On Dit Issue 85.7

On Dit

Issue 85.7

INSIDE: STUDENT ELECTIONS - HYPEBEASTS - RESPECT NOW SURVEY STATS

~ On Di t ~

Issue contribution dates Elle Dit: 18th August Queer Dit: 15th September Hearsay: 22nd September Issue 11: 6th October

Feel free to email us with your ideas/work at onditmag@gmail.com 3

~ On Di t ~

Editorial

W

hy would anyone want to vote in student elections? At the end of the day, none of the positions actually mean anything to anyone other than those electe. Why would any of our readers care about who is elected President of the Student Representative Council? Why would anyone care who is elected as editor of On Dit? The answer is that no-one would want to vote in student elections unless they have a personal stake in the outcome.

But that’s just it. Every single student at this university has a personal stake in the outcome of these elections. Our student elections are split between electing members of the SRC and members of the AUU Board and, of course, our student media directors. And this year, we reintroduce NUS delegates. Each of these three instruments have an impact over how our university is shaped in terms of student services, student representation, and student culture.

Our student representative council dictates the way in which we are represented to those outside of our campus. They speak for us on matters important to students - including those belonging to autonomous groups. Elections are a chance for students to decide who they want to represent them on issues affecting them such as tuition fees, youth unemployment, safety on campus, and student living costs.

The AUU Board exists to decide which amenities and services are provided to students and just how much money is allocated to them. The AUU itself is a

4

vital instrument of our university, providing student support in a number of ways. Again, students have the opportunity during elections to decide who they want on their student union board.

And of course, student media directors will also be elected. Whether you have enjoyed us this year or not, you cannot overstate the importance of having a media source run by students for students. Where many news sources provide content that isn’t exactly inclusive of all student voices, our campus has an opportunity for their voice to be heard through Student Radio and On Dit. More importantly, students have the opportunity to decide who will be curating these voices for the following year.

As annoying as electioneers are, they serve a valuable purpose for our university. This year, we want to urge our readers to take the time to vote all five minutes of it. A figure thrown around a lot is that only 10% of students vote in elections. Perhaps this comes down to cynicism or perhaps this comes down to apathy. At the end of the day, this is something we as a community need to remedy.

A politically engaged campus is one which shares ideas. The more ideas we share, the more inclusive we become.

Why should you vote in student elections?

Because they matter.

Yours, Jenny, Tom, and Jesse.

~ On Di t ~

On Dit

Contents Editorial

2

Correspondence

4

State of Union

6

SRC President

7

What’s On

8

Vox Pop

Cover Art

10

Zeyu Xiao

Left, Right, and Centre

12

Editors Tom Haskell, Jesse Davidson, and Jenny Nguyen

Contact ondit@adelaide.edu.au

Articles Stupol Bingo

15

Cards Against Stupol

16

Stupol Through The Ages

18

In Defense of Political Factions

22

Sexual Assault Survey Statistics

24

We r e c o g n i s e t h a t t h e K a u r n a Pe o p l e

Out Of Line

26

are the traditional land-owners and

The Left/Right Divide

30

Hypebeast Economics

32

Artist Profile

36

God Save the Queen

42

Australia as a Republic

44

Poly and Hot

46

Library of No Future

48

Australian Foxtel League

50

The Faux Right of Europe

52

She is a Taurus

54

Film Reviews

56

Rantspace

58

Poetry

59

custodians of the Adelaide plains Ngaldu tampinthi Kaurna miyurna yarta mathanya Wa m a Ta r n t a n y a k u

5

~ On Di t ~

Corresp on de n ce An Open Letter to Student Media: Over the last 4 years, and only counting through to student election week 1: On Dit 2014 published 74 writers and 29 artists On Dit 2015 published 75 writers and 19 artists On Dit 2016 published 95 writers and 33 artists On Dit 2017 published 45 writers and 17 artists

blog is for additional content, not more of the same. Why publish the same thing again 2 weeks later in print, after the conversation had ended?

But then again, On Dit seems to have missed coverage of the major political and cultural events of the year, so maybe it isn’t important. We might not have reporting on the 2017 Federal Budget, but we got our 6 page spread on Groovin’ the Moo (a month after it happened). We got our five minute read on Burger Theory’s Burger of the Month, complete with a photo shoot. These are the issues that matter. Honi Soit, take notes.

Then, when On Dit tried to get serious, it went and published an article on how we should lose empathy because it does not make economic sense. The writer argued that offshore detention centres were the economically viable option, and that the Government should not give housing to bushfire victims, because it’s damaging to insurance corporations. The writer’s view is their own, and they’re free to have it. But no editor should publish anything without fact checking plainly incorrect information. Editors have a responsibility. If anyone thinks these articles, including their poisonous, factually (and economically) invalid sentiments, deserve publication, then there is no surprise if they end up writing Murdoch op-eds. If you’re interested, I know of a past editor who’d probably be happy to hook you up.

Editors of On Dit, and student media in general, should be positions that are applied for, not voted for in the petty mess that is student politics. They need to be positions that are granted based on experience and skill. In 2015 when there was controversy surrounding the winning team’s ‘lack’ of experience, one of the 2017 editors was on the front line as Off Dit, calling out the 2015 eds. The 2017 team had as much experience as the one they spent a whole year ridiculing for that exact reason, yet both teams got the job.

Everything that’s wrong with the magazine isn’t particularly wrong with the 2017 editors, as much as it’s wrong with the system that’s allowed them in these positions. Change is well overdue, and I hope the 2017 term will trigger it. Perhaps it can be the silver lining?

While Australian print journalism, and especially student media, is suffering from severe funding cuts, On Dit ‘17 began with a budget hike and the highest number of writers for a long time. But published writers are now at their absolute lowest in the past 4 years. A part of this is because the number of magazine editions seem to be reduced from 12 down to 10 (Why? What makes one team exempt or less capable than any of the past teams?), and the physical size of the magazine is smaller, fitting less articles in the same number of pages.

There’s a lot of ways to show incompetence. Fewer editions, fewer articles, less artwork and fewer contributors are some of them. But editors can also use their platform to make a suicide joke on Facebook.

Perhaps it’s their lack of experience as writers, and maybe a lack of interest in the media industry, but editors should consistently foster a community of writers.

Fostering this community comes from elaborate feedback on submissions, sending the writers every edit for approval, keeping them informed about whether they will or will not be published (and letting them know the reason either way), and soliciting work to the most promising writers. A team could do none of this and never be held accountable.

This community is never fostered by putting a content call out with recycled (3, 4 times) topics and waiting for submissions to come in. It doesn’t happen when there are no social events until August. It doesn’t happen when students wanting to help work on the magazine are turned away. It doesn’t happen by asking writers at the last minute where their work is. It certainly does not happen by the editors writing so many articles themselves just to fill up the blank pages—the mirrors of their unpopularity.

On Dit has published multiple online articles in the print magazine. Sometimes it’s gone for the high score combo of online articles that the editors wrote themselves Now, this article is 800 words. Do you think it can be turned into print. Online articles are meant for immediate spread over 6 pages? content, covering events that have just happened. The 1. Figures limited to reporting/creative content in print editions, exclude Presidents’ Columns, Vox Pops, Correspondence, Club promotions, and excludes 85.5, which was out of circulation at the time of this article, and has not been published online.

editors note: both 85.5 and 85.6 were out by the time we had received this correspondence

6

~ On Di t ~

Dear Anonymous, “You can either be a good magazine, or you can be a popular magazine”.

These were some words of advice which we were left with at the beginning of the year when we attended a conference in Melbourne for student media editors.

Perhaps we can reword this phrase to mean “judge us on the quality of our work and not on the quantity of our work”. Sure, we may not have printed as many contributions at this point in time as other years may have, but we believe that the content we have chosen to print has been more engaging, better written, and more relevant to students than it has been for a while.

Before we reply to the essence of your letter, please allow us to fact-check you on a few of your statements.

Firstly, your stats are misleading. We have received a wide breadth of content this year. As of this issue (85.7) excluding president’s reports, vox pops, correspondence, promotions etc - we have had 105 written contributions and 36 pieces of artwork (not including artist profiles).

You stated that students did not receive a report from On Dit on the 2017 Federal Budget. Indeed we did print a report on this in issue 85.5 on pages 24-27. Perhaps you didn’t see this? Yes, we have printed a few bits of ‘fluff’ this year, but we have printed some incredible articles on politics, sexuality, religion, drugs, world events, and everything else in between.

We have put online articles in our print magazine, but these articles have been on important topics such as our University committing to releasing the data from the sexual harassment and assault survey, or the attacks on student media by the AUU board this year. These are important topics which require an ongoing conversation.

These are things which we should not forget about just because it’s ‘old news’.

Finally, you mention an article we printed in issue 85.4 entitled ‘Empathy is the enemy’. This was an article which none of the editors necessarily agreed with.

However, we have a responsibility to publish a wide range of viewpoints all across the political spectrum.

Yes, we agree, that article was full of economic and factual inaccuracies; however to fact-check an opinion piece like that is a political move in of itself. We wanted to present the author’s views exactly as they were in an attempt to provoke a discussion around this area. It seems we have, except the discussion has come about 4 months after the release.

Your letter has hit home on a few points for us.

Perhaps your most pertinent point is the comparison of us to the University of Sydney’s publication, Honi Soit.

Honi Soit is undoubtedly the best Australian student publication in terms of journalistic standards, integrity, and history. Their current editorial team is absolutely no

exception to this long-standing tradition of excellence.

While On Dit this year is nowhere near this level, you would be kidding yourself if you thought that it ever has been in the last decade or so.

We will be the first to say that Adelaide University is tremendously lucky to have had the editors we have had in the history of the magazine. So we don’t believe that this problem necessarily lies with individual editorial teams as much as it lies with a larger culture of student apathy at our University. A culture which began with the abolition of compulsory student unionism and persists today.

Take for example the response to the recent report into sexual harassment and assault in Australian universities from the Australian Human Rights Commission. While USyd held protests the day after the report was released, around 20-30 Adelaide students barely filled a lecture theatre to ask questions to our administration on their shortcomings. While Melbourne and Sydney have tenfold the amount of students protesting for their NDAs, South Australian Universities can barely muster more than 100. This is to no fault of the organisers who put in a tremendous amount of work in getting these up and running; this is to the fault of student apathy.

To be honest, as much as it hurts to receive your letter, it’s always exciting to see some fiery passion from a student. It seems that unless it’s an Engineering Pub Crawl or a sexist post on Overheard, our students don’t really want to engage in the events around them. If On Dit could have changed this, things would have changed years ago. Here’s a fun fact for those of you at home, On Dit’s predecessor, Varsity Ragge, died out in 1931 from what On Dit back then described as ‘student apathy’.

That’s a bit frightening.

In fact, that is why we are proud of every single one of our contributors. They care enough about what is going on in their world to give us their thoughts, their analysis, and their illustrations on the topics which matter to them.

Thank you for your correspondence. It has been an important reminder for us to try harder and entice students away from apathy. If we have completely misrepresented the situation, please prove us wrong; we so desperately want to be wrong.

Kind Regards, Tom, Jesse, and Jenny.

7

~ On Di t ~

STATE OF THE UNION Words by AUU Board President Brodie Scott

To every new student and anyone who’s been here for awhile, come out and vote!

I know how it is. Voting for our representatives and leaders in the elections can look like a trivial, tedious and pointless task. Beyond coming up with as many strategies to dodge How to Vote flyers and endless arguments happening between campaigners while you’re walking through campus, many would think it won’t change anything or make things better either way. That will likely be everyone’s first impression of student politics, and the one I had in my first year when I didn’t vote.

But in my time as a student representative I’ve learnt the real importance of that vote. The AUU is a student-led organisation. It’s made up of board members who are voted in from among our ranks to direct a multi-million dollar budget and approve a long list of programs for two year terms. We work with exceptional managers and staff to help students with everything they need; from financial and mental health support, legal advice, advocacy and even job searching.

