Yak Magazine - October Issue by UON Student Central

THE

RU B E N S Plus;

Jackson Langford helps you to let go of uni life. Madeline Link argues that our help is not always wanted. Cats vs dogs! Which is the one true pet? Issue 34 | October 2015 By Students, for Students

THE

RU B E N S Cover designed by Kathleen Maier

EDITORIAL

Madeline Link - Magazine Managing Editor Owen Harvey - Deputy Managing Editor Jackelyn Bassett - Digital Managing Editor Sarah Webb - Deputy Managing Blog Editor Isabella Batkovic - Editor Renae Burgess - Editor Lauren Gross - Editor Jackson Langford - Editor Bridie O’Shea - Editor Samuel Rayfield - Editor Breanna Yates - Lead Graphic Designer Mia Engel - Supporting Graphic Designer Kathleen Maier - Supporting Graphic Designer Chelsea Groth - Promotions Coordinator Sophie Collins - Contributing Writer Sora Khan - Contributing Designer Dylan Luder - Contributing Photographer Nicholas Smit - Contributing Writer Hannah Stroud-Watts - Contributing Designer

SUBMISSIONS The Yak editorial team is always on the look out for passionate student writers and graphic designers to contribute to the magazine. If you would like to take the opportunity to get your work published, please send a sample of your writing or graphic design work to yakmedia@ newcastle.edu.au.

CONTENTS // 03 Editor’s Letter | This Month’s Biting Question // 04 Get Yakked // 05 Sports | 5 Tips To: Letting Go of Uni Life // 06 Go Back To Where I Came From // 07 Clubs: Newcapella |

ADVERTISING For advertising opportunities, contact Yak Media at yakmedia@newcastle.edu.au

Health: How to Pull an All-Nighter // 08 PhD: The Sensory Effect // 09 A Day In The Life Of An Animation Student // 10 The Great Penalty Debate // 11 Understanding Introverts // 12 Should

www.yakatuon.com

You Catch a Ride With Uber? // 14 Meet The Rubens // 16 We Don’t Need to Be Heroes // 18

facebook.com/YakMedia

Are We Handling Drug Use the Right Way? // 20 Are You an Annoying Person On Campus?

twitter.com/YakMedia

// 23 This, That and The Other Thing // 24 Mass Debate: Cats vs Dogs // 25 Mic Drop: Majora

instagram.com/YakatUoN

// 26 What’s On

yakmedia@newcastle.edu.au

Check out Yak Digital online! Scan here.

Catch you next year! This is our last issue for the year, but keep up with Yak on blog and YouTube. Drop us a line if you have a burning desire to contribute or join the team next year!

Yak Magazine is produced by students at the University of Newcastle. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the University of Newcastle, unless explicitly stated. The University of Newcastle accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions of information contained in this issue of Yak Magazine. In addition, Yak Magazine may at times accept forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of affiliate compensation to subsidise the costs associated with producing the magazine. We recommend you do your own research and draw your own conclusions about any product claim, technical specifications, statistic, quote or other representation about a product, service, manufacturer, or provider.

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 3

EDITOR’S LETTER

We all knew this day would come, but that doesn’t make it any easier. As we wrap up our last edition of Yak Magazine for the year, memories of our year-long journey to bring you interesting stories flash by in slow motion sepia tones. Late nights spent writing between assignments, the smell of a freshly pressed mag, the struggle to carry boxes of magazines across campus like Achilles to the tune of Chariots of Fire. As the dreaded Week 12 looms ever closer, and sleeping patterns grow more interrupted, the team at Yak wish you the best of luck with all your exams. Remember to stay hydrated, focus on your breathing and try not to yell at your parents/friend/budgie. We’re here for you. We get it. It’s been a wild year and we hope you enjoy reading the last edition as much as we did writing it. Thanks for having us. Until next year, UON.

Madeline Link

THIS MONTH’S BITING QUESTION:

What was the last lie you told?

EDITOR

We don’t have any more stock out the back.

Yeah, Pepsi’s fine.

ISABELLA BATKOVIC

DIGITIAL MANAGING EDITOR

JACKSON LANGFORD

SUPPORTING GRAPHIC DESIGNER

JACKELYN BASSETT

KATHLEEN MAIER

I’m not going to leave my assignments until the last minute again.

I haven’t had ANY chocolate today

EDITOR

I remembered to answer this question.

No Dad, I don’t have class today.

RENAE BURGESS

Bridie O’Shea

SUPPORTING GRAPHIC DESGINER

EDITOR

The owner is unavailable right now... Can you call back in about 8 hours?

My name.

MIA ENGEL

Samuel Rayfield

EDITOR

DEPUTY MANAGING BLOG EDITOR

Yep I’m on my way right now, I’ll be there in like 10 minutes

Yes Mum, all the money you gave me went towards petrol.

LAUREN GROSS

PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR

CHELSEA GROTH I’ve never told a lie.

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

OWEN HARVEY

“LOL” I did not, in fact, laugh out loud.

SARAH WEBB

LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Breanna Yates That’s fine.

4 | Yak Magazine October 2015

What's the Yak Media blog had to say this month? From a cauliflower soup recipe to tips for learning a language on your own, Yak's got all bases covered! Here's an excerpt from Madeline Link's hard-hitting article about domestic violence:

Domestic violence is now the leading preventable cause of death and injury to women under 45. At current rates, more than two women fall victim to death at the hands of an intimate partner each week. Perpetrators of violence are ovewhelmingly perceived as the dangerous stranger in the night, despite evidence from the ABS 2012 Personal Safety Australia report that dictates 15 per cent of all women are sexually assaulted by someone they know, compared to 3.8 per cent that are sexually assaulted by a stranger. Women’s rights activists have called for the Government to take serious action against domestic violence. This year alone, 34 women have been murdered at the hands of a partner, ex-partner or family member in Australia.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the formation of an advisory panel to combat violence against women last month. Domestic violence costs the Australian economy an estimated $13.6 billion a year, yet a mere $100 million commitment was made to the panel, and is set to roll out a national action plan over the next four years. The panel is led by Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty and former Victorian police chief, Ken Lay.

Advocacy bodies are calling for a royal commission into domestic violence and want greater funding for programs aimed at reducing violence against women.

Chief Executive of Domestic Violence NSW, Moo Baulch wants increased funding to tackle domestic violence. “There’s not enough money in the sector, and a study showed one in two [women] couldn’t get into a refuge. We need the money to deliver co-ordinated, integrated services to respond to every victim of domestic violence in NSW,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.

GET PERSONAL WITH A PRESENTER

Meet Sahibzada Buland, YakTV presenter and player of Quidditch.

1. In a fight between Emma Stone and Anne Hathaway, who would win? Anne Hathaway, because she is Catwoman and will ask Batman for help. 2. If you could go back in time, which century would you go to and why? I would go back and invent the high five just so I can high five people and feel proud. 3. What animal would you be if you lived in the wild? A bear just so I can sleep for months and it will be natural.

4. Chicken or beef? Fish. 5. How many times a year do you floss? Never; hate it hurting my gums. 6. What's your favourite sugar treat? Maltesers!!! 7. If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why? Teleportation because I like sleeping in and then can just wake up, put on pants and teleport to class. Oh and see the world maybe, but after a nap.

8. Can you name all the dwarves in The Hobbit? Ummmmm, Thorin and the 7 dwarves? 9. Have you had enough of Harry Potter? I play Quidditch so I don’t think so. 10. If you were stuck on an island with one movie for your whole life, which one would you choose to watch over and over, and why? The Lego Movie because everything will be awesome, woohoo

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 5

Renae Burgess

runs out of air discussing

Ever wanted to explore the underwater world of SCUBA diving but had no idea how to get involved in the sport, or just couldn’t find an affordable option? The UON sporting club N.U.D.E.S is a fantastic way to become a regular under the sea! Operated by students, for students, N.U.D.E.S offers the opportunity to meet likeminded people and enjoy diving and snorkelling excursions, trips away and social nights, as well as some of the cheapest gear hire in Australia. “N.U.D.E.S offers students an opportunity to learn new skills, make new friends and have fun for a fraction of the price usually associated with the hobby,” said 21-year-old Tyler Coleman, a member of N.U.D.E.S since the beginning of the year. “I love being a part of N.U.D.E.S and intend to take advantage of this asset for my remaining two years of university.” The club offers three different membership types:

UON’s

scuba diving club:

A Snorkelling Membership allows you to hire all of the equipment required for snorkelling for $25.75. A SCUBA Membership is for those of you looking to hire any scuba diving equipment and snorkelling equipment that you wish for $117.31. The N.U.D.E.S club offers fantastic and engaging sports at affordable prices and all memberships include organised local shore dives around Port Stephens, Newcastle and the Central Coast, organised trips away to locations such as South West Rocks, Seal Rocks and Coffs Harbour, private weekly gear hire so you can go diving whenever you want, gear hire for the UON’s bi-annual trip to Hideaway Island, Vanuatu, awesome social events with throughout the year including BBQs, trivia and movie nights (often with free food!) and discounts and N.U.D.E.S-rate air fills through local dive centres.

