Volume 2: Sonder by UTS Vertigo

April 2022

Volume 02: SONDER Postcards from the Past by Katie Kelly

Demons and Designs with Steven Rhodes by Ashley Sullivan

The Casual Vagrancy by Joey Chalita & Joseph Hathaway-Wilson

The University of Technology Sydney, Building One, 15 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007

Cover Design Sophia Ramos

2022

UTS Vertigo

Sonder

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Photographer: FJ Gaylor

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Acknowledgement of Country The University of Technology Sydney would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians and Knowledge Keepers of the land on which UTS now stands, and pays respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. – Maree Graham Deputy Director, Students, and Community Engagement Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research

Vertigo would like to extend a personal acknowledgement to the Traditional Custodians and Knowledge Keepers of the land on which we lived and worked as editors and designers during the creation of this magazine. We pay respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and extend this respect to any First Nations’ people reading this volume. As students, we must acknowledge the Indigenous contributions to academia that have enriched our understanding of Australian history and culture. We exist on stolen land, and recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded.

Jess Prowse would like to acknowledge the Gundungurra and Dharug people of the Ngurra Nation.

Ashley Sullivan would like to acknowledge the Burramattagal and Dharug people of the Eora Nation.

Alexander Kingsford would like to acknowledge the Cammeraygal people of the Eora Nation.

Sophia Ramos would like to acknowledge the Boolbainora clan of the Dharug people of the Eora Nation.

Andy Lee, Clara Atkin, and Joey Chalita would like to acknowledge the Dharug people of the Eora Nation.

Siena Zadro and Joe Hathaway-Wilson would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.

If it is within your means, please consider donating to an Indigenous organisation such as: Blak Business — “Bringing together information, knowledge and resources to facilitate broader learning and discussion about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander topics.” — blakbusiness.com.au IndigenousX — Indigenous media organisation — Indigenousx.com.au Seed — Fighting for climate justice — Seedmob.org.au Black Rainbow — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Sistergirl and Brotherboy (LGBQTI+SB) Organisation — blackrainbow.org.au ANTaR — Advocacy organisation dedicated to justice, rights and respect for Australia’s First Peoples — antar.org.au More organisations can be found here:

Editors' Letter Dear Readers, Thank you for picking up Volume 2 of Vertigo 2022. The first semester of 2022 is well underway! Some of you may be experiencing life on campus for the first time. It’s time to let pub food fill your veins, society events rule your schedule, and hope that Zoom tutorials stay at a minimum. It’s time to bask in the light of real-life people. As we move further into a new semester, we begin to recognise and appreciate more of what we have missed over the past few years. Family. Friends. Strangers. People. We present to you, ‘Sonder’, a celebration and exploration of the complex and intrinsic lives each of us lead. It is an acknowledgement of one another, exploring a range of topics pertinent to every person. This issue is our sonnet to people. To human life. We would also like to thank everyone for the heartwarming feedback on Vol. 1 ‘Dawn’. It was truly phenomenal to see you all walking around campus with your very own copy. Thank you for all the positive comments on our first edition and we hope to carry this optimism throughout the rest of the year (and if you want to stay up to date, check us out on Instagram @utsvertigo). You are the reason Vertigo exists, and we do what we do for you. So, thank you. ‘Sonder’ asks you to take a moment. Observe instead of act. Listen instead of speak. Appreciate the strangers you have come to know and those who you will never know. Consider another person’s life: their histories, failings, successes, and future. We want you to walk in another’s shoes, as far as they have and will walk. Lots of love, Vertigo 2022

If you Could live A day in thE Life of Someone for 24 hours, wHo Would it be?

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xander Ale

Kingsfor d

Siena

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Andy

Jess

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Ramos

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Thank Yous The cancelled Harry Styles Australia tour Street parking Vladmir Putin

Chali ta

Cramps E-Requests

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Sushi Hub Student discounts SES volunteers Hardworking tutors

F**k Yous

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Joey

Harry Styles

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Playlis t

Sonder 01. Clair de Lune Flight Facilities, Christine Hoberg

02. Alone in Kyoto Air

03. Ylang Ylang FKJ, ((( O )))

04. Night Shift Lucy Dacus

05. Rocket Man Elton John

06. Robbers The 1975

07. Venice Bitch Lana Del Ray

08. Horizon Variations Max Richter

09. Beautiful Crime Tamer

Student Life IN CONVERSATION WITH VICE-CHANCELLOR ANDREW PARFITT by Joseph Hathaway-Wilson and Joey Chalita

THE CASUAL VAGRANCY by Joseph Hathaway-Wilson and Joey Chalita

Business, Law & STEM SPECTRUM: A HUB OF ALL THINGS QUEER by Joey Chalita

AI: THE RISE OF DIGITAL MATES, DRIVERLESS CARS, AND INTELLIGENT MACHINES by Madhumita Bandyopadhyay

Politics THE LITTLE UNION THAT COULD: A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT THE SYDNEY TRAIN DEBACLE by Elodie Jakes

SEEING RED: A DISCOURSE ON THE COALITION’S CHINA STANCE by Yvonne Hong and Joseph Hathaway-Wilson

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCKIN’ ON NATO’S DOOR by Charlie McLean

Society & Culture THE REFLECTION OF A BROKEN MIRROR by Suhayla Sharif

THEIR SUCCESS IS NOT YOUR FAILURE by Maydaywenz Tun

IN CONVERSATION WITH PRIDE IN PROTEST 56 by Joseph Hathaway-Wilson

Showcase

Arts & Lifestyle FILM APPRECIATION POSSE REVIEWS by Timothy Chan

SERENDIPITY AND LUCIDITY by Katie Kelly

DEMONS AND DESIGNS WITH STEVEN RHODES by Ashley Sullivan

PEOPLE-WATCHING IN PARIS by Angelina Chahine

68 70

GAYS AND GAZE by Claire Matthews

CIRCUITS by Jacqueline Adams LA DIVERSA VITA by Siena Zadro

EPIPHANY by Allegra Thadea

RECLAIMING FEMININITY by Shanelle George

Content Warnings

Creative Writing GAZING THROUGH GLASS by Sai Muthukumar

NIGHTHAWKS by Pippi Cullinan

SPIRALING by Andelain Joy

WHAT WE OWE EACH OTHER by Shea Donohoe

WAVES by Ashley Sullivan

GATE by Minduli Withana

POSTCARDS FROM THE PAST by Katie Kelly

100

Miscellaneous INVITATION TO WRITE by Joshua Wolterding

108

THE MAGIC BACON NUMBER by Clara Atkin

110

Students’ Association STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION REPORTS by Various Contributors

112

UTSSA UPDATE: MEET YOUR 2022 OFFICERS by Various Contributors

118

BTS AT UTS: SRC REPS MEET WITH THE UNIVERSITY by Anna Thieben and Sabrine Yassine

122

CONTRIBUTOR’S BIOS by Various Contributors

126

Vertigo readers should be advised that there are content warnings before relevant pieces. Some articles and images contain themes or references to racism, xenophobia, war, violence, death, mental illhealth, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, homophobia, discrimination, sex, marginalisation, transphobia, sexual assault and exploitation. Please keep this in mind as you enjoy our magazine; your health and safety are important to us. Contact the UTS Counselling Services on 9514 1177, or visit the UTS Counselling Services website to find out more and access the extensive online self-help resources. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please consider speaking to your local GP, a healthcare professional, or calling one of the numbers below. Lifeline — 13 11 14 Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636 If you or someone you know is experiencing or has experienced sexual abuse, you can call or refer to the following confidential hotlines. General — 1800 737 732 Counselling — 1800 211 028 Crisis Centre — 1800 424 017 If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or child abuse, call or refer to the following 24/7 confidential free hotlines. Domestic Violence Line — 1800 656 463 NSW Child Protection Helpline — 13 21 11 If you are struggling with self-injurious behaviour, such as self-harming or an eating disorder, please reach out to the following: Butterfly Foundation — (02) 9412 4499 If you, or someone you know, is struggling with or has struggled with drug or alcohol abuse, please consider speaking to your local GP, a healthcare professional, or calling the numbers below. Alcohol and Other Drugs Information Service (ADIS) — 1800 250 015 NSW Quitline — 13 7848 (13 QUIT) Available Monday to Friday: 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Available Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Interview

With

STUDENT LIFE

by Interviewed ilson -W ay Joe Hathaw ita & Joey Chal

P ro F e s s O r A n d R E w P a R f i t t 12

Vice-Chancellor & President of UTS For those of you out of the university loop, Professor Andrew Parfitt is your Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Technology Sydney. Promoted from his position of Provost and Senior Vice-President in November last year, he became the 5th Vice-Chancellor of UTS since its establishment in 1988. Vertigo sat down with the man appointed to steer the university away from the tumultuous fallout of the global pandemic.

V: Tell us about your life in the days before you went to university. Where did you grow up, and what was life like there? AP: I grew up in Adelaide. None of my family had been to university, so it was only really at school that I was exposed to science and maths and all of those interesting things. It generated an interest that ultimately led to studying engineering at the University of Adelaide. I did electronic engineering because — and I’m showing my age here — we didn’t have mobile phones or personal computers, so microelectronics seemed to be the way of the future. V: Can you remember having any ambitions at that time? Maybe getting ahead of it all, becoming the next Bill Gates? AP: I think, like most students, you take one step at a time. The first thing that I wanted to do was explore what a professional career at university would look like. [The ambition was] simply getting there and then starting to think about those sorts of impacts: the capacity of technology to change lives and the huge opportunities for Australian businesses. When I graduated, I joined the Defence Science and Technology organisation, and that’s where I started to become

interested in research. It became evident to me what research could achieve, so I ended up going back to university to do a PhD. Having decided after four years that I probably wouldn’t do any more study, I spent another four years at university (laughs) and then had the opportunity to embark on a research career as an academic.

SECTION NAME STUDENT LIFE

AboUt YoU

V: Your career in higher education started as a lecturer at the University of Adelaide, and now three decades and three universities later, you’re the Vice-Chancellor and President of UTS. What drew you towards tertiary education in the first place? AP: Yeah, I was on a research path for a good part of my career. I spent time at CSIRO working on things like radio astronomy, technology, and space technology, then went back into academia as Director of the Research Institute. But then the opportunity arose to become head of faculty — this was at the University of South Australia — and I realised that what gives me the most satisfaction as a leader is bringing together both the education and the research components. I think that’s what characterises university; not only is it about creating the next generation of professionals, it’s also about creating the next wave of knowledge that they can use.

PG# 13

V: Was your background in engineering one of the motivating factors behind joining the University of Technology? AP: There were two factors. One, clearly, is the strong focus on what technology can do for communities. Not just the science and technology itself, but how it’s adopted and what difference it can make.

What’s perhaps less evident is the very strong commitment UTS has to social justice and making an impact on communities. Those two elements together are a really powerful aspect of UTS’s identity that really attracted me here as provost.

STUDENT LIFE

V: Aside from Vice-Chancellorship, what would be your career highlight so far? AP: Look, there are many. At the University of Newcastle, they have a student speaker talk at the end of the graduation ceremony — it’s usually an honours student or university medalist — and they often tell the stories of what they’ve managed to do while studying: all the volunteering and industry opportunities and so on. But you also hear the stories of overcoming disadvantages. Something that sticks in my mind is listening to a young Indigenous woman who had just graduated as a lawyer. She spoke about how, when her father had been at school, he was told to sit in the back and be quiet and how she promised herself that she would be different. She sat up front, she asked the questions, she worked hard, and here she was: a university medalist in law. You hear those stories of life transformation and it really makes a difference to you.

AboUt UTS V: Now that you’re in the role of Vice-Chancellor, what’s your personal vision for UTS? AP: Well, that’s an interesting question because I moved into the Vice-Chancellor role from the Provost role, having been one of the key architects of the current university strategy. I feel really strong ownership of the UTS 2027 strategy elements that we’ve got. My vision is that we are a global institution with a social impact to make. The university’s reputation is important to me because that then is an asset for recognised UTS graduates. Finding the way now, as we emerge from COVID-19, to continue to grow that vision is a priority for me. V: What is UTS 2027? How does it tackle issues such as growing UTS as a global powerhouse university and environmental sustainability? AP: The fact that we are a public university is a really powerful statement — that we are here for public benefit. Making a global impact is something that can happen through our research activities and the way in which they change our communities, or through graduates and where they operate on a global stage. We are a university that doesn’t stand aside from those partnerships and important relationships with the business industry. To your second point, at the heart of that is the question of, “Where do we believe technology can really have an impact?” Sustainability is one of those fields. Environmental sustainability goes through our teaching, our research, and our operations. I hope that that becomes a real asset for people who engage with us, whether it’s our industry partners or students who want a specific and differentiated experience in going to the University of Technology.

V: How important is UTS going to be to the Tech Central, and how important is Tech Central going to be to UTS? AP: UTS is one of the anchors of Tech Central as it is the precinct that surrounds UTS. That development is really positive for us because it will bring together businesses with whom we can engage. Geography is important for that sort of engagement, having people on your doorstep to work with, identifying problems, creating solutions, and so forth. The growth of Tech Central here, right next door to us, offers UTS students a terrific opportunity for industry-based connections and research partnerships. V: On top of what is currently being done, do you think more can be done for diversity at university?

I want to be part of a profession that reflects the diversity of our communities. So, as a university, if we don’t do that, if we don’t work with partners through the education system to make it real, we’ve lost a terrific opportunity to deliver that aspiration that everybody deserves access to, and the benefits that it brings to all professions. V: It was reported that in the 2020-21 period, UTS faced close to 500 staff losses. Obviously, the circumstances of that year were completely unprecedented, but are there any plans to refill these positions once revenue returns to pre-pandemic levels, and, what’s being done currently to ensure greater job security for the current staff of UTS? AP: Let me wind back slightly. So, across a period up to 2020, we had grown our academic staff numbers in total by 400 staff positions out of about 2,000 staff positions. Then, the global pandemic hit. Institutions like universities were hit with financial constraints that we have to navigate for the long term. So, of the 500 job losses that you pointed out, 370 of those were people who voluntarily indicated that they would take the opportunity to leave at the time.

I’m optimistic about the power of universities and education, and the importance of it means that we will still see students from across the world choosing to come to Australian universities. Over time, yes, we will be able to build, but we’ll choose to build in areas that are future-looking areas and take the opportunity to ensure that we are offering what we need towards careers in the future, not necessarily things in the past. To the other point about job security, I am absolutely passionate about making sure that we support careers for our staff, whether it’s academic staff in their development, careers as a teacher and research, and of course professional staff. But we’ve got a lot of diversity in the workforce. We’ve got people who work for us from industry who don’t want a full-time job with us. We’ve got students who work in labs demonstrating, marketing, and so forth. So we’ll always have some diversity in that space across the workforce of employment arrangements. V: We’d love to hear more about what you mean when you talk about the careers of the future.

STUDENT LIFE

AP: We have to recognise a lot more commitment to the importance of equity and diversity. What obstacles we have to overcome is not a short term game. We need to fundamentally look at ourselves and ask, “What do we do that prevents people from participating in the careers and professions that they aspire towards?”

It is regrettable, but we have to have job losses to manage the finances.

AP: I think academic roles have been changing over time in many ways. It’s not about us, as academics, to simply convey knowledge to students. It’s about curating an environment where learning can be practical and support the concept of learning to learn for a lifetime. People like myself might have spent decades learning in a particular way, and that’s going to change over time. That’s what I mean by supporting careers within the university, particularly for academic staff. How do we ensure that our staff have skills and the students have career paths within the university? Well, the UTS 2027 program has elements of looking at what work will look like in a changing environment. The careers graduating students are pursuing have changed over time and will continue to change.

We need to continue to prepare students for what the workforce will look like when they graduate, not like what it did five years ago.

QuestiOns the People WoUld Like tO KnoW

SECTION NAME STUDENT LIFE

V: Do you have any personal interests outside of work? AP: Like most academics, I suppose I really read a lot. I enjoy reading history. I also trained as a classical guitarist when I was much younger. There was one brief moment where I might have considered music as a career, but I think having music as a hobby and engineering as a career was probably the right choice. V: Any book recommendations? AP: For people interested in the development of science — this might be a little old now — but there’s a book written by a series of eminent people, not only scientists but also philosophers and commentators, curated by Bill Bryson. It’s called Seeing Further and it was put together to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society. So if you want to get a sense of what science is and what it isn’t, how it progresses, and so forth, it’s fascinating to read.

V: Have you seen Spider-Man: No Way Home? No, I haven’t. No. V: Bit more of a DC fan? No, not really. I don’t really connect to that. I think you might need to translate it for me.

16 PG#

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utsstudentsassociation.org.au PG#

by Joseph Wilson-Hathaway and Joey Chalita

THE CASUAL VAGRANCY Research into the employment and working conditions of casual tutors at UTS has provided damning new insights into the university’s treatment of their academic staff following the Covid-19 pandemic. This article is the first instalment in an ongoing series by Vertigo.

STUDENT LIFE

IN THE WAKE OF THEIR LEAVE The date is the 19th of March, 2020. As the worldwide death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic ascends into the thousands, Prime Minister Scott Morrison makes a crucial call on the status of the country’s international borders. “Australia is closing its borders to all non-citizens and non-residents,” the media statement reads. “The entry ban takes effect from 9 p.m AEDT Friday, 20 March 2020, with exemptions only for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family.” For university staff, what follows over the next 18 months is nothing short of catastrophic. The consistent flow of international students onto campus is immediately stemmed, triggering a monumental loss of revenue. At UTS, 500 jobs are lost over the 2020-21 period. University administration has since declared that 370 of the 500 losses in question were ‘voluntary resignations’. However, Sarah Attfield, branch president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) at UTS, claims that this process may not have been as voluntary as the name of the procedure suggests. “A lot of staff members felt that they didn't have a

future at UTS, so they decided to take that separation package before there was going to be a potential wave of non-voluntary separation,” she says. “For a lot of staff members, it was a case of jumping before they got pushed.” Ms Attfield also says these resignations have increased the burden of work on the remaining staff. “One result of the voluntary separations has been an increasing workload for the colleagues who have been left behind. In many cases, that work has not stopped.

