Debate | Issue 05 | 2015

debate ISSUE 05 | APRIL 2015

CONTENTS

CREDITS EDITOR Laurien Barks laurien.barks@aut.ac.nz SUB-EDITOR Matthew Cattin DESIGNER Ramina Rai rrai@aut.ac.nz COVER ART Illustration by Ramina Rai CONTRIBUTORS Rachel Barker, Emma Wingrove, Julie Cleaver, Ethan Sills, Amelia Petrovich, Ali Thair, Conor Leathley, Josh Tupene, Ava Wardecki – Locke, Fiona Connor ADVERTISING Harriet Smythe hsmythe@aut.ac.nz

3

Editor’s Letter

4

Advocacy: Grades

5

Vice-Prez Sez

6

The Power of Your Punch

7

Eat, Pray, Dance Naked in the Rain

8

Beach, Sun, and Dodgy Driving

10

The War of Sustainability The History of Music

PRINTER Debate is lovingly printed by Soar Print

12 14

Cool Shit

Debate is a member of

16

The Universe at Large

18

The Last Nestling

19

Waste Audit

Contributions can be sent to

debate@aut.ac.nz

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.

DIRECTORY

AUSM.ORG.NZ

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20

The Seven Commandments of Budget

22

Why Not My Sisters?

27

Recipe

29

Hidden Gems

30

Whanaungatanga: AUT’s Whanau Choir

31

MVP for Free

32

Ode to Selfie Sticks

33

Club Crawl: How to start a club at AUT

34

Reviews

36

Kids On Benches

37

Journal of a Part-Time Wild One

38

Puzzle Page

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Travel

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ADVOCACY Siobhan Daly siobhan.daly@aut.ac.nz

FA C E B O O K . C O M / A U S M D E B AT E

EVENTS Carl Ewen carl.ewen@aut.ac.nz

I took off to the West Coast, and spent some time roadtripping and camping in Raglan and the New Plymouth area with a couple of friends. The weather was beauteous, the sunsets were "just...oh....LOOK AT IT! What even is life!?" (to put it eloquently), and the adventurous days and cosy chilled-out nights were, and always have been, the recipe for my happiness. I was also granted many an opportunity to plop myself down on a beach or pretty cliffside, take out my camera, and play with the light, silhouettes, and scenery to my heart’s content. Talk about the cherry on a happy sundae.

I’ve always had one heck of a soft spot for photography. That’s not to say I’m a photographer, or even a photographer poser (I’m far too nooby to pull that pose off convincingly), I just love all things sentimental. Maybe it’s cheesy to think of photos as freezing ‘real life magic’, maybe I’ll wind up being the Mum who keeps every freaking paper snowflake and finger painting that her children hand to her, and maybe it’s a tad unorthodox to hold onto the bottle caps from the beers you enjoyed with a friend on a perfect evening, but hey, I think that stuff makes the world go round.

I’m all about moving forward and living in the moment, but I think there’s something to be said for scrapbooking the past.

They say life’s like a novel, and for me, tiny pieces of moments gone by are the chapters I’ve already written. Ones that I can hold in my hand, read over again, and go “Oh yeah! That happened, and it was awesome.”

E D I TO R ' S

L E T T E R

Welcome back everyone, I trust Easter break resurrected your energy levels and blessed you with many a marshmallow hangover. I’d like to take a brief moment to reintroduce myself. My name’s Laurien (but you can, and probably will call me Lauren), and after being the sub-editor of Debate for about six months, I’ve officially been handed the editor hat. We’ll be making a few changes to the mag, with your best interests in mind of course, so feel free to hit me up at any time with questions, ideas, things you friggin’ hate, or to invite me out for a drink (Please…I’m lonely). If you’re not familiar with my past writing, things you should know about me so you’re not confused with any ongoing references that may appear in mags to come: 1) I’m Canadian, stereotypically so. It’s in my genes to say sorry to anyone I offend, mannequins, and the man who ran into me on the footpath this morning.

2) Cats are more of a religion to me.

3) I enjoy bodily humour and puns immensely. So if you’re uncomfortable with that, I suggest you suck it up and make the breast of it.

Anyway, over Easter, I was a bit of a cheeky monkey, and I took two days off to extend my five-day weekend into a full on seven-day week. Some would call that greedy. I would also call it greedy, but with more joviality in my tone than the judgemental haters. To quote the poorly planned tattoos, "no regrats."

While you may not be a memory-box-making, photo-taking, warm-fuzzy enthusiast like myself, I think each of us should hold a little sentimentality captive in some form or another. Whether it’s the songs we pack full of memories and carry around with us, the journals/blogs/videos we record, the rocks we collect materialising our past is something we should be drawn to. Why do I think this? Because when I look through my photo albums, scrapbooks, flickr page, and memory box, there’s a common theme across my photos and memorabilia: “the small stuff.”

You won’t see mementos of the big moments in my life, you won’t see my first day of school, my certificates, or struggles I’ve overcome.Those kinds of memories already tend to hog our consciousness; distract us from the little things that encourage us to thrive, often without us even noticing. I like to bring those little heroes back to the forefront and give them the recognition they deserve.

So take a minute or two every once in a while, especially over the course of your uni life, to document the little moments.

Without the mini snapshots of sunsets and flower petals, or the bottle caps and seashells rolling around in your memory box, it’s only a matter of time before this chunk of your life becomes a haze of stress, exams, and general shenanigans. While it’s all fine and dandy to remember the big things, don’t neglect to sweat the small stuff every once in a while too. I think your future grey and saggy self might appreciate the ability to hold onto some of the specifics. To be able to look down at a photo of the perfect cloud, a bumblebee, or barefeet dangling off a jetty and say “Oh yeah! That happened. And it was awesome.”

