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VERTIGO
FEVER FEVER FEVER FEVER
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 in 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’S PUBLICATION Vertigo is published by the UTS Students’ Association (UTSSA), and proudly printed by SOS Printing, Alexandria and Pinch Press, at The Rizzeria. The contents of Vertigo do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors, printers, or the UTSSA. Vertigo and its entire contents are protected by copyright. Vertigo will retain the right to republish in any format. Contributors retain all other rights for resale and republication. No material may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the copyright holders.
CONTENT WARNING Some articles may contain themes of blood, body horror, body dismemberment, death, dissociation, drugs, sex, shooting, and stabbing. If you or someone you know is struggling with drug use, please consider speaking to your local GP, a healthcare professional, or calling one of the numbers below. Family Drug Support Australia—1300 368 168 Lifeline—13 11 14
UTS STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION NOTICE OF STUDENT ELECTION To be held on all campuses from Tuesday 1 October to Thursday 3 October 2019 Nominations OPEN on Wednesday 14 August 2019 and CLOSE at 2:00pm Tuesday 3 September 2019 for the following positions President Secretary Treasurer Postgraduate Officer to be elected by and from postgraduate students Women's Officer to be elected by and from women students Overseas Students' Officer to be elected by and from students who hold an Overseas Student Visa Australian Indigenous Officer to be elected by and from Australian Indigenous Students of UTS 10 Student Representative Councillors 7 delegates to the National Union of Students Vertigo Editorial Team BROADWAY CAMPUS To be elected by and from students whose primary place of study is Broadway Campus: Convenor, Secretary and 10 Campus Committee Members Women's Officer elected by and from women students whose primary place of study is Broadway Campus MARKETS CAMPUS To be elected by and from students whose primary place of study is Markets Campus: Convenor, Secretary and 10 Campus Committee Members Women's Officer elected by and from women students whose primary place of study is Markets Campus Nominations must be submitted on the prescribed form which may be obtained from the Students' Association office at Broadway. (Ph. 02 9514 1155) or from the Returning Officer. Candidates statements and photographs (to be published in Vertigo) must be submitted with the nomination forms and in soft copy form by the close of nominations. NOMINATIONS CLOSE AT 2:00PM TUESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2019 NOMINATIONS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS TIME Nominations may be received at the Association Office on each campus on Tuesday 3 September from 12 Noon to 2pm, OR may be emailed to the Returning Officer no later than 2pm Tuesday 3 September 2019. POSTAL VOTE APPLICATIONS stating name, student number, mailing address and reason for requiring a postal vote must be received by the Returning Officer before 2.00 pm Tuesday 3 September 2019 EMPLOYMENT AS A POLLING CLERK is open to students of UTS who are independent of the electoral process. Applications received before 5pm 10th September 2019 will be given priority. Application forms are available from the UTS Students’ Association Office Level 3 Tower Building, Broadway. Philip Binns Returning Officer 0432218026 Email: returning.officer@ozemail.com.au
FUELLED BY PASSION AND DISSATISFIED WITHOUT PROGRESS, UNREST FORGES YOUR EVERY STEP. THIS FEVER IS BODILY AND CEREBRAL UNREST. YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDST OF A DREAM SO TANGIBLE YOU AWAKEN WITH TEARS OF SWEAT. HEIGHTENED SENSES AND ALTERED PERCEPTIONS. A MOMENT IN FRICTION, A VIVID JOURNEY-THIS IS THE DELIRIUM OF FEVER. SECONDS OF FRENZY TO FIND YOURSELF IN A TRANCE, A COLD SENSATION THROUGH AND THROUGH. QUIVERING, HOT, LIVELY. THIS IS INFECTIOUS. VOLUME FOUR IS ABOUT FEVER. FROM ADRENALINE AND POWER, TO THE REVERSAL OF A HIGH, ON CLOUD NINE OR STATIC AS IT BREAKS, FEVER SUSPENDS OUR SENSE OF TIME. YOUR CONVICTIONS AND SUSPICIONS, YOUR THOUGHTS ON ISSUES OF CONTENTION, YOUR PAIN, PLEASURE, YOUR SENSORY EXPERIENCES. VOLUME FOUR IS STAINED WITH PSYCHEDELIA.
NON-FICTION 23. In Defence of Empathy by Elizabeth Green 26. The Orgasm Gap by Susie Newton
AMPLIFY 08. Mixtape by Pascale Radford 36. In Conversation With Livia Lima by Sharen Samson SHOWCASE 09. Synthesis by Rachel Tse 18. Eruption by Rachel Percival OFFHAND 42. Meet Ms. Jax by Delayne Sternbeck-Rutter 44. BDSM 101: Glossary of Terms by Delayne Rutter 46. Horoscopes by Jenny Cao 48. Fever Maze 50. Contributors 51. How to Submit to Vertigo 52. Students’ Association Reports
BONUS 60. Bodega Collective by Rhece Anthony Roberts & Jesse Vega 66. Ambient Grin by Jack Cameron Stanton 67. The Daydreamer by Alice Ballhausen 75. Synesthesia by Fleur Connick
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FICTION 15. [Un]Holy by Sam Dover 16. Where Do You Go At Night? by Ilina Gjurovska
CONTE S-
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EDITORS’ LETTER EDITORS
Lily Cameron Elizabeth Green Susie Newton Sharen Samson Georgia Wilde CREATIVE DIRECTORS Ady Neshoda Marissa Vafakos
All sense of time is lost in FEVER. A moment so dense your focus is fixed, your mind refuses to stray. A kaleidoscopic revolution, change is here, waiting for no one. It’s 2 a.m. and your moment of consciousness falls into hours in the blink of an eye—a daze. We urged contributors to seek the delirium of FEVER. From convictions we plan to die with, to suspicions in our subconsciousness, Volume Four is a whirlpool of fire and gut. Whether it be on a high or a slippery comedown, this volume traverses through dimensions intangible: the reason you love, the energy to create, the delirium of power—this issue will saturate.
These pages hold energy tied from 16 contributors. Don’t hesitate to submerge yourself in their intuition, likely to challenge and propel what you think you know. FEVER is a call to take earnest strides in rain, hail or shine. It is a vigorous shove into a journey you don’t think you are ready for—the embodiment of descent into the deep. FEVER holds Synesthesia, an enigma that impresses upon every sense, a suite of poetry by Fleur Connick. The spirit of passion is alive in Bodega Collective, their heat captured by Rhece Anthony Roberts and Jesse Vega. Ilina Gjurovska takes us into the haziness of falling in The Darkness, the easel for dreams in Where Do You Go At Night? Whilst Alice Ballhausen takes us through the stages of a daydream in her visual showcase. Wide awake, Susie Newton explores sex and the rush to your system in her analysis of the orgasm gap. Take each word with weight. We want this volume to affect your pulse, raise hairs on your skin, and shake your psyche. Find yourself in the fire and lose control in the heat. Deep breaths. Inhale, and exhale. Once more, before you dive in. This is FEVER. Love, Vertigo xx
06.
AD
PASCALE RADFORD
FEVER PLAYLIST
WE MADE YOU A MIXTAPE
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08.
RACHEL TSE
‘SYNTHESIS’
RACHEL TSE
RACHEL TSE
10.
RACHEL TSE ‘SYNTHESIS’
’ S I S E H T ‘SYN E S T L E H C A R BY S E R O L P EX N O I T A M A G L A AM S M R O F OF E N O D L I U TO B . Y D O B D E T C E CONN
12.
RACHEL TSE
‘SYNTHESIS’
14.
SAM DOVER
[ UN] Day breaks through Parisian curtains, Freckles and scars illuminated along The creases of your form Rising, falling, plunging Through the incense [holy!] atmosfears The leather gloves, silent gasp, Nails tearing down my back Rip me awake and I dare not blink I can’t bring myself to distractions, I want to be consumed by those parted Lips all bloody rouge with shiraz, Limp skin sliding off Like those paper-barked voyeurs Peeking through the panes Stained with the fog of next morning, That film-grain same rotisserie sunrise, You tried your best To talk me out of it again Rolling over then, You checked your phone Something strange was in the air. Notre Dame is burning.
