Woroni Edition Ten 2017 by Woroni

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Woroni ISSUE 10, VOL. 67. Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Text: Jasper Lindell

which has unleashed renewed vitriol directed towards LGBTI* people.

Rainbows are out in force on campus, as students express their strong support for the YES campaign in the government’s postal survey on marriage equality.

Survey forms arrived earlier than expected in Canberra last week, forcing student activists to gear up their efforts to secure a YES vote in the national, non-binding survey.

The survey, which was cleared by a unanimous High Court decision on 6 September, is being sent out to Australians enrolled to vote by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The federal government has committed to introducing legislation into parliament if a YES vote is recorded to legalise same-sex marriage, even as some MPs have vowed to vote ‘no’ regardless. The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull,

Critics have slammed the survey,

who has stated his support samesex marriage, is staring down critics within his own party on this vote, some of whom have actively fought against rights for LGBTI* people for decades. The president of the ANU Students’ Association, James Connolly, said ANUSA ‘wholeheartedly supports a YES vote for marriage equality.’ The association took the position to a general meeting last term which was endorsed by a student vote, securing a mandate for the campaign.

‘Whilst we are hopeful that the YES vote will prevail, according to reports the No campaign has spent five times more on TV ads than the YES campaign, which is of concern. That’s why it’s so important that for anyone who feels comfortable, to get involved by contacting the ANUSA education officer, Australian Marriage Equality or other organisations promoting the YES vote and seeing how they can help in this campaign,’ Connolly said at the weekend. CONTINUED PAGE 4

Issue 10, Vol. 67

2 acknowledgement of country

News comment

Losing Our Humanity Through Memes Lucy Bucknell

ANU Students Take On The World Solar Challenge Monika Berlot

Burnt Toast and Banter: The Memoirs of a Senior Resident Alice McMillan

Why Hydropower Isn’t As Clean As You Think Brody Hannan

pride week spread

Incest: Hot or Not? Luke Wye

Interview with Jack Wang about Chinese International Students in Australian Universities Noah Yim 12

Why Voting ‘Yes’ Is The Most Liberal Thing You Could Do Ally Luppino 13

In Defence of a Republic Kain O’Dea 14

Marriage Equality – Words of Wisdom from Debates Past Harry Dalton 15

Why Neo-Nazis Love Taylor Swift’s New Single Max Koslowski

INTERNATIONAL

Art 30

We Will Not Stand with Hector: Depictions of Sexual Assault In Theatre Kat Carrington and Anna Miley 31

The Contracts Behind K-Pop Mariana Segaram

REVIEWS 32

The History Boys: Excellent But Troubling Jack Foster 32

Life & Style

The World Is My Oyster, And The Peal Is Back Home Boya Li 17

The Right Direction on Climate Change Richard Haowei Hong 18

Voices from The Inside Noah Yim

MULTILINGUAL

The Rise of The Modern Chinese Traveller Nivedita Shankar 44

The Plague of Crony Capitalism Prarchi Arya

Sport 45

Uyen Ha: ‘There Is No Aspect of MMA That Isn’t Tough’ Adam Mayers

sATIRE

Campus Horoscopes Annabel Chin Quan 35

Capital Gains: Quality of Life in Canberra Jasper Lindell

Sovereignty In Indonesia Mohamad Noor Rizal

EQ: Emotional Quotient or Emoji Quotient? Elizabeth Harris Local Youth Recovers After Risky Tag Zoe O’Leary Cameron 47

An Ode To Vegemite Anonymous 47

Sudoku Sebastian Rossi

Developing A Carbon Market: Tree Hugging for Conservation in The Honduran Cloud Forest Joe Salmona

To The Place I Was Born Mian You

How To Start Plastic Free Living Emily Rowbotham

FEATures

Science

Food Issues: Why I Divorced My Toxic Habits Ruby Smyth

Business & Economics

environment

A Love Song Mian You

Why We Conduct Research: Through the Lens of 3-11 Matthew Teh

Reclaiming Social Media From The Content Apocalypse Nick Wyche

Sustainable Campus Bulletin Grace Dudley 42

Women Are Great: An ANU Women’s Revue Review Ria Pflaum

Qatar Will Not Capitulate Ben Lawrence

Literally The End of the World Hayden Wilkinson

Going Grey In More Ways Than One Eleanor Armstrong Cryptic Crossword NWJ

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, who are the traditional owners of the land on which Woroni is written, edited and printed. We pay respects to Elders past, present and future. We would also like to acknowledge that this land – which we benefit from occupying – was stolen, and that sovereignty was never ceded. Within this ongoing echo of colonialism we commit, as writers and editors, to amplify the voices and stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at our university. We will honour the diversity of their stories.

Board of Editors

Editor in Chief: Kanika Kirpalani Managing Editor: Kat Carrington Deputy EiC: Nathalie Rosales Cheng Content Editor: James Atkinson Radio Editor: Oscar Jolly TV Editor: Linda Chen Art Editor: Zoe O’Leary Cameron News Editor: Jasper Lindell

staff and Sub-Editors

Admin Assistant: Arun Murali Financial Controller: Brendan Greenwood Business Development: Jonathan Tjandra Marketing: Nicole Jackson Social Media: Daniella (Sunny) Tan Instagram: Fernando Goh Comment: Ruby Smyth Comment: Noah Yim International: Una Chen Features: Olivia Ireland Multilingual: Rosalind Moran Creative Writing: Georgia Leak Creative Writing: Prischa Ochan Arts: Ben Lawrence Reviews: Josie Ganko Life & Style: Nick Wyche Environment: Grace Dudley Science: Matthew Teh Business & Economics: Victor Sukeerth Munagala Business & Economics: Nivedita Shankar Sport: Adam Mayers Satire & Humour: Elizabeth Harris News: Isabella Ostini News: Max Koslowski News: Isabella Di Mattina-Beven News: Luke Kinsella News: Josie Ganko News: Aleyn Silva News: Hugh McClure Executive Producer: Loretta Lackner Presenter Liason: Annika Law Radio Technical Officer: Will Fletcher Music & Events: Eilish Hensman Marketing: Ollie Brown Design: Rowan McGinness Producer: Imogen Purcell Producer: Zoe Halstead Producer: Steph David Producer: Iona Rennie Producer: Sonja Panjkov Art & Design: Katie Ward Art & Design: Zoe Bilston Camera Operator: Bremer Sharp Camera Operator: Shasha Ma Camera Operator: Ruben Thompson Camera Operator: Lachlan Townshend Camera Operator: Jeongyeon ‘Judy’ Shin Reporter: Casley Rowan Reporter: Elvis Gleeson Reporter: Ajai Samra Reporter: Reza Mazumder Photography: Dillon Vibes Photography: Chloe Tredea Photography: Marwan Elhassan Photography: Christine Song

Contact

Phone: (02) 6125 9574 Shop 15, Lena Karmel Building 26 Barry Drive, Acton 2601 Woroni is printed by Capital Fine Print.

Want to contribute?

Send words to write@woroni.com.au and visuals to art@woroni.com.au. Woroni is powered by laggy internet connections and the Board’s underlying love for each other, despite Facebook groups suggesting otherwise.

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Week 7, 7, Semester Semester 2, 2, 2017 2017 Week

news

UNI FUNDING CUTS STALLED IN SENATE Text: Jasper Lindell

need to secure the support of the Nick Xenophon Team to achieve the bill’s passage through the Senate.

The federal government’s higher education funding reforms have ground to a halt in the Senate, leaving students to face applying for university without certainty on the cost of their degrees.

But lower house MP Rebekha Sharkie, the NXT education spokeswoman, said the policy was a ‘blunt and deep cut that will mean job losses to the sector and higher education costs for students.’

The education minister, Simon Birmingham, rushed the legislation into the Senate last week, setting an artificial deadline on convincing the crossbench to support the changes, which will see students pay more for degrees and an efficiency dividend applied to university funding.

‘The Nick Xenophon Team is not convinced this bill as it currently stands will assist the sector to reform. We agree that reform is needed but cannot accept that this is the reform that is indeed needed,’ she said in the House of Representatives.

Labor, the Greens and Jacqui Lambie had signalled their opposition to the bill. One Nation was likely to support the changes. The government would

The HECS/HELP repayment threshold would also be lowered to an annual income of $42,000 a year. Graduates earning that amount would repay $8 a week.

Deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek, the Labor education spokeswoman, said the Liberal party’s ‘priorities are all wrong.’

‘While the Liberals are giving tax cuts to big business and millionaires, they want students to pay more for uni, get bigger uni debts, and pay them back sooner,’ she said. Student groups have condemned the proposed changes, which were announced in the federal Budget in May. The president of the National Union of Students, Sophie Johnston, said in a statement that the union was ‘appalled’ by the plans. ‘It seems our education is nothing more than a budget burden for the Liberals. Higher education

has consistently been the first on the chopping block, despite being essential to the economy and central to enduring opportunities for future generations,’ she said. ‘The government has failed us on housing, they’ve failed us on jobs and growth, they’ve failed us on wages, and now they’re trying to rip away our future by attacking our education,’ Johnston said. The university sector has called on the government to delay implementing the changes, which were scheduled to come into effect on 1 January 2018. The chief executive of the Group of Eight Universities, Vicki Thomson, told Inside Canberra last week that, ‘This is nothing but a savings bill. Casting this as reform is disingenuous.’

Underpayment of ANU staff ‘consequence of increased casualisation of academia’: NTEU

Text: Hugh McClure

The broader effects of the casualisation of academia were called into question last week, after the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) revealed that the ANU has underpaid casual academics since at least the start of this year. An unknown number of casual academics working at the Fenner School of Environment and Society have been affected by the underpayment, which, according to the NTEU, could total hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An ANU spokesperson told Woroni that the ANU has ‘moved immediately to conduct an audit and rectify any incorrect payments as quickly as possible,’ once becoming aware of the issue. While the ANU has moved to resolve the problem, NTEU ACT division organiser Lachlan Clohesy has argued that the matter ‘wouldn’t have been fixed had … [staff and union] members not acted’ to f lag the problem. The NTEU ACT division secretary, Rachael Bahl, said that the underpayment was connected to the broader trend of casualisation of employment in academia. Bahl stated that with the increased use of casual

workers in academia, job security and protection is reduced, while the potential for wrongful payment and exploitation of staff is increased. ‘Casual workers are already propping up the higher education system in this country,’ Bahl told Woroni. ‘Our workplace laws need to change to protect casual staff from exploitation, and encourage the creation of secure jobs’, she said. Clohesy said that the effects of casualisation disproportionately affect women. ‘Casualisation – and insecure work more broadly – is also a gender equity issue. Women are overrepresented in casual and fixed-term work, and combined with other factors such as unequal

superannuation entitlements, insecure work is a big contributor to the gender pay gap’. The proportion of men and women affected in this case is not known by Woroni. The NTEU has made a submission to the ACT Government, to the Inquiry into the extent, nature and consequence of insecure work in the ACT. The ANU spokesperson said that the university is ‘reviewing its payroll data, including superannuation’, and that they expect to have fully resolved the matter within the next six weeks. All affected staff have been contacted directly by the University.

NEWS news

Issue 10, Vol. 67 Issue 10, Vol. 67

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ANU ENDORSES AUSTRALIA’S FIRST STUDENT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT Text: Isabella Ostini

The ANU has become the first Australian university to endorse an agreement between the University and student associations, committing to increased partnership and engagement between the institution and students. The inaugural ANU Student Partnership Agreement was endorsed by the University Academic Board on 1 August, and was developed with input from the University and in consultation with students. The ANU Students’ Association president, James Connolly, told Woroni that the Agreement is a ‘clear, ratified statement that ANUSA needs to be at the heart of changes within the university.’ Student partnership agreements are common in the international higher education sector, emerging from Scotland, but Connolly told Woroni that Australia has lagged far behind in this area. Connolly said that there has been clear research showing that partnerships are ‘beneficial for the quality of learning, and the wider university experience.’ There have been moves in Australia toward adopting student partnership agreements, with the federal government and the University

Rainbows across campus as students work for ‘YES’ vote FROM PAGE 1 Around 50 people have signed up to volunteer with the YES campaign, working with Australian Marriage Equality to phone bank and doorknock. ANUSA is hosting a voting party and barbecue with the National Tertiary Education Union, PARSA and Unions ACT on Thursday. ANUSA also has a secure ballot box in its office for students who can’t make it to a postbox to return their survey forms. Survey forms will need to be received by the ABS before 6.00pm on 7 November to be counted in the

‘Clear, ratified statement that ANUSA needs to be at the heart of changes’ to the University of Technology, Sydney, exploring Australia-wide implementation. But the ANU is the first university to turn this research into action. The agreement outlines the paths for student involvement and feedback within the University, states the university’s intent to work jointly with students, and lays out key projects on which the university, ANUSA, and the Postgraduate and Research Students’ Association will work. ‘Consultation and involvement can often be quite tokenistic,’ Connolly said, explaining that currently, the University often identifies an issue and proposes a solution before students are consulted, incurring backlash from the student population. However, with the Student Partnership Agreement, the University has committed to involving students throughout the process, from identifying issues to devising solutions.

was far happier with the process, because ANUSA was included as a go-between for students and the University’s project working group. Under the agreement, this kind of consultation will become more common. Students will also have increased opportunities to participate in advocacy and leadership positions, with the agreement looking to increase student representation on the Academic Board, as well as to create a more consistent approach to course representatives across colleges. Other projects include seeking student feedback during the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, and Higher Education Academy reaccreditation processes, which Connolly called ‘a significant opportunity to give input to the quality of courses.’ The University will also seek student input on future ANU health and counselling services.

Connolly pointed to the process surrounding admissions changes as an example of effective partnership, explaining that ANUSA, while not necessarily endorsing the outcome,

The agreement is a living document, meaning that it will be renewed every year to ensure it remains relevant, and to allow ref lection on the success of the projects in the previous

survey. The results will be announced by the ABS on 15 November.

933,592 transactions, 10 per cent of which were additions to the roll.

Professor Shirley Leitch, who was acting vice-chancellor, wrote to the ANU community in August to encourage them to vote in the postal survey and called on the ANU community to be ‘mindful’ during the campaign.

The National Union of Students president, Sophie Johnston, said in the lead up to rolls closing, that the union had ‘been working specifically with young people to make sure they are enrolled and they get out and vote YES for marriage equality.’

‘While participating in this survey is not compulsory I encourage any member of the ANU community who is eligible to vote to take the opportunity to have their say,’ Leitch wrote in an email.

There is overwhelming public support for marriage equality in Australia, recent Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) surveys have shown, pointing to a 78 per cent support in 2015.

Matthew Mottola, who was elected as 2018 queer* officer last month, previously told Woroni that the queer* community was ‘furious that this has happened in the first place. The discourse is already vile, pointed and disrespectful, despite assertions from the government.’ A strong push to ensure young people were enrolled and eligible to participate in the survey was part of a surge in young people being counted on the electoral roll. The Australian Electoral Commission processed

Support among young people – those aged 15 to 39 – was at 79 per cent. There has been an upward trend of support in the last decade’s worth of surveys. In 2005, overall support was at 39.8 per cent. Strong opposition to marriage equality has fallen dramatically in the same period. However recent polling has shown a rise in support for a No vote in the campaign, with some pointing to frustration with the

agreement. This year’s agreements, and eventually past agreements, will be available to all ANU students. But Connolly said that the real proof of whether the agreement is successfully changing universitystudent interactions will be in ‘how projects committed to will be implemented.’ He noted the University had been keen to explore a student partnership agreement and was receptive to ANUSA suggestions ‘from the get-go.’ ‘[ANUSA is] fortunate in the relationship we have built with the ANU,’ he added, highlighting the mutual respect that exists between the two organisations. The biggest challenge remaining is the remit of the agreement, which currently only covers issues addressed by the university Academic Board. But Connolly hopes that the agreement will eventually be endorsed by the University Council, expanding its remit. The agreement will be officially signed at a ceremony in October, after which it will be available to all students on the ANUSA website. campaign as a likely cause. The executive director of the Australian Marriage Equality Campaign, Tiernan Brady, warned against Australians being complacent in the vote, saying, ‘it is all about getting as many surveys as returned as possible.’ ‘We are in it to win it. We are committed to doing all in our power to ensure that the long held wish of the Australian people for marriage equality for all Australians is ref lected in the results of the survey,’ he said. ‘This must be a campaign of millions of respectful conversations that unites the country. We haven’t a moment to lose and we are hitting the ground running with hundreds of thousands of supporters talking about why marriage equality matters. ‘This is a vote about the worth, dignity and status of members of our family, friends, workmates and neighbours, and across the country people are standing up for them,’ Brady said.

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Week Week 7, 7, Semester Semester 2, 2, 2017 2017

news NEWS

After the s rvey, advocates say they’re c t o t of revie CW: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SEXUAL ASSAULT, INSTITUTIONAL BETRAYAL, AHRC SURVEY

rocess

Text: Bella Di Mattina-Beven

Disputes between the ANU Women’s Department and the University have come to light in response to the University’s action on sexual assault. Student advocates maintain that they’ve been cut out from the process, while the university asserts that it is collaborating with a wide range of the ANU community. ALLEGED UNDER-RESOURCING OF STEERING GROUP The Respectful Relationships Steering Group currently includes the ANUSA and PARSA presidents, fulfilling the AHRC survey’s recommendation for student representation in advisory bodies. No further students were included, which the university justified as ‘keeping the committee small and effective.’ Student advocates and survivors are highly critical of the decision to disengage with the Women’s Department and survivor advocacy groups. The ANUSA women’s officer, Holly Zhang, said she was concerned about placing the responsibility for policy change in the hands of existing, thinly-spread staff members, and the duty for student advocacy in the hands of busy student association presidents. ‘I’m worried about the representation of student interests at ANU moving forward on this issue if that’s the leading group directing all decisions,’ she said. She said that this was a key reason for ANUSA’s demand for a centralised policy and centre for sexual assault and sexual harassment at the ANU.

An ANUSA spokesman said that the University ‘will also consider the recommendations and proposals made by students through the ANUSA and PARSA recommendations, the Australian Queer Students Network and the Council of Australian Postgraduate Students Association.’ ANUSA/PARSA recommendation three foreshadowed the current debate, calling for a task force ‘adequately resourced by the Senior Management Group’ and consisting of ‘student representatives working in partnership with ANUSA and PARSA.’

The aims of the steering group are to implement the recommendations of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report ‘Change the Course’, which was released on 1 August.

The steering group will provide the policies and strategies to be implemented by the Working Group, which also includes students.

The ANU has committed to the nine recommendations made in the report, but has not committed to many of the ANUSA/PARSA demands released in response to the report.

Advocates also argue that the lack of student engagement extends to the review of ANU policy and procedure being undertaken by Canberra consultants Rapid Context.

The AHRC recommendations included providing educational programs, centrally disseminating clear information on reporting and support, training staff members likely to receive disclosures, an audit of counselling services, maintaining the confidentiality of disclosures and regular independent reviews.

A message from the vice-chancellor, Brian Schmidt, said, ‘this review will consult with staff, students and survivors,’ however this is disputed by advocate Codie Bell and women’s officer Zhang.

The ANU has committed to a review of residential halls and released a parallel module for staff. The Rapid Context review will be released midSeptember, and its recommendations incorporated into policy and procedural changes. This indicates a general compliance with the AHRC report’s recommendations.

THE RAPID CONTEXT REVIEW

ANU Media did not respond to queries about student and survivor input before deadline. Advocates suggested that the ANU was not willing to finance an extensive review that included community consultation. The seven terms of reference provided publicly by the ANU refer to the intersection of student

sexual assault allegation and staff policies, staff training, safe environments for research students, internal investigation, support for students, reporters, bystanders and whistleblowers. It indicates that the ANU is responding to the high rates of sexual assault within the HDR and postgraduate cohorts. However, advocates allege that initial terms of reference relating to the specifics of the investigation procedure have been excluded. Student groups have been campaigning since the release of the AHRC report, most recently at ANU Open Day. This has aimed to highlight the informal, confusing and unsupportive nature of current ANU investigative procedures for students. The non-inclusion of such terms of reference indicate that the ANU is wary of many of the recommendations of advocacy groups such as Restorative ANU and the Women’s Department. The ANU emphatically denied that the scope of the review had changed. ‘The terms of reference have not changed nor has the work commissioned been narrowed at all.’ Women’s officer Zhang remained hopeful about the effect of the Rapid Context review. ‘The content I expect it will produce are things that students have been saying for years – I hope that getting an “external consultant” stamp on these recommendations and feedback will lead to the ANU finally taking action to implement long overdue changes.’

CONTINUED PROTESTS AND ADVOCACY Advocates are nonetheless frustrated at the lack of collaboration from the ANU, particularly the exclusion of survivors in consultation, as initially promised. ‘Survivors are excluded once again from the conversation when they are the most important stakeholder, and are most invested and affected by university policies and practices in this area. Their lived experience is required to inform strategic direction from the top as well as feedback to adjust policies,’ said Zhang. ‘The trauma they live with is not a liability for the institution to tip-toe around or ignore.’ This sentiment was harnessed by advocates on Open Day on 26 August, where a sit-in was held in the PopUp Village. It involved a minute of silence and speeches from advocates. Students also provided goody bags for prospective students and parents, educating visitors on the prevalence of sexual assault and sexual harassment. A clear aim of their campaign was also to educate about the services available to provide support to those affected. The ANU has not yet agreed to implement ANUSA/PARSA demands which included a restorative justice process, a centralised policy with specialised staff, rigorous training for staff and students pre-arrival at the ANU and commitment for ongoing reviews. An ANU Spokesman said: ‘ANU is proud that its students, and particularly survivors, have worked so hard to bring about change … this University has a long and proud tradition of student activism that we both encourage and respect.’

Issue Issue 10, 10, Vol. Vol. 67 67

NEWS news

COLLEGE OF LAW TO TRIAL COURSE REPRESENTATIVES IN 2018 College involved, s

ortive of im lementation

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ALLEGED COPLAND ATTACKER TO FACE COURT IN NOVEMBER T he st udent who a l leged ly at tacked a lec t u rer a nd st udents i n a Copla nd Bu i ld i ng classroom i n Aug ust has been slated to appea r i n cou r t on 2 November. A lex Ophel, 18, was a rrested a f ter he a l leged ly stood up i n a stat ist ics class shor t ly a f ter 9a m on Friday, 25 Aug ust a nd assau lted t he lec t u rer w it h a baseba l l bat before ot her st udents i nter vened. Ophel f ronted t he ACT Mag ist rates Cou r t on 26 Aug ust cha rged w it h seven cou nts of assau lt. He was sent for a menta l hea lt h assessment u nder sec t ion 309 of t he ACT Cri mes Ac t. A st udent who was i n t he classroom when t he at tack happened told t he A BC t hat t he tutor ‘took [t he at tacker’s] baseba l l bat ’ a nd ‘ let us r u n to CBE [Col lege of Busi ness a nd Economics].’ ‘[T he at tacker] used t he baseba l l bat to dest roy ever y t hi ng,’ she sa id.

Text: Isabella Ostini The ANU College of Law hopes to run a trial of course representatives in the first semester of 2018. As a result of ongoing work between the ANU Students’ Association president, James Connolly, College of Law representatives, Sammy Woodforde and Ellie Dowling, and the College of Law, an official trial is planned for next year, probably covering undergraduate compulsory courses. Connolly told Woroni that course representatives are the ‘foundation stone of student advocacy’, allowing issues to be addressed at a localised level and playing an ‘integral role’ in improving course quality. Unlike the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) surveys, the changes for which course representatives advocate provide ongoing feedback throughout the course, benefitting the current cohort of students. Woroni understands that the College of Law does not have a course representative program because ANUSA and the Law Students’ Society have previously felt able to address the advocacy needs of law students. Woodforde said, however, that students have been unwilling to go to college representatives with smaller issues. ‘[Course representatives are] a good mechanism for being able to raise non-major issues that could be sorted with an email and a coffee,’ she said. Connolly submitted a memorandum to the College of Law’s Associate Dean

(Education), Wayne Morgan, in June, detailing best practice for a course representative program. ANUSA’s suggestions for the program were based on the structures in place in the Joint Colleges of Science, and College of Engineering and Computer Science. The memorandum recommends that the positions are clearly publicised within a course, that course representatives be elected, and that they receive training for their position. Course convenors are advised on how to actively respond to feedback. Both Woodforde and Connolly emphasised the importance of clear support structures to allow a course representative program to be constructive. ‘Course Representatives, when empowered to be effective advocates, are an important component of teaching and learning quality assurance,’ the memorandum reads. The changes are expected to free college representatives to ‘focus on college-wide or systemic issues, and proactive projects,’ Connolly explained, noting that the role of college representative was flexible enough to have adapted to work with the Law Students’ Society in the past. Woodforde, however, pointed out the challenges with the change. As course representatives will not be part of a particular ANUSA body, finding ‘the line’ in ANUSA-course representative relations will require work. ‘We don’t want to overstep our boundaries, but we want to support course representatives,’ Woodforde said. Despite sentiment among some law

students and staff that course representatives remain unnecessary, Woodforde said that the College of Law has been very involved in and supportive of the process. She said that many course convenors wanted better student feedback processes, and the College of Law was interested in providing more professional development opportunities for staff. This semester an unofficial course representative trial has been run in LAWS2250 (International Law) at the initiative of the College of Law. One student in the course said that she was ‘shocked law doesn’t have course reps’, and thought the concept was ‘amazing’. However, she felt the trial in International Law has not been particularly effective, because of a lack of accessible details for the course representative. Woodforde said that the development of course representatives has been a slow process and was, at this stage, ‘a matter of keeping on going.’ Both she and Connolly hope that the development of best practice guidelines will have flow-on effects to the rest of the university. The College of Business and Economics does not have course representatives, and Connolly said that the Colleges of Asia and the Pacific, and Arts and Social Sciences could benefit from course representative reform, ‘to ensure there is more consistent practice.’ He added that that if the University is serious about student representation, it should adopt a set of basic principles for course representatives across the university, within the framework of its recent commitment to student partnership.

T he deput y v ice-cha ncel lor, Ma rnie Hug hes-Wa rri ng ton, com mended t he ‘rema rk able braver y of ou r st udents a nd ou r sta f f du ri ng t his i ncident.’ ‘ T his was a n u nusua l – a ver y, ver y u nusua l – i ncident i n Ca nberra. We k now one a not her, we ca re for one a not her, a nd ou r hig hest priorit y is to look a f ter one a not her,’ she sa id. ‘Ou r t houg hts a re w it h, of cou rse, t he sta f f a nd t he st udents i nvolved i n t he i ncident.’

