to Bay Fun Run

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Xavier Rudd @ Thebarton Theatre 8pm

s are being held across Adelaide from September 23-28. Why not go and cheer on UniSA

September 17-28. Enjoy! (And if you’re really bored, you can always contribute

Morocco’s Hash Haven “Err...those aren’t the normal cookies,” mentioned a friend. I immediately stopped stuffing my face. He was right.

These weren’t the usual buttery baked treat grannies made in the marketplace.

“There may be a little…erm, hashish in the cookies,” my caftan clad comrade whispered.

Someone else muttered something in Arabic.

“Oh...ok, there may be lots...of hashish, in the cookies.”

I tried to count how many I’d eaten. I was in the middle of the Chefchaouen medina

– the old quarter of the city – perched optimistically on a steep Riffan slope. From the roof, the whole blue and white town looked like it could start sliding down the mountain side at any moment. Figures in hooded djellabas wound their way through the wonky street maze, entering cubbyholes jutting out of the woodwork in the strangest places. In the dying afternoon light, the place took on an otherworldly feel...though that could have had something to do with the cookies.

Morocco is the world’s largest consumer of hash per capita. Despite over two decades of government crackdowns, the small North African kingdom also remains one of the world’s largest producers of cannabis, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Nowhere is this more evident than the small mountain town of Chefchaouen, capital of the province of the same name.

Although the US State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (BINLEA) has recognised that al-Hoceima Province has overtaken Chefchaouen as Morocco’s largest cannabis growing region, the latter retains a legendary reputation as a serious hash haven.

Tourists descend on this otherwise quiet hamlet during the summer, but all year round a trickle of steadfast hippies brave overnight bus trips out to this whitewashed town, cradled between two mountains. It isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a town with such a prominent role in the global narcotics trade.

Writer: Ryan Mallett-Outtrim

Chefchaouen barely even feels like a town.

The pretty, compact medina is mostly filled with art shops, bakeries and cafes.

Outside the walls is a gushing waterfall where women come to do their washing.

Overlooking the whole town is a Spanish built mosque, which strangely looks more like a chapel. In every direction, there is nothing but mountains and green, green crops.

Beyond this idyllic country town, however, the Moroccan government is waging an endless war against cannabis growers.

Kenza Afsahi, a researcher from the University of Montreal’s International Centre of Criminology, says that since the 1980’s, “cannabis (cultivation) has improved the lives of rural farmers” in Morocco’s northern mountains, the Rif. Cannabis makes land unsuitable for most other crops, and is a source of employment for Morocco’s immense population of landless labourers.

In ‘Cannabis Cultivation Practices in the Moroccan Rif ’, Afsahi argued much of the region’s economic development can be attributed to the narcotic.

However, in 2009 alone, BINLEA reported Moroccan authorities had destroyed 8,338 hectares of cannabis in the northern provinces. Airborne chemical defoliants, mechanical and manual crop removal, and controlled fires have devastated the mostly poor, small land holders.

Despite the heavy eradication campaigns of the last decade, most cannabis growers seem fairly open about their illegal trade to travellers.

I met plenty of backpackers who toured cannabis farms, and was invited to learn about traditional Riffan hash processing techniques. Free samples were included, though photography was obviously not permitted.

Although the surrounding countryside is undergoing dramatic upheavals, the town of Chefchouen remains one of the most relaxed hamlets in Morocco. Sipping tea in street side cafes is an easy way to strike up conversation with locals, some of who seem permanently baked. Things get complicated if you have snacks, though. I tried walking through the medina one morning with a tube of pringles, only to have random passers-by pretty much consume the lot. It was like everyone had the mad munchies by mid-morning, but admittedly, so did I. 19

Obsession

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bsession is a cruel maiden. It attacks when you least expect it, takes no prisoners and shows no mercy. It has no weakness, isn’t afraid to play dirty, and the worst part? It’s out to get us. Every single one of us. I, Samuel Smith, come to you today as an obsession survivor. Although it took me a while to come to terms with, I can now admit that I have struggled with this burden since I was a child.

