Woroni Edition Seven 2017 by Woroni

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

Woroni Vol. 67, Issue 7. Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

ELEANOR KAY & CAMERON ALLAN SET TO FACE OFF FOR ANUSA PRESIDENT scene,’ Allan told Woroni. Text: Jasper Lindell & Bella Di Mattina-Beven

The campaign for president of the ANU Students’ Association is shaping up to be a strong contest between the current vice-president, Eleanor Kay, and the current social officer, Cameron Allan. But prominent figures in student politics circles are concerned that previous incidents of Allan’s apparent financial mismanagement could result in a funding cut to the association if he wins the election. Allan’s ticket, Shake Up ANUSA, was launched on 2 July, in a move that Allan said was not early campaigning. ‘We launched early because we want to reach beyond our own hacky circles and make stupol [student politics] more genuinely diverse. It’s not easy to give a toss about, let alone get involved in, student politics if you’re a newcomer to the

Kay’s ticket, Lift ANUSA, will launch next weekend, Woroni has confirmed, as the ticket was not convinced ‘students were engaged over the winter break, which is why we are waiting until semester begins again. ‘This way, we hope students will stay engaged right until elections,’ Kay said. Both Allan and Kay have signed a document, committing to maintaining a ‘professional relationship with each other and to still fulfill their duties as members of the 2017 executive,’ the current president, James Connolly, told Woroni. Kay said that she respected Allan and said that the pair had a ‘strong working relationship.’ ‘We have already discussed that we both want to maintain that over the coming month,’ she said.

continued on p. 8

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

comment 12

Running James Connolly 13

A View from the Pop Up Cameron Allan; Kat Carrington 14

ANUSA Elections: Whaaat is going on? An SRC Explainer Tom Kesina 15

The Lottery: Hazing at Go8 University Colleges Anna Miley 16

Change Caity Price 17

The Destruction of the ANU Bar – Now Everything Else IS Academic Sienna Lake 18

I Watched The Red Pill So That You Didn’t Have To Max Koslowski 19

Why Are We Losing Faith in Religion? Jonathan Tjandra 19

My Utopian Fort in the Clouds Anonymous 20

The Fall of Intellectual Diversity Luke Kinsella INTERNATIONAL 21

Australia Stands in the Cold While the UN Bans Nuclear Weapons Angela Chen & Byron Knight 22

Turkey’s Negotiation with the EU: Today and Tomorrow Richard Haowei Hong 23

Your choice of Smileys and your EQ Boya Li MULTILINGUAL 24

Insan Taksimi (Mortal’s Way) Sally Muradoğlu

art

Business & Economics

Evolution of the Gallery Rory Caddis Inexhaustibly Magical Words Rebecca Hobson 32

Harry Potter and the Eternal Franchise Julia Faragher 33

Interview with Georgia Fields and Phia Imogen Purcell art

Taken, But Not Really Bindiya Bijo 27

The Big-Mac Index Viv Duong 50

A Sweet Stock Albert Patajo 52

Is Yellen’s Great Divergence Preemptive? Flint O’Neil Fernandez

sport

Wonder Woman is out of your League Alexandra Williams Stars Shine in Constellations Jack Foster Life & Style 35

Hot Tips for Getting Steamy in the Bedroom: A Guide to College Room Workouts Daniel Cordeschi

A Real College Myth Tandee Wang

sATIRE

Is Netflix Trying to Make You a Vegan? Katie Ward 37

Fun DIY Ways to Dispose of your Used Tampons on Campus Caroline Dry

Winter Warmers Katelyn Booth, Nick Wyche, and James Atkinson

The Lacklustre of Growing Up Laura Ting environment 40

In-flight Food Entertainment Grace Dudley

Trumping Donald Alex Elgue Mark Latham takes a Quiet Night Off Stewing in his own White Working-Class Rage Byron Knight 55

Moral Poverty Monty Allen 56

Meme James Atkinson, Nathalie Rosales Cheng, and Kat Carrington

Sudoku Sebastian Rossi

Sustainable Campus Bulletin Grace Dudley What’s Mine is Yours Sylvia Gunn 40

Palm Oil in Indonesia: The Elephants in the Room Kevin Marco

Science 45

What does it mean to be a Woman in STEM? Rachael Lowe 46

Harriet’s Harrah Edward Treloar

Protecting Peace of Mind: The Role of Trauma Psychology in Legal Practice Nick Wyche

Saving Me Claire Wastell

Europe’s high-pressure situation: Nord Stream-2 Pipeline Project Rob Morris

Accounting for Luck Campbell Clapp & Matthew Rogers

The Real Problem with Charities Hayden Wilkinson

Lithium Ion Batteries: The Capacity for Fuelling the Renewable Revolution Matthew Teh

Cryptic Crossword NWJ Stupol Wordsearch James Atkinson

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: TBA 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: Phoebe Hamra 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: Lorane Gaborit News: Max Koslowski News: Isabella Di Mattina-Beven News: Luke Kinsella News: Josie Ganko News: Aleyn Silva 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 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 Mazumda 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.

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Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

editor’s welcome

Clockwise from top left: Nathalie Rosales Cheng, Deputy Editor-In-Chief; James Atkinson, Content Editor; Oscar Jolly, Radio Editor; Zoe O’Leary Cameron, Art Editor; Jasper Lindell, News Editor; Linda Chen, TV Editor; Kat Carrington, Managing Editor; Kanika Kirpalani, Editor-In-Chief.

Text: Kanika Kirpalani

According to the extremely reputable wombat fact site, ‘Wombania.com’, wombats are native only to Australia, just like Woroni is native only to the ANU. They say that wombats are nocturnal grazers. If you have ever wandered past the Woroni Office at midnight on a weekend before the paper goes to print, you will find this to be true. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the wombat is Woroni’s official mascot. Why wombats? Well, if those ‘Wombania.com’ facts weren’t enough to

convince you, I’ll add a few more. Wombats, although cute and cuddly, are very keen diggers. They’re not afraid to get themselves dirty to get the job done. If you’ve ever seen a Woroni TV Camera Operator standing in a bush, this much is clear. Wombats basically have supernatural senses; they detect ground vibrations to find their way around. This is why Woroni Radio dominates the airwaves – spreading those good vibrations to help students make it through the day. Also, wombats have fantastic hearing, which is how we get out topical stories and unique articles. Just like Woroni, wombats are pretty vocal beings. With news, opinion articles, creative pieces, Radio and TV; you just can’t shut us up. Woroni is here for the ANU community. We serve as a

platform for like-minded wombats to find their feet and express themselves, in any and every way they desire. We also exist to challenge those exact ideas. So, whether you want to practice journalism skills, express your creativity, broadcast your thoughts, or try something new on camera; Woroni is here for you. Also, we really love graphics of wombats doing cute things. Wombats love hanging out with other wombats, in what are called ‘wisdoms’. Although we won’t go so far as to say we’re the wisest, we definitely think almost everyone can get something out of Woroni. Woroni is a place for trying things, whether that be writing, reporting, photographing, designing, filming, or broadcasting. So, get involved! Wombats come in all shapes and sizes

but, at the end of the day, we’re all the same. We’re all just slightly silly, cute little things – waddling to and from our burrows – trying to make some sense of the world.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

news

STUDENTS WON OVER BY NEW POP UP VILLAGE FOODIE ENTHUSIAST Josie Ganko

The ANU community was given their first chance to explore the heart of the university for the next 18 months when the pop-up village was officially opened on Tuesday, 11 July. I for one can confirm that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found: a well thought out and aesthetically pleasing space that provides a diverse range of services and food options. I would go as far as to say that the food-vendors provide a far more exciting range of cuisines than what was available in the old union court. My sampling of each signature dish from the new food trucks confirmed that I’ll be a regular customer of the pop-up village. While the abundant free food offerings and live music may have inf luenced my initial thoughts, I hold firm in my view that the pop up village is a great success. The RE:Union development team has managed to do a lot with very little. The main food court is a simple wooden frame with plastic sheeting, but the contemporary furniture, hanging bulbs and plants give the space a modern, fresh feeling. While the structure is obviously temporary, they have still managed to give it some sort of personality.

Furthermore, the opening night’s live music performances demonstrated the space’s great potential as a live music venue. The new Molo Live is aesthetically pretty cool and shaping up to be a trendy stand in. While it may not be the ANU Bar, it can definitely fill the void until the return of a more permanent watering hole. The formal proceedings of the evening included a welcome to country, speeches from ANUSA representatives, the vice-chancellor, Brian Schmidt, and the ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr. The speakers all expressed their excitement as to the growth of the ANU campus, and the potential to engage the wider Canberra community in the ANU’s ongoing development. Schmidt expressed his concern that they won’t want to tear down the popup at the completion of development, a worry that I can understand after wandering through the vibrant new village. Despite the ANU community’s initial trepidation, there’s a good chance that in 18 months we will be sad to see the pop-up village go.

GRUMPY CYNIC Bella Di Mattina-Beven

On arrival at the pop-up village launch, the space seemed to entertain the ideals of a wine bar

TICKET OF GENERAL REPRESENTATIVES LAUNCHES

for an executive in their mid-40s. However, students have embraced the space and are excited about the role it will play in student life. With the RE:Union Court development potentially facing delays, and the pop-up village potentially settling in as a more permanent fixture, it’s lucky there’s been such a warm reception. At the start of the launch, most of the people wandering around the space were not students, but staff, and people part of the pop-up build. Only a handful of students braved the cold in search of free food. I feared that this space wasn’t built with students in mind, despite removing their key place of socialisation.

would be ‘a bit dystopic’ were unfounded, as management were ‘keen to work in partnership with ANUSA and other student bodies on campus.’ As the speeches wrapped up, more and more students braved the Canberra cold to take advantage of the free drinks, and wait patiently for free food. By the time the food trucks were serving generous samples of food, what student body remained at ANU for winter had descended, and Pho, Burgers, Cronuts, HSPs and Bao buns were snapped up as an easy meal.

Fully f ledged adults milled about sipping glasses of red, and organisers eschewed the usual student folk singers and bands seen at Union Court in favour of swanky jazz and Latin ska.

When Woroni spoke to students, any suspicion that the space wouldn’t be

Speaking at the launch of the Pop Up Village, the vice-chancellor, Brian Schmidt, said that he hoped the ‘swish’ temporary hub would ‘open the campus to the Canberra community.’ These sentiments were echoed by the ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr.

the typical sadness at the loss of the ANU Bar to say ‘it’s way better than Union Court’.

Schmidt also thanked the ANU School of Art and Design – for their collaboration in creating the signage in the Village. It was the first mention of the extensive student consultation and collaboration that permeated the later stages of the pop up village plan and build. The ANUSA social officer, Cameron Allan, said his fears that the village

for them was gone from their minds. One student said ‘it’s amazing… really amazing’. Another betrayed

This enthusiasm doesn’t seem to have evaporated with the free food. The space has been buzzing since the 11 July launch, and more examples of student collaboration and interaction have been seen. It plays an integral role in ANUSA’s ‘Feast of Fire’ Bush Week festivities, and a regular collaborative student music session is also being advertised. Schmidt said ‘we’re not gonna want to get rid of the thing’ – with the delays faced by the RE:Union Court development, its continued presence will likely be celebrated.

Text: Jasper Lindell A ticket associated with a Labor Right figure launched on Sunday night, which will contest 14 general representative spots on a platform of accountability and transparency. Activate Your ANUSA said it would ‘truly uphold the role and ensure that next year’s ANUSA executive is held to account’. The ticket called on students to vote for ‘a brighter future’, ‘real accountability’ and ‘real transparency’. The ticket convenor, Nick Douros, who is the NUS ACT state branch president and a Labor Right member, said that general representatives have not held the ANUSA executive to account effectively in recent years ‘Last year we saw two independent general representatives elected and they have truly upheld their role, questioning the decisions and spending of the Association,’ Douros told Woroni. While only two independents were elected in the first round, four independent general representatives were ultimately elected. He said that many general representatives may feel uncomfortable questioning their executive if they were

elected as part of larger tickets, as they would be relying on the executive candidates’ direction and be conflicted in holding them to account. ‘This needs to change in 2018. We also believe that communication with the wider student body has to improve. We have seen better attempts in this years representatives but more must be done. This is important because it shows students what the Association is doing for them,’ Douros said. But one student politics source said that the ticket was an attempt to ‘demonstrate that Labor Right still has the organising capacity’ to put together a ticket, noting that the group had struggled to fill executive positions and instead were left to form a general representatives ticket. They also questioned the ticket’s platform of accountability and said that ‘it wasn’t possible for members of Unity [Labor Right] to hold anyone to account.’ Most of the ticket members, however, are understood not to be Labor Right members.

news

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

REPORT CALLS FOR RESIDENTIAL HALL POLICY CHANGE Text: Isabella Ostini A report has found the ANU’s Discipline Rules to be ‘dismayingly open-ended’, with a sub-par appeals process, while recommending the establishment of a new body to help students resolve issues in residential halls. The report, written by ANUSA general representative Lewis Pope, has called for changes to decision-making and governance at the university’s residential halls. The report first generated discussion after the SRC received Pope’s initial findings in May, and examines the University’s Discipline Rules and Combined Halls Handbook, outlining the ‘procedural barriers to fair outcomes by university decision makers.’ Pope, an ex-resident of Ursula Hall, told Woroni that he was motivated to produce the report because, ‘I perceived a general dissatisfaction with the ability [of residents] to predict a good outcome.’ ‘There has been a real and documented feeling among ANU students that administrators at Halls and Colleges exercise a unilateral power resistant to transparency and documentation,’ the report reads. ‘People don’t want to speak up, because the Heads of Hall do everything, so whether malicious or not, there’s some kind of intimidation mechanism to stop people fighting,’ Pope explained. Additionally, the Discipline Rules allow decision-makers to choose not to exercise power when they have already determined that misconduct is likely to have occurred. The Combined Halls Handbook is also found to ‘lack specificity’. The report points out that, depending on interpretation, expectations to prioritise learning and personal development could become ‘quite pernicious’. The report discusses how the flexibility of readmissions policy can lead to situations in which ‘a head may not be satisfied that they have grounds to exclude a resident outright, [so] they exclude them by denying readmission.’ Also noted are situations where students suffering from disability or long-term illness have been excluded from a hall, decisions that the report calls ‘an extremely delicate balancing act between the interests of the resident and the capacity of the Hall to support them.’ The report recommends changes within both instruments to provide clear grounds and considerations upon which decisions are made. For example, ‘it should be excluded from legitimate

STUDENTS PROTEST SEXUAL ASSAULT OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT Text: Max Koslowski

grounds, not to remedy a wrong based on public relations considerations,’ Pope told Woroni.

Students protested outside Parliament House in Canberra this morning, carrying mattresses with messages about sexual assault on them to bring attention to incidences of sexual assault on campus.

Also, recommended is enshrining a right for all interested parties to receive written reasons for a decision, and requiring that decision-makers give students accurate information on all processes available to them.

The protest comes just a week before the Australian Human Rights Commission releases the results of a national student survey on sexual assault, which surveyed more than 39,000 students from 39 universities.

The report proposes that a plain-language document, spelling out all the processes to which residents are subject, be made available to students and those in pastoral care positions, and advocates for the establishment of a body dedicated to helping students resolve issues.

This survey attracted controversy when it was announced that it would be optional for universities to release their individual sets of data. However, since then all universities involved in the survey have said that they would release the information.

This body would be ‘proactive’, ensuring vulnerable students ‘are not an afterthought, and not at the mercy of someone with such mixed and varied duties [as a Head of Hall],’ Pope said.

The organisation running the protest, the Network of Women Students Australia (NOWSA), detailed 12 demands.

But the report makes clear that it ‘does not seek to target any individuals, nor does it seek to attack decision-makers for past decisions.’ Without a clearly articulated list of considerations, it is ‘feasible, or likely, that a person with the best intentions can forget things,’ Pope told Woroni. ‘It’s hard to say, “you messed up”, if [administrators] weren’t given a fair shot in the first place.’ Pope has submitted the report to the Division of Student Life, which is responsible for the policy governing ANUowned residential halls. He hopes to be part of an ongoing discussion ‘to offer a student perspective’, as the university works to implement the report’s recommendations. ‘I would like to facilitate and ensure that students are consulted along the path of drafting changes,’ Pope said, noting, however, that ‘this is a student advocacy thing, not a Lewis advocacy thing.’

They argue for establishing a permanent hotline that aids with university sexual assault cases, university-based trauma-specialised counselling staff, and enshrined education programs for secondary students, tertiary students and staff. It also seeks legislative change, including a complaints mechanism that can more readily hold universities to account, and a survivor-centric policy that asks that

universities consult survivors of sexual assault before creating new policies in that area. Protest organiser Emma Henke said that ‘survivors of sexual assault in university communities need to be taken seriously when they disclose their experiences.’ ‘The Federal Government must establish a complaints and compliance mechanism to allow survivors and advocates to report universities that mishandle disclosures of sexual misconduct.’ The End Rape On Campus Australia director, Sharna Bremner, said that ‘all people should be entitled to an education free of the fear of sexual violence and university communities must be safe, accessible spaces for all women students.’ The protest followed a format that has been widely used by US colleges. In 2014, Emma Sulkowicz carried a 23 kilogram mattress around with her on her Columbia University campus to bring attention to the university’s lack of effective response to an allegation of rape she made in 2012. A similar protest was conducted at the University of Sydney in 2016. NOWSA is an autonomous network that started in 1987, and holds annual conferences on women’s issues. It hosts workshops and panels on different experiences of women, touches on issues such as gender and sexuality, work, postgraduate study and international issues.

FULL-TIME SEXUAL ASSAULT COUNSELLOR FOR ANU STUDENTS Text: Josie Ganko

The registrar of Student Life, Lynda Mathey, is ‘currently reviewing [the report’s] content and recommendations’. Mathey plans to meet with Pope in the coming weeks.

A full-time sexual assault counsellor will be hired to assist ANU students, ANUSA announced in conjunction with the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on Tuesday, 11 July.

As part of her regular duties, Mathey also consults the Interhall Committee of Presidents, made up of the presidents of all the University’s residential communities, on matters of residential hall policy.

In a move that has been in the works for the last few years, the position will be funded 40 per cent by ANUSA and PARSA and 60 per cent by the ANU.

A University spokesman said that the university will ‘give serious consideration’ to the report.

The chief executive of the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Chrystina Stanford, said that although the move was long-overdue, it was step in the right direction for the ANU.

‘The University is happy to engage on issues of concern with students and student representatives in our residential colleges and non-affiliated residential colleges,’ they said in a statement.

‘[The ANU has] been a whole lot more proactive than any other university that I’ve seen, around stepping forward to try and address the problem, which is where we come in with our counselling model,’ she said.

While many universities have sexual assault counsellors available on campus at certain times, the ANU is one of the first universities to ensure that students can access these services five days a week. The announcement comes just three weeks before the release of the results of the Human Rights Commission’s university sexual assault survey, which will give a more accurate picture of the prevalence of sexual assault on campus. The vice-chancellor, Brian Schmidt, said that the survey ‘is going to highlight … for the first time, how big a problem we have.’ ‘We know we have a problem so we need to get on with dealing with the solution.’ The service will be available to students from early in Semester 2, ANUSA said.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

news

JOKE TICKETS COULD ‘ENGAGE’ STUDENTS: ACADEMIC Text: Bella Di Mattina-Beven Joke tickets running on a platform of anti-establishment rhetoric boosted by fashionable memes are flooding the ANUSA election for 2018. Five tickets have announced their campaigns on Facebook and received popular support from students before nominations have even opened. But one academic has suggested that joke tickets can divert attention to alternative policy, offer options for the disenfranchised, and encourage voting. The race began on 2 July with the early announcement of Cameron Allan’s Shake Up ticket, with Class War for ANUSA launching their campaign hours later. Within 10 days, five joke tickets had emerged to contend with one ticket of established student politicians. The Nick Xenophon Team 4 ANUSA is currently the most successful ticket at reaching out to the student populace. They recently bragged through a meme that the page had more likes than Shake Up. Its rise to prominence has likely been aided by its involvement in an apparent intellectual property scandal. The ticket was contacted by the South Australian Senator’s media advisor, Frank Pangallo, over unauthorised use of Nick Xenophon’s name and photograph.

The message was strongly worded and called the page a ‘gross misrepresentation’. The author of the page maintains that ‘this page is run by Nick Xenophon.’ They said their aims were to bring back jobs to South Australians, but did not seem to have a similar focus on pokies or marriage equality. Dr Andrew Hughes of the ANU College of Business and Economics said that joke tickets are ‘part and parcel of student politics’. He suggested that joke tickets are used by under-resourced or disenfranchised students to create a platform and then draw attention to alternative policy. ‘Once you do pay attention they provide serious policy,’ he said in an interview with Woroni. These are potentially the aims of Class War for ANUSA. Many of their posts are ridiculous – appropriating the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics to the School Of Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism. However underlying these are a fear that corporatisation of the university decreases the quality of education provided. These tactics also seem to be employed by the Nick Xenophon Team

ticket, who use memes to attack mainstream policies and campaigns. They criticised Shake Up’s claims that they would ‘change ANUSA’, and attacked their spending over the past year on diaries and O-Week parties, all under the guise of providing more for South Australian students. Hughes said that these tickets were perfect for students who were ‘sick and tired of politics,’ and could find joke tickets ‘more engaging and representative, not resourced by mainstream factions.’ Dancing Hot Dog for ANUSA is run on a platform of not being a ‘typical stupol hac [sic]’. They’re successfully engaging with students, and are currently the third most popular ticket. Their aims include reinvigorating the arts scene and building bridges with Subway following past disputes. They’ve also come out in support of Class War for ANUSA. Fiji First for ANUSA 2018 are lagging behind with only 41 likes, after launching on 11 July. Their platform is modelled off the leadership of Fijian Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who was able to take power again in 2009 when President Ratu Josefa Iloilo abolished the constitution and sacked the judiciary.

White Men for ANUSA are taking a leaf out of another anti-constitutional autocrat’s book. They’re mirroring Trump with their aim to build a ‘glass ceiling’. They did not respond to questions about who would be paying for the ceiling. However they were otherwise happy to engage with female Woroni reporters. ‘One of our policies will be to encourage multiple queer women to work together... Closely. As according to the great fact book of white guys, we prefer lesbian fantasies while simultaneously denying queer marriage rights,’ they said in a message. Hughes spoke positively of the role joke tickets could play in getting students to the polls. ‘It’s hard to get people engaged… there’s a historic low to student voting,’ he said. ‘But it’s important to have and exercise that right and have a representative voice.’ T here were 1685 va lid votes for A N USA President last yea r, f rom a pool of over 11, 0 0 0 u nderg raduate st udents. But only one joke ticket candidate was elected as a general representative – Lewis Pope of Make ANU Great Again.

‘IT’S NOT GOOD NEWS’: ANU CLIMATE CHANGE INSTITUTE HOSTS GLOBAL CLIMATE SCIENCE UPDATE Text: Isabella Ostini It is time to start really wondering if it is possible to reverse climate change. T hat was t he message of A N U Resea rch School of Ea r t h Sciences’ Professor Eelco Roh li ng, at t he A N U’s Cli mate Cha nge Inst it ute’s public lec t u re a nd pa nel d iscussion on t he most recent cli mate cha nge developments on Tuesday, 19 Ju ly. ‘It’s not good news,’ Rohling said. ‘One has to really wonder if we can reverse [climate change].’ Professor Sharon Friel, of the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance, highlighted the human face of climate change, urging ‘a multi-pronged response for both [climate change] adaptation and mitigation’ that recognised the ‘sisterhood’ between physical and social sciences.

Noting that climate change will contribute to human ill-health, particularly in underdeveloped and developing nations. Friel said that increases in deaths from heat exposure, diarrhoea, malaria and childhood undernutrition are of particular concern. Moreover, increases in allergenic pollens and fungi are significant in causing more problems such as Victoria’s ‘thunderstorm asthma’ event. ‘This is a plea not just to think of climate change as a technical and economic issue, but also a people issue and a health issue as well,’ she said.

policymakers. Dr Masson-Delmotte also noted that one of the key roles of Assessment Reports is in giving developing countries similar access to scientific knowledge as more developed nations. Professor Mark Howden, of the ANU Climate Change Institute, facilitated the event. Professor Philip Boyd, from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania, joined Rohling, Friel, and Masson-Delmotte.

Dr Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I, laid out some of the latest findings, which will be released in the IPCC’s sixth Assessment Report.

Masson-Delmotte began with a rundown on the global context of climate change, noting that humanity has already used over two thirds of our CO2 budget for keeping climate change below a 2C change from pre-industrial levels.

The IPCC reviews and compiles information from the latest climate science literature, to provide concise reports particularly pertinent to

‘If global temperature change goes above 2C [above pre-industrial levels], we’ll be out of the range of the last million years,’ she said.

She also highlighted new research into human influence on extreme weather events. She said that recent droughts in California and Syria, and the heavy rain France experienced in spring 2016, which reduced the area’s wheat yield by 30-40 per cent, could all be attributed, in varying degrees, to human influence. The unusually high temperatures in the Arctic in 2016, which were responsible for flooding in the Svalbard seed vault, could become ‘business as usual’ with 2C warming, occurring every two years by 2050. Rohling also discussed changing sea-levels, noting that the melting Greenland ice sheet is ‘a scarily strong contributor to sea-level rise’, but that research has also discovered new vulnerable areas in Antarctica. ‘It’s really a game now of getting on with it… this is the golden decade, we either do it or we don’t. Sink or swim,’ he concluded.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

news

ELEANOR KAY & CAMERON ALLAN SET TO FACE OFF FOR ANUSA PRESIDENT: CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER Allan echoed this, telling Woroni he was not going to ‘pretend that running in an election against one another isn’t going to strain our friendship, but I’m confident we can keep it professional.’

They announced their intention to abolish the constitutional provision requiring SRC members to have the president’s permission to make representations to the media. They also aim to provide better access to information for international students.