HOLY
CW: BODY HORROR, DISSOCIATION
WHERE DO YOU GO AT NIGHT? A kaleidoscope of colours and shapes, you scroll absentmindedly through your phone, doing everything to fight sleep. You can’t go there. Not again. Not tonight. You think maybe, just maybe, things will begin to make sense but you know they never will. You continue scrolling, making your own flipbook animation of the posts on the screen until your eyes grow weary. You’re tired, your bed too soft and your covers too warm. You close your eyes for a few minutes, testing the waters, but the darkness is threatening. You immediately open them up again. You tell yourself you’re being ridiculous. It’s not real. The dreams are not real. They are just a menacing parallel to your existence. You put your phone on charge and roll over onto your back. You lie in The Darkness—an easel for the dream canvas. You’ve been having nightmares for the past two months, transported to different universes where your reality is threatened. Here, you recognise some faces and places but mainly it is all new to you and only one thing is for certain: you are always the victim. Everything is possible, except your escape. There is no winning. You only win when you wake up. And even then, victory only lasts for as long as you’re awake. Yet, when you close your eyes and enter another depth of The Darkness, the possibilities of this velvet nothingness charm you. They manipulate you into a feeling of security until you completely surrender.
Don’t resist. That is when the images begin to drip into focus like honey—thick and slow. You’re in a city you’ve never been to before, not dissimilar to Sydney if it were to be seen through an apocalyptic lens. Tall buildings prod the overcast sky, clouds sagging like melted marshmallows over the top of skyscrapers. The entire city is constructed on a slope with no visible end to its ascent or descent, creating the illusion of a permanent middle ground; scaffolding envelopes every building, sawdust hangs in the sticky air giving it an orange hue. With a heavy backpack, you begin to walk up to the nearest tram stop. Everything is still. And hot. You seem to be the only person around. It doesn’t take long for your forehead to develop a thin sheen of sweat. You continue walking uphill, thighs burning. The sawdust coagulates with the saliva in the back of your throat.
That’ll be the least of your worries. There is a sense of looming danger, but you have to go on. Uncontrollably coughing, you will your legs to move. You can see the tram in the distance. The limited air entering your lungs should get you there, where you can seek refuge in what you’re hoping is an enclosed carriage. Nevertheless, you have no choice but to stop. Suffocating and exhausted, you bend over and dry retch, balancing yourself
16.
ILINA GJUROVSKA
with one arm on a wall and the other on your knee. The pressure with which you are pressing into your kneecap displaces it from its position on your leg. It falls off with such ease—like a buckle being released. The bone hangs beside your shin in a bag of skin. With watering eyes, the image before you moves—but that’s not the only reason why it does. Wriggling where your kneecap used to be is a whole colony of maggots. They crawl between muscle and bone, making their way to the surface of your skin where they spread up your thigh and down your shin. You scream but make no sound. Faint from shock, you stumble backwards like a drunkard. This gives your backpack enough momentum to destabilise your centre of gravity and pull you back downhill.
Better luck next time. You’re falling now. Down, down, down. Legs and arms suspended before you—an upsidedown table. Droplets of sweat levitate from your body like bubbles, completely serene. You fall and fall for what seems like forever until your body slams against solid ground. You’re jolted awake, but not in a position you might expect. You’re in a chair, at a desk, in one piece. Observing your minimal surroundings you quickly come to the conclusion that you’re in an elevator— although without the buttons that you would expect it to have. You can’t go up, nor down. You don’t know what time it is, let alone where you are.
How do you escape?
As you get up from your chair, you trip and slam your head into one of the walls. Head ringing, you raise your hand to rub your forehead, but instead of bone your fingers come into contact with what can only be described as the texture of cold, peeled, boiled eggs, or wet macaroni. In actuality, it is neither. You’re touching your brain. Instinctively your hands retreat, but your curiosity brings them back to the naked space in your cranium. Mechanically you begin to unravel your brain like a ball of yarn, letting the pieces drape around your neck. You don’t think about it, just continue to do it, under unexplained hypnosis. What happens next snaps awareness back into your body. The noodles of your brain begin to move, slowly but with lethal intentions. They wrap themselves around the length of your body and your neck. You watch in the reflection of the wall as they bring you to the floor. Your body, now wrung of air and moisture, starts to decompose. You spit your teeth onto the ground and that is the last thing you see. You wake up in your bed, unmoved from the position where you fell asleep. Relief floods your body. You’re finally back to reality. Or are you? Thirsty for a glass of water you try and get yourself up but your body may as well be someone else’s, lying completely unregistered to your brain. You cannot move. These limbs are not your own. You are only in control of your mind and your eyes. You scan the space—everything seems to be just as you left it. The posters, the wardrobe, the plants by the window. You remember you need to water the plants.
18.
RACHEL PERCIVAL
‘ERUPTION’
20.
RACHEL PERCIVAL
‘ERUPTION’
22.
IN DEFENCE OF
ELIZABETH GREEN
EMPATHY In the wake of the NSW and Federal Election, the voices and hopes of young people seemed to be lost. We felt that those who were older had deemed themselves wiser, and turned their backs on our future—it’s easy to slip into political paralysis, to not want to continue on. Despite online warriors of justice declaring that only the battle was lost, not the war, it feels like action after action is a waste of time and energy. Apathy replaces anger. You may as well enjoy the final wasted days before paradise is paved. The world’s fucked anyway, we’ve got a few years left on the clock, so why not spend it rolling in capitalism’s spoils. Oh, that’s right. We don’t even get that now.
The crush of those two defeats for anyone who cares about the environment, or racial minorities, or those with a disability, or poor people, or queer people, or school kids, or universities, or your bus driver, or anyone who’s not a six-house-owning-negativelygearing-fuck-off-I-need-franking-credits-to-afford-weekly-holisticBikram-yoga type of person, is a fucking hard pill to swallow. This isn’t a pill that Australia alone is left to choke on. The rest of the world is screaming for the Heimlich. How can this happen? You ask. How can they not know that what they’re doing is wrong? You wail. You have every right to. The world has decided to wade into something uncomfortably sticky. The seemingly never ending type of stick that doesn’t come off in the wash. Populism, ethno-nationalism, far-right politics, and the alt-right (the scene kid of the political spectrum) are undeniably on the rise. We’re now stuck in a cycle of incredibly contested, high-stakes, people-might-die-if-these-guys-get-their-way style elections. Thinking, nah, no way we’d vote him in. We vote him in. We wail and despair and continue to to wonder why people celebrate the world burning down. But what is happening to us? Are we losing our empathy? Well, according to some experts, the answer is yes. Data from over 14,000 US College students analysed by the University of Michigan found that empathy levels were 40% lower in 2009 when compared
to 1979. Researchers pointed to excess media consumption as a possibility for this shift. In a world where we’re constantly pummelled into the ground with news of economic adversities, corrupt politicians, and people running around like a chicken that just got its head chopped off by a terrorist, it’s hard to admit that you aren’t exhausted. Compassion fatigue, a phenomenon that psychologist Charles Figley describes as, “a state of exhaustion and dysfunction, biologically, physiologically and emotionally, as a result of prolonged exposure to compassion stress.” Not only are we being told about the millions of people suffering at any given moment, we’ve got our own shit to deal with. The national youth unemployment rate is hovering at around 11%, more than double the national unemployment rate of around 5%. It’s hard to care about others all the time when you’re trying to study, get a job, and work to death. You can’t do anything to help, no one is listening. So, switch off your empathy and click on the telly, watch another episode of MAFS. You can always tune in to the suffering later.
IT’S HARD TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS ALL THE TIME WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO STUDY, GET A JOB, AND WORK TO DEATH. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO HELP, NO ONE IS LISTENING. SO, SWITCH OFF YOUR EMPATHY AND CLICK ON THE TELLY...