A Social Membership is for those of you who already own your own scuba or snorkelling gear.

Five Tips: To Letting Go of Uni Life: Jackson Langford speaks to newly-graduated Melissa Wilson about the art of letting go. After however many years of schooling you’ve endured throughout your lifetime, it will all eventually come to an end, and you’ll have to let it go. Letting go is never easy, but here’s a few nifty tips that’ll help you come to terms with embracing the real world.

1 Maintain a hobby during your degree

“2

While time might not be on your side, if you’ve got a month left until you’re done forever, this is something worth keeping in mind. Recent UON graduate Melissa Wilson said, “When uni ceases to own all your time, you’ll suddenly realise that you’ve got more time to spend on something you enjoy.” Unless, of course, your hobby is writing essays and sitting exams, in which case I have some bad news for you.

The world is your oyster and, damn it, it’s high time you savour it.” Travel

“[I] sort of mourned the end of [my] student life,” Melissa said, “and travelling is one of the best things to kick some healthy life perspective back in your headspace.” Don’t set yourself any sort of requirements, guys –

travelling can be two hours up the coast, or 24 hours on a plane around the globe.

3 Do work experience during your studies

This one’s pretty straightforward and incredibly smart. “Whether it’s interning or working part-time in the industry you study,” Melissa said, “those contacts you make while you’re studying will be your first point of call when looking for a job or even a reference.”

4 Realise that you won’t keep in contact with everyone you met at uni

This one’s an unfortunate reality. Just like school, you’ve no doubt met heaps of people you feel are going to be in your life forever. And many of them could be, but there are some that will just fall by the wayside. People go their separate ways and that’s okay.

5 Embrace the future

Sounds bloody lame, right? It is, but it’s also going to help you come to terms with the end. Think of all the prospects that await you – a full-time job in your desired field, travelling, MONEY! The world is your oyster and, damn it, it’s high time you savour it. Designed by Breanna Yates

6 | Yak Magazine October 2015

Go Back to Where I Came From

OCTOBER 2015

Isabella Batkovic chats to Karlin Katerin from Guam. If snorkelling, hiking, boat cruises, shopping and sky-diving (for all the thrill-seekers out there) sounds like the perfect list of holiday activities, then Guam is the place for you. In 2012, Karlin Katrein left his home island of Guam to study a Bachelor of Business and Commerce at the University of Newcastle. As much as he loves Australia, he says there will never be any place quite like home.

“Guam.. will give you a memorable adventure that will last a lifetime,” Karlin said. Mouth-watering cuisine For those who love to travel, there is always so much to do and so much to see. However, Karlin urges tourists to try the local cuisine before they do anything else. “I would recommend catching a local fiesta. The local cuisine is a blend of Spanish food and local island style barbeque. The empanadas and Chamorro Red Rice are definitely a must-try!” Karlin said. Unique activities Not only does Guam offer beautiful sunsets and an island lifestyle that’s hard to match, but the holiday location is home

to some most interesting activities and sites. “My favourite activity is snorkelling in the underwater Piti Bomb Holes. There was a battle for Guam in 1944, during WWII, and Piti is a village along the coast that was bombarded by airstrikes. 71 years on, it offers spectacular opportunities to swim amongst thousands of colourful fish,” Karlin said. Ocean views For photo opportunities and amazing views, Karlin suggests a very specific location. “My favourite place to go is Fujita Beach in Tumon. There is a small church that sits right on the shore line overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is here that you can catch some of the most beautiful sunsets the world has to offer,” Karlin said. Hoping to return to Guam after his graduation, Karlin insists that his home island is an outstanding place to visit. “Guam offers everyone a peaceful and romantic atmosphere. If you have a special someone and really want to treat him or her, consider travelling to Guam. It will give you a memorable adventure that will last a lifetime,” Karlin said. Designed by Mia Engel

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 7

Newcapella Sophie Collins caught up with President of Newcapella Sarah Turner to get the scoop on this society of singers. If you leave Huxley library at closing time on a Sunday night and you hear a crowd of voices making sweet music, don’t worry; the librarians haven’t started a choir. It’s Newcapella! Formed at the end of last semester, UON’s official a capella society was unashamedly inspired by the hit movie Pitch Perfect. For anyone who’s missed out, “a cappella” refers to singing without instrumental accompaniment, and after being introduced to the ins and outs of this unique musical style, inaugural President Sarah Turner gathered a few friends to see if there was interest in starting an a cappella group for UON students. “I was talking to a lot of people from the music faculty and just different people I knew who said they were really interested,” Sarah said. And thus Newcapella was born. So why join Newcapella? “Really, the aim is just to make some cool music together,”

Sarah said. The group meets every Sunday evening to sing songs, practise vocal techniques, and just generally hang out. Though some members of the group have been in choirs before, not many in the group have had much experience at singing without instrumental accompaniment. “We’re all kind of beginners at a cappella,” Sarah explains.

“Newcastle’s official a cappella society was unashamedly inspired by the hit movie Pitch Perfect” So just because you’ve never sung a cappella before, don’t be thinking “mm… better not!” Absolutely anyone is welcome to join Newcapella. The more experienced members of the group will even figure out your voice type so you can sing the part most appropriate for you. Newcapella is good fun for experienced music students but it’s also great for everyone else who wouldn’t get the chance to do this kind of thing in their non-musical degree. When

asked who should join Newcapella, Sarah’s reply is simple: “Anyone who likes to sing!” Does this sound like you? Then come along to the next rehearsal! Newcapella meets every Sunday evening from 5-6:30pm in HA145 and HA149. Questions? Get in contact at: newcapella@nusa.org.au

Clubs Societies

How to Pull an All-Nighter

Jackson Langford’s first-rate guide to tackling the last-minute cram.

Your watch ticks over to midnight, and you feel like all hope is lost as you come to the grim realisation that you have left your assignment to an unreasonably late time. Every student can relate to this situation. And every student generally has his or her own method of dealing with it. Odds are though, that when you’re losing it over an assessment, health isn’t really at the forefront of your mind. However, you can go about pulling an all-nighter without detriment to your health. The numero uno most important thing is to NOT, I repeat, NOT binge on coffee. I know; I can practically hear your screams of disgust. This is unfortunately how it is, gang. It’s tempting, but it is going to do you no favours. Drinking excessive coffee will give you a brief burst of energy and

alertness, but eventually you’ll crash and have zero energy to do anything, let alone the assessment. Feel free to drink it in

“Drinking excessive coffee will give you a brief burst of energy and alertness, but eventually you’ll crash and have zero energy to do anything, let alone the assessment.” moderation– that way you’ll be able to get to the right amount of alertness without doing harm to yourself in the process. If you’re really serious about this, then you will remember to keep hydrated.

Keeping hydrated is always a good idea, but it is especially important if you plan on prying your eyes open for a night. It will keep you refreshed and energised with the bonus effect of washing away the lingering taste of coffee that you chugged earlier. Finally, the most logical way to keep yourself from going ‘round the twist’ is to sit back and give yourself a plan of what you can achieve in this 11th hour. Don’t try and take on too much because all you’ll be doing is stressing yourself out more than you need be. Make a plan, perhaps with certain deadlines like “300 words before 1am”, then take a break. And remember that losing a few marks or failing is not the end of the world.

HEALTH

8 | Yak Magazine October 2015

PHD

The Sensory Effect

Sarah Webb lets go and surrenders herself to the Sensory Effect.

Designer Bliss Cavanagh is currently completing her PhD in Health Science at UON on ‘Art and Sensory Environments: An exploration of Tourette syndrome and the art of abstract play to enhance mental health and inclusive quality of life.’ Senses are universal to us all. So why wouldn’t the senses be beneficial for all of us to use – to help us relax or feel more stimulated; to engage more with ourselves.

“I think we as humans sometimes need extra stimulation to help us relax, wind down, and block out our ‘other’ thoughts.” “My research is about combining art and sensory environments, and how these can create a new context to improve people’s mental health and wellbeing,” Bliss said. “I’m really trying to bring that whole sensory concept to the general population.” Her interest in this topic grew from her Fine Arts Honours year at UON, when she created a multi-sensory art installation called Sensory Overload. But it was her Tourette’s diagnosis that led Bliss to embark on an investigation into the benefits of sensory environments, which has resulted in PhD study and her very own retail business Studio Bliss Designs, in Market Square on Hunter Street.

