Issue 86.6

ISSUE 86.6

Upcoming Issue Contribution Due Dates Hearsay: 6th July DiversiDit: 20th July We’d love to hear your ideas! Email us at onditmag@gmail.com

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ON DIT CONTENTS Editorial State of Union SRC President What’s On Vox Pop Left, Right, & Centre Econ Dit Iso-Topic

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ARTICLES Adelaide Uni and the Military-Industrial Complex Disordered Dating Artist Feature: Rakkamon Sanguansri The Hidden Victims of Campus Sexual Assault: International Students MD and Me A nostalgic reflection on study abroad: looking back and forward The Day That Scarred Sturts Meadows Humanitarian Crisis: Can Australia Do Anything?

Too Pretty and Nice Adelaide's Own Lioness Analysis: Black Panther: Warring Ideologies and Sparking a Revolution Review: Isle of Dogs Review: A Quiet Place ARTWORK "Calories" by Angus Smith @angvs "Lenny's Galaxy Punch" by Angus Smith "Spiritual side of things" by Claudia Watson "Fruit Salad" by Anzelle de Kock

EDITORS Aiden Bedford Anzelle de Kock Ethan Penglase Nuer Deng SUBEDITORS Dylan Rowen Ellie Stamelos Hilary D’Angelo Kiri Marker

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DESIGNERS Anzelle de Kock Jennafer Milne

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COVER ART "Holofemalic"

By Rakkamon Sanguansri CENTREFOLD "Breath"

By Tess MilfordBehn

On Dit is produced on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge them as the traditional owners and custodians of the Adelaide Plains. Their land was stolen, never ceded.

It always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

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EDITORIAL

Welcome to Issue 6 of On Dit – and what an interesting past few weeks it's been. We’ve seen the ending of tensions on the Korean Peninsula; the shocking insights from the Banking Royal Commission; and the delivering of a budget from an increasingly impotent Liberal Government that could at best be described as tone deaf.

actions and can be blamed for these actions, when we analyse the behaviour of these institutions, the wrongdoing isn't a lone action – it is systemic and diffuse. To seek a person or persons to blame is the wrong reaction to the problem. It is because of this that the same price gouging behaviours continue to this day. If the same occurs here in Australia as a result of this Commission, where some individual

I think I will leave it to Ethan to discuss the Korean situation in a future issue. I’d like to focus on the Royal Commission into the Banks, specifically, on the outrage directed at the behaviour of the banks and other financial institutions in the wake of these revelations.

becomes the target of the anger, we will have missed the point and it is possible that little real change could occur at the end of this exercise.

In the wake of any crisis there is a temptation to cast ethical judgement, we all look for someone to blame for the travesty that has occurred. This type of behaviour could be seen during the controversy surrounding price gouging scandal in the US pharmaceutical market. “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli became the face of the scandal, characterised as a type of parasitic, amoral individual - who “abused” the system. Shkreli became a totem for the outrage, everything wrong with pharmaceuticals industry personified. Though it is true that only humans make

In order to prevent the same from occurring in Australia we must recognise that these wrongdoings are systemic in nature and arise from a system whose logic leads us to a place where this reckless and immoral behaviour occurs so broadly. I’m not going to call for the overthrow of capitalism or demand something blindly or naively, just to advise caution, and for us to be aware of the nature of our social and economic conditions. Only by doing so can we adequately constrain these entities and truly reveal the problem.

Aiden, Ethan and Nuer

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STATE OF THE UNION Words by Jack Crawford AUU Board Director

We live in an era of cuts, conflict and crisis. Student unions are vital if students want to stand up for themselves.

Today, getting a degree can mean lifelong debt.

The product we’re paying for is degenerating, characterised by ever-expanding class sizes and cheap online content. Most students in Australia live in poverty; all too many are familiar with the humiliation and hard work involved in getting a measly Centrelink payment.

In short, we are treated like crap. Despite some liberal tinsel in marketing campaigns, university administrations view us much like a factory management view their raw materials. They have dollar signs in their eyes. We are dehumanised.

But there are other shoppers, who are much better treated: weapons corporations. This March, our Vice-Chancellor announced the University’s plans to work with the world’s third-largest arms producer, BAE Systems, to upgrade Australian military infrastructure.

Universities are increasingly opening themselves to such companies, who are being allowed to shape education and research to serve their profits. And their profits are bloody – their merchandise being, simply put, machinery of death. Raytheon, another arms manufacturer with links to South Australian universities, is responsible for producing depleted uranium missiles, and testing its Active Denial System (or “heat ray”) on prisoners. I don’t want

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such companies paying to have their way with our STEM curriculum.

Unfortunately there is a growing market for the merchants of death. Wars rage in the Middle East, tension points bubble across Asia, and powerful countries race to boost their arsenal. Australia is exemplary, providing record boosts to military funding while public services, like education, face cuts. The result is masses of wasted wealth while our living standards stagnate or decline.

Amid these global tensions, governments drift toward authoritarianism and racism. The political centre – the Turnbulls and Shortens – marched in lockstep behind Trump’s threats of nuclear war in Korea. Anyone hoping to reverse this drift by collaborating with the powerful might as well try curbing the tide of the ocean with a broom. Their system is deep in crisis, and descends deeper each year.

Universities and students don’t go unaffected by these trends. But us students, even here in Adelaide, can do our part in the fight for a more humane world. We should demand that our universities cut ties with weapons manufacturers, and thereby STOP contributing to global death and destruction.

Education should be shaped by students, staff, and the needs of society overall, NOT military company profits.

Activists are currently in the process of submitting a freedom of information request, to make transparent any university ties with arms dealers and the military.

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SRC PRESIDENT Words by Matthew Boughey

UPCOMING SEMESTER ONE SRC EVENTS (May is going to be big!)

Budget BBQ – TBC Stress Less Day (Union House) – Wednesday, 30th May I’m going to move away from my usual topics of doom and gloom this column. Instead, I want to bring you all up to speed on a fantastic initiative your SRC has been putting together in the past fortnight.

On Tuesday, 24th of April we held our “Meet Your Reps” event in the Hub. The theme of the event was “Food For Thought” where students were invited to write down their ideas for the University and stick it on the “ideas wall” we had set up. In exchange, they were given a free donut (or other baked goodie). The ideas could be anything. We asked what students would like to see more of, or if they had an experience that they would not like repeated; or any ideas or suggestions for improving the experience of all students. We wanted to hear what you want to see changed at your University.

We received approximately 100 suggestions and ideas from students, with ideas ranging from more quiet study spaces, to requests of 10 ply toilet paper (one can dream). I’m happy to say that the vast majority of the ideas we received were tangible things your SRC can work towards implementing.

It was a perfect opportunity for us to gauge what things the student body would like to see changed around their university, as well as for us to introduce ourselves and speak to them about our purpose and individual roles.

The onus is now firmly on us to act upon these suggestions.

In my role as SRC President, I have made it a priority to change the narrative around student representatives being seen as only acting in self-interest. I want the SRC to deliver what students want to see to ensure our organisation is relevant in the university community.

Subsequently, the SRC will be holding a “Hack-a-thon” where we will collate all the ideas and issues given to us, translate them into solutions and ideas that can be realistically implemented, and present a report to the University with all our recommendations.

This report would be presented to the Transforming Student Experience Committee by the SRC reps sitting on this committee. We will be making this final report widely available for all students to view.

It’s not too late to get your ideas in to us!

Send us an email at src@auu.org.au and we’ll be sure to address it.

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X: AN EXHIBITION OF ART AND POETRY BY THE THEYTHEM COLLECTIVE 23rd May @ 19:00 NagevAdl The TheyThem Collective will be presenting their first showcase, “X: An exhibition of art and poetry”.

X combines Ruby's visual art and Wallis' poetry and spoken word, and is about celebrating gender diversity, queerness and intersectionality, as well as creating and continuing important conversations about disability, mental illness and social justice.

All original works will be for sale, as well as a selection of prints.

UNITE_ADL: STUDENT X STARTUP MIXER 30th May @ 18:00-22:00 MoonshineLab From MSN to Messenger, MySpace to Facebook... it's clear that technology has played an enormous part in our lives. But do you actually understand how? do you ever wonder why?

At Unite_ADL's first student x startup mixer, you'll hear from the Chief Innovator of South Australia, New Venture Institute, TechInSA, Startup Adelaide, The Moonshine Lab, Smart City Studio, Thinclab, Entrepreneur Story, Startup Grind, Chooks and more.

THURSDAY CHILLOUTS 31st May @ 17:00 Adelaide UniBar The University of Adelaide African Students Association (UAASA) brings back to you Chill-Out sessions. We know that sometimes the more productive thing one can do is to relax. How about on the 31st of May we just put an “out of order” sticker on our foreheads and call it a day?

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Learn about what they actually do and why you should care about this “innovation” “entrepreneurship” “startup” “#buzzword” stuff.

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NATIVE PLANTS USED IN TRADITIONAL BASKET WEAVING NAIDOC 2018 June 7th @ 10:00-12:30 Marra Dreaming Come and find out more about the local native plants traditionally used for basket weaving. Option to stay on for morning tea and plant out a 'basket weavers patch' at Marra Dreaming.

RSVP: Friday 1 June - numbers are limited, so be quick!

