Debate issue 22 by Debate Magazine

Issue 22 | OCTOBER 2013 www.ausm.org.nz

Issue 22 | October 2013 Directory p8 p6 reception City Campus Level 2, WC Building 921 9805 Mon-Thurs: 9am-5pm Fri: 9am-4pm North Shore Campus Level 2, AS Building 921 9949 Mon-Fri: 11am-1pm

Cover

by Ramina Rai p22

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designer/PHOTOGRAPHER Ramina Rai

contributors

Illustration & Photography p20

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Nicole Koch | Ramina Rai

advertising contact Kate Lin kate.lin@aut.ac.nz

management Kathy Anderson General Manager 921 9999 ext 8570 kanderso@aut.ac.nz advocacy Siobhan Daly AuSM Advocate 921 9999 ext 8311 siobhan.daly@aut.ac.nz

Matthew Cattin matthew.cattin@aut.ac.nz

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Manukau Campus MB107 921 9999 ext 6672 Mon-Thurs: 9am-3.30pm governance & leadership Kizito Essuman AuSM Student President 921 9999 ext 8571 kizito.essuman@aut.ac.nz

EDITOR

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marketing Kate Lin Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator 921 9999 ext 8909 kate.lin@aut.ac.nz events Carl Ewen Student Life Manager 921 9999 ext 8931 carl.ewen@aut.ac.nz media Matthew Cattin Publications Co-ordinator 921 9999 ext 8774 matthew.cattin@aut.ac.nz vesbar Zane Chase Vesbar Manager 921 9999 ext 8378 zane.chase@aut.ac.nz volunteers & clubs Lauren Howe Volunteers Coordinator 921 9999 ext 8911 lauren.howe@aut.ac.nz

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5 | Editorial

18 - 19 | Puzzles

6 | What It Means To Be Just

20 - 21 | Lorde

8-9 | Art in the Dark

22 | Unfriends

10 | Student Events

23 | Social Media Highlights

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, PMP Print or its subsidiaries.

debate is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA)

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Vote

Voting has commenced in the 2014 AuSM Student Representative Council Elections.

By now, you should have recieved an email to your AUT student email address with a link to an online ballot that allows you to vote. Online voting takes a few seconds but it can make a huge difference. The Student Representative Council determines the future direction of AuSM, lobbies on your behalf and represents you at all levels. It also ensures AuSM continues to deliver services such as Orientation, debate, Vesbar, the AuSM Lodge, discounted transport, Student Job Search, Liaison services and much more. This is your chance to have a say in the people leading your studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; association. If you did not recieve an email, contact the Student Information Centre to check the status of your account. Only students who have paid their fees will be eligible to vote.

Voting runs from 30th September to 10th October.

by Matthew Cattin Hello, I feel sorry for the folks that go through their lives permanently vulnerable to offense, their conservative hearts worn on their bloody sleeves. Exposed breasts on television? Outrageous. More black rats than white rats drawn in a comic strip? Absurdly racist. A disgruntled dog saying bugger on a television ad? Well that’s just the devil… My gears were freshly grinded by an article I read on recent complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Authority. You’ve seen the Whittaker’s L&P chocolate ad? Yes, the ridiculous clip of the van driver who sips on L&P whilst eating chocolate and crashes into Paeroa’s giant bottle? Well can you believe I managed to make it through that entire thirty seconds without getting offended? Oh please, I’m not even bragging. I actually did! I maybe even chuckled a little. Well, a few miserable bastards across the country did not share my feelings – in fact they were outraged. Sitting at home watching Coronation Street, these sad, sad people were mid-way through their second cuppa tea of the evening when the horrific ad screened. Hunched over a sudden indigestion, Coro was forgotten in a heartbeat as the lonely souls rushed for their letter writing sets. Trembling with rage and indignation, no formalities were lost as they scrawled in cursive script ‘to whom it may concern’ in the top left corner of the page. What followed the formalities shocked me. Complainants were disappointed that the

advertisement “encouraged” unsafe driving and that the chocolate’s tagline “accident waiting to happen” could have been made a safer way. I’m sorry but what?

of our readers on a Monday morning are probably hung over, tearing through the mag muttering “where are the fucking puzzles and boobs?”

Firstly, what kind of a sad life do you lead if you have nothing better to do than write snarky letters over harmless television? And secondly, how does an ad that depicts a distracted driver crashing his vehicle in any way encourage unsafe driving? Surely no more than the drink-driving adverts encourage youngsters to drink behind the wheel i.e. not at all.

I’m not saying I should throw morals out the window and print racist, sexist, and homophobic articles. No – any submissions I find offensive to a specific group are not cool and not included. But boobs and curse words are everyday occurrences are they not? I feel it’s fairly reasonable to assume most 20-somethings have seen enough nudity and curse words in their life time to just roll with it. If you’re offended by them, stay home and watch Franklin. FFS.

Thankfully, the BSA called bullshit on the letters and rejected the complaint - probably on the premise of the authors’ clear insanity – but this is just one case in a thousand. Poor old debate has also endured the wrath of the chronic complainer. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good bit of hate mail. I understand that students have opinions and that not everybody is going to like what we publish. In fact I’m often surprised when anybody enjoys what we publish… Hey, that’s life; I expect to cop a bit of hate. But I have to say I never expected to properly offend anybody – debate is just too clean. We’re pretty much the elderly, community pastor of the student magazine world. However, a few weeks back a complainer open fired, claiming that debate used offensive language and lewd images in one of our issues. I was actually flabbergasted. I’m sorry love but we’re not printing bible pamphlets to drop off at rest homes are we… This is a student magazine. The majority

Everybody has a right to complain. In fact in some situations I’d say it can become your moral duty to speak out, particularly if there is prejudice underfoot. What I find sad however is the people who can’t just let the little things slide – choosing instead to spend their time writing lengthy letters to the BSA about totally trivial bullshit. For example, in 2011 the BSA received a complaint over an election advertisement which featured a child’s voice over. Apparently they found it inappropriate because children are not allowed to vote. Woah. Stop the press.,, How confusing this must be for viewers! I hope that makes you as sad as it makes me. “Honey, go and get me my parchment and quill. This ad on the telly is exceedingly accurate! Never fear – justice is coming.” Life’s too short. Stop complaining. Matthew www.ausm.org.nz

What It Means to Be Just by Samuel J Hennesey

I have a bad habit of getting myself in over my head. And this was no different. No power, running water, toilet or any essential necessity for the future week. Where was I? To tell you the truth I’m still not entirely sure, a remote village in Cambodia called Khompong Phluk, a village on stilts, built around the rise and fall of the water levels of the lake which it neighbours. Quite possibly the first Kiwi to spend nights staying there. Travel is one of those things that lends itself to options; entitled travel or destination centred travel, and maybe some spread in between. When I pack a bag and land in a foreign country, I want to be at risk, I want to contend with survival and try and mesh with the contextual perils and achievements as much as a pakeha can. I feed off the thrill of fast paced, dirty learning, where you have to surrender to the ways and woes of society and just soak it up. Others feel it more important to just soak up Vitamin D, or liver damage, or in worse cases…under aged and underpaid sex. So, because language is the fulcrum of culture, I took it upon myself to try and learn as much Khmer as I could. Where this gave me a leg up in experience, was while I was babbling away with the lovely Veasna who worked over the desk, I got invited back to his village. A privilege and an honour. I was so humbled by Veasnas genuine desire to share his reality with my wealthy western one. So next thing we checked out of the delightful hostel and rode motorbikes followed by a boat built with an old Toyota engine, working our way out of civilization and into Komphong Phluk. Where this journey gets important though, is on the deck of Veasna’s family home. Sweltering hot, around an exquisite meal prepared on a charcoal flame, with the family cracking jokes about me because I urinate so frequently. This is my idea of capital gain. The local school teacher was hung up in the hammock, sharing a smoke with me when he informed me the sub chief of the village was going to show up for a feed. A guest of honour?! And I was not disappointed. An older Cambodian man, with leather skin, but a full lock of jet hair and the muscle tone of a teenager approached the ladder and saddled up onto the deck. What I hadn’t noticed in his approach was the remarkable tattoo covering his entire chest; a delicate and detailed Angkhor Wat that, much like his physique, had stood up to years of sunlight and gravity incredibly well. Naturally we both checked out each other’s tats, finding the first ebb of common ground. I spoke what Khmer I had at my disposal, then, he bounced some English in my direction in reply! This was outlandish from a Khmer gentleman who was generations older! Then the school teacher, who was twiddling the butt, let me in on a little secret: the sub chief spoke French too! Suddenly, the world had emptied itself of restrictions; this incredible old man and I began to speak, tri-lingual, bouncing off of English, then when the source ran dry, to Khmer, and when I couldn’t hold the pace, to French. Bridging not only generation, but blood, geography, and material disparity, this Khmer sub chief of Khompong Phluk and I were thoroughly engaged in conversation. Riveting! I only had to spoil it by asking “where did you learn French?” It was interesting that the answer didn’t come from the old man, but the teacher reaching for another smoke… “The Rouge” That answer did need some validating, but the essential truth was laid bare. This man had been not only a soldier in the Khmer Rouge, but someone of considerable standing. This I knew because Pol Pot had studied in France and valued the French language, so those who were of standing in the army also had to learn the language. This