NEW SHUTTLE TO EASE PARKING WOES The ANU has introduced a new shu t tle ser vice to provide grea ter access to c ampus. It is designed to help allevia te the insu f f icient on - c ampus parking si tua tion, and will begin service on Monday, 18 September as par t of a t wo - month trial. The shu t tle ser vice runs on a loop, wi th ten loops beginning and ending a t the Na tional A rbore tum. The c arpark is free, wi th 6 0 spaces. It ’s intended tha t the loop will encourage of f c ampus parking and provide relie f for s tudent s who s truggle to f ind parks on c ampus. ‘ This gives you the option to park wherever you c an f ind an available c ar bay and c a tc h a bus to your classroom or of f ice,’ the ANU said in a s ta tement. BELL A DI MAT TINA - BEVEN

Week 7, 7, Semester Semester 2, 2, 2017 2017 Week

NEWS news

resident elect ay e cited for or ahead Text: Jasper Lindell

Eleanor Kay is busy. But she’s also excited. Kay, the current vice-president, was elected last month as the 2018 ANUSA president, beating out rival candidate, and current social officer, Cameron Allan. But there’s still a few months before she’s fully in charge. ‘Something I learned from running for elections last year was it’s very exhausting and you need to take a break afterwards,’ Kay said when Woroni caught up with her last week at the Street Theatre café. ‘So I have encouraged everyone, certainly in the exec positions in particular, to take some time off.’ Lift, the ticket headed by Kay, dominated the student elections on a progressive platform which sought to continue the work of the current executive, but Kay will still face a split executive. Shake Up’s Mariah Chang was elected treasurer and Anya Bonan was elected social officer. ‘We have nice period of handover, which I think is good, so we don’t have to have our vision and our plan organised for next week so that we can take office, we have the next three months to put that together,’ Kay, pictured right in her campaign portrait, said. ‘There was lots of election promises running around between several major tickets. How do we bring them together and how do we make sure the student body knows what to expect from our ANUSA in 2018? And that is definitely something we are working on.’ But are there any tensions in the current executive after the election result? ‘Look, I am obviously not the whole current exec,’ Kay said. ‘I think the current exec also cares about a strong exec for the rest of this year and next year and so we have consistently tried to maintain professional relationships throughout the campaign, and we are looking forward to discussing what it looks like for us to be as strong as we can for the rest of 2017.’ This yearax campus politics has been dominated by the redevelopment of Union Court and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report into campus sexual assault. Kay said a serious test for the ANUSA executive next year will come very early on: the first O-Week in the Pop-Up Village. She said she thought a lot of students had been ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the Pop-Up Village, but concerns lingered over food prices even as cheaper options opened, though she was not sure prices could be forced down in current vendors. Kay said the focus was on making sure the period of time in the current, temporary spaces was positive and welcomed student feedback.

‘It’s important our education, particularly, isn’t damaged by these changes,’ she said. Kay said Anya Bonan, the incoming social officer, was ‘nervously excited to take on that challenge’ of running an O-Week without Union Court. ‘Things like O-Week play a really big part in making sure students feel comfortable in the new space next year.’ Kay praised the work of student advocates in response to the AHRC’s ‘Changing the Course’ survey which was released in August. She said they ‘have done far more than they ever should have had to do in this space.’ ‘There is always more that the university could be doing, but I firmly believe that the burden for this fight is excessively on student leaders and survivors,’ Kay said. ‘We will of course keep fighting, but the university needs to step up and take more responsibility for reform in this space.’ ‘Those working groups and policy reviews will continue. There’s a lot of work that needs to happen in that space,’ she said. She said going forward there was a necessary discussion about online harassment and how students interact in online spaces. ‘That’s a conversation I think the university wants us to have, that ANUSA’s keen to have, and that I’m going to work on over the coming months.’ Another potent issue this year has been ANUSA’s relationship with the National Union of Students (NUS). Kay voted in favour of affiliation with the union earlier this year. ‘A lot of people talked a lot about making the NUS more accessible and I guess having stronger, better governance. … We have five excellent delegates who have been elected to go to the NUS [National Conference] to represent ANU students, but more students more broadly at a national level. ‘I think that the delegates we have will bring some really strong experience,’ Kay said, noting they will likely be asking the hard questions of the NUS. She said independent Howard Maclean wouldn’t let ‘fudged’ financials or governance slide and said it was good that ANU delegates would ask ‘hard questions’. ‘Freya Willis and Tess [Masters] will ask hard questions and push hard policies on sexual assault nationwide, and I think that will be incredible to see. I really look forward to the impact they make to the NUS.’ Kay said the feedback NUS delegates bring back with them will be

‘critical’ in making strong recommendations to the ANU about ANUSA’s relationship with the NUS. While Kay isn’t an NUS delegate, she is the undergraduate ANU Council member. ‘I always said that I think the president should be the Council member. I think that’s what the University probably expected and wanted as well,’ Kay said. ‘I’m glad that I’ve been elected for both.’ Does Kay think that it limits the ANUSA president in the advocacy role? ‘I think there’s a lot of benefit when the president is also on the Council. When I’m in Council member mode and when I’m on Council, it can give stronger weight to my opinion and the things that I bring forward, because next year I’ll work full time as an advocate for students, learning from the student body, understanding their perspective and representing that to the University,’ she said. Kay conceded there would be things that were confidential but said they would ‘inform the way’ she advocates for students. ‘Will it limit me? I don’t think it will,’ she said. Responding to criticism that a nearly all-female executive was not criticised in the same way a nearly all-male executive would have been, Kay said that there had been a ‘long history of majority male leadership, not just in ANUSA but in society.’ ‘I think we have a long way to go before men’s voices are not heard,’ she said. Kay encouraged women to back themselves. ‘I was deeply struck when I realised that in the four stupol elections I’d seen through my years at ANU, not counting this year, I saw eight men run for president, and only one woman. ‘I only had the confidence to put my hand up for president when I was absolutely sure I was more qualified than anyone else, but that’s not the mindset of many men on our campus. ‘I would hate anyone to leave this election thinking you can only run for president if you’ve been VP, or you should wait till you fulfil 90 per cent of the selection criteria to apply for that job. For women – and other oppressed and marginalised groups – there is often a confidence gap that holds us back from applying for things, and that’s certainly been my experience,’ Kay said. ‘Experience comes in many different ways, and if you’re passionate – use that to drive you to put your name forward.’

KAY PRESIDENT AFTER BIGGEST VOTER TURNOUT IN A DECADE Lif t ’s Eleanor K ay will be the 2018 ANUSA president, a f ter a s tudent elec tion whic h saw the larges t voter turnou t in a t leas t a dec ade. Bu t K ay will face a spli t exec u tive, wi th Shake Up’s Mariah Chang elec ted treasurer and A nya Bonan elec ted social of f icer. C ameron A llan, Shake Up’s presidential c andida te, was elec ted Na tional Union of Student s (NUS) delega te. Ever y college will have a Shake Up and Lif t representa tive except the College of Engineering and Compu ter Science, where t wo Shake Up c andida tes were elec ted. The t wo tic ke t s of general representa tives had limi ted success, wi th only Ac tiva te and Stand A par t gaining one general representa tive sea t eac h. The tic ke t convenors, Ac tiva te’s Nic k Douros and Stand A par t ’s A shish Nagesh, were elec ted. Howard Maclean, the independent c andida te for general sec re tar y, Universi t y Council member and NUS delega te, has only been elec ted as an NUS delega te. K ay will also ser ve as the Universi t y Council member, despi te the elec tion giving the option to s tudent s for the f irs t time to vote for this posi tion separa tely to the president. JASPER LI NDELL

NEWS news

Issue 10, Vol. 67 Issue 10, Vol. 67

o e for A stralian relations ith the ‘ne ’ Text: Isabella Ostini Despite the challenges of Brexit, migration and anti-EU sentiment, David Richie AO claims that now is the time for Australia to seize opportunities for closer connections with the European Union. Speaking at the ANU Centre for European Studies’ annual Schuman Lecture on 28 August, the former Australian ambassador to Germany, and the only Australian diplomat to have served on both sides of the Berlin wall, argued that Australian interest ‘will be [in] a strong EU post-Brexit.’ ‘What is certain is that there will be a new EU,’ he said, adding that Australia should recognise the opportunities this brings, ‘and have the wisdom to take full advantage of them.’ Richie outlined the challenges and opportunities facing Europe, providing a decidedly mixed outlook. ‘Things are definitely not as clearcut as they might seem,’ he said. ‘There have always been challenges… but rarely have they come together at one time. [These are] more than symptoms of the passing f lu.’

For one, we ‘should not be complacent’ about the closely-fought elections in France and the Netherlands. ‘Populism is not dead in Europe,’ Richie said, noting that political forces like Le Pen’s Front National are ‘there and waiting’ for Macron to stumble, while populist parties have gained power in central and eastern European nations such as Hungary. Still, ‘Europe isn’t about to fall over,’ he added. Pro-EU governments retain power in Germany and France, and Richie pointed out that, from the German point of view, the solution to Europe’s challenges is more integration, not less. He also quoted a recent Pew Research Centre poll suggesting that public opinion is currently quite positive about the EU. But with Brexit negotiations, a splintered internal consultation process and difficulties achieving consensus among member states, the EU faces many challenges. ‘We simply don’t know yet, what the new, Britain-less Europe will look like,’ Richie said. Migration is a one of these challenges. It plays into the other problems, such as relations with Turkey and North

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Africa, questions of border control and further integration, and the uneven distribution of responsibility among member states. ‘Almost no other issue… has so divided Europe,’ Richie, pictured, said. Another difficulty is the ‘confusion and opacity’ that the Trump Administration has brought to the United States-EU security relationship. Richie said that there has been a ‘definite shift’ in European attitudes to the US, with polls in Germany revealing that, far from its traditional place as Europe’s security guarantor, Germans now view the US as a greater threat than Russia. ‘Europeans are beginning to doubt that the values they hold are still shared by the US,’ Richie explained. But despite claims that Europe must ‘take its fate into its own hands’, Richie thinks the EU is ‘still a long way short of that.’ He claimed that these divisions mean that, despite the ‘blatantly self-serving’ nature of claims, such as that of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov that we are living in a ‘post-West world order,’ the West

must not blow off these assertions. We need to ‘give some thought as to whether the West as we’ve known it is morphing, or even crumbling,’ he said. ‘We should take nothing at all for granted.’ Yet despite the significant challenges, Richie’s advice to Australia is that we ‘shouldn’t wallow in self-pity about all this change.’ ‘We need to develop a habit of dialogue across the board,’ with both the EU and individual member states, he counselled. But, ‘the new Europe has to be built first.’

ANU JOINS PROJECT GENETICALLY ENGINEERING FOOD SECURITY Text: Isabella Ostini Biologists at the ANU have joined a USled, $45 million project to feed the world by engineering more efficient food crops. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the UK Department for International Development, the Realizing Improved Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) research project brings together eight research centres from the US, UK, China and Australia. One of the ANU’s lead researchers with the program, Professor Susanne von Caemmerer, said, ‘the population is increasing at a tremendous rate, and we’re currently not keeping up our food production to match that rate of population increase.’ In order to feed the world, food production must be doubled by 2050. Co-lead researcher Professor Dean Price said: ‘It turns out that our crop plants are less efficient than we’d like them to be.’ But the RIPE project opens up ‘exciting opportunities to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis and thereby increase food production from those crop plants,’ he added. RIPE, led by the University of Illinois, seeks to take a ‘multi-pronged’ approach to increasing plant yield through improved photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert carbon dioxide, sunlight and water into sugar to power their growth.

If photosynthesis can be considered as a production line, RIPE research will seek to remove bottlenecks in the process, by improving efficiency in certain steps, or short-circuiting them with a new way of processing. ‘There are a huge number of problems that can be looked at in a consortium such as RIPE, to then take the best people from different labs around the world to try to improve that problem,’ Professor Price said. The ANU’s contributions will build on 20 years of expertise as one of the leading plant research groups in the world, to explore ways to create crops that more efficiently capture carbon dioxide. Researchers will seek to allow carbon dioxide to be moved more efficiently from the atmosphere to the leaf chloroplast, where photosynthesis occurs, and to increase the speed with which that carbon dioxide is processed. While RIPE’s discoveries will help to improve crop yield around the world, Professor von Caemmerer explained that the project’s main focus is on engineering more productive crops, such as cowpeas, for smallholder farmers in Africa. Importantly, newly-developed crop plants will be made available royalty-free to farmers in the developing world, and will be field tested in Africa to ensure that farmers can farm them using similar methods to those they currently use. PHOTO: ANU Media

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Week 7, Semester 2, 2017 Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

NEWS news

‘CAN DO’ ATTITUDE SEES TRASH MOB TACKLE LITTER Text: Aleyn Silva A group of Canberrans are setting out with a can-do attitude to tackle Canberra’s litter issue and restore the environment. The ACT is the second dirtiest state in Australia. The most recent Keep Australia Beautiful surveys found an increase in litter contamination since 2014. Trash Mob is Canberra’s newest informal environmental collective. The founder, Maddi Diamond, told Woroni that she aims to fight the growing increase of litter in the ACT by ‘doing the dirty work by hand.’ Diamond said: ‘Trash Mob is kind of like a flash mob. We show up, do our thing, then disappear. Except there’s a little less dancing and a little more cleaning up Canberra’s trash.’

up and doing an amazing job so far, so I can only imagine what we could achieve with more!’

In regards to the increasing amount of litter within the ACT, Diamond considers it related to ‘attitude and policy towards waste production.’ ‘It would be tops if people threw rubbish in the bin and not out the car window. But really, the core problem here lies in the way we manufacture and package goods. It’s almost impossible to buy food, clothes, electronics, and literally anything else, without it being wrapped in single use plastic,’ Diamond said. One of Diamond’s biggest concerns is the fact that, when litter is released into the environment ‘it will always exist.’ The majority of plastics are not biodegradable, and release toxins and chemicals when they deteriorate which are harmful to plants and animals.

Diamond describes the reason for creating the collective as a result of her personal desire to clean the environment.

Diamond states that the negative impact of litter on humans is often overlooked: ‘These toxins end up in the food we consume!’

‘When going for a walk, I often take a bag with me to pick up any rubbish I come across. One day, I just got straight up sick of it. I felt like I wasn’t even making a difference doing this by myself, because there was just so much of it. I thought, surely there are people who feel the same way?’

In response to why she takes on a ‘hands on’ approach, Diamond said, ‘Littering is illegal, but once it’s on the ground, who’s going to clean it up? If we don’t, then it’s going to live there forever. When you remove rubbish from the environment, you enable nature to carry on and do its thing, and that’s what we aim to do.’

Trash Mob works to diminish the amount of litter within the ACT environment, meeting every few weeks to collect and properly dispose of rubbish.

Diamond states it is the aim of the collective to utilise their capacity to make a change. ‘I want people to know that even though we may not be the ones with the power to call the shots and make the rules, we can still make an impact. Climate and environmental predictions are grim, but don’t despair. Instead, get together, organise and get shit done. Trash Mob enables people to connect

Currently Trash Mob consists of roughly 100 supporters, although Diamond stresses that more people will increase the impact they can make, ‘We are averaging about 10 volunteers per clean

with the land that gives us so much, that sustains us. It allows us to give back, and protect our local environment in a super easy, fun and safe way,’ she said. Diamond says that anyone with a passion for cleaning up the environment is welcome. ‘So far, Trash Mob has been small-scale successful. We want to grow

this movement and get as many people involved as possible, to maximise the awesome impact we can have on our city. You can get in touch with Trash Mob on Facebook or by email: trashmobcanberra@gmail.com. PHOTO: Supplied

ANU researchers fare ell Sat rn s ace robe Cassini Text: Isabella Ostini

The craft completely burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere, ensuring that all Saturn’s moons remained pristine.

ANU researchers farewelled the Cassini spacecraft at the end of its 20 year mission, as it became ‘part of Saturn’, destroyed in the planet’s atmosphere on Friday night.

Dr Brad Tucker, from the RSAA, explained that, ‘we must think carefully of what we do and be responsible stewards of our Solar System,’ particularly in light of the potential for life discovered on Enceladus and Titan.

Cassini explored Saturn, its rings, and revealed an ocean of liquid water, and hydrothermal vents, on the ice-covered moon, Enceladus. The probe sent back thousands of photographs. Associate Professor Charley Lineweaver, of the ANU’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA), said that Cassini’s greatest achievement was landing the Huygens probe on Titan, where methane rain, seas and rivers were discovered. It was the first landing on a body beyond the asteroid belt. The highest resolution colour photo of Saturn’s rings, taken by Cassini PHOTO: NASA

Out of fuel after 13 years and 293 orbits of Saturn, the spacecraft was steered onto a collision path with the planet.

Before its collision, Cassini undertook orbits of Saturn considered too risky to attempt except at the end of the mission. These orbits passed through previously unexplored regions of Saturn’s surrounds. The spacecraft kept transmitting as it plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere. The signals were received by NASA’s tracking station at Tidbinbilla south of Canberra, then relayed on to the United States. The last signals were received on Earth more than an hour after Cassini had burned up.

Issue 10, Vol. 67

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BURNT TOAST AND BANTER THE MEMOIRS OF A SENIOR RESIDENT Text: Alice McMillan Illustration: Zoe Bilston This article is not a marketing pamphlet trying to draw in new student leaders with promises of a super rewarding, résumé boosting leadership position – sorry, but no one gets paid enough to write that. Nor is it a bitter revenge letter to the college management teams. Simply put, it is a frank account of what life is really like as a Residential Advisor (RA) or Senior Resident (SR) at an ANU residential college. I hope it will give you a more realistic idea of what it is we do daily, and why we do it. For many students at the ANU, college life is one of the most important and memorable experiences of their time at university. Why is that? The answers range from the lifelong friendships formed to the mind-blowing parties, yet one aspect of college life that often goes unmentioned is the influence of leadership teams. Now, I’m no etyI am a visual perword ‘leadership’ think of the bigbadass ship at the a fleet. Personally,

mologist, but son, and the makes me gest, most front of I find

college residents to be more like a bunch of three-year-olds than a fleet. I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen more first years than threeyear-olds refuse to eat vegetables and shove weird things up their noses. But, when you think about it, college leadership teams aren’t really the big ships. We’re more like the little tugboats that guide students through the choppy waters of first and second year. We do our best to steer you clear of the siren call of drinking every night, the whirlpools of procrastination, and, if you go full Titanic and hit a partially submerged iceberg by the name of mental illness, we’ll bring along a support crew to help patch you up. But, we can only help when we know what’s going on. Too often we hear stories of residents not sharing potentially dangerous situations or feelings with their SR or RA because they are worried about the leadership teams’ perceived relationship with college management and the ANU’s expectations of disclosure from SRs and RAs. Firstly, this can have terrible consequences, and it is one of the things that undermines the important work done at on-campus residences. We are not the college equivalent of George Orwell’s telescreens. Our job is not to record everything that you say and do and report it to management. It is, first and foremost, to ensure your welfare and safety. Secondly, we are allowed a degree of discretion

in what we decide to report. While there are certain situations where we are legally bound to report the details, there are many situations where we can report an incident while maintaining the anonymity of the individuals involved. If you ever approach your SR or RA, they will make this clear to you before you start talking because, ultimately, we never want to put you in a situation that makes you feel uncomfortable. You are, and always will be, our number one priority. For anyone who thinks that SRs and RAs don’t care about their residents and that they just do it for the money, here’s a news flash: most college leaders get paid diddly-squat. I’m talking less than minimum wage, and some of us don’t even have set hours. What’s more, it has the potential to be one of the most challenging positions you will ever hold. Dealing with other people’s problems every day, on top of whatever is going on in your own life, is not easy. Hell, if it were then everyone would apply. So, why do we do it? Why do we care about residents when there is very little tangible reward? Honestly, it’s because we know exactly how it feels to be at uni for the first time. We know what it’s like to be completely out of your depth in a sea of unfamiliar faces and experiences. We are aware how easy it can be to hide in your room, getting lonelier and more intimidated until you call home crying, desperate to go back to your family and everything familiar to your old life. We’ve seen people sink under the pressure of the unfamiliarity and return home, frustrated and disheartened. But we also know how amazing uni life can be, and the amazing opportunities that living on campus can open up. Watching one of your residents embrace the college lifestyle and go beyond their comfort zone to experience new and exciting things is a wonderful thing to witness. Being a residential leader offers a pretty unique opportunity to influence and aid new students to overcome hurdles – whether they be mental, academic or otherwise – and knowing that you’ve helped in some way is an amazing feeling. So, if any of this resonates with you, then please go and have a chat to your SR or RA. If not, then I ask just one thing of you. The next time there is a 7am Friday morning fire alarm because someone burnt their toast and you don’t want to leave your apartment, spare a thought for your SRs and RAs. For, even though they have stayed up till 5am caring for an intoxicated first year or an honours student having a panic attack, they will still help as fire wardens. Because they don’t want to contemplate the thought of what may happen if it’s a real fire. Xoxo Your SR’s and RA’s *Disclaimer: not all leadership teams will feel this way, this is simply one SR’s take on some pretty important misconceptions.

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Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Interview: Jack Wang Chinese students, Australian universities Content warning: mention of suicide

international students and others – why do you think it exists?

What’s it like for a Chinese student to come to Australia?

First of all – the language barrier. When I first came here, I had no idea what the Aussies were saying. We’re also more used to the American-English accent since that’s what we learn in school.

Well, to be honest, it’s quite difficult, especially for the first-year students – they just came from home, and they know nothing about Australian society. Also, the majority of families in China only have one child, so these students usually come from backgrounds where their parents cared for them extensively. So, they don’t know how to cook, their English isn’t that good, and they have difficulty making new friends, especially with Aussies because of the cultural backgrounds. In fact, there was one first-year Chinese student who passed away due to suicide, partly because this transition was so difficult. First-year Chinese students, especially the girls, find it very difficult to enter Australian society. We tend to do a lot of stuff with the girls, but the boys usually take better care of themselves. Maybe it’s because they don’t really want to seek help, but the girls are more talkative, the CSSA has a lot of female members. The girls tend to talk amongst themselves a lot more. There might be a little bit of racism. There’s more of a glass ceiling or stereotyping case. There was a lecturer this year, who wrote in Chinese ‘no cheating’; there was actually a big debate about this. It’s hard to say. I would say that racism does happen, but not to such a large degree. And regarding the language barrier, it’s difficult for both sides. Chinese students are good at written English, but not spoken. It’s difficult for them to speak English, and comprehend spoken English. It’s also difficult for Aussies to understand what we’re saying. Furthermore, many Chinese people aren’t very outgoing. They’re much more comfortable with Chinese-only events. So, the CSSA often holds basketball and soccer events catered towards Chinese people. There is a divide between Chinese

Secondly, there’s the cultural difference. For example. I went to a housewarming today, and they told us to ‘bring a plate’. One of the Chinese students just brought a plate, with no food in it! Another example of this cultural difference is that in China when I want to build a relationship with you, I’d ask you to dinner, so that we can talk. In Australia, people ask to grab a beer or coffee together, which Chinese students don’t really feel comfortable with. Also, a lot of Chinese students who come to ANU are more focused on academics rather than socialising.

A few members of the Australian public have been very vocal in media, voicing their distaste for Chinese international students. Some have even accused them of spying on Australia for the Chinese government. Others accuse them of spreading the Chinese government’s propaganda in Australian universities and stifling free speech. What do you think about these claims? People keep asking me this question – are you guys spying on us? Do you work for the embassy? Do you get funding from the embassy? I mean, come on. We are not. Maybe they’re saying this because CSSA is everywhere, around the world – but as long as there’s a Chinese student in a university, there will be a CSSA; like a brotherhood or sisterhood. We have more interesting things to do than spy on Australian students. The CSSA has been a target of a lot of bad press. To clear up some misconceptions, the CSSA’s of all these different universities are not all connected to each other. The CSSA here, we – view ourselves as a cultural ambassador between Australia and China. Our priority is to make sure students understand the culture and don’t break the law. For example, one of the first-year students

was conducting an online transaction, when the other guy just ran away with the money. Since they we not too good at English, we took them to the police station, to help with ,understanding the situation and culture. Regarding free speech, there’s been a lot of controversy in the news about that map during a lecture that showed a part of China’s territory as India’s. I can’t comment on specific issues, but there is definitely a difference between the cultural backgrounds of the two countries. Australians are a bit hypocritical in terms of free speech; Australians firmly believe in it, but there are many things you can’t say; strongly contrary opinions to political issues like feminism, or marriage equality, to name a couple. In China, we can say whatever we want, but only in small social bubbles. It’s not something we do because of the government, but more because the Chinese people will disagree with you. We do have freedom of speech, but not in the Australian way. It’s not that doesn’t China doesn’t practise freedom of speech; it’s more that Australia and China practise it in very different ways. It seems that the media is just picking on Chinese students because we don’t tend to get involved in the political side of things. Furthermore, I think this is a process of two cultures coming to terms with the inconsistencies within their cultures. There has been a recent boom in Chinese students and Chinese people in general coming to Australia, and this discussion in the media only shows that people want to talk about it and overcome cultural differences.

What can we do from now on? This is what I do – I believe that when I meet a new person, they’re like a mirror. When you smile, they will smile back, and when you say ‘hello’ to them, they will say ‘hello’ back to you. We need more of an understanding and respect between the cultures. We aren’t evil; we aren’t crazy. We just need to understand each other. Jack Wang is the vice-president of the Chinese Scholars and Students Association.

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Issue 10, Vol. 67

Why Voting ‘Yes’ Is The Most Liberal Thing You Could Do Text: Ally Luppino Illustration: James Atkinson and Katie Ward The High Court of Australia has confirmed that the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey is valid. As a result, there are going to be some incredibly tough moments for many of our LGBTQIA* friends. I can’t even begin to understand what it feels like to be attacked so personally by ads and brochures that assume everything from your parental ability to living arrangements based solely on one’s sexuality. But what I do understand is that these assumptions are wrong. I don’t doubt that most of my LGBTQIA* friends would make much better parents than me. I can’t even look after a parsley plant, let alone a child (RIP Marion Parslé). So why should I be considered more fit to parent based solely on my sexuality? With the rhetoric from ‘the no vote’ gauging attention, it’s becoming clear that the ‘Yes’ campaign needs to mobilise and inspire voters beyond the choir it currently preaches to. This is a rare thing for campaigners in Australia, because of our wonderful institution of compulsory voting. It’s now incumbent on the ‘Yes’ campaign to not only persuade people to vote in the affirmative but to encourage Australians to vote at all. And, currently, I’m not convinced the ‘Yes’ campaign is succeeding at doing this. Because marriage equality is not a politically partisan issue. It’s not a Labor thing or a Greens thing. It’s got nothing to do with free markets, or coal or housing affordability. It’s about allowing two consenting adults the right to marry. So we’ve got until 7 November to convince every Australian currently sitting on the survey fence to vote ‘Yes’. And to those who are young (say, younger than 60), a little Liberal and a little Conservative, here’s why voting yes is the most Menzie thing you could ever do.