HISTORIC TENSION

Shake Up wants to improve campus understanding of mental health and provide greater support to those with mental illness. ‘We want to ensure that seeking treatment for mental illness is not conflated with generic mental wellbeing,’ Allan said.

Tensions first emerged in the current executive after O-Week, when the financial procurement policy was not correctly followed by Allan, who did not adhere to correct procedure in signing off on contracts for the Friday Night Party bar, which was run by an external provider. The contract remained unsigned when the party began, and was still not concluded at the first 2017 SRC meeting, where Allan revealed the mistake. Allan told the meeting that a ‘lack of understanding and nuance of policy meant we couldn’t finalise major contracts before the event... ideally it’s done before the event to reduce risk.’ ‘Due to a lack of understanding, we didn’t go about tendering process correctly and rather went with a provider suggested by a professional who did Spilt Milk – essentially, the policy was not followed which exposes ANUSA to risk,’ Allan told the 28 February meeting. Allan said on Sunday that the mistake did not happen out of ‘bad faith’ and the experience has left him ‘agonisingly’ aware and ‘well-acquainted’ with ANUSA procurement policy. ‘O-Week is a hectic time, and sometimes mistakes are made. What we need are processes to ensure that the burden, and the blame, do not fall on the shoulders of any one office bearer.’ ‘If elected, we will ensure O-Week is a team effort, where the responsibility is shared, feedback is continuous, and a comprehensive system of checks and balances is in place,’ Allan said. Kay said that ‘students should be able to trust their office bearers to get the best outcomes for them. ‘I think it is up to the student body to determine what we prioritise in candidates, and therefore which issues weigh highly in the upcoming election.’ The ANUSA executive has also had a tense year, with a vote to reaccredit with the National Union of Students (NUS) revealing divisions at an SRC meeting in March. The motion was supported by the president, Connolly, the vice-president, Kay, and the social officer, Allan, but saw a split with then education officer, Jessy Wu. Allan is understood to have changed his vote at the last minute, speaking in favour, causing a rift with Wu. Wu is now understood to be working on the Shake Up campaign. POLICY PLATFORMS Shake Up wants to improve transparency and understanding in a number of areas, the campaign said.

The ticket also wants to pay students for campaign and marketing content they create for the student’s association, by holding competitive tender processes and paying honorarium for the selected pitch. Kay said that her experience as vice-president would inform policy positions of the Lift ANUSA ticket. The ticket said it would look to discuss the ‘long-term financial sustainability of the association, as well as the structure burdens placed on student leaders and how the university could ensure meaningful support of students through the challenges of University.’ ‘I am increasingly aware that the decisions made by the university over the next 18 months will affect students not only for the next year, but for the next five to ten years and more. ‘Lift ANUSA’s policies will be targeted to ensure the best outcomes for students next year and into the future,’ Kay told Woroni on Sunday. More policy positions are expected to be announced with the official campaign launch next weekend.

Connolly’s move to review diversity in the ANUSA executive after a run of male identifying presidents has been widely seen as an effective endorsement of Kay’s bid for president over Allan’s. Connolly denied this in an interview with Woroni. FACTIONS In the ‘spirit of full disclosure’, Kay told Woroni that the candidate for vice-president on her ticket, Tess Masters, is a member of the Australian Labor Party and a member of the ACT Left faction but not active in Young Labor and not a member of an NUS faction. Li f t A N USA’s c a nd idate for N US delegate a nd E duc at ion of f icer, Ha r r y Need ha m, is a member of nonbi nd i ng N US fac t ion t he Nat iona l Independents. Allan said in a statement that he was not aligned to any faction and he had made no promises to factions for spots on his ticket. A campus Labor Left source said that while there are no formal arrangements with Shake Up, they would support Labor Left candidates, while also noting their ‘philosophical’ inclination to Shake Up’s policies. Woroni understands that while Allan met with Labor Left, Allan would not agree to any ‘faceless’ deals, and spots on the ticket would be merit based. Rumours have circulated among Labor Right figures that Allan had joined the Left and made a deal to provide NUS delegate spots on his ticket to Left candidates.

TICKET DIVERSITY

CAMPAIGN STYLE

Shake Up has emphasised the diversity of experiences of members on the ticket, which includes Maddison Perkins for vice-president, Mariah Cheng as treasurer, Bolwen Fu as general secretary, Makayla-May Binckley as education officer and Anya Bonan as social officer.

Allan’s campaign has already used BuzzFeed community posts as part of its campaign strategy. In statement to Woroni, Allan said that the ticket had been ‘blown away by the response’ their social media presence and campaign material had received.

Allan said that it was ‘impossible’ for a ticket to represent every identity, but that ‘diversity is about listening to people and representing them, not ticking boxes.

‘These last few weeks, we’ve been wracking our brains trying to create content we hope has been interesting and enjoyable for everyone. We’ve emerged with more HSPs [Halal snack packs] in our bellies, more Schmidt trivia under our belts, and a truer appreciation for which ANU library we truly are,’ Allan said.

‘In my work with the Departments this year, I’ve learnt that one person can never have all the relevant insights on a decision, even if they have had relevant lived experiences,’ Allan said. Allan said he saw diversity as a style of leadership which listened to everyone, rather than diversity being a ‘checkbox’. Kay told Woroni that Lift ANUSA had ‘sought to ensure diverse students are represented on our ticket, while also respecting different people’s needs and desires for their involvement in the coming year. ‘We want to continue the conversation about diversity, and will seek to implement any outcomes that from the review conducted by [current president] James [Connolly] and the Department Officers this year.’

Kay’s decision to hold off until next weekend to launch the Lift has been seen as a poor campaign decision. The ticket includes candidates Mariana Segaram for social officer, Eden Lim for general secretary and Lewis Pope for treasurer. The current president, Connol ly, said he t hought it was unli kely t hat he wou ld endorse a ca ndidate for t he upcoming election. He said he wou ld ma ke a n endorsement only if a ‘ca ndidate shou ld do or propose a ny t hing t hat wou ld cause signif ica nt harm to t he Association.’ The elections will take place in Week 5.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

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FENNER HALL TO MOVE INTO REDEVELOPED UNION COURT Text: Aleyn Silva

Fenner Hall will relocate to the ANU’s Union Court precinct in 2019, despite protests from current Fenner residents. The revitalised Hall will be located next to Sullivans Creek and new teaching spaces and a cultural and events centre. The president of the Fenner Residents Committee, Victoria Xia, told The Canberra Times this month that it was a ‘compromise’, but would preserve the Hall’s unique culture by continuing to remain separate from the residential precinct of Daley Road. ‘I think a core part of Fenner’s identity will still be the fact we’re not on Daley Road and we are a self-catered college, but as for other aspects, our current line that we’re off campus,

that we’re so close to Dickson and Lonsdale Street, these are things we’re going to have to work on once we move,’ Xia said. ‘I think it’s disappointing that Fenner has to move on to campus, but hopefully this will be a new chapter in Fenner’s future and the community can continue to thrive in its new location in a few years,’ she told the Times. Fenner Hall is recognised as being one of the most affordable colleges at the ANU, with many students at the Hall coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The 2016 Fenner Residents Committee president, Sean Ding, told the Times that there was a possibility of a $50 fee increase when residents were moved to the new building, observing

that this may not be feasible for some residents. ‘They [residents] are often self-supported, they work part-time jobs, I know a lot of people who work more than one [job], and a lot of them are on Centrelink,’ he said. Fenner residents have been strongly apprehensive to be moved onto the ANU campus, believing that the proposed move to Union Court will impact the cohesive nature of their community. Fenner Hall residents have told Woroni that they are concerned about moving to the ANU campus and the change of management this will bring. First year resident Lauren Kightly voiced fears in regards to the future change of management. ‘I would not mind being on campus. I’m not really attached to the Hall

itself, just the community. I would be concerned if UniLodge is running it. I love not having to pay for laundry,’ she said. Second year resident Freya Wrigley expressed concern in regards to the capacity to retain the identity of Fenner if it was moved on campus. ‘I have really enjoyed the community of Fenner and can clearly see that its core culture is strangely tied with its location. The move will definitely impact the culture but I don’t think it has to be negative,’ she said. ‘It will definitely be a challenge, but one we can take, with good leadership and support from our admin. The design of the new Fenner, I think, will be very important, particularly in building the new culture. I have heard that a lot of people really dislike the layout of the new Bruce and we really don’t want that,’ Wrigley said.

ANUSA GIVES STUDENTS A SAY IN ADMISSIONS CHANGES Text: Luke Kinsella The ANU is seeking to change the admissions criteria for prospective undergraduate students, in an attempt to lead the nation in making the university admissions process more efficient, inclusive and transparent. The University has f loated four possible models, listed in a recently released green paper. The university has outlined four proposals relating to how academic ability should be considered and four proposals relating to how co-curricular activities should be considered. The ANU+ model is essentia lly t he current system, w it h added co-curricular requirements. The ANU is concerned about t he system’s lack of diversit y and its histor y of disadvantaging low-SES students. According to t he 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, only four per cent of ANU students are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Improving how the admissions process influences diversity is one of the goals of the ANU and ANUSA. The ANUSA vice-president, Eleanor Kay, told Woroni that ensuring diversity was a concern for the students’ association. ‘Diversity is important as it enhances our education, giving us opportunities to learn from other people with different life experiences to us. It’s also important as part of challenging historic injustices, and taking a stand as the national university against systemic oppression,’ Kay said.

Kay said that the ANU is leaning towards the so-called ‘National’ System. Under this model, the three highest ranked students at every high school in Australia would receive an offer. Vacancies would then be filled using the ATAR+ system, which is closely resembles the present model. Students will still have to meet the ANU’s co-curricular threshold in order to receive an offer. The University like the simplicity of the ‘National’ system and are confident that it will improve diversity on campus. Though there is another model which emphasises quotas and affirmative action, the University and ANUSA are concerned about its efficacy. Under this system, the ANU would reserve places for low-SES and Indigenous students. ‘If you put a student that doesn’t have the academic background in a degree there is significant strain on their mental health … it can be really detrimental to you as a person,’ Kay told an SRC meeting in May. ANUSA won’t have to endorse a model until 5 September, when a vote will be taken. Kay said she presently preferred the ‘National’ model. ‘I am interested in the National model for academic admissions. Students I have discussed it with have generally been positive towards it, with some caution…This is the feedback I will be taking back to the committee,’ she said. ANUSA has a student representative on the working group proposing the

changes, as well as the Coursework Awards and Admissions Committee (CAAC) and the University Education Committee (UEC). ANUSA is currently seeking the advice of s t ud ent s t h rou g h a s u r ve y w h ic h c a n b e fou nd on t he i r we b sit e . A N USA s ay s it w i l l t a k e s t udent s’ fe e dbac k i nto a c c ou nt w he n d e c id i n g w h at chang e s n e e d t o b e m a d e a n d, ultimately, which model to endorse.

‘These changes have the potential to totally change the makeup of the student body and thus the student experience and the direction of the university,’ Kay said. ‘Students should care about how our campus could change in the future, and we should be given opportunities to explain how our identities and our experiences intersect with our education.’ The ANU is planning on implementing the new model in 2019, ready for firstyear students in 2020.

END OF AN ERA: THE GODS SETTLE AND CLOSE Text: Bella Di Mattina-Beven Gods Cafe Union Court has closed its doors following a confidential out of court settlement.

The ANU said that ‘high priority use’ permitted them to terminate the contract at any time. They also threatened to take possession of the property and bill the owner $120,000 a day – the reported cost per day of delays.

The cafe and the University were at odds over owner Jaye Min’s rights to remain on the premises, as the University sought to commence demolition work for the Union Court revitalisation project.

‘The ANU claims to be part of the community but being part of the community means respecting the operation of the law and not having private security resolve the dispute for you,’ Min said.

The stoush had moved to court in mid June and an urgent injunction was provided to Gods in early July.

An ACT Supreme Court injunction granted a stay of execution to hear the matter on 19 July, but the hearing was vacated as the parties came to an out of court agreement. The agreement included closure of Gods on Friday, 21 July and hand over Monday, 24 July.

Mr Min had argued that the University had to provide six months notice and had no legal basis for forcing him off the premises. He said he wouldn’t leave the premises without a court order or $650,000 payout – the potential loss of early termination of the contract.

Min initially had a lease to 2018, with option to extend to 2023. The Gods Cafe had been in operation for 16 years.

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Vol. 67 , Issue 7

HELEN CLARK SCHOOLS SCHMIDT ON SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP Text: Bella Di Mattina-Beven Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark delivered a speech on sustainable leadership, with the support of Vice Chancellor Brian Schmidt. It was an awkward partnership, as Clark spoke of private support for the environment while Schmidt continues to avoid calls for the ANU to divest in fossil fuels. Her speech, delivered on 18 July, entitled ‘The leadership we need – sustainable

development challenges’ spoke of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the centrality of environmental protection to creating sustainable futures. S he s p ok e of t he ne e d for ‘ dome s t ic re s ou rc e mobi l i s at ion a nd pr i v at e i nve s t ment on a ve r y l a r ge s c a le ’. Matt Rogers, of t he Fossil Free A N U lobby g roup, saw g reat i r o n y i n t h e v i c e - c h a n c e l l o r ’s presence.

ANU WINS AUSTRALASIAN DEBATING CHAMPIONSHIP Text: Luke Kinsella The ANU has won the 2017 Australasian Inter-varsity Debating Championships (Australs), held in Brisbane this year. It’s the first time that the ANU has won the competition in almost three decades, the last being in 1991. Australs pulls debating teams from universities within the Australasian region. ‘It’s literally one of the most prestigious tournaments

globally so to win it is an incredible achievement especially without all the resources of other larger universities,’ the ANU Debating Society president, Rebecca Kriesler, told Woroni. The motion of the grand final was: ‘That we should require businesses who profit from cultural traditions (ethnic restaurants/cultural tourism/yoga studios) to obtain a license from minority community groups, based on conditions of their choosing.’

‘A N U is a publ ic i nst it ut ion whose perspec t ive c a r r ie s a lot of weig ht . T he v ice- cha ncel lor wa nt s to hobnob w it h t he g loba l el ite , r id i ng a rou nd i n h is Te sla , but he is not prepa red to t a ke a pr i nc ipled st a nd to do a ny t h i ng towa rd s t he g loba l leadersh ip he cla i ms to bel ie ve i n.’ T he A N U ha s cont i nued to i nve st i n fos si l f uel s , de spite i ntense lobby i ng f rom st udent s a nd t he i ncrea si ng pre va lence of et h ic a l

ANU’s highest ranked team (ANU1) – comprised of Dominic Guinane, Jess Musulin and Callum Dargavel – won the grand final in a 8-3 split decision. Guinane won the title of best speaker in the tournament, while Dargavel won best speaker in the grand final. When asked about his achievement, Dargavel said: ‘In my head I thought Dom [Guinane] would win it so when they announced it I started cheering for him and then realised everyone was looking at me. It was definitely an amazing moment, though. Not something I’ ll forget for a long time.’ ANU1 came up against the University of Sydney (USYD). The debate was considered somewhat of a rematch after USYD beat ANU at the 2017 Australian Intervarsity Debating Championship in Wollongong earlier in the year.

i nve st ment prog r a ms , such a s at St a n ford Un iversit y. ‘L a st we spoke to Br ia n S ch m idt he out r ig ht ref u sed to a g ree to d ive st f rom fos si l f uel s , or a g ree to a ny t i mel i ne towa rd doi ng so,’ Rogers s a id . The A n nua l Craw ford Aust ra l ia n L eadersh ip For u m took place at t he ANU from t he 18 t o 2 0 Ju n e .

shows how incredibly talented and hardworking our members are,’ Kriesler said that ‘the society is one of the most active on campus and makes sure members, from national debaters to complete newbies, have an opportunity to develop into stars.’ The ANU Debating Society holds weekly internal debates every Tuesday. Information can be found on the ANU Debating Facebook page. Everyone from beginners to professionals are encouraged to come along. ‘There are new members every week, including people who have never debated or done public speaking in their life,’ Kriesler told Woroni. ‘We love new members and this semester is a completely new style of debating so it’s so easy to join. We have frequent socials to make friends and we have info sessions to teach people how to debate.’

‘A rivalry has already emerged, the memes have begun, the roasts have commenced, the tears have been shed. We are ready for 2.0 at Women’s and World’s,’ Kriesler said.

Dargavel, a first-year student, spoke to the closeness of the society and its members. ‘ANUDS has a lot of really talented people but I think the real strength is that it feels like a community,’ he said.

‘Getting to the grand finals of both the biggest majors in Australia and having someone receive “best speaker” in both

‘Everyone helps each other out when they need it. We also had the loudest supporters by far, which really helps.’

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

ANU COLLEGES 5TH IN ACT FOR EFFORTS IN WORLD’S GREATEST SHAVE Text: Luke Kinsella

and to support worthwhile causes at the same time,’ she said.

Representatives from Ursula, Burton & Garran and Bruce Halls were invited to the World’s Greatest Shave Top Fundraisers Awards on Friday, 21 July, where they were recognised for their outstanding efforts in hosting the fundraiser this year.

The Halls raised more than $15,000, earning them fifth place for the World’s Greatest Shave in the ACT. Bruce Hall alone contributed more than $9,000 to the overall sum. The ACT collectively raised $521,000, the most that has been raised in two decades.

The four organisers of the event, Holly Halford-Smith (B&G), Marcus Alim (B&G), Mina Kim (Bruce), and Nila Norbu (Ursula), represented their respective colleges at the Top Fundraisers Awards at the John James Village in Garran. The ANU Halls held the event in April at the new Bruce Quad. Approximately 60 participants volunteered to either shave their heads, wax their hair, shave their beards or colour their hair. There was also live music, a bake sale and raffle ticket prizes to be won. In the past, colleges have organised their own fundraisers. This was the first year the colleges decided to combine their events. Halford-Smith said that it would ‘be fantastic to keep this going and to have inter-college fundraisers continue.’ ‘I’d like to hope this event has really set the standard and paved the way for that. It’s a great way to foster intercollegiate bonds

The money will go to the Leukemia Foundation, which operates without government support. ‘The money raised not only goes towards funding vital research on the various types of blood cancer and how to improve people’s quality of life, but it also provides emotional and practical support to families undergoing treatment,’ Halford-Smith said.

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MEN’S NETWORK PLANS ‘RED PILL’ SCREENING

‘The Men’s Network is wasting time if they think that the Red Pill – which by all accounts is a journalistically weak and absurdly querulous film – will give any tangible benefit to any section of the ANU community,’ she said.

Text: Luke Kinsella

Bell said the group was ‘wasting our time and students’ SSAF proposing film screenings that contribute nothing and enrich no one.’

The president of the Men’s Network has confirmed that the group has a screening of controversial men’s rights film, The Red Pill, ‘in the works’. Sebastian Rossi told Woroni that the Network is also considering holding a ‘balanced panel discussion involving people from various backgrounds.’ The American film, released last year, which follows Cassie Jaye as she spends time with men’s rights activists and begins to renounce her feminist views, has faced strong criticism, and seen screenings shut down and defunded on university campuses around the world. The Australian premiere screening, which organised by Men’s Rights Melbourne, was cancelled by the cinema after a petition called the film ‘misogynistic propaganda’.

But the Men’s Network vice-president, Nick Blood, said that the screening ‘hasn’t progressed much beyond me floating the idea out there.’ ‘I’ve not yet consulted with various groups, and that would be the first step. I don’t anticipate backlash against the event itself, but expect and hope the film itself will be critiqued,’ he told Woroni. The Men’s Network affiliated at a Club’s Council meeting in May, after failing in a similar attempt last year due to a high number of abstentions. The Network has denied that it is seeking to develop a Men’s Department within ANUSA, but one critic familiar with the network’s early days in 2016 say that the Network’s foundation was ‘never originally intended to be about men’s mental health, abuse or anything.’ The Network says that their objectives are to ‘promote and foster discussion of male gender-related issues’ and ‘create the space for members to seek support in a confidential and non-judgemental environment.’ The group is non-autonomous.

Halford-Smith thanked the volunteers, participants and sponsors that made the event possible.

A screening organised by the Conservative Club and Students for Liberty at the University of Sydney met with fierce protest on 11 May. The event had been defunded by the student union.

‘From the bakers, to the photographers, to the raffle ticket hustlers, to the behind the scene organisers, everyone did amazing and it really goes to show what can be done when we all come together as one,’ she told Woroni.

Survivor advocate Codie Bell told Woroni that the work being done by student leaders to prepare for the 1 August release of survey results into sexual violence on campus would be undermined by this move by the Men’s Network.

Rossi has sought in recent months to improve the reputation of the Network, including giving an interview to The Canberra Times ahead of the Network’s collaborative panel discussion event, Gender Roles & Masculinity, held in partnership with the ANU Circle for Gender Equity.

Bell said that student leaders had been doing the ‘gut wrenching work of engaging with survivors [of sexual assault], hearing their stories and asking them what they want for their university.’

The event, to be held at King O’Malleys pub in Civic on 10 August, will raise money for the local men’s charity, Menslink.

People can donate at: http://www.leuka emia.org.au/how-to-help/give-a-donation.

SCHMIDT RESPONDS TO DEATH OF CHINESE NOBEL LAUREATE LIU XIAOBO Text: Alex Joske The vice-chancellor, Brian Schmidt, has responded to ANU political refugee Wu Lebao’s request to speak out on the recent death of Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most prominent democracy activists and intellectuals, died in hospital under the watch of police guards on 13 July after a battle with liver cancer. He was 61. A key figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and a 2008 pro-democracy charter, he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, but had been imprisoned by China in response to the 2008 charter and was barred from receiving the award in person. An empty seat stood in his place at the ceremony. Wu Lebao wrote to Schmidt on 14 July, urging him respond to Liu’s death. Exactly six years ago on 14 July 2011, Wu himself was arrested and later imprisoned for ‘fabricating or disseminating online rumours’ after associating with dissident artist Ai Weiwei and writing satirical tweets about the Chinese government.

weeks before Liu’s death, calling on the Chinese government to allow Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia to travel to the US for medical treatment. In his reply to Wu, Schmidt expressed his sadness of the Liu’s death and his appreciation for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s call for the Chinese government to remove travel restrictions on Liu’s widow. ‘I’m deeply saddened to learn of the death of Lui [sic] Xiaobo. My thoughts are with his family and friends, and the many around the world who held him in great admiration,’ Schmidt wrote. Both sides of Australian politics have called on the Chinese government to remove any travel restrictions on Liu Xia, who has been unofficially held under house arrest since his Nobel prize was announced. She has not been charged with any crime and concerns for her fate are growing.

Liu Xia has published books of poetry and photography, and is a prominent activist in her own right. ‘If Liu Xia can’t leave China in the following weeks I think she will definitely face long-term isolation and house arrest until the demise the of Xi or the regime.’ But Wu is aware that Schmidt and the ANU may not be entirely free to criticise and respond to Liu’s death. ‘There are many Chinese students in our university and a great financial benefit is brought by those international students. Professor Brian Schmidt wouldn’t like to irritate those Chinese students,’ he said. While Wu is unafraid to voice his opinion on Liu’s passing, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), which calls itself ‘the only Chinese officially designated student association in Canberra’, did not respond to multiple

requests for comment on Liu Xiaobo’s death. Most Chinese have very little awareness of Liu Xiaobo and all mentions of Liu Xiaobo on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat are immediately censored. WeChat has even deployed new technology to block images of Liu and empty chairs, referencing his Nobel prize ceremony, the first time such tactics have been observed. A Woroni investigation last year revealed the CSSA’s close ties to the Chinese Community Party, with its president at the time forcing the university pharmacy to cease stocking copies of the Epoch Times, a newspaper opposed to the Party. And at a 2016 Chinese national day concert run by the CSSA, Wu Lebao and a Woroni reporter were followed throughout the evening.n’t. Sink or swim,’ he concluded.

Six years ago Wu was placed under house arrest following his detention, and the mental scars of his time in prison and the isolation he experienced while under house arrest still weigh heavily upon him.

Wu came to Australia in 2012 to escape China’s illiberal regime, and is in his second year as a mathematics undergraduate student at the ANU. ‘Standing for Liu Xiaobo is a contribution to democracy and freedom,’ Wu told Woroni.

Wu said that he appreciates Schmidt’s reply, but hopes that the ANU can do more to help his family, pointing out that in 2012 the blind Chinese activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng escaped China and took up a visiting fellowship at New York University.

Schmidt had earlier joined 153 Nobel laureates in signing an open letter in the

‘I think that maybe ANU can do a similar favour for Liu Xia,’ Wu said.

Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia, by Badiucao

Comment

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Content Warning: Discussion of sexual assault and depression

RU NNING

Text: James Connolly Image: Katie Ward & Zoe O’Leary Cameron

I was running for President. I was exhausted. The emotional strain of running stayed with me at night and wasn’t far from mind during the day. I was running conscious of lurking depression and anxiety. I was running despite having been adamant that after the Ready for ANUSA ticket I would never contest an ANUSA election again. Almost expectantly, with each day I found myself anticipating that things would fall apart. Yet, I made the call. Things worked out in ways I had not expected. On 1 July, I made a commitment to do something I was so convinced I would never do. By the evening of 7 July, I was leaning against a tiled shower wall preparing to withdraw from the race. O n 7 Ju ly 2 016 , I w a s s e x u a l l y assaulted. I had invited him back to my room at College. He had whispered in my ear asking for consent. I had said no. Minutes later he was asking again. He was pleading while he had me pinned down against my bed. I had said ‘no’ again and again. He had whispered ‘shhh’. He was holding me down harder. He was stronger than me, larger than me. I was unable to move. All the while he continued to whisper. Still whispering, he had proceeded. He had silenced me. Unable to process my experience I suppressed it. I suppressed the myths, misconceptions and systemic problems that silence survivors. If I didn’t throw a punch then perhaps I didn’t fight enough? Perhaps I was too weak? Perhaps I wasn’t man enough? These myths impugn the character of a victim. They speak to cultural values rooted in sexism and homophobia – where weakness and victimhood have become associated with femininity – that deprive a male-identifying survivor of his ‘manhood’. The toxicity of masculinity entrenches a fear of weakness and vulnerability. At some point, a boy is taught to stop crying and to grow up – as if male adulthood must be devoid of feeling. I remember those conversations growing up. While closeted, any accusation of not being man enough prompted laboured efforts to stop crying and to stop feeling sad, vulnerable, afraid or hurt. At some point, the taunts were met with a cold, steely exterior. I’ve always preferred to keep my feelings to myself. That reservation is a self-defensive barrier. A barrier that doesn’t get lowered however much others tell me that my icy demeanour may be alleviated if I simply smiled more. While I’m more inclined to share my experiences rather than my feelings, I felt myself hold back. I was in a state of shock – unsure of what had happened or what it meant. I wasn’t

sure what I was supposed to feel beyond the gaping emptiness inside. Was I meant to cry or was that weakness? If I didn’t expose my feelings then had I really been violated? Caught between a false dichotomy, I resolved on silence. A culture of silence leads to underreporting, which leads to a cyclical issue of inadequate understanding and support. In Australia, an estimated one in 25 male-identifying people have experienced an incident act of sexual assault since the age of 15 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013), and that doesn’t account for childhood experiences. However, I didn’t report and nor do many others. I didn’t go to the College, didn’t go to Counselling, and I didn’t go to the University. Nor did I go to the Service Assisting Male Survivors of Sexual Assault (SAMSSA) or the police. To those who have felt so silenced and disempowered that they couldn’t report, I am one of you. An added complexity is that male-identifying survivors are usually sexually assaulted by other men. These acts perpetuate myths of dominance and submission, masculinity and femininity for survivors. A fetishisation of dominance, power, and masculinity exists within the perpetrators. As a queer* male, our community has often viewed itself as an ally of feminism. Historical and contemporary oppression often leads to identification with other experiences of oppression. Yet, we must confront the unsettling reality that entrenched sexist attitudes exist from within and these manifest themselves in many forms – including sexual violence. As President, I’ve sat across the table from people as they have spoken about

the need for a conversation on male survivors of sexual assault. Each time I have remained silent of how personally affected I am, unsure of my experiences or what relevance they bear. For months now I have slowly put words to paper. I have rewritten them, added to them and started again out of a desire to have a voice, to gain clarity and to play a role using the platform that the ANUSA Presidency affords me. This conversation needs champions. I am no champion. Nothing that I have written breaks new ground nor poses new questions and challenges. I am a voice with a platform to prompt a conversation about a certain struggle because, in truth, I am struggling. I am struggling to make sense of what this experience meant, what it means. To be used, to be abused, to be silenced and to be left so empty and devoid of answers – that is my experience as a survivor. This conversation needs to be about support. It needs to address toxic masculinity in a way that allows male-identifying survivors to talk, to cry, to scream, and to have those around them listen. It involves communities like my own having challenging, uncomfortable conversations about dominance, submission and consent. It involves voices directly calling upon the ANU community to discuss the role we all play in contributing to a culture that need not silence survivors but rather fosters belief, support and respect. Where I’ve run and how I’ve struggled is not necessarily explained entirely by one experience. It just is. Running is often symptomatic of a lack of understanding, a lack of conversation and the silencing effect that masculinity imposes.

Male-identifying survivors shouldn’t feel that they have to run unless it is into arms of support, understanding and belief. Yet, that is my story. On 7 July 2016 I ran. I ran from questions. I ran from self-loathing. I ran from emptiness. I ran from introspection. I ran for President. If you have been sexually assaulted, or know someone who has been sexually assaulted, please know that support is available for you. Canberra Rape Crisis Centre/Service Assisting Male Survivors of Sexual Assault: (02) 6247 2525, 7am-11pm, 7 days a week To chat about sexual assault as someone who has experienced it or someone supporting another. Excellent resource for understanding the different options and supports available. 1800 Respect: 1800 7377328, 24/7 National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Ser vice for people living in Australia. Lifeline: 13 11 14, 24/7 Lifeline is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. ANU Counselling: 9AM-5PM, Monday-Friday, 02 6125 2442 Free and confidential counselling is available on campus for all currently enrolled ANU students, including ANU College students.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

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A View from the Pop-Up

Thoughts on the pop-up village Cameron Allan

Kat Carrington

When I first heard about the idea of the Pop-Up Village, it sent an anxious shiver down my spine. My experiences with temporary food spaces had only been dire, so the impromptu implications of its name made me uneasy.

The Pop-Up Village has been branded as a hip temporary location to ensure campus life exists and thrives during the redevelopment of Union Court. As an events space, the Pop-Up village satisfies most of our needs with a late-night bar, a multi-purpose event space with a good AV system, a larger variety of food options, and an edgy aesthetic. But can it act as an alternative, albeit a temporary alternative, to Union Court? The answer is no for one simple reason: capacity.

It starkly reminded me of the time we had a temporary kitchen at my residential hall. They promised a completely functional dining experience: meals that would deliver on all nutritional metrics and would keep us mobile in the slow Winter months. Alas, dinner, for a whole six months, was an array of fried things which were never self-declaratory in their fried-ness. We were served fried beef – camouflaged as Crispy Spicy Mongolian Beef – and fried vegetables – masquerading as the delicately dubbed Tempura Greens. I had an apprehension that a similar thing would happen in the Pop Up Village. I suspected that they would promise a ‘Pop Up Village’ – its energetic name insinuating a glam and vibrant finish – but we would end up with something more along the lines of ‘Falling down, a bit dystopic, collection of trailers and maybe small dwellings.’ Despite those initial fears, I am very excited by the final product. The Pop-Up Village, from a social perspective, offers an exciting new way to enjoy our campus. There is a combination of spaces which invite creative approaches to event management, and the long night hours of the vendors promise a re-energized student nightlife. While we mourn the loss of the late Union Court, the Pop-Up promises a new (brief) era of student life.

Let’s run some numbers. The Pop-Up village has two primary locations. The outside deck, creatively called the Deck, and the Pop-Up Club. Together they have the capacity, based on licensing, of 1510 people. This is just less than 15 per cent of the current ANU student population. This is not including ANU staff or casual visitors that may be tempted by the allure of food trucks, i.e. BrodBurger. On the other hand, the Union Court precinct is huge. The Union building is licensed for 3,859+ people. The Manning Clark Theatres have 1,405 seats. The Union Court grass, though underutilised in winter, has a capacity even larger than both. Though the Pop-Up is cool now, imagine it in the middle of the semester with hundreds of students trying to find a spot to eat, study, or just relax. Space which will be contested with most of the on-campus student-run, events, and even more organised by ANU. The Pop-Up village has 75 events already booked for the first few months of the semester and this number is growing. The venue was never going to be a perfect replacement for the facilities of the Union Court precinct, but a very obvious lack of thought is going to make it that much more disappointing. And as a result, our university experience is going to suffer.

Photography: Marwan El Hassan

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

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ANUSA Elections

Whaaat is going on? An SRC Explainer Text: Tom Kesina If you’ve attended an O-Week Market Day, grabbed free breakfast or coffee from the BKSS, or participated in a club, then you’ve benefitted from the work of the ANU Students’ Association (ANUSA). ANUSA is funded by your money, run for your benefit, and is governed by students you elect. As such, you have the capacity to directly inf luence the future of ANUSA through the general elections happening this term. You, humble reader, will likely be bombarded in the coming weeks by campaign material from all the various candidates who are running. Many will promise big things, and some will have no capacity to deliver on those promises. Caught in a deluge of mostly-bad campaign memes, weirdly cultish photos, and countless joke tickets making fun of it all, it’s easy to take the cynical route and switch off. However, I would urge every undergraduate student to earnestly engage with the ANUSA elections, because we all win when ANUSA does well. So, if you’re keen to make a stab at engaging, here’s a quick guide to which positions are up for election, and what the hell they’re supposed to do. ANUSA has 39 elected representatives broadly split into four different groups

– seven Department Offices, 14 General Representatives, six Executive Officers, and 12 College Representatives. In addition, you’ll get to vote for ANU’s ‘NUS’ delegates and the undergraduate member of ANU Council. The seven Department Officers, one for each of the Disabilities, Ethnocultural, Environment, Indigenous, International, Queer*, and Women’s Departments, generally represent marginalised groups in our society. They play an important advocacy role within the University and provide a voice for those groups within ANUSA. Only students who identify as one of those things (except Environment, which anyone can vote for) get to vote for those positions. The 14 General Representatives play an important accountability role in ANUSA, undertake projects throughout their term, and help out with the activities of ANUSA. As one of the larger blocks on the SRC (which we’ll get to later), they can wield real inf luence within the Association. Everyone gets to vote for these guys, so choose wisely! The six Executive Officers, including the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Education Officer, Social Officer, and General Secretary, manage ANUSA’s day to day

affairs. They work very closely with ANUSA’s professional staff, and each has specific responsibilities for areas of ANUSA’s functioning. They also sit on a bunch of important university committees and can be the first line of defence against shitty ideas from the university. Like Gen Reps, everyone gets to vote for these positions. Lastly, the 12 College Representatives (two for each academic college), represent students of a particular academic college (think CASS, COL, CECS, etc.). They sit on their college’s College Education Committee (CEC), and generally advocate for students from their respective academic college. If your degree falls under a college or two, you get to vote for those representatives. If this sounds like a lot of humans, it is. However, every one of them has a role to play within ANUSA, particularly through the Student Representative Council (SRC). The SRC functions as the ‘board’ of the Association. They set the strategic direction of ANUSA, can decide on matters of policy such as NUS accreditation, endorse/ not endorse certain campaigns, refer office bearers to the Disputes Committee, and can bind the Executive to undertake certain actions. As such, any ANUSA rep should have the capacity to think critically,

ask challenging questions where needed, and be willing to read 70-page agendas and sit through three-hour meetings. You’ll also be able to vote for ANU’s delegates to the National Union of Students’ National Conference. The National Union of Students (NUS) is a federation of student associations like ANUSA that advocates for student issues on a national level. NUS delegates shape the direction of the organisation by voting for its ‘policy platform’ and office bearers for the coming year. Be sure to ask delegate candidates whether they’re affiliated with a ‘faction’ or not and whether they’ll be voting to allow student media to film on conference f loor (hint: it’s historically been banned). Last, but certainly not least, there’s the ANU Council member. Essentially, they’re a student who sits on the board of the ANU. Many important things get decided and discussed there, and every student gets to vote for them. Now that you know what’s up, there’s no reason not to vote! Voting will be online, and so it’s easier than ever to have your say on the future of ANUSA and campus life at ANU.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

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Trigger Warning: suicide, description of hazing practices, mention of rape

The Lottery Hazing at Go8 University Colleges Text: Anna Miley Image: Joanne Leong

This is an abridged version of Anna’s piece for print. The full article can be found online at woroni.com.au.

Blindfolded St. John’s College, University Sydney, 2012-2013

He helped blindfold the four fresher girls and made them kneel. The seniors encircled them. One girl kept dragging her heels, asking for an exemption. The rest of the seniors started clapping in time to the chant. Later that night the reluctant girl lay in hospital having the mixture of alcohol, Tabasco sauce, sour milk, shampoo and dog food pumped from her stomach. Her rare medical condition caused severe bleeding if she vomited. The Justice Group seniors printed T-shirts after her near-death. He still had one. It had the college eagle, blindfolded and vomiting, with ‘Year of Justice’ emblazoned below it.

Speechless St. Paul’s College, University Sydney, 2016

It was hard to wave him off. Last September he’d spoken at the Star Casino about Australia’s dangerous alcoholism, supporting the controversial lockout laws. There’d been death threats and online trolling. She was proud of him… and also worried. His voice shook over the phone. He wouldn’t say what happened. ‘Pick me up tomorrow. Early please.’ He sobbed the whole way home. St Paul’s hazing rituals are notorious. It’s likely that his peers victimised him for his support of the new laws. That unspeakable night had changed him, broken him. Six months later he killed himself.

Dead possum St. John’s XXIII College, ANU, 20142017

In her first year hazers chose her for the First Year Girl’s club. The ritual involved lots of drinking at night near the CSIRO. They all vomited a lot. The next day some of them were in, and the rest were hated. Hazing happened to the guys much more often. The second and third year guys would pick a mix of freshers. Cool guys were bonded with, and not-so-cool guys were singled out and bullied. They

had to carry alcohol up a big tree and sit on different branches. They kept drinking, eventually pissing and vomiting on each other. One fresher would eventually fall from the tree. The ‘dead possum’ was kicked, beaten and abused. The hazing never really stopped unless you became a hazer. She cut ties with the college and with almost everyone there but met with a kind-of-friend last semester who mentioned that some hazing had happened the night before. Probably the same hazing, or something not much different.

The Institutions Hazing at Australian Go8 residential colleges is a topic that I cannot begin to give justice to. As the Dead possum student remarked, every bad experience screams twenty times louder than a good experience, which together form the spectrum of college life. There has still been plenty of screaming. A St John’s College (Sydney) tradition strands blindfolded, near-naked firstyears in Sydney’s west with only a couch to return to college. Students are often afraid to reveal hazing. A friend of one participant refused to give details, scared to incriminate people involved. Reports reveal dangerous and decades-long practices at St John’s, faeces found in first-year bedrooms, and widespread vandalism. Former St Paul’s College students have reported some newcomers breaking bones in scuffles involving flaming mattresses and one left tied to train tracks, with one ex-resident finding the hazing so brutal that he later attempted suicide. St Paul’s scandals include a 2009 prorape Facebook page and recent student texts describing sex with fat girls as ‘harpooning a whale’. A University of Queensland student told me that in all-male King’s College, the O-Week rituals are hierarchical and drinking-based. They include first-years having to complete demanding tasks such as racing to finish a 24-litre container of a distilled vodka mix in small groups, with the losing group forced to run naked past the four colleges. Students are encouraged to binge to the point of vomiting or passing out.

#Collegelyf Queen’s College, University of Melbourne, 2012-2013.

O-Week was a nonstop initiation of nightly parties, barely any sleep and blaring microphones at dawn. First-year guys were lined up and told to crawl to their favourite girl as a way of forming two-person teams. O-Week leaders

encouraged the college-wide ‘policy’ of keeping our doors open unless we were changing or sleeping, insisting that college would be the best years of our lives provided we were ‘keen’ and respected them. As the disturbingly cultish rituals continued, first-years began to perpetuate the social pressure to participate, joining in on the derision of students who failed to ‘skull and score (goals and fellow students)’, attend events and exhibit constant enthusiasm and friendliness. Male students felt more pressure to drink a lot. Queener guys skulled jugs, sometimes until vomiting, surrounded by chanting students. After the first in-college party, faeces appeared on the president’s bedroom chair. My corridor had a Rum Club. Previous male students made my neighbour drink lots of rum then dumped him semi-conscious in his room for girls in my corridor to look after. Sometimes a group of guys slunk off to something called ‘Matchbox’, later returning very drunk. It was supposed to be a secret. More innocuous rituals included the Seven Wonders – seven places to have sex on college grounds that would unlock intranet profile features. Danger came more from the intensely social high-pressure environment than bad hazing, with the 2013 Associate Chaplain woefully unequipped to help struggling students. The Vice-Master simply ignored them. Help from the college was insubstantial at best.

Reflections The Australian National University Dead possum is the loudest scream to reach me from ANU. A Burgmann friend said that while students are given a ‘choice’ in being

hazed, they will be left out if they don’t. A Bruce friend saw the pervasive sex-focused and heavy drinking culture, where students felt pressure to drink to fit in, as far more problematic than the tradition of throwing students into the fountain on their birthday. I overheard an ostensibly voluntary B&G hazing ritual where students would visit new ex-student sharehouses and conceal their faeces somewhere in the house. A Fenner friend hadn’t seen or experienced any hazing and wished she had because it would help bring people together, a f lip-side of hazing practices. For a 2016 John’s (Sydney) fresher, initiations were a positive, friendly experience. When she moved to John’s X XIII she was bitterly disappointed to find that headbands and nicknames were considered hazing and that there was limited opportunity for student bonding. She remembers the first few weeks at St John’s as the best of her life. It’s hard to reconcile the massive gradation of college experiences with one another. Hazing brings people together – causing suicide attempts. College is the best years of your life – leaving you shattered. College life is a lottery that can place you on top of the social ladder, give you wild years of partying and lifelong friends, or socially isolate you, scare you and leave you rebuilding your life... or take it away. Secrecy or fear surrounding a hazing practice can mean that it is distasteful, unpleasant or dangerous, and indicate that students are in danger of losing the lottery.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

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Change Text: Caity Price

Ever since moving to Canberra in 2015, I have always looked forward to the start of each semester. Even the tedious tasks excite me – speculating about new classes, creating a schedule, and trying to believe that maybe this time, I’ll actually keep up with all my readings. Throw in the hype of O-Week or Bush Week and all the new faces, and it’s usually more than enough to get me enthused. Coming back to the ANU this semester for me, however, will be like none other so far. In fact, I haven’t laid eyes upon the ANU or stepped foot in our capital since last November, as I have spent the last semester on exchange in Sweden. It’s quite an odd feeling – as if I am starting the year properly, whereas it seems that everyone else is just coming back. For me, returning to the ANU this year will not start with a heat wave where we all curse this landlocked state, long for the beach, and roam around Civic wearing as little as possible. Instead, I will skip straight to playing sport on frozen grass,

remembering the important distinction between fashionable and legit winter clothes, and studying with a glass of mulled wine in hand (or, at least, trying to). These feelings are also mixed with nostalgia and sadness. Of course, I was still connected to the ANU while I was in Europe through Facebook, emails, and questionably relevant Schmidtposting. It has been interesting to watch colossal changes and developments occur at our university from afar. As a Fenner resident, I have heard a lot about the Union Court redevelopment over the past year. However, it wasn’t until I saw a photo of friends spray-painting the memorable concrete, that I realised – from my Swedish college room – that I will likely never again lay eyes on the Union Court that I once knew. When I decided to go on exchange around this time last year, I didn’t even consider that my return would be to a construction site. Nor did I think that I would not be able to say goodbye to an important part of our university. That moment for me was heart-wrenching in many ways. I reminisce about running into friends during the walk to MCC,

drinking coffee on the grass and the general affection I felt for a place that was a social hub on campus. Realising this all from such a large geographical divide, I felt powerless in a way – knowing that I had lost any chance to say goodbye. I reflected on the great memories I had of a place whose brutal architectural charm made it all the more endearing. The hardest part here was realising that other students had the chance to say the goodbye that I wish I could have given. Today, I have no idea what to expect when I return to the ANU! Among all the protests and controversy, it will be interesting to see how far the development has progressed by Bush Week. While I am sad to be leaving behind a particular era of ANU’s physical existence, I am excited about the positive changes that the redevelopment will bring. Even the idea of a futuristic space-campus that the ‘artist’s impressions’ offer seem promising! While our access to a former social hub is restricted, I’m sure that ANU students will find other places to gather and – let’s be honest – campaign for the upcoming ANUSA elections while we wait for our new campus.

Speakers will be selected to deliver a five minute oration at the competition final on Wednesday 4 October 2017. The winner will deliver the student oration at the 2018 Commencement Address. Entries close Wednesday 9 August 2017.

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Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

The Destruction of the ANU Bar – Now Everything Else IS Academic Text: Sienna Lake

outside area is still the busiest spot on campus. So, where will we go next semester? And most importantly, who will profit?

This is an abridged version of Sienna’s piece for print. The full article can be found online at woroni.com.au. Picture this: a grey Autumn afternoon, a day of studying behind you, so you arrange to meet some friends at the pub. You cross over the bridge from Hancock, admire the willow trees along the way and consider the age-old question: beer or cider? You arrive in the large and familiar wooden room; the TV is showing daytime television, and Triple J plays in the background. Phil greets you with an affectionate ‘here’s trouble’ and stops for a chat, before sending you off with a few jokes and a jug. You sit outside. It’s cold, but you don’t mind. Trees hang over the bench where you choose to sit, and yellow leaves occasionally flutter down while you stare off into the smoker’s area, investigating the microcosm of studious pub-goers to whom, I’m sure, the loss of the pub hits harder than any other student group. It’s true that the ANU Bar is a spot for drinking, but as a space, it provides much more. It’s a place for making and solidifying friendships, for learning to like beer, for discovering new music, and for falling in love with the ANU, from the beautiful trees to the laid back culture. Afternoons here slip luxuriously away into evenings, serenaded by fellow students from UniVibes who create anticipation for the night ahead. Mooseheads? Knightsbridge? Kebabs on the couch? Great nights always began at the ANU Bar. At the pub on its final Thursday, there was a general feeling of melancholy. Students were celebrating the end of the term, but the mood did not feel celebratory. UniVibes was playing slower music, and pub-goers looked around with a glint of sadness in their eyes. The night ended with ‘I Know It’s Over’ by Jeff Buckley. Students swayed together in the cold night, and one broke away to waltz Phil around the crowd. People were taking photos of the light filtering through the trees, trying to capture, for one last time, the ethereal beauty and atmosphere that envelopes the bar at closing time. The ANU Bar is the heart and soul of our university. It brings people together in a way that lets us forget that we are at the top university in Australia, and the pressures associated with that. In Summer, it is the busiest spot on campus. In Winter, despite the low temperatures and the pull of the wood-panelled interior, the

The group that ‘won’ the competitive tendering process runs Walt and Burley on the Kingston Foreshore. This worries me for a variety of reasons, but mainly because 560mL of beer (i.e. half a jug) on their Kingston menu will set you back $11-$14.50, double the current prices at the ANU Bar. Brian is excited about Uni Ave’s proximity to the city, which makes the Pop-up VIllage more appealing to non-students, but what about our space? University is a place for students, right? Why have you taken away our space, run by our Union, whose proceeds go back into programs for us, to create large profits for pretentious bar-owners? Why have you chosen to destroy one of the most beautiful areas on campus to replace it with a residential building that could go anywhere else? Somebody told me recently that UTS was designed without common areas to stop students from unionising, protesting and generally gathering as a student body. I can’t help but feel that the ANU is going the same way. The thought of a crowded Union Court offering a variety of services to the general public, and food stalls blocking the traditional protest route into Civic already makes me feel excluded. I wonder what the ANU is to become, as its old buildings are replaced by a shiny courtyard that, based on the current plans, creates a feeling that grass would be intruding on concrete. What has become clear to me, from talking to people in recent weeks about their love for the ANU Bar, is that this love runs deep. One friend, Joe, described it as a ‘really stable place where you went to celebrate birthdays and good marks, and commiserate breakups and setback. It was an institution.’ Ethan, remarked that it was a place that you could talk to anyone ‘without any of the institutionalised classism that transcends any other venue in Canberra.’ Jon mourned that the uniqueness of the pub lay in the fact that ‘there was no set formula for it – it was built on years of student experience which formed its very own culture.’ The ANU Bar’s lack of pretense and relaxed atmosphere struck home for most people. Ella and Georgie also commented on the loss of the beautiful trees and natural surrounds that envelope the ANU Bar, making it arguably the best spot on campus. George commented that the recent changes including Bruce Hall, the Music School and ‘the increased intake of students and resulting decrease in teaching

capacity strike [him] as symptoms of a larger issue’. He said that as the ANU trades off ‘quality for cost-cutting with the help of marketing fluff [at the expense of] welfare and natural development’. Social and extracurricular life, he remarked, is significant for students’ ‘general wellbeing and academic performance’. Perhaps if we demonstrate the link between the pub’s existence and academic performance, management may, at last, listen to us as we speak in terms that they can understand. Because the thing is, Brian, we are not Oxford, or Cambridge, or Harvard. We are a great university in a city that most of Australia refers to as a ‘hole’. We are a hidden gem for young adults who are brave enough to move away from home to discover new friends and new horizons. Canberra calls for a collegiate atmosphere and a great pub, not a privatised university and a wine bar pricing students out of the market. We deserve more than this, and the destruction of the ANU Bar is a betrayal to us and the life that we have built here. So, how will we cope? My friend and long-term pub partner, Georgie, makes a great point. We cannot be sad about this loss because, the thought of it is so horrible, that it may consume us. Instead, we should continue as if it still exists, and avoid that part of uni at all costs. The memories will remain, and we can then at least pretend that the pub lives on. Once this gets old, I plan on spending afternoons with a six-pack from Spar, on the banks of Sullivan’s Creek. I’ll ruminate on the decisions that this Vice-Chancellor made before truly understanding the central culture and importance of the ANU Bar. And, I’ll wonder what privatisation means generally for the future of all things that we love and hold dear. Thanks for the memories, ANU Bar. You will be dearly, dearly missed by all. I dedicate this piece to Phil for the passion, commitment and warmth that he has brought to the pub over the years, and to all the students, past and present, who have spent some of their best afternoons at university in this beautiful place, which we have now all loved and lost. Thank you to Georgie Melrose, Joe Dodds, Ethan Wallace, Jon Tay, Ella McNiece and George Cheriyan for your wonderful and personal insights into the ANU Bar, and what it has meant to you over the years.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

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I Watched The Red Pill So That You Didn’t Have To Text: Max Koslowski

Content warning: Mentions of gendered violence, sexual assault, suicide, mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical violence. Content note: These mentions are made in the context of the film, The Red Pill, and statistics regarding these experiences. They do not extend into further detail beyond this. The Red Pill is controversial even before you watch it. The documentary gets its name from men’s rights folklore. In the 1999 film, The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo two pills – a red one and a blue one. If Neo takes the blue one, his life carries on as before. But, if he takes the red one, the real truth is revealed, and he is removed from the Matrix. The symbol has been adopted into men’s rights cyberculture – a movement that believes that feminism is deceiving the media, politicians, and the average person. To take the red pill is to realise that you are being duped. The reaction against the documentary has been strong. Director Cassie Jaye has gone head-to-head with TV presenters on The Project and Sunrise, and a month ago the University of Sydney pulled funding from a screening on campus. But, for all the furore, the documentary frames itself as a peaceful passage of self-discovery for Jaye. The film begins by asking the question: ‘Have you ever been through something, and you don’t know what just happened, but you know it was important to go through? This was that journey for me.’ Jaye’s soft American voice narrates her journey from feminist to meninist. This is conveyed by staged video logs throughout the documentary, where Jaye slowly starts to doubt whether she is a feminist. By making the issue of men’s rights one that is personal to her, Jaye attempts to give the movement credit. How could she, a woman and a feminist, possibly be turned to men’s rights activism? If she did it, surely then it must be legitimate. And, sure, the film raises some good points. Men commit four in five suicides.

