Debate | Issue 17 | 2016

DEBATE ISSUE 17 | AUGUST 2016

1

STAND OUT

FROM THE CROWD JOIN THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL

ADD TO YOUR CV MAKE GREAT FRIENDS BE THE STUDENT VOICE Vice President • City Campus Representative • North Campus Representative • South Campus Representative • Te Ara Poutama Faculty Representative•Health and Environmental Sciences Faculty Representative • Design and Creative Technologies Faculty Representative • Business and Law Faculty Representative • Culture and Society Faculty Representative • Maori Affairs Officer• Pasifika Affairs Officer • Disability Affairs Officer• Diversity Affairs Officer • Mature Students Officer• Postgraduate Affairs Officer

COULD THIS BE YOU? NOMINATE YOURSELF!

Nominations Open Week 4 - Monday 8 August Check your AUT email for more information

www.ausm.org.nz

CREDITS PUBLISHED BY

EDITOR Laurien Barks lbarks@aut.ac.nz SUB - EDITORS Amelia Petrovich Julie Cleaver DESIGNER Ramina Rai rrai@aut.ac.nz CONTRIBUTORS Amelia Petrovich, Julie Cleaver, Kieran Bennett, Natalie Lim, Conor Leathley, Shivan, Reegan Hill, Benjamin Matthews, Saeran Maniparathy, Tyler Hinde, Caterina Atkinson, William Bowman, Saeran Maniparathy ADVERTISING Harriet Smythe hsmythe@aut.ac.nz Contributions can be sent to lbarks@aut.ac.nz PRINTER Debate is printed lovingly by Soar Print Debate is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA) This publication is entitled to the full protection given by the Copyright Act 1994 (“the Act”) to the holders of the copyright, being AUCKLAND STUDENT MOVEMENT AT AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED (“AuSM”).

Reproduction, storage or display of any part of this publication by any process, electronic or otherwise (except for the educational purposes specified in the Act) without express permission is a break of the copyright of the publisher and will be prosecuted accordingly. Inquiries seeking permission to reproduce should be addressed to AuSM.

DISCLAIMER

Material contained in this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of AuSM, its advertisers, contributors, Soar Print or its subsidiaries.

Pg 4 Editor’s Letter

Pg 16

Pg 26 Short Story: Part 3

Pg 5 Sub Editor’s Letter

Pg 18 A Musical Revolution

Pg 6 Prez Sez

Pg 20 Cool Shit

Pg 28 Call of Duty: Student Ops

Pg 7 Swirling Rhythms and Delicate Textures

Pg 22 Kiwis Deserve a Cableway

Pg 8 Debate Faillacies

Pg 23 What’s On

Pg 32 Re O Week Photos

Pg 10 What Meeting a Holocaust Survivor Taught Me About Trump

Pg 24 101 Average – Terrible Ways to Relieve Stress

Pg 33 Recipes

Pg 29 Youth Parliament Pg 30 Reviews

Pg 34 Puzzles

Pg 25 Winter’s Morning

Pg 14 In Short

AUSM.ORG.NZ

COVER IMAGE BY TYLER HINDE FA C E B O O K . C O M / A U S M D E B AT E

3

EDITOR’S LETTER Hey All, I took my first plane ride when I was 11 years old. We’d mastered the family roadtrip by that point. Mum and Dad decked out our family van with a mattress and DVD player and hauled their lil pimp daddy family all around North America. We had the time of our lives on those roads, but we were ready for something more.

Having a good chunk of landlocked land exploration under our belts, we decided to conquer an island, and out of courtesy to my weezy landlubbing innards we bypassed the nautical travel and took to the skies. History was made, I’d fallen in love with air travel, and the two of us were in for a long and happy life together.

My love affair with airplanes has little to do with vehicular or engineer-based fascination, and everything to do with my love for Peter Pan, bird kid novels (hello, Maximum Ride), and a head-in-the-clouds way of life. Flying feels like one of those dreamboat fantasies that you always wish upon a star for...except it already exists.

It’s brilliant! And while I do understand why it makes some people feel uneasy or downright terrified, it’s never been a fear I experience for myself. Mostly because I’m too busy to be afraid - pretending I’m Wendy

Darling whilst James Newton Howard’s brilliance blasts through my headphones.

You can be inside sunsets when you fly, you can see cities that resemble starry night skies, you can be hugged by a fluffy cloud, and winked at by a wave-filled sea. But, the most exhilarating thrill of all, has and always will be bigger than the land, sea, and sky. And that my friends, is the chase for a free upgrade to first class.

The free first class upgrade is the holy grail of air travel. It’s usually the only chance people like me will ever have to experience the luxuries of the skies because we’ll either be unable to afford it, or will feel awful about laying down so much cash for a bed in a plane. That upgrade is the most elusively beautiful thing we’ve got as air travellers, and by golly I’m going to get it!

At first Mum and Dad were slowing me down. Sure, I was under the age of 14 and they were paying the majority of my way, but still. Didn’t they know single travellers were more likely to receive the upgrade? Clearly not, as they ignored my desperate pleas to just leave me alone in the international airports and I’d meet them in Barbados.

When I was finally old enough to ditch and be the single traveller I’d always dreamed to be, I went hard. I was uber friendly, dressed well, did my hair and makeup, cracked jokes, and drew attention to my giraffe-like physique. I received an emergency exit seat a lot of the time, but always came short

when it came to the upgrade. I was ready to throw in the towel and stop wasting my time with eyeliner that only smudged three minutes into a drooly, cramped, economy slumber. That is, until I spoke to my father about a month ago. He’s got a pal who is also a member of the upgrade fellowship, and he swears by one simple act of kindness.

As he steps onto an international flight, he gives the head attendant a box of chocolates and a note that says something along the lines of “Long flights are hard, hopefully this helps make it easier”. And that’s it! He gets upgrades, free food/drinks, special treats, the whole nine! I mean, I’m not one for acting kind in exchange for rewards…but I don’t think it makes me a bad person to do it once or twice on a flight? Hell, even if it does, I’ll be far too comfortable to care. I’ll be giving it a whirl next time I fly.

Before I wish you all a good week, I’d just like to say a huge thank you, farewell, and good luck to our sub editor, Julie Cleaver.

She has resigned from her position on the Debate squad because she’s going to be an incredibly accomplished writer, and damn it guys, that takes some hard-core studying!

So on behalf of the Debate team, we wish her all the best as we watch her walk away through sad puppy dog eyes. You’re an absolute delight Julie, in the streets and sheets (of Debate), and we’ll miss you!

Have a great week everyone, Laurien

Debate, I’m breaking up with you I’m sorry, but we need to talk.

Look the past two years have been absolute magic. We’ve shared some special moments together and you’ve seriously helped me grow as a person. But what we have is no longer right for my life.

I’m so busy studying – you know it’s my last semester at uni and all – and I just can’t go on giving all this time to you. Basically what I’m trying to say is that I am no longer going to be your sub-editor.

During our time together you’ve allowed me to write just about anything. From the logic of mum-bods to relationship troubles to pollution in Bali, you’ve been an accommodating host and I thank you dearly for putting up with my random acts of writing. I will truly miss pondering what to fill your beautiful pages with every week, and although it pains me to say this, I hope whoever takes my place will put something decent inside you.

You’ve managed to connect me to some fabulous people, which was pretty damn nice of you. You introduced me to my co-workers, people who I now cave-gig, Jump, and Monopoly Deal with. I’ve also cyber-connected with some fantastic people through receiving fan emails. Although I only get one every 12 months or less, the few I was lucky enough to be gifted with pretty much made my life, so thank you for facilitating that.

