Honi Soit Week 1, Semester 1, 2020 / First printed 1929
In conversation with Buff Correll / p. 12 Thousands unite for climate justice / p. 5
Beyond pride: The weight of Mardi Gras / p. 7
Are clothes still modern? NY Fashion Week / p. 17
Acknowledgement of Country As students of this university, we are studying and living on the stolen land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. It is also the land where this newspaper is written, designed and published. Since 1788, when the first European migration arrived, this land has seen invasion and occupation that has continued for over two hundred years. The Aboriginal people have and continue to suffer from brutal genocide and barbaric treatment as a result of European colonisation.Thus, as editors living and working on stolen land, it is our responsibility to express this truth and keep it at the forefront of all our work, so we may, in some capacity, contribute to the process of decolonisation and the fight for Indigenous rights. We call on those in power - particularly the Australian government - to use the resources they have at hand to do the same. We call on all forms of media outlets and publications to devote more of their attention to Indigenous issues and culture. We will do everything in our power to ensure that crimes against Indigenous people are not only reported, but never repeated. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land. 原本是，永远都是，原住民的土地。
Contents What’s on / 2 Gossip / 3 News / 4 Analysis / 6 Opinion / 11 Feature / 12 Multi-lingual / 14 Culture / 16 Creative / 18 SRC reports/ 21 SRC support / 22 The Rodent Review / 23
Editorial Editor in Chief: Zhiquan Gan Editors: Nina Dillon Britton, Matthew Forbes, Zhiquan Gan, Robbie Mason, Angad Roy, Lara Sonnenschein, Ranuka Tandan, Chuyi Wang, Madeline Ward, Lei Yao. Contributors: Genevieve Couvret, Laura de Feyter, Kiran Gupta, Marlow Hurst, Veronica Lenard, Charlotte Lim, Aiden Magro, Juliette Marchant, Angelina Ngyuen, Daany Saeed, Swapnik Sangavarapu, Will Solomon, Tom Williams, Victor Zhou. Artists: Claire Ollivain, Kate Scott. Cover artist: Madeleine Rowell.
So, we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. The world is changing. Half a century since the Stonewall Riots happened, and there is an uprising of homophobic and right-wing movement around the world. At the same time, we welcome 2020’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade this week. We shall express our highest honour to those who are brave to show their beauty and inner world. And I want to thank Madeleine Rowell for her exquisite cover art to record and depict the scene of this grand parade. It is also the era of ‘The Fall of Art’ when Parasite won the best picture in the Academy Awards, and Palme d’Or in Cannes Film Festival. While dazzling audio-visual technology has drastically expanded the boundary of modern art, it also limits people’s abilities to create and appreciate art. Therefore, I want to show my personal respect to those ‘real’ writers, poets and artists around us who bring back the authentic experience of the world and society to the common people. In this week’s edition, you will
enjoy the feast of the literary and art world. I would like to thank Chuyi Wang for his feature article, which invesigates the unlikely internet star Buff Correll. Juliette Marchant re-evaluates the 2020 New York Fashion Week from the perspectives of aesthetics, trends and ethics. Daany Saaed introduces the political role sports played in contemporary society and international affairs. Due to the limited layout, it’s a pity I cannot introduce all of the articles to you. I hope you can explore and get inspired when you are reading this week’s Honi edition. I’m very proud to be the editor in chief at the beginning of this semester. And I also enjoy being immersed in Honi and becoming a part of it. Have a nice reading journey! 长干白下，青楼朱阁，往往梦中槐蚁。 却不如、洼尊放满，老夫未醉。
Zhiquan Gan 甘之泉
Disclaimer: Honi Soit is published by the Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney, Level 1 Wentworth Building, City Road, University of Sydney NSW 2006. The SRC’s operation costs, space and administrative support are financed by the University of Sydney. Honi Soit is printed under the auspices of the SRC’s directors of student publications: Maia Edge, Peiqing Fan, Nina Mountford, Roisin Murphy, Mikaela Pappou and Maxim Vishney. All expressions are published on the basis that they are not to be regarded as the opinions of the SRC unless specifically stated. The Council accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions or information contained within this newspaper, nor does it endorse any of the advertisements and insertions. Please direct all advertising inquiries to publications.manager@src.usyd.edu.au.
What’s on this week For bum-bag afficianados! FilmSoc’s Welcome Drinks and Opening Night Screening: Oldboy (2003) When: 27th February Where: Hermann’s Bar Price: $5 for non-FilmSoc Members
High Rotation #1 When: 27th February, 8:30 pm - 2 am Where: Freda’s Price: $10, $5 for USU members
Justice for Eric: Accident isn’t an excuse to hide criminal acts When: 28th February, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm Where: State Coroner’s Court, Lidcombe Price: Free
Dust off your Parasite hangover and warm up your Letterboxd fingers because FilmSoc is screening Park Chan-wook’s revenge tale, Oldboy. This ultra-violent film will be sure to channel the anger we all felt when Chuyi’s favourite film of 2019, Yesterday wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Come for complimentary drinks and pizza, stay for two hours of forgetting that the bum bag guy really let you down
Come be cool and boogie to a party hosted by Surg FM. High Rotation #1 is another slightly generic and apparently edgy party with local DJ’s that one of your generic and edgy friends might claim to know. Flaunt your edgiest bum bag and widest legged pants because it’s sure going to get sweaty! Be a good samaritan and party with a purpose; the event will be taking donations at the door for WIRES Bushfire Recovery.
Join ISJA and their allies to demand an end for Aboriginal deaths in custody. Eric Whittaker died shackled to a bed whilst in custody at Westmead Hospital. He was in his 4th day of jail; a coronial inquest was held in October 2019 but no new information has been given to the family and the prison is yet to be held accountable. Even if all your money has been given to the guy with the bum bag, have a shower and come support a cause that we should all get behind.
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LETTERS
Letters Hey kids, don’t do a language Hey Honi, I just wanted to say that I think you should be cautious posting one-sided articles like this [“Why you shouldn’t study a language at uni,” Honi Soit Welcome Week edition] as they may dissuade people from studying things they’re passionate about in uni and is really not backed up by any fact or statistical evidence. I was just having a chat at dinner with a few other students and we all agreed that it was pretty outrageous writing and did not cohere (whatsoever) with our multiple experiences studying different languages at uni!
I hate sounding like a hack but I found this article to be totally one dimensional and based one on persons one experience (who didn’t even seem to do much study outside contact hours). - De Lacroix
Shut up Mum, you’re embarassing me! Not so many nudie pics, sex themes and potty-mouthed talk this week please. And thanks for doing dishwasher. - Matt’s Mum
It’s Jesus you fucking fool Dear Honi Editors,
I am writing to enquire about an image which was published in the recent USU pull-out in the 2020 Welcome Week Edition of Honi Soit. The image I refer to is on page 3 of the pull-out, located next to the title “Friday - Catholic Society Presents: Life Day.” Could you please clarify to whom the reference “absolute boy” refers? I expect a response before tomorrow midday.
The offending picture.
Thank you in advance. Kind regards, Gabi Stricker-Phelps University of Sydney - Economics/ Law III
Weekly With petitioning skills like this you should join Socialist Alternative Following the news that campus icon Manning Bar was shutting its doors, Beware Belinda (who we believe to be Unity’s USU Board candidate) was quick to capitalise on the news, starting a petition on Change.org calling on the USU to “Save Manning Bar.” Given current USU President Connor Wherrett is in Unity and has justified closing Manning, it all sounds like some good old opportunism in time for her campaign. Yet with only 22 signatures at the time of writing, and what we believe to be a unanimous decision by the Board, we don’t think Manning will reopen anytime soon. It sure won’t stop a wide range of Board candidates changing their “revive Manning!!!” policies to “save Manning!!!” though. Our view? Shut down Incubate and Pulp instead. However, Belinda’s Change.org petition
wasn’t the only USyd one this week. The SRC’s own Secretary, Julia Robins has started “Bring Back Azzuri” in light of the iconic crepe place closing down. Sadly, 10 signatures probably won’t cut it, given they submitted their lease renewal to the USU too late. RIP to a real one :’(. Coitus Interruptus Hours before the first edition of Honi hit the stands, USU CEO Alexis Roitman dropped by our stall to gently chide us for denying her request to include our USU pullout. Little did she know! A long serving, well respected and recently departed USU department head very much enjoyed our little publication, even saying he was happy he didn’t have to deal with the USU’s official response. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours. A certain Nicole Baxter has been
proclaiming to anyone that will hear her that the USU will be suing us for the aforementioned publication. We eagerly await being served. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Our esteemed campus colleagues Pulp have been a little slow to the breaking news scene this week, publishing near carbon copies of our stories some hours after we first broke them. Perhaps they should stick to the memes? Ex-Honi editor and SMH lackey Natassia Chrysanthos has also been dabbling in a little content thievery, writing on the closure of Manning Bar without once referencing our breaking story. Labor Labor Labor What would Welcome Week be without a bit of Labor Labor Labor? Our very own Chuyi Wang was seen
Mardi Gras Parade When: 29th February, 7-10pm Where: Oxford & Flinders St, Darlinghurst Price: Free
SUDS Presents: Orlando When: 26-28th February, 7pm Where: The Cellar Theatre Price: SUDS $3 / ACCESS $5 / Concession $7 / Adult $12
Bum bag holders will be everywhere at the annual Mardi Gras Parade. See bright, bold and slowmoving floats traverse the city streets, see overexcitable adolescents sculling goon, see, or don’t see, Scomo. Try and find some after parties or raves on the outskirts of Sydney because the main parties are exxxxyyyy and finish at 3am!
I haven’t read Virgina Woolf but her Wikipedia page says she was a pioneer of stream of consciousness. I mistrust anyone, particularly men, who fanboy over Joyce but I guess I can give her a go. SUDS’ recreation of her novel-length love letter to Vita Sackville-West is sure to get you in the Mardi Gras spirit with a narrative that spans five centuries and explores queerness, love, angst and average poetry. See this before you see the guy with the bum-bag, so that your conversation with your best friend is more intellectual than ‘I love you, friend!’ or ‘we should suss bumbag guy more often!’ 100% of ticket sales will be donated to Twenty10 - a Sydney based support service for LGBQTIA+ young people.
whoing NLS NUS President Molly Wilmott when she came up to our stall, when he asked her if she wanted to write for the paper. We’re sorry Molly, but we’ll gladly take you on as our Melbourne correspondent. NLS have finally realised that they’ll never retake the Labor Club from SLS* so they’ve taken to setting up their own clubs to recruit from. These include the Drug Law Reform Society, StarSoc (an astrology society) and the USyd Democratic Socialists. Not sure papa Bernie would have approved of you guys having worked with the Liberals. *SLS (Sydney Labor Students) are a Labor Left faction who used to operate within the realm of student politics, but now operate only within NSW Labor. Despite the fact that they’re no longer involved in StuPol they will never relinquish control of the campus club to long term rivals, NLS.
Write, create and produce for Honi Soit Interested in reporting or making art for Australia’s only remaining weekly student newspaper? Email us at editors@honisoit.com or message us over on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.
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NEWS
Vice Chancellor Michael Spence to leave in December Nina Dillon Britton and Lara Sonnenschein report. Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney (USyd) Michael Spence last Wednesday announced that he would be leaving the role in December of this year, ending a tenure he’s held since 2008. This is despite the fact that Spence had accepted an invitation to stay in the role until 2022. Instead, he will take up an appointment as President and Provost of University College London (UCL) in January 2021. During his time as Vice Chancellor, Spence has clashed with students and staff alike over University decisions. In 2012, 100 University staff members were made redundant.
The following year saw seven days of strikes led by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) over the enterprise agreement concerning pay and conditions of staff. The University’s reputation took a significant hit during this period, as students complained about the force police used on campus. In 2014, he was roundly criticised for failing to oppose the fee deregulation measures of the Abbott government. In 2016, Spence oversaw the closure of the treasured Callum Park Sydney College of the Arts campus. Despite stating publicly that the closure was financially motivated, documents obtained by Honi in 2017 indicated that
to be untrue. Further, in 2017 the University refused to come out publicly in support of marriage equality during the plebiscite debate, Spence arguing that coming out in favour of the “yes” vote would compromise the institution and have a “potentially chilling effect on debate.” This is despite the fact that other universities came out in favour of marriage equality. From 2018 to 2019, Spence had advocated for the right-wing Ramsay Centre being housed at USyd, proposing to introduce a “Bachelor of Western Civilisation”. During his time as Vice Chancellor,
Spence has been seen as key proponent of the corporatisation of the University, as he oversaw the restructuring of the University which led to increasing casualisation of staff. Spence has also been criticised for inaction on campus sexual violence. Despite supporting the Broderick Review, feminist activists have argued there has been no meaningful change in the way the University responds to sexual assault and harassment. The University’s search for a new Vice Chancellor has already begun.
Simon Hardman to resign as Head of Campus Security Lara Sonnenschein reports. Head of Campus Security and Emergency Management Simon Hardman is set to resign on 13 March this year after less than three years in the role. Hardman has previously come under sharp criticism from students on campus over homophobic treatment. Last year Honi obtained documents under freedom of information laws which showed that Campus Security had received a complaint alleging homophobic behaviour, but had failed to investigate the matter. The complainant messaged the University of Sydney Facebook page alleging that Campus Security
confronted two men in a campus bathroom and addressed them saying, “you’re going to be charged faggots.” Last year, Hardman was also found by a tribunal to be homophobic in his previous job as Superintendent of the Newtown Local Area Command. In a momentous legal win over the New South Wales Police Force, four gay police officers showed that homophobia “unconsciously or consciously” drove Hardman’s mistreatment of them. As their boss, Hardman had made false complaints about the officers accusing them of taking drugs and having “loose morals”, which resulted in the police
officers being the subject of a six month long undercover surveillance operation. However Hardman’s interaction with the University of Sydney began even before he was employed by the University. In 2013, as the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and students were striking over pay and conditions, Hardman as Newtown Superintendent collaborated with University management against the strikes. The strikes saw well-documented violence from the police. Then Campus Security Manager Morgan Andrews even wrote to Hardman saying, “Let me know when you want a milkshake.” Students’ Representative Council
(SRC) Queer Officers Priya Gupta, Paola Ayre and Oliver Mackie Pawson told Honi “while we are glad that Mr Hardman will no longer be the Head of Security at Sydney University, it is disappointing that he was ever employed, considering his history both as a police officer and allegations of homophobia.” “While we know that the safety of queer people has never historically been provided from security and enforcement structures, we nevertheless will agitate the University to continually do better and fight homophobia wherever it arises.”