Settlements in Family Law Courts often skew against them. Society neglects and stigmatises male sexual assault. But the documentary, in its clumsy attempt to mount a case for men’s rights activism, is not self-aware enough to see it’s obvious shortfalls. It makes embarrassing claims One of the film’s most ridiculous moments comes in a segment on domestic violence against men. Jaye shows 2014 data which notes that 5.4 million men in the US were subjected to physical violence over the last 12 months, compared to 4.7 million women. What is so galling is that Jaye displays this data directly above a statistic which shows that rape and other sexual violence weighs hugely against women. What’s more, the qualification for actions comprising ‘physical violence’ is vague, and includes slapping, pushing and shoving. The 2017 version of the data Jaye cites gives us a better insight. One in four women in the US have been survivors of intimate partner violence at some point in their lives, compared to one in eight men. One in three women are survivors of sexual violence, compared to one in six men. Nearly 23 million women have been victims of rape and attempted rape, compared to 1.3 million men, and women are three times more likely to show symptoms of post-traumatic stress resulting from intimate partner violence compared to men. Jaye’s indifference to the status quo isn’t just embarrassing. In fact, it’s deeply hurtful to the women whose traumatic experiences she sidelines to prove a point. As with most arguments made in the documentary, though, there is a kernel of common sense – it is appalling that there are few to no male-only domestic violence shelters in the US, despite the existence of survivors across all genders. The dynamic remains true for other segments. Jaye spends a whole portion of the documentary detailing distressing stories of fathers who have had their children taken away by the children’s mothers. Hearing their stories is heart breaking. The Red Pill is unashamedly single sided. It never once touches on husbands who abandon women to raise children on their own, or fathers who force women to – or not to – have abortions. These

exclusions make what could have been a nuanced piece of work on serious men’s issues seem out of touch. It unduly blames feminists The film subtweets feminism constantly, but never substantiates this argument. A good example, again, is the segment on domestic violence against men. The key, untested claim comes from MRA Dean Esmay. He says that there are ‘endless studies which show that women are just as violent as men’ in domestic relationships, suggesting that women – and feminism – misguide public opinion on gendered violence. This simply isn’t true. Studies show that not only are women more likely to be the victim of domestic violence, but men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators. But Jaye lets this slide. She also fails to place issues such as workplace deaths, army deaths, and a lack of male support services in the context of who creates and implements policies on these matters. The US Congress is overwhelmingly male, as have been most other parliaments in modern times. Men have had the capacity to cater to these needs for decades. They haven’t. Instead, Jaye’s representation of feminism is flawed. She interviews unflattering feminist figures who, I’ll be honest, are not very persuasive. They are either dry, older figures who use academic jargon to explain feminism or brighthaired, radical feminists who seem genuinely indifferent and dismissive towards men’s experiences. Jaye diagnoses men’s issues as a product of feminism and ends the documentary on that note – that she no longer regards herself as a feminist. Despite its flaws, the documentary is potent. Jaye, and the men’s right movement more broadly, might be somewhat detached from evidence and reality. But, at the end of the day, the film did make me more sympathetic towards specific men’s issues. I didn’t take the red pill, and I didn’t stumble down the rabbit hole. Though, I do worry about how many young men might after watching Cassie Jaye’s documentary on their laptops late one night.

Comment

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

Why are we losing faith in religion? Text: Jonathan Tjandra

We are terrible at religion. The 2016 Census revealed that 29.6 per cent of Australians reported ‘no religion’, up from 22.6 per cent in 2011. This is significant because the number of people professing no religion is now higher than the number of professing Roman Catholics for the first time in Australian history. People responding Catholic to the Census dropped from 25.3 per cent to 22.6 in the last five years. It should be noted that Christians overall still make up 52.1 per cent of the population, with the second largest religion being Islam at 2.6 per cent. The figures point to an important reality that we need to confront. We are terrible at religion. We are rather good at corrupting religion to suit our own needs and twisting their meanings for our edification. Religious institutions, by virtue of their position in society, are powerful as they appeal to our core beliefs and

identities. Consequently, they have been prime targets for corruption by individuals who wish to use the power for their own ends. Religious scriptures are manipulated to suit a particular world view and used as justification for acts such as murder and discrimination.

recognition that we are all flawed, and the hope that we might be made whole. Christians believe that humans are made in the image of God, but were corrupted by sin. It takes effort, and external assistance, to become fully human and thus fully good.

Many of the Crusades are cases in point. Masked as a just cause in protecting Christian pilgrims in in the Holy Land, they became a tool for the expansion of European (and papal) power, both politically and economically. A more modern example is the Islamic State, twisting the teachings of Islam to suit their own agenda. I cannot comment on other religions, but from my experience as a Christian, I learned that religion isn’t meant to be easy. There’s something about humility, selflessness, grace, compassion that makes it extremely difficult for us to practice. It clashes with our innate desire for self-preservation, ego, greed, control, and power. The Bible is full of examples of holy people failing in their duties again and again.

Even with the best intentions, power inevitably corrupts. This is recognised throughout history in politics and ideology. The doctrine of separation of powers in Western liberal democracies presupposes that humans are ambitious and selfish, and so institutions need to be created with this in mind. Institutions and rules should, therefore, be constructed so that no one individual has all the power, and instead ‘ambition must be made to counteract ambition’.

This is not to say that it is impossible to be good or do good at all. Religion is a two-way street; Christians believe it is impossible to be truly Christ-like without God’s help. Religion, then, is the humble

competition of religions trying to get the largest market share of souls. The results of the census point to the fact that all of us are trying to figure out how to make meaning out of life. We should be working together as individuals and communities, to find ways to support each other to overcome our flaws, even if it is difficult. It paints a picture of diversity, and we all have different answers to that question.

Australia has always been a fiercely secular country, in the sense that church and state have always been separate. Again, this reflects the centuries-old teachings of church founders: that institutions with too much power corrupt, and so the church should be separate so that the power of the state does not distract the church from its spiritual role. The decline in religious observance reflects all of these factors. It is not a

My Utopian Fort in the Clouds Text: Anonymous During high school, whenever the content didn’t make sense or the explanations were lacklustre, the teachers would unapologetically tell me to ‘just accept it. You’ll learn it at university.’ High school was not really where we went to learn academia, but more a place to learn how to get good marks. I found this frustrating. What’s wrong with learning for the sake of learning? While university was mostly regarded as an intermediary step we’d inevitably have to take to get into the career of our choice, university was my end goal. I had a certain romance with my preconception of university. An institution made solely for the advancement of knowledge. A community built on the foundations of intellectual thirst. A haven where individuals were judged by their creativity, intellectual capacity and their desire to learn. My naiveté wasn’t totally unjustified. University has always been painted as a bastion of development, innovation and social change. The idea was incredibly appealing.

My first impression of university was a disappointed one. I saw my friends enter co-op scholarships, which seemed like large companies tying down young minds and fostering them to be the perfect employees. Other friends changed their Facebook cover photos to corporate advertisements, and my lecturers prioritised content on what was most applicable to the workplace. I was disappointed by the dark corporate hand that seemed to clutch the heartstrings of the university. My utopian fort in the clouds, untarnished by the murky waters of ignorance and corporate greed below, had come crashing down to Earth. An article in The Guardian in 2013 said that ‘the role and place of the academic is changing – and it’s a good thing.’ This is a rather sobering prediction; ‘[academia’s] future lies in a portfolio of employed work both at higher education institutions, private organisations and freelance writing and consultancy.’ Our insistence on a pecuniary return is disheartening. Do high school and

university really need to be factories to manufacture high-yield employees? Does academic research need to promise economic return? In hindsight, it was extremely idealistic of me to expect so much of university. Universities must evolve and change with society to retain their relevance and value. In a bleak future that looks to be increasingly corporatised, it is inevitable that universities change accordingly. Despite this, I’m loving university and the friends I’ve met here. There’s something magical about those late nights you spend with your friends in the library, laughing away your unpreparedness for upcoming exams. I understand that money is valuable and recognise the need for corporate powers in the economy. It is a world that I recognise has value, but have no desire to be involved in. Therefore, I cannot help but be disappointed that the place I once thought would be free from its influence is not so.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Comment

Unconventional Wisdom

The Fall of Intellectual Diversity

Text: Luke Kinsella Luke Kinsella is a first-year student from Sydney studying a double degree in PPE/International Relations. In his column, Luke aims to burst the left-wing bubble many young people live in. His hobbies include debating, reading, being a snobby centrist, and writing in third person.

It’s no secret that the majority of students at the ANU are fairly left-wing. In fact, it’s safe to say that the majority of university campuses in the West share this with the ANU. This is a problem. It’s a problem for conservatives, but it’s also a problem for the Left. Data from the Higher Education Research Institute suggests that in the USA, the ratio of leftist to conservative professors has widened over the last few decades. This growing imbalance has arguably made leftist students overly sensitive and intellectually fragile. They have become used to living in a community that constantly reaffirms their views. Thus, when they inevitably hear differing views, they feel uncomfortable. This can be seen in the epidemic of protests against ‘blasphemous’ public speakers. Universities have become ‘safe spaces’ for left-wing students, where conservative speakers are seen to have infiltrated their progressive stronghold. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education found that since 2000, at

least 240 campaigns have been launched to prevent public speakers from appearing on US campuses, the majority of which occurred after 2009. Warren Farrell, a champion of second wave feminism and a Hillary Clinton supporter, was protested at the University of Toronto in 2013 for speaking about social issues specific to men – something many of the protesters considered ‘hate speech’. The first African American female Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, was disinvited from Rutgers University for her involvement in the Bush administration. When Brown University organised a debate on the topic of rape culture, a safe space was created, equipped with Play-Doh, pillows, cookies, and a video of frolicking puppies. These outcries do not stop at public speaking events. When Erika Christakis of Yale University wrote an email to Silliman College residents urging them to be less vindictive towards students who wore ‘offensive’ Halloween costumes, her husband became the victim of an onslaught of abuse from students. One of whom accused Christakis of being racist for not remembering her name. While Christakis politely answered the concerns of his students, someone said to him, as several students broke down in tears around him, ‘I am sick looking at you … You are disgusting … I want your job to be taken from you. I am disgusted that you work at Yale University.’ Another student claimed that Mr. Christakis and his wife had engaged in ‘an act of violence’. No one intervened to stop the abuse; in fact, bystanders nodded and applauded. When the University of Sydney’s Conservative Club organised a screening of a documentary about the Men’s Rights movement, the University of Sydney Union defunded the event. The event went ahead but was protested by about 50-60 students. ‘All I really want is for there to be a discussion about legitimate male issues,’ a member of the

Conservative Club told the ABC. Even at the ANU, a campaign was launched in March against former US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper. Targeting his involvement in the Iraq war and for ‘lying’ to Congress, the campaign protested his visit to the university. There are a number of reasons why Clapper ‘lied’ that make accusations of wrongdoing mere conjecture. Barack Obama understood this, which is why he retained Clapper as his DNI after being the one to appoint him in the first place. I wonder if the ANU’s valiant protesters would protest Obama if he were to visit the campus. One’s immune system becomes stronger from exposure to infection and disease. One’s intellectual resolve works in a similar way. In this case, differing opinions are the vaccine and many left-wing students have clearly not been vaccinated. If the trend of a maximising leftist-conservative imbalance continues, the very fabric of what a university is supposed to be will be destroyed. Both Harvard and Yale’s mottos contain the word veritas, Latin for ‘truth’. If a university fails in the quest for truth, it fails as a university. Jon at h a n H a idt of Ne w York Un iver sit y a r g ue s t h at t r ut h c ome s a b out t h rou g h t he pro c e s s of i n s t it ut ion a l i s e d d i s c on f i r m at ion . Ever yone , no m at t e r t he i r p ol it ic a l p e r s u a sion , e n ga ge s i n mot i v at e d re a s on i n g . T h at i s , we a re mot i v at e d to prove w h at we a l re a d y b e l ie ve . L e f t i s t s a re mot i v at e d to d i s prove c on s e r v at i ve s a nd c on s e rv at i ve s a re mot i v at e d to d i s prove le f t i s t s . T h i s i n s t it ut ion a l i s e d b a c k a nd for t h b e t we e n le f t i s t s a nd c on s e r v at i ve s e n s u re s t h at

bi a s e s a re c ou nt e r a c t e d . Wit h le s s a nd le s s c on s e r v at i ve voice s , t he le f t i s t bi a s h a s r u n a mok , u nc h a l le n ge d . Not on l y b e c au s e t here a re s o fe w c on s er v at i ve s av a i l a ble to c h a l le n ge t he le f ti s t bi a s , but b e c au s e t he sm a l l nu mb e r of c on s e r v at i ve s at u n ive r sit ie s a re u nd er s t a nd a bly to o a f r a id to s p e a k up. T he y a re , i n a s en s e , ‘w a l k i ng on e g gs he l l s’. P rofe s s or s a re e ve n re v i si n g t he i r s y l l a bu s e s to e n s u re t he y don’t c ont a i n a ny c on s er v at i ve , ‘ b o at-ro c k i n g ’ c ont e nt . This i s now a re a l it y for a c a d e m ic s , a c c ord i n g to a c ol le ge profe s s or u nd e r t he p s e udony m E dw a rd S c h lo s s er, w ho w rot e t he a r t ic le ‘I ’m a l ib e r a l profe s s or, a nd my l ib e r a l s t ud e nt s t e r r i f y me ’ for Vox i n 2 015. P rofe s s or s wou ld r at her s c r u b t he i r s y l l abu s e s c le a n of c ont e nt iou s c ont ent t h a n r i s k h av i ng t he i r re put at ion t a r n i s he d . I f you t hou g ht u n i ve r sit y w a s b or i n g now, ju s t you w a it . We s hou ld b e out r a ge d by t h i s , ju s t a s we wou ld b e i f c on s erv at i ve s dom i n at e d t he a c a d em ic c onve r s at ion . We ne e d t he L e f t a nd t he R i g ht to h ave a n e qu a l s ay i n ord er to ge t a nu a nc e d u nd er s t a nd i n g of t he t r ut h; w he n one dom i n at e s , we ge t si mple , re p e t it i ve a nd i n a c c u r at e a n s we r s . Joh n St u a r t M i l l onc e s a id t h at i f s ome one i s ‘u n a ble to re f ut e t he re a s on s on t he opp o sit e sid e i f he do e s not s o muc h a s k now w h at t he y a re , he h a s no g rou nd for pre fe r r i n g e it he r opi n ion .’ T he l a c k of i nt e l le c t u a l d i ver sit y on c a mpu s i s a problem – it ’s a b out t i me we s t a r t re c o g n i si n g it .

Text: Angela Chen & Byron Knight

It is 72 long years after witnessing the mushroom cloud erupt into a blinding inferno at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet, only now have we finally learned our lesson. In early July, 122 countries helped make history by adopting the nuclear weapons prohibition treaty (NWPT). This treaty prohibits states from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, stockpiling, transferring, deploying, stationing, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, under any circumstances. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is paramount to disarmament and non-proliferation efforts among signatory states and is essential in crystallising the global norm that nuclear weapons should be prohibited. The global stockpile of nuclear weapons has declined from 22,600 in 2010 to 15,400 nuclear weapons in 2016. Behind these deceiving numbers lay the woeful reality of the NPT’s exhausted capability to single-handedly lead the world to abolition. You don’t have to be a genius to know that 15,000 is a long way from zero. And, this is more so when the nine nuclear-armed states such as China, India, Pakistan and North Korea are continually modernising their remaining nuclear capabilities. The NWPT will not be gaining a ‘yes’

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

from nuclear-armed and nuclear deterrent states. In the words of Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association, ‘the treaty will not immediately eliminate any nuclear weapons, it can, over time, further delegitimize them and strengthen the legal and political norm against their use’. Well, our very own ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt AC thinks the treaty is a good idea. He was one of 15 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to sign a statement that ‘urged the First Committee and the General Assembly to mandate negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons in 2017’. International law seems to be a liberalist ideal that realists think is just infeasible. However, this is a huge step towards a nuclear-free society that the international community has gifted us. Now, as the next generation of thought leaders, we must continue to work on it so that it can become a much stronger, more efficient, and less ‘tokenistic’ piece of legislation. We must emphasise the need for a much stronger legal instrument that is complementary to the NPT. One that clearly resonates the illegality of nuclear weapons to stop countries from exploiting the NPT’s leniency towards countries achieving the ‘cessation of the nuclear arms race’ at the ‘earliest possible date’. Hence, the NWPT was born, but Australia won’t be signing it. Australia’s stance is that only under an extended nuclear deterrence will we achieve a sense of national safety. Although an A+ student in attending nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation talks, Australia got a solid

F from the international community when they boycotted the nuclear weapons ban treaty negotiations. The Australian government is going outside its normal beliefs in a ‘rulesbased international order’. Instead, it is standing by the ‘building block’ or ‘progressive approach’ to ensure a more sustainable solution to abolition. This sounds more attractive than the hastiness of the ambitious ban treaty. However, the problem is not the processes needed to take us to this ‘minimisation point’. The problem is that there is no real incentive to build these blocks. It’s a simple rebranding of the NPT, which is not enough given that multilateral negotiations on disarmament have been stagnant for almost two decades. We are reportedly in the range of North Korean and Chinese nuclear weapons. Yet, we are choosing the short-term alternative by protecting ourselves with nuclear weapons. Rather, we should be opting for a more sustainable and long-term method to collectively push the norm of nuclear weapons prohibition. The world continues to live in fear that mass annihilation will occur if modern nuclear weapons are detonated (which are more than 3000 times more destructive than ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’). George Wald once said that ‘nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror’. The nuclear weapons crisis is also a very significant domestic issue. 12 nuclear weapons tests and 600 smaller

INTERNATIONAL

tests were conducted in the Maralinga South Australia on Anangu country – impacting around 16,000 people and nearby indigenous communities. Towns of people are still suffering from cancer. Traditional, sacred land is still contaminated. The damage was ‘radiological, psycho-social and cultural’. We hear about Hiroshima’s Hibakushas, but it may not bring us as close to home as our very own Maralinga nuclear test survivors who are still living through the government’s questionable decisions. The nuclear weapons issue is also very much a refugee, medical, legal, international, environmental, scientific and women’s issue. If that doesn’t cover you, I need to reiterate that it is a worldly problem that needs your support as a global citizen. What is clear is that civil society must again mobilise. Young people must re-engage with the movement. We must hold meetings. We must demand divestment in such weapons. We must lobby our representatives, and we must stop being free-riders and protest. We must prove the cynics wrong: a nuclear weapons free world is not a pipe dream. It can be made a reality if we maintain our enthusiasm and rage that these devices of mass destruction continue to exist. We are currently creating a society that works with some groups across Australia and the ACT to revitalise student and youth engagement in the Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. If you want to get involved in any capacity, message Angela at angela.chen@ anu.edu.au or Byron at u5601380@ anu.edu.au.

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Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Socratic questioning in world politics

Turkey’s Negotiation with the EU Today and Tomorrow Turkey is currently engaging in a bid for EU membership. While a successful bid will carry geopolitical benefits to present members of the Union, it will also have economic and political ramifications. Current members must weigh these up in their deliberations.

Text: Richard Haowei Hong Illustration: Joanne Leong Richard is a second-year student studying Finance and International Relations. He is an international student with a very broad experience with NGOs and academics. His articles will analyse global affairs from a political and economic point of view. He uses the Socratic way of questioning to provide a philosophical perspective in perceiving contemporary global affairs.

We can trace Turkey’s accession to the EU to its first attempt to join (the then European Economic Community) in 1959. In response to this, Turkey and the EEC signed the Ankara Association Agreement in 1963. The treaty has delivered the framework for the negation between both parties. Most importantly, however, it has outlined the terms and conditions that Turkey needs to commit to secure its membership in the EU. The terms contain 35 chapters – including, but not limited to, the free movement of goods and capital, immigration, and judicial rights. To successfully acquire EU membership, Turkey must complete 33 out of 35 chapters. Though the foundation was set in last century, the negotiation has not started until late 2005. Followed by the bloodiest coup attempt in July 2016 in Turkey, the Nationalist Movement Party and AK party reached an agreement on introducing a constitutional reform package. By April 2017, the parliament has passed this proposal. This reform will change Turkey’s political system from parliamentary to presidential. This July, the European Parliament voted to suspend Turkey’s accession negotiation. There are numerous reasons why the EU would suspend the negotiation or, in other words, reject Turkey’s appeal. Nevertheless, it might not be rational to draw a link between constitutional reform and the suspension imprudently. There might be some political causes behind the EU’s decision. From this perspective, Turkey’s constitutional reform will entitle Tayyip Erdogan with more power and, eventually, Turkey could become autocratic.

The Turkish system does not have a functional balance of power unlike that of the United States or Australia. There are not enough checks in place to prevent the presidential system in Turkey from becoming a one-man political system. If this happens, then human rights may no longer be guaranteed for its citizens. The EU is concerned about implicitly allowing the violation of human rights if they do accept Turkey. Considering the vital importance of public opinion in the EU, it is likely that the accession of Turkey will be overwhelmingly opposed. Beyond politics, there are economic interpretations at play as well. Turkey’s GDP growth in 2011 was nine per cent. By 2014, the number dropped to 3.5 per cent. The GDP per capita is far lower than the average in the EU. Entry into the EU would indicate that the EU has to take a quite heavy financial burden. Most importantly, the accession of Turkey means a free movement of goods and people. Considering Turkey already takes a considerable amount of refugees, the acceptance will result in an influx of refugees to the west of the EU. The most important question asks – where is the relationship between Turkey and the EU heading? Are they likely to eventually reach an agreement? There is no particular answer to the second question just yet. Turkey is possibly going to absorb the lesson from Britain and hold a referendum to decide whether it is necessary to continue pursuing the membership in the EU. The result may go both ways. However, according to the nationalist movement since 2015, the majority are likely to vote for Turkey to stop pursuing the membership. Turkey is ultimately important to the EU for political and geographic reasons, but the EU lacks the incentive to change their decision. Rather, the EU has to take an enormous amount of political and economic risks. Right now, it is probably wise to focus on post-Brexit negotiations rather than the accession of Turkey.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

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Unwind in Between

Your choice of Smileys and your EQ Emoji and stickers are becoming more culturally specific and we are being assessed by how fittingly we use them.

Text: Boya Li East and West, Liberal Arts and Science, sense and sensibility. A born Libra always weighing her choices, Boya finds it important not to jump to conclusions. A previous foreign correspondent for a Chinese newspaper, Boya is now a second-year Master of Business Information Systems student at ANU. In this column, she puts observations of cross-cultural phenomenon into perspectives.

I recently came across a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;WeChatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; post with the title â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the more emotionally intelligent you are, the more likely youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re an expert user of emojis and stickersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I couldn't help reading the post immediately and thinking â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;what makes an expert user of those emoticons?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I mean, since all of us use emojis all day and every day, what makes one an emotionally smart person? The post claims that those who are good at communicating in instant messaging apps like We C h a t ( a m i g h t i e r Chines e s o cial media similar to Whatsapp or Facebook) are always good at picking suitable emojis i n fi t t i n g c o nt e x t s â&#x20AC;&#x201C; making the right pitch for understandings emotions. While I reckon that emojis are powerful in expressing emotions, the post reminds me of the fact that the c onve nt i ons of u s i ng emojis are becoming increasingly intricate and c u ltu r a l ly sp e c i fi c . It requires many insights into emotions that may not seem obvious even to people with the same culture. In fact, WeChat emojis (emojis developed by WeChat) creates a very specific context within Chinese social and cultural conventions such as

expressing opinions in indirect and implicit ways. For example, while it seems the smiley faces are all pretty self-explanatory, there is an art of using particular ones to deliver the right tone. To give you a taste of it, try to figure out what makes the single biggest difference between the official smile and these four smiles . The thing is, there is a distinct difference between the official smile and all other smiles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the former hints a transactional, distant relationship while the latter a warmer one. As one social media psychologist explains - a formal smile is almost a forced smile as the muscles around the eyes are not moved yet lip muscles are lifted with the eyes looking down. Therefore, to let someone know that you are really happy, use one of the latter four smiles. Thus, counter-intuitive to its commonly associated meaning of a friendly smiley face, a formal smile , particularly several of them used in a queue could well hint a sense of slight indifference or disengagement. When someone reposts with three formal smiles, the repost could mean slight disagreement rather than an endorsement. In a conversation, when you

keep on receiving formal smiles, it is a sign that the person youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking to doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to comeacross as over-friendly. I have to admit that before I read the post, it had not crossed my mind that a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;formal smileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is actually being seen as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;forced s m i l eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; e v e n i f Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m somewhat following the convention already. Other popular examples of culturally loaded signs include the official shy , which is a perfect sign for telling friends good news about oneself but want to appear humble, or for occasions when someone asks for a favor from others. A s I g o o g l e We C h a t emojis, I found the topic of culturally specific WeChat emojis have been rightly explored by bloggers that have been exposed to both Chinese and western c u ltu re . O n e b l o g g e r provides a guidance to the use of WeChat emojis while pointing out that not all these emoticons have western parallels. Indeed, in the default s e t t i n g o f We C h a t emoticons, you couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find the face with tears of j o y đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x201A;đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x201A; - t h e 2 0 1 5 â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s linguistic champion crowned by Oxford Dictionaries (it has only appeared in a more recent addition to WeChat emojis as shown below) or as you would easily find in Facebook Messenger.