Actually, before shit gets really serious, I want to let everyone know regardless of my obsessive past, I am a relatively* mentally stable human being and am not (yet) in need of psychological evaluation. Ahem, moving on. It is important to understand the beast, obsession, disguises itself in many forms. For clarity, I have sorted my compulsive memoirs into three categories: alternate realities, inanimate objects and trends.

The first category we will explore is inanimate objects. As an adult I still occasionally obsess over the odd inanimate object. On multiple occasions I’ve been caught standing in car parks staring at my car and smiling, but these temporary lapses in sanity are nothing compared to my earliest obsessive memories. At the age of three I was infatuated with light shops and plants. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds. I would constantly ask my parents to take me to light shops and plant nurseries where I would stare intently at chandeliers and hibiscus trees (respectively), thinking god fucking knows what. I remember at one stage I had even memorised the names of

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all the plants in our backyard. While most parents received cute drawings of dinosaurs and kittens from their children, my parents received paintings of ‘the lamp in the kitchen’ and ‘the petunia bush in next door’s backyard that never flowers’.

The next (and most worrying) category is alternate realities. As a child I would pretend to be things, and by ‘things’, I mean household items. Obsession whispered in my ear, telling me that if I really wanted to, I could be a lawnmower for the day. I trusted obsession and still remember the distraught look on my mother’s face when I announced, “Today I am going to be a lawnmower”, then spent the afternoon rolling around on the grass, truly believing I was mowing the lawn.

I eventually stopped pretending to be gardening machinery, but obsession was relentless. It told me the real world just wasn’t good enough, and that far better prospects lay in the realms of Pokémon, Neopets and video games. Pokémon in particular became my life. I watched every episode, collected all the cards and carried the action figures around at school. It was also around this time I made a Neopets account, which was basically an online version of Pokémon encouraging childhood gambling and animal abuse.

While I was growing up, obsession told me it would be a good idea to follow trends.

It laughed as it watched 11-year-old me deck myself out in the hippest gear, trying

Writer: Samuel Smith

to imitate the hottest rappers of the time (50 Cent, Nelly and that guy who sang the ‘Thong Song’). I’ll always remember rocking up to casual day wearing a backwards cap, a WuTang hoodie and baggy red cargo pants with a wallet chain. To make matters worse, I told my class mates: “This is the new Sam – like it or leave it.” Most of them left it. In my teen years, obsession played with me some more. It told me to become an emo, so I dyed my hair black, wore exclusively dark clothing, attempted to join a band (despite not knowing how to play an instrument or sing) and wrote depressing poetry.

But as I grew older, I began to see past obsession’s facade. I realised it wasn’t a controlling and terrifying beast; it was simply a human emotion. Now, whenever I smell its scent approaching, I remember 11-year-old Sam playing Neopets while memorising the lyrics to Big Pimpin’ by Jay-Z, and laugh. And on that note I will leave you with this piece of advice – when your obsessive tendencies begin to suffocate you with their terrifying yet retrospectively hilarious claws, your only saving grace may just be the ability to look back at yourself and have a chuckle or 12. *not very

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The Nipples that Batman Deserves, But Not the Ones He Needs Right Now

J

oel Schumacher is one of Hollywood’s most successful openly gay film makers. In the past 15 years, however, no director has been more universally despised than him (with the possible exception of M. Night Shyamalan). Why? Well, according to some he did what the Joker could never do. He killed the Batman.

In 1997, Schumacher released his sequel to Batman Forever, Batman & Robin. To nobody’s surprise, it was a HUGE flop. The film had the worst script of a series that had poor scripts to begin with (thanks Tim Burton), was terribly cast (*cough* George Clooney as Batman *cough* Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze) and just made very little sense overall. But what really pissed off DC comic book fans was that Batman’s newest gadgets were literally rubber nipples and a bulging cod piece – Batman was now ‘gay’.