You may have even come across Bliss’ work on campus before. In August, where the old U-Shop used to be, Bliss set up her Create 2308 entry The Sensory Effect; a dark room filled with multi-colour lights, mood lamps and lounges for students to nap on. These type of environments that Bliss designs and creates are central to her PhD research. Her work is drawn from her experience of Tourette’s and she wanted The Sensory Effect to be tactile and visually stimulating for students as something that touched all the senses. “I find that to be very therapeutic and relaxing. It’s really helped me alleviate my tics and other symptoms of Tourette’s,” Bliss said. “I think we as humans sometimes need extra stimulation to help us relax, wind-down, and block out our ‘other’ thoughts.” The Sensory Effect was the perfect environment for any student to break free from the restraints of study and work, and Bliss is hoping to introduce these therapeutic spaces within mainstream society, including universities. “It’s just really an opportunity for me to introduce my work to people… I feel like these spaces could be implemented really well in this type of environment.” Designed by Mia Engel

A day in the Life of

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 9

Dan Smith – ‘Going on 16’ Animation Winner Bridie O'Shea chats with winner of the Animat e Daniel Johns Compet ition, Dan Smith, about bringin g a psyched elic music video to life. It’s not everyday you get to be a part of creating an electrif ying and unique music video for someone like Daniel a Johns and have it premiered on the big screen in front of not it’s And stle. Newca in as Cinem Tower at sold out crowd everyday the Daniel Johns selects your animation for his ‘Going on 16’ music video competition as the winner. But second year Visual Communication and Design student at UON, Dan Smith, has taken it all in his stride.

"He's very talented," she gushed, "He works really fast! I think he's got tonnes of talent and he's really into animation. He enjoys doing it and it shows." Ever since Dan saw The Animatrix when he was eight, he has been completely obsessed with animation. And when he heard about the Animate Daniel Johns Competition that Guts UON Visual Communication lecturer Jane Shadbolt and tional Interna stle Newca Creative were promoting for the Animation Festival, he just had to be a part of it.

The competition was open to all university students and residents of Newcastle, as a way to celebrate inner-Hunter animation. And out of the 80 plus entries they received, Dan best made the cut to collaborate on the project with 36 of the animators in Newcastle. “Everyone who wanted to get involved had to pitch an animation treatment, which was essentially making a single frame to represent the way you would animate the video,” he explained.

Surprisingly, Dan found the collaboration and creative e process “really easygoing”. Despite the stereotype of creativ te separa their people being unable to work together due to the ‘artistic expressions’, Dan couldn’t speak more highly of found He tition. animators ability to collaborate in the compe ne there was a really easy and open dialogue between everyo or trouble working on the project and if anyone was having had any questions, there was always someone to ask.

Disney and sitting at his computer drawing frames for the music video until he decided that he had ‘earned’ a break.

Dan said that seeing the final video was an amazing experience, but what really surprised him was taking out the top prize for his animation. “I honestly thought I had no chance,” he admitted, “There were so many talented people who I look up to working on the video. But winning was great, not so much because of the prizes [$1000, a masterclass from Kelly of Guts Creative and Ms Shadbolt, plus a signed e Daniel Johns CD and t-shirt] but because it was a massiv confidence boost.” With this kind of experience behind him, Dan’s dream to become an animator for films or video games is very much in reach.

“I think that if he wants to go into animation there is certain a future for him there,” Ms Shadbolt said.

"He joked about waking up at the "crack of noon", praying to Walt Disney and sitting at his computer drawing frames for the music video until he decided that he had "earned" a break." For any budding animators out there, Dan suggests that you think about what kind of animation you’d like to do, then practice, practice, practice!

“Chances are your first attempts at it aren’t going to look amazing, not because you lack talent, but because you are ing.” new to it. It is hard work,” he said, “but massively reward

Ms Shadbolt, Dan’s lecturer, admits that she wasn’t surprised that he took out the competition. “He’s very got talented,” she gushed, “He works really fast! I think he’s enjoys He ion. animat into really he’s and tonnes of talent doing it and it shows.”

Dan’s creative process differed from what you’d typically expect; no crazy caffeine overdoses were needed to get everything done in time. The project was during the midyear break, so his daily life went relatively undisturbed. He Walt joked about waking up at the “crack of noon”, praying to

Photo credits: Alex Knox

10 | Yak Magazine October 2015

Isabella Batkovic explores the negative effects of cutting penalty rates.

The Productivity Commission into workplace relations released its draft report in early August, with penalty rates, unfair dismissal and the minimum wage among the issues being reviewed. According to ABC News, the report recommended “cutting Sunday penalty rates for hospitality and retail workers in line with Saturday pay but keeping the status quo for emergency workers like nurses and paramedics.” Cutting penalty rates is being viewed as an action that will increase employment and benefit customers, but it will be to the detriment of many Australian workers who rely on the extra money, particularly students. University of Newcastle Associate Professor in Politics Dr Jim Jose says little evidence exists to support the government’s pro-cuts argument. “The aim of reducing penalty rates is to reduce the wages bill. Eliminating penalty rates might benefit businesses in the short term, though even that is doubtful. The political rhetoric around abolishing penalty rates is that this will enable businesses to be more competitive, generate greater profits and become more financially viable, and eventually it will provide more jobs. There is little evidence to support these assertions,” Dr Jose said. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has put this issue very high on the agenda, and for good reason, according to Dr Jose. “Attempts to abolishing penalty rates come and go, but for Abbott they form part of an ideological position that harks back to the WorkChoices mentality of reducing wages and conditions. In political terms it is an easy policy position to articulate, though it is not as easy to deliver. By promising to reduce penalty rates, or even simply raising the question of whether penalty rates should be reduced, Abbott can signal to his various business supporters that the government is sympathetic to their needs,” Mr Jose said. Even if Abbott fails to deliver on his promises, small and medium business owners are unlikely to shift their political allegiances to the Labor Party, putting the Prime Minister in a win-win situation. However, there are many people, particularly students, who work in industries where penalty rates are of the utmost importance. University of Newcastle student Kendall Young

is currently studying a Bachelor of Communication while working as an administration officer for a local hospital. Without penalty rates, she says she will struggle to complete her degree and maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle. “These cuts would be extremely detrimental, especially since I’m in my third year of university and having to complete work placement, which cuts into my availability for my paying job. The penalty rates which I receive while doing my weekend shifts really make a difference to my pay packet at the end of the fortnight,” Miss Young said. With thousands of students in the exact same position as Kendall, it’s no surprise those at university are in an uproar about Liberal’s campaign.

“By promising to reduce penalty rates, or even simply raising the question of whether penalty rates should be reduced, Abbott can signal to his vaarious business supporters that the government is sympathetic to their needs,” Mr Jose said.” “University is my priority at the moment as I’ve nearly finished my degree. The workload is heavy, so the idea of having to source another income which fits in with my university schedule and hours is very daunting,” Miss Young said. There are many ways businesses can operate more efficiently, but cutting penalty rates isn’t one of them. “Reducing the wage opportunities for staff seems an easy option but it can lead to inefficient or ineffective workers. Being paid less for working the same or even increased hours can lead to dissatisfaction that can adversely impact on business performance, especially in the service and hospitality industries. Positive interactions between wait-staff and customers is crucial for repeat business,” Dr Jose said. In the absence of hard evidence concerning the benefits of lowering the minimum wage and penalty rates, it will be interesting to see how this debate plays out over the coming months. Designed by Hannah Stroud-Watts

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 11

Understanding Introverts B r idie O’S hea

asks why introverts are so , well , introverted?

“I feel drained after social situations, even when I enjoy myself.” “I often feel uncomfortable in new surroundings.” “I think things over in my head a lot before I speak.” These phrases are just some examples of what might be running through an introvert’s mind when faced with an unfamiliar situation. But despite what it might look like on the outside, no two introverts act the same. According to a thesis on introversion by Jennifer Odessa Grimes from Wellesley College in the US, its definition is complex, underdeveloped, and often contradictory. Grimes explains that, “Introversion is commonly categorised by a preference of “depth” over “breadth” of interpersonal relationships that is associated with the tendency to have few close social connections instead of many superficial relationships, limited numbers but great passion in interests, and difficulty in changing or juggling tasks.” But why do introverts act like this? American psychoanalyst, Dr Marti Olsen Laney says that introverts are sensitive to the chemical dopamine. Dopamine gives people intense hits of happiness when risks are taken, but too much of it makes you feel overstimulated and anxious. If bits and pieces of this sounds familiar, but you’re still not sure if you fall into this world of introversion, that’s because Grimes’ research has shown that introvert characteristics can be broken down into four different types; social, thinking, anxious, and restrained (which conveniently enough happens to form the acronym STAR). Social introverts tend to have a small group of friends but need to have some ‘me time’ after socialising, even if they’ve enjoyed themselves. They could be at the best party in the world, but once they’ve had enough, they’ve had enough. This ‘me time’ is very important and often their days are structured around getting as much of this as they can. And you can pretty much forget about group work! These people prefer doing things on their own. Photography by Dylan Luder

Thinking introverts spend a lot of their time analysing themselves. They generally have a rich inner life and pay close attention to their own feelings, meaning they can play the psychologist and the patient at the same time – what a money saver! Daydreaming is a major characteristic of a thinking introvert, and they may often get caught up in things they’ve read or seen and how they would react if they were in that situation. They also spend a great deal of time fantasising about things that may or may not happen in the future. Anxious introverts are painfully self-conscious around people, especially strangers. They are the, ‘Is everyone looking at me? Oh God, why is everyone looking at me,’ kind of people. It takes them a long time to be comfortable around others, and they often still feel isolated even when they are surrounded by people. They feel disappointment and defeat strongly, but try not to show it.