Enquiries: 8406 8368

STRESS LESS DAY 30th May @ 11:00-15:00 Adelaide University Union House Is assignment or exam pressure building up? Is the end of semester just too bloody far away? Well we have the perfect antidote. The Adelaide University Union and Student Representative Council is proud to present Stress Less Day 2018!

STARGAZING LIVE: WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

Join us on Wednesday May 30th for an afternoon of fun and relaxed activities, games and workshops all designed to help you chill the heck out!

23rd May @ 18:30-21:30 The Heights School Join the South Australian Astronomical Society at the Heights School Observatory for an evening of fun and excitement as we try to break a Guinness World Record! This free community event will include a live screening of Stargazing Live with Brian Cox. A gold coin donation will be requested on entry to help the local community groups putting on this event.

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Vox Pop Where we ask students the important questions.

Zeinab

Deanna

Law & Sociology

Media

1. I went to this restaurant and got Singapore noodles and they turned out to be the worst noodles I think anyone has ever had.

2. Do not fall in love until you’re 20.

3. Black Panther.

4. I don’t know.

5. Hell no.

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1. I spend too much money on food.

Uber Eats is my vice.

2. When you get into an argument with your parents, never say anything savage and mean, I promise you will regret it.

3. Black Panther!

4. I don’t pay attention to politics.

5. Honestly, based on what he has said and done so far, I don’t think so.

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1. What is your worst food story?

2. What is something you have done that you would try to dissuade someone else from doing?

3. What movie can you watch repeatedly and never get tired of?

4. Do you have any thoughts on the recent federal budget?

5. Do you think Trump deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year?

Toby

Krystal

Arts & Teaching

Media & International Studies

1. I really hate veggies and one time my mum made a vegetable soup and insisted that I eat it, I tried it and it made me feel sick. I just gave it to the dog.

2. Enroll at uni.

3. The Dark Knight.

4. I don’t have enough time to keep up with politics.

1. I went to a rural village in Sumatra, it was flooding so all we had to eat were bugs from the mangroves.

2. Accidentally stepping on a wasp nest in a jungle.

3. Wild Child.

4. Haven’t read it yet.

5. Definitely no.

5. I know that he has done a lot of good stuff and most of it is overlooked so yeah, I would say he deserves it.

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LEFT, RIGHT, & CENTRE LEFT

CENTRE

ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY LABOR LEFT

ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY LABOR CLUB

TAMSIN ANSPACH

NICHOLAS BIRCHALL

1.

No. International students pay a small fortune to study at Australian institutions, the least the government can do is allow them the opportunity to work.

The biggest issue that needs looking into when it comes to international students and work is the blatant exploitation that occurs in the hospitality and retail sectors when these students seek work. There needs to be a better equipping of knowledge done so that international students

3.

The banking sector and its reprehensibility is just one example of the systematic greed that has been left to fester across our economy. There are those who are easy to blame, such as those who are on the boards off these companies. These people should be prosecuted for the behaviours that they didn’t stop. But sadly, chopping of the head in this situation won’t kill the monster. Our society and politicians need to assess

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Short answer, no.

Australia currently has over 624,000 international students, valued at $32.2 billion, across all levels of education. They help stimulate an economy that has been on the backfoot in recent times. Ms Hanson’s proposed changes would make Australia far less appealing for prospective students and their families. As a born and bred Aussie, I believe everyone deserves a fair dinkum go, and we should welcome

know their rights as workers in Australia.

if they’re willing to fix the real issues at play here, because if we do want to really fix things it’s going to be a lot of work for companies, governments and people.

those that want to study and work amongst the best the world has to offer.

2.

Yes. Around three million Australian live animals are exported every year and there is clear evidence that the industry is incapable of ensuring the safe shipping and “humane” slaughter of these animals. Hopefully the growing noise being created around this issue will result in the government acting, as it has sat on its hands for too long.

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2.

I like animals, so do most people…except my dad, but that’s another story. Live export has a rich history in Australia, and serves as a primary and tertiary source of income for a large percentage of farmers.

By outright banning it, we place their livelihood in serious jeopardy. More checks and balances need to be put in place to prevent incidents like this from occurring again, as well as

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1. Pauline Hanson has suggested the right to work be stripped from international students so that Australians can work jobs taken by international students. Is this a good policy?

2. 2,400 sheep died in a journey from Fremantle to the Middle East, prompting a protest in Tel Aviv over animal rights. Is it time to ban live exports?

3. The Banking Royal Commission has uncovered the morally reprehensible and illegal behaviour of banks in Australia. Who is responsible and what needs to be done to solve the issue?

RIGHT

ANGUS HEATON ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY LIBERAL CLUB to appropriately punish those that breach the rights of these animals. Despite my defence of the practice, if such abhorrent treatment of animals continues, it deserves to have no further place in our society.

3.

“The only people I trust less than lawyers, are bankers” – anonymous.

This wasn’t always the case.

There was a simpler time when the question was “how can I help the customer?” rather than “how can the customer help me?” Profits over people.

Ultimately, the blame is shared.

Our politicians are to blame for shielding the vermin from the light for so long, and our legal system is to blame, for not adequately holding those accountable for their wrongdoings. Now, finally we have the opportunity to remind these corporations who keeps them afloat. We need adequate reform that provides a greater level of transparency for customers, so that these illicit activities can no longer persist.

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It's an awful policy. We should be incredibly proud that students from all over the world are eager to come and study in our country. Preventing them from working while they are here will disincentivize them from coming and experiencing what Australia has to offer.

3.

The unacceptable behaviour exposed by the royal commission must not go unpunished. Punitive measures should be taken against those who knew what was going on, and not shareholders or consumers.

2.

Yes. I understand there are farmers who rely on live exports to make a living and the Gillard government's ban in 2011 had negative economic consequences, but the conditions on those ships are disgusting.

It's time we found an ethical way of maintaining our meat export trade to the Middle East, while ensuring animals are treated humanely in accordance with Australia's strict animals rights guidelines.

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Meeting a sweet and sticky end: Obesity and sugar taxes in Australia Words by Clare Nolan

In life, three things are certain – death, taxes, and debates about sugar taxes.

The annual should-we-or-shouldn’t-we debate about implementing a tax on food and beverages with a high sugar content was sparked again by last night’s Four Corners investigation into the obesity epidemic in Australia.

You may have read some of these scary statistics over the last few days: 60 per cent of Australians today are overweight or obese, and by 2025, that is expected to rise to 80 per cent. The Grattan Institute estimates that obesity-related problems, such as additional government spending required on health and foregone income tax revenue from unemployed obese individuals, cost the wider community a total of $5.3 billion per year, as illustrated in Figure 1. In economic terms, these costs are a deadweight loss to society caused by the existence of a negative consumption externality – in other words,

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my decision to consume excessive amounts of sugar imposes costs on not only myself but also on you, a third party, even though you did not participate in my consumption decision.

The obesity epidemic is undeniably a multifaceted problem involving complex cultural issues which cannot be solved by any single government policy. However, a range of actors, from the Grattan Institute to the Australian Medical Association and the World Health Organisation, are increasingly calling for the introduction of a tax on nonalcoholic sugary beverages. Sugary drinks are namely high in sugar (a can of Coke having 9 of your recommended daily average of 6 teaspoons of added sugar) but lack any other valuable nutritional value, unlike, for example, hamburgers or chocolate. Based on US evidence, Grattan’s report estimates that 10% of obesity in Australia is linked to the overconsumption of sugary drinks.

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So, if the Australian government were to introduce a sugary beverages tax, what would it look like?

There are two types of taxes the government could apply. A specific excise tax is applied to a quantity related to the good, which might be the volume of the drink or the volume of sugar content within it. Comparatively, an ad valorem excise tax is applied to the value of the good, which would be a percentage of a drink’s retail price. While the tax would technically be levied on manufacturers, overseas evidence suggests it would be passed on in full to the consumer.

Given the aim of the tax is to reduce consumption, a specific excise tax on sugar content would be more appropriate than an ad valorem tax on the retail price. This is because taxing the sugar content directly incentivises manufacturers to reduce the sugar in their drinks – in fact, after the imposition of a specific excise tax on sugar content in the UK this year, Fanta cut the sugar in their drinks by a third, and Ribena by a half. In addition, applying an ad valorem tax to goods encourages bulk buying of that

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good, since the tax is proportionate to retail price. By comparison, under a specific excise tax each gram of sugar is taxed constantly, and incentivises consumers to substitute for drinks with a lower sugar content.

You can probably see that this idea is not exactly novel – the Australian government already imposes excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products in order to reduce consumption and the associated deadweight losses to society.

Overseas, 28 other countries have now imposed a tax on sugary beverages. If the government were to follow the Grattan Institute’s 2016 recommendation and impose a tax of 40 cents per 100 grams of sugar in sugary drinks (see the diagram below), it would generate an estimated $500 million in annual tax revenue, and reduce aggregate consumption of sugary drinks by an estimated 15%, or an average of 10 litres per person per year. Sounds great, right?

Against a sugar tax However, actors lobbying against a tax on sugary drinks (think the Australian Beverages Council, Coca-Cola Amatil, sugar cane producers in Queensland, and the Nationals’ MP George Christensen) raise a number of issues with the tax.