I consider Schumacher’s sexuality irrelevant, yet it is obvious Batman & Robin was shot from a gay male perspective. Both heroes’ costumes fetishize the male body, the film references several Hollywood musicals and it incorporates a strong undertone of self-parody throughout. But why was this a problem?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone who hated the sequel is a homophobe.

Like most other 90s big budget films, Batman & Robin was aimed directly at teenage boys – and as anyone who has spent time with this demographic (or once was one) will tell you, nothing turns them into profanityspewing, hormonally-charged hate monsters faster than when something is deemed ‘gay’.

Without the cash flow of mindless teen-boy zombies to support Batman & Robin, Schumacher’s sequel struggled. Styling the Batsuit after statues of Greek gods may have therefore proved the nail in the coffin, effectively ending the series for the longest time since 1989. But what if creating such universal hate for Batman & Robin was the best thing to EVER happen to the Batman franchise?

By 1997, the Batman on the big screen was boring as hell. Although he somewhat developed in Batman Forever, Bruce Wayne never really got over the death of his parents.

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Writer: Mason Krollig Artist: Lisa Davidson

That’s fine motivation for a movie or two, but tedious as the focal point of four. Batman was stagnating, so to try and save the franchise, Warner Brothers brought in London-born director Christopher Nolan to reinvent the Batman mythology and ultimately reshape the franchise.

I love Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and although his interpretations of Frank Miller’s original are far from perfect, I’ve realised that without Schumacher’s nipple-laden Batsuit my favourite films may have never come to fruition.

Without the campy nipples and cod pieces there would be no Batman Begins, Dark Knight or Dark Knight Rises, and Christian Bale would never have got to share his rendition of a throat cancer victim dying of a prolonged episode of constipation.

For those still whining about how ‘gay’ Batman & Robin was, it’s time to let go and move on. Joel Schumacher has suffered enough at the hands of critics and fans for making a film that almost nobody wanted to see – hell, he even made a formal apology to Bat-fans worldwide. And if you go up to George Clooney and say you hated the film, he will give you $8 (the price of a movie ticket in 1997) from his wallet. FACT. Sure, the nipple suit sucked. But it needed to suck. Something needed to push the Batman franchise out of complacency. That something just happened to be replicas of male erogenous zones. The Batnipples are gone, but they should not be forgotten. Nor should they be thought of as the homophobic death of Batman. Instead, they should be thought of as symbols at a time when film makers were taking risks and challenging our pre-conceptions of heroes and masculinity.

And remember, Batman’s been Adam West far longer than he’s been The Dark Knight.

23

Inbox (1) – I <3 You

T

o all of you perving on your fellow lecture goers without having the balls to approach them afterwards, hearken unto me – online dating may be the way to go.

Sarah and James are proof that webbased lovin’ can work. She’s studying architecture at UniSA; he’s an IT worker from Geelong. She wanted to build up her confidence with guys after a lengthy relationship; he hated clubbing and was keen to try something different.

“We’d been talking online (using a dating site) for a few days, then on Facebook, then we exchanged numbers and called and texted for a month,” Sarah said.

“We visited each other (interstate) for about eight months after that. We’d travel every fortnight, take it in turns,” James added.

“Sometimes it was $600 return, it was ridiculous,” Sarah explained.

“Pretty sure she found me because I was a looker,” James countered.

Effortless back-and-forth banter made it clear their affection for one another was obvious. I wasn’t surprised when James told me he decided to leave his hometown.

“I moved everything. My life, my car, my clothes, everything. I knew it was love when we first met.”

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Sarah shook her head and laughed: “It took me about the third or fourth time we met each other to know. But it was worth it.”

Parents, however, were initially unaware of their shenanigans.

“I told my parents I was going to a fashion parade in Melbourne. I don’t think they would have been very happy about me going interstate by myself. I was on the plane and was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m going to meet some random.

This could be bad’,” Sarah said.

“I could’ve been a creep. Come in my car…I’ve got a BMW…I’ll show you some crazy things,” James joked.

“I told my parents eventually. I said I met James at a party in Adelaide.