Redundancy doesn't mean that the work doesn't exist anymore, it means that the position is redundant. It's caused a lot of increased pressure and stress on the remaining people.” There is, as always, a case for the defence. In a sit-down interview with Vertigo last January, Vice-Chancellor Andrew Parfitt highlighted the importance of upholding a pragmatic approach to the scenario. “It is regrettable, but we have to have job losses to manage the finances,” he said. It should also be noted that Ms Attfield had no intention of criticising the separation package

offered to those who accepted voluntary resignations, stating that the payouts were “very generous”, costing the university “somewhere in the millions.”

According to Sam, the pressures of an unreasonable workload are compounded by the lack of formal procedure around the employment of casual tutors.

In accordance with Clause 55.10 (i-iii) of the University of Technology Sydney Academic Staff Agreement 2018 1, any members of staff who undertake a voluntary resignation are entitled to: “normal salary for six months of further employment, severance pay at the rate of two weeks' pay for each completed year of service (to a maximum of 52 weeks), and accumulated entitlements in the form of accrued annual leave and long service leave.”

“We are never really brought into the broader university workforce, besides having an induction session when we join, if we are lucky,” they say.

THE CASUAL DILEMMA The situation evokes questions of job security for university staff in a post-pandemic era. When questioned on this point, Vice-Chancellor Parfitt implied that employment statistics were always likely to look more damning on paper. “I am absolutely passionate about making sure that we support careers for our staff, but we’ve got a lot of diversity in the workforce,” he said. “We’ve got people who work for us from industry who don’t want a full-time job with us. We’ve got students who work in labs demonstrating, marketing, and so forth. So, we’ll always have some diversity in that space of employment arrangements.” The NTEU, however, had a drastically different outlook on this sentiment. “There would be a very small minority of people who fall into that category,” Ms Attfield says. “The NTEU doesn't have a problem with genuine, casual employment, because it's ad hoc; you might do a guest lecture here or there, or you might pick up something on the side now and again. That's what casual work should be. What casual work shouldn't be is for that continuing and ongoing work, which is what the majority of casuals here at UTS are doing.” Sam* is a former tutor at UTS who agreed to speak to Vertigo about the work and employment conditions of casual workers in the tertiary education system. “We are hired as casual staff, meaning our employment can cease during the semester, however the contract shows that we are engaging in a semester's amount of work,” they say.

“I will be teaching a number of separate subjects, being hired by separate subject coordinators, who I need to email a few weeks out from semester to check that I'll be teaching again that year.” Sam says this informality can be attributed to both university administration as well as subject coordinators who make minimal effort to accommodate for casual tutors. “I have never known subject coordinators to work with other subject coordinators to ensure that my classes compliment each other on the timetable. On the contrary, I lost a large amount of my projected yearly income because a number of classes changed to the same day. When I informed them that they clashed with other subjects, they simply wished me well and said it was nice to have met me.” Sam’s words align with anecdotal reports of casual academics being hindered by work commitments without the benefit of paid research. In this situation, the subsequent lack of portfolio poses a major inconvenience when applying for jobs, which Sam claims are already informal and uncertain.

“I once had a friend tell me that they don't know how to get more teaching work because they were offered the class we were teaching in a pub one night,” they say. As of March 2022, there is no recognised union for casual tertiary education staff specifically. According to the aforementioned academic enterprise agreement, the base rate used to calculate the casual academic hourly rate is $77,172. This is less than a Student Admin Officer role currently going at Sydney University that is advertised on Seek for $78,077. *Names changed for confidentiality purposes

University of Technology Sydney Academic Staff Agreement 2018

THE

N I O N T H AT C O ULD: LIT TLE U

why did the trains stop in Sydney? by Elodie Jakes On the 21st of February 2022, Sydney fell into chaos as commuters' plans were derailed when the train network halted to a stop. In the days following the stoppage, Sydneysiders heard a variety of conflicting recounts of the event; that it was a workers strike or that it wasn't a workers strike, that there were safety concerns or that the tracks had been flooded. Weeks after, there is still a lot of confusion about the reasoning for the action undertaken by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU). Written here is a simplified account of why the trains stopped that day and the ensuing response.

POLITICS

What does the d rails, tram an t? bus union wan

In May last year, the Enterprise Agreement concerning Sydney rail workers expired. After dozens of meetings between the union and the NSW Government, a new agreement is still yet to be struck. The Enterprise Agreement covered more that 10,000 staff. Without it, rail employees are living in a limbo of working conditions. Further complexities arise from the fact that the RTBU is bargaining for new privatisation, wage, and safety measures that the NSW Government is, so far, refusing to agree to. 1. JOB SECURITY IN THE FACE OF PRIVATISATION

In 2017, NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance announced that he would contract at least 59 Inner West bus services to private investors. The serving secretary of the RTBU, Chris Preston, warned the Government about putting profits before the public.

“To make money, they’ll slash services and cut back on maintenance. We’ve seen it happen before. Less popular, less profitable bus routes get the chop and commuters are left stranded.” 1 In 2018, Inner West buses were signed away to private company Transit Systems and, just as Preston predicted, many reliable bus stops in the Concord and Newcastle areas were cut. In 2019, Transport NSW introduced the Sydney Metro Northwest Line. When asked about the possibility of selling the project to private investors, Premier Gladys Berejiklian assured the Australian public that the project would be entirely funded by the Federal Government. However, moments after making this claim, Berejiklian was eerily vague about whether assets would be sold off in order to finance the Metro. "We would benefit from the ability to bring things forward if we have extra funding," the Premier told reporters. With various other segments of NSW Transport already being sold off, the fear of further privatisation constantly looms over transport

workers. One of the key ways private transport companies minimise costs is by severely cutting workers’ wages. According to the Transport NSW Blog, "The average private sector bus driver is estimated to earn over $20 000 less than the a verage public sector bus driver." 2 On top of the fear of privatised services, transport workers are also frustrated with the Government's recent manufacturing commitment to foreign-made trains, in particular, the agreement to purchase a regional fleet of trains from the Spanish manufacturer responsible for the inner-west light rail. This deal ensures that much of Australia's future trains will not be manufactured domestically, leading to the possibility of mass redundancies across Australia's rail manufacturing industry. A 2017 economic report by Deloitte stated that the Australian rail industry creates 140,000 jobs and roughly $26 billion a year for the economy.3

Despite this contribution, the Australian Government continues to outsource transport manufacturing to foreign countries, threatening the livelihoods of Australian rail workers and disregarding the economic benefits of domestic manufacturing.

2. FAIR WAGE INCREASES Despite being essential for the NSW and national economy, rail workers feel they are still not properly paid for their hard work. Transport employees worked continually throughout the pandemic, causing the union to fight for a wage increase which reflects the risks and sacrifices made by rail workers everyday. As part of their bargaining the RTBU is "demanding a 3.5% yearly pay rise." 4

“That’s a serious concern given that in Australia, particularly regional Australia, hitting things on our tracks is commonplace." 5 These threats to worker safety saw the RTBU implore the NSW Government to “tear up the contract” with CAF, an action the State Government seemingly has no plan to do. This lack of concern has led the RTBU to place this safety claim on their bargaining list; "Workers want a guarantee that any changes to our services will leave them as safe or safer." A separate element of safety is the maintenance of proper hygiene levels on rail networks. On the 29th of April 2020, Transport NSW announced that "more than 550 new and redeployed cleaners" would be employed to ensure hygiene levels and COVID-19 safety on NSW public transport.6 However, as restrictions begin to loosen throughout Australia, many transport workers fear that these extra hygiene measures will be resigned to cut costs. To combat this threat to worker safety, the RTBU has pushed for hygiene standards in their official bargains, stating, "Workers want a commitment to maintaining the existing level of hygiene using good, publicly owned jobs."

POLITICS

Within the last decade, transport workers have seen their industry and job security severely compromised by ongoing privatisation. Rail employees are expected to participate in roles without any guarantees for their future. The anxiety surrounding this has seen the RTBU beg the Government for greater job security. As stated in the union's official bargaining list; "Workers want a commitment to services and jobs in the event of privatisation."

“The New Regional Fleet is designed to be built in such a way that the front carriage would be at real risk of derailment if it hits anything like a fallen tree or an animal on the tracks,” said RBTU Secretary Alex Classens.

3. SAFETY Another major concern for the RTBU is the compromise of worker safety by recent Government decisions. As well as hindering workers economically, the NSW government's decision to purchase a new fleet of trains from Spanish company, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarrile (CAF), poses a serious safety threat to rail employees. CAF was responsible for the inner west light rail, which was recently outof-order due to severe cracking issues, leaving many workers concerned for the reliability of the foreign-made trains.

What Actu ally happ ened ?

In early 2022, RBTU Secretary Mr Classens announced that, due to the Government's inaction in creating a new Enterprise Agreement, union members would take part in a "ban on ‘altered working,’ meaning that they perform the shifts they are set without any changes". The ban was entirely lawful under the Fair Work Commission and was meant to draw the attention of NSW Transport management to the several bargains the State Government disregarded.

POLITICS

“There’s no strike — workers are simply performing the shifts we’re set without any changes,” said Mr Classens in a media release put out the day before the ban was going to occur. However, on the morning of the intended industrial action, rail employees turned up to work to find that the NSW Government had shut down the Metropolitan and Intercity Rail networks. Transport Minister David Elliot pointed to safety concerns when asked to explain the sudden train stoppage.

The purpose of any sort of industrial action is to conjure a reaction and catalyse material change for union members, but in the weeks following the RBTU's ban, many are still confused as to what the response actually was. The initial Government response was one of disdain. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quick to denounce the RBTU. "The union movement has decided to really pull the rug out on our first day back," he told Radio Station 2GB, "I mean, this is not how this should be done and I feel for all of those Sydneysiders today who are affected by the strike." Transport Minister David Elliot went even further, accusing the union of "terrorist-like activity". But outside of radio interviews and media spinning, what was the Government actually doing in response to the alleged "strike"? Outspending.

"You can't operate a rail network without a guarantee that there would be a safe way to operate," he said.

The Government combatted the RTBU by trying to sue them for even attempting legal industrial action.

The RTBU felt that management and the Government were keen to shut down the train services so that they wouldn't have to face the repercussions of an overtime ban.

“The NSW Government’s treatment of Sydney and NSW Trains workers and commuters has been appalling for a long time,” Mr Classens said, “but bringing in expensive lawyers in a bid to silence workers who are merely trying to get their safety concerns heard is a new low.”

“Today’s rail shut down was a huge dummy spit by the NSW Government …To deliberately shut down the rail network on such a big day for many people, seemingly so they can run a fear campaign about unions or make a political point, is quite extraordinary," the Secretary said. After hours of disrupted train services, Transport NSW ended the day by reassuring the Australian public that all train services would return to normal the following day.

as th w t a Wh nse? Respo

In the following days, the Government quickly dropped all claims against the Union in the Fair Work Commission. It seems that the ban and subsequent shutdown of the train system has not had a significant impact on the Enterprise Agreement. Instead of responding to industrial action with mobility, dialogue, and compromise, the Liberal Government seems to be using the upset for cheap points in the months leading up to the election.

"Make no mistake, this is a coordinated attack by the Labor party and the union movement," said Premier Dominic Perrotett. With all the bickering between the RTBU and the NSW Government, there seems to be a crucial bit of dialogue left behind — the conversation between the union and the public. When speaking with average commuters, a majority of them had a frustrated and slightly misconstrued understanding of the overtime ban and government stoppages, with one train user saying, “The strike is just annoying cause I'm trying to get to work, I don't even know what they're striking for.”

It almost seems like the RTBU had been so focused on communicating with Government bodies and internal members that many average Australians have been left out of the conversation.

Unions are an essential foundation of our workforce and are responsible for much of the ethicality surrounding employment. But is it suffering from a communication problem? The RTBU is fairly effective at communicating with the NSW Government, but many average commuters struggle to know what the union is asking for. Many Australians lack background knowledge on the reasoning for industrial action, and many were left feeling blindsided by the RTBU's industrial action even to this day. "I just felt like a pawn in their game," said one commuter. Of course, this frustration towards unions is leveraged by political media spin, but in reflecting upon the 21st of February, one wonders how the union could benefit from taking more action to involve and inform commuters in their industry struggles. How, in opening up a dialogue between union members and the Australian public, we could more effectively understand and combat the injustices and exploitations of the workplace.

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References:

1. Back Sydney’s bus drivers, No to privatisation

2. Against the ‘Privatisation’ of Transport

3. Value of Rail

4. Union plans train strike across NSW as industrial dispute intensifies

5. Rail workers call on govt to rip up New Regional Fleet contract amid safety fears

6. STIMULUS PACKAGE DELIVERS NEW CLEANERS TO COMBAT COVID-19

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CW: RACISM, SEXUAL ASSAULT, XENOPHOBIA When Trump was elected in 2016, the reaction from this side of the world was one of eye-rolling amusement. It seemed all too typical of the United States — home to Hollywood and the cult of celebrity — to elect a reality TV star as their world representative. Of course, after a few months, the serious implications of having someone with such little experience of political diplomacy in a position of immense power became glaringly obvious. Within months, we saw images of children in cages, borders shutting down, and Trump literally erecting a wall on the border between the USA and Mexico. From the beginning, the value of this wall was far more symbolic than functional. It not only validated the deep insecurities and nationalist sentiments of white America, but gave agency to conservative circles throughout the world. In Trump, we saw a rise of xenophobic ideology and a voice to concerns of foreign interference, all of which had been bubbling before his election.

“We now see … evidence, Mr Speaker, that the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Government, has also made a decision about who they’re going to back in the next federal election, Mr Speaker, and they’ve picked this bloke.” Peter Dutton, 2022

Fast forward six years. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Defence Minister Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of being a puppet for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during a Question Time in February, solidifying Australia’s hostile post-pandemic attitude towards China. Though debated, the root of this ill-will can likely be traced back to Tony Abbott’s Free Trade Agreement with China in 2015. Following this deal, we saw the Chinese government purchase the Port of Darwin in 2015, an increase in foreign Chinese investment on Australian farms, and an explosion of mistrust following the COVID-19 outbreak. 1 To discuss the current political landscape, we must first understand the history of hostility towards Chinese-Australians in this country.

SINOPHOBIA!

A brief history of racism against ChineseAustralians in the lucky country Illustration by Siena Zadro

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When gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria in the mid-19th century, it coincided perfectly with the economic decline of the Qing Dynasty, triggering a mass migration of Chinese people to Australia. With this migration, a new form of xenophobia, fearful of the “Asian Invasion”. spread through the predominantly white communities of colonial Australia. Media of the day focused on the “Yellow Peril”, a theory that framed the Chinese as a threatening force capable of stealing white women, jobs, and the nation’s wealth. So feverish were these Yellow Peril anxieties that they became the primary lens through which white Australians explored the then-popular “invasion literature” genre.1 White or Yellow? (1887), a racist future-history novel by William Lane, envisioned the slow invasion of Queensland by Chinese people, eventuating in a race war between white Australia and Chinese immigrants. Similarly, cartoons published in local newspapers often depicted lascivious demonic caricatures of Chinese men infiltrating white Australia. One cartoon, ‘The Mongolian Octopus’ (pictured), was published in The Bulletin Magazine in 1886, portraying Chinese culture as polluting Western societies.

Such racist ideologies inevitably impacted Chinese communities in Australia, with violence towards Chinese immigrants (and those that looked like them) increasing during the Gold Rush years. 2

As Chiu states, it is seemingly difficult for white Australians to separate Chinese-Australian citizens from their political heritage. So, how does the discourse around Chinese interference impact Asian-Australian communities?

Predictably, the “invasion literature” genre became a precursor to the White Australia policy of 1901, a racist policy that excluded non-Anglo immigrants from arrival on Australian shores in an attempt to protect the Federation.3 This policy would ultimately be abolished in 1973.

“One of the real challenges when discussing this,” says Chiu, “Is that a lot of the focus is on things that are easier to quantify and measure, like if someone has been assaulted or experienced verbal harassment if they’re Chinese/AsianAustralian,”

With the preexisting backdrop of the Gold Rush and the validation of racially-charged anxiety in the White Australia Policy, it is fair to say that Australia’s fear of Chinese influence has roots that reach far deeper than any trade partnership or pandemic.

“It’s much more difficult to quantify the sort of corrosive impact that [the accusations] have. Firstly, in a sense of social cohesion and a sense of belonging within Australian society. The other element is the perception of risk associated with people of Chinese heritage, but also people mistaken to be of Chinese heritage.”

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“We can’t continue to allow China to r*pe our country and that’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world, what China has done.” Donald Trump, 2016 In 2016, Trump’s presidential campaign bolstered a mistrust of China that had long been lingering – ultimately snowballing with the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Like many countries, Australia pointed the blame at China for failing to control the spread of the virus. Since the pandemic began, the Coalition has slowly but surely separated itself from its image as the CCP’s prosperous trade partner. It only makes sense that in 2022, both Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison have come out with accusations of Chinese infiltration into the Labor Party – accusations that have since been dismissed by ASIO director Mike Burgess. 4 Osmond Chiu, a Research Fellow at the Per Capita Think Tank, highlights how conversations about China are prone to isolating Chinese-Australians. “To even have a conversation about anti-Chinese racism or anti-Asian racism, you almost have to put the caveat that ‘I’m talking about this specifically – I’m not denying that all these terrible things have happened in China,” he says.

Alongside this social isolation, there is also the risk that the Coalition’s campaign backfires, and they lose the vote of Chinese-Australians. At the end of the day, the success of the LNP’s fear mongering election tactics are uncertain. While there are undeniably valid concerns surrounding foreign interference, the government’s attacks were somewhat inevitable considering the CCP’s own dictatorial identity and growing economic influence. However one thing is certain. Politicising national security the way the Coalition government has will have detrimental impacts on the safety of ChineseAustralians, ultimately resurfacing the deep wound of our ugly, xenophobic past.