Firstly, it respects freedom. It is the ultimate hypocrisy to say that you value freedom, particularly free speech, but by the same stroke deny two consenting adults the right to say ‘I do’ at the altar. Of course, freedom of speech

is also tolerance to the ‘No’ campaign’s opinions, but it does not provide an argument in their favour. It’s plain and simple – disallowing marriage equality silences a sizeable portion of our society from freely exercising their ability to marry.

Secondly, religious freedoms will be upheld. In the Private Member’s Bill released by Senator Dean Smith, protection for religious celebrants not wanting to marry same-sex couples was included, as per the recommendations by the Senate Select Committee on this issue. With committee membership from every side of the political spectrum, it’s safe to say that no party wants to, or can, infringe upon the right of Australians to exercise their own religion.

Thirdly, societal progress is not just ok, but normal. The great western capitalist states of the UK, the US and New Zealand have already legalised marriage equality. And, if you’re worried about changing the ‘family unit’ in the same way, I’m afraid that every state and territory already allows same-sex couples to adopt children. And, trust me, they’ve been raising their own biological offspring for much longer. The status quo argument also fails, when you consider that the Marriage Act has been changed 20 times since its inception in the 1960s. This included changing the marriageable age of women from 16 to 18 –when it was always 18 for men. Progress happens, and what we are proposing here is once again well overdue.

Finally, a ‘Yes’ vote will only contribute to the marriage institution. The truth is, my male-identifying gay friends can already get married. To me. I neither love them in that way nor do I ever plan on having children with them. I can also annul the marriage, make a mockery of it, or use it to get more likes on insta (#married #yolo). If you want to reinstate the sanctity of marriage, I think you should start with condemning

the heterosexuals who have already been a blight on the institution (hello Kim, hello Brittany). Allowing more couples the right to marry will only strengthen its tradition. Marrying means commitment, responsibility and, above all, family. That doesn’t change if LGBTQIA* couples marry, it just means that the same values bind these couples. I think marriage is important, and I think that it should be respected. If you love someone sincerely and truly, and you want to spend your life with them, then entering into a marriage is honouring the institution in its highest form. And I think that’s the ultimate reason why Liberals and Conservatives should vote ‘Yes’. As the party who saw the first ever woman, Dame Enid Lyons, elected into the House of Representatives, and the first Indigenous man, the Hon. Ken Wyatt, appointed to the Executive, history once again knocks on our door. In the spirit of liberalism, it’s once again time to modernise. If you’re on the fence, deciding whether or not you want to allow your friends (or maybe even yourself!) to marry, let

me leave you with words from the Great Man Himself. ‘More good things in life are lost by indifference than ever were lost by active hostility’. Robert Menzies definitely wasn’t talking about marriage, but let us take heed. The Yes vote could well and truly lose, not necessarily because of the ‘No campaign’, but because people like us are indifferent to it.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

In Defence of a Republic Text: Kain O’Dea The recent Woroni article ‘Don’t Let Hacks and Sycophants Ruin What Already Works’ proposes an antiquated and confused response to what is perceived as a renewed, leftist ‘hack’ push for a republican debate. With all due respect to the author, the article missed the point entirely, as a young Republican, I want to put forth the case for change. The republican debate is about a unified progression as a nation, not a repudiation of our marred colonial history, birthed from the massacre of Australia’s First Nations. No one is attempting to erase the importance of the Crown from our collective cultural memory – it’s there, for better and for worse. I find it interesting that its author chose to base a majority of his argument against the republican movement on the report of one particular Australian Republican Movement fundraiser, and then fill in the gaps with strained hypotheticals. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ he preaches. Yet, in the same article, he laments about ‘another week of political dysfunction in Canberra’, While they may claim that the system is not broken, they can clearly see the cracks in its façade. I think it’s pretty obvious that while our constitutional monarchic system may not be broken, it sure as hell looks like it is breaking. Perhaps it is just me, the leftist ‘hack’, who is confused by the suggestions that Queen Elizabeth’s position as head of state prevents political corruption. We still had a monarch when Bronwyn Bishop used tax-payer funds in the ‘Chopper-gate’ scandal. We had a monarch during the Tampa affair, and we had a monarch this week when we were unable to resolve LGTBQIA* peoples’ civil rights through regular parliamentary procedure. For an even more recent example of such Constitutional antiquity, we need not look further than the past month where the Section 44 provision that has claimed numerous parliamentary careers. 116 years of monarchic rule has, in no way, prevented corrupt politicians or special interest groups throwing their weight around to achieve their own ends. Conversely, the Republics of Switzerland, Ireland and many other nations have not succumbed to total despotism. Democracy should always be at the forefront of our political systems. Incidents such as the 1975 Constitutional Crisis show us that

relying on conventions that come with the antiquated British monarchy can be risky and that the will of the people can be overridden. A reformation of our constitutional makeup provides the Australian people the chance to remove opaque powers assigned to the Executive, to recognise indigenous peoples as Australia’s first and to add to s.116, making more rights expressly protected at a constitutional level. Right now, the monarch may be nonpartisan and incorruptible in its place as Australia’s head-of-state – but so what? How does that affect the day-today running of the Parliament right now? Where was Lizzie when our Deputy Prime Minister was discovered to be a citizen of a foreign country? Was she fanning the flames of chaos? I don’t think so. What purpose does the monarchy serve? While pro-monarchist may paint Republicans as toffee-nose Turnbull-ite Tories (pardon the alliteration) praising each other as the future masters of the world once the monarchy is out of the way. I can very much assure him that, even in 1999, when the referendum unfortunately lost, 45 percent of the Australian population did not exist as part of some shoulder-rubbing elite community. They were people just like everyone else who are sick and tired of political games and wanted politicians to just get on with it. 18 years ago, a lot of us could barely form complete sentences and look how far we’ve grown. So too has Australia, Britain has become even less relevant. We are more multicultural, we do more trade within the context of our Asia-Pacific region and increasingly hold our own on the world stage. It is not news that the general population do not all share my love of the Labor party or some pro-monarchists’ love of the former Director of Australian’s for Constitutional Monarch – Tony Abbott. People no longer like ‘politics-as-usual’. Therefore, to say ‘nothing to see here, move along’ to the Australian population is a non-sequitur. A debate about the potential for an Australian republic should be exactly that - A debate. The chance for people to express their views and for us as a nation to work out what works for us now. Not what worked 116 years ago. The British monarchy is an anachronism, a remnant of a bygone era – no longer fit to have Constitutional ties to a separate sovereign nation. The fact is, this debate provides politicians with the opportunity to discuss ideas, ideas that mean something more than the day-to-day news cycle and Newspolling. It gives everyone a chance to contribute to redefining the idea of what it means to

be Australian, what our values are and what kind of country we want to be. We should have a head-of-state who is Australian born. A position to which any Australian can aspire, be they born in an Indigenous community in the Northern Territory, or an LGBT-identifying teenager in rural Queensland, a newly settled asylum seeker who is proud to call Australia his/her/their new home, or even conservative monarchists themselves! A position from which no one is excluded and for which everyone can be proud; not a figurehead who was alive when taking Aboriginal children from their families was considered best practice and when the White Australia Policy was very much in force. One who reigned over States that jailed homosexuals and whose family, lineage and patrimony represents the suffering and subjugation of millions of native people. I feel like it is also important to point out that even if the British monarch loses their position as the symbolic ruler of Australia, which the Queen has stated is a matter for Australia as a nation, the British monarchy will still be our celebrities. We will still be able to avidly follow the livers of their young children (which I deem inappropriate, in any case, but if that’s your prerogative – go for it), watch their weddings on television. It’s not as though the Republican movement wants to kill the British royal family. I don’t understand what people think is going to happen afterwards. We will just be a Republic and the sky will not fall in. In a period of such divided public opinion, wouldn’t it be better to set our own rules to suit Australia’s path into the future, rather than clinging on the past? Maybe we should have a debate about it?

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Issue 10, Vol. 67

Marriage Equality

Words of Wisdom from Debates Past Text: Harry Dalton At the end of the 1990s, Australia very nearly became a republic. There was widespread public support for the change, and at the close of the decade a referendum was held on the issue; however, the proposal was ultimately voted down. Perhaps most importantly, Prime Minister Paul Keating – known otherwise for his verbal dexterity and withering personal attacks – had given the idea of a republic a boost during his time in office. He did this through initiatives enacted by his Labor government and through his speeches, describing his vision for Australia. As with the marriage equality survey being held this year, campaigners on both sides of the republican debate put their cases to the Australian people. In the midst of our present debate, one speech stands out as worthy of rehearing. It was delivered at the National Press Club in Canberra in March of 1992; three months after Keating had taken office: ‘In the nine months since the launch of the Australian Republican Movement the republican debate has progressed considerably. It is now an important and

lively subject of discussion. Major newspapers have editorialised in favour of a republic, the Australian Labor Party has placed a republican Australia firmly in its national platform. Opinion polls for the first time are showing a majority of Australians in favour of the republic.’ ‘But despite this,’ he complained, ‘some conservatives fail to come to terms with the debate. The most common defence of the monarchy is a shoulder shrugging ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ cave-man conservatism. Consider for a moment where human progress would be if that approach had been taken to art, literature, technology or politics? The truth is that all human progress has been based on the desire to make something which is better. Societies which have turned their back on social or political progress have invariably atrophied and collapsed.’ Finally, appealing to bipartisanship and showing his political nous, he summed up his case: ‘Economic issues will come and go, and never be resolved (at least to everyone’s satisfaction). But today we are building a nation and there is no worthier enterprise for any of us than that. I imagine there will always be some who will resist

a republic, but few of our critics suggest it is not inevitable.’ Today, like the republican discussion of the 1990s, the marriage equality debate has become a burning issue in Australia, with campaigns being waged vigorously for and against the legalisation of same-sex marriage. One can replace all mentions of the republican debate in the above speech with ‘same-sex marriage’ and it remains a perfectly accurate commentary. As in 1992, ‘cave-man conservatism’ has been seen in the opposition to marriage equality that has been mounted by some in the government and elsewhere under the pretext of defending freedom of speech and religion. Such tactics likewise demonstrate ‘conservatives failing to come to terms with the debate’ – a debate which is surely first and foremost about whether our compatriots are comfortable denying full civil rights to those who are otherwise generally accepted in Australian society. ‘Progress’ – the rallying cry of Australian republicans of the last millennium – is also a word on the lips of many marriage equality supporters. Australia certainly risks being left behind if it does

not allow gay couples to marry, as they are permitted to do in other liberal democracies like Britain, the US, Ireland, Germany, and New Zealand. It is hardly a reform which public opinion is likely to turn against once in place; especially given it is almost entirely inert from an economic or national security perspective (unlike, for example, climate change or refugee policy). But reimagining this 1992 republican speech in the context of 2017’s marriage debate is not a totally speculative exercise. Doing so probably reveals the true sentiments of the very man responsible for this year’s aptly named ‘postal vote’ – our Mardi-Gras-revelling PM. For it was not Paul Keating who gave the above remarks. Instead, it was that other darkhaired, erudite, Sydney-sider republican. A brash young lawyer, who, in 1992 had recently made his entry into public life heading the Australian republican campaign and who dreamed of bigger and better jobs to come: a certain Malcolm Bligh Turnbull.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

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Why Neo-Nazis Love Taylor Swift’s New Hit Single Text: Max Koslowski Collage: Zoe Bilston and Katie Ward Last Friday, the notoriously far-right Breitbart News’ Twitter account started the morning tweeting out stories as normal. But by the end of the evening, whoever was managing the account decided to have a bit of fun with the captions: one article (‘German Left Wing Magazine Cover Portrays Trump Giving Hitler Salute’) was captioned with the lines ‘The role you made me play/Of the fool, no, I don’t like you’. Another piece (‘Majority of Australians Support Public Ban On Islamic Burqa’) was captioned ‘But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time’. All in all, 30 consecutive Twitter posts from Breitbart News were captioned with song lyrics - song lyrics, as you might have picked up, from Taylor Swift’s very new, very popular single ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. The song is already a massive hit - it made the biggest debut of any video in YouTube history, getting over 43 million views, and it’s also broken Spotify’s single-day streaming record. And the far right - Breitbart’s audience of Neo-Nazis and white nationalists love it. The Daily Stormer, which paraded itself as the ‘the world’s most visited alt-right site’ before it was taken down following the violent Charlottesville protests, frequently posted content of quotes from Adolf Hitler that were superimposed on pictures of Swift. It’s the same site that has published articles such as ‘Taylor Swift, Avatar of European Imperialism,’ ‘Aryan Goddess Taylor Swift: Nazi Avatar of the White European People,’ and ‘Aryan Goddess Taylor

Swift Accused of Racism for Behaving Like an Ape in a Music Video’.

sue her for $3 million, she released a statement saying:

Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin explained to Vice’s Broadly that ‘Taylor Swift is a pure Aryan goddess, like something out of classical Greek poetry.... Athena reborn. That’s the most important thing’, ‘It’s incredible really that she’s surrounded by these filthy, perverted Jews, and yet she remains capable of exuding 1950s purity, femininity and innocence.’

‘I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organisations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.’

Milo Yiannopolous, a libertarian Internet icon, wrote in a Breitbart column that ‘Swift is covertly ‘red-pilled’, concealing her secret conservative values from the progressive music industry while issuing subtle nods to a reactionary fan base’. It’s strange that Taylor Swift has been taken up as a symbol of the far right, considering the status she has developed as an empowering, feminist figure who battles and wins, against men in courts, business and romance. In her recent sexual assault trial, where Taylor Swift countersued a Denver DJ who attempted to

And she received praise from commentators who were definitely, absolutely not Neo-Nazis: ‘In speaking out about sexual assault and encouraging other women and girls to do the same… Swift has, at last, done something truly feminist,’ wrote Claire Cohen in The Independent. BuzzFeed’s Lauren Yapalater wrote, ‘Right now, I’m pretty much giving Taylor’s testimony a standing ovation from my desk’. Why is Taylor Swift one of the only artists in the world who is adored by both conservatives and liberals? One explanation is that all of Taylor Swift’s songs - and in particular ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ - are

deeply projective. As listeners, we demand repetition and predictability. In 2012, the Spanish National Research Council looked at 464,411 recordings from 1955 to 2010 and found that popular music these days had “less variety in pitch transitions” than preceding music. And we listen to the same music over and over again: the top 1 per cent of music artists receive 77 per cent of the revenue from the industry. Any ideology can think that their values, or concerns, are reflected in music that has gotten increasingly bland, even if the composer intended for it to be seen otherwise. In Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’, the you could be anyone, and the me could be any of us. Another explanation is that the relationship between politics and pop culture is symbiotic: for the far right to be seen as a legitimate force, one of the easiest ways for them to insert themselves into the ‘mainstream’ is to latch onto the largest cultural icons available. It’s a cheap tactic, one that has more often been co-opted by liberals - such as in the star-studded 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Only now is the far right catching on. Taylor Swift is often presented in the media as a divisive figure, but the reality is that she unites the poles of politics in a way that culture rarely does. Love or hate her new song; it shows us that we can all be Swifties.

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Issue 10, Vol. 67

Qatar Will Not Capitulate Text: Ben Lawrence When Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members cut diplomatic relations and imposed a blockade on the small neighbouring Arab Kingdom of Qatar, many observers expected swift concessions and a rapid resolution. Now more than three months have passed and not only has Qatar resisted the demands of its traditional allies, but it has actively defied them and shows no signs of capitulation. Although the official reason for Qatar’s ostracism is its failure to implement a GCC agreement from 2014, there are a number of disagreements between Doha and Riyadh at the core of this feud which has been simmering for years. Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the long leash of press freedom granted to the Al Jazeera news network, and its flirtations with Saudi Arabia’s regional contender, the Islamic Republic of Iran, have put the kingdom at odds with the interests of the regional hegemon. However, Saudi Arabia has failed to coerce Qatar because the Qatari economy is not vulnerable to the sanctions in the first place, and the coalition has failed to consider their target’s domestic interests. The problem with the sanctions is that for Qatar the costs of accepting the demands are higher than the cost of simply resisting. The ultimatum of thirteen demands issued at the beginning of the crisis ranged from the imposition of

rules for Qatari citizenship, to how the kingdom should conduct its foreign relations. Qatar could never have accepted the onerous demands without effectively subjugating itself as a suzerain to Saudi Arabia. It was likely never expected that Doha would accept the full list of demands, but even those who are more valuable to Saudi Arabia’s national interests were unrealistic as they failed to consider the contextual influences in Qatar. For instance, members of the coalition have repeatedly emphasised that Qatar must stop funding the Muslim Brotherhood, however, failed to recognise how deeply unpopular this would be amongst the Qatari population. The Muslim Brotherhood is widely respected amongst the general populace, and thus the political classes advocate for the government to maintain a strategic balance preventing popular unrest and terrorist activities. Implementing the demands would erode support for the monarchy in multiple sectors of society, potentially destabilising the regime. Paradoxically, the blockade and sanctions which were designed to garner domestic pressure on the government have resulted in a rise of Qatari nationalism. The ‘rally round the flag’ effect has been bolstered by the unified solidarity of the ruling classes in resisting, the sudden and disproportionate appearance of the blockade. The Saudi-led group also underestimated the versatility of the Qatari economy. The food shortages and fall in financial

confidence showed that the economy was clearly sensitive to the initial impact of the sanctions, but the success of Qatar in withstanding and bouncing back from the sanctions demonstrates that the economy is not as vulnerable as initially thought. The country swiftly rectified the food shortages by sourcing alternative suppliers, notably the very countries Saudi Arabia opposed Qatari trade with. New trade routes have been established with Oman to bypass the UAE, the government has increased public spending, and the impact on the economy appears to have been temporary, with Qatar’s economy still expected to expand ahead of the GCC countries. Additionally, the state-owned Qatar Petroleum announced plans to massively increase export of liquefied natural gas, which will drive down natural energy resource prices and impact the resource dependent economies of its neighbours. Doha’s defiance has also manifest in its complaints to numerous international organisations such as the World Trade Organization, the UN Security Council and others. By doing so, Qatar has shown that it is unwilling to settle on the coalition’s terms and that Saudi Arabia’s threats lack credibility. The coalition’s threats lacked credibility from the start because a very similar situation played out in 2014. Many of the same underlying issues prompted the same actors to action against Qatar in 2014, withdrawing their ambassadors and cutting diplomatic ties. However,

relations eventually returned to their normal state without Qatari compromise, indicating that the bloc is unwilling to bear the long-term costs of maintaining coercive economic policies. The economic coercion attempt has failed to damage the Qatari economy, or destabilise its regime substantially, and the situation is unlikely to escalate militarily. The Saudi led bloc cannot afford to become militarily involved, and Qatar and Turkey have rushed to deploy Turkish troops on Qatari soil in a show of defiance and force. Already Saudi Arabia has indicated it will ease its hardline approach by opening the border to Qatari hajj pilgrims. If the goal of the five sanctioning countries was to force Qatar to realign itself with the core of the GCC, then they have failed. Qatar has proven resilient and defiant. It has increased its diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia’s regional competitors, and thus far sanctions have proven ineffective in generating direct or indirect pressure on the government. The blockaders are in for a long wait because the costs for Qatar to accept the demands are higher than the costs of resistance and endurance to both the government and the general populace.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

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The World Is My Oyster, And The Pearl Is Back Home Text: Boya Li Illustration: Kanika Kirpalani It was a cold spring afternoon during the first week of the break. Not much of a crowd could be seen on campus, but an auditorium in the Australian Centre on China was bustling. There were more than a hundred students (who were mostly Chinese), lined up for a ‘lock in China’ employment information session. The speaker, Queena Zhou, is a recruiter specialising in connecting overseas-educated students with Chinese enterprises who favour them. She instilled a sense of urgency to the audience by beginning her talk on how to find a good job in China. ‘Now is the time most of your peers in China begin active job-hunting…if you wait for three months, most of the openings will be filled.’ Zhou’s workshop is part of her recruitment company’s 80day tour, visiting more than 100 universities in UK, US, Australia, Germany, and Italy. More companies like hers are setting eyes on the pain points of the 660,000 overseas educated Chinese

students who will return to China to work this year. It is very confronting: there is a tension between their high expectations and a fiercely competitive job market. To get an idea of how heated competition can get, 20 openings in a well-known bank in Beijing attracted over 100,000 resumes in a week’s time. Moreover, not all employers favour returning applicants just because they are educated overseas. Locally groomed students who have more practical expectations for offerings may turn out to be better choices. More and more Chinese students are studying abroad, making it have the largest, cumulative international students around the world. One in every four international students in the world is from China. Returning students are also highly educated. The 2016 annual report on the development of Chinese students studying abroad reports that 81.45 per cent of Chinese students who return to China to work have a masters degree and 11.09 per cent have doctorates. These highly educated students are returning to China because of shaky

visa policies in their countries of study, and there are better career prospects in China. For most of the masters students majoring in finance, accounting and management; cultural and language differences would lock away a large part of their talent assets abroad. Students are losing patience with taking under-appreciated jobs when they could have more promising prospects back home. Statistics have shown that returning students may not get an obvious advantage in their first job, but they usually display greater resilience and potential in long-term performances. China’s fast developing economy is affording increasingly diverse opportunities. Foreign companies are no longer the most appealing recruiters. Currently, the dominant players are Chinese enterprises like Alibaba, Hainan airlines and start-up Internet companies like Didi who want to expand in overseas markets. In 2015, a resignation letter from a 35-year-old middle school teacher went viral. It read: ‘the world is so big, I want to have a look.’ It is analogous to

Shakespeare’s ‘the world is my oyster’. The enthusiasm for an understanding of the outside world is prevailing. At the same time, China is embracing the largest number of returning students in its history. Just a decade ago, only one in seven would return to China after studying abroad. However, today, eight out of 10 will do so. With globalisation and technological advances, the ‘world is my oyster’ is now suffixed with: ‘the world is so big, go for a look and come home soon’. The change in mentality is clear. The thinking that, ‘only those who did not do well overseas would return to China’ has changed to ‘only those who are not ambitious in their careers will stay abroad.’ It is yet to be seen how this current generation of overseas-educated students will shape and change China’s modernisation. But what we do know is that for an increasing number of students, they are clear that the world is their oyster, yet, the places to find the pearl is now back home.

The right direction on climate change Text: Richard Haowei Hong Many countries are trying to transition from fossil fuel and gas power. Following the G20 summit, numerous countries have made a bid to tackle climate change in this aspect. China is one of the biggest fossil fuel consumers and produced 11.2 trillion USD (GDP) by 2016. China recently claimed that they would end the sales of combustion-engine vehicles to push electric cars. The successful implementation of this policy might alleviate domestic air pollution, and perhaps have a positive impact on climate change. Despite the allegedly good intentions by the Chinese, a specific deadline on the sale of fossil fuel-based cars has yet to set. Cynics perceive that the successful implementation in such massive market will take until the 2040s to accomplish, and therefore cannot fulfil the 2-Celsius goal set by Paris Agreement. Some even say that to implement this policy, China will have to face severe market failure and market inefficiency in the short-run. Thus, it is significant to cautiously consider whether ending combustion-engine vehicles will combat

climate change and ultimately fulfil the Paris Agreement. It is important to assess what the main contributor to climate change is. Despite the lack of a unanimous agreement on this issue, it is widely believed that the excessive emission of carbon dioxide causes climate change. Interestingly, according to US Environmental Protection Agency, the world major CO2 emission industries are Electricity & Heat Production (around 25%) and Industry (21%). In contrast, the Transportation Industry (which contains air, rail, road as well as fossil fuel-based vehicles) only contributed 15% of the global greenhouse gas emission in 2010. With this in mind, perhaps the goal of transitioning motor vehicles from fossil fuel to electricity might not be as efficient as changing and targeting other significant industries, such as Electricity & Heat Production. Additionally, as mentioned above, electricity production contributes around 25% of CO2.In other words, if we replace combustion engines with electricity, this will reduce the CO2 from transportation but increase the amount in the electricity industry. Ultimately, this measure of

replacing combustion engines cannot necessarily reduce the emission of CO2, which is still the key contributor to global warming. Another consequence of this policy in both China and other same-vision countries might be the potential economic loss. Per the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 51% of households in Australia have access to two or more motor vehicles, and the majority are combustion engine based (these engines use fossil fuels). This number will arguably increase as countries develop more. Thus, if we introduce electric cars, this indicates that more than half of the household might need to either shift their transportation or spend more money to pay the electricity bill. Indeed, CO2 emissions can potentially drop because consumers use less fossil fuel. Notwithstanding, markets might be less efficient because ultimately consumers are getting the same thing but having to pay more money. On the bright side, such gesture might stimulate the innovation on alternative energies. Norway, the most ambitious country, set the deadline by 2025, which means all the sales of the conventional cars will be banned in the next eight

years. This indicates that motor companies in Norway must produce a solution on alternative energy cars if they want to survive in the market. A rational choice for those companies would be increasing investment in research and development in the electricity sector or other alternative energies. As a result, it is uncertain whether ending combustion engine vehicles will alleviate climate change. However, it is important to recognise the pitfalls in this policy or mindset. Firstly, we need to recognise that transportation is not the major mean for climate change. Secondly, the potential economic loss and market failure that needs to be considered is the decision-making process. Therefore, the policy itself is controversial to various extents. If the policy is going to shift our focus on research and development on alternative energies, it is most definitely not the worst start to combat climate change.

comment // International

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Content Warning: Mentions of sexual assault and violence

Voices from the inside Text: Noah Yim Art: Kanika Kirpalani

stories have been translated and reproduced with full permission from the Association of North Korean Defectors.

The original stories, and others, can be found at http://nkd.or.kr/news/story/index/1, the personal accounts page of the Association of the North Korean Defectors website. The complete translations can be found on the Woroni website. The

North Korea seems to exist in a state of punctuated equilibrium; it’s usually quiet, but every now and then, it explodes into life. When it does, it’s associated with attention-grabbing headlines like ‘North Korea tests intercontinental

ballistic missile’, or ‘UN Security Council imposes harsh sanctions on North Korea’. It’s a subject that is constantly antagonised and politicised. Because of this, people seem to forget that North Korea is a nation with a population of people that is larger than that of Australia’s. They are the true victims of North Korea: not US politicians who every now and then spit demeaning rhetoric,

or bored Australian journalists considering whether North Korea could bomb Australia. I’d like to share some excerpts from the stories of North Korean defectors with you.