They don’t care now, though; they love James,” Sarah said.

While Sarah admitted most of her friends won’t go online – “they reckon there are too many creeps out there” – she emphasised the strong privacy settings available to users.

“I had my pictures on private, so James was talking to me without knowing what I looked like.”

James agreed: “It’s all confidential unless you want to give your name out and you feel comfortable with that.”

For those of you sick of drunk yobbos in town, digital matchmaking offers an ideal alternative.

Writer: Tom Angley

“If you go to a club and there’s some creepy guy following you around, some of them just don’t get it. On the internet you can just block them.

They’re gone,” Sarah said.

James continued: “There will be heaps of people there but they’re not going to have the same intentions as you.

They’re out there for a good time or whatever. But if you’re on a dating site then everyone’s looking for one thing.”

Yet online dating’s purpose is nothing new, according to UniSA communications and media expert Dr Collette Snowden.

“People have always tried to find partners by using means other than random accidental meetings,” she said.

“That’s why people have had arranged marriages, or met through friends, but before online sites there were introduction agencies (as well).”

While Dr Snowden acknowledged Sarah and James are a “success story”, she warned that going online might affect your ability to form relationships in the real world.

“You might be missing out on the person in your tute group who’s looking at you with longing. I’m sure that’s happening to you, you’re probably just not aware of it.”

Jokes at my eligible bachelor/forever alone tag aside, Dr Snowden thinks ‘love at first sight’ still exists and chemistry is a must.

“The terrible thing would be if you got on really well with someone online, saw their photos and thought they’re not bad looking, and then when you actually met them there was no chemistry.

“One of my concerns is the amount of time that people spend online stops them from developing mature, real relationships. You have to fumble and you have to fail and you have to try things out, and online you don’t get to do that.”

Dr Snowden argued internet dating’s stigma has disappeared, though realised why people like Sarah are hesitant to tell others.

“You go, ‘Oh well, I wasn’t good enough to just meet someone’ and it doesn’t seem very romantic. It seems kind of mercenary, when in fact, it’s not.”

If you’re willing to give cyberspace courtship a go, Sarah and James have some final words of advice.

“I went on there for confidence – I didn’t go on there to find someone – and it just happened,” Sarah said.

“I just took a punt. You gotta be openminded. You gotta fail before you succeed,” James said, before telling me they could be the next online dating poster couple.

I don’t doubt them for a second.

25

Rio+20 Summit

L

eaving the bar-cum-nightclub we were celebrating at and walking down the winding streets of a favela in Rio de Janeiro, I realised Brazil after midnight probably wasn’t our brightest idea.

Like most things that sound stupid or dangerous though, it was a brilliant experience. The locals were fun-loving and welcoming, playing pranks on the white kids who dared to enter their poverty stricken but tight-knit community.

It was far removed from a few hours earlier when, suited up and mixing with some of the world’s most powerful people, our group was intensely tracking negotiations at a United Nations conference.

In June, I was blessed with the chance to attend the Rio+20 summit held in what Brazilians call the ‘marvellous city’.

The conference saw more than 130 world leaders and thousands of delegates from around the globe converge on the Riocentro Convention Centre to discuss global sustainability and environmental protection.

But like most good things, the opportunity was unexpected. It’s not every day you receive a phone call notifying you of your selection for an all-expenses-paid trip to a city easily mistaken for paradise.

A week before this phone call arrived, I’d checked my email inbox and sifted through the riveting unread messages.

Into the deleted items folder went mail from Careers Guide, the Advanced Works Notices and the plethora of invitations to seminars on topics like “Cognitive neuroscience for ethnic minorities”.

However, I stumbled upon one email about a trip to a UN summit with a non-government organisation called Global Voices. For once, I met the criteria and decided to apply. As someone who had never won anything in my life, I was well aware of the old adage about ‘being in it to win it’. It was proven true.

At the conference, we spent 12-hour days working at the convention centre, meticulously following the progress of negotiations aimed at building a greener and more sustainable global economy.