And most importantly thank you for connecting me to the dear readers of Debate. Those people are frickin’ amazing and it has been an absolute honor bonding with all of them through my words.

I know this whole thing is not going to be easy. You have been such a big part of my life for so long and cutting you out will feel brutal. But I need to do this. For me. I’m sure there will be a few lonely nights when I crawl back to Microsoft Word – two litre ice cream tub in hand – and type away in a desperate attempt to come back to your pages. If you would be kind enough to accept my pity post-break up articles that would be much appreciated. I heard that is the best kind anyway.

We have had a wonderful time, Debate, and I would like to wish you all the best with the future. I know you have some exciting stuff coming up and I just can’t wait to see you bloom.

So goodbye, my friend. I’ll see you around campus, looking all pretty in that red stand you fit into so nicely. Please don’t forget me.

Yours, Julie xoxo P.S. If you would like to email me it’s juliecleaver@hotmail.co.nz - I would love to hear from you! Fan mail, hate mail, and random musings are all welcome. I may even have some good breakup advice for you.

5

PREZ SEZ

U R S H U LA A N S E L L

N I CA E LA-J A N E K I N G

Kia ora guys,

Hey guys!

It’s that time of year again when campuses get covered in many beautiful faces and colours trying to get your vote! So join in - it’s nomination time for the Student Representative Council. Any student can do it, so why not you? The AuSM Student Representative Council is your voice within AUT. It’s all students just like you, elected to represent our collective student voice and to stay on top of the big issues facing students here at AUT. SRC members sit in on every University Committee right through to the AUT Council.

At this point of the semester I feel like people start to be slightly unmotivated. Structure and repetition can make us feel secure, but why not do something different this week?

A little bit of change can have a positive impact on your life and refresh you to be inspired again.

There are many different types of representatives, you can be one of five faculty reps, campus reps, affairs officers or the Vice President. You will also work alongside me - if that isn’t great I don’t know what is! For more info, please check out http://ausm.org.nz/About/Student+Representative+Council. html Try to stay on top of your study. It starts to pile up from here onwards. A few things I do to help is use the AuSM diary - which is free - and write out when everything is due and colour code this. If you want, you can colour code match this to your free wall planner from AuSM. I find colour coding things in general very helpful for when I’m studying. I colour code flash cards as well. So everything related to that one paper is all one colour. Give it a go, we will all find what works for us!

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” Dalai Lama Urshxx

Take a minute to reflect on what you are studying.

Remember why you applied for your course… If you are like me, then a part of you is hungry for knowledge and wishes to grow as an individual. I cannot stress enough that there are workshops for you to be the best person you can be academically. Join a club if you are wanting to be more socially involved. There is also sport teams you can be a part of, or if you want a workout, there is access to a gym on all campuses. Set goals for yourself, push yourself to be the best that you can be. Ultimately be happy and enjoy being a student at AUT. Being open to: new activities, different styles of learning and having a new perspective; can benefit you to stay motivated.

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius Take care, Nicaela x

Swirling Rhythms and Delicate Textures A chat with musical talents, Suren Unka and Levi Patel Interview by Laurien Barks Electronic Producer, Suren Unka, and Composer, Levi Patel, released their collaborative EP on August 5th. With Suren having four releases to his name, and Levi with two records, the pair have come together to join forces. Suran’s swirling rhythms and electronic sound design with Levi’s slow moving harmonies and delicate textures create a dynamic ambient house record. Laurien had a chat with the guys this week to bring you the latest on their collaborative EP. If you had to describe your EP in three words, what would you say?

Cinematic minimal house.

Why did you decide to release this collaborative EP? We weren’t thinking of a release at the start, we just wanted to work together and see what could happen. One day we realised that four of our tracks would sound really nice together and we decided then and there to release an EP.

can pass it off to the other to keep the process flowing. Our taste is quite similar so we never really have to compromise or backtrack.

We’ve also been friends for years, which helps to make it all a good time.

What activity would your new EP best accompany? (What should people be doing while they listen to it?)

That depends what volume you listen at. If it’s quiet then it would be the perfect soundtrack to a flight or perhaps a relaxing game of chess in the sun. On the other hand, if you crank it up you could be dancing at 4am.

Any other projects you’re working on that we should keep an eye out for?

Suren has a remix of a new Brooke Fraser song that came out last week. He’s also working with his band Beach Pigs on their next album as well as producing his next solo album.

Levi has his first full length album named Affinity coming out soon.

What’s it been like working together?

It’s been a dream. We have complimentary skills, so when one of us gets stuck, either with creative ideas or a technical challenge, we

7

Debate Faillacies Round Two

Amelia Petrovich | Photo by Caterina Atkinson Last week in the spirit of all things argumentative, we brought you a piece about how potentially cool people like to out themselves as pretty shit debaters.

A lot of the time these people do this by way of ‘logical fallacy’, using arguments that seem compelling, but fail to stack up to actual, working logic. Debate reckons dispute can be a productive thing, therefore for the second week, we’re here to help you slay silly people in verbal combat.

Without further ado, here you go; Debate’s Logical Fallacies Round Two.

“

A loaded question is one that is asked in such a way that there’s only one real way to answer, or else you’ll look like a dick.

“

Loaded question

A loaded question is one that is asked in such a way that there’s only one real way to answer, or else you’ll look like a dick. Back in 2009 the New Zealand Corporal Punishment Referendum asked Kiwis “should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?” Of course, if it is “good” parental correction, you tend not to want to condemn it, but a question phrased this way implies that smacking is good parental correction, which is no damn use in a debate because it effectively baits people into saying what you want, rather than affirming your point because it’s true.

EG: “So tell me Marcus, have you stopped eating our flat jam with your fingers when everyone’s asleep?”

“No I-“ “No you haven’t stopped?!”

“I was going to say no, I never ate it to begin with…”

“Whoops, so sorry, time’s up. You prick.”

Burden of proof

This is what happens when somebody insists that because you have no proof, you’re wrong and deluded. I mean sure, you’d never argue about guilt in court if you had no evidence to suggest a crime, but in day-to-day logical disputes, sometimes proof isn’t needed for a claim to make sense.

EG: “When you call me a ‘pizza-faced pleb’ it makes me unnecessarily upset so I think it’d be cool if you stopped.”

“Can you prove that it upset you though? I’ve seen you look more upset.” “…”

Tu quoque

Have you ever met someone who couldn’t take constructive criticism if their life and grades depended on it? This person is most likely an avid purveyor of the ‘tu quoque’ fallacy. These happen when, instead of acknowledging and responding properly

to a critique, people choose instead to discard the point of the argument completely and fire a criticism right on back. It’s a good way to shake any chips well and truly from your shoulders, but kind of doesn’t do much in terms of actually engaging with a logical argument.

EG: “You being vegan but going hunting with your Dad is deeply hypocritical.”

“And you choosing Team Instinct in Pokemon GO is deeply stupid.”

Bandwagon

If your Mum were here right now, bandwagon arguing is what would make her get all “if X, Y and Z went to jump off a bridge, would you do it too?” It would be annoying, but in this case your Mum would actually have a bit of a point, claiming that a bunch of other people do something too is a pretty freakin’ stupid way to approach an argument. If lots of people do a thing, all it means is that the thing is popular. Lots of people are racist, lots of people don’t think Moulin Rouge is a good movie. By no means does being a majority make these people right.

EG: “Every single person in Auckland is a Blues supporter. That means they’ll win a game someday.