The homeland that abandoned me By Jeong Yeon-Sook, May 2011

Translated by: Noah Yim Unlike most of the other stories of defectors, mine didn’t start with hunger or the struggle to subsist. But it does share the unfairness and misery with those 20,000 other stories. While the rest of North Korea struggled to get food on their tables, I lived a busy life in a bid to live better than the life I had. A senior from the State Security Department came to me and asked me to be an agent. The State Security Department is the secret police and internal intelligence agency of North Korea, employing 90 – 100 thousand people, it is an agency directly linked to the Kim regime, often acting above the law.. The moment I entered his office, he started to ask me whether I believed that I had received the highest order of fortune and kindness throughout my life; because I had been bestowed so much care and love by the comrade, director Kim Il-Sung, to have attended university on the Kim Il-Sung scholarship. I answered the positive without much thought. Years of propaganda and brainwashing had trained me to feel nothing but loyalty to Kim Il-Sung. He slid over a sheet of paper, and told me to read it carefully and sign it. The contents of the form repeated what he had already said. It continued to say that I must henceforth keep confidentiality on all directions given to me from the Department. What truly terrified me were the consequences of potential inability to hold my silence; I would be

sentenced to a political prison camp. I understood its message clearly; complete confidentiality, no discretion required. I signed it. When I left the office, my hairs stood on edge as if I had just been in an abattoir, and I swore to myself that I would never deviate even slightly from the rules set out on that form. My loyalty and patriotism inflamed. A few days later, I was introduced to my senior, who told me to follow their every word to the letter. Because Chung-gang (author’s county of residence) is a large county adjacent to the Chinese-North Korean border, it was a major processing hub for individuals who had been repatriated or captured while attempting escape. My first assignment was an elderly lady. She had defected in 1996, during the Arduous March (a famine during the 1990s, that starved 330, 000 people to death). She had been repatriated alone, leaving her son and daughter back in China. At the age of 67, she had no teeth left, and her husband, who had worked as a diagnostician, had been executed for whistleblowing. She had defected as times hit her hard during the famine with her son and daughter, but was repatriated after being reported by her own countryfolk. The Department assigned her to perform menial tasks with me, so that I could build a rapport with her to gather information. They instructed me to initially ask questions like: ‘Is China more prosperous than we are?’, or ‘Where are your son

and daughter?’, and to move on to questions like ‘Did you see any South Korean TV broadcasts while you were in China?’, ‘Was the TV content interesting?’, ‘Did you meet any South Koreans in China?’ or ‘Did you ever read a bible or go to a church?’ I performed the Department’s directions well and with great loyalty. But every now and then, I saw myself with shame. I followed the orders without question, and to an extent, I seemed inhumane and depraved. To frame such an innocent and naïve woman for political gain was wrong. Even now, here in South Korea, I bitterly laugh at myself when the memory resurfaces. To think that the same institution and similar people still operate in North Korea disgusts me. One day, the woman said that she missed her children sorely; she said that her whole body was aching, and that she didn’t want to eat anything. She had lost all motivation. My task that day was to glean information about the content of a Korean broadcast titled ‘A message to the members of the Workers’ Party of Korea’ aired in China. When I asked her about it, she didn’t respond. When I returned without an answer, I was instructed to meet my superior at the orchard. My superior kicked me and slapped me, demanding to know why I couldn’t do what I was ordered, to get some information from an old hag. I replied that she was in too much grief to ask her again, which was rewarded with a few more kicks. My senior then threatened me that there would be more to

come if word got out about our meeting. I kept my silence, unable to even confide in my husband. I repented for my mistakes, and cried silent tears. One day, the Department gave me their final instructions for my assignment. They told me that I was to find out where the lady’s son and daughter were, after which they required no more information from her. It was clear that they intended to cooperate with the Chinese government to repatriate the lady’s children, and dispose of her. I decided that I needed to get the lady out of the country, back to her children. The Department, catching scent of suspicion, pushed the elderly lady and found out that I had not performed many of the duties I had been assigned, and that I had fabricated many of the reports I had returned to them. They then assigned a co-worker to surveil me. A few days later, I found out that the lady had escaped from the compound. She had noticed my disobedience of the Department’s instructions, and escaped. I had to escape too.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

comment // International

Curse By Lee Ok-Jin, 2005 Translated by: Noah Yim

It is uncommon in North Korea for women to drink.

sitting room. He naturally took his overcoat off and hung it up.

When people think of North Korea, a few things come to their minds: a society without free speech, an impoverished and starving population, and people who do what they are told to do and eat what they are given. They think of an oppressive regime enslaving its people. They are not wrong.

It was the first time that I had ever drunk alcohol, and I felt its effects almost immediately. My thinking slowed, and my eyelids became heavy. I wanted to lie down but the situation did not permit it, and I sat in silence. I took small sips as they urged me to drink more, and I fell asleep there.

‘Come sit here next to me,’ he said. My heart started to pound.

Contrary to a free, democratic society, the communist model is rudimentary and has no room for individual expression. But humans innately want to be unique; from this desire, North Korea has become a place where amoral and antisocial behaviour has become commonplace.

I woke up in the middle of the night. I came to my senses due a strange inkling. I could not help but be shocked by the sight that greeted my eyes. I was naked. And I was not alone. The superior had his arms wrapped tightly around me and was grunting heavily.

My story is a product of the special circumstances created by this toxic, dysfunctional society that is North Korea. In 1998, when I was 23, I married to a researcher in a government laboratory. He was tall and built well; a good-looking and successful man by all accounts. Unlike most other couples, we loved, and had great mutual respect for each other. We lived in the scientists’ apartment in Pyongyang’s Kwangbok street (a very rich area reserved for high-class government employees). Our lifestyles were unlike the lifestyles that most people overseas think of when they thought of North Korea. One day, my husband invited his superior to our house. He was an older man who also worked at the laboratory. They drank foreign whisky together, and based off their actions and conversation, seemed like very close friends. He then invited me to sit and drink with them. I didn’t want to, but him being my husband’s superior, it was difficult to refuse.

I tried to push him away, but I was too late. He groped my body as if he were my lover, and after quenching his lust, he lightly touched my cheek with a grin on his face. At that moment, I shut my eyes tightly. He lay down, as if satisfied, and let out a laugh. I couldn’t move a muscle. Tears of remorse dripped down my face. After the superior had left, my husband was nowhere to be found. He arrived in the morning, with a lopsided grin. He asked me to serve him breakfast before he went to work. I had not done anything to that point in time. I had lost the motivation to do anything. It was the first time that I had ever seen him and felt disgust and revulsion. One night, trapped by the turbulent thoughts raging within my head, the doorbell rang. I went to the door and opened it, expecting my husband. It was, instead, his superior who had come over that night. He came into the flat, as if it were his own home, and sat on the couch in the

‘Come sit here next to me,’ he repeated, ‘It’s not like we’re strangers.’ He continued, ‘Your husband got a very big promotion today. Have no doubt that it was your beauty rather than his ability or skill that got him that promotion. I’m even thinking about giving my position to him in the future, depending on your actions. Of course, this is what we agreed on, but I really do like you.’ I felt as if the world had been pulled out from underneath my feet. ‘What? You made an agreement with my husband?’ I asked. ‘Of course – I couldn’t have possibly done that with you if it were not for an agreement.’ He replied casually. Realisation finally dawned on me. Emotions flooded my face. ‘Let me ask you one thing. Are you telling me that my husband sold his wife for social prestige? Are you willing to stand by that statement?’ I asked. ‘Why are you taking this so seriously? He didn’t sell you, we’re just cooperating. To simplify it for you; there’s no issue here, and there’s no need for you to interfere and ruin our future prospects.’ He replied. He continued on rambling his terrible, offensive reasons. I bit back the anger and humiliation that almost consumed me, and continued to listen to him, and thought once more about the deeply hypocritical and amoral society that I lived in. He, however, continued to spout out his thoughts about emotions and interactions that he would never

understand or experience. The next day, I confronted my husband about it. ‘I’m telling you, you’ll get pushed out otherwise.’ He said, ‘Living in Pyongyang is not that easy. The most valuable thing to us is not our household or family, but our nation. Personal differences, and the sanctuary of one’s household are second to the nation. If, in order to protect our family, I was to deny his offer, he can oust us from Pyongyang and we’ll lose all the power we have. It’s not like there’s somewhere we can go to vent our frustrations. The way this nation works is that law, morality, and everything else is seconded to power and influence. A man must use everything in his arsenal to rise to the highest position he can, and must wisely, and expertly, brave through the humiliation and suppression of emotions to be the true holder of power. You can leave me if you don’t understand this. I have long given up on those petty concepts of household and family and those who heed those meaningless words that have flowed down from unsuccessful ancestors. If you want to be with me for the rest of your life, you need to get out of that mindset. I don’t want to go down to some place in the middle of nowhere and dig up the food we eat to have a nice, loving life with you.’ What more needs to be said? I did not respond, but walked outside, in the middle of the night, and continued walking with no thought of stopping.

prompted // multilingual

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Sovereignty in Indonesia Text: Mohamad Noor Rizal The development of Indonesian democracy is facing unprecedented challenges with technological advancement affecting interactions between the government and the people. This is particularly striking with regard to the broader modern world, in which we can publish our own ideas without news agency intermediaries. In the New Order era (the era under second Indonesian President Soeharto), for example, Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) played an important role in conveying the government’s doctrine. The television channel, managed by the Indonesian government, regularly broadcasted reports of Indonesia’s development. Indeed, until 1989, TVRI monopolised television-broadcasting frequency. Even when the private media gained access to the public frequency, the government required that these private channels air government programs alongside their own material. TV channels like RCTI, SCTV, TPI, ANTeve and Indosiar were required to broadcast Dunia Dalam Berita (World in News), a program created by TVRI. The program was aired simultaneously on all Indonesian channels from 9 pm until 9.30 pm. The government’s intervention in broadcasting domain was revoked upon the New Order era ending. Subsequently, although the TVRI channel and World in News program still existed, private channels had no obligation to broadcast their programs at prime times. In this new millennium, middle-class Indonesians are beginning to eschew television in favour of internet-based media. Leadership changes from an authoritarian style to a democratic one

also affects the use of media by the government. In the same way President Soeharto was the main star on World in News, President Joko Widodo could become the main star… on his own YouTube channel! Indeed, President Jokowi’s YouTube channel has 340k subscribers. In contrast with former times, the current presiding government is fully aware of the importance of social media and how to utilise it maximally. Naturally, this is good news: Indonesia is finally moving from centralised media to more open media. A democratic environment can consequently be fostered through the possibility of the Indonesian people being able to share their thoughts. In contrast with the New Order era, when the repression of Indonesians’ rights to freedom of expression was tangible, it is now possible to share opinions with ease. This can be either through comment sections, for example, or even a self-publishing platform like a blog. Nevertheless, we cannot deny there exist limitations within certain forms of media. Television conveys one-way information to the viewer, for example; the viewer is unable to interact and participate with the information’s producer. Social media, on the other hand, gives a chance to the viewer to interact with the content’s creator. Although it can’t be known whether the Presidential Press Bureau reads all the comments and messages it receives, at least the online medium allows people to send them. Yet what if the medium is the message itself – what does it convey? The Internet’s interactive element gives every individual a chance to speak. This is a positive development, for if everyone can interact and share their thoughts, the possibility for rich debates is greater. Theoretically, this will entail a healthy democracy. Nevertheless, this kind of

open communication also threatens the ideology espoused and propagated by the government itself. After the Reformation Era, freedom of expression in Indonesia has sky-rocketed. Media is no longer threatened by fear of banning and censorship. A new problem, however, is that ideologies which are considered against Pancasila, the sacrosanct national ideology, become apparent. And I can attest that this has grown out of control. To trace these ideological battles, we need to look briefly at the history of Marxism and Caliphacy in Indonesia. These ideologies are two prominent ideologies incompatible with Pancasila. Public talks discussing Marxism, for example, are often censored. This happens because Indonesians are still traumatised by the depiction of the communist movement in the New Order era. Indeed, a gore film is broadcasted annually to commemorate Indonesia’s most controversial tragedy, the 1965 Tragedy, and remains extremely distressing to watch. Different from Marxism, the notion of Caliphacy began to spread rapidly after the decline of New Order. Their ideas quickly become viral both online and offline. Yet they ultimately still proved flawed and problematic, falling into the same hole as their predecessors. Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, the organisation which supports Caliphacy, was even recently banned by the government through the Government Regulation of Community Organisation Year 2017. Ultimately, the Indonesian Government decided freedom of expression needed to be controlled. In a show of power, the government manipulated its power and began to impose bans. Recently, for example, the Minister of Communication and Information has threatened to ban access to certain social media platforms in an attempt to combat underground terrorist movements. Is this action appropriate? To show

Indonesia’s sovereignty in the digital media sphere, such a decision makes sense for the government. Of course they need to sustain their own ideology. But will it work? Unlikely. I believe that when an idea is repressed, it will act like a trapped spring. Pressure builds up until tension reaches a peak point, and then all the repressed energy suddenly bursts out. Take the spread of “anti-Pancasila” ideology: it moves invisibly, ending up in coffee shop discussions and small mosques. These ideas do not manifest as part of a concrete organisation, but they grow in the minds of people who believe in them. To attempt to halt unwanted ideology through media censorship and bans is consequently not a practical policy choice. We need to fight ideas with ideas. Open debate, whether in academic or political domain, will be a dialectical solution for getting the best output. Putting this into practice will not be easy. Through modifications of social media algorithms, such as the use of paid buzzer and search engine optimisations, our opinions are easily constructed by those who have money. We are in the post-truth era where information can be constructed in such a way for the political purposes du jour. As Indonesian people, therefore, we need to retain the relevance of Pancasila values in our lives. Our enemies are those of massive disinformation and illiteracy in managing what genuine information we do have. The democracy we hold is currently being tested as it moves towards its maturity. If we succeed, however, Indonesia has the potential to be a better and freer nation. As a closing note, I would like to wish a Happy 72nd Independence Day to the Republic of Indonesia. I hope the freedom that God gives is not in vain, and that it can be enjoyed by all Indonesian people.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

prompted // multilingual

Kedaulatan Media di Indonesia Perkembangan demokrasi di Indonesia kini sedang berada di titik yang menentukan. Perkembangan teknologi mempengaruhi bagaimana interaksi antara pemerintah dengan masyarakatnya. Perbedaan yang sangat mencolok terjadi ketika dunia memasuki era di mana kita dapat mempublikasikan gagasan kita sendiri tanpa perantara agensi berita. Di era Orde Baru, Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) memliki peran penting untuk menjembatani doktrin pemerintah. Kanal televisi yang dikelola oleh pemerintah ini selalu menayangkan tentang perkembangan pembangunan Indonesia. Hingga tahun 1989, TVRI memonopoli frekuensi siaran televisi. Bahkan ketika media swasta mulai memasuki frekuensi publik, siaran pemerintah harus tetap ditayangkan di kanal mereka. Kanal TV seperti RCTI, SCTV, TPI, ANTeve dan Indosiar diwajibkan untuk memutar ulang tayangan program Dunia Dalam Berita, berita yang disiarkan TVRI. Berita tersebut diputar serentak di semua kanal TV pada pukul 21:00 hingga 21:30. Intervensi pemerintah dalam penyiaran ini dicabut disertai oleh tumbangnya Orde Baru. Walaupun kanal TVRI dan program Dunia Dalam Berita masih ada, kanal televisi swasta tidak perlu menayangkan program tersebut lagi di jam tayang utama. Di millennium baru ini, masyarakat kelas menengah Indonesia mulai meninggalkan televisi dan menikmati media berbasis internet. Perubahan kepemimpinan dari yang bergaya otoriter hingga yang demokratis mempengaruhi penggunaan media oleh pemerintah. Jika Presiden Soeharto menjadi bintang utama dalam Dunia Dalam Berita, maka Presiden Joko Widodo menjadi bintang utama â&#x20AC;Ś di kanal YouTube dia sendiri! Presiden Joko Widodo memiliki kanal YouTube yang hingga saat ini mencapai 340 ribu. Berbeda dengan periode

sebelumnya, pemerintah saat ini sangat sadar akan pentingnya media sosial dan memanfaatkannya dengan maksimal. Tentu saja ini merupakan berita bagus. Akhirnya kita bertransformasi dari media yang tersentralisasi menuju ke media yang terbuka. Iklim demokrasi tercipta dengan dibukanya kemungkinan bagi orang lain untuk memberikan komentar. Berbeda dengan jaman Orde Baru di mana represi terhadap kebebasan berpendapat sangat terasa, kini kita dengan mudah dapat menyampaikan opini melalui kolom komentar atua bahkan melalui media mandiri seperti blog. Namun, jangan lupa dengan batasanbatasan yang dimiliki oleh media. Televisi menyampaikan informasi dengan satu arah. Batasan ini tidak memberikan kesempatan bagi penonton untuk berinteraksi kepada pemberi informasi dan menyampaikan tanggapannya. Berbeda dengan televisi, media sosial memberikan kesempatan bagi para penonton untuk berinteraksi dengan pembuat konten. Walaupun belum tentu Biro Pers Presiden membaca semua komentar dan pesan yang diterima, tapi setidaknya medium ini memberikan kesempatan untuk melakukan hal tersebut. Jika medium adalah pesan itu sendiri, lalu apa yang ia sampaikan? Model interaksi dalam internet memberikan kesempatan bagi setiap individu untuk berbicara. Ketika semua orang dapat berinteraksi dan bertukar pikiran, perdebatan akan tercipta. Secara teori, hal ini akan mendukung iklim demokrasi yang sehat. Namun pada akhirnya, keterbukaan komunikasi malah mengancam ideologi yang dibawa dan disampaikan oleh pemerintah. Semenjak Era Reformasi, kebebasan

berekspresi di Indonesia semakin meningkat. Media tidak lagi terancam akan pembredelan atau penyensoran. Masalahnya, ideologi yang dianggap bertentangan dengan nilai-nilai Pancasila pun semakin tampak di permukaan. Dan bisa dibilang, ini sudah di luar kendali. Untuk menelusuri pertempuran ideologi ini, kita harus melihat sejarah Marxisme dan Khilafah di Indonesia. Kedua ideologi ini dianggap bertentangan dengan nilai-nilai Pancasila. Beberapa kali diskusi publik yang membahas tentang Marxisme terpaksa dibubarkan oleh aparat. Hal ini terkait dengan trauma yang diciptakan pada masa Orde Baru di mana penayangan film tentang gerakan komunisme di Indonesia merupakan hal yang wajib setiap tahun. Berbeda dengan Marxisme, ideologi Khilafah mulai menyebar di Indonesia semenjak tumbangnya Orde Baru. Ide mereka tersebar dengan sangat cepat dan rapi baik melalui online dan offline. Tapi pada akhirnya, nasib mereka sama. Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, organisasi yang mendukung ideologi ini, akhirnya dibubarkan oleh pemerintah dengan dikeluarkannya Perpu Ormas Tahun 2017. Pada akhirnya, kebebasan berpendapat dan mengemukakan ide ini harus dikendalikan. Pemerintah Indonesia menunjukkan kekuatannya melalui aparat negara dengan melakukan pembubaran. Baru-baru ini, Menteri Komunikasi dan Informasi mengancam akan melakukan penutupan akses ke beberapa sosial media untuk memerangi gerakan teroris. Apakah tindakan ini tepat sasaran? Untuk menunjukkan kedaulatan Indonesia di ranah digital, menurut saya sangat tepat. Pemerintah patut menjaga ideologi yang dimilikinya. Namun, apakah itu akan berhasil? Tidak.

Saya yakin ketika ide direpresi, dia akan bertindak seperti pegas. Pada suatu saat, dia akan berada di titik balik di mana dia akan melontarkan tekanan yang dia rasakan. Tanpa terlihat, penyebaran ideologi yang â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;anti Pancasilaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ini akan tersebar di warung-warung kopi dan masjid-masjid kecil. Ide ini tidak termanifestasi sebagai organisasi yang solid, namun tumbuh di pikiran-pikiran orang yang meyakininya. Jadi, kebijakan untuk menghentikan ideologi yang tidak diinginkan dengan cara pembubaran dan penyensoran media bukanlah hal yang tepat. Gagasan haruslah dilawan dengan gagasan. Debat terbuka baik itu di ranah akademis maupun politis akan menjadi solusi dialektis untuk mendapatkan jawaban terbaik. Praktiknya tentu tidak akan mudah. Dengan algoritma media sosial yang dimodifikasi oleh aspek-aspek seperti buzzer bayaran dan optimisasi mesin pencari, penggiringan opini dapat dengan mudah dilakukan oleh pemilik modal. Kita berada di jaman pasca-kebenaran di mana informasi dapat dikonstruksi sedemikian rupa untuk kepentingan tertentu. Sebagai rakyat Indonesia, kita pun harus bisa mempertahankan relevansi nilai-nilai Pancasila di kehidupan kita. Musuh kita adalah disinformasi masif dan ketidakmelekan dalam mengelola informasi yang benar. Demokrasi yang kita junjung sedang dalam tes menuju kedewasaan. Jika berhasil melewati tes ini, saya yakin Indonesia akan lebih baik. Sebagai penutup, saya ingin mengucapkan Dirgahayu Kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia. Semoga kemerdekaan yang Tuhan berikan tidak sia-sia dan dapat dinikmati oleh seluruh rakyat Indonesia.

Issue 10, Vol. 67

prompted // multilingual

致我出生的地方－永安 To the place I was born - Yongan

22 爱是幻想，爱充满激情和美好的祝愿，是崇拜，是责任，是观察，是谦卑，是耐心和焦心。

——（第五场，第二幕，89-92 节，皆大欢喜，莎士比亚）那条河轻轻流过我的家乡，

The river gently flew cross my hometown,

潺潺的浪花涌向远方。

the murmuring waves running afar.

那条狗在艰难的岁月里陪伴了父亲和我。

The dog accompanied my father and me in the poignant years.

母亲的背影变得越来越小。

The image of my mother’s back grew smaller and smaller.

吵闹的麻雀忙着在枝桠上筑巢。

The chirping magpies were busy

熟人三三两两的在街上徘徊。

with setting up nests at conjunctions of twigs. The acquaintances haunted the street in twos and threes.

古老的橡树插满了新芽。我的母亲去哪里了？

The ancient Chinese locust tree was studded with buds.

这个问题没有被问出，

Where was my mother?

但是保留在我的记忆里。

The question was unasked,

夜晚被拉长，扭曲。

but stayed in my mind.

你棕色的卷发，你开玩笑的声音，你内心深处的谦卑，让我慌乱。

爱情像没有成熟的石榴，混杂了甜和苦。爱情是无止尽的叹息，爱情是辗转反侧，内心受伤却不显疤痕。

The evening was stretched and twisted. 蝉子贴着树枝，

我爱的人，我会为你哭出一条渊渊的河。所有的假装和面具一直会保持？

在有月光的夜晚嗡嗡叫。

The cicadas were clinging to the branches

摩托车的噪音吵着了熟睡的人和警惕的土

droning in the moonlit night.

狗。

The noise of motorcycles irritated the slumber and the alert terrier dogs.

让人不安的深夜谈话在记忆之中朦朦脓脓。

The disturbance of some deep-night chatters unfurled in my memory.

有的蜻蜓在飞，有的蜻蜓藏在睡莲从中。

The dragonflies flew and hid,

细长的茎，粉红的花瓣，嫩嫩的花蕊

Among the sleepy water lilies.

在古老的画中收聚。

Slender stems, pink petals, tender stamens,

弥漫的香气在下着小雨的天变得更浓。

came to life in the old paintings.

在唐代的古诗里，

And the permeating fragrance consolidated in the sprinkle raining days.

睡莲叶上的露水和一个妃子的泪水是同等

In those ancient poems from Tang dynasty,

重的。

The weight of dew on the water lilies’ leaves was equal to a concubine’s tears.

宫灯的响声在长长的弄巷里回荡。

The blaring of palace lanterns resonated across the alleys.

吵闹的蝉最后也睡着了。

The noisy cicadas finally fell asleep.

All adoration, duty, and observance,

鸡鸣吵醒了熟睡的人。

The rooster interrupted the sweet dreams.

All humbleness, all patience and impatience

老年人总是最先醒来的，

The elderly always woke up first,

---(Act 5, scene 2, 89-92, As You Like It, Shakespeare)

然后是小孩子。

The children next.

我祷告了又祷告，深思了又哭泣。

如果我是一只骄傲的凤凰，我已被囚禁在一个金色的鸟笼。爱情是被冷落而不抱怨，爱情是希望和失望。

一只蝴蝶在飞，旁边的红玫瑰被他施了魔法。

It is to be made of fantasy, All made of passion, and all made of wishes,

Your brown curly hair, 母亲重新出现在我的记忆里。

Mother reappeared in my memory.

Your playful voice,

她红色的汗衫浸透了咸咸的汗水。

Her red shirt was drenched in salty sweat.

Your humbleness beneath,

她转过头来检查我是不是在哭。

She turned back and checked whether I was crying.

All make me frenzied.

她满面红光，身材短小精干。

Her rosy cheek was glowing; her figure was tiny but vigorous.

她的背结结实实；她的手忙忙碌碌。

Her back was sturdy; her hands were brimmed with doing things,

青苔在阴郁的季节里铺张开来。

The lichen was spreading in the gloomy season.

Love is sighs, many times and more.

青蛙直到深夜还在鸣叫。

The frogs were croaking till deep in the night.

Love is twists and turns,

时间到了离开父亲母亲上幼儿园的时候了。

The time had come to depart from mother and father for a pupil,

hurting inside without scars.

Love is like an immature pomegranate, fused with sweetness and bitterness.

venturing into the kindergarten. 不从众和羞涩把这个孩子和其他孩子们分

Nonconformity and timidity built the gap between the child and the peers.

My love, I will cry you a river.

开。

Conflicts came between prematurity and maturity.

All these pretending, these personas Will they go on forever?

这个孩子的挣扎来自早熟和成熟。 Tranquillity and blooming expectations rooted in the foggy days.

I prayed and prayed,

宁静和蓬发的期待在雾天里生根。

The villagers were slightly annoyed by the untimely roosters.

Pondered and wept.

村民被不适时的公鸡叫声轻轻惹怒。

Innocent roosters were only waking up people with duties!