“[Think ing

introverts] can pl ay the

psychologist and the patient at the same time

–

what a money saver !”

Restrained introverts are deliberate and cautious before they act or speak and prefer to take things slowly. They definitely aren’t your typical “get up bright n’ early and take on the day” kind of people. Daria, an introvert’s spirit animal, sums it up pretty well, “Oh, what a joy I didn’t wake up dead. So I can go to school and then continue my yawning, and get my sleep in class instead of in my bed.” Unhelpfully, it is possible to score high and low in more than one of these categories, e.g. you could suffer from crippling social anxiety, but still wish to be highly social. So, even though definitions of introversion are not strictly defined, I want you to know, from one introvert to another, that I understand. The struggle is real, but at least we can shed some light on what’s really going on inside our strange yet brilliant minds.

12 | Yak Magazine October 2015

LAUREN GROSS INVESTIGATES THE DARK SIDE OF THE POPULAR RIDESHARING APP

Uber seems like a dream come true to anyone who has ever waited endlessly by the side of a road for a cab that may or may not show up. By downloading the Uber app, it determines your location with GPS and connects you with the nearest driver. Once you request a ride, GPS tracks the driver and you can literally see the car coming to get you on the map, eliminating the existential crises of “Where is it?”, “Is it even coming?”, “What is the meaning of life?” and so on. Uber also eliminates the need to keep cash set aside as it’s completely cashless. The credit card you signed up with is charged upon arrival at your destination, meaning you can spend all your dollars on overpriced drinks at Kingas with ease of mind. Best of all, fares can be split evenly. Yep, no more situations where you pay for three quarters of the fare and all your friends give you is an unconvincing IOU. But does it all sound too good to be true? It might be. Uber is unregulated and unlicensed in Australia and the taxi industry says it’s unsafe. For years Uber has been brazenly breaking the law in countries around the world and has been embroiled in quite a few scandals. Drivers caught giving lifts to passengers have been hit with fines of up to $1700 for not being a licensed taxi or hire car driver. A cease and desist order has been in place since May last year but has done nothing to get Uber off the roads. Caspar Nixon, a Senior Communications Associate for Uber told

Yak, “Not a single court in Australia, let alone New South Wales, has held that any Uber driver partner has committed any offence under any passenger transport laws, including the NSW Passenger Transport Act. A Magistrate at the Downing Centre Local Court recently ruled that NSW Roads and Maritime Services did not have authority to prosecute the alleged offences under the Passenger Transport Act. About a week after that ruling, we were notified that RMS would be withdrawing all of its remaining prosecutions against Uber partners in New South Wales.”

Chief Executive of The Taxi Council of Queensland Benjamin Walsh has claimed Uber will become a “haven for sexual predators”…

“

Worse than any grey areas of regulation is Uber’s questionable commitment to safety of passengers. In July of this year a 51-year-old male Uber driver was charged with sexually assaulting a 20-year-old female passenger in Perth. Of course, taxi drivers have also committed sexual assaults in the past, but all taxis are required to have 24hour surveillance cameras unlike Uber.

Chief Executive of The Taxi Council of Queensland Benjamin Walsh has claimed Uber will become a “haven for sexual predators” because it will be harder for victims to prove their case without surveillance evidence. “Uber is operating outside the law, meaning they have no safety measures, taking us back to the dark ages,” Mr Wash said. When there is an incident involving a taxi driver, CCTV from vehicles are provided to police and can be used as evidence. Although Uber drivers undergo an initial criminal check, taxi drivers have daily criminal checks. Mr Walsh claims Uber drivers are able to turn off their phone, making their location untraceable if they wanted. “If a driver inappropriately touches a passenger in a taxi we can prove it. But in an illegal taxi like Uber, it becomes a ‘he said - she said situation’,” he said. “Illegal taxis flout the law and are unsafe and uninsured. I appeal to the public not to risk their lives by using these services.” As a company Uber have done some pretty dodgy things. During the Lindt café siege in December of last year, with so many people fleeing the CBD, Uber’s surge pricing increased fares by more than four times the normal rate. Senior Vice President of Uber, David Plouffe told ABC News that Uber will not act in such bad taste again. “We have policies in place to make sure that surges are capped during states of emergency,” he said. Indeed Uber has made an effort to repair their image with a clever PR

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stunt in February of this year where a cuddle from a cute kitten was included with customer’s rides. The promotion, ‘Uber kittens’, involved abandoned cats being driven from animal shelters for 15 minutes of cuddle time with customers. The promotion was featured heavily on social media and was picked up by news outlets, providing great PR for Uber. Less cute was an Uber promotion in France from last year, which offered Parisians the chance to have a ‘ride with a hot chick’. Women were hired from escort agencies to drive Uber customers for a maximum of 20 minutes. Advertisements for the promotion, including a video that featured lingering shots of the female drivers’ legs and cleavage, were panned on social media and Uber pulled the plug on the stunt before it went ahead. “We have cancelled the partnership as on this occasion we clearly misjudged the situation. We apologise to anyone that has been offended,” Uber tweeted.

“That’s going through “trash. That’s following

“

Lacy told Bloomberg News that she was terrified by the comments. “The plan, as it was described, was not just to dig up dirt - we’re not talking about doing a Google search - we’re talking about a $1 million budget, a four to six-staff team to do opposition research on me,” she said. “That’s going through trash. That’s following my kids. That’s vans parked outside my house.” Despite their past disregard for the law, Uber has shown a willingness to work with governments instead of against them. Uber has offered to share anonymous transportation data and has promised to create jobs in exchange for regulation in Australia. This new move for the company may have something to do with the fact that they have recently hired Mr Plouffe to improve their image – the man who ran Obama’s winning 2008 presidential campaign. “I think there’s a misconception that Uber does not want to work with governments. We are hungry to partner with governments,” he told ABC 7.30. “We have a lot of information about how people are moving around their cities, so there’s a lot in it for cities.”

However, the Australian Taxi Industry Association chief executive Blair Davies said there would be no new jobs created, instead they will just be jobs stolen from the taxi industry. “Substituting one service provider for another doesn’t create new jobs; it only moves a trip that would otherwise have been taken in a legitimate taxi over and into an Uber vehicle,” he said. Uber is also keen to show that they have benefits over the taxi industry. “Uber is a safe, reliable and affordable alternative to other point-to-point transport methods,” Mr Nixon said. “The average arrival time of Uber in Sydney is 3.9 mins, whereas taxi is 15-20 mins. Furthermore Uber is on average 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than a taxi.” Despite the fact that Uber is currently illegal and shrouded in controversy, customers seem to be enjoying the benefits with over one million Australians registered with the application.

The information would include details of trips taken by Uber customers such as the date and time of the journeys, distance travelled and the postcodes of where the journey began and ended. This could help governments ease traffic congestion and have a better idea of how people are moving around cities. Uber’s other bargaining chip is a pledge to create 20,000 jobs in

SHOULD YOU CATCH A RIDE WITH

Sarah Lacy, journalist and founder of technology news website Pando Daily, was outraged at the “sexism and misogyny” of the promotion and began writing articles that were openly critical of Uber and encouraged her readers to delete the company’s app. Emil Michael, a senior executive at Uber, was allegedly outraged at Lacy for her articles and said that women are far more likely to get assaulted by taxi drivers than Uber drivers. At a dinner attended by influential publishers, he stated that Lacy should be held “personally responsible” for any woman who followed her lead in deleting Uber and was then sexually assaulted in a taxi. Michael finished his statement by mentioning that researchers at Uber could give journalists like Lacy “a taste of their own medicine” by “looking into [their] families and personal lives”, in order to damage their reputation.

“Less cute was an Uber promotion in France from last year, which offered Parisians the chance to have a ‘ride with a hot chick’.

Australia this year. “I haven’t met an elected official in the world whose central mission isn’t: ‘How do I create more jobs?’” Mr Plouffe said. “So it would be odd to me over time if you see government officials say no to jobs. They need to say yes to jobs.”

UBER?

my kids. That’s vans parked outside my house.”

In attendance of the dinner was an editor for Buzzfeed who published the details of the conversation. Emil Michael later released a statement apologising and said he made the comment in a conversation he believed was off the record, and that he regretted these comments and they didn’t reflect his or Uber’s views.