Firstly, they argue that a tax on sugar places a disproportionate burden on low-income households. Assuming that all households spend roughly the same amount on food, food expenditure counts for a larger proportion of low-income households’ budgets than highincome households. Therefore, a tax on sugary drinks causes the average price of food to rise for all households, but this price rise is felt relatively

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more by low-income earners. Additionally, as illustrated in the graph produced by the Grattan Institute below, when ranked by income the lowest quintile of households typically consume more sugary drinks than the highest quintile of income earners. Low-income households thus end up paying more tax than high-income households. For these reasons, a sugar tax would operate regressively, taxing individuals at a decreasing rate as their income increases.

However, this analysis fails to take into account how small the additional tax burden would be on each individual, given that only one market segment, non-alcoholic sugary drinks, is being taxed. Further, consumers can very easily avoid this small burden by substituting soft drinks for non-sugary drinks – which is, in fact, the very aim of the policy. Therefore while low-income earners will admittedly pay the most tax, they will also benefit the most in terms of seeing the greatest reduction in their consumption of sugary drinks, and therefore the greatest improvements in their health outcomes.

Lobbyists counter this argument by asserting that as sugar is “addictive”, and that as a result consumers’ demand for sugary drinks is inelastic, or unresponsive to changes in price. Therefore, a small change in the price of soft drinks will not change their consumption choices, and only make them poorer. This

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indeed does highlight the importance of creating cultural change in people’s consumption habits – something a sugar tax alone may not be able to achieve.

More fundamentally, George Christensen emphasises the ideological problems with a sugar tax – namely, that individuals need to take personal responsibility for their own choices, whether that is to smoke cigarettes or consume sugar, and the government has no role in intervening in these decisions. As he explained on Four Corners, “I am a fat bloke, right? … I don’t blame the sugar industry”.

"I blame myself for putting that product down my gob. That's what caused it — me, myself and I." However, George is forgetting about the $5.3 billion of annual external costs which his consumption imposes on the rest of Australia. In this way, a tax on sugary drinks is no more difficult to justify than the taxes we already have on alcohol and cigarettes. If an individual’s consumption choices impose external costs on third parties, then taxing that consumption choice is a way of forcing them to internalise those costs, or forcing them to take responsibility for those external costs. Therefore, a sugary beverage tax would arguably facilitate individuals taking personal responsibility for their consumption decisions, not hinder it.

deceptive marketing and consumers’ lack of knowledge about the health risks of their consumption likely amount to a market failure, therefore demanding government intervention.

The campaign to reduce smoking rates in adults in the 1980s employed a wide suite of measures, from marketing and regulation targeting the cultural and behavioural aspects of smoking, to taxation to increase the price of tobacco. This approach powerfully reduced adult smoking rates from 35% in the 1980s to 15% today. Similarly, a tax on sugary drinks is not a “silver bullet”, and would need to be complemented with other measures in order to create real cultural change and not just impose a higher tax burden on low-income earners. One such measure could be a subsidy towards the very high costs of fresh fruit and vegetables, thus helping low income earners to afford healthier options. But given the very dark forecasts for Australia’s waistlines over the next decade, imposing a tax on sugary drinks is an undeniably necessary place to start.

Further, George is making an implicit assumption of rationality in the sugary drinks market – namely, that consumers are fully informed about the sugar content in their drinks and the consequences of their consumption. This is not exactly a trivial assumption – as the Grattan report highlights,

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Hi there, Welcome to Adelaide University Science Association’s new column. Here you will find the hottest science news, windows into real world research, and our upcoming events. So without further ado, here is our:

(Very) Brief Guide to Translational Research Khalia Primer Immediate Past Vice-President of AUScA If you’ve been paying any kind of attention to the media surrounding medical research and its importance, you’ve probably heard the term “translational research” at least 1000 times.

Translational research is the area between “blue sky” research – sometimes referred to as curiositydriven research – and applied research. Researchers attempt to translate the information learned from blue sky research into real world settings and use it to help solve practical problems.

It has gained popularity as a distinct field over the years due to its emphasis on tangible health and economic outcomes. It is most commonly used to develop therapies for diseases, and directly improve clinical outcomes and patient wellbeing.

My Honours project involves identifying new ways that high-density lipoproteins (commonly referred to as “good cholesterol”) are able to improve the healing of diabetic foot ulcers, which are the leading cause of lower extremity amputations in non-traumatic cases. This is an example of translational research. Our end goal is to develop our findings into something doctors can use to 16

treat diabetic patients and prevent the need for amputations. Our results will be “translated” into these new applied practices.

This research is part of the Heart Health theme at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Heart Health is the epitome of a massive multi-disciplinary translational group, and being involved with this program has been an amazing educational experience.

Heart Health tackles pretty much anything involved with cardiovascular disease and the vascular complications of other diseases like diabetes. The best thing about that broad range is that it’s led to the accumulation of an incredibly diverse group of people. You might be thinking that translational medical research is only for people with molecular biology backgrounds, but here’s a snapshot of the diversity within Heart Health: – A nurse studying their PhD in women’s cardiovascular health – A pharmacology major who now specialises in mass spectrometry imaging – A statistician (and life saver for those of us who

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haven’t done real stats since first year of Undergrad) – A few cardiologists and a vascular surgeon – A forensic chemistry major working with clinical cardiovascular imaging modalities – A bunch of people from health science and biology backgrounds researching atherosclerosis, pathological angiogenesis, diabetes, novel populations of inflammatory cells, or repurposing drugs.

No matter your background, if you’re interested in a career contributing to clinical outcomes, you can find a place in a translational research institute like SAHMRI.

What’s in it for you?

As a baby research student, being surrounded by people from different backgrounds is incredibly helpful. I went into my project as a biochemistry major knowing very little about the pathology of diseases or how clinicians address various cardiovascular diseases. After hearing about other people’s research on atherosclerosis, peripheral arterial disease and so many others, I’ve been exposed to real life learning experiences that even the best classrooms can’t emulate.

Some of the projects we’ve discussed: – Identifying new micro-RNAs that play a role in mediating HDL’s effects on diabetic wound healing (spoiler alert, there’s a bunch of them) – Analysing atherectomy samples (little chunks of plaque scraped from the inside of blood vessels) to characterise the lipids that make up the plaque – Developing completely new methods to analyse atherosclerotic vessels and combine lipid characterisation with locational data (basically creating pretty 3D images that tell you which lipids sit where in different kinds of plaque), which could identify lipid groups as biomarkers for vulnerable plaque I went into the Heart Health theme thinking I had no interest in the “health” aspect of translational research, and that I’d want to focus only on the biochemistry of my project, but I was wrong. I’ve come to realise that the field is so diverse, and that basic science and clinical outcomes can be so much more closely intertwined than I’d ever imagined.

There really is something for everyone!

Stay tuned for the next issue.

BTW – Why are chemists great for solving problems?

They have all the solutions.

One of the most interesting elements of my time working on Heart Health has been the lab meetings.

Every week, three lab members give a presentation about their research. As a group we discuss how this research can be used in biochemistry, therapy development, or how a clinical doctor would be able to use this research to help their patients.

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Adelaide Uni and the Military-Industrial Complex Words by Nix Herriot Artwork by Angus Smith @angvs

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“More relationships with defence than any other university in Australia.” So boasts Christopher Pyne, Minister for Defence Industry and chief proponent of Abbott-era $100,000 university degrees. He’s declaring his fondness for the University of Adelaide’s extensive militarisation.

On our campuses, war is more immediate than we might imagine.

Kevin Scarce, Chancellor of Adelaide University, epitomises the intimate connections that bond governments, corporations, the military and education. Scarce is a retired Rear Admiral in the Australian Navy and the former head of Maritime Systems for the Defence Materiel Agency. As well as ensuring the $6 billion construction of air warfare destroyers in South Australia, Scarce more recently championed Jay Weatherill’s discredited international nuclear waste dump.

The Federal Government is orchestrating one of the largest military build-ups since the Second World War. Central to the 2016 Defence White Paper was a commitment to boosting the Defence budget by 81% over the next decade and recruiting 4400 new personnel for the Defence Force. This January, Malcolm Turnbull announced Australia’s intention to become one of the ten largest weapons exporters in the world.

After cutting $2.2 billion from higher education, Turnbull had no qualms about committing $3.8 billion to local weapons manufacturers. Defence is the number one research partner of Adelaide University. Last November, Pyne applauded the

university administration for negotiating 157 agreements worth $13 million since mid-2014.

After being treated to a drone demonstration, Pyne went on to explain that his government’s Defence and Innovation Network would see military researchers implanted in 21 research fields across Adelaide University.

In the context of militarisation, Adelaide University has been determined to bolster national defence capabilities. Earlier this year, the Director of Defence and Security at Adelaide University, Michael Webb, declared an intention to “do whatever we can to collaborate” with the defence industry. In March, Vice-Chancellor Peter Rathjen announced that the University will work alongside the world’s third largest arms producer, BAE Systems, to enhance Australian military infrastructure. $10 million was pledged

by BAE to develop defence-centred courses and research. BAE warplanes are vital to Saudi Arabia’s onslaught on Yemen. The company is also a manufacturer of nuclear weapons and complicit in arming the Israeli regime and its attacks on Palestinians.

The militarisation of university campuses is occurring concurrently with major changes to the national tertiary system and research capacities.