Our hardworking volunteers are also students that are a big part of our huge events over the calendar year. Apart from keeping this union running, your vote goes further.

Student media groups each year are chosen to create a space for contributors at our university to speak freely, and for our universities future writers, authors, producers, thinkers, personalities and broadcasters to get their names out there. The Student Representative

8

Counsel operates to give students a voice and channel their ideas and beliefs into real action for the campus community. Clubs funded and supported by the Clubs Committee are not only where the best parties and socials happen at uni but are the starting platform for organisers and leaders with business and management potential.

I could go on but as your reading this in a publication by the union, you can appreciate the gist of what we are about. Turning up at the ballot lets every student representative know what you want from the university experience, and what you care about outside of it.

There are many different options when it comes to the student reps that run either as independents or on shared group tickets, but I’ve never met one on any side who doesn’t genuinely care about what they’re out there for. Neither have I met any without a sense of purpose for what can be done to support students. Talking to the different campaigners during the election is a great way to communicate your concerns directly, but when it comes to the make or break nature of elections, the ballot box sends the clearest message.

But even better than voting itself, have you considered running yourself as a student representative in 2018? If you know enough likeminded people and know the real issues, get involved. A win for you at the election is a win for us, and even if things don’t go as planned it’s an amazing experience.

~ On Di t ~

SRC PRESIDENT Words by SRC President Mark Pace

There’s a good chance before you even read this you’ve been confronted by students in different coloured t-shirts.

Discussing their different platform and beliefs, then asking you to accompany them on a walk to the polling line. It might seem pretty natural to just not care about the results of elections, but with more and more students campaigning each year, there’s obviously something about elections that get a decent amount of students maybe too invested every year.

So what can your vote get you? First of all, and it might be saying something that I feel the need to say this, but the Adelaide University Union (AUU) and Student Representative Council (SRC) are completely student run organisations.

For the AUU, that means an AUU Board of 10 Directors, five of whom are elected to two-yearterms each year. For the SRC, this means a Council wholly comprised of 23 directly elected student representatives.

So up to this point of the column, your vote gets you student control of student affairs (that’s the buzz phrase we use in student organisations). You might not know this, but the AUU and SRC Presidents have regular meetings with senior university management as well as sit on a bunch of important committees. We’re here representing all of you whether you voted or not, so you might as well have a say in how you’re represented.

What else does your vote buy though? Aside from the AUU and SRC representing you here at home, there is a National Union of Students that we are affiliated to. It’s a bit of a mess trying to coordinate how a country worth of students are

represented, but in Australia we use a delegate system so every affiliated campus gets to elect a certain number of delegates. It’s a few degrees removed, but if you want to make sure that the NUS is focused on addressing serious issues like the work on the Human Rights Commission’s survey into university sexual assault, then this is where that work begins. So far, you’re getting a fair bit for your vote but there’s more to this sweet bargain and I’m not done testing how far I can stretch this lame, vague metaphor.

The final thing you get is to vote for the On Dit Editors and Student Radio Directors. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t actually know that much about what goes into the media process but every year I’ve been around there have been different teams with different visions. And I’ve been around when a shit vision won and On Dit sucked for a year (I won’t say which year). So, trust me, this one is important.

There you have it, all the things your vote will get you (although saying “vote” seems disingenuous since you’ll be getting at least three ballot paper, so, ‘votes’?).

It might not seem like much, but it turns out being a lot more than you realise further down the track. You want to make sure student media continues to be funded? Vote in the election. You want representatives that will call the university out on its bullshit? Vote in the election. You want campaigners to just leave you alone? Vote in the election and get one of the LEAVE ME ALONE I VOTED! stickers.

Seriously, vote in the election.

9

~ On Di t ~

N? O S ’ T A WH Truss Me Daddy - Architecture Pub Crawl Themed around bridge building and Drake’s one-off catchphrase, you will be wearing PASTEL PINK as you sip on Patron in the East End this spring. Get on the Hotline Bling of Daisy Freeburn and Tom Reynolds (former participants in On Dit Vox Pops) to grab a shirt.

Where: East End When: 8 September Cult & Harper / Launch Party Things are heating up in the Port with the launch of contemporary art space Cult and Harper. The grand opening will feature a generous mix of of wine, food, DJ sets and local fashions to make this a truly jampacked and unique art experience. The event is free entry and is supported by Renew Adelaide.

Where: Vincent St, Port Adelade When: 8 September #UAvotes Stupol QandA After its surging popularity last year, the Arts Association is holding a Stupol Panel to help you decide on your voting preference in this year’s Student Union elections. The panel will host a number of running candidates who will answer all your questions, no matter how scary!

Where: Napier Building When: 22 August

10

Hahndorf Winter Lantern Festival Rug up and head east towards the Hahndorf for the Winter Lantern Festival. This year’s theme is literary arts and will showcase the use of poetry in various mediums. Of course, there will be plenty of Hahndorf produce on display and food vendors aplenty selling tasty treats. Stick around for sundown as they light up the fire mural at 8 pm.

Where: Hahndorf When: 26 August

~ On Di t ~

SALA in the East End Final fortnight of the SALA festival in the East End! Pop into the participating cafes and businesses to view artwork and listen to talks by local artists.

Where: Rundle Street/East End When: 31st August

Portrait Call Out The Gender Equity and Diversity committee and University Collections are calling for nominations of eminent women, living or deceased, associated with public and academic life at the University of Adelaide, to be included the 2018 Diversifying Portraiture series. Please send the woman’s name and a few lines of why you have nominated this person to Christianna Digenis (christianna. digenis@adelaide.edu.au) by close of business 1 September.

When: 1 September

Tom Haskell’s Birthday Drinks On Dit editor, Tom Haskell, will be celebrating his birthday at the Exeter. We’ll be taking turns in rounds to buy our friend a drink. He’s only got 2 friends (Jenny and Jesse) (that’s only 2 rounds) (and we’re broke) so come and be his friend and buy him a jug. Do it or he’ll be sad :( Where: The Exeter When: 22 August

Psychology Ball Calling all Psychos to mask up for the annual Psychology ball! Taking place at the Hotel Richmond, the night is a way to unwind before the final assignments hit. Tickets $75 for members ($80 for others) and include cocktail food and a drinks package. There will be prizes for the best mask - so get creative!

Where: Hotel Richmond When: 1 September

Midnight Spaghetti Party The party is kicking off in the arvo, and is free entry so you can spend your time jamming to bands and eating spaghetti. Not sure if the Cranker’s vodka raspberries are best to complement by American-Italian flavours but they’re cheap as chips and fun to down in the revamped area. There will also be other food/drink specials if you fancy beers and harder brews.

Where: Crown and Anchor When: 26 August

11

~ On Di t ~

Vox Pop ANGUS

ADITI

Commerce

Master of Environmental Policy Management

1) Personally I’m not that fussed by them but I think they’re a good way for students to try and make a change for campus/uni life.

1) Yes, there should be someone on our side who can talk about our issues to the people governing the university

2) Yeah, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the music.

2) No, they should stick to their art.

3) I tend to just keep my headphones in, look at my phone, and walk straight past them. I’ve never really been bothered by them.

3) I usually just say ‘thank you but I’m busy’.

4) If I had friends or people I know running, that would make me more inclined to vote.

5) I’m a big fan of some of the places in the David Jones food court, Rundle Place goes alright too.

12

4) If they’re going to present points that will affect me directly that would make me vote.

5) Hungry Jacks because it’s cheap.

~ On Di t ~

1. Do you think student elections are important?

2. Yes/No: musicians and bands taking a political position?

3. Best way to avoid student election campaigners?

4. What would encourage you to vote in student elections?

5. Now that the renaissance arcade is having renovations, where is a good spot to eat for lunch?

L I LY

JOSEPH

Mathematical Science

Commerce (Marketing)

1) Definitely, a lot of the time a university runs as a business and that can override over student voices. It’s important for people like the Vice-Chancellor to hear the opinions of students 2) I don’t know if they count as a political band, but I listen to The Cranberries and they cover some political themes. There’s also a lot of political rap so I think yes.

1) It’s good to have people who understand where we’re coming from and represent us; it’s similar to how a union represents workers because individually we’re not strong but we’re stronger together.

2) Personally I think it’s a maybe.

3) Find a friend who has voted and borrow their sticker.

3) Just look straight and keep walking and if they approach, say you’ve already spoken to someone.

4) If there was more information on the roles are and what candidates do that would be more helpful than being bombarded with information in one hectic week.

4) If you can find a way to inform and inspire me then I would vote.

5) I get sausage rolls from the General Store.

5) Miss Mai on James Place.

13

~ On Di t ~

Left, Right & Centre Where we ask three hacks across the political spectrum what their take is on the hot issues around campus

Left

Centre

Jack Crawford

Matt Boughey

Socialist Alternative

Adelaide Uni Labor Club

1 Roughly only 10% of students vote in student elections. Why is that?

Apathy stems from the fact that the student union hasn’t been the kind of fighting body that it has been in the past. If it is supposed to represent students, then it should take up all sorts of political issues and fight on the side of students.

But instead we see a tendency toward corporate strategy, and playing mainly administrative and logistical roles when it comes to clubs and other student activity. If student unions fought for students’ rights as much as Jeremy Corbyn did, by campaigning for free education for example, student politics would inspire more enthusiasm and participation.

2 The for-profit education system is one of the worst things for students today. On one hand, you see drastic reductions to university funding, less staff, less

14

resources, larger classes, pushes towards online learning, and a general undermining of learning and teaching quality. On the other hand, VCs’ salaries climb, fees increase, and unis turn into mere degree factories. Free, high quality education is a right that we all deserve.

3 I would NOT avoid campaigners.

Elections are one of the few times in the year that the entire campus isn’t politically dead. Students should be encouraged to engage with each other on all sorts of issues that impact us and wider society.

I reject the ‘let’s pretend not to care’ culture on campus; I want to make sure that the student union becomes a force that helps students around every issue, whether it be education, workplace problems, or any oppression they face.

1 It’s no secret there is widespread apathy amongst the student cohort and resentment towards student politicians. This plays a significant role in low voter turnout. Arguably, the whole notion of what student representation means at our university needs a serious rethink.

Student Representatives sitting on the SRC and Directors of the AUU Board must work to ensure working toward delivering tangible results for students rather than bickering over issues that are divorced from the everyday life of a student. If you asked any average student wandering around the Hub to name a single thing their student representatives have delivered for them, I can guarantee they would struggle. Although many on the SRC and AUU dedicate a lot of their time and effort to deliver great outcomes for students, fundamental change is still required if we are to see more than a measly 10 percent of students showing up to vote at election time.

2 The Liberal Government has put students in their cross hairs with a

~ On Di t ~

1. Roughly only 10% of students vote in student elections. Why is that?

2. What is the most important issue to students right now?

3. If you were a student trying to avoid electioneers, what would your strategy be?

Right Hugh Sutton

Adelaide Uni Liberal Club Higher Education policy designed to place students in a position where they will face higher fees and more debt, all while studying in significantly underfunded and declining institutions. Already students are faced with debt that amounts to $42.3 billion nationally. The threat of higher education becoming inaccessible is a significant problem students across the country are faced with.

This issue only becomes worse when coupled with uncertainty around employment, housing and student income support. Nationally, 61% of students live below the poverty line and the Liberal Government’s plans to saddle students with more debt and increase fees will only see this figure rise.

3 Whip out the water pistol - I sure won’t be coming near you.

1 I believe that most students are turned off from voting due to the increasingly militant and generally annoying campaigning by the Left.

They manage to take campaigning to a whole new level, be that screeching at other candidates or prospective voters, or forcing anti - whichever Liberal MP is in the firing line that week - rhetoric down our throats. For the supposed voice of the people, they seem so out of touch with the general student populace. The fact that the SRC President – a position generally held by someone from the Left – still receives an honorarium paid for by students is absolutely ridiculous! If they are serious about representing the people, they will work to abolish these relics of the past.

better outcomes, the increasing class sizes is a direct impediment to that.