Laurien 3

You can’t take for granted that you’ll get a higher mark. Your mark can go UP or DOWN. This is a major risk if you’ve already passed the assessment but are just wanting a higher grade. Make sure you check with us and/or your paper/programme leader before you hand in your application as to whether it’s worth taking the risk.

The second marker who remarks your assessment will mark on a clean copy. I.e. s/he is not going to see the original marker’s comments/what your complaint is. This is to safeguard you so the new marker is not biased in their decision.

Once you put in your application (the form will tell you WHO to submit it to), that person will assess the merits to your application and grant/decline it. They’ll let you know the outcome and a new grade if granted, which can take up to a week or two.

If you are unhappy with the new grade as well, for example, if you see a massive irregularity between the first and second marker and you have now failed after the reconsideration, then CONTACT US! We need to talk!

UNHAPPY WITH YOUR GRADES? RULE OF THUMB: Unfortunately, being unhappy is NOT enough. There will likely only be a very small number of people in your class that are actually happy with their mark.

Q: Then when can I do something with my unhappy grade?

SCENARIO ONE: RECONSIDERATION/REMARK You can apply to have your assessment reconsidered/remarked if you think there was an error in marking. It’s NOT enough for you to say that you feel you deserve better. There are different forms for each faculty but they should be available on AUT Online or through your paper or programme leader.

DEADLINES are tight with this application; some are three working days from the time you get your mark, some five working days.

CHECK with your school.

You MUST understand that this is NOT a re-submission opportunity.

You’re simply being re-marked on the assessment you’ve already submitted. See SCENARIO TWO for a “re-submission” situation.

SCENARIO TWO: ALTERNATIVE/FURTHER ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITY This is a form we call “General Application to the Exam Board”. It may be granted in situations where you had difficulty in submitting your assessment on time or have done so but in poor quality. You must have a really good reason as to why you haven’t applied for an extension before the due date. e.g. you were admitted to hospital due to injury/illness.

Make sure you advise your lecturer and paper/program leader of this application also. They may ask you to hand your assessment in ASAP to review even before a decision is made by the Exam Board.

N.B. – Exam Boards meet at the end of each semester and they won’t have a decision for you until after they’ve met.

SCENARIO THREE: AEGROTAT/CONCEDED PASS This is another form of “General Application to the Exam Board”.

Aegrotat Pass in short, is a special pass granted on compassionate grounds due to illness or other exceptional circumstances beyond your control, which meant you were unable to attend a test/exam, hand in your assessment, OR your performance was somehow impaired AND as a result you failed the paper. The Exam Board will look at how you’ve done in all other papers, past and present as well as any other assessments for the paper in question Conceded Pass is a special pass granted to students in their last semester, where they cannot take the paper again (or an alternative paper) and it is not a core or prerequisite. Some schools don’t allow this at all, so check with your school or program leader.

N.B. – These are NOT an easy escape route! Don’t rely on these!

They are granted very sparingly!

If you think you are genuinely eligible for a General Application to the Exam Board or an Appeal for their decision, e.g. your final grade, email us on advocacy@aut.ac.nz with your details and concern. Also, please forward any correspondence from AUT, if any, so that we can give you informed advice on your situation.

PREZ SEZ I know what you are all thinking, two weeks wasn’t long enough. Trust me I feel the same. I hope those that did manage to get away from Auckland had safe travels. I like to use this time to try and visit family who don’t live too close. I managed to spend one weekend with my Mum and the other with my Dad, so I am very happy. It helps me regain my motivation for when I get back to uni.

Assessments, assessments and more assessments! Yes, most of them will be due this week or next, and the reason for this is the two week break we just had is called a study break. The time is supposed to be used catching up on all the assessments coming up. So I hope lots of you spent the time actually studying.

I am a student as well so trust me, I know the pain. "The mind is like a universe, it is constantly expanding."

I think I will start doing random facts about myself each week so everyone can learn a little more about me and hopefully feel more comfortable to approach me for anything. So, this week’s fact is that I have six brothers and three sisters.

The age range is between 10 years old and 27 years old. Because it is a mixture of steps, halfs and full, we are all different cultures as well. So I am Cook Island, Maori, Scottish and Welsh. My other brothers and sister are made up of these cultures plus Samoan, Tokelauan, Dutch and British. I truly love being in a big family made up of many different people, it has taught me to be able to understand and not judge others.

VICE-PREZ SEZ

If you see me around campus or at events or free feeds please don’t be shy to say hi or let me know what’s up. If you are too shy or busy, please feel free to contact me on urshula.ansell@aut.ac.nz , or feel free to come to my office at WC inside the student lounge. I’ll be there waiting.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” - Dr Seuss

5

You may remember hearing about Tarun Asthana in late 2013. If you didn’t know him personally like I did - as an amazingly warm, caring and conscientious person - you may remember him as the fallen angel who tragically died after being king hit on Queen St in the early morning of November 2nd that year.

The loss of Tarun was shocking to all who knew him, even those who had the privilege of meeting him just once. His energetic personality was infectious and he had a flare for life I had never seen before. Tarun was “the life and soul of the party.” How could such a kind, fun-loving life be so cruelly taken? How? As a direct result of a thoughtless instantaneous action committed by Grenville David McFarland. Mr. McFarland got himself involved in a situation (coming from across the other side of the road to do so), and struck Tarun with one single blow. Just one. The hit so hard, Tarun fell to the ground, hit his head on the concrete and was never to stand up again.

THE POWER OF YOUR PUNCH

by Fiona Connor

'Hurting

others

for

the point of showing strength

or

looking

tough is not something to

be

proud

of.'

I would say not many of us would know the power of our punch. So why risk it? Why bother potentially injuring another person for the sake of a moment? Predominantly behavior displayed by 16-24 year old males in situations often fueled by alcohol, taking to another person with physical violence is never justifiable. The desire to look tough and strong becomes regrettable once the alcohol wears off in the emergency room a few hours later. And if the girl you were trying to impress went back with you to the hospital, keep her - because not many would.