14 | Yak Magazine October 2015

MEET THE

RU B E N S Jackelyn Bassett sits down (figuratively) with The Rubens’ keys and backing vocalist, Elliot Margin.

How did it all start with The Rubens? It started in 2011. I was at high school still, in year 12 and Sam and Zaac who are my brothers were just at home bored one day and decided to jam and that’s how it happened. I got home from school and they were like, “Do you want to jam?” and I was like, “Okay.” We had all played instruments as kids but never thought about actually playing together and then we did and it just kind of worked. It was a strange thing. It’s like well, why didn’t we think of this before? We just wrote a bunch of songs and put them up on the internet and people actually liked them. Were you a muso as a kid? I wasn’t crazy into it. I never thought I would be a musician, I just enjoyed listening to music. I enjoyed playing music but I never thought that that would be a viable career. It just kind of happened which is extremely lucky because there’s so many people that that’s all they want to do and that’s all they focus on and you have to have that extra bit of luck to get you there and we had that luck which is crazy. Who are your musical inspirations? As kids, our parents would play Van Morrison and Fleetwood Mac in the car and they’d have Tracy Chapman on tape and we’d listen to that kind of stuff. I don’t know about inspiration, I think it comes from anywhere. It doesn’t matter what genre it is. We listen to a lot of hip hop and that’s a great genre to look to for inspiration, I think for any musician just because it’s so different. Especially if you’re a rock musician, you can get a lot of inspiration from hip hop just because they’re pioneering a lot of different, weird kind of stuff. When did you decide that you wanted to make music for a living? When we were playing shows. When we started playing our first shows, I was like, yea this is fun but at that time, I still didn’t think it was going to be anything. I think when

we got a bit of radio play we actually had people turning up to shows, I think that was when I kind of realised this could actually be something that we can do and I love it. What are your thoughts on Hoops reaching the #2 position on the ARIA Album charts? It’s crazy, it’s amazing. We were stoked. You don’t ever think something like that is going to happen and during the week when we were in the first week of sales and we saw some articles saying we were up against Dr. Dre for number 1, we were like holy s***. We were being realistic, we were like well, we’re not going to get number one. It’s crazy, especially nowadays, not many people are buying records. You don’t really expect much to go on regarding record sales and to have those figures come back at you it’s like wow, that’s a really cool thing. What was it like making Hoops? It was really fun. We rented a house about an hour south of Sydney. We did about five months of writing there which is something we hadn’t done before. For the first one, we’d only been a band for about a year when we went to record and we only had 15 songs under our belt so it was kind of like it just happened. This time, we could actually sit back and think about what we wanted to write and what we wanted the album to be... We spent the first couple of weeks just surfing and drinking beer and having friends over and it was like alright, maybe we should start doing some work now. We had to knuckle down eventually… How was it playing at Splendour? It was so much fun. We used to beg family and friends to come along to shows when we first started like, please, someone be there. A big show like that, you have such high expectations for it and there’s so many things that could go wrong. It could be raining, you might be up against a huge person on another stage and not many people might turn up but we just had a crazy crowd, one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever played to. It was a nice way to say we’re back again,

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we’re back on the road, we’ve got an album. It’s a nice reminder as well, you go away for so long writing an album and being off the scene and not playing shows and you go stir crazy. You’re stuck in a studio 24/7 and it’s like well, why are we doing this? It can be really hard at times and then you play live shows and you’re like, that’s why we’re doing it. It’s just the best part about it. Are there many fights playing in a band with your brothers? None, there hasn’t been any. I mean, there’ll be arguments about tiny things but nothing huge, which is nice. Everyone expects it to be like the Gallaghers [from Oasis], fighting on stage. I think it’s also because we’ve got Scotty and Will in the band so they can break it up and they’ve got great personalities and they’re good characters. It doesn’t really feel like there’s any tension ever because everyone gets along so well. There’s no time to sit back and be angry about anything because we know how lucky we are. If you could swap lives with somebody else for a day, who would it be and why? That’s a hard one. I don’t know. I really like OutKast personally and André 3000 is just a cool guy. I mean it’s not like they’re playing shows or anything at the moment but just to be him for a day would be a pretty cool feeling. What’s your favourite song to play live? At the moment I think it’s a song on the new album called ‘The Fool’ and it’s a real heavy, hard-hitting song. For us, it’s just a lot of fun because we don’t have a lot of songs like that that are just like distorted and kind of mental. We’re still learning to play these new songs live so it’s kind of like right on the razor’s edge. It could fall apart at any time and it’s just holding together. It’s a little bit of beautiful chaos, which is fun, and it’s got a cool solo in it so I think that’s my favourite at the moment.

What are you most excited about for the upcoming tour? I think just the feeling of playing shows again and having people coming along to see us play live. It’s been a long time. We’ve had a couple of shows recently like Splendour and some album launches and things but not an extended stint on the road, which is what we love to do. I think just travelling, seeing new places, meeting new people and playing your new songs live is just going to be a real nice way to get back into it again. How are you preparing for the tour? Just a whole lot of rehearsals. Like last time, when we came off the first album, came back from recording, we kind of went straight on the road and we were a pretty shit band like we weren’t tight at all. By the end of that cycle, we got better we realised how terrible we were at the start. So now it’s like, we’ve learnt from that, let’s do a whole lot of rehearsals and make sure we’re tight as and then you can enjoy the tour from the get go. You can be tight as and really get into it and work off the crowd instead of learning as you go on the road. The main thing is to be rehearsed well so you can feel comfortable and have a good time. We’re doing that at the moment, we’re rehearsing right now. What are your goals for the future of The Rubens? Just keep playing shows and keep writing songs and getting better. It’s nice to have a job where you’re being creative and you’re constantly pushing yourself and you’re pushing each other. When the creativity is good, it’s lots of fun and then you have hard times when it’s like, I can’t f***ing get through this song. It’s nice to have a job that’s stimulating like that. I think that The Rubens, we’re happy to just keep doing what we’re doing and expanding. We want to spread our fan base and be able to play shows around the world eventually. That’s our job and that’s the only way you can survive as a band and we love it. Catch The Rubens with Saskwatch & Winterbourne at Bar on the Hill on November 6. TICKETS are on sale online at oztix.com.au (booking fees apply) and at Bar on the Hill.

16 | Yak Magazine October 2015

We T ’ ’ N O D Do Need to Be Heroes

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Madeline Link explores the White Saviour Industrial Complex hindering African empowerment. Assailed with images of starving African children, Ebolastricken nations and, closer to home, struggling Aboriginal communities, the Western altruist has historically, and presently, wondered how best to save people in need.

Writers of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty Daron Acemoğlu and James A. Robinson argue this has more to do with the outstretched palms of good-willed Westerners than one might have originally thought.

Here’s a novel idea; try asking them.

“As we spell out in our book, this is not to do with a vicious circle of poverty, waiting to be broken by foreign money.

Nigerian-American author Teju Cole coined the term “White Saviour Industrial Complex” in March 2012 as a response to Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign. The “white saviour” refers to the notion that Western outsiders hold the solutions to the complex problems of struggling nations or people of colour without an understanding of the history, the needs or the political and cultural climate that exists in these distinctly different places. Cole wrote that a white saviour is someone who, “supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening.” There is little doubt the aid of Westerners comes, more often than not, from a genuine place of wanting to help those in need. But while diagnosing the problems of a population of more than one billion is one thing, fixing them is another.

“More than a quarter of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa are now poorer than they were in 1960.” Since the 1950s the general consensus on foreign aid has been that large donations are the remedy to widespread poverty. Yet more than a quarter of the countries in subSaharan Africa are now poorer than they were in 1960. According to notable developmental economics scholar William Easterly, the West has spent more than $2.3 trillion on foreign aid in the last five decades. The problem with foreign aid is that it isn’t always reaching those that it is intended to help. Easterly has criticized the lack of success in foreign aid, stating, “the West managed to spend $2.3 trillion on foreign aid over the last five decades and still had not managed to get 12-cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malaria deaths… [nor] four-dollar bed nets to poor families.”

“Making institutions more inclusive is about changing the politics of a society to empower the poor” “Poverty is instead created by economic institutions that systematically block the incentives and opportunities of poor people to make things better for themselves, their neighbours, and their country,” they wrote in an article for The Spectator. Acemoğlu and Robinson argue that making institutions more inclusive is about changing the politics of a society to empower the poor, those who suffer daily at the hands of those that monopolise power. “Aid can help. But it needs to be used in such a way as to help civil society mobilise collectively, find a voice and get involved with decision-making. It needs to help manufacture inclusion,” they wrote. Meanwhile the West continues to dispense resources into objectives, despite the knowledge that these goals are not feasible and often are ineffective solutions to the problems of poor Africa. The notion that countries that have been systematically oppressed by those in positions of privilege can be tarred with the same brush that brought success to the West is naive at the least, and dangerous at most. Furthermore, recipients of aid have not verified the usefulness of Western initiatives and there doesn’t seem to be any accountability for the lack of results. Want to know how to help developing nations? Lend them an ear, not a handout.