Students also want access to the very best services they possibly can, and with valuable funds being diverted away from those services to the SRC and Board President’s salaries, this is not happening.

3 I would strongly encourage all students to vote! Bar that, I’d recommend mentioning how much you love personal responsibility and freedom to any rabid Leftie canvassing for your vote. It’ll repel any within a 20m radius.

2 The rising sizes of classes are an issue that hits home to all students. Any student wanting to make the most out of their time at uni will agree that working closely with a tutor leads to

15

~ On Di t ~

Find On Dit online at: facebook/ onditmagazine twitter/ onditmagzine Instagram / onditmag

Email us: onditmag@gmail.com to join up to our mailing list

Issue contribution dates Elle Dit: 18th August Queer Dit: 15th September Hearsay: 22nd September Issue 11: 6th October Concurrently, we are always accepting submissions for online content. Feel free to get in touch with us however you please!

OUTSTANDING QUALITY PRINTERS FOR ALL YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS For all your Limited Edition Prints, Brochures & Catalogues, Booklets & Flyers, Books, Magazines, Calendars, Postcards, Stationery, Self-adhesive Stickers, Packaging, Posters & Point of Sale…

CALL 8443 8011

GRAPHIC PRINT GROUP: REAL PEOPLE, REAL SOLUTIONS.

16

~ On Di t ~

Student Election Bingo!

Post in overheard complaining about elections

Last minute factional deals

“Buy back the Candidate unibar” election filming another promise candidate doing something

Someone gets banned on the first day (lol)

Electioneers asking younger staff member if they want to vote

Beers and smokes at the Exeter after a day of campaigning

Adelaide student who goes to UniSA now

Unrealistic election promise like building a stadium or something

Stupol hacks from other universities rock up for some reason

Faction insists they aren’t affiliated with a political party

Unnecessary complaints to the returning officer

Someone complains about the leaflets being a waste of paper

Pop culture references incorporated into campaign materials

Voter parts the red sea of campaigners by holding up their phone with an “I voted” sticker on it

Passion pop celebrations on the Friday

RM William boots

“More events on campus” election promise

Campaign volunteer ends up leaving

Stay safe behind the exclusion zone to avoid campaigners

Voter surrounded by a member of each individual faction

Redflag still somehow manages to get sold

Random On Dit independent magazine left who disappears lying around after day one

GO VOTE

17

~ On Di t ~

CARDS AGAINST STUPOL The Union house smells like_______________.
 





explain in one word what a ‘hack’ is to a ‘normal student’



 


Studying the history of art is more useful than_______.
 






 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 












 



 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes







ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes




I got banned from campaigning because _______.


What do all Stupols have in common?














_________: is the SRC’s latest campaign.
 









 
 






 






 






 






 






 






 






 



 






 
 



 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes

ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes

ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes










I'm very passionate about _______________.
 


My excuse for missing a group meeting is ____________.


Hack: are you voting? 
 You: I have already_______



 


















 












 



 






 






 






 
 
 
 



 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes

18




ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes


 
 






 
 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes


 


ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes

~ On Di t ~

Deregistering the Whitlam Club.
 


Jay Weatherill’s relationship with Elon Musk.


Tinder inspired campaign



 












 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 









 



 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes


 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes








 









 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes




Reclaim Australia Rallies.


Boost


The River Torrens.














































































 



 






 


ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes




ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes

ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes










On Dit Magazine.
 


The Vice Chancellor’s Salary.


Campaigning across the line



 


















 









 






 



 
 



 






 
 



 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes


 



 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes


 ð&#x;“ˆð&#x;“ˆ Cards Against Stupols
 @OnDitMagazine | #UAvotes

19

~ On Di t ~

STUPOL THROUGH THE AGES Words by Connie Tran and Hayley Mohacsy

Ah, Stupol. Tis the season of fit persons to serve on page spread, On Dit has now of campaigning candidates, the [University] Council”, evolved into a forty-eight page

periodical magazine and is currently in individuals being inundated debates on subjects approved its 85th year of publication, with multiple flyers (pls by the committee”, and “to marking it as the third oldest recycle). It happens every promote social life among the student run paper in Australia. election

promises,

and to

“arrange

for

year, but how exactly did it members of the University”.

come to play and was there This initiated the beginnings of STUPOL A BIT LATER ever a time when elections… stupol culture, AUU meetings, Along with Stupol

came

didn’t exist on campus?

and PROSH, a yearly event protests, as students were beginning in 1905 wherein getting more involved with

STUPOL THEN

students

The Adelaide University Union stunts (AUU)

is

that

would

(suspending

engineer student politicians at the an FJ forefront. In the 1930s, the

organisation Holden over the Torrens) and majority of protests were events and offer raise money for charity. The focused on improving student an

run services aimed at enhancing Varsity Ragge, first printed in life at the university, with student life at the University 1928, was the University’s first students advocating for better

of Adelaide. The AUU is also form of student media. The food and facilities, as well as the body responsible for publication however ceased improvement within library governing When

the

election University

week. three years later due to what services and the classes was was described as a sense of themselves. In 1940-1950, the

founded in 1874, the Adelaide apathy among the student scope of issues expanded from university-specific University Union had not yet cohort. In the following year internal, been formed. It was only after the then-editors, C.R. Badger, matters to national issues, pressure from existing faculty- K.L. Litchfield and C.G. Kerr particularly in relation to the

ever Second World War. Student create a united student body issue of On Dit, French for protest reached an all-time that the AUU was established ‘one says’. Determined for the high in 1960-1970, eventually in 1895. After many revisions, publication not to follow the extending to international specific student societies to introduced

the

first

predecessor, issues, ignited and fueled by and presented at a public the editors encouraged works the then-occurring Vietnam meeting on the 26 April of the from student associations, War. Specific protest groups same year – 21 years after the sports clubs, and individuals at the university were formed a constitution was created demise

of

its

university itself was founded. to express their views and to protest the war itself as well The aims of the AUU at its offered opportunities to as conscription. These protests contribute to were large and sometimes to “promote the candidature student culture. Initially a two violent, often requiring police inception included the need creatively

20

~ On Di t ~

intervention. After Australia’s to include their faction’s logo radio station, Radio Adelaide. involvement in the Vietnam in

the

corner.

War ceased, student activism however still

continued

though

to

Candidates Elected still

in

2009,

Briggs

remain worked as a Student Radio

thrive, vigilant, as breaching online Director over the next two

significantly

radicalized.

must

less conduct can also get them in years.

Popular

His

commitment

to

issues trouble. It’s not all serious stuff the Radio Adelaide saw his

included protesting for gay though, some seek to add a progression as the Training rights and fair treatment of bit of humour to the culture and New Volunteers CoordiIndigenous peoples. Students – such as the (unfortunately nator in 2013. Following his also protested against racism, inactive) apartheid, and

nuclear

capital

‘Stupol

Hotties’ graduation after completing

warfare, Facebook page. This opens his Master of Philosophy in

punishment. stupol

up

to

the

general Mathematics in 2015, Casey

Some of these issues are still student population, most of entered the media field and currently being protested for whom aren’t directly involved currently works as a multiand against today.

in stupol, where they can platform journalist at the ABC learn

STUPOL NOW

the

about

and

candidates

critique in Cairns.

themselves

Fast forward to 2017, and (though let’s be real, if you’re Casey also held various other student

elections

highlight

of

–

the

the on

Stupol

Hotties

you’re positions

across

the

AUU

stupol probably not critiquing them board, including AUU Director

calendar – will soon be upon about their policies).

in 2011 and moving into the

us. Political factions have met

role of the AUU President in

within their groups, selected WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

2012, as well as On Dit editor

candidates,

and

formed Many students whom have in 2013 alongside co-editors

alliances with other tickets – been elected into positions Stella

Crawford

and

Holly

an age-old practice. Political over the years have gone on to Ritson. gossip

can

also

be

heard lead fulfilling and successful

throughout campus, and can careers.

Would

they

have Clementine Ford

get weirdly personal if the made it onto Stupol Hotties? ON DIT EDITOR (2005) gossip is about your friends. Maybe we’ll never know.

Unlike before the inception of

Clementine Ford was one of

the internet, where one could Casey Briggs

three On Dit editors in 2005,

campaigners by escaping past (2010, 2011)

Danny Wills. While studying

the yellow lines into the ‘no ON DIT EDITOR (2013)

at Adelaide, Ford enrolled in

campaign’ area, this may prove Bachelor of Mathematical

a Gender Studies class which

futile today. Social media has Sciences,

she stated to be the catalyst

now become an integral tool Master of Philosophy

into

used by stupol campaigners, (Mathematics)

women’s rights.

make a quick getaway from STUDENT RADIO DIRECTOR along with Daniel Joyce and

her

involvement

in

allowing candidates to put themselves out there even During

his

time

at

the She is best known for her

before they start campaigning University of Adelaide studying feminist ideals and values, by

creating

Facebook

an to

event vote,

on Mathematical Sciences, Casey and her work as a writer and and contributed

changing their profile picture the

extensively

university’s

to broadcaster. Ford is also a

community regular columnist in Daily Life

21

~ On Di t ~

and has written for a number is currently the chief political ation Australia. of publications, including the writer for the ABC. Julia Gillard

likes of The Punch, ABC’s The Drum, and CLEO Magazine. Moya Dodd

AUU PRESIDENT (1981–1982)

Ford moved from Adelaide ON DIT EDITOR (1986)

Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of

to Melbourne in 2011 and Bachelor of Laws (Honours)

Arts

published her first book in 2016, titled Fight Like a Girl.

Moya

Dodd

attended

the Julia Gillard began her studies

University of Adelaide and in 1979 at the University of Annabel Crabb

graduated with Honours in Adelaide.

WOMEN’S OFFICER (circa

Law in 1988. During her time active

1993–7)

at

Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor

involved with the Adelaide the role of AUU president

of Arts

University

the

university

she

Soccer

enrolled

University

at

of

the 1968,

along

Club

with

was

of

an

student

was politics on campus and held as from 1981-1982. After being

well as elected editor for Win elected Whilst

Gillard

member

as

the

vice-pres-

co-editor ident of Australian Union of

Adelaide, Paul Washington. Dodd also Students, she transferred to

Annabel Crabb represented worked as an associate at the University of Melbourne in the

female

student

body the Supreme Court of SA in 1982, progressing to President

on campus as the Women’s 1988. At the same time Dodd in 1983. Gillard graduated with Officer

while

studying

a went on to hold the position a degree in both Law and Arts

double degree in Law and as the Vice-Captain of the in 1986 and 1989 respectively.

Arts. Crabb ran for President Westfield

Matilda’s

–

the

in the following year but was Australian women’s national Following graduation Gillard unsuccessful

in

doing

so. soccer team. She also partic- worked at law firm Slater

She graduated in 1997 and ipated although

initially

in

FIFA’s

first

ever &

Gordon

to work in Law, decided to in 1988, and contributed to Australian instead

enter

the

media Australia’s win against Brazil as

industry. the

worked

just

under

Chief

federal of

Staff

politics to

the

and achieving a final quarter then-Leader of the Opposition placing.

Over

for

intending world tournament for women ten years, until she entered

years for

Crabb

various

John Brumby. Gillard went on

has

to become the first female and

news Dodd

retired

from

soccer 27th overall Prime Minister

companies, such as The Adver- after suffering from a knee of Australia from 2010-2013. tiser,

The

Sydney

Morning injury in 1995 and returned to Since then Gillard became

Herald and The Age. She Law in 2007. She also joined an honorary visiting professor also worked in the UK for the

Football

Federation

of at the University of Adelaide

three years as the London Australia in that same year and appointed as the Chair of correspondent for the Fairfax and was elected as vice-pres- Beyond Blue.