Tarun Asthana

Be it a conscious decision or a reaction, the option to engage in violence is never an innovative way to resolve conflict; to inflict pain is not to win an argument or settle a disagreement. Hurting others for the point of showing strength or looking tough is not something to be proud of. When drinking is involved, behavior changes don’t always align as neatly as they might when sober. Confrontations occur more easily, temper is quicker to rise, and in such ugliness a push turns to a punch, and a scuffle has arisen. I like to think I wouldn’t strike another person. I have no idea how strong, or worse - how not strong my potential opponent is. They could kick my ass. Or I could accidentally kick theirs. And then would the battle wounds be worth the drink my new enemy had knocked over to start with? Doubt it.

Throughout my own social life I’ve seen it here and there, people out on the town and taking things too far. One just the other weekend at a Ponsonby bar, two females got into a scrap and had to be pulled apart. To say it was unbecoming is an understatement. It’s not behavior a reasonable person thinks is acceptable, so why does it happen? For alcohol-fueled environments, if you have a disagreement (and statistically it’s not uncommon), walk away. Take pride in being the person who knew better. Isn’t that winning? Don’t try to be the tough guy. Try to be the smart one.

Had David McFarland been the smart guy that night it is possible his life would have never been turned upside down as a consequence; Tarun’s life never taken. Do you think Mr. McFarland knew that his one misguided moment of judgment would end in a two year and four month jail sentence? By his own admission we hear not. But that’s all it takes. Mr. McFarland says “I have a lot of what ifs. If only I had done something else.” What ifs won’t bring Tarun back, but can we learn something from this so that it never happens again? If only.

1. You can still be a sweary/wine drinking/dancing naked in the rain type freak. Believing in God ain’t gonna restrict you, because it’s not about rules, it’s about a relationship, and like any friend, He’s not here to judge. It’s up to you who you want to be and what you want to do with your life, so there is no need to suddenly start wearing cardigans and feel like you’re not allowed to go out and get a bit wild. Sure you might make some adjustments in your life if you feel like that’s what’s right, but it shouldn’t prevent you from being who you are.

2. God makes me happy. It’s that simple. I feel safe, take comfort in praying, always have someone to talk to when shit goes down.

The people I’ve met through my faith also make me happy. When you find the right one for you, Church is a chill, warm, funny social environment where you can muscle with like-minded people and talk openly about your beliefs.

The sense of community is incredible and quite unlike anything else, to be close to someone on a spiritual level. Essentially, when I discovered God it brought a lot of fulfilment and joy to my life.

Easy.

EAT, PRAY, DANCE NAKED IN THE RAIN

by Rachel Barker Remember when everyone was religious and if you didn’t believe in God you were an evil Satan worshipper? Yeah, me neither.

However, pop culture reminds us of a time when most everyone floated sublimely along on self-righteous clouds while those who weren’t religious were branded outsiders. Perhaps this was the case some years ago (80s? 90s? This ’95 baby could do with being informed), but today however, not so much. This has certainly not been my personal experience.

Being religious in any way is actually fairly unusual or at least unspoken of, and largely considered to be v lame. Anti-religion folk, agnostics and atheists are leading the charge on cool independent youths, with minds of their own and disregard for the stale ways of the past. It’s ‘cool’, right, to believe that life is what it is, that we are solely in charge of our reality, that we can construct our own meanings. I won’t lie; this saddens me just a little bit.I am all for people pursuing their own beliefs etc. but I’m here to say that believing in God is cool too, if that’s what you wanna do. So please, do your thing, but I will be here in my corner, just giving some reasons as to why, as a Christian, believing in God is really great.

3. Believing in God does not make you ‘religious’, so I don’t feel obliged to vouch for religion- just faith. A lot of people, myself included, struggle with the word itself. To whip out some Latin knowledge (thanks Mum), ‘religion’ comes from the root word ‘religio’ which means to be bound. Ugh, I know. “I don’t want to be bound”, we scream, “I want to be young wild and free!” It has become quite acceptable nowadays to believe in God, but detach yourself from the word religion. It carries a lot of weight and the idea that you are in a somewhat forced contract with God and the Church. You should love and believe something because you want to, not because you are bound to it - your belief deserves to be more than that.

4. And finally, to follow on from my last point- for years, many church-goers were dicks. Seriously. Stealing from the poor, preying on the weak, money laundering, murderous bastards. BUT NOW THEY AREN’T, YAY! Of course I am ashamed of what the church has been, but right now I don’t have to be. Understand that though people will nit-pick the whole religious system of beliefs and history of the church and try to pin that on you to have you explain it, it is not your past and you don’t owe it to people to have answers beyond your own experience and faith. You aren’t a representative of religion; your beliefs are just about you.

To be fair, God always made sense to me, and I’m not asking other people to see what I see. But I suppose what I am saying is that if you don’t believe in God, there is no need to tear down what makes someone else happy for the sake of social progress and being a ‘cool individual’, and if you do believe then there is no need to be ashamed of it. When you release yourself from other people’s expectations of religion, you will be able to find something that feels good, something that feels real. And how cool is that.

7

BEACH, SUN, AND DODGY DRIVING

by Matthew Cattin I never thought the words ‘retro car driver’ would make it onto my CV, yet here they now sit, between editor and unemployed bum.

It was in the final throes of 2014 that the job fell on my lap like a drunken aunty at a family Christmas. With no plans for employment in 2015, it fit my uncertain future quite nicely.

“What have you got lined up for next year?” they asked in the interview.

“Well, I’m looking at travelling around the country, and with any luck getting paid to do it,” I replied.

It was the match made in heaven; I needed some cash for travel and a new challenge, and they needed a driver. With adventure in my heart, I accepted the position.