Pity the poor bloody buggers on the other side of the earth, country, or street. Pity yourself. You and me are the ones who’ve got to pick up the pieces. Despair not (well, not completely anyway) because despite feeling like the whole of Australia is conspiring against you, it’s only a part of Australia that is. Hard to swallow pill: your country is actually not completely a bigoted shithole, they mostly just didn’t want to pay more taxes. The rest of Australia isn’t as bad as you think it is. Queensland isn’t as bad as you think it is. Empathy goes both ways. People from all over the political spectrum are experiencing stagnating wages, the world burning up, and feeling like everything is going to shit. Bigotry needs to be stamped out, but the vast majority of people vote with their pocket, and don’t really care for a lecture about how they’re a shit person because they voted for a tax cut. Yes, Adani will be disastrous for the environment and coal should be phased out, but there are people who work in the coal industry, and have done so their whole lives. They’re going to fight to keep their jobs, no matter if kids in Newtown deem them to be the antichrist. Progressive politics has too long relied on ‘smart’, inner city, know-it-alls who despair at the uneducated masses who are ‘fucking up this country’. By pushing away those who have a different idea about things, or who simply don’t know, progressives are isolating themselves from people who would listen, if only they weren’t being screamed at. Australia is still capable of great and fair politics. We kicked Tony Abbott out, and that’s a start.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE VOTE WITH THEIR POCKET, AND DON’T REALLY CARE FOR A LECTURE ABOUT HOW THEY’RE A SHIT PERSON...
The late Bob Hawke, loved by those on both sides of the political spectrum, is quoted as saying: “Do you know why I have credibility? Because I don’t exude morality.” It is our empathy, not righteousness, that unites us, and allows us to make change for the better. You can be angry. Anger is important for change, and there are a lot of fucked up things in this world that need it. But don’t act like you’re better than someone else because they’re stuck in the wrong echo chamber. Now I know I sound like a motherfucker who just rocked up to a beach bonfire with no shoes and an acoustic guitar, ready to sing Kumbaya, or worse, Wonderwall. Maybe I am. But I don’t believe that Australia has gone to shit just yet.
PROGRESSIVE POLITICS HAS TOO LONG RELIED ON... KNOW-IT-ALLS
Disclaimer: I am a cis woman attracted to men. This analysis is focused more on a binary approach to sex, because that is where there are statistics right now. It is not intended to dismiss the experiences of non-binary people.
Do you remember learning what a clitoris was in your first sex education class? The only topics that were brushed over by my Year Five teacher were menstruation, body hair, and an uncomfortable mention of wet dreams. Sex education primarily focuses on the biological functions of sex, and how not to get pregnant. I never learnt that people have sex for pleasure—ironic because in reality, it’s pretty much the sole reason people my age bone. Without the acknowledgement of the potential for enjoyment, we are skimming past a whole conversation. Generally, this affects women more than it does men. Up until recently, the concept of women even masturbating was taboo, yet it has always been an accepted and almost celebrated practice for men. As a result, there is little understanding of women’s equal desires and capabilities to have an orgasm. This disparity is known as the ‘orgasm gap’. Statistically, men are three times more likely to have an orgasm than their female partners when engaging in heterosexual sex. It is not common knowledge that women are capable of, and want to have orgasms, just as much as men. In my experience, this affects both the man’s willingness and the woman’s confidence. When a man does not expect his partner to orgasm as much as he expects to himself, a woman becomes less confident in communicating her wants. Thus, the orgasm gap is widened. Dudes get hard and get off, because what is the point of it otherwise? The statistics aren’t as bad when it comes to homosexual sex, where everyone involved is having orgasms over 80% of the time. A lot of my peers and I weren’t
SUSIE NEWTON
CW: SEX
THE ORGASM taught about how homosexual people ‘Do It’ in sex education, which I believe has solidified the heterocentric dialogue around the purpose of sex. For those not engaging in heterosexual sex, the education we receive as kids completely ignores the experiences they will be having in the bedroom. People in this community are not having sex to reproduce, and so many of them were never taught that sex can purely be for pleasure. Often, the first time people are exposed to these concepts is in a more social context during high school—that’s how I figured out that most people have sex because it feels good. But these mismatched conversations from peers stumbling through their first sexual experiences often don’t represent the reality for women in the bedroom. They focus more on men ‘finishing too fast’ or women being ‘too frigid’ (which is a whole other conversation). A lack of simple education about female orgasms leads to a lack of conversation among young people having sex for the first time. This breeds a culture that denies women’s desires and potential to reach climax. Since I became sexually active, only 10% of the men I have slept with willingly attempted to give me an orgasm. The others either tried briefly before stating that it was ‘too hard’, or they simply didn’t acknowledge the possibility at all. However, the other 90% ALL expected to climax themselves. The idea that making a woman come is ‘too hard’ is a by-product of this lack of education. Believe it or not, it is actually possible if you take the time to ask what she likes, and make her feel like you want to help her have an orgasm. Without this safe space and communication, women end up feeling ignored and embarrassed, and avoid even asking in the first place. But the fact of the matter is, they should never have to ask. It should be an expected part of the process, just like it is with men.
26.
GAP
ADRIANE NESHODA
MARISSA VAFAKOS
28.
ADRIANE NESHODA
MARISSA VAFAKOS
30.
ADRIANE NESHODA
MARISSA VAFAKOS
32.
ADRIANE NESHODA
MARISSA VAFAKOS
34.
ADRIANE NESHODA
MARISSA VAFAKOS
SHAREN SAMSON LIVIA LIMA
IN CONVERSATION WITH LIVIA LIMA
CO-FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF PS SODA AND PS40 BAR, LIVIA LIMA, HOLDS A MASTER OF ARTS IN VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS AND TEACHES THIS AT OUR VERY OWN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY. THE PLAYFUL IN-HOUSE SODA FACTORY PS SODA PROVIDES CONCOCTIONS MORE ADVENTUROUS THAN YOUR CAN OF COKE, AND PS40 BAR SHOWCASES A CURATED SELECTION OF COCKTAILS FOR THE LATTER. LIVIA SPEAKS ON HER STUDIES, HER CREATIVE LENS, AND FOSTERING THE GROWTH OF HER STUDENTS.
I understand you have graduated from the Royal College of Art–what prompted the move to Sydney, and is the creative space here rather distinct from your practice in London and New York? I was working in New York during a cold, cold winter and encountering visa issues when my husband proposed: let’s leave everything, move to Sydney, live by the beach, and start a soda factory. It sounded mad but fun and a little Willy Wonka. I was in. My husband, Thor, would work from our kitchen developing flavours while I was working in a studio to get us by until we could open our venue. We have been working on this project for five years so far, and we were only ready to officially release the sodas a year and a half ago. Certainly an exercise in patience! I think my practice in Sydney is now a lot more balanced. Working in New York in particular, I lived to work and barely had any time for myself. It wasn’t healthy. I continued to work that way when I moved to Sydney. Paradoxically, opening our business (with time) we were able to achieve work-life balance. We have weekends off, we don’t work past five, I have time to teach. It is really quite wonderful. Through this experience I can say your practice is yours to design, despite your location. How have your studies in Visual Communications informed your work today? I am very fortunate to have an outlet for my creativity that is multi-disciplinary and challenging at times. I have to wear many hats at PS Soda and PS40. It was the first time I designed interiors, furniture, lighting, and ceramics. I design textiles for furniture, cushions and also developed prints with our cocktails that were turned into silk gowns, skirts, tops and t-shirts by Romance Was Born. It was interesting to see how I could apply my graphic background to these new mediums. I also do a lot of graphic design work including identity, packaging, menus, posters, signage, art direction, web design, social media content, photography, etc. I also have the opportunity to collaborate with photographers, set designers, 3D artists, and web developers.
THROUGH THIS EXPERIENCE I CAN SAY YOUR PRACTICE IS YOURS TO DESIGN, DESPITE YOUR LOCATION.
What is the heart of PS Soda and PS40 Bar? Is its execution closely aligned with your proposed idea, or has it transformed into something surprisingly different?
38.
I think our execution remains closely aligned to our proposed idea: to surprise and delight with new flavour combinations that challenge what soft drinks can be, and to create fun experiences. Our brand values remain the same: sustainability, innovation, surprise, work-life balance.
SHAREN SAMSON
LIVIA LIMA
EXPERIMENT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO FIND YOUR OWN CREATIVE VOICE.
SHAREN SAMSON
PS Soda has a strong focus on freshness. Has accessing native ingredients and fresh produce been challenging? What would you wish the key takeaway for your consumers to be?