Black-or-white

Hilariously, this fallacy is pretty black-and-white as far as understanding goes. If you understand that there are more than two possible solutions for an issue then you’ll spot a ‘black-and-white’ argument a mile away. If you and your argument are black and white though, forget it. The world is a big place with lots of answers, explore too few and you’ve already lost.

EG: “Eggs can only be scrambled or put in cakes, so what the hell are you doing with that frying pan?”

9

What Meeting A Holocaust Survivor Taught Me About Trump Julie Cleaver | Illustration by Tyler Hinde A Star of David adorned the gate at the front of the synagogue.

It’s a symbol I have seen many times, mostly for the wrong reasons. I pushed open the black-wire frame and entered a new building filled with old ideas.

“Hi, I’m Steve, and this is Guta Goldstein,” the synagogue’s Rabbi said, gesturing to the small woman on his right.

She was around four foot, but her straight back and high chin made her seem taller. She shook my hand.

“I saw you in the paper! It’s very lovely to meet you,” I said with a quiver in my voice, nervous to be in the presence of someone I respected so highly.

“Oh yes, what paper?” Although she has lived in Melbourne for a long time she still had an incredible Polish accent. It’s amazing how some traits transcend war, borders and time.

We continued talking and sharing little titbits of information about ourselves with each other. She asked me to guess her age. Logically I assumed she was around 80 based on the time of the war, but I guessed 65 to be polite. She liked that, and said I looked around 16, which made me laugh. She said one day I’d enjoy looking younger than I was, even if that day was not today.

After a few more minutes we were ushered into the synagogue’s main part of worship. It was a Friday night and Shabbat - the weekly day of rest and celebration for the Jews - was about to begin. Guta lit some ceremonious candles and people sat around singing and reciting hymns in Hebrew. I tried to hum along but the melodies and language were confusing and unfamiliar.

A few songs later, Guta was invited to the front to speak. She

introduced herself, saying she was born in Lodz, Poland in 1930.

She said her mother passed away when she was seven, leaving her with a little sister and a father. During Guta’s childhood she experienced a lot of bullying and discrimination for being a Jew. On a side note, the prejudice she experienced sounds scarily similar to what Muslim and Arabic people are encountering today.

At the camp, Guta managed to avoid going to the gas chambers through what her cousin believed was divine intervention.

On September 1, 1939 Guta said her childhood abruptly changed as her, her entire family, and all the Jews in Lodz were herded up and moved to a ghetto. She said conditions in the ghetto were horrific. She would often lie in bed absolutely sick with hunger. “I constantly had a starvation headache,” she said with pain in her eyes. In 1941 her father tragically passed away from pneumonia and hunger. “He died under terrible conditions,” she said. This left her and her younger sister parentless, and they were placed in an orphanage inside the ghetto. Sadly in the orphanage, her younger sister contracted meningitis and died at age six.

On the day the children in the orphanage were taken to an extermination camp, Guta was heroically rescued by her Aunt Golda. This is the first part of a long string of miracles.

Guta lived in the ghetto with her Aunt and cousins - Inka and Carmella - for several more years. Then in 1944 Guta and her family were rounded up and moved to the infamous concentration camp Auschwitz - a place Guta described as “hell on earth”.

11

I would like to teleport your attentive and inquisitive mind back to the present day; a day filled with discrimination and fear against Muslims.

At the camp, Guta managed to avoid going to the gas chambers through what her cousin believed was divine intervention. Carmella said when the SS soldier walked passed Guta, his eyes were covered by an angel’s hand. So she survived again and was later moved to a different camp called Meltheuer. There she worked in a factory as a cleaning lady, as she said she was too short to reach the factory’s machines.

A shocking 10.7 million votes were cast for Trump to be the republican nominee, which to me demonstrates a collective anxiety many American people have against Muslim people.

In April 1945, her camp was liberated and Guta was free. She was fifteen at the time and said she still remembers the immense euphoria of liberation day. “We had nothing, just the clothes on our back, so the American army had brought along new slacks, shirts and shoes for us to wear. They also bought along food, and really all we wanted to do was eat. So that was great!”

Guta then followed around the American army until she was eventually transported to Italy. There she lived as a refugee for four years. She learned Italian and English, “and I also know German, because unfortunately I had to learn it”. Guta was eventually moved to Melbourne, where she married another Holocaust survivor a few months after her arrival. She now has three children and seven grandchildren.

Guta has written a book called “There will be Tomorrow” about her

adventurous and heartbreaking life. She has also gone on many speaking tours to share her story and educate people about what happened in the hope of preventing such a tragedy from ever occurring again. And so, with Guta’s ideal in mind, I would like to teleport your attentive and inquisitive mind back to the present day; a day filled with discrimination and fear against Muslims; a day where anyone who looks slightly Middle Eastern is accused of terrorism; and a day where sadly, the past seems to be repeating itself, yet again.

I heard recently that Donald Trump is revising his policy to strictly prohibit all Muslim people from entering the USA. I realise this is Trump and a large portion of the population understand that his words are full of more bull shit than a Matador stadium, but a scaringly huge amount of people actually back what he says.

A shocking 10.7 million votes were cast for Trump to be the republican nominee, which to me demonstrates a collective anxiety many American people have against Muslim people.

When I speak about Trump’s crazy ideas, a lot of people bring up the relevant point that the congress in the States would prevent almost all of his ideas from being passed as law. However, it is not laws that worry me, it is public opinion. Every time Trump makes a blatantly hateful statement against Muslims, he is damaging their reputation and perpetuating fearful viewpoints – a phenomenon far more destructive and irreversible than changing a law.

Now I’m not saying Muslim people are going to be rounded up in camps and killed by the millions, like the Jews were. Although anything is possible, I think there are far too many good people and bureaucratic systems in place to prevent such a thing from happening. But like Guta said, it all started with discrimination and fear – two awful and illogical emotions that are still ruining the world.

Athlete Profile Hannah Carlsen Hannah Carlsen is in her second year studying Podiatry at AUT. Hannah is a member of the Forrest Hill Premier Women’s Football team as well as the AUT Women’s Futsal team who won the UTSNZ Futsal Championships in April. She has represent New Zealand in three Football World Cups and, most recently, has travelled to Brazil to compete in the World University Futsal Championships as part of the New Zealand University Futsal Team.

How did you get involved your sport?

Last year was the first time I actually played futsal, and I got into it through AUT. However, I have been playing football since I was six years old.

What is your highest sporting achievement?

I haven’t done a lot for futsal as im quite new to it, but we did win the NZ University Futsal Tournament, and I was part of the Northern team who won NZ Futsal Nationals. However, football is my main sport and I have represented NZ for football at three World Cups.

What is your most memorable sporting moment?

Captaining New Zealand at the U17 Football World Cup. What is your favourite post training meal?

Banana and cocoa smoothie.

What are you looking forward to most in 2016?

Competing in the World Uni Futsal Champs. Will be awesome to play against some of the world’s best futsal players.

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given?

Just to go out there and have fun, cause that’s when you play your best.

Who is your sporting crush?

Messi, what a player!

Hannah will be action as part of the AUT Women’s Futsal team when they take on the University of Auckland as part of the Futsal Road Show on July 29. Futsal will also feature in the Interfaculty Sport Series on Friday August 5th.

What are your sporting goals and where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Hopefully futsal will become a bigger sport in New Zealand so that we actually have a women’s national team. I also want to get back into the New Zealand team for football, after having to take a break due to injury.