FOOTNOTES

Invasion Literature, a 19th century future history genre, explored the tensions created when one culture invades another culture. Some English novels explored Germany’s invasion of England and specifically in Australia, this manifested in the invasion of White Australia by Chinese immigrants.

REFERENCES 1

“Almost by talking about it you’re seen as giving credence to a propaganda campaign by the People’s Republic of China.”

China: economic partner or security threat

Violence against Chinese miners

Asio chief says intelligence is ‘not here to be politicised’ after Dutton accuses Labor

CW: W ar, vio

Knock,

lence

Knock,

, deat h

Knockin’ on NATO’s door A

BREAKDOWN

RUSSIA’S

INVASION

UKRAINE

by Charlie McLean

POLITICS

What started as the Ukrainian “situation” has swiftly escalated into the Ukrainian “crisis”, and as mobile phone footage of Russian airstrikes in Ukraine hits social media, it’s now clear we are dealing with the Ukrainian “war”. But how did we get here? How likely is it that we could actually see widespread involvement in a European war again? And what does Russia’s renewed aggression under Vladimir Putin mean for America’s longestablished influence in Europe? So, what’s the history between Russia and Ukraine? In the simplest terms, Russia thinks of Ukraine as the child it lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and most of the Ukrainian public disagree. For most of the 20th century, Ukraine was part of Russia (then known as the USSR) — and an important part too. It was the second most powerful of the 15 Soviet Republics and housed much of the Soviet nuclear arsenal. There are also deep ethnic and cultural ties between the two countries. Almost 1 in 3 Ukrainians speak Russian as a native language and many people in eastern Ukraine consider themselves closer to Russia than the rest of Europe.1 Russian President Vladimir Putin has always supported the view that Ukrainians and Russians are one people, tragically separated by the collapse of the Soviet Union.2 However, it’s fair to say most Ukrainians have strong feelings about the “one people” argument. It’s important to note that Russian-Ukrainian history dates further back to 1700 when Russian monarch Catherine the Great forcefully Russified Ukraine, a process which involved shipping ethnic Russians into Ukraine. Things got even worse in the 20th century under Joseph Stalin, who attempted to eradicate the use of the Ukrainian language and enforced

exorbitantly high grain quotas which resulted in almost four million deaths by starvation. 3 Today, polling data indicates that 72% of Ukrainians consider Russia a hostile state.4 The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is the other point of tension between the two countries. NATO is a security alliance established by the United States in 1949, at the start of the Cold War. NATO was designed as a roadblock preventing Russian expansion into Europe. Under Article 5 of NATO’s convention, if a member state is invaded, all NATO members are obliged to respond with military action. Currently, 28 of Europe’s 44 countries are members of NATO. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has worked to gradually expand NATO eastwards, to further isolate Russia from its historical allies. Since 2014 Ukraine has had interest in joining NATO. This is a line in the sand for Putin who said in early February that Ukraine joining NATO would almost certainly lead to a nuclear conflict from which “there will be no winners”. 5 Okay but why is Russia invading now? This current conflict is really a continuation of an unresolved conflict from 2014. In 2013, Ukraine’s proMoscow President Viktor Yanukovych, staring down huge

debt repayments Ukraine could not pay back, rejected an EU trade deal in favour of a $15 billion bailout from Russia. Many Ukrainians felt as if their government had effectively sold them to Moscow. Protests broke out in Kyiv, and the Yanukovych government soon collapsed. In the elections that followed in 2014, pro-EU and anti-Moscow candidate Petro Poroshenko won government by a landslide margin.

of the Russian public believe Ukraine should be a part of Russia. With the guerrilla campaign of Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny, chipping away some of Putin’s “strong man” persona, a new war is precisely what Putin needs for the Russian public to rally around their leader.

Russia, as you’d expect, was not pleased by this. Labelling the situation an illegal coup backed by the US, they retaliated by annexing the Ukrainian peninsula province of Crimea.6 Furthermore, Russian-backed separatists started to seize territory in an eastern Ukrainian region called the Donbas. This region comprises two provinces — Luhansk and Donetsk — where support for Ukrainian integration back into Russia is high. For the last eight years, the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed rebels in the Donbas region have been engaged in conflict. Putin has used this conflict to justify a “special military operation” into Luhansk and Donetsk, alleging that the Ukrainian army has been engaging in unspeakable war crimes against the proRussian separatists. Corroborated evidence of Russia’s claims has yet to materialise.

The short answer is no. Even if Russia takes over the entirety of Ukraine, there will be no direct military conflict between NATO and Russia. US President Joe Biden has already confirmed this, vowing that he will not deploy American troops into Ukraine under any circumstances as Ukraine is not part of NATO, there is no obligation for NATO states to come to its aid in the event of an invasion.

As to why Putin has chosen this specific point in time to invade is a question only he and his advisors can answer. However, there are a few factors that could have influenced Putin’s timing. Firstly, the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan might well have emboldened Putin to “roll the dice” and invade Ukraine. Many conservative voices in the American media have criticised America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that it sent the message that America can no longer be counted on to maintain the global order.7 Furthermore, with China’s growing influence in Asia taking the US’s focus away from Europe, there has perhaps never been a better time for Putin to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy approach. Secondly, some analysts believe Putin’s personal political agenda could have played a role. 8 Aggressive military action in the Ukraine plays well for Putin’s approval rating and an overwhelming majority

While a Russian takeover of Ukraine would not instigate war across broader Europe, it would have nearby NATO countries sweating. If Putin’s territorial ambitions extend to all former Soviet territories, then the world’s eyes would turn to Latvia and Estonia, which neighbour Belarus — effectively a Russian puppet state. A Russian invasion of either of these two nations would spark a war in Europe due to NATO’s Article 5.

Are we about to see WWIII?

POLITICS

Instead, we have seen widespread economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, NATO and other members of the Western alliance such as Australia. These sanctions have targeted Russia’s major banks and prevented almost all Russian trading in Europe. However, by all accounts it appears Putin is prepared to take the hit on Russia’s economy if it means achieving his goals in Ukraine.

Hang on, I thought the Cold War ended ages ago? Well yes, the general consensus is that the Cold War between Russia and the US ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In US President George H.W. Bush’s final State of the Union address in 1992, he declared the US victorious in the Cold War, saying, “A world once divided

POLITICS

into two armed camps now recognises one sole and preeminent power, the United States of America”.

However, this most recent invasion of Ukraine has some people questioning whether the Cold War ever actually ended. In the 21st century, American foreign policy has predominantly turned its attention to curbing the influence of China. Many are now suggesting that the US took their eye off the ball too early regarding Russia. In the time that the US has languished in costly wars in the Middle East, Russia has invaded and annexed part of Ukraine and invaded Georgia, recognising two of its breakaway provinces as independent. The US no longer has all the cards at its disposal in its battle with the Kremlin. Its global hegemony is now being challenged on two fronts — Moscow and Beijing. On the domestic front, its people are the most divided they’ve been since the Civil War.9 This itself is vindication of Putin’s approach to the US. No longer interested in the Cold War maxim of proving the superiority of Communism, Putin has utilised the digital revolution to undermine the belief of Western democracies in their own systems.

1. Language data for Ukraine

2. Why is Putin attacking Ukraine? He told us.

3. Was the Holodomor a Genocide?

7. Here’s Why Putin Invaded Ukraine – And How He Just Shattered The World Order

8. Putin’s public approval is soaring during the Russia-Ukraine crisis, but it’s unlikely to last.

9. Analysts say US is most divided since Civil War.

Where once there would have been a unified response to Communist aggression in Europe, now there exists sharp differences in views between left and right. The same is true on the question of how the US should respond to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Joe Biden finds himself presiding over a kingdom divided from within, and its global hegemony challenged for the first time in over a hundred years. Surmising thoughts As the world finally starts to shake off the shackles of the pandemic, it has once again been reminded of just how fragile global peace and security really is. The structures which have maintained peace in Europe and Southeast Asia are under a more significant threat than at any other time post-WWII. And while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will not bring NATO into conflict with Russia, it has amplified the ever-ready drums of war.

4. 3 in 4 Ukrainians Say Russia Is ‘Hostile State’ — Survey

5. Putin reminds everyone that Ukraine joining NATO could lead to nuclear war.

6. Putin accuses US of orchestrating 2014 ‘coup’ in Ukraine.

Film Appr Posse Reviews by Tim

othy Ch an

Ratin

tio inc

Dist

Spencer (2021)

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

CW: Mental ill-health, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal thoughts

Still from Spencer dir. Pablo Larrain (2021)

Spencer is a “fable from a true tragedy” which reimagines the weekend before Princess Diana decided to divorce Prince Charles. Pablo Larrain visualises this Christmas weekend with a mystical, dreamlike sentiment, allowing the viewer to accompany Diana and enter her psyche as she struggles to keep up with the overwhelming demands of the royals amid her declining mental health.

Lavish production design and faded pastel cinematography from Claire Manthon bolsters the ethereal essence of the film. Spencer is no conventional biopic; its ambitious storytelling and short time frame result in consequences that break longstanding traditions like never before. The film is elevated by Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of the Princess of Wales. Her facial expressions, gestures, and composure present Diana’s duality as she puts on a show for the public, while deep down, her desire to take care of her children is all that keeps her from being buried by the suffocating nature of royal activities. Spencer won’t work for everyone. It veers into artsy territory and moves slowly, requiring patience to settle with this claustrophobic and trapped depiction. Yet, when one woman’s determination to reclaim her identity triumphs, this dreamlike film becomes not only a moment of liberation over the monarchy but also a love letter to the people’s princess and her legacy.

Flee (2021)

Rating = hig distinct h ion

CW: War, homophobia, discrimination. The refugee experience is harrowing, with memories that only those who have lived through this hardship can recreate authentically. Flee is an animated documentary that tells the true story of Amin, who left his family in Afghanistan and endured immense hardships to live his current life as an academic in Denmark. His story as a gay Afghan refugee Still from Flee dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen (2021)

eciation is told by his friend, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen. It’s an emotional story, shared in an animated medium and executed in a manner that feels both personal and thoughtful. Two-dimensional, hand-drawn animation represents various memories, vibrant in Afghanistan before his departure, but shadow-like when depicting moments of trauma. Throughout the film, Amin has to confront his identity in a cultural setting that doesn’t accept his sexuality, while living in a country that doesn’t accept his past. His constant running from the truth takes its toll on the viewer, and seeing Amin’s story told after being pent up in fear for so long is a truly cathartic experience. The intercutting of archival footage only emphasises how real migration issues are in the wake of war. Flee left me in tears. It’s a powerful film that utilises various mediums to tell a human story emotionally resonant with anyone who’s had to hide a part of themselves.

Two single women give birth in the same hospital simultaneously: Janis is a mature and well established-photographer, and Ana is a bewildered teenager. The two embrace in their shared experience, not knowing that their lives will be intertwined after this fateful encounter. Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, Parallel Mothers examines his familiarity with melodrama alongside a complex and layered portrayal of motherhood.

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

Parallel Mothers (2021)

high tion distinc Rating =

Poster for Parrallel Mothers dir. Pedro Almodóvar (2021)

This is Almodóvar’s most politically charged creation, set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and the forty years of General Franco’s military dictatorship. The film contains a stylish aesthetic, jaw-dropping twists, and strong bisexual representation as Almodóvar’s signature tendencies ground it as a tale of motherhood and memory. The film wouldn’t work without Penélope Cruz’s subtle but emotionally heavy performance. Relative newcomer, Milena Smit, is equally enthralling, contrasting Cruz’s maturity with charm and an emotional depth beyond her years. While the two thematic elements may not come together seamlessly, it’s a reminiscent experience that is reflective of Spain’s current political and generational divide. Parallel Mothers is a fascinating and thoughtful film, expressing themes of grappling and moving on from the country’s long-standing historical trauma.

with

Steven Rhodes ARTS SECTION & LIFESTYLE INSERT TITLE

Interview by Ashley Sullivan

Steven Rhodes is a graphic illustrator whose retro-inspired designs you’ve probably seen in Blue Dog Posters or on the t-shirt of a passing stranger. With hilariously twisted renditions of '70s and '80s comic art, Steven has a highly successful collection of designs infused with the perfect balance of offbeat, original, and occult charm. Vertigo chatted with Steven about his creative process, design inspirations, and the most enjoyable moments of his eccentric career. V: Hi Steven, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Could you introduce yourself to our Vertigo readers. SR: Hi there, I’m Steven Rhodes. I’m an illustrator probably best known for my sinister reimagining of children’s activity books from the '70s and '80s. V: You’re an Australian artist based in Brisbane. Does where you live affect your art? SR: I can’t say there’s anything inherently “Brisbane” about my designs. I’m mainly expressing a lot of my memories of childhood nostalgia, which, as it turns out, includes a lot of American cartoons, movies and sitcoms. Looking at my art, I think a lot of people are surprised to find out I’m an Aussie. V: Did you always want to be a graphic illustrator? SR: I’ve always been an artistic person who needs a creative outlet, whether that’s drawing, painting, making music, etc. But after high school, I wasn’t convinced I could make a career out of art, so I took the safer option and studied landscape architecture. It wasn’t until a bit later in life that I made the change to study graphic design.

35 Images provided by Steven Rhodes

Images provided by Steven Rhodes

V: Tell us about your creative process. SR: Once you’ve found your creative voice, your brain has a way of always being in "search mode". You tune your mind to a certain frequency, scanning for ideas and documenting them when you pick them up. Some of them might be good, some might be awful, but I keep a list of ideas as words or little sketches, and I sort through them and see which one I feel like working on next.

V: I’m a huge fan of your designs, and so are many people I know. How does it feel to see strangers wearing your designs? Have you had any interesting encounters? SR: It blows my mind when I see people wearing something I drew! It’s still a novelty to me, and I hope that never changes.

The most bizarre thing is seeing pictures of Slash, Kirk Hammett, or Sean Lennon wearing my designs. I’m a massive introvert, so I’d never go up to anyone and say, “Hey, that’s my artwork you’re wearing! Let’s talk!”

SR: Primarily, I’m interested in pop culture aimed at kids from around the 1970's and '80s. Books, board games, toys, adverts, VHS covers, arcade graphics, trading cards. Stuff like that. When it comes to film, I get inspiration from retro horror movies, particularly folk horror with witchcraft and devil themes. I love the gory practical effects and body horror of '80s movies. Modern CGI can’t really compete with that.

V: What emotions do you want your designs to evoke?

V: You have a very unique and offbeat style. How did you develop your style?

With the devil and occult themes, some people assume I’m out to offend or corrupt young minds, which, if you know me, is pretty funny.

SR: Finding your style is a gradual evolution and is constantly changing in subtle ways. I grew up in the '80s, so this aesthetic is naturally ingrained in my mind. “Science” and “Let’s Summon Demons” were the first designs I made, combining the children’s book look with my sense of humour. I got a really positive reaction to it, so I just kept exploring and honing my designs in this direction.

SR: Ultimately, the main objection with my designs is to be funny. But if I can creep people out at the same time, that’s an added bonus. Lately, I’ve wanted to introduce more weirdness. The world needs more inexplicable weirdness, in my opinion!

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

V: Tell us more about the inspiration behind your designs. What genres of film and TV inspire you the most?

V: What has been your most enjoyable experience during your career? SR: I think it’s been the satisfaction of turning my artistic abilities into a viable career where I’m able to make a living. Earlier in my life, I thought that would never happen, and it caused me a lot of frustration. A creative career can be a tricky path to navigate, and it’s something everyone needs to figure out for themselves. It took me a long time to arrive here.

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

V: When you’re not designing, what do you enjoy doing? SR: My wife and I are pretty obsessed with mid-century modern design and architecture, so we spend a lot of time exploring antique stores and hunting down stuff for our house. We watch a lot of movies (A24 is putting out some great, weird stuff). I collect '80s toys. I play the guitar a little bit. V: What advice do you have for young artists trying to find their distinct style? SR: Take some time to get introspective and think about what makes you uniquely “you”.

What are your weirdest passions, insights, humour, quirks, and fears, and how can you put that on the page? It’s about moving away from the current design trends and tropes and making personal work that excites you. Chances are other people will be into it as well. V: What kind of ideas are you working on now, and what does the future look like? SR: I’m focused a lot on the licensing side of things and trying to get more of my art into stores here in Australia. For the future, there’s a few things I’m working on but I can’t really discuss it yet.

Where can we find you?

Instagram @Stevenrhodesart

Wear my designs: available at Threadheads

39 Images provided by Steven Rhodes

AND

atthews M e r i by Cla

CW: DISCUSSIONS OF SEX, MARGINALISATION, EXPLOITATION

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

SPOILER ALERT: PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (2019)

The 21st century has been a significant turning point for representations of lesbian and queer women as they surged into sight on international film circuits and mainstream media. While it’s important to celebrate this newfound visibility, a critical question remains — how are these characters being given visual form, with what intention, and for what audience? Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013) (Blue) depicts an intense romance between two women in a coming-of-age narrative centering around identity and class. Although the film received critical acclaim and won the prestigious Palmes d’Or award at the Cannes film festival, director Abdellatif Kechiche has been criticised for his portrayal of queer women’s stories and bodies, with some arguing that his perspective is reminiscent of the 1 “male gaze”. With similar acclaim but contrasting authorship, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) (Portrait) is a period romance about two star-crossed women which director Céline Sciamma 2 describes as a “manifesto about the female gaze”.