LIVIA LIMA
Not at all. We love working with local producers and it is at the core of what we do. Australia is an amazing country with lots of exciting produce and flavours. We love experimenting and delivering them in new ways. Being local, natural, and with no preservatives is the basis of PS Sodas. They are all done by hand. We chop, cook, and carbonate. Our relationships with our suppliers are really important to us and so is working sustainably. For example, we recycle our PS Core Range bottles, relabel, and release them again as seasonal flavours and special editions. As a creative, there may be moments of endless inspiration and moments where you find yourself in a rut. How do you keep motivated, and keep the juices flowing? What strengthens your artistry? I think teaching is a big part of it, but also, I feel that with time, ideas come a lot more naturally. I don’t need to try so hard as I used to. Also, in our business we see our work as trial and error. The outcomes can always be improved. With special edition labels, for example, sometimes I love the label design before it goes to print and the moment I see it produced I wish I had done a few things differently. I simply just make those changes for the second release. We see our work, both flavours and design, as process and ever-evolving. We are always reiterating recipes and designs. It’s great that you work as a tutor at UTS. Does this mean it is especially important to mentor and facilitate younger creatives, and forge a space for growth? I absolutely love teaching. I find it so rewarding. Especially having worked for big corporate clients in the past, where my professional experience was starting to feel a little shallow. Teaching and working for my own business definitely changed that feeling. When I went to school, I put certain international designers and studios on pedestals and the goal of my career was to work for them and be taught by them. It sounds so silly and superficial to me today, but that is the truth and I know I wasn’t alone. The world is in desperate need of socially responsible creative thinkers and innovators and having a small part in facilitating this shift in thought is an absolute privilege. What is one thing you wish you could tell your younger creative self? What advice do you have for aspiring designers? I was so ambitions, serious, focused, and goal-driven. I think I would have told myself to just relax a little and enjoy the journey, but this was my experience and the path I had to go through to be at a place that I’m happy with today. In terms of advice, I think learning from the start how to set your boundaries is paramount: charging what you are worth, not working/ overworking without compensation, not working for clients (who) are not aligned with your values etc. Also, experiment as much as you can to find your own creative voice.
THE WORLD IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CREATIVE THINKERS AND INNOVATORS...
MEET MS. JAX CW: SEX (GRAPHIC)
42.
WOULD YOU CALL YOURSELF A MISTRESS? HAVE YOU EVER TRIED SOMETHING MORE LONG TERM AND IMMERSIVE? IF SO, WHAT DRAWS YOU TO IT? I would describe myself as a Mistress yes, or Domina, but the Mistress title is reserved for partners only. Parlour Domme— a term which I find very insulting—is a Dominatrix who doesn’t take the lifestyle of Mistress seriously. For me, it’s always there, an undercurrent, a look, a word or an action brings it bubbling to the top. It bubbles constantly but when you shake it, it erupts and can’t be contained. I’ve had long term female-led relationships, where I’ve lived with my submissive, although the 24/7 power exchange isn’t for me personally; I prefer a blend of kink and vanilla.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS ASSUMED A DOMINANT ROLE OR HAVE YOU EXPLORED A MORE SUBMISSIVE ROLE WITH PARTNERS? I was more switchy when I first started exploring. But although I have a small masochistic edge, I don’t have a submissive one—at all it turns out. So I’ve dipped a couple of toes, enough to have a perspective, and I think to gain a better understanding of submissive and masochistic partners’ mindset and body reactions.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MENTAL STATE YOU EXPERIENCE WHEN ENGAGED IN DOMINATING? It’s almost a vampiric connection, I feed off his arousal, which in turn arouses me. Any toys I might use become an extension of myself, there’s a combination of affection and desire. The control and adoration he hands me is almost addictive.
IS CONSIDERATION OF THE NEEDS OF YOUR PARTNER AND A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR JOURNEY IMPORTANT TO YOU? DO YOU THINK THIS IS TRUE OF MOST BDSM RELATIONSHIPS? It’s very important to me. I want them to be the best ‘them’ they can be for me, but for themselves too. I want them to know and feel safe with me, emotionally as well as physically so they can reach for whatever it is they need to feel whole. I think it’s true of most long-term BDSM relationships.
COULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MENTAL STATE BEFORE AND AFTER A SCENE? If all I require from them is, say, foot worship or oral service, I’ll be playful and feel mischievous. If they’ve earned a reward and request a caning for example, I’m more alert and aware, more focused and serious. Safe practice is very important to me and details matter, such as: are they sufficiently warmed up, do I have enough room to temper my swing, are they in a comfortable position if they’re to remain still, can I aim correctly etc. Afterwards, with me, almost all scenes lead to intercourse of some kind, as I only ‘play’ within my relationships. There’s the post-coital bliss: relaxed, happy, content.
DO YOU THINK THAT REFERENCES TO BDSM IN POPULAR CULTURE HAVE CREATED GREATER ACCEPTANCE OR DO YOU THINK THEY CONTAIN MISCONCEPTIONS? I think it’s brought hordes of wannabes, with a few things to tick off a bucket list, with a sense of entitlement that is just vulgar. They have no concept of what BDSM is.
WHY DO YOU THINK SUBMISSIVES, RATHER THAN DOMINANTS, EXPERIENCE STRESS RELIEF? WHAT DOES THE DOMINANT GAIN INSTEAD? For the submissives I’ve engaged with, it’s a chance to hand over the control [that] they have in their vanilla lives: stressful jobs, perhaps, where they’re always alert, or perhaps have rank. Armed services or police, medical personnel that hold others’ lives in their hands. With me, they only have to worry about pleasing me, nothing else matters to them while we are together, they get to just be no stress, no urgency, no facade to put on [sic]. They release every pent-up frustration, talk through any anxieties, and recharge their batteries with no judgement, no bad consequences. As their Mistress I get to see them thrive, get to see the real them that they hide from the world and sometimes themselves. The connection is so strong it’s like I get to glimpse their soul and liberate it, and that’s just so sexy to me.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PRACTICING BDSM? The biggest misconception is that it’s all about sex. It really isn’t. Another is it’s all about pain, but unless you’re a sadist or masochist, pain rarely comes to anything—we all have our own kinks or fetishes, in the same way people have different tastes when it comes to food or fashion, one size does not fit all. We’re a diverse group.
DELAYNE STERNBECK-RUTTER
MS. JAX IS A MISTRESS, A 53-YEAR-OLD MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER (WITH ALL THE WOBBLY BITS), LIVING IN THE UK. I REACHED OUT TO HER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORLD OF BDSM, THE REASON SHE PRACTICES, AND HER EXPERIENCE IN A WORLD BEFORE 50 SHADES OF GREY.
BDSM 101: GLOSS
BDSM BONDAGE AND DISCIPLINE, DOMINATION AND SUBMISSION, SADISM AND MASOCHISM [A PORTMANTEAU ACRONYM].
DOMINANT (DOM) A PERSON WHO IS DOMINANT IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY.
EXPERIENCING PAIN. SOMETIMES, MASOCHISM CAN COME FROM A PLACE OF DESIRING CATHARSIS. A NEED TO FEEL PAIN OR CRY IN ORDER TO LET GO OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND RETURN TO A STATE OF EMOTIONAL CALM.
SCENE A FANTASY THAT IS ‘ACTED’ OUT BY A DOMINANT AND SUBMISSIVE. SCENES ARE NEGOTIATED AND DEFINED BEFORE BEGINNING AND OFTEN INVOLVE PLAYING ON DIFFERENT PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES, SUCH AS FEAR, THAT A DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE MAY DERIVE PLEASURE FROM. THEY CAN BE EITHER SEXUAL OR NOT SEXUAL. MISTRESS A FEMALE IDENTIFYING DOMINANT. MASTER A MALE IDENTIFYING DOMINANT. 44.