Sunday moving

editions, back

to

before ident of the Asian Football Australia. Confederation in 2009. Dodd Roy Green

Crabb also presents the ABC currently works as a Partner SRC VICE PRESIDENT (1971) program

Kitchen

Cabinet at Gilbert + Tobin and is now Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of

series and The Drum. Crabb the Director of Football Feder- Arts

22

~ On Di t ~

the After graduating in 1950 was also involved in academia, University of Adelaide, Roy Rodger pursued a career in working as a Law lecturer at Green was elected in 1971 as Law. He worked in various the University of Adelaide for Vice President of the SRC. positions, two of which 13 years. Rodger passed at the During

his

time

at

1974 include the chairman of the age of 74 in 2002. with a Bachelor of Laws, then Planning Appeal Board and again in 1795 with First Class a senior partner at Roder Green

graduated

in

Honours in a Bachelor of Arts. Dunstan Lee and Taylor. In He also completed a PhD in 1970, he was appointed judge Economics from the University of the District Court of Law and of Cambridge in 1990.

Green has published works within the field of business (specifically

innovation

policy

and

and

worked

major

management) alongside

industries,

govern-

ments, and public agencies throughout

his

academic

career. He served as Dean for the Faculty of Commerce at

the

National

University

of Ireland from 2000-2005, then at Macquarie Graduate School of Management from 2005-2008. As of today, Green is currently the Dean of UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney.

John Roder

SRC PRESIDENT (1948 – 1949) Bachelor of Laws, Master of Arts John Roder commenced his studies in 1946 studying a Bachelor of Laws, followed by a Master of Arts. While studying at the University of Adelaide Roder held the position of Secretary

on

the

Student

Representative Council, then President successively.

A sketch of the ballot paper by Hayley Mohacsy

23

~ On Di t ~

In Defence of Political Factions Words by Idris Martin

I

n his farewell address, George

our democracy today. The idea

someone for concluding that we

Washington

that

of a free press brings expresses

should just burn the whole thing

“the alternate dominion” of

the imperative that to have a

down.

warned

political parties could lead to such

democracy,

a polarisation that it becomes “a

have access to information and

You’re wrong and that’s not how

frightful despotism.”

the ability to publicly speak out

freedom works, but I get why you

against their government.

might feel that way.

President Trump in the Oval

Likewise, the existence of political

Political parties suck.

Office, but then you remember

parties

that when Washington was first

are

elected his electorate was mainly

commonly accepted to be at the

the

just white male landowners and

foundations of our democracy.

rank-and-file

His words

might seem on point when you

the

people

must

consider that now we’ve got within

supported

democracies by

freedoms

even then, it didn’t take long for

Whether

you’re

talking

about

disenfranchisement party

of

members,

the influence of lobbyists and

political factions, or parties, to

I don’t want to spend the rest of

donors over party decisions, the

emerge.

this column being a first year Arts

savage pettiness of internal party

student (Enquiring Mind was a

disputes or any of the many issues

Still, it’s a lot easier to reach some

solid subject it turns out though),

with political parties, there is

semblance of consensus when

so in a nutshell: how else do you

almost always a legitimate axe to

you

expect free speech and all that

grind and do not in any way take

other high-minded shit to work

this opinion column to advocate

without freedom of association?

aggressively reforming political

can

people

disregard like

annoying

women,

Native

Americans, black Americans (free or enslaved) etc. Notwithstanding Washington’s

parties and other democratic

appeal

To be fair though, you could

to rein in the development of

probably accuse me of deliber-

political parties, I’ve always been

ately confusing the issue here. I

The thing is though, those are

sceptical of arguments that the

doubt people who rail against

reasons

existence

the evil of party politics genuinely

transparency and accountability

believe

of

undermines

eloquent

political or

are

parties bad

for

political

to

encourage

greater

parties

in parties, to introduce laws that

should be outlawed completely

severely limit the role that donor

(or if they do, I’d suggest maybe

money can play in political parties

Democracy as we know it is a

they haven’t thought it all the way

or pursue other such solutions,

complicated beast – reliant on

through yet?).

not to say that parties are bad for

democracy.

that

institutions.

many deeply ingrained principles,

democracy.

speech

After all, there are a lot of legit-

and freedom of thought, that

imate grievances against political

Political parties, and all their

helped shape the institutions of

parties and I don’t really blame

internal factions, are the vehicles

such

24

as

freedom

of

~ On Di t ~

of democracy. They offer a way

I’m grateful someone is taking it

In student politics, where student

for people with similar political

that seriously.

activists regularly only seek one or

leanings to come together and

two terms of office, it is difficult to

organise. That’s not to say there

The University of Adelaide has

have that same kind of account-

aren’t other ways for people to

one of the highest proportions

ability. Student factions provide

organise in their communities or

of voting students in the country.

that – they allow us to measure

workplaces, but joining a political

God knows it doesn’t seem or

the actions of our representatives

party isn’t just the expression

feel like it, but we’ve got a pretty

in the context of their organising

of your political voice but a

vibrant

and strategy.

statement that you want your

political scene right now. Just this

political voice to be part of an

year and last year alone, we’ve had

Of course, some factions will try

organised whole.

AUU and SRC Presidents from

to change their name or hide

three different student political

who they are and it is up to a

factions.

strong student media to keep

Locally, we’ve got out student

and

diverse

student

elections coming up and there

student well informed enough

is no shortage of student tickets

Personally, I’m gratified that there

to see through these attempts.

running this year. Each ticket will,

are enough engaged and active

Yes, political parties do have

despite what they might claim,

students for the University to have

issues in our democracy. And that

have some sort of connection to

somewhat interesting elections.

can trickle down to mean that

a student political faction of some

I cannot think of anything more

student factions can have issues

description. Some like to argue

mind numbingly boring than

in our student democracy.

that having political convictions

being on a campus like Flinders

makes you incapable of being a

or UniSA where so many elections

That isn’t a reason to do away with

representative which I’ve always

have been uncontested.

them completely though – it is a

thought is an odd thing to say

reason to reform what we have

since shouldn’t voters get to

And some of our student tickets

and be honest about what these

decide what kind of represent-

have absurdly long histories – one

organisations are and the role

ative they want?

has been running on campus for

they play in our democracy.

over fifteen years now.

On campus, you’ll sometimes hear

whispers

factional

about

leaders

student

who

When people talk about the

are

power of elections, they don’t just

directing student activists in their

mean the ability to choose who

actions, pulling strings to achieve

will represent you. They also refer

certain outcomes. And you know

to the ability to hold those you

what, to a degree, that’s probably

have elected to account.

true. But I’ll level with you here:

25

CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT/SEXUAL HARASSMENT

UofA’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Stats

10.5%

6.7%

of female Adelaide Uni Students surveyed were sexually assaulted at least once in 2016.

0.8%

of all Adelaide Uni Students surveyed were sexually assaulted at least once in 2016.

of Adelaide Uni Students surveyed were sexually assaulted at least once in 2016 on university grounds. Of our student population, that represents 220 individuals.

LGBTQI+ students; disabled students; students who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Islander did not receive a university-specific breakdown of their results. As such, On Dit is unable to give stats relating to these autonomous groups at Adelaide Uni.

51%

of all Adelaide Uni Students surveyed were sexually harassed at least once in 2016.

If this has raised any issues for you or someone you know, please call one of the services listed below: Yarrow Place for counselling and 24 hour support on (08) 8226 8787 South Australia’s Victim Support Service on (08) 8231 5626 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 Lifeline on 13 11 14

Source: Profile of University Respondents 2017, Australian Human Rights Commission http://www.adelaide.edu.au/safer-campus-community/sites/default/files/2017-08/summary-tables.pdf

An open letter from the Adelaide University Sciences Association Dear Sciences Association members and the wider university community, On the 1st of August, the Australian Human Rights Commission released the results of a survey into sexual assault and harassment in university communities. The results are damning, not just for university responses but for campus culture.

Sexual harassment and assault is intolerable, but this report shows that we as a community are tolerating it. That ends now. We as student communities must lead the way in solving this pervasive issue.

The HRC report shows a significant portion of sexual harassment at the University of Adelaide happens at social club events of the style that AUScA runs (e.g. pubcrawls). While I and the committee of AUScA are not personally aware of any such instances at our events, another thing the report notes is that university leaders would be the last to know. With that in mind, if you or anyone you know has been sexually harassed or assaulted at an AUScA event, we as an association are deeply sorry and I would like to personally apologise.

We will not tolerate acts of sexual harassment or assault, and if you do there is no place for you in AUScA. Regardless of the prevalence of these issues at our events, this report is a wake-up call and as a social club associated with The University of Adelaide, AUScA intends to take a proactive role in improving campus culture, develop procedures to respond effectively to reports of sexual harassment or assault, and improve how we operate events to minimise the risk of sexual harassment and assault in the future.

We intend to implement the following policies in order to achieve this, and we call on other University clubs and communities to do the same: • • • •

Expanding our risk assessment mechanisms to focus on not just personal accident and injury prevention, but also to minimise risk of sexual harassment and assault; Seek training for club leadership, to train them how to deal with a report of sexual harassment and/or assault; Ensure more information and training for responsible people at events involving alcohol and making said responsible people more visible; and Lead the way in developing a culture that has no tolerance for sexual harassment or assault.

We cannot do this on our own. We need the help of the community at large. Sexual harassment will only stop when everyone as a society decides it needs to.

Signed, Declan Price-Brooks President of the Adelaide University Sciences Association

~ On Di t ~

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual harassment and assault

OUT OF LINE

my own experience with sexual harassment and assault words and art by Anonymous

G

28

od your pins look good; I wish I could take you home tonight. That is exactly what every 18-year-old wants to hear, thanks 45-year-old man across the bar. At the time I brushed the comment off, I knew he was drunk and being cocky around his friends.

I didn’t consider myself a very precious person and knew comments like that would just happen as a bartender. I think if someone said that to my now 18-year-old sister I would have a lot more to say.

Sexual comments would always be thrown around light-heartedly at the pub. If I grazed my elbows the chefs would comment that I must have been ‘busy’ last night with a guy.

Pants were too tight, shirt was too loose, the aioli split on my apron looks like I’m a slut ha ha ha ha. To be honest, these comments didn’t phase me too much; it was just banter. When someone comments about you sexually - and you shrug it off - you are telling not only them but yourself that you are okay with that.

In my third year of university, I was lucky

enough to travel overseas on an immersion tour. Our university co-ordinator was able to organise an old student to tour us around his company. This guy - lets call him Mike - was pretty easy to get along with and we clicked right away. He was in his thirties, had a wife and children, and I immediately likened him to a cool uncle. He would tell my co-ordinator what an amazing personality I had, how I was special and ‘I was going to go far’ in the industry we were all part of. I remember feeling so elevated, how I was going to finish my degree and come back to this country and work with him and how it was going to be so perfect.

Looking back, all I can think is “God I am so fucking stupid”.

The sexual comments were tentative at first ‘I hope this isn’t out of line but…’, followed by a funny story of him getting head in a bus on the way to the university ski trip. He would joke about how awkward it was and we would

~ On Di t ~

laugh together. We drank beers when no one else in the group wanted to and he would tell me all of his stories about his time at uni. I was wearing a bum bag type thing at the time which I called a ‘fanny pack’, he would say ‘oh god don’t say fanny pack or I will start thinking about vaginas’. Bit of a strange comment but I brushed it off.

‘The thing with younger women today is that they are all trimming now... I bet you are clean down there’. A question I would not be surprised hearing from my chefs back at the pub. Like I said, I am not a precious person, he has a wife, he is just mucking around. Everything is okay. These were my thought processes… like a mantra in the back of my head: Don’t be girly, don’t be weak, he is just joking around Once he knew that I was alright with his ‘banter’, the comments would keep coming up.

They were never questions, more statements

guessing the kind of person I was: “I bet you would be good in a threesome”. ‘Get fucked!’

I would reply back. I never felt like I was being sexually harassed because it was the exact same comments I heard at the pub. Perhaps I should have started to expect something when he took me out clubbing, the night supposedly ‘no one’ else wanted to go out. I guess I was naïve to trust that this guy only wanted the joy of my company.

