Woroni Edition 5 2015

WORONI WEEK 8, 2015 - WORONI.COM.AU - FACEBOOK, TWITTER & THE APP STORES

NO.5 VOL.67

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WORONI No.5 Vol.67

CONTENTS No. 5 1. Lizzies, Nellies and Banjos Cover - Rocky Hammer 3. SRC Meeting Report - Maddalena Easterbrook 3. The South China Sea Dispute - Madhav Fischer 4. PARSA OGM Report - Sophie Jones 4. The Sixth Sense - Ivana Smojver 5. Male Women’s Officer Resigns - James Barrett 5. Students Ready To Go Red This April - Lizzie Storor 6. Operation Soverign Borders - Rob Bower and Anna Kaufmann 6. Another Day, Another Day of Action - Anna Kaufmann 7. Vale Smith’s Alternative Bookshop - Gabriele Naktinyte 7. The ANU - Reg Nautly

7. Real People Reviews - Anon, Anon, Anon 8. Comic - Rocky Hammer 8. To Pimp A Butterfly - Vihan Patel 9. Inner Varnika Festival - Marie Heloury 9. Cancer Gene Dispute To Be Heard In High Court - James Barrett 9. Homophobia in Rugby Union - Kalvin Rajmano 10. Dear Sportsbet - This Is Who Elyse Perry Is - Zach Mackey 10. Its Time to Make a Splash - Robbie McNeill 10. Beer: Evidence For Intelligent Design - Leo Pure 11. So You Want To... Follow Major League Baseball - Ellen Trevanion 12. Reading the Stats: A Response to Professor Baker - Simone Proctor 13. Extinction Debt: Rethinking the Greek Debt - Duncan Stuart

14. Australian Aid in the South Pacific - Tom Murphy 15. Financial Hardship: Help Is Out There - ANUSA 16. Divest The Rest - Duncan Stuart 18-19. Susan Harris-Rimmer on Women’s Empowerment - Linda Ma 20. The Biased Lens of Micro 1 at ANU - Nishanth Pathy 21. Why Do We Call Them Sperm Whales?

- Alyssa Roggero 22-23. Careers and Jobs - ANU Careers Centre 24. Forget About Exchange: DIY Or Die - Hugh Joseph

25. The Seven Unwonders Of The World: The North Pacific Gyre - Xeno 25. Chaharshaanbe Soori - Anon 27. Moroni 28. Please Download the App. A pod of giant squid were sacrificed this week to provide ink.

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Woroni is published on the land of the Ngunnawal people.

We respect elders past and present and recognise that the sovereignty was never ceded.

Advertising inquiries and submissions can made at: advertising@woroni.com.au Phone: (02) 6125 9574 Shop 15, Lena Karmel Building 26 Barry Drive, Acton 2601

BOARD OF EDITORS

SUB-EDITORIAL TEAM

Editor-in-Chief - Alex Catalan-Flores Deputy Editor-in-Chief - Jacob Ingram Managing Editor - Abigail Widijanto Creative Director - Janis Lejins Content (Contributions) Editor - Beatrice Smith Content (Multimedia) Editor - Rashna Farrukh Content (News) Editor - Sophie Yates Radio Editor - Ellen Stokes

News Correspondent - Maddi Easterbrook News Correspondent - Waheed Jayhoon News Correspondent - Anna Kaufmann Science - James Barrett Comments - Jessy Wu Features - Vincent Chiang Satire & World - Hugo Branley Arts & Reviews -Benedicte O’Leary Rutherford Arts & Reviews - Ria Pflaum Life & Style - Paroksh Prasad Sports - Zach Mackay International - Virgina Harding Radio - Megan Shellie Radio - Jeremy Jones Radio - James Bernasconi Radio - Isaac Dugdale

S TA F F Simone Proctor - Administrative Assistant Siobhonn Shannon - Proofreader Woroni is printed by Capital Fine Print.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

CAMPUS NEWS SRC MEETING REPORT CAMPUS NEWS

MADDALENA EASTERBROOK, NEWS CORRESPONDENT

The second meeting of the 2015 ANUSA Student Representative Council failed to live up to the anticipated drama surrounding the appointment of a temporary Disputes Committee. During the meeting, which ran for two and a half hours on Tuesday 10th March, the Council decided on how this committee would be chosen, heard from key ANUSA officers, and discussed reaccreditation with the National Union of Students (NUS).

In order to compensate for the failure of the previous SRC to appoint its own Disputes Committee, ANUSA General Secretary, Megan Lane, sought legal advice regarding precedence on the appointment of a temporary disputes committee. However, Lane described the advice she received from the ANUSA Legal Officer as “quite honestly not all that encouraging because the constitution is so vague”.

A motion was put forward that a selection panel consisting of one general representative, one executive member, one college representative, one department officer and one other elected member of ANUSA would appoint the committee, provided the SRC ratified such appointment with a two-thirds majority. This motion was passed.

However, once chosen, this Disputes Committee would only stand until the next SRC meeting, which is scheduled for early term two, at which the current SRC plans to appoint its own committee. “While this seems excessive for 6 weeks it is a precedence for how we then elect the disputes committee for the rest of the 12 months,” Lane said.

It was decided that an email from the ANUSA Executive would be sent to each relevant group entrusting them to elect their own representative to sit on the Disputes Committee selection panel, while the college representative would be decided on at the next CRC meeting.

ANUSA President, Ben Gill, also put forward a motion that ANUSA affiliates with the NUS for a fee of up to $5000. The NUS initially levied ANUSA with an affiliation fee of $89,800, which is estimated to comprise of $625 per full-time student, and consequently ANUSA will negotiate with the NUS Accreditation Committee to lower this fee to a maximum of $5000, as proposed by Gill.

This was met with great debate, mostly because several SRC members were unwilling to reaffiliate with NUS due to NUS’ decision to defund the Disability Office Bearer and its continued disregard for Queer Collaboration.

This debate has been delayed until the ANUSA SRC receives reports from 2014 NUS Conference delegates and an NUS Officer Bearer is able to brief the ANUSA SRC about the values of affiliation.

Women’s Officer, Loren Ovens, successfully moved a motion to include the word “consent” in the title of ANUSA’s Sex Week. Queer Officer, Kat Reed, seconded the motion, saying, “I have concerns about the impression the title ‘sex week’ alone might have on people, who maybe aren’t as aware of safer sex practices… forgetting that, yes we celebrate sex, but it must be consensual to be great sex and, in fact, to be considered sex at all”.

It is yet to be decided when this week will be held, with Lane suggesting it could be held during Bush Week. “Bush Week doesn’t really seem to have a particular purpose; it’s not as big as O-Week and it just tends to be an excuse for ANUSA to throw a couple of really cool piss ups, but this could provide some structure around Bush Week.”

In his Presidential Report, Gill revealed that he is currently spearheading the SSAF Agreement negotiations with the ANU on behalf of ANUSA, PARSA and ANUSM (i.e. Woroni).

Education Officer, Jock Webb, emphasised the importance of campaigning against the private member’s bill to abolish SSAF, which was presented a few weeks ago by Liberal Senator James McGrath in order to bring back “true voluntary student unionism”.

“SSAF is obviously extremely important to our organisation and I think there would be a consensus in this room that, with SSAF money, we as an organisation, along with other organisations on campus, manage to provide fantastic services to students who are really in need and those who may not be in need,” said Webb.

In her Queer Report, Reed discussed establishing an inter-hall gender and sexuality committee to provide support to relevant officers at colleges and halls. “[The committee will] try to outline some potential goals to reach for in terms of their role as [Sexuality and Gender Officers] as it’s been expressed that many people in these roles don’t have a clear outline of what they’re supposed to do,” said Reed.

SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE – AN ASEAN LECTURE CAMPUS NEWS On Tuesday 7th April, the ANU ASEAN Society hosted their first public lecture of the year, “Prospects and Perspectives on the South China Sea Dispute”. The ANU ASEAN Society invited Professor Leszek Buszynski, Dr Andrew Carr, and Thanh Hai Do to provide a regional understanding of the dispute and reflect upon the perspectives of the US, Vietnam, Australia and the ASEAN states.

Described by Professor Buszynski as one of the most dangerous flashpoints in East Asia, the South China Sea involves a multi-state dispute over two island chains; the Paracels, and the Spratlys, large ocean areas, and a number of uninhabited atolls, reefs, sandbanks, and rocky outcrops.

The area is thought to have large reserves of

MADHAV FISCHER natural resources and according to Professor Buszynski, “the area contains some 80 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves”. Additionally, the area is one of the world’s busiest sea-lanes.

Thanh emphasised that both China and Vietnam have extensive undefined claims regarding the sovereignty of the islands and the surrounding territory. Additionally, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia have claims to the area. However, the real danger of the dispute stems from the involvement of China, the US and now Russia’s involvement in the area.

Over the course of the presentations, the three speakers sought to directly engage and enhance the audience’s understanding of the lecture.

Professor Buszynski and Dr Carr explored the

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power dynamics in the area. China’s recent construction of naval bases at Mischief Reef near the Spratly Islands was used as an example.

Both experts contrasted China’s expansionist interests, with the sovereign claims held by the ASEAN states within the Spratly Islands and the US move towards area-wide stability and Chinese containment.

Thanh’s presentation dealt with Vietnam’s approach to the South China Sea. By providing Vietnam’s perspective, Thanh showed Russia’s movement toward extending its influence within South East Asia, a strategy made evident through Russia’s increased access to Cam Ranh Bay.

WORONI No.5 Vol.67

PARSA CAMPUS NEWS

The Postgraduate and Research Students’ Association (PARSA) has adopted a new constitution and approved changes to electoral regulations in its most recent ordinary general meeting. These significant changes come after the dramatic Postgraduate Representative Committee elections last year, in which a motion of no confidence resulted in the elected President being removed from his new position four hours after his appointment.

Questions have been raised regarding the lack of participation of the postgraduate community, as only thirty-seven out of eleven thousand postgraduate students partook in the vote at the OGM. Furthermore, at the time of that OGM, the proposed constitution was only a draft, yet members of the PARSA Constitution and Electoral Regulations Committee said that after three months preparing the report and making amendments resulting from student feedback, the proposed document was in an advanced state of readiness and could be voted on.

Current PARSA President, Benjamin Niles, promoted the changes to the PARSA constitution and electoral changes as improving the accountability, stability and legitimacy of both candidates and officers. PARSA has moved to a direct election model for all positions and an

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OGM

SOPHIE JONES

optional preferential voting system, which it is hoped will build transparency. Candidates will be required to express the position they are interested in and their vision may then be considered. Two PARSA representatives suggested that in the old system it may have been advantageous to not declare one’s intentions in advance and thus the change was welcome.

The alterations also establish an independent Disputes Committee, define an electoral offence, and outline the methods of removing Postgraduate Representative Committee members. Key positional eligibility criteria were developed, with explicit provisions that the International Officer be an international student and the Indigenous Australian Officer identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Niles recognized that these provisions might result in only a few people running or someone wellqualified being ineligible for these positions, but these risks are said to be outweighed by an assurance of accurate representation and advocacy.

REPORT candidates may be elected together on a single ballot. It was recognized that this is a tool of transparency that has already been informally occurring and resolves the difficulties faced by students running as groups.

Concerns were raised about the compatibility of direct elections and Apollo, the software used to cast votes online. PARSA Treasurer, Chris Wilson, indicated that the Association is presently discussing this with Apollo. It was also suggested in the OGM that PARSA does not want to be constrained to only one software.

PARSA elections will be held at the AGM in May, in accordance with the new constitution.

A full set of the constitutional changes can be viewed online at the PARSA website: parsa. anu.edu.au

The accepted changes also establish the option for nominees to run on tickets. A ticket refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. That is, two

THE SIXTH SENSE: WHY THE NUMBER ONE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE PURPLE CAMPUS NEWS Approximately 1 out of 100 people have a sixth sense, or rather, a condition where one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses.

Synesthetes are real and walk among us. In fact, you probably know a few.

Doctor Stephanie Goodhew, Lead Researcher at ANU School of Psychology, explains that synesthesia (“union of the senses”) is thought of as a condition or trait where “a particular stimulus evokes an involuntary sensory experience for the individual”. For example, “a person affected by Graphemecolour synesthesia may experience the colour green when reading the letter ‘A’ whereas an individual with sound-taste synesthesia can experience a salty taste in response to the sound of a friend’s voice”. Empirical studies indicate that a high prevalence of people who are creative, such as artists, writers, etc. are actually synesthetes.