PLAY SUBMISSIVE (SUB) REFERS TO DIFFERENT A PERSON WHO IS TYPES OF ACTIVITY SUBMISSIVE IN SEXUAL THAT MAY GO ON IN A ACTIVITY. SCENE. TYPES OF PLAY ARE DIVERSE AND SWITCH RANGE IN INTENSITY A PERSON WHO OR DARKNESS. THE CAN BE EITHER TYPE OF PLAY WILL DOMINANT OR GIVE DIFFERENT SUBMISSIVE. SENSATIONAL STIMULATION OR SADISM/SADIST INDUCE A DIFFERENT THE ACT OF MENTAL STATE. SOME INFLICTING PAIN/ INCLUDE KNIFEPLAY, SOMEONE WHO FIREPLAY, WAXPLAY, RECEIVES JOY FROM TEMPERATURE PLAY, INFLICTING PAIN. PEE PLAY, PETPLAY, OR ON THE MORE MASOCHISM/ SINISTER SIDE, MASOCHIST GENITAL TORTURE, THE ACT OF RECEIVING AGEPLAY AND DARK PAIN/ SOMEONE WHO AGEPLAY. THESE ENJOYS MORE SINISTER TYPES
OF PLAY MAY BE USED AS A DEVICE FOR PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH PAST TRAUMA, UNDERSTAND IT, AND MOVE PAST IT.
DOMINA
AN ALTERNATIVE TITLE FOR A FEMALE DOMINANT. LESS COMMON THAN MISTRESS.
DELAYNE STERNBECK-RUTTER
SARY OF TERMS A FETISH IS MORE THAT WILL INTENSE THAN A KINK IMMEDIATELY STOP A SCENE. GENERALLY AND IS HEAVILY TIED USED WHEN SOMETO A PSYCHOLOGICAL ONE BECOMES NEED FOR A SPECIFIC UNCOMFORTABLE, OBJECT OR ACT IN BOTH PHYSICALLY AND/ DOMINATRIX ORDER TO OR EMOTIONALLY. A FEMALE WHO EXPERIENCE BEHAVES IN A PLEASURE AND/OR BRAT DOMINANT MANNER. ORGASM. A SUBMISSIVE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT WILL PLAYFULLY ACT ENGAGE IN SEX WITH VANILLA OUT, BE DEFIANT, OR HER SUBMISSIVE. REFERS TO CHALLENGE THEIR AN ORDINARY, MORE DOMINANT IN A CHEEKY BOTTOM CONVENTIONAL, WAY SO THAT THEY THE PERSON WHO SOCIETALLY NEED TO BE ‘PUT IN IS HAVING THINGS ACCEPTED PRACTICE THEIR PLACE’. BRATTING DONE TO THEM, OF SEX. USUALLY INVOLVES RATHER THAN DOING PUNISHMENT. A BRAT’S THINGS TO SOMEONE. SUB SPACE DESIRE TO BE A BRAT CAN EXIST ACROSS A PSYCHOLOGICAL CAN COME FROM A A VARIETY OF SEXUAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL NATURALLY PLAYFUL ACTIVITIES AND STATE OF MIND NATURE OR FROM A GENDERS. ENTERED BY A SUBMISSIVE DURING MORE MASOCHISTIC PLAY OR A SCENE. PLACE WHERE THEY TOP DESIRE, OR TRY TO THE DOER. AFTERCARE PROVOKE A PERIOD OF TIME PUNISHMENT. KINK AFTER A SCENE WHERE A SEXUAL ACT, PEOPLE CALM DOWN SSC FANTASY OR INTEREST AND RETURN TO A SAFE, SANE, THAT FALLS OUTSIDE NORMAL STATE OF CONSENSUAL. MAINSTREAM SEXUAL MIND. ACTS AND RACK PREFERENCES. RISK AWARE SAFE WORD FETISH A WORD OR GESTURE CONSENSUAL KINK.
HOROSCOPES
ARIES Your quest to find someone who loves you for exactly who you are may come to an end this week as your schedule is once again jam packed with assignments, class, work and utter self-loathing. Try again once semester is over!
TAURUS This week feels like you’ve woken up from a fever dream where you’ve managed to forget to hand in all four of your assignments, realised you’ve slept through your alarm and are running an hour late to your shitty job that you absolutely loathe. That’s it. That’s the horoscope.
GEMINI Get rid of all the distractions in your house—I’m talking computer, phone, books, games, TV, tables, chairs, shoes, all your clothes, toiletries, skin care, that other book you’ve been hanging on to because ‘oh I might read that when I have time lol!’, antiques, furniture you’ve picked up on the side of the road...fuck—you have a lot of shit!
CANCER It’s always nice to feel young again, to reconnect with your inner child, to live and walk around like nothing matters and to just…be. But people are starting to get really weirded out by you infantilising yourself and responding to questions with either ‘me likey’ or ‘me no likey’.
LEO It’s been a bad start to what looks like a really long week. Like a really, really long and exhausting week. From my calculations, the length of your average day is 1,407 hours so your average week is made up of 9,849 hours. After a blitzed night you’ve caught the N30 from Town Hall and somehow managed to land on Mercury.
VIRGO Sometimes it’s hard not to feel like you’re a fraud who is lying to your peers. You wish you could come clean, to let people know who you really are…what you really are. In a world full of hate and cynicism, who would ever believe that you, a humble small rat, could ever cook.
46.
As you face major obstacles this week you must find it within yourself to access the strength and fire you’ve been burning inside all along. You feel it in your chest constantly—it’s a sharp burning sensation just behind your breastbone that usually pipes up after eating, and can last for a few minutes to a few hours. You might have to add heartburn to your list of obstacles this week.
After a series of unfortunate events, it looks like things are finally looking up for you this week. You open your inbox and check your phone to find three emails and two follow up text messages from the Talent Community at Grill’d who are finally replying to your job application you submitted in 2015. It’s not all bad!
They say time heals all wounds, but I’m not sure putting all your clocks and watches into a slow-cooker Jamie Oliver style to turn it into a hot stew is going to make your fever cool down. You’re missing some key ingredients and it’s most likely lacking flavour, so make sure you add some herbs and spices!
SAGITTARIUS Your love life is hanging by a thread, and you and your partner have been at each others’ throats for some time now. Your family hates you and your friends are too busy to spend time with you. The world is on fire and climate change is real and happening and nothing is being done. You’ve also stubbed your toe this morning. Ah, another day under the Liberal government.
AQUARIUS If you find yourself in an argument that is getting heated, it’s best just to take a break and walk away. Walk right to the door and exit the premises. Cross the road, get on a bus, get the keys from your bag, open your door and start packing. Book a flight to a random European country and start a new life.
PISCES Now, there’s a rumour going around that Pisces are: highly emotional, impressionable, emotional, extremely empathetic, understanding, people who cry a lot. Pisces also love people who are: bad for you, emotional, emotionally unavailable, and uh emotional.
HOROSCOPES
CAPRICORN
SCORPIO
JENNY CAO
LIBRA
CAN YOU MAKE IT THROUGH START
FINISH
IT THROUGH
CAN YOU MAKE
E IT THROUGH? CAN YOU MAK START
FINISH
CAN YOU MAK
E IT THROUGH?
VOLUME FOUR: ALICE BALLHAUSEN – Alice is a Visual Communications student at UTS living and designing by ‘what doesn’t challenge you doesn’t change you.’ JENNY CAO – About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Jenny Cao was a vampire. Second, there was part of her—and I didn’t know how potent that part might be—that thirsted for my horoscope. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her. She is such a good writer and vampire. FLEUR CONNICK – Fleur is a third year student at UTS doing a double degree in Communications (majoring in Creative Writing and Journalism) and International Studies. Expressing her thoughts and ideas through her writing and art has always been very important to Fleur and a huge part of her life. SAM DOVER – Sam is an aspiring writer who honestly writes more poetry than he reads (sorry Rimbaud, one day) and is currently floundering his way through UTS Journalism. He dreams of being the strange love child of Louis Theroux and Sufjan Stevens, complete with awkward, bespectacled charisma and sad, acoustic balladry. ILINA GJUROVSKA – In her fifth and final (thank god) year of Communications and International Studies, Ilina’s laugh can say more about her than words. Loves a good boogie and conspiracy theory (although not necessarily together). Find her work @wordsbyilina. ELIZABETH GREEN – Elizabeth is a Journalism student who dreams of the day her stomach doesn’t turn when calling strangers for an interview. When not writing, she’s either down a conspiracy rabbit hole or feeding her sushi addiction. LIVIA LIMA – Livia is a Sydney-based designer and educator. She is the co-founder and creative director of PS Soda and PS40 Bar, teaches Visual Communications at UTS, and works independently with clients. Her work encompasses the disciplines of graphic design and branding, art direction, textiles, interiors, signage and design research.