We went to a nightclub, I got very very drunk. I didn’t want to drink but he kept giving me more beer. I remember just handing them to people after a while. When we got on the dance floor I remember not really wanting to dance with him, he was being strange; he was acting a lot more sexual. Although I was hazy from the booze I distinctly remember his hands reaching around my bum and up my crack. I sobered up instantly and sauntered over to another group of people dancing. With an aggressive ‘HEY!’ he strutted over to where I was dancing. Another group of English speaking

29

~ On Di t ~

“I remember feeling my tongue swelling up...I wanted to vomit” people asked me if I was alright, telling him to ‘get the fuck away’, offended, he immediately spat back ‘she is with me you idiots’ to which both parties looked my way.

I apologised to him, and found the nearest taxi I could find. I paid the driver a couple of cigarettes because in this country that was fair trade. I went to bed and cringed at how he was going to react to the events tomorrow. The next day he bounces up to me happily ‘ready for another day?’. The sexual comments were gone and we were joking around again. I immediately thought I was overreacting, maybe he was one of those people who dirty dance when they’re drunk. Maybe he forgot… or maybe he wanted me to forget.

Either way I knew the whole thing wasn’t going to get to me, I was use to this kind of stuff and I was just glad it hadn’t happened to someone weaker. As I mulled over the night I remember feeling my tongue swelling up... I wanted to vomit. I felt strangely dirty. I didn’t know what happened to me but didn’t want to get my cool friend Mike into any trouble.

This dirty feeling stuck in the back of my tongue. I told myself I was fine, but when our coordinator welled up about how Mike had become such an incredible man, the old ‘ratbag of a student’, I could feel the same

feeling again. I bit down hard - I felt the warm metallic taste of blood pool over my swollen tongue. I wanted to vomit.

When I got home I couldn’t talk to anyone.

I told my ex boyfriend. I told my new boyfriend.

I would explain but I was still confused. For months I would have nightmares about Mike taking me out, pushing my weak body down and I would wake up and have the disgusting feeling pool all over my body. I sat down on the bottom of the shower like the pathetic girl in the movies and cry while hot steaming water would smudge my mascara down my face.

This is not weakness; I am not weak. What happened to me was not ok and I have a right to say this.

So should the university personally apologise for every harassment case that occurred through university, I don’t think so. What I think is most important is that we generate discussion. We need to keep talking so other people, both men and women, understand that it is alright to express a dislike towards sexual ‘jokes’ made towards you. Understand that it is alright to speak up about how something made you feel without being deemed ‘precious’ or ‘unable to take a joke’. If something makes you feel a bit

If this article has raised any issues for you or someone you know, please call one of the services listed below: Yarrow Place for counselling and 24 hour support on (08) 8226 8787 South Australia’s Victim Support Service on (08) 8231 5626 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 Lifeline on 13 11 14

30

~ On Di t ~

31

~ On Di t ~

WHO NEEDS LABELS ANYWAY? why the left/right divide is leaving us uninterested in traditional politics words by Nick Falcinella

A

s a society, we tend to use symbols or signifiers to easily comprehend and make sense of what happens to and around us. Sometimes called heuristics, these cognitive short-cuts enable us to make decisions quickly, to pass judgement offhandedly, and to rapidly categorise people, ideas, and actions almost intuitively.

Take the modern notions of political Left and Right. If you are of the Left, you most likely think of yourself as for the working person, concerned with the excesses of capitalism (at a minimum) and favour greater government intervention in the economy and protection for the rights of individuals of minority groups. If of the Right, you are concerned with the individual and her liberty, the right to free enterprise, free from the condescending regulation of ‘do-gooder nanny state’ types. These generalised definitions, familiar to anyone who’s completed (or even just started) an introduction to politics course, represent very broad worldviews that can be used as lenses through which the world can be understood and reasoned. But what if people don’t agree with them anymore? What if they contain seemingly irreconcilable contradictions?

We hear constantly that young people are disengaged from politics. According to the ABC, approximately 30 per cent of 18 year olds were not enrolled to vote in last year’s federal election.

This statistic is depressing, no doubt. Yet I think it is wrong to say young people are apathetic towards politics; perhaps just apathetic to politics as we have long known it.

32

Let’s take a trip back to 2007. I was only 12 years old but I can still remember becoming aware, for the first time, that politics was something interesting, something exciting, something to be a part of and engaged with. Kevin Rudd - subsequent debauchery notwithstanding snapped Australians, and in particular the youth of Australia, out of its Howard induced ‘comfortability’. He mounted a campaign driven by activity, positivity, and most importantly the promise of change. Not dissimilarly, but of course on a much grander scale, Barack Obama did the same thing in the United States in 2008, directing public dissatisfaction with the war-mongering and ineptitude of 8 years of George W. Bush into one of the most positive, hope inspiring campaigns in memory. Young people were engaged, were participating, were hopeful. So what happened?

One could say this new brand of politician overpromised and under-delivered. That there was no way Rudd or Obama would be able to accomplish all they promised to do within the confines of representative or parliamentary democracy. Both achieved a great deal. However they were faced with the realities of governing, the spectacle of campaigning in poetry gave way to compromise, a reasonable size of dysfunction and ultimately, the disappointment of prose. This isn’t to necessarily indict those politicians as poor performers per se, but rather to highlight the gap between what might inspire young people and what might indeed be possible.

It is now clear that this pattern, of over-promising and under-delivering has, at least in some

~ On Di t ~

“One could say this new brand of politician over-promised and underdelivered. That there was no way Rudd or Obama would be able to accomplish all they promised to do within the confines of representative or parliamentary democracy.” part, contributed to the emergence of antiestablishment figures; most obviously Donald Trump. While Obama himself ran on an antiWashington and anti-establishment platform, extolling the virtues of a citizen led and, most importantly, powered democracy, Trump swooped in to capitalise and exploit dissatisfaction with the status quo through a campaign of demagoguery and fear-mongering. Thus, rather unsurprisingly, it seems Trump looks set to disappoint those who elected him; further evidence of the futility of existing political systems.

As such, it seems apparent that young people, to at least some extent have given up, not necessarily on old labels of Left and Right, but on achieving progress through traditional processes. In the United States, Black Lives Matter have sought to change minds, hearts and ultimately legislation through grass-roots activism, operating largely outside of traditional power structures, holding politicians from all factions of all parties to account. In Australia, we see the rise of activist groups like Get Up! who hold no affiliation to any political party, but rather a specific set of policy and ideological positions.

Being of the Left or Right, broadly speaking, requires some degree of ideological consistency and there is an argument to be made that the coalitions of interests that have held these concepts together for the last century or more are fracturing. What is it that ties the environmentally conscious inner-city hipster to the manufacturing worker in Adelaide’s Northern Suburbs? These are of course caricatures, but represent a fundamental

challenge to the construction of the Left as a political idea, just as the rise of nativism and anti-refugee sentiment along with a desire for cheaper labour and less regulation may not unite a fractured Right.

The 21st century, and in particular the advent of the internet and social media, has led to a diversification and democratisation of all things, at least in theory. Why would political ideology be any different? For many young people, it no longer makes sense to put up with or empathise with the concerns of another part of your political coalition; they say us millennials want it all and we want it now! Furthermore, when you come to power and fail to do what you’ve said, the logical option facing your supporters is to find a way to work around the existing structures.

In addition, given that Asian Australians, just to take one demographic group, represent approximately 16% of the population and only 2% of our parliamentarians, there exists significant issues in regards to diversity of representation in our democracy. This is something which undoubtedly further diminishes traditional means of politics, including concrete notions of Left and Right.

We shouldn’t be surprised that people don’t care as much about Right of Left, about labels. If it means young people are more engaged, out with the old and in with the new. As they say, if it is broke, then maybe we should fix it.

33

~ On Di t ~

Words: Lil Obama AKA Rui Sihombing

Supreme

T-shirt.

Bape urbandictionary as such:

under caps. Thanks to mumble

hoodie. Antisocial Social Club cap. Yeezy sneakers. There’s a

rappers we now also have “A

hypebeast

is

a

kid clout goggles trending in 2017.

good chance that you’ve seen that collects clothing, shoes, But given that these trends the types of people with this and accessories for the sole generally don’t involve Kmart

particular kind of aesthetic purpose of impressing others.” clothes, being a hypebeast isn’t around

maybe

cheap. Nonetheless, let’s not

since this is Adelaide, you’ve

town.

Or

Over the years this has get fixated on bashing 14-year-

seen them on the internet included some bizarre trends olds maxing out their parents’ instead. They are the infamous from “hypebeasts”,

34

defined

wearing

mesh

shorts credit card. After all, despite

by over jeans, to branded towels the stereotype, we can still

~ On Di t ~

safely assume that the majority

$50 with the right mix of luck

of

twenty-

and/or patience. But then we’re

somethings spending their own

back to the problem of limited

money. But what exactly is it

supply. Plus, if you don’t live in

that compels millennials to set

a city with a store, good luck

up tents and camp outside a

trying to buy them on the official

clothing store? Well, to illustrate

Supreme website; products sell

this we may as well discuss

out permanently within minutes.

the most iconic of hypebeast

Later on, they’ll fetch for at least

brands, Supreme. Have you ever

tenfold the original price on

happened to stumble upon a

internet resale sites. You know

Supreme t-shirt on eBay and

in first year economics how they

wondered why it costs $2200

say firms will supply more if

for what is essentially a piece

the demand is there? Supreme

of white fabric? Sure, it may be

owner

manufactured in North America,

doesn’t care much for that. In a

absent of the sweat and tears of

2009 interview he said he wasn’t

Chinese sweatshop workers. But

bothered

there’s more to it than simply

considerations, stating “if there’s

the cost of producing clothes in

demand for 600, we’ll make 400”.

Toronto or Long Island.

But at least he’s honest. And then

hypebeasts

are

himself

by

James

Jebbia

supply-demand

we run, again and again, into Supreme’s business model is

similar situations for other classic

centred all around intentionally

hypebeast brands. For instance,

maintaining an artificial scarcity

Yeezy sneakers likewise resell for

for their products. Only a limited

at least ten times the retail price

number of products are released

once discontinued.

every

Thursday,

sometimes

as low as 5-7 of a particular

We

can’t

just down

leave to

an

sweater or hoodie. Furthermore,

explanation

basic

Supreme doesn’t specify which

supply and demand though. It’s

products

are

being

released

valid on the surface of course, but

given

week,

thereby

then we overlook why the whole

generating the usual hype and

hypebeast phenomena exists in

speculation across the internet.

the first place. Is it really rational

However, it should be clarified

to throw down $2600 on a torn-

that

up Yeezy sweater that would’ve

for

a

the

clothes

themselves

aren’t ridiculously expensive in-

otherwise

store. At retail price, a Supreme

Vinnies? Economics can provide

been

rejected

by

t-shirt will set you back around

us yet again with some insight,

35

~ On Di t ~

once

we

look

beyond

the as well. In relatively poorer

standard textbook theory. And areas of the United States like so we come to the Norwegian- Alabama, people will spend American economist Thorstein a larger proportion of their Veblen. He is mostly known as income on visible luxury goods, the namesake of the classic compared to those of the same “Veblen good”: products for income level in more well-off which demand rises as their areas. price rises. In his 1899 book “The Theory of the Leisure Class”,

It

is,

admittedly,

bizarre

Veblen came up with the idea trying to analyse streetwear of “conspicuous consumption”. enthusiasts

through

That

a

is,

the

expensive

purchase

goods

purely

of theories

of

the

century-old

to dead economist. After all, it’s

display one’s wealth and status. tempting to just conclude that He could have almost written hypebeasts are just satisfying the earlier urban dictionary their definition.

But

own

personal

tastes.

these

personal

tastes

don’t exist in a vacuum, nor Veblen theorised that the does the economy. That’s why aristocratic

leisure

class

of Veblen and his institutional

feudal society evolved under economics are important for capitalism into a contemporary understanding

consumption

stratum of businessmen and behaviour. Cultural institutions executives,

who

advertise and the economy influence

their affluence through luxury one another in a perpetual purchases. know

But

that

clearly

hypebeasts

we feedback loop. To comprehend are the

sight

of

generally not billionaire CEOs. millennials

middle-class spending

Anecdotally, the ones that I questionable

proportions

personally know are all lower- of their time and money on middle

class

migrants.