Over the past several years, government cuts have significantly undermined options for funding and graduate opportunities that don't have military ties. The CSIRO’s three offices on Adelaide University campuses have suffered

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debilitating cuts. At Waite, 13 staff were cut from CSIRO Land and Water research. The SAHMRI CSIRO offices of Nutrition and Health lost eight staff in 2016. Instead of being able to offer internships or employment for science graduates, CSIRO defunding has led to cutting one in five staff nationally (over the past five years) and increasingly limited graduate places and research crossover with universities. The systematic reduction in non-military education and research funding has led to this false scarcity of funding, creating the impetus for intensifying the extent of university and defence connections.

Seeking to sanitise war profiteering, governments and university administrations would have us believe that increasing ties with defence is all about creating jobs. For our rulers, war is good for business. For the rest of us, it means a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.

Money diverted to defence means money ripped from industries that improve human lives. Persistent government attacks on jobs have contributed to South Australia being the defence state. Other jobs should be created. Let’s start with large-scale investment in education, renewable energy, hospitals and public housing.

Militarising universities isn’t about improving graduate jobs. It’s about boosting an industry of death, escalating Australian imperialism and restructuring campuses to be conducive to corporate interests.

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We shouldn’t be surprised that universities are increasingly tied to the war machine. Higher education is integral to the realisation of the government’s military ambitions. A further military build-up will require research that develops military technology and graduates skilled for the defence industry. Students and staff should reject the intensifying ties between universities, weapons industries and the military. Adelaide University sings the praises of “innovative technologies” and “world-class research”. Let’s call military connections out for what they really are: institutional backing for the merchants of death.

The investments of this university should not be blood money that contributes to weaponry and war. We need books, not bombs.

– On Dit –

Disordered Dating Words by Letti K-Ewing

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual assault, PTSD, mental health

A couple of years ago it seemed like I was diagnosed with a new mental illness as often as I experienced a breakup. I would eventually learn that the reason for these multiple failed relationships was in part due to my mental disorders, a kind of collateral intimacy that left both parties worse for wear.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder (the winning combo I have been diagnosed with) each have profound psychological effects on an individual due to both disorders stemming from trauma.

Aside from the often-tedious responsibility of simply keeping ourselves afloat to coast through life, throwing a relationship into the mix can capsize an already unsteady (or in my case, sinking) ship.

I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at 19. This led to a disordered dating experience where I felt forced to learn my physical boundaries through trial and error. I once thought this cycle of “disordered dating” limited me, and all my future relationships, to be defined by only my negative experiences, and that positive experiences were very few and far between.

I now know that this is not the case. But this knowledge was by no means a sudden revelation. Years of intensive therapy coupled with a strong support network of my closest

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friends and family are what helped me reach the understanding that life after trauma is possible. Still, some days it takes boatloads of effort to cope but there is solace in knowing my experiences are part of a collective of people who are as similarly disordered as I am, and who have found stability despite their diagnosis.

Patty*, 25, shared her experiences of how PTSD has affected her personal relationships after I made a callout on Instagram looking for contributions to this article.

“My PTSD is related to sex, so I found I had to renegotiate my boundaries around sex…” said Patty.

“My mental health has always affected my [sexual] relationships in different ways – sometimes my PTSD means that I’m hypersexual and I feel like having a lot of sex can somehow ‘erase’ my bad experiences.”

I thought it was just PTSD that affected my romantic relationships. To a certain extent, it did explain a lot of my issues. It explained why I wasn’t able to trust my male partner at the time despite him being gentle, patient, and understanding. It explained my (still ongoing) complicated relationship with sex, and it explained the internal conflict between

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safety versus desire. What it didn’t explain was certain unhealthy and toxic behavioural traits I had – up until my recent diagnosis with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – come to accept as inherently part of my personality.

I was irrationally angry and irate. And I took it out on the person I loved the most.

Relationships are hard work at the best of times. A balance of mutual respect, shared desires, sound conflict resolution and a sense of self that is separate from your significant other(s) is what typically defines a “healthy” relationship. For people with BPD, relationships don’t usually function within the idyllic scenario of separate individuals engaged in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Instead, the relationship becomes an allconsuming entity with nagging uncertainties around fear of abandonment and rejection from the significant other(s) who has become an emotional crutch rather than a partner.

This was my experience anyway, and coupled with PTSD I found relationships demandingly intimate and bound by expectations I could never meet. I have chosen not to involve myself in any sort of committed relationship because therapy helped me realise intense relationships were not conducive to my mental health. And that’s okay; in fact, it’s better for everyone.

Through therapy I have learned how to be

open (sometimes too open but, whatever) about my experiences and my desires.

Allowing myself to come into my sexuality was always difficult. Being queer was a huge part myself that I always kept hidden but that I now freely express.

Like Patty, I have found myself “alienated” from who I am, as disorders often foreground our decisions and how we define ourselves.

While a diagnosis offers an explanation into behaviours and a pathway to recovery with appropriate avenues, it can also be extraordinarily difficult to come to terms with.

However, a diagnosis is not a sentence to fail. *Pseudonym used to protect the identity of the participant.

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– On Dit –

Artist Feature

Rakkamon Follow me on: Website rakkamons.com Instagram @rakkamons Behance /rakkamons

“Holofemalic”: an illuminescent view diffused in pastel eyes Funky holographic gradient, pastel colours and shades of the galaxy. These are what drive my creativity and play a crucial role in inspiring my art pieces. Seeing such mood and tone making me feel as if I am on another planet is where I found myself drowning in my fantasy. I started featuring the theme in my design ever since.

Drawing and designing have been my wonderland since I was a little girl. I am overwhelmed with joy every time I am drowning in my imagination when I do arts, my wonderland.

“Design shapes who I am, who I want to be.”

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I am currently a final year media student, majoring in Graphic Design at the University of Adelaide. With my passion for design, I did some extra courses at TAFE SA on top of my degree, including Illustration, Typography, Packaging Design and Design Studio. I expect to graduate in June 2018.

I like to create art pieces that feature a part of myself in the design to express my love of arts and make every art piece meaningful.

With my passion in arts and design, I have an ambitious commitment to pursue my dream career in becoming a unique artist, graphic designer and illustrator, who is one of a kind, and whose designs can blow everyone’s mind.

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The Hidden Victims of Campus Sexual Assault: International Students Words by Matthew Boughey

*Content Warning: Sexual Assault and Rape* “I got pushed on the bed and I got raped … He kept saying ‘I’ll get what I want’.”

Leu, a 19-year-old international student from China, had only just begun her undergraduate studies at ANU when she had a traumatising encounter.

One night, Leu says, a friend of her housemate followed her back to her room on campus and assaulted her.

“I couldn’t move my hands. I could only scream."

As she tried to scream for help, the rapist, who she says was from Canberra, covered her mouth.

Other international students discouraged Leu from reporting the assault to the police out of fear that her student visa would be cancelled, and she would be deported.

“What we thought back then was Australian law only protects Australians. And if we report things like this, they probably think we are causing trouble for them and we probably would get deported, not finish school,” she said.

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Eventually, she went to the police but decided not to press charges.

A female police officer told her, “it’s definitely not your fault, but next time be careful”.

Leu was one of many survivors who told their story in a new documentary by 101 East, Al Jazeera’s weekly current affairs program covering the Asia Pacific.

Australia: Rape on Campus is the result of a sixmonth investigation by Al Jazeera into sexual assault at Australia’s universities. It explores how international students, far from home and family, are often “soft targets” for sexual assault and harassment.

As of this year, there are 624,001 international students who call Australia home. 44 per cent of these students are enrolled in higher education.

To capitalist Australia, international students are big business. The international education export sector is worth approximately $18.2 billion a year with students paying astronomical fees of up to $20,000 per semester. Universities are all too ready to line their pockets while neglecting the welfare of these students.

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Though Leu’s story is beyond horrific, statistics show her experience is far from uncommon. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Change the Course Report found that five per cent (or 7,665) of international students are sexually assaulted each year. Roughly, this adds up to 30 sexual assaults per day.

However, only five per cent of international students made a formal report or complaint about their experience of sexual assault to the university, compared to nine per cent of domestic students.

It was also revealed many international students were not aware of their university policies on sexual harassment and assault. If they were aware, many did not know where to go for help or how to file a complaint.

Based on the data available, international students experience significantly more barriers preventing them from reporting their experiences.

Among those barriers are a lack of understanding of what constitutes sexual assault or harassment, isolation from traditional networks, and concerns that reporting may affect a student’s visa and ability to study.

The feeling of shame and not wanting others to know was found to be twice as likely to prevent an international student from reporting as compared to a domestic student.

Furthermore, many international students do not fully understand their rights under Australian law.

Delays in the justice system may work against international students who may only be studying in Australia for one or two semesters out of the year. Rape cases are notoriously complex and often take more than a year to pass through the courts. Students, who are suffering from the trauma of sexual violence, may be reluctant to return to Australia and give evidence against their attacker.

All of this makes for an exploitative situation if the wrong people try to take advantage of students’ naivety and cultural differences.

It is clear there is an urgent need for universities to do more to address the specific needs of international students when reporting instances of sexual assault and abuse. As well as this, they must ensure that services are culturally appropriate and all staff are able to meet cultural and linguistic differences. We need to ensure international students are provided with the correct resources accessible for students of all backgrounds. This is the only way to break down the barriers these students face.

No survivor should be left to fight their battle alone.

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Shamefully, universities across Australia have shown they are not prepared to stamp out a culture of sexual violence on their campuses.

Instead, they have allowed it to manifest through sheer negligence and a failure to act appropriately.