无辜的公鸡只是为了叫醒有职务的人们！

Carrying the burdensome backpack with the pattern of ladybugs,

If I were an arrogant bird,

背上沉重瓢虫图案的书包 ,

the pupil rushed to the school.

I would be imprisoned in a golden birdcage. Love is being put-upon,

小孩着着急急得往学校赶。

Love is hope and extinguishment.

Text: 游勉 Mian You

致我爱的人 A LOVE SONG

A butterfly is at his prime, conjuring a red rose aside.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

features

Content Warning: Mentions of disordered eating

Food issues

why i divorced my toxic habits Text: Ruby Smyth Art: Zoe Bilston Hi, I’m Ruby, and I am a disordered eater. I suffered from bulimia as a young teenager, however my more recent eating disorder consumed my life in a way that is difficult to define. Partially because so many of us have elements of it. We feel guilty about eating a slice of cake because it’s ‘naughty’, or we miss a day at the gym and start feeling horrible about our bodies. We talk about fat like it’s something to be feared. We talk about health in terms of diet and exercise, but neglect to mention the other dozens of factors that determine health, like socio-economic status and medical conditions. We judge others based on their body shape, fitness levels, and dietary habits. Of course, having already had an eating disorder, I took these messages to extremes. I didn’t simply avoid eating oil: I was terrified of it. I didn’t just exercise daily: I had to. I didn’t just buy healthy foods: I feared buying anything remotely unhealthy because I knew I’d bingeeat it in one go. To the outside world, I was a shining example of body-positive health. Size 12, extremely fit, textbook-perfect diet, and an Instagram that made my food look much more appealing than reality. I was praised for my discipline. I was praised for my disordered habits. To me? I still felt like I was constantly fighting for control. I was still ashamed of my body. I still thought about food

and exercise all the time, every day, and how I could manipulate other parts of my diet to look and feel better. To be happy. I just wanted to be happy. The moment I realised I had a serious problem was when I met a guy at a party in March 2016. A friend introduced us and it took a while for me to realise he wasn’t talking to me out of politeness, because this guy was freaking hot. I put it down to the dim lighting and my witty drunk mind that he was paying attention to me. Fast forward to the next morning and waking up next to him, which was perhaps the most horrifying moment of my life. He was still just as gorgeous as the night before, but it was daylight. We were sober. He’d wake up and see my cellulite, my stomach rolls, my round chubby-cheeked face and freak out. He’d kick me out. He’d never speak to me again. I’d be humiliated. I left as quickly as I could while he slept, and I made a concerted effort to avoid him at all costs from then on. I didn’t want him to see me properly. When he inevitably did – we live in Canberra, after all – I ran into the bathrooms at Manning Clark and had a panic attack. I started thinking about what I preached compared to what I believed. I think that all my friends, regardless of their bodies, are beautiful and amazing. However, for some reason, who I was didn’t seem to

be good enough. I wanted to be anyone but me. The truth is, my issues with food have never been about what I look like. Sure, body image is an easy scapegoat, but the truth was that I was terrified of being seen. Really seen, for my insecurities, flaws and ugly parts. Seen for my passions and abilities. Seen for my beauty. I was scared to be creative, open, weird, confident, and happy. I suppressed the true Ruby so far down I didn’t know who she was. People have asked me why I deferred uni and bought a ticket to Germany in first semester this year. I haven’t given an honest answer yet. I did it to discover who the girl screaming inside of me was. The girl I had suppressed with my all-consuming thoughts about food, exercise and my body. The girl who had so much more to offer. Reading Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon in April this year was a game-changer for me. I stopped intense exercise three months ago. I was diagnosed with fatigue, endometriosis, and glandular fever. I had overworked my body to the point where it couldn’t cope anymore. I also ate. I ate everything I wanted. At the beginning, I was going through a jar of Nutella and a bag of salt and vinegar chips a day. It’s tapered out now, but I still eat whatever I want because I know it’s okay. It doesn’t make me a bad person. The interesting thing was how addressing my disordered eating and exercising habits cleared up a lot of other stuff for

me. I dropped my law degree, because I started believing I was good enough to pursue my passion for English and writing. I didn’t need a safety net. I started being more assertive and standing up for myself. I stopped worrying whether people saw me as too enthusiastic, strange or opinionated. Suddenly, the real Ruby started to crawl out from the hole she was previously condemned to. I realised she was far more courageous than I’d ever given her credit for, far more talented than I’d imagined, and far more compassionate and kind than her previous imprisonment had allowed her to be. She fit into her body perfectly, and even though it looked the same as it had 12 months previously when she ran from a one-nightstand in shame, it also looked transformed. It was suddenly amazing and beautiful and anyone should be lucky to merely lay eyes upon it. My story is one that will ring true for many out there – the obsessive clean-eating, over-exercising, guilt- and shame-fuelled patterns that our society not only tolerates, but encourages to suppress our creativity, beauty, and potential. Deciding to divorce my disordered eating was challenging, but it was harder to live with. It was harder to hate myself and waste hours obsessing over food and exercise. Now that we’re separated, I have more room for love in my life. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you don’t have to be fit, healthy, slim, disciplined, or obsessed to be worthy of love and happiness. You’re more than enough already.

features

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Content Warning: Mentions of holocaust and negative approaches to it

Losing our Humanity through Memes Text: Lucy Bucknell Illustration: Zoe Bilston I can’t really remember the first time I heard the word ‘Nazi’. Perhaps while reading Morris Gleitzman’s young adult series as I followed a young Jew through the Second World War. It could have even been during that tense ‘The Sound of Music’ scene between Captain von Trapp and the swastika-donned Gauleteir Zeller. While doubt surrounds my first encounter with this ideology, there is no uncertainty that I knew it to be a foul devotion. Something so dark and immoral that I could not begin to comprehend how some could follow these beliefs. This sentiment deepened organically through the customary interactions and educations of my Australian childhood. At the age of 11, Anne Frank’s diary left me profoundly disturbed. By year 8 English I had viewed countless images of the piled bones surrounding Auschwitz. The following year we viewed Schindler’s List and read ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’. I listened to a holocaust survivor recount her experiences while I sat silently, foolishly wishing I could have gone back in time and attempted to prevent these atrocities. Then I left for Denmark. During a history lesson only a few weeks into my exchange, a friend leaned across my

desk and etched a figure upon my blank page. A filthy, four-pronged figure. The swastika. I was taken aback. A symbol of animosity, of everything I stood against was now outlined on my page. However, it was not just upon my page, but upon the pencil cases of many. Across the walls of the school, the brick walls along rail lines, etched upon train windows. The symbol appeared sprayed in paint along paths, jumping out from underneath melting snow. I was introduced to a new kind of edgy humour of a once taboo subject, and taught that it was okay to joke about Hitler. I relished in it. A way to let out my frustration through a medium of tasteless jokes and banter with friends. A swastika fashioned out of Lego blocks in the local mall, and a salute to the skies from me. This is okay, I told myself, it’s all just for a laugh. It’s irony, I don’t genuinely follow these extremist views. In a way, I’m mocking Nazi’s. I’m not as bad as them, am I? I don’t joke about Nazism any more. On exchange, I felt so distanced from it. As if there was no possible way anyone believes these ideals in modern society. Now, I am not so confident. You need only to look at the August Charlottesville riots to view neo-Nazism today. I am confronted with it closer to home. From a friend, I recently received screenshots of a conversation with a

mutual high school classmate. A man who now claims to “…revere Nazi ideology”. Who asserts that in society today, “…overly politically correct people have pushed normal people into this kind of thinking”. When questioned by my friend if there is a large Nazi community back in our hometown, the reply came swiftly. “Yes there is, it’s a lot bigger than you would think”. Last night, my sister introduced me to the Instagram account of an old primary school friend, with a swastika in place of a smiling profile picture and an insensitive biography concerning Hitler and murdered Jews. I find myself conflicted, torn between wanting to let others express their beliefs, and my basic emotions mixed with embedded morals which are screaming for me to tell these people how callous and injudicious they are behaving. If being politically correct means you believe a human shouldn’t be prosecuted purely due to the colour of their skin, the religion they follow, a disability they possess, or their sexual orientation, then call me politically correct. If I think a public comment about Hitler being an incredible individual because he offered Jews a home in a gas chamber is absolutely disgusting, then call me politically correct. Call me whatever you want, it won’t phase me. What does phase me is the lives of millions of innocents who

were taken by this ideology. This ancient religious icon has been restored as an edgy symbol for teens to praise the work of a system that fuelled social Darwinism and the destruction of almost an entire race. I have struggled internally in deciding if there is any difference between myself a few years ago and the people I see spreading the symbol today. Was I just as bad as they were? Do I need to calm down and stop being so “politically correct”? However, when I went through my own edgy stage, I never spread the word on social media, merely through nervous giggles between close friends. I still knew just how offensive these hollow words could be. Some may believe that I am a hypocrite, and I accept that. However, I never, not even for one second, bought into this xenophobic ideology. All I wish is for these people to consider their words. There is no requirement to pick up Anne Frank’s diary, there’s no need to watch a holocaust documentary, or to even step into the War Memorial. All you must to do is pause and deliberate for a moment. Engage with your humanity. It is easy to disconnect when you see a symbol interwoven in a meme. It is easy to joke about gas chambers when you are not trapped inside of one.

features

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Content Warning: Mentions of incest

This piece contains Game of Thrones spoilers.

Incest: Hot or Not? Text: Luke Wye Incest. All it takes is one quick sight of this word to give many of us feelings of apprehension, disgust and shuddering visuals you would rather not conjure up. We know that royal families famously engaged in incest to maintain bloodlines and even the Bible references it. However, what is your reaction when this kind of close familial relationship is played out in literature and the big screen? The once off topic, off screen act has become normalised in popular culture, and our collective reaction seems to have shifted from shock horror to one of an indifferent shoulder-shrug. It begs the question: has pop culture made the perverse weirdly palatable? To look at this, where else should one turn but to Game of Thrones? This cultural phenomenon embraces violence, dragons and debauchery in all their glorious forms. Contextually, culturally-appropriate sex seems a little too vanilla. So, what took the scandal out of what is, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s be real, an illegal sexual act? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s begin with the first â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;close encounterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jamie and Cersei. How could one forget the Lannister twins going at it? It was this dirty deed and subsequent attempted murder of Bran that kicked off the showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire plot. To finish the premiere episode with incestuous twins was shocking and audience reactions ranged from disbelief, repulsion and curiosity as

to how can this be shown on television. Unsurprisingly, Jaime and Cerseiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complicatedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; relationship contributes to the portrayal of the two characters as resident antagonists in the early seasons. Pushing Bran out the window immediately rendered the couple as the bad guys, and it was the exposure of the relationship that led to Ned Starkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s untimely death (may the old gods bless his soul). Even now, the depiction of their non-orthodox (read: sex in front of their sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corpse) relationship continues to turn heads. However, this strategy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; adding an incestuous element to a characterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality to make us dislike them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is not exclusive to the Lannisters. Take, for instance, Walder Frey and his disturbing familiarity with his daughters, or Craster and his keep of women who are all, distressingly, his daughters. Knowingly engaging in incest seems to be a device used to garner negative feelings towards characters. Sometimes, though, incest is used simply to shock the audience. Take, for example, Theon meeting his sister for the first time in over a decade. While Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll spare you the details, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just say it was quite the reveal that Theonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s medieval equivalent of an overly-intimate airport Uber driver was, in fact, his dearly beloved sibling. Though, the relationship between incest and character resentment is not

always negative. Recent portrayals of incest seem to have resulted in a shift from earning reactions of disgust and horror to eliciting a somewhat positive reception, as in the most recent case of Thrones-cest.

dragon and the wolf. This ignorance to their family ties seems to exempt audience criticism and disgust. Instead, it provokes a sympathy toward characters who have fallen in love but are unaware of the secret that ties them together.

Of course, I refer to Jon(Aegon) Snow(Targaryen) and his now aunt, mother of dragons, Daenerys Targaryen. Why was the world collectively begging for this hook-up despite knowing full well it was incest? Why are we excited at the prospect of Jon and Dany creating beautiful incestuous babies and not squirming in the thought of Lannister 2.0?

In saying this, it is important to remember this is, of course, fiction. I doubt that showing such confronting scenes will generate public interest in participating in incest. Perhaps that is the beauty of television, and Game of Thrones in particular; that it can show the world in all its wondrous, violent, disturbing forms â&#x20AC;&#x201C; taboo or otherwise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the boundaries of a fictitious fantasy land. That isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t to say the show is endorsing the act, and I do not think it is an advertisement to jump into bed with a family member. Rather, incest is used as a plot device and as a reflection of the medieval world that GoT depicts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a time where this was a more common practice.

It seems that the reception toward televised incest has more to do with the proximity of the relationship between the characters than it does our exposure to it, as well as the characterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge of what they are doing. In the case of Jon and Dany, the two are aunt and nephew. Despite it still being incest, is it possible that we, as an audience, are less inclined to turn our eyes away when it is an aunt and nephew in bed rather than twin brother and sister? Maybe. However, it seems to me that Jon and Danyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ignorance is protecting them. Ignorance.

So, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the takeaway from all of this? Well, it seems that Game of Thrones has uncovered the secret to a successful TV Series: keeping it in the family.

In the episode, the director masterfully plays on dramatic irony. The realisation of Jonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true heritage interweaves with the confusing/romantic/kinda-hotbut kinda-not sex scene between the

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Issue 10, Vol. 67

Can We Fall in Love with Our 2018 Queer* Officer? They say that there are a set of questions that will lead to two people falling in love, provided they are honest. To celebrate Pride Week, Woroni sat down with the 2018 Queer* Officer, Matthew Mottola, to ask the question: can we fall in love with our 2018 Queer* Officer? Here are Matthew’s responses to our 35 questions. 1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest? There are a few people I could think of. From public figures, activists, and comedians. All of them would make for colourful dinner conversation, however, right now, I would love nothing more than to share a home cooked meal with my mum. It seems like she has the solution to everything. 2. Would you like to be famous? In what way? While having the spotlight is fun, it’s also really tiring. I don’t think you have to be famous to make a change in the world. 3. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why? Over the past week, I’ve made around 300 phone calls for the Marriage Equality campaign. Dead calling people, or indeed, calling people for the first time can be a bit scary. Even still, you can never really anticipate what someone on the other line is going to say. I will jot down a few key points perhaps, about the reason why I’m calling. But organic interactions are the best type of interactions. 4. What would constitute a ‘perfect’ day for you? Being able to go radio silent and head into nature for the day. Perhaps a tea, some food, and some good company would be part of that mix. I do enjoy a good road trip. 5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else? Good luck catching me singing to someone else! I sing to myself a lot when I cook but rarely in the shower. 6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want? These holidays I saw my Nonna for perhaps the last time, in her retirement home. She doesn’t speak English anymore, and she really doesn’t have a solid perception of reality. For this reason, I’d prefer to retain the mind of my

30-year-old self. 7. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die? Because I would hate to die naked or when my room is messy… I’ll probably die tripping over my messy room on the way to the shower.

doing involve travel of some kind.

with my friends and family.

14. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life? Getting as far as I have, considering my history of mental health.

22. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself? A friend bought me a donut the other day and I really, really, needed the comfort so I just burst into tears. I also cried when I said goodbye to my best friend who I surprised for her 21st.

15. What do you value most in a friendship? 8. For what in your life do you Loyalty. The ability to confide in a feel most grateful? person and rely on their support. For my mum, who has always been there for me and has (in my hum- 16. What is your most treable opinion) raised me well. sured memory? I don’t think I have one, but living 9. If you could change any- away from home I’ve learned to thing about the way you were treasure and better appreciate my raised, what would it be? time with family. It is unfortunate, but in a lot of ways, I have learned from my fa- 17. If you knew that in one ther how not to be a father. year you would die suddenly, would you change anything 10. Take four minutes and tell about the way you are now us your life story in as much living? Why? detail as possible. I would like to think I wouldn’t I was born and raised in Mel- change too much but probably bourne to two hard-working par- would change inherently. I might ents. I grew up closer to my mum drop out of uni to work more so I than my dad, and this relationship can see some things in the world didn’t change much after they di- that I wanted to see. vorced. Living with a single parent, money was tight, and mum took a 18. What does friendship night job at one point to save some mean to you? money. As a child, I learned that if Someone who is always there for I wanted something, I had to work you. After a day, a month, or a for it. I moved high schools in year year. You see them again and it’s nine after being outed and bullied, like nothing has ever changed. and in my new school, I found a new home (after a bit of time). I de- 19. How close and warm is scribe myself as a student activist your family? Do you feel your and someone who loves the com- childhood was happier than pany of others. most other people’s? I don’t think it was happier, but I 11. If you could wake up to- certainly think that my mum’s side morrow having gained any of the family is close and that has one quality or ability, what impacted the way I was brought would it be? up. We all have our issues, but Having a better memory of the we’re still close. tasks I was supposed to do. 20. How do you feel about 12. If a crystal ball could tell your relationship with your you the truth about yourself, mother? your life, the future or any- As I indicated before, we are realthing else, what would you ly close. Closer, I’d say, than most want to know? might be. We talk about two or I would like to know if I’m on the three times a week and she knows right track/what more I need to do everything about everyone. I can to achieve my goals. keep a secret to the grave, but I’ve probably told most of them to 13. Is there something that mum!! you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you 21. Complete this sentence: done it? ‘I wish I had someone with A lot of the things I want to do just whom I could share ...’ require more hours in the day, or A relationship. Because at the mofor me to not work retail hours. ment I can share everything else Most of the things I dream of

23. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about? I have a reasonable list of jokes that I find distasteful. 24. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet? These holidays I have taken a bit of a mental health break. I’ve also started to re-connect with old friends or start to kindle new relationships. I would regret not doing enough or not telling people who appreciative I am of their friendship. 25. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why? While I own some expensive items (laptop, teapots, Xbox, TV etc.) I don’t think I have a significant enough attachment to any of my worldly possessions. That being said, if there’s a fire, I’ll let you know what I grabbed! 26. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why? Although inevitable, talking about the death of my family is distributing enough for me. Matthew Mottola is the 2018 ANUSA Queer* Officer

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

We Used NAVIGATING Content warning: to Be QUEER* self harm Kidnapped by Relationships can be hard to navigate. Love can be hard to find, but Marriage… if you’re queer*, love can be imposI’m in a London gay bar When I was young, I was always told to get good grades at school, enter a well-known university, meet someone nice there and get married. What comes after? Have a few kids, buy a big house, pay off the mortgage and see our days numbered. Somehow, we are all participants in this exhausting race. Nobody’s happy, nobody wins. It is just a matter of survival. These expectations are like bubbles. When you get closer, they pop. My marriage is not recognised. All the plans and thoughts about living a ‘normal’ life, sink. It’s hard to position our desires, love and lust into this heteronormative world. I unwrap this box of gift named ‘queer’, and my world has turned upside down. I am sinful; I am sick; I am abnormal. These labels are glued to my skin, and they have been here for way too long. One day, I embrace my sin, my psycho and my uncontrolled desire for being who I truly am. I know I have no way back and a long way to go. Living with labels and stigma does not only make me stronger, but it also navigates a new direction. I ask myself, our society has already scarred me, and why should I live up to its expectations? Marriage is a cocoon. It looks nice when you see from a distance, but no one knows what it feels like to be in there. I cannot even expect to hold someone’s hand until we sleep a perpetual sleep. Marriage is painful privilege. You can all the social recognition you deserve as a human being. But you also sign a series of commitments that have legal, financial and moral complications. Marriage used to be a weapon. Let’s not forget Jim Crow and the Nuremberg Laws. I will vote YES for the postal survey as many queer folks behind me want to hold their partner’s hand down the aisle. But, please do not forget that marriage, as an institution, has kidnapped not only queer people, but also everyone. - Charles

Chu

sible.

While every day the queer* community moves closer towards equality, there’s a barrier that’s constant, and one I fear will never be broken down. Being queer* isn’t normal, and regardless of the way people feel about the queer community, this sentiment remains, prevalent in all levels of society. When straight, cis people confess their feelings, they fear rejection; when I speak my feelings, I fear estrangement. To confess my feelings to someone risks a portrayal as the weird, predatory gay, just for being honest about how I feel. And no, this isn’t just localised to me. Any queer* person you ask can speak of a time when they confessed their emotions to someone, for that person to simply reject them, but change their whole view of them. Such a confession breeds a fear within some cis straight people, that I’m gayly obsessed with them, or worse, that I’m trying to ‘turn’ them. This frustrates me particularly because I’ve been on the other side of the equation. I’ve turned girls down comfortably, with no fear or angst that they’re going to force themselves on me. So why can’t this be the same for queer* people? This is something I’ve felt for my whole life, which extends beyond just relationships. The assumption of cis heterosexuality as the norm continues to be extremely damaging to all people of queer orientation, making us afraid of being honest about who we are, for fear of the inevitable ‘queer’ connotations it carries. I wish my friends could speak about me without my gayness taking the spotlight, as if I’m some unique and special creature. I wish people didn’t tell me I dress well ‘because you’re gay.’ I don’t wish I lived in a world where being queer is celebrated and special. I just wish I lived in a world where being queer is normal. - Darcy

Bembic

in the daytime Watching a drag queen mime eating out a tiny lesbian, apparently it’s her 35th birthday Winner Takes It All blares out the speakers The lesbian and I have the same haircut My heart leaps with a dumb, soaring validation I always feel closer to other people than I should, only for the most insignificant reasons My girlfriend is sending me a facebook message It’s telling me about her self harm attempts Now her ex is taking her to the doctor Isn’t it funny how the emotional distance between two places (people) only manifests After real-time travel? Haha The drag queen splashes water from the bar and slides across the floorboards, her wig goes flying I’m trapped in between two feeble messages and a wall of noise ‘I love you, I hope you’re ok <3 <3 <3 Do you want to talk about it?’ The queen stands between my table and the street, I can’t say anything more It’s squeezing the air out of me I’m not going to get a reply for a long time, I know that, it’s fine Queer culture has fucking seened me recently What’s up with that I’m looking to fill my lungs in the bathroom On the overground train too Heading??? I take a selfie at the sink because my phone matches the tiles on the wall This distance is not temporary, and I’m still scanning to get some goddamn free wifi networks close by A message seen is a message read I’m exhausted It’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok -

Anon

Issue 10, Vol. 67

A Letter to my Teenage Self Hey kiddo,

By the time I was in Year 12, people referred to my high school as a ‘massive lesbian camp’ where supposedly every student, by the time they graduated would identify with at least one of the letters in the LGBTQIA* alphabet soup. Unfortunately, this was not true, as attested to by my best friend who was and still is straight. However, the queer* community grew big enough that by the time we graduated she was complaining of being the ‘token straight friend’. Now, to some of my uni friends who were the only out students at their schools, this sounds like absolute bliss. However, it came with one big, classic lesbian issue. All the girls had dated each other.

I’m a few of years removed from you now, and I know things aren’t the greatest right now, so let me tell you a few things about where you end up. Firstly, you do get into uni! Overseas, too, which is nice because you get a bit of space to explore yourself. You figure some things out. That itch at the back of your mind saying you’re not a girl? Guess what, it was right! Don’t worry, though, that doesn’t mean you have to be a boy either, I promise. You can be just you, and that’s gonna feel pretty great. You get all glittered up sometimes, and you have fun with your wonderful colourful friends, and that feels even greater. Also that darkness inside your head that sometimes follows you around and makes everything feel shitty? Yeah, that’s a thing too, you didn’t make it up. You talk to someone about it, and you’re managing it alright. You’re fine; you survived, you made it. You’re mostly okay, most of the time. You find people you care about, who care about you. You hug so many people and take so many pictures. Of yourself, even! How about that, huh?

You were crushing on a cute girl? Well at least you didn’t have to worry about her being straight, odds were she was questioning if not out. Now the question was who has she dated and how much more messy would the queer* community dynamics get?

Nothing is perfect, not even close, but you do just fine.

There was a small group of us that would go to Newtown semi-occasionally to walk around and be gay. (This involved talking about horoscopes, discussing which teachers might be queer and eating vegan food). However, this would only be able to last six months before the dynamics became so awkward that we had to stop. Relationships formed and fell while eating hummus in Camperdown Park. Broken hearts and betrayed friendships whittled down the numbers until it was just my girlfriend and me, left alone to be gay in Newtown.

Dear little me,

The community became even more fragmented when we broke up later that year, and she began to date a mutual friend of ours (who I had previously spent a ridiculously long time pining after and she’d also had a brief friends-with-benefits relationship with a close friend of mine). As you can imagine, things were awkward. The drama was messy but underground. You had to be part of the community or at least good friends with someone who was to know that these weird dynamics weren’t just due to people drifting in and out of friendship. At university, I’d assumed that it would be different, but alas, as I become more involved in the queer* community I realise that here too, all the girls have dated each other. - Anon

All my love, Al (hey look at that, we figured the name thing out too!)

- Al

Azmi

Just the other day, the 23-year-old version of you walked past the first femme person you had a serious entanglement with – your first serious, heart-skipping-beats queer crush. Moments like that, you kind of want to stop and chat to the other person and see how they’re doing. Unfortunately, you convince yourself that they probably would be happy never to see you again. See, little me, it still feels uncomfortable even now to admit this, but your first girl love was complicated. You fell for her in philosophy class (what a cliche); but at the same time, you were holding the hand of a boy you cared for very much. While your more involved classmates gushed over how cute you and your boyfriend were, your mind was always a little bit torn. You and she played off each other; it was a joke until it wasn’t. And then you confused her and hurt your boyfriend when you kissed each other in public. The late noughties were the era of the Bad Bisexual, or that’s how it felt to you: the societal idea that most girls were bi just to get boys’ attention; the notion that bisexuality was just a phase, not a real queer identity. The shitty, sad tornado that was your queer awakening entrenched this idea in your mind: you were a Bad Bi, and you certainly weren’t a real part of the queer* community. This was reinforced as you and your later male partner (also bi!) were told off for hugging at Pride. Or, when your mum pondered the logic of your identity aloud in the car. It was also reinforced when your aunt, in a relationship with a woman for longer than your parents have been together, lamented Missy Higgins calling herself bi: ‘She’s a young gay woman, she’ll figure that out soon enough.’ It was reinforced again when your friend promised to find you a nice girl so you could be ‘really queer’. I wish I could tell you that it’s gotten easier. Look, in some ways, it wasn’t ever that hard: we’ve never been physically or verbally attacked over our same-gender attraction or for appearing gender-nonconforming, for one thing. But having your identity chipped away at over time is another form of violence. It bloody hurts, and you’re allowed to be hurt by it. Don’t let yourself think that it’s you thinking these things about yourself; don’t let other people try to tell you who you are. You still hear off-colour remarks about bisexuality from time to time. The difference is, you bristle at them now; you’re ready to call people out. You’ve perfected your sharp interjection of ‘Actually...’ and you refuse to apologise for getting shitty when someone undermines your identity. And guess what, late noughties bisexual panic? Yeah, talking directly to you now – I still like people who aren’t men. Guess it wasn’t a phase. Suck on that. - Anon

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Art: Jacquie Meng

Issue 10, Vol. 67

culture // art

Content Warning: This article discusses depictions of sexual assault and abuse on stage.