WoCo calls for action on sexual violence at Welcome Week Nina Dillon Britton reports. Wearing graduation caps and gowns adorned with sexual violence statistics, the Wom*n’s Collective rallied against sexual violence at Welcome Week on Wednesday. WoCo drew attention to Red Zone Report estimates that “68 college students are raped each week in Australia” and “78% of students don’t know how to report sexual assault.” The report, published by End Rape
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on Campus Australia in 2018 provides a much franker image of the grim state of sexual violence at Australian universities than the Broderick Review into USyd colleges. Co-Women’s Officer Vivienne Guo told Honi that Welcome Week is a “notoriously dangerous time” for students with “1 in 8 of all sexual assaults in a year happen[ing] during Welcome Week.” Guo said that it was
particularly important for the action to happen today because “WoCo believes that it is critical to call out the University when it fails students and prioritises its public image over our safety.” In a media release, WoCo said that the protest was “specifically targeting the false pristine reputation of this University” and that they were “peeling back the thin veneer to reveal their rotten core – elitism, sexism, and racism.”
WoCo also distributed flyers demanding a “rape free campus” to onlookers, detailing key statistics and stories of sexual violence at USyd. Last year, University management and the University of Sydney Union renamed “O-Week” “Welcome Week” over concerns the name was too associated with sexual violence. Photos by Jazzlyn Breen.
NEWS
Students protest travel ban at Welcome Week Lara Sonnenschein reports. Students gathered outside Fisher Library early Wednesday, the first day of Welcome Week, to protest the Australian Government’s China travel ban in response to the coronavirus. Organised by the University of Sydney Students’ Representative Council (SRC) the rally called for lifting the ban and a public health response to the situation, with a strong anti-racist message. Co-General Secretary Abbey Shi chaired the rally, noting that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that travel bans are unnecessary measures to deal with the virus. Shi, along with SRC President Liam Donohoe have been leading the student response on the issue, with Shi’s petition opposing the ban signed by over 4000 international students. All the student speakers at Wednesday’s rally situated the Australian Government’s response within a wider context of racism, Sinophobia and the increasing corporatisation of the higher education sector. Co-Women’s Officer Ellie Wilson spoke to Sinophobia as a longstanding tradition, whilst also highlighting past racist incidents on campus, such as a Chinese student being punched on
campus last year, and a Sinophobic survey administered at SRC polling booths last year. In a statement read out by Abbey Shi, Kigen Mera, one of the International Student Officers at the SRC, noted Australia’s inadequate response to the virus, particularly in light of international students paying “40,000 dollars a year”. He also compared Australia’s lacklustre response to other countries in the region who were doing more, such as Japan. National Union of Students (NUS) Ethnocultural Officer Vinil Kumar referenced Angela Davis’ quote, saying that it is “not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” He called Australia’s response to the health crisis “brutal authoritarianism” saying that the Government’s response has added “fuel on the fire of already elevated anti-Chinese sentiment.” Kumar also spoke to several demands including, extending the visas on all those affected, making sure that universities do not penalise students academically or financially, as well as providing professional counselling and support services. Further, he spoke to the fact that universities should provide
financial assistance for impacted students including help with rent. Cooper Forsyth from the Campus Refugee Action Collective situated the Government’s travel ban within the wider framework of the Australian border regime, arguing that “it is the same Government which continually stokes the flames of racism.” Forsyth passionately ended his speech with, “fuck ScoMo, lift the ban, open the borders now!” SRC President Liam Donohoe offered his full solidarity to all those affected by the virus, racism and those displaced by Western governments. He also said that international students are “only seen as a dollar figure” and noted that a lot of Australia’s response is driven by imperialist tensions. In a call to action, Donohoe stressed that students must be consistently fighting for international students’ rights “even when the chips are down, even when there’s not much media.” Other speakers included New South Wales Secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Michael Thompson and Erin Chew, the National Convenor of the Australian Asian Alliance. Thompson spoke to
the strains the ban will have on the higher education sector, noting how much international students contribute to universities’ revenue. At the end of his speech, Thompson declared “no to racism, no to the market university, no to the university solely for money.” Chew spoke to the racism that Chinese people have been facing on a daily basis since the ban, including people moving away from Chinese people coughing or sneezing on the train. She pointed out that Australia’s response is inconsistent with previous responses to health issues, such as Mad Cow disease and the common flu. “Are we afraid of the yellow peril?”, she said. The rally comes after the Morrison government extended the travel ban for an extra week after the initial ban on 1 February. Approximately 14,000 Chinese international students from USyd are impacted by the travel ban in light of being home for the holidays and Lunar New Year. Should the ban continue, it is estimated that the higher education sector, Australia’s third largest export worth $38billion will lose a minimum of $8 billion if Chinese international students are not allowed to return this semester.
Thousands unite for climate justice in Sydney for national day of action Tom Williams reports. Thousands of protestors gathered at Town Hall on Saturday to demand immediate climate action. The rally was organised by the newly formed Climate Justice Alliance, a collaboration between unions, NGOs, student groups and grassroots environmental groups. Protestors marched from Town Hall to Hyde Park to demand First Nations justice, publicly owned renewables, an end to fossil fuel and nuclear projects and compensation for firefighters. The politics of the event were dominated by the recent summer of devastating fire. Speakers emphasised the need for better funding and an “Indigenous led methodology, working under the traditional custodians of the land.” Jim Casey from the Fire Brigade Employees Union condemned budget cuts, inadequate equipment and a lack of compensation for workers. “We need to see an expansion of paid labour within this industry.”. “The bigger question is that the world is warming… Emergency services workers like me, we cannot actually fix this, all we can do is treat the symptoms.” Oliver Costello from the Firesticks Alliance supported this sentiment, and cautioned governments ignoring First
Nations voices in fire management. “Human induced climate change driving changes in the atmosphere that will take centuries to overcome.” “Reintroduce cultural fire regimes to mitigate the effects of future fire to come, to help heal the land… our people have the knowledge.” Speakers also highlighted the need for a just transition and publicly owned
Union of Australia and co-facilitator of the rally condemned the government’s climate and energy policy. “They will throw public money at aging fossil fuel projects but will not lift a finger to fund the renewable energy we need and the just transition for workers.” “We know the real hazard is his climate denialist government and the
Jim Casey addresses the rally in Town Hall Square. Photo: Zac Rudge.
renewables, building upon similar demands from rallies late last year. Erima Dall from the Maritime
corporations that are profiting off the destruction of this planet.” Electrical Trades Union National
Assistant Secretary Michael Wright addressed the necessity of publicly owned renewables and an associated just transition for workers. “The continued sale of our assets makes it harder for us to transition to a clean future. We need to have a people centric approach.” Chants of “climate justice, workers rights, one struggle, one fight” rang out through the square. Seth Dias, the state convenor of the Australian Students Environment Network and co-facilitator of the rally told Honi that “the Climate Justice Alliance was formed in order to have a timely, united and strong response to the climate emergency. We recognise that rallies called by many social justice organisations, student collectives and unions in collaboration would be far more impactful than if called alone. This rally was a great first example of this, almost 35 different organisations endorsed it and there was a firm showing of approximately 10,000 people.” “The CJA will be holding a town hall style forum on the 11th March... The next major projects for the alliance will likely be building toward the ‘month of MAYhem’.”
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ANALYSIS
What I learned from my OLE exchange experience Lei Yao and Zhiquan Gan explore the country exchange experience course together. I still remember the awkward moment when my German friend sent me “Frohes chinesisches neues Jahr (Happy Chinese New Year)” on Facebook a month ago. At that time, I didn’t even remember what the sentence actually meant. He was one of the few local students I met at Humboldt University of Berlin. When I replied, with my poor German knowledge the only word that appeared in my mind is “danke”, which means “thank you” in English. Shaking my head helplessly, I grinned bitterly and ended this brief greeting with “danke”. It was only then that I finally realised I could barely remember anything that I learned during the half month exchange in Germany. I do wonder about the value of the Open Learning Environment (OLE) incountry experience, aside from the freshness of visiting a totally strange country, the indulgence of exchange life and the considerable achievements on my transcript. The OLE in-country experience program is a brand new study unit put forward by the university in 2018 after teaching reform. The program usually consists of two parts, learning a new second language in foreign countries and participating in several cultural courses offered by the partner universities. It aims to provide students with interdisciplinary learning experiences and enriches their language learning background when they complete their degrees. Today, the development of
OLE in-country experience units seems to deviate from the original goals set by the university. The first and most prominent problem is that it is difficult to achieve the expected language learning target during the two or three weeks study time. Initially, when the School of Languages and Cultures established the unit curriculum, the target groups for OLE in-country experience units were students with little or no knowledge of a second language. Referring to the European Common Language Reference (CEFR), the language learning outcome planned by the OLE unit of study outline only reaches A1 level, breakthrough or beginner, which is the same as the other language units provided by the university. Apart from that, the learning results of OLE experience country programs are more limited than other language units. I have taken two language units in the university, FRNC 1601 French Introduction 1 and OLES 2153 Experience Germany. Compared with German, I have a more solid French background after finishing these two units. Learning and memory established through repetition and practice throughout a whole semester are far more effective than a half month of intensive learning. Next, the unit of study outlines provided by the partner universities are nearly out of supervision. Thus, it leads to another serious consequence – learning experience and outcomes
between different courses may vary from unit to unit. Isabella Cui, a Medical School student, told me in the interview that, “I strongly recommend everyone to take OLES 2147 Experience Italy. We don’t have any quizzes or exams during the exchange time. Only need to shoot a short Vlog. And everyone gets a satisfactory score”. However, not every student is as lucky as Isabella. Fengwei Yu, a Sydney Law School student, holds a different view towards the OLE unit. “We are the first exchange students to attend The Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. During the three weeks study time, we have to suffer endless French grammar quizzes and tests. Most importantly, the majority of students get very low marks. Initially, I wished to improve my WAM through this unit”. Indeed, many students are forced to undertake unnecessary risks of “selecting the wrong course” in the lack of uniform assessment standards. Therefore, for most students, there are two reasons to choose OLE exchange units - being able to achieve a relatively high score with minimal effort and travelling to a new country to have fun in the name of study. Students’ purposes in picking study units may no longer be to choose the language of their interest but, rather to select “highscore” courses and travel destinations. Another problem that needs to be considered are the costs involved for what is a less effective learning program. Since most partner exchange destinations are in the northern
hemisphere, the round flight ticket is about $2000, taking the cheapest economy class ticket as an example. Taking into account accomodation, food and travel, the costs are exorbitant for both domestic and international students. Although the university provides $1000 exchange scholarships for students who achieve over 70 WAM, it’s still hard to cover the full cost of the exchange. Lastly, as exchange students, we rarely have opportunities to communicate with local students. During my exchange in Germany, Humboldt University of Berlin did not provide us with the opportunity to connect socially with local students. The only non-language course - an introduction to the German political system - was also studied with my classmates from the University of Sydney. It seems like we are observing others across the glass, but still cannot truly get involved. The only thing that the exchange confirmed is that I still use English when communicating with other nonnative English speakers. We always talk in English unconsciously after a brief greeting in the other’s mother tongue. I know it’s an unrealistic thing to master a completely foreign language in such a short time. But I do hope that OLE exchange units can provide students with better and more authentic language learning experiences rather than becoming a choice to escape from the pressure of other units.