In reality, rather than tracking progress, we were tracking a lack of it; the inefficiency of the United Nations being the first and most obvious learning curve we discovered.

Writer: Chris Testa

Meeting with Prime Minister Gillard and delivering my recommendations of what she should include in her address to heads of state was a proud first.

Other luminaries whose presence I shared include the former Kiwi PM Helen Clark, and Nobel Prize laureate Rajendra Pachauri.

The product of my four-month experience as a delegate is a lengthy research paper published under my name on renewable energy in Latin America.

I attended an open discussion forum with thousands of people from across the world, and I probably learnt more from their diverse viewpoints than I ever could at uni.

Not that the trip was all work and no play, though.

When the talks finished, the resplendent beaches of Rio were a just reward. Sitting along the promenade of Ipanema beach watching some of the world’s most beautiful people pass by is a particularly delicious way to relax.

Looking back to that first phone call, I was actually taking refuge from pouring rain at a suburban train station when I received it.

The rain was a false omen; there would be nothing but sun where I was going.

I’m not quite sure exactly who decided that Rio de Janeiro would be the best place to host a UN summit, but I’d sure like to thank them.

Fancy a trip overseas mixing it with world leaders? globalvoices.org.au/ is a good place to start, and keep a close eye on your uni email for upcoming offers.

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Global Experience

Y

ou will have likely noticed the words ‘Global Experience’ (GE) flashing up on UniSA computers lately; the words zipping across the screen and urging you to participate.

Writer: Sionnie Kelly

Given its success, the program is gradually branching out to postgraduate students and a postgraduate GE course will launch in Study Period 5.

The program counts the different activities you do while studying as points; if you go on a student exchange, hold a leadership role in a club, volunteer with an organisation or do any extracurricular activity, you gain points.

Once you have reached 120 points, you can graduate from GE. GE is about building your connections and adding a little something extra to your graduation certificate.

“The GE program is about gaining experience, and employers really want graduates with a degree and experience,” Sky said.

Outside the computer pools, posters line the halls. They are difficult to avoid and have crept into nearly every corner of your university, including student common rooms.

But what exactly is GE? According to Sky Bennet, one of the masterminds behind the initiative, GE is a means of gaining an edge in the competitive workforce.

GE has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a research project in 2007, with about 650 undergraduate students currently enrolled in the program.

“Graduates who can demonstrate both are at an advantage when it comes to graduating alongside those who have only a degree.”

For me, the program has been more about making friends while having fun at uni and on my travels in Cambodia.

Sky believes there are many areas of expertise that can be gained from GE. “The skills students gain are varied and include networking, communicating across cultures, initiative, leadership skills, flexibility, adaptability, problem solving and time management,” she said.

So next time you see the ‘Global Experience’ screensaver, remember it is not just about gaining a competitive edge; it is also having fun through doing the things you enjoy.

Learn more at unisa.edu.au/globalexperience.

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Generate

W

hat does a presentation on Timor Leste, a Eurovision contest and an event planning session have in common? Well, not much, but they were all part of the recent SA Oaktree Generate mid-year camp.

The Oaktree Foundation is Australia’s largest youth-run organisation, focusing on the Asia Pacific region and working with local organisations to provide aid and assistance to those living in poverty. Education is a priority of the Oaktree Foundation, not only overseas but nationally as well.

Generate is Oaktree’s seven-month program aimed primarily at university students. It’s a chance to learn about aid and development while finding out how the IMF and the World Bank work. It also presents the opportunity to take part in the Live Below the Line campaign, which this year raised a casual $1.9 million.

Writer: Alana James

I’m sure I’ve embraced my inner hipster a little more, but hey, who doesn’t love a good op shop bargain and some fair trade chocolate?

In reality though, it is much more than that. It’s a group of amazing people making tangible changes to the lives of those less fortunate. And since joining, I have managed to score a communications role within Oaktree. Wins all round.