Goodhew recently conducted research that focused on measuring the extent that people with synesthesia draw meaning between words.

The most significant finding confirmed that that synesthetes showed greater semantic priming relative to their non-synesthete controls.

IVANA SMOJVER Furthermore, the results are yet another indication that synesthetes have a “qualitatively richer” or more vibrant perception of the world around them than the common populace.

Presumably, this is the reason synesthetes are more likely to fall into artistic pursuits. Along with subjective reports of enhanced memory, Goodhew’s research adds to the accumulated evidence that “synesthetes can strategically use their experience to facilitate objective performance on memory task”.

Goodhew remarks that her research is broadly driven by the curiosity to understand these unusual sensory experiences (such as tasting colours) and what implications it might have for the cognitive processes of these individuals.

It is also surprising to note that there are probably many people who have the condition but do not realise what it is. Goodhew explains that there is “a substantial body of evidence demonstrating synesthetic sensations are genuine experiences that are involuntary consequences of perceiving the inducing stimulus”. However, there isn’t yet a medical test for synaesthesia. She explains that the synesthetic experience may be assessed by a number of cognitive tests, such

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as the Synesthesia battery which documents each individual’s experience and measures the reliability of reports.

At this point, you are all probably wondering if you can develop a sixth sense too. Goodhew tells that there isn’t compelling evidence synaesthesia can be learnt. It is, however, possible for non-synesthetes to learn particular associations, although it would appear not to be “equivalent to the true synesthetic experience”.

For Goodhew, the future of this area of research seems to be clear: she hopes to better understand the qualities and attributes of synaesthetes and how to harness these capabilities.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

MALE WOMEN’S OFFICER RESIGNS JAMES BARRETT

CAMPUS NEWS Woroni’s sister publication Togatus reports that cis-male* student and Young Liberal James Ritchie became Women’s Officer of the Tasmania University Union (TUU) Northern SRC, only to resign days later. The Northern board would have been entirely male. Woroni asked for the views of ANU students including ANUSA Women’s Officer Loren Ovens.

Mr Ritchie was controversially elected with a total of 112 votes, 20 votes ahead of a female opponent. However, a petition supported by over 1000 people stated Mr Ritchie was allowed to nominate only due to an administrative error and that for a series of practical and ethical reasons he could not represent the women of UTas. These reasons included Mr Ritchie’s factual inability to engage in autonomous (women only) activities.

A TUU media release confirmed the error, as have communications between Ms Ovens and TUU President Heidi La Paglia.

In a resignation letter, Mr Ritchie explained he was “genuinely saddened that some people can spend so much time and effort arguing about who should hold a certain position, yet fail to recognise the ability of that person to break down barriers and use solidarity to enact positive change”. Mr Ritchie insisted he was not “bowing to public pressure,” but acting in a “mature and rational manner”.

Female students detected a particular irony in his resignation letter. Ms Ovens explained:

“I feel the most important part of being an advocate for women, is listening to their concerns and engaging with them in a meaningful way.

Accordingly, I was disappointed with Ritchie’s resignation letter.”

“His letter signaled (sic) a lack of engagement with the reasons given by the UTas women who put up the petition and who in his role, he was elected to represent.”

ANUSA General Secretary Megan Lane believes that ideally men should be able to advocate for women. However, she added that the specialised post of Women’s Officer exists because of an overall power imbalance between genders. “As long as this imbalance continues to exist, I believe it is important that women’s interests continue to be advocated for by female identifying students,” said Ms Lane.

In reaction to the debacle, the UTas state council passed a motion allowing only femaleidentifying students to nominate for Women’s Officer. Cis-male students cannot nominate.

Nor can biological females who identify as male at the time of nomination. When asked whether a similar policy was in place at the ANU, Ms Ovens said: “The council’s motion was merely bringing UTas’ provisions into line with what is commonplace across Australian universities.

At [the] ANU, a candidate for the role of ANU

STUDENTS TO

GO

CAMPUS NEWS In terms of makeup, red lipstick is pretty rad.

The perfect “lazy girl” beauty hack, a red lip can jazz up an outfit or for some, trick people into thinking you understand makeup when in reality you use eyeliner pencils as stationary.

However, for the month of April, men and women around the world, including students at the ANU, are donning a shade of scarlet for an entirely different purpose.

“Red My Lip” began in 2012, after Danielle Tansino, an American social worker who was raped by a friend on a night out, founded the campaign in response to her traumatic experiences with the court system. A female district attorney told Tansino that her case would not be brought to prosecution because “jurors don’t like girls who drink”. This phrase struck a chord with Tansino and millions of men and women around the world wanting to combat the attitude that a rape victim was “asking for it” by drinking or making “slutty” clothing choices.

Women’s Officer must be woman-identifying.”

“I often hear queries from people about whether this includes transwomen, it absolutely does” Ms Lane reiterated this comment, noting that section 8 of the ANUSA Constitution allows only female-identifying members of the Women’s Department to nominate. Section 8 sets out similar requirements for the Queer*, Indigenous, Disability and International Students’ Officers.

While acknowledging that Mr Ritchie may have meant well, a minority of students claimed he was acting in pure self-interest or attempting to add a safe Liberal vote to the TUU board.

But Ms Ovens summed up a feeling expressed almost unanimously across the spectrum of commentators: “There are many opportunities for men to get involved in the fight for gender equality but the role of a Women’s Officer shouldn’t be one of them.”

“For me, this just seems common sense.” *Cis- means that the gender one identifies with aligns with their biological gender at birth.

Woroni thanks Togatus for their investigation into this story. Megan Lane is a member of the Australian Labor Party.

READY

RED

THIS

APRIL

LIZZIE STOROR This cause is particularly relevant for students at the ANU in light of recent reports of sexual assault on campus. In a recent Woroni article about unwanted sexual attention on campus, Professor Richard Baker, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Student Experience, noted that “while there is some evidence that the rate of incidents on campus may be lower than that in the broader community, there remains more we can do to improve the situation on our campus”. While the Dean of Students’ Report noted that nine allegations of unwanted sexual attention were reported on and off campus last year, the real figure is irrefutably much higher due to lack of official reportage.

For students looking to raise awareness about this issue, “Red My Lip” is an apt way to engender dialogue about assault and harassment on campus, and more broadly, the culture of victim blaming, which still pervades some parts of our society. Reflecting on her participation in the campaign so far, first year

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International Relations/Law student Sophie Jones told Woroni; “as someone who hardly wears makeup, let alone bold lipstick, it’s taken people by surprise and initiated lots of really important discussions”.

While the Women’s Department is not holding an official campaign event, Women’s Officer Loren Ovens maintains that “every month is sexual assault awareness [month] for the department”, pointing to The Pledge campaign run by the department which also addresses violence on campus. Scheduled for early Semester Two, ANUSA’s Sex and Consent Week will also highlight the issue while at the same time as celebrating healthy expressions of sexuality.

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WORONI No.5 Vol.67

OPERATION SOVERIGN BORDERS ROB BOWER AND ANNA KAUFMANN

CAMPUS NEWS

On Monday 13th April the Haydon Allen Tank was packed beyond capacity, with people finding perches on stairs and side-railings in order to catch a glimpse of The Canberra Refugee Action Committee’s event - “The Truth Behind Operation Sovereign Borders & The Alternative To It”.

The seminar featured two guest presenters; Geraldine Fela, an ANU student and member of Rainbow RAC, and Professor Bill Maley of the Refugee Council of Australia.

Fela began by explaining Operation Sovereign Borders and its cost to the Australian taxpayer.

She made a detailed and emotive case against the Abbott government’s border policy, with particular reference to the much publicised Moss Report and the deaths of Reza Barati and Hamid Kehazaei as examples of the inherent risks of the policy.

Fela opined that the government’s policy of deterrence could not hope to prevent these kinds of harmful outcomes. Indeed, she emphasised that harm to asylum seekers was facilitated by the policy.

Fela invoked the marked change in public opinion towards illegal boat arrivals from 2001 and 2007 Newspoll surveys and concluded by encouraging the crowd to become advocates for asylum seeker issues.

Professor Maley, a distinguished academic, Barrister, member of the Australian Committee

of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and Vice-President of the Refugee Council of Australia, discussed historical and philosophical developments of Australia’s refugee policy. Professor Maley criticised the leadership of the Australian political class for distancing themselves from the UN Convention and Protocols on Refugees and disagreed with arguments that Operation Sovereign Borders, and “stop the drownings at sea”policies, saved lives. He instead argued that those policies would have repercussive effects outside our own region, making the case that “turning boats back” to prevent drownings at sea would not guarantee preventing deaths in the countries they are returned to.

Professor Maley suggested alternatives to the government’s current policy, including more settlement places and improved efficiency in processing claims. The funding for which, he suggested, would amount to the same costs currently incurred by running detention centres and initiating boat pullbacks.

Speaking from his experience of talking to asylum seekers across the globe, Professor Maley emphasised that nobody wants to get on a boat. If you live in a country where you and your family face death on a daily basis at the hands of a corrupt government or suicide bombers, Professor Maley suggested it is clear which path the rational person would take.

Maley cited statistics from the Immigration Department that for refugees seeking an

offshore visa in Afghanistan and Pakistan through the proper channels, fewer than 25% will be approved. Moreover, those whose applications are approved have an average finalisation period of 65.5 weeks. Meanwhile, people smugglers are able to move people within five days of receiving their down payment.

Both speakers also highlighted the need for different perceptions of people smugglers, with Fela stating that “the demonisation of people smugglers is something we need to challenge all the time, they are actually doing really important humanitarian work”. To which Professor Maley added: “these labels are designed to denigrate, to marginalize, If my life were at risk I would rather go to a people smuggler than go to bureaucracy.”

The passionate and eloquent presentations very clearly struck a chord with the audience, the mass of raised hands begging to ask questions at the conclusion of the event causing it to go overtime. Many people then stayed around further for a chance to talk one-on-one with Fela and Professor Maley and to converse with other audience members.

The Canberra Refugee Action Committee will host their next general meeting on Tuesday 28th April. To find out more, visit http:// refugeeaction.org.au .

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DAY OF ACTION –

ANU

STUDENTS

CAMPUS NEWS On Wednesday 25th March, university students at the ANU and across the country united in protest for another National Day of Action (NDA) against deregulation of Australian universities.

Union Court was once again flooded with a sea of t-shirts emblazoned with “Stop the Cuts” and signs begging Abbott and Pyne to resign, a familiar sight to those who were there to witness the multiple rallies against deregulation that were held last year.

However, while last year’s rallies were preceded by strong build-ups and were swathed in media attention, the lead up to Wednesday’s rally was more one of confusion. The success of previous NDAs, held last year in March and August was clear – the bill proposing deregulation failing to get through the senate twice is evidence of that.

So when students were once again called upon to rally against proposed deregulation less than a week after it had been defeated the second time, more than a few were left asking why.

However as students gathered in Union Square for the ANUSA-organised event, the multiple speakers presented their message very clearly: as long as Pyne is vowing to never give up on deregulation, students won’t give up on fighting it.

FIGHT

DEREGULATION,

AGAIN

ANNA KAUFMANN, NEWS CORRESPONDENT ANUSA Education Officer Jock Webb emphasised that student actions over 2014 and 2015 should be celebrated, remarking that “the crossbenchers have listened to students”.

But Webb also foreshadowed the need to continue protesting. “The ‘fixer’ is still trying to destroy the system and he will never give up, and neither will we.”

Jack Bowers from the National Tertiary Education Union and Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon also addressed the students, presenting similar messages of congratulations on the success of the previous protests against deregulation, and the need to keep going to ensure the tertiary education is accessible, equitable, of a high quality and open to any student who wishes to access it.

Students of the ANU were more than willing to respond to that call. Undergraduate students, Elinor and Gemma, said they were concerned by the prospect of financial barriers to accessibility of education.

They emphasized that “the benefit of education to society outweighs the cost, an educated nation is a strong nation”.

They, like other students, were fearful that

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deregulation would present problems for their younger siblings who also wished to attend university. Others still said that they were taking part in the rally because they were angry and felt the government doesn’t “value the right of education for all”.

The National Union of Student’s ACT Education Officer Vishnupriya De took the stage last, amping up the crowd with her high levels of energy and passion. She too thanked those who participated in previous rallies, saying: “cheers to everybody who hit the streets in 2014, thanks to you, Pyne now cannot step foot on university campuses without being reminded that he is a scumbag.”