三个星期: 我们开启的是学习还是一场逃离 Lei Yao and Zhiquan Gan 共同评估 OLE 交换项目 我仍然记得一个月前，我的德国朋友在 脸书上发给我 “Frohes chinesisches neues Jahr (新年快乐)” 时，我一脸茫然的窘 境。他是我在柏林洪堡大学认识的为数不 多的当地学生。 当我尝试着用我为数不多的德语知识去 回复时，脑海中仅剩唯有“Danke (谢谢)” 。 我摇摇头，苦笑一声，只得用 “Danke” 结束了这次短暂的寒暄。直到此时，我才 发现，在德国半个月所学的知识几乎被我 遗忘殆尽。我不禁开始思考，除了造访陌 生国度的新鲜感，半个月疯玩带来的放纵 感以及成绩单上较为可观的成绩外，这门 OLES 2153 Experience Germany 究竟还给 我留下了什么。 OLE In-country Experience Program 是 悉尼大学于2018年教学改革后推出的全新 的模块。项目通常由两部分组成，去外国 学习一种全新的第二语言以及参与学习对 应学校提供的文化课程。其初衷是帮助学 生在完成既定学位的同时，提供给学生交 叉学科的学习体验和丰富语言类的知识结 构。而如今，OLE的发展似乎背离了学校 最初设定的目标。 首先最突出的问题是，为期半个月的学 习很难达到预期的语言学习效果。School of Languages and Cultures 在课程设置之 初，OLE In-country Experience Program 的受众群体就是那些对第二语言完全没有 了解或者几乎没有了解的学生。课程学 习大纲所规划的学习目标，如果参考欧
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洲共同语言参考标准，也不过是 A1 入门 级别而已。以我的亲身经历来说，我在悉 尼大学一共学习过两个语言类模块，分别 是 FRNC 1601 French Introduction 1 以及 OLES 2153 Experience Germany。可以负 责任的说，法语的综合学习体验远远好过
学生所选择的课程目的 可能不再会是单纯的选 择自己感兴趣的语言， 而是更容易拿高分的课 程以及自己感兴趣的旅 游目的地。
德语。学习过第二语言的学生都应该知 道，通过一整个学期反复强调所形成的语 言学习记忆远远比半个月集中学习所带来 的效果要好。 其次，对应的交换学校在 OLE In-country Experience Program 的教学大纲上面 拥有极大的自主性。这就造成了另一个不 能忽视的严重后果，不同课程之间的学 习体验可能千差万别。悉尼大学医学院的 学生 Isabella Cui 在接受这次采访时告诉 我，“我强烈建议选择 OLES 2147 Experience Italy 这门课程。我们没有任何的考 试，期末的最终考核仅仅是拍一段短视频 而已。而且每个人都得到了相对较高的分 数。”然而，不是每一个学生都会像 Isa-
bella Cui 一样幸运。悉尼大学法学院的学 生 Fengwei Yu 对 OLE 课程持有不同的观 点，“我们是第一届去里昂三大的学生。 在为期三周的学习里，我们不得接受频繁 的语法测试。更重要的是，每一个学生的 分数都非常的低。我本来希望能通过这门 课去提高我的均分。” 的确，在缺乏统一 的教学考核标准之下，很多学生被迫承担 了“选错课“的不必要风险。 正因如此，选择 OLE In-country Experience Program 的原因可能会被缩小到如 下两点，以能以相对于悉尼大学其他课程 更少的努力获得一个相对较高的成绩以及 可以假学习之名去旅游。学生所选择的课 程目的可能不再会是单纯的选择自己感兴 趣的语言，而是更容易拿高分的课程以及 自己感兴趣的旅游目的地。 另一个非常现实的问题，高昂的住宿旅 行以及学费和收效甚微的课程学习成果之 间让人产生了巨大的心理落差。 悉尼大 学 OLE的合作院校大多在北半球，以最 便宜的经济舱为例，来回往返的机票大约 是在2000澳元左右。如果算上课程期间的 食宿交通以及旅行费用，无论是对本地学 生还是国际学生来说，都是一笔不可忽视 的巨大开销。尽管悉尼大学为均分在70分 以上的部分学生提供了价值1000澳元的交 换奖学金，这很难涵盖本次交换学习的全 部费用。 除此之外，作为交换生的我们，很少有 机会与对应院校的学生进行交流。在我参
加德国的交换学习期间，柏林洪堡大学没 有给我们提供与当地学生共同学习交流的 机会。唯一的文化类课程，以我参与的德 国政治体系导论而言，也是和悉尼大学的 学生共同学习的。我们如同隔着一面玻璃 近距离的观察别人的生活，却始终无法真 正的融入。 唯一可以确定的是，我仍然习惯用英语 和非英语为母语的朋友用交流，这个事实 并没有因为学习任何第二外语而改变。我 们总是礼貌的在用各自的语言进行短暂的 寒暄之后，迅速投入热烈的英语交流中。 我知道，通过几周的时间去掌握一门完全 陌生的语言是一件不现实的事情。但我还 是希望 OLE In-country Experience Program 能够给所有学生带来更优质的语言 学习体验而不是沦为学生逃避其他课程压 力的无奈之选。
Photo by Zhiquan Gan
ANALYSIS
Beyond pride: The weight of Mardi Gras Aiden Magro on the space reforming Mardi Gras takes up in queer circles. Mardi Gras is heavy. The corporatisation of the parade, which first hit the streets as a protest against the discrimination and persecution of LGBTQ+ people in 1978, has in recent years weighed down on the shoulders of a new generation of activists. Community groups have fought against issues of corporatisation, police brutality and the sponsorship of companies who profit from human rights violations, through running candidates for the Mardi Gras board, passing motions at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and staging protest actions at Fair Day. While it is important that these issues are met with dissent, at what point should this dissent be aimed at larger systems of inequality rather than the microcosm of Mardi Gras? How much space is it taking up in political circles? For the past two years, the focus of new group Pride in Protest has turned to reforming Mardi Gras to the detriment of other important issues, such as the current Religious Exemptions Bill, which would allow discrimination on the basis of religious belief towards LGBTQ+ people in certain areas of public life. Running a board candidate is no easy feat, and it becomes increasingly difficult and time consuming when the candidate is backed by community groups compared to the individualistic, better funded and conservative platforms that make up a majority of successful board candidates.
Pride in Protest currently holds one position out of eight on the Mardi Gras board after narrowly failing to elect a candidate the previous year. In order for groups like Pride in Protest to elect successful board candidates, they must encourage people with similar politics and beliefs to join Mardi Gras, a membership that will set you back $50 annually. With only one successful board candidate, it is unlikely that any meaningful change within Mardi Gras can happen and it is impossible that any change of the larger systems that Mardi Gras is situated within would eventuate. Indeed, the demands levelled against Mardi Gras often seem to be aimed within the confines of Mardi Gras policy. This year, one motion called for a review of corporate sponsors on the basis of human rights violations, including Qantas, who play a role in the deportation of refugees. Information obtained by BuzzFeed under freedom of information laws found that Australian immigration officers routinely asked queer refugees if they could pretend to be straight in order to avoid persecution in their home countries. However, while this motion highlights the very current and real issue of the deportation of queer people back to persecution, it does nothing to change the systems that allow it. With or without involvement in Mardi Gras, Qantas will play a role in the deportations unless they are met
with direct action. Perhaps the most important action Pride in Protest has performed was handing out fliers at this year’s Fair Day outside the Qantas stall highlighting the atrocities committed by the corporation. This was because it happened outside the confines of Mardi Gras policy and was aimed directly at the systems of inequality we should be seeking to change. By contrast, LGBTQ+ London solidarity group Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) have less involvement in pride events, focusing on community action, raising funds for refugees and protesting deportations with direct action. Their campaign Dear BA has received 100 letters in support of migrants remaining in the UK and dissent against British Airways who, like Qantas, play a role in the countries racist border control. LGSM seeks to change larger systems while simultaneously directly funding homeless youth and refugees who have been persecuted by the government of their home country, as well as the British government. They resist involvement in corporatised Pride in order to respond to more alarming calls to protest. Another motion at the recent Mardi Gras AGM sought to condemn Gilead, a Mardi Gras sponsor responsible for the price gouging of the antiretroviral medication, PreP, in the US. The motion was one of two motions successfully
passed by Pride in Protest, with the other demanding for the creation of an ethics charter for corporate sponsorship in consultation with community and members. Despite these two triumphs, Mardi Gras highlighted that the final decision rests with the Board which currently has a more complacent stance on the issue of corporatisation. Gilead remains a corporate sponsor of Mardi Gras which leads to an important question: if they are not listening, why not go beyond Mardi Gras to hold companies like Gilead and Qantas accountable for their actions? Queer liberation is heavy work. This year will see the rights of LGBTQ+ people put into question with the Religious Exemptions Bill coming to the forefront of discussion in Federal Parliament. With Newstart payments and other welfare programs remaining stagnant or inaccessible, we will only see the disproportionate homelessness of queer youth rise. With rising racism in Australia, the country’s borders will only harden. Mardi Gras may have begun as a protest, but it is apparent that this is no longer the case; it has become part of the issue. However, in order to overcome it, it is imperative that we look at the broader picture. Now more than ever, it is important that we know which heavy load we must carry.
Art by Claire Ollivain
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ANALYSIS
“Giving us something to cheer for”: politics in sports Daany Saeed is sick of being distracted by big sixes and yorkers. Sport is central to the Australian social psyche: it speaks to aspirational elements of our national identity both in its egalitarian nature and its capacity to unify us. This summer, Australia was forced to reconcile the extent to which we would accept our sporting heartstrings being pulled by politicians. Prime Minister Morrison’s hope that big sixes and inswinging yorkers would melt away the horrors of the bushfire crisis was roundly rejected. Instead, we have sought solace from the partisan cauldron of politics on the sporting field. It’s a common refrain whenever athletes speak out on social issues, particularly women or athletes of colour – most famously, “shut up and dribble.” Sport has never been divorced from politics – to suggest otherwise is incredibly naïve, and to suggest that it should be, equally so. Though much has been written on the rights of elite athletes to give social commentary, comparatively little has been on to the ways in which sport is exploited by political elites. Sport has a unique role in our new environment of “optics” politics: where all that matters is the photo op and mere pretence of integrity in our institutions. By virtue of its unique position as a sacrosanct public space, it has incredible power to be leveraged in a politic obsessed with
imagery – and politicians know this. Morrison’s great hope in Tim Paine’s men “giving us something to cheer for” is not merely that of distraction from his own leadership (or lack thereof), but a calculated investment in this nebulous idea of a national collective, a jingoistic mechanism by which voters forget the sins of his government. At first glance, one might think he is attempting to adopt John Howard’s image as a daggy sporting tragic, a brand that won four elections. Thus far, it’s been an effective ploy for Morrison, who ends
on nationalistic symbolism. It was Howard who placed the Test captaincy on a pedestal above even his own job in terms of importance, and would milk the personalities that held the office for soundbites that embodied what it meant to be Australian: Mark Taylor was humble and honest, Steve Waugh a gritty warrior. It’s no coincidence that his famed power-walks were performed in the most garish of green and gold tracksuits. Cricket may be the quintessential
Thus far, it’s been an effective ploy for Morrison, who ends his press conferences with a confected “Go Sharks!” despite being a union man from Bronte. his press conferences with a confected “Go Sharks!” despite being a union man from Bronte. The investment in optics, above all else, is an art he seems to have perfected: the majority of his Prime Ministership has been spent running for office, indiscriminately splashing cash at sports clubs (as long as they were in marginal electorates). He won that election convincingly – it would be easy to take away that whipping out a garish scarf and having a decent drop-punt is a surefire electoral winner. On further analysis however, Howard built his brand not on a love for sport (or indeed any ability), but
Tory game, but it is not unique in its capacity to be leveraged for political gain, nor is that gain necessarily solely the preserve of the right. Sport’s role as a political mechanism is contested – there is a long history of sport being used for progressive protest, and particularly by Australians. The 1968 Munich Olympics are remembered for the silent Black Power salute of victorious American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium of the 200m sprint. They were joined by a white Australian, Peter Norman, who stood solemnly in solidarity with an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on his
left breast. For his principle, he never ran at an Olympics again. Even in death, Parliament refused to acknowledge the racism involved in his blacklisting. 52 years after they blacklisted Norman, the Australian Olympic Commission has supported an International Olympic Committee ban on political protest at the Tokyo Games later this year. The fact they also supported Mack Horton’s refusal to share the podium with alleged doper Sun Yang at last year’s Swimming World Championships betrays that it is political protest, not protest generally, they are wary of. It is not misplaced – conservative sporting establishments have every reason to fear the rise of sport as a political arena after a summer where using it for distraction has been rejected with the white-hot anger of a public sick of being taken for fools. 2020 looms as a year of political action in the sporting arena – no doubt the Prime Minister will hope for Ellyse Perry to lead the Southern Stars to victory in March so he can crow about sports grants. But he would do well to remember our athletes don’t tend to like smoke inhalation, and the rumblings we have heard this summer are set to become deafening. In this environment, we would all do well to be conscious to be critical of the political messaging involved in our sporting entertainment this year.
Will sport ever have a meaningful #MeToo moment? Kiran Gupta considers sexism in sport and its future. In most circumstances, a match between Pedro Sousa and Enrico Dalla Vale on an outside court at the Florence challenger would not garner much attention. The majority of people watching on the live stream would be gamblers. As such, players and officials can usually get away with almost anything. Match-fixing is rife and surprising results frequent. However, this time, when an official stepped out of line, it was caught. Gianluca Moscarella, an umpire with ten years of Gold-Badge status (the highest rated official status in tennis), was recorded on the live stream saying to a young ball girl “Sei fantastica...molto sexy… Sei accaldata, fisicamente o emotivamente? [You are fantastic… Very sexy … Are you ok? It’s hot. Do you feel hot? Physically or emotionally?]. Allegedly, this was not Moscarella’s first foray into these types of comments, previously telling a senior ATP official that “you provoked me by having big tits and a big ass.” Whilst Moscarella denied this allegation, there are other similar allegations made by journalists that can be found on the internet. After some external pressure, Moscarella was suspended indefinitely from umpiring but the media backlash was muted in comparison to the offence. This issue is not isolated to tennis. When cricketers Lasith Malinga and Arjuna Ranatunga were accused of sexual harassment (the former by a prominent singer), there was almost no
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attention in the cricket-mad Australian media. Even when soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of sexual harassment, this was not reported as widely as could be expected for a person of his stature. This is in stark contrast to the entertainment industry, where there has been much greater scrutiny into allegations of harassment and misconduct. This begs the question: will sport ever have a #MeToo movement like the entertainment industry? When examining this question, it is important to recognise that the structures of power in sport and entertainment differ vastly. At least at a superficial level (such as on the stage), there is some degree of gender parity in entertainment. Although global numbers are unquantifiable and men still dominate the screen in many ways, musical theatre casts are often comprised equally of men and women and often bands achieve relative gender parity when all things are considered. Whilst this is a simplistic and reductive idea that does not interrogate the structures of power that lie behind the superficiality of the stage, it does heavily contrast with the world of sport. Gender parity in sport is still such an emerging concept that it almost seems foreign. Even in Australia, where women’s sport is thriving, sports like cricket will only generate a fraction of the crowd. This could certainly be construed as creating a tiered system of “belonging” in sport where men in sport bureaucracy believe
that they are superior on the basis of gender. How does this apply to tennis though? After all, tennis was the first sport to introduce equal prize money and at most grand slams (the biggest tennis tournaments in the world), women actually play more than men on the main show courts. On the surface, it seems like a sport that would have greater gender parity than any other. And it does. However, can this explain the behaviour of officials who think that it is acceptable to harass very young ball girls? In a way, it stems from the perceived gender parity in tennis. As tennis has been at the forefront of social change in sport, there is the potential for tennis authorities to deny that sexism persists and for officials like Moscarella to think that this change can excuse poor and harassing behaviour. For example, in response to the initial Moscarella allegations (published as part of a larger piece on a tennis blog), the ATP said, “This report relates to a disgruntled former chair umpire contractor who has not worked for ATP since 2014. The article makes numerous untrue statements about ATP and its personnel.’’ Whilst this should not be the case, it does reflect the hegemonic structures of masculinity that have always and continue to dominate sport. Judy Murray, mother of tennis stars Andy and Jamie Murray, has said “I think anybody would tell you that there are examples,” regarding abuse of
women in tennis. Until these structures are meaningfully and comprehensively interrogated, there is little that can change in this regard. There is also a public relations aspect to the persistence of sexism in tennis that must be noted. The #MeToo movement has garnered a lot of negative attention for the entertainment industry simply by being in the press. Sports administrators seem keen to deflect from the problem simply by ignoring it. The surface level “equality” in tennis does not equate to equal structures of power. Hence, as true parity is not achieved, sports administrators still have the ability to deflect the conversation. If it is not perceived to be a systemic issue, then there will not be a media bandwagon to the level of #metoo in entertainment. Without the media attention, the perpetrators will largely be able to continue in stealth and in silence. So, is sport capable of having its own #MeToo moment? Maybe sometime in the distant future but to do so requires a comprehensive examination of hegemonic structures of masculinity in sport. Whether this will happen as women’s sport continues to rise remains to be seen. The one thing that is clear is that to address an issue like this requires media attention and the media to acknowledge that sport and entertainment aren’t all that disconnected.