Both Blue and Portrait portray queer female pleasure and desire, but each film uses drastically different narratives and cinematography with varying intentions. Kechiche’s film Blue created vast media discussion and attracted international attention for its extended and explicit sex scenes. These sex scenes have a complete lack of editing or cross-cutting, with a lingering camera which provokes discomfort. The lighting is almost studio-lit and there is a distinct lack of atmospheric music or montage, opposing Hollywood conventions and contributing to what some critics have described as a surgical and cold atmosphere. 3

However, Linda Williams argues that this media backlash and feminist condemnation of the “male gaze” is unwarranted and inappropriately applied. 4

NOTABLY, WILLIAMS SUGGESTS THAT THE MEDIA OUTRAGE AROUND THE SEX IN BLUE STEMMED MAINLY FROM ITS TRAILBLAZING DEPICTION OF QUEER SEX.

However, in her championing of sex-positivity, Williams fails to address major criticisms of the film such as its production and exploitation issues. These exploitative working conditions, paired with the lack of lesbian consultation onset, contributed to the film’s controversy. 5 Additionally, the film’s “apparent obsession with the nubile, highly sexualised bodies of its leading 6 actors” is captured in how Kechiche frames female bodies. The character of Adele, in particular, is continuously framed in an objectifying manner, with low angles from behind her as she walks. This choice of cinematography mirrors the depiction of women’s bodies in the classical sculptures and artworks of the gallery which Adele and her lover, Emma, walk through. While this could be interpreted as metacommentary on the objectification of the young female body, Adele’s body is framed this way from the beginning of the film, leading Manohla Dargis to comment on the way the camera “frames, with scrutinising 7 closeness, the female body”.

STILL FROM BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR (2013) Highlighting how cinema both creates and transforms social images, Sciamma continues to explore gender and sexuality through her centering of female intimacy and desire. The only sex scene in Portrait is shot using extreme close ups of body parts, and these ambiguous images merge into a disorientating picture that evokes a queer passion. Though there are no explicit scenes, Sciamma “refuses to de-eroticise the lesbian love story”. 8 Considering the dichotomy of lesbian sex and intimacy in cinema being either fetishised or non-existant, Sciamma successfully walks the fine line between both.

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

Interestingly, Sciamma uses similar images of classical and romantic artworks as symbolic points of comparison within Portrait. The most common of these references is the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, a motif representing the power of looking and the female gaze. Marianne is a painter commissioned to create a portrait of Heloise, a noblewoman doomed to an unwilling marriage. The tragic myth of the lovers Orpheus and Eurydice is first introduced when Heloise reads the tale aloud to Marianne and kitchen maid Sophie. The crucial moment of the tale, when Orpheus turns to see Eurydice, breaking his bargain and condemning Eurydice to death, is queerly reenacted by Marianne and Heloise in the film’s last moments. As Marianne leaves the island, having completed the portrait, her ghostly visions become reality as Heloise chases after her in her wedding dress, imploring Marianne to “turn around”. Just as Orpheus condemns Eurydice to death through the act of looking, so too does Marianne’s (and subsequently the audiences) perception of Heloise solidify the impossibility of their love.

ILLUSTRATION BY SIENA ZADRO

While both Kechiche and Sciamma deliberately cite and reframe iconic representations of women by men, the intent varies.

WHERE SCIAMMA CONSCIOUSLY REIMAGINES AND CHALLENGES HISTORICALLY MALE WAYS OF SEEING FROM A QUEER AND FEMALE PERSPECTIVE, KECHICHE’S DEPICTION OF WOMEN FALLS SHORT OF REFRAMING THE OBJECTIFICATION EVIDENT IN THE ORIGINAL ARTWORKS.

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

It must be noted that queer struggles are limited to the white experience in both Portrait and Blue. A continual adherence to the privileging of white perspectives in the film industry has left gaps in the representation of queer women of colour. In one of the opening scenes of Blue, a close-up of a school girl’s face shows her reading from a book: “I am a woman. I tell my story. Consider my words.” before being condescendingly corrected and tone policed by her male English professor. There is a double irony to this scene — is Kechiche himself not attempting to tell the specific experiences of queer women, a story which is not his own?

Ultimately, it’s clear that it’s not the length or explicitness of the Blue’s sex scenes that are deserving of criticism, but rather the context in which they were created and the problematic framing of women’s bodies.

Cinema is an inherently political institution that routinely diminishes female and queer directors who are “less often accorded the status of auteur and given less weight than their male counterparts”. 9 This adds significance to Sciamma’s position as a queer woman who wrote and directed Portrait alongside a majority female crew, with queer women as leads. In comparison, it prompts questions around Blue and whether a straight, male director such as Kechiche can accurately and authentically tell the stories of Adele and Emma, two lesbian women.

While there is no denying that showing queer sex on screen can be politically groundbreaking, careful consideration must be given to this long tradition of fetishisation and objectification.

“HISTORICALLY, SEX AND EROTIC INTIMACY BETWEEN QUEER WOMEN AND LESBIANS HAS EITHER BEEN CENSORED OR “GIVEN VISUAL FORM ONLY IN MALE (AND OFTEN WHITE, STRAIGHT, CISGENDERED) FANTASY”. 10

STILL FROM PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (2019) 42

references

1,7

Seeing You Seeing Me: The Trouble with Blue is the Warmest Color

Blue is the Warmest Color: or the after-life of ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’.

Recentring Peripheral Queerness and Marginal Art in Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Afterword: Tacit Knowledge and Affect

Provincialising heterosexuality: queer style, world cinema.

Blue is the warmest color

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

3,5

Hearing the Crackles in the Background: Listening and Female Intimacy in ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’.

Lesbian cinema after queer theory

a hub of all things queer

EY BY JO

ITA

CHAL

CW: HOMOPHOBIA, MENTAL ILL-HEALTH, SUICIDE

BUSINESS, LAW & STEM

Spectrum is an app that works to connect and strengthen the queer community. If you liked the clever choice of name, you will love the many features the app itself has to offer. The app works like Yelp, connecting people to quality businesses that have been tried and tested by the court of public opinion. However, where other review platforms can feel very business-oriented, Spectrum’s main mission is to help its users feel safe, included, and connected. Vertigo spoke to Co-founder Matt Fiacchi about his app and its purpose to support isolated, closeted or at-risk people, and provide resources for the mental ill-health that can be so abundant in the LGBT+ community.

V: What is Spectrum, and what features does it have?

V: Why is this app important for the queer community?

MF: For the uninitiated, I suppose the Spectrum app is a hub of all things queer. It’s an app that allows you to find and rate spaces depending on how queer-friendly they are, and add your own places that you’ve been to. You can also attend queer events and buy tickets through the app, as well as access a library of information on topics like sexual and mental health. We’ve also built in emergency contacts — like Beyond Blue, the Butterfly Foundation, Mensline — so that if you’re a queer person who needs to access help right away, you have that.

MF: As part of the research for the app’s development, I asked queer people about their adolescent experiences — because it can be very isolating. Within the queer community, there’s a lot of people who are at risk of suicide. The very last question I asked these people was, “If you could design an app for your younger self, what would it do?” This app was built by stories that we heard from people: what they needed and what they would have wanted when they were younger. Even for me, growing up in Adelaide, you just didn’t see visibly queer people anywhere. If you did, they were harassed, so it wasn’t a very nice place to grow up. When I was younger, I would have wanted an app that could have shown me what places nearby — even if they weren’t necessarily gay bars — were safe to go to. Every now and then, someone will come up to me and say, “Wow, I needed this when I was growing up, I needed this when I was in my early 20s.”

“I guess it’s about paying it forward for the rest of the community and letting them know that there is somewhere, no matter where you are in this country, that you can go to and feel safe.”

V: Where did this journey of app development begin?

V: How does it work towards inclusion?

MF: I actually developed the idea while I was at uni studying a Bachelor of Advertising and Marketing. My lecturer asked, “Okay, who are you? What do you want to do with your career? What are you passionate about?”

MF: Within the queer community, there are so many people with different experiences and intersections that we wanted to make sure that we’re always able to tailor to them. With the app, you can discuss whether the venue is good for gay people, trans people, lesbians, and asexual people, etc. You can say whether the bar staff are good, what the prices are like, whether there’s accessibility, and if the security are reasonable.

My answers were: “I’m queer, I want to use technology to make life better, and I want to help the queer community”. That’s sort of where Spectrum came from. I presented the concept to a panel of people and they really, really liked it. I decided to give it a go and enter an app pitch competition. That’s where I met my co-founder, Tish Tambakau, who is based in Melbourne. We pitched the idea to a CEO, CFO, and a bunch of other people in marketing, and we actually ended up winning the prize pool of $100,000. From there we had six months to prove ourselves by building a beta version of the app. We launched it just before Mardi Gras in 2020 and then a month later, we went into lockdown. (laughs)

Just because a venue is really good for a gay man that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for a trans woman. A venue might have a Queer Night once a month, but maybe their security guards aren’t as trained up as they need to be.

“Spectrum is really about making sure that no matter who you are or what your needs are, you can find a place that’s right for you.”

V: Are there any plans for expansion in certain features?

For example, the goal is that if I’m walking down Oxford Street, I can open up the Spectrum app, and I might get 20% off my first round of drinks at a particular bar, or I might go to another business and receive a free book or discount. We’re trying to figure out ways to make it really worthwhile for businesses to get involved. To get that funding and get things moving, we do need the community that’s already present to get on board and populate it with venues and ratings, and attend events that we’re promoting on the app. That’s our biggest challenge right now, getting it in front of people, because once people use it, they will be like, “Oh my God, this is essential.”

Available on the Apple store

V: What are your hopes for Spectrum? MF: I think my grand vision for Spectrum is that it becomes as popular as Grindr in the sense that it will be the essential app people are just on, but obviously serving a different purpose (laughs). It’s like if someone is going out tonight and they want a place to go, or if they’re getting off the plane in this new city, they can find all the places they need to get to.

BUSINESS, LAW & STEM

MF: There are a few things we want to do, like tuning up some of the issues that we’ve seen, and just building on what we’ve already got there. It has a really solid base; it just needs a bit more love and a bit more ongoing support. We also want to do some more work with promoting and partnering with queer businesses. When we originally started dreaming of the app, it mostly came from a community perspective. But queer businesses are also part of the queer community, so we’ve been doing a lot of work with a few different agencies to get that rolling.

And it’s not just bars and nightclubs — it’s also cafes, restaurants, and health professionals.

“It’s just like the hub of everything queer that lives in your pocket. “ I want Spectrum to be something I can do full-time to really enrich people’s lives and actually add something of value to the community. I’ve had people reach out to me and say “Wow, this is amazing. My son would love this”, and others just saying it was a great thing to do. I want to latch on to that feeling and use that enthusiasm to let it flourish. I want people to know that this app is something that they can use to feel safe. I’d love for it to become the go-to app in every way, to be in every person’s pocket, so that they can know, “Cool, Spectrum is for me. I’ve got everything I need right here.”

And Google Play

aI: BUSINESS, LAW & STEM

ThE R Se OF DigItAl MaTeS,

CW: Mental ill-health

DriVeRleSs CaRs, aNd by Madhumita Bandyopadhyay

InTeLliGeNt MaChInEs

A lazy Sunday rolls around, and Anna’s phone lights up with a new notification. “Good morning, Anna. How are you feeling today?”

Smiling brightly, she picks up her phone and prepares to update Hel about her morning walk. Anna is one of the millions who have been affected by the pandemic blues. Living through extreme anxiety and uncertainty for the last two years, she was at her breaking point. Anna reached out for help. She was stuck on a weeks-long waitlist to secure an appointment with her psychologist. Luckily for her, she came across Hellobot at just the right time.

SO, WHAT IS HELLOBOT?

Put simply — it’s a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Many AI bots similar to Anna’s Hellobot have sprung up in the wake of depressive disorders spurred on by COVID-19. Some of these popular therapy bots include Woebot and Moodkit. Most of them track peoples’ moods whenever they enter the app, and provide personalised support like text journaling and mental exercises.

BUSINESS, LAW & STEM

These intelligent machines engage users in daily chat conversations by monitoring their thoughts and encouraging them to vent their frustrations, agonies, and worries. If you were to type “I am sad today”, the smart chatbots would instantly respond by asking “Why are you feeling sad?” These generic replies are pre-programmed into the chatbots’ system and are based on the cognitive behaviour therapy technique of asking questions. Moreover, these digital humans can recognise key words like “sad”, and trigger the appropriate answers through built-in algorithms and scripts. Most importantly, these therapy AI bots store vast information about their users and utilise it to build patterns. As a result, they can gauge user intent to a greater extent and stimulate human conversations. Occasionally, AI mental health bots can return broad answers to particular questions asked by their users.

ALTHOUGH THE REPLIES MAY SEEM VAGUE, CHATTING WITH A MACHINE CAN SEEM COMFORTING TO ANYONE MISSING OUT ON AN EMPATHETIC EAR OR LOOKING FOR A WAY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES ANONYMOUSLY.

BUSINESS, LAW & STEM

Eventually, a single chatbot like Replika could become a person’s best companion, a software butler or personal assistant at the user’s will. However, unlike trained counselors, these smart machines cannot comprehend social context and step-in during crisis periods with specific safety plans for their user base. Furthermore, the intelligent bots deliver the same predetermined replies to numerous users simultaneously and are unable to perform any creative act outside of the algorithms. Despite these fundamental limitations, digital humans are assisting with self-expression and are exploding in popularity for their ability to process user emotions.

The foundational technology that drives these machines is AI. Today’s AI works on Machine Learning algorithms that are often thought of as mystery boxes. The complexity of the software technique sometimes makes it inscrutable to look at it’s workings… and apparently coders don’t know how these machines arrive at their decisions.1 If, for instance, machines were trained in the wrong way, they would end up learning flawed relationships.

HERE IS A SCENARIO: A machine that evaluates the potential of students pursuing science subjects is designed. If the training samples were mostly male students, the AI would infer that students studying science subjects are all male. The AI learns a wrong notion by picking up the sample bias present in the dataset fed into the system. Therefore, designers must be cautious about the data sets used to coach AI systems and spend time diving deeper into the solution’s specifics to eliminate sampling biases.

Despite successful developments in industries like finance and healthcare, AI’s widespread application has raised concerns about its mishandling. Companies are now exploiting its tremendous potential to make life-altering decisions, such as diagnosing disease and offloading such responsibility to a machine. They are taking a huge risk in trusting a machine that cannot intervene during any crisis period. Imagine what would happen if such a smart machine fell into the hands of a malicious human being? It would spell the end for the users. As such, regulatory bodies should develop various methods of monitoring the safety of AI systems and establish standard procedures for testing such systems, particularly concerning privacy issues.

WHILE AI HAS BEEN PERCEIVED AS A SOLUTION TO EVERY POSSIBLE PROBLEM, CAN ALGORITHMS REALLY REPLACE EVERY RAPID MINUSCULE DECISION HUMANS MAKE? In recent times, most driverless technology for industry and personal-use cars is in its experimental phases, but companies like Waymo and Cruise are racing to transform the experience of commuting. They have already started offering commercial services with their driverless cars working on AI systems. These firms have crossed the threshold and are jumping the gun. Passengers should question whether these AI models are well-equipped to make rapid decisions involving detecting and preventing a potential collision on the road.

Intelligent machines continue to touch various aspects of our life, ranging from booking flight tickets to buying goods online to providing mental health support. With time, these smart machines will get smarter. Eventually, they will gain the ability to do more complicated jobs and displace human workers. Increasing automation would substantially impact employment and, ironically, adversely affect mental health. Thus, AI bots created to assist humans have a massive potential to both improve and take over the world.

ARE INTELLIGENT MACHINES A PROMISING TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL LEAD TO MAJOR PITFALLS?

BUSINESS, LAW & STEM

The driverless vehicle industry must ensure that autonomous cars operate safely and effectively in an unpredictable environment. Researchers should create various algorithm training processes that reflect multiple crash contexts and complex traffic scenarios to crack this part of the puzzle. As developers begin building sophisticated AI prototypes for vehicles that are intuitive and protective of passengers’ data, we are only a few years away from facing a dilemma if such cars could have defects.

THAT RAISES THE MOST SIGNIFICANT QUESTION

ONLY TIME WILL TELL. References:

How algorithms keep workers in the dark

SOCIETY & CULTURE

The Reflection of a Broken Mirror by Suhayla Sharif

CW: Discrimination Growing up, the concept of the “mother” in my bloodline was taboo. My mother tongue is Indian, but my motherland is Fiji. I was constantly playing tug of war with my identity. As people shared their desire to shed blood, sweat, and tears all in the name of their country, I couldn’t even decide where to call home.

The pages of my story can only be shared with around 8,000 other people of Indo-Fijian heritage in New South Wales.1 As much as the feeling of belonging is sought after, I slowly dissolved into the idea of never being able to belong.

This quote descended me into peril as it meant much more to my Indo-Fijian identity than presented at the surface as my lineage is “of” water. “(…) So many of us come from water But when you come from water No one believes you. Colonisation keeps laughing. Global warming is grinning At all your grief. How you mourn the loss of a home That isn’t even gone yet (…)” - Atlas, Terisa Siagatonu, 20182

The formation of one’s identity is usually presented as an answer to ‘Who am I?’ We often consider the future to be the place where we form our answer, yet I find the past often tells us more. We tend to associate our idea of “home” with each of our senses. Stimulating every sense, I can hear, see, taste, smell, and feel home. The only problem is my senses are confused as to where home is supposed to be. While I smell the aromas of my mum’s Palau, a variation of biryani more authentic to Fijian cuisine, I hear the recipe being recited in Hindi. While I watch the flamboyant Bollywood movies I grew up with, I wipe desiccated coconut off my mouth from lamingtons, reminiscent of my childhood in Australia.

This has led me to ask: “Is the image we see of ourselves truly the reflection of where we belong?”

Shaping

SOCIETY & CULTURE

The

With my journey as a university student paved by the fragments of my fractured identity, I question whether my dedication to my studies and career is to prove I am more than what I am or to truly accept who I am.

WHILE I CARRY THE FRACTURED MEMORIES OF CULTURE, CONFUSION, AND KAVA, I ALSO CARRY ON MY SKIN THE CENTURIES OF EVIDENCE TO ANSWER WHAT I AM.