SUSIE NEWTON – Susie is a UTS student who eats McDonald’s too often. RACHEL PERCIVAL – Rachel likes photography, design and food. Her life is a rotation of these, but mostly just eating out. Check out her work @byrachelpercival. PASCALE RADFORD – Pascale is a Biotech/Business major who adores anything caffeinated. She obsesses over mushrooms, a good french tuck, and will definitely tell you what YouTube vid she watched last night. RHECE ANTHONY ROBERTS – Rhece is a Journalism student all about writing and music. He’s happiest when the two come together. SHAREN SAMSON – Sharen is a Journalism and Law student who probably has her AirPods in right now. JACK CAMERON STANTON – Jack is a writer and critic based in Newtown, Sydney. His work has appeared in The Australian, Sydney Review of Books, Southerly, Mascara Literary Review, and Neighbourhood Paper, among others.
DELAYNE STERNBECK-RUTTER – Delayne is a curious designer interested in all things peculiar and fantastical. She enjoys getting to the bottom of why people and things behave in the ways they do. RACHEL TSE – Rachel is a photographer and graphic designer in her last year of studying in Visual Communications. She enjoys knitting and eating blueberry bagels. JESSE VEGA – Jesse is a first year Photomedia Design student. He enjoys graphic design and making visual material. When he is off-screen, you’ll most likely find him on Gumtree.
CONTRIBUTORS
HOW TO SUBMIT TO VERTIGO Vertigo is always on the lookout for pitches and submissions of creative fiction and non-fiction writing, visual art, think pieces, feature articles, news, and everything in between. Our sections leave you space to expand. Do you have something that doesn’t fit into a particular mould? We want to see it.
FICTION
Short stories, poetry, flash fiction: everything we know and love about creative writing, or something we don’t know that will surprise us. NON FICTION We want non-fiction and creative nonfiction writing from all facets of life. Anything you’re interested in, we’re interested in too.
PITCHES
Have an idea for a piece that isn’t complete? Briefly answer the following questions: • What is the working title for your piece? • What do you want to write about? • How do you want to write it—what is the structure, tone, or style? • How long is your piece going to be? If you have any examples of previous works please attach them to your email.
AMPLIFY
COLD SUBMISSIONS
Youth culture, music, fashion, arts and lifestyle—this is Amplify’s bread and butter. Ranging from prolific to up-andcoming, this section will showcase individuals in their creative element through authentic conversation. We are looking to support and promote the creative scene of UTS and cover events near you.
Already have a completed piece in mind to submit? Send your work to submissions@utsvertigo.com.au with a brief summary of its content and which section you’d like to see it in. Ideally, you could also briefly describe how your work relates to our next theme.
SHOWCASE
Send your pitches, submissions, and nominations to submissions@utsvertigo.com.au and one of our friendly editors will get in touch with you shortly. Check out facebook.com/utsvertigo for the most recent callouts, or just send us a message to say hello.
This section is dispursed throughout the magazine, showcasing any design-related bodies of work including (but not limited to) fashion, animation, architecture, product, photography, and typography.
HOW TO CONTACT US
OFFHAND SOCIAL MEDIA Offhand is home to all the weird and wonderful things that don’t quite fit inside the box. We want your quizzes, games, playlists, satire and comics to fill the back pages of our mag, nothing is too quirky or weird!
utsvertigo.com.au facebook.com/utsvertigo instagram.com/utsvertigo twitter.com/vertigomagazine
STUDENTS’ ASSOC Mehmet Musa
Emily Watt
PRESIDENT
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Much of my focus has been on the Constitutional Change process that the UTS Students’ Association (UTSSA) has been undertaking for many years now but I hope for it to be finalised in my term and be dragged out further. Once the SRC votes to approve all legal amendments, we will need to hold a Campus Resolution whereby 100 students will need to vote on the new Constitution to make it binding on the UTSSA. The draft Constitution will be available for students to peruse before being voted on.
It’s been a busy month for many of us, particularly for those now preparing and finishing up with final assignments and exams. Congratulations to everyone in making it through another semester. I encourage you to use whatever time you have to recover and recharge as we prepare for the next one.
Furthermore, the UTSSA is hosting NUS Education Conference. This conference is one where students from across Australia come along to debate issues surrounding student welfare and education. This conference will take place on 1-4 July 2019. The research undertaken by the UTSSA by EY Sweeney is going steadily. We hope to use the information provided by students in questionnaires and interviews to inform ourselves about what to invest our resources in, ensuring it is what students need and want. More information will be available at the conclusion of the research, but it does provide us with direction and will be useful not just this year but in the years to come.
I applaud all those who continue to stay engaged with the UTSSA and contribute to the positive work it does, including the hugely successful Night Owl Noodles and Blue Bird Brekkie Bar. I’ve been encouraged to see people get involved take effective steps towards reaching out into our UTS community, especially those within the collectives who’ve been holding numerous events to engage with and support students. I encourage everyone to get as involved as they can to support these collectives, whether it be international, the welfare, wom*ns, the queer, enviro, and all others, so we can effectively reach out and help everyone in our UTS community. I’m also keen to see the NUS Education Conference come to UTS in the beginning of July. This will be a great opportunity for UTS representatives to engage with other reps from across Australia and grow in the skills and understanding useful for ensuring we take effective and positive steps to supporting our students.
I would like to conclude my report by reminding students that as your president I am here for you. If you have issues or concerns that you believe should be addressed on behalf of students, please let me know. I check my emails regularly and will do my best to speak up and represent you if the matter you are raising is within the scope of the UTSSA.
Also for those interested in the policy handbook or would like to offer any ideas, please feel free to reach out to me, as well with any other queries via assistantsecretary@utsstudentsassociation. org.
If you have any questions or wish to contact me, please do so by email at: President@utsstudentsassociation.org
Mia Dabelstein WOMEN’S OFFICER
At the end of April, we concluded the Dignity Drive by a screening of the film ‘Period. End of Sentence’, and were joined by a representative of the Share the Dignity organisation who gave a short talk and offered some insight into the work they do. Thank you to everyone who donated, and everyone who attended, it was an awesome evening! As the semester begins to wind down, WoCo has too. The last few weeks have been quieter, as they often are at this time of semester. We’ve begun planning for next semester, and there’s plenty to come so stay tuned. On Friday, 31 May, we had an end of semester crafternoon in the Wom*n’s Room, followed by drinks at the Loft. While we’re wrapping up the semester, it was great to just hang out and relax. NOWSA is also coming up at the end of July, with registrations opening soon. This year Macquarie Uni is hosting, and we’re excited to take part and contribute to this for another year.
52.
CIATION REPORTS A. Aiden More TREASURER
I’d like to take this Treasurer’s Report (10.10.10 UTTSSA constitution) as an opportunity to discuss some of the highlight expenses from the 2018 SSAF Auditor’s Acquittal, which is to say from the audit of last year as compared to 2017. As well as an opportunity to discuss some of the activities undertaken recently in the Treasury portfolio. I would also like to highlight some of the activities and functions I have undertaken as your Treasurer as we head into the end of semester one. Currently as Chairperson of the Finance committee (section 10.10.5 in the constitution) I have been in talks with the president to finalise the budget (section 20.3.1 in the constitution) along with the EVP and 3 general councillors (section 20.3 Constitution). I have been in talks with the EVP to undertake investigations into possible programs and events that could be run. For further details and if you want to get involved, feel free to contact me or the EVP. I have been preparing possible workshops for the upcoming National Union of Students Education Conference, to be hosted by UTS.