Screenshots of WeChat emojis and my stickers. Things like red packets and red candles are a direct reflection of Chinese customs.

You would also notice that the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;face with tears of joyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is listed among other expressions of sick (with mask), stuck-out tongue, blush, terror and letting down if you look more closely at the screenshot. Compared with tears of joy face placed among smileys Facebook emoticons, the WeChat one is more used for expressing lighthearted embarrassment than great j oy. For g re at e r embarrassment, one would go to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;facepalmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; like this . I once thought emojis were a level on the tower of Babel. But as ambiguities leave room for different interpretations in different cultures, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now becoming something of a paradox â&#x20AC;&#x201C; offering a common set of expressions only to be used differently and associated w it h w i d e l y d i ffe re nt meanings. A recent study of large-scale emoji usage found that the French used the emoji associated with love the most and people with different levels of individualism and selfdiscipline use emojiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s differently. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world, emojis are a powerful addition to photos that reinforced pseudo-contexts of our own cultures, by using them to let our emotions be richly explored. Their popularity continues to take hold in this digital age, and I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be surprised to find offerings of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;international emoji etiquetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; soon.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

MULTILINGUAL

Insan Taksimi Mortal’s Way Text: Sally Muradoğlu

Bir gün Hoca’nın yanına dört çocuk gelmiş. Torba içinde getirdikleri bir miktar cevizi Hocanın önüne koyup: ‘Hoca Efendi, bu cevizleri aramızda bölüşemeyip sana geldik. Sen paylaştır.’ demişler. One day four boys approached Hoca and gave him a bagful of walnuts. ‘Hoca, we can’t divide these walnuts among us evenly. So, would you help us, please?’ Hoca sormuş: ‘Kader taksimi mi istersiniz, insan taksimi mi?’ Çocuklar; ‘Kader taksimi isteriz.’ demişler. Hoca asked ‘Do you want fate’s way of distribution or mortal’s way?’ ‘Fate’s way,’ the children answered. Hoca torbayı açmış. Çocuğun birine beş avuç, ikincisine üç

avuç, üçüncüsüne iki tane, dördüncüsüne hiç vermemiş. Hoca opened the bag and gave five handful of walnuts to one child, two handfuls to the other, only two walnuts to the third child and none to the fourth. Çocuklar: ‘Bu ne biçim paylaştırma Hoca Efendi’ demişler. ‘What kind of distribution is this?’ the children asked baff led. Hoca: ‘Eee, kader’ın kullarını imtihan için taksimi böyle olur. O kimine çok, kimine az verir, kimine hiç vermez. Insan taksimi isteseydiniz, herkese eşit sayıda verecektim.’ demiş. ‘Well, this is fate’s way,’ he answered. ‘It gives some people a lot, some people a little and nothing to others. If you had asked for the mortal’s way I would have given the same amount to everybody.’

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

FEATURES

Content Warning: Mentions of gambling addiction

harriet’s harRah Text: Edward Treloar It has always been interesting to listen to other people talk about their families and the weird stories that go along with them. We all have that strange uncle who gets too drunk at Christmas, those siblings who refuse to talk to each other and the grandma that is more excited to see your dog. I often think that my family can be a little boring and predictable at times, but then again, we do have Harriet. Harriet is my grandfather’s cousin but is closer to my parent’s age. Harriet is a gambling addict and hoarder. She lives by herself in “the biggest little city in the world,” Reno, Nevada, in a small house filled with everything from newspapers to old pieces of foil. This is a very sad place to visit. It is like Las Vegas but without the glamour, wealth and excitement. The city is known for gambling, big factories like the Tesla Gigafactory, close by Lake Tahoe and not much else. Unfortunately, we are the closest family she has. Well, the closest family that goes to see her. She previously lived in New York, working as a lawyer for the government in the World Trade centre. Harriet luckily was not working on the day of 9/11. She then moved to San Francisco for a few years. I remember visiting when I was very young, noticing how all of the cupboards were locked shut just in case of an earthquake. That night we went out to a pizza place and my sister asked me to try break a piece of paper she was holding with my head. I did but smacked my head on the corner of the wooden table. Terrible trip. Harriet has been in Reno, roughly since that trip. When we go to Reno we usually try not to leave it last on our route. We will often spend some time in San Fran and then drive through Sacramento to Reno. It is one of the most beautiful drives. Once the Tahoe State forest starts, enormous lush green pine trees line the road. The trip is even more magical in winter when everything is covered in snow. The trip

then takes a little turn once you drive into Reno. You roll down a hill and gradually see a hole start to form. The land turns to a sandy yellow colour, trees turn to shrubs and the hills look like the cheeks of a wrinkly old man. This dust bowl isn’t empty though. Around the sides are sprawling suburbs, further inside are large malls and fast food chains, and in the middle are the well-lit casinos. These casinos are not natural. Casinos are not natural. You walk in and are greeted by free drinks, the smell of cigarette smoke, soaked carpets with the flashing lights from all the magical money machines. Yes, I have been under 21 for every trip so far, however with Harriet by my side I could pretty much go anywhere. Every staff member greets her as she walks through, she talks about each room as if it is part of her house. The loyalty points on her card pay for our room in Harrah’s, her favourite hotel. Harrah’s, like other Casinos, does not close, so people can come in and quickly lose their concept of time. They are glued to the screens and lack the ability to notice anything else. I often feel like I am the only real person in there. The staff are robots and the gamblers are zombies. A subtle point is what they wear; everyone is just in regular clothes. People are wearing their jeans with joggers, old t-shirts and maybe a big puffer jacket around their waist in winter. This is because these casinos do not represent a novelty but rather a second home for these gambling addicts. This is one of the toughest parts for me. I am an outsider and I know how terrible gambling is, but these people feel at home here. Harriet’s only real friends are from the casino. When she is there, she feels important and a part of something bigger. She has pride in her life and we do not try to take that away as it is her only tragic purpose.

saving me Claire Wastell I remember when you came and saw me, When I was sick and couldn’t move. We lay down and looked out over the huge city And pointed out our dreams Pretending the florescent lights and hurrying doctors didn’t exist Pretending that the world was waiting and I was ready I would rest my head on your shoulder And you would smile and say something stupid I would laugh away the tears that rested behind my tired eyes I would pretend to have the strength to be the girl You want me to be. You would see only the best of me but that person was fading away. When you left you said you would sneak me away, And in the black night you would stand outside my window, After a long day’s work And look up to my little light in that tiny room Where I passed the days wasting away inside You promised to come rescue me I didn’t need to love you To be in love at that moment.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

FEATURES

ACCOUNTING FOR LUCK THE HARDER I WORK, THE LUCKIER I GET Text: Campbell Clapp

‘Sometimes things are meant to happen, but most of the time, it’s up to you to make them happen.’ Until my friend said this to me, I was a serial romantic. I sat down in planes, waiting for the love of my life to sit next to me. I signed up for tutes with none of my friends in them hoping that I would fall in love with a stranger. Essentially, I was blaming the universe for everything that was not going right in my life. Corrupted by years of How I Met Your

Mother and books about luck and destiny, I was always sure that the universe would slowly work in my favour. The real character I should have been looking to was Blair Waldorf, who tells us, in all her wisdom, ‘destiny is for losers. It’s just a stupid excuse to wait for things to happen instead of making them happen’. All we do when we blame the universe is remove accountability and allow ourselves to live complacently with the unpleasant parts of our lives. You lose every battle you do not show up to; while we can waste our lives away saying that we are either lucky or unlucky, we have much more sway over our destiny than we are willing to admit. The reason

‘lucky’ people are lucky is because they are confident and willing to put themselves in situations that people who are ‘unlucky’ have already lost because they do not take opportunities. We can spend our whole lives blaming other people’s success and prosperity on luck – or we can go out there and make things happen for ourselves. Luck, destiny, fate – whatever name you give it, is all just a perpetual excuse for our faults and failures. On the other side, an inability to give ourselves credit where credit is due. Everything comes down to cause-and-effect, and while the cause is not always our fault and the effect is not always fair, we can analyse and identify

always fair, we can analyse and identify the logical f low of events in all aspects of our lives. Of course, people will always have good fortune in certain situations, but whether we classify ourselves as lucky or not is based more on attitudes towards our circumstance than by any consistency of fortune. So, no, I do not believe in luck. I believe people are constantly in a vicious self-fulfilling cycle of wins and losses that fulfil pre-existing notions of whether they are lucky or not. The lucky are those who are not scared of failing because they believe they won’t; the unlucky are those that don’t even bother to try.

Luck Makes the Privileged Blind Text: Matthew Rogers

I believe in luck as a way of thinking about inequality. The inequalities that exist are the result of failures to achieve a system genuinely built on merit and justice and is instead indicative of unequal treatment and misfortune.

Illustration: Maddy Bowdern

Social democracy rose in the 20th Century parallel to a change in the vision of society. This new vision s a w t h e n e g l e c t e d s e c t i o n s o f society, those without homes, the sick, the poor, as people in need of help, victims of circumstance, rather than victims of their moral failings. Recent talk of welfare has suggested a return to a deluded moralistic vision of welfare, most notably with the introduction of d r u g t e s t i n g . T h i s i s n o t a n economic policy or a social welfare policy so much as a punitive policy. It is a suggestion that people requiring help from the state should be subject to punishment and neglect, and that they deserve it. Indeed, many analysts and participants have considered work-for-the-dole programs failures. New plans to create exploitative ‘internships’ as part of the job seeker welfare regime promises repetition of unhelpful policies rather than reform. In public discourse ‘dole-bludgers’ and ‘welfare queens’ provide plentiful ammunition for headlines in the Murdoch press. It is wor t h consideri ng t he role of circumstance in our lives that put us

in the position of needing help or at least as an exercise in empathy. How far away are you from sleeping on the street tonight? What would it take for you to lay down in a doorway and brace the Canberra winter? It might be hard to imagine for some, for others all too easy. Inequality lies in material circumstances, however at the core of this difference is the mindset between those to whom luck matters, and those for whom it does not. I was never entitled to welfare, I was classified as a ‘dependent’ and my parents’ salaries were too high to provide me with an allowance courtesy of the Australian taxpayer. I was lucky to have parents both able and willing to support me to pursue not only a university education but one that necessitated my move interstate. Last month my mum called me to say that she and dad were both out of a job and on welfare, desperately trying to find ways to pay their mortgage. It made me ref lect on my privileged existence, at the expense of others, and how quickly events outside of my control could take that away. My mother calls herself lucky to have Gough Whitlam abolish tuition fees and to have had assistance for low-income students enabling her to pay her rent. I am lucky to have had my parents pay mine. Without parents, without welfare, without Gough Whitlam, we might not count ourselves so lucky. Donald Horne called Australia the lucky country, not because it achieved deserving greatness, but because it stumbled into some measure of success despite its deficiencies. Horne was right to make the distinction, and luck continues to guide life in modern Australia.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

FEATURES

TAKEN, BUT NOT REALLY Text: Bindiya Bijo Photography: Kanika Kirpalani

a chance on India and on my own capabilities.

For anyone who has seen Taken, the thought of travelling solo can be daunting, that too in India. Although I am of Indian heritage, I have never lived there so I was widely warned of all the dangers for a girl travelling alone, by many of my relatives. To make matters more difficult, in India each state has their own language, so knowing one out of 22 official languages wasn’t going to be of much help. I spent a fair bit of time researching ‘solo travelling for females’ before going to get some handy tips on things I should be cautious about. While it was helpful in refreshing some basic safety tips, it didn’t particularly help in terms of calming nerves. Despite all the awful stories I was told, I decided to take

The time that I was most on edge would certainly be when I was with a few friends in a city called Hampi. Myself and two others had spent the day sightseeing in Hampi with a rickshaw driver named Prince who had been taking us between each location. As the driver spoke fluent English, he had gotten to know us well and shared a lot about himself. After half the day in Hampi we decided that we weren’t interested in spending another two days there, and booked overnight bus tickets to Mysore. Prince agreed to drop us off at the bus stand, which was a 30-minute drive from where we were. At this point in the afternoon it had gotten quite dark, it was just us three girls and my phone had no reception. Recalling the events of the day and how nice this

rickshaw driver had been, I recalled every movie ever and started to panic in my mind, wondering if things had been a little too good to be true. The entire ride to the bus stop I had Google maps open to make sure we were travelling in the right direction of the town, it wasn’t until we got on the bus that I finally felt at ease. That day in Hampi would be one of the highlights of my trip. In that one day, I met so many people with interesting stories. Prince, the tourist officer named Kishor, who booked our bus tickets, and a kid named Appu who we bought dinner for. Appu told us about his dreams to travel the world, Prince showed us photos of his adventures all over India and Kishor shared his love for Hampi. This day taught me more than I could have imagined about trusting strangers.

Despite having been so on edge, I was able to make many funny memories over the course of one day with these people I had never met before. All I had to do was be open and trust that people are innocent until proven otherwise, and not vice versa. If my trip had been a movie, I for sure would have been kidnapped at some stage, then to be saved by Liam Neeson, but luckily in reality the world isn’t full of bad guys who are out to get you. Over this last month, I have met people with incredible stories, seen many sights of the vibrant India, and learnt much more about myself than I thought I ever would; all from just taking a chance and stepping out of my comfort zone.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

FEATURES

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Photography: Marwan El Hassan

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

evolution of the gallery Text: Rory Caddis

ambitious art gallery construction as it reaches political stability.

It has come to my attention that many people in our current age are questioning what the future holds for our Art Galleries. We are in an age of vast technological advancement; it seems little is safe in the path of improvement and change. The first thing that pops into my mind when thinking about how modern technology could ever radically change the gallery experience is Virtual Reality. The use of this platform would give universal access to galleries, there would be minimal cost as no works would be present physically and everyone could enjoy art ~virtually~ at any time.

It seems as though the whole world is bursting with new galleries and innovative expansions (except for Australia of course, who is living up to its stereotype of lagging behind the international art trend). This is largely due to the changing attitudes of its patrons and their need for the physicality of art. A study performed by Julia Halperin for The Art Newspaper in the US revealed that over the period of 2007-2015 and more than 1000 exhibits, 44 per cent of exhibitions were dedicated to contemporary art, that being art created after 1970. Thus, art galleries are building spaces that can accommodate for huge contemporary exhibits which feature explorative mediums of art, specifically performance art, and large installations.

However, in my many gallery sojourns and general insight into the art world I have found that this topic is one often spoken of in passing conversation and featured in the odd article. Virtual Reality, it seems, will not be the future of galleries at all and will not take any precedence over our conventional gallery experience anytime in the foreseeable future. The trend internationally is actually in favour of the physical art space. There is a plethora of building projects signalling that people value the physicality of the gallery space itself, these buildings being architectural masterpieces (Maybe not the NGA but each to their own). China is building a branch of the Parisian Centre Pompidou; Sweden is planning a new exhibition centre dedicated to Hilma af Klint; and the UK is currently undertaking its most expensive building program ever with the new Museum of London, which has a price tag of ÂŁ250m; to just name a few building projects. Even Lebanon has taken no time to start its own

The future of the art gallery is one which will continue to do as it has always done, to preserve, to study, and to exhibit. For the patron, the experience of art will vary on what they want to get out of the institution; from what the international trend is suggesting galleries will provide spaces for people to be struck by exhibits. People want to interact and not stand passively in front of a not-so-greatbut-everyone-loves-it-for-some-reason Monet at the NGA, for example. So do not fear for galleries, for there are enough rich and intelligent people in the world to support them and allow them to inspire, educate and challenge. The Art Gallery will evolve, but I am sure that if people are still swarming to catch just a glimpse of the Mona Lisa irl, even when that fine lady is available for 1000 per cent zoom on Google Art project, then they will be in 500 years time.

ART

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

inexhaustibly magic words Text: Rebecca Hobson It has come to my attention that many people in our current age are questioning what the future holds for our Art Galleries. We are in an age of vast technological advancement; it seems little is safe in the path of improvement and change. The first thing that pops into my mind when thinking about how modern technology could ever radically change the gallery experience is Virtual Reality. The use of this platform would give universal access to galleries, there would be minimal cost as no works would be present physically and everyone could enjoy art ~virtually~ at any time. However, in my many gallery sojourns and general insight into the art world I have found that this topic is one often spoken of in passing conversation and featured in the odd article. Virtual Reality, it seems, will not be the future of galleries at all and will not take any

precedence over our conventional gallery experience anytime in the foreseeable future. The trend internationally is actually in favour of the physical art space. There is a plethora of building projects signalling that people value the physicality of the gallery space itself, these buildings being architectural masterpieces (Maybe not the NGA but each to their own). China is building a branch of the Parisian Centre Pompidou; Sweden is planning a new exhibition centre dedicated to Hilma af Klint; and the UK is currently undertaking its most expensive building program ever with the new Museum of London, which has a price tag of ÂŁ250m; to just name a few building projects. Even Lebanon has taken no time to start its own ambitious art gallery construction as it reaches political stability. It seems as though the whole world is bursting with new galleries and innovative expansions (except for Australia of

course, who is living up to its stereotype of lagging behind the international art trend). This is largely due to the changing attitudes of its patrons and their need for the physicality of art. A study performed by Julia Halperin for The Art Newspaper in the US revealed that over the period of 2007-2015 and more than 1000 exhibits, 44 per cent of exhibitions were dedicated to contemporary art, that being art created after 1970. Thus, art galleries are building spaces that can accommodate for huge contemporary exhibits which feature explorative mediums of art, specifically performance art, and large installations.

passively in front of a not-so-greatbut-everyone-loves-it-for-some-reason Monet at the NGA, for example. So do not fear for galleries, for there are enough rich and intelligent people in the world to support them and allow them to inspire, educate and challenge. The Art Gallery will evolve, but I am sure that if people are still swarming to catch just a glimpse of the Mona Lisa irl, even when that fine lady is available for 1000 per cent zoom on Google Art project, then they will be in 500 years time.

harry potter and the eternal franchise Text: Julia Faragher Six years ago upon the release of the final Harry Potter film, fans of the series said an emotional goodbye to the world of Harry Potter. It seemed as though Harry Potter was being set to rest and preserved in its immortal form of seven novels and eight films. However, it appears that the exact opposite has happened. Harry Potter fans have been inundated with new projects from the Wizarding World such as Pottermore, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. While this is great news for Harry Potter fans worldwide, it begs the question as to whether all this new content fits in with the original story. The release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them offered a surprisingly fresh take on the Wizarding World, aided by the framing of the American setting through the new eyes of its British protagonist. This allowed the audience to learn about the different aspects of the American Wizarding World at the same pace that he did. The film also introduced a whole new set of main characters while restricting explicit Harry Potter references to the background such as name-drops of Lestrange and Dumbledore. The same cannot be said of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the new West End play also released in book form. Despite the impressive Olivier Awards, 5-star reviews and stage magic which wows audiences and outshines the films, the story itself cannot quite decide whether it is about Harry Potter or his son, Albus.

Even though most of the original characters, like Ron and Hermione, serve as central parts of the story, the numerous cameos do not really add much to the plot aside from serving as a nice pull of the nostalgic heartstrings for long-time fans. Cursed Child is also inconsistent with the concept of time travel presented in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban which is disappointing given that JK Rowling wrote the story for the play herself. The so-called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eighth storyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tries to do too much, highlighted by the fact the total performance time is five hours and split into two parts.

is just becoming a money-grab will disappear.

Overall, the magic of the original series still remains. The new stories are all driven by the same things that made Harry Potter great: a brilliant and complicated world of magic, a wealth of fascinating characters and fantastical problems boiling down to universal themes of love and loss. The new projects need to decide on one fundamental question: is the story just about Harry, or are we moving on to other things in the same world? Once they can figure that out, perhaps the niggling question as to whether the Harry Potter series

Illustration: Lily Shen

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

ART

Interview: GeoRgia Fields and Phia Text: Imogen Purcell On the evening of 13 July, Melbourne singer-songwriters Georgia Fields and Phia shared the stage at a packed Smith’s Alternative, performing songs from each of their most recent albums. It was the third performance of a twomonth long tour. During which, the pair will perform at some of Australia’s best intimate performance venues (such as the Old Castlemaine Gaol, and Melbourne’s The Toff in Town). They’ll also be taking the stage at lesser-known venues in smaller sites such as Candelo, NSW. Candelo happens to be the hometown of opener Melanie Horsnell, whom Georgia described as ‘literally entrancing’. The trio performing for the Candelo community, to which Melanie belongs, is sure to be an entrancing night. Hailing from Melbourne, Georgia and Phia are both from musical families and have spent time performing in Europe. The Melbourne graphic designer who made the cover art for Georgia’s first album also worked on Phia’s first EP. When Georgia and Phia write music, they both start with the lyrics. You even get the sense they could be sisters, exuding similar powerful, yet modest, energies onto the stage. However, despite these many artistic and personal

similarities, it took an open mic night in Paris, six years ago, to unite the pair. They found themselves recognising each other’s Australian accents, and the pair struck up a conversation. They soon realised they knew many of the same people. This coincidental meeting sparked a friendship and professional partnership that has now spanned almost six years. The pair began the show with ‘Open Orange’, their collaboration from Georgia’s most recent album Astral Debris. Their chemistry was obvious from this first, wistful, surprising project – a song that touches on the vulnerabilities that appear in relationships, with a distinct sexual undertone. These themes continued throughout the evening. At one point, the duo performed ‘Moon’, also from Astral Debris, which Georgia described to me as a ‘survivor song’. It references the phallic and gendered connotations of humankind’s obsession with ‘owning’ the land on the moon. ‘You came and thought you could own me, and stick a flag in me but…I’ll still be here when you’re gone’ is how Georgia described her thought process to me earlier that day. Georgia didn’t decide to take to the stage for the ‘limousines and smoke machines’, as she described it to me. Her parents were in a band in the 70s, and her Nana played jazz piano in an

ensemble. As she said, ‘it’s always been a part of my reality… I saw it as part of life – that you know, you can be a professional musician.’ This down-to-earth attitude is clear from our interview, during which she spends time chasing her daughter around a Melbourne park, enjoying a slow Sunday morning. As the show continued, the pair’s mutual respect and admiration became even clearer. When I spoke to the performers, they each spoke warmly of one other’s creativity and musical intuition. Phia, the jazz piano trained, musical chameleon, played a Kalimba throughout the show – an African instrument that she connected to a loop pedal, creating a unique sound. This sound, combined with her creative approach to songwriting, and her distinct stage presence, made for a compelling, almost hypnotic experience. Phia’s musical foundations are particularly interesting. After graduating from university, she moved to Berlin, where she spent the next five years. When I interviewed Phia she explained ‘whilst I did create differently there, I’m not sure whether it’s that the people are different or just that I really enjoyed being anonymous …and feeling like, that I could do anything I wanted.’ This anonymity, Phia explained, allowed her to create a sense of liberation and freedom that she didn’t feel she had in Melbourne. However, since returning to Australia, both

Phia and Georgia have found a new appreciation of Melbourne, which Georgia describes to be ‘comparable on a world level’. One of the most moving moments of the show was when Phia performed ‘So Far, So Close’, a song inspired by Berlin, and her family history with that city. In my interview with Phia, she mentioned her love of smaller live shows. ‘I love the connection with the audience, and that you can look out see everyone. I think that creates a really fantastic atmosphere and allows really special things to happen because you don’t feel anonymous …it’s more like you’re there sharing the stories of people in the room, and that can be really magical.’ I agree with Phia – the way in which Georgia and Phia spent the evening at Smith’s, sharing their stories with each other, was magical. Later in the show, Georgia sat down at the piano to unexpectedly perform an asyet unrecorded song, which was written in a shopping centre during a heatwave, while her toddler was in tow. The song is inspired by the Welsh word Hiraeth, described by Georgia as a ‘deep longing of a homeland that you can’t return to anymore because it doesn’t exist’. The audience was transfixed and remained that way for the rest of the thoughtful, creative set. I know I won’t be the only one waiting to see what Georgia and Phia do next.

REVIEWS

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

stars shine in constellations Text: Jack Foster Illustration: Katie Ward

design, creating an immersive journey through to the final backlight winking out of existence.

The Street Theatre’s production of Nick Payne’s Constellations sets an incredibly high bar for itself. It promises ‘an unmissable, universe shifting show that will challenge how you see life, and change how you live it.’

The play itself is less inspiring. Payne structures his work around a series of significant moments in the universal boy-meets-girl story. Each of these scenes – the couple meeting, their first fight, the proposal – is iterated before the audience’s eyes as the play explores the possible consequences of every choice to our voyeuristic delight. The premise is dripping with potential. Each vignette becomes clear through an intertextual awareness of genre with the audience’s perceptions informed by the tropes they expect. Yet, what could have been a metatheatrical exploration of free will and existentialism – couched within an infinite multiverse – is often painfully contrived. While there are several nice moments, with the play’s dark themes well balanced by timely humour, Payne’s point is undermined by a lazy twist. Ultimately, Constellations tries too hard to be profound.