ANALYSIS
Privacy in the age of the Internet of Things Veronica Lenard wants you to read the terms and conditions. In 1990, the toaster was connected to the Internet. In the 2000s, television sets and fridges were made smarter and more connected. In the 2010s, alongside the growth of the Internet of Things (previously ordinary objects connected to the internet) like lightbulbs, showers, beds and smart speakers, 2014 marked the overtaking of the number of devices relative to people. This level of connection requires a new level of voluntary surveillance. We are living in a future forecasted by science fiction. However, where fictional citizens were involuntarily controlled by an omniscient power, we brought it into our pockets, homes and workplaces, eagerly clicking “I Accept” when asked, without
deletion, and even then, some transcribed data remained, although separate to the device, with the attempt to improve Alexa through machine learning. It’s in this supposed “machine learning” that devices become smarter, as Amazon (and other) workers around the world process the recordings to help the voice assistants learn when a French speaker is saying “avec sa” instead of Alexa and when a Spanish speaker may be saying “Hecho” instead of Echo. Amazon’s foray into video recording, through their digital doorbell Ring, extends their reach into our lives and our data as live video and facial recognition tracks anyone who walks up to or past
clothing that masks your heat signature from drones, makeup that attempts to trick facial recognition or a bracelet that interferes with the recording capability of nearby microphones (by emitting high frequency waves that replace your voice with white noise on the recording). These reactive measures aim to give users the means to protect their physical and digital identity, much to the chagrin of technological companies. But the consumerist nature of these products means an individual is forced to continue to develop and maintain a pseudo-digital armour. Whilst both Amazon and Google rely on opt-out systems, requiring a user to
Research by the Consumer Policy Research Centre found that 94% of Australians don’t read their privacy policies. The time consuming process of unpicking the overly wordy and jargon heavy terms that we agree to is overlooked as we don’t really have another option, needing whatever software it applies to for work, socialising or university. considering the repercussions. Research by the Consumer Policy Research Centre found that 94% of Australians don’t read their privacy policies.The time consuming process of unpicking the overly wordy and jargon heavy terms that we agree to is overlooked as we don’t really have another option, needing whatever software it applies to for work, socialising or university. These unread privacy policies have enabled technology corporations like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google to track every digital move we make, and now our physical ones as well. We brought smart devices into our homes and workplaces to make the mundane easier, like playing music, finding out the weather and setting alarms. This was initially met with an understandable paranoia, which has faded as these products become increasingly present. In a 2019 letter to a US senator, Amazon admitted that audio recordings from Alexa and Echo devices were retained until users requested their
your door. The concerns surrounding video surveillance are wide-reaching and becoming increasingly prevalent, emphasised by the existence of the website Insecam, which offers a global live feed of unsecured cameras. IP cameras have long been subject to breaches-everything from baby monitors to digital doorbells have been temporarily taken over, giving access to the video stream and speaker. In buying and using a smart speaker or digital doorbell, a consumer consents to the surveillance it entails. However it becomes more complicated when in environments you don’t control. Google’s Rick Osteroh admitted that visitors should be informed about the presence of smart speakers. Without structural change, privacy concerned citizens are forced to resort to measures such as counter wearables, where scarves, jackets and jewellery are used to avoid or minimise the tracking of the wearer. You can buy reflective glasses that conceal your eyes on camera (by deflecting visible and infrared waves), RFID blocking jackets and wallets,
withdraw consent for their recordings to be kept, Apple utilises an opt-in system which allows users to share their dictation recordings to improve its’ accuracy. Opt-in systems make privacy the default, a notion shared by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the United Nations’ institution of the right to digital privacy. Schemes like the GDPR created a precedent in favour of digital privacy and protective regulatory measures. So, where do we go from here? It’s easy to become apathetic towards privacy policies and digital surveillance, under the guises of having already revealed too much. But, we must attempt to confront the complex tension between embracing benefits offered by technological advancement and protecting our digital lives. The path ahead is best put by James Bennett, an editor at The New York Times, “Rather than hurriedly consenting to someone else’s privacy policy, it’s time for us to write our own.”
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PERSPECTIVE
Meeting Greta Thunberg Charlotte Lim reflects on her experience meeting the Swedish activist. Last year I was based in the south of Sweden, in the small student town of Lund, but figured I couldn’t end my study abroad without trying to strike with Thunberg four hours north in the capital. Arriving at Riksdaghuset (the Swedish Parliament) felt like announcing my respect-crush for the Swedish activist. I made my way through the labyrinth of paths and tunnels that surround the outer defence of Riksdaghuset before seeing a cluster of about 40 protesters with cardboard and calico banners. Meeting your hero is tricky business at best. It’s one thing to rock up to a climate strike in Sydney, but another when you fly halfway across the world to meet the person who single handedly made “flygskam” (flight shame) a thing. The irony. I took photos and people-watched as I looked out for Thunberg. There were only about 50 people (mostly high schoolers) who stayed to strike throughout the day, a number in stark comparison to the hundreds who filter in throughout the day to find Thunberg, say hi, take a photo, and disappear. I made my way into the crowd and began chatting to other activists. They pointed out Thunberg and frogmarched me to her side.
then we just stared at each other. When I get nervous in social interactions, I talk a lot, so I rambled on about how grateful I am that she started striking because as a fellow young person I also got depressed about the climate. She nodded, and we stared at each other some more. She smiled when I said, “You know I really wanted to strike alongside you, rather than just in solidarity like I usually do,” before I asked for a photo. Thunberg only said one word to me in our entire exchange – “yes,” when I asked if she was comfortable if I could post on social media and if I could put my arm around her. Other than that, she just nods or shakes her head. Thunberg has spoken outwardly about her selective mutism before. I don’t know why I assumed that we would have a lively bubbling conversation when she only speaks when it is “necessary”. The media portrayal of Thunberg is somewhat deceptive. According to activists who are close to Thunberg, she often walks away and says “no,” or “not right now,” when the number of people asking for photos becomes overwhelming. She’s wiser than most of us, but it’s an unexpected way of interacting with, for lack of a better word, your fans.
about action. It’s a demand for action. I was frustrated though. I wanted to talk about so many things: veganism, activism, and self-care when you’re fighting a system that seems impossible to change. On reflection, our interaction felt so hollow. On the train ride back to Lund, I began to think about the idolisation of Thunberg as the world’s spokesperson for change. When you separate her from the awards she’s won, the books she’s co-written, the speeches she’s given and the protests she’s led, she’s just a kid. She’s shorter than me and hasn’t finished high school. She shouldn’t have to carry this responsibility on her shoulders. But she started the ‘Friday’s for Future’ movement; and now has to be the one to step up to the pedestal. I felt dirty, thinking about how this journey was all about me, and my desire to meet and strike with Thunberg. I went to Stockholm because I wanted to meet her. Just like all the other people who filter through the crowds to snap a photo before leaving. Meeting Greta changed me. I’ve become a little more thoughtful, and I behave a little more cautiously in person and online around those I admire. I’m pensive, and definitely more reflective. I recognise I’m far more pessimistic and
cynical of what could possibly make a future in the world more viable. There’s no magical green technology or scientific innovation that’s going to pull humanity out of the now hollow coal mines we’ve dug. That’s something each and every one of us – politicians, CEOs, students and Greta Thunberg – are going to have to do, all by ourselves.
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Photographs by Charlotte Lim.
I started panicking again as soon as I opened my mouth. Thunberg’s gaze is intense. She pretty much wore the same expression as when she spoke at the UN Climate Change COP25 Conference, and had her eyes locked on mine throughout our entire interaction. I blathered out my own introduction…
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This is what makes Thunberg so magnetic: she truly doesn’t care about being famous. Her demands are to listen to climate science, and act now. She doesn’t like being told she’s amazing, or being told that she’s an inspiration and beacon of hope. Striking isn’t about some abstract concept like hope. It’s
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OPINION
Burns survivor Kate Scott wants to dismantle myths around trauma. I was nine when I was burnt. One moment, I was breathing in steam from a mixing bowl of freshly boiled water to chase away a cough. The next, I was screaming as boiling water dripped down my legs. I remember the pain the most. The cheap polyester pyjama shorts covered in bright pink and red cherries had melted and fused to my skin; blisters bubbled across my lap. I remember the drive to the hospital; tears streaming down my cheeks while the hospital speedbumps left me shaking in pain. My parents met us at the hospital. Dad was stony faced. Mum refused to let go of my hand the entire night. My thighs were unrecognisable. I had red, angry scalding from my knees to my navel. My lap was a mess of second and three degree burns where the skin had been completely burned away. I spent several weeks in a hospital bed in Westmead Children’s Hospital. I spent months in a wheelchair. I spent well over a year returning to that bandaged bear unit to have my bandages redressed and checked signs of infection. I cried during my first shower after what felt like an eternity of sponge baths and hair washes in the sink. I wore silicon patches for three years after that accident and couldn’t wear shorts for longer.
But as physical wounds turned to scars, the mental trauma of what occurred only started to sink in. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder made sleeping almost impossible. Calming essential oil blends and classical music prescribed by a therapist did little to stop the images that flashed behind closed eyelids. Those cherry shorts, the whiteness of skin burnt away, shivering in a tub of cold water while my babysitter called triple zero. Even after a decade,
are spoken, one imagines obvious scars mutilating large expanses of skin. Indeed, that is what I pictured for a very long time. Which is perhaps why I look down at my relatively small patches of white scarred skin, barely discernible under criss-crossing stretch-marks, and struggle to acknowledge what I am. How could I be a “burns survivor” when there are people who had it so much worse than me?
But the reality is that it’s hard to explain the trauma that has made a home inside of you whilst you constantly dismiss it when you are waiting for the response, “you don’t look like a burns survivor” or “hot water? That doesn’t hurt like fire though, does it?” citrus cleaning products make me tremble and feel nauseous; they send me back countless trips spent having bandage glue wiped off with orange De-Solv-It. Still, I was lucky. I didn’t need extensive skin grafts, nor did I face the horrors of infection. My scars did not disfigure my face or hands or arms, Instead they faded, and became relatively smaller as I grew legs no longer belonging to a nine year old. But when the words “burns survivor”
This idea became my mantra for a long time. I would throw away invites to burns survivor’s camps because I wasn’t a “burns survivor.” I felt I did not meet the minimum requirements to deserve the title and the pity “survivor” evoked. I mistook downplaying the trauma as recovery; dismissing triggers as hysteria or sleep deprived emotionality. Smells and images that would make me feel like sobbing saw me hastily making an exit whilst hiding trembling hands and the
crack in my voice. My PTSD evolved to general anxiety and a compulsive need to perfectly prepare for every possible outcome. “Go with the flow” became lost from my vocabulary, stemming from a hyperawareness of how bad a worst-casescenario can be. It became the norm for friends to tease me about being paranoid or high strung, whilst I smiled, shrugged and triple checked google maps. But the reality is that it’s hard to explain the trauma that has made a home inside of you whilst you constantly dismiss it. It’s hard to call yourself a burns survivor when you are waiting for the response, “you don’t look like a burns survivor” or “hot water? That doesn’t hurt like fire though, does it?” That constant fear of someone dismissing your experience leads you to do it first Eleven years on, I am still learning that there is not was threshold for recognising your own trauma; the experiences of others simply do not discredit your own.