Al Jazeera’s documentary highlighted the results of a Freedom of Information investigation that found that 575 sexual misconduct complaints to universities had resulted in only six expulsions, with one case even resulting in just a $40 fine to the perpetrator.

If there’s one positive thing to come out of this, it’s that Australia’s reputation as a “safe and sunny” place to study for international students is being challenged. Deservedly so. Universities are simply not providing a safe environment for students to live and study in.

Behind the glossy PR brochures, there is a shocking and shameful story to be told at Australian universities.

You can watch Australia: Rape on Campus on YouTube.

How can we expect significant action when academic misconduct is treated more harshly than raping another student?

Time and time again, universities put on a façade of reform. In truth, their actions only surmount to damage control and protection of their brand.

It’s simple – universities are failing their students.

They need to be called out on it.

If this has raised any issues for you please contact: Yarrow Place – ph: 8225 8777 or toll-free 1800 817 421 (after hours 8226 8787) for services for rape and sexual assault victims.

18000RESPECT – ph: 1800 737 732 for sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling.

Lifeline – 13 11 14 for telephone counselling for anyone in a personal crisis or thinking about suicide.

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– On Dit –

Words by Anonymous

First of all, I’d like to start this off by saying "sorry mum, I’ve done some drugs".

Weirdly, my mum actually already knew this. We were driving around my home town one day, most likely doing the shopping or picking something up for her job, and the issue of drugs came up. She asked me if I had done any and I said ‘yes, I smoked a little weed one time. I didn’t like it very much and haven’t touched it since’. I then did something I thought I’d never do and asked my mum if she’d done any drugs. I wasn’t surprised by the weed. She grew up during the 70’s and 80’s and spent a fair bit of time as a bartender at the Green Dragon in Liverpool. However, when she said that she’d done acid once, that really surprised me. My mum, this 5-foot, power house with a job and a family, had dropped acid with a couple of her mates whilst living in Liverpool. She said that she didn’t like it very much and the conversation moved on.

Flash forward four years and I’m in university. I haven’t smoked weed for around three years as it doesn’t interest me at all and so have stuck to Coopers Pale Ale and the occasional Furphy* when I can get my hands on it. I’m about four weeks into university and an eventful weekend is on the horizon. My friend’s band is in town and everyone I know is going along to the gig and then more than likely Rocket or Fat Controller. A few of my mates were getting some MDMA and asked if I wanted any. Initially I was apprehensive. I knew MDMA was the active ingredient people looked for in ecstasy and allegedly was purer because it was in crystal form. Although, generally you’re just as likely to get

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DXM, which is synthesised from cough syrup. My friend (let’s call him Hamish) said that he had some left over from a previous outing that he’d already tried, said it was good and was happy to share some with me and I said, ‘well why not’.

Now don’t worry, I didn’t die or make an arse of myself in front of my friends. I actually felt like I had a good night. I say felt because I think I got a little too drunk and so couldn’t remember a lot of the night, but I just had this underlying feeling of good, you know? The next night we went out again and I dropped again with much the same results. I woke up feeling a little worse for ware, was worried something that I’d said to my girlfriend the previous night was more serious than it actually was and definitely needed to drink some water.

The following week, all I could think about was MDMA. Not in an addicted sense, I had fun sure, but I certainly wasn’t sitting in my lectures thinking ‘man, I could go a cap right now’. I was more so wondering about what I had done on the weekend.

Not the act, but the actual chemical makeup. Was what I had MDMA? Or was it MDMA with a bit of speed, or even DXM? So, I did a bit of quick googling and found out that there’s no real way of telling without a clinical lab trial. Sure, you can buy test kits that utilise the Marquis reagent method, which basically uses two chemicals that will produce different colours and shades of those colours when certain chemicals are present. If the test kit result is very dark in colour, more than likely you have a

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high level of MDMA and vice versa. The problem with these tests is that they aren’t very accurate. You may have a high level of MDMA, but that doesn’t mean that other substances aren’t present. There are other approaches, such as using multiple tests to see the different reactions, however these present a problem in that they only test for certain chemicals.

The deaths that occurred on Melbourne’s Chapel Street in early 2017 were due to ‘a cocktail of illicit substances, including 4-Fluroamphetamine and 25C-NBOMe’ according to a leaked police report which was picked up by Vice. Both are definitely not MDMA. So, what can be done? And should we do something? Well it seems obvious really. Pill testing should become something that is commonplace at Australian music festivals. You may be aware that this has been attempted multiple times without any success. At the time of writing this article, Groovin the Moo Canberra could potentially have a pill testing trial run, with only the festival promoter Cattleyard not getting behind the proposal. With only a week to go until Groovin the Moo Canberra, no further information had surfaced, however, I will be interested to see whether the proposed idea will go ahead*. Beyond pill testing at festivals, there should also be static pill testing centres available to the public year-round. This would increase the safety and awareness of the regular night goer on the weekends, or the occasional Wednesday at Sugar.

Both approaches require that there be complete police amnesty in place so that party goes don’t feel at risk of being arrested by law enforcement for doing the right thing not only themselves but also their community.

And what about me? Well, I will be dabbling in some MDMA for Groovin Adelaide. Do I feel cool about it? Well, no, I don’t feel cool. In fact, I feel somewhat embarrassed. I haven’t attached my name to this piece as I am worried about any repercussions that may occur because of my stance on drugs. Should I feel this way? I’m not sure, but that’s a debate for another time. However, would I use a pill testing station myself? Even given the stigma I’m worried about? The answer is of course I would. If I could buy something that I’m unsure about but get it tested beforehand to at least know: a. what is in it And b. what it will do to me I would be there within a heartbeat. I’ve always looked before I’ve jumped, more often than not I haven’t jumped as a result. If I could look before I dropped, I would be stoked.

In conclusion, regardless of what side you come from concerning drug use, pill testing is something you should support. Just because you don’t want to take something or are against the use of that substance, does not make you immune to the affects drug use can have. You may not end up in hospital, but your brother, sister, friend, colleague or maybe even your mum might. No one wants a four am wakeup call from the emergency department.

Come on Australia, pull your head in on pill testing.

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A nostalgic reflection on study abroad: looking back and forward Words by Laura Higgins

It is May already. Summer bled into Autumn and I have swapped my Birkenstock sandals for Converses. It is a time of transition and reflection.

Time is running away with us all. It is easy to cruise through the semester without taking time to record your cherished memories with friends. For me, these memories are precious since I will be leaving the university at the end of this semester. Every day has been exciting and distinctively different. Writing for On Dit is the perfect platform to share my memories with my beloved family, friends and fellow students. It is a creative outlet to express my passion for travel and writing.

February was a hectic month. It marked the beginning of my study abroad adventure and laid down the foundations for a promising semester: charming friends, a beautiful campus and stunning coastlines. I spent my spare time rotating between the local beaches: Glenelg, Henley, Brighton, Port Noarlunga. Each beach has its own unique charm and many happy evenings were spent watching the sunset fall over the golden sand.

Evening grub consisted of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, hot dogs cooked on a disposable bbq and obligatory scooped ice-cream from Copenhagen’s. My mundane British lifestyle had been reversed for an Aussie one and I welcomed these changes. Simplicities, such as walking along the beach barefoot, were novelties for me. The prospect of living by the coast for six months was exciting and this excitement has been sustained throughout the entirety of the semester.

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The highlight of February was undoubtedly my trip to Urimbarra Wildlife Park and Victor Harbour. Organised by the University, it was a day of laughter and unforgettable heat. In just one day I experienced Australia in a “microcosm”: kangaroos, koalas and one long hike. My precious memories were captured on my camera and I often look nostalgically back at them. My study abroad adventure isn’t over yet but time is sprinting away with me. Tick, tick, tick.

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February ran into March. Before I knew it, I was confronted with looming deadlines, seminar presentations and a hefty reading list. Yet I did not and still do not find my work all engulfing. In fact, it is enriching. I welcomed a temporary diversion away from the literary canon and became engrossed in Australian fiction. I find university life relaxed here. The staff are friendly and approachable. I would thoroughly recommend my study abroad experience.

I was soon faced by the mid-semester break — the climax of my study abroad adventure. For me, this marked the long-awaited arrival of my lovely mum and brother who travelled from England to visit me.

Over the space of two weeks, we explored South Australia: Cleland Wildlife Park, Barossa Valley, Mount Lofty, Central Market. Each day was different than its predecessor.

Coastlines blurred into rolling hills. Time raced by and before

Fitzroy Island was the highlight of my trip. I was stunned by the beauty of two eco-systems sitting side by side — rainforest and the coast. I traced my eyes along the shoreline and immediately differentiated this beach from those in South Australia; there was no sand, just coral. This coral was washed up by the vast and transparent sea.

Each piece was intricate and detailed and bleached.

Layered along the coastline, I was confronted by the alarming reality of climate change: it is no longer a global issue discussed for passive consumption but an individual one. Sir David Attenborough predicts that the reef will be destroyed by 2100.

I knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

Their departure crashed into my long awaited trip to Cairns. Leaving my family a day early, I embarked on my trip to the Great Barrier Reef. After a three-hour flight to Queensland, I arrived in tropical paradise. It was lush, green, exotic. My exotic surroundings were mirrored wherever I went; Fitzroy Island, Daintree Rainforest, Palm Cove.

These landmarks were distinctively charming yet interconnected. They matched the travel brochures which promise an “exotic” escape away from the mundanity of everyday life. I certainly felt like I had escaped civilisation.