The job itself sounds quite ridiculous to say out loud, and despite the fairly huge workload it entailed, I found myself the envy of many friends and family. From Auckland to Wanaka, I was to drive a ’78 Dodge Ambulance, stopping off at holiday destinations all around the country to set up obstacle courses for beachgoers. Over three weeks of road tripping, working outdoors, and seeing our beautiful country in full summer time swing, and all the while raking in a few coins.

And so it was that on Boxing Day, I set off to the sounds of Talking Heads’ Road to Nowhere on the first leg of a journey that would stretch over two and a half thousand kilometres.

It was surprisingly tough to leave my family waving on the driveway so close to Christmas, but I buckled up, put my big boy pants on and gave a nervous wave in reply.

My first challenge was crossing over the infamous Coramandel Ranges. With no power steering, tired drum brakes and a top uphill speed of about 30km/h, the ranges gave me a fitting introduction to what would become a love/hate relationship with the beast, the old Dodge.

You see, it wasn’t just called a Dodge Ambulance, my wheels were literally an old ambulance. With a three seater bench seat up front and an emptied-out back, it had been stripped and pimped into an old school promo vehicle. Despite it’s glossy exterior though, I often wondered how many patients had died in the back during its years of service.

With one eye on the speed, one on the steadily rising temperature gauge, one on the reversing cam, and another on the road, driving the Dodge gave me a newfound appreciation for the modern motorcar. Like a difficult partner, it required daily maintenance; oil checks, transmission fluid checks, radiator fills and other greasy routines that made me feel rather manly.

When you pop the hood of a car of that era, it barely resembles that of your modern Nissan or Toyota. In fact, it probably looks more like your lawnmower than anything. Not being the most mechanical fella around, it was both a comfort and a concern that I could competently label each of the few parts and what they did, but I grew to quite enjoy the TLC the old girl required. She was simple, but homely – and that’s never a bad combination.

Despite the deep rumble of the V8 engine, and the noise of the air con (open windows), there was a strange peace that accompanied the open stretches of road. Driving amongst traffic was a bit shit, but them open roads just felt good.

The mechanics were good enough to install a stereo system in the front, so each drive was soundtracked to perfection.

Occasionally, a tune would come on that fit the Dodge’s personality so perfectly, it was impossible not to squeal a little. The Band’s The Weight will now forever remind me of the Dodge chugging through our beautiful countryside on a sunny January morning.

With one eye on the speed, one on the steadily rising temperature gauge, one on the reversing cam, and another on the road, driving the Dodge gave me a newfound appreciation for the modern motorcar.

On my best days, the Dodge drove like a dream – smooth and carefree, eating up the road like it was 1978. On my worst, I was standing before a popped hood and a steaming radiator, bottles of water in hand. For the most part though, the old girl was well behaved, and if I treated her right, she was never much fuss.

It was so refreshing to drive a vehicle with such a personality and history. There were days it’s size and temperamental attitude made me curse it to the skies, but there were also times where my hands caressed the wheel lovingly as we sailed around sweeping corners. Newer vehicles now seem so emotionless in their relative perfection - there’s just no drama. You get from A to B, and that’s the end of story. You don’t get to stop and smell the roses and grease when you’re overheated on the side of the road, you don’t feel genuine when you’re playing Springsteen or The Band, and when it rains, you don’t even feel it because your car doesn’t leak. Yawn.

The tour may be over, but the ’78 Dodge tour of 2014/15 will always hold a special place in my memories. It was a once in a lifetime experience, complete with highs, lows, great music, and of course, our beautiful country. Just don’t ask me to do it again…

9

by Emma Wingrove

Sustainability: the latest buzzword, usually written in green, sometimes attached to a hashtag, often met with glazed-over eyes, and mostly misunderstood. Sustainability is frequently thought of as an environmentally focused, economically inefficient social fad, when in actual fact sustainability may well hold the key to saving us from ourselves, as well as preventing a real life remake of The Day After Tomorrow.

THE

As an environmental scientist I get excited about the extremely wide scope of sustainability, not just because it is the holy grail of human survival, but also because it can be thought of like a cake. Yep, a cake. Sustainability is a triple layer sponge cake held together with jam and cream, then smeared all over with lashings of thick, delicious icing and adorned with a multitude of salvation-worthy candy decorations.

The three layers are the three different kinds sustainability; environmental, economic, and social, in no particular order and all of equal size. The jam and cream represent cultural and political sustainability, vital components of holding it all together. The lashings of icing consist of the different areas of our world in which sustainability applies; transport, energy and utilities, biodiversity, waste disposal, education, food, and the production of everything.

Added to the icing you will find ethics. Although ethics is a huge part of social sustainability (in fact without it, that layer of the cake would probably crumble to pieces and cause a cake landslide), ethics laces pretty much every other part of sustainability too. Without ethics, the cake tastes pretty bitter and very few people would be keen to have a slice.

Then we get down to the exciting stuff, the decorations. Also known as all of the amazing tools we can use to save our world from its suspected imminent doom. There is so much variety in the decorations that you can find something for everyone (which is what makes it such an exciting topic), but a large number of our delicious candies come from the biotechnology range. Here we have biofuel produced from tallow, plant crops, and algae. We have bioremediation using living organisms to undo some of the harm we’ve already done; mushrooms that filter toxic waste and micro-organisms from water in soil, or be used in oil and diesel spills because they are great at absorbing and concentrating heavy metals. There is even proof of mushrooms ‘eating’ plastic and still being a perfectly safe food source. How fricken cool is that? We also have bio-packaging; biodegradable packaging made from plant crops instead of fossil fuels, and outside of the biotechnology range we will find a good sized helping of mindfulness, renewable energies, and even reducetarianism- the next biggest buzzword you don’t want to misunderstand.