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man, with all his amazing attributes and decoration, would have been undoubtedly responsible by command or actual infliction, of other people’s death. Only a few days prior I had been walking amongst the remains of slaughtered Khmer people in a mass grave commonly known as the killing fields. This place is not an ordinary site of attrition. Because of the amassing of bodies, if you walk through those fields around monsoon, bones make their way to the surface. I had walked over teeth that had worked their way to the top. They even have a bone deposit box, just in case. It is morbid beyond belief. The sheer extent of death, I will never understand or be able to process. That place crushed my belief in humanity. And here on the bamboo rods, helping himself to the meal between us, was a man who had participated and endorsed this kind of maliciousness. I did, and I don’t exaggerate, consider grabbing a utensil and taking it to soft body tissue. But something was a bit in the mouth, something you may also have picked up on… this man with blood on his hands was the second person in a hierarchy of influence over the village: by election and common agreement (the village was quite small) and not threat of violence. How the hell could these people ever consider a man like this, noble, or trustworthy enough to make decisions on behalf of others? And while the conversation with this man finished sharply after that exposé, the question of “why he was” stuck to me powerfully. After asking a lot of questions to a number of Khmer people I encountered on my journey, it turns out the reason this man can be in such a role even after committing crimes against the community is down to the national identity in circular theology. That is; the Cambodian people as a nation are Buddhist. What that means for them, is that the afterlife is not an ends, it cycles through, again and again, and in each rotation of life cycle there are things to be learnt until one reaches samsara. Why this means that this man could still be in that role is quite simple. Because the community believes deeply that he will ultimately be held to account for his actions in the next reality, for them, they can let go of the atrocities, and let him participate in society again fully, with all his skills, abilities and what we might call mana still intact. This ideology initially tore me to pieces. Being rooted in a JudeoChristian society with a penchant for swift and immediate justice, I couldn’t comprehend how this could be allowed to happen? But then I considered….Cambodia’s scars are well seen on its sleeve. There is carnage from the Khmer Rouge everywhere. But after the tyranny, the reason these people are so resilient and have managed to bring themselves up from ruin is because they were brave enough to embrace this idea, and end the violence, leaving justice to the afterlife. I think in New Zealand, if we were faced with the same horrors, we would demand an end, or at least some severe penalty for those who had committed the crimes. In short, the bloodshed would continue. But because of Cambodia’s incredible take on forgiveness, the blood shed could stop, and as a result, the nation of Cambodia stands as a testament to human resilience. While I still pine for justice, the Cambodian idea of how to move on from something as evil as the Khmer Rouge, has taught me a powerful lesson in what it means to be just.

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CELIA HARRISON Celia Harrison graduated from AUT with a Bachelor of Design (Honours), majoring in Spatial Design in 2010. For her Honours research project, she developed the concept of Art in the Dark, an interactive light festival that “takes back parks from the night”. The event has since become an annual occurrence on Auckland’s arts calendar and has gone from strength to strength – its last showcase attracting over 40,000 visitors. Held over three nights in November, this year’s Art in the Dark celebrates numerous New Zealand artists alongside several internationals and, being a free event, will be a great night out for romantic students looking to impress. Celia now runs the creative production company Celery Productions with co-director Ella Mizrahi, specializing in creative solutions and productions for major events such as theatre, shows and exhibitions. ART IN THE DARK 7- 9 November, Western Park, Ponsonby Road, Auckland 8pm - midnight Free 8

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Andy Flint

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Ten steps to a great student event By Kieran “Coke Float” Bennett So you decided to do that most unenviable of tasks and organise the next big student event. Well obviously you'll need some help and considering I have vast reams (none) of experience, this guide should prove very helpful (useless).

1) Snort a lot of coke

It’s always important to approach tasks with the right mind-set. In the case of organising an event for 500 odd fickle students, a big bag of coke will help; filling your mind with the right ideas.

2) No seriously, inhale that shit

You have no idea what you’re getting into so it’s probably best to be as incoherent as humanly possible. Plus when you get to meetings, the randomly bleeding nose will garner you respect.

3) Gauge interest

Why plan an event if no one will go right? Make sure to ask people what they think about your event, being careful to not tell people anything at all because vague decisions are the best decisions.

4) Be swamped with support and enthusiasm

Considering no one is required to do anything other than appear supportive at this stage, expect to be flooded with support. Allow it to uselessly inflate your ego and make you feel good. Bonus points if, for weeks, you all stand around talking about how great things will be without actually doing anything.

5) Forget about the whole thing

Well, it’s been a few days, the joke has been fun, time to shove this to the back of your mind under 'shit I was never really going to do'.

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6) Pretend to know what you’re doing when people ask

Woops, even if you forgot, nobody else did. When you’re swamped with questions the best policy is to lie. Of course you'd been contacting people, drawing up plans and generally getting on with it. I mean, what, did you forget?

7) Make careful decisions within your budget

Go big or go home. Find the grandest things you can, add up the costs and then budget for it. It’s early days yet and you can do anything.

8) Realise you have no budget and change everything

I lied. You have no money at all remember? Cancel all your bookings and book something else, preferably at least one week before tickets go on sale. It’s also really important that you tell different people different things about what will be happening. Keeps them on their toes.

9) Change everything a few more times and then start selling tickets

There's nothing quite like a last minute, poorly informed decision. In that vein, make sure you keep constantly changing things right up to the 11th hour and sometimes just into the next day. Your guests don’t need consistency, they need excitement. Once they've had enough excitement, start selling.

10) Cry. A lot.

You've made it to the end. You have an event, a few grey hairs and only a mild coke addiction; but you made it. So what now? Well now you cry. Because that’s the only thing that makes sense at this point.

Cunliffe’s Labour By Jarred Williamson @jarreddw Two years ago I sat opposite David Cunliffe before the 2011 general election. Labour was down in the polls. Cunliffe was then the finance spokesperson and was looking like a potential leadership contender. “Mate, I really haven’t given that any thought,” he said when I asked whether he had leadership aspirations. But the smile on his face said it all, deep down you could tell he wanted Phil Goff’s job if the election was lost. As recent history suggests, Labour is still in opposition. The caucus chose another David – David Shearer – to replace Goff after the 2011 election. Cunliffe had a senior role in the Labour caucus after that, but rumours of a leadership challenge saw him demoted to the backbenches last year. Last month David Shearer resigned as Labour leader - he’d had enough and his time was up. Two years after his first challenge for leadership, David Cunliffe is the new leader of the opposition. He is the third opposition leader since John Key became Prime Minister after the 2008 election. Cunliffe is the master of the sound bite, unlike his predecessor. He’s selected his deputy and has announced his shadow cabinet, filled with promotions and demotions. It was “a government in waiting,” he said. The Labour Leadership Primary: Traditionally in New Zealand a political party’s caucus of elected MPs vote for a leader, but Labour blew that out of the water with new party rules meaning the wider party also gets a say in who should be leader. Caucus and party members each got 40 per cent of the total vote, with affiliate unions getting the remaining 20 per cent. Labour MPs and commentators associated

with Labour described it as “an exciting time for Labour” and the phrase “democracy in action” was used as well. The three contenders – David Cunliffe, Grant Robertson and Shane Jones – all embarked on a roadshow of public meetings and appearances around the country. Cunliffe seemed to be a poll favourite from the get-go, TVNZ’s Q+A Colmar Brunton snap poll before the candidates were announced had Cunliffe on 29 per cent and surprisingly Jacinda Ardern was second on 15 per cent. Grant Robertson was distant on 10 per cent. Once the three candidates were announced a further poll showed 39 per cent support for Cunliffe, 18 per cent for Jones and Robertson was third on 15 per cent. Reviewing the media coverage it seemed as if a Cunliffe win was a done deal, and 3News couldn’t seem to get over the fact that Robertson was the ‘gay’ candidate. There were endless stories and polls suggesting he wouldn’t be leader because of his sexuality. It was an aspect to him as a candidate but that was not the only thing about what he was running for. Jones was the underdog. His aim was to get people talking about Labour again while also cracking a few jokes about his taste in hotel movies along the way. Then there was that strange interview with Jones by Guyon Espiner on 3rd Degree with Espiner tending to the barbeque. Seven Sharp’s Heather du Plessis-Allan was with Cunliffe fishing and had a pint with Robertson. But when it came down to it, there were no surprises who the winner was. Interestingly Robertson would be leader if it were caucus who decided the leader. Labour’s new rules for electing a leader highlighted a difference in preferences. Robertson had the strongest support in Caucus. But Cunliffe had the largest support of party members and union affiliates. The new shadow caucus: One week into the job, Cunliffe announced his

shadow cabinet. There were promotions for many who are known to be his supporters but some opponents kept senior positions. His rankings highlight some interesting points about Cunliffe’s intentions and focus leading to the election. Interestingly Jacinda Ardern is demoted to 6th in rankings and loses the social development portfolio and picks up police and corrections. Sue Moroney takes the portfolio at 10th in the rankings. Look forward to future duels between Paula Bennett and Moroney. Louisa Wall, who spearheaded the campaign for marriage equality in law this year, went from 31 on the list to number 16. One point to note is that the transport portfolio is now handed to Darien Fenton and is lowly ranked. It suggests it won’t be as high in importance as in recent years. Clare Curran is no longer the spokesperson for broadcasting and ICT. She is unranked toward the bottom of the list. The conservation and water portfolios are outside of the shadow cabinet in unranked territory. Some commentators have hinted this move could see the portfolios given to Green MPs as part of a post 2014 election coalition deal. Who knows, it may or may not be the case. It appears to be a sensible portfolio reshuffle from Cunliffe. Resisting the urge for “utu” on his most critical opponents while keeping some experience at the top of the list. TVNZ’s political editor, Corin Dann, said it was a move similar to Helen Clark – keeping friends close and ‘enemies’ closer. Time will tell us how effective the new line-up is. But for now David Cunliffe’s leadership of Labour has been realised. It’s time to put words and catchphrases in action.