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Plunging beneath the water, I was faced with a rich spectrum of colour: reds, greens, blues.

These primary colours clashed against the pale pink coral which lined the seabed. Using my underwater camera, I captured the array of sea life which exist in the dark realms of the Coral Sea. Schools of fish collected around my ankles and turtles brushed against my hips. It was a magical experience and one which I will never forget.

Fitzroy Island was followed by an actionpacked day at Atherton Tablelands.

From the outset, I was overwhelmed by the natural beauty rooted in North Queensland. Josephine Falls, Millaa Millaa Falls and Lake Eacham were all equally beautiful and I was certainly not deprived of photograph opportunities. Individual and collaborative memories were captured which will be compressed into my scrapbook upon my return.

April was marked by happy memories in Melbourne. Here, I visited my lovely friend from my home university and together we explored the iconic metropolis. I was enchanted by its quirky charm which lay behind its tough urban façade: graffitied alleyways, hidden op-shops and local artisans. Below the towering skyscrapers, a bustling city exists. Following my expert tour guide, I sampled the fast pace lifestyle and I felt weirdly at home. The busy streets mirror the streets of Manchester; hectic and lively. We compressed the highlights of the city into my brief visit: Eureka Sky Deck (the highest viewing platform in the southern hemisphere), Shrine of Remembrance, National Gallery of Victoria. We even squeezed in a bike ride along the Yarra River at dusk before rounding off the weekend with a delicious meal in the desirable suburb of Brunswick. I certainly ticked the obligatory boxes as a tourist.

May has arrived bringing crunchy leaves and cool sunshine. It is difficult to comprehend how I am welcoming in my fourth month in Australia. Whilst I

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am feeling nostalgic that I am over half way through my exchange programme, I am excited about the following two months which promise to be as equally invigorating. In the pipeline, there is a long list of opportunities waiting to be fulfilled: wine tasting in the Adelaide Hills, a day trip to Hahndorf, an AFL game, ESN ball. My excitement is perpetual.

As one event draws to an end, another is welcomed.

Every day is precious and I will continue to fulfil each one to the maximum.

June will mark the end of my semester. Whilst my final assignments will bring study abroad to a formal end, my travels will continue. New South Wales is my final stop and over the course of three weeks I propose to explore the triadic force of city, coast and countryside.

Whilst Sydney and Newcastle will satisfy my craving to be in a big metropolis again, I am ecstatic to visit the infamous Blue Mountains. It is a honeypot site and I am thrilled to be joining the thousands of tourists who unite in awe of Australia’s natural beauty every year. It is this beauty which welcomed me into Australia and it is this beauty which will wish me a final farewell.

The month of July will mark a divide — Australia and England. Two weeks will be spent treasuring my final days in Australia, a country that I have grown to love and the other two will be spent at home reuniting with friends and family.

Whilst this division marks the end of a chapter and the start of another, it is important to confront it with optimism.

Travel requires one to be adaptable, flexible, fluid.

I will relive my travels through my happy memories, my travel journal, my scrapbook. There will be difficult goodbyes but happy returns.

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The Day That Scarred Sturts Meadows

By Stuart Beven

May 24th, 2017, Sturts Meadows Station ~ 90km North of Broken Hill, NSW. The day seemed just like any other. Earlier that day, Dad had driven roughly 90km to Broken Hill to pick up a few things, one of them being my oldest brother, Jack. They were due back out to the station that afternoon. I was helping my other older brother, Sam, work on a motorbike he was planning on racing in the Finke Desert Race, now less than a month away. The bike was beautiful, a brand-new KTM 500. We were working on putting extended “steg pegs” on the bike so that Sam would have some grip behind and below his knees. The pegs sit below the knees and usually poke out about 2cm. Sam had noticed that some of the better riders extend their pegs to give them a better gripping point when they stand up on the bike, so he thought it would be a good idea for him to do the same. At about three o’clock in the afternoon, Dad gets home with Jack in the car. He pulls up to the workshop where me and Sam had been working on his bike and tells us that there is a White Suffolk ram in a paddock called One-Tree and that we should go up, grab it and put it back into the paddock it belonged in.

One-Tree is a paddock very close to the house that we keep Merino sheep in, the White Suffolk ram did not belong there and could have impregnated the Merino ewes with cross-bred lambs, and we

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did not want this to happen. Dad suggests that we should take two motorbikes and just run him through the gate back into the somewhat inaccurately named Cow paddock where we were temporarily keeping the rams. There are no cows in the cow paddock. We have a short debate about whether we could run one sheep through a gate, or whether we should just take a car and a bike, tip over the ram, put him in the back of the car, and transport him to his own paddock that way. We decide that the car and bike configuration is best.

Sam hops onto a Honda CRF 250 motorbike and takes off up to the paddock. It’s worth noting at this point that he isn’t wearing a helmet. I climb into an ageing Toyota Landcruiser and follow along behind going at a significantly slower pace than Sam. It’s not the smoothest road ever and it takes me a few minutes to catch up to Sam once he reached the top of the hill. What I saw then will be burned into my mind forever. As I come up over the hill, I see the grid that separates the Cow paddock and One-Tree, and a relatively new gate bent wildly backwards on its hinges, with a motorbike lying mangled on the ground a few feet away. My brother lying some fifteen metres from the crash site.

“Oh fuck!” I yell into the car, “Oh shit! Fuck, no!” I curse, the reality of the situation not quite dawning on me as I speed up to reach him. I veer off the road and come skidding to a halt, the moving is a blur as the adrenaline starts to kick in.

I leap from the car, screaming my brother’s name.

I run over to him, hearing snoring respirations and fearing the worst. I hold his head, asking if he can hear me. No response, just snoring and quiet

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groans. My hands feel warm and wet behind his head. I look down and see blood smeared on my hands. Some training kicks in and I start to worry about his airway. In a panic, I try to roll him onto his side, feeling a crunch in his shoulder. He starts to wake up, groaning in pain. “Oh, thank fuck,” I say, happy to see that he is coming to. “Sam, can you hear me?” I get a groan in response. I give him a quick look over and notice blood pooling at his hip. I run to the car and grab the UHF radio, “Dad, can you hear me?” I shout down the line, hoping for a response but half knowing he wouldn’t be near another radio. “Dad, can you hear me? I really need some help right now.” Nothing. I rush back to Sam, who is now conscious enough to try and get up. I try to help him, thinking it’s a good thing if he can stand, maybe he could get in the car with me and I could take him home? He collapses under his own weight and goes back to lying on the ground. The pool of blood at his hip is growing. I rip my shirt off and find the deep wound on his hip and apply pressure to the area with my shirt. I grab Sam’s hat and place it under his head as a cushion and tell Sam that I have to

me, “What’s happened?” he says.

“Sam’s been in an accident, get in my car, we have to go now!” I yell, choosing my car because it is the only one on the property with a backseat.

go home and get him some help. He says that he should be fine and that he can just walk it off. I tell him to stay where he is and I’ll get help. I place his sunglasses on his face and my hat over his eyes, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

race over to him, everything happening as a blur. Dad parked with the engine running only a few short feet from Sam. Dad and Jack help me roll Sam onto his side, he is now conscious, but completely unaware of what has happened to him.

I use the shears to cut the side of his shirt open to see the damage on his side. There is a hole in his side, about the size of a ping-pong ball, and I can clearly see that it is the main problem right

The hardest thing I have ever had to do is walk away from my brother and make the decision to drive home and get help, leaving him bleeding on the ground. I speed away in the car, driving like a man possessed, willing the car to go faster. It felt like the longest one-mile car ride of my life.

I have the UHF radio in my hand the entire way, pointlessly yelling through it, hoping my dad would hear. I pull up outside the front gate, and race out of the car screaming for my dad. He hears

“Oh shit!” Dad says, running for my car and trying to keep up. I tell Dad to drive, knowing that he is a better driver than me and hoping he can get us to him quickly. Dad gets into the driver’s seat, Jack into the front passenger seat and me behind the driver’s seat and we back out of the shed. Mine is not a fast car and Dad hasn’t driven it before. He quickly gets frustrated by how slowly it takes off. I try to prepare an area for Sam, spreading a towel out across the backseat. Dad speeds off up to the accident site. He says, “I hope it’s not too bad, we have sheep to move tomorrow.”

“Fuck the sheep!” I yell as we get closer.

We come up over the hill and Dad and Jack see the scene. I start giving orders to Dad and Jack, before we are out of the car, to get the two first aid kits out and bring them to me, along with the pair of medical shears in my glove box. We

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now, not the cut on his head. I rifled through the first aid kits, realising for the first time exactly how inadequate they both were. I found some small bandages and tried to patch up the hole in his side, the blood, however, stopped any sort of adhesion to the area making everything slip off in seconds. Realising I couldn’t do any more than apply pressure to the area, I told Dad and Jack that we had no other option but to put Sam in the car and head to town. With Sam groaning in pain and objecting to going to the hospital, Dad and Jack managed to get him up and mostly carry him to the car as I got in the other side and prepared the car as best I could.

Dad got back into the driver’s seat, telling Jack to walk back to the house, grab Dad’s car and follow us in. I had my shirt in my hand, now drenched in blood, with my arm wedged into the seat applying pressure to Sam’s side. It never occurred to any of us to wear seatbelts, I guess we’d figured the police would understand given the circumstances.