Upcoming Events • • •

IFSS Netball Round 2 on August 9th at AUT Sport + Fitness Centre Battle of the Bombay’s Rowing Regatta on August 20th at Waikato River, Hamilton AUT vs UoA Women’s Rugby Sevens Match on August 21st at Auckland University Rugby Football Club

• •

NZ University Ultimate Championships from August 29 – 30 in Auckland.

UTSNZ Volleyball Tournament from August 29-30 in Wellington

Contact AUT Sport at sport@aut.ac.nz or pop into WB119 for more info.

13

Semi Permanent Auckland 2016

The abundant event schedule also includes workshops, networking, parties and panel discussions focussed on the future of business, content and education.

August 12-13 Aotea Centre

The annual, must attend, global, creative and design thinking platform is back with a thought provoking line up including speakers from Google, Facebook Twitter, Airbnb, Bompass & Parr, Graphic Thought Facility, Cleo Wade and more.

The two-day symposium is saturated with inspirational speakers including international and local visionaries and challengers that are changing the face of industries and looking to the future, through the merging and blending of design in business.

Semi Permanent Auckland 2016 will inspire and enable not only the creative community but business leaders and entrepreneurs through the exploration of the importance of design thinking as part of the equation for success in today’s quickly evolving business landscape.

To be a part of this year’s event, to hear from the smartest people, working on the smartest brands and to arm yourself with tools to hone your craft and create new opportunities for collaboration, tickets are on sale now. www.semipermanent.com

Kieran Bennett Just over a week after the Republican National Convention, the city of Cleveland is reporting that its fields no longer produce food. This is coming swiftly on the back of the sky turning red during the convention and a plague of locusts marking the end of the convention.

Cleveland, Ohio Fields Go Fallow Following RNC

The Republican National Convention, a four day celebration of all things old and white kicked off on July 18.

The convention was already marked by controversy with presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump pledging to have a black steel fortress dragged to Ohio, saying it was important to not only show that American steel was alive and well, but to strike fear into his enemies’ hearts.

Despite a large trail of destruction due to the fortress and wide spread,

inexplicable flooding; the convention was regarded as a success with only 16 speakers of a possible 89 accidentally performing a Nazi salute and only 3 doing it un-ironically.

The State of Ohio has now however declared a state of emergency in Cleveland due to fields going fallow and rivers drying up. Mayor of Cleveland, Frank G. Jackson, has said that he wondered if anything would affect the city after a bout of bloodred rain on the convention’s third day.

“While the convention was a valuable economic and political opportunity for the city, the sheer volume of toads that flooded the city afterwards means we will be thinking twice about hosting it again.”

Presidential nominee Donald Trump has described the toads as the “best toads”.

Rio Still Confident After Flaming Athletes Kieran Bennett Following the sudden and violent immolation of the Australian Olympic team, the city of Rio and the Brazilian government has called for calm; saying that no more teams would catch fire.

The 2016 Rio Olympics have already come under fire for a reported lack of preparedness and less than adequate facilities.

Many critics have pointed out the Australian Team suddenly catching fire is just the latest in a long string of accidents.

The Australian team had raised some objections around their accommodation, saying that they felt the level of open petrol containers and unguarded matches was too high. Olympic officials however brushed off concerns, confident that the safety issues would be taken care off.

Shortly afterwards, however, the entire Australian Olympic team was found in a large pile of ash, having all burst into flames in the Olympic village.

The Brazilian Government is said to be investigating itself and is confident that no wrong-doing will be found.

15

Conor Leathley “Everybody makes up rumours at this time of year.”

We Need to Talk About Kevin Why I support his decision to move.

Above was Kevin Durant’s answer when asked if he would leave his team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, if they did not make the NBA Finals at the end of the season. It’s funny looking back on that quote now, with the knowledge of what has happened since. At the time, he was grinding his way through the 82 game regular season schedule, as their rivals, the Golden State Warriors, were in full ultralight beam mode. The Warriors would eventually win a record 73 games, with OKC stumbling repeatedly to win ‘only’ 55 games.

The disparity in talent was not as obvious as the records would indicate, which was proved in the Western Conference finals. Oklahoma were up 3-1, before taking the unusual route by deciding to seppuku themselves, eventually losing the series 4-3. Golden State would succumb to the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-3 in the NBA Finals in the same fashion as OKC just a series before. So whilst the Warriors achieved the regular season record for most wins, as well as being generally regarded as the best team in American sports, they were still somewhat incomplete.

Which brings us back to Kevin Durant. Going into free agency (where players can receive contract offers from other teams, allowing them to leave their current franchise if they decide), it was thought that he would go back to OKC. After all, they were so close to making the Finals, where they may have even won had they qualified. Instead, he channelled his inter Petyr Baelish and switched to the team that would give him, what he believed to be, the chance to win a title: The Golden State Warriors.

He is a human being after all, not some NBA2K player whose life should be solely judged on the statistics that he puts up on a game.

Maybe he wanted a better quality of living?

This news went up like wildfire. Not only among competing NBA franchises, but there was also a notable fan reaction.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria type of reaction. OKC followers burned his jersey in the streets (reminiscent of when LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami).

Former players and analysts decried this move, with some even labelling him a coward. For many neutral NBA fans, he has now been earmarked as the next great villain to root against.

But why? I get it on one hand, because he is a transcendent player that will swing the balance of the league in the favour of the Warriors now. But why is that his problem? Should it not be incumbent on him to go to the situation that can benefit his career in the best possible way? That is clearly what his thinking was, as on paper that is the Warriors. But yet, it seems that the mass consensus wanted him to go back to Oklahoma, because they were so close to beating the Warriors, and hope to win a championship that way. To continually beat his head against the wall, in the hope that it would eventually fall down.

It seems that NBA championship victories are parsed into two categories, which are the only acceptable ways to win. First, the player that either needs to have been drafted by the team, or be from the city, such as Steph Curry or LeBron James. This is the most celebrated route to winning a ring, as it is a surefire way to be revered in that city. Secondly is the ‘ring-chaser’, which is sports euphemism for an over the hill player who can contribute because they are a ‘veteran’. The most current example

of this would be Richard Jefferson on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who accepted less money and a smaller role to eventually be rewarded by winning this year.

Kevin Durant failed at the first step. He is simply accelerating the second process, which is what has angered many of the explayers. Which is ironic, as they would have loved to do the exact same, only they would have had to take far less money. Which makes sense. On teams that are championship contenders, they already have an established stable of highly paid players that fuel the ambitions. To take part in that, due to the restrictions on how much a team can spend, another premier player would obviously have to take a pay cut. Free agency has also only been around for less than 30 years, making many of the pious assessments of former players’ moot.

This free agency period was an anomaly unlike any period that has ever happened in the NBA however. The salary cap (which governs how much each team can spend on players) went from $70 million to $94 million, a jump that had never been seen before, thus giving no precedent. So, by trading their starting centre and not resigning an assortment of bench players, the championship favourite Warriors were able to add a former MVP at market value (a two-year deal worth $54 million).

Furthermore, his decision may have not been fuelled for purely monetary or basketball reasons. He is a human being after all, not some NBA2K player whose life should be solely judged on the statistics that he puts up on a game. Maybe he wanted a better quality of living? Athletes have an extremely short shelf life after all. Living in San Francisco gives him opportunities in Silicon Valley that he could have only dreamed of during the season in Oklahoma. Those reasons and probably many more would be given by Durant as to why moving teams was the best option for him.