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DOUBT - VIRTUE OR WEAKNESS?

by Samuel J Hennesey

Several spacebars from here I’m going to bring up a person’s name that quite possibly could divide you (the reader) and myself. That person’s name is Adolf Hitler. Can you feel the tension already? I did, and although the essential experience of Aushwitz and Dachau has become a tourist top 10, when you stand in that small subterranean cavern you really feel… Something. What precisely I don’t know. Sad doesn’t concrete it. Scared, but that’s illogical there is nothing to fear. Horrified, but you’re just standing in a room with other foreigners wearing headsets? Something gets in your lungs in that gas chamber, and for me I had to figure it out. It meant going to the one of the only remnants of Hitler’s hand: Mein Kampf. I’m not sure if you’ve read it. Why would you? And often when I find people who have also read it, I do ask myself, what kind of people are we? It’s not the kind of book I want on my Goodreads list, but if I’m brutally honest, more honest than I’d like to be, Mein Kampf changed my life. Now just to establish, I am not harbouring any agenda here, no anti-Semitic, racist or Hitler- glorifying ideology. What he represents is evil, he has become a symbol of evil, and unquestionably one of the most hated people in our near history. Just think about the way you felt when you first read his name on this page. The reasons for those reactions is what I love about humanity; that we can find objective immorality in events like the holocaust, we all know that it is an abhorrent denial of humanity. A common tragedy, that to me suggests if we all know how to feel about Hitler and the horrors of the holocaust, we all know also intrinsically what it is to be human and how to flourish as a species. And to some degree, that includes Mr Hitler. Oh yes it has been said, with plenty of bite that the person of Adolf Hitler was evil: intrinsic, incurable… Demonic I’ve even heard it said. And it makes perfect sense, when someone comes along who’s an enabler and master of such atrocity why not lump sum it and call him an evil

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person? We don’t want the likes of that reflecting what we are as a race: he’s evil. In every sense I felt this way, particularly standing in that bleak gas chamber - I hated him then and I hate him now. But when I encountered Mein Kampf I had to admit that though he did plenty of evil things, Hitler was not an evil person, and I doubt anyone ever was or will be.

The story of this man started with a huge crisis of identity, feeling German but not being German, caught in the middle of power struggle, land division and identity trauma. Tragically his mother died when Hitler was eighteen, forcing him to have to mature very quickly, engage the real world head first, earn an income and contend for his survival. All on his own in the middle of Vienna, Adolf took manual labour jobs on, while trying desperately to foster his potential as an artist. Yes, Hitler was a creative, which suggests he had feeling. In fact, feeling is exactly what went wrong in this equation. Consider the pressure, the torment in the struggle of having to survive without the safety of home and then you come by way of some literature, and this literature makes you feel…something. Powerful, entitled, like the reason everything is so hard can be narrowed down to a single race. Suddenly things start making sense. There is a buy in. And regarding Adolf Hitler this seems the case exactly. Some very poisonous ideas got under his skin and began to infect his world view. So do his tragic beginnings make it okay? Only an idiot would suggest that. He made his choices, and those choices took others’ lives. It’s sickening. But it is interesting to think about how a small suggestion, the scent of a very powerful idea, took root in a very vulnerable and unfortunately intelligent person…and then…in amongst my digestion of this text, I realised that many of the patterns in Hitler’s thought process, mimicked my own. I too am an idealist, and though I like to consider my values life promoting, I had to be honest with myself and acknowledge that there was a real danger in my way of approaching my passions. Cue: Doubt. Doubt is the life saving device that was lacking in Hitler’s, and other tyrants, pursuit of an ideal world. Doubt could have

prevented the tragedy. Strangely, I feel that the way our success driven society is wired means that doubt, in fact, is not a virtue but a weakness. To doubt yourself seems the equivalent to the acceptance of defeat. “Don’t doubt yourself” - I’ve heard it endlessly. The truth I see in doubt is that it has nothing to do with weakness, and everything to do with humility. Doubt is the ability to recognise you may in fact be wrong. And we love that kind of talk in a culture that doesn’t consider anything objective, and yet, I feel that many of the potent and influential people in our world lack the humility to doubt their ideas and agenda. Doubt needn’t conclude that you are wrong, it doesn’t demand an overhaul of everything you believe, it’s merely a disposition; a humble acceptance that in our limited ability we may not know it all. Jews aren’t the enemy. Doubt could have taught that early. The most dangerous humans that have ever lived are the people who didn’t doubt. I grew up as a fundamentalist Christian, and I accommodated those ideas into everything I did. Back then I used to talk about faith: a belief with intensity, and doubt was its antithesis. So I spent a large amount of my teenage years harbouring a reckless hate for the homosexual community. I believed so strongly I was right and would not consider any other opinion because to do so was doubt. And doubt was the seed of sin. In short, I was a dangerous person. The reason Mein Kampf changed my life wasn’t because it is a documented haven of truth. Not at all. It changed my life because it brought to light some truths in my approach to ideology. As someone who takes ideas seriously, if those ideas were ever to have a wide influence, would I have the courage to doubt? Or would I charge forward, risking others’ wellbeing in the establishing of those realities? After some thought on doubt I’ve come to treasure it and I hold it as a standard of character. There is a huge gulf between self-deprecation and doubt. And to be frank, I have no idea how one can ever measure faith unless you have understood doubt. You cannot understand light without darkness. Hitler was a human being who lost his way under the temptation of radical ideas, and was responsible for countless atrocities because he never doubted he was right.

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The voting period for the AuSM elections is still on. The last day of voting is this Thursday, 10th October. If you are an AUT student and you have not cast your vote yet please do have your say as soon as you can. An awesome student union like AuSM needs great students like you to elect its leaders. The AuSM Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate debate is also on this week at the respective campuses. This is your opportunity to ask questions, meet and greet your candidates who are vying for the positions on the AuSM Student Representative Council as well as the new AuSM Governance Board. Below are the schedules for the debates:

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Exam Prep Workshops For first and second years. Gold coin donation on entry. 5+ a Day gift bags to be won. Business vs Law Sports game Please register along with your mates for some healthy competition on the sports field!

Thursday 10th – City Campus at 12pm onwards

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Tuesday 8th – North Shore Campus at 12pm onwards

It is AUT Law Wellness week. A lot of fun filled events are happening around the city campus this week so feel free to be part of that. Please see the information on this page for more information about what is happening this week on the mental health awareness on campus. Yeah “See you there”!

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DLA PHILLIPS FOX WELLNESS BOOK & GIFT PACKS~ FUN PRIZES FROM 5 + A DAY ~ AUT SPORT + FITNESS YOGA CLASSES ~ MASSAGES ~ HEALTHY SNACKS ~ STRESS FREE PLAY DATE WITH SPCA PUPPIES ~ EXAM PREP WORKSHOPS FOR FIRST AND SECOND YEARS ~ Business vs Law Sports game ~ CHECK EMAILS AND FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES

Monday 7th - Manukau Campus at 12pm onwards

A gentle reminder that the nominations for the AuSM Awesome Awards will be closing on Friday, 11th October. If you are an enrolled AUT student and have not voted yet, you still have the opportunity to nominate the lecturers and other AUT University staff that you think provide outstanding service to students. The AuSM annual survey is also currently running. As AuSM is run by students for the benefit of students, we need your input to help us improve the services that we provide. There are some cool fantastic prizes to be won when you complete the survey which will take approximately 5mins. The link for the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey. com/s/2013ausmsurvey. You can also access the link on our website and Facebook page.

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Join us for a fun filled week to create awareness and provide support as the end of year exams draw near! Check the Time7-13 Table October For 2013 Events!

October

2013

De-‐stress: Have a stress free puppy play date! Come hang out!