Notice of Council Meeting
92nd Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney DATE: Tue 10th March TIME: 6pm LOCATION: ABS 1050
src.usyd.edu.au | 02 9660 5222 Art by Ranuka Tandan
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FEATURE
In Conversation with
Buff Correll Even if you don’t know his name, you know his haircut. You know his wild kinetic dance moves and infectious energy. You have heard his passionate singing voice and his unique warmup routine. You’ve seen him all over Twitter, YouTube and Facebook meme groups. Correll Bufford, Buff Correll online, is a viral American internet personality who has been uploading dance covers onto web streaming platforms for more than a decade, though his popularity has seen peaks and valleys over the years. Most of his uploads have yet to break the ten thousand mark, his first ever cover - a waist up video of him upper-body break-dancing to Beyonce’s Drunk in Love - has garnered over 1.1 million views as of this month. What is perhaps more impressive than the visual delight of his dance moves is the consistency of his output; Correll often uploads multiple times per day, totalling around ten to twelve videos a week. 2019 marked a bit of a renaissance for his channel after he started taking song requests from Facebook and YouTube comments. Quickly co-opted by ‘Patrician’ music groups and meme circles across the internet, Correll has now danced - and sung - his way through several Death Grips, Mitski, Radiohead and Doja Cat tracks. Despite the amount of Buff content freely accessible, he still largely remains an incomprehensible online enigma in the eyes of many. His social media presence - as if not already bizarre enough - consists of uploading sometimes over 100 selfies and mirror photos a day, counterpointed by the occasional link to a RnB track with the caption ‘JOINT’. As such, the lore surrounding his character has ballooned to an entire fictional universe. Conspiracy theories fly left and right about the reasons behind his extreme hairdo, the content of his funnysounding vocal warmups, why he has a poster of himself up on the wall and why he always dances in front of a mirror. I was one of those conspiracy theorists, unsatisfied with mere speculation, and I needed to find out the truth. Correll was not an easy man to reach. Having hit the maximum cap for friends on Facebook, my best shot was to send him a DM and hope for the best. Radio silence ensued for over two weeks as my hopes of ever talking to him faded - it wasn’t that he hadn’t seen the message, it was that he had almost instantly seen it and had ghosted me ever since. A full 18 days later, I woke up to a startling reply: Buff Correll’s had not only agreed to an interview, but had sent me his phone number and a time I should reach him at. The following transcript comes from my hour-long conversation with him. Chuyi Wang: How did you get started with making your videos? Correll Bufford: It was in 2010 and I was working out and I was trying to better myself, and I didn’t like the music on the radio - it had totally changed. I just didn’t like the music, one of my favourite artists stopped doing his thing, and MJ had just passed away, so I really wanted to start doing music. I went through with my gym process and when I saw my abs I got so much confidence to follow through. I posted that Beyonce video, which was my first singing video, and got the biggest crowd reaction I’ve probably ever gotten. Chuyi: So when you say you didn’t like the music on the radio in 2010, what sort of music are you into? Correll: When I first started, I liked Ginuwine, Prince, MJ and George Michael. Because I had a predominantly black audience, I decided I needed to be making RnB videos and Ne-Yo type music. My first one-million-view video - a cover of Drunk in Love - got on World Star Hip Hop and that’s where a lot of my early audience came from. Chuyi: What was their initial reaction? Correll: I got a lot of negative comments starting out. Everyone was just like “what are you doing, why do you have a poster of yourself ?” I’ve gotten a lot better at handling the hate throughout the years, but at some point it started invading my personal life. It got out of hand when my co-workers started talking about how I was the guy in the Beyonce video, and people looked at me differently as I got bigger and bigger. Chuyi: What gave you the persistence to keep going despite all the negativity? Correll: I just couldn’t stop - I wasn’t really doing anything in my life and it was so much fun. When I was down and out I used to just drink, but this was better than that. It’s become a real passion: I just keep doing it, it doesn’t matter if I’m not good at it and I feel I can keep going if I wanted to. It’s about keeping a schedule and proving yourself wrong everyday. Chuyi: One thing I’ve always wondered about is your schedule actually. How do you keep up to the pace of uploading multiple videos a day? Correll: I wake up at about 5am every day and eat oatmeal and bananas. I cycle to the gym - I’m a real gym rat, I’ve been with a personal trainer for five years and I probably spend about 3 hours working out every day there. Once I’m done with that I come home, I check who’s commenting on the page and then get the equipment ready. I iron my pants, listen to the original song a couple of times and then just go for it. And depending on how I’m feeling I might do three or four a day. Chuyi: You mentioned before that you work? What field do you work in? Correll: I used to have a job, cleaning and being a janitor, but not any more. You see, I was on America’s Got Talent last year and I actually got booed off the stage. It was so humiliating, and I remember walking off into the waiting room with everybody staring, and going back to the hotel and calling my mom. When I got back to work
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in Arizona, I was so ashamed of myself. I told myself ‘you really gotta do better than that, man’. I just couldn’t get it out of my mind that I choked right there on the stage when I was so close to getting to a wider audience. So when I quit everything, it was so I could have more time to do my thing and improve my craft. That’s when I started paying much more attention to how I looked and sounded, so I’m not really surprised that I’ve gotten bigger. It’s about proving that I am worthy to be up on that stage again. Chuyi: I think one reason so many people are drawn to your videos is because of your super energetic dancing. Where do you get the moves from, and what inspired you to start dancing? Correll: Dance is the most motivational thing you can do I think. There’s nothing quite like hitting a move right on the beat. I think most people have forgotten about dance - I’ve never seen anybody else putting out solo dance videos on Facebook, even though we’re all interested in what other people’s styles are. You used to have Soul Train and things like that, but not anymore. It’s gotta be good music though, it’s gotta be something that really makes you groove. I don’t think I’ve borrowed my dance moves from anyone else, it’s just a form of personal expression that’s unique to me. The mirror really helps - I think if there was no mirror I don’t think there would be Buff Correll. I remember once my teacher wrote to my father: if your son concentrated on his studies as much as he does his looks, he’d be a straight-A student. But a mirror helps you see who you are, and visualise yourself. It connects me with my body. That’s helped me realise that I’m different. Ever since I was a kid, I used to ask my father: Is something going to happen to me? Am I going to change? Look at me now. Chuyi: Is your father a big part of your life? Correll: Yeah, I think so. I actually joined the military, because I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and belong to something. Wear the uniform, you know. But that time in training really made me realise that I was different, that I couldn’t fit in. I was drinking and smoking cigarettes for so long and trying to hide myself and who I truly am, but I think I’ve learned not to do that anymore. I get pretty put off when people think what I’m doing is a joke, or that I’m putting on a character. This is how I genuinely am - Lady Gaga says ‘Born This Way’! People don’t know my life, they’re not close to me. They don’t understand. Chuyi: Wait, you were in the military? Could you tell me more about that part of your life? Correll: That was probably one of two life-changing experiences for me. I think a lot of people go into basic training you know, super serious and looking to do harm to themselves. But I was really enjoying the exercises and the food I was eating - I wanted abs at the end of it, so I was just focusing on getting myself into the best soldier I could be. Actually, when I was out there on the field doing the chants and marches, I just couldn’t stop dancing. I remember the drill sergeant pulled me out in front of everyone just to make fun of me. I couldn’t help myself - when you hear that ‘Left! Left! Left Right Left!’ it’s like the beat hitting and it just made me go ‘Oooooo’! I think a lot of people enjoyed basic training, but the army is different - it’s just like a 9 to 5 job. My first station was Missouri, and I really enjoyed that. But when I got sent out to Korea, that’s probably what broke the camel’s back. I didn’t feel like I belonged, and I never felt like I was in the community with the other soldiers. I was always broke, and I was just constantly smoking, drinking and eating bad. I would eat Snickers for a morning meal because nobody was telling me I couldn’t do that. You know, even in the army I had a photo of myself up on the wall. I used to cut pictures of my head and put them on Michael Jackson’s body. I was disappointed, because I wanted so bad to be a first sergeant which is what my father was. But at some point I was just sick of being unhealthy and not matching those images and so I had to come back home. I think it made Buff Correll stronger, and made me more determined to become my own different self. Chuyi: You mentioned two life-changing experiences - what was the other one? Correll: When I came back from Korea I was very depressed. I went back to drinking, getting into gangs and messing around with women. People could see I had changed, and that I wasn’t really comfortable. But then something else happened - I was with a group, and we were doing our thing and constantly getting into fights at the club. It’s a small town, you know, and there were some people that weren’t approving of that. I got shot at at a restaurant, and I remember running away from the scene thinking ‘I can’t catch a break, I can’t do nothing that would prevent this from happening, I gotta change my life.’ That night, I went home and I threw away my phone, my cigarettes, my liquour, everybody I was kicking it with. I thought about going to the gym and I hired a personal trainer - Diez was his name. All my friends were telling me ‘Hey man, let’s get back to the streets, let’s keep doing our thing.’ But once I saw my abs that was it - it went from this downhill spiral to having a choice. I either go back and get killed or keep doing this thing. I think when that gun went off I really got a kick in the butt. Chuyi: The posters on the wall of yourself, is that an empowering thing then? To show you how far you’ve come? Correll: People call it narcissism on my Facebook, but I think it’s really important for me. When I wake up and the first thing I see is the poster of me, it’s like taking a step back and looking at myself. You never know what’s going to happen the next day or the day after that, so having these old photos of myself gives me a lot of confidence. It shows me that I’ve achieved something once. Chuyi: What’s the long-term plan for the Buff Correll project? Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years? Correll: I think I’m just gonna keep singing and dancing. I really want to dance for large crowds, and motivating people to dance as well. I see myself one day doing sell-out tours. Not in the immediate future, obviously, but I’m going to continue no matter what happens. I want to get back on America’s Got Talent and prove the world - and myself - wrong. This interview took place in late 2019. Since then, Correll has been ignoring my DMs on Facebook. I have been trying to reach out for a follow-up interview ever since.
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CULTURE
Let’s talk about the sculpture on Eastern Avenue Victor Zhou wants to talk about the sculpture we all love to hate. Last week, I stood in front of the sandstone monolith sculpture that has sat on Eastern Avenue since 2018, asking passers-by for their thoughts on it. Jayde was “not mad” it was there, Nathaniel said it was “beautiful” and Franco said it was “vaguely phallic.” But for Tatenda, Erika and Connor the answer was simply “I don’t know.” For many students, including myself, the sculpture was a confusing site to behold when it first appeared on campus in December 2018. Indeed, for weeks, the accompanying Eastern Avenue installation, a piece inspired by ochre art on the exterior wall of the Carslaw Building, was mistaken by many for incomplete wall remodelling. Though the University claims that the response from the student community has been “overwhelmingly positive” in a popular USyd Rants post on the work, students’ responses were largely negative. “This ‘sculpture’ is a complete waste of time and money as usual” one comment complains. “I thought they were missing a piece of sandstone and didn’t know what to do with it, and just dumped it there...” another reads. After hearing their first impressions, I told the onlookers that the work, Spine 2 (2018) was by Dale Harding, a Bidjara,
Garingal and Ghungalu artist. In an article published by the University of Sydney, Harding says the work “seeks to make connections between the University campus and the sandstone that joins cultures and communities up and down the east of the continent.” Most interviewees critiqued the work as not particularly appealing, but that upon learning about the work, acknowledged that the intended meaning was important. Hearing this, it seems to fail what some argue to be the core criteria of successful public art, namely, as art historian Cher Krause Knight argues, that its “messages are comprehensible to generalised audiences.” Outside of the realm of the gallery and stripped of explanation and context, most audiences are left unequipped to understand the meaning of the artwork. On this view, the University’s decision to initially display the work with minimal explanation and consultation with the university community is questionable. The piece was displayed for a year before placards explaining the works were included were displayed alongside them. Importantly, as I research Harding’s works for this piece, the more I find
them compelling. The juxtaposition of this sandstone with the surrounding buildings, symbols of elite Australian education, makes the familiar space of the university strange and different. It helps us interrogate what kind of space a university, particularly one built on colonised land. Moreover, the piece intervenes in the built environment of Eastern Avenue. Not all notice it, but the native plants surround the work are an element of it. The native plants are still young, some of them barely reach my kneecaps. We can speculate, however, that in the future the plants will grow higher. I can imagine them covering a good portion of the sculpture—or maybe even overgrowing and overwhelming the sculpture and becoming the sculpture itself. “A key part of Dale’s work is its integration with the landscape,” says a recent article published by the University. “The native planting component is a collaboration between Dale and the University’s Grounds team.” The artwork, therefore, is in a continual process of growing, struggling, and becoming. It is not a “museum artefact” like those living
cultural objects which were plundered from Indigenous worlds and then preserved and frozen behind pristine imperial walls where they are reduced to objects of study and display. Those living cultural objects became frozen and dead when they were preserved in imperial institutions and deprived from practices of care and use by their original owners. Spine 2, however, is not preserved, it is a living object affected by the weather and time, but during its life it can be cared for by the artist’s own terms. For me, its potentiality to be cared for and to grow beyond what it is now makes it poetic and beautiful. For many students, Spine 2 is just another sandstone block. At best, unremarkable, and at worst an unsightly and confusing intrusion on their campus. But for students curious enough to prod further, Harding’s work will make them see their campus in a new light, drawing connections between this learning institution and the culture of the Indigenous lands it’s built on. In either case, it’s a ground for debate, discussion and exploration. Love it or hate it, Harding’s art provokes the viewer. And for that, I think, it must be applauded.
Strings of Conciousness: A Conversation with QUART-ED Angelina Nguyen chats with QUART-ED, a string quartet with big ideas for music education. Meet QUART-ED, an electrifying string quartet featuring violinists Sarah and Caitlin, violist Connor and cellist Karen. Trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, they use interactive performances to entertain and enlighten their audiences whether they are primary school children to seasoned concert-goers. QUART-ED believes in making music accessible and enjoyable for all, embracing a diverse repertoire of music that ranges from Vivaldi’s Summer to Moana’s How Far I’ll Go. In this interview, QUART-ED share some of their eclectic experiences as emerging performers, professional educators and lifelong students themselves. How did you all meet and what made you decide to form QUART-ED? Karen: It started at the Con when we were having instrumental lessons and classroom training. At some point, we just wondered “why don’t we do those things at the same time?” and that’s how we got together coming out of our first primary school placement. We also wanted to broaden views on string performance. We are trained in a pluralist style, which is a framework that looks at blending and embracing a variety of approaches and experiences. We thought it would be worth applying to our instruments’ repertoires and expanding the ideas on the music they can play. Sarah: Another part that plays in our story is that we are education students.
Playing a Beethoven string quartet was not going to be our forte. With pluralism, we know how important it is to branch out, not box ourselves in and see what other music there is out there to play.
had seen around. Karen: It was really fun just watching adults play with the activities we usually give ten-year-olds and unlocking that since they presumably don’t utilise much in a regular working day.
What opportunities have you been involved in over the last year or so and what were your highlights?
How does the kind of music QUART-ED perform align with your philosophy as educators?
Karen: One of our biggest hurdles was performing as part of VIVID’s Konzertprojekt series. We were asked to perform eighty minutes of repertoire which was not something we were used to doing but it was perhaps what made it the most memorable experience to me. The program consisted of Australian musical works because we wanted to showcase local, contemporary talent and workshopped closely with the composers we chose.
Connor: Our overarching philosophy is very much driven by the belief that we should make performing interesting, engaging and activity-based as you would do in the classroom.
Sarah: It was a huge experience juggling university with this concert program and the responsibilities that came with it behind the scenes with tech. At the end of the day, it was intense but incredibly rewarding. Connor: We also did a gig for the Con at the end of last year at the International Towers which was fun. I found it interesting because it wasn’t directed to our usual audience. They were caught a little by surprise because of how interactive our performance was, especially compared to the other musicians they
Caitlin: We really like to push ourselves as musicians and educators. When Karen introduced us to the idea of singing and playing simultaneously, and integrating Connor’s beatboxing skills, it made sense to put these into practice with this with our program. Our performances definitely mirrors pluralism, with all of us exploring different ways of music-making, incorporating a variety of styles, and with me also composing a piece Something About the Ocean where we get the audience joining us in the performance too. How has what QUART-ED has done been influenced by your studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music? Sarah: I do think how we learnt in the degree which is all about experimental learning and hands-on involve-
ment within the classroom influenced a great part of how we do things with QUART-ED. Caitlin: We definitely have the Music Ed staff to thank for introducing us to the idea of pluralism officially. I think my development of a musician holistically influenced my support for pluralism and constructivism that were introduced to me in the degree. Connor: I could almost argue that we would’ve still done this if we had gone to any other institution. I think I’d like to credit myself and the others for just wanting to do something different and fun to learn more; that being said, the Con was and still is extremely open to validating, rewarding and giving us a space to do it. What are QUART-ED’s plans for 2020? Karen: I’m finishing my last year in Music Ed and QUART-ED will be involved in my Honours study. I’m researching what we as an ensemble can offer to teachers and how music education’s impact can continue past our visits to the schools. We are also hoping to perform more frequent public concerts. Sarah: Another regional schools tour is hopefully happening. We’ve had good feedback and it’s something that really benefits the schools that we visit so fingers crossed for another eventful year.