It’s clear that no matter how many cheques are signed, amenities built or governmental foreign aid offered, the cycle of poverty continues.

18 | Yak Magazine October 2015

ARE WE HANDLING DRUG USE THE RIGHT WAY? Jackson Langford tries to clear the smoke on a high-priority issue.

From as early as I can remember, society has sort of indoctrinated this idea that drugs are bad. We’ve been paraded with sentiments of “hugs not drugs”, and were told that getting yourself involved is basically a one-way ticket to the most miserable of lives. To be honest, these sentiments are not misguided. If you honestly think that taking illicit drugs makes you healthier than someone who doesn’t, then you need to hop off your unjustifiably high horse and pay Healthy Harold - local childhood hero - another visit. Despite this, it’s pretty much given that most of us have engaged with illicit drugs at one point or another. In fact, according to latest government survey results, most of us try cannabis for the first time at the tender age of 16. It’s an almost unavoidable part of youth culture and it doesn’t make us bad people – but risks can be minimised. What’s pressing, however, is that the use and distribution of illicit drugs is incredibly illegal, yet we’ll still gladly take the risk.

“…the criminal justice system is way more expensive to look after than that of the health one, so it seems economically smart to take on this model.” Of course this isn’t the only crime we all risk running (jaywalking, torrenting) and not all things that are illegal should necessarily be that way (same-sex marriage). But do drugs fall in that same category? Yes, but that doesn’t mean the ramifications should be criminal. At least that’s what Portugal seems to think. The Portuguese government, since 2001, have made drug use a health issue and not a criminal one. Basically, people who are caught using drugs are submitted to a health panel where they would decide on appropriate treatment and rehabilitation techniques. The money the country has saved from not putting these drug users through the criminal justice system has been used to increase access to drug treatment and prevention.

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overdose

14 years ago

HIV

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The Greens leader Richard di Natale agrees with the Portuguese model, and is currently on a self-funded mission meeting with policy-makers and experts in the European country, with hope that one day that same model could be applied to Australia. But is Australia ready for this huge change and, frankly, is it even a good idea? Professor Alison Ritter is the Director of the Drug Policy Modelling Program at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW and supports di Natale’s proposed model. “I think the evidence from Portugal is very strong,” Alison said. Portugal has also seen a decrease in crime, more people in treatment, fewer overdoses, and fewer cases of HIV since the change was implemented 14 years ago. What is important to note is that, as previously mentioned, this model is far more cost-effective. “Not only did Portugal decriminalise drug use, but they injected a heap of new funds into treatment and support,” Alison said. She makes note of the fact that the criminal justice system is way more expensive to look after than that of the health one, so it seems economically smart to take on this model. Overcrowding has become a major problem for NSW prisons and this could be a small stepping stone in eliminating that and similar issues.

She also points out her fear that, if this method were put in place, that it would send the wrong message about drug use. “Drugs are never okay. They’re illegal for a reason and I’m concerned that people might feel that using drugs is okay or that it will go unpunished because there’s no threat of fines or incarceration,” Debbie said. Professor Allison Ritter, however, refutes this worry, and said “there’s no evidence to support it.” “In fact, in a number of states, there’s already decriminalisation in place and there’s no evidence that it raises the rate people are using drugs,” Alison said. “It’s an irrational and ill-founded fear that doesn’t have any support associated with it.” Newcastle may become one of those aforementioned places in the near future, with our great city being host to the first Australian residents taking part in clinical trials on the effects of cannabis on the terminally ill.

Alison also said that this is a “just, humane and fair” way of dealing with drug use. An important thing to remember is that if this new model were to take effect, and your jailbird arse was dealing drugs, then you would still be subjected to the criminal justice system. Drug dealing is a dangerous and stupid business that would remain highly illegal. Are there any flaws to this method, however? We spoke to one source, who, for the purposes of this article will be referred to as ‘Debbie’, said that this method is a worry to her as a mother. “I understand the cost-effectiveness and all the rest

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of it,” Debbie said, “but, as someone who has experienced hardship because of people close to me that were involved with using drugs, the overall premise concerns me. It should still be illegal to use drugs because addiction can lead to direct harm to those around them.”

While medicinal marijuana isn’t completely the same issue as the way we handle drug use, it highlights Australia as a nation that is seemingly willing to let go of the ‘traditional’ to try more extreme methods that may help. We can’t achieve anything if we don’t at least try, and it’s comforting to see that Australians are opening their minds. If we take Portugal as an example - and we should - then this remodelling could be an unprecedented high in our nation’s history.

CRIME

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NOW Designed by Mia Engel

20 | Yak Magazine October 2015

Are you an annoying person on campus? Sarah Webb whinges about the annoying archetypes at UON We’ve all encountered them. Those people who you interact with on a daily basis, but do things that just make you so mad and you can’t understand why. We’ve all been there. Let’s be realistic here; at a university like UON, with so many students, there’s bound to be some ‘annoying’ ones. Here are some of the most painful types of people that you will most likely encounter at one point or another here at UON. Do you identify as any of the following?

The Lumberer

The Packer

Being someone with a particularly long stride, this is by far the most frustrating. Think about this way; you’re two minutes away from being late to class and you’re stuck behind someone who is sipping on coffee, chatting away on their phone and walking SMACK-BANG in the middle of the sidewalk. You edge over to try and pass them, but there is simply not enough room. They continue to walk leisurely in front of you, leaving you to only imagine what it would be like to shove them aside and run past yelling, “MOOOVE!”

Your teacher is cramming a whole concept into the last 15 minutes of a lecture so that you can get out early. You are listening, but you’re slightly distracted by the *ZIIIIIIP*coming from the person next to you who has started shuffling their papers, putting their pens away and zipping up their bags in slow-motion before the lecturer has even finished explaining the PowerPoint. For those guilty of this habit, please just zip it up nice and quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid; quick and painless.

The Ron Swanson

The Skater-Boy

You sit at your study table on the second floor – the quiet floor – of the Auchmuty Library. You’re trying to get through about 200 pages of assigned readings when you are disturbed by the *CLICK-CLACK-CLICKCLACK* of computer keys racing at the command of the person sitting a table over. You try to block out the noise by putting on your headphones, but you can’t read and listen to music, and the headphones aren’t noise-cancellers. Every time this happens to me, I have flashbacks of Ron Swanson hacking away at his typewriter. Only difference is that that is actually funny.

If you’re reckless enough to ride a bike between mass amounts of student walking around campus, can you at least not scare me to death by waiting until the last second to steer away? The amount of times I have had neardeath experiences is way too high for the amount of time I have been here. Please, do us a favour and try to stay away from as many students as possible. Hearing a bike approach from behind you is way too scary.

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The Inconvenient Gentlemen Holding the door open for someone is a common act of courtesy, and we all appreciate it. However, if I am more than 60 metres away from the door, PLEASE save me the awkward trouble of completing a marathon in my heels just to accept your act of kindness. It is not worth it, but thanks anyway.

The Muncher Break has just ended, and you’re regaining focus. Ten minutes later, someone walks in the door and you’re hit with the delicious smell of baked banana bread from Gloria Jeans or a spinach and feta roll from the Uni Bakehouse. The ensuing chewing, crunching sounds not only distract you from the lesson, but make you hungry yourself. Unless it’s a can of opened tuna. In the words and wisdom of Yak’s Managing Editor, “Do not open a can of tuna in a lecture theatre. It’s inhumane.” Enough said.

“Let’s be realistic here; at a university like UON, with so many students, there’s bound to be some annoying ones.” The Winger

The Downtime Eliminator

We’ve all been there. You’ve studied hard and you’re feeling good about the test. Then, you take it… and realise that the kid who decided not to study still did better than you. Once again, teach us your ways! You make the rest of us look dumb for even trying, because we were clearly doomed for failure anyway.

Your class gets out at 2pm, but the tutor has just announced that you are getting out half an hour early. The things that you can do with an extra 30 minutes! Maybe watch an episode of your favourite TV show, or hang out with your buddies on campus for a while? But wait, the person in the front row raises their hand and asks the about the Theory of Such-and-Such. The tutor starts in on a lively explanation that continues to take up the rest of the tutorial time. Bam, that person’s name is now scribbled down in everyone’s bad books.

The Table Hog

The Stall Buddy

Eating alone is actually a nice, relaxing luxury when you’re constantly surrounded by people in a campus environment. But the dining halls here can get very ‘rowdy’, and tables can be scarce (especially the Brennan Room) at popular times of the day. And when this happens, and you’re walking around looking for any place to sit, nothing is more frustrating than a single person taking up a table for five. You know who you are.