Monday

Tuesday

7 Wellness Week Starts! Collect your goody bags! FREE circuit fitness class 1-‐ 2pm WT FREE YOGA 2-‐3 pm WT

Wednesday

8 Property Exam Prep Workshop. Free Fresh Fruit @ Lunch Time WU level 1

Thursday

9 Torts Exam Prep Workshop. Free Fresh Fruit @ Lunch Time WU Level 1

Friday

10 Legal Reasoning Workshop Puppies 12pm Green Quad + Free Fresh Fruit

Saturday

11 Business vs Law Sports Game-‐ Register now! Free drinks, snacks & Prizes 3:45-‐5pm

Sunday

To register your spot on the SPORTS team or to BOOK a place for a WORKSHOP please email us at info@autlawss.org.nz Check our FB events page for updates and more info!

lovenotes & hatemail Dear MR Cattin Royals - Lorde, released May 13th, No.1 on the Alternative Chart for seven weeks, now No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 "I've never seen a diamond in the flesh i cut my teeth on wedding rings, in the movies I'm not proud of my addres in a torn up town no post card envy but every song's like 'gold teeth, grey goose, tripping in the bathroom, bloodstains, ballgowns trashing the hotel room' ... we don't care we aren't caught up in your love affair and we'll never be Royals" Do Wah Diddy Diddy - written for the Exciters, made popular by Manfred Mann. Released July 10th 1964 and spent 2 weeks No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and 2 weeks at No. 1 in the US Billboard Top 100 "There she was just walkin' down the street Singin', "Do wah diddy, diddy, dum diddy do" Snappin' her fingers and shufflin' her feet Singin', "Do wah diddy diddy, dum diddy do"

She looked good, she looked fine And I nearly lost my mind"

Hello,

Aruguably, Lordes song concurs with your hypothesis that modern media and pop culture aren't really up to a standard, irrelevant to majority of the public and is largely superficial and inane. However, she has herself seen an electric rise to fame with her singles and is now a part of the machine that you both criticise. Your article reeks of elitism and a quarter life crisis. It's quite dangerous not to mention predictable to generalise whole eras and generations. Art is always open to interpretation. If you don't like something, that's fine. But to posit that nonsense, or sexism/prejudices in art is only a recent occurrence is ridiculous. Regards

Thanks for your response. Glad to see somebody is reading. You’re right – both eras have their fair share of good/bad/sexist/prejudiced lyrics. I perhaps should have made sure to acknowledge that fact in my article. However, I think it’s safe to say the lyrical content of today’s music is far more explicit, vulgar and offensive than in older times – just ask Lil Jon and his sweaty balls. This was the point I was trying to convey. I also don’t feel like calling an artist out for writing a song about degrading women (or to quote Lil Jon “bitches” or “hoes”) in such a fashion should be considered “nonsense”. PS who told you about my quarter-life crisis?

Anon (but I’m pretty sure it’s Lil Jon).

Matthew

She looked good, she looked fine (Looked good, looked fine)

AUCKLAND'S GOT IT GOING ON By Mike Ross October is here. The month when students once again start to take an interest in their work, and alcohol dispensaries of all descriptions watch their revenues drop. It is a time of happy livers and regular sleep patterns, empty flat recycle bins and healthy(ish) bank balances. But for those of you brave enough to say "screw the assignments, let me drink!", there are more than enough activities to keep you entertained…

Wednesday Flume @ The Logan Campbell Centre The man that's been producing those tunes on constant repeat in Auckland nightclubs is coming to town to play them all once more! Harley Streten aka Flume aka the guy that grabbed my girlfriend's ass at What So Not's first NZ gig, will be schmanging out tracks at The Logan Campbell Centre this Wednesday night. He's bringing his "infinity prism" stage setup with him too (oooOOOOoooh!). I'm pretty sure tickets have been sold out for a while now, but there seem to be a few being hawked on the Facebook event page. Either that, or score yourself a ticket to the all ages gig the next night, and prey on some young blood. Each to their own.

Saturday Yard Sale @ My God Dang Flat If I can't plug my gigs in my own gig guide, where can I plug them? We're having a yard sale at our Ponsonby flat, and you're invited. Two of my flatmates are headed to the mythical land of Aus, and they've got a lotta shit to get rid of. This leaves me with the awkward question however: do I reveal my home address to the entire student cohort of AUT? Ah screw it. In the name of good promo, swing by 56 Williamson Ave from 11-4.30 this Saturday and score yourself a bargain.

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Ten great college films By nigel moffiet Campus life is rich with epic moments. Scholars are born. New friendships begin. New lovers meet. Ideas are passed around. There are memories you’ll cherish forever and memories you’d rather forget. Your university years are often dramatic, inspiring and ridiculous. It’s no wonder so many films have been made with a collegelife setting. This isn’t a definitive list, just one to distract you for a moment or two.

6: Animal House, 1978 Faber University in 1962 is pretty much the dream student life for a bunch of irreverent lads at any other time and place. Beer, girls, music, sex, and toga parties! Studying for exams? Not a chance! How a group of trouble makers managed to enrol themselves into uni is anyone’s guess but Dean Wormer isn’t going to stand for such disreputable behaviour. With the help of the Omega goody two-shoes fraternity boys and their president, they do their best to get rid of the trouble making Delta boys who aren’t here to study – they’re here to party! Because being bad is more fun than being good - a classic film that set the bar for all other college comedies.

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5: Road Trip, 2000 When Josh heads to the University of Ithaca and Tiffany begins studying at the University of Texas, these high school lovers have to make the most of a long distance relationship. Josh, being a romantic, decides to make a video blog for Tiffany. However he’s also a cheat – when he hooked up with Beth, the hot college blonde, he didn’t just cheat, he also made a sex tape. Of course Josh accidently sends the sex tape to Tiffany and thus a road trip takes place in order cover his ass. The comedy is narrated by goofball Tom Green and is directed by Todd Phillips – who was just warming-up for his later comic masterpiece The Hangover.

10: Scarfies, 1999 Let’s start local (sadly, most films depicting university life are American). Luckily enough, Scarfies is a Kiwi classic! Made by NZ director Robert Sarkies, the movie is a dark and humorous portrait of university life in Dunedin. It features a group of students flatting in a worn-out and abandoned villa which, to their joy and surprise, has a large marijuana crop in the basement – the cause of great tension and many highs. Of course, being scarfies (the nickname given to Dunedin students) they take time out to support the Otago rugby team wearing the blue and gold colours. The film’s also powered with awesome Kiwi tunes from bands like The Chills and Straitjacket Fits.

4: Van Wilder, 2002 Ryan Reynolds plays Van Wilder – a super outgoing, mischievous, party loving student at Coolidge College who everyone adores… well almost everyone. His father is pissed off that Van has spent seven years at college and still hasn’t graduated. Why would you graduate when you’re in charge of organising parties and other fun campus events? When college newspaper reporter Gwen (Tara Reid) does an article on Van he grows a liking to her which doesn’t impress her boyfriend – Richard, the president of the student union. Rivalry begins and gross things happen. It also goes one step beyond American Pie’s awkward sexual encounters – in this movie dog semen is used for baking.

9: Good Will Hunting, 1997 Directed by legendary Gus Van Sant in what is one of his more accessible films Good Will Hunting starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck before anybody questioned their acting credentials. In fact, it proved their worth as they also wrote the script to the Oscar winning film. Will Hunting (Damon) is a troubled janitor at MIT but it’s soon discovered he’s probably one of the smartest mathematicians there. Robin Williams enters the equation as Sean McGuire, Will’s inspiring counsellor. Will also gets all the encouragement he needs from best mate Chuckie (Affleck) and love interest Skylar (Minnie Driver). Everybody conspires in this heartfelt film to let Will know he has a lot more potential than cleaning up shit.

3: The Rules of Attraction, 2002 Considering it’s based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel (the man who concocted the violent fantasies and visions of American Psycho) it’s no surprise this movie doesn’t fall into your silly, goofball comedy genre. Although it strives for comedy in parts, it’s dark, erotically twisted and set in an immoral world at Camden College. Thus it holds back on being too chirpy. James Van Der Beek certainly gets rid of his good boy Dawson’s Creek charm playing Sean Bateman – a drug dealing womaniser who plays his part in propelling a complicated triangle of sex, lies and deceit between a number of characters on campus. Also features a killer soundtrack which includes The Cure, Public Image Ltd, and Blondie.

8: Art School Confidential, 2006 Through the brilliantly weird and goofy lens of director Terry Zwigoff and based on the graphic comic of Daniel Clowes – a great empathiser with cynical outsiders struggling to fit in – we take in the life of nerdy Picasso wannabe Jerome. He moves from the suburbs to major in drawing at New York’s Strathmore College. He soon falls in love with art model Audrey and develops great jealousy towards classmate Jonah who is constantly praised for his bizarre and abstract art. The movie also involves a mystery killer plot and is sprinkled with fantastic characters including John Malkovich as an art professor, Anjelica Huston as an art history teacher and Steve Buscemi as Broadway Bob – his café is the hip hang out for the art students and he knows his art.

2: Legally Blonde, 2001 Elle Woods, a sexy calendar girl, is played by Reese Witherspoon with likable charm. Elle is heartbroken when her nasty boyfriend Warner breaks up with her. Warner calls it off because he dreams of one day being a senator and he doesn’t think Elle is sophisticated enough to be his girl when he reaches such heights. Elle won’t have any of this and through grit and hilarious determination, she flukes her way into Harvard Law School, following Warner, as an attempt to prove her worth. Now all Elle has to do is walk the walk and talk the talk, which doesn’t come naturally to her unlike her blonde locks. Elle: “I feel comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life. (someone whistles at her) I object!”