O

F

S U S TA I N A B I LITY

Mindfulness is not something commonly associated with sustainability, but what better way to make sure you are acting in a sustainable manner (that is, that it is sustainable to you and the environment) than by exercising attentiveness and awareness. Reducetarianism is a relatively new “fad” and it’s the only bandwagon I’ve ever found myself on. Unlike the paleo diet, gluten-free diet, and whatever other “cut this food group out of your life” diet you can think of, reducetarianism is a diet for your whole life, cutting out all the stuff you don’t actually need so you AND the planet reap the benefits.

Please note that the above is in no way a comprehensive description of all of the tools we have to reduce, mitigate, and remedy the effects a population of over seven billion people has done to planet Earth - it’s barely even a taster. All of these practices have the chance to change the course of our future, but ONLY if they are conducted with sustainability. A practice that is sustainable is not just about recycling, not producing waste, and being environmentally friendly, but also about being sustainable in itself. Despite the misconception, sustainability isn’t actually focused on the environment at all; it is all about having some for now and still having enough for later. It can refer to the planet and its resources, but it can also refer to your paycheck or a packet of chocolate biscuits. It is about not being greedy, not over indulging, and not exploiting resources, people, or animals.

The idea that I am really trying to stress here is that sustainability is not just for the environment, and it is not economically inefficient because sustainability seeks to ensure the survival of the economy too. No matter what your field of expertise or interest may be, it is for you, it’s for everybody.

Despite the misconception, sustainability isn’t actually focused on the environment at all; it is all about having some for now and still having enough for later.

The only downside to doing anything sustainably is trying to tame your inner greed, but meanwhile you know that the future version of you will be glad you paced yourself. Don’t forget that you’re not the only one who feels the effects of your actions either.

While trying to push the idea that sustainability is a multi-aspect concept, I’ve frequently wondered, been asked, and heard others be asked which sustainability is most important. While it seems obvious to answer with whichever sustainability is most akin to your own field, the reality is that they are all so tightly, intrinsically intertwined it is virtually impossible to separate them. With that said though, I can’t help but be of the opinion that there’s no point in saving our economy or society if we aren’t going to have a planet left for us to inhabit, or the opinion that in our current political climate I have no doubt that money-talks and would win the war for whichever sustainability could put the most money into the right pockets.

I would hope that as a university full of our future leaders and innovators, you already have an appetite for ensuring the survival of humankind for many generations to come, but even if just a handful of you are reaching for Google to find out more about at least one idea in this article I’ll be stoked.

11

The history of music

by Julie Cleaver

For as long as humans have existed, music has too - it is ingrained into the human psyche and thus plays an integral role in all cultures across the world. Whether it is a traditional tune, a hymn or even a song everybody sings along to at a rugby game, music is a massive part of culture and what makes humans complex and deep.

But why?

Have you ever wondered why music is so prevalent in all cultures across the world? Or why it so often acts as the glue between human interactions? I have, and the answer I found took me all across the globe through time and space, from Ancient Greece to Hollywood.

First of all, in order to understand the phenomenon of music and why it is so important to people, I looked into its history.

According to my sources, music was a large part of pretty much all pre-historic tribes. I reckon the reason people feel inclined to sing and dance around a campfire is probably because our ancestors have been doing it for so long that it is ingrained in us. After a long day of hunting I bet tribes would come together around a fire and eat their winnings (or not) and sing songs of victory (or loss).

Historians assume that the first instrument was the human voice and that people’s interest in sounds grew from there.

Fast forward a few hundred years or so to Ancient Greece in 500BC. During that toga-wearing, wine drinking time period, a famous fella called Pythagoras started to experiment with acoustics and the way that mathematics related to the sounds he would create. As far as we know, modern music evolved from there. Once again we have Ancient Greek society to thank for creating something super epic.

After that, people must have experimented and created songs and all sorts of stuff, but lets just skip all of that undocumented jazz and head to the Middle Ages, where music was all about the church. In that dry time period, music was simply there to praise and worship God. Then towards the end of the Middle Ages, around the 12th and 13th centuries, people began to question the almighty church and music, in turn, started to become secular.

Minstrels would travel around and perform on streets or in pubs.

However, these musicians were part of the lowest class in society, way down with the slaves and prostitutes.

Fast-forward once again to the Renaissance period, where music became a beautiful act of human expression. This is because during the Renaissance period from around the 14th to 17th centuries, Ancient Greek and Roman ideologies were reborn.

This meant that society was out of the Dark Ages and again interested in the ancient ideals of beauty, humanism and selfexpression. Musicians therefore emptied out their hearts through skillful articulation. During this period the most exceptional artists were raised to superstar status. The concept of actors, painters and musicians all being praised and elevated to the highest class in society came from this period and is still with us today.

Which brings us to the here and now. Technology. Hollywood.

Record deals. Kanye West. Taylor Swift. Whatever. Music is now not only an art form, but also a massive and complex industry. Yes musicians are still praised as superstars, but arguably a lot of that stardom is linked to modern institutions such as marketing and public relations rather than talent and sensibility.

In many ways, music can reflect a time and place. As music is culturally binding, in order to understand the ethos of a society at any given time, historians always take into consideration the popular music of that era. The strictly religious music reflects the way society was at that time, and the Hollywood institution represents the modern capitalist era of today.

That is the history of modern music in a nutshell, but still the burning questions remain. Why? Why is music intrinsically connected to the human spirit? Why does it reflect who people are at any given time in history? Put simply, it’s because we have and hopefully always will move.

When people hear music, they feel something because the tempo and sounds are abstractly linked to movement. Let me explain this with an example.

Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho (1960) was groundbreaking for numerous reasons. Firstly, it broke the Hays Code (the strict TV guidelines at the time) contributing to the code’s demise and the silver screen becoming less conservative as a whole.