We will not Stand with Hector Depictions of Sexual Assault in Theatre Text by: Kat Carrington with Anna Miley The History Boys is an internationally-renowned play. It was the recipient of the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2006 Tony Award for Best Play. Featuring a large cast, humour and some thought-provoking moments, it is a seemingly perfect choice for an ANU residential college production. And so Burgmann College took it on for a performance at the Ralph Wilson Theatre at Gorman and Ainslie Arts Centre earlier this semester. By the intermission, however, I wanted to walk out… Hector, the focal point of the play, is painted as a lovable and respectable character. Even after the moment Bennett reveals his abuse of the school children, his character is treated as comic relief, a bumbling fool, and finally, after his death, a tragic hero by all characters rather than for what he is: an abuser. There is no cosmic justice in this production. There is no point where characters condemn Hector’s actions because they are inherently wrong. Even when asked to resign from his position by the headmaster, it’s not out of protection of his students, but out of fear of external outrage. Yes, there is sometimes moral ambiguity about perpetrators. They are often friends and family members. They are often ‘nice people’. They are often respected and loved in different circles. Thinking otherwise plays into the Monster Myth: the idea that only strangers in bushes are capable

of such acts. Allan Bennett makes no attempt at didacticism. There is no moment where characters reflect, seriously, on what has happened. There is only limited reference to the actual abuse, with Dakin, one of the school boys, cynically asking ‘Do you think it will scar us?’ This is where the problem lies. Playwrights are allowed to create morally ambiguous characters. An audience can feel mixed emotions about a character based on these moral ambiguities. However, Bennett crosses a line in The History Boys. Bennet never admits that Hector committed a crime, or an unthinkable act, and he does not convey the repercussions of these actions on the survivors. Staging this play without addressing this ambiguity directly is problematic. The audience blindly accepts the premise of the abuse. The row in front of us, presumably a group of Burgmann boys, laughed wildly at a sequence with the Headmaster joking about groping balls. There was no outrage in the foyer. Staging this play continues the normalisation of such behaviour within society. It normalises the notion that ‘boys will be boys’. It says that jokes about sexual assault are just jokes: not an explicit part of rape culture. This is especially problematic in the context of an ANU residential college where abuse of power for sexual advantage is not uncommon. Everyman Theatre, a relatively new theatre company in the amateur Canberra scene, staged The History Boys a week later. The reviews that followed from The Canberra Times, Canberra Critics’ Circle, and That Guy Who Watches Canberra Theatre,

were all glowing. Alanna Maclean, from the Canberra Times, dared to title her review ‘Canberra’s Everyman Theatre does well by this funny, perceptive play.’ Not one mention of abuse, sexual assault, or problematic portrayals. Hector remains loveable, remains a confused older man, and remains free of guilt. The only review that touched on any problematic material was published by Woroni by Jack Foster. Coincidentally, it was the only one not shared by the production company. By not addressing the problem, these reviewers, Everyman Theatre, and Burgmann College are all complicit in the continuation of rape culture. Sitting in the audience made me feel small. In the Month of Solidarity, where ANU students pledged to support survivors.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

culture // art

The Contracts Behind K-Pop Text: Marianna Segaram Art: Yvonne Yong It’s no surprise that K-Pop is taking over the world. With catchy tunes, spectacular dance moves and amazing artists, the “hallyu wave” has been slowly taking over the world, and South Korean acts are becoming more and more popular by the day. But how are these artists made? What’s behind this ‘machine like industry’ that South Korea is often said to have? A brutal debt system known as ‘slave contracts’. While slave contracts have been around for a while, they only really came to light in 2009 when then-hit five-member K-Pop boy band TVXQ! lost three of its members, who split from the group due to their unfair contracts. The three went on to create another world-renowned boy band, JYJ. The popularity of these groups have made the public aware of these ;slave contracts’. So what exactly are ‘slave contracts’? When a talent management agency chooses a trainee, the agency creates a Break Even Point (or BEP) for the trainee. This is the amount the company invests in the trainee for lessons, stylists, promotional material, etc. Essentially it’s similar to a loan and is usually an outrageous amount. As the artists become more and more popular and create money making albums, the profits go straight into paying back their BEP. Once artists start earning, some of their profits go back into the BEP, and the rest goes into company fees and salaries. Now you might ask then, how are artists able to afford basics such as rent or food? They’re given a monthly allowance for those expenses, however, that too comes out of their BEP. The worst part is that the company alone decides on the artists’ expenses, which they can add onto the BEP, as well as the rates that they

charge their employees. If the company decides that an artists’ hair should be blue in their next comeback, the artist gets the cost of styling added onto their BEP. The BEP keeps growing completely by choice of the company, leaving artists stuck in a circle of debt. And just when you think things can’t get any worse, companies have been reported of having little to no transparency. In many cases, artists may have no clue how much BEP they still owe, how much they’re earning, and how much is going to company employees. Artists are just left guessing when they receive a small amount of cash at the end of the month. They have to trust that their company is paying back their debt, and are spending the amount they say they are. If artists decide to terminate their contracts early, companies have reportedly imposed contract cancellation penalties of two to three times the amount invested in the trainee. Some companies have even been reported pressuring artists into renewing their contract. Others include clauses in their contracts enabling them to immediately cancel a contract without prior notice, as well as letting agencies cancel a contract based on unclear or arbitrary reasons. Now, this might not be the case for all companies. Boy band Block B filed a lawsuit against their previous company and eventually left to another agency, so we’re left to assume they didn’t sign a similar contract to their previous one. Although it might not be happening to ALL artists, it’s definitely happening to some. Since 2009 there’s been a long list of major bands that have filed lawsuits, split from companies and demanded better

contracts, including Super Junior: EXO, Block B, SNSD, Boyfriend, AoA, ZE:A, BAP and Busker Busker. But since then little had been done, only this year has there been any concerted effort to improve the practice of ‘slave contracts’. In March 2017, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) released a report on these contracts, ordering Korea’s leading talent management agencies to stop forcing unfair contracts on their trainees. Reforms were made following the report: companies are no longer able to impose excessive contract cancellation fees and are unable to force artists to renew their contract. They are also unable to cancel contracts immediately without notice or for ambiguous reasons, and unable to force trainees to pay penalties immediately. Clauses limiting legal cases regarding trainee contracts to the Seoul Central District Court have been prohibited, and other courts have been granted jurisdiction. According to the KFTC, all eight companies have voluntarily corrected their practices. The head of the Commission issued a statement regarding these contract reforms, saying that; ‘Protection of trainee rights will be strengthened further with the rectification of agencies’ contracts with trainees. This will create an environment for agencies and trainees to sign fair contracts with each other.’ While this doesn’t fix everything, and these reforms are far from overdue, this is a step towards a fair entertainment industry in South Korea, and with the hope soon artists will be able to work in a much better environment.

Issue 10, Vol. 67

culture // reviews

Women are Great An ANU Women’s Revue Review Text: Ria Pflaum

female friendship, fanfiction, and exuberant dance numbers.

they were laughing in anticipation before the characters had even said a word.

Women are funny, talented and incredible.

From the opening number, ‘Circle of Strife’, the multi-talented cast kept up a joyful and incredible amount of energy through what must have been exhausting physical comedy over the three-hour show.

I was in awe following Zelie Appel and Kayla Ciceran’s dense monologues in ‘Minimalism’ and ‘How Can We Be Lovers’, respectively, with the audience being pulled more and more into the surreal world that the cast created in front of us.

That was my overwhelming thought walking out of the inaugural ANU Women’s Revue ‘Lady and the Trump’, showing at Gorman House. An all-female-identifying production and new initiative of the of the ANU Women’s Department, this show takes on both the amazing and not-so-great aspects of being a woman in our world – flipping and exaggerating them in due course to show how funny the scenarios that women come across daily really can be. This is a show that makes you forget about the messed up ways women are treated in our society sometimes, and instead throws you into a world where those messed up things still exist – but the show combats them with positive

Directed by the talented Elizabeth Page and Laura Emerson, who contributed their individual acting skills to some of the funniest moments of the night, particular highlights included the takes on reality television phenomenon in ‘Political Bachelorette’ and ‘Friday Night Fights’. There were audible gasps of astonishment in the audience when Musical Director Ella McNiece broke into song in ‘The Daily Life of a Woman Online’. The recurring sketches such as the ever increasingly ridiculous micro-sketches ‘Kids These Days’ and ‘VC Update’ had the audience so hyped that

The band, seated onstage throughout the show, was perhaps underutilised and could have added some momentum to some skits that dragged minutely. A standout moment highlighting the versatility of the musicians was the use of the cajón in the classic Wonderwall take, ‘Great Sexpectations’ – accompanying Jayne Hoschke and her, well, passionate backup dancers – and this versatility had a lot more potential to be used during other skits.

in the creation of skits based on familiar life experiences – emphasised through the pure energy and joy that flowed out of the cast members. The downside of featuring a cast so incredibly hilarious is that at points they couldn’t help but laugh at themselves, but who can blame them? I left with the renewed understanding that women are not flawless or perfect – they are unfiltered, allowed to be vulnerable, and have a complexity of wit in understanding themselves that makes shared experiences through comedy so heartwarmingly relatable. Women are great and immensely hilarious, and the women of the ANU Women’s Revue cast whole-heartedly left me with the reminder that having no shame in who you are is the best way to be.

We, the audience, received constant reminders that there is a certain catharsis

The History Boys

Excellent but Troubling Text: Jack Foster Everyman Theatre’s The History Boys is an enthralling theatrical experience. Staged in the round, the audience is immersed in the activity of a 1980s boy’s grammar school as a group of university hopefuls prepare themselves for the gruelling Oxbridge entrance exams. The staging is a study in exemplary set design: the classroom is basic yet detailed down to gum on the desks, serving as the perfect vehicle for the production’s excellent choreography. Every aspect of the performance is tight and precise while still facilitating the naturalism that the space inspires. Phenomenal energy from its eponymous boys carries this production. Directors Christopher Zuber and Jarrad West have assembled a superb young cast, whose accent work and sheer enthusiasm create a mesmerising performance. The eight work in cohesion while each retains a unique identity, supported by infectious musical numbers as part of the classroom banter. Patrick Galen-Mules

is a stand out as Scripps, demonstrating his versatility as a musician and an actor. The charisma of the group provides a strong platform for the older cast members. Hayden Splitt offers a vivid portrait of the stilted young teacher determined to shine. Geoffrey Borny excels as the ornery headmaster. The astoundingly accomplished Chris Baldock is magnetic as Douglas Hector, bouncing and exuberant as he performs to his students and only incidentally to the audience. It is truly excellent naturalist theatre. While the production is captivating in its performance, this only heightens the disturbing undertones rife throughout Alan Bennett’s award winning script. Two themes dominate this play. The first explores the effects of a frustratingly repressive boys school on male conceptions of sexuality. The second is a philosophical musing on the platonic act of teaching. These separate conversations coalesce into a darker thesis on the eroticism of classroom interactions: the teacher giving, the student receiving, the doors locked on this sanctum of Aristotelian virtue. Bennett wants his play to inspire this intellectual interpretation. He wants his

audience to leave pondering over the act of learning, over the nature of truth and relativism, over the formative effects of our education system. He does this by glorifying the perpetrator of sexual assault. He presents an environment of paedophilic grooming that is willfully engaged in by smart, confident teenagers and their jovial idol. The boys, in their bravado, are blasé about this interaction. ‘Are we scarred for life, do you think?’asks the wildly charismatic Dakin. ‘We must hope so,’ Scripps dryly replies, ‘perhaps it will turn me into Proust.’ Bennett’s flippant treatment of this behaviour is disturbing and minimises the implications of an incredibly traumatising act. His treatment of women is similarly marginalising. Alice Ferguson shines as the world-weary Dorothy Lintott, a satiric figure who appears on stage only to sardonically point out her lack of importance. In a fiery breakout monologue against the patriarchal interpretation and perpetuation of history, her anger is that of an exasperated housewife. She fumes about having to teach ‘five centuries of masculine ineptitude’ and argues for the inclusion of the female presence

in history, but only in the context of ‘cleaning up their messes.’ This points to the fundamental weakness infecting the play. Bennett attempts to frame these issues in a self-conscious, ironic light that reflects the relativist propositions put forward by his characters. For example, he at once romanticises the place of literature in informing the human experience while also cynically lambasting the person who places too much importance on the sanctity of words. But the play reaches too far in applying this bifocal lens to gender inequality and, distressingly, sexual assault. Bennett moves from postmodernism into defending sexual exploitation. The History Boys is a masterfully staged production. The performance is a mesmerising blaze of superb acting and flawless choreography, supported by excellent tech work and amazing musical asides. However, it portrays confronting themes in a highly troublesome manner. I left the theatre with mixed feelings – no matter how great the production, it is difficult to divorce the performance from its distressing content.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

culture // Life & style

Reclaiming Social Media From The Content Apocalypse Text: Nick Wyche Art: Zoe Bilston I remember the specific moment, about halfway through last year, when I realised that social media was doing me more harm than good. I was sitting on my bed scrolling and scrolling, mining ever deeper into the guano of other people’s photoshopped highlight reels, mediocre memes and excessively opinionated commenters with motivational quotes in lieu of profile pictures. I threw my phone aside and went for a walk. While I was out in the sunlight trying to jump-start some Vitamin D production, I tried to figure out what had changed about my social media experience and why it made me so unhappy. Like many others, I signed up for Facebook during high school. At that time, when MSN Messenger was still the modus operandi for instant messaging, and the wall had not yet become the timeline, social media represented an exciting opportunity for making new friends and keeping up to date with the lives of people I cared about. In the intervening years, social media platforms have become more universal, and consequently more pervasive. All but the most serious news organisations cite tweets as sources, often directly embedding them into their reports. More visual platforms like Instagram, Vine and (god forbid) even musical.ly have spawned entire cycles of trends, along with a raft of careers for models, content creators and enterprising 12-year-olds who can make slime. (Seriously though, more power to the 12-year-olds – their clout is impressive.) Perhaps most notably, it no longer seems accurate to call a site like Facebook a social network. Pinballing back and forth between niche groups, meme pages, trashy quotes liked and shared by older relatives and the relentlessly curated facades that people I barely know work hard to project, is exhausting and demoralising. It certainly doesn’t leave me feeling more connected to the people and things I care about. Part of the problem is that most platforms are now designed to force engagement with content based on popularity, rather than relevance or quality. It’s all too easy to become embroiled in the execrable drama of a controversial comments section, because the loudest and most polarised personalities tend to dominate discussions. Furthermore, physical distance is no barrier to engagement – I’ll never forget the time a Texan grandmother decided to jump in with an opinion on a friend’s post about

chronic illness, despite having no remotely fathomable connection to the said friend. Another issue with the direction in which social media is evolving is the intensification of the pace at which users are expected to produce content. The past couple of years have witnessed the proliferation of ‘stories’ or other features which offer instant, live coverage of our lives. Every update seems to add another feature that demands of us to share more content. I came back from that walk and deleted all the social media apps on my phone. The next two days were almost unnaturally relaxing, but the honeymoon wasn’t going to last. I soon realised I was missing out on important information, messages, and other, more superficial things I wanted to see by having withdrawn from social media completely. I reluctantly accepted that its presence in my life was a necessary evil. So then, for me, the question became: how can I reclaim these platforms and make them spaces I want to use? Below I’ll share a few tips that I’ve found have improved my social media experience.

1) Find your niche communities In an environment as filled with tired, generic content as most social media platforms, it’s a tremendous breath of fresh air to find a group of people to whom you relate effortlessly. I love logging on and finding a feed filled with things I find funny, insightful or thought-provoking, particularly because it’s such a contrast to the morass of mediocrity that I was navigating before. It’s worth doing a bit of digging around to see if you can find pages that cater to your specific interests, because oftentimes they’ll offer up a steady stream of gems to keep you entertained. Some special favourites I’ve found so far include: • Catspotting on Facebook, which unites hundreds of thousands of cat lovers sharing their sightings from around the globe, • Cool Freaks’ Wikipedia Club (also on Facebook), where people post interesting or otherwise freaky

Wikipedia articles for the enjoyment and education of others • @ebaybae on Instagram, which offers an incredible selection of the most ridiculous items on eBay • @magicalrealismbot on Twitter. Hilarious, but also weirdly refreshing on a creative level?

2) Customise your platform I recently learned that Facebook has an option deep within its settings called ‘news feed preferences’. If you click it, it will guide you through how to customise your newsfeed to prioritise the content you want to see, as well as unfollowing people whose updates you don’t want to see. It’s definitely worth unliking all those cringey pages you liked in early high school; having the world know that I support ‘Chicken in a Biskit are THE BEST’ is no longer integral to my sense of self. While we’re on the subject of unfollowing, let’s talk about what a magical tool it is. I used to feel paranoid about unfriending people who posted five times a day with filtered pictures of their meals, thinking that somehow they’d know what I’d done. Unfollowing gives me added peace of mind, but it also means I don’t lose access to their profiles. This furnishes me with cherished opportunities to lurk people I vaguely knew in primary school while I’m drunk at 3am.

3) Opt out of social media politics Having just discussed the advantages of a subtle unfollow, it was very liberating for me to realise that much of my feelings

about how I am meant to use social media are really just constructs with nebulous roots in reality. I pruned my friends list recently and was astonished at the people I’d retained, despite their total irrelevance to my life. Farewell to the Dutch guy I spoke five words to once at a summer camp when I was 13; I wish him well, but it took a few minutes until I remembered who he even was. Making a conscious decision to opt out of social media politics and convention can also make it easier to enjoy the ways you use it. I set my Instagram to private a while ago and, because I have a tiny and selective group of followers, I can post whatever I feel like without fear of embarrassing myself on a wider social stage.

4) The last resort If none of these things are working for you, there is no shame or stigma that can be reasonably linked to deleting or deactivating your accounts. If you can work out alternative means of communicating with the people you care about, you’re already achieving the core purpose of any social network. And this way, having discarded the relentless excess of irrelevant content, you’re performing a high-quality act of self-care.

culture // Life & style

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Campus horoscopes Text: Annabel Chin Quan Art: Zoe Bilston

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 19) There’s no doubt that you natural-born leaders have been busy running for ANUSA positions over the latest phase of the moon. If you were successful, congrats. But be wary of spikes in your temper, which will invariably rise in conjunction with Canberra’s weather forecast. Unsuccessful in your campaign? Take your defeat on the chin and opt for a new DP! It’s time to bury those insecurities with the heinous amount of likes you’ll get, because let’s be honest – no campaign photo beats a state-of-the-art ball portrait, courtesy of the iPhone.

TAURUS (Apr 20 – May 20) The sky’s prognosis reveals a decrease in dough for you this month. Cancel your credit card transfers and tell yourself that the ASOS student discount doesn’t exist. You’ve spent too much money over the break as it is. But this isn’t to say that you have to lay down any restrictions for food. You’re a Taurus, for Pluto’s sake! Fork out them dollar coins (goodbye laundry funds) and make use of the Pop-Up Village.

GEMINI (May 21 – Jun 20) Don’t even begin to pretend that you didn’t try to get a medical certificate for that mid-sem. Time to face your stars’ courses and have faith that your preparation (and prayers) are enough to get you through the first wave of assessments. You’re probably taking to the campus re-vamp better than anyone else; embrace your adaptable sun in Saturn, and

let yourself thrive off of the change. Use it to your advantage and lengthen every Chifley visit, if only because it takes more effort to get there now.

CANCER (Jun 21 – Jul 22) Opportunities will present themselves to you if you come out of your shell (and the CBE building) and catch some September-spring rays. Join a club! Start a knitting troupe! Plant some grass in the dirt with the ANU Lettuce Society! You can do all this and more, and you won’t need your mother’s permission to do so. Take heed of Neptune this month, and focus on you. If you need a shoulder to cry on, hit up International Law or Com Con lectures. Apparently they’re the hotspots for discreet laments.

LEO (Jul 23 – Aug 22) We all aspire to be as confident as you, but watch that you don’t compromise work for play when it comes to midsems, especially after the break. One does not simply procure jobs with Ps (although, mind you, they do secure degrees). Now is the time to utilise that confidence and pin down those job interviews! Your moon is in Jupiter, which signifies the dawning of fruitful career progressions. I hear they’re hiring at Chatime.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sep 22) Following on from the preceding moon span, Union Court is still inaccessible. Let go of your pedantic – and highly revered – knack for time management; you will not get to class on time. Also, be warned; those white leaves that will fall from the trees in University Avenue won’t only mark the beginning of exam season, but also the demise of your health via hay fever. A special shout-out to the Virgos celebrating their birthdays. May your next

365 days of existence be filled with as which a friend of a friend sent out a mass much cleanliness as the last. invite, it’s only fair that you show up, even if you only stop by on your way to Griffin Hall.

LIBRA (Sep 23 – Oct 22) Start deciding on what you’ll do with yourself once you finish your degree. Mars’ sequences predict that you will never make the decision in time if you don’t start now. Focus on balance in this second leg of the semester. Whether it be between business and pleasure, lecture theatres and Echo, or gin and tonic ratios… if your balance is on fleek, (and you maintain those Snapchat streaks), life on campus will be all the more rewarding.

SCORPIO (Oct 23 – Nov 21) Venus is nigh in its alignment with your moon. ANU Crushes is the perfect locus for Scorpio’s sensuality; the anonymity makes communiqués as enigmatic as they come, so that should suit. A new term calls for fresh starts. Let go of any grudges that you’ve held against HBO producers; many of the good’uns have fallen in the Game involving some Thrones. But hold out – kind of like the way you’ve been holding out for that apology you’re owed from a semester one misunderstanding – because winter is coming (it’s only spring in Canberra).

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21) Although you’re all probably still away on holiday, the pending advent of your constellation promises up-and-coming movement and travel – more travel. Take the leap and commence arrangements to move off of campus next year. If you’re a townie, get outta here.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19) Hopefully you enjoyed your break. You guys work too hard. Just please, for the rest of us, step back from your to-do-lists and take a risk; skip a tute or two, and spend your extended free time aligning with Mercury and decoding the maps in Coombs. This isn’t to say that your diligence won’t come with any gain. While the rest of us work to finish that post-break assignment, you will be sitting back on your haunches with the liberty of watching The Bachelor (Matty J is a Cancer. You are romantically

compatible!) AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18) Most Balls are over and Valetes are fast approaching. Time to practise the dance moves we all know you’ve got, because let’s be real – the distance that you put between yourself and your peers in everyday situations can be bridged only on the d-floor. Your moon is in Moose (don’t forget about mid-sems though). Not to mention, your model independence is ideal when it comes to exchange. Applications for Semester 2 2018 are opening this week!