7: Wonder Boys, 2000 Michael Douglas plays University of Pittsburgh Professor Grady Tripp and his life is slowly falling apart. His wife just left him, he got the married chancellor pregnant, and there’s a book agent (Robert Downey Jr.) breathing down his back because he’s seven years late on his next novel. Complicating matters (as well as adding ambiguous sexual tension) Grady gets involved in a plot with college student James (Tobey Maguire) to uncover a Marilyn Monroe jacket, and Hannah (Katie Holmes), a college student who boards with Grady, is attracted to him during these unfortunate circumstances. All the while he smokes pot, does his best to be a good teacher and get his life back together. Again, this features an amazing soundtrack including Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen.

1: The Social Network, 2010 Intensity fills every scene in this movie by director David Fincher (not a surprise if you are a fan of Fight Club). It follows the early Harvard years of Mark Zuckerberg who is brilliantly portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg. Tension takes place within the sharp dialogue that stirs between Zuckerberg as he developed his vision, his friend Eduardo who provided money, Napster founder Sean Parker who took the website to Silicon Valley and the Winklevoss twins who claimed Zuckerberg stole their idea. The movie depicts drama of the highest order – everything is on the line for what eventually morphs into Facebook – a social networking revolution and billion dollar company. It highlights how one’s years spent at university can be the seed for an idea that shapes the course of history. www.ausm.org.nz

WORD J UMBLER

PRSIGN How many words of three letters or more can you find without cheating? Probably not that many… 6-12 Go back to school 13-25 Average Joe 25+ You did good kid.

BRAIN TEASERS 1. Six drinking glasses stand in a row, with the first three full of juice and the next three empty. By moving only one glass can you arrange them so empty and full glasses alternate? 2. A man is asked what his daughters look like. He answers, "They are all blondes, but two, all brunettes, but two, and all redheads, but two." How many daughters did he have?

COMPETITIONS

have have hold hold

where frilly

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Find all the words in page 19's Student Life Wordfind, send it our way & you'll go in the draw to win two "Squawk Burger" vouchers from Velvet Burger. Delicious! So fetch your magnifying glass and get wordfinding! Drop your entry into your nearest AuSM office, or the box on the side of the red debate stands, or email debate before 12pm Thursday. What’s up for grabs? Two “squawk burgers” vouchers for Velvet Burger on Fort St, Auckland CBD.

Issue 21 Congratulations to...

Nicole May Villos! City Campus who scored two Squawk Burger vouchers!

DINGBATS ANSWERS: 1. Walk down the aisle. 2. To Have and To Hold. 3. Frilly Underwear. 4. Short Notice. 5. Order of Service.

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BRAIN TEASERS ANSWERS: 1. Pour the second glass into the fifth glass. 2. Three.. one blonde, one brunette and one redhead.

W A THE AISLE K

STUDENT LIFE WORDFIND

ALCOHOLISM ALLNIGHTER ASSIGNMENTS CAFFEINE CHLAMYDIA

DEADLINES EXTENSION FACEBOOK FAILING HANGOVER

INSOMNIA LECTURES MACBOOKPRO POVERTY PROCRASTINATION

PROMISCUITY STAPLERS STUDYLINK TURNITIN TUTORIALS

Circle all the words in the Student Life Wordfind, tear this page out & pop it into the box on the side of the red debate stands, and you could win two "Squawk Burgers' vouchers for Velvet Burger, Auckland CBD! Tooooo easy!

Name:

Email: www.ausm.org.nz

PRAISE THE LORDE

BY ABIGAIL JOHNSON

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“Let me in the ring, I’ll show you what that big word means.” -Glory and Gore, Lorde Let me begin this opinion piece by saying that, unlike Duncan Grieve and Sam Hayes, I have not been granted access to Lorde’s, aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor’s, life. I have not met her, or even watched her perform yet. And still I feel, as I’m sure much of the country does, that I know her. Over the last six months, as Royals has gotten bigger and bigger, the country’s been abuzz with proclamations of ‘this girl is going to blow up’. And boy has she. Within the first days of her album launch she is already stratospherically bigger than our last success story, Kimbra. She has made much more of an impression, and one that looks lasting. Already she has achieved a number one hit in the US, and, as I write, her album sits at number two. Already she is an international celebrity, and although that indicates great success, it also brings with it a lot of bullshit. As her follower count on Twitter continues to rise, an ugly undercurrent is also at play. Open up any of Lorde’s tweets (@Lordemusic), and you’ll find some nasty trolls rolling in- as you will with any pop success. Currently she is receiving a lot of slack, from people with Disney starlets as their avatars, for ‘throwing shade’. To me that’s rather indicative of the shit women receive for having an opinion in a society that does its damndest to keep them quiet. We are socially conditioned to believe that women should be seen and not heard, and as Gaga recently put it, “Female Pop is a strict party.” According to the music industry the best pop stars are; diplomatic, conventionally pretty and, ideally, easily controlled. Lorde is none of those things.

come from America, or better yet, Britain, but it certainly doesn’t happen here. Yeah we make good music, but not Bowie level, not Dylan level. But then, why not? Is it because we don’t believe we can, because I have the feeling Ella doesn’t wrestle with that affliction. And of course, there’s the niggling fact that she was born in 1996, a fact that a fair number journalists feel the need to rave about. Search her name online and you’ll be met with a barrage of “She’s only 16!” To me, a lot of it reads as condescension. Obviously its fair game to point it out, Pure Heroine is the type of album artists three times her age will want to make, but it does not define her. And also, it does. It does not define in her in that she is not stunted by it. Sixteen-yearolds are a lot smarter than they are credited for. But it is a part of her because sixteen is an incredible age to be. There is so much going on inside a person at sixteen, and her album reflects that. I never found her age to be the huge revelation a lot of adults think it is. I can acknowledge that I was nowhere near as talented as Lorde is when I was sixteen, nor am I now at twenty, but I was certainly no child back then either. I read a lot, especially Oscar Wilde and Jane Austen, and I was vividly world-weary. Maury Johnston, of SPIN magazine has called her age a clumsy ploywhatever that means, and of the line, "I’m kinda older than I was when I revelled without a care” he has patronisingly intoned “Then again, a month can seem like an eternity when you're young — even if you fancy yourself wise beyond your years.” Well I can’t claim to know exactly what Lorde means by that line (from her latest single Team), but the way I interpret it, it makes perfect sense. By sixteen I certainly was older than the days of revelling without a care. The days of running around the back yard playing make-believe in shorts and a bare face were gone. Gone were the days of eating nothing but lollies and not being conscious of the fact. By sixteen I was aware of my sexuality. My body was that of an adult. An adult with pimples on her chin, and shaving nicks on her legs. Yes my days of truly revelling without a care were gone forever.

She is pretty of course, stunning in fact, but she is not a product of the pop mould- visually or sonically. And she isn’t afraid to reveal she doesn’t like an artist- although that might change considering how much shit she’s taken for it.

Sixteen-years-old as a female is a crazy time, but it is not bubblegum and boy bands, despite what Disney would have you believe. I believe a lot of teens are more like Tavi Gevinson than Taylor Swift.

The drama began when Perez Hilton ran a headline reading; ‘Selena can come and get a diss from Lorde!’

The thing I found most astounding, rather than her age, was how absolutely herself she is. She is unapologetic in staying true to her vision and her art. To be honest, I think it is the most incredible thing about her.

The quote that the drama derives from goes; “I love pop music on a sonic level. But I’m a feminist and the theme of (Selena’s song Come and Get It) is, ‘When you’re ready come and get it from me.’ I’m sick of women being portrayed this way.” I suppose some may take that as a diss, but I see it more as an artist critiquing a song’s theme- or perhaps just a person having an opinion. But no, not allowed. And so rather than treat her with the dignity of an artist, she is instant tabloid fodder, feeding into the sexist noise with her ‘insults’. But the media, and especially Perez, live to pit women against each other, and Lorde’s just going to have to get used to it. When I see who exactly is talking about her it’s almost unbelievable that she’s a little Kiwi. And when I first heard that Pure Heroine, her brilliant record, was made in Morningside –where I live- I couldn’t believe it. I was gobsmacked, flabbergasted, astonished. But then I got over it. Why shouldn’t this album have been made here? So often when I think of the true entertainers of the world- the true musicians, not the pop stars, they are absolutely otherworldly. They

We are living in a culture that tells us ‘you can’t be yourself straight away’. We have to pay our penance, make something commercial first, inject a bit of you into the work later- whatever that work may be. So many Idol/X-Factor stars fail because record labels try to keep them relevant by releasing radio-friendly bullshit, rather them letting them be the star they were in their audition. Because record labels don’t want to take risks, and record labels don’t want to wait for art- they want to see the profit. It seems Lorde simply said “fuck that”, and yes, I suppose it is quite impressive that she’s done that at (gasp) sixteen. The album she’s created is pure brilliance, and I can tell you that after only owning it for two days. More drama is going to come, but that is not what will define Lorde, she rises above it all. Personally I’ve never tried pure heroin, but I imagine listening to Pure Heroine is just as satisfying. So let us sit back, turn on the record and watch the astronomical journey of the superstar that is Lorde.