I saved the worst for last. My personal biggest annoyance is this: when somebody sits next to me in the bathroom when there are clearly other open stalls. Why? One time, I had a bad case of Hayfever and the girl in the stall next to me kept making exaggerated sighs of annoyance. Excuse me, if my allergies make you uncomfortable, please move to next stall over, or move to the other side of the building. Sorry, not sorry. /end rant.

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the renaissance of the Newy music scene Jackson Langford dishes on why Newcastle’s music scene is striking a chord.

We all know Fat as Butter was a Novocastrian institution. For years, scantily clad teens, tweens and the young at heart would storm into the foreshore with nothing but pingas and vodka red bulls swirling around the morning. You might think the Pasha Bulker was the most iconic thing to go down at the foreshore in recent years, but need I remind you of the infamous Flo Rida no-show of 2011? Yeah, take a seat. However, come last year we had experienced a brief drought. Acts stopped playing at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, the Great Northern began its steady decline and, of course, Fat as Butter melted from existence. Yet, earlier this year news began to float around social media about a mysterious new festival called This That to take place where FAB once stood on 31 October. Once the mega line-up dropped – consisting electronic lords RÜFÜS, Harlem shaker Baauer, my personal heroes Sticky Fingers and bae Tkay Maidza – everyone got bloody keen.

“You might think the Pasha Bulker was the most iconic thing to go down at the foreshore in recent years, but need I remind you of the infamous Flo Rida no-show of 2011? Yeah, take a seat.” This marks a serious milestone in what is sure to be a strong resurgence of our beloved Newcastle music scene. It’s a festival that is promoting more than just good music – its promoting our great city. While the bill is headlined by out-of-towners, local boys Jaytee Hazard and Stephane 1993 will be holding it down. Not to mention, the food for the festival is being curated by Andy Allen, AKA the Maitland boy who went on to be one of the most successful winners of Masterchef Australia.

But This That is not the only catalyst for this rediscovered glory. If you have been flogging Triple J this year like most of the nation, you would have heard of a little electronic duo by the name of Boo Seeka. These two local legends, responsible for smooth gems like ‘Kingdom Leader’ and allconquering ‘Deception Bay’, have been copping some serious Triple J love, with their Like a Version cover of ‘Pilgrim’ garnering over 60,000 views on YouTube. The third saviour to thank is our very own Bar On The Hill. Yes, far more than just a place to get your grubby meat hooks on some el primo schnitty, or to fall asleep in your own sick on Autonomy Day, BOTH is known as a go-to place for artists to come and have a boogie. Given, Bar On The Hill has been pretty quiet this year. However, October has started and there is a killer line-up of gigs coming your way. You’ve got unabashed punks The Delta Riggs, ridiculously popular indie darlings San Cisco, and then there’s the incomparable legends that make up our cover, The Rubens. There is seriously something for everyone here, and on our home turf too no less. You’d be a fool not to get amongst it. Not to mention, the pals at the Cambridge Hotel, The Small Ballroom and Hombre Records are bringing really cool acts your way. It’s going to be a busy month, gang. But the one crucial thing that this rebirth depends on, is the support of the people. I’m not one to shy away from a night losing my ‘shit’ on the Kingas dance floor to that god-forsaken ‘Cheerleader’ song, but there’s more out there. If you spend your night venturing out to a venue where a band is playing, you might find a new favourite band, a new favourite hangout spot and some new favourite pals. I know heaps of people who bitch about how “there’s nothing to do in Newcastle,” but without sounding too much like propaganda, if people don’t contribute to this rich yet barely thriving industry, there will be nothing to do in Newcastle.

24 | Yak Magazine October 2015

yak settles the age-old debate once and for all . who wins in a battle between cats and dogs?

SAMUEL RAYFIELD

“woof”

I have never lived with a cat for a prolonged period of time. Thus, I feel ill-equipped to lambast the species. Animals have always just seemed like animals. Arguing one over the other, I have realised since suggesting this debate, feels like I’m breaking an essential personal moral barrier. But it’s too late to back out now. So… A dog is always smiling. They are born pleased to be alive and loyally remain so, grateful for your presence. That is a crucial factor in a pleasant relationship – being greeted with a smile. A cat has never smiled at me, but a dog is always there to. With a great part of my life spent with my dogs, I inevitably attempt to treat cats like dogs. My cat-owner friends tell me not to treat them like dogs, but I seem incapable of treating them any other way; with affection. Cats, you’ve gotta gain their trust, playing this odd game of moves with them. Sure, dogs are a little suspicious of the odd bloke, but that is transformed into unconditional love rather easily. I have not witnessed this quality in any of the cats I have met.

“Spell ‘dog’ backwards, and you get ‘god’.” Now for some lessons I have learned from living with and observing dogs: 1. If you do not wish to care about anything, nobody has the right to tell you to care about anything. (Or, ‘Apathy is a virtue.’) 2. If you demonstrate enough love in your actions, you probably won’t die of starvation. 3. The less you mentally exhaust yourself and the more you physically exhaust yourself, a better person you will become. Dogs. Dogs. Say it again. Say it again and again, with ever more bark, ever more like a dog would if a dog could talk. As a word, I prefer to utter it more frequently than ‘cat’. Spell ‘dog’ backwards, you get ‘god’. Spell ‘cat’ backwards, you get ‘tac’. That’s not ethereal. That’s the latter half of a Tic-Tac. Sorry, cats.

NICHOLAS SMIT

“meow”

I would like to start this argument by stating that I am able to write this without locking my favoured pet in another room or outside. When I’m not giving it attention, my cat is either quietly curled up on my lap or utterly indifferent to me, which works just fine for a busy uni student. Indeed, the cat is king when it comes to low-maintenance animal companions. You don’t need to cough up a lung walking your cat because they can stay fit and healthy on their own. Cats save you time and money by cleaning themselves. For the student who’s struggling to feed themselves let alone a pet, cats work out significantly cheaper.

“You know a cat loves you because you had to earn it.” Unless you’ve decided on keeping your cat exclusively indoors, you don’t have to live in constant fear of a ‘jailbreak’ attempt from where it’s confined. And if you do need to keep your pet inside, cats can live in remarkably small places, and even a studio apartment is a suitable space for your feline friend. And finally, cats are so much quieter! You’re not going to get a call from the local council because your cat was barking up a storm at passing cars, the sound of the TV or literally nothing at all. So cats are pretty much the key to keeping your lifestyle intact while keeping a pet. Their level of self-sufficiency means that you can own a cat without becoming a cat owner. But that doesn’t mean cats don’t love you. Quite the contrary in fact. You know a cat loves you because you had to earn it. For that reason, being your cat’s special person is that much stronger a feeling. Much like our normal friends, cats develop a long-term and subtle respect that doesn’t need to be explicitly stated, unlike the startlingly immediate worshipping behaviour of dogs that, if it were received from a human, would get you swiftly blocked on Facebook. In summary, cats are the kind of pet that let people be people. In a world where our time is becoming more and more occupied, cats are ready to fill the gaps as a cherished companion rather than a furry obligation.

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 25

Majora The

latest addition to the

Australian

At the time of interview, Novocastrian quartet Majora appear eighth from the top of Bandcamp’s ‘post-rock’ tag. They share the page with swelling Sydney acts Plini and We Lost the Sea other genre heavyweights like Deafheaven, God is an Astronaut and If These Trees Could Talk. Majora have also received positive commentary on their Triple J Unearthed page. As well as being one of Lachie Macara’s “favourite discoveries of 2015”, their music makes Richard Kingsmill “wanna mountain climb”, and, according to Dom Alessio, is “[t]he sound of the Apocalypse as the sky cracks open and universes implode and stars explode”. All this, and they’ve only just played their first show. In the age of the Internet, their bassist/ synth-player/sampler Chris Hoole believes “you’ve gotta have the quality in the material over the live performance, in some aspects. That can be the thing that defines you, then you work toward the performance, rather than the other way around.” “I think it kills a lot of bands,” guitarist Jared Phillips chimes in.

“You’ve really gotta put in the hard yards and push to make it in Newy.” Guitarist Josh Pascoe attributes some of their success to good luck. “Someone came across it at Triple J, liked it, then they actually bothered to put it on the radio.”

post-rock scene is a local one, writes

Drummer Zach Falconer blames the gods. “It’s not just a good product. We just got f***ing lucky, really.” This they all agree with. At the end of August, Majora had two songs in Triple J Unearthed’s weekly top 100; ‘The Shaman’ and EP titletrack ‘Iridescent’ at #74 and #83 respectively. From other Newcastlebased bands featured in the charts, there are three more songs; two from

“…the crowd, in which there was a remarkable amount of dancing women.” funk-rock quartet Pacefaint and one from hip-hop duo Eightfold. With its 300,000-odd residents, Newcastle is certainly punching above its weight in its contribution to the nation’s cultural output. But stats never tell the whole story. A lack of appropriate local venues is part of the problem with getting live gigs. The band booked the Great Northern Hotel for their first show and EP launch, not knowing the pub had downgraded their sound system in response to noise complaints. “People don’t realise that by acting against a slight noise problem,” bassist Hoole says, “that it really does come down hard on a lot of bands that are just trying to get out there and play some music.” Pascoe elaborates on the patronage. “People don’t really go out to watch shows unless their mates are playing.”