But limited-range

clothing,

you

in fact, this is key to Veblen’s need to look at the wider theory: the tendency of the material conditions of society. rich to parade their wealth is But

on

the

other

hand,

imitated by those on lower observing capitalism through incomes, in order to counter hypebeast vlogs on YouTube any perception of lesser status. probably isn’t as ridiculous as it In Veblen’s own words: “The seems. motive is emulation.” We can see some evidence in the data,

36

“this is key to Veblen’s theory: the tendency of the rich to parade their wealth is imitated by those on lower incomes, in order to counter any perception of lesser status. “

~ On Di t ~

37

~ On Di t ~

Artist Profile: Zeyu Xiao Born in China, Zeyu first came to Adelaide to study back in 2008. He is a research viticulturist in training, based at the Waite Campus. Taking landscape images

around

Adelaide

is

what

keeps him away from insanity while working on his PhD thesis preparation.

These film

photos

were

captured

with

cameras

from

the

80s.

“Shooting

with

film

early

allows

me

to

be more careful about how each frame

is

constructed

and

how

considerations of lighting and colour are to be taken into account when different types of films are used�.

38

~ On Di t ~

39

~ On Di t ~

“This photo was taken along the Blowhole Beach walking trail. The film used was Fujicolour Pro 400H. Silky grains with super breezy green hue.”

40

~ On Di t ~

“The black and white photos were taken somewhere in Deep Creek using Ilford XP2 Super, a film that captures moments with well-defined shadows and depth. The foggy weather also helped for that FULL romantical vintage effect.�

41

~ On Di t ~

42

~ On Di t ~

43

~ On Di t ~

God Save the Queen . . . ?

Words by Felix Elridge

T

he divisive issue of an Australian Republic has been festering since Federation. There are two favored models, one which gives Parliament the right to choose the head of state and one which allows the people to directly elect one.

In 1999, Australians voted in a referendum on the issue, and it failed. The Opposition Leader Bill Shorten recently promised to hold another referendum about replacement of the monarchy. It is my belief that Australia should retain the monarchy, not for ideological reasons but for practical ones.

Here’s why:

This crisis was created in Parliament and was solved by the actions of Sir John Kerr, the then Governor General. Kerr used his ‘reserve powers’ to replace the Government and call elections, ending the crisis.

With this notable exception, all Governor Generals have taken advice directly from their Prime Ministers, and like the monarch, have complied with Parliament.

During the crisis, the Queen was written to in the hope that she would take the Government’s side, but the Queen declined, wanting to remain impartial.

So, the precedent is that the monarch and Governor General have ‘reserve powers’ which they hardly (if ever) use but can First and foremost, a Republic use to solve disasters. does not in any way benefit ordinary Australians.

Think The Monarchy is a cheap and about it. Would it improve efficient way of running the anything? Sure, there are a host country. The Queen appoints of ideologically driven answers the GG on the advice of the about ‘democracy’ or ‘being Prime Minister (which has independent’, but there are no never been ignored). The GG tangible benefits. It won’t help then swears in Parliament and the environment, create jobs, the Government. This process improve education, decrease is simple and ensures that the taxation, or make healthcare candidates are appropriate, more affordable. It is no better being scrutinized by both than the status quo. the PM and the monarch.

Australians don’t pay for the The monarch and our Queen when she is in the UK, appointed head of state are only when she visits Australia, impartial and important, even but this is the same cost we pay if they seem purely ceremonial. for every visiting dignitary. We In 1975, Australia experienced do pay for the Governor General, it’s only ‘Constitutional Crisis’. but we will still be paying for

44

Art by Sophie Ward

a ‘President’ with the same function. Becoming a republic will not make things cheaper or more efficient.

There are problems associated with both proposed models.

The elected model would be a popular (and possibly populist) vote, where people like Donald Trump could feasibly win, but unlike Trump, would not be as legally constrained as the American President.

This might allow the mainly ceremonial head of state to interfere in politics. In addition, the government would need to hold an extra election, which will continually cost the taxpayer. If the appointed model is chosen, we would replace the advice of the Prime Minister (represented by the executive) with Parliament (which is dominated by the executive). This would waste money, transferring power from the government to . . . itself. Finally, even holding the necessary referenda will be prohibitively expensive.

Republicans declare that our head of state must be Australian so we can be independent.

But the head of state is merely ceremonial, real power is vested with the GG. With one exception, GGs have been exclusively Australian for over 50 years, so we already have a de-

~ On Di t ~

facto Australian head of state.

In any case, day-to-day power is held in exclusively Australian institutions, such as Parliament and the Courts. Republicans also complain that the we need to be more multicultural in our appointment of head of state.

They neglect to mention the Queen’s Germanic heritage and her marriage to a Macedonian / Danish prince. Yes, we should be more multicultural! But not at the expense of the British parts of our culture or our colonial roots, nor can we

assume that all migrants are disdainful of the monarchy.

Furthermore, Australia is a sovereign nation. It is not subject to foreign law or justice.

It can make war and peace, enact trade and domestic law.

It is already independent by any international standard.

constitution and laws were not written by, or agreed to by new citizens but instead were forced upon them. That is equally unfair, and equally unlikely to be changed.

It is my contention that an Australian Republic will not be practical or productive, so we Another republican claim is should retain the status quo. that the monarch is a hereditary appointment and therefore unfair. However, consider the fact that all newborn Australians are born into a country whose

God Save the Queen . . .

because nothing will save the Republic!

45

~ On Di t ~

WHY AUSTRALIA SHOULD BECOME A REPUBLIC Words by William Cheffirs

B

efore I begin to explain scenario where the position of credit is due, our Westminster why Australia should Governor General becomes the system works pretty well.

become a republic, default head of state as a result first I must distinguish that of cutting ties with the British Now that we have answered question from what must monarchy, i.e. the Queen. the question of what a Republic be treated as a completely This would see no functional model Australia should adopt, different question: what model change to our government. If we can answer the original

of republic Australia should the Republic debate is going question as to why we should adopt. The second question is to win the support required become a Republic in the not about whether Australia in a referendum to succeed, first place. What will be the should become a republic, but this non-controversial model is benefits of Australia becoming a fundamental question as to what we should be pursuing. a Republic? the structure of the Australian At the previous referendum on

government, parliament, and the issue, it became confusing Firstly, Australia would have all relevant restraints of powers. for people when voting as an Australian head of state. It

referendum question seems absurd that any country, former question rather than the was convoluted by trying to especially one of the wealthiest latter. However, I will make one simultaneously address both in the world, would have a This short essay will address the the

comment on the latter being questions that I am in favour of what is ‘small

mentioned.

republic

referred to as the ‘minimalist Westminster

a foreign head of state, but in our Australia we do. Why should would it be that someone born in In

model’

system republic’. This refers to the remain the same. Credit where Australia or who becomes an

46

~ On Di t ~

Australian citizen cannot be lingering

notions

that

we holiday on that day anyway.

the head of state, but the child are a weak vestige of British ANZAC day is a day of remorse of a single family in England colonialism. Within Asia and and remembering. Christmas can be? The benefit of an around the world, Australia is not and Easter are dates from the Australian head of state, as always seen in the progressive Christian calendar. Australia Day opposed to someone from the and

multicultural

vein

we is divisive for Indigenous people

British monarchy, is that the see ourselves as. To be taken as it commemorates the initial position would also become seriously as an independent date of British colonisation of secular. Currently, the King or nation in Asia we should act and Australia. By having a ‘Republic Queen of England is also the present ourselves as one. An Day’ or changing the date of head of the Church of England. anecdote of how we fail at this ‘Australia Day’ to the day we Nothing against the Church is Jerry Seinfeld’s description become a republic it could of England, but our head of of the Australian Flag as being provide a national day that state should not be exclusive England at night.

Indigenous Australians could

to

potentially feel included in and

a

single

denomination;

instead it should be attainable Finally, the day we become a even take ownership of. to anyone regardless of their republic would be the one of, denomination.

Furthermore, if not, the greatest days in our Seemingly the only real reason

part of Australian culture is the country’s history. In my opinion to notion that we are a classless, Australia

lacks

a

remain

a

monarchical

historical society is so we can maintain

egalitarian society. If someone national

day

of

celebration. the puff pieces of media on

enters a room with a hereditary Not

dismiss

Federation, the royal family which Kerry

to

title of Baron or Viscount, we but as an event it was merely Stokes gleefully provides by wouldn’t consider them our a

pragmatic

superiors, we would take the strengthen mickey

out

of

them.

Why states

the

through

decision security a

to the truckload. If this is what of you want, rest assured that

collective other countries, such as the

should our head of state also be defence; have a government to United States do this. They do a position reserved for a family settle intra state issues; and to this despite going to war over that thus enshrines class in standardise laws, governance, getting rid of British rule, and Australia?

and means of trade. In some yet retain significant coverage situations - specifically in South of the royal family’s hereditary

Secondly, on the international Australia - Indigenous people handover of power through stage it would give us the lost

rights

and

recognition their little bubs. For Australia

opportunity to strengthen our instead of gaining them. On however, I think we are better national reputation as a strong a less serious note, the date of off having one of our own bubs independent democracy,

multicultural Federation occurred on New as head of state. and

shrug

off Year’s Day and we have a public

47

~ On Di t ~

Poly & Hot and having to explain myself a lot words by Shaylee Leach

I’m in a non-monogamous relationship, it says so on my tinder profile. I don’t really like the word polyamory, its not a big gripe, its just a bit uncomfortable i guess?. The word kind of reminds me of people who make their own business cards using blackadder font, rock up to parties in white shirts, waistcoats and some kind of hat, or are white, have dreadlocks and have voluntarily lived in a van or are planning to. These are stereotypes that have some truth in them, I’m not exempt to this: my partner is artsy-man-bun-beard-scarf & I’m fat-queergender-studies-student lol.

This ‘lifestyle’ can be a healthy way to challenge institutionalised monogamyculture, toxic behaviour which that the patriarchy cheerleads for as normative and it can also be a horrible garbage fire.

Talking about it, its hard not to feel like I’m oversharing, but thats probably because people assume that being transparent about this means I’m game for an open slather of invasive questions.

Regardless, It keeps things interesting - and can assist FOMO - but to be honest it sucks to not be considered in the realm of normal.

Theres still stigma & shame associated with desire outside of relationships, and this is evident in the headless couple tinder

48

profiles seeking unicorns. Trying to engage with people on tinder can be punishing enough, without the added flog of being treated like I’m express self serve check out to sex, a carnival novelty fascination fuck or a personal guru to help random men open their current relationships, because they have a problem with cheating.

A lot of the benefits or downsides of this lovestyle is basically the same relationship problems or perks but amplified. Validation of your physical attractiveness via sexting or encounters, posting PDA on social media, not communicating enough, petty overtired fights, your partner getting the flu and so you do as well. None of this is particularly alien, sometimes its just really mundane.

We’re all familiar with the phenomenon where people vanish socially when they are part of couple. Like small change, people in long term relationships can get stuck in couches, doing tim tam slams in their jim jams. Being in multiple relationships doesn’t mean that its always going to be exciting naked horse riding adventures, often its couch surfing and driving in your Pj’s to your next significant other’s lounge room.

The more charming side of having many loves, is that it is a wonderful thing to know someone and to be known. To have affectionate constellations of people that

~ On Di t ~

Being in multiple relationships doesn’t mean that its always going to be exciting naked horse riding adventures, often its couch surfing and driving in your Pj’s to your next significant other’s lounge room.

you intimately appreciate, who want to bare witness to your life. There are a lot of good feels to be had when you see someone else, seeing the sparkle & beauty in your partner.

It feels special to feel that strength and trust, where you feel confident in yourself, and your partner, who feels happy, satisfied, safe and important. Life is short, and theres a strong allure to have many romantic connections with people, sexual diversity has many faces and its nice to be able to sit on a bunch of them.

suddenly time poor, to be an excuse to neglect your partners emotionally, being aware to not set up triangulating dynamics or blaming your partners for their emotions.