Unfortunately, Payne himself does not reach these lofty heights. His script is an ultimately disappointing subversion of the rom-com, in which contrived twists and shallow punts at profundity mar any attempt at providing perspective on life’s choices. Yet, under the able direction of Caroline Stacey, The Street makes diamonds out of coal. Through excellent performances and outstanding technical work, Stacey transforms an average script into an engaging night at the theatre. A surreal sensorial experience engulfs the audience from the moment they take their seats. Lights twinkle behind an abstract, multileveled set – all acute angles and enormous flat planes. The alien surface is bathed in a shifting grid of harsh lights, evoking the whirring innards of a computer and the urban grime of a subway station. It is ingenious lighting

However, this is almost irrelevant to the enjoyment of the evening. Constellations’ cast of two is nothing less than exemplary, presenting the audience with effortless yet elegant performances. With the same moments played out, again and

again, the play could easily devolve into an awkward audition tape of alternate readings. Instead, Lexi Sekuless shines as the quantum physicist Marianne. She deftly leaps between infinite permutations of identity, from charmingly innocent to world weary, to cold and antisocial. Kristian Jenkins keeps pace as the down to earth beekeeper Roland, complementing the energetic Marianne with more subtle shifts in behaviour. Together, the two delicately tread their way through a recurring script while constantly keeping the audience engaged. It is a testament to their abilities that the two-hander performance never becomes boring. Inspired production carries these strong performances. Kyle Sheedy constructs an elaborate, layered soundscape to compliment the performances of the two leads, and emphasise Payne’s musings. The central conceit of the play – ‘imagine rolling the dice 6,000 times’ – is used as an auditory motif, the rattle of dice at once thunder, the clink of glasses, a projector flicking through slides, each signalling a shift between possibilities. Equally, Owen Horton’s lighting design provides a vivid, surreal vehicle for the director’s vision. Abstract under lighting supports stylistic blocks hanging above the set, which serves as everything from

storm clouds to fluorescent hospital lighting. If Payne’s message feels tired, at least every aspect of the production work is fresh and exciting. Don’t watch Constellations for its script. It takes late night reflections on the meaning of life and puts them through the rom-com wringer in the hope that something beautiful will emerge – hope that is unfortunately dashed by a contrived twist. Like Marianne, Payne struggles to enunciate the ideas he explores and squanders the metatheatrical opportunities of his premise. However, weak writing does not detract from a solid night of entertainment. Watch Constellations for the incredible performances of Lexi Sekuless and Kristian Jenkins, who present a masterclass on precise, subtle, effortless acting. Watch it for Imogen Keen’s phenomenal set design, and the sensory visions conjured by Kyle Sheedy and Owen Horton. The quality of The Street’s production lifts an underwhelming script towards something truly stellar.

Wonder Woman is out of your League Text: Alexandra Williams Illustration: Katie Ward

Even before it became one of the highest grossing films of 2017– and the highest grossing film in history to be directed by a woman – Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman was generating quite a stir. The film demonstrates a shift away from the archetypal, cookie-cutter style of superhero movies made popular through the Marvel and DC cinematic universes. Despite this, a continued development of the genre is necessary if superhero movies are to become quality films in their own right without having to lean on contemporary hype. Chronologically, the film follows Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and begins with Diana in possession of a photograph of herself, taken during World War One. The photo is a gift from Bruce Wayne, and his curiosity regarding Diana’s history prompts her to look back upon her past. Diana’s recollection begins with her memories as a child, growing up in the ways of the Amazons on the island of Themyscira. Themyscira is shown through a series of visually stunning shots that reference a

fusion of mythology and science fiction, similar to the portrayal of Asgard in the Thor franchise. What struck me about the scenes of Diana’s childhood was how it depicted the Amazons. Instead of slim, Caucasian women in gold, bikini-like armour, the women cast in these roles were professional and semi-professional athletes of a diverse range of ethnocultural backgrounds. Despite that the Amazons are a race consisting only of women, they were shown as being both strong and beautiful without being aggressively sexualised. Following this, the film establishes the United Kingdom and Europe as its primary setting. Diana, naïve about the human world is devastated to hear from American pilot, Steve Trevor, the atrocities that are occurring as a result of the First World War. The pair along with a diverse band of mercenaries travel to the Western Front in an attempt to put an end to the escalating violence. The cinematography of the film is to commendable for its ability to depict war to its fullest extent in these scenes without any attempt to glorify such conflict. Also, through the inclusion of individuals of colour in the role of soldiers and

civilians, Wonder Woman provides a refreshing perspective on the scale of WWI and an acknowledgement of the diverse range of ethnicities involved. Even with such a sophisticated approach to the subject material, the film was not without its flaws. A major shortcoming of the film was its failure to develop characters consistently. Conformation to other aspects of the superhero movie genre such as exposition-loaded origin stories and prolonged actions scenes were favoured over the exploration of characters and their interactions with one another. Indeed, the motives of Diana herself seem to suffer the most from a lack of development throughout the film. Furthermore, the reliance of Wonder Woman and indeed most hero movies on romantic relationships between the protagonist and a ‘mortal’ character as a way of humanising the hero cheapens the film and undoes aspects of Jenkin’s attempt to establish Wonder Woman as something more than the archetypal hero movie. While I don’t think that Wonder Woman is the saviour of all superhero films, I do believe its unique take on the subject

material is a reflection of the maturation of the genre. With the move to involve more women and people of colour both onscreen and off, and the development of more complex interpretations of original material, we’re moving away from the archetypal hero movie towards something much better.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

LIFE & STYLE

A REAL COLLEGE MYTH Text: Tandee Wang Illustration: Katie Ward The call feature on Skype has a very distinct sound. It’s the old-school ring tone, but muffled, as if it is being smothered. The interaction it offers, too, is restricted: glitches, time lag, and the lack of physical presence are themselves muffled versions of real-world conversation. It cannot offer a real escape from the college room from which I’m calling, for it is strikingly transient. Over Skype, I make an admission to a friend who in all real senses is only a few hours away, but in all practical senses is on another planet. The admission is markedly plain, a simple but potent note: I hate college. Over my first semester at the ANU, I’ve given this subject much thought. I have had innumerable conversations with others – from best friends to strangers – about it. Indeed, just as I cannot physically extricate myself from college, my new home, this troubling thought similarly envelops me. Why do I hate college so much?

unintended, but it is hardly an endearing title that people aspire to.

dominant assumption – is that college is for everyone.

One night at a college dinner, someone near me exclaimed that they were shocked an older resident had left. Shocked, because their college presence the previous year was so minimal it might as well have been that they were never there at all. In other words, they were a classic myth. I can forgive you for failing to understand why I felt so personally, viscerally attacked by the comment. Though, the reason is simple enough: I both understand and share the feeling of alienation and the desire to withdraw that college generates.

If my many conversations have yielded anything, it is how surprisingly common my experience is. People often feel like they cannot fit in, desperately want to leave, and feel relieved when they have. Yet, arriving at this conclusion has required some deep introspection and intense inquiry.

When a friend subsequently remarked that I shouldn’t be annoyed at the comment, because I did not resemble the referenced older student, I was infuriated that they had missed the point so wildly. The problem with making a joke about those who do not choose to be ever-present in college spaces is not that I fear I resemble them. Rather, it stems from my anger at the flippant mockery that such statements about supposed ‘myths’ betray.

I have tried to approach the college experience with an open mind. That I have weathered the full pendulum swings of entering college seems to suggest I have made an effort to be flexible. I experienced intense apprehension preceding arrival, the uncertainty of initial contact, the elation of early days, and even a slight sense of nostalgia while away during the mid-semester break.

Yet, even without the ‘myth’, this social dimension to college culture is pervasive. It underlies every conversation I feel I cannot extricate myself from or every inquiry about where I am going. Indeed, even on a subtler level, it is impossible to ditch a sense that I am constantly surrounded. Every conversation in the corridor I overhear, every whoosh of another’s tap being turned on, and every slam of the window is a reminder that there is no true solitude at college.

But the conclusion of this to-ing and fro-ing about college is not that I have emerged out of my shell – as I suspect I am expected to, and I suspect has been the case for many. Instead, I’ve undergone a backwards process. Withdrawing into the comfort of my room and choosing to enter communal spaces when they are least likely to be populated is surely a form of ‘settling in’. Though, it is hardly what we conventionally mean by the term.

Once, in one of the innumerable conversations that I’ve had about college, someone joked that I should join a ‘Misanthrope’s Society’. But while there is an element of truth in that, the underlying reason for my dislocation from college is not a fundamental hatred of human life. I have met so many wonderful people at college. Moreover, I am constantly seeking out people I love – my familiarity with the Skype tone should be a testament to that.

College imposes on an individual an unrelenting pressure to socialise. And as the heady excitement of my early days subsided, this pressure became a growing source of my discomfort.

Rather than misanthropy, the problem seems to me to be the structure of college – a circle that I, some introverted rhombus, cannot fit.

On the most aggressive level, college social pressure manifests in the notion of the ‘myth’. For those unfamiliar with this term, that is someone who is rarely present at college events or in college spaces and is consequently infrequently seen. Perhaps to say that the label is cruel might impose a malice that is

Of course, I get the counter-point. College is not meant to be just a living space; it is meant to be collegiate. And I’m by no means intent on changing anything about that environment. But the real college ‘myth’ – the one I wish hadn’t felt was such an underlying,

A month ago, at a talk, I heard a saying for the first time which truly resonated with me: ‘people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.’ It’s an apt phrase. For my part, knowing that college and I just don’t click means I can put it in the ‘friends for a reason’ basket – there for amicable relationships and a well-situated place to sleep on campus. Struggling for so long, unable to pinpoint the cause of my alienation, has certainly been a tiring process. Now, however, I’ve arrived at a point of certainty. I’m certain that I’ll be leaving college next year. And, in the meantime, I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that college is a place suited only to some personalities. For some of you, this might be an obvious and trite conclusion. But, for me, it is of profound meaning. I only wish that I had arrived at it much earlier. That is why I hope to share this insight with you. For those of you who feel lonely at college, please know that, in this regard, you are not alone.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

LIFE & STYLE

is netflix trying to make you a vegan? Text and Illustrations: Katie Ward

The vegans are getting smarter. We have plant-based substitutes for literally any animal product you can think of. Vegan toothpaste? We’ve got that. Vegan chicken nuggets? We are all over that. Vegan leather goods? Got that as well. Literally, we have everything. And it’s all amazing. More and more I hear the sweet melody of an omnivore saying ‘wait, no way this is vegan! It just tastes so good!’ It warms this little vegan heart of mine. Vegans are very passionate about veganism. Some might argue that we’re too passionate – that these ‘hippy animal lovers’ are trying to force their lifestyles

Okja

Cowspiracy

Directed by Boong Joon-ho, Netflix released Okja at the end of June. It’s a whimsical story of a young Korean girl, played by Ahn Seo-hyun, whose best friend, Okja, is a ‘super-pig’ (read: really big cute pig who will steal your heart). Evil corporate tyrant (Tilda Swinton) and her lackeys (including Jake Gyllenhaal) want to butcher Okja and sell her meat to the population for consumption. You’ll laugh and cry as you watch our brave hero try to save Okja from the fate that millions of animals face daily.

With the charismatic filmmaker Kip Andersen as our frontman, Cowspiracy enlightens the viewer to the slimy goings-on of America’s biggest companies. Have the American government and the agriculture industry known the damage they are doing to the environment for years, and are they actively trying to keep the truth from the public? Are we killing millions of innocent animals at the detriment of the environment and our health? Kip saves at least one chicken spontaneously during this film; it’s really a must-watch.

How vegan will I be after watching? ‘Bawling in front of the meat section in Woolies and holding vigils outside of butchers’ out of vegan

How vegan will I be after watching? ‘All I want in life is to settle down with rescue animals and live off the grid’ out of vegan

onto others (side note: we just want you to be woke). Luckily, we’ve copped the memes and the jokes with good spirit, and we’re not giving up anytime soon. Our latest trick to teach humanity compassion? Exposing the truth about your eating habits, agricultural industries, and the effects these have on the environment through a medium consumed by thousands every day. The vegans have infiltrated Netflix. We only have good things to say, really. We want to save human lives, animal lives, and the Earth. So, if you’re interested in being kind to animals and the environment, have a watch of these films the next time you find yourself scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to watch.

Forks Over Knives It turns out that veganism not only helps the environment and animals, but it helps you as well! This documentary focuses on the benefits of a plant-based whole foods diet through several case studies. Highly-regarded American nutritionists share their stories and shed light on the detriment of consuming animal products. I felt great watching this because I was eating a bowl of hot chips by myself and one of the doctors in the movie said a high carb diet was good for me. Nailed it.

How vegan will I be after watching?

What The Health The long-awaited sequel to Cowspiracy, we have Kip Andersen endeavouring to make us even more woke. This time, he focuses on how eating a plant-based whole foods diet can drastically improve our health, especially regarding Type Two diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. If you love a good conspiracy, you’ll love Kip calling up different government agencies demanding answers but getting only excuses.

How vegan will I be after watching? ‘Googles ‘is the Australian government trying to kill me with dairy’ at three in the morning’ out of vegan

‘Eats a one kilogram tub of hummus within two days’ out of vegan

I think it’s safe to say that Netflix is cultivating a vegan agenda here, but what’s so bad about that? Our vegan hero, James Aspey (look him up), always says that ‘if you’re against animal cruelty, then you believe in veganism’. It’s time to align your actions with your values – watch Netflix, go vegan. Katie’s hobbies include saving moths and flies from slow deaths in her apartment, frying tofu so well that omnivores think it’s haloumi, and eating way too much hummus for it to be healthy.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

LIFE & STYLE

winter warmers Everybody remembers the first winter they spent in Canberra. Whether they’re horrified or invigorated by the plunging temperatures, there’s an undeniable beauty to waking up to a world coated by frost and watching your breath spiral up into the cold, raw air. We asked some locals to give us the inside info on what they’re doing to keep warm this winter…

warm up by the fire

warm up with a bowl of soup

Text: Katelyn Booth

Text: Nick Wyche

When spending the semester break in Canberra working to pay the bills, ways of keeping warm are a high priority. My first one involves my share house’s fire heater: when it’s going, it keeps everyone snug. I spent plenty of mornings collecting sticks and twigs to start the fire on my walk back from work. Plentiful also were the stares from onlookers as I trudged around in my beanie, gloves and most importantly, my bright blue Kathmandu jacket. Take note – the gloves are a must, as is the daggy beanie.

Something changes in the Canberra wind when night falls. What was tolerable in the sunlit hours turns bone-chilling, penetrating even the sturdiest windbreaker and numbing hands shoved deep into pockets. Whenever I’m on my way home after dark, what keeps me going is the thought of sitting as close to the heater as I can without catching on fire and downing a piping hot bowl of soup.

After getting the fire started, the next best way to stay toasty is sitting on the lounge wrapped in my grandma’s hand crocheted woollen rug or the doona off the bed. Now, I cannot stress enough how important woollen socks are. They are seriously one of the best buys you will make this winter – your toes and feet will thank you. Pair them with a set of Ugg boots or slippers and you cannot go wrong, unless you wear this combo outside and get judged for your questionable taste in fashion. I’m sure people will understand if you’re just dashing to the shops for a bottle of milk, though! The next step is layering. Stay warm by wearing thermals under your clothes and layering jumpers and coats. The great thing about this is that you can always take them off. If you don’t have them, though, you can be left chilly with chattering teeth, and above all annoyed that you didn’t listen to your mum’s voice in your head telling you to put that jacket on. Also scarves: be nice to your nanna and you’ll be sure to amass many. Finally, read a book before bed to warm it up – you will have sweet dreams all winter.

I can get quite fanatical about soups – they’re my favourite food in the whole world. Each weekend I make a different one in a stockpot every weekend and freeze it to enjoy during the days to come. I have tried and true recipes for pumpkin, tomato, corn, potato, minestrone and many more, but my absolute favourite recipe is an old family one. Passed down from my great-grandmother is a hearty, filling soup that is a staple for my entire extended family throughout wintertime. My Nan dictated it to my mum via a shaky international phone call in the 1980s, when she was studying abroad in Manchester and living in a draughty boarding house. All she had at hand to write it on was a train ticket from Reading, so I am copying it to you from there. Reader, I give you Reading Soup. It sounds terribly bland on paper, but that couldn’t be further from the truth: try it and have your life changed. Take 500 grams of beef shank (which you can omit if you’re not a meat-eater) and brown it gently. Then chop coarsely one potato, one large onion, three carrots, four celery sticks, two parsnips, three large mushrooms and one turnip. Put all these things in a pot, then add one cup of washed pearl barley and two vegetable stock cubes. Cover the ingredients with water, and boil together until the liquid has taken on the flavours and the pearl barley is plump and tender.

warm up with a bushwalk Text: James Atkinson There is one thing they don’t tell you about moving into a share house. That is, for what you gain space, you lose in insulation. Indeed, after three years on res, I moved off campus last November. It was exhilarating, to say the least. For, every time I returned home, I knew it was to a friendly people, a clean kitchen, and a guarantee that I still had the same number of forks from when I left. I wondered why I hadn’t moved sooner. Then came Winter. They say that your first Winter in Canberra is the toughest, but I argue that nothing compares to your first Winter off campus. Gone were the days when you could go to sleep in less than two layers of clothing, or when you could turn on your heater and not worry if you’ll be able to afford it later. I distinctly remember waking one morning in mid-June at five. I had not woken because of an alarm. No, I woke because I was too cold. Unable to get back to sleep, I decided to go for a hike up Mount Ainslie. ‘May as well do something productive with my time’, I thought. So, I threw on a hoodie, tied my laces, and stepped outside. Then it hit me. It was colder outside my house than it was in. How could this be? Immediately warmed by my intrigued, I embarked upon Mount Ainslie. I soon realised, dare I say it, that exercising helps you get warm. As I climbed upward, I watched our beloved Capital’s native fauna playfully frolic in the scrub trying to warm themselves up just as I, too, was doing the same. I eventually reached the peak, and I sat – watching the sun rise over Lake Burley Griffin. I quickly made a promise. Inspired by the warmth of my heart, the Kookaburras, and of Canberra, I told myself that I would make this a daily ritual. Today, though, I can unashamedly say that this promise found itself broke. Morning after morning, for the past month. However, dear cold reader, do not take my fear of commitment as a deterrence. For, if you ever find yourself shivering, to take yourself for a hike and surround yourself in nature. I promise that you’ll warm more than just your heart.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

LIFE & STYLE

the lacklustre of growing up Text: Laura Ting Image: Katie Ward

Do you remember a simpler time? A time before early morning lectures, assignments, and work? Do you remember childhood? When we were born, the world was at our feet. It appeared that everything revolved around us. Our parents or carers catered for every want, need, and desire. And yet, this never seemed to be enough for us. When we were children, we couldn’t wait to grow up – there was an undeniable inclination to be like the adults in our lives. Although attaining that status seemed like a lifetime away, it didn’t stop us from spending balmy afternoons dressing up like our mothers or pretending to go to work like our fathers. To play chef, or tend to sick teddy bears – we were portraying an innocent perception of what we thought being an adult was like. Looking back at these examples, it seems that we craved independence and responsibility from a young age. One could say that aspiring to the fulfilment of these desires gave meaning and purpose to our young lives. Perhaps even recognising the allure of these things made us feel a little more grown up. With each passing birthday, growing older gave us unprecedented access to things that were previously out of bounds. We all remember the time we earned our first pay cheque, learned how to drive, could buy our first legal drink, and moved out of home. With each milestone, a wave of newfound freedom

further extended our expedition into adulthood. But with this venture into unfamiliar territory comes a craving to latch onto the familiar – the past. The push for adulthood has become an uncertain desire – many of us feel trapped in a conflict between wanting the independence of an adult, but also the security that comes with being a child. However, we cannot turn our backs on growing up. We may try to fight it, or prolong our impending entrance into adulthood, but the slow moving travelator that we all stand on will continue to carry us forward. While it might be best to accept the inevitable begrudgingly, this hesitation leads me to wonder how adulthood lost its appeal. Perhaps it was an awareness that shattered our illusion of adulthood. Growing older didn’t just give us access to new privileges; it also presented adulthood and independent life in a more complex light as we were offered glimpses into the lives of our elders. Maybe we saw their struggle to build a career in an increasingly competitive job market, or the stress of dealing with bills and managing their finances. Perhaps we became involved in the complicated dynamics of relationships regarding family, friends, and lovers. Or, maybe, we were forced to acknowledge the existence of societal and cultural pressures that we thought had died out long ago. Growing an awareness of the complexity of the world around us, it is understandable to feel somewhat disheartened by the uncertain future that adulthood represents. So, as we edge closer to adulthood, it is hard not to feel ill-equipped for the road ahead. It appears that we, the millennials, face unique challenges – something our predecessors couldn’t have predicted,

nor prepared us for. Such problems are related to coping socially and economically in the face of a technology boom. Others include being expected to undertake unpaid internships as a precursor to a good job while also balancing your studies to get a degree – which apparently isn’t enough nowadays. On top of that, we face the possibility of never owning our own home and living in crippling student debt. Do you feel those anxiety levels rising? Don’t forget the increasing prevalence of mental illness in young millennials today. As children, we view adults as sources of guidance and knowledge; they genuinely seemed to bear the weight of the world on their shoulders. Now, as elements of this responsibility foist upon us, no wonder the desire to grow up is wavering. But before you call home to ask your parents where they’ve been hiding your small loan of a million dollars, this is where I’ll be starting my column. Over the coming weeks, I will be exploring different facets of our constantly evolving perspective of what it means to be an adult. How has the definition of adulthood been perceived differently across culture and time? Are the challenges that our millennial generation face unique, or are they simply a universal rite of passage to growing up? Because, whether we like it or not, it’s more important now that than ever to think about these questions as they’re essential to the way we face our futures.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

LIFE & STYLE

pause

Photography: Zoe Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leary Cameron

environment

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

in-flight food entertainment Text: Grace Dudley Graphic: Yvonne Yang I recently took an international f light, and amidst the usual tedium of long-haul travel, I began to compile a list of every single plastic item I used or received during my f light. The list is extraordinarily long. In one 20-hour f light, I used over 50 items of plastic. It got me thinking. What happens to all of this waste? Is it recycled properly? What about the food people decline to eat? On face value, it seems unnecessary and uneconomical that everything is packaged and delivered to passengers in such a wasteful way. Unsurprisingly my layman statistics are backed up by those from the International Airport Transport Association. In 2016, passengers generated 5.2 million tonnes of waste to landfill – equivalent to the weight of 2.6 million cars. It does not surprise me then, that bags and bags of rubbish are most commonly not separated into recycling and general waste. Like a lot of practices that invoke sustainability concerns, the main problem is that the same complacent patterns of behaviour continue, even where there may be more environmentally friendly and innovative answers out there. In the case of airlines, the main problem centres around a lack of waste management policy and infrastructure for recycling at airports. The international rules of waste management are a black hole; voluntary in nature and sporadic in the application. As Qantas has suggested, international waste is often quarantined and therefore difficult to divert into recyclable and general waste. With few economic incentives and little regulatory oversight or government pressure, airlines have little impetus to make significant changes. Qantas has seemingly addressed some of these concerns, which I observed on my f light with the company. Following a waste audit conducted in 2015, the Australian airline has changed its practices. By using less aluminium food containers, reducing food waste, and integrating an onboard recycling program, they have made a commitment to sustainable practices – at least in a domestic context. Qantas isn’t the only airline that has attempted to implement waste management strategies. In Spain, Iberia

Airlines and Ferrovial services aim to recover 80 percent of cabin waste, arriving at Madrid’s Barajas airport by mid-2020. The reform ideas are simple – trolleys will be re-designed to integrate waste separation, and meals will be prepared with less packaging and accompanied by reusable cutlery. Small initiatives like American Airlines’ initiative to donate amenity kits to homeless and women’s shelters saves tonnes of waste. Locally, Oz Harvest collects uneaten food and delivers them to people in need – amounting to the collection of around 200-400 kilograms of food per day. There are clear benefits for airlines to be more ambitious in light of the increased movement to food and plastic wastage. I can see possibilities that make the prospect of air travel significantly more pleasurable for passengers and cost efficient for airlines. The in-f light meal experience at least a little more enjoyable if there was more customer choice. It would make sense to be able to opt out of the egg sandwich or questionable fruit salad before you board your f light – reducing both food waste and dissatisfaction with airline food. This pre-ordering idea is being used by as a sustainability already, with Qantas Business class passengers being able to select their meals online up to 12 hours before their f light.

AirBaltic, too, is acting upon this novelty factor attached to inventive uses of smartphone-based tools. They offer a ‘customise your meal’ system where passengers can drag and drop their choices onto a digital airline tray before boarding. This idea would seem to tick both sustainability and customer satisfaction boxes and, while there are some obvious logistical issues with this, the benefits could be substantial to airlines. This idea could extend to the use of these products in meal packaging. Bakey’s have been manufacturing a line of edible cutlery that takes the sustainability message even further than biodegradable products. The primary ingredient is Sorghum, which requires less water to grow, produce, and manufacture than both polypropylene (plastic) and corn (biodegradable products). They also degrade in the environment within ten days – much less time than biodegradable products. Ideas like this need financial support to expand, and with extensive demand for sustainable utensils, airlines are well placed to be the champion of innovations like this. The novelty of an edible and decent tasting spoon would not go astray on those long f lights. Elanders, in cooperation with Scandinavian Airlines, has produced a new food packaging method that draws on these exact principles. With the typical Swedish desire

to create aesthetic and functional products, the food box is a black, lightweight, and made at a power plant that is committed to replacing fossil fuels with biomass. Elanders was also responsible for a compostable packaging for another Swedish airline. There are plenty of similar companies that produce bio, plant based food packaging that is compostable and made from plant sugars. Clearly, there are many businesses with the capacity to innovate and produce products that can be both environmentally friendly, and suitable for long international f lights. Again, it is a matter of incentivising the industry and creating and enforcing regulations to make a move toward these practices. Cabin waste costs the airline industry 500 million annually and is increasing due to the cost of waste disposal. It just makes sense to offer less, lighter, and recyclable or compostable products. Ultimately, the most powerful way to make sustainable changes is sometimes not through overt ‘green branding’, but through attaching the change to other interests of consumers – in the case of airlines, staving off boredom.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

sustainable campus bulletin Text: Grace Dudley Local ANU launches new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage walking trail.