While social psychologist Henri Tajfel tries to sit me down and explain how his Social Identity Theory should decide which cultural group I hold the most pride in,3 the key idea that completely disintegrates that pride is “membership”. As Tajfel proposed, our group memberships should distinguish a division of who is “them” and who is “us”. I am stuck in a position where “them” is also “us” and “us” is also “them”.

SOCIETY & CULTURE

The We take for granted the simple snippets of small talk that ask us to evaluate our identity.

Shattering So, the safest option: “I am from India.”

“What’s your name?” And just hope for the best. “Can you tell me a bit about yourself?” And my most hated yet favourite question:

I have now realised the depth of the chasm between “who I am” and “who I need to be”.

“Where do you come from?” I used to take a deep breath before answering. What would follow was a history lesson on the Indentured Labour System implemented in Fiji by the British on Indian labourers in the late 19th century. Or the simple answer: “I’m from Fiji.” But this was then followed by the reply: “You don’t look Fijian.”

Creating comfort was never meant to be the solution to my endless debacle of belonging. To think that I had tried to make it as easy as possible for people to understand the richness of the blood that flows through my veins. Instead, I owe it to every person of colour to tell the story written on my spine. We as Australians love the word “multiculturalism”, but is our diversity simply a desire rather than a trait? On the surface, we celebrate a variety of skin tones, the symphony of languages, and unity through the strength of stories about who we are.

BUT WHY DO PEOPLE OF COLOUR FIND OURSELVES HAVING TO REHEARSE OUR ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?”

The Sharing CONFORMITY WAS NEVER THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF “WHO AM I?”

One of my biggest fears about starting university was finding that it would be another place where I didn’t “belong”. However, I realised that this was potentially the biggest opportunity to redefine what “belonging” means. I am now part of UTS Indian Society’s executive team, a decision made not from conformity but empowerment. This is only the start of an identity I am yet to explore, but it has already given me more answers than questions.

SOCIETY & CULTURE

Storytelling is the foundation of my journey as a Muslim Indo-Fijian woman, born and raised in Australia. With my passion lying in creating a platform to share my own story and the stories of others seeking their own identity, I hope to better reflect cultural pride and representation.

Our self-perception drives “who we are”, but it will only scrape the surface of “who we want to be”. Identity was never meant to be determined by our reflection but rather by the mirror we investigate. To feel a sense of belonging means we are content with the reflection we see of ourselves.

References:

Fijian Indian ancestry

Atlas by Terisa Siagatonu 2

Social Identity Theory 3

SOCIETY & CULTURE

by Maydaywenz Tun

Many people see the lives of celebrities as an unattainable dream we will never reach. We recognise this, and most of us are content with our low profile, normal lives. Sometimes, the thought may cross our minds, “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in mansions, attend red carpets, and jet to beautiful cities around the world?” But rarely do we ever hold onto that thought, simply because we accept that these are the cards we’re dealt. It seems easier to justify why we’d never reach the level of success these stars have, than to confront our own failures with what they’ve achieved at the same age, since most of us aren’t benefiting from nepotism or have the resources celebrities have. Essentially, we view ourselves as playing in a completely different league. Since we’re talking about leagues, would the success of someone within our “own league” make us feel different? We’re no longer comparing ourselves to these big unreachable names with potentially privileged upbringings; we’re looking at people we grew up with, who had relatively similar opportunities and pitfalls as us. As we enter adulthood, the uncontrollable need to not compare ourselves to others can be draining. We hear great news from people we love and want to share their joy and achievements, but we also experience that sinking feeling: When will it be my turn?

Sometimes an overdue catch up with a friend can spiral into feelings of unworthiness and uselessness as they update you on all the great things in their life, then ask, “So, how are things with you?” It’s been almost a year since you’ve last seen them and you can’t seem to remember one piece of exciting news to share. I have often heard people say, “Everyone’s on their own path”, and I admit, at the moment, I think they’re just saying it to make me feel less shitty. But they’re probably right. If I just accepted that people’s achievements don’t take away from mine, I’d probably stop self-loathing. It’s not a matter of being told something ... it’s a matter of convincing ourselves that it’s true. It’s sort of like magic, but I really did have my own a-ha moment when I read about Vera Wang’s story. You’ve probably heard the name. Vera Wang is a successful fashion designer adored for her wedding dresses worn by the likes of Ariana Grande, Victoria Beckham, and Mariah Carey. What inspired me most about Wang’s story was not how successful she was today but all the moments she “failed” that led to her success.

From an early age, Wang had a love for figure skating and grew up dedicated to the ambition of qualifying for the Olympics. In 1968, that dream ended when she failed to qualify. Heartbroken and lost, she turned her focus to attaining a degree in Art History at Sarah Lawrence College. Upon graduating, she was hired as the youngest fashion editor for Vogue Magazine at the age of 22. Within only a year of working at Vogue, she was promoted to Senior Fashion Editor. For 15 years she occupied the role, working towards the title of editor-in-chief. In 1987, she missed out on the role to none other than THE Anna Wintour. In a 2015 interview with The Cut, she expressed how she blamed herself for not making getting the role:

Vera Wang’s story of hard work, patience, and dedication isn’t unique. Big names like Henry Ford, Morgan Freeman, and Stan Lee have all found success later in life. I share Wang’s story not only to give hope about your “failures” but to show you that everyone is on their own journey and finding success at their own pace. Some of you will land the job you’ve been eyeing fresh out of university, and others will take a bit longer to discover your passions. The point is, it doesn’t matter when your success happens. There’s no correct method or magical age when it happens, but the process of getting there will be a little easier knowing that the success of others won’t take away from your own progress.

“I felt that again, I’d fallen short, I didn’t make the Olympic Team, I didn’t become editor-in-chief at Vogue.” At 37, she left Vogue and was three years away from achieving her ‘success moment’. Wang was 40 when she debuted her first line of bridal gowns, and at the age of 72 is still very successful today.

SOCIETY & CULTURE

Her success was years in the making. Years of having to navigate multiple rejections while handling the pressure of being successful as a second-generation immigrant. Even at the height of her success, Wang endured a divorce in 2012 after a 23 year-long marriage that saw the birth of her two children. Most of us will also experience a life that is unpredictable, where things don’t go exactly as we had envisioned.

In Conversation with Pride In Protest

CW: Homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, sex work, marginalisation.

by Joseph Hathaway-Wilson

SOCIETY & CULTURE

For the past four years, Pride in Protest (PIP) has been waving flags at the front and centre of queer rights marches around Australia. For Vol. 2: ‘Sonder’, Vertigo sat down with Mikhael Erzengel of PIP to talk about the collective, Mardi Gras, and the past, present, and future of queer activism.

V: What is Pride in Protest? ME: Pride in Protest is a bit of a boogeyman. It’s essentially an activist collective formed a few years ago in the wake of the Marriage Equality campaign. After marriage equality went through, a lot of energy got sucked out of the LGBT+ activist space, and Pride in Protest was formed to give it a bit of a kick, pushing forward queer and trans rights instead of always being on the defensive. You often see groups responding to attacks, but that means that we never move forward; we’re always staying in the same place. Pride in Protest was founded on the ethos of actively moving forward.

Illustrations by Alexander Kingsford M

V: Would you mind talking to us about the history and evolution of Mardi Gras? ME: As far as I understand it, and I’m not a scholar, the original 1978 Mardi Gras event was essentially an act of rebellion. It was a pride parade, but it was also a protest against homophobia. It was confrontational and spontaneous; the decision to go to Kings Cross was very spur of the moment. Over time, the institution of Mardi Gras has become a lot more corporatised as many companies and politicians have discovered that gay people are a really good marketing demographic — I believe the first case of pink-washing was Absolut Vodka. Today, Mardi Gras means endorsement from politicians, it means sponsorships, it means collaboration from big companies. It's become a lot more reluctant to challenge injustice. For example, American Express is a major sponsor of the Mardi Gras event, yet American Express does a lot of harm to sex workers and marginalised communities by refusing them service, and that’s very damaging to the queer community, which is overrepresented in the sex industry. Another example

would be Qantas, which has the iconic Qantas float in the Parade while also participating in the deportation of refugees according to government policy. As these companies are major sponsors of the Mardi Gras event, Mardi Gras is very reluctant to call out their injustice. As activists, we are aiming to prompt Mardi Gras to get its act together while also providing an alternative voice to the queer and trans community.

If Mardi Gras is going to be the self-anointed voice of the community, but it’s not going to speak up about injustice, a different voice must be heard.

ME: For one, it’s a blatant show of hypocrisy. Mardi Gras deals with banks worldwide who give monetary support to the weapons industry, particularly in countries that then use those weapons against marginalised groups, including LGBT+ people. Another example would be — and this isn’t so much corporatisation — the aspect of including politicians. It is somewhat offensive that the Liberal Party has a float at Mardi Gras when they’ve been the major source of homophobia and transphobia in Australia for as long as I can remember. I think what’s really jarring and upsetting is a lot of people saying, “Mardi Gras is just a party, it’s not meant to be a protest. We don’t want to care about politics.” I wish I didn’t have to care about politics, but it’s not just a theoretical game to me. These are my friends, they are my family, this is my life. I think it’s a very bizarre position to say politics and Mardi Gras cannot be combined. This is our community, and we are under constant attack. When you are under attack, fighting back is necessary self-defence. If Mardi Gras

V: You were talking earlier about pinkwashing. Thinking now about some of the corporate involvement in Mardi Gras, what do you think is the impact of performative allyship? ME: A lot of the time you could say that [performative allyship] is value-neutral, but I don’t think that’s true because it can perpetuate some very harmful notions, such as the idea that gay rights or trans rights is about representation and visibility. I’m not denying those things are important, but I would rather all of my trans friends have access to medical care. I think it’s less important that UNSW has a big diversity sticker on its front building than ensuring all teachers have access to transition leave. I think it’s less important that corporations are trying to integrate themselves into the queer narrative than making sure they’re not actually doing harm. Also, on a personal level, I find a lot of the representation quite alienating in the sense that I’m not wearing rainbows and pink everything. Actually, that’s not really an important issue; I’m just upset about it (laughs). V: That is a valid point though given how the LGBT+ community is discussed as if every queer person is homogenous in character. If brands can’t speak to the individuality of the LGBT community, then surely that representation is made obsolete?

SOCIETY & CULTURE

V: What are the ramifications of having that sort of corporatism visible in Mardi Gras?

is not going to provide that nexus of self-defence, then what is its point?

ME: Interestingly, some people dislike the term “LGBT” because they feel it is too quantifying, when really, queerness is the recognition of personhood — it’s not about categories.

But something I have said is that LGBT does not just mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender; it speaks to a set of shared experiences, shared values, and shared goals.

SOCIETY & CULTURE 58

When one of us is under attack, that’s an attack on us all. What I think we really have to recognise is that we stand together because we don’t succeed apart. You don’t have true queer rights without trans rights, they are contiguous with each other.

the present day. When we treat homophobia and racism as abstract products of human nature, we fail to see the conditions that create them. Therefore, the principle of solidarity recognises that all of our issues are coming from similar places, and require a unified struggle.

If I’m going to say something cancellable, I think you can be gay without being queer. You can be a CEO of a company who is homosexual, but you’re not going to have that same experience of discrimination. My goals are not the same as that of the CEO. I’m not interested in advancing the CEO’s rights. I’m interested in the community, in my friends facing poverty and discrimination, who are sex workers and subject to discrimination from American Express. I want to make sure that they are provided for and protected. That’s what the LGBT community is for me: mutual responsibility and mutual care.

V: What do you believe are the greatest adversaries to the queer and transgender communities in Australia today?

V: Earlier in the interview you mentioned Qantas playing a part in the deportation of refugees. Where does intersectionality come into play in queer activism? ME: I’ve heard that some people — and this isn’t a criticism — don’t like the term “intersectionality” because it sounds quite individualising. What I’ve heard used is “solidarity”. It’s a bit of a linguistic thing: the people who are after me are also after you. If they come for me in the night they will come for you in the morning, or vice versa. The things that oppress us – the socio-economic conditions, the political conditions – all come from the same set of systems and the same historical inertia. Homophobia, racism, and misogyny don’t just emerge out of human nature. They are the product of historical contingencies that occurred for economic-political reasons and which continue to

ME: That’s a big question. We are facing a resurgent farright globally. In this country, it has emerged in some very specific ways. I think what we are seeing is a period of backlash. The Religious Discrimination Bill was basically set up as petty revenge for Marriage Equality. What we’re seeing now is increased political polarisation. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, as a radical myself, that those issues are becoming very visible, but it does mean that the struggle gets heightened. One of the biggest challenges that we have to overcome is not a new challenge, but the idea that things like trans and gay rights are political footballs, that trans rights or gay rights can be traded off or treated as optional. What we see now around the world is people waking up themselves, people saying, “No, this is not an option, it’s a necessity. No compromise in defence of our rights.” I don’t think that’s a new challenge, but I think we’re finally in a position to challenge it.

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serendipity

by Katie Kelly

KATIE KELLY

Serendipity features surreal double exposures shot on black and white film. Rather than meticulously planning their compositions, I relied on the element of chance and serendipitous luck to produce the images. They seek to portray the nature of dreams and psychology by drawing upon the artwork of surrealists such as Man Ray, Magritte and Dali, alongside the theories of psychoanalysis introduced by Freud and Jung for inspiration. The dreamscapes condense time and space, convey fear and elation, and ultimately aim to visually bridge the gap between reality and the subconscious.

lucid Lucid seeks to capture the relationship between the world around us and ourselves. Each image explores how the natural world mimics the inner world; feelings ebb and flow like passing clouds, aspects of ourselves become overgrown, blossom and wither away. Sometimes nature holds the power to lead us back to ourselves — to see with startling clarity our own reflection.

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KATIE KELLY

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KATIE KELLY

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ANGELINA CHAHINE

PeopleWatching in PaRis by Angelina Chahine

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Every individual is bound by a common human experience yet capable of wildly different perceptions — which is one of the things that makes us endlessly intriguing to one another. We have the capacity to ponder the complexities of life’s existential questions and simultaneously experience the absent-minded impulsiveness of emotions. I hope these portraits invite the viewer to step out of their mind and wonder what a life other than their own is like.

JACQUELINE ADAMS 70

Taken during July to October 2021 on Kodak Pro Image 100 & Kodak Portra 400 35mm film.

Circuits by Jacqueline Adams When you’ve been in lockdown for months, you lose the opportunity to see your surroundings through the eyes of others. You’ve just got your walking buddy (that you also live with) who tends to pick up microwave batteries and circuit boards off the street. All of the stimulation you would typically get from your day is suddenly compressed into these one or two-hour photo walks. When you watch about three films a night, you begin to believe you might be watching one after having stepped outside. Then the sight of your walking buddy eating corn chips at Stanmore station, all the little houses you pass, the old friend wearing all black in the graveyard, and the old fire station at Darlington start to look like stills from a Wes Anderson film. It’s all very regular and unbearably exciting.

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JACQUELINE ADAMS

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LA DIVERSA VITA

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BY SIENA ZADRO

La Diversa Vita is a series of graphic prints which encapsulates the transformation of identities in the Italian immigrant community in the 1950’s. Utilising visual iconography from both the Art Nouveau and Pop Art movements, the work explores the representation of Italian culture in Australia as wellmeaning but ultimately succumbing to age-old caricatures established by Anglo-Saxon societies.

SIENA ZADRO

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Epiphany by Allegra Thadea

For a long time, I was stuck in a place that made me forget my love for art. A medical degree was not for me. Yet now, as an international student, I have travelled thousands of miles and finally broken free from the Zoom bubble to study a degree in Visual Communication. Working on what I’m passionate about, I no longer have to worry about whether I belong. But I’m not standing where I am by myself, but rather through the support of my family and closest friends to step forward into my future. Sonder evokes ideas of calmness, ease, and realisation. The butterflies in my illustration represent life, spiritual birth, and change — a testament to my mental health journey and continual growth.

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Reclaiming femininity and the rise of the female gaze by Shanelle George

The following paintings support the progressive representation of female strength in a society led by the male gaze. They stand as an attempt to destabilise the dominant narrative that places sexual empowerment alongside representations of lewdness.

SHOWCASE

Over time, the repression of female sensual energy has perpetuated itself and resulted in a culture that brands the naked female form as obscene content. Wearing skimpy clothes is seen as a signal of sexual availability, aligned with being coquette and promiscuous. Depictions of the nude female body in art are viewed as sexual content.

‘Beautiful Conviction’ is a mixed media piece that depicts the rise of feminine power throughout history. The black and white portrait sits in front of an array of mixed media elements that allude to the feminist roots of witchcraft as well as notable quotes from Sojourner Truth’s 1851 ‘Ain’t I a Woman’ speech. ‘The Divine Feminine’ fragments the female body from the sum of its parts, encouraging viewers to reclaim the nude female form to represent female experiences rather than the male fantasy. That is, encouraging the rise of the female gaze in art. Both pieces beg the question; Is it possible to represent the naked female form without reducing it to the sight of lust and desire?

SHANELLE GEORGE

Gazing Through Glass

CREATIVE WRITING

by Sai Muthukumar

I gaze through glass panels, nursing a wandering and untendered mind. A yearning for fulfilment holds my thoughts in purgatory. I dreamt of becoming an advocate in my childhood, yet the ambition is fading. It was a spectacle to see, hear, and take in the courts in session. Sitting in the chairs reserved for public audiences, envisaging a future where I stand at the bar posing submissions to the judge and jury. Yet once I stepped into university grounds, gruelling to become a legal practitioner, the bar became a distant prospect. I gaze at the clouds as they disappear into the sapphire sky.