But De also got straight to the point of why there was still a need to take to the streets in protest: “two thirds of students are living below the poverty line while Vice-Chancellors are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.”

“We have to keep protesting, this is not the last time we will rally in 2015.”... article continues online.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

VALE SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE BOOKSHOP

ARTS & REVIEWS

GABRIELE NAKTINYTE

Earlier this year, we lost an outlet for the performance of original and unique work, and the dream of the classic hazy scene of sitting down to listen to something alive and new. The closing down of Smith’s Alternative Bookshop is a nail in the coffin of originality and different experience in Canberra’s music scene. What the sit-down jazz club offered was a supportive stage to the people practicing in their garages or basements and producing something a little bit different, wanting to communicate what they didn’t hear in the mainstream. The people who came to listen, while having the option to sit alone and watch YouTube or go through SoundCloud, came to connect and share with another person, ear to ear.

When asked how he felt about his experience performing at Smith’s Alternative Bookshop, singer-songwriter and member of up-and-coming Canberra-based band The Gypsy Scholars, Conagh McMahon-Hogan could only recall the

fond feelings and the “playful environment” of the club. He said that Smith’s set-up and their “scattering of audience members… [was] good, because as a performer, it offered a level of audience engagement and connectivity to the music”. The environment Smith’s provided was “less pressure… [it was] less ‘here’s a picture frame, stand up and watch’… [but more] opening the door for something new.”

Answering the question of “how important do you think small music clubs like Smiths are to the Canberra scene?” Conagh responded that the vision Smith’s had “to make money failed,” but it still provided “a stage to people who otherwise wouldn’t be given an opportunity”. The gradual decline of sit-down music clubs means less places to perform. There will “always be that space I hope”, Conagh says, they just “need something to pull [people] in”. Clearly, Smith’s missed out on the it-factor to keep itself interesting for the

crowds, but without the ‘connecting memories’ of theirs and other’s “broadening boundaries”, the Canberra music scene could become “stale and stagnant… ‘cause we always need something new, man”.

We go to live shows is for the excitement, to witness another flesh and bone human create something that transcends the senses, and linger outside of what we know. In going to see an act, the current trend is to cough up the cash, and follow the crowd to a huge over-produced show, and although it’s probably better than listening at home, you’re still separated from the performer.

Smith’s gave us a chance to listen and connect with an artist, as they performed new and different material, just for us, and we watched them shift as we reacted off each other. It’s a shame that Smiths is gone, and that there’s one less soldier fighting for local new experiences and sounds of the undiscovered artists.

THE ANU REG NAULTY

Where once the Molonglo rushed its torrents to the sea a haze of knowledge rises confusedly; close by, in solid clusters grand amid spreading lawns where sacred groves abound stands the ANU, monument to learning and truth where dedicated scholars enrich the minds of youth.

The subtleties of nature are exposed for all to see, and relations between entities expressed mathematically, the vast expanse of nature is shown to be sublime, perfect instruction for the young enquiring mind!

The glories of literature are not neglected either and the intimacies of verse fan the inner, ecstatic fire.

Once departed these hallowed grounds, whatever life shall send, they will surpass mediocrity, and seek to comprehend.

REAL

ARTS & REVIEWS

PEOPLE

ANON, ANON, ANON

My Friend, Who Was Very Drunk.

Ode To Pecman

Standing at the door of the club as the sober-est one negotiating with the bouncer to let your drunker friends in is not always an easy task. Cut to last NYE, for example, when my friend, who we’ll call “L” for the sake of this article (and because that way I get to imagine her as some kind of secret agent, even though her dipped green ombre hair probably wouldn’t blend in as well as said secret agent’s boss would hope), forgot an essential part of life that is drilled into you from a young age. The alphabet. Proudly trying to prove that she was sooo not drunk - of course she wasn’t you guys she hadn’t even had that much to drink - the bouncer was sooo overreacting, L started to sing the alphabet. And she seemed to be managing it! We were so proud! We were almost home – or almost in some mildly trashy club – and then came the clanger. “Q, R, S, T, U… P?”. Oh L. The bouncer laughed, gave her some water, and promptly sent us on our way.

You know those people that you somehow just see everywhere? Well, there’s this one boy, a boy my friends and I lovingly refer to as Pecman, for his fine form, that always appears in all of my lectures, even though I’m not sure he’s enrolled in some of them.

To be fair, I’m making that assumption from the fact that he mainly just watches music videos on silent (Who does that? What’s the point?), but I’m paying attention to him more than I’m paying attention to the lecturer, so who am I to judge? You guys can’t judge me either, ok, he has REALLY big pecs they’re like beacons that draw the light – and my attention. He always wears too tight shirts and sits in the third row, no matter what lecture theatre we’re in, and laughs really loudly at the lecturer’s jokes. Too loudly, you guys. They’re never funny.

2 stars for forgetting the most basic of basic things, but 4 stars for hilarity.

REVIEWS

2 stars because due to watching him I’ve watched the Uptown Funk video on silent 29 times, and that’s not that fun after the 4th time, but 5 stars for his pecs. Maybe even 6.

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To That Mature Age Student In That Class of Mine I have noticed your overenthusiasm in our tutorial class, but I do not hold it against you. I know it is a way for you to distract yourself from the grim reaper of death that looms over you. I am sure your numerous dependants greatly appreciate the financial and personal support you currently bring to the table. I am sure it must be strange being taught by persons who were still mere bodily fluids when you reached the glorious age of retirement. But seriously, I respect you, the only students who are at uni purely for the sake of learning. You guys rock… in chairs.

4 stars.

WORONI No.5 Vol.67

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TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY REVIEWS

To Pimp a Butterfly intensifies the social messages with which Kendrick has always associated himself, and interpolates them with heavy metaphor and poetic freedom found after escaping the linearity of a fully blown concept album defined by story, characters, and emotions. As always, Kendrick’s accessibility arises from his meticulous authorship and passion for honesty – the information encoded in any line, the irony of any wordplay, and the overarching social emphasis on the entire album is demarcated

by Kendrick’s experiences, failures, and struggles. Meanwhile, the album remains too sonically versatile for Lamar to have spent a short amount of time pondering its aesthetic. Rather, it appears a slowly built up, layered composition of old-school funk, jazz, or even trap-inspired instrumentals constructed by the likes of the psychedelic Flying Lotus and bassist Thundercat, and even the catchier Pharrell Williams.

Kendrick is first and foremost a lyricist.

While the social messages span the

VIHAN PATEL

topics of the white-dominated music industry, suicide, spirituality, hypocrisy within the black community, and the importance of the social work found in the lives of Mandela or Malcolm X, there isn’t a second of preaching that doesn’t reverse back onto Kendrick by some revelation as to the character of the narrative voice or the hypocrisy of Kendrick’s own manifesto. Each verse carries with it a perspective led by its own set of drives and rational premises, and each glimpse inside the stricken parts of the African American community and its various sub-groups is stamped by a self-depreciating, introspective temperament.

Ultimately, the album’s progression moves away from a kind of unsure, arrogant façade of a man who’s “made it” against all odds and towards a poised activist who understands the inherent value in self-love as a solution, above all else, and is prepared for the worst, challenging his people and his followers, “if shit hits the fan, is you still a fan?”. To Pimp a Butterfly carries the 8

weight and composure of a Kendrick album, with a versatility in voice, character, and subject-matter to rattle and shake the minds of those that give it due careful attention.

Unfortunately, Lamar’s nuance can be lost behind very enjoyable beats and hooks, but his power is found in the conceptual storytelling of every song, moving back and forth within himself and others until it becomes clear to him what the next step of the puzzle might be. This puzzle is itself a poem which Kendrick recites at the beginning of each track, to the late Tupac Shakur.

Perhaps more unlike other socially conscious rappers, Lamar remains rooted and manifestly aware of the limitations and opportunities afforded by the personal perspective within which he is trapped. He is determined to narrate his own evolution amidst his discontent with society as it stands as a means to simultaneously release mental anguish and inspire others to enact positive change.

INNER ARTS & REVIEWS

Victorian electronic festival Inner Varnika, held over the Easter weekend, promised dance enthusiasts a soulful and spiritual musical experience, and it delivered just that.

The starting night, Good Friday, had a rather unsettling vibe at first, with the windy weather evoking a sense of chaos and a little bit of madness amongst festival goers. The wind was quick to settle in order to make way for a bright, full moon, but the impatient dancers in the crowd did not find soulful beats to boogie to until 1.30am with Dan White from butter sessions playing live and bringing popular, happy tunes.

Saturday represented the epitome of the festival with an incredible line-up and the prospect of a lunar eclipse at night. The excitement was seen early with most doofers out and about at 10am to enjoy the soothing Velvet Underground tracks played by Glynn Hill.

The sun set in rhythm with the happy tunes of German artist Mr Ties and made way for a foggy night. An intriguing pilgrimage of doofers occurred around 10pm where people retreated to the top of the various hills to observe the unveiling of the

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

VARNIKA MARIE HELOURY

lunar eclipse. This was a truly magic moment that I experienced with a fellow Canberran local, making us feel extra special to be in the only state of Australia to observe the full eclipse. Once the moon had put on its bloody cape the atmosphere became heavy and spiritual as the night became so dark and foggy that the stage was barely visible.

Australian dance artist Moopie emphasised this impression with his deep dance beats. Melbourne based artist Edd Fisher from the trio Wax’o Paridiso described the night by simply stating “Moopie killed it, Sleep D gave an amazing live techno set and I couldn’t fault the festival because it is simply perfect”.

However, it wasn’t until the arrival of the “professor” Donato Dozzy that the musical experience reached its peak. He provided techno enthusiasts with some slow-burning beats that invited a solid and enthusiastic thump which extended itself well into the depth of the night. I was lucky to be accompanied by some adventurous friends who dared me to climb up to the very top of the hill that overlooked the festival grounds.

The hike up occurred at around 4am, when the fogginess was most prominent. Once arrived at the peak of the narrow hilltop no sense of reality

FESTIVAL could be perceived apart from Dozzy’s heavy, dark beats. This dreamy atmosphere did not fail to remind me of James Turrell’s artwork “Breathing Light”, a space in which you lose perception of space and become one with the light and sound.

The third day, Easter Sunday, brought my attention to the eclectic crowd that Inner Varnika had brought together. Despite the apparent exhaustion of the revellers after the previous two nights, the mood remained light hearted and friendly. This was only emphasized by Zanzibar Chanel’s raw live set, with the grounds having been mostly cleared by Sunday night – leaving behind only the relics of an intensely memorable festival and minimal footprint.

You couldn’t fault the carefully selected artist line-up, but many felt the stage lacked visual add-ons to complement the high tech FunktionOne sound system. Overall, the festival provided an unforgettable experience where wilderness, electronic sound and the festival goers blended into one.

CANCER GENE DISPUTE TO BE HEARD IN HIGH COURT SCIENCE

JAMES BARRETT

This month the High Court will hear arguments over whether the dystopian-sounding Myriad Genetics should be able to patent the BRCA1 “breast cancer” gene it isolated. Simply put, the isolated gene is capable of being used to find mutated BRCA1 proteins in patients, which indicates an increased risk of breast cancer.

differences, especially on medical issues.

Angelina Jolie-Pitt has written two convictionfilled pieces on the preventative surgeries she underwent after this gene and its twin assisted in finding she had a very high risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

It is curious that the High Court decided to reconsider this case, which will be known as D’Arcy v Myriad Genetics. Last year five judges of the Federal Court unanimously held that the patent was lawful.

When the case was heard in our Federal Court and US Supreme Court, the blogosphere’s focus was on how Jolie could afford the test but if the gene remained under patent most people could not afford the test and it would hinder scientific experimentation. This is not necessarily true, but idealists would argue that allowing the patent is against public policy. Science should always be used to eliminate class rather than propagate class

This suggests that the High Court is only considering an appeal because of the strong public interest in the case, or to clarify why the Australian position is different from the US decision. Perhaps they agree with the Federal Court outcome but wish to correct their reasoning toward that outcome.

The isolated gene is currently patented under Australian Patent No. 686004. In contrast, the US Supreme Court held the gene wasn’t patentable, but the US congress has set down a different legal framework on the issue.