Members of the Ngambri, Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Ngarigu groups created the trail, with the help of ANU. The walk is a self-guided trail with 15 different stops covering themes such as cultural practices and the traditional use of natural resources in the local area (for instance, Sullivan’s Creek and Black Mountain). The trail is accessible on the ANU Walk app. It also includes content on student involvement and activism for reconciliation. You can pick up flyers at Chifley and Menzies Library.

national National Energy reform

The Finkel Review, released last month, is a scientific and policy report on the Australian National Energy Market outlining the future reforms needed to reduce cost and emission aspects of energy use. The report found that fossil fuels generate a massive 87 per cent of our electricity. The way forward? By recommendation, State and Federal governments should agree upon a Clean Energy Target in the next six months – ideally with a 2528 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030. Why? It would allow Australia to set targets that correspond with our obligations under the Paris Agreement. However, there is talk that state governments will have to start the push for energy reform in light of the current position of the Federal government.

did you know ANU has a draft

Environmental Management Plan prepared by ANU Green that outlines targets for sectors such as culture, buildings, energy, water, waste, pollution, transport, landscapes and heritage. Universities, such as ANU, have huge environmental impacts. For example, ANU is one of the largest energy users in the ACT, generating 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. This is why this document is important: it sets goals, outlines information and provides action plans that can help guide the university towards individual and institutional sustainability.

action plan HDs for sustainability

ANU Green has a free app available on the AppStore for you to measure your sustainability street cred. Residents of ANU colleges: you can enter in data to help you understand your impacts or savings! The app will calculate your monthly energy and water usage, and give you a rating in the form of university grades. Who knows, maybe this is the way to get consistent HDs.

tips

Coffee savings

Bring your own mug to CBE café and get a discount on your caffeine. Paper coffee cups are coated with a plastic resin called polyethene and are not recyclable, often end up in the landfill . If you get coffee a day, you just saved $3.50 i.e. another cup of coffee.

events Bush Week 2017

Check out Market Day on the 26th and join some of our environmental groups on campus, whether it be the Environment Collective (EC), the Fenner School Society, Fossil Free ANU and much more. The EC will be holding a fire pit event at the Forestry School later in the day.

environment

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

environment

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

palm oil in indonesia the elephants in the room

Text: Kevin Marco Illustration: Katie Ward

Palm oil is one of the world’s most valuable commodities. A type of vegetable oil derived from the fruits of the African oil palm, it is used as an ingredient for a wide range of household products such as cereals, chocolate bars, ice cream, soap, detergent, and even cosmetics. Its versatility has meant that the demand for palm oil has been steady and this translates to billions of dollars in revenue. The largest producer of palm oil, Indonesia, has gained an estimated $18 billion in export revenue in 2015, making it the third most valuable Indonesian export commodity behind coal and gas. This is a significant amount for a developing country, and it underscores just how valuable and vital this industry is to Indonesia. However, we must be careful not to turn a blind eye towards the darker sides of the industry, namely, the environmental costs, labour conditions and land rights issues it raises. It would do us well to address these ‘elephants in the room.’ The first elephant is perhaps the most visible; the environmental costs of the industry are simply enormous. The main cause for the industry’s horrid environmental track record is the method used to clear palm oil plantation land. The most popular method is called ‘slash and burn’, which as the name suggests, sets the land on fire. This is problematic because the type of soil present in the burned areas is peat, which is highly flammable and increases the risk of uncontrollable fires. In 2015, things went out of control, causing a widespread forest fire and haze that engulfed areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. The fire raged for months with efforts to

extinguish it hampered by El Nino. As reported by the Straits Times, the Indonesian government estimated that the fire caused 47 billion in damages. The disaster also killed 19 people and caused 500,000 to suffer respiratory problems. In addition to these safety concerns, peat absorbs and stores carbon dioxide (CO2). By burning peat, CO2 is released back into the atmosphere at alarming rates. According to the Guardian, the Indonesian forest fires caused more CO2 emissions than the annual emissions of countries such as Japan and Britain. Slash and burn also caused the destruction of habitat for countless animals such as the endangered orangutan and the Sumatran tiger, driving them closer to extinction. The environmental costs of the palm oil industry are unsustainable if Indonesia is to seriously commit to the Paris Agreement and the fight against climate change. It ought to reconsider if it takes its responsibilities to its neighbouring countries and its citizens seriously. The next elephant is subtle. The industry is said to provide for the local community and improve the standard of living as well as their quality of life. This is true to an extent but there is evidence suggesting otherwise. A recent report by Amnesty International on the business practices of Wilmar International, who controls approximately 43 per cent of the international palm oil trade, sheds some light on the horrid forced-laborlike conditions faced by the plantation workers at Wilmar’s subsidiaries. Not only was the work backbreaking and risky, the worker’s salary was also subject to a complex system and could be cut if the workers didn’t meet certain targets. This meant the workers could easily see their wages go below the minimum governmental wage. The targets were so high that the workers had no choice but to take their children,

as young as eight, to work with them. Some of the children were forced to drop out of school entirely and had to carry heavy sacks across dangerous terrains, risking life and limb as well as effectively forfeiting their future. The report also uncovered evidence of gender discrimination and health and safety violations in the plantations. One might ask why the workers don’t just quit if the conditions are so miserable. That is simply not possible when most of them are former farmers whose lands were converted into palm oil plantations.

of slash and burn, ensure fair conditions for workers, and safeguard the rights of local indigenous communities. There is little attention paid to the latter two problems, and since much more work is needed to pass the necessary legislation, we must continue to support advocacy groups such as Amnesty and Forest Peoples Programme. Likewise, investigative journalism organisations such as the Schuster Institute have an important role to play, and they could use support as well.

This leads us to the final elephant which is one of, if not, the darkest aspects of the palm oil industry. The same local and Indigenous communities the industry claims to provide for have long resisted the appropriation of their land by the industry.

It is also vital that we ensure the enforcement of any new and existing legislation to these effects. This cannot occur unless we campaign for legal reforms such as establishing a court similar to the Australian Native Title Tribunal. A similar institution would be able to deal with any conf lict between indigenous and palm oil companies in palm oil producing areas such as Sumatra and Borneo. It would ensure better oversight over the granting of palm oil leases and improve the working conditions inside the plantations.

According to Afrizal, the industry rarely compensates communities before clearing land for use, often disregarding the importance of such payments. The Schuster Institute says the industry could acquire the lands for as little as $1 per hectare, without the communities fully understanding the deal. All of this is aided and abetted by a complex and inaccessible legal system ripe with loopholes. Many of the communities are not consulted before their lands are appropriated, including lands deemed to be private property under their customary laws. If they are recognised as owners, promises are made that they will be provided with small palm oil plots within the larger plantations as compensation. These are rarely met, depriving them of their livelihoods and pushing them to work for the industry itself (with all of its associated inequities). So, what can be done? The Indonesian government must establish proper legislation to kerb the use

Ideally, these changes will entail a less expensive and complicated court process. Communities are often deterred from enforcing their rights due to these barriers. Therefore, those responsible for these reforms need to inform plantations workers and Indigenous communities about these changes and ensure they know their rights under the law. On a personal level, we can make an effort to pressure companies that make household products, such as Kellogg’s and Proctor and Gamble, and supermarket chains. We can ensure the products they are selling are, at worst, made from ethically sourced palm oil.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

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Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

science

what does it mean to be a woman in stem? Text: Rachael Lowe Illustration: Joanne Leong

instead of being asked about my research or my knowledge is an ongoing frustration.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a man’s world. The pay gap is real, the gender bias is real, and the blatant sexism is real. As a biologist, I recognise that I’m a lucky one. In Australia, just 14 per cent of qualified engineers are female. Even in biology, where women dominate 60 per cent of the graduates, only 36 per cent of assistant professors and 18 per cent of full professors are women.

2: ‘Actually, I’m after a real scientist if you could direct me to one?’

Having been a scientist for five years now, I’ve had a lot of silent frustrations that my male coworkers and counterparts rarely encounter. Here’s a list of actual quotes from actual men that I’ve interacted with over the years, which I think nicely summarises what it is like to be a woman in the scientific world. By the term ‘woman’, I include all people who identify as female and others who experience gender based inequality.

1: ‘When will you find time for kids with a career like that, though?’ I won’t. I don’t want to. Being a woman in STEM is fighting for your right to choose a career over a family, and to do what you want. I have chosen to spend my life running around after animals and trying to save the environment. But I know strong, ‘bossy’ (aka boss ass) women who study all kinds of sciences that want to pursue both a career and family, or neither. Being asked questions like this during fieldwork

Did you know that studying a Bachelor of Science at the ANU qualifies you as a scientist, but identifying as the owner of a vagina disqualifies said qualifications? I’m a bit salty about the HECS debt I’m paying on my fake degree. Don’t ask for a real scientist and point at a group of men on the other side of the room. Being a woman in STEM is fighting for your academic recognition.

3: ‘At least the gender bias in science guarantees you a wealthy husband.’ Nope. That’s all I’ve got. Being a woman in STEM is being outnumbered, being reminded that you’re going to be underpaid and that you’re in for a life of not being acknowledged. Cue Rosalind Franklin, the chemist who discovered the double-helix structure of DNA but had two men, James Watson and Francis Crick, use the crystallography imprint from her desk drawer and

present it as their own. I learned in high school that Watson and Crick were the legends who made this discovery and was not until university that I learned about the work of Franklin. The gender bias also comes in many ugly shapes and forms, from favouritism among supervisors to being told by professors that I have a one-in-ten chance of being employed in your field.

justification to do so. I am no expert in any other science aside from conservation biology. But being a woman in STEM is being called ‘bossy’ and ‘sassy’ for responding to obnoxious, androcentric interruptions on a subject that you’re qualified to teach and explain. It means having a man’s word (forcibly) taken over your own, all else being correct and equal.

4: ‘I think you’ll find that sed- 5: ‘If you’re going to be a imentation is a physical pro- scientist, you should stay in cess related to suspension.’ a lab and be clean. It’s gross seeing you in khakis covered …said the second-year physics student in dirt and foliage.’ to a woman with a bachelor’s degree with honours in natural sciences. Being a woman in STEM is mansplaining. It has concepts that you are qualified in and have devoted your entire academic career to being explained to you in laymen terms, usually having been interrupted to do so. The word patronising doesn’t begin to cover the feeling of having topics that you’re passionate and university-level qualified to speak about explained to you in a tone of utter condescension. I’m rendered speechless when a male engineers have the audacity to explain elephant migratory patterns to me (which, ironically, is the subject of my thesis) when he had no academic authority or

I’ve spent my entire life working my way into nature. I love covering myself in dirt, and the best relationship I’ve ever had is with my trusty hiking boots. I know plenty of women who understand that being dirty and grimy at the end of the day signifies a productive one in the field. I also know women who rock a clean lab coat. Plot twist: women do not care how you think we look when we’re doing what we want to do. We dress for what we do, not for you. Being a woman in STEM is constantly breaking out of this box of social constructs and patriarchal perspectives. Being a woman in STEM is fighting against #everydaysexism and dismantling the patriarchy one bossy, sassy and empowering encounter at a time. Whether you’re an engineer, a chemist, a psychologist or any wild and wonderful thing in between – you have worked just as hard (if not harder), you are just as qualified, and you are just as capable as the men surrounding you. We will continue to fight this battle, and one day we will gain the recognition and treatment we deserve. If you know a woman in STEM, acknowledge the battle that she continues to endure. Do not underestimate these women. Do all that you can to let them shine and to have a voice. Respect them as you would your male peers. Educate yourself on gender bias, and act against inequality. Be an ally where an ally is needed. The battle is raging, and will only find its end when we can extinguish the fires of patriarchal power with our shared passion for science.

science

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

protecting peace of mind the role of trauma psychology in legal practice Text: Nick Wyche Illustration: Joanne Leong

Science, technology, engineering and Something impressed upon me early in my law degree was the idea that law is a self-contained discipline. During my studies, I’ve seen that interpreting and applying legal concepts is a specialised skillset, quite independent from other academic fields. However, as I have watched the law in action – in courts, in police stations, in offices that range from the largest corporate conglomerates to the smallest conveyancing firms – it has become clear to me that the law does not exist in a vacuum. Rather the opposite is true: it touches upon the lives of all of us. For your average citizen, the law is a monolithic edifice. The legal system remains a source of fear and discontent, rather than that which provides resolution and positivity. Often people are hesitant to engage with legal processes due to onerous stresses and pressures. A prevailing belief amongst lawyers was that a system based on zealous advocacy and adversarial engagement offered the most ethical options. This mindset centred on win and loss and placed no importance on the experience of the client. Recently, a consensus has begun to emerge that emphasises the importance of clients’ experiences. A win for a client is a win in name only if they emerge traumatised from the legal process. Empathy for the client is vital to practising law that becomes therapeutic rather than competitive. This rhetoric is common sense, but a question arises: how can lawyers understand the trauma faced by their clients? Up until now, understanding trauma by lawyers has been a question of trusting one’s gut and attempting to be sensitive. However, more concrete options are emerging which promise more consistent and positive outcomes: trauma-informed lawyering. This approach draws upon well-established research from the field of psychology of trauma and applies it to a lawyer’s work. But what is trauma? It’s a word we hear thrown around daily, running the intensity from ‘There’s a huntsman spider in the bathroom, I’m traumatised!’ to our awareness of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by service people returning from war. Trauma is a response to an emotionally overwhelming event that renders the coping mechanisms of an individual inadequate.

Common sources of trauma include witnessing or experiencing violence, or having bodily integrity or sanity threatened. It’s no coincidence that these experiences often result in people engaging with the legal system. Trauma is subjective and highly variable, and no two people react to potentially traumatic events in the same way. However, common reactions include shock, denial, emotional turmoil, flashbacks and difficulty moving on with life. In severe instances, PTSD can arise. PTSD is a potentially destabilising condition characterised by reliving the trauma through things like memories and flashbacks, avoidance or emotional numbing about the traumatic incident, and hyperarousal (feelings of constantly being on edge). Having to relive or recount a traumatic incident can even result in a resurgence of these symptoms, in a phenomenon known as retraumatisation. So how do trauma-informed lawyers go about minimising the impact of these symptoms? A crucial first step is making an effort to view these symptoms as adaptations to trauma, rather than pointless or shameful overreactions. For example, it has taken many in the legal profession a long time to understand why a victim of domestic violence might prioritise safety instead of justice against their abuser, and this difficulty in understanding has been strongly linked to ignorance about the impact of trauma. Beyond this, the way forward is discretionary. Lawyers can take actions to avoid the risk of retraumatising their clients. These can range from small gestures like listening and responding with empathy when clients recount their stories, through to exploring alternatives to the client testifying at a trial – a stressful experience which can place them in front of someone who makes them fear for their safety. Involving clients in the problem-solving process can even help them address their own trauma and restore a sense of agency. Throughout this process, there remains a distinction between lawyer and clinician. For lawyers, this movement is about integrating an understanding of trauma into the lawyering process, rather than a reformation of how lawyers do their jobs. Even so, it has produced benefits in research undertaken thus far. Trauma-informed lawyering gives practitioners more nuanced insights into legal ethics, improving their capacity for empathy and supportive interactions. For clients, the benefits abound. When clients’ needs are placed at the centre

of the legal process, retraumatisation is less likely, and the justice received can restore them to a position of safety and security. However, trauma-informed lawyering has its disadvantages. Asking lawyers to engage with clients’ emotional burdens leads them to shoulder some of that burden too. This may blur the lines around the legal practitioner’s typically neutral role in aiding their clients and may lead them to overinvest in success. More dangerous is the risk of vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue, which arises when traumatised clients convey confronting details about emotionally triggering events and feelings. Relentless exposure to these experiences can cause trauma for practitioners and has been well documented in settings such as drug rehabilitation, social work and emergency services. Adding trauma management to the existing stress faced by lawyers is perhaps unconscionable. The greatest hurdle faced by trauma-informed lawyers is the corporate nature of much of the legal profession. It is near

impossible to focus on client-practitioner relationships when the required time and effort is subdivided into value-based units. Maintaining a reasonable caseload is often unattainable in understaffed Legal Aid contexts, which sees many traumatised clients due to the link between trauma and disadvantage. While specialised legal centres can practice tenets of trauma-informed lawyering, practical implementation remains limited. Though these challenges are significant, trauma-informed lawyering is not a fad to be abandoned: it is an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses teachings of substantial worth. When most law students enrol in their degrees, their motivation is to help others attain justice. By applying scientific knowledge to how lawyers do their jobs, the legal profession can evolve to prioritise the wellbeing of the people it serves.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

science

Lithium ion Batteries the capacity for fuelling the renewable revolution Text: Matthew Teh Illustration: Joanne Leong

Widespread news about lithium battery technology followed Tesla’s selection to build the world’s largest battery in South Australia. This battery will store excess energy generated by the Hornsdale Wind Farm when electricity demands are low and will feed this energy back into the grid when energy demands are high. Tesla claims that this battery will be able to store enough power to provide power to more than 30,000 homes. Tesla’s project arises out of South Australia’s aim to engineer a more stable power grid amidst a crippling statewide power outage in September last year that left 1.7 million homes without power. This also aligns with the recent Finkel Review into Australia’s energy networks, which recommended battery storage to enable baseload wind power generation. Tesla’s plan is to combine thousands of Tesla car lithium ion batteries into hundreds of refrigerator-sized units to create something akin to a super-battery which can hold a lot of energy. This follows a similar construction method realised by Tesla in installing the battery, which currently holds the title of the world’s largest in Ontario, California, in late 2016. This is all well and good for the energy security of South Australia in bracing for the heat waves of another horrendous summer. On a much bigger scale, however, is that Tesla’s ambition to build the world’s largest battery has enormous implications for the trajectory of today’s energy market towards being entirely based on renewable energies. Tesla’s project revolutionises the adoption of renewable energy and its integration into power grids. An underlying problem for the widespread adoption of renewable energy is that, while we can harness energy from a renewable source like the wind, waves or sun, the technology to store this renewable energy lags behind. This is where fossil fuels still find their application today: the material itself – coal, gas or petroleum – stores the energy. As a result, fossil fuels can be readily used to match energy consumption patterns as needed, while current renewable energy usage remains contingent on the actual presence of the wind, waves or sun. Enter the hype surrounding lithium ion battery technology. Lithium ion

batteries have the capacity to store the energy generated from the wind, waves or sun. This storage of energy allows renewable energy to become independent from the renewable source itself, effectively allowing use of renewable energy which meets energy consumption patterns. Significantly, the widespread and large-scale adoption of lithium ion battery technology would permit an electricity grid which caters to the energy needs of society while being absent of fossil fuel usage. Using lithium ion batteries to store energy is nothing new. Lithium ion battery technology has existed for decades, and it’s the same technology that’s used to power your smartphone or your laptop. Lithium ion batteries have been traditionally used, and continue to be used, due to their numerous benefits compared to other batteries. Lithium ion batteries are rechargeable and have a high energy density, and can be safely stored. Lithium ion batteries also hold their charge and have no memory effect (that is, recharging the battery does not

require the complete discharge of the battery). Lithium ion battery technology has gained traction for smaller-scale applications in things like electric bicycles, cars, and household solar storage. This project by Tesla upscales this technology to store a large amount of renewable energy, thereby overcoming the inability of renewables to be stored directly. Tesla essentially seeks to translate existing lithium ion technology and apply it on a massive, cost-effective scale to create a really big battery that powers an entire an entire city, instead of just your smartphone. Still yet, this really big battery would allow the equivalent of a small city to be powered without input from fossil fuels (though, perhaps, the persistent environmental challenges of lithium ion battery production remain). A major obstacle to this grand plan, however, is cost. Lithium ion batteries require extensive cooling since they can overheat like the battery in your smartphone. These batteries also lose

efficiency over time and must be eventually replaced. Tesla’s hook thus lies in delivering a cost-effective method of storing renewable energy, based on its renowned electrical car battery technology. If Tesla succeeds in implementing a cost-effective method of energy storage, renewable energy becomes poised for widespread integration into the broader Australian power network. Tesla’s project, along with the overall development of large-scale and cost-effective lithium ion battery technology, marks a crucial step in transforming the energy grid into that which wholly utilises renewable energy.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

The Real Problem with Charities Text: Hayden Wilkinson Illustration: Joanne Leong

When you bring up the topic of charity in conversation, people almost always suggest that donating is a waste of money. Phrases such as, “Don’t you know, they just spend all their money on admin!”; “None of the money goes to the people who need it!” and “Didn’t you see the news a while back, some charity CEO stole a whole heap of money!”, frequently pepper conversation. If you don’t give to charity, lines like these are certainly comforting to absolve guilty feelings. After all, if your donation were just going to line some bureaucrat’s pocket, then it would do just as much good staying in your pocket. But are these good excuses? Well, not really.

deep underground. In 2006, PlayPumps International received $10 million in funding from the US government, and endorsements from George and Laura Bush, Jay-Z and DJ Mark Ronson. Millions of dollars were poured into the project, but no one thought to check whether PlayPumps worked as they purported to. It turns out that children don’t like playing on PlayPumps – the pump requires constant force to operate, so they don’t spin by themselves. Usually, the women of the village ended up pushing the merry-go-round around, which was more work than the old hand-pumps. Plus, the pumps were not maintained and

like something worth doing), and we have $1,000 with which to do it. Well, we might spend that money combatting HIV. One common cause of death among people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is Kaposi’s sarcoma, a painful cancer. If we spent our $1,000 on treatments for sarcoma we could save someone’s life – in fact, according to the University of Washington’s Disease Control Priorities Report, we could buy them up to eight extra weeks of life for our money. And that’s a good deal – I’d certainly pay $1,000 for two extra months of life if I had sarcoma, and it’s considered a highly cost-effective treatment in high-income countries like Australia.If we spent our $1,000 on anti-retroviral

So that’s not a great excuse. I’ve got an even better excuse for you if you don’t want to have to give to charity. And that’s ineffectiveness. The PlayPump was a media sensation. It was a clever idea, intended to help villages in low-income countries access clean groundwater. Resembling a playground merry-go-round, it was built for children to play on, to spin around and, at the same time, pump clean water from

And there are charities out there doing these ridiculously high-impact activities. The Against Malaria Foundation, for instance, distributes insecticide-treated bed nets for roughly $4.85 each, thereby saving hundreds of times more lives for the same donation than many other charities. And this is all backed up by indepth research, independent evaluations and, unlike with PlayPumps, researchers going back to the areas afterwards to work out whether the bed nets helped reduce mortality and by how much. Organisations such as GiveWell.org do in-depth research into charities like the Against Malaria Foundation and allow us to find the charities that save the most lives, or which most improve people’s quality of life, for your donation. It’s not just possible to find charities that do a lot of good; it’s really easy to do so.

In one study, across a sample of 265 charities, the average percentage of budget spent on administrative costs was 9.6 per cent. Australia’s five largest charities spend between 15 and 24 per cent on administration and fundraising. That may seem high, but it means that more than 76 per cent of your donation still goes to where it’s needed. That’s not so bad after all. Also, there are charities out there which exceed 90 per cent, and some which put all of your donation towards their programs. So, high overheads aren’t a good excuse not to donate to charities. And neither are the anecdotal claims about embezzlement and fraud – according to data from the UK, charities lose less than 1.5 per cent of funds to that sort of thing. On top of that, a lot of those administrative costs can be worthwhile – they include research and follow-ups done by the charity to check whether their intervention works (more on this later), or recruiting talented employees who can make the charity perform a lot better. The data has found that there is a link between extra administrative spending and impact. If spending a fraction of their budget on research or salaries allows a charity to save ten times as many lives, then I’d be horrified to find out that a charity didn’t spend that money (especially just to impress us with low admin costs).

increase in impact – for the same donation, we could do the equivalent of saving almost 200 times as many lives (or extending someone’s life by 200 times as long) as if we’d gone with the first option of cancer treatment.

Suppose we want to do something other than saving human lives. Research and evidence can still help us find amazing opportunities. For reducing greenhouse emissions, there’s been research into what works and what doesn’t, and it’s been found that donations to charities like Cool Earth reduce emissions for $0.38 per tonne of CO2. For improving animal welfare, research bodies such as Animal Charity Evaluators have identified charities which can save animals from lives in industrial agriculture for, on average, less than $1. Even for things as intangible as human freedom, there has been research into which organisations could potentially have the greatest impact on criminal justice reform.

cost $14,000 each (way more than the old pumps) – large proportions of them promptly broke down and were never repaired. So all those millions of dollars failed to do much good at all (in fact, it made a lot of people’s lives worse).So there you go – regardless of their overhead, some charities are totally ineffective and fail to achieve anything. That’s a much better excuse for not giving to charity, and it’s arguably the real problem with the charity sector. However, that excuse doesn’t work either. If we do some research, we can find charities that are effective. The interventions these charities carry out have been scientifically proven to improve people’s lives while being fairly inexpensive to carry out. Suppose that what we care about is preventing people from dying (which seems

medications, we could buy two additional years of healthy life – 13 times as long. Even if the charity providing the medication had to spend 5 per cent extra on administration, there’s still 1,200 per cent as much benefit. We might also spend our money on condom distribution, and prevent people from getting HIV in the first place. With $1,000, we could save ten years of life – by buying condoms for thousands of people, on average, the total benefits would add up to 10 years of healthy life. That’s now a 6,500 per cent greater impact than what we started with.But we can do even more. If we care about saving lives in general, and not just saving lives from HIV/AIDS, then there are other opportunities. Buying bed nets for people in areas at risk of malaria will, on average, save more than 30 years of healthy life. That’s a 19,500 per cent

So next time someone tells you that donating to charity is a waste of money, you can tell them they’re wrong. Donating to charity might not be for everyone, and that’s their personal choice, but it doesn’t do any good to make excuses. It certainly doesn’t do any good to pretend that there aren’t amazing opportunities for us all to do an incredible amount of good. Hayden is President of Effective Altruism ANU, a student society which is focused on doing good more effectively, and helping students to have a greater impact. They run regular events discussing practical ethics – see their Facebook page for details.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

Europe’s high-pressure situation Nord Stream-2 Pipeline Project

Text: Rob Morris Illustration: Joanne Leong

Who would have thought some steel and methane could produce so many problems? On the 7 March, eight European leaders – from Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Estonia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – registered their opposition to the proposed Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. The Russia-German project would further connect the expansive Russian natural gas fields to the demanding German energy market through a 1,222 kilometer pipeline, stretching from Vyborg in Russia, under the Baltic Sea and into Greifswald in the North Germany. Operational in 2011, the Nord Stream pipeline pumped 27.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Nord Stream-2 aims to build another pipeline running parallel to the first, bringing the output of the whole project up to 110 billion cubic meters per year. With quantities, this high, it is no surprise that the Central and Eastern Europeans are worried. The interests of some of these states are summarised below:

Russia As the largest producer of natural gas and the largest exporter of oil on the globe, Russia’s fortune is inextricably linked to the success of their energy business. And business is bad. With the plummeting oil price in recent years, Russia’s exports have collapsed leading

to a 40 per cent depreciation in the value of the Russian Ruble from 2014. Coupled with the US and EU sanctions due to the Crimean crisis, the Russian government needs a new avenue for exerting its political will within Europe. Historically, Russia has used access to energy within Eastern and Central Europe to get what they want. In 2006, 2009, 2014 and 2015, Gazprom, the Russian state-owned oil company cut gas exports to Ukraine – leading to supply disruptions all throughout Europe. Similar disputes included Belarus and Georgia, demonstrating Russia’s ability and willingness to use energy security as an instrument of foreign policy. Russia seeks to use Nord Stream-2 to isolate its former Soviet satellites in Eastern and Central Europe while still maintaining a steady supply of energy to the rich markets of Western Europe. Russia wishes to reclaim the glory days when it was the Soviet Union, not Saudi Arabia that was the prominent energy superpower. By being able to access Western Europe through Germany, Russia can achieve these goals while also being able to punish their eastern neighbours for any perceived transgressions. However, with increased competition from the US, Norway and Qatar, Russian energy must expand into China, Japan and India to fulfil their petrol-powered ambitions.