Wages and salaries (271k), Admin and Support (134k), and Superannuation. The clubs and collectives went from 5k to 15k in Campaign expenditure from 2017 to 2018, which is promising. With Overall collective expense dropping 28k to 19k. Conference expenses saw an uptick from 17k to 24k. Promotion expenses went down from 18k to 4k with an increase in small asset purchases (3.5 to 8.1k), and admin support went up from 45k to 67k. Overall collective spending however was stable at 142 to 144k (2017 to 2018). SRC Admin honorariums were as noted in my first report, merely 78k and 77k (2018 and 2017, respectively). This does not represent an efficiency dividend, however. SRC admin is tasked with work that can crowd out study work, and all elected members are paid far below the minimum wage. Something to consider if the SRC believes in fair wages. Vertigo went from 192k (2017) to 209k (2018) with the biggest expense each year being printing. CAPA and NUS affiliation was 66k in 2018 and 61k in 2017. Closest to my heart however, the Bluebird free breakfast costs a mere 91k to 88k (2018) in food supplies with 34-30k in wages between the two years at a total expense of 183k (2017) and 206k (2018). COMMENTS
I have also been talking with the Executive Officer of the UTSSA to ensure that the NUS reaffiliation fees are made to reflect our contribution and our university size, and to ensure fairness. I have been in talks with relevant stakeholders to start drafting documents relating to Governance and regulation, with nothing yet to announce in this space.
I have discussed at length in previous reports about the lessons these financial documents give us, that an active and service focused UTSSA is what will deliver value to our students, that means spending more in programs, campaigns, and expanding popular ones.
SSAF funding was 1,489,000.00 in 2018 with expenses totalling 1,533,572.00.
During the EY results and surveys, popular student headaches and problems came up, such as expensive textbooks, exam conditions, and more. Solutions to students’ everyday problems will be how the UTSSA makes a mark, especially if those solutions can be targeted at students from marginalised or vulnerable background who most need help and support. This means the UTSSA should look into what ways we can create programs to help students in low socioeconomic backgrounds, or how collectives for marginalised communities can be funded in their campaigns for those students.
The association has run deficits in 2018 of 44,572.00 and 22,907.62 in 2017. These deficits show the university that we have enough undertakings to use up our allotted SSAF.
It is incumbent upon members to figure our workable solutions even to wicked problem spaces such as the Textbook market, and to find a way to amplify the voices of students doing it tough.
It is worth noting that the association has a considerable reserve, so these deficits do not pose a risk at this time.
WHERE TO GO FOR MORE INFORMATION
HIGHLIGHT EXPENSES FROM AUDIT In absence of a profit and loss for May, I will highlight some top expenditures from the last two years and discuss what they mean for the Association.(Further details on the expenses for May and April will be discussed in the next report due in June.)
Casework was 473,383.78 for 2018. Comprised mostly of
For further details feel free to contact me at Treasurer @ utsstudentsassociation.org
Madeline Lucre
Lily Linnert
EDUCATION VICE PRESIDENT
WELFARE OFFICER
Hi all, this month has been a busy one. This month I have been involved in the student voice project both at the UTS level and attending the National Student Voice conference this month. Student voice for those of you who don’t know is an initiative which seeks to provide greater student partnership with the university at all levels of decision making. As we have seen of the last several years and currently there are many decisions such as the cutting of staff, courses and rearranging of class structure all which happen without student consultation or minimal student consultation. One of the key reasons it is so vital for students’ associations and unions to be involved in these kinds of projects is that as independent student organisations we are often in the best position to provide a student voice that hasn’t been institutionalised. The student voice conference was a great opportunity to network with other students find out how negotiations and issues are resolved at their institution. I am working with education officers and presidents from La Trobe and Flinders to develop and student partnership agreement that will hopefully see more students and UTSSA members engaged in higher up decision-making processes about our university.
The UTS Welfare Collective is open to those students who have an interest and passion for improving student welfare and being a voice for students on campus. It is the job of the welfare collective to organise projects and initiatives that encourage access to affordable food, transport and housing, mental health support, academic support, financial assistance and free legal services to UTS students both on and off university campus.
This month Mehmet, myself and other members of the SRC went to the report back of the EY Sweeney report into student’s observations of the UTSSA, in order to help us inform our campaigns, student engagement and will hopefully help us in negotiations for SSAF with the university. Some information that has been gleaned from students’ initial responses to the survey was the importance of lecture recordings. I have been in discussions with Biljana our marketing manager about establishing a lecture recording campaign starting next semester. If anyone here is keen to get involved please let me know. I have also included in the next phase of the EY research a question to students to see if they would be interested in an RSA program that would be run and partially subsidised by the UTSSA. This is another initiative which I would love to see become a staple of UTSSA services and is one that has been successfully run at UNSW.
The UTS Welfare Collective ran a free student BBQ on Friday the 7th of June to provide students with a free lunch and a muchdeserved break from their studies. The event was a huge success and we gave away over 250 serves of beef and plant-based sausages. Students indicated that they would like to see more free food on campus so we as a collective aim to increase the frequency of initiatives such as this. The collective is currently putting together care packages full of essential items that will be of use to students who are struggling financially and need assistance. Additionally, research is being conducted into ways to make counselling services more accessible to students at UTS. Being part of the welfare collective also offers a platform for activism and engagement centred around broader welfare rights including access to Centrelink, fair working conditions and the underpayment of students as staff, and opposing policies such as university fee increases, education funding cuts and cuts to Medicare. Your welfare collective is here to help you, to help provide you with the assistance and resources that you need and to support you the best that we can. individuals are encouraged to join and contribute to in order to make change and improve the welfare of students at UTS. If you have any questions or want to be involved in the collective at any level please contact us via email at welfare@utsstudentsassociation.org we would love to hear from you!
Mehmet and myself are helping NUS organise the Education conference which will be held at UTS in July. Looking forward to all the hard work that will be happening over the next month.
54.
BONUS SECTION BONUS SECTION BONUS SECTION BONUS SECTION
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BODEGA THE MOST
CW: SHOOTING, STABBING, DEATH, DRUGS
JESSE VEGA
EXCITING HIP-HOP IN THE WEST
RHECE ANTHONY ROBERTS
COLLECTIVE
Perched on a street corner in Baulkham Hills stands a home with all the hallmarks of a sticky-floored share house: an untamed front lawn, an overflowing ashtray surrounded by white plastic chairs, and a spray-paint tagged brick skirting. But each of the five bedrooms here have been converted into recording studios— and the tinge of experimental synths and deep, pulsing bass grows louder as we approach. It’s home to Bodega Collective, a conglomerate of artists, musicians and creatives, who may just represent the tip of Western Sydney’s hip-hop culture iceberg. The sun is just beginning to set on a Thursday night at the Bodega house—and there’s around ten or so people gathering in circles to drink, smoke, and chat music. Their energy is matched only by the heavy rap music blasting onto the street; Bodega unapologetically waving their flag. “I think we’re spear-heading this new wave,” Sebastien Desnoux, who asks me to call him Seb, tells me. Alongside Jourdan D’amore and Tom Elliot, Seb co-founded Bodega Collective two years ago. “Our main goal at the start was to create a community of people who gave a fuck about new sounds
OUR MAIN GOAL AT THE START WAS TO CREATE A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO GAVE A FUCK ABOUT NEW SOUNDS AND ABOUT PUSHING THE SCENE FORWARD.
and about pushing the scene forward. Since we started this whole idea of Bodega, it’s been kind of infectious. The whole family aura, people have latched on to it.” What began as throwing social events and block parties in a Castle Hill warehouse has grown into a crew of like-minded artists and creatives, and is now on the way to a formal label for a number of rappers, singers and producers—among them Raj Mahal, Gibrillah, Lauren, and Kymie. “Everyone here is here just to be passionate about their creative endeavours,” says Seb. “There’s videographers, there’s graphic designers. There’s people that come through who are just creative content people, who just like doing memes and shit.” “What we pride ourselves on is that everything is done in-house,” Seb tells me, balancing on a repurposed wheelchair on the concrete backyard of the house. “We get a song from start to finish: recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered all within this house. We have the sound engineers, we have the producers, we have the rappers and the singers, everything.”