It also paved the way for a new style of horror to be created known as the ‘slasher’ genre. As well as a brilliant storyline and cinematographic shots, a large part of this film’s success can be attributed to the iconic soundtrack. (Spoiler alert!) When the ‘mother’ stabs her target in the famous shower scene, a series of short, sharp violin notes play. The abrupt, fast and high-pitched screeching sounds of the violin emulate the motion of stabbing a knife through human flesh.

Therefore in the film, although no skin was actually shown being punctured, the audience is able to make a connection between the movement and the music in order to imagine that the woman had actually been stabbed.

In the 1960s this scene was so terrifying that audiences actually got up and left the cinema. It’s pretty hilarious if you watch it now and see how un-scary it is for our corrupt, 21st century eyeballs.

Imagine if those conservative audiences were made to watch Saw or The Grudge? I think that they would probably all have had heart attacks and died. Scary stuff.

Back to my point, music has the ability to make humans of all different cultures feel a certain way because it reflects universal human movement. Slow piano ballads make us feel relaxed because typically when we feel calm and unthreatened our heart rate is also slow. Whereas fast paced music can often make us feel anxious, as it emulates the way that our heart beats quickly when we are nervous, scared, or perhaps even running from a predator.

Maybe the secret to music’s importance is bigger than just movement, but many people moving together.

Certain music makes us dance in a particular way because we match our movements up with the tempo of the tune. Drum and bass makes people jump like crazy and slow, romantic jams make us grab our lover (or cat) and dance smoothly. Perhaps techno and fast paced music is so popular at the moment because it conceptually reflects the way the internet has made us all impatient and fast paced people. Or maybe it represents the way people’s hearts are beating fast as they may be trying to find someone to go home with on the dance floor. Just food for thought…

Through studying the history of music and the ways that it has evolved with the human consciousness, the importance of music can be revealed. Also, by looking at the way music is linked to human movement, the question of why music is so important can be tackled. People love to express themselves and feel, and music allows them to do just that.

Maybe the secret to music’s importance is bigger than just movement, but many people moving together. By all singing the same song in unison, we feel connected to one and other. Even in nightclubs when everybody drops it low at the same part of the song, people feel part of something bigger than themselves.

Music gives people a sense of belonging and community, which is a fundamental human need. This is why it has, and probably always will be, an essential part of the human race.

13

COOL SHIT

Debate figured you might need a bit of a pick-me-up seeing as its ‘back to uni’ time yet again. But since our “Kitten with Every Mag” proposal got turned down, the best we could do was offer you a bunch of free stuff. Read the instructions carefully, we like to make you earn your prizes around here.

GI VE GA AW LO AY RE !

PURE AND SIMPLE Pure Cosmetics is offering up a makeup giftpack valued at over $100 to the person who can invent THE most tantalizingly creative name for this shade of lipstick: Send Laurien your best answer at lbarks@aut.ac.nz

K E E P YO U R C O OL GOT YA COVERED Structure has two tablet/ipad covers up for grabs for the first two people to send in a photo of them and their tablet/ipad having a great time together.

Flick your pics to lbarks@aut.ac.nz

Logitec is has given us a laptop cooling pad to hand off to one lucky person. With so much cool factor in one prize, we thought we better balance it with some not-cool factor.

Facebook message us a current popular trend that makes you cringe, and the one that makes us say “Preach it!” the loudest wins the prize. facebook.com/ausmdebate

HOT COFFEE, HOTTER CUP We’ve given our lovely AUSM receptionists ten of these cups, and they’re going to be handing them out to the first ten people who come into the AUSM front desk and pay them a creative, appropriate, but heartfelt compliment.

(We didn’t tell them that these are the requirements, so maybe mention that you’re there for a cup after complimenting them).

AVEN GE M E We’ve got two free passes to Event Cinemas just sitting here waiting to go to the person who can email us a hand-drawn sketch/cartoon/stickfigure drawing of what a production of “Avengers on Ice” would look like.

Email your art to lbarks@aut.ac.nz

HIPPOGRIFF OR CHARIZARD? House of Travel has one $50 voucher to give away to the best response to this question: Would you rather spend a week in the Harry Potter world or the Pokémon world?

Justify your answer.

Pop your answer into the side box of any red Debate stand around campus (please include your email address!)

15

THE

universe AT

LARGE Examining Phase Two and Beyond of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe

by Ethan Sills

Part One: The Movies A decade ago, Marvel Studios began one of the most ambitious and unprecedented movie projects of all time: to create a single onscreen universe spread across multiple movies, shared by all their characters and all tied into one another. It was a huge risk for the emerging studio to take. Having sold the film rights to their most popular characters in the nineties, the company was left with only a few B-level, semi known superheroes that did not have the same cultural presence as Spider Man or their DC Comics rivals. Critics at the time denounced the concept, rejecting the notion that these comic characters who had little mainstream standing would set the box office on fire. Their first movie, Iron Man, was rejected by countless writers beforehand who didn’t think much of the character or concept.

Ten years later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grossed over seven billion dollars at the international box office across ten movies. They have been a critical success, with a combined average of 80% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. The series has produced numerous tie-in comics, several short films and two TV shows, with another five on the way.

Warner Brothers and DC Comics are now scrambling to copy the MCU’s success with their own superhero franchises, and everything from classic movie monsters to Robin Hood are being adapted into shared universe formats. And the series shows no signs of stopping yet, with movies planned up until 2020.

To celebrate the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, this two/three part series will look at phase two of the MCU: what happened, how does it all work together, and what’s coming next. To kick things off, here’s a look back at the first four movies in this phase: (Spoilers, obviously).