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Un-friends II by Jamie Barnes The militant vegan There’s this joke: “how do you tell if someone is vegan? Don’t worry they’ll tell you” - and nowhere is this truer than on Facebook. It’s strange because no other dietary lifestyle is effected by this level of douche, but if you ever add a vegan, be prepared to have your newsfeed transformed by a barrage of statuses: alternative medicines (I read it online so it must be true), spiritual philosophy (why I’m better than you), how the meat industry tortures animals (why you’re a bad person ), health benefits of being vegan (see “spiritual philosophy”), and my favourite, the commentary on non-vegan society (all of the above). Mr Lonely Otherwise known as “the white knight” or “foreveralone”, this poor guy just can’t catch a break when it comes to finding love, and simply doesn’t understand why he can’t get a date. He is stumped at how women seemingly, exclusively, date “douchebags” while they leave “nice guys” like him in the friend zone. This guy you almost feel sorry for, until you realise that instead of working on this problem by going out and meeting people he would rather sit at home and whinge about the fact that a girlfriend hasn’t fallen onto his lap while he plays videogames. Second-hand comedian When was the last time you laughed at a knock-knock joke? Primary school? That’s because there are only so many times you can hear a joke before they stop being funny and usually that amount is once. This concept however was completely lost on this guy. Remember that clever joke about that topical event that was circling twitter and

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tumblr a week ago? Of course you do because this guy just used it as his status update yesterday. How about that funny picture or .Gif from Reddit or 9gag from last month? Oh he just posted it to his wall half an hour ago from Meme-Centre. Clogging up everyone’s news feed with lame pictures does not make you funny, just like posting the Kony 2012 video doesn’t make you a social activist. The social network activist These are the people who are committed to exposing the world’s problems one ‘like’ at a time. These are the people who speak out against injustices such as sexism, racism, and starving babies in Africa on your status about your day or your mate’s instagram pic of a meal. Not to be confused with actual social activists who do contribute to society by volunteering and collecting signatures etc. No these people are FAR too busy sitting at their computers condemning the rest of ‘society’ for not having solved these problems, all from protests that don’t require them to extend their effort past using their “like” and “share” buttons. People who hate Facebook What the hell? I get if you don’t like Facebook or don’t use it but if you outright hate it, then I am sorry but it is probably mostly your fault. Facebook is unlike every other website as every other website is people you don’t care about broadcasting stuff that is relevant to you, where Facebook is a bunch of people you do care about broadcasting stuff that is important to them. If you don’t like what’s on your newsfeed then it either means you suck at changing your notifications or you have surrounded yourself with more people you hate than like. People on Facebook do not need to go out of their way to entertain you because, chances are, you don’t entertain them either.

#social #media #highlights by Nigel Moffiet Life has its ups and downs. Social media highlights reflects that this week.

In more uplifting news – depending on the fact it doesn’t make you think ‘FML I haven’t achieved anything yet’ – 16 year old Lorde has become the first Kiwi ever to hit number one on the US Billboard charts. Move out of the way Miley and Katy. I think Lorde would rubbish this column too by the way… The yachting boys (can we even call that sport yachting anymore?) of Team NZ are on a downer and Kiwi music sensation Lorde is not just having an upper, she’s sitting on top of the world! So let’s start with the bad news (okay, it’s not really news anymore but rather the Kübler-Ross five stages of loss and grief period). After losing the America’s cup in epic fashion, New Zealand sporting fans have gone from denial and anger, and I’d say we sit at the third stage of grief now – bargaining with the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’. Depression comes next. Russell Brown And it does seem quite fair to say Team NZ were desperately unlucky not to be able to close it out while *they* held the technical edge. kiwinerd It's now fashionable to blame NZ's loss on lack of money: RT @NZStuff Team NZ lost development race FOX SPORTS News BIGGEST CHOKE?? After Team NZ's stunning loss in the America's Cup we would like to know what you think is the biggest #choke in sport Dai Henwood The response around Avondale to the Team NZ loss has been ‘Foils? Sweet will just grab 20 bucks' But we may have our very own Larry Ellison billionaire saviour – yes Kim Dotcom has said he will put his money where his mouth is and partly fund the next America’s cup challenge. A politically gestured middle fingered salute to Prime Minister John Key I think.

Of course the politicians hop on the bandwagon… John Key Congratulations to @lordemusic on reaching no. 1 on the US Billboard charts - what a fan tastic achievement for a young Kiwi talent. Len Brown Lorde, #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, first Kiwi ever. Amazing, unbelievable for Auckland's 16 year old star. And Guy Williams is right – How Bizzare only made number one on the Mainstream top 40 chart. Guy Williams Congratulations to Lorde first kiwi US number 1 and youngest ever! Incredible! Sorry for calling you "The next how bizarre guy". And If I was Lorde, this would be my proudest praise…from the one and only Kiwi music legend. neil mullane finn Go @Lordemusic at number one ! ...not just the biggest thing in the charts but the best thing too .

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Dont Think About Her

By Jessie Song It begins first thing in the morning. Right before you open your eyes, before you can be considered awake, before you have a chance to organise and collect your thoughts, they escape. Before you can acknowledge that you’re conscious, it hits you right in the chest, the heaviness, and you’re reminded of the loss all over again. She’s not there anymore. You pull the blankets up and hug the pillow a little closer, your grip so tight it digs into your own skin, leaving fingernail marks that wake you up. But at least you’re not thinking about her. You’re awake now, but you pretend you’re not. There’s no need to hurry, you don’t need to kiss her good morning now. Close your eyes, breathe slowly. If you don’t think about her, maybe it won’t hurt so much. By the time you finally get up, half the day has passed. You don’t really care. You’re still not thinking about her. Take a shower and make it scalding hot. Feel the heat on your blushing skin, turning it raw, now the pain has substance. Step out, wipe the fog off the mirror, don’t think about the messages she used to draw for you. The cold air creeps through your towel and you hug yourself. Don’t think about how she used to rush out to hug you, leaving water marks all over your clothes because she couldn’t wait to hold you again. Don’t think about that. Go to work, don’t think about her, just get through the day. Make sure you smile back, or they might think something’s wrong. Then you’d have to explain. You couldn’t explain. You wouldn’t know where to start. Say good night to the staff. Remember to smile again. Walk home alone, feel the wind blowing your hair back, and don’t think about how she used to clutch your jacket when she was cold. Don’t think about the times you reluctantly held her hand and walked her home. You were never proud to be with her, you never wanted others to know, so don’t think about it now. Look closer at the people walking

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past, try to guess if they’re lonelier than you are. Don’t think about how lonely she is, she doesn’t matter. Get home, turn on the lights. The apartment looks the same as you left it, but you know it’s different now. She’s gone, and she’s left behind all this space. You never noticed how much space she took up. Now you have nothing to fill in the gaps; how inconsiderate of her. No one had ever warned you that emptiness could be so suffocating. Put on some music. No, not her music. Something different, something she wouldn’t listen to. Something that doesn’t make you think about her. Not something she hates either, because then you’d picture her pouting and complaining, waving her tiny, ineffectual fists at you. But every song is about her. Every word was written for her. Turn off the music, don’t think about her. Sit down at your desk. Don’t think about how she used to sit next to you. How she rested her legs on you, how she’d reach over to play with your hair. Don’t think about how well she understood you, how she kissed you for no other reason than to show you she was there. You thought it was insecurity, that she was worried you’d stop loving her if she didn’t remind you to, but now you suspect she simply didn’t want you to ever forget that she cared. You remember too clearly the way she kissed you, like she’d do it for the rest of your lives, but now she’ll never do it again. So don’t think about that. Go to your bed. It’s all yours now, all that space, all for you. Do you really need that much space? Perhaps you could sleep in the swastika position. Rest your head on the pillow she got for you, but don’t think about her. Don’t think about how she’d lie on your chest and count your heartbeat. How she wrapped her legs around you like you needed to be closer even when you were already touching. Don’t think about the smell of her hair, the gentle pressure of her touch, how she’d bite your ear to get your attention, how she made you laugh. Don’t think about her. Start drifting to sleep. Still not thinking about her. Tomorrow you won’t think about her either. Don’t worry, she’s not thinking about you too.