I get why the best option for him isn’t the best option for the league. On the face of it, I’m not a fan of the move, because it turned the Warriors from the Death Star to Starkiller Base. It was interesting last season to see if the Warriors would be able to set the record for most wins. Seeing it again? Not so much. It gives the season a sense of despair, as though the outcome is already decided. So lament the death of parity. Get angry with the league for the salary cap increase. Just don’t blame Kevin. He gave Oklahoma everything he had. He doesn’t owe them a thing.

17

A MUSICAL REVOLUTION Amelia Petrovich My name is Amelia, I am 22, and this month I cried over one of the founding fathers of the United States of America.

I don’t mean a quiet, private sniffle either. I’m talking about fullon hyperventilation walking along Ponsonby Road with a million perplexed onlookers wandering past.

It’s a scenario I would’ve thought impossible and ridiculous, had I not downloaded the soundtrack to Hamilton the musical less than a week before.

“A musical?!” I hear you asking.

Yes. But hear me the fuck out.

This is a unlike anything you’ll have ever heard of before, just throw everything you think you know about musical theatre completely out the door (apart from the bit where there’s music).

Hamilton is a rap battle, a plethora of complex characters, history that you actually care about, and possibly the least-white retelling of a predominantly white era one could hope for. It’s an enigma and it’s had its fair share of critique, but really the 16 Tony Award nominations and the world’s unbridled enthusiasm should speak for itself- this is some seriously high quality shit.

Hamilton came to be when writer and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda read the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow at an airport. It told the story of Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant who migrated to New York, aided the American Revolutionary war and then went on to become one of the country’s key political figures for the rest of the 1800s. To Kiwis and possibly a majority non-theatre goers the story of an American founding father might not instantly scream “Broadway sensation,” but for Miranda it was a total no-brainer.

“I Googled ‘Alexander Hamilton hip-hop musical’ and totally expected to see that someone had already written it. But no. So I got to work,” Miranda told Vogue.

The show made its off-Broadway debut (because in the theatre world, debuting on Broadway is basically an entirely new dimension of showbiz) in February last year at The Public Theatre in New York and slid onto Broadway just six months later. It was nominated for a metric shitload of Tony Awards

When casting Hamilton, Miranda was adamant that all of the founding fathers would be played by actors of colour and possibly even women once Hamilton is legally allowed to be performed by more theatre companies. It’s inclusive and very ‘now’ with the casting, in the words of actress Renee Elise

this year, a record-breaking 16 to be precise, of which it won 11 including ‘Best Musical’. Now apparently there’s talk of Hamilton crossing the ditch over to London, which might mean it’ll only be half a lifetime away from reaching us here down under rather than an eternity. These are exciting times.

When you listen to Hamilton (there’s no official cast video recording as of yet, but there is an official soundtrack) the first thing that’ll strike you is how deliciously full of hip-hop it is. Just as earlier musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar and Chess were considered “rock operas”, Hamilton blends hip-hop and RnB with traditional theatre scores in a way that’s literally unlike anything Broadway has ever seen before.

Goldberry, “[allowing for the] opportunity to reclaim a history that some of us don’t necessarily think is our own.”

Rolling Stone summed Hamilton’s music up nicely saying “[Hamilton] transforms esoteric Cabinet debates … into riveting, delirious rap battles. Songs about Hamilton’s complicated love life get more of a Destiny’s Child treatment, and the rest of the score is expansive enough to include torchy show tunes, high-camp Brit pop and nods to hip-hop classics.” A hip-hop musical sounds difficult, nigh impossible to pull off, but in actual fact it’s something you need to hear to believe and subsequently will never get sick of.

As well as seamlessly integrating contemporary forms of music into its production, Hamilton also brings its characters into the present with a racially realistic cast. All of the founding fathers were white men, but Lin-Manuel Miranda says this is no reason to exclude actors of colour- in fact Hamilton prioritises them.

“Our cast looks like America looks now, and that’s certainly intentional”, Miranda told The New York Times.

Here in New Zealand the story of American independence may not resonate quite as sonorously, but the idea of a white-washed history “written by the victors” as per Walter Benjamin’s famous quote, is perhaps one that many people can identify with to some extent. In this way Hamilton is invaluable, as it indicates a shift in focus from “the victors” to those around them and those affected by their decisions today. The musical may be called Hamilton, but at the end of the story we find out that the retelling of Alexander’s life wouldn’t have been possible at all without the contributions of his wife Eliza, her sister Angelica, or any one of the many people who knew him.

American historian Shane White pointed out that in Hamilton, “attempting to get away from the Great Men story of the founding fathers, these scholars have incorporated ordinary people, African-Americans, Native Americans and women and placed the whole half-century in the broader contexts of the Atlantic World. In this more inclusive and nuanced telling of the republic’s creation, Hamilton plays a cameo rather than leading role.” Because in reality, I suppose while history is said to be led by a few, the movement includes us all.

Bottom line, I cried over one of the founding fathers of America this month and I’m no longer ashamed. Hamilton is a mesmerizing mix of hip-hop an d classic theatre, featuring interwoven and complex characters who all came together to help tell the tale of an immigrant orphan with unabashed ambition. It’s relevant, contemporary and celebrates people rather than excludes them. It’s bloody beautiful, and I’ll weep if I want to.

“We’re telling the story of old, dead white men but we’re using actors of color, and that makes the story more immediate and more accessible to a contemporary audience.”

19

COOL SHIT

We’ve got a prize overload this week, so treat yo self and hit us up!

DEALS ON THE CARDS More deals to be won this week with Student Card! We’ve got two more of these bad boys on hand – each worth $20 and a bucketload of savings. Get in quick – the first two people to email lbarks@aut.ac.nz with their name and campus win!

BUT I’M A CREPE, I’M A WEINER Real Deal American Hot Dogs and French Crepes are set up every Wednesday at the AuSM Markets! They’ve given Debate two vouchers for a free hot dog or crepe this week, so if you get in quick, you could be heading down to the Hikuwai Plaza for a free lunch in no time! Facebook message us your name, campus, and favourite condiment to be in to win – first in, first served.

facebook.com/ausmdebate

LOCK N LOAD Lock n Load paintball wants to send y’all out for some fun this week, and has given Debate two vouchers to giveaway!

These vouchers include one adult grunt pack plus gear and protection. To be in to win, email lbarks@aut.ac.nz with your name, campus, and what your paintball team’s name would be if you win.

HOW TO BE A HUMAN BEING Following the success of Life Itself, Glass Animals release their hypnotic new single Youth. The track is taken from their hotly anticipated new album, How To Be A Human Being released via Caroline International/Universal Music NZ on August 26th and available to pre order now.

HAPPY TREE FRIENDS With 10 different courses ranging from three to 14 metres above the ground, there’s something for everyone! Tree Adventures wants to send you and a friend to their wonderland of flying foxes in the tree tops this week. With two ‘High Flyer’ passes, you can tackle 5-8 courses, and have a blast doing it! To be in to win, Facebook message us your name, campus, and complete this sentence “I wish I could fly because ______”. facebook.com/ausmdebate

SNAPPY TUNES Soundscape guitarist, Arli has just released his new album, Allegra, and announced he’s joining the international Wanderlust circuit.

Debate has three USB snap bracelets which feature a copy of the album to give away this week! To be in to win, email lbarks@aut. ac.nz with your name, campus, and all time favourite study jam!

21

Kiwis Deserve a Cableway

by Laurien Barks Kiwis deserve a cableway, or at least that’s Kerry Martin’s opinion.

I met Kerry over a coffee last week after catching wind of his current situation, and had a chat about the Rixen NZ wakeboarding cable in the Onehunga Bay Reserve. After approaching the council about the Onehunga Reserve back in December, Kerry and his small team were granted permission to run a 40 day trial period and operate a working wakeboarding cable in the available water space.