With my other hand, I had my phone on my lap constantly trying to call triple zero all the way into town. Dad drove fast but relatively cautiously on the sixteen kilometres of dirt driveway until we got to the highway, where I don’t believe his foot left the floor. We tried to keep Sam as conscious as possible as we drove, getting some strange responses. When he asked where we were going, we told him we were headed to the hospital, he responded by telling us to “alert the Hindus”. It wasn’t until we were some thirty kilometres out of Broken Hill that I first made contact with the

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emergency services, however the connection was very bad, and the service cut out in less than a minute. I next made contact with them at Stephen’s Creek, about fifteen kilometres out of town and managed to get an ambulance on its way to us. About ten kilometres out of town, we came up on roadworks with a worker holding a sign telling us to stop. Dad didn’t stop. We had the hazard lights on so that the ambulance could identify us. Dad simply slowed, wound down the window and yelled that it was a medical emergency and we were waved through.

The ambulance finally met us about five kilometres out of town. I remember finding it somewhat comforting at the time that I knew both of the paramedics, they had been instructors for my brother and I during a volunteer ambulance course. My arm had gone completely numb by this point, and had even fallen off my brother’s hip twice during the journey, but he was still as conscious as he could muster at the time. One of the paramedics opened my door and took over the shirt as I got out while the other got into the car through the other side and did a quick neurological examination before questioning Dad and me. They got Sam out of the car and onto a stretcher. They removed the shirt from his side and a large clot of blood fell out of the hole and landed on the bed, followed by a thick trail of blood.

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I walked to the back of the car and the emotion of the situation started to catch up with me. I almost broke down at that point, but I remembered that it wasn’t over yet, and I still had to be strong for a little while longer. Dad climbed back into the driver’s seat and called my mother to give her an update on what happened to her middle child. I climbed into the passenger seat and sent a text message to my girlfriend telling her what had happened and that I’d call her soon. We followed the ambulance to the hospital where we would soon be met by my mother and Sam’s girlfriend Erin.

After what felt like an eternity, we were allowed to see him. It was a surreal moment. My brother had always been one of the strongest people I had known, it seemed wrong to see him in such a weakened state. It was an unnerving time to learn about his sleep apnoea when watching the monitors attached to him. Every few minutes he’d drift off to sleep and his respiration rate would drop to zero for several seconds. A friend of my mother’s, a doctor from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, said that he should be flown to Adelaide rather than waiting to see if he gets worse before

flying him out, after all the plane is ready and waiting to leave. Moving him sooner rather than later should be the priority. Shortly after, he was being prepared to leave. I put my hand on my brother’s head, rubbed his forehead with my thumb and told him to get better quickly. For the second time that day, I walked away from him.

Jack and I got into my car with me in the driver’s seat. That was the first time I noticed the blood on the ceiling and the back of the chair. I told myself that I couldn’t worry about it then. We were both hungry and both thirsty. We picked up some dinner from Hungry Jack’s and some beer from the Mulga Hill Tavern drive through, and made the one-hour drive back to Sturts Meadows. Dad arrived about an hour after we did. He was there to pack a bag and try and get some sleep before driving to Adelaide the next day. He thanked me profusely for potentially saving his son’s life.

Since then, Sam has made close to a full recovery, with only some lingering numbness in the right side of his groin to complain about. He now wears a helmet every time he rides a motorbike.

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Humanitarian Crisis: Can Australia do anything?

Words by Kyle Staude

If you are interested in Foreign policy, you have probably read news reports about the ongoing turmoil in Syria.

A humanitarian crisis that has been far less wellreported is the ongoing war in Yemen – a country bordering Saudi Arabia, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. On behalf of the Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia is prosecuting a brutal war against the Houthis led faction who oppose the government’s rule.

The UN monitors shipments to Yemen for weapons, but the Saudi-led coalition has blockaded shipments of food, fuel and medicine that the people desperately need. This is effectively using mass starvation as a weapon of war, while the coalition is accused of other cruelties such as bombing schools and hospitals, and using cluster bombs.

Yemen is facing a looming famine and a deadly cholera outbreak. Wartime conditions of uncollected rubbish, as well as the destruction of sewerage and water systems have created the perfect environment for disease in Yemen. Now there is a real risk that new forms of disease could be created in Yemen and go on to ravage the rest of the world.

France, the UK and the USA have opposed a UN panel to examine abuses committed in the war; a move which looks suspiciously like an attempt to avoid criticism of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. All three countries benefit from lucrative arms sales which have been simulated by the war.

Surely the only moral course of action for the united states would be to use its full political weight to demand an end to the fighting and the immediate disbursement of humanitarian supplies. Adopting a united front, the international community could 50

force the warring parties to participate in the stalled UN peace talks. This could thwart a looming famine and deadly cholera epidemic, which are the immediate dangers to the Yemeni population.

If Australia took a strong and public position in support of these humane policies, the US and Western powers could not simply look away. We would bring international attention to the deeply flawed US policy, leveraging Australia’s position as a US ally and third party to the conflict. While Australia is a far less powerful and influential country than the United States, our diplomatic power is arguably positively disproportionate to our small size.

To date, the United States Congress has already passed a resolution denying that the administration has authorisation to fight the Houthis (but agreeing it has authorisation to fight ISIS and Al Qaeda).

The dictatorial Saudi regime who behead their own citizens for crimes like homosexuality and adultery are hardly seen sympathetically among the American public. Australia’s voice could be pushing at an open door.

The government cheerily proposing to earn more by boosting weapons sales raised anxieties in the community about the presence/lack of a moral compass among Australia’s leaders. As a nation we should have the courage to take a position we know is morally the right one.

Ultimately, the only path with integrity for Australia is to have policies we believe in, while agreeing with the much more powerful state of America is the more convenient path. America’s support for the continuation of the Yemen conflict is a war of choice and the ordinary people are the ones who suffer.

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Too Pretty and Nice Words by Skye Brook Jenner

I’m in my second month of my PhD. It is amazing and exciting, and exactly what I’ve been hoping to do for a few years now. The things that I don’t love however, are the responses that I sometimes get. I was working in a cellar door before starting my PhD, and the week before starting I was prattling on to some customers, as I do, and mentioned my PhD. The response that I got, “But you’re too pretty and nice to be a PhD.” Quickly followed by, “you can’t possibly be that smart.”

Being at work, I couldn’t quite tell them what my thoughts on that comment were.

It’s not the first time that I’ve been told such a ridiculous thing. Honestly, it’s not the first time that I’ve received comments about my looks and the way that this connects to my intelligence.

Some of my “favourite” comments have been:

“You only got into extension classes because the teacher wants to sleep with you” – I was 15.

“I always forget you’re smart ” – I had sat next to this kid for 5 years through high school in every extension class.

And so many, many more. Which always makes me ask “why?” Why do people think that any of these comments are appropriate? Who in their right mind believes that my looks have anything to do with the level of my intelligence, or the amount of work that I put in? I also used to get asked by complete strangers if I was anorexic quite often when I was shovelling food into my face.

And honestly, I’m not the only woman who has experienced this. There seems to be some kind of belief that people are allowed to comment on your looks and life in whatever way that they think. That somehow “pretty” girls can’t be useful for anything other than being pretty. For starters, there is no such thing, our looks don’t define what we can do. And quite honestly, the quickest way to shutdown a conversation with me is to tell me that I’m “too pretty” to do something.

Why are good looking guys allowed to be smart (they’re the whole package), but women can’t be both? It makes it difficult to become more involved with your peers sometimes, when you know that their judgement is based on looks rather than your mind. There is an assumption about what kind of person you are because of the way you look, or you dress, or stand. Sadly it’s not just people who I randomly meet on the streets, peers and people I considered friends, who should know better than to assume that I’m “too pretty and nice” to be smart. Maybe it’s time to stop judging people on their looks, and on the merit of their actions.

We should know better, especially when we are exposed to such amazing minds everyday here.

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Adelaide's Own Lioness Emma Rowe - Lioness EP Review Words by Leah Ryan

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Emma Rowe’s EP Lioness delves right into the raw talent and punk personality that Rowe embodies in her music.

The title track of the EP, Lioness, displays Rowe’s incredible talent as well as her quirky personality and strong voice. Lioness starts off slow and builds in tempo and power as it progresses. Not only is it a powerful song about individuality and being heard, but it is also a song about music, displaying Rowe’s impressive vocal range. Rowe genuinely roars with talent throughout this track, and her passion for this EP is clear right from the beginning.

Rowe takes a different approach in Beach Song which starts up-beat and doesn’t slow down. The song begins with a pop-style verse which is super fun to listen to and will definitely get stuck in your head. As Beach Song breaks into the chorus, Rowe’s clear punk influences creep back into the song and move Beach Song from a pop track to a pop-punk party song. Rowe’s passion for music of all genres is obvious in this EP as she experiments with different vocal techniques as well as different beats and progressions in each individual song.

The final song, entitled Devil, plays with the same sort of punk vibes as Beach Song but with darker lyrics, and an overall rougher and rawer sound. Rowe is clearly comfortable playing with the expectations of pop-punk music, and seemingly has some Paramorelike influences for this last song of the EP. By finishing this EP off with Devil, Rowe shows her progression of the music she is passionate about and influenced by, moving through powerful raw music, to pop, to punk.