Bodega represents a stronghold for a scene emerging quickly, albeit quietly, from the underground of Western Sydney. It’s a city not always billed as the best place to be a musician: strict local councils and anti-culture legislation make it hard to find venue space and good crowds, according
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to Seb. It’s also more difficult to ascend the international stage for Australians than artists from other places in the world. But it seems that as a reaction to this, there’s a strong creative expression bubbling underneath the business parks and highrises. It’s clear the people here have something to say, and their passion is truly inescapable. “We’re slowly getting to the point where we can say, ‘this is Sydney, this is us, and this is our sound’” says Seb. “We’re slowly developing our own flavour, our own scene. It takes community, and it takes a lot of movements to be happening. We’re not trying to be something we’re not. We just want to show people who we are.” With a collection of dark and evocative rap singles under her belt, Lauren is one of Bodega’s most exciting up-and-comers. Her most recent single, ‘Move That’, elicits head-bobbing restlessness; her quick and
lyrical style melts over a booming trap beat. She describes the Western Sydney sound as “fucking raw. Still dropping O’s off in Commies: you won’t hear that anywhere in Europe.” “The artists that are coming out of Sydney right now, I think it’s historical,” Lauren explains. “When we started this two years ago I was seeing all these artists that weren’t getting anywhere yet, and I was like: ‘this is what the start of rock and roll must have felt like.’” Produced by Kwame, one of Sydney’s latest heavyweights in the industry–and who also records music at the Bodega house–Lauren is soon to champion the Western Sydney scene. “My achievements don’t mean anything if they don’t allow me to turn around and pull up the hand behind me,” she says. Raj Mahal is one of Bodega’s flagship
rappers, and is originally from Boston. He moved to Sydney in 2017 to collaborate with local producer Domba and settled in the Baulkham Hills house to get his career on the move. “I first met Domba when I was 18, 19 years old,” Raj Mahal said. “At the time, I was still tryna figure myself out, let alone move to a different country. Eventually I said: ‘fuck it, I’m going to come to Australia’, and it ended up working out for the better.” Raj’s tracks drip with confrontation and grit. Inspired equally by Gucci Mane and 50 Cent as he is Death Grips and punk rock, Raj brings a breath of abrasiveness to the collective. “There’s some people out there that are like, ‘your music is too aggressive or too out there’. But I don’t give a fuck. I’m talking about my experience. I’m not driving BMWs, I don’t have a gold chain, I’m not throwing stacks in the club.”
Raj’s debut album, 2017’s Neva Safe, is a mammoth set of skull-splitting bangers. His production often dips into the experimental; industrial techno inklings meet trap music momentum, and there’s rarely a break in Raj’s aggressive wordplay. “I grew up around people getting shot, killed, stabbed, people selling drugs, people on welfare. Me and my Mums used to live in a homeless shelter. Everything I rap about and the way my music sounds is just a representation of who I am as a person and what I’ve been through.” Raj caught the ear of an Australian audience with his collaboration with Sydney’s Triple One—a rap trio who he says brings out the emotional vulnerability in Aussie hip-hop. “They’re my homies. They hit me up to make a track, and after that we just became so tight. There’s some nights where I’ll just come to their studio and we don’t even make music, we just drink and talk about life.”
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IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND A LOT OF RISK TAKING... BUT I’D SAY WE’RE STARTING TO SHIFT THE CULTURE; WE’RE BEING THE CHANGE. Unlike her peers, Kymie focuses more on the sensual side of things with her sultry RnB flavour. Whereas Raj and Lauren bring grimy back alley bops, Kymie seeks front-and-centre soul with glistening house production by Bodega’s own Korky Buchek. “I’ve always wanted to make music, since I was so young,” Kymie says, “The passion has never stopped.” If any of the Bodega crew will one day crown the top-40 charts, it’s likely to be Kymie. Her ear for hooks and catchy song writing are sure to propel her through the industry—although it’s clear that’s not as easy as it sounds. “As an Australian, we start on the backfoot. There’s times where we all feel frustrated, just at how the industry is. It’s like we’re trying to re-teach our music to the Australian listener. We only really have Triple J as a platform. I don’t see anyone here going on Sunrise for a morning performance,” laughs Kymie.
“But there are people out there with the same mindset as us, the same vision as us. People who are pitching ideas to help shift things, so this scene can break through.” And perhaps that’s all Bodega needs: a chance to break through the mould that seems to plague Australian music, a chance to establish a Sydney hip-hop identity that rivals, rather than replicates, the US and UK. It’s not as if the talent isn’t there—the second part of the equation is the listener. “It takes a lot of work and a lot of risk-taking,” Kymie says, “But I’d say we’re starting to shift the culture; we’re being the change.”
Here’s a tip for when you’re feeling sad: put your index finger length-wise between your teeth and bite down. It forces your lips to form a smile. Your brain makes a cognitive association between the curving of your lips and the feeling of happiness. There are studies, one Google search away. Don’t bite hard enough to draw blood, that ruins the whole thing. There are studies—oh, not on the internet. Along my fingers, mostly left-hand index and right-hand middle, are bite marks. If you do exactly as I say, soon you will be smiling and your brain will produce serotonin. Which is great. That’s the good stuff. Congratulations. Try to forget it has been forced—that’s the hard part. You know, aka, I-will-give-you-X-amount-of-dollars-if-you-don’t-think-of-a-bluerhinoceros-for-ten-seconds. What do you think about? Blue rhino. So don’t go around thinking: this smile is forced, this smile is forced, does everyone around me know it’s not real? The answer: no. But by worrying over whether the smile is real or fake is only going to contort your lips into a quivering grimace. And when you bite your finger, chances are paranoia has skyrocketed you into biting too hard. Which sort of ruins the whole thing. I’ve done that plenty of times—become very paranoid, lost face, then bitten too hard—and what I can tell you for sure is that it sucks. If your index finger tires, swap it for the other one. Next time you see me I’ll show you bite marks along my fingers like piano keys. When people see them, and by people I mean my mum, or sister, or just last week the lady who came to my house to fix the fridge, they ask me whether I’m okay. Now I can reply: Yes, actually, can’t you tell? By the time I’m ready to leave the house, I’ve forgotten about arranging the smile on my face. I forget I’m doing it (I bet you’ve already forgotten the blue rhino) and end up sending these ambient grins at the world. How’s that working for me? Well, actually, that’s funny. I thought it would work out one way, but the forced smiling business really makes everything more...lively. Particularly in public. Also in the shower or watering the plants or cooking in the kitchen. The best part is when I’m working on something and the brightness of my computer screen is just right so I get a reflection of myself grinning at the reflection of myself, and feel better about the whole ordeal.
AM
SMILE
SMILE
BI E
SMILE
RI N
SMILE
JACK CAMERON STANTON
SMILE
G NT
SMILE
ALICE BALLHAUSEN
‘THE DAYDREAMER’
E
THE DAYDREAMER
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WORDS WORDS THAT THAT CAPTURED CAPTURED MY MY ATTENTION ATTENTION WERE: WERE: UNREST, UNREST, DREAM, DREAM, AND AND VIVID. VIVID. BEING BEING AN AN AVID AVID DAYDREAMER DAYDREAMER THESE THESE EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES AND AND EMOTIONS EMOTIONS ARE ARE FELT FELT DAILY. DAILY. THE THE TRANCE TRANCE IS IS USUALLY USUALLY SO SO VIVID VIVID THAT THAT WHEN WHEN YOU YOU CATCH CATCH YOUR YOUR REFLECTION REFLECTION IN IN THE THE WINDOW WINDOW OF OF A A PASSING PASSING TRAIN, TRAIN,REALITY REALITY SMACKS SMACKS YOU YOU IN IN THE THE FACE FACE AND AND THE THE FEELING FEELING OF OF UNREST, UNREST, FUELLED FUELLED BY BY FRUSTRATION FRUSTRATION AND AND PASSION, PASSION, CAN CAN BE BE EXTREMELY EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING. OVERWHELMING.
ALICE BALLHAUSEN
‘THE DAYDREAMER’
IT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL TRAPPED
ALICE BALLHAUSEN
‘THE DAYDREAMER’
IT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL TRAPPED
I WANTED TO CAPTURE THE STAGES OF A DAYDREAM
ALICE BALLHAUSEN
‘THE DAYDREAMER’
WHERE WHERE YOU YOU CAN CAN TRAVEL TRAVEL TO TO CLOUD CLOUD NINE NINE AND AND THEN THEN
CRASH CRASH BACK BACK DOWN DOWN TO TO THE THE PRESENT PRESENT WITHIN WITHINA AMATTER MATTER OF OF SECONDS. SECONDS.
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