With 400 cableways globally, and a passion like no other, the Rixen crew was confident in their ability to provide a great time for the local community, as there are currently no other cableways in New Zealand. They gave free rides to kids, arranged events for different clubs (with the help of volunteers), got along with the local community members and captured their interest, and catered to a number of different ages and abilities. There’s nothing discriminatory about wakeboarding. Only a willingness to get wet, according to Kerry.

This 40 day trial was to be a way to test the waters – to see if a cableway could be successfully run under the reserve act built to protect reserves. Because Rixen is all or protecting, it wasn’t an issue for them to abide by the rules and controls. They leave no environmental footprint, and after testing the water, they were able to prove that by operating in the reserve, they were actually improving the water quality. The electric cable runs above the water, they’ve built floating platforms to place on top of the water, and the constant movement in the reserve actually works

to clean it. Kerry jokes that the biggest pollutants are the people participating in the sport.

However, despite following the rules, and having success within their trial, Rixen is now struggling to be granted permission to install a permanent cableway in the Onehunga Reserve. At the moment they are dodging council hurdles and waiting to hear if they may have a public inquiry. Something that Kerry reckons should be a right.

He mentions the fact that Kiwis spend a tonne of money on water sport equipment as is, the ‘give it a go’ motto is huge in New Zealand, and the introduction of a wakeboarding cableway caters to both of these adventure criterion. Kiwis deserve a cableway. Yet despite being complimented by local members, helping disabled kids get amongst, and organizing events for students young and old, Rixen is still jumping through hoops.

The discussion that needs to be happening, according to Kerry, is when someone comes up with a good idea to utilise an asset that belongs to the public, shouldn’t the public have the right to show support or it? Shouldn’t they be able to choose if they want it, instead of a council deciding if they should have that right?

If you’d like to show support for the Rixen wakeboarding cableway in the Onehunga Reserve, Kerry says the best way to do so is to start the discussion, get on Facebook, show support on their page, and keep the conversation circulating.

If you’ve got an opinion on this story, or any input to put forward, email lbarks@aut.ac.nz to let us know what you think.

What’s On in Auckland?

Artweek Auckland 2016 is across Auckland from October 8th- 16th. Artweek Auckland spreads like wildfire across Auckland blazing into a new precinct in 2016 with a vibrant and dynamic programme. Over ten days the festival will celebrate and showcase the visual arts and artists of Auckland, with favourite events returning and new artists included as it expands into East Auckland.

Semi Permanent Auckland 2016 is happening August 12th-13th. It’s part of a global creative and design thinking platform, bringing together a community of more than 300 000 people and a network of 800 speakers and artists. Tickets can be purchased through: beta.semipermanent.com/events/semipermanent-auckland-2016

What’s On at AUT? Imagine the Present is at St Paul St Gallery from August 5th – September 9th. Projections of the future form the dominant part of environmental discussions, particularly in climate change discourse. The image of the future is also a primary point of orientation in many discussions around contemporary art.

Imagine the Present asks that we shift our focus to the present, to a number of often invisible, suppressed or fantastical aspects of our current ecological situation. Held within this broad view of ‘now’ are multiple timescales; the past too is a presence of many of the works in the exhibition, which respond through narrative to the personal, cultural, and material effects of ecological change.

The Sustainability Club is meeting at 3pm on August 12th in the Student Lounge to discuss topics such as bees, climate change, as well as social sustainability, and what sustainability means to students and why it holds importance.

Fair Trade will be discussed by the Sustainability club at 12pm on August 12th in the Student Lounge for students interested in helping workers in the developing world get paid what they deserve, breaking the cycle of poverty and slave labour.

Students can come by that AuSM office at any time to discuss starting any of the following clubs: Saving the Bees, Animal Rights, Vegetarian/Vegan, Making AUT Beautiful, Fossil Free @ AUT, Charity Fundraising, or starting an Oxfam Trail Walker 2017 group.

23

101 Average – Terrible Ways To Deal With Stress Amelia Petrovich The entire world is slowly losing its mind.

Did you know 1 in five New Zealanders say they suffer from workplace-related stress and 1 in 10 are unhappy with their own life-work balance? Statistics NZ baby, it’s practically science- we are freaking out on the regular.

Someone once told me that more and more people are experiencing crazy levels of stress than ever before and I wholeheartedly believed him… …Because he was my counselor… …Because I was stressed.

with stress and worry, how were lists like this (lists that were maybe 20 percent helpful at best) proudly vomited out to the online public. And, more importantly, how does anyone have time to wade through wellmeaning cesspools like this to find actual peace of mind?

Fortunately my incredulity was quelled fairly quickly when I was directed to the NZ Ministry of Health website which was full of legitimately helpful links… but a seed of an idea had already been sown.

Clearly the truth was something close to “just find resources from trustworthy places rather than dodgy internet lists and also people are different and everybody has their own coping methods man”, but that didn’t satisfy me. It wasn’t as fun.

Being a stress expert in my own way then, I took it upon myself to take a gander at the kind of resources I could find out in the world for those seeking to breathe normally again.

The first thing I came across, and also the second and third thing I came across was a freakin’ ambitious list of ‘101 Ways To Reduce Stress’ which seemed to be making the rounds on Google a bit. It was full of pearls of wisdom like “buy yourself a flower” and “say hello to someone in pig latin” alongside slightly more general “go to bed a tad earlier” type advice.

In the spirit of ~*~fun~*~ then, I present to you this column: ‘101 Average – Terrible Ways To Deal With Stress’ as reviewed by me. My reasons for following through with this brain fart include but are not limited to: 1) I can 2) I want to 3) I am allowed With all of these things considered, this week I trialed the first few suggestions on the list for your mild entertainment and my extreme displeasure. Stay tuned for more next week.

Or don’t, I’m not stressin’.

It baffled me.

With so many people frothing at the mouth

1) Get up 15 minutes earlier This hurt me a little, but only physically

and emotionally. On the whole it was a pretty good idea and would’ve saved me a comfortable amount of stress in the morning if it wasn’t for suggestion #2…

2) Prepare for the morning the night before True to my word, I had done this and taken care of nearly everything eight or so hours before. Stuff was in my bag, I’d made lunch, and there was even a smoothie there that I’d blitzed at 12am much to the disgust of my flatmates. It was like I was living with Mum again, everything was too perfect. I sat on my bed for half an hour, sleepy and completely ready to go contemplating my own existence.

I stressed a little. The strategy failed.

3) Avoid tight fitting clothes I doubted that a baggy outfit would do much to relieve stress in any meaningful way and I was right, but #3 did make me stop and think about the roominess of my undergarments for a little while. I’m a bit sleazy and I love my ass so all my undies are pretty tight, which meant my only alternative to ‘tight fitting clothes’ in that department were old swimming togs. It was a weird call to make for sure, but it honestly felt pretty good. 7/10, might do again.

4) Avoid relying on chemical aids I managed to not take MDMA between lectures. Having $2.30 in my bank account and not being remotely interested in popping pills at uni really helped.

Winter’s Morning

Model: Teagan and Tresor from @Unique Model Management H&M: Jamila Serville Clothes by: Lulu Liu Photography by: @gathum (www.gathum.co.nz)

25

Mackenzie: Part Three

The Execution We’re trying something a little new for the next few weeks! Reegan Hill has written a three-part short story for y’all to follow. Have a read and let us know what you think! Want more creative writing? Less? None whatsoever? Tell us! Email lbarks@aut.ac.nz with your feedback and be in to win a student card.