People are not disposable, (informed) consent should never be taken for granted, folks who practise non-monogamy are not inherently more ethical than the rest of the population. There are a lot of gross people out there in the world, people who describe themselves as sapiosexuals, and have a habit of dating teenagers.

This relationship choice has made me more skeptical about the showmanship of dating, the objectifying bullshit of romanticising the idea of someone, and is fine tuning my ability to set, discuss & uphold boundaries.

Dating is less daunting when you’re not single, its already affirmed that you’re worthy of respect, there is a lot of comfort in knowing that if I go on a shitty date, there’s someone to debrief with after.

The bottom line is that rewarding relationships involve strong communication skills, emotional literacy and taking an active role in this. A good relationship only works if you do, this applies to relationships however brief or big, & to quote Ru Paul, you better work!

Big thing to note: relationships don’t exist in a vacuum; they ripple into communities.

Poly isn’t a warranty that everyone will be chill with all the things and people that you want to do. Having an eagerness to sex or love heaps of people isn’t meaningful or ‘radi-cool’ unless you’re doing it in an ethical way. This means not finding yourself

49

~ On Di t ~

Library of no future Words by Kyriaco Nikias The past year has seen big changes to University libraries as administrators implement the ‘Library of the Future’ plan.

Shelves have gradually disappeared from the Law Library and the Barr Smith, to be replaced with desks and seating spaces. Law Library-specific staff are being displaced by general staff from the Barr Smith—there are fears in Law of what this increasing crowding-out by generalists suggests for the future of their library: does it anticipate the eventual closure of the Law Library or the radical reduction in its services? Do any University libraries have a future?

The University’s policy to consign to storage thousands of books (almost all of the collection) miles away from North Terrace is, in the official view, an exercise in efficiency and modernisation. The view is that students don’t read books—they use the internet—so why should we keep them? Why should we allow valuable space in the Barr Smith to be wasted by fraying editions of irrelevant research? More utility, it is supposed, could come from their replacement with new learning spaces for the modern student. In the ‘Library of the Future’, the belief seems to be that digital technology can entirely displace print.

The consequences for research The University is blind to the fallacy of online research. The vastness of resources available online is greatly useful, but that very same immensity poses difficulties in the absence of good bibliographic guides: to what is available, to which writers are relevant to your topic, to where they can be sourced. The physical categorisation of books in libraries is for that indispensable: if you’re interested in a particular topic you can find the relevant shelves, and explore the range of literature easily.

Since the vast majority of books in the

50

Barr Smith are not actively used—(a claim come to by the crudest imprecision)—the University intends that they be stored elsewhere, for access only by request.

Anyone who has used the request system for books held in storage knows this takes days.

Without physical access to the thousands of books not available online, to hold and to flip through, you cannot know whether their content is suitable. Since the identification of appropriate sources is fundamental to research, the handicap of decentralised storage is obvious.

Funding and cuts Universities are not unaware of the ever-decreasing value of the parchments and postnomials they bestow on thousands of graduating students each year. It is not news that a degree in Law today is worth one in Arts yesterday, a symptom of the very predictable debasement of degrees in the demand-driven system. Only medicine seems to have been spared from that fate, its capped-places and costs subsidised by non-medical students.

Successive administrations have sought to save their institutions by specialising programs to meet ephemeral demands in the economy. With each new economic boom comes a fetish in the academy for the particular growth sector. The last decade of University investment (and the cuts, and debt, that fund it) can be laid in a timeline of investment phases: STEM, medicine, defence, and ‘innovation’ or ‘entrepreneurship’. Each new obsession is hailed as the key to buying back relevance for the sector. There is no room left for things considered ‘useless’ to the new growth economy, like hundreds of square metres of bookshelves.

Ultimately, the pressures of the Federal funding straitjacket are decisive. Many institutions are steadily becoming little

~ On Di t ~

more than parchment printers, over which Adelaide has but a few sandstone façades of difference. In this context, the outgoing Vice Chancellor’s choice against an enrolmentgrowth strategy for Adelaide was good judgement. But any praise ought to be limited. Library changes have been proposed in a broad scheme of changes to University resources and teaching method. For all their gripe about funding restrictions, the University and the Group of Eight have been ineffective in framing the public debate for change.

In the past few years the University has made cuts to tutorial timetabling, classsize increases, exclusively digitised some lectures—each a means in pursuing the delocalisation of study. Administrators cite the latest innovations in pedagogy to show they’ve identified ‘what the modern student wants’. Yet thousands of students still have their heads in printed books come assessment period; they study in the libraries on campus; they want to attend tutorials where they have a real chance of discussion with a tutor.

No future All this leaves little hope for what is to come.

There is a fair sense that administrators have no interest in properly resourcing students and academics for research. Students who prefer reading on paper—who are not a discountable rarity—will need to print online documents, using printing credit, increasing the cost of research for students.

At Sydney University, things are even worse, with the University even further into the implementation of its libraries strategy.

To add insult to injury, Professor Tim Stephens of Sydney Law School found one of his own publications among 25,000 books administrators had consigned for shredding.

It is nearly a rule that the Law Library

no longer acquires new books (other than journals) in any substantial quantity or scope. It is feared the Library will discard shelves of books on topics half-heartedly or no longer taught, and very old law reports which are hard to find online. Some of these are fields in which Adelaide had in the 20th Century a strong reputation (like Roman law), or burgeoning ones that are still in their infancy (e.g. space law). But it is not a risk confined to Law. There are academics and students, including myself, who have taken to borrowing large numbers of books from the library to ‘save’ them (since borrowing a book means it won’t be categorised as unused).

All this seems not to worry University policy-makers. Since they claim the University must ‘change to survive’, to hold nostalgically to dusty, physical stores of knowledge is a sure way to fall behind in the digital age. But the future to which the ‘Library of the Future’ looks is bleak. The plan undermines the seriousness of the University as a place of research. Administrators are dispensing with one of the few structural advantages that sandstone universities have over younger institutions, the wellendowed library as the foundation of research. Online and print media should not be seen as mutually exclusive alternatives; the one complements the other. There is, importantly, no policy yet to sentence books to the rubbish tip. But, like Adelaide, Sydney ruled out book-shredding in the past; what the future for Adelaide brings is anyone’s guess.

51

~ On Di t ~

Words by Andrew Showell

Australian Foxtel League

A

ustralians love their sport.

Whether it’s Football, Rugby, Soccer or even Motorsport, every weekend throughout the year families are tuning in to watch their stars battle it out. But while there are plenty of codes to follow, coverage of these sports is split between a number of networks, meaning fans are missing out. So what is the situation with Australian sports broadcasting and how should it be handled?

The media landscape is changing worldwide. Audiences are increasingly switching to online streaming services for their content; however sports seem to be one constant sticking point of traditional television, particularly in Australia.

SBS, Seven, Nine, Ten and even the ABC on occasion all provide coverage of a number of major Australian sports across free-to-air television.

The benefits of a sport having a presence on free-to-air is obvious.

Access to a large audience means major exposure and potential growth, which pleases broadcasters who can in turn utilise sponsors and enjoy advertising revenue. Audiences too have some access to their

52

favourite sport without having to pay.

However, though free-to-air stations broadcast some sports, it is usually only in limited amounts and varies wildly in quality.

Foxtel has a number of channels dedicated solely to sports. Indeed, it’s one their major drawcards. This is important for their business model given they are losing customers to streaming services and piracy. In the case of the AFL for instance, Foxtel broadcasts all nine games per round and the finals, but is unable to show the Grand Final live. For Footy lovers, this would be heaven. In comparison, Channel 7, the sole broadcaster of the AFL on free-to-air TV, show from three to four matches per round and has the Grand Final live.

And though there is certainly an argument to be made that more matches should be shown on free-toair, let’s be honest. How many people actually have the time to watch nine games of football every weekend?

Speaking from a South Australian point of view, the decision stemming from the most recent broadcast deal to delay certain Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide matches on 7 by up to 160 minutes feels almost like punishment

~ On Di t ~

“The broadcast deal to delay certain Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide matches on 7 by up to 160 minutes feels almost like punishment for not signing up to Foxtel.” for not signing up to Foxtel. Some games were always delayed but to broadcast the match after it has actually finished is disappointing.

Though while the delay may be irritating, South Australian fans should perhaps feel lucky they are able to watch every Crows and Port match each week. Not everyone in other states are so fortunate.

Beyond ball sports, Australia’s major Motorsport category Supercars is now broadcast almost exclusively on Foxtel, with Channel 10 showing only a few races live throughout the year. And while there are usually highlights of these races shown on Ten, should people have to pay substantial amounts of money to watch the majority of their favourite sport live?

Anti-siphoning laws already help to ensure that major Australian sporting events such as the AFL Grand Final and NRL Grand Final are shown on free-to-air TV. Yet, as part of new media reforms proposed by the Federal Government, the antisiphoning laws would be watered down to enable Pay TV providers to purchase rights to a slew of new sporting events.

With these sorts of changes, audiences are arguably being pressed to go to Pay Television for sports.

The Government should be careful it does not allow one organisation to gradually encroach on how much sport everyone can access. Not everyone can afford a subscription to Foxtel simply for sports.

On the other hand, with current commercial realities and infrastructure, there is simply no way in which free-to-air broadcasters could show much more sport than they already do. Extra channels would be required and with many stations struggling financially, bidding on rights to sports would not be feasible.

There is no denying sport is incredibly important to Australians.

It is an inherent part of our culture and national identity and, in the future, sporting bodies need to be careful they don’t alienate their audiences in pursuit of profit. While sports should not be exclusively on free-to-air television, there needs to be, in some cases, a healthier balance for the benefit of audiences and the wellbeing of sport in Australia.

53

~ On Di t ~

T h e F a u x R i g h t o f E u r o p e Words by Felix Eldrige

A

fter the utterly unpredicted and highly controversial Brexit Referendum and American Election in 2016, the possibility of far-right, anti-EU parties winning national elections in Europe dominated front page news. Evidence of this populist swing was so strong that there were predictions of far-right landslides against incumbent moderate governments before each major European election in the last 3 months. Yet several elections have passed, and where are we now? In almost the same places we were prior to the election; looking up at politically moderate, democratic governments.

In the Netherlands, the anti-EU, antiimmigration, ultra conservative “Freedom Party” merely became the nation’s opposition while the Prime Minister neatly circumvented them to form a coalition government.

In Bulgaria, the far right “United Patriots” party actually lost seats to the center right “GERB” party.

In France, the Presidential candidate Marie La Penn did manage to scrape into the second round of the elections, yet failed to gain enough support to win the Presidency. Gaining only 35% of the national vote is not even close to a majority. Although some may say that she did well given her extremist views, her current popularity is largely useless, as the Presidential system favours the

54

majority of the population and does not distribute influence among more rural and conservative electorates. As such, this populism is wasted as it is not enough to drive candidates into office. Coming second in the Presidential race gives you nothing. This is further emphasised by the elections for the national legislature which gave a better representation to different areas and lends weight to rural regions, something which La Penn’s Front national relies on. Yet after the votes were counted, La Penn only managed to scrape a victory in 8 of them with the centrist Emmanuel Macron’s new party gaining 350 out of the 577 seats available.

These two systems demonstrate how even dedicated far right supporters are comprehensively unable to get their way in the current political systems, despite their rising “populism”.

In the recent UK election, the presence of the far right “United Kingdom Independence Party” was obliterated, going from one seat in the House of Commons to no seats. Furthermore, the Conservative Party’s majority was lost after the election, highlighting disapproval of Theresa May’s leadership and execution of Brexit, and although the Conservative Party is by no means populist, half of their members supported ‘Brexit’, which was driven as a populist campaign. As such, the pro-Brexit Conservatives and UKIP parties have had their noses bloodied

~ On Di t ~

“Populism is on the clock as unless it is nurtured by an authoritarian government, it will slowly dissipate as different political leaders and parties change their policies for their own survival” as a result of this election while the left leaning Labour Party made huge gains at its expense.