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20) Paging all Pisces – take a minute out from your dreaming and commune with a calendar. Time to head back to uni, the break is over. When you return, put those aesthetic sensibilities to good use and venture outside the limits of the Inner North for The moon’s cycles are leading you to some serious op shopping. Art Ball is hone in on the value of commitment. fast approaching, and you’ll need to be at If you’ve clicked ‘going’ to an event for the top of your fashion game if you plan to stand out in such a creative crowd.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

culture // Life & style

Capital Gains Quality Of Life In Canberra Text: Jasper Lindell

An old friend of mine, working the breakfast shift at one of Canberra’s flashier hotels, sent me a message one morning a couple of weeks ago saying she had possibly found a job for me. There was a man at breakfast who had a day to kill in the capital, and he was looking for someone to show him around. Would I be interested? He was prepared to pay cash. Not quite sure what to expect, I headed off down Canberra Avenue to meet the man who wanted to see the city. And before long we had set off in his 1970s Torana, listening to Bach cantatas, with no idea what I had got myself into. How do you give someone an overview of a city in three hours? What is the most important feature? What can they not leave without seeing? At what point have they done Canberra? This brief will always be an uphill battle in our much maligned national capital, the city which allegedly lacks a soul. Canberra is often written off as a sparse suggestion of civilisation where the transient workers of politics huddle around the outlines of city centres, and where Year Six students from around the country are trooped around institutions and monuments of national significance. Canberra bashing is a national pastime. Because the word ‘Canberra’ is inextricably associated with ‘government’, comedians, media personalities, newspaper columnists, and anyone with access to a television or radio transmitter can dine out on negative impressions of the capital. And what more ammunition do you need when Melbourne, that flat, bluestone city built on the promise of gold and sustained now on the illusion of culture, is the fastest growing city in

Australia and is repeatedly awarded the status of ‘most liveable city’? Canberra shouldn’t stand a chance. I have listened with bemused interest to the opinions of recent arrivals to Canberra, as they make sweeping statements and insidious generalisations based on their experience within 10 kilometres of postcode 2601. It is always a list of things that Canberra doesn’t have, misses out on, fails to provide or apparently skips over. ‘But in Melbourne,’ some critic will invariably start, hoping to convert me to the wonders of the Victorian capital less than 650 kilometres to the south. Why haven’t I moved already? The Economist Intelligence Unit found earlier this month that Melbourne, once again, was the world’s most liveable city. With a score of 97.5, it was placed just ahead of Vienna and Vancouver on the Economist’s index. The ranking accounts for stability, healthcare, culture and environment, and infrastructure. But it doesn’t account for that intangible quality that Canberra has – of quiet, space and yet of compactness. This is no perfect city – no city can be when it is impossible to get a bus home after 9.30pm on a week night – but, considering its age and inherent promise, it comes pretty close. All of Canberra’s true believers – whether they have been converted later in life, or were, like me, born into the fold – subscribe to that utopian ideal which underpins the design and intention of the city. I directed the one-man tour up to the summit of Mt Ainslie, the best vantage point to see the Griffin Plan. We stood looking down the axis that joins the War Memorial to Old and New Parliament House along Anzac Parade and across the Lake. This concept was nearly just the stuff of legend. The Griffins – Marion and Walter – only found out at the eleventh hour about the international

competition to design a new Australian capital, their plans were rushed and their entry was the last to arrive. But we can see now that it was the natural choice. A design in the modernist spirit, which believed that architecture could influence people’s lives for the better, that the space we created for ourselves also shaped us. Peter was enamoured. The last time he was in Canberra, Malcolm Fraser was still in the Lodge. How the place has grown since then, he told me as we surveyed the vista. On our drive around Canberra, I continued to point out different buildings, spots and the scenes of various stories: the funeral home across the road from the Russian Embassy where an ASIO agent was posted at the height of the Cold War; the domestic architecture in Griffith, the early model of how Canberra was conceived as a Garden City; the embassies and hotels; the faint suggestions of the city’s history and development. It was an attempt to weave a semblance of story where Canberra is portrayed to have none. It takes time to get to know a city, to walk the streets and feel boredom and excitement at different moments. A three-hour driving tour with 25 minutes of prior preparation isn’t enough to do that. Peter and I didn’t do Canberra. But it was enough to show that there is life beyond politics and austere national buildings here. It was enough to show a city where income and well-being is high and services are good, where people are afforded the opportunity to lead intriguing and fulfilling lives. So maybe instead of staving off boredom in laneway bars, caught in a grid of expansive flat suburban sprawl, Canberra is quiet because that’s what the locals are off doing instead.

learn // environment

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Developing a Carbon Market

Tree Hugging for Conservation in the Honduran Cloud Forest

Text: Joe Salmona Art: Zoe O’Leary Cameron

Forestry student Joe Salmona spent six weeks with Operation Wallacea in the Honduran jungle collecting data on forest carbon as part of their long-term biodiversity monitoring programme which provides data sufficient to join a carbon trading scheme. Most people haven’t heard of Honduras. And if they have, they know precious little about it. This small mountainous nation in Central America is the poorest country in the Americas. In recent years, Honduras has developed a reputation as a dangerous country. The Australian, UK and US foreign departments all have warnings about travelling to Honduras on their websites. Frighteningly, as recently as 2015, Honduras claimed the highest homicide rate in the world. Within 48 hours of arriving in San Pedro Sula, I managed to have my credit card skimmed. After leaving the city, I soon discovered that Honduras is a country of extreme natural beauty, and home to a unique culture that I have never experienced before. I was lucky enough to accept a position as a forest structure scientist with British NGO Operation Wallacea (Opwall), a global network of academics dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity. The mission: a team of five forest scientists, headed up by Rik Barker, needed to measure over 130 plots each season to get an idea of how the forest is changing and, most importantly, how much carbon exists within it. The location: the cloud forests of Cusuco National Park in the northwest of Honduras. Cusuco National Park is not small – about one-quarter the size of the ACT. So,

it takes a lot of effort to measure enough trees to estimate carbon within the whole park. There are seven camps within Cusuco, and, by each campsite, there are several long-term monitoring sites. Some are only a few metres away; others are a tough three-hour hike in rugged terrain. With the incredible help of high-school and university students from around the world, I spent six-weeks as a scientist and teacher collecting data on carbon storage in the forest – by hugging trees. The diameter of the tree at shoulder height is a surprisingly good guide for its carbon. As it turns out, wrapping a tape measure around and hugging a tree is the scientific way to measure carbon storage! All of this work is contributing to the preservation of a unique natural wonder. Cusuco is situated high in the clouds of the Sierra Del Merendon where North America meets South. Its geographical setting as a high-elevation ‘island’ is part of the reason why the area is such a biodiversity hotspot, acting as an important refuge for plants and animals. In fact, out of 173 000 protected areas, Cusuco finds itself in the top 50 most irreplaceable for herpetofauna, birds and mammals; and the top 25 for amphibians specifically. Despite a history of intense logging and exploitation, the forest is recovering and is home to some exquisite animals and plants that aren’t found anywhere else in the world. In my six weeks under the canopy, I saw breathtaking birds like the mythical resplendent quetzal and the keel-billed toucan and a raft of venomous snakes. The fer-de-lance, an aggressive and highly toxic snake is not an uncommon sight. As are coral snakes and pit vipers, which are known for biting the local guides. On consecutive days, two of my colleagues managed to step on a ‘timbo’ – a

venomous Honduran montane pit viper – but were fortunate not to get bitten.

protection of the park, however even this is on an ad-hoc basis.

Less dangerous, and perhaps most impressive, are the dozens of amphibians and invertebrates that occur only in Cusuco National Park. The global spread of the chytrid fungus that is decimating local amphibian populations resultingly highlights the pressing nature of amphibian conservation.

This is where Opwall comes in.

Deforestation has had devastating effects on the resident fauna, reducing the already limited habitat. Finding evidence of the existence of the endangered Baird’s Tapir and near-threatened Jaguar is becoming more difficult each year. Cusuco is under serious and imminent threat from industries that carry out regular deforestation in the area. Since operating in Cusuco in 2003, Opwall’s annual monitoring surveys on the forest structure have shown deforestation is increasing at an unprecedented rate, particularly on the west side of the park. Huge chunks of the forest are illegally cut down and burnt each year during Opwall’s off-season by local villagers. The tropical mountainous environment of Cusuco provides the best growing conditions for coffee trees, and they grow best when they are mono-cropped or with a patchy overstory of trees. Sadly, when the forest is cut down to make way for coffee, not even the timber is salvaged. The infliction of carbon into the atmosphere is a less obvious, but nonetheless serious, impact of deforestation. When trees are cut down and burnt, most of the stored carbon releases into the atmosphere. Coffee trees only store a fraction of the carbon of the mature forests they replace. Currently, there is no financial incentive to discourage villagers from destroying the forest. There are no rangers or resources to monitor the forest. The Honduran army provides the only physical

Under the leadership of Opwall’s Head of Research Dr Dan Exton and the Cusuco National Park Senior Scientist Dr Danielle Gilroy, Opwall is applying for funding under the National Forests Standard (NFS) scheme to sell the carbon stored in Cusuco’s trees. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard biodiversity by reducing deforestation and land degradation. Unlike centralised carbon schemes like REDD+, the NFS system is designed to deliver resources directly to the areas of greatest need. In this case, funds can be used to protect the forest through patrols and legal enforcement and to provide micro-finance loans to local communities engaging in sustainable food production. It is the responsibility of the Honduran government to approve the arrangement so that the NFS can issue Natural Capital Credits (NCCs). These credits are denominated in tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions and rated by biodiversity and the risk of deforestation based on socioeconomic datasets that Opwall has collected. Foreign companies can buy NCCs to offset their operations. Even if they destroy only one section, the whole forest itself loses value as an asset. Placing a value on the park’s carbon and biodiversity provides an incentive to conserve rather than to deforest for coffee. Only then might we take into account the long term considerations of this forest in the clouds. If you would like to get involved as a scientist or as a student, feel free to email me at joseph.salmona@anu.edu.au or visit https://opwall.com. Acknowledgements: This trip could not have been possible without funding from PARSA’s Student Extracurricular Enrichment Fund (SEEF).

learn // environment

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

How to Start Plastic Free Living Text: Emily Rowbotham

Just over a year ago, someone asked me to consider this point: ‘every single piece of plastic you have ever used still exists somewhere.’ I heard them; I listened, I nodded, I probably said something along the lines of ‘wow… yeah… shit.’ But after a moment it really dawned on me. HOLY SHIT. It can take anywhere between 20 to 1000 years for an ordinary plastic shopping bag to break down – but that plastic doesn’t ever disappear – it just breaks down into smaller pieces. And with Australia using 6.9 billion plastic bags alone per year… well… that’s a lot of plastic. I, like most people, always had a very ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality about my waste and waste disposal. Sure, it was kind of bad, but I thought I was better than most – used my own bags at the supermarket and owned a keep-cup – but it was not until I really took a look at what I was producing that I decided to make a change. In July 2016 I took on the ‘Plastic Free July Challenge’. Simply put, the goal was to use no single-use plastic for the month. That which I did use, I collected in a mason jar for reference. The aim was to share my experience on social media and emphasise that it is possible to dramatically reduce single-use plastic consumption without too dramatic a life alteration. The challenge was hard. Most of the plastic that I accumulated came early in the month when I forgot to

refuse things like plastic clad pamphlets handed out on the street, a plastic straw in a drink and small gelato spoon stuck on top of my ice-cream cone. I was pleased with my result. While it was a challenge at first, with routine and mindfulness, the process didn’t faze me by the end of the month. A while after the challenge I slowly began to use more single-use plastics where necessary but, overall, I was living much more sustainable life. I minimised both my plastic usage and my general waste production. I focus on reusing, recycling, fixing things, avoiding plastic and being mindful with my purchases. This year, I retried my Plastic-Free July challenge and found it much easier. With the ABC’s 2017 show ‘War on Waste,’ going plastic free and zero waste living has become a hot topic of discussion. I sometimes receive cynicism and scepticism from a handful of people. But, being plastic free doesn’t necessarily mean you need to throw out all your belongings, become a minimalist and generate zero waste. You haven’t failed if you accumulate some plastic here and there. These things don’t need to be black and white, and it’s not a competition! If you’re considering giving it a go, I whole heartedly recommend it. While reducing your plastic footprint, you also become more mindful, resourceful and creative! A handful of tips to get started: Reusables and saying no Beginning to reduce plastic usage starts with remembering to bring your own shopping bags when doing the groceries, using a water bottle instead of buying

bottled water, getting on the keep-cup bandwagon and generally remembered to say no to unnecessary disposables offered to you (plastic straws, for example). Getting into the habit of using things like beeswax food covers and food storage containers instead of clingwrap, and bringing your own container, knife and fork when getting takeaway is another great start. Shopping Make use of second-hand stores and markets and shop in bulk! Around Canberra, places like the Food Co-op, Naked Foods and Mountain Creek Wholefoods are excellent for things like grains, cereals, pasta, crisps, fruit and nuts, spices and teas. If you forget to bring your own reusable containers, they provide paper bags. Toiletries and household cleaners This is arguably one of the hardest parts of plastic free. Again, bulk stores are perfect for things like shampoos, conditioners, soaps and detergents. I also recommend shampoo bars from places like Lush. Do your research on this topic – you can generally pick up unpackaged dishwashing and cleaning products from many health food stores, and there are many plastic free alternatives for items like toothbrushes, Q-tips, hair removal, skin care and makeup products. Finally, for those who get periods, I cannot recommend using a menstrual cup enough! After a bit of research online, you’ll be surprised at the number of informative websites with tips, recipes and other resources.

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Literally the End Text: Hayden Wilkinson

Imagine you’re forced to play a game of Russian roulette. Someone loads a bullet into a revolver, spins the barrel, aims it at you, and pulls the trigger. There are, say, six chambers, so you’ve got a one in six chance of dying. Sure, you’ll probably be fine. But that’s not much comfort - you’d still be very worried, you’d still not want to play, and you’d still go to great lengths not to. What if the stakes are higher? What if, somehow, it’s not just you on the firing line - what if your family, your friends, and everyone you love will be lost too? And what if, worse still, everyone alive today was at risk? What if there was a one in six chance that all 7.5 billion people on Earth - people with complex lives, each of whom experience joy and love and happiness, and who don’t want to die any more than you and your loved ones - had a one in six chance of being wiped out in this game of Russian roulette? That would be even worse - that would be catastrophic. That would be worth doing almost anything to prevent or to even just reduce the risk.

into the possible causes of human extinction. One major risk is nuclear war. It would only take roughly one hundred nuclear detonations distributed across the globe to potentially trigger a disastrous nuclear winter. This could sharply reduce global temperatures and cripple agriculture, such that humanity could not produce sufficient food for survival. This isn’t going to result from a nuclear exchange between the United States and North Korea (the latter simply doesn’t have a large enough nuclear arsenal), but a future conflict between any two of Russia, China, and the United States could do it. Experts put the risk of such a conflict (or accident) happening by 2100, and the result of complete extinction at one per cent. That might seem low but combined with other risks; it adds up. And with what’s at stake, one per cent is still a lot. Global pandemics are an even greater risk with a roughly two per cent chance of wiping us out by 2100. Naturally occurring diseases likely couldn’t do it (since evolution doesn’t favour a disease that wipes out all of its possible hosts), but it’s getting easier and easier to modify diseases in the lab to be more lethal. With synthetic biology developing so rapidly, producing a civilisation-ending virus could become so easy that even your average terrorist organisation could do it. And it might not even require the deliberate release of such a bioweapon: laboratory safety practices are not as good as you’d expect and, with so many labs around the world doing this sort of work, the chance of a leak gets quite high. It’s even happened before, albeit on a smaller scale. In 1979, anthrax spores were accidentally released from a lab near the city of Sverdlovsk, killing about 100 people. The next time this happens, it could easily be something much worse.

In 2006, the UK government’s Stern Review put the risk of human extinction this century at 9.5 per cent. A 2008 survey of experts by the University of Oxford found that the probability was 19 per cent (a bit more than one in six). And even higher estimates exist Sir Martin Rees, Britain’s Astronomer Royal, puts it at 50 per cent. So there it is - we’re in that game of Russian roulette, whether we like it or not. Between now and 2100, there’s roughly a one in six chance of absolute catastrophe - involving not just our deaths, but those of our friends, our loved ones, and of 7.5 billion other people. And, under most extinction scenarios, almost all animal and plant life would be lost as well. Climate change might also do it. We’re still not certain about the How will it most precise consequences of carbon likely happen? emissions, and the International Panel on Climate Change estiWhere is this risk coming from? mates that, under a medium-levFortunately, researchers at Ox- el emissions scenario, there’s a 10 ford, Cambridge, Harvard, and per cent chance that we’ll exceed elsewhere, have started looking six degrees of warming. Looking further up the scale, economist Martin Weitzman has found that

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

of the World we may have almost a one per cent chance of exceeding 10 degrees of warming, averaged across the Earth’s surface. This equates to more than 20 degrees of warming across Europe, and most of the Earth’s landmass becoming uninhabitable. If we don’t drastically reduce emissions, there’s almost a one per cent chance of this, and a good chance that we won’t survive. Again, this doesn’t sound high (it’s even lower than for nuclear war), but it all adds up. It’s also highly likely that we invent some new, immensely dangerous technology over the next 80 years. We simply don’t know - prior to 1945, few people predicted the future destructiveness of weapons technology, and we could easily be in a similar position. In fact, it would be surprising if technology didn’t develop to an unrecognisable level by 2100. It might not result in what we see in science fiction, with the Earth being destroyed by Terminators, but something like geoengineering or nanotechnology could plausibly go very, very badly. Without foresight, safeguards, and solutions to the technical problems, unknown technologies like those could potentially be the end of us – the Oxford survey put the chances of this at almost 10 per cent.

The importance of preventing extinction That’s all pretty worrying. But there’s something which makes extinction events like these even more worrying. If humanity goes extinct, there’s no coming back. Yes, we’re in a game of Russian roulette with 7.5 billion present lives on the line, but that’s not all that’s at stake. If humanity goes extinct, our children, grandchildren, and every single future generation will be lost too. If we go, our entire future goes too. How many people is that? Ten thousand trillion. That’s the low estimate, assuming we never leave Earth. And it’s still a million times more people than are alive right now. This game of Russian roulette is bigger than one person, and bigger than every

person alive today - more than a million times bigger. That’s what makes this issue so important. Sure, there are other things that might make our future unpleasant - overpopulation, food shortages, moderate climate change, and so on – and of course we should prevent them. But these will either affect just one or two generations or merely decrease quality of life. If nuclear war wipes us out, it extinguishes a million times more lives. The effect is on vastly greater scale, and it is worth doing something about.

Doing something about it But there’s good news – by addressing these risks, we can safeguard our future. And ANU is starting to take action on this. In June of this year, the Emeritus Faculty convened a roundtable discussion and, in late July, published a report on the topic - Pathways Past the Precipice: Flourishing in a Mega-Threatened World (featured on the VC’s blog). They proposed the development of cross-disciplinary research centres to improve understanding of these risks, an ‘Australian Future Change Commission’ to take broader action, and that such issues be included in university curricula. This is all great news. For one, as a world-leading research university, we’ve got a great comparative advantage in furthering research into these topics. At the moment, there’s less research into human extinction than there is on dung beetles, or on analysing Star Trek (yes, really). And, from what we know so far, research here is so crucial since much of the risk comes from the unknown; much of it could potentially be dealt with through technical solutions, and we still need to find the most effective strategies for achieving global coordination to address these threats. By supporting new research targeted specifically at this issue, ANU could really contribute here. With parliament house a stone’s throw away, we’re also in a great position to make a real difference to policy. In particular, we’re well placed to establish a national

commission which maintains a strong academic foundation, informed by the very latest research and free to focus on the crucial issue our long-term survival - an issue which is just not on the radar of policy-makers. There’s a major worry with any such initiative, however. It’s very easy to get distracted from the central issue. There are other problems which might affect humanity in the near future (moderate climate change, overpopulation, food shortages, etc.) and possibly even make life a lot worse for a generation or two. But existential threats are so much worse - they affect not just one generation but every generation that will ever live. Plus, they’re hugely neglected - little government effort goes into pandemic prevention or regulating technologies which haven’t even been invented yet. Meanwhile, globally, US$360 billion already goes towards combating climate change each year, and overpopulation and the rest have already gotten the attention of policy-makers too. Of course, these are worth dealing with but, with such resources going into them already (and failing to solve the problem), additional efforts likely won’t have a large impact. For genuine extinction risks, however, the lack of attention means that there are lots of low-hanging fruit ripe for the picking. Additional work here could have an enormous impact, and ANU could make it happen. Despite this possible pitfall, the ANU initiative could go extremely well. And there’s no need to be pessimistic - although there is a risk of the greatest catastrophe in human history, there’s also an opportunity here to do an enormous amount of good. We can dial back the risk and, in this game of Russian roulette, make the chance of disaster a bit lower than one in six – perhaps by pushing for nuclear non-proliferation, for better lab safety rules, or for safeguards on emerging technologies. And if we do, there’s a chance we’re saving thousands of trillions of lives. We can save the world, one percentage point at a time.

Issue 10, Vol. 67

ANU Students Take on the World Solar Challenge

Text: Monika Berlot

A project that started as a pipe dream of three ANU engineering students in 2013, has now turned into more than 30 students working together to grow an extremely complex start-up. The team has spent hours working hard on all aspects of the project – from business, engineering and design – to build something that will change the future of solar-powered vehicles. Over the past few months, students have worked against the clock in the workshop to put together a car to race over 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide. Technical team leader Nathan Coleman recalls the time he and two of his

mates conjured up the idea of making a solar car: ‘I was procrastinating, as usual, when I came across the Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge website. We all wanted a chance to do something hands on.’ He is immensely proud of his team and grateful to all the students who volunteered their time. Business team lead Mark McAnulty says it is undoubtedly the largest ANU student-led project ever and certainly one of the most exciting projects at the ANU. The vehicle will take part in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge that officially runs from 8-15 October 2017. From Canberra, the race team will be transporting the car to Darwin where they will undertake safety checks and prepare themselves for the long journey. ‘The car will be competing in the

Challenger Class, up against some of the fastest solar cars in the world. The ANU is certainly an underdog as some teams get millions of dollars to build their car. However, we have put together something that is competitive and will get through the tough conditions,’ says Arlene Mendoza, Race team lead. Students in the team will be away from the university for almost a month. ‘It is a huge time commitment, but it is also a once in a lifetime opportunity to be involved in this race. We have been dedicated to the project for the past 18 months, and this is the final push,’ says Arlene. But the car’s journey does not end after it reaches Adelaide. The team is organising a tour of regional towns

surrounding the ACT after the race. ‘We want to inspire regional high school students and show them what they can contribute to if they come to ANU to study’, Emily Rose Rees, team leader, explains. ‘Our sponsors have been instrumental in the process. It has been so encouraging to have genuinely interested and engaged sponsors.’ The team will live stream parts of the race via Facebook and will post regular updates on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Follow the team on social media by searching MTAA Super Solar Invictus to stay up to date throughout the race and find out if this new team can take out the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Why Hydropower Isn’t As Clean As You Think Text by: Brody Hannan The term ‘clean’ and ‘green’ is thrown around a lot when it comes to renewable energy, and hydropower is no exception. But, is hydropower really as clean as we think? Is hydropower ‘greener’ than traditional, fossil fuel sources of energy production? Rather than burning fossil fuels to heat water (which use steam to turn large turbines, in turn generating electricity), hydropower uses moving water to spin large turbines without burning fossil fuels. But there’s a catch. The water needed to turn the turbines requires a lot of water. The creation of these enormous dams can lead to the submergence of significant amounts of land and vegetation. While the amount of land submerged varies significantly, some hydropower dams flood large areas of land. The Churchill Falls hydropower dam in Canada has submerged almost 7,000 km2 of land and vegetation. That’s nearly three times the area of the Australian Capital Territory. The vegetation covered by the dam decomposes in an anaerobic environment

underwater, meaning that it decomposes without the assistance of oxygen-consuming bacteria which otherwise would produce carbon dioxide. Instead, the process of decomposition releases methane, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than the carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels. Obviously, the density and type of vegetation covered by the dam determine the quantity of greenhouse gases ‘emitted’ by each hydropower dam. The small, bushy shrubs and grasses of the temperate and alpine climates of the Snowy Mountains would release fewer greenhouse gases upon decomposition compared to the dense tropical rainforest of the Amazon. Nevertheless, some countries in South America are facing a dilemma in providing clean, affordable energy. Hydropower provides Brazil with 80 per cent of its domestic power use with a total of 47 hydropower dams across the country. The majority of these dams are in central Brazil, along with a small number of rivers feeding into the Amazon River. Studies show that each of these hydropower dams, on average, produce about eight times as much greenhouse gas compared to the combustion of the fossil fuels to generate the same amount

of energy from one of Brazil’s 13 landbased oil rigs. While hydropower is certainly a renewable source of energy, hydropower energy, along with other supposedly ‘clean’, ‘green’ and ‘renewable’ energy sources, are not devoid of environmental impact. Other problems also arise when using hydropower energy to promote sustainable development. Hydropower can have a detrimental impact on cultural heritage, with a large amount of land submerged by their dams also destroying landmarks of cultural significance. Hydropower dams constructed in the Yasuni National Park are destroying thousands of hectares of Amazon rainforest that is home to Indigenous tribes that only made ‘first contact’ with modern society in 1958. Damming river systems can also impact marine animal migratory patterns. Dams prevent sedimentary particles from being deposited down a river and instead, sediments accumulate in the dam and eventually extend further upstream. Both these factors can have a devastating impact on the wider ecosystem, as was seen with the Three Gorges Dam in China – the world’s largest hydropower dam. Reports indicate that

in 2014, there were two earthquakes (of magnitudes 4.3 and 4.7) and over 330 aftershocks near the dam. These occurred due to the immense pressure on the land below caused by the weight of the dam’s large reservoir. But, hydropower energy is just one example of the flaws of renewable energy sources. An increased reliance on the energy produced by solar panels could overload and threaten grid stability. Additionally, aside from being a highly intermittent source of power generation, research from the Australian Ecological Research Service estimated that each of Australia’s 2,106 wind turbines kills about ten birds per year. There is no ‘silver bullet’ to solving current energy and climate challenges. It thus remains important that we continue research into alternative energy sources and work to change the energy status quo continuously.

sustainable campus bulletin Recycling hacks Have you been in the situation where you are holding a packet in your hand and just have no idea what to do with it? Does it go into the recycling bin? Should it go in general waste? Do I need to wash it first? Is the wrapping recyclable as well as the container? Here is a short guide to clear up some recycling myths and provide us all with some helpful tips.

A message from ANUgreen:

landfill.

What do the numbers mean? The numbers identify the resin composition of plastic containers that are meant to be recycled:

‘1,2,3 you can recycle me 4,5,6 you can’t recycle this’*

container in general recycling. Bottle lids, similar to straws and plastic forks, are too small to be picked out by the sorting machines in recycling factories and are therefore recommended to be left out of recycling. Milk and juice cartons, which often made with layers of cardboard and plastic, can also be recycled.

ACT A-Z Recycling Guide

Coffee cups can be recycled *But in the ACT, plastics with number 5 in the ACT can be recycled as well. As the year begins drawing to an end, A war on take-away cups has been declared throughout the country. With the statistics saying that every half an hour as much as 50,000 disposable cups in Australia are wasted and end up in a landfill, that’s reason enough. Many Canberra cafes, including some on the ANU campus, took this seriously and have offered a discount if you bring your own cup with some going even further, banning the disposable cups altogether. Whilst it is better to avoid the waste in the first place and bring your own cup, it is worth to mention that in ACT, unlike in other states, paper and cardboard based cups can be recycled. So don’t forget to throw away these items responsibly and into a yellow bin. The disposable cups received at the Material Recovery Facility will be baled with other paper and cardboard and sold for processing while the plastic layer will end up in

the question of where you put all of that

Soft plastics can be recycled accumulated stuff begins to arise. While at Coles REDcycle bins it’s tempting to leave it all in the general One of the most common mistakes made is throwing soft plastics into the recycling - they actually damage the recycling process and often get caught in the machine, creating delays and repair work. Soft plastics include: shopping, salad, bread, and frozen fruit bags, fruit netting and any other non-rigid plastic. While it would be ideal to stop purchasing goods with plastics, it’s a hard ask. So, remembering to separate soft plastics from your general waste can make a difference – and it’s easy to drop them off the next time you shop.

Milk cartons & bottles To recycle rigid plastic or glass milk bottles properly, remove the lid, put the

rubbish, the ACT has a pretty comprehensive recycling network. There is an online guide called A-Z Waste and Recycling Guide – from eyewear to yogurt tubs this guide provides guidance on where items can be recycled or reused in the community.

E-Waste If your technology is reusable, drop it off for free at The Green Shed at the Resource Centres at either Mugga Lane or Mitchell. This service is provided in conjunction with the National Television and Computers Recycling Scheme. Be sure to advise these centres before you drop off your goods. If your items are not reusable they can also be dropped off at the Hazardous Waste Facilities,

or at Mobile Muster collection points at Australia Post in the ACT. There are also businesses, like Charity Computers, who accept working and non-working computers

Recycling Apps are here to help Along with the ACT Guide, there are a range of other materials to help maximise your recycling prowess. Recycle Smart App lets you choose your location and provides you with recycling directions for any product, relevant to the municipality you live in. Planet Ark’s website, recyclingnearyou.com.au is also a useful resource.

learn // science

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Why we Conduct Research: Through the Lens of 3-11

Text/Image: Matthew Teh

futures of your beloved family members and all that you love is swept into doubt. All you can do is scream.

Image: The scene from the roof of the Arahama Elementary School. The black patch in the distance is the cemetery – all that remains, along with the school, of the Arahama township which existed prior to 11 March 2011.