Conversely, the High Court may disagree with the Federal Court’s decision. Chief Justice French

HOMOPHOBIA IN SPORT

It was only two years ago that the ARU announced it would tackle the issue of homophobia in the sport through the implementation of an “inclusion policy”. The announcement was groundbreaking, as it was the first high profile team sport in the world to attempt to tackle the problem of sexualitybased discrimination.

However, given the high level of support against homophobia in the sport, I was disappointed to see the fallout from the Waratahs v Brumbies round 6 clash.

During the game, Vice Captain of the Brumbies, David Pocock reported to the referee twice about vile homophobic comments made by a Waratahs forward, later found to be Jacques

KALVIN RAJMANO

The debate is one of science, philosophy and law, not an immediately practical debate. The patent expires in August. The High Court’s judgment will probably be delivered after the patent has expired. Furthermore, section 119C of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) allows most useful types of experimentation on the BRCA1 gene even though it is patented. Yet, the High Court’s application of legal rules to this issue could set a strong precedent for the future.

The case will be heard in the High Court building during April. It should be scheduled soon on the High Court website. For more information search for the High Court transcript: D’Arcy v Myriad Genetics Inc and Anor [2015] HCATrans 12 (13 February 2015).

RUGBY UNION

Potgieter. Following the game, high-level rugby commentators, primarily Wayne Smith, denounced Pocock’s actions. The criticisms stemmed from the basis that the comments made by Potgieter should have been dealt with in the change rooms and not on the field. Smith specifically stated that due to Pocock’s actions of reporting the homophobic comments it could quite possibly have cost him the opportunity of ever skippering the Wallabies again, as he believed the ARU would fear Pocock using the position to advocate his own personal opinions.

It’s a shame that taking a stand against homophobia could cause such denigration, and be considered an issue that should be done behind closed doors.

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made Myriad Genetic’s barrister jump through a few hoops to explain why the Federal Court was correct, before briefly concluding that the High Court would hear an appeal.

Individuals perpetuating the notion that what happens on the field, stays on the field, in regards to discriminatory comments are continuing the culture of prejudice and are part of the problem.

The anti-homophobic stance that Pocock undertook is what the ARU was so proud to encourage. If Pocock’s future is indeed hindered because he stood up against discrimination, then the ARU’s policies are for nothing. It was great to see Pocock using his position as a professional athlete to stand up against discrimination, and to help change archaic mind-sets in the sport.

Hopefully by ending homophobia in sport we can end it in within society as well.

W DEAR SPORTSBET – THIS IS WHO ELLYSE PERRY IS

WORONI No.5 Vol.67

ZACH MACKEY

SPORT

During the coverage of the Cricket World Cup Final, dual sporting international Ellyse Perry was part of a FoxSports panel of experts. She was there to provide an opinion as a professional cricketer.

Instead, SportsBet decided to tweet a photo of Perry.

In the background of the photo was a fan holding a sign with the number six on it – a common poster made for the cricket. SportsBet captioned the photo as follows – “Bit rough from the bloke giving Ellyse a 6! Surely she is a 10. #CWC15 #AUSvNZ.” Ellyse was not there for her appearance to be commented on. The “bloke” in the background was just a fan for the cricket, and SportsBet has taken the photo out of context and objectified a professional who more people should know.

So for the benefit of SportsBet, this is who Ellyse Perry is:

ITS

SPORT

TIME

“I don’t think you will ever swim for Australia.”

These are the words that had the biggest effect on my high school life. These words might seem harmless enough, but, I assure you that they were enough to cut extremely deep. For a fifteen year old boy, who had trained between eight and ten times a week for ten years, they were most definitely enough. Enough to affect my school work, my rugby, my weight and general fitness, my friendship groups and even my relationship with my family.

On that day by the pool back in 2007, I discovered that I was depressed and I realized the profound impact that my sporting life had on my personal mental health.

At the age of 16, Perry made her debut for Australia in TWO sports – cricket and soccer. She is the youngest Australian (male or female) to represent Australia in cricket, and the first ever to represent our country at the highest level in both sports at their respective World Cups.

In cricket, Perry is an all rounder who has scored almost 1500 runs in approximately 200 international matches. She has also taken 252 international wickets. Compare this to Shane Watson who from 2012-2014 inclusive never took more than 1 wicket a Test Match, yet was still nationally revered. She is a rising talent, who last year was unfortunately made to choose between cricket and soccer by soccer’s governing body.

Perry was on the panel for the World Cup Final as a professional, and SportsBet completely ignored this, objectifying her. I doubt we will see a similar

TO

MAKE

ROBBIE MCNEILL

We all know that mental health is an enormous issue in Australia and that 20% of adult Australians will battle some form of mental illness in any given year.

What isn’t recognised is the prevalence of mental health issues within both amateur and professional sporting communities within Australia.

As an individual who has been part of the Australian sporting community my whole life, I know that mental health is a problem for athletes, made even worse by the fact that many don’t seek help. Some athletes believe they need to show a brave face and have no signs of weakness, others use sport and success as a way of hiding their mental health problem and others, like me, aren’t aware of their issues until something that has been such a large part of their lives for so long is ripped away from them.

photo of Dave Warner shared on Twitter soon.

Let’s celebrate athletes for being athletes.

The ABC recently reported that women’s sport only features in 7% of sports programming in Australia, which is a decline since the last decade. This is even less than horse racing. It is a crying shame such a statistic exists, when there are great female athletes such as Ellyse pursuing awesome careers. And then you have the situation where SportsBet, instead of supporting female achievements, lowers the level to comment on appearance.

In a time when male sporting stars are increasingly under scrutiny for their off field indiscretions, we should be celebrating role models such as Ellyse who are kicking goals left right and centre, not commenting on their appearance.

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SPLASH

With this in mind, I decided that this is an area we as a sporting community need to focus on in much more depth. As such, myself and friends decided to create an organisation called SportsWise. We will aim to raise awareness for mental health at all levels of the sporting community. We hope to be able to speak to and mentor sport teams to support each other towards healthy balance between physical and mental health and wellbeing for their entire lives.

We’re just starting out, and who knows where it will lead, but we recognise that this is something really important and I want to be able to help others.

BEER: EVIDENCE FOR INTELLIGENT DESIGN

SCIENCE

Beer, as we know it today, would not exist without nature’s idiosyncrasies. Not only is it remarkable that nature appears tailored to producing beer, but it is also considered suspicious by some. Is it possible that beer provides evidence for intelligent design? Before answering this question, it is first necessary to understand a little about the brewing process and the history of beer.

HOPS, HISTORY & HYGIENE Historically, beer aided the nourishment of people living without the guarantee of safe drinking water.

[1] As a low alcohol, high calorie beverage, beer was pathogen-free and nutritious. Throughout the world, beer-drinking communities have enjoyed these benefits.

Bacteria introduced at any stage of the beer-making process, from grain cultivation to bottling, have the potential to spoil beer. Beer-spoiling bacteria may: (1) oxidise ethanol to acetate, making the beer taste of vinegar (acetobacteria) (2) acidify the beer by facilitating redox reactions (lactobacillus) (3) create unwanted flavours by producing esters, biogenic amines, other alcohols, sulphides, phenol and other compounds (various bacteria)

LEO PURE

It is therefore essential that unwanted contamination is prevented when brewing enjoyable, safe-to-drink beer. To achieve this, brewing adopts rigorous hygiene practises. Among other strategies, beer benefits from antimicrobial compounds derived from hop flowers.

EVIDENCE FOR INTELLIGENT DESIGN? Given the historical (and practical) significance of hop flowers, it is unsurprising that their flavours and aromas have become indispensable components of beer as it is known today. It turns out that the compounds produced from boiled hop flowers kill bacteria but leave yeast cells unscathed.

If these tolerances were reversed, yeast could not coexist with hop-derived compounds and instead bacteria would prosper, transforming beer into a toxic, vinegar-flavoured solution. On this basis, churchgoers could consider beer as evidence for intelligent design.

THE DETAILS (SCIENCE) When hop flowers are boiled, as is done during the standard brewing procedure, iso-alpha acids are produced through a process called isomerisation.

These iso-alpha acids inflict a number of damaging effects on bacterial cells but do not affect yeast cells.

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In bacteria, iso-alpha acids act as proton ionophores. This means that the iso-alpha acids transport protons through the cell membrane into the bacterium. Doing so decreases the cytoplasmic pH, resulting in slowed enzymatic activity that inevitably halts cell growth, causing cell death. The iso-alpha acids also promote redox reactions with manganese that cause oxidative stress to the bacterium, further disrupting cell functions.

Unlike bacteria, yeast cells have a number of unique features that prevent cell damage from iso-alpha acids. These include modifying the cell wall in response to hop stress; reducing the concentration of alpha acids in the cell vacuole; and actively purging alpha acids from the cell itself.

Unfortunately for brewers and beer-lovers alike, some bacteria have developed resistance to iso-alpha acids, therefore beer spoilage is sometimes unavoidable. So perhaps beer is not evidence for intelligent design after all.

Even if beer is not the Holy fluid, we can still drink heartily knowing that evolutionary fortune has granted us the miracle of beer.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

SO YOU WANT TO…

FOLLOW MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

SPORT

American sport is all the rage at the moment. Basketball has always been big but its starting to feel like everyone is following the NFL as well. Football season is now over, however the Patriots won the Superbowl and Sherman is forever immortalised as the face that launched a thousand memes. Of course, anyone with any sense has now refocused on Australia and the AFL but for those heathens who still desire their fix of foreign sport, Major League Baseball has some exciting possibilities.

Before you get really keen, however, there are some basic questions you’re going to have to answer.

1. Do you have any understanding of baseball?

No? Perfectly fine, almost no one does.

Basically speaking, the pitcher throws the ball into an invisible “strike zone” at over 140km/h and the batter tries to hit it into the playing area. If you hit it into the diamond (round/rectangular ovals are for sissies) you sprint like a bat out of hell about 30m to first base.

You probably won’t make it because every single fielder can throw 140km/h as well and they will get the ball there before your legs will. If you get it out of the diamond (a home run), you can take a leisurely trot around the bases admiring your ample gluteal muscles in the massive scoreboard screens.

The Americans are incapable of getting along with each other, so there are two different leagues (for no good reason, the rules are basically the same). The winner of the American League plays the winner of the National League at the end of the season in “The World Series”. There is one Canadian team so conflating the United States with the entire world is slightly less offensive than it might otherwise be. It’s basically like the Superbowl – except that there are seven different games. And Katy Perry and Left Shark are never invited to perform at any of them.

ELLEN TREVANION Ignore the commentators completely.

There are many reasons for this, the most significant being that American announcers are trained in inanity and hyperbole. If by some miracle they do talk about the sport, you’ll be completely lost. Baseball stats are calculated out of 1000, probably for the same reason the Yanks insist on staying imperial, and the language is more abstruse than that used by your average lawyer. To give you an example, a batter who gets on base one in every three “plate appearances” will have an “on base percentage” of .333. The same batter will have a batting average of .250 if he gets on base one in four “at bats”.

And those two stats are not mutually exclusive. Utterly befuddled? It’s going to take a lot of Googling.

2. Do you care about drug use?

MLB is not quite at the level of Le Tour de Pharmacy but Lance Armstrong would find plenty of friends in the world of baseball. Many of the game’s greatest stars, from Tom House and Hank Aaron to Alex Rodriguez and Matt Lawton, have used everything from steroids to meth. The new drug policy may be making a difference but it’s probably safest to accept that the people you’re watching are chemically engineered übermenschen and just enjoy the results.

3. What team do you support (root for)?

Ok, right off the bat (pun intended), don’t you freaking dare even consider supporting the Yankees. Supporting the Yankees is a bit like supporting the Pies - everyone hates you and they are correct in doing so.

If you want to pick your team based solely on the name, I can suggest the Milwaukee Brewers because a) no Australian will know how to pronounce it and b) beer. The main drawback, of

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course, is that the Brewers have a weak bullpen (pitching roster) and their hitters aren’t fantastic either.

If you like underdogs, the Chicago Cubs are probably the one to pick. They haven’t won the World Series since 1909 but they are looking decent this year so you may in fact be picking a winner.

Other options include last year’s World Champs the San Francisco Giants, the ever-threatening Detroit Tigers or the Miami Marlins, owners of what is unarguably the most absurd stadium in all of baseball.

4. Do you really want to wait 6 months and 162 games for a result?

Like chance? Like fluke victories?

Wrong sport.