Germany Nord Stream-2 highlights a tension between the economic and political motivations of Germany. As arguably the

most important member of NATO, Germany seeks further integration within the EU and acts as a driving force for the European project. Russia is vehemently opposed to this. Instead, it is funding anti-EU parties across Europe and giving them a platform on the Russian state-owned media network, RT. Despite this, Nord Stream-2 enjoys strong political support from both major parties within Germany.

buy these supplies. Central Europe fits the bill perfectly.

Germany has economic interests in seeing the Nord Stream-2 project go ahead. As a highly-developed nation with lots of energy needs, Germany seeks a reliable partner in the provision of cheap energy. Furthermore, several German companies, such as Wintershall and EON, are shareholders in the project with other German companies involved in the construction of the pipeline. Interestingly, Gerhard Schroeder, who was the former Chancellor of Germany, is the chairman of the Nord Stream AG board and signed off on the pipeline deal just weeks before he lost the election to Merkel in 2005.

Poland’s vision for energy independence does not stop on their shores. Gaz-System, a Polish LNG transmission operator, has outlined a plan to form a corridor between Poland and Croatia. This could ensure energy security Central and South-East Europe by creating a regional gas market that can diversify away from Russian energy. Combined with the proposed Trans-Anatolian Pipeline that connects the oil fields in the Caucuses with South-East Europe, Russia may find the power of pipeline politics slow to a drip.

Poland Seeking its own energy independence, the Polish government have reached over the Atlantic to secure LNG from the United States. In the last decade, several innovations within the oil and gas industry have caused US oil and gas exports to soar – doubling productive capacity since 2010. In this environment, the US is seeking our foreign partners to

Poland national stories are ones of struggles for independence. The Polish quest for energy security is no different. Primarily, Poland has sought energy from both the US and Norway – importing LNG through domestic terminals and floating terminals located near Lithuania.

All that we can say for sure is that these chains of hydrocarbons fuel our cars, computers and civilisation. While the world is undergoing a renewable energy renaissance, at the moment, pipeline politics is here to stay.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

The Big-Mac Index

Text: Viv Duong Illustration: Katie Ward

It’s often joked that more people recognise the McDonald’s golden arches than the Christian cross. So it’s no wonder that the pervasive fast food chain’s pièce de résistance, the Big Mac, available in 119 countries, has been used by The Economist to compare the relative strength of different countries’ currencies. The Big Mac Index bases itself on the theory of purchasing power parity

(PPP), which states that in the ‘long run’, currency exchange rates will move such that a given bundle of goods – or in our case, a burger – should have the same value in different countries. For example, a Big Mac costs $5.04 USD in America. Theoretically, in the long run, the Australian dollar / American dollar exchange rate should move such that the price of a Big Mac in Australia, when converted to American dollars, should equal $5.04 USD. However, since we have not yet reached the long run, the currency exchange rates usually don’t do this, which is why the relative prices of Big Macs around

the world can be used as an indicator of currency strength or weakness. Let’s look again at the Australian/ American example. A Big Mac costs $4.30 AUD in Australia and, as established, $5.04 USD in America. We want to see whether the AUD/USD exchange rate makes the cost of an Australian Big Mac higher or lower than the American Big Mac when both are compared in USD. The exchange rate, as of Saturday 15th July 2017, is 0.78. Applying this exchange rate to the cost of an Australian Big Mac, we find that it equals to $3.36 USD. This makes it lower than the cost of an American Big Mac in USD ($5.04). Therefore,

we can say that the AUD is ‘undervalued’ compared to the USD because the same bundle of Australian goods has a lower value than its equivalent American good. While the Big Mac Index is by no means an official or accurate tool to measure currency misalignment, it does make an appearance in almost every introductory finance course. So the next time you’re biting into the world’s most famous burger, take a moment to appreciate its significance in the world of economics.

a sweet stock Text: Albert Patajo Illustration: Kat Carrington Investing in the stock market can often be daunting. Where do I start? What do I invest in? How do I invest? Aside from the obvious capital requirements, one of the biggest barriers to investing at a young age is a lack of education in the financial market. Investing doesn’t require large amounts of money. You can trade easily with parcels of $500, but young people often don’t have the financial ‘know how’ to decide what to invest in. This series will take you through a ‘hot pick’ in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and guide you through some basic understanding as to why it’ll be a good buy. This week, we’re looking at Capilano Honey. You might recognise the brand from Woolworths or Coles – it’s the famous honey brand featuring a bright yellow label and a superhero bee. I bought into Capilano late last year with the aim of holding for the next three to

five years. It’s slowly been declining in value over the past 12 months, but it’s started to pick back up again in the last four weeks, which is a perfect time to buy in and ride the wave. As the name states, they sell honey – marketed as ‘Australia’s Favourite Honey’. Their primary stock offering is a plain Australian honey, but in recent years they have launched their ‘Beeotic’ honey – a probiotic honey and a premium Manuka honey. Both products should aid in the increase in stock prices over the next 12 months. Capilano has remained profitable over the years, with a consistent, significant percentage of revenue coming from domestic sales – indicating its value to Australian consumers and its market share domestically. One of the main attractions of Capilano as an investment is that their ‘product’ never goes on offer. Thus, there is little waste and inefficiency in their distribution and supply. Additionally, Australia is one of the most attractive honey producers to overseas markets (especially in Asia) due to our highly-regulated market and

variety in bee species –providing room for overseas growth, leading to an increase in revenue. However, Capilano’s risks come from the nature of honey. Production is limited by the weather, with climate change being one of the biggest threats to the company. However, as weather issues will affect both the company and their competitors equally, Capilano’s scale, size and expertise will allow it to ‘weather the storm’. This means it will have the capacity to speak and address climate change concerns faster than their competitors. In preparation for this, Capilano has started to increase its honey stockpile each year to take advantage of a ‘honey crisis’. This is aided by the fact that honey itself doesn’t expire. The directors of the company have formed strong relationships with farmers, working cooperatively to prepare for the rising temperatures in

Australia as well as ensure the quality of their honey. Capilano would be a sweet start to anyone looking to begin trading on the ASX. It’s a long-term investment that should hopefully pay off in the next three to five years. Albert Patajo is a final year Law/Science student currently writing his Honours thesis in Law. He has a small but growing portfolio spread across the ASX and other markets. If you want to learn more, he is more than happy to help other students start their journey in the ‘stock market’.

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

#THrowback ANU BAR

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Is Yellen’s Great Divergence Preemptive? Suppose the FOMC is in fear of Trump and they are letting political concerns change their behaviour. For quite a while Republicans have been criticising Yellen and the Reserve for being excessively dovish (being in favour of loosening) and their instinct for self-preservation may have kicked in. I think scenario two best explains why there is a dichotomy between theorists inside and outside the Reserve. Nevertheless, if it is political risk that is driving the FOMC, then I think they are making a mistake. They are economists, not political risk analysts.

Text: Flint O’Neil Fernandez Illustration: Joanne Leong

In Congress last week, Janet Yellen explained that the Federal Reserve’s current hawkish (in favour of tightening) position on monetary policy was coming from the substantial evidence of labour market tightening in the US. According to the testimony, inflation above two per cent was not yet on the horizon, but a tightening labour market was evidence that it soon might be. In isolation, this might have had a substantial impact on bond yields, as Yellen’s comments indicate an uptick in inflation and tightening of monetary policy. Yet, Yellen’s testimonies have broadly signalled the same hawkish position for the last two years – and the long-awaited inflation target is yet to arise. I contend that the current stance of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) might be a flawed one. As it stands, there seems to be a divide in policy stance between US macroeconomists inside the Reserve and macroeconomists outside. Larry Summers, a leading macroeconomist in the US, has long been of the opinion that the FOMC is at present too hawkish and needs to loosen its rhetoric. He often states that, instead of shooting over the horizon, the Reserve should ‘shoot only when it sees the whites of the eyes of inflation’. This would imply a move away from trying to pre-emptively clamp down on inflation and instead let it emerge for a short while. This would denote a shift away from volatility below two per cent to volatility above two per cent. Monetary theory would agree with him. Currently, Yellen and the FOMC seem content with the position that two per cent represents an upper bound on inflation. Others like Michael Woodford, Paul Krugman and Summers do not share Yellen’s view. In some monetary theory textbooks, there is a principle known as ‘overshooting’. It states that if two per cent is the long-run inflation target and something like a financial crisis causes inflation to drop below two per cent, then the best way to address the crisis is to promise a short-term bout of inflation above the target. In that sense, we should interpret two per cent as an average and not an upper bound. The

reason why is a bit technical, but I will attempt to outline it. Suppose the economy is hit by a shock (say a financial crisis) and inflation drops to one per cent as economic activity falls. If activity and inflation fall below the target then in some sense we can guess that following the crisis monetary policy was too tight. This is roughly speaking because an economy can be seen to be in equilibrium if and only if the return on capital is equal to the interest rate, so if the economic activity falls then the market interest rate is higher than the return on capital. In the case of a financial crisis what happens is that expected return on capital falls and monetary policy cannot accommodate fast enough to move interest rates in line with expected return on capital. So, the economy stumbles. So, during the crisis, assets lose value because their return is below what they are worth. If the Reserve gets interest rates back in line with return on capital quickly, then losses will be minimised. But, they will still exist from the period where returns do not equal interest. This is where overshooting comes in. By promising to move rates below the return on capital, then they can give ‘excess’ value to the undervalued assets and cover those losses. Thus, assets can

quickly regain their lost value following a financial crisis if the Reserve correctly promises to ‘overshoot’ the inflation target by loosening more than necessary. To a seasoned macroeconomist, this description might be offensively simplistic, but I think it captures the gist of overshooting. (Sorry Tim Kam). Viewed in this light, the Reserve is not trying to overshoot and might be content with perpetual undershooting. If inflation expectations do not align properly with an undershooting central bank, the outcome is probably quite bad. This begs the question then, why is the Reserve undershooting? I doubt that it is because Janet Yellen and her esteemed colleagues misunderstand monetary theory, as they are some of the most distinguished theorists and practitioners on the planet. I propose a few possible reasons: 1) I do not understand monetary theory, and this article is all trash. 2) The FOMC is worried about the financial stability repercussions of overshooting. 3) The FOMC is engaged in some political risk calculus, as they fear the wrath of Trump if inflation goes above two per cent. The first scenario is probably the most likely, but let’s look at the other two.

What if, on the other hand, the FOMC is scared of holding rates too low for too long for financial stability concerns? As far as I can tell the link between low rates and asset bubbles is tenuous at best. Very few rigorous macroeconomic models link the two, and most empirical analysis conducted in the New York Reserve points to very little, if any, effect of low rates on financial instability. One need only look at Japan to see that low rates do not necessitate bubbles. Moreover, the people that do usually claim that low-interest rates cause bubbles are very often eccentric journalists or heterodox ‘Minsky’ types with little regard for rigour. Often, those who argue that low-interest rates create bubbles are on the right-wing of the political spectrum. They claim that, when the central bank messes with interest markets, it sends perverse price signals through the financial sector that leads to irrational investments. What is often not realised, though, is that this argument relies on some strong behavioural assumptions that contradict a lot of what we learn in introductory microeconomics. Overall, I’m not sure how likely scenario two is considering that the ex-chairman of the FOMC, Ben Bernanke, was seen in his blog to agree that financial stability is not a concern of monetary policy. (Though it is, of course, a concern of the central bank.) All in all, it seems like the FOMC’s current monetary stance is a mistake, and that Larry Summers might be right in his defence of low-interest rates. Flint is in his third year studying Economics and Mathematics. He is an Analyst at Deloitte Access Economics.

SPORT

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

Hot Tips for Getting Steamy in the Bedroom: A Guide to College Room Workouts

Text: Daniel Cordeschi Illustration: Joanne Leong Have a spare 15 minutes at home or college while taking a break from study or going places? Want to exercise but hesitate at the thought going to the gym and dealing with all those perfectly toned muscles in the latest activewear? When things get busy, the idea of having to go outside your room to exercise is enough to make you think it just isn’t worth it. But that’s where people go wrong. You don’t need any fancy equipment or heaps of time to get some exercise into your day. Here is a little guide to show you how, with a few spare minutes, you can achieve an effective workout without even leaving your room. Circuits, Circuits... and More Circuits High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a fancy phrase used in fitness classes. It is basically a style of circuit training with the simple premise of performing exercises at a high intensity for short intervals, with a little rest in between to recover. How to structure your workout: Choose one exercise from each list to do during the interval. Start by timing your intervals for 30 seconds each, moving immediately from one to the next. Once you complete Interval 4, have a one-minute recovery. Repeat this circuit of four intervals five times. With five sets, this would be a 15-minute workout in total. You should do as many repetitions as you physically can within each interval and increase the number of reps you’re able to do over time. Interval 1: Full body Burpees – From a push-up position,simply bring your legs up and jump, then go back down to a push-up. Best done explosively. Mountain climbers – Arms straight in push-up position while raising your knees to your chest, kind of like a

horizontal version of running on the spot.

explode up and land in the lunge position with the opposite leg forward.

Bear crawl – Pretty simple, just crawling on your hands and feet back and forth. Try and keep your butt low and it’ll really test your shoulders.

Step-ups – Step up onto a chair or bed. Make sure to step up completely so that your leg is straight at the top. Alternate legs.

Interval 2: Upper body Wall climb – Start in push-up position with your feet against the bottom of a wall, then slowly move your feet up the wall and move your hands closer to the bottom of the wall. Make sure to keep your back straight and try to get as vertical as possible. Once you reach your maximum, slowly walk back down the wall and get back into starting position. Push ups – Basic position: hands shoulder-width apart, with your legs out straight and on your toes (easier version for beginners is to stay on your knees). Make sure your back is straight. More advanced modifications: diamond pushups - hands close together in a diamond shape, wide push-ups – hands more than one and a half shoulder-widths apart, decline push-ups – put feet on raised surface (e.g. chair). Chair dips – Put hands on the end of a chair, arms straight, with your legs out straight and pivoting on your heels (easier version is to have your feet closer to the chair so that your legs form a right angle). Lower yourself until your arms form a right angle and then bring yourself back up. Interval 3: Legs Squats – Keep feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees and go as low as possible, keeping your weight mainly on your heels. More advanced modifications: jump squats – once at the bottom of the squat explode up into a jump, squat hold – hold the bottom squat position for as long as you can. Lunges – Step out with one foot forward, far enough so that the front knee makes a right angle. Lower yourself so that the back knee just touches the ground. Step out with alternating legs. More advanced modification: jumping lunges – from the bottom lunge position,

Interval 4: Core Plank – Lying on your elbows and toes, keep your back straight and hold the position for as long as possible. Russian twists – Sitting on the ground, balance on your tailbone with your feet raised, while you rotate your upper body side to side. Leg raises – Lie flat on your back and raise your legs to a right angle. Make sure to keep your legs straight. More advanced modification: scissors – raise each leg individually, bringing one up as the other goes down. If this structure becomes too easy, start reducing the recovery time and increasing the work time. Use a decent interval-timing app such as Simple Interval Timer (available from the App Store) or Impetus Interval Timer (available from the Google Play Store) to ensure you complete all of your sets and keep track of how your workout is progressing as you attempt it. If you find you’re able to continuously do each exercise for the entire interval with relative ease, then increase the difficulty of the exercise either through the suggested modifications or by adding weight (e.g. with textbooks). Ideally, you should really struggle to work continuously in the interval; the circuits are most effective and efficient when you work at maximum intensity. Hopefully, with the help of this guide, you’re able get out and do some more of that exercise that you’ve been missing out on. It’s not vital that you always attend a gym or get outside to do the workouts you need to do to stay fit and healthy, sometimes it can be as simple as hopping out of bed, setting up your timer and doing some HIIT.

Satire

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Fun DIY Ways to Dispose of your Used Tampons on Campus

Text: Caroline Dry Images: Zoe O’Leary Cameron

Hey menstruators! Have you recently noticed a certain delightful smell wafting through a number of bathrooms on campus? Do you have a moment of terror every time you force the lid shut on the sanitary waste disposal bin because you half-expect it to explode all over you? Have you started genuinely wondering whether that weird satanic black substance that drips from the door next to the dojo room is actually period blood, which has seeped into the very walls of our campus? Yes, it seems that menstruators at the ANU, if they are lucky enough to find a bathroom that provides sanitary waste disposal bins, are being forced to do their business while surrounded by human waste. Even when raised on Schmidtposting back in March did it fail to resolve. That’s right, your university cares less about you than the soulless, unfeeling behemoth that is Boost Juice. Well, grab your glue gun, friends! Because, unless you’re willing to risk toxic shock syndrome and just let your sanitary aids marinate in your underwear, you’re going to have to get creative. Here are some fun and easy ways to hygienically dispose of your pads and tampons. Convert them into a trendy new clubbing outfit. The weather is cooling down. So, you will need some warm, yet fashion-forward, clothes to wear on your nights out in Civic. An outfit constructed entirely from bloody tampons and pads is perfect. It will absorb any drinks you spill on yourself. It will ooze brown goo if some guy gropes you without your

consent. It’ll be a staple of your wardrobe in no time.

Dump them on the belongings of those who leave their stuff in Chifley for hours at a time. There are some interesting categories at the ANU. Some people post links to articles with titles like ‘Genocide: Is it that bad?’ on Schmidtposting during exams. Some people creatively park in the already-full carpark next to the corpse of Bruce Hall, blocking others from leaving in the process. Then, at the bottom of the pile, some people lay claim to desks in Chif ley by abandoning some food and a book and then wandering away. Who would protest if these cretins were discouraged from their actions, while menstruators were simultaneously able to enjoy the luxury of a bathroom that isn’t a health hazard? Collect them all in a bucket and leave it somewhere in UniLodge. The university’s service providers don’t care much about basic cleanliness. You know who does?

UniLodge. UniLodge cares very, very much. It cares if your carpet is not sufficiently vacuumed. It cares if you forgot to wipe down your microwave. And it is most definitely going to care if inexplicable buckets of used feminine hygiene products start appearing in its common areas as if they are haunted by the ghosts of all the students ruthlessly thrown out in their second year. They’ll have your products disposed of post-haste – even if the cost does come out of the pockets of those poor souls residing there.

Wring them all out into the ANU pool. Nothing says ‘why are you spending money on a pool when our bathrooms are actual cesspits’ like rendering said pool just as disgusting until the problem can be fixed. And there you have it! No more watching the bloodied little towers accumulate in the Law Library bathrooms like some sick game of Tampon Jenga. No more attempts to simultaneously hold your breath, take a fifteen second dump and speculate about what would happen if certain other demographics were asked to put up with these conditions. With the help of these useful little life hacks all your worries (and your risk of toxic shock syndrome induced kidney failure) will disappear. Good luck!

Week 1, Semester 2, 2017

Trumping Donald Text: Alex Elgue Images : Zoe O’Leary Cameron

Donald J. Trump has a very peculiar style. But, of course, ANU students are nothing if not stylish. In fact, they can employ The Donald’s style better than the tycoon himself. Need proof that this isn’t fake news? Alex Elgue and a host of historical figures show him how it’s done.

Satire

Mark Latham takes a Quiet Night Off Stewing in his own White Working-Class Rage Text: Byron Knight

Sitting quietly, alone in the dark, Mr Latham poured himself another schooner from his Coopers Red Longneck. ‘Yeah, every now and again I need to recharge,’ Mr Latham said. ‘So when the wife is on a girls’ night, I send the kids to Nan’s, buy myself the strongest ale I can find, and sit at home thinking of all the things that piss me off,’ Mr Latham elaborated. Mr Latham was briefly leader of the Australian Labor Party, before Kevin Rudd, and was notorious for having a chip on his shoulder deeper than an open cut coal mine. ‘Fuck the ALP!’ Mr Latham said. ‘Half of the dickheads in it these days have never even been further west than Balmain,’ he continued. ‘I mean fuck me dead; even the ALP’s been taken over by political correctness now. Everyone’s acting like we are the fucking Greens; you can’t even call a schoolboy a bloody gay anymore because he says he is a feminist! Everything’s gone topsy turvy’.

Mark Latham ran against John Howard in the 2004 election, garnering much public attention during a confrontation with Mr Howard in which he stared him down like a manic sex murderer. We approached Mr Howard for comment: ‘Well, the bloke hasn’t really mellowed with age has he? I mean, Christ; you can’t be surprised - he worked for four years in a Green Valley Pub. Far out … he’s probably rearranged more noses than a plastic surgeon in Double Bay,’ Mr Howard quipped. Mr Latham is now a member of the Liberal-Democrats, a party that believes it stands up for the freedoms ‘ordinary and decent Australians enjoy and desire.’ Freedoms such as owning your own semiautomatic firearm and yelling racist abuse on a packed morning bus at brown people. Mr Latham states he has a packed year ahead, with considerable plans for picking on children and yelling at strangers.

Moral Poverty Text: Monty Allen

You sit i n you r leat her a r mcha i r before the fire. It glistens in its marble grate as you swill the remains of the Chateau Lafite in your glass. The incandescent f lames glint off the family crest upon your finger and illuminate the rich velvet of your dressing gown. Beyond the frosted pane of the window, snow drifts lazily through the dark sky, coating the rolling mountains. You sigh, casting your mind back to the previous day. The shouting. The screaming. The wanton aggression. That woman with the horrid pink hair, the chap with the dreadlocks. Uncivilised. Why didn’t they understand? All you did was for them, for the very things that they professed to desire. Liberty, equality, hope…. The shadows dance around you in the darkened room as the fire continues to crackle. “I suppose they just don’t understand,” you think as you ponder the f lames. That was the true problem. A lack of proper education. You make a mental note for the next policy meeting. You ring the bell and Samuel takes away the empty glass, leaving behind your box of Cohibas. Soon

the room is adrift with smoke. It hangs lazily in the air. Did those people have nothing better to do? They were unemployed that much was certain. One look could have told you that. The poor uneducated, more concerned with their breakfast gluten content than matters of importance. You were trying to help them. Everything you did was for them. The policies you had spent many a night labouring over. The campaigns. The protests in front of Parliament House; glueing your hands to the railings during Question Time. Hours of work on the papier-mâché Tony Abbott. The weeks spent canvassing in Union Court. Marx, Lenin, Trotsky. They knew nothing of your struggles. Of the hours you had spent to realise the dreams of the workers, of your fellow brothers, your comrades. The fire cackles in front of you, its crimson glow a mockery of your own dreams. You would see it realised. The revolution. Glorious. All men equal. You are puffing heavily on your cigar now, its bright red f lair burning into your pupils. Frustration catches your brow and you stop yourself. They will see things your way eventually. “Soon,” you murmur, as your cat leaps into your lap, nestling into you. Soon. Very soon. SALT. SALT will rise.

Vol. 67 , Issue 7

Satire

Stupol Wordsearch: James Atkinson

Cryptic Crossword: NWJ Woroni Cryptic 5 1

Sudoku: Sebastian Rossi

Solutions in next issue

4 5

16 18

17 19

Across 1 Vehicle tracks around Thorpe in mountain range (11) 5 Art ruined by pitch (3) 6 Old lover grips and has teeth removed (11) 8 Encroach on vague mini peg (7) 9 Adjust sligthly, time is feeble (5) 10 Mate comprises a side (4) 11 Syphon is entranced by brainwashing (8) 14 Sodium stick works French leader (8) 17 Thieve tricky tales (5) 18 Keg and alien in coffin (5) 20 Gorey pledge of exuberant agreement (6,4)

Down 1 Thy crimes confuse the study of elements (9) 2 Mineral tap shakes seat of government (10) 3 Headgear? Scarlet with loathing (6) 4 Loud and smelly - honest and to the point (5) 7 Zero change for reproductive organ (5) 9 Renters X insects (7) 12 Wash and display the queen (6) 13 Steal store elevators (9) 15 Edgar Allen, attempt verse! (6) 16 Baby in South Australia is used underwater (5) 19 Halt! Pots head north (4)