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CULTURE
Villainy thrives in the first dimension Marlow Hurst longs for a single-sided evil. What makes a good villain? Is it a tragic backstory? Perhaps a sympathetic or noble aim? Surely it’s some quality which allows the audience to fleetingly connect with these purveyors of misery? It’s none of these. Not a single one. According to the ever encroaching trend of sympathetic villainy, these are all admirable qualities to find in a villain. But this trend is simply wrong, and not just wrong in a factual sense, but also wrong in regards to basic social etiquette: this trend, to put it simply, breaches every clause of our most sacred social contract. In the mind of this writer, this trend began with the movie Frozen. A good movie by all accounts, save one. Lurking at the very heart of this family friendly tale was an oozing wound of flawed storytelling: the villain. “Hans’ “I hear you cry out in response. Nay, dear reader, tis not the Prince of the
Southern Isles I refer to. Instead I refer to Princess/Queen Elsa herself. This spicy little number is an equally insidious variation of the trend of sympathetic villainy: the fake out villain.
Where I ask, are my flamboyant, queer-coded, scheming, conniving, impeccably dressed villains? Elsa was established to engage in all sorts of dastardly, no good, hand waving. But then the writers at good ol’ Walt Disney pulled the officially licensed Frozen merch rug out from under us and gave us some narrative fisticuffs. Elsa is redeemed, sweet Hans turns out to be the true villain, so on and so forth. A similar crime against classic villainy is committed in the equally
wonderful film Moana: Te Kā, the lava demon, turns out to be Te Fiti, the lush, green, island goddess. Villainy doesn’t have to entail a sneaky switcheroo every single time. You’re allowed, even encouraged, to have Te Kā the lava demon turn out to be...Te Kā the bloody lava demon. Otherwise once you go down that dark, dank alleyway of villainous redemption you’ll soon enough find yourself bleeding out on the street, robbed of your antagonist, and stumbling into traffic in search of medical (or more advisedly, narrative) attention. Where I ask, are my flamboyant, queer-coded, scheming, conniving, impeccably dressed villains? Where is Jafar? Where is Ursula? Where is Cruella, Scar, the Evil Queen? They’re gone. Dragged into the darkest recesses of popular culture by the very institutions which first drew them into
the light. They’ve been sacrificed at the altar of “complexity,” under the guise of creating more “well rounded” and “three dimensional” characters. A cheap excuse for a cheap shot, because villainy thrives in the 1st dimension. Archetypes, tropes, and cliches are what make me empathise with a villain. I didn’t like Jafar because I approved of hypnosisor violent coups or forced marriages. I liked Jafar because he had a killer outfit and was probably gay. The very same goes for Ursula, Scar and the rest. Villains shouldn’t go the way of the hero because they don’t need more than one dimension. The only thing a good villain needs is more eyeliner and additional layers of robage. So knock it off Disney, or else you’ll be in some elaborately planned, impeccably executed and aesthetically outstanding trouble before you can say “Prince Ali.”
Gendered shame and reality TV Laura de Feyter isn’t ashamed to say she loves reality shows. A statement that won’t blow your mind: I’m a 21 year old female and a fan of Channel Nine’s spotlight-stealing ratings juggernaut, Married at First Sight. I’m about to tell you why that’s not only okay, but important. Before you ask, yes, this article did require a significant amount of ‘research’*. But let’s consider why this is funny. Should I be ashamed of my entertainment tastes simply because they reflect my femininity? I do understand the criticism - reality television demands pretty low level intellectual engagement in its most selfaware moments, and if we’re honest, there’s a lot of very sexist tropes about women in there. (If I hear the phrase ‘high maintenance’ one more time on MAFS and it’s not about a swanky fridge, I might have an aneurism.) It’s not the evaluation which concerns me. Rather, it is the foundation of this humour which assigns negative connotations to the femininity of watching reality shows. It is the attitude that sees the female viewer’s empathy, sociability, and eye for the aesthetic, as her superficiality, shallowness, and materialism - and tells us these qualities should be despised. There’s digs from concerned family members. There’s mocking remarks on social media. There’s articles which make the same, tired jokes about the same, tired women who choose to watch reality television with a glass of chardonnay. In some form, women who ‘confess’ to watching the genre will experience judgement about their preference. This is not groundbreaking news when the interpretation of women in the media has historically been so problematic. Women are underrepresented and misrepresented in media spaces. Their invisibility both behind and in front of the camera has created a false assumption that the male
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gaze is the cultural standard and the perspective of women is inferior. Gradually, the rise of social media is changing this norm. The autonomy it provides has meant that women are able to participate in the process of critiquing and individualising their own representations. In a transforming media landscape, the misrepresentation
are subjected to snide comments and memes on Twitter and Facebook about the superficiality and uselessness of the genre, with humour predicated on how this typifies their gender. I believe this response is not only incredibly sexist but also genuinely false. Reducing the enjoyment of reality shows to a ‘girl thing’ which is both
of women through the male lens has arguably become a more visible concern. Women are continuing to be portrayed in stereotyped modes which perpetuate socially accepted views of their gender. Considering this, the framing of female traits in reality television viewers has been largely antagonistic in traditional and social media. Audiences
materialistic and ludicrous, and then demonising these terms, suggests that femininity should be associated with stupidity and shame. This is a dangerous understanding of gender that should not be allowed to continue in the public sphere. Moreover, whilst the genre exposes viewers to many of the sexist female tropes they despise, the social media
engagement around these archetypes provides a unique platform through which they can be dissected and critiqued. Rather than reality shows preventing women from thinking, I’d counter they allow us to develop more relevant, informed social commentary than many other genres - by presenting us with a microcosm of our culture and its gender norms. With their domination in both ratings and reviews from sites like Buzzfeed and Punkee, reality shows overperform in their contribution to cultural conversations on the social issues they raise. Hashtag-based searches often reveal scathing criticism of the gender-based commentary arising from voiceovers and narrative framing. One meme following a Married at First Sight episode declared, ‘If I hear ‘alpha female’ one more time I will scream’. Interactive discussions like this allow women to directly refute their antagonistic depictions on the small screen, and participate in wider discourse about their representation in contemporary media. So, go ahead. Lambast me for following a show where pretty women argue over their fake husbands at a fake dinner party under the pretense of wanting true love rather than instagram followers. Laugh at my voyeuristic pleasure in watching ‘relationships’ self-destruct as their participants are utterly, despicably awful to each other in public. But don’t roll your eyes at the femininity of it all. I’m not ashamed to argue that it’s exactly what makes reality television so important. *Research undertaken with the gals while wearing PJs. Art by Kate Scott
CULTURE
Are clothes still modern? Juliette Marchant interrogates the trends at 2020 New York Fashion Week. The original ‘Cinderella,’ as detailed by the Brothers Grimm, is a tale of frustration and competition. One where, in being incapable of fitting her foot into the illustrious glass slipper, the eldest of the ugly step sisters is ordered by her mother to cut off her toe, swallow the pain, and shove her massacred foot into the slipper to commence her joyous limp into the sunset with the prince. Such imagery appears near analogous to the historical perception of fashion shows, which showcase the finest wares of an industry prized for the mutilation of not simply a toe, but the concept of what is physically beautiful and desirable as a whole. But although there is a tendency to associate modern fashion with the Cinderella story of aesthetic perfection, embodied by figures like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, modern fashion is not exclusively the work of fairy-tale. For woven into the fabric of celebrity models, logos and brands, is another world of haute couture to which less attention is paid. It is timely to reveal the world of haute couture that possesses a more explicit social and political consciousness, for clothes have the capacity to tell us more about the humanity of the future than any prophet, philosopher or scholar ever could. The sense that clothing is the conduit to understanding the human self is the theme to which Bernard Rudofsky’s 1947 essay ‘Are Clothes Modern?’ most relentlessly returns. Bearing a detailed historical consciousness, Rudofsky assesses the evolution of fashion into the manifestation of that which is “always artificial, often absurd, and sometimes harmful.” Criticising the existence of pointless pockets in men’s jackets, and outright damning the adage ‘beauty is pain’ through a critique of platform heels, he hewes down fashion to its most simple and practical. Subsequently, ‘Are Clothes Modern?’ has become a progressive manifesto that reconciles clothes with their original purpose; to package the body in such a manner that is functional and resourceful. His context (marked by the notable invention of the zipper) is undoubtedly a far-cry from our own. Nonetheless, the regenerative concept of ‘modernity’ that informs his critique, becomes apparent, as today, the harmful ‘Cinderella’ statement pieces are democratised; traded for the everyman aesthetic made popular by the high-street. At the heart of this movement, is the veneration of the incoming season of ‘hots and nots’: New York Fashion Week. An eminent fashion banquet, spanning across the last week of February and the first week of March, where the rich and famous flock to feast on the latest trends in haute couture. As the first major celebration of fashion in the new decade, the 2020 gala set a trend that Rudofsky would undoubtedly greet with a sense of glee, manifested by a transition towards social, and literal, comfort. In the depths of a shadowy basement, a runway is lined with grass. It’s borders
framed by a collection of plump sourdough loaves, fruit and vegetables, all from local grocers and bakers. The setting, a product of the melding of high fashion and farmers’ market, was the scene of Collina Strada’s realist vision of the fashion of the future. A solitary woman opened the show; static, reciting facts about green matter and climate change rhythmically, like verses of poetry. A cascade of models followed; pregnant, trans, varying in height, age and cultural heritage, gliding across the runway in a wash of draping tie-dye earth tones and greens, shapeless, yet flattering. The propping up of feet on artificial heels was traded for the familiar lace-up sneaker, perfect manicures replaced by unpainted toenails in spongy slides; the VOSS water bottle pitilessly outclassed by a bedazzled, re-usable, metal alternative. In the age of fast fashion, Collina Strada detailed the inseparable bond between clothes and the everyday, making the sentiments of global climate change protests so fashionable that they could be featured in the pages of Vogue. Her staging, as much a statement as the clothes themselves, a timely reminder that the decisions that we make about our bodies, what we put on or in them, have direct effects upon the world around us. Harking back to Rudofsky, we are not only emerging from a world of uncomfortable fashion, but a world of uncomfortable acknowledgements of wrongs, from which we must start anew. The agenda of comfort woven into the pieces of Collina Strada speak not simply to the veneration of the mum jean or flat shoe, as wonderful as both those things are, but rather a sense of optimistic comfort in forward thinking, and a willingness to change now for the future. With a similar consciousness in mind, Gabriella Hearst replaced decorations made of plexiglass and plastic with large bales of shredded, recycled papers- a visual metaphor for the recycling of the old ides of fashion to produce new spectacles that are equally as marvellous, but fractionally as harmful to the planet. Pegged against this background, however, was another story – that of the androgynous power woman. Women wearing suits is not a new concept. The famed Coco Chanel made waves during the first World War for eschewing corsets and dressing women in suits, the jazz age saw women wearing pants and shorts to participate in sports like horse riding and tennis, and in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt became the first woman to wear suit pants to an official function. But rather than a shocking comment on the blurring of gender barriers, the popularity of the female suit across the 2019 and 2020 fashion seasons signifies a shift wherein a suit, like the humble t-shirt and jeans, is now a fashion staple in not only men’s wardrobes, but women’s as well. Gabriella Hearst outwardly embraced this fashion evolution. Her pieces – a combination of traditional suits, and large, male-style trench coats - were
fashioned from recycled cashmere yarn, Turkish kilim remnants, and regentrified pieces from past collections. These conscious choices signalling that trends are not fleeting, but rather constantly evolving; as a fad, or statement piece of the past, is reimagined to become a staple of the present. But the power woman finds her home in the line-up of Tory Burch, who from the genesis of her brand in 2004, has been adamant about empowering women in business, as a highly successful one herself. Balancing masculine lines with feminine flourishes, pastel colours and floral prints, the collection was revealed alongside the sultry jazz tones of Alice Smith singing the iconic 1960s anthem ‘You Don’t Own Me.’ With Edwardianstyle blouses juxtaposed against slouchy, flat ‘hippy-style’ boots, Burch smoothly fused two worlds that would otherwise not collide; the traditional, conservative aesthetic and the uninhibited ease of the flower-child-freedom-fighter. Like Collina Strada, her setting, scattered with ceramic sculptures of nude female bodies adorned in flowers designed by female artist Francesca DiMattio, played a central role in conveying her vision; that at the centre of fashion is the story of a singular entity- the body. Her runway told a story of liberation and development, where through the modesty of clothing, the legend of the woman underneath became more clear. Thus, when Rudofsky proposed that the fundamental role of clothes was to ‘package the body,’ he did not mean it in the sense that in clothing we are hiding
ourselves from the rest of the world. On the contrary, the evolutionary nature of clothes reflects a constantly evolving narrative, that reproduces the needs, wants, and dreams of those that wear them. When back in 1947, Bernard Rudofsky asked ‘are clothes modern?’, he asked a question of the imagination, enlightenment and energy of collective humanity. A question centred around the coverings that we wear every day, and the stories that they tell. The runways of New York Fashion Week are a very public chapter of that story; one that many of us watch like a fever dream; a utopian vision where money is limitless and women are no shorter than 5 ft 9. But whilst haute couture is not high street, and the products themselves still remain mostly inaccessible to those that aren’t seated around the runway, the message remains the same. If from the chapter of New York Fashion Week, we can find new ways of speaking about old ways of being, then we can finally see that fashion, from runway to high street, is not just modern – it is transcendent. The modern Cinderella doesn’t wear a ball gown, she wears a pantsuit. She doesn’t wear glass slippers, she wears sneakers. And when the clock strikes midnight, and the haute couture fades, she wears the problems of a world watching on from the farmers’ market outside the runway. Art by Ranuka Tandan.