The long season means that by the time we reach the World Series, the teams with the most depth and the most consistent roster are on top. Teams will have good days and bad days but when each team plays 162 games, things average out. The World Series itself is a little more haphazard but even then, we’re talking about seven games not one. Underdogs tend to lose in the long run. Probably a bad sign if you’re rooting for the Brewers.

Following baseball is a little bit like watching the tracking for Inward Bound. It takes an age, it’s often really hard to tell who is who and you spend half your time really confused about why the hell someone ran from one place to another and then turned around and went back. It’s ok. Embrace the confusion. You’ll get over it. And if you do accept my challenge and you can sit through six months of baseball and still give a damn about who wins at the end, I’ve probably just ruined your life. You’re hooked, son.

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WORONI No.5 Vol.67

READING THE STATS

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RESPONSE

COMMENT

Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) Professor Richard Baker in his recent Op-Ed for Woroni wrote: “While there is some evidence that the rate of incidents [of unwanted sexual attention] on campus may be lower than that in the broader community, there remains more we can do to improve the situation on our campus.”

To mischaracterise the issue of sexual assault on campus by suggesting that the ANU is any safer than the broader community is at best misguided and at worst irresponsible. Either way, in order to “improve the situation”, such an understanding can only be counterproductive.

Professor Baker found his statistics on the AFP “Crime Statistics” website, which provides numbers of assaults reported in different areas in Canberra.

In comparing the number of reported assaults or unwanted sexual behaviour on ANU campus (9) to the number reported in Canberra at large (299) and interpreting them as a percentage of population, he came to his conclusion.

However, it is well known that reporting rates of sexual crimes are abysmally low.

Sexual assault is less likely to be reported than any other form of violence, with only about 19% of incidents of sexual assault reported to the police (NSW Rape Crisis Centre). And yet, the most recent statistics relating specifically to university campuses suggest that the reporting rate on Australian campuses is around the 3% mark, with 3% of incidents reported to universities and 2 thirds of these to police (2011 NUS “Talk About It” survey). That means that while only 1 in 5 incidents is reported in the general community, only 1 in 33 is reported in universities.

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PROFESSOR

BAKER

SIMONE PROCTOR Reconsidering the numbers with these statistics in mind, Professor Baker’s assertion becomes questionable.

Additionally, with a population of approximately 25,000 staff and students, and with a large minority of them living on campus, the ANU community would be naïve to accept a figure of 9 incidents of sexual assault last year. Rather than illustrating some sort of student utopia, this tiny number is in fact an indication that ANU students face, or believe they face, enormous barriers to reporting incidents. At ANU, and particularly at residential Halls and Colleges where offenders and their victims often have to continue living together, going to class together and interacting with each other, I’m not surprised. Even less so when we consider the recent mismanagement of allegations at ANU, the often imperfect consequences of reporting incidents (one of Baker’s 9 ended up leaving their Hall while the alleged perpetrator stayed), and the frustrating statistic that, of the 19% of incidents reported, only 1.6% conclude with convictions.

Why is it important to get so hung up on these statistics, particularly when they are arguably outdated and inaccurate? Because the biggest barrier to reporting unwanted sexual attention is the victim’s perception of the incident, which is strongly influenced by their community’s perception of “victims” and “perpetrators”. In suggesting that we are in a better situation than our wider community we risk not only developing a false conception of actual rates of sexual assault and harassment on campus, but also and more importantly, we risk failing to combat the shame, stigma and uncertainty leading to extreme under-reporting.

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The only way to have a full and accurate understanding of rates of assault and harassment on campus is to undertake a survey of staff and students. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, in her 2011 review into the treatment of women at ADFA, recommended a national survey of sexual assaults on Australian university campuses, and the ANU was admirably the only Group of Eight institution to commit to undertaking the survey.

Unfortunately, if there were ever plans to follow through, they have apparently been quietly abandoned.

I commend Professor Baker and groups on campus, particularly the Women’s Department, for their commitment to this issue. I am proud of the fact that ANU has required its leadership teams at Halls and Colleges to undertake training in some capacity since at least 2011. Having been to the National Association of Australian University Colleges Conference, I also have no doubt that we are years ahead of some of our interstate counterparts.

However, we cannot hope to achieve any sort of progress unless we accurately characterise the issue of sexual assault and harassment on campus and celebrate ourselves for actual achievements rather than fictional ones.

Simone Proctor was the 2013 President of the Burgmann Residents’ Association and is the current ANU Student Media Administrative Assistant.

If you have experienced sexual violence, you can contact the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre at 02 6247 2525; or the ANU Counselling Centre 02 6125 2442.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

MONEY EDITION 5 FEATURE:

EXTINCTION DEBT: RETHINKING THE GREEK DEBT MONEY

On Tuesday 7th April, The Guardian published the following headline: “Greece puts figure of 279bn on claim for German reparations”.[1] This headline no doubt induced a great many exasperated sighs; how ridiculous and vindictive for Greece to bring up a settled debt. Yet this attitude forgets to examine two crucial things that emerge out of this move by Greece. Firstly an outward reflection: why does Germany believe its debt paid, and Greece otherwise? Secondly a more inward reflection: what does our conceptualising of claims to German WWII reparations as illegitimate – and Greek debt as legitimate – say about how we think about debt and austerity?

What makes the claim to reparations from Germany seem ridiculous, while the austerity measures Greece faces seem reasonable?

Firstly, let’s discuss the outward reflection. Germany has two key reasons to believe the Greek claims to debt are laughable. First, in 1960 West Germany paid Greece 115 million Deutschmarks, in the face of demands to reparate a 476 million reichsmarks loan that was extracted from the Greek Central Bank during Nazi occupation.

[2] Secondly, in 1990, a month after the reunification of Germany, Russia, the US, Britain and France agreed to close the issue of further reparations.

This 1990 document is crucial for the German rejection of current Greek reparation claims. However, it is a problematic settlement that sidelines all other countries that may have been owed reparations by Germany for WWII. One of these countries is Greece, who now face austerity measures from

DUNCAN STUART an old nemesis, one who they feel still owes them reparations. Greece sees the 1960 repayment as only a partial repayment and it finds the 1990 treaty problematic, for obvious reasons. The issue of German reparations is not so much settled as it is presumed.

Perhaps Greece would be willing to let the old wound of German reparations die, if it was not currently having severe austerity measures inflicted upon it.

Greece’s debt totals 240 billion euros, a comparable amount to the reparations they have demanded from Germany.

Given the similarity in the amount owed, we should ask what is acceptable about Greek debt, but outrageous about the amount Greece claims Germany owes them. One could argue the Greeks got themselves into this mess, to which a simple rapprochement remains: Germany started WWII. As Paul Krugman explains, such simplistic logic of singularly placing blame is problematic: “It’s true that Greece (or more precisely the center-right government that ruled the nation from 2004-9) voluntarily borrowed vast sums. It’s also true, however, that banks in Germany and elsewhere voluntarily lent Greece all that money. We would ordinarily expect both sides of that misjudgment to pay a price. But the private lenders have been largely bailed out.”[3] Of course, when Germany started WWII, it didn’t borrow money from people expecting it to be paid back. In the case of the Greek debt, there are people whose fates are hinging on Greece repaying its debts.

If this is all that difference critically amounts to (that is, if all that matters

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is the vested interests of bankers and creditors) we have to ask why the Greek debt cannot be erased, delayed, or minimised. Argentina’s way out of debt in the 1990s was to default, but this option is not open to a Eurozone Greece. In the meantime, the austerity measures Greece has been facing have caused mass amounts suffering as unemployment rises in tandem with public spending cuts. The logic underpinning these austerity measures was best summed up by El Roto, “if the currency can’t be devalued it will have to be the people”.

If we are now blind to the moral and historical stakes, if our reasoning is purely economic, debt becomes a cobweb: holding only the weak, and being little impediment to the strong.

It serves to disadvantage the already disadvantaged: it becomes the essence of injustice. Is Greece destined for austerity measures and debt simply because it is not a major Eurozone player? This is the question the Greek demand for reparations raises, and it is one well worth examining if we are to even pretend our notions of justice have any salience.

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/ world/2015/apr/06/greece-putsfigure-of-279bn-on-claim-for-germanreparations?CMP=fb_gu [2]http://www.forbes.com/sites/ timworstall/2012/09/12/doesgermany-really-owe-greece-a-etrillionin-war-reparations-probably-not-no/ [ 3 ] h t t p : / / w w w. n y t i m e s . com/2015/01/30/opinion/paulkrugman-europes-greek-test.html

WORONI No.5 Vol.67

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AUSTRALIAN AID IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC MONEY

During the Indonesian-Australian death row saga, Prime Minister Tony Abbott brought up the fact that Australia has in the past contributed vast amounts of money to Indonesia. He did this with the hope that somehow this would cause Indonesia to remember how good a friend Australia has been (despite our rocky diplomatic past), and rethink its strict domestic policy regarding drug smugglers. Or at least make an exception to this policy to grant clemency to the two Australian citizens on death row.

This statement was received poorly in both countries, and it is obvious that whatever the outcome, Australia’s history of aid to Indonesia will have no bearing on the decision. This is due to a complex domestic political situation in Indonesia where Indonesian President Joko Widodo has painted himself into a corner by being so vocally against clemency for serious drug criminals, which in turn has lead to a boost in approval ratings in response to his strict approach. There is also a danger that by excusing only the Australians, Indonesia would attract even more negative foreign pressure from other countries with nationals on the Indonesian death row.

These events show that Australia should perhaps rethink its use of foreign aid as a tool of foreign policy. The slashing of Australia’s foreign aid budget in 2014, coupled with recent talk of additional cuts, indicates that the government is thinking along these lines too.

In mid-2013 AusAID was merged with DFAT (much to the dismay of AusAID’s graduate applicants). Aid moneys are now officially a part of DFAT’s toolbox. It is true that there are internal cost savings to be had from merging

TOM MURPHY the organisations, but if there is no significant benefit to Australian foreign policy outcomes, is it really appropriate for a Department whose job it is to seek foreign influence, to administer what is essentially an altruistic activity?

This is not to undermine the excellent work that Australian aid has done in the region; communities have drinking water, health care and schools where they previously did not.

Australia achieves national security and foreign policy interests by having economically and politically stable neighbours in Asia and the South Pacific, and the supply of aid can help to achieve this. However if Australia’s objective has been the obtainment of soft power and influence in aid recipients’ foreign and domestic policy decisions through aid money, then Australia appears to have failed, at least in the case of Indonesia. Furthermore, the Australian Consular-General in Fiji has previously been ejected for allegedly interfering in domestic politics, and similar complaints have also emerged in the Solomon Islands.

Australia attaches conditions to its aid money, requiring that certain steps be taken in accordance with receipt. This “tied-aid” creates obligations upon the recipient, which is contrary to the objective of increasing Australian influence, as these obligations negatively highlight the obvious power imbalance between the two countries.

The implication is that Australia is rich and powerful, and that the recipient country is poor, and must do as Australia says. This sort of relationship does not build mutual respect.

Moreover, If Australia is seeking political clout, the method currently employed is undermined by other nations. For example, China and Taiwan, 14

in order to cultivate influence, simply give condition-free aid to countries via selected influential decision-makers.

Fiji’s quick substitution of Australia for China in the aftermath of the 2006 coup, despite years of developmental assistance, serves as a stark reminder of these limitations.

The national security approach to aid is that economically secure countries present a lower indirect risk to Australia.

This is because public institutions such as law enforcement are better-funded, and there is less economic incentive for people to get involved with illegal activities. This then lowers the risk of drug smugglers, arms importers or terror cells operating within Australia’s immediate region and affecting Australian citizens. It is true that provision of aid to the region has not created economically self-sufficient states, and the more realistic picture is that Australian aid crucially assists communities and projects that remain dependent on continued aid funding.

However the effect is stabilisation to some extent, and the ability for Australian institutions, especially police intelligence, to discourage criminal activity.

The point of this article is not to say that we should diminish our aid to the Asia-Pacific in any way. It is to say that we should learn our lesson from the past decade and accept that although our aid money achieves humanitarian outcomes and lowers the presence of transnational crime, it does not effectively achieve diplomatic heft. We need to rethink where we send our aid in order to maximise the outcomes that aid is actually able to achieve, given the realities of our region.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

FINANCIAL HARDSHIP: HELP

IS

MONEY

Financial hardship is something that many students will experience during their time at university. While living off a nightly bowl of instant noodles may be seen as a badge of honour, financial hardship is a serious issue that can affect your studies, as well as physical and mental health.