Reegan Hill Daniel was already hiding behind the house, I’m not sure if Denise was going to catch onto our plan but we had to give it a try. He’d told me he wanted to look the part so, to humour him, I’d let him dress us both in camouflage.

I had no idea if this would work, but standing outside her house, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, I felt like laughing. This was a ridiculous plan. She picked up the phone on the second ring.

“Mackenzie, you’re outside my house,” her voice wasn’t sweet anymore. It was chilling, calculated and nothing like the woman she wanted the world to see.

I had no idea if this would work, but standing outside her house, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, I felt like laughing.

“I am, if you want me to step foot inside that place, you’re mistaken. What you will do, is come for a walk with me.”

“My dear, you’re in no position to bargain.”

She looked calm as she crossed the road, she even put a polite smile on her face, the way this woman could jump between emotions, or have none at all made me a little scared for my life.

“Are you sure about that? Do you know what family Felix comes from? Have you considered the consequences of kidnapping him? If you want me to step foot in that house, you’re going to come for a walk with me,” I had no idea how my voice didn’t waiver and my hands didn’t shake. I had never done anything like this before.

While I was away thinking to myself, the front door of Denise’s house swung open and she stepped out, her cell phone still in her hand. She looked calm as she crossed the road, she even put a polite smile on her face, the way this woman could jump between emotions, or have none at all made me a little scared for my life.

“Alright, you have me out here.”

“Now, we walk,” I took three steps before she caught up to me, her fingers lacing tightly around my wrist.

“Mackenzie, what’s the point of this? Your friend is being watched by my son, you can’t get him out of there, no one can,” her fingers were tightening, making my hand begin to go numb.

The plan was to get her as far away from the house as possible, so I kept walking, down the street and around the corner.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m walking, it’s good for the heart,” I gave a shrug and a small smile. She tugged me to a sharp stop; I stumbled but kept my footing.

“No, what are you doing? Taking me for a walk isn’t going to save anyone.”

“You’re right, but Daniel, Felix’s brother is going to save him.

While we’ve been walking Daniel has been getting Felix to safety, in about two minutes their father is going to be here with a police squad. Yeah, he’s a real big guy in the police department, I bet you didn’t think of that before you took his eldest son,” she gaped at me, for once surprised by my tenacity.

Her fingers slipped off my wrist but she wasn’t going far. In the time I’d been talking, keeping her distracted I’d been able to handcuff her to me. She could pull all she liked but she wasn’t getting away.

Her fingers slipped off my wrist but she wasn’t going far.

In the time I’d been talking, keeping her distracted I’d been able to handcuff her to me. She could pull all she liked but she wasn’t getting away.

“I’ll kill you,” she hissed.

“And now the police have you on tape threatening their informant, isn’t a wire such a fantastic invention? Great work Denise, I’m sure prison is going to love you.” The punch across the face was probably something I deserved, but to be honest, it wasn’t something I had expected.

Something in him lit up and a wide grin spread across his face. I never thought of Daniel as scary, but the look on his face was.

“Now you’re on camera assaulting me,” with a nod of my head I directed her to a truck parked down the street. Just in time Eric, Felix and Daniel’s Dad stepped out, flashing a smile and a nod. Felix and Eric had their falling out about me, when Eric questioned me about Dillon and his family. Including Eric in the little to-do was probably the smartest thing Daniel had done all week.

Before I could count to ten, Denise wasn’t cuffed to me anymore, but instead she had her arms behind her back and a uniformed police officer was leading her to a car.

“Mackenzie, Felix and Daniel are safe. You did a great job,” Eric gave me a slap on the back, like one of those man hugs.

“You got all this put together for me?” I whipped around so fast I almost lost my balance. Felix was leaning on Daniel, looking no worse for wear beside a little bit of fatigue.

“Of course. You’re my only friend; there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe. Besides, you were there because of me.”

27

Call of Duty: Student Ops AUT students gunning their way to the top Benjamin Matthews Have you ever been told you play too many videos games? Have you ever done a marathon playing the latest Call of Duty? Do you need exercise, but don’t know what sport to do? If you said yes to all the above, you should check out Airsoft.

Using replicate guns, being either electric gas power or spring power, Airsoft puts people into tactical situations. Instead of real bullets, BB bullets are used. Much like your typical firstperson shooter, Airsoft has different game modes. This can range from team death match, elimination, and capture the flag.

The difficulty can be adjusted, with some Airsoft games having snipers and full army gear.

Belinda Clarke is a member of the AUT Airsoft Club. She joined the club after looking through all the types of sport offered at AUT. Although not a sporty type of person, Belinda took notice of Airsoft.

“I was like, oh that’s really cool,” she explains. “Because I’m kind of into gaming, myself and my partner went along.”

Through the club, Belinda says she’s met lots of new friends.

Kevin, the president, helped introduce them to the rest of the Airsoft community. Belinda describes the community as amazing, saying they are nice and willing to help out.

“Recently they actually refurbished my partner’s gun, because it like broke,” she explains. “It was $500 worth and the whole community paid for that.”

Airsoft uses a large range of replicate weapons, including flash grenades and plastic knives for stealth kills. There are also grenades that shoot out BBs when exploding. A gun can also be modified to how strong you want it, says Belinda.

Every gun has a fire rate per second, which can go up or down.

FPS is how many feet per second a gun can shoot. Indoors is limited to 380 FPS, while outdoors can go up to 500 FPS. “Obviously, if you have more firepower, you have more power. So it’ll hurt more,” she explains.

How much a bullet hurts also depends on what someone is wearing, and the distance from firing. Belinda says if you shoot someone from five meters away with a 500 FPS, it’s going to leave a bruise, and could potentially cut open someone’s skin.

However, Airsoft has a rule where people have to be further than five meters before they can shoot each other. Belinda says there are attempts made to minimalize damage.

“If you’re shooting from quite far away, it’s kind of like a tap on you,” describes Belinda.

Cost wise, it depends on whether a person is a beginner or not.

Renting the necessary gear costs $45, consisting of the basic rifle, 1000 BBs, safety gear, and weapon training. To buy the guns, they cost between $150 and $1000, says Belinda.

However, because Airsoft guns are replicates, you need to be 18 or over to play. Those under 18 need parental consent and a firearm license.

“It can be quite strict on the rules because Airsoft guns have been brandished in a way that people are going to rob stores with them, and they think it’s a real gun.”

For those interested in joining the AUT Airsoft Club, you can email kev.loke2@gmail.com or visit http://www.nzairsoft.co.nz/.

Students unhappy with schools’ current approach to mental health

By Saeran Maniparathy, Youth Press Gallery, Youth Parliament 2016 Youth Parliament is an event where young people from across the country come to Wellington in place of an MP to get a taste of what being a politician is like.

For a group of these young people, they were in the health select committee where they were assessing the question: How can we better deal with mental health issues and suicide prevention in schools?

The group deliberated this issue like any other parliamentary select committee would, having submissions from speakers who were specialists in their area coming in to share their views on the issue from a variety of different professions and backgrounds. Speakers included individuals who were experts in the field from the Ministry of Health, the Education Review Office, and authors of When Life Gives You Lemons - a book looking at depression and anxiety Celia Painter and Abbie Krieble.

People aged 17-19 are at highest risk of suicide, with men almost twice as likely to commit suicide as women. Māori and Pacific Islanders are also at increased risk.

The committee’s recommendations revolve around areas of concern that were highlighted in discussions. One

recommendation was that NZQA find ways of making workloads more manageable for students.

Other recommendations focussed on targeting mental health within the school itself such as incorporating holistic mental health education into the curriculum and ensuring that all guidance counsellors are appropriately qualified and that schools can afford to hire these staff.

A further idea discussed was to distribute the book When Life Gives You Lemons to all intermediate and secondary schools in the country. Co-author Celia Painter said that “if our books were distributed to all schools we would feel really excited and proud that students would be having more access to something which can improve their mental wellbeing”. The books’ other co-author - Abbie Krieble - went on to say “the ultimate goal is to support as many people as possible, as well as de-stigmatise and promote mental health knowledge and awareness.

Wellbeing is so important because it is so fundamental to be able to learn so seeing this become a focus in schools would be brilliant”.

Youth MP, Kasey McDonnell, talked to groups of young people throughout his tenure about mental health issues, and what concerned them. He found there was strong support from students to implement measures such as the select committee recommended, saying that students “would like to see the guidelines around mental health in the Health curriculum improve and expand”.

29

REVIEWS

E V ERY BODY WAN TS SOM E

G HOS T BUS T ER S

Directed by Richard Linklater Starring Blake Jenner, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman

Directed by Paul Feig Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon

Reviewed by Laurien Barks

Reviewed by Benjamin Matthews

I’m a sucker for slice of life films, and Linklater’s latest was no exception. The Boyhood director’s most recent tale takes us back to the 80s, where college freshman and varsity pitcher, Jake, and his hilariously competitive teammates relish in all the booze, babes, and ballgames that college has to offer.

To all those naysayers out there, the new Ghostbusters is actually quite good. It’s not perfect by any means, but’s no the disaster everyone thought it was going be. For those out of the loop, the Ghostbusters trailer is the most disliked video on YouTube. Most of the anger towards the movie is done by misogynists, but by having

Because we’re really only invited into a snapshot of the team’s campus life, not a whole lot in terms of story-arch happens, but that’s where the charm lies. We’re dragged along to their rowdy house parties, cheeky club nights, and clunky sexcapades, and while I can’t speak for everyone, I’m pretty sure I smiled the whole way through. Hard not to when you’re blessed with a killer soundtrack cherry atop a creatively crafted sundae.

If you’re up for some good old fashioned film fun, this is the one for you. Young or old, male or female, it doesn’t matter, it’s got universal appeal. You’ll experience a sense of nostalgia for something you may or may not have had - a true filmmaking achievement in my books.

an all-female cast, it brings a freshness to a movie rarely seen in remakes.

The movie begins with Dr Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), who is about to go up for tenure, trying to hide the fact she wrote a book with paranormal claims. This leads to Erin being reunited with her old friend Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy). After being kicked out of her university, Erin is forced work with her old friend to prove ghost exists. They’re eventually joined by an eccentric engineer (Kate McKinnon), streetwise ticket inspector (Leslie Jones), and the only male member of the group, the lovable yet not so smart receptionist (Chris Hemsworth). There are even cameos by Ghostbusters veterans Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

Don’t go into this movie expecting something serious. But the original film wasn’t serious either. It’s safe to say, the new Ghostbusters reboot is worthy of its namesake.

S TA R TREK B EYON D Directed by Justin Lin Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban Reviewed by Benjamin Matthews

To be frank, I’m not the biggest Star Trek fan. I’m more of a Star Wars fan (I even put Jedi down as my religion on the last census). Before the 2009 reboot, I’d always found the series boring. Most episodes of Star Trek seemed to a group of misfit losers spewing out random data, such as shield percentage or whatnot. Because of this, Star Trek was always considered the uncool sci-fi program. With J.J. Abram helming the franchise, the series was given a much-needed breath of fresh air. The first in the reboot series was amazing, although I felt the second movie ventured too much into what made Star Trek boring to begin with. With Star Trek Beyond, it goes back to the 2009 formula with simple good dumb fun.

Stranded on a hostile planet, after their ship is blown up, the crew of the enterprise is tasked with escaping the planet. Filled with inside jokes (thanks for the screenplay, writer Simon Peg), Beyond feels more like fanfiction. But instead of being a disservice, the film feels like it’s catering to the fans, giving them everything they want. From high-paced action scenes to specular explosions, the new Star Trek movies can be enjoyed by newcomers and older fans alike.

M AC K LEM O RE & RYA N LEWIS Auckland, Vector Arena Reviewed by Laurien Barks | Photo by Amelia Petrovich

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis hit the Vector Arena stage last night, and it was everything a fan could dream. Showcasing their latest This Unruly Mess I’ve Made album, the pair’s energy was off the charts the entire evening, and there wasn’t a dull moment to be found.

With a set list of both new and old classics, the duo truly did nail the rise and fall of the energy and emotions that makes a concert magical. The most powerful standout of the evening was Macklemore’s tribute to global equality.

Threaded together, mid-concert, was One Love, a tribute to #blacklivesmatter, and a killer speech about uniting under fearlessness in a world that sometimes seems it’s pushing for the opposite.

However, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, being the performers they are, had their fair share of quirky hilarity to accompany the seriousness. Downtown, Can’t Hold Us, Thriftshop, and Dance Off all made it on the set list, with two audience members even being called on stage to face each other in a dance off of their own. I struggle to think of a gig with as much cram-packed fun as these two managed.

31

Baked Butter Beans William Bowman

Baked beans are a good thing - the rich, thick sauce, the firm but buttery beans, and of course a piece of toast dripping in butter. Well, those are from a can, so imagine how good making your own could be. Make these, call them your own, have some people round on a cold and wet night. They’ll warm you to your core.

• • • • • • • • •

2 tins tomatoes (or 10 fresh tomatoes, chopped) 2 tins butter beans 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 clove of garlic, chopped 1 red onion, chopped 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp cumin seeds Salt and pepper

Optional • Eggs • Feta • Chopped Italian parsley Heat oven to 180°C On a medium heat in an oven proof dish, sauté chopped onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add tomato paste, paprika, curry powder, cumin seeds, salt and pepper then stir for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and butter beans and stir.

Place lid on dish and put in the oven for 30 mins. Remove lid, stir, and if using eggs make small wells to crack the eggs into. Return to the oven for 8 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your preference.

33

S U DOKU

PALINDROMES

Kayak Madam Noon

Redivider Rotator Sagas

Stats Peep Level

Pop Gag Bib

Redder Refer

Tenet Solos

Civic Ewe

Bub Wow

Circle all the words in the wordfind, tear this page out & pop it into the box on the side of the red Debate stands, and you could win a motherflippin’ sweet prize!

Name:

Email:

GRANT SAVES MONEY FOR THINGS HE LOVES

WORK6713 ATHOP1656

- W I T H H I S AT H O P C A R D -

As a full time tertiary student you could save at least 35% off your travel.* Apply to have a tertiary discount loaded on to your AT HOP card now!

C H E C K O U T AT. G O V T. N Z / T E R T I A R Y *35% savings are off single trip adult cash fares and exclude SkyBus and Waiheke ferry services and until 14 August 2016, NiteRider.

Terms of use and registered prospectus for the AT HOP cards are available at AT.govt.nz/athop or at the Transport Information Centre, Britomart. The obligations of Auckland Transport under the AT HOP cards are unsecured.

35

Salon 52 By

Academy

Opening Special $10 women’s cuts $5 men’s cuts 25% off all other services

Show your AUT student ID for the 25% discount

Call us now to book your appointment: 09 815 3503 cutabove.co.nz

|

salon52@cutabove.co.nz

|

52 Symonds Street, Auckland Central