Finally, the Albanian election increased the majority of the incumbent socialist government.

Furthermore, early polling in Germany, prior to their September election, suggests that the socialist party is expected to gain seats and potentially form government. Other polls suggest that Angela Merkle’s centre right coalition will win. Either way, it is not looking good for the far-right party in Germany.

These five post-Brexit/post-Trump elections go to show that the paranoia of far-right parties dominating the European political sphere is largely exaggerated.

It seems that although there is some far-right presence in Europe, it is not the national populism that could truly push radical candidates into office, in a postBrexit, post-Trump world. So why do we fear the far-right?

Because we think that they are truly powerful and that their popularity rests upon a rising trend of populism. But rising populism is just like cramming on the morning of an exam. You may remember things that you wouldn’t otherwise, but eventually you will hit a mental peak and your ‘crammed’ knowledge will start slowly declining. Just like cramming, populism is on the clock as unless it is nurtured by an authoritarian government,

it will slowly dissipate as different political leaders and parties change their policies for their own survival. Populism is a genuine threat, but it cannot be sustained for more than a few electoral cycles as people gradually lose their enthusiasm or are charmed by a more moderate charismatic leader. Unless the European far-right parties can manage to convince nearly half of the population that their fringe party ought to govern, their supporters will grow bored, tired and eventually abandon them as they have done in the past. This is coupled with disproportionate media coverage and general voter disillusionment to create the mystic of an impending doom brought about by the far right.

So the fact of the matter remains: there is a substantial far-right, populist presence in Europe that genuinely has influence in a post-Trump, post-Brexit world. Yet these organisations are divided among the many nations in the continent and are seeded in between a majority of sensible centrist voters. The far-right is not the hulking menace that the media has portrayed, but is instead a shadow that’s living on borrowed time.

And that time has started running out.

It is not the far-right that we should fear, but the faux right.

55

~ On Di t ~

She Is A Taurus Words by Lewis Hodkinson

I

was willing to lose my mind in order to understand hers and yet that simply wasn’t enough. I had never met anyone like her, from the moment she sat in front of me I knew she was someone that needed to be taken

seriously. Her deep eyes full of an intensity that I had never come across looked through me, as though I was being seen for the very first time. We were two completely different beings with a soul entwined, the universe dropped the most addictive substance known to man right in front of me, her.

The first time we met for a drink I sat composed in a brand new suit, she sat seemingly a little nervous in op shop clothing and we spoke, we really spoke. Her mind was a thing of true, rare beauty. A masterpiece fit for the oils and brush strokes of Dali for its workings were philosophical and exquisite. As I sat and listened, I watched the way she moved, the way she brushed a stray hair behind her ear, the way her lips touched her wine glass and the way her slender neck elegantly lay underneath her tight black choker. My mind - often cold and distant to the ways of others - began to play a lost lament from the dusty recesses of its vaults; a lament I had buried deep and yet a piece her entire being was making me remember. It seemed to me I was dancing with my demons and she was playing the tune.

56

~ On Di t ~

I took her to dinner at my favourite restaurant, one I can never return to now for it is drenched in everything she is and everything I now fear. As we sat and discussed love, sex, matters of the heart and mind, wants, needs and desires, my eyes were opened to the wonders of what she truly was. A terrified little girl, lost and thrust into an adult world far too early and far to physically. As she opened up to me I knew all I wanted in that moment was to protect her, to fight for her, to make the moon set and the sun rise on her every sleepless night and waking day. I wanted to create a world for the little girl that had to create her own at an age wherein she should have simply been going to primary school. The woman she had become was staggering, powerful and beautiful beyond measure. To hold her hand was a luxury afforded to me that I shall never forget and will never surpass. The word pain inked across her knuckles stared back up at me as I let the vacant spaces between my fingers fall in love with her immaculate little hands.

“Scorpio, so intense” she would say as if knowing that I was born in November somehow left a blue print for her to caution or prepare herself for me. I had simply met a young girl lost in a hurricane of self-discovery and selfish behaviour and as soon as she had made me feel something she disappeared. “Don’t run from me” I whispered to her one evening as she began to cry. Love and compassion, things she purely did not know, things that would eventually show her weakness – commitment. In a matter of weeks, she went from a stranger to a friend to a lover back to a complete stranger, all on her own volition. My wilting heart drained of all resemblance of human compassion now holds a truth it shall never forget, nothing is as changeable as a young fool’s heart. Take hope and warning from that, for they drift heart and soul hopelessly into the satisfactory inexpensiveness of nowhere. Alas, as I now stare blankly into yet another bottle of Saint Hugo wine attempting to cope when I am not coping at all one thought offers light within the abyss of my screaming torment. She gained something from me, she grew, she learnt and she bettered herself. If I step outside myself and look at the life I have, the privilege I have and the new sense of personal direction she now possesses I feel a little less inclined to remove my heart through my back. And as I sit here her silence is more than enough motivation for me to not forget her but move forward. Other people still matter more, deserve more from me and consist of more substance. Her silence has opened my eyes, eyes however that will forever look toward the moon at night and pray on a hope that if only once in a while she remembers the lament my heart played for her.

57

FILM REVIEWS

~ On Di t ~

The Emoji Movie

Words by James Davis

T

he Emoji Movie (2017) is a Sony animation written by Tony Leondis, Eric Siegel, and Mike White, about a society of ‘emojis’ living in a teenager’s phone.

I suspect the intent behind this film was to create a fun animated experience using characters and trends relatable to their target audience, ostensibly millennials.

The film’s plot however would be better suited to young children, who probably wouldn’t have understood all the references to cloud storage, Trojan viruses, Internet trolls, and firewalls. As such, it’s hard to evaluate whether this film succeeded in what it set out to do, because its writers weren’t sure what it was to begin with.

Despite the contempt of critics, it clearly had much in its favour.

Thanks to the cold and fiscally

58

powerful grip of Sony Pictures Animation, the CGI was top quality. The opening pan through Textopolis, weaving between pillars of colour and zany characters, was nothing short of immaculate. The light and shading was pristine, with each character model displaying a wide breadth of movement and expression despite their artistic limitations.

With TJ Miller at the helm playing protagonist Gene, alongside the likes of James Cordon, Anna Faris, and Patrick Stewart, the voice work left nothing to be desired either. The environments were all creative extrapolations on popular applications. A striking example was when Gene’s mother walked into Instagram, entering a 3D image of Paris, with birds frozen mid-air and people fixed in place. The character designs themselves were often perfectly serviceable too, even endearing. The Trojan horse in

the shady bar, for example, had a variety of tiny legionnaires that popped out of its back to serve beer. The devil was trying to sell people timeshares. The prawns were all friendly Australians. All these elements should have contributed to a fun animated experience, so why didn’t they?

The fact is, this otherwise-decent film was shackled to a wretched premise. It was a star-spangled Prometheus chained to a rock for stealing the fire emoji. $50 million and the dedication of a veteran animation studio went into a frighteningly liberal use of hashtags, acronyms, and mediocre script. The only conceivable target audience is children, yet the script was written for young adults with a penchant for referential humour. If Inside Out (2015) were an anxious single mother, The Emoji Movie would be its chardonnay-addled child.

~ On Di t ~

Dunkirk

T

he Dunkirk Evacuation of the Allied Armed Forces due to the surrounding threat of the German Army in 1940 is the historic event that inspired Christopher Nolan’s latest masterpiece.

The Sea involves a boat captain and his son and friend (Mark Rylance, Tom Glynn-Carney and Barry Keoghan, respectively) taking part in the voluntary rescue of soldiers. The Land focuses on a group of three young soldiers (Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, and Harry Styles (yes, from One Direction)) desperately trying to find their way off the beach with the rest of the group. Lastly, The Sky followed an Air Force pilot (Tom Hardy) on a mission to stop a Luftwaffe from attacking the soldiers.

It’s no secret that when watching a film like Dunkirk, it’s not just seeing any other movie, it’s a

Words by Austin Frape glorified cinema event. Mediocre filmmaking is not something to expect from Nolan. Each scene builds so much tension through the use of its gritty cinematography, the breathtaking special effects that captures the 1940’s perfectly, and the nerve–wracking, yet atmospheric soundtrack from Hans Zimmer.

The sound design is also amazing.

From the opening scene, once the first gunshot punches its way, I was immediately drawn into the story to a point where it felt like I was on the beach myself listening to the slow-building roar of the dive bombers flying in and the suspense of when the bombs will drop. I highly encourage seeing the film on the big screen, just to witness the power of cinema at its best.

As to be expected, the acting is great from everybody. However, as the movie is very focused on Dunkirk itself, the movie dedicates

almost no time to establishing characters. This was evidenced by the portrayal of characters delivering minimal speaking lines. The lack of characterisation in Dunkirk wasn’t that much of a problem for me as it felt like a deliberate choice in order to make the audience become more engaged with the experience rather than watching a character study. As the movie was about the desperation for human survival, it made the characters relatable and bridged the gap between screen and reality, whereby the characters and audience shared the common desire to see the troops back on home soil once more.

Overall, Dunkirk is one of Nolan’s better movies in recent years. It provided an ecstatically pleasing and intense theatre experience.

It’s certainly worth a look.

59

~ On Di t ~

RANT SPACE

Hipsters, Please Pho-king Stop!

Words by Steven Nguyen // Art by Nozhat Hassan

Like the rest of the population I’m a massive foodie. I’m incredibly passionate about food. In recent years there’s been a huge fascination for Asian foods - Vietnamese cuisine in particular – with restaurants opening all over the place catering to people’s demand. I am absolutely thrilled to see people trying things that I grew up with. Food that I hold so close to my heart.

However, I’m also seeing hipsters take these recipes, adding their unique twist to it, essentially changing the dish altogether. I have no problem with this. The problem arises when people put zero effort into researching what they’re making but then still labelling it by its Vietnamese name. I will absolutely, not tolerate this. You wouldn’t make a strawberry cake, substitute the strawberries for chocolate and then still call it a strawberry cake, would you? No! It would be a chocolate cake. Why on earth then would you make phở using egg noodles and call it phở?

Phở is the name for the rice noodles used in beef noodle soup (bánh phở), therefore you cannot make a pot of broth, add egg noodles or rice vermicelli and still call it phở. You would call it ‘mì’, or ‘miến’.

Another thing I recently saw online was “Bánh Mì Bowls.” The word ‘bánh mì’ translates to as bread. You can’t make ‘bánh mì’ in bowls using rice and then leave out the bloody bread!

I’m not trying to stop you from eating these foods. If you enjoy it, great. The point I’m trying to make is: if you’re going to cook food from other cultures please do a little googling first or you’ll just look dumb. And if you insist on changing the recipe then CHANGE THE FREAKIN’ NAME OF THE DISH. My ancestors and I thank you.

60

~ On Di t ~

Poetry

by Evangeline Polymeneas

No one ever talks about the sadness after.

The sadness after you get happy.

The sadness after you escaped rock bottom.

The sadness creeps up on you, like sunburn on a cloudy day.

Everything is fine, until you notice the flush.

This sunburn isn’t as bad as the heatstroke you got a month ago, but you feel worse.

You told yourself you would never get sunburned again, but you didn’t wear sunscreen, a hat, or sit in the shade.

You told yourself you would never let yourself get that way again and you did.

The sunburn after the heatstroke sometimes hurts more.

It isn’t just the stinging of your burning flesh but it’s the sting of disappointment.

Sometimes after you get happier, you fall.

Sometimes that little fall has a bigger impact; than any jump.

61

poetry by anon art by Madeline Nolan

Flongus Pongus Where art thou be?

Though I was in the kitchen Frying spices in ghee I have dreamt of a better world Consistently Hoping that things will get good Though things remain bad And things are not good

Win And $300 worth of giftcards

auu.org.au/survey Complete the Union’s annual survey to win Closes 1 SEPTEMBER! | T&Cs via the link ABOVE

COMING SOON www.auu.org.au/thesecretgarden