Iron Man 3

Concluding the trilogy that launched the franchise, Tony Stark’s third movie saw him grappling with PTSD post-Avengers and frantically building more suits as a result. After getting in a war with global terrorists that destroys his house, Tony finds himself, helps save the day and retires as Iron Man. As a non-comic reader, I was not bothered by the big trick with The Mandarin that pissed off plenty of other fans. Instead, I was thoroughly entertained by Iron Man 3: it was a stark (ha!) improvement over its predecessor and featured some amazing action sequences, which is exactly what you want from a blockbuster. RDJ shone in what is the perfect character for him, and thematically its ending was very satisfying. I am quite cautious to see how and why he ends up inside the suit again in Ultron, however I’m hoping the red and gold suit returns without ruining the end of Tony’s main story.

Thor: The Dark World

Thor brings Loki back to Asgard to face judgment for the events of The Avengers.

Their rivalry is put aside when ancient enemies The Dark Elves attack, forcing the two to work together in order to save the life of Thor’s love Jane Foster as well as the universe itself.

Quite frankly, this was the biggest dud of the bunch. Though a fine movie, which, on second viewing, was a fun and entertaining watch, it relied far too heavily on humour and the plot suffered as a result. The villain was entirely unthreatening and seemed there only for the sake of being there, and a half-hearted story was built around him. Though there were some great fight scenes, it is not a good sign when the most captivating characters are two interns, instead of the main characters (even though they were hilarious). As long as you know that Thor ends up on Earth at the end and Loki is ruling Asgard disguised as Odin, you don’t need to watch this one.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Having adjusted to his new life in the 21st century, Steve Rogers is working with SHIELD, struggling now with their methods of handling threats more so than the technology. When an assassination reveals threats from within the organisation, Steve and the Black Widow go on the run, exposing a scandal that ties the entire MCU together and manages to completely change everything. If Steve Rogers had worn a business suit instead of his American flag-themed gear, you would not be able to call this a superhero movie. Perhaps the most surprising and unforeseen success story of phase two, this was more spy thriller with a hint of blockbuster, though the exploding helicarriers in the third act were pretty fucking awesome. The movie ended with SHIELD disbanded, after it was revealed the Nazi-associated HYDRA had been controlling it all along, and set Steve on the path to track down the Winter Soldier aka his old best friend Bucky, now a trained assassin. It was thrilling, intelligent and truly epic, and proves the benefit of this movie-spanning universe.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Since it’s really unlikely the Guardians will show up in Ultron, I could have skipped over mentioning them. But since Guardians was the best Marvel movie yet, I am going to take every opportunity I can to gush about it. Hilarious, heartfelt and action packed, this space opera that was pegged as Marvel’s first misfire became the third highest grossing film and one of the most critically successful blockbusters of 2014. People young and old alike left cinemas feeling more emotionally attached to a tree and a raccoon than ever thought possible, and I really wouldn’t be surprised if Disney somehow found a way to slip an ‘I am Groot’ somewhere into Ultron.

It will be interesting to see how all these movies combine together for Ultron. A lot changed for Iron Man, Captain America and Thor in their respective films, so I am intrigued to see how the three come together once again. Signs are pointing towards a very dark, epic, action-heavy sequel, and I for one will be lining up to see it as soon as I can to see just how much further the MCU can go.

17

WASTE AUDIT AUT’s sustainability club did some serious bin dissecting… turns out our recycling knowledge is a bit rubbish.

Interview with Emma Wingrove

What exactly is a waste audit?

A waste audit involves sorting the contents of the general rubbish bins (i.e. the rubbish that is going straight into a landfill) out into three different piles; one that is actually waste that can only go to the landfill, one for recycling, and one for organic/compostable (i.e. paper and food), and sorting the recycling bin contents into what is actually recyclable and what is contamination (rubbish which can’t actually be recycled).

What was the purpose of the waste audit?

To find out whether the bins are being used correctly, and if there is a need for more recycling options to be made more readily available on campus. Of particular interest were organic/compost bins and paper recycling bins. There are several paper bins available around campus, but not in the Hikuwai Plaza where the audit was conducted, and there is a food waste bin behind WC but AUT is interested in finding out if installing more would be worthwhile.

What did you guys find?

We found that of the general waste that would be going into a landfill, only about 30 percent of it was actually general waste. Around 50 percent could have been composted and about 20 percent could have been recycled. We also found a huge amount of contamination in the recycling bin. Only just over half of the contents was in fact recyclable.

Based on the results, what would your advice to students be?

I think my biggest piece of advice would be to do some research into the different reasons recycling is so important, such as the number of toxic chemicals and liquids produced by landfills, that render massive areas of land unusable due to such high levels of pollution. Not to mention the huge cost (to the economy) of sourcing “virgin” plastics and wasting perfectly good resources.

Other than that I would advise students to just use the right bin! It isn’t hard and it isn’t time consuming. It’s one simple everyday action that will help save NZ from becoming one giant landfill and that can’t be a bad thing. On the note of using the right bin - most sushi containers CAN be recycled, coffee cups CANNOT (but their lids can), and most of the cardboard food containers from the uni foodcourt can be put into the food waste bin behind WC!

Will there be similar future events? How would one get involved?

There will definitely be other similar events, and there are plans to hopefully hold some more waste audits. Everything like that is advertised on the AuSM Sustainability Club Facebook page (facebook.com/ausmsustainabilityclub) so like the page to stay up to date with all the events.

THE LA ST NESTLING (Previously ‘This Column is Not About Nothing’)

by Laurien Barks

Hagrid in a Hobbit Hole You know what I love? I love teeny tiny things. Pocket-size, fun-size, and miniature are words that almost always catch my attention. I’m Coca-cola’s dream consumer, because even if I’m not crazy about fizzy drinks, you can be damn sure I’ll spend two dollars on an itty bitty bottle that makes me feel inappropriately maternal towards it. Same goes for mini-markers, mini-staplers, mandarin oranges, and don’t even get me started on teacup pigs.