Samuel Rayfield.

Guitarist Phillips agrees, “There’s not a lot of emphasis on live music these days.” “It’s definitely not something to be taken lightly,” Hoole believes. “You’ve really gotta put in the hard yards and push to make it in Newy.” In the toilet after the interview, I bumped into drummer Falconer. I congratulated him on getting it all together, told him it was good that tonight was finally happening after four months of twicea-week practising, every week. “I’m not used to being in a band that people like,” he said. At the Great Northern gig, Majora were atop a bill of five bands that played till midnight, including Newcastle’s White Gums and Ornaments plus Solkyri and Stare at the Clouds from Sydney. They played through a data-projected visualisation edited together by friend Laidlaw Puha, the sole member of White Gums. It was appropriately comprised mostly of forgotten documentaries and 2001: A Space Odyssey. It all went smoothly and probably had an effect on the crowd, in which there was a remarkable amount of dancing women. Majora sound live on the Iridescent EP. Live, they are iridescent. Their half-hour of flashing sounds and colours was over cruelly soon, but at the end, everyone was talking. Majora’s next gig will be at This That in Newcastle on October 31 as Triple J Unearthed’s winner. You can check out their music on Bandcamp and Spotify, plus they have plans for an east coast tour soon so keep an eye on their Facebook. Designed by Breanna Yates

26 | Yak Magazine October 2015

Mon

WHAT’S ON: OCTOBER

Tues

Wed

Thurs

1 Smart Future Cities Conference Newcastle City Hall 8.45am - 5pm

OCT 5 Labour Day

Trivia Bar on the Hill 1pm - 2pm

Pool Comp Godfrey Tanner Bar 3pm - 6pm

The Delta Riggs Bar on the Hill 7.30pm

Youth Rockin’ the Garage Sale Black Dog Grand Final Auchmuty Courtyard Lizotte’s Newcastle 11am - 4pm 6.30pm

Fri

Sat

Trivia Godfrey Tanner Bar 1pm - 2pm

Electric Vehicle and Clean Energy Expo Civic Park 10am - 4pm

Wellbeing Workshop: Introduction to Emotion Regulation Skills The Clubhouse 11am - 12 noon

Beat Lounge Bar on the Hill from 3pm

Smirnoff Marquee Party Broadmeadow Race Course Tickets: $20 in advance

Sun

Newcastle City Farmers Market Newcastle Showground 8am - 1pm

Wellbeing Workshop: Introduction to Emotion Regulation Skills The Clubhouse 11am - 12 noon

Ronald McDonald House Race Day Broadmeadow Race Course

Wellbeing Workshop: Introduction to Emotion Regulation Skills The Clubhouse 11am - 12 noon

Newcastle City Farmers Market Newcastle Showground 8am - 1pm

Trivia Godfrey Tanner Bar 1pm - 2pm Oktoberfest Bar on the Hill 11.30am - 4pm

Pop-Up At Monday Movies by Moonlight Written and directed by UON postgraduate student, Stu McBratney Derkenne Courtyard 7.30pm

Trivia Bar on the Hill 1pm - 2pm

Ride2Uni Day + FREE Breakfast 7.30am - 8.30am, Bike Hub West, Callaghan 9.30am - 10.30am, Bike Hub West, Callaghan 7.30am - 8.30am, 7am - 9am, Wheeler Place, Newcastle City Campus Yourimbah Café, Ourimbah

Create 2258 Central Coast Campus

iLead Debate Godfrey Tanner Bar 6pm

Trivia Bar on the Hill 1pm - 2pm

Create 2258 Central Coast Campus

Pool Comp Godfrey Tanner Bar 3pm - 6pm

Australia and New Zealand University Mental Health and Well-being Day All campuses Check www.newcastle. edu.au/umhd for more details

26 The Lion King (G) At Monday Movies by Moonlight Derkenne Courtyard 7.30pm

Trivia Bar on the Hill 1pm - 2pm

Create 2258 Central Coast Campus

Trivia Godfrey Tanner Bar 1pm - 2pm

Hunt and Gather Markets Pacific Park 9am - 2pm

San Cisco Bar on the Hill 7.30pm

Dungog Festival Music, Film, Food and Markets Back to the Bar Alumni Reunion ft. Regurgitator, Citizen K & more Bar on the Hill Doors open 5pm

Wellbeing Workshop: Introduction to Distress Tolerance Skills The Clubhouse 11am - 12 noon Dungog Festival Music, Film, Food and Markets

Dungog Festival Music, Film, Food and Markets

Pool Comp Godfrey Tanner Bar 3pm - 6pm

Wellbeing Workshop: Introduction to Distress Tolerance Skills The Clubhouse 11am - 12 noon

Newcastle City Farmers Market Newcastle Showground 8am - 1pm

Swan Lake & Sleeping Beauty Russian Dungog Festival National Ballet Music, Film, Food and Civic Theatre, 7.30pm Markets

Broadmeadow Sundays Handmade Market PCYC Broadmeadow 9am - 2pm

Swan Lake & Sleeping Beauty Russian National Ballet Civic Theatre, 7.30pm

Newcastle City Farmers Market Newcastle Showground 8am - 1pm

Halloween Party Bar on the Hill Doors open 7pm Tickets available from ticketebo.com.au/UON

Find out more at: www.newcastle.edu.au/events/current-students

1 nov

Newcastle City Farmers Market Newcastle Showground 8am - 1pm

Yak Magazine October 2015 | 27

REGULAR activities TUESDAYS

FRIDAYS

Trivia

Bar on the Hill: 1pm - 2pm, Tuesdays

Godfrey Tanner Bar: 1pm - 2pm, Fridays

Test out your trivia skills each week at Bar on the Hill or Godfrey Tanner Bar.

WEDNESDAYS Pool Comp

Pool sharks of Callaghan unite! Free to enter and there are prizes for the winner. 3pm - 5.30pm, Wednesdays Godfrey Tanner Bar

THURSDAYS Games with Godfrey

Settle down in the bar and roll the dice for a social board game or two.

CLUBS & SOCIETIES UON Fencing Club Training Every Wednesday 7.45pm - 9.45pm, Studio 2, The Forum

Test out your trivia skills each week at Bar on the Hill or Godfrey Tanner Bar.

Student Life Meet-Ups Every Thursday 5pm - 9pm, The Clubhouse

Beat Lounge

Wake Up! Every Wednesday 7.45pm - 9.45pm, Studio 2, The Forum

Chill out and enjoy $9 jugs, $7.50 Schnitzel + chips and free lawn games! From 3pm, Fridays Bar on the Hill

ALL WEEK Godfrey Tanner Bar Happy Hour

4pm - 5pm, each weekday of semester

Bar on the Hill Happy Hour

5pm - 6pm, each weekday of semester

From 3pm, Thursdays Godfrey Tanner Bar

UON LIVE! Faster Than Flight Tuesday, 6 October, Bar on the Hill 12pm - 1pm Chris Kelly’s All Star Blues Band Wednesday, 7 October, Bar on the Hill 12pm - 1pm Callum MacDonald Wednesday, 7 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm Live Music Thursday, 8 October, Auchmuty Courtyard 12pm - 1pm Live Music Tuesday, 13 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm

TOP PICK

Majora Wednesday, 14 October, Bar on the Hill 12pm - 1pm

Ride2Uni Day Did you know that two out of three Australians don’t get enough physical activity in their day to maintain their health? This problem could be solved if we all ditched our car and jumped on our bikes to get to uni. Ride2Uni Day is open to all UON students and staff and aims to promote commuting by bike as a regular habit. Register beforehand on newcastle.edu.au/ride2uni to take advantage of a free breakfast on the day, a chance to win some great prizes and free safety and bike maintenance workshops all year round, or just give it a go on the day. What’s not to like? It’s fun, saves you money on petrol, is environmentally friendly and tones your calves to get you Beyoncé ready for summer. Get on yer’ bike.

Live music Wednesday, 14 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm Papa Pilko and the Binrats Thursday, 15 October, Bar on the Hill 12pm - 1pm Live music Tuesday, 20 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm Mark Wells Band Tuesday, 20 October, Oval 4 12pm - 1pm Georgina Grimshaw Wednesday, 21 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm Con Vocal Students Showcase Tuesday, 27 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm Cope Street Parade Tuesday, 27 October, Bar on the Hill 12pm - 1pm Chris Henry & The Hard Core Grass Thursday, 29 October, Derkenne Courtyard 12pm - 1pm