Financial hardship can be a vague term.

Does it mean you simply have to stick to a budget and can’t spend willy-nilly?

Does it mean that you need to save up for a big spend like a trip to the dentist?

Or does it mean that you’re homeless?

Financial hardship is when someone can’t provide for themselves or their dependants in regards to food, accommodation, essential clothing, medical treatment, education or other basic necessities.

With this definition in mind, it’s no surprise that a number of students experience financial hardship throughout their education.

In fact, as a group, students are frequently in need or vulnerable in some respect, whether it’s financial hardship, mental health or something else.

There are many causes of financial hardship; including changes to employment rates, Centrelink changes or changes in the housing market.

Coupled with these external factors,

OUT

ANUSA

students also need to juggle competing priorities such as studies, family commitments and employment.

It can only take one thing to throw off the balance and move you from going well to not coping, be it an illness, car accident or sudden job loss. It can happen to anyone.

Know that if this happens to you, you are not alone.

The ANUSA Student Assistance Unit provides support to all undergraduate students. They can help with issues such as Centrelink questions, accommodation problems, academic advocacy, referral to other services and financial hardship.

There are several levels of assistance offered, from prevention to short term and long-term solutions.

As with many problems, it is often easier to prevent financial hardship in the first place, rather than waiting until the situation is dire. The Student Assistance Unit offers budgeting assistance and workshops throughout the year. Keep up to date on the latest workshops by following ANUSA on social media.

Students requiring immediate support to meet basic needs such as food and hygiene can access student meals such as free breakfast at the Brian Kenyon Student Space and evening meals donated by the ANU Union. ANUSA 15

THERE

can also provide toiletry kits and free sanitary products.

You may need this kind of support if you have a tight budget, busy study schedule, an injury preventing you from cooking or other similar circumstances.

No application is required, just ask a Student Assistance Officer.

For students requiring a bit more assistance, ANUSA’s Student Assistance Unit has grocery vouchers available.

Again, this kind of support is easy to access, just ask a Student Assistance Officer.

Despite the best of planning, things can go wrong, such as an unexpected expense or being left with no income at all. For these situations the Emergency Grant Scheme exists, where students can receive up to $500 in a year, which does not have to be paid back. To access this grant see a Student Assistance Officer for an application form.

Long-term solutions are just as important as prevention and emergency support. ANUSA aims for long-term change by advocating to committees and government on behalf of students.

For individuals, the Student Assistance Unit can help you with long-term solutions by assisting with scholarship and bursaries, helping with Centrelink applications, and referring you to services such as the ANU Careers Centre.

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D I V E S T THE REST MONEY

The current consensus is that global warming needs to be limited to two degrees centigrade. What this means is that the global temperature cannot rise by more than two degrees if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Yet fossil fuel companies have found enough coal, oil and gas to heat the Earth by five degrees centigrade, not once, but three times over. In addition, as PWC reports, 2014 was the sixth year in a row that the global economy missed the decarbonisation target required to keep warming under two degrees.

In the face of such dire circumstances, surely one would imagine some action has taken place. Indeed, last year, the ANU agreed to divest from seven resource companies. These were: Iluka Resources, Independence Group, Newcrest Mining, Sandfire Resources and Sirius Resources. However, the only two fossil fuel companies dumped by the ANU were Santos and Oil Search.

You might be forgiven for thinking the ANU had truly done something radical. A plethora of articles appeared in The Australian Financial Review (AFR) blasting ANU’s announcement to divest. Karl Simmich, CEO of Sandfire Resources, threatened to sue the ANU. However, the ANU still holds shares in some of the biggest polluters and worst offenders, companies such as: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Woodside Petroleum, and Wesfarmers. Given the urgency of the climate change situation

DUNCAN STUART

we face, Fossil Free ANU are calling on the ANU to divest the rest starting with a National Day of Action on Wednesday 22 April.

In light of this, it may be time to review the case for divestment. First, a simple definition: divestment is the opposite of investment. Instead of obtaining shares, one gets rid of them. While the ultimate idea may be to defund fossil fuel companies, the crucial step at this stage is to de-legitimise them. Divestment is often chastised as “symbolic” and thus vacuous. Yet symbols matter hugely in our society. When the ANU announced it was divesting from just seven resource companies last year, the AFR, to name one publication, published some 42 articles, most of them lambasting the ANU and divestment. If divestment is such a pointless gesture, what exactly was the AFR so concerned about? If divestment is such a pointless gesture, why has it ignited debate across American university campuses?

Harvard and Yale have divestment movements, both of which have engaged in occupations, MIT recently hosted a public debate on whether it should divest or not, and Stanford went so far as to divest from coal companies, putting the ANU’s meagre efforts to shame.

The Faustian (as in president of Harvard, Drew Faust) counter to university divestment claims that to divest from fossil fuels would make the university a political actor, and not 16

an academic institution. Such an idea rests on a twofold fallacy. In the first instance, Faust assumes the economic and the political are separable, as if political and economic constraints don’t frequently intertwine. In the specific case of divestment it assumes that a university’s endowment is exclusively an economic instrument. In the second case it assumes universities should not be moral actors. They should, like individuals, pursue their own economic gains and only be restricted by a legal framework. In a recent speech at Columbia University, Jeffrey Sachs made the case for a move away from this view, claiming: “the economy and our material resources within it should operate within a broader moral framework, one that extends beyond individual contracts, private property, and prevailing law.

There are transcendent moral purposes in society. Voluntary contracts may lead us badly astray, even to the threat of our own survival and the survival of other moral beings.” There are few better examples of being led badly astray than universities investing in fossil fuel companies.

If the ANU wishes to be the leader it thinks it is; if the ANU wishes to become an institution of prestige like the US Ivy League universities, who are now seriously considering divestment; if the ANU wishes to show the leadership it claims to possess in plethora, then it needs to divest the rest of its portfolio from fossil fuel companies.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

COULD YOU live ON $2 A DAY?

From 4th-8th May, thousands of Australians will eat on $2 a day for five days to raise funds & help tackle extreme poverty.

Join the challenge and sign up today!

LIVEBELOWTHELINE.COM.AU

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WORONI No.5 Vol.67

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S U S A N HARRIS-RIMMER FEATURES

Dr Harris-Rimmer, or Sue, as she often refers to herself, is Director of the AsiaPacific School of Diplomacy and recipient of a prestigious ARC Future Fellowship for 2015-16. Her unassuming office in Hedley Bull belies her position as a critical public intellectual, who bridges the sometimesoppressive divide between research and public policy. Her genuine warmth and popularity with colleagues is obvious as she greets colleagues before our coffee meeting at the Gods café.

Dr Harris-Rimmer grew up in country NSW in the small town of Coonabarabran, the closest town to the ANU’s Siding Spring Observatory, five hours north-west of Sydney. After completing an Arts/Law degree at the University of Queensland, she took a series of jobs in the NGO and legal sectors and at DFAT, before completing her doctorate at the ANU. Dr Harris-Rimmer has made issues of women’s empowerment her life’s work and is one of the ANU’s most prominent female voices.

LINDA MA sure more vulnerable women have somewhere to go for support.

In terms of the feminist movement, we need to stocktake many of our rights which have yet to be claimed.

Particularly economic and structural rights such as a recognition of the value of unpaid labour, which isn’t recognised in a country’s statement of accounts and the international economic system.

Much of your work is centred around international, gendered issues of justice. For those women among us who are from developed countries, is our role speaking out about gender issues abroad problematic?

Where does the feminist movement have to go? Do you consider yourself a feminist and is it an important title for young women to claim?

You just have to be critical of yourself, and if you’re not, don’t worry, people will do it for you! Be respectful and curious.

My colleague Dr Hilary Charlesworth calls it a “world travelling” perspective, where your own perspective has no primacy. Offer your life experience and ask genuine, open-ended questions of the women you meet, “what do you think is important?”—that is so rarely done.

I consider myself a feminist but young women can call themselves what they like. We should celebrate outstanding women even when they don’t claim the title of feminist. But there is value in nailing your colours to the mast, particularly as a senior woman, to make

The integrity of your research needs to match that of your methodology as a human rights researcher. It’s a very extractive activity, research. Our current university ethics approach is not deep enough. Ethical research in development is about the power

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relationship. In my previous role at the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), we worked to develop new standards for ethical research which I’m really proud of and try to implement. I use reversals or inversions a lot—if I were being interviewed in my office in Hedley Bull by a bunch of researchers, what would make it acceptable? What would make it beneficial for both parties?

What kind of challenges do you think female academics face at the ANU and elsewhere?

The ANU’s metrics on gender equality are not where they want to be and the university accepts that. There is a lack of women in senior appointments—in fact we have the least female professors in the Group of Eight. It’s a problem across the whole university and all colleges.

It’s partly about publishing. Women tend to do teaching more, [something] which is undervalued by promotions bodies [that] are all about publishing.

Talk us through your current project, which is about women in transitional justice in Burma and Afghanistan.

When a state is in a transitional moment, there are both opportunities and dangers for women’s rights. While rhetoric on human rights is that they are inalienable and indivisible, in reality in these circumstances they become

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

W O M E N ’ S EMPOWERMENT tradeable; that is, women’s rights are seen as a secondary consideration and are compromised upon to achieve other, more “primary” rights. But is it legitimate to trade up your rights? I’m looking at a new type of diplomacy which privileges the rights of women in the transitional state, where women are put in the middle of a peace negotiation. Trying to create as much space for women’s voices at these pivotal moments is the goal.

You were named one of Westpac/ Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence in 2014. How do you see your feminism in action? And who are your career mentors?

That award thing: Australian feminists don’t normally go in for awards.

Women seem to have this “retiring buttercup” kind of quality, and often don’t step up and put their names out there. It’s a lot of effort when you don’t think you’re going to get selected. You just have to get used to presenting your credentials every chance you can and being confident. It’s excruciating, squeamish, it takes a lot of undoing of your own upbringing—the good girl stuff. You have to let it go: it doesn’t get you anywhere.

Because it’s so hard, it’ll be your girlfriends or more senior women who do it for you—a patronage system. I do my best to encourage and nominate

women where I can. You should do that too for your friends. At the ANU the Gender Institute does a great job at this. The only way you get anywhere is through building your network and taking your whole network forward, like a driftnet. University friends are really important and will be for a long time.

Hilary (Charlesworth) in particular is a mentor of mine. Reading my first article of hers was like a religious experience.

Keep your eye out for people you really just admire. They are usually pretty easy to approach, granted that the contacts are really genuine, that you have really engaged and done your homework. If you ask them a specific enquiry, they’ll be delighted to help. These days you can find your tribe on the internet, Facebook and Twitter. It doesn’t have to be senior people.

Is it easy to cross the boundary between policy and research? How can students both study and make a difference in the world?

It’s a lot harder than it should be in Australia. Universities don’t give credit for policy work, only for academic publications. But you just have to decide what you care about. It is such a privilege to think and write for a living, I think you have a duty to try to enter the public conversation if you can. Our students expect it of us, particularly

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those from developing countries. They expect expressions of solidarity to come with some action! I think they’re right.

We are so lucky to have them.

Do you have any advice for current students?

University is such a precious time, you should make the most of it.

You’re never going to get the ability to explore different fields, disciplines, self-identities, politics again. Don’t just spend your time on disastrous love affairs, learn what you can, it’s not just about getting a job. I know how hard it is to work and study as well though.

I worked at the refectory peeling eggs.

I smelt faintly of eggs for my entire undergraduate degree. I still have pretty good thumbs!

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THE BIASED LENS OF MICRO 1 AT ANU COMMENT As many first years will happily (or unhappily) tell you, Microeconomics 1 is a prerequisite for almost everyone studying something that is not arts, law or science – this semester, it has a cohort of 900. However, insofar as their economic studies, many students will only take Microeconomics 1, and not Microeconomics 2 or 3 (heaven forbid that they take macro), and it will therefore be their last taste of formal economics at university. Hence, for many graduates of the ANU and their economic opinions, Micro 1 will be quite influential.

Unfortunately, what is increasingly clear is that this foundational view of economics is not apolitical, nor is it objective – it projects a certain perspective, and selectively omits much of the evidence that would contradict it. Take, for instance, the teaching of deadweight loss (which is effectively just the amount of inefficiency in the market).