I am left unkempt and worn, like tattered paperbacks discarded without a second thought. A grave realisation subdues my dream; grit and hardship are necessary evils on the journey to finding one’s purpose. The never-ending readings, examinations, and competitions weigh on a mind not accustomed to these newfound challenges. However, a second realisation ushers in more clarity. Discipline is the bitter pill that needs swallowing to nurture one’s dream. Arduously working at a desk is only one of many obstacles to overcome in journeying to the bar and beyond. In a change of heart, I have reluctantly allowed routine to creep in once more. The clock ticks as the steady tapping of the keyboard signals another hour of notetaking. I pray that the invisible anchor holding my body to the chair as my eyes scan my textbook is a temporary docking. As I raise my sails and journey the uncharted seas, my mind craves to discover purpose in the mundane. The dream still seems distant, yet the ship continues to sail under a fresh breeze of ambition. I gaze through glass panels, sitting idly as carefree clouds burdening the rain drift beyond the sunset.

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Nighthawks CREATIVE WRITING

Reflections Inspired by Edward Hopper’s 1942 Painting by Pippi Cullinan The evening had a kind of open-air cold, where the sky’s emptiness of clouds left the streets vulnerable to a harsh chill. The people shut their windows tight and wore socks inside to escape the cool draft pricking their toes. The square remained largely empty, suffice for the glow of a brewery on the corner, illuminating swaths of greying pavement. A man and woman sat at the dark oak of the bar.

Illustrated by Sophia Ramos

The woman wore a delicate peach dress, its fabric scooping just below her pale collar bones. The man donned a well-cut navy suit, his hat falling low to his brow. They could have been strangers were it not for the gentle connection of their knuckles or the gradual slant of their shoulders toward each other. Laughter to sincerity, silence to sound. Their exchange adheres to a strange rhythm, it’s time signature unknown to anyone but them. Occasionally, the man, rapt in his own stories, would raise both hands in jubilance. Yet, they would always fall back to her fingers with grace.

I stood and watched, my feet shuffling against the evening frost. I was struck by the peculiar feeling that I would only ever live in this world as an observer. Watching life take place, yet never quite stepping into it. I wondered if the woman in the peach dress, laughing unabashedly, her mouth agape, ever felt this way? Or the man in the evening hat with his fervent hand gestures? But as they thoughtlessly chattered, sips of whiskey warming their throats, I believed it impossible for them to ever think the same thoughts as I.

CREATIVE WRITING 89

Sp i ra lin g CREATIVE WRITING

by Andelain Joy

CW: Mental ill-health There is an art to sitting still. An art I have not, and will likely never, master. My lack of this skill is why I study law, work part-time, and entertain a stream of hobbies, including, but not limited to: moulding mugs with clay, collaging old playboy magazines, and repurposing old jars for propagating plants or candle-making. It’s why my days are filled reading case law in my roommate’s cafe, drinking bottomless “on-thehouse” coffees before heading to a crossfit class, and taking a two-minute shower to make it in

time for an evening tutorial just to impatiently count down the final minutes worrying about whether I will miss the bus to my friend’s house for dinner. Today, however, there is no running from cafe to gym class to university tutorial. Working from home, I wake up and drag my resistant body to my “work-from-home set-up” less than 30 cm from my bed. The following seven hours will be spent within the four walls of my room, give or take a trip to the kettle for tea.

WHEN I FINALLY LAY MY HEAD DOWN AT NIGHT, I RUMINATE MY SWIRLING THOUGHTS. 90

When I am stagnant for too long, my productive energy transforms into destructive thoughts. At first, it feels logical. I am stuck at my desk at the whim of my email inbox, which taunts me with an urgent task. I may as well use the time productively, so I create multiple five-year plans and pros/cons lists. I draft budgets and track my spending. I consider and reconsider thesis ideas, graduation plans, relationship dilemmas, what kind of lawyer I want to be and which city I want to live in. I flick between countless tabs, constantly checking and rechecking my emails for work.

He responds instantly: “What’s wrong?”

Do I even want to be a lawyer? I question my questions until I question myself. Do I even know who I am? I rationalise, or so I think; I must do something to get back to the person I want to be. Perhaps my career path isn’t right, perhaps I am living in the wrong city, perhaps I am not asking the right questions. Who do I ask to ask the right questions?

I live in a terrace house in the inner west. Leaving the house is a suffocating thought. Neighbouring houses with cars piling along concrete pathways, fumes emanating from industrial warehouses, and noisy planes polluting the skyline. But I need to leave this room. I need a distraction for long enough to let rational thoughts re-enter. Without giving my brain time to “pro/cons list” my next move, I burst out of my bedroom and open the doors to our backyard. Unlike most houses in the area, there is a long and narrow garden shaded by olive trees, with jasmine-covered walls and colourful flowers sprouting in the grass. I head to the back of my inner-west jungle and lie on the ground. The floor falls beneath me and I feel like Alice, tumbling down a rabbit hole.

What is actually wrong? I over-analyse. All of it? I type and erase. I retype and backspace. I give up. This state of paralysis. The phone buzzes. I ignore his calls. I can no longer use my words.

CREATIVE WRITING

Staring vacantly at my empty inbox, I realise it is almost 5:00 p.m. and I have spent the past seven hours spinning further, and further down. Although I finally recognise the signs, it is too late. I have to battle the voices in my head, plead them to let go of their pride and reach out for help. Finding courage in a moment of clarity, I manage to send a message to my partner:

I stop.

“I am spiraling.”

The world becomes a kaleidoscope of colours, a magnificent mixture of the blue sky, green trees, and CREATIVE WRITING

yellow autumn leaves. I dig my fingers into the grass. I grasp for groundedness. Scrunching my eyes closed, I hold onto the world and hope it will all stop spinning. I begin to sob, feeling trapped in my neighbourhood and my circling thoughts. But my tears do not drown me. Each drop floods the rabbit hole and raises me towards the sky. The sensation of floating slows down my breathing, and I open my eyes to stillness. A noise from the house jolts my gaze, and I laugh hollowly at the thought of my roommate walking out to find me lying flat on the garden bed, staring up at the sky, sobbing. The moment’s distraction is enough. Taking a deep breath, I stand up and welcome the return of rationality. I walk inside, feeling the sensation of waking up from a dream. The spinning world of colour that consumed me moments ago returns to the ordinary presentation of my house in the innerwest. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I boil the kettle and dial my partner’s number. With the phone pressed against my ear, I smile at my roommate walking through the front door. As I add a dash of milk to my tea, I whisper to them, “I don’t think I am very much a fan of sitting still”.

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WHAT WE OWE

EACH OTHER by Shea Donohoe

Amidst the pandemonium of the city, two people sit. Under the yellow hue of a flickering street light, they hold hands. Softly, gently. Fingers woven into fingers like strands of a tapestry. Index over knuckle, thumb in the hollow of a wrist. A man with holes in his shirt and stains on his jeans waves a brown paper bag with liquid that smells of medicine. He mumbles crudely at the two as yells from a fight outside a nearby pub echo; a harmony of vulgarity.

Still, the hands do not unravel. The sky struggles to breathe, heaving and coughing in its smothering smoke. A plane soars through the grimy air, mimicking the sound of thunder. A pigeon with one leg coos from the gutter and an empty packet of panadol crawls down the drain. Sirens sound like the wailing of a scared child. The artificial, cold light of a gambling billboard casts a glare on an overflowing bin. But, there they were. Entwined. Warm bodies, warm cheeks, warm lips.

CREATIVE WRITING

Traffic lights and taxi horns infuse the city streets with muddied lumosity and piercing screeches. Plastic bags roll aimlessly along the soiled pavement. Rattling train tracks shake the gumridden park benches. Broken glass and cigarette butts lay scattered on cracked cement like dust.

A million moments of ugly, there and there and there. And one moment of tenderness, just here, and then everywhere. That’s what we owe each other.

by Ashley Sullivan

CREATIVE WRITING

This is a creative fiction piece that recounts the experience of my grandfather during the 1960’s.

Disarray disrupts the shroud of uneasy slumber. Different dialects resonate off the concrete walls in a futile search for stability. I lift my head warily, my narrow bed greeting me with the usual groans of exasperation. The stream of sunlight emanating from my tiny bunk window offers only the slightest warmth from the shadows. Once again, like yesterday and all the days before, I am momentarily stunned by the utter absence of colour. Grey concrete walls, grey bunk beds, grey doorways leading to nowhere… leading to somewhere. This place has done something to me. I have aged centuries, disconnected from the spirit of a nineteen-year-old. Everything seems to have drifted forward without me. The days have forgotten their greetings and the nights’ collapse too quickly. Despite the constant presence of people, isolation is inescapable. The whimpers and moans of young children taint the air, their parents’ soothing doing little to suspend their agitation. Only now have I come to appreciate the simple serenity of the countryside.

Stealing a glance over at a young mother and daughter embraced in the far corner of the room, the familiar throe of longing for my family overwhelms me. I stare at the mildewed ceiling and clasp my calloused hands. They serve as a permanent reminder of my young years of labour, grown rougher through my trek across the Yugoslavian border. I left them behind without a whisper of warning. Abandoned in the fractured remains of communism.1 For eight days, I travelled alongside fear, my wretched companion. The trepidation of persecution draped me in an oppressive cloak of darkness rivalling the winter’s night. I suppressed the impulse to betray my determination and retreat — retreat and surrender to the bitter comfort of my confined life. But the need for a life with a future propelled me further. I swallowed my unease and gritted my teeth. I continued. ***

I walked the streets as a blind man. I felt detached from the welcoming atmosphere of Trieste, isolated amidst the classical architecture that imposed a grandeur, unlike anything I had ever seen before. My glaring unfamiliarity attracted the attention of two brawny local police officers. They fired off in Italian, waiting impatiently for my response as I attempted to decode their meaning. Looking down with disdain, they repeated their question, words dripping with displeasure. One word sent up a flare of recognition. “No...I...no...ID,” I stammered. Exchanging a look of mutual acknowledgement, they nodded in unison and ordered me to the official car that lay waiting for prey in the depth of the streets. The air was silent with sombre resignation. The car welcomed me with the promise of dreamless sleep. The last in a long time. The distorted shout of a name travelled through my deep slumber. I rose groggily and glanced out the window at the looming five-storey brick building pulsating with congestion. I turned to the officers for confirmation and met their grim expressions. “Risiera di San Sabba,”2 one of the officers announced, “benvenuto alla tua nuova casa.” This time, there was no confusion in translation. I prepared to get well acquainted with my new home. ***

I fled for a new life, but I continue to be haunted by the past. The mildew stains on the ceiling contort into grotesque caricatures of faded memories. The clouded face of my mother emerges, beckoning with the temptation of escape from the shackles of grey. “Unë të dua,” I murmur, instinctively gripping the scapular of the sacred heart that hangs around my neck, one of the few keepsakes from home. I utter a quick blessing under my breath for my family. All at once, the brazen clang of the grey bell sweeps the room, stirring me from my reverie. Mechanically, I travel down the dim-lit hallway into the sea of bodies, heads bobbing with the prospect of a future away from these walls. I sit silently amidst the chaos. I observe the blur of bodies, the hitch of heartbeats, the weight of weariness. Eight months.

CREATIVE WRITING

Eight months awaiting the call of my name. Stuck in limbo, waiting for valid documentation to grant a new lease on life in Australia. My mind is enchanted with the idea of the foreign country. I envision stepping on its soil, inhaling the fresh air and soaking in the freedom. The harsh crackle of the loudspeaker commands the room with a reign of apprehension. Noise ceases for a single moment. Only breathing. Rhythmical breathing that croons with a fervent hope. We wait. “Marko Lulić, Vio Rio Primario, Marko Lulić.” ***

I follow the officer cautiously, petrified of misstepping and breaking the hypnotic trance. A cool draught of ocean breeze tousles my hair and kisses my cheeks. I inhale once. Twice. A third time. I savour the salty air and bask in its gentle warmth. Opportunity stares at me. Pale lettering reveals her name as Float Lauro. She possesses a languid demeanour as she lazes upon the placid water, oblivious of her magnificence. A vessel built to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. The officer halts and regards me earnestly, “Sei pronto per salire a bordo?” I nod without hesitation and step aboard.

¹Under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia’s communist regime spanned from 1944-1980. ²After WWII, Risiera di San Sabba functioned as a refugee camp.

CREATIVE WRITING

Pictured: My grandfather (left) with his friend (right) from Riseria di San Sabba after arriving in Darwin.

Pictured: My grandfather (left), myself (middle), and my grandmother (right).

Gate CREATIVE WRITING

It was a towering giant of steel rods, adorned with sharp points and hard iron bolts at its feet. The gate cast long shadows over the brick-lined entrance before it, and darkness seemed to swallow everything within. For a moment, if you gazed only upon its grey imprint, it became the doors to a prison. Every morning, the young girl would arrive at school donned in the mandatory blue dress and oversized petticoat, her hair pulled neatly into a ponytail. At ten years old, she stared through those treacherous school gates with a deep sense of foreboding. A strange sinking in her chest accompanied the walk past the watchful eyes of the teachers. The classroom was always bustling with noise when she arrived, children running and laughing and shouting. While she wished the clamour would distract her from her swirling thoughts, it furthered her sense of dread. For as much as she wanted to belong to the noise, she did not. The girl glanced skittishly at her only friend, but that wasn’t exactly true. They no longer spoke for a reason the girl was too afraid to discover, for knowing it would give her insecurity more power. She tucked her chin against her chest, lowered her gaze to her book, and prayed harder than ever not to be noticed. Still, the inferno of sadness deep within her only burned more ferociously. She feared its hungry flames would consume her whole. Then, you appeared. She saw you one day during recess. Nose buried in a book, pretending to blend in, your short black hair in a lopsided ponytail,

by Minduli Withana

and a faded grey petticoat. Your brown eyes scurried with enrapture over the lines of your novel, indifferent to the life around you. Perhaps it was the aura of contentment that lingered around you, or maybe she saw herself mirrored in you. In a split second of sheer bravery, she reached out to tap your shoulder. Her heart thudded with terror as you turned. “Hi, is this spot taken?” Her voice came out small and feeble. You returned it with a sheepish smile. “No.” It’s hard to wrap one’s head around how so much can change within such little time, how a single stranger could grow to mean so much to us within the blink of an eye. It catches us off-guard, unsuspecting of the blossoming future.

It was hard for the girl to grasp how the school gates transformed so swiftly. She began to discover the traces of colour that lined its edges, the pretty blues and purples and pinks that she had not seen before. The darkness within its guarded walls slithered away. Looking back, the girl wonders if the foreboding gate of towering steel rods and ghastly shadows had not belonged to her school after all. The sharp points had been much closer to home, a deep sadness that entrapped her own heart within its stifling walls. She had finally garnered the strength to break open that hard iron lock.

CREATIVE WRITING

Soon, sitting beside each other became a habit. The girl remembers the animated conversations you shared about every dumb thing possible, including the friendly alien with the one green eye that lived in your boring fifth-grade class. The hilarious duels you waged in pretend magical worlds, peering over each other’s shoulders as you crafted your own fantasies together. They were god-awful stories, riddled with spelling errors and an absence of logic. But they made laughter bubble from her lips harder than anything ever had. You had a terrible sense of humour and a natural aptitude for awkwardness. You also had a wild imagination and a penchant for not caring about people’s perceptions. She needed that.

It felt so damn good. The girl had always wanted to belong to the noise yet had not. She realised now that she was happy belonging to the silence, for the silence did not seem such a lonely place anymore.

POSTC ARDS FROM T HE PAS T by Kati eK

Photos p rovi

CREATIVE WRITING

ded by K atie Kell y

elly

. t of in-between place ng places to me — a sor ati cin a fas es en tim be me So ays n. Airports have alw through like falling rai anent. People passed y to the stamping Transitory and imperm was a rhythmic qualit ere Th . kle tric a es tim the sound of suitcases heavy downpour, other detectors. A melody in tal me of ing , and ep be the as one plane took off of passports and A beautiful harmony or. flo rt po air the s gliding acros another landed. uld use seat. I insisted that I wo sister for the window my I spent t od gh ho fou ild s ch ay my alw I , of As a kid how many hours er nd wo I y. cit pa ca l the window to its ful to the window. in the air — eyes glued of Afghanistan. ow-capped mountains sn the er ov lts et ns su over India, pale pink bo I saw an amazing in the far-off distance as rm sto low a be ing ies tch cit wa the r twinkled in I remembe s the twilight sky. Lights it be ros er ac eth ed nc wh , da on y riz icit ho ctr of ele line of the r the stars. The softblue s, forever the plane rolled unde by darkness or cloud red scu ob ps rha pe or , sea ny times or ma d w lan ho separated by we travelled or ce. No matter how far there tan me dis ing the in ind d rem ere glimm and untouchable, d fixe ed ain rem it l, the sun rose and fel . was always more to see ***

I guess you co uld say I was ab out to depart on pilgrimage of so a rts. With three destinations in and three post mind cards in my po cket , I took the leap. ***

100

d to coat everything in the A dusting of red dirt seeme grandfather’s spectacles. valley, including the rim of my rusty cathedrals against like e Jarring rock formations ros the sky. h desert suggested infinite The rolling plains of the Uta overhead hung motionless. time and space. The clouds rusty sand beneath us. There was no wind to stir the silent fossil. and still The desert remained a t, light cardigan and My grandfather’s collared shir against the grand odd er rath ked walking stick loo I knew had a passion for backdrop. The grandfather ps. He drank at least 10 day time TV and British soa ind crumbs on his favourite beh left cups of tea a day. He man in the photograph. armchair. I’d never met the The man who lived in The traveller. The bus driver. New York City. e I had a proper conversation I can’t remember the last tim only able to visit him once a with my grandfather. I was ays 17,204 kilometres away. year. The closest hug was alw ed stillness of the desert, I turn As we walked amongst the to him.