Skeletal pine trees dot the coastline, where previously there was a lush park situated just on the beach at the edge of the town. All that remains of the Arahama township are, somewhat poetically, the remains of the cemetery.

Standing at the top of the Arahama Elementary School, looking at the landscape around. It’s a perfectly sunny day and fields of green stretch out across the Sendai Plain in Eastern Japan. But something seems amiss. The Arahama Elementary School is the only standing building of the town of Arahama that existed prior to 11 March 2011. Looking out from the top, the Sendai Plain stretches out as far as the eye can see. A sea wall appears to be in the process of construction in the distance. Cranes loom over nascent settlements and developments as part of the ongoing reconciliation. The scene heralds disbelief in knowing that before 11 March 2011, the entire area was the lively township of Arahama. Imagine: you, a primary school child, seeing a black mass of water completely inundating the horizon all around. The world smothered by a blackened chaos of mangled cars, shredded pine trees and everything you’ve known and owned. Your house becomes consumed by the current and with it, the uncertain

The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, termed ‘3-11’, was a one-in-onethousand-year event that measured a magnitude of 9.0 off the east coast of Japan. The devastation witnessed was akin to an event in 869 AD, and the scale of catastrophe similar to an earthquake and tsunami in 1896. Research following 3-11 has produced evidence of this in the geological record – research which will be used to inform future disaster management policy. Crucially, this research generates longevity to the risks posed by geological hazards: that future generations must not forget the importance of research which prepares for the worst. Outside of a curiosity for the world around, research in science is often hard to place in a context which remains seemingly relevant to our everyday lives. It’s also something which remains at the forefront of studying science, where the question of what will be tested dominates classroom discussion. And without a broader contextual basis for a science degree and where mere grades remain as the imperative, it’s easy to

become disillusioned with the study of science. Looking and hearing about the role of science in preventing human tragedies is often relegated to the pursuit of being a medical practitioner. But the human element of scientific research persists, whatever the field of research. 3-11 galvanised research which investigates the causes and effects of the forces natural world which affect human society. Few would one know that the calcium content of the waters surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant would cause radioactive caesium to remain bound to the clay in the water which allowed most of the radioactive particles to be filtered out. Further yet, research allows us to distinguish the relatively minor consequences of the nuclear meltdown of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant from the catastrophe of Chernobyl. This research allows for future methods of the removal of radioactive particles to be developed, ensuring the lives of millions in the future. In another example and as alluded above, research into sediments deposited in the Sendai Plain has revealed consistent tsunamis adjacent to the ocean as occurring on a one-in-one-hundredyear basis, and catastrophic tsunamis like 3-11 as occurring on a similarly periodic basis. Remaining true to the steadfastness of the human vision, the Arahama area – along with other areas

affected by the 3-11 tsunami – has accordingly been designated as only being occupied by businesses which rely on proximity to the ocean: no residential development is permitted. All this research is inextricably tied with the raw, human element that spurred this research in the first place. Social efforts to never forget the dangers of tsunamis and earthquakes, along with the investigative progress of research, allows for the development of policy which ameliorates the catastrophes of the future. This is just one context in which research is being used to understand the forces of the world around. Other examples include the improvement of building codes; the effective design of infrastructure; the mechanisms of chemical or disease transport or of disease. Research has the potential to save the lives of millions. It is essential that scientific research never loses sight of its capacity to prevent scenes like that at the Arahama Elementary School: that research must never lose the human imperative behind science. The author travelled to the Arahama Elementary School and the surrounding Sendai region affected by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami as part of the ‘Understanding Geological Hazards’ New Colombo Plan field program with the Research School of Earth Sciences, in conjunction with the University of Tokyo.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Learn // Business & Economics

The Rise of The Modern Chinese Traveller Text: Nivedita Shankar

No family holiday over the last ten years, whether it be to the Blue Mountains or the Gold Coast, was complete without the sighting of an awkwardly large bus full of excited Chinese tourists. Upon disembarking, these tourists, donned with expensive brands and armed with selfie sticks, descend upon Australia’s most famous tourist attractions. Once they take a quick look around, they inevitably finish their trip in cafés or engaging in some retail therapy. However, the days of sightseeing from the comfort of a tour bus are coming to an end. A new category of Chinese traveller is emerging. We can attribute this to China’s cooling economic growth – a depreciating currency and stock market volatility – due to the unstable contemporary geopolitical climate. Consumers in China are becoming more selective about spending on certain consumer segments. And, consequently, they are increasingly seeking a better work/life balance; one which international travel is becoming increasingly more prevalent. This has resulted in a shrinking upper class and a growing middle class in China, and a reversion of the term tourist to traveller. These travellers are more likely to be driven by the desire for experiences that the cumbersome nature of a tour bus

cannot offer. They seek to participate in a different culture, learn about customs, experience an ‘off the beaten path’ experience and engage with scenery and activities. This new class of traveller also seeks out the exotic and unique experiences that only free and independent travel (FIT) can offer. This FIT concept, combined with the ease of planning a holiday through structured tour groups, becomes extremely attractive to tourists – particularly Chinese tourists who are typically unfamiliar with English and Australia in general. The Australian market also needs to take advantage of the digital connectedness and social media influence that Chinese travellers currently possess. With the extensive market share of WeChat, Whatsapp and Weibo, emphasis must be placed in targeting Australian destination and experiences to these online platforms. An increased presence on these platforms will increase Australia’s relevance in the eyes of Chinese travellers as currently there is a disparity between actual and potential engagement with this class of technologically competent tourists. This disparity is clear when looking at sources of information for Chinese tourists. Online booking sites and guidebooks each equip 20 per cent of respondents with the information needed for their holiday, whereas social media, which is growing at the fastest rate, is neglected. Despite the growth of WeChat as the most popular messaging app, with the amount of users doubling from November 2016, cumulative social media advertising comprised of less

than 18 per cent of tourism information. Advertising ‘intrinsically Australian’ experiences such as outback exploring, snorkeling, golf and wine tours, on these platforms, are essential in promoting this new style of travel to the middle-class Chinese traveller. The Australian tourism sector is slowly coming to understand these emerging trends. To take advantage of this booming sector, we must adapt in order to harness the full potential of this developing market. This is currently being done through creating lasting relationships with different Chinese Airlines since they are undoubtedly the most popular carriers to Australia, comprising of over 50 per cent of market share and through campaigns such as ‘Australians Prefer Visa’. The modern Chinese traveller is technologically savvy, adventurous and has an insatiable appetite for unique experiences and self-development. By tapping into these underutilised resources, targeting the free and independent traveller and harnessing social media, there is definitely potential to exceed targets set by Tourism Australia of $13 billion by 2020. Does this mean the end of the tourist bus? Probably not. There will always be rich Chinese tourists discovering the gem that is Australia. Australia is a world class travel destination sitting on the doorstep of Asia. We have a diverse range of cultural experiences which are undoubtedly a drawcard that Tourism Australia can hinge their marketing on.

Learn // Business & Economics

Issue 10, Vol. 67

Growth Watch – Underdogs Uninterrupted

The Plague of Crony Capitalism Text: Prachi Arya Part time Potterhead and a full time finance student, Prachi will cover emerging markets for Woroni this semester. She’s always up for discussions on politics and economics and loves to binge watch Oprah interviews. Join her as she chronicles the growth stories of emerging economies all the way from Mexico through to Indonesia.

‘A full man can’t understand a hungry man,’ says Yuri Bykov, a 36-year-old Russian filmmaker who is due to start work on his upcoming project, The Factory. It’s a story about workers, angered by the shutting of the factory they work in, owing to its lack of economic viability. Furious, they hatch a conspiracy to lure their employer, the oligarch who owns the factory, into their premises and take him hostage. According to CNBC, Russia is the most unequal major economy in the world. The alarming disparities are traceable back to the early 1990’s. Post the fall of the Soviet Union, privatisation of public enterprises at throwaway prices helped a select few- those with access to capital. Oligarchs well connected to Yeltsin, the then President, mounted the ladders to prosperity. The rest were left to be devoured by snakes. Nearly three decades on, Russia, with 118 of its people having a net worth of over $1 billion, has the fourth highest number of billionaires in the world. Most of them holdovers from the same club that acquired companies at knockout prices in Yeltsin’s fire sale. Yet, it doesn’t even figure in the top 18 in Credit Suisse’s ranking of countries by most number of millionaires. By contrast, China finished second on the list of most billionaires and sixth on that of the millionaires. As anti-corruption protests rocked various cities across Russia earlier this year, Bykov’s work is seen as an expression of the resentment that is slowly but surely brewing amongst the less privileged Russians. 10 per cent of Russians own over 87 per cent of the country’s wealth whereas the same figure stands at 66 per cent for China. The monopoly enjoyed by the oligarchs has resulted in a drag on innovation. Most of the 27 Russian companies that made the Forbes’ Global2000 list this year were natural oil and gas companies. The incoming 2018 presidential elections will exacerbate these problems further. At the same time, the perceived passiveness to inequality of the hoi polloi is gradually evaporating and the opposition is capitalising on this in the lead up to the election. Given this context, the the existing regime, regardless of all tacks to consolidate power, could see the public sentiment turn the tide against it. Indonesia is a classic example of how disillusionment of the people can bring

down autocratic rulers even after a run at the top spanning decades. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990’s brought the anger of the Indonesian people to the surface in a manner more violent than in any other country that the economic meltdown had an impact on. Indonesia saw its GDP plummet by more than 25 per cent and its currency fall by 70 per cent in value. In 1998 the then President, Suharto, in the face of massive protests, decided to step down after a reign that lasted 32 years. Up until that point, major businesses in almost every industry in the country – automobiles, cement, paper or communications, were owned by the Suharto family or those close to the President. The major benefits that these corporations enjoyed were in the form of generous tax breaks and monopoly rights granted by government. This allowed the companies to undercut the foreign competition, which drove away precious foreign investment, essential for the growth of an emerging economy. The Suharto family reportedly owned undisclosed assets that totalled $30 billion. They would have ranked amongst the world’s dozen richest families. This run of crony capitalism was brought to a screeching halt when the IMF bailout package, to rescue Indonesia from the pits of the crisis, demanded the dismantling of all business cartels and monopoly rights enjoyed by well-connected oligarchs. Most importantly, it asked the Suharto family to give up substantial parts of its family-run business empire. Indonesia has since seen business activity thrive in places other than Jakarta, where most of the former oligarchs were based. Emerging cities like Surabaya and Bandung have made for a more equitable pattern of growth. Nearly all emerging markets see largely inequitable growth patterns for some stretch of time. The rule of thumb states that the benefits of growth usually even out eventually. However, Mexico has been an outlier on the wealth inequality front. Business owners grapple for the markets to remain closed to foreign competitors and vie for the goodwill of the politicians and not so much the consumers. Carlos Slim, the wealthiest Mexican, accounts for seven per cent of the country’s GDP. The list of billionaires has seen nearly no churn in the last few decades. The roots of Mexican oligarchy is easily traced back to government debt crisis of the 1980’s. In much the same manner as Yeltsin, the government sold off state-owned enterprises to a few cronies at dirt cheap prices. Today, the wealthiest 10 families control

nearly all the major industries – chemicals, iron and steel, tourism, petroleum and consumer durables and account for a third of the value of the stock market. Since private cartels produce close to 40 per cent of consumer goods used by the Mexican people, price levels are 30 per cent higher than international averages. The Gini coefficient measures income inequality in a country. At 0, there’s no inequality, and at 1, all the wealth is possessed by a single individual. Mexico’s Gini coefficient stands at .48. The worth of individuals involved in crony industries around the world increased by 385 per cent from 2004 to 2014 and makes up a third of all billionaire wealth worldwide. As wealth concentration in a few hands grows, a fallout of this phenomenon is the resentment of the rich amongst the less privileged. In emerging Latin American economies, for instance, this has forced wealthy businesspeople to lie low and avoid ostentatious displays of wealth. They travel around in bullet-proof vehicles surrounded by a band of bodyguards. It comes as no surprise that Brazil is the second largest market for armoured cars in the world. Around the world, the poor, disenchanted with corruption fuelled social inequality, are increasingly turning to populist leaders. The recent elections in Europe bear testimony to this fact. However, populist or autocratic rulers are to worsen the situation further. Crackdown on civil liberties and freedom of the press as seen in Hungary and Turkey, two countries experiencing the rise of autocratic rulers, confirms this. Ensuring equitable growth is tightrope walking between ensuring efficient allocation of capital to the right industries and firms on the one hand and ensuring all economic agents get an equal share of the pie on the other. The ills of crony capitalism, divorced from the latter half of its namesake and what it means- a free market. For what is crony capitalism but those in power twisting the rules in favour of a few, rendering the market not free? This can be to a large extent, alleviated if instead of the sucking of economic marrow into favoured mouths, the markets are left to clear by themselves, sans any political intervention.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Sport

Uyen Ha

‘There is no aspect of MMA that isn’t tough’

Text: Adam Mayers

‘Outsiders will never understand why we do it, but the rewards are great.’ For most students, striking up an appropriate work-life balance is tough. Yet, Uyen Ha, in the unenviable position of combining a Law/International Relations double degree with full-time combat sports training, seems to have her priorities in check. An Australian junior freestyle wrestling champion and member of the Australian Olympic Wrestling Shadow Team, Ha is also one of Australia’s most exciting prospects in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). Right now, she is fighting for a place in Australia’s Commonwealth Games contingent at the Gold Coast next year. Despite this, Ha takes training for all disciplines in her stride: ‘Olympic Wrestling is different to MMA wrestling, however, the fundamentals are the same… training in one helps me with the other. I want to focus on MMA for the next few years. I am in love with wrestling however I only

started it to supplement my skillset for MMA.’ The fact that this near Olympic-level athlete can seriously say that, despite her success in the discipline, wrestling is a lesser priority is a testament to her dedication to one of the most arduous and gruelling sports groups in the world. Training upwards of 28 hours a week, wrestling is only a small part of her training regimen. And, while that means that her training regime may involve more physical combat than would be expected of a wrestler, for Ha, the physicality is part of the art form: ‘what I love most about MMA is how raw it is. The sport goes to the very core of human nature. Fighting and violence is in our blood. The human body and soul on its own. It is maybe the most beautiful art form to me. If you watch a fight, you will witness a spectrum of emotions: anger, pure despair, tears, extreme happiness, hopelessness, fear… I think there is something really primal and amazing about it. And to feel all those emotions is even more incredible.’ It’s common for boxers to go from fighting in the Olympics at an amateur level before moving on to box professionally (Muhammad Ali and Anthony Joshua are two well-known examples). Though, it is less common for MMA fighters to double-up their work training in their chosen combat sport with competition in an Olympic discipline such as boxing, wrestling or judo. The reasons for

this are clear — the fact that boxing is its own Olympic sport and MMA is not, is one clear example. But, for Ha, the challenge is made even more intense by the relative youth of women’s freestyle wrestling at an Olympic level (it’s only been contested for just over a decade). This is exacerbated by the public’s past reticent attitude toward not just MMA but female MMA in particular; ‘it is a much harder sport than people give it credit for.’ However, despite being a female trailblazer in a historically masculine sport, she feels no pressure to be a role model even if it is a function she knows she will have to contend with: ‘there is no pressure… I had a lot of female role models at the start of my career, and I wish to be one as well. I aim to continue on this path in order to be able to have a bigger voice in society and tell my story. A female fighter is a different breed and goes through different experiences to the average male fighter. Therefore, it takes a female fighter to be a role model to other young girls interested in the sport.’ Despite her success thus far, Ha is certainly not resting on her laurels. Having moved to Thailand full-time last year, she is hoping to make breakthroughs in each discipline that she competes in, moving into Commonwealth Games and Olympics squads almost as a by-product of her dedication to MMA. And it is a real dedication. Beyond the tens of hours per week that she puts into

the sport, training in mixed martial arts is particularly tough: ‘there is no aspect of MMA that isn’t tough, you go to training every day, and you get beat up. You come home with injuries, you prepare for a fight and you put your head and your body into hell. It is mentally exhausting, and it is physically draining.’ For Uyen to be competing so fiercely while also dealing with her academic responsibilities reflects a determination and intelligence that will surely contribute to her great and continued success in the future. Especially considering that she only took up MMA at the age of 16, as well as the impressive improvements in the few short years since then, it’s difficult to gauge just how far she could go in combat sports. She is a credit to the University and it is disappointing that we don’t get to hear more about athletes such as herself competing at the highest level. Perhaps it goes back to her initial point that ‘outsiders will never understand why we do it’ and a pervading sense that MMA — particularly in its female variant — is yet to be taken seriously as a sport. But, hopefully, with some more successful fights under her belt and representation of Australia at Commonwealth Games or Olympic level on the cards, we will be seeing and hearing a lot more about one of this country’s most promising combat sports talents.

Issue 10, Vol. 67

satire

EQ: Emotional Quotient or Emoji Quotient? Text: Elizabeth Harris Collage: Katie Ward Researchers at MIT’s media lab have been working night and day on a groundbreaking tool which will likely change the world. No, you silly thing, it’s not something to do with space travel, curing cancer or other similarly trivial ideas! This is something that actually matters. DeepMoji is a Twitter-based

learning algorithm which is trained to learn and decipher patterns by being fed Tweets. The algorithm has learned to predict what emoji will be used to react to the post. DeepMoji researchers believe that, in this way, the algorithm will eventually learn to determine emotional content. I’m a deeply nihilistic law student with a strong belief that dank memes are

the lifeblood of our generation. Consequently, the idea of learning what ‘emotions’ are, through emojis, speaks to me on a deep level. As a soulless third year, I am only now, through the power of emojis, experiencing the full range of human emotion. So, I personally think that DeepMoji’s work will have stunningly broad application to our everyday lives. And a prime example of one of these applications is political education

– a subject which can often be even more confusing than human emotions. I submit to you, dear readers (hoping that some of you know more about computers than being ‘proficient in Microsoft Office’, as my CV reads), the following guide to emojis and political figures, to be fed, in due course, to DeepMoji:

1. The Ginger

6. Mona lisa

Red-y or not, here she comes. The Ginger is most reminiscent of Pauline Hanson. This cheeky emoji hasn’t yet hit our phones (much like the hundreds of politically incorrect bombshells I’m sure Pauline has still to drop) but, when it does, it’s certain to make an impact! Natural redheads make up two per cent of the world’s population, and Ms Hanson is a rare breed indeed. In her maiden speech, she stated: ‘I am fed up to the back teeth with the inequalities that are being promoted by the government … under the assumption that Aboriginals are the most disadvantaged people in Australia.’ Well Pauline, there’s a reason we got some more racially diverse emojis before we got a redhead, as small a consolation as that may be to many people. If only there were a pants down emoji… In the meantime, DeepMoji will have to learn from this fiery emoticon.

Whether you think she’s a real piece of work or a work of art, there is no doubt that Julie Bishop is something. And, as with da Vinci’s masterpiece, she’s worth getting a selfie with if you have the opportunity. She’s known for her love of Armani, so she at least wears Italian clothes, as Mona certainly did. If that’s not enough to convince you that this is Bishop’s spirit-emoji, with an aloof smile, Jules will keep you guessing, and you’ll never know what she’s thinking. A useful attribute for a diplomat. Finally, in response to Donald Trump’s commentary on Bridgette Macron’s figure, our Deputy PM commented, ‘It’s a rather interesting comment to make. I wonder if she could say the same of him?’ With all the focus on her womanly wiles, I think Mona would have been all about sisterhood; she and Julie would probably have some good bants about our favourite orange overlord.

2. Cowboy Hat Bob Katter. The best thing about his hat is that it puts another protective layer between his terrifying mind and us. Unfortunately, his brain still remains connected to his mouth. He’s a law school drop-out – so, of course, we knew nothing good could come of him. Among his various nefarious acts, pelting the Beatles with eggs in 1964 is undoubtedly one of the worst. He’s a gun totin’, ‘dewogging’ promotin’ (yes, really, look it up) star who believes that in matters of child support there is ‘an anti-male bias’ and ‘in 90 per cent of cases the bloke has done nothing wrong [and] the woman was at fault.’ But the high(low?)light is definitely the hat.

3. Pregnant Lady The pregnant woman is without a doubt Larissa Waters. The Canadian flag emoji could also work, but let’s shift away from the section 44 debacle. The first woman to breastfeed in Parliament, Larissa took a firm stance for working women. And that step was a wonderful one to support women’s rights. So yes: Let’s just remember Larissa as a mother. Don’t worry about her work as Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens. She’s a woman. So just remember her for her tits and ovaries.

4. Incognito If there is anyone whom this be-trenchcoated, mysterious character represents, it’s Tony Abbott. He’s a Liberal backbencher, didn’t you know? I’m surprised you even know his name. He’s kept to his word and taken a step back to let Malcolm take pride of place. You never hear anything subversive from him. Ever. He definitely does not have a knife destined for the PM’s back hidden in the depths of his jacket.

5. Hand and Smartphone He’s at Lonsdale Street Roasters. He’s at Telstra Tower with Lucy. He’s taking selfies on Sydney’s public transport. He’s a man for all seasons. He’s our Prime Minister. And how do we know all this? Because he’s kind enough to tote around his smartphone wherever he goes and update us on his daily rounds! Although I do find his frequent, #relatable posts quite reminiscent of Brian Schmidt’s blog posts, there can be no doubt that Turnbull is ‘up with the youths’ and knows how the reverse camera works. Unfortunately, it seems that this is the only hip, sick, mad aspect of Malcolm v1 (remember, the one who would cross the floor and wear leather jackets?) that remains. In fact, I’m starting to think the phone is a horcrux of the old Malcolm…

In a time of increasing automation and the rise of emotionally intelligent AI, it is time that we finally catch up to this miraculous algorithm and gain a bit of EQ. We are facing a real EQ emoj-ency (even more pressing than the section 44 troubles facing out illustrious leaders). So, my dear reader, turn on your phone and scroll through some emojis and learn some emojinal intelligence.

Week 7, Semester 2, 2017

Local Youth Recovers After Risky Tag Text: Zoe O’Leary Cameron Casual observers and invested stakeholders alike have been left astounded by social media behaviour that has been labelled ‘unprecedented’, after Sam Brown, 21, of Daley Road, tagged Amelia Thistlethwaite, 21, of Ainslie, in a video of a baby deer learning how to jump. Sources close to the pair report that Thistlethwaite was left rattled by the shockingly public act of deeply intimate Facebook tagging. The pair have only been on two half-hearted dates, buffered by slightly-less-than-infrequent, 3 am post-Civic bouts of ‘deeply average’ heterosexual intercourse. ‘I mean, it was completely out of the blue,’ Thistlethwaite reportedly stated. ‘He goes to Johns. He has a stunted

Sudoku

man bun. He wears Hawaiian shirts to Mooseheads in winter. I just didn’t think this was his style.’ Thistlethwaite’s concern was compounded by the fact that the tag in question occurred at 7.30 pm on a Friday night, a time roundly described by her mates as ‘unsettlingly family-friendly’. The wounded Brown received no acknowledgement from Thistlethwaite in the comment section, but plenty of flak from his friends at college dinner. He is preparing to return to his proven method of attracting and securing the interest of women: sending increasingly sporadic flirty bants at uncomfortable hours over ever-more ephemeral means of communication, and generally displaying the emotional range of a sprouting potato.

satire

ode to vegemite Brown, glistening, viscous and spreadable Pretty much looks like literal shit Dispersed sporadically over cold, burnt toast The perfect combination of fats and carbs Makes for a surprisingly bitter sensation A taste just as salty as my attitude Delivers stained teeth almost instantly Ensures the breath smells mitey bad Embarrassment puts a rose in every cheek Attempted diversification of cooking potential Vegemite lamb roasts aren’t fooling anyone B vitamins do nothing for immunity Yet still marketed as a health staple For some reason, an Australian cultural icon Made from beer manufacturing waste Briefly pinched by the Americans (typical!) Poorly imitated by the British overlords The traditionalists wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Credit: Sebastian Rossi

Issue 10, Vol. 67

satire

Going Grey in More Ways Than One Text: Eleanor Armstrong One of the most common remarks that tends to be made about Canberra in Winter, is its pervasive greyness. Grey weather, grey buildings in Civic, grey water in the lake. With all these monochromatic vibes surrounding us, it can be hard to escape the sense of lethargy that inevitably creeps into even the most alive of young bodies. While we are now coming out the other side of this period of relative hibernation, and heading towards a more vibrant time of blossoming (and hay fever), it is understandable that such a sombre mood can be difficult to shake off. In fact, perhaps it is reasonable to attribute our demise to the dullness of our capital city. There is a temptation to camouflage – to don garments of various shades of charcoal and silver. It has been said that

grey is the new black, being borderline fashionable, without being too edgy. The muted hue also communicates that the wearer is a deep thinker about the world and well-acquainted with having a daily existential crisis. Wearing colour is only for those whose imaginations are not able to conjure up hallucinations vivid enough! The grey also provides a nice contrast to the redness of overblown noses – raw with one too many cases of the flu. The fact that nutrition tends to go by the wayside during wintertime only adds to the forlorn aesthetic. Having a greyish tinge to the skin, due to a diet comprised exclusively of Dominos Value Range pizzas, can aid in blending into the depressingly dead state of the surrounding environment. For the truly authentic heroin-chic look, I’d recommend investing time in some low-quality Netflix drama viewing in the wee hours of the

Cryptic Crossword

morning. A lack of sleep really brings out the shadows under the eyes and hollows in the cheeks for a truly gaunt appearance. It is a significant event in every person’s life when they find their first grey hair. For some, it occurs whilst still in the grips of puberty – an odd dichotomy of coming into one’s prime whilst also showing signs of ‘getting past it’. Grey hairs have a habit of appearing in the most conspicuous of places – at the crown of the head and the centre of the fringe being the most frequent locations. God forbid, one present itself elsewhere… It’s then you know that life is really taking its toll! However, having grey hairs isn’t all bad. For one thing, the salt and pepper look can give the impression of having sage wisdom beyond your years. With these markers of having ‘lived a little’, it is

possible to dupe people into believing, far more willingly, that you possess expertise that merits authority in any conversation. In a world where age is a marker of experience, the humble grey hair can do wonders for reputation and respect. Whilst living in a world that appears as though an Instagram blogger has turned down the saturation levels may not necessarily be the most appealing or uplifting thing, perhaps it can be an introduction into the life that awaits us regardless. As we grow tired of the daily grind and lose our ability to find mirth in the mundane, we all become cold-hearted and grey in our outlooks. Pessimistic Nihilism is so on trend right now and, besides, who doesn’t love becoming increasingly apathetic? After all, the abyss will likely be grey, as we all fade into neutral nothingness…

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Credit: NWJ