Overall, Rowe’s EP was a lot of fun to listen to – it felt raw, empowering and a perfect dance party, all rolled together. Rowe’s passion for music is obvious with the way in which she experiments with different sounds and takes things from different genres, and still somehow makes it all work together and sound phenomenal. Lioness is an EP that will, without a doubt, get stuck in your head and make you want to jump around and dance to every song.

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ANALYSIS

BLACK PANTHER: WARRING IDEOLOGIES AND SPARKING A REVOLUTION Words by Odetta Maxwell Artwork by Jennafer Milne Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is a film for the modern era, signifying the fight for equal rights and upholding our world’s history of oppression.

From the predominantly black cast, to the film’s antagonists, Black Panther makes an important statement: There is power in black culture and supporting oppressed people can only make the world stronger.

The sympathetic antagonist, Eric Killmonger was, for me, the most important character. He is a symbol of oppression; we see his childhood, where he and his father are forced to live away from Wakanda, in the United States much like the slaves taken from Africa during the Slave Trade.

Due to his life as an expat, he is also witness to the oppression of people of colour in the United States. Because of this, we understand his plights.

At some points we almost take his side and his monologues encapsulate the inequalities in our own world. He says, "NO. Bury me in the ocean, I’d rather die like my ancestors who jumped from ships because they knew death was better than bondage." He recognises his ancestors to be the African-American slaves, not the Wakandans.

This is a very important insight into the effects of colonisation and slavery. He has been taken from his country and this parallels the way real-world people of colour were and are treated. His ties to his true heritage have been irreparably cut, like theirs. This is an unwashed version of reality, this moment hit me. Just like Twelve Years A Slave and to a lesser extent Django Unchained, the film provided me with a sordid and true version of the past, drawing rage and sadness from me.

On the other hand, we explore the implications of nationalism and the power that exists in oppressed worlds through our protagonist, T’Challa. He is a proud Wakandan king, set on hiding its resources from the world. The United Nations then asks what his nation actually has to offer. This question parallels the real life lack of dignity given to people of colour and the constant underlying superiority that has been projected by colonial leaders of the past and present. Importantly, there is only one white American character with a speaking role and he has little to no understanding of what Wakanda is actually capable of, stating ‘it’s a third-world country, textiles are their main export, what would they have to give?’

His ignorance is not singular for this has been a longstanding theory in western societies; an example of this being policies like Terra Nullius, in Australia, where colonisers deemed the country a ‘no-man’s land,’ despite the Aboriginal people residing over it land for thousands of years, with their own languages, traditions and customs.

Wakanda represents, though not literally, what colonised countries could have been without the interference of settlers and their ignorance of what these peoples had to offer.

The cinematography in Black Panther also shifts the ‘norms,’ that have been established in Hollywood for decades. Rachel Morrison, the film’s cinematographer, employs lighting alternative to Kodak’s Shirley Cards which were never optimised for dark skin, thus only catering to pale skin for years. The film maintains bright and saturated colour pallets and contrasting tones despite the longstanding notion that it wasn’t

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possible. This takes strides towards equality in the film industry and moves against the ideas that exist in Hollywood, that pale skin should be used predominantly in film. These effects were achieved through makeup and lighting, specifically designed for people with darker skin and lighting that highlights the features of darker skin. According to Dan Cornwall, the films lighting specialist, their team opted to using soft round lighting on the sets in order to give the dark skin tones a natural look. He sated that in the past, darker skin tones were given their own seperate, harsh lighting and this, in contrast to lighter colours, would break the seamlessness of the tones in the scene. The use of these particularly harsh lights would make black actors appear as if they had spotlights shun on them. This was something the Black Panther cinematographers were determined not to do.

It should also be recognised that the film’s shallower villain, Klaw, was originally written as a Belgian character in the 1960s comics. However, in 2018 he is portrayed as a white South African.

I felt this was deliberate, mirroring the issues of inequality and unrest today. Klaw acts as a nod to the racial issues of South Africa and other African countries, like apartheid being continued through the 1980s and the struggles of black South Africans to regain rights to their lands. In 2018, there is on going debate in South Africa about who is entitled to the property and this is due to colonisation. Klaw being portrayed as Belgian, on the other hand, would be a nod to the colonisation

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of Congo. His Vibranium theft is also reminiscent of the Belgian’s theft of Uranium in the 20th Century and the stealing of Indigenous knowledge and artefacts. Evidently, Eric Killmonger, the films more flesh-outed antagonist, finds a Vibranium spear in the London museum and this alludes to the real life struggles of indigenous peoples.

Even today, peoples from all over the world are still struggling to claim their works back from the Museum of London in this example, but this is common throughout most western museums. As a result he asks, "How do you think your ancestors got these? Do you think they paid a fair price?

Or did they take it, like they took everything else?" He makes a valid and real-world point. Eric then corrects the white "expert," on where the artefact is actually from, a reminder of cultural appropriation and everything Western societies have taken from black cultures. This scene signifies that even our so-called experts get it wrong as they often have inaccurate and incomplete accounts of history. This often occurs as the colonisers often did not consult the native peoples about their cultures and traditions but wrote their own version of the history.

It is interesting that such political themes are being covered in a super hero movie. These issues are real and this sort of dialogue can spark a genuine change in our world. The movie gives us an overt historical commentary that must be continued. It is accessible to everyone. The message this film sends is hard to swallow but served to us in a delicious manner. The overlying adventure and fantasy of the film give us a story that is easy to digest. So, without speaking for anyone else, I am personally glad it finally happened.

May 25 · 12pm – 2pm Curry (vegetarian, vegan & GF options) Barr Smith Lawns Free for Members $5 non-members

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Review:

Directed by Wes Anderson Words by Austin Frape

After a dog flu virus spreads across the canine population in Japan, mayor Kobayashi of Megasaki city banishes all dogs to Trash Island. While fighting for survival, five dogs known as Chief, Rex, King, Boss, and Duke (Voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray and Jeff Goldblum) find Atari (Voiced by Koyu Rankin), a young boy who crash landed on Trash Island to find his dog, Spots.

Atari and the five canines embark on a journey to help find his Spots.

and the majority of the visuals where not added post-production. One scene in particular – a 30 second montage of a man making sushi from scratch – is a testament to the artistic capabilities of the animators, especially if you take into account the considerable amount of time it would have taken to shoot all that footage.

I’ve only recently jumped on the Wes Anderson bandwagon and while the films of his that I have seen so far amount for only a small portion of his filmography, I can absolutely see the appeal of his work. His witty dialogue combined with the storybook-like wonderment that is Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest Hotel, make for a very charming experience and Isle of Dogs sits just nicely among his classics.

different and clever ways of it being translated without simply using subtitles. Whether it is English reporters speaking over the Japanese person or pieces of paper that would summarise a conversation, the film rarely broke the illusion that it is set in a non-English speaking country. Even having American actors voicing the dog characters is used as a joke in the context of the film as they do not speak Japanese.

To say that Isle of Dogs was absolutely gorgeous to watch is an understatement. Considering the countless hours of work put towards the stop motion and Wes Anderson’s apparent need to make sure each shot has perfect composition, every frame in the film could be used as a piece of artwork.

What makes the experience even more special is the realisation that the film was shot in-camera

Overall, Isle of Dogs was a delightful experience that offers wonderful stop motion animation and a nice change in making an authentic cultural representation. It is definitely worth a look.

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Aside from the amazing visuals of Japan and its culture in stop motion form, the film also has all the Japanese characters speaking Japanese with

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Review:

A Quiet Place Directed by John Krasinski Words by Austin Frape

Taking place in the post-apocalyptic future, the world has been overrun by violent creatures that are slowly wiping out the human race. As the creatures are blind, they hunt their prey based on sound. The story follows a family of soon-to-be five (played by real life husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and Millicent Simmonds and Noah Supe as their children) as they adapt their lives to fight for survival by living in silence.

It’s interesting that comedians transitioning to horror have become a more popular trend as of late. But what’s more interesting is how successful these transitions have been. Last year’s Oscar winning Get Out was a massive achievement both critically and financially for Jordan Peele and A Quiet Place has definitely been a huge win for The Office’s John Krasinski who co-wrote, directed and starred in the film. I believe that the secret to comedians breaking into the horror scene is that they know to play with emotions professionally. If they know how to make people laugh, they would know how to make them scared. And with Danny McBride co-writing the upcoming Halloween sequel, I am genuinely curious to see how this trend develops.

Even without considering the connection to Krasinski’s career, his attention to detail to make this world feel lived in and believable is one of the most impressive parts of this film, especially for a story like this nature where the narrative is small, but the drama is huge. As most of the dialogue is spoken in sign language, the atmosphere builds wonderfully with tension as just the slightest bit of loud ambient noise brings terror to not only the characters, but the audience.

I’d highly recommend seeing this film at the cinemas for the experience alone, just as long as the audience around you aren’t making any noise themselves.

Another aspect of the film that works really well is the family dynamic and the performances by each member. Krasinski and Blunt work terrifically together as the husband and wife, which would be obvious considering that they are a couple in real life and the children do a really good job as well. Especially Millicent Simmonds, who is hearing impaired in real life and they way in which they tie her disability into the story was a nice attention to detail.

Overall, A Quiet Place is a very refreshing horror thriller that builds terrific tension in a silent world and is also a solid family drama. I would highly recommend this film.

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IVES E ARCH H T M O ) FR 3.11 (2015 ISSUE 8

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