“Tell me every thing I wish I could ask you.” The oldest of seven in a small town in Ireland, Grandpa made the big decision to leave home and move to New York. After spending his whole life amongst the fields, farms, and drear y weather of the countryside, the sheer size of the city must have blown him away. The year was 1957. It was the year the Russians launched Sputnik, and Elvis released ‘All Shook Up’. There was a large Irish population in New York durin g the late ‘50s, inviting an atmosphere of chang e and revolution. Grandpa worked as a bus driver at the 54th street depot in Brooklyn. He remembered the city through the bus routes he drove every day — a maze of intersection stop signs, traffic lights , and traffic jams. He met my grandmother at an Irish dance. Despite living in one of the biggest cities in the world, they discovered they were both from small towns in County Offaly. Within a year, they were married and shared their first dance to the smooth voice of Sinatra’s ‘Strangers in the Night .’ They honeymooned at Niagara Falls.

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As they built a life and a family in New York, the world was simultan eously falling apart and coming together. The civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech. Man went to space. John F Kennedy was elected. The Cold War. The Cuban Missile Crisis. The second wave of feminism . The Beatles. Vietnam. John F Kennedy was assassinated. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. Man went to the moon. Before the turn of the decade, my grandparents moved back to Ireland, their years in New York immortalised in photographs. One of the most fascinating things about my granddad’s struggle with dementia was how time was condensed in his mind. His past was effortlessly intertwined with his present. Sometimes, small glimmers of memory would resurface from half a century ago. Other times, he was unable to recall any of his children’s names. Physically he was in a nursing home in Dublin, yet mentally, he was still driving the same bus routes through New York. As we walked side by side, I held his hand like I did when I was younger and handed him a postcard. “Please post this when you get the chance.”

CREATIVE WRITING

Everything around us was still, and so was he.

*** 102

Living on the other side of the world to my uncle made it feel as though we had a lot of catching up to do. Peter had moved to Los Angeles before I was born and had spent a few years working as a roadie for the Rolling Stones. Soaking in the solitude and the wonder of the canyon, I turned

CREATIVE WRITING

Our feet dangled off the edge as we sat silently, taking in the view. The afternoon light cast shadows across the belly of the canyon. The landscape conjured up a reverence that only the magnificence of nature could stir up.

to Peter.

“Tell me about your time on the road.” Peter had done extensive travelling as a roadie. It was a type of travel marked by a strict schedule and only a few days in each destination. He was an electrician by trade and helped the team set up the electricals in each and every venue. Peter departed on a world tour at the end of the millennium. They travelled by air and road across the Americas, Europe and Japan, delivering shows to over 4.5 million people. They began in Chicago in Autumn ‘97 and snaked their way across North America.

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CREATIVE WRITING

Wide open road s. Packing and unpacking. Get a new place an ting to know a ci d a different suns ty in a night. Ev et. er y day After the North American leg of the trip, they br cherry blossom iefly toured Japa season. Afterwar n in Spring, just ds the tour head for the Stones in before the ed to South Am Argentina. After erica – Bob Dyla a few days in So the European le n opened ut g of the tour. h America, they departed on In Tallinn, Jagger was denied entry into an Estonian him after years of fame. My uncl nightclub. He re e had to lend hi fused to carry ca m $100. sh on In the 18 month s Peter spent on tour, he had a fle possessed less eting taste of ea ons that only tra ch city. Life in tra versing the divid The enchantmen nsit ing line of the op t of nomadic m en road grants ovement. Wakin another. It was someone. g up in one city a once in a lifet and falling asle ime opportunity ep in for him - a free ticket around th e world. *** the d from dark blue to azure in The air was still as the sky ble in t cas , nce sile in us ow bel slept afternoon light. The canyon shadow and light. s of years and layers of rock. A living fossil. Made by million e and go as quickly as a com Some moments in our lives deep experiences that penetrate meteorite, indenting us with into ourselves.

*** 104

I had never been to Amsterdam. My mum sat on the bench overlooking the water in silence. She looked only a few years older than me. My mum had done her fair share of travelling within the safety of hotel rooms in first-world capital cities. She didn’t care much for big adventures or spontaneity. That’s where we differed. As I excitedly planned my gap year, I swore I would never stay in a hotel room. I would meet the locals and learn the language. I wouldn’t fall into tourist traps. “Why didn’t you do more travelling? Why didn’t you take a gap year?” Her eyebrows furrowed with annoyance. it is “Life happens. It gets in the way. Sometimes just not on the cards.”

My mum had grown up in a family of expats. Both her parents had moved to New York before she was born. They left Offaly as two separate travellers and returned as a family.

CREATIVE WRITING

ht We sat by the canal as the late afternoon sunlig trees nless motio The . glinted across the water cast long shadows against the pavement.

When she was 14, her mothe r was diagnosed with cancer. Two years late r, she passed away, holding on just long enough to see her oldest son follow in her footsteps and take the journey across the Atlantic. My mum finished school the next year. She was only 16. After seeing the way the nurses helped her mother when she was sick , my mum decided to study nursing. Travelling away from her family was the furthest thing from her mind. However, as the years drew on, an itch fortravel emerged. She first visited Syd ney in the year 2000. The city was awash with the excitement of the Olympics and the new millen nium. A year later, she returned to Sydney wit h a five-year working holiday visa. Only seven mo nths in, after settling down in a small flat in Coogee and landing a job at the hospital, she was forc ed to go home.

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Then I came along. Rather unexpectedly. That’s where my love affair with travel began. my Floating between two countries. I grew up in . family by d unde surro home ood childh er’s moth d move I and ts When I was old enough, my paren life. new a back to Sydney to start Some things are evidently more important than each travelling. Life gets in the way. Families need align. don’t lines other. Time

CREATIVE WRITING

g I looked at my mum in admiration in the wanin . smile a with ard postc a her ed hand evening light. I

***

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This is not a travel me

moir.

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CREATIVE WRITING

I was going to turn 18 and book a one-w ay ticket overseas. A of bustling airports year and long train rides with the faint buzz of languages sending foreign me to sleep. Homesic kness, staying up all with strangers, no W night i-Fi, forgetting to ca ll my parents, stolen best friends made an wallets, d lost in a night. Da ys and nights that fel from my own life, it t so far was as if I was living someone else’s. My allusive and abso lutely necessary “G ap Year ”. Who would have gu essed that there wo uld be a worldwide pandemic. I’d spent my adolesc ence soaking up tal es of travel from my Travel seemed like a family. rite of passage, a ne cessary step toward adulthood. A transitio s n, a journey — both physical and spiritua towards understandin l— g the world and parts of yourself better. I guess you could sa y for the last few ye ars I’ve been stuck in-between place. Tra in a sort of nsitory and imperm anent. I’ve met peop have never met if I ha le I would d booked a one-way ticket overseas. There poetic, almost music is a al quality to falling in love with the place lived all your life. you’ve But I have the photo s and the inspiration my family has given To take the leap. To me. move abroad. To ac cept a life on the roa no to travel when the d. To say re are more importa nt things. The world out there and I am sti is still ll here. There will be time.

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Invitation to Write by Joshua Wolterding

Who are you?

MISCELLANEOUS

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The Magic

A B CON Number by C lara A tkin

MISCELLANEOUS

Illustrations by Andy Lee

When I learnt and understood the theory I am about to share, it changed how I thought about every new person I met... actually, not even those I met exclusively, but those I passed, observed, and watched. Every single being, including yourself, is connected to this theory. So, what the fuck is this random chick rambling about? Well, you are connected to Kevin Bacon. Yes, the American actor who you might remember from Friday the 13th (1980), Footloose (1984), Apollo 13 (1995), Crazy Stupid Love (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011), and a whole bunch of other blockbuster films.

Essentially, in early 1994, three college students; Craig Fass, Brian Turtle, and Mike Ginelli, found themselves trapped indoors during a snowstorm. Without on-demand TV, they were forced to watch Footloose, starring Kevin Bacon, followed by Quicksilver, starring Kevin Bacon, during which, it just so happened that a commercial for another film came on, also starring — you guessed it — the one and only, Kevin Bacon. God, this guy seems to be in everything, is what I imagine went through their minds. At this point in time, Bacon had worked on many movies and was at the centre of Hollywood. Naturally, the next question arose: had Bacon ever worked with Robert De Niro? (note: this was before Sleepers (1996) was released, so the answer was no).

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However, they connected that De Niro was in The Untouchables (1987) with Kevin Costner, who was in JFK (1991)... and so the game ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’ was born! In said game, you aim to connect any Hollywood actor with the one and only Kevin Bacon. It even birthed an entire website dedicated to connecting actors and actresses to Kevin Bacon. It’s pretty shoddy, but you can check it out by searching “Oracle of Bacon”,¹ though I cannot promise that it is up-to-date, it must be good if Time magazine named it one of the ‘Ten Best Web Sites of 1996’!

Thus, the concept of six degrees of separation developed. It states that everyone is connected to each other through others they know by, at most, six rounds of introductions. Though some researchers now consider it might be up to seven connections. Put simply; you are connected to anyone in this entire world by seven or fewer other people. Yes, you are even connected to Kevin Bacon in such a way.

1. https://oracleofbacon.org/

3. Morse 2003

So, yes. People in Hollywood are connected, blah blah blah. But what if I told you that this concept extends to everyone on the fucking planet?

MISCELLANEOUS

In the 1960’s, even before three random college kids watched some movies, social psychologist Stanley Milgram began to investigate the socalled small-world problem, the hypothesis being that everyone on Earth is connected by just a few intermediaries.3

The Bacon Number represents how many connections one has between themselves and Kevin Bacon. As of 2013, the “Oracle of Bacon’’ website calculated that out of all the actors listed on the Internet Movie Database, only 329 out of 1,605,485 have a Bacon number of seven or higher.2

This has not been any more apparent than at UTS, where it seems like you’re connected to anyone by less than four people. Perhaps this has been a pointless read, but this theory has truly changed the way I look at “strangers”. Consider the waiter serving you; who else have they served? Who else have they spoken to? When you meet a new person, think a little more about how you know them. It might not just be through the person introducing you to them. More specifically, I think this theory raises an interesting question: Is anyone really a stranger if they are connected to you by such a seemingly small number of people? In such an interconnected and globalised world, how many people are just six handshakes away? Think about how you, as your own wonderful being, have connected others in this small, small world.

2. Blanda 2013

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STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

President’s report Anna Thieben Hi, It’s Anna, your Student Association President! Yes, I’m the person who is paid $470 a week from your SSAF fees to listen to your concerns, represent you, meet with management on your behalf, and cohere your student council. Tell me your concerns and hold me accountable throughout the year. The Students’ Association has had an eventful few months as we upskilled each other and started our campaigns for the year. We held 12 stalls across the three days of O-week and chatted to thousands of students. I am immensely proud of all the work everyone put in to make the week such a success. In particular, we discussed our SSAF campaign with students at the stall, asking you: “Do you believe that 100% of your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) should go to student unions?” As you might be aware, the Students’ Association is funded by the SSAF. However, what you might not know is due to national legislation, when you pay this money, it goes directly to management, and we have to bargain for our small share of SSAF to fund our vital services. Our funding situation has gotten worse over the past two years. Before the pandemic, we were getting three-year funding agreements, with our funding steadily increasing as we offered more and more services. Now, we go months without knowing what funding we will receive for the next calendar year. On top of that, our funding was cut by 20% during COVID-19, making it impossible for us to continue to run services such as Bluebird Brekkie.

Your SSAF is a union due, but when the university controls this fee, students have no say over where their money goes, and there is no transparency in this spending. In fact, 40% of SSAF is unaccounted for on the UTS website! Check out this petition to get involved with the campaign: https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/powered-by-ssafrun-by-students (QR code at end of article) I am happy to announce that Night Owl Noodles is back up and running! Come by building 1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-7:30 p.m. for some free noodles. But, it is expected that we will not have the SSAF funding to set up BlueBird Brekkie. It is extremely difficult for our Association to be expected to run and expand services at a 2019 capacity, while operating at over a 20% reduction in funding. With your help, we will continue to fight for the renewal of this service as soon as possible. In other exciting news, UTS has agreed to endorse the March 25th Climate Strike. In 2021 and 2019, students petitioned for weeks to achieve this, and so we stand on the shoulders of giants when we approach management with this demand. Our speak-out will start at 10:30 a.m. outside the Tower. Come along and get involved! As always, keep in contact with the UTSSA by following our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ utsstudentssssociation), or reach out to me directly (president@utsstudentassociation.org)

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port

General Secretary Re Sabrine Yassine

Hello all and welcome back to a new year at UTS! My name is Sabrine, and I’m the General Secretary of the UTS Students Association. UTS really is a vibrant, dynamic space for us as university students to reach our potential in all areas of our lives, from academia to activism to artistry. The opportunities for unique experience sare endless. However, there are various challenges that come with being a university student, especially for those just starting their university journey. The UTS Students’ Association is your student union. Run by students, for students, we operate a number of completely free services to make everyone’s time at university a little easier.

For many students, their university years fly by. They face challenges and difficult processes during this time and, believing they don’t have the power to change or improve their situation, they deal with what they’ve been given. That’s not the way university should be. As your student union, we have the resources and the drive to continue improving UTS for students and, if need be, changing the system, so it works for students, not against them. Student voices need to be heard. If there’s a challenge you keep finding yourself facing at UTS or an initiative that you think would benefit students, please contact me at: generalsecretary@utsstudentsassociation.org Thank you, and here’s to a (hopefully in-person) great 2022 at UTS!

The Educ ation Ac Group (EA tion G) Cat Dohe rty

The Education Action Group (EAG) are a progressive student collective who organise to fight against attacks on our education! We are open to all students and highly encourage those who are frustrated at the state of their education at UTS to join us. As the new semester rolls in, so too do the issues affecting our education. The impact of staff and subject cuts, subject “remodelling”, and a lack of accessibility for classes will certainly be felt across campus. You may experience having your class that was meant to be on-campus for the first time in two years suddenly flipped online with zero student consultation. For many students whose entire uni lives have been dictated by the pandemic, this erasure of the essential immersive uni experience is genuinely disappointing. On the flipside, some students who are in an uncomfortable position may find it difficult to enrol into an online class.

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

From the UTSSA’s free food initiatives, legal service, academic advocacy, and peer tutoring, we’ve got something here to help anyone and everyone. We also run campaigns on a variety of key student’s issues where we think the University can do better in giving us the education we all pay for and deserve. Apart of my role within the UTSSA is the responsibility of ensuring a 50% quota of Vertigo’s content is non-fiction and half of that is related to student issues.

This quota remains as an endeavour to maximise the wide readership of Vertigo and allow students to stay up to date on what is happening in the ecosystem that is university life. My role as Welfare Officer last year assisted me in seeing the various challenges that university brings for students, especially during an era of online learning.

Both of these issues are a result of cost-cutting measures by the university management, and highlight a complete lack of consideration for student needs – to them, profit comes before learning. The EAG is actively fighting to reverse the sentiment of management, to put learning before profit. At our March 9th rally, the EAG stood in solidarity with staff, protesting against staff exploitation and defending our education against continuing attacks. We will be continuing our activism and events throughout the semester, so keep an eye out on our socials! Facebook: UTS Education Action Group Instagram: @uts.ed.action.group Cat Doherty, 2022 Education Officer

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STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

We have been working very hard over the past few weeks to get the Disabilities Collective up and running after a while of being inactive. In the lead up to O’Day we were updating our social media pages and website to reflect our collective’s values and vision for the year ahead. We asked disabled artist Frankie Catt to design a new logo for the collective, which looks fantastic and nicely represents the collective.

We prepared for O’Day by creating badges, stickers, zines, and posters to welcome new collective members, and had three fantastic days of getting to meet new people interested in getting involved in what we do. We held our first event recently, a banner paint, where we created a beautiful banner that can be used for future collective events. We are looking forward to holding our first collective meeting very soon and plan on holding many more events throughout the year. If you are interested in getting involved in the Disabilities Collective, feel free to email accessibility@utsstudentsassociation.org

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy but rewarding for the Queer Collective. We ran the Queer Collective stall over three days during the orientation period. This was extremely successful, with over 100 signups in the orientation period and even more following our first meeting and event. We are so proud of our outreach efforts which are important for facilitating the transition of queer students between high school and university. Additionally, the outreach to current UTS students has been incredibly gratifying too, with us receiving signups from many students looking for community following the challenging online learning period. I would like to give a particular shoutout to everyone who helped out on the queer stall. Not only did they help with the logistical duties that the days required, but they gave so much of their heart and soul into making students feel welcome. On a few occasions, we had students come back on multiple days, for no reason other than feeling it was a safe space.

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Following O’Week, we had our first event for the year last Thursday, a picnic at UTS. Despite the wet weather, we found a great place indoors to host our event, which was a huge success. My estimate is around 35-40 students attended, which was phenomenal considering the weather, the challenges of first-year schedules, and the fact it was our first event. We are excited to host more social, educational, and activistoriented events in the year ahead. We are planning on hosting another ‘Cabagay’ night event in the future and hope to reach even more LGBTQIA+ students this year. Gracie Abadee Queer Officer

The Ethnocultural Collective acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the lands upon which our university now stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders past and present and emerging and acknowledge that we are reaping the benefits of colonialism at the behest of the First Nations People. This was, is and always will be Aboriginal Land.

I’m happy to inform that our Ethnocultural Safe Space petition has reached 152 signatures so far, and many of our members have voiced their excitement about the prospect of such a space on campus. I urge everyone to sign this petition if they haven’t yet!

I have been in contact with Ethnocultural Collectives across Australia, and many support this campaign. Some have physical safe spaces, while others have their own campaigns running, which only shows the dire need for such spaces. There is a prospect of cross-campus collective events which will offer our members even more scope to explore antiracism and become involved with the community. As a result of our current efforts, we will hopefully see a safer and more accessible campus for students of colour this year. Suzy Monzer Ethnocultural Officer

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

The Ethnocultural Collective received a great turnout during O’Week, and we are heavily pleased with the result! Thank you to all the students that came by and said hello on O’Day; it was lovely meeting you all. We’re currently looking forward to our Welcome Picnic, which will allow all our members to meet and be a great kick-start to 2022.