Deadweight loss can occur in a number of ways, two of which are taxation and monopolies caused by patents. Put simply, it is taught that both government taxation and monopolies damage the efficiency of the market in the short term – a less than efficient amount is produced, and it is sold at a higher than efficient price.

In the prescribed reading, however, it is taught that inefficiencies due to patents are not always bad; given that patents drive innovation and creativity, they may

NISHANTH PATHY cause inefficiency in the short run, but in the long run they can be condoned, as the innovations will boost productivity. None of the above is untrue. The issue is what is left unsaid.

It is noteworthy that companies may well use patents in the long term to boost economy-wide productivity.

They equally may well use them (as we see in the pharmaceutical industry) to create scarcely improved products sold at exorbitant profits, incurring barely significant, if any, increases to productivity.

This is not mentioned. Likewise, just as patents can in the long term be good for the economy, so can taxation. If the government spends taxation effectively on important infrastructure projects, it can boost productivity by a sufficient degree to offset and exceed the original inefficiency of the taxation. This is not mentioned. The examples and sidenotes told throughout the course are not strictly inaccurate, but rather selectively chosen. Thus, unless a student is reading critically (which we can probably assume most first year Micro 1 students are not), they will be sold a narrative that government is generally harmful, that corporations are generally beneficial, that short-term economic efficiency is all that matters and that markets generally achieve the best outcomes when undisturbed.

None of that is inherently true. All of that

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depends on a given set of assumptions, the choice of model, the school of economic thought, etc.

The students who take Microeconomics 1 will often be those doing PPE, or commerce; they will be those who enter graduate programs with the public service, or go on to be influential in the private sector.

Moreover, these will be the students who often have no other economics courses to challenge this specific presentation of economics. They will keep this narrative with them for a long, long time, as it is unlikely that anything will seriously challenge it – when are most people likely to read economic theory again?

University is intended as a means of opening students’ eyes to the plurality of perspectives in a field – it is intended to equip us with a multifaceted lens with which to view the world. But when the narrative sold is selective, many graduates of Microeconomics 1 will only ever see things from a specific perspective. Thus, the question is whether we want those who influence our public policy to see the economic landscape clearly, or through the biased lenses acquired in Theatre 1 of the Manning Clark Centre back in Semester 1, 2015.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

WHY DO WE CALL THEM SPERM WHALES? SCIENCE Kids seem to have rather selectively inquisitive minds, like they are programmed with special mental-detectors for awkward questions that adults dread to be asked.

But, really, do we not all have a little child in our head asking “Why are sperm whales called sperm whales?”

Perhaps you are also not sure if you want “Why are sperm whales called sperm whales?” in your Google history. Imagine the personalised ads generated from that!

Says the writer who for some inexplicable reason has Star Wars, the Empire Strips Back! ads on their Facebook feed. Well, The answer is not quite as indecently spermrelated as you might think.

Perhaps it is a little biased for a biology student to say this, but one of the best ways to understand an animal is to get a good insider’s view, through dissection!

Understandably though, whale carcasses are just not that easy to stumble across these days.

No matter. In 2011, a British television series called Inside Nature’s Giants broadcast a special sperm whale dissection episode which, among many other whale

ALYSSA ROGGERO mysteries – like why sperm whales have prehensile penises – enlightens the viewer how these fascinating creatures acquired their spermatic names.

Not surprisingly, sperm whales gained their names from whalers. During the 1800s, whales provided people with many important products. Their large bodies yielded meat that could be used for food.

Whalebone - the plastic of the 19th century - was used for products like umbrellas, fishing rods, corsets, crinolines, jewellery and toys like chess pieces and dominoes.

Whalers also discovered that a white waxy substance filled a large amount of a sperm whale’s head. This substance was assumed to be sperm. Hence, ladies and gentlemen, their name, sperm whales!

Of course it is not actually sperm. For one thing, why would a female whale have masses of sperm encapsulated in her noggin? It turns out this sperm fills a huge sac called a spermaceti organ that, amusingly, is found on top of the whale’s “melon” or “junk” – fat tissue used by toothed whales for echolocation.

Spermaceti was a useful substance for

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humans because it made a wonderful smokeless lamp fuel and was also used as a lubricant for industrial machines.

But when spermaceti is still where it should be, snug inside a sperm whale’s head, it serves other fascinating purposes.

Spermaceti acts as a buoyancy control mechanism for sperm whales. The whales can heat it with their blood causing the spermaceti to become liquid and therefore less dense, buoying the whales up to ocean surface with ease. When these living submarines wish to dive down into a desired abyss, they simply take in cold water through their right nostril, cooling the spermaceti which then becomes cold and dense and, most importantly, heavy.

The sperm whale sinks down like those weighted pool toys.

Sometimes, it is good to listen to that child in your head, because it is often awkward questions that lead to the most interesting answers.

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CAREERS & JOBS PRESENTED BY ANU CAREERS

For Love or Money?

CAREER ADVICE

We all know the mantra: go to university so you can earn money. We’ve heard it from parents, from teachers, and from our peers. Employers value technical knowledge and experience, but no matter what job you’re applying for, or when, employers are seeking these eight common skills: initiative and enterprise, learning, self-management, communication, teamwork, problem solving, planning and organisation and ability to use technology.

Asked to ponder my own time in casual work and extra-curricular activities, I can certainly see when and where I have developed “employability skills”, whether it be the communication and teamwork skills I cultivated during my time as a Senior Resident or the planning and problem solving which comes from working as a tutor. My long-term casual role with the Careers Centre has been a learning experience. Learning the ins-andouts of both a small and larger working environment, working within our team

SAMUEL GUTHRIE

and across the university. Not only have I engaged and developed my communication skills, but I have worked on problem solving with clients as well as learned to innovatively use many IT programs. My time as a residents’ committee president encompassed all eight skills while giving me a high level of experience in leadership, high-stress work, and dispute management.

You might ask, “If I need experience to get a job, how do I get experience in the first place?”. Essentially, every position has its own employability value, but what we often see here at the Careers Centre is that students have trouble recognising that they are demonstrating these skills in casual employment.

Take hospitality for example: you might have had the odd job at venues around Canberra. Did you achieve your RSA and find your way around the business structure?

That’s learning.

Shown sensitivity and respect towards the concerns

Ask Careers about…

Hannah asks: “I’ve been working in a new job in a café for three

weeks. I like the work and the people but I’m not sure if I’m being paid enough. I don’t really want to ask my boss. How can I find out?”

Careers team: “As an employee in Australia you have a right to a minimum

hourly rate of pay which will depend on the award that relates to your job.

You will also find penalty rates and allowances can apply (depending on the job and industry) where you receive higher hourly rate for working evenings, weekends and public holidays. To find the award that relates to your role check the Fair Work Ombudsman Minimum Wages and Pay Guides information at www.fairwork.gov.au/pay. You can explore your individual situation with the Fair Work Ombudsman, come in to the Careers Centre or seek assistance from ANUSA and PARSA.” 22

or needs of customers? That’s problem solving and communication skills at work.

Maybe you worked on a till, illustrating you’re acquainted with self-management, planning and organisation, or possibly you stepped in to help long term staff or train new staff: that’s your teamwork skills and leadership.

Think about your current casual job. If you feel like you’ve mastered it, consider a different one which varies your work environment and could relate to later grad jobs; administration and project management roles are great examples.

While that internship might be great for your resume, a different casual job may also do the trick, without compromising the balance you need between earning an income and developing employability skills.

Send us your careerrelated questions.

The next Woroni edition celebrates the ANU Disabilities Student Association’s “Spoon Week.” If you have a careers question related to access and inclusion, email: careers@anu. edu.au with the subject heading “Ask Careers About.”

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

CAREER HUB YOUR ONE STOP FOR CASUAL JOBS, VOLUNTEER, GRADUATE AND INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Register with the ANU Careers Centre’s CareerHub today and have instant access to information on job vacancies and internship, graduate and volunteer opportunities. Casual positions are generally advertised for short periods and may be taken down once a position is filled (before the listed closing date). All jobs go up and expire on CareerHub in real time so it is a good idea to visit the site regularly. Check out recent listings below and visit CareerHub to register and get the full details including closing dates: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

JOBS ON CAMPUS Register for the Casual Employment Office

INTERNSHIPS & VACATION PLACEMENTS STEM 4 Digital Business Internship Program

The Casual Employment Office organises the timely placement of quality casual staff to meet University business unit needs. The Casual Employment Office seeks applicants with diverse skills and experience in Administration, Research and Laboratory Assistance, Finance, Information Technology, Reception and Executive and Personal Assistance.

Google: ANU casual employment job seekers

The ACT Government’s STEM 4 Digital Business Internship Program assist ACT business to hire STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) undergraduate students studying at a Canberra university or CIT for 12 weeks full-time or the equivalent part-time (450 hours). This is a fantastic opportunity for students to get paid work in a private Canberra business and receive important career mentoring.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

CASUAL JOBS

RBA Cadetship

Assistant Educators

A Reserve Bank of Australia (Sydney) Cadetship is an excellent opportunity for high-achieving economics and finance students to get first-hand experience of what it is really like to work in Australia’s central bank. The Cadetship has been designed to provide work experience and financial support to talented students who have the potential to be successful graduates at the RBA. Initially, we offer successful candidates a paid eightweek work placement, commencing late November.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

Belconnen Community Service is seeking enthusiastic individuals who are seeking flexible work within the child-care industry.

You will be joining dedicated and friendly teams in well-established centres committed to providing high quality care for children.

The position is based in Belconnen and you will have the opportunity to work across a number of different centres. Hours are flexible with a pay rate starting from $23.25 per hour.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

Student Brand Manager Red Bull – Australia is seeking a Student Brand Manager for the ANU. Student Brand Managers are responsible for driving the Red Bull brand image on campus, building belief in the product benefits and ensuring long term loyalty.

The goals of the Student Brand Manager program are to reach new students, increase sales and manage the Red Bull brand on a college level.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

GRADUATE POSITIONS Many employers are seeking to recruit final year students into their Graduate Programs (generally to commence in 2016). There are over 100 Final year and Graduate jobs currently on CareerHub. As well as CareerHub graduate programs can be found on websites such as www.graduateopportunities.com and www. gradconnection.com.au

ACT Public Service Graduate Program If you’re looking to start a challenging and rewarding career where you’ll have the opportunity to play a role in helping to shape Canberra’s future, apply now for the 2016 ACT Public Service Graduate Program.

Applications are open to Australian citizens and permanent residents. The following streams are available for graduates: Commerce/Business, Law, Infrastructure, Public Administration and Policy, ICT and more.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

Graduate Developer Optiver are looking for intelligent, creative graduate developers who are passionate about software development to join our team. Work with state of the art software on meaningful projects.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

Graduate Wine Ambassador This international initiative by Pernod Ricard Winemakers will see graduates train and work in up to four different locations across two continents around the world.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

Graduate Associate This international initiative by Pernod Ricard Winemakers will see graduates train and work in up to four different locations across two continents around the world.

Read more: https://careerhub.anu.edu.au

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FORGET ABOUT EXCHANGE: DIY OR DIE COMMENT There’s something gloriously cathartic about tossing a bunch of clothes, books, and curiouslyshaped power adaptors into a backpack and setting off to some far-off land. On the other side, the delicacy that is liberation from all things familiar and comfortable can bring about some unfortunate experiences.

I’m not here to give you some horriblycontrived drivel about how travelling helps you find yourself, forge new experiences, meet fascinating people, and shatter every semblance of what was once your comfort zone. We both already know that, but what you might not have considered is that taking some time out of your degree to fend for yourself is actually what you need.

If, like me, you happen to have found yourself midst of a five year struggle or a three year struggle that feels like an eternity which not even $2.50 UniPub specials can cure, then it’s certainly something to consider. Some common symptoms of said struggle are a complete, overwhelming indifference to gaining those hard-earned participation marks in tutorials or finding the time to devote the modicum of thought to reading materials each week beyond that necessary to field a stray question from an enthusiastic (or sadistic) lecturer.

If you came to university to get a job certificate and head out into the workforce, then this probably isn’t for you and I’m sorry for wasting your time. But on the off-chance someone reading this has felt the wondrous fascination of their chosen field fade into routine and resentment, there’s no better choice and you should read on.

HUGH JOSEPH With solo traveling, there’s ample opportunity for everything to go horribly wrong at any stage.