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CREATIVE
The in-between: The joys of commuting Genevieve Couvret muses on travel and time. I probably won’t remember this bus ride. And you probably won’t remember that train you missed yesterday morning, or the walk you took your dogs on a couple days ago, when you noticed that the jacarandas had started blooming. But it is these forgotten moments that texture the fabric of your life. They may not sing in your memory, but they colour the ordinariness of your day. That’s how I think about my commute. As George Eliot said, “What novelty is worth that sweet monotony, where everything is known and loved because it is known?” We all suffer the indifference of time; something that could never be captured in the ticking of a clock, or the regular beating of a heart. Time is always either too early, stealing you into the next morning before the night feels through, or too late, trapping you in the space between the seconds it clings to. But time can’t be fickle while you’re commuting it can’t keep up. In a moment where you may feel so inert and inactive, you’re also constantly moving. Stillness and pace coalesce. Time forgets itself. These may be minutes or even hours
you’ll never get back, as the train shoots through tunnels, or the bus swerves around narrow corners, or the plane screams through the sky. While I sit here, I watch everybody huddled together on this crowded bus, sharing their aloneness, their eyes boring into the backs of each other’s headrests
before you get to go home, the years before you can move out, get a job, start your life. But your life does not start when you attain that transient object which is ever absent, when you arrive at some abstract satisfaction that’s always changing its face. That’s more illusory, more constructed, than time itself.
So maybe I never want this bus ride to end. So that everything will always be in front or behind me, and I will be inbetween the times in my life. or out the window collectively not thinking, thoughts blurring together like the headlights through the window against the sky, its blue deepening like the evening. This patient interstice could be one of waiting, or of simply watching. And what makes all the difference is what’s on the other side. Or what you imagine there to be. We all wish time away. Whether it be this bus ride, or the week before that party on Saturday night, that party itself
At some point you’ll look back on that walk, or that holiday, or that degree as if it were one compressed memory, when in fact any experience of something is a collection of tiny thoughts, moments in-between memory, forgotten as they happen. Tasting the humidity when you leave your house to go to work, watching the pavement glisten after a light shower of rain and being thankful you remembered your umbrella as you race to that appointment, feeling the
air between your hands and his hands as they swung side by side, almost touching, walking home from school. So maybe I never want this bus ride to end. So that everything will always be in front or behind me, and I will be in-between the times in my life. I can just watch the trees go by and listen to The Beatles and look up at the sky and think, or not think, of everything and nothing, of him and of me, together and separate, and leave all sense of time and responsibility and pain on either end of this trip that has no end. Maybe I often take this trip in my mind. I’m sure you do too. You hold onto things and fixate on them or relive moments, you let your thoughts spiral into a time that never was or never will be, you remove yourself from the present. You let yourself roam in the almost. A purely imagined space, an unreal time. And as your memories forget you, you don’t have to deal with tomorrow, or yesterday. You escape today, and until you get off that bus, you are never really anywhere.
Art by Claire Ollivain 18
CREATIVE
The Loch Songs Will Solomon I. The dew subdues the grass, It shimmers glass. The water, in its reverie, Holds aloft a tumbling duck. A paleness is cast above the rock That forms Silurian skylines. There comes unstuck deep in the Loch A single stone, Which bounding to and fro Is sent toward the sea. And these were all synecdoches, The feathers on the wing. I hear her still, the rumbling thrill, The Capercaillie sings.
II. I take the hand I hold the most, We track the coast. Obsidian currents animate And break against the granite shore. By Harport, Eynort, Eishort, Gulls babble to the rhythm Of the beating of the wind. The cliff face, its sheering grace, Is dappled by old schisms, While high above, the Guillemot, With twigged love crafts a cot To keep her children from the sea. We stop awhile in Idrigill And buy a pot of cream, Then sitting still on Duntulm Hill We watch the boats and dream. The Guillemot comes swooping by And lands between our feet. She licks the cream and cheerfully, To send herself to sleep, Comes nestling near and slowly lies. The lances of the sinking sun, Striking up the Skye.
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III. Upon the heath by Ferniehurst Beneath celestial convergences, Mercury is hammocked by The boulders of the moor. Under foot the mossy roots Are teaming with vitality, And far in front the foxes hunt For somewhere safe to rest, As high amongst the girdled clouds The rain begins to pour. Atop the turret of the tower A tawny owl wears a crown And looks across his holdings. The curtains cast above the town Are being torn asunder, Sending Empyrean images, The constellations and the thunder, Refracting through the Owl King’s eyes. Between the arches and ivy Hidden in a lover’s nook, Orion weeping gently Clutches at a linen memory.
IV. The white ermine unfurls And flaunts his gallant patterns, He struts along the length Of the stems of giant ferns. All about his friends are waking, Joining with the lonely moth, The amaryllis and the lilies Taking turns to host the dance. There’s a little forest, All encased by steel frames And walls of shining window panes. Perched on high, the tallest branch, A Wire Tail Swallow looks without And spies the circus of the doves. Her coat is long and shining black, Her eyes are aquifers of pallid green. Finally the master comes And makes a grave mistake. He leaves the gateway barely open, She mounts her great escape.
I tilt and hit the draft, Climbing fast to Avalon, Turning now to dive toward the past. My arms are stretched across twelve feet, I am the Albatross and I must sleep. I was there above the Pole When Walton met the burning blood. I witnessed too when Coleridge slew My brother. Accelerating now to forty knots I break the billow at the Bering Straight. Far below, the huskies gambol Hard at the earth’s ceiling. I roll and face my belly upward To behold Visions of fragile lambency Strung in floral colours Oscillating against the stellar kingdoms. I pass the point the compass flips And dip to greet an icebreaker, Those aboard greet me with a song. Reaching now another sea, I spy Pequod and cryThe men are the end. The horizon yields the far country, The land of criss-crossed Lochs, The tawny owl and fox. Descending to a pleasant altitude I make landfall by a wattle homestead With a glass shed. I am met by an old friend, Who extends a spoon of cream. I collapse my wings and smile and die. Another time to fly.
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SRC REPORTS
President
Note: These pages belong to the Office Bearers of the SRC. They are not altered, edited or changed in any way by the editors of Honi Soit.
The past week has been a very busy one for myself and the Students’ Representative Council, with Welcome Week and a bunch of protests demanding considerable time and energy. Welcome Week was an outstanding success by every measure. The SRC had 12 stalls positioned outside the Chemistry building along Eastern Avenue, Welcome Week’s busiest area. I mainly hung around the main SRC stall, which operated out of a large marquee, distributing our show bags and engaging countless students in conversations about the SRC. In the end we distributed all 2,000 of these show bags, which contained our annual Countercourse publication, literature on and advice from the SRC, new SRC-branded pens, and the tote bag itself, which featured a creative artwork by former Honi editor Amelia Mertha. Many thanks to all those who gave up countless hours to get the bags packed then distributed. In addition to the main SRC stall, Honi Soit, our Caseworkers, and our Collectives all had an outstanding showing. The Environment Collective got over 400 sign-ups, a new record, and had 50 along to their drinks at the Royal on Friday evening. The International Student Collective not only sprung up again after a long hiatus, but enjoyed hundreds of sign-ups. In all, most Collectives / Departments had an enormous week and met a bunch of new students passionate about making the world a better place. The challenge for all Collectives / Departments will be converting this enormous interest and momentum into a self-perpetuating, long-term Collective culture.
I advise each of them to organise a meeting and / or social event for week 1, where they can consolidate their numbers and initiate their campaigns for the semester / year. Welcome Week also exhibited the student activism for which this University is famous, with a number of incredible protests throughout the week. The tone was set by the SRC itself, as we organised a rally on Wednesday the 19th outside Fisher Library, which protested the government’s racist decision to deny entry to people travelling from the People’s Republic of China unless they’re citizens or permanent residents. I was honoured to speak at this rally, just as I am honoured to be a part of a student union that has taken the lead on this issue. The SRC will continue to apply pressure to the government and University until the ban is lifted, people of East Asian heritage feel safe in Australia, and International Students are able to resume their study and lives as if this disgraceful ordeal never happened. Not to be outdone, Spreading the Climate Strikes and the Environment Collective had a passionate speakout at Fisher Library on Thursday, which condemned the Morrison government and mobilised new students interested in Enviro. Activism. Friday saw two relatively spontaneous rallies, with one at the Canadian embassy in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en’s struggle against their colonial occupiers and another snap action to protest TERFs on campus. And as if that all wasn’t enough, I have just arrived back from the most inspiring and politically developed climate
& ATIOONURSE T N E I OR NTERC COU DBOOK HAN
2020
Liam Donohoe
COU COU NTER RSE
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rallies in many years, which saw thousands gather outside Town Hall to demand Indigenous sovereignty, greater resourcing for environmental management, and a rapid transition to Green energy. Even more inspiring than the numbers was the endorsement from countless groups, including Unions, political parties / factions, and countless student groups. As part of Welcome Week I gave a bunch of speeches in a variety of settings. I spoke at a number of relatively informal welcomes, where I gave a general overview of the SRC’s services and activism. And on Wednesday the 19th I spoke at the University’s formal welcome to students, where
I not only plugged the SRC and upcoming rallies, but also gave advice to incoming students on how to embrace, control, and initiate change over the coming years. With Welcome Week done, and the busiest part of the year over, my attention now turns to new initiatives and key campaign promises. Over the coming weeks we will start having meetings to organise our new food bank, plan our information session, discuss Constitutional and regulatory reform, and kickstart our Concession Opal card campaigns. All are welcome to support these efforts!
Over the course of Welcome Week, we manned the SRC’s stall, giving out tote bags and wall planners. This was a great opportunity to meet new and continuing students and answer their questions about how the SRC can help them. Student Engagement Our Welcome Week plans will carry over into Week 1 as we will be attending the SULS First Year Crash Course to give a short presentation on the work of the SRC. One of our goals for this year is to be able to create a better working relationship between the respective faculty societies
and the SRC as part of the Interfaculty Committee. We have reached out to the various faculty societies on campus to join this committee, which we are hoping will prove valuable in engaging students with the not just the services, but the activism of the SRC. We see this event as an important first step towards achieving this goal. We will also be visiting satellite campuses with the SRC caseworker service to ensure that incoming students at every campus are aware of the support that the SRC can offer new students.
Student Representation Since our term began in December, we have represented the SRC on a number of university committees. These include the Student Associations’ Policy Committee, the Undergraduate Studies Committee, and the University Executive Student Life Committee. In our roles on committees, we’ve been working to hold the University to account on many of its harmful policies, such as the Students Association policy that would give University administration control over the functioning of student organisations.
designed to promote greater engagement with the SRC’s social media pages. Our social media pages have increased by hundreds of likes this week organised the “Lift the travel ban – healthcare not racism” together with NTEU, CRAC, Asian Australian Alliance and International Student Collective. Abbey MC the event and the protest crew marched to the lobby of F23 Admin Building Travelled to Melbourne to attend the National Union of Student’s President’s Summit, along with President Liam Donohoe Hiring another lawyer for SRC for the role on SRC Legal Board Found pro-bono leading immigration law
legal counsels acting for students who had their visas unfairly cancelled without notice, as it is unprecedented legal complication caused by the travel ban. First student launched the appeal now returned on campus and planning on attending class next week Organised a petition urging university reacting to travel ban policy, signed by 5936 students In response the University has developed a series of academic and fiscal policy adjustments to help stranded students Pushed the University to initiate anti-racism campaign and produce 3,000+ anti-racism posters in counter of ill-designed Department of Health
posters Developed peer mentoring program in support of students stranded in China with University, lobbied University to put student mentors on University’s payroll. Received 1200+ application for mentors. Program now is on the next stage of calling out mentees and designing mentor training material Confirmed attendance on a public panel on combatting Coronavirus, misinformation and racism on Mar 2 at MacLaurin Hall, University of Sydney
Week. We plan on continuing these campaigns in support of both domestic and international students and the Chinese communities affected. With the other collectives, we have organised student contingents to rallies such as Invasion Day, Justice for Walker and standing in solidarity with Indigenous families and communities such as the families of TJ Hickey and David Dungay who continue to seek justice for the murders of their sons by the colonial system. As the ethnocultural officers, we remain committed to the fight for indigenous justice which continues
to be at the forefront of our activism. We aim to continue this work in the year ahead and plan to work more closely with Indigenous-led organisations such as the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA). We have had a successful Welcome Week with almost a hundred new sign-ups, and we look forward to an exciting and fruitful year ahead!
Vice Presidents
Charlotte Bullock and Felix Faber
Welcome Week Over the summer break we have been working with other office bearers to ensure that the SRC has a strong presence at Welcome Week. This is a key time to engage new students with the SRC and all the services and assistance it provides. Over summer we assisted with the production of the handbook by writing and providing editing where needed. Additionally, over the last week we helped pack the SRC’s Welcome Week tote bags, working over the weekend along with a team of other office bearers to get all 2000 bags ready.
General Secretaries Abbey Shi and Liam Thomas Had 2000 SRC tote bags that we sucessfully distributed to students throughout the week, including items such as pens, flyers, stickers and the Countercourse Handbook and flew off the shelves Went through over 1000 in a couple of hours on Wednesday. As part for O-Week, we liaised with various Office Bearers from the National Union of Students and organised for a number of them to be present at the SRC stalls throughout the week. These NOBs spoke to students about the various campaigns that NUS is running this year. Organised for a UE Wonderboom prize draw
Ethno-cultural Officers Altay Hagraber, Kedar Maddali, Virginia Meng and Anie Kandya The Autonomous Collective Against Racism (ACAR) is an autonomous anti-racist collective that organises primarily around anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism on and off-campus. Being autonomous, we are open to students who identify as ‘people of colour’, Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander, and/or feel marked or marginalised by white supremacy. ACAR has had a busy 2019/2020, kicking off our term by helping with the anti-NRC/ CAA protest that took place on the 29th of December at Martin Place. We coordinated with
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multiple activist Indian diaspora organisations to protest the harmful citizenship laws proposed by the Modi regime that would effectively target Indian Muslim nationals and strip them of their citizenship making them prone to deportation. ACAR has also been actively involved in antiSinophobia campaigns both on and off-campus by organising around counter-acting harmful Sinophobic narratives and helping to build a speak-out outside the Sydney Immigration Centre as well as being involved in coordinating and organising a rally on campus during Welcome
SRC CASEWORK HELP
Ask Abe
Living on little Money
SRC caseworker help Q&A
Many students are forced to live on very little money while studying. Here are some ideas that might help you get by.
Tenancy & Share Housing
Hi Abe,
pay a break fee of between 4 and 6 weeks rent (depending on how far you are into your lease) in addition to rent up until the day you give “vacant possession” or completely move out. If you have caused any damage to your room, you should receive a refund of your bond. You may be able to convince your landlord to let you find someone else to take over your lease in exchange for no or a reduced penalty. They are under no obligation to do this, but will usually agree if you are replacing yourself with someone with a similar capacity to pay rent.