Keen to make a difference? Go to theoaktree. org/generate, or swing by one of our events coming up soon: Puzzling for Peace Quiz night at Rumours Cafe (Union House, Adelaide Uni) Friday September 7, 7pm

The program includes two retreats – one at the beginning of the program, where everyone spends two days together learning about Oaktree, and a mid-year camp to plan fundraising events.

I was part of the Generate program last year and was amazed to find such a cool bunch of like-minded people. I learnt a lot about myself and the aid and development sector.

I also discovered how much it sucks to live off rice and oats for a week.

My friend referred to it as my ‘Oak thingy’ and I swear she thinks I just go around hugging trees.

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Open Day at City West, August 19

Writer: Amy Weber

Fashion PR: It’s Not All Glitz and Glamour

W

hen I started my public relations degree in 2010, the first thing that came to mind was Sex and the City’s fashion-obsessed Samantha.

Having just completed a six-week internship at Sportscraft’s PR department in Sydney, I’ve experienced firsthand what it’s like to work in a fashion PR environment. And while I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every second of my degree, let me tell you – the workplace reality is not always as glitzy as Hollywood portrays.

I spent most of my time at Sportscraft sorting through new season sample clothing, making sure the sample showroom was immaculate for media visits and preparing stock for photo shoots. These tasks took a few hours each day; any PR skills learnt in the classroom would have to wait.

However, I’ve since learnt there’s a lot more to PR than what you see in films. The industry is rapidly expanding, with more and more Australian companies realising the value of sound communication management. A graduate’s role may include forming media relationships, issues and crisis management, managing corporate social responsibility, assembling creative campaigns, using social media to engage the community, and so much more.

Yet it’s important for those contemplating a PR career to understand what it involves, beyond the stereotypes.

Occasionally, you might stage a glamorous event to spread your employer’s messages, but months of planning goes into a few hours of speeches, champagne and happy snaps.

Despite these mundane tasks, my internship provided many exciting experiences. I went to my first photo shoot, where I got to see the outcome of my hard work preparing sample clothing. I attended meetings with external agencies discussing Sportscraft’s involvement with numerous fashion festivals, as well as creating internal marketing newsletters and media releases.

During my internship, I was also able to attend Sportscraft’s new season campaign launch.

This event was a fantastic opportunity for me to start networking with the national fashion media, and was a highlight of my time with the company.

Working with Sportscraft allowed me put my theoretical skills into practice, gain confidence and better prepare me for my post-uni career.

I highly recommend interning or volunteering to gain valuable work experience. My degree has taught me so much in the last few years, but there is only so much you can learn in a classroom.

UniLife Referendum Exercise your rights! Win an iPad! Vote on the UniLife Referendum!

on the UniLife website or in hard copy at UniLife Counters on campus.

Should the draft Constitution be adopted as the new Constitution for UniLife?

YES The student-elected board of Unilife strongly recommends that the constitution be updated to improve the representation of all UniSA students. The amendments will allow UniLife to operate in compliance with relevant Commonwealth legislation.

NO The UniLife constitution can be amended later should any conďŹ&#x201A;ict arise with Commonwealth legislation rather than trying to anticipate which problems may or may not occur.

Online voting - 9am on August 27th 2012 until 4:30pm Monday September 3rd An email will be sent to you with a link to the online voting portal Everyone that votes goes into the draw to win an Apple iPad!

Democracy kicks ass!

Aroma Café working with Rainforest Alliance The green beans that we source from Brazil are certified Rainforest Alliance. This ensures that coffee is grown in farms where forests are protected; rivers, soils and wildlife conserved; workers are treated with respect, paid decent wages, properly equipped and given access to education and medical care. The Rainforest Alliance seal ensures that experienced inspectors have verified that the farms meet demanding social and environmental standards, and are on a path towards true sustainability.

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The Aroma Cafe’s Specialty Coffee Blend was recently awarded a bronze medal at the 2010 CSR Golden Bean Competition.

This competition, the largest of its kind anywhere in the world, attracted over 1000 entries from coffee roasters across all states and territories.