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A letter of Thanks On 28 August, I suffered a cardiac arrest on the top floor of the AF building. Although I have a clear memory of everything I was doing up to that point, I have no recollection of events from then on until I woke up in North Shore Hospital. What I have learnt since is that without the emergency treatment carried out by students Jennifer Lyons, Melissa Male, Michele Brown and staff member Nicola Powers, I would certainly not have survived. There is no way I can adequately thank them but I can bring attention to the skills they displayed in delivering the CPR and defibrillation

that kept me alive until the ambulance arrived. They are evidence of the excellence of AUTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teaching. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure that there must have been other people whose names I do not know who helped in some way to save my life. My deep gratitude to all of you. Gilda Misur (Ancillary Staff Member, AUT)

Updates AuSM 2014 Student Executive Council Voting is still open! Voting is opened now until 10 October! Have you voted for the AuSM Executives 2014 yet? Make sure you check your AUT email for the link to your online voting account. AuSM Awesome Award 2013 This week is the last week for you to vote for the awesome AUT lecturers and support staff! Vote for them now! http://www.surveymonkey.com/ s/2013ausmawards AuSM Survey Please give us five minutes of your time! We value your feedback! Help us to make AuSM better and provide you with greater services next year! Heaps of great prizes up for draw! You might be the lucky ones who will win prizes such as Logitech Z506 surround sound speakers,

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Apple TV, Sony portable power bank supply and more! Survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013ausmsurvey Entry closes on 11th Oct 2013. AuSM Clothes Swap Two more days to drop off your pre-loved clothes, shoes/ accessories to AuSM office City Campus and get your clothes swap on the 10th October! Stay tuned with us and check out our Facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/ausm1 AuSM Movember Tee AuSM is all about getting involved and supporting worthy causes! The AuSM Mo Tees are available at AuSM City campus office for $15 only. Pre-order for students at North Shore and Manukau campus! 100% of the profits will be donated straight to Movember! Check out nz.movember.com for more info about Movember.

AT&T

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 7-13 OCTOBER When did you last feel like you connected with someone or something? People are stronger when they pull together, so we have put together a whole raft of ideas to show you how to connect with other people, your family, colleagues, communities, schools and older people. Find out more: www.mentalhealth.org.nz/mhaw AUT Health, Counselling & Wellbeing: City 921 9992 North 921 9998

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Seeking Heaven: A Quest for the Perfect Brew 28

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A Cattin-Rai Collaboration. Here at debate headquarters, we love a good cuppa. In fact, stacked behind my monitor is a pile of teas so mighty it wobbles precariously when I type. I remember as a young’un I would occasionally sip mum’s tea just to reaffirm my disgust of the flavour – I couldn’t stand the stuff. Like muddy hot water I always thought. It wasn’t until I tried – at a friend’s proposal – two teaspoons of white sugar in the brew that I decided tea maybe wasn’t such a bad thing. Mum was appalled. After my sugary confession her joy in the novelty of sharing a cuppa with her favourite son disintegrated rather quickly and she hastily employed measures to wean me off. No son of hers was to have tea with sugar – no way. It was a tough time. However, it didn’t take too long before I fell hard and fast for the – let’s face it – kind of average flavour of unsweetened tea. It’s just a nice wee beverage to hang on to whilst watching crummy reality television on a weeknight. Nothing much is happening, it’s cold outside so why not treat yourself to a boring old cuppa mudwater. Not long after my fateful induction into tea city, a friend of mine made me a brew that changed my world – mi chai, nectar of the gods. It opened my life up into the often extraordinary but frequently disappointing realm of herbal teas – and I haven’t looked back since. When classy designer Ramina Rai joined the debate team early this year, it was with great delight that we discovered a mutual appreciation for tea. As the months passed and the issue count went up, so too did our tea collection. For the sake of this article and your overall tea experience, Ramina and I have pooled our tea resources and knowledge to bring you a comprehensive tea guide. So read on, let it brew, and get tea bagging.

M: With cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves, mi-chai is the tea that got me hooked on herbals. With honey and milk, it becomes a taste sensation that’s hard to reckon with. Oh, and if you leave it handy on your desk, your workspace will smell heavenly. To be honest I don’t think I could work alongside anybody who thinks this tea is underrated. R: Everyone I know raves about these spicey little poobags, and I don’t understand why. It’s one of those teas that has an enticingly delicious description, a glorious smell, but tastes like a you’ve accidentally brewed the box rather than the teabag. Disappointing to say the least. I expect a chai to be packed with so much flavour that you discover the meaning of life with every mouthful, and this Mi-chai does not deliver. I later re-visited this tea with a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of milk, which definitely improved it a bit, but anything that needs sugar added is a failure in my books. Soz. Average Rating: 3/5

Dilmah Caramel M: Expectations are a dangerous thing. After the delight of Dilmah’s vanilla tea, I expected their caramel flavour to teabag my taste buds like nothing I have ever experienced. Sadly, it left me a little underwhelmed. It is a good tea mind you, just don’t believe the hype. R: I know Dilmah’s slogan is ‘Do Try It’ but when my friend Laurie first introduced me to caramel tea, I must admit I was quite sceptical about trying it. In the end, I followed the wise words of the Dilmah dude and holy flip, I’m glad I did. Caramel tea is freaken amazing. It’s the first box of tea I brought into the debate office, and it’s the last tea I’ll sip before I die, probably. You should definitely do more than try it and just stock up on 1000 boxes while you can. Average Rating: 4/5

Twinings Moment of Calm

Dilmah Vanilla

M: Maybe the worst thing I have ever had in my mouth, Moment of Calm is like a beautiful woman you take home only to discover she has a sneaky penis tucked between her legs. The box says camomile, honey & vanilla but I assure you, it tastes like none of the above. Avoid at all costs – this tea is the devil.

M: Vanilla tea is a wonderful brew that goes particularly well with a teaspoon of white sugar. Be wary however to not brew it for too long as it tends to become bitter. If you brew it just right and add a dash of milk and sugar, it’s about as close to ice cream tea as you can get.

R: Whoever named this tea is evil and malicious. I sat down to a steaming hot cup of ‘calmness’ and after one small sip, I erupted with a rage I’d never felt before. Anger poured through my veins as the taste of a rodent’s butthole swirled around in my mouth. This is not a moment of calm. This is a moment of soul-destroying hate, followed by an hour of tea regret.

R: After the discovery of Dilmah’s Caramel, I was eager to let vanilla tea into my life. Surely, as the sister of caramel tea, it would be a tantalizingly tasty time. Which it very much is, but it’s got a pretty similar taste to caramel, and caramel is definitely the better looking sister in this scenario. But, if I weren’t to compare these delectable sibling teas, I would whole-heartedly recommend Vanilla to anyone who likes stuff that is good.

Average Rating: 0/5 Red Seal mi-chai

Average Rating: 3.5/5

Healtheries Pomegranate and Grape M: I’m going to be honest. I don’t even know what in the hell pomegranate is. I get the feeling it’s red though because it looks like I drained my jugular into my mug. It doesn’t smell the best but hey, tastes pretty alright. Kind of like crazy diluted Ribena that’s been sapped of its sugar and left in the boot of a car for six months. A fairly solid ‘meh’. R: ‘Did I just brew a young Indian man’s sweat?’ I pondered as my cup of pomegranate and grape sat next to me. I was embarassed to have this soup of body odour within a meter’s proximity of me – people might’ve thought that it was me exuding that overheated Indian boy smell. It doesn’t taste like what it smells like though, thank goodness. It’s nice enough, but not worth the shame of being that person who drinks bodily fluids in the office. That’s a reputation that no one wants. Except Matt. Average Rating: 2/5

Healtheries Strawberry Pavlova Tea M: More often than not, herbal teas taste disappointingly dissimilar to what their packet suggests. With strawberry and pavlova – not so. I was absolutely taken with this tea. The longer you brew it, the sweeter it gets. No sugar required for this bad boy, it’s sweet enough to make your dentist nervous. R: The tea equivalent of rekorderlig. Very sweet, not exactly a ‘real’ tea, but so deliciously scrummy you don’t even caaaaaare about the haters. This is a great treat tea, for when you’re sick of drinking green tea just to look like you care about your health. I went through a box of this tea quicker than all the rest so definitely a winner. Average Rating: 4/5

Healtheries Lemon Meringue Pie Tea M: There’s no way around it – this tea is Strawberry Pavlova’s ugly sister. And every time I pour myself a mug, I can’t help but think of the gorgeous tea I should be with. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not horrible… But once you’ve been in heaven, earth just doesn’t satisfy anymore. R: I brew this tea for around five minutes and leave the teabag in the cup whilst I consume it. Take your judgement elsewhere all you tea-ettiquite suckas, because leaving the teabag in will ensure you get that luscious meringue-pie flavour. If you don’t brew it long enough it comes across as a weak lemonish bore. So when done right, this is a very pleasant tea, one I have warm feelings towards. A real cutie. Average Rating: 3/5

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BE IN TO WIN MYSTERY PRIZES!

MONDAY, 21ST OCTOBER 2013 12 NOON // To be held in WHAREKAI NGA WAI O HOROTIU MARAE. (across the carpark from WC202) All AuSM members are welcome. Please bring student ID. Come along, enjoy some pizza, win prizes and hear all about upcoming changes for your student association. Agenda items include: - AuSM 2014 Budget -Confirmation of 2014 Student Executive Council Members -Election of vacant 2013 Student Executive Council postitions: Culture & Society Faculty Representative -Constitutional Changes

Your opportunity to vote for lecturers and other AUT University staff that you think provide outstanding service to students.