Maybe the game of administrative roulette that is sleeping in hostels leads to sharing a room with a middle-aged Portuguese man who has a penchant for playing Latino music at 4am and gracing half a dozen fellow roommates with his finest solo bachata. Maybe that same roommate will enthral you with tales from a Honduran gaol, generously impart invaluable folk wisdom on how to spot your local narcotic dealer at a train station or helpful advice on where the best gelato in town is.

Maybe you catch the wrong train, fall asleep, nearly get stranded in a very sketchy area of Ukraine and not a single person in sight speaks a word of English. Experiences like these bring about sheer elation at achieving more than four hours sleep, discovering that Google Maps has an offline memory complete with your precise, creepily accurate location in real-time, or discovering that when Berliners talk about “underground clubs” they aren’t just hipsters – they’re actually talking about an underground sewer filled with hundreds of other hipsters.

There comes a point at which you realise, “hey, shit could really hit the fan here but absolutely everything around me is new, unpredictable and fantastically wild”. You begin to realise that worrying about what could go wrong, where you are, or what you’re doing isn’t going to help, and develop a real capacity to deal with anything that gets tossed your way.

It’s a far cry from three hours of lectures, one tutorial, multiply by four, rinse and repeat.

Nearly two months ago, the furthest west I had ever ventured was Adelaide and the furthest

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north was some town in North Queensland.

I then packed everything up into boxes, performed the action described in that highly poetic opening sentence, and hoped that I’d saved enough money to keep myself alive in Europe for five months. After popping a few sleeping pills, I woke up in the sandbox metropolis of Dubai to field constant questions from highly confused expats as to where my copy of the Sydney Morning Herald came from. Before I had time to explain the marvels of international travel and complimentary reading material, my stopover was finished and I was in Amsterdam. That’s where the story began and unfortunately has to end here.

Sure, I could have gone on exchange to meet some fellow International Thought Leaders and dug into that tired old game of tug-of-war between what I’d like to do and what needs to be done. But the simple reality is that by separating myself from everything I know, an unforeseeable result was that I not only rediscovered that same passion for my chosen path, but now have a level of understanding that dwarfs anything even our esteemed institution could begin to impart. Living out of a backpack can be pretty rough, but it’s the most valuable thing I’ve ever done.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

THE SEVEN UNWONDERS OF THE WORLD: THE NORTH PACIFIC GYRE SATIRE In this regular segment, Woroni takes you on a tour of the greatest man-made clusterfucks ever to grace the surface of the Earth. This anti-guidebook will introduce you to the most spectacularly ruinous landmarks the world over, from the dying Aral Sea in Khazakstan to the smouldering ruins of the old French Pacific nuclear proving grounds.

Whether their sheer folly makes you want to laugh or cry, these spectacular monuments to the supreme power of humanity are worth a visit.

The oceans: long the infinite shimmering blue yonder upon which humanity has looked with a sense of wonder at its infinite possibilities; proverbially clear, pure, unsullied, infinite, mysterious. The sea has always been where people have turned to escape the hardship and the filth of the land, throwing aside their quotidian, landlubbing struggles for the uncountable possibilities of the ocean. The sea has always been charming, majestic, azure, turquoise. It nourishes us with the emancipating whip of the salt wind and the glorious freedom of the infinite horizon, with the

XENO eternal melody of the swell and faint raucous cry of the albatross far overhead. When we find ourselves by its shores or on its broad blue back, isn’t there a part of our soul that cries out in sweet relief, deep within us all, “Thalassa! Thalassa!”? And how distant, how untouchable it is! In Byron’s words, addressed to the sea: “[Man’s] steps are not upon thy paths,—thy fields Are not a spoil for him,—thou dost arise And shake him from thee; the vile strength he wields For earth’s destruction thou dost all despise” Indeed, does the sea not resist any attempt we make to control it?

Does it not dwarf our attempts to sully it? Are the majestic oceans not invulnerable to our clumsy human attempts to subdue them?

Well, no, not really, not anymore, ‘cos we’ve finally managed to fuck them.

Case in point: the North Pacific Gyre, AKA the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash

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Vortex. Located in an otherwise featureless stretch of ocean between the West Coast of the USA and Japan, the vortex is a huge oceanic dead-zone, littered for hundreds of kilometres in every direction with garbage so thick that it has formed permanent islands up to 15 metres in length, consisting entirely of plastic bags, bottles, Styrofoam cups, old boots, fishing nets and other assorted bits of garbage, which bob up and down listlessly in a thick, mucilaginous plastic soup.

This concentration of plastic occurs when rubbish gets caught up the current that slowly rotates around the North Pacific. Plastic, after having gotten caught up in this current, makes its way to the stationary centre of this gentle vortex, and having gotten there, it… just stops. And floats. And accumulates. This vortex, therefore, represents a vast collection-ground, where all of the human rubbish that is ejected into the Pacific Ocean comes to die. Or rather, to not die, because most of it consists of indestructible polymers, which, as it languishes in huge piles in the hot sun, is broken down into

ever-smaller fragments of microplastic, the toxic clouds of which become denser and denser as the current acts to concentrate it. And remember: this takes place over an area of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres.

The end result of this process is the proud Unwonder of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: a huge, reeking, toxic dead-zone the size of a state in the middle of the ocean, whose effects reach down all the way to the ocean floor four kilometres below. A proud monument to human achievement!

I strongly recommend a visit to this stunning sight. As a minor safety precaution, I recommend not being any form of marine life, as you would then be liable to consume the tempting pieces of disintegrating plastic and then subsequently perish. However, if you don’t happen to be an fish of any sort, set sail immediately - I assure you, nothing but grade-A Unwonder sightseeing awaits you!

WORONI No.5 Vol.67

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CHAHARSHANBE SOORI WORLD

On the night of the Tuesday 17 March, a group of close to one hundred gathered at the ANU Fenner fire pit to celebrate the ancient ceremony of Chaharshanbe Soori. The name of this annual tradition literally translates to “Red Wednesday” or “Wednesday of Light”. The celebration is held early in the week leading up to Persian New Year, called Nowruz, the date of which is dependent on lunar cycles. Chaharshanbe Soori has been practised in some form or another for four thousand years or more by modern day Irani, Kurdish and Azerbaijani people.

The age of the ceremony varies greatly depending on the source and seemed to become older as the night wore on. This longevity is a matter of great pride amongst Iranians.

A raging fire burned in the middle of the congregation, a fundamental element of the Zoroastrian religion, Iran’s traditional faith and one of the first monotheistic religions in the world. Today Iran is a predominantly Islamic country, but cities such as Yazd still house fire temples, the houses of worship of the Zoroastrian faith. Only a small minority actually practice

ANON

the religion within Iran today but traditions derived from it, such as this, still remain strong.

Aside from a handful of curious outsiders, particularly Persian students, almost everyone was Iranian. Everyone from the very young to the elderly could be seen jumping over the flames, a symbolic precursor to Persian New Year. Passing over the fire symbolises one’s “yellowness”, all the aches and burdens of the year before, escaping into the fiery depths and the fire returning its warmth to the participant, bringing prosperity in the year to come. As the night progressed people formed rings around the fire, gradually rotating as one, their bodies moving in the united movements of traditional dance as they had done for millennium.

Outsiders were made to feel very welcome and were continually pulled into the dance circles revolving around the fire. The event ran from 7:30 until around midnight, making curious the many students that passed by through the course of the night.

This is a tradition that extends from

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an epoch before the introduction of Islam to Persia in the mid-seventh century. The arrival of the Arabs in Persia sparked wide social and political change resulting in the gradual demise of Zoroastrianism.

It is said that the vinegar that now sits on the Nowruz setting was once wine but under Islamic law the consumption of alcohol is prohibited. In addition to this, the Zoroastrian holy book, once included in the setting, was replaced with the Qu’ran, the holy book of Islam. This allowed the amalgamation of pre-Islamic traditions into the new cultural context. Nowruz and associated celebrations have survived into modern day Iran due to their ability to adapt.

In modern Iran moves have been made by the government to contain traditions associated with the Nowruz and the celebration of Chaharshanbe Soori in the public, citing safety concerns. Many people in Iran are Muslims by faith but still celebrate Nowruz because it’s such a well-established part of their nation’s past and allows them to maintain ties to their heritage.

The amount of people practising Zoroastrianism in the world today

is uncertain. It is practised by minorities extending from modern day Iran to India with estimates ranging from as little as 150,000 to as many as 2.6 million.

Chaharshanbe Soori and greater Nowruz celebrations in the context of Iran today are a great example of how cultural traditions can exist in harmony, each having partially amalgamated into the other. The ceremony has endured the centuries and now stands as a bastion of Iranian nationalism, a clear connection to a proud history spanning back thousands of years.

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Week 8, Semester 1, 2015.

ORONI

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COMPLAINTS? CALL DIRECTLY AND REGISTER YOUR COMPLAINT HERE: (02) 6125 2444

SATIRE

SATIRE BY SATYROS: I’LL TAKE THAT AS A COMMENT

If someone were to ask me, “Boston, what is the quintessential Q&A experience?”, I would direct them to watch last night’s episode.

After the opening, our host, the esteemed and silver-haired Tony Jones introduced us to the speakers; a Labor frontbencher, a respected economist, a left-wing blogger nobody reads, a conservative think-tank and someone to fill out the numbers.

The question came from a thin, wiry woman whose skin looked like a five dollar note when it’s been crumpled in your pocket for too long. As she fiddled with a metal container full of bait, the audience hung on the edge of their seats with anticipation. Nervously, she said: “Economic inequality?”

Five-dollar woman, are we proud of you to have dared open that literal can of worms.

After a full minute of uncomfortable silence, Tony Jones heroically gestured, his silver mane making any two-bit weatherman jealous in the non-existent breeze: “Respected economist?”

Respected economist began to drone about why Piketty’s work on r > g is instrumental, or something that sounds informative but you don’t really know because you don’t have a degree in economics. Truly, this was the only low point of the episode, as it seemed to be either full of information about something important, or maybe he was trying to confuse us with his fancy words. I nodded along, because I knew which it was. Yep. I did an economics course in first year.

ROB MORRIS

Anyway his drawling did put some in the audience to sleep, like a real-life Jigglypuff or that superhero movie with Ryan Reynolds in it. He suddenly stopped after a while, or at least it seemed sudden because no one was really paying attention.

Pushing the conversation forward, Tony Jones used his bright eyes to capture the room’s attention. “Left-wing blogger?”, he asked.

“I think there is more to the economy than economics. I mean, they couldn’t even predict the KFC”. Taking that as a comment, our sugar daddy-esque host motioned towards Labor Frontbencher. “The ALP believes in a more fair distribution of Popcorn Chicken.”

The audience began fervently clapping, not really knowing why but because everyone else was doing it, like when I went to see that superhero movie with Ryan Reynolds in it.

“We are about halfway through this pseudo-intellectual gabfest without even a resemblance to what one would call a debate so let’s go to the next question”, our grey stallion remarked. “This question is a video question and it comes from Brent in Coober Pedy.” A static, grainy, poor-quality video began to play with most of the words muffled out except “NBN?”. Tony glanced around, not expecting such a shitty video, until Someone Else To Fill Out The Numbers broke the awkwardness. “The internet is a part of our lives and should be a part of our infrastructure policy. However, high-speed internet is expensive. What really drives up the costs, Brent, is having to run wires

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to the MIDDLE OF FUCKING NOWHERE. You think they’ve got good internet in Japan because they run wires past bloody WoopWoop?”. At this point, the cameraman wipes the spittle from the lens. “It’s CITIES that have good internet, Brent, CITIES. Japanese cities are so big they literally have someone PUSH people into trains. You probably haven’t even SEEN public transport have you, BRENT?” A vein above Tony Jones’ left eye began to bulge. The frenzied, anti-rural comments of Someone Else To Fill Out The Numbers attacked the very sensibilities of Q&A. Having taken comment after comment after comment, our noble prince couldn’t take it anymore.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” he thundered. “I will not have anyone ruining my show. How else will stupid undergraduates, who explicitly list ‘Social/Political Activism’ as a hobby, assert their smug superiority? Where will people go to be force-fed opinions by idiots who think they are so smart they cannot grasp how stupid they are? Where else could an emotional plea by a musician or actor get the same amount of airtime as an expert opinion by a leading figure in the field? Q&A, that’s where, and by god, do we love it! And so, as long as there are morons who wish to be politically active but don’t want to think too much, I’ll be here, taking that as a comment.”