I moved into a place in Stanmore at the beginning of February. I paid my bond and 4 weeks rent in advance. Now that I’ve lived there a while I really hate it and want to move out. The house itself is dark and gloomy and I don’t really like my neighbourhood. I told my landlord but she said I had to stay until the end of my contract. This is a real problem because I’ve already signed a lease for another room in a different house. Please help me. Doubled Up
If you are a boarder/lodger, you are covered by the contract that you signed. There is usually some clause in there about how to break the contract early. Again, you may be able to convince your landlord to allow you to find someone to take over your contract. If you do not have a contract you might be able to just move out when the amount of rent you have paid runs out. Be aware that if you do not have a receipt for any bond or deposit that you have paid, it may become difficult to claim this back.
Dear Doubled Up, There are 2 types of renters: tenants and boarders/lodgers. If you live you’re your landlord or someone who acts on behalf of your landlord you are a boarder/lodger. Tenants are covered by the Residential Tenancy Act (2010). It sets down rules for both you and your landlord. In the situation you have described you want to “break your lease early”. As a tenant you would have to
Abe
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DEC ORKER HELP SRC CASEWconfidential advice & support:
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• Tenancy & accommodation • Academic rights & appeals • Special consideration & special arrangements • HECS & fee refunds • Misconduct & academic dishonesty allegations
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JUN
For tips and tricks on how to get by on little money, check out: srcusyd.net.au/src-help/money/guide-toliving-on-little-money
Last Day to Withdraw (WD)
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Exam timetables released
MAY
Public Last Day to Discontinue Holiday Not Fail (DC)
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Australian citizens and permanent residents can apply for a Low-Income Health Card if you earn $564 a week or less, or if you are receiving a Centrelink student payment. This gives you a reduced price on prescription drugs, free ambulance cover etc. You do not need to be receiving a payment from Centrelink (eg. Austudy or Youth Allowance) to be eligible for a Health Care Card.
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Semester 1 Begins
Welcome Week
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Dentists can be super expensive on a student budget. But your teeth are important. There are some limited services you may be able to access for free. Speak to SRC HELP caseworkers.
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Clean needles and injecting packs are available from the Alcohol and Drug Information Service (ADIS). Call their 24-hour confidential telephone service on 9361 8000 or 1800 422 599. Some chemists do needle and syringe exchange. In Newtown, this includes Chemist on King and Ford’s Pharmacy. In Auburn, there’s Alpha Pharmacy and Rite Aid Pharmacy. There’s also Camden Pharmacy and Adore Pharmacy Rozelle.
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Safer sex is important. You can pick up free condoms from the SRC office, level 1 Wentworth Building.
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If you are about to move into a home or if you are behind in rent and are on the lease you might be eligible for Rentstart through Housing Pathways (Housing NSW).
HEALTH Bulk billing (or direct billing) doctors means that you will not be charged for the appointment. This is covered on Medicare and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). e.g. University Health Service in the Wentworth Building.
activis m advoca cy repres entatio n
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DEALING WITH DEBTS The SRC Legal Service will work with you to clear your debts. This service is free to undergraduate students.
FREE FOOD, CHEAP FOOD There is no reason to be hungry if you live in Sydney. There are many places around Sydney that offer free meals and a few that may do food parcels. newtowncentre.org/_pdfs/meals.pdf
Check out NSW Tenants’ Union fact sheets on your rights & responsibilities as a tenant / sub-tenant, bond etc. tenants.org.au
• Available for FREE!
MON
MANAGING MONEY When you don’t have enough money to make little mistakes it is a good idea to have a budget plan. Write down how you are going to spend money each week, including putting some aside for unforeseen expenses if you can. Look for “leaks” that can help you to save a bit more. Check out: moneyminded.com.au moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money wesleymission.org.au/centres/creditline “budget planner”.
HAPPY HOUSING Cheap quality accommodation is hard to get. Most of the cheap options go very quickly, so you’ll have to be patient and flexible. If you are in urgent need of housing ask an SRC Caseworker about emergency accommodation.
• Important University dates & deadlines
YEAR PLANNER
SRC Emergency loans up to $50 are good to fill that gap the day before payday or if you forget your wallet. 9660 5222
If you have a problem with gambling, free, confidential help is available at the University. Call 1800 482 482 for more information.
GET YOUR 2020 SRC YEAR PLANNER
2020
LOANS, BURSARIES & SCHOLARSHIPS University Scholarships and Financial Assistance Office: 8627 8112 Loans are interest free and bursaries do not need to be repaid. Talk to them about your situation and they’ll guide you to the most suitable option. There are a range of different ways to qualify for a scholarship. Talk to the University about which ones you’re eligible for and how to apply. There are also some competitions you could enter that have cash prizes.
PHONE Pre-paid accounts allow you to give yourself a fixed budget for phone calls. Encourage your friends to call you or text to make a skype date. Viber and WhatsApp also allow you to make free texts or calls. However, be aware that you are using your internet/data for this.
t cen e Cres Maz
Molecular Bioscience
For tips and tricks on a range of Tenancy and Sharehousing issues, check out: srcusyd.net.au/src-help/accommodationissues/accommodation-guide
Do y o sha u need re or te housin g nan cy a Ask dvic the e? SRC !
Students ’ Rep
rese
Level ntative 1, Universit Wentwor Council th PO Box y of Sydn Building , Univers 794 Broa ey NSW (G01), ity of 200 dway Sydney NSW 6 2007 p: 02 e: help9660 522 2 w: srcu @src.usy syd.net.a d.edu.au u
Available from the SRC offices: Level 1, Wentworth Building, City Rd.
facebook .com/usy dsrc @src_usy d
Contact an SRC Caseworker on 02 9660 5222 or email help@src.usyd.edu.au
21
PUZZLES
Cryptic ACROSS 8 9
Cold bird cried for fledglings (8) Love for regressive South American musicals (6) 10 Russian writer of War and Piece (4) 11/28 A good bit of sodomy is standard for rapists (5,5) 12 Touched cloth (4) 13 Last stop on new tramline (8) 16 Set donkey with gin drunk (6) 18 Smartypants starts chundering after beer (4) 20 Crazy Spanish learner in the area (5) 21 Chooses bad spot (4) 22 Important month (6) 23 Assembly duly ends at once (8) 26 Stimulate while apparently moist (4) 28 See 11 30 Voice regret, be a gem (4) 31 Some trickery reveals a French scheme (6) 32 Second wrongdoing follows immoral act, gluttony in particular (8)
ACROSS
8 9 10 11 12 13 16 18 20 21 22 23 26 28 30 31 32
American state (8) Subatomic particle (6) All you need, according to The Beatles (4) Optimal (5) Ireland (4) Undies (8) The Milky Way or Andromeda, for example (6) A many-splendored thing, according to The Four Aces (4) First play in tennis (5) A crazy little thing, according to Queen (4) The world is your ... (6) Where to keep a pet parakeet (8) Aussie gem (4) Part of a saint (5) A battlefield, according to Pat Benatar (4) Uni portal website (6) Pompeii’s bane (8)
Target
S E W D A D Y E N
DOWN
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Caterpillar’s case (6) It’s in the air, according to John Paul Young (4) Dogtooth (6) It’s all around, according to The Troggs (4) The final chapter (8) It lifts us up where we belong, according to Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker (4) The Sun King (5,3) Box for treasure (5) Bush (5) Mauve (5) Zeus or Cathy Freeman, for example (8) Sweet treat: Kinder ... (8) Little lunch (6) Surrender (4,2) It will keep us together, according to Captain & Tennille (4) It hurts, according to Nazareth (4) Meat Loaf would do anything for this (but he won’t do that) (4)
10 words: That new cereal bar 20 words: Hermann’s 60 words: Manning Bar
DOWN
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Expression unravels when spoken (6) Dracula versus boy (4) Thracian leader ran around Simpson and an old Turk (6) Pedantic chronicle leaves out note (4) Anthony White at Spooner’s do (8) Person saw first Will Ferrell movie (4) A type of robbery or rescue? (8) Parrot loses half of its whisky in casino centre (5) Gated sections of canals or lakes, say (5) Twenty seconds! Wow! Top event! (5) Slaughter, decapitation, ridicule (8) Insubstantial smutty reading (8) Bold call after father (6) After Science Class 1, Pacino is lippy (6) Sour pastry (4) Gee! Oh sh--! (4) Rake arouses confused abandoned ass (4)
Quick
Word Maze
Trace a path of fruits from APPLE to GRAPE. The path may turn corners at 90° (and does).
Solutions for Welcome Week edition Cryptic
Quick
Sudoku
Puzzles by Tournesol. Solutions next week. Crossword Society meets in the ISL at 1pm on Mondays and 3pm on Thursdays. Target: Liquidate
22
THE
RODENT REVIEW Fierce, independent journalists controlled by the rats on our heads!
Top places to get murdered on campus, if you were in a murder mystery
In this issue: Students shocked over Manning Bar closure / p. 25 Students shocked to discover that Manning Bar ever existed / p. 30
Marlow Hurst, Spooky Stuff Junior Editor The Quad Gothic architecture, dark passageways, and an abundance of loose stone masonry make this well known university locale a veritable hotbed of murderous potential. Imagine this if you will, a professor has just wrapped up an evening tutorial and is leaving with a friend of theirs. But just as they’re about to step out onto the lawns the professor thinks they might have left their bag in the lecture theatre. “Go on ahead of me” they say, “I’ll catch up”. But she never does. We cut to a POV shot of their killer as they lurk in the arches and corners of the Quadrangle. The professor, now sufficiently spooked, is fervently looking over their shoulder trying to catch their spectral pursuer. But they never do. Who knows what happens next, but all we can be sure of is that for the purposes of this article: it happened in the Quad.
Fisher Library Rows of shelves are simply catnip to the maladjusted and murderous. And boy does Fisher have a fair few of them. I can see it now: as you’re taking a book of the shelf you see a figure walking through the aisle on the other side. Naturally, you think nothing of it: ain’t nothing special EVER happens in lil’ ol’ Fisher. Well great galloping green beans, cause this time is different. Cause add some flickering lights and baby, you’ve got a Scandavian noir thriller cooking!
The Nicholson Museum The beginning of this episode would establish the murder weapon through means of a museum guide. We’d spend the first 3 minutes or so watching as said guide would take a group through the museum, explaining each exhibit in detail, until we reached some kind of dagger or blade. It’d have a positively rich history and we’d end the opening sequence with a close, excruciatingly slow zoom on the glass display case which holds the fabled Dagger of Ra (or something to that effect). To save you from having to listen as I painstakingly describe the next 50 minutes of this British crime drama, long story short: a murder is committed that very next day and it’s committed using the very same dagger. For extra points, the body can be found in a sarcophagus or impaled on a dinosaur skeleton (but not both).
Students shocked to discover Manning Bar was replaced by a cardboard cutout in 2004 / p. 42 Students shocked to discover that Manning Bar was inside of us, the whole time / p. 102
US Studies Centre establishes peaceful transition of power after resignation of Michael Spence Swapnik Sanagavarapu, War Crimes Editor SYDNEY: The United States Studies Centre (USSC) has today announced that it will appoint a provisional Vice Chancellor in the wake of Michael Spence’s shock resignation. Spence, whose 12 year reign as Vice Chancellor and Supreme God King will come to an end in December, announced that he would be seeking amnesty at the University College, London. Earlier this morning, the University of Sydney’s (USyd) Campus Security was seen occupying the administration building while Pro Vice Chancellors and Provosts were escorted into a bus on City Road. A spokesperson from the USSC denied any allegations that force was being used and told the [paper] that today was a “victory for democracy”. “After 12 years, students at USyd can rest easy once again, knowing that the dreaded Spence regime has come to an end.” In recent years, the Spence regime has been besieged by internal dissent, with attempts at reform being deeply unsuccessful. These unpopular reforms, including the introduction of OLEs and the construction of useless glass buildings have been
THE JEW
VS
opposed by everyone from moderate rebels (Liberals) to more extremist factions (Socialist Alternative). Peaceful student protests have been crushed brutally, as Spence has increasingly empowered his brutal personal security force. Mr. Spence has also been accused of harbouring a whole host of terrorists and criminals, including hate preacher Bettina Arndt and notorious international arms dealer Belinda Hutchinson. While the crimes of the Spence regime have long been documented, the USSC failed to receive assent from the Group of 8 universities for its “universitybuilding” project. A spokesperson from Adelaide University cited that the question of who would replace Spence was “an internal matter for USyd students” and that “any external interference may result in regional instability.” Despite these concerns, the USSC has chosen to continue unilaterally, leaving the fate of the University hanging in the balance. More to come.
THE CATHOLIC
USyd’s top theologists debate the hot topics of the moment.
Today’s topic was submitted by fan of the column, Gabi Stricker-Phelps: Hey guys, long time reader, first time emailer. My question is “Who is the absolute boy?” The Catholic: Well Gabi, as someone who’s not going to hell, Jesus is the absolute boy. What do you think, Jew? The Jew: Jesus is a fucking who. The absolute boy is my boy, Bernie Sanders. The Catholic: See that’s where you’re wrong. Jesus gave us loaves and fishes, Bernie Sanders just wants to tax our loaves and fishes, when I have more than 100 million loaves and/or fishes. The Jew: Jesus was our boy, our who boy. You had to take our who boy and try make him an absolute the boy, because your lot aren’t talented. Who are you anyway? The Catholic: You made Jesus a who when you CRUCIFIED him. Coming back from the dead is a them move. The Jew: Where is he then? Show me. The Catholic: Heaven! Where you’ll never be. The Jew: “Heaven.” Sure. Sorry Cady, we didn’t have enough time to get to your question “What’s wrong with my face?”. Stay Facetuned for next week!
23
JUSTICE FOR ERIC: STOP BLACK DEATHS IN CUSTODY Eric Whittaker, a 35 year old Kamilaroi father Eric Whittaker, a 35 year old Kamilaroi father of four, died shackled to a bed whilst in of four, died shackled to a bed whilst in custody at Westmead Hospital. custody at Westmead Hospital. It was only four days into Eric's imprisonment It was only four days into Eric's imprisonment at Parklea prison that he fell and sustained at Parklea prison that he fell and sustained head injuries. head injuries. Please support the Whittaker family through Please support the Whittaker family through this trying time at the Coroner's Court and this trying time at the Coroner's Court and demand an end to black deaths in custody. demand an end to black deaths in custody.
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