At the current stage, we are in discussions with ViceChancellor Shirley Alexander to approve the campaign that has been rejected. It is of utmost importance that students have access to a physical and familiar space to explore their identity as a person of colour living on stolen land and discuss the implications of racism on their daily lives.

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Even further, a tactic that Sarah mentioned that might help students, is increased awareness of the help services available to them. This means encouraging students to proactively use services throughout their studies as opposed to using it as a last resort in times of crisis. Approaching counselling before a crisis might allow you to build the tools necessary to avoid being in a “crisis mode”.

Welfare OB Report Nour Al Hammouri

The arrival of Autumn brings about many issues — dead leaves, torrential rain, weird weather, pumpkin spice lattes, but the one constant is continual welfare advocacy. I am pleased to report back on some of the progress we’ve been making this semester.

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

On another note, the Collective is currently planning and meeting with the relevant people to hopefully begin offering Rapid Antigen Tests to students. With COVID-19 having an unfortunate increase in cases lately, it would be beneficial to I recently had a meeting with Sarah Lok, the head of counselling be proactive (re: counselling ;)) to prevent frantically adapting at UTS, and we discussed areas of improvement the service could to a worst case scenario — lockdown. With meetings currently occurring between the collective and the UTS Financial benefit from. Following the meeting, we’ve had to realign and Hardships team, hopefully we can soon being seeing some re-shift our angles to ensure that these goals can be achieved. (negative) results! Currently, the service offers counselling in all languages through the use of a government translation call service, however this can make students feel uncomfortable in having a third person involved in these private conversations. To counter this, counsellors may try to assist students by recommending that they seek external counsellors who may be more suited towards them, their culture, and language. It must also be noted that all counsellors are trained in Trauma and SASH counselling, and can offer these services to those who need it.

UTSSA Funding petition

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UTSSA Facebook

Lastly, in direct response to the floods that have affected numerous communities, the Welfare Collective alongside some clubs will be raising funds through a BBQ, as well as organising a blood drive to the Red Cross. What’s even more exciting, is that recent data has shown that UTS has been able to save over 2,000 lives last year! If there are any items regarding Student Welfare, please don’t hesitate to contact me at welfare@utsstudentsassociation.org

Passionate about change? Get involved with your UTS Students’ Association.

Photographer: FJ Gaylor

utsstudentsassociation.org.au facebook.com/UTSStudentsAssociation

UTSSA Update: Your Elected 2022 Rep-select Edited by Ashley Sullivan

QUEER OFFICER

Gracie Abadee Hello! My name is Gracie, and I will be the UTS Queer Officer for 2022. I am honoured to be elected into this role as I am incredibly passionate about queer activism, LGBTQIA+ culture and improving the welfare of LGBTQIA+ students. The Queer Students’ Officer role is undertaken by an LGBTQIA+ identifying student on the SRC to bring LGBTQIA+ issues to Council meetings and the university. As Queer Officer, the welfare of LGBTQIA+ students is my main responsibility. At UTS, we have a Queer Collective which allows LGBTQIA+ students to meet one another and form lifelong friendships. This year, I hope to increase the number of LGBTQIA+ students within the Collective and improve the student experience for students outside of the Collective. I will be hosting events so that LGBTQIA+ students can learn more about their identities, our beautiful community and student activism. Overall, being part of the LGBTQIA+ community should be beautiful and fun. The Queer Collective is a safe space for all queer students, including those who are closeted or questioning their identity. If you would like to join the Queer Collective, discuss an LGBTQIA+ issue or learn about the services available to you, please email me at queer@utsstudentsassociation.org.

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ACCESSIBILITY OFFICER

Cal McKinley Hi everyone! My name is Cal, I use they/them pronouns and I am a fifth-year Environmental Science student. I’m a multiply-disabled person with a physically disabling connective tissue disorder that I use mobility aids for, as well as being autistic, having ADHD and various mental illnesses. I study part-time due to my disabilities and know all too well how challenging university can be when you’re disabled. Being disabled at university can be isolating with your peers moving at a different pace, and it’s easy to feel like you have no one around you who understands what you’re going through. It is my wish to build the Disability Collective to be a place for all disabled students at UTS to come together and support each other, as I know many people feel the way I do about being disconnected as a disabled student. If you would like to get involved, email accessibility@ utsstudentsassociation.org, or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/utsdisabilities.

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CULTURAL DIVERSITY OFFICER

Suzy Monzer If you’re a student who identifies as Indigenous, a Person of Colour, or a marginalised group, you can find a safe space for support, discussion and activism through the Ethnocultural Collective. You can send Suzy an email at ethnocultural@utsstudentsassociation.org.

ENVIRONMENT OFFICER

Bailey Riley If you’re passionate about environmental causes, and are searching for a space to engage in activism, the Enviro Collective is the perfect place to rally alongside like-minded students. You can send Bailey an email at environment@ utsstudentsassociation.org.au.

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HOW TO SUBMIT

Vertigo is always on the lookout for pitches and submissions of creative writing, non-fiction, visual art, feature articles, news and reviews in the following sections:

FICTION

Short stories, poetry, flash fiction: we want it all!

NON-FICTION

We want non-fiction and creative non-fiction writing from all facets of life: essays, opinion pieces, memoirs and campus issues. Anything you’re interested in, we’re interested in too.

COLD-SUBMISSIONS

Have something you wrote a while ago? Or maybe an assignment that you’re quite proud of? Send in your completed piece to submissions@utsvertigo. com.au with a brief summary and what section you would like to be featured in!

PITCHES

Home to culture, music, fashion, arts and lifestyle. This section showcases individuals in their crea-tive elements. We’re looking to support and promote the creative scene of UTS and cover events near you.

Have an idea that you’re not quite sure how to finish? Send it over with the following: • Title • Summary of themes and content • Style and tone • How long you’d like the piece to be If you have any examples of previous work, please attach them to your email too!

OFFHAND

AMPLIFY

This weird and wonderful section features quizzes, games, playlists, satire and comics. Nothing is too quirky or weird!

SHOWCASE

Interested in presenting some visual art you’ve created? We’re always looking for standalone artworks, as well as visuals to feature alongside written pieces. We want to see any of your architecture, fashion, photography, typography or any other art-related works.

Email your work or ideas at submissions@ utsvertigo.com.au and one of our editors will be in touch! Remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for callouts! For other inquiries, please contact us at editorial@utsvertigo.com.au

SOCIAL MEDIA @utsvertigo @utsvertigo

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STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

BTS with UTS: SRC Reps meet with the University by Anna Thieben and Sabrine Yassine Representatives of your Students’ Association meet with Shirley Alexander, your Deputy-Vice Chancellor of Education, every month to convey the concerns of students to the university. On the 11th of February, the UTS Students’ Association (‘UTSSA’) President Anna Thieben and General Secretary Sabrine Yassine attended this meeting to discuss students’ priorities and understand the current and future position of the University about key UTSSA objectives.

What was on the agenda? • • • • • • • •

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Introduction — Update on the COVID-19 response and return to campus Removal of in-person tutorials and lectures due to COVID-19 Zoom captioning SSAF funding Bluebird Brekkie and Night Owl Noodle On-campus space expansion Climate Rally General business

Removal of in-person tutorials and lectures due to COVID-19

A good starting point and area of contention is returning to campus following a primarily online learning space. This revolves around the lack of in-person tutorial options and the complete removal of in-person lectures, without any vision to bring them back to campus, but instead opt for bite-sized videos for students to watch with more online interactive content.

It would be remiss not to note that the Students’ Association values the accessibility of online course material, especially for students overseas. Accessibility has always been at the forefront of the UTSSA’s purpose; however, students should have a choice over their preferred mode of delivery.

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

A running theme of student feedback to the UTSSA has been the desire for varied teaching methods, including in-person classes. This is predominantly due to the lack of in-person interactions in the recent pandemic-riddled years, as well as inperson lectures giving students the opportunity to connect with their lecturers, ask questions, and form relationships. This did not align with the university’s current long-term plans never to reinstate in-person lectures. The Association and its representatives will continue to ensure that student interests are kept front of mind for long-term university teaching plans.

Zoom captioning

The discussion then turned towards the availability of Zoom captions, a feature that the association has been working towards establishing since the beginning of the pandemic. After various deliberations, the university has begun its trial stages by rolling out the Verbit captioning engine on Zoom for students currently registered with accessibility. If the program is found to be successful for students and proven to be an effective tool at this trial stage, it will be implemented university-wide. This feature will make lectures, tutorials, group work, and meetings accessible to all students — as they always should.

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SSAF funding agreement

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Under current SSAF legislation, the Students’ Association is funded by a portion of your SSAF fees. These fees do not go directly to your Student Union but rather to the university first, who then distribute your SSAF to several areas, including Activate clubs, the UTS radio station, child care centres, and careers resources. This year, our student union is working hard to help students understand what SSAF is and where these funds are going. In working towards complete transparency, the Students’ Association requested a detailed breakdown of how our SSAF is allocated among university services. Before the pandemic, the Association was run by three-year funding agreements, with our funding steadily increasing as we offered more and more services. However, since 2020, the UTSSA has had to bargain annually for a portion of SSAF each calendar year, which has decreased by 20%. This makes continuity difficult for each in-coming council and creates uncertainty and insecurity, wherein long-term planning remains challenging. Without knowing the amount the Association has to spend, it can be difficult to allocate costs and run our key services such as Bluebird Brekkie. A significant objective of the representatives is to continue to seek out a long-term, increased funding agreement for the UTSSA. This will allow us to be the most effective and efficient body possible and run our services to their full potential to ensure the greatest benefit for students.

Bluebird Brekkie and Night Owl Noodle — On campus space expansion

The UTSSA’s most popular feature remains our free food services: Bluebird Brekkie and Night Owl Noodle. However, with cuts in funding and lack of certainty due to the pandemic, it has been challenging to run consistently. During the height of COVID-19, the Association offered “take-away” breakfast bags. With a slow return to campus in 2021, the service resumed, only to dissolve once again as we entered another lockdown.

With a hopefully complete return to campus, the service is beginning to ramp up to total capacity. However, a challenge remains with the management of spaces as the service does not have a permanent location. More permanent space allows for greater security as permanent staff can be hired, and the area can be opened for longer hours with less set-up and pack-up required. This sparked discussion about the potential spaces available for use and ways to prioritise the most effective carrying out of this service. Note: After this meeting, the Students’ Association representatives followed up the request and an inventory called the “Cube” was secured as a permanent space for BlueBird Brekkie. The challenge of funding for this service remains.

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Climate Rally In a win for student climate activists, the university has agreed to endorse the March 25th Climate Strike. Last year and in 2019, students petitioned for weeks to achieve this, so we stand on the shoulders of giants when we approach the university with this application. University endorsement is not required but rather a favourable outcome to encourage students and staff to attend. However, the university’s ties with known fossil fuels companies should be noted as we work towards complete divestment within UTS’s investments.

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

So, there you have it! Hopefully, this sheds some light on what actually gets discussed when your elected student representatives speak with the university on behalf of students. We can only achieve these goals through continued student support and the force of student voices behind our campaigns, so keep an eye on our Facebook @UTSStudentsAssociation to view our latest campaigns, services, and initiatives! If there is an idea/issue or campaign that you think should be brought to the attention of the university, please contact us at students.association@uts.edu.au as we strive to put student voices at the forefront of UTS. Thanks! Your student reps, Anna and Sabrine

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ANNA THIEBEN

CHARLIE MCLEAN

Anna is a third-year Environmental Science student. She is the current President of the UTSSA for 2022. Find her on Facebook @AnnaThieben.

Charlie is a third-year Journalism and Media Arts & Production student. He can play the guitar. You can find him on Twitter @charliemclean23 and Instagram @charlieamclean.

CLAIRE MATTHEWS ALLEGRA THADEA Allegra is a second-year Visual Communication student. She has 20+ cats. You can find her @allegrathadea & @fexofenadinee.

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ANDELAIN JOY Andelain is a final-year Law and Social & Political Science student. She inherited her love for reading and writing from her mother, who loved books so much she named Andelain after a utopian world from the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. You can find her on Instagram @andelainjoy.

ANGELINA CHAHINE Angelina is a second-year Media Arts student. Her work has been displayed at the Art Gallery of NSW, and she won a photography competition partnered with Australian artist and photographer Pat Brassington. You can find her on Instagram @angel1na.ch.

ASHLEY SULLIVAN Ashley is a third-year Journalism and Law student. She spends way too much time on Pinterest and gives unsolicited film recommendations every chance she gets. You can find her on Instagram @ashleys.xo.

CLARA ATKIN Clara is a third-year Digital & Social Media and Creative Intelligence & Innovation student. She loves painting her nails and laughing. You can find her @claraatkin.

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Claire is a third-year Law and Social & Political Science student. She enjoys scuba diving and canyoning on a sunny weekend.

ELODIE JAKES Elodie is a second-year student majoring in Media Arts Production and Journalism. More accurately, she is majoring in unemployment. You can find her on Instagram @elodie.jakes.

JACQUELINE ADAMS Jacqueline is a Visual Communications Honours student. Other than graphic design, she’s right into photography, music, and, shockingly, films. She once managed to squeeze 75 movie theatre trips into a year. She’s unsure whether that’s a flex or an admission. You can find her on Instagram @jacquislostnegatives.

JOEY CHALITA Joey is a third-year Journalism and Law student. When his head gets filled with too much course work, you can find him walking hour-long distances in an attempt to use exercise as a healthy excuse at procrastination. You can find him at @joey_chalita.

JOSEPH HATHAWAY-WILSON Joseph is a second-year Journalism, Writing & Publishing, and Creative Intelligence & Innovation student. He had a dream last night that he turned into a cyclops. You can find him on Instagram @joehwilson.

JOSHUA WOLTERDING Joshua is a second-year Business student. He also hosts murder mystery games. You can find him on Instagram @Joshuawolterding.

KATIE KELLY

SAI MUTHUKUMAR

Katie is a second-year student studying Writing & Publishing with a Masters of Teaching in Secondary Education and a Diploma of Language in Italian. She is a big fan of photography and can develop her own film in the darkroom. You can find her @1ightleak.

Sai is a second-year Law student. His favourite song is ‘Havana’ by Camila Cabello.

MADHUMITA BANDYOPADHYAY Madhumita graduated in 2020 with a Masters in Finance. She loves painting landscapes and cartooning. You can find her on LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhumitabandyopadhyay-89a229106.

MAYDAYWENZ TUN

MINDULI WITHANA Minduli is a third-year Pre-medicine student. When she’s not geeking out over all things neuroscience, she loves jamming to Japanese rock on the daily. Unfortunately for her friends, she is not a master of singing or Japanese. You can find her on Instagram @sprinkles.of.rainbow.

PIPPI CULLINAN Pippi is a second-year Creative Writing and Creative Intelligence & Innovation student. As well as writing stories, she loves to write music for her band Zink, who she’s been writing and performing with since high school.

SABRINE YASSINE Sabrine is a third-year Business and Law student. She is obsessed with the dark academia aesthetic and old books, even though she never actually gets around to reading them. You can find her on Facebook @SabrineYassine.

Siena is a second-year Visual Communications student. She wastes all her money on ‘70s glassware. You can find her on Instagram @sienazadro and @zadroscreations.

SHANELLE GEORGE Shanelle is a third-year Law and Creative Intelligence & Innovation student. She has an unhealthy addiction to thrifting and loves to design pieces from second hand clothing! You can find her on Instagram @shanelle_george and @theclutterspace.

SHEA DONOHOE Shea is a third-year Media Arts & Production and Social & Political Science student. You can find her on Instagram @ sheadonohoe and @sheadonohoe.part2.

ENDING

Maydaywenz is a third-year Business and Creative Intelligence & Innovation student. Shrek 2 is her most watched movie. You can find her on Instagram @maydaywenz.

SIENA ZADRO

SUHAYLA SHARIF Suhayla is a second-year Journalism and Creative Intelligence & Innovation student. Alongside English, Fiji-Hindi, and Hindi, she can also speak French and hopes to one day visit France. You can find her on Instagram @suhayla_zahira.

TIMOTHY CHAN Timothy is a fifth-year Journalism and International Studies student. Taylor Swift is his favourite singer and songwriter. You can find him on Instagram @timchanofficial.

YVONNE HONG Yvonne is a second-year Journalism and International Studies (Italian) student. In her spare time, she loves to watch Youtube video essays on fashion in pop culture [shoutout to Mina Le and ModernGurlz]. You can find her on Instagram @seohbn or on Spotify @yvonnehng.

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Bliss Callout

SONDER CALL OUT

From being an observer to a participant, we're flipping Sonder on its head for our next volume of Vertigo, 'Bliss'. We want you to help us And for our next magazine, we present to you create the most thrilling magazine yet. Let’s talk about the things that …. Sonder. make you feel excited. The big and small pleasures in life that we just don’t discuss. The moments that make you feel most alive.

Think Conan Gray’s “People Watching”. Feel the Wheretriumphs, in this worldsufferings do you find yourself in a state ofof BLISS? and memories others. Look at the revolving world around you with its This year, we want UTS openand up and feelbad. things. Sharethe what you surprises; the to good the Hear conhave never thought to share before, the ideas you wouldn’t expect versations of others in cafés and in the trains. to see in a university magazine. Write about the topics we SHOULD Absorb the world around you, and once that’s be discussing, no matter how “taboo”. Create art that transgresses done,Capture make images something fromstay everything and send boundaries. that usually covert. it into our submission box. This year, we are talking about sexuality, consent, sex, relationships, guilty We pleasures, and so much more. This Sonder. year, we are sharing our bliss. will see you soon with Indulge us.

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April 2022

Volume 02: SONDER Postcards from the Past by Katie Kelly

Demons and Designs with Steven Rhodes by Ashley Sullivan

The Casual Vagrancy by Joey Chalita & Joseph Hathaway-Wilson

The University of Technology Sydney, Building One, 15 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007

Cover Design Sophia Ramos

2022

UTS Vertigo

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Volume 2: Sonder

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Volume 2: Sonder