I think it might have something to do with me being a giantess; little things are foreign, forbidden, mysterious, and consequently fascinating. Even careers that favour small stature have a weird appeal to me for nothing more than the fact that I don’t have the option to pursue them. Forget about the fact that I get nervous around unfenced horses, or sprained my ankle walking down a single step a few weeks ago…I want to be a jockey-gymnast!

So when I began house hunting for the months and years that follow my family’s departure from New Zealand, one of the first Googles I searched was ‘micro-houses.’ Is it likely that I’ll wind up in one of these little gems? No. One in my price range wouldn’t have running water, I’d have to find someone willing to let me set it up on their lawn, and I can’t help but feel like the whole setup would mimic the imagery of Hagrid living in a hobbit hole: slightly uncomfortable for both the inhabitant and observer.

In case you haven’t heard of these cuties before, micro-houses are exactly what they sound like: a tiny house. Like regular houses, they come in all shapes in sizes; I’ve seen everything from A-frames to box-style, panelled exterior to rustic lumber.

Unlike regular houses, the interior is often stacked, with a loft for sleeping, and creatively arranged to include all of the necessities within a fraction of the usual space. It’s essentially a camper in the shape of a house. And in the perfect world, I would have one.

It’s not that my other options of living with flatmates or another family don’t hold any appeal, because they definitely do.

Especially for a girl who likes baking…if I don’t have a family/ group to pawn experimental muffins on to, I’ll be in some serious trouble. But the untouched creative potential that bursts through the windows of micro-houses, blinding me with “I waaaaaaant”ness, has been outshining the priority of finding bellies to stuff full of baking. I want to paint, hang, wire, and arrange an entire unit to my tastes, and my tastes only. I want a house that is all mine, to live out the “dream room” fantasies of my childhood (shag carpet walls, chandeliers made of CDs, a projector setup for movies, and beaded curtains instead of doors…I’m nothing if not classy), without anyone having the authority to tell me no.

I guess whatever bedroom I wind up in will grant me some kind of creative freedom. But thinking about where I’m going to actually be living is stressful, and I’d much rather continue procrastinating with micro-fantasies. At least for a teeny tiny bit longer.

19

THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF BUDGET TRAVEL

by Amelia Petrovich Human beings have a certain knack for infuriating and overused sayings. I’m not too sure why; it’s almost like a painful verbal war with clichés so jarring they make one’s ears bleed, and yet they are everywhere.

I’m talking of course about your “you can’t have your cake and eat it too” attacks, the “stupid questions get stupid answers” ambushes and of course the tried and true “oh my god, you have to travel while you’re young!”

It’s that last one that gets me the most though actually, cutting me deep to the soul some days even. How in the name of all that is good and beautiful is one expected to be young and travel? I mean, let’s examine this for a second; on one hand you have your youth - you’re spritely and wrinkle-free with boundless supplies of passion and energy. It’s great in so many ways, right?

Apart from one, minute detail… all of us spritely young cherubs are agonizingly broke.

This means you run into trouble with the whole ‘travel + youth’ equation which is pitched to us time and time again, because travel has the potential to become exorbitantly expensive. Living on a quaint wee island like New Zealand, a million miles away from anywhere (except the South Pole and Australia of course, holla!), means that airfares alone can financially cripple an excited twenty-something jetsetter, leaving precious few dollars for anything else once one finally reaches their destination of choice.

As a fiercely keen travel enthusiast, this conundrum has been one I’ve had to work through. How does one go to places like Spain or Thailand or Los Angeles and play with the world’s cashed up nomads if you can barely afford toast and milk most weeks?

Budget travel. Budget travel is in fact possible and budget travel is the answer.

It is absolutely possible to be stingy overseas and still have a kickin’ good time my friends, and I am going to tell you how to do this right now!

There is no such thing as “booking flights/busses/trains too early”

This is true even with inter-city travel in New Zealand. I once managed to book two months or so in advance and snag a $7.00 bus fare from Auckland to Wellington - it was the best thing ever!

The same principle works in conjunction with almost any form of travel - the earlier you get in, the cheaper it’s going to end up being. This is particularly true if you’re aiming to travel at peak times like during the Christmas break - that shit is going to get really expensive really fast, so be proactive and jump in early.

Find a hostel that has breakfast included

Yes, these do actually exist! And it’s absolutely fantastic because that’s an entire meal that you don’t have to pay for! What’s more, often hostels with free breakfasts will let you go up and grab more cornflakes until you have literally run out of room for cereal in your hungry wee body. Take advantage of this whenever you can and consider free breakfast days your bulking days. The aim is to hold so much cereal and toast internally that your skin secretes carbohydrates.

I’m not sure if that’s biologically possible but the ins and outs are not important, my point is eat lots of free food.

Bring a camera with you

Any camera will suffice, from fancy SLR contraptions to slightly dingy cell phone cameras. Having a camera whilst you travel means that even if you have no spare cash to spend on mementos and trinkets to remember your trip, you definitely won’t be going home empty handed. When you’re traveling, the ability to take commemorative pictures is like gold. They will end up meaning far more to you than tacky ‘I <3 ROMA’ t-shirts and key rings anyway because they were created by you about things that you cared about whilst on tour.

Free walking tours + pub crawls = best time ever

From my experience, just about every hostel or I-site you come across will have information about free walking tours and cheap pub-crawls. Walking tours are a heck of a lot more valuable than you would ever believe. They’re a fantastic way to get a feel for a new place and will highlight spots and landmarks that you’ll be keen to revisit (as well as eliminating a few places that aren’t worth a second round of your time). Pub-crawls will often cost a wee bit of dosh but are well worth it because they usually mean a night’s worth of cheap/ free booze and a whole lot of fun, silly new pals.

Perfect the art of window shopping

If you’re like me and find foreign retail outlets fascinating, accept the fact that you are far too poor to actually buy anything and start being extravagant about what you’d take home if you were a zillionaire! Saunter into pricey, avante garde stores and laugh at people expecting