Nominations close on 11th OCTOBER Vote now @ http://tinyurl.com/AuSMAwards2013 30

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AUT MARAE FREE WEDNESDAY 16TH OCTOBER & SYMONDS ST MUSIC & ARTS EVENT

CORNER ST PAULS

4.30PM - 9.00PM AUCKLAND

#NWOH FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO

WWW.AUT.AC.NZ/NWOH

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Blue Jasmine

Director: Woody Allen Starring Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K Rating: Reviewed by Ethan Sills

Woody Allen is one of the most prolific and busy film makers in the world today, churning out at least one film every year for the past forty plus years. Despite having an extensive back catalogue, probably the only thing I, and probably many others, associate with him are his Simpsons parodies and the fact he married his adopted daughter. I thought it was about time I actually saw some of his work for myself, and for a first foray into the world of Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine does not disappoint. Cate Blanchett stars as Jasmine French, a socialite suffering after her businessman husband Hal was arrested for money laundering. His arrest leads to Jasmine losing all her money, her homes, her possessions and her entire social life. Penniless, suffering a mental breakdown and with nowhere else to turn, she flies to San Francisco to be with her sister Ginger, despite their relationship having been strained at best. Though the film predominantly follows Jasmine as she adapts to her new lifestyle, flashbacks are used frequently to show the many years of Jasmine’s high life in New York. It seemed an odd choice at first to dedicate so much of the storyline to the past, yet Allen wisely uses the flashbacks to contrast the high points of Jasmine’s life with the ever increasing low points she suffers in San Francisco. It shows how much our lead has fallen from grace, and builds up Jasmine’s relationships with those around her as well as highlighting the severe mental deterioration she suffers. It becomes clear early on how much of a vehicle Blue Jasmine is for Blanchett; she is simply brilliant in the titular role. There are endless layers to Jasmine, from the dotting, oblivious socialite seen in flashbacks to the unstable, desperate for sanity woman we follow in our main plot. British actress Sally Hawkins similarly is great as Ginger, as she struggles with her own love life as it becomes affected by her controlling sister’s influence, though her romantic subplot was the film’s biggest weakness, a distraction from the main plot and simply feeling like killing time. The supporting actors of Alec Baldwin and Bobby Cannavale play their parts well enough, but Blanchett and Hawkins are the main focus, a perfect contrast of personalities that was a pleasure to watch. Blue Jasmine is a largely enjoyable film. Though it does end abruptly, leaving most plotlines hanging for the audience to make their own minds up about, this film is worth seeing purely for the performances of the two female leads. While I cannot compare with his other films, Allen’s script is excellent, full of great humour built on off the cuff remarks, completely unsubtle dialogue and the ridiculous personalities that capitalize on the actor’s abilities. Blanchett deserves all the praise she is getting and it will be a surprise to no one if she and Allen have their names called out on Oscar night.

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Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar Games Rating: Reviewed by Mereana Sheehan

This year’s highlight release for gamers is Grand Theft Auto V, which is highly likely to be a contender for game of the year. This action packed sandbox style game encapsulates hours of fun and is well worth the $88 price tag. Set in Los Santos, based on Los Angeles, you can alternate between three equally interesting and uniquely varied characters, a change from the usual gameplay we have seen in previous GTA’s. Having been a fan of San Andreas I was anticipating this game to be mind-blowing, and it certainly delivers. This game brings open wide spaces, varied missions, interactive game features and more. After GTA IV Liberty City, which was based in New York, we no longer have to play within the compounds of a concrete jungle; rather GTA V provides an expansive and aesthetic map that delivers many quirky features you won’t get bored of. A highlight for me is the Sandy Shores desert town where the poor and downtrodden habitat - you can quad bike through the township and see the animals in the wild. Game studio Rockstar is a pioneer in delivering world class games and has a unique way of portraying modern society which never fails to entertain. Within the game there are many aspects of customisation from cars, tattoos, haircuts and clothes; you can also consume drugs and alcohol in your houses. The map is teeming with strangers and freaks who will offer missions -from random robberies you can stop to armoured van or shop theft. You can become a mini mogul with the acquirement of your own business portfolio and obtain a fortune through many avenues. Players are also treated to online shopping for cars, property and the new addition of the stock exchange, which allows players to purchase stocks and build equity. The introduction of animals is also a new feature - your canine companion Chop is a welcome addition. In the iFruit app (available from the App store), Chop resembles a ‘tamagotchi-esque’ pet which you can feed and train and those skills translate in-game. The map is the largest in GTA history with an intricate and expansive sea bed teaming with underwater life. Due to the sheer size of the map, which according to Rockstar could fit San Andreas, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption into, they reintroduced fixed-wing aircrafts to allow players to explore these open wide landscapes. To date, this game is the highest selling entertainment product in history, making $800 million in its first 24 hours, and $1 billion in the first three days. This reinforces that another game is sure to follow this superb addition to the GTA series.

Breaking Bad – Felina

Jack Johnson

Emotionally invested would be a frightful understatement for the most anticipated series finale of my life… From the moment I woke up on Monday morning, I knew it was judgement day – the knot in my stomach kept me well reminded.

Since first hearing Brushfire Fairytales 12 years ago (wow… That long?), Jack has been everywhere with me. He’s always been the sixth friend on road trips, a campfire singalong staple and a pleasant escape to my happy place when winter is dragging me down. He cops a fair bit of criticism for his constantly chilled style and the fact he’s had six similar sounding albums. But yo, he has a formula (just like every other popular band), it works, so why change it? He still gets me crooning.

Directed by Vince Gilligan Starring Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul Rating: Reviewed b Matthew Cattin

After a week’s worth of pondering and discussion, I still felt completely under qualified to make any predictions – as did the friends I was watching the episode with. I was putty in Vince Gilligan’s talented hands and I made sure to fortify my heart over the week in preparation of the final showdown. Ozymandias ripped my heart in two and the penultimate episode Granite State was – although slow – one of the most moving episodes of any series I have come across – yes, even more so than that 8 Simple Rules episode… You know the one… As with any finale however, fulfilling everybody’s expectations is a ridiculous notion. But going by Felina’s current IMDB rating of 9.9, I’d say it did an exemplary job – especially when compared to other heavyweight series. For me, it was everything I could have hoped for. From the very beginning, it was never a question of “will Walt get away with it?” Diagnosed with cancer in episode one, the audience came to terms with the lead character’s death right from the start. What we never saw coming however was Walt’s transformation from selfless family man to the ugly, bitter, lonely shell he ended up as. I went from hoping like hell he would get away with it to getting quite excited at the prospect of his painful death. No other show has succeeded in pulling off such a transformation. In Felina however, we see Walt make one final change – the change to acceptance. He knows all is lost. He knows his family hate him. He knows his money will never reach them by his hand. So what does he have left? Closure – and that’s what this episode is all about. The most beautiful moment for me was when Walt offered Jesse a pistol, asking for death, only to have Jesse deny him. Dropping the gun disgustedly, he spits “do it yourself,” and turns his back on Walter, on the last two years and on death. That for me was the final climax of the series – the last act. Other emotional highlights included Walter stalkerishly watching his son walk home from school, saying farewell to Skyler and his baby daughter and of course, giving the dreadful Lydia the cold send-off she deserved. Executed to perfection, tying up all loose ends and going down guns blazing, Breaking Bad was classy as hell right until the credits. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have followed the once in a lifetime show and I must say, I already have a huge Walter White shaped hole in my heart.

From Here To Now To You Rating: Reviewed by Matthew Cattin

From Here to Now to You kicks off with the swoon-fest I Got You. With a steel slide, whistling and a contemplative guitar part, this is Jack at his chilled best – welcoming you along for the ride. Sit down, put your feet up and grab a beer. Never Fade sways you like a hammock in a Hawaiian wind with its soft ukulele adornment and wistful lyrics, “I went home that night, I wrote my first love song. And as the days went by, I knew I had it made". Tape Deck reminisces warmly about growing up and playing in average bands – a stage of life I definitely went through and can relate with. “From my tape deck there's a recklessness, inflections of the world we want. All my friends, my rusty truck. We're just specks of love, directionless.” His lyrics aren’t by any means incredible – a criticism often slung on Jack – but you know what, he paints a picture that I enjoy looking at so haters can gtfo. The best thing about ol’ Jack is his ability to take you away from the office, away from the evening commute, away from the city. When I crank his albums, my headphones suddenly feel like a warm hug and my mind – without fail – goes adventuring. Don’t Believe a Thing I Say is one of those tracks. Press play and it’s summer time, digging my toes into the cool evening sand, paddling out for that early morning surf. Truth: Jack knows where to find my chill button. If it’s even possible, Jack brings it down yet another notch for the gorgeous You Remind Me Of You. Like a lullaby, it’s simple, catchy and soothingly seductive. In fact it seems to be directed at a kiddlywink and I get all warm fuzzies imagining Jack wrote it for his kids – that would just be tu meke. So I suppose to conclude, I am hideously biased when it comes to Jack Johnson… He’s been in my life so long now he feels like a good friend. His latest offering is by no means his best album – in fact it’s maybe my least favourite from him but hell, I’m not even mad. He soothes me, makes me happy and takes me to places of golden sands and rolling surf. What more could I ask for?

And finally, to quote a friend of mine who’s sentiment I agree with completely, “I want to kiss Vince Gilligan on the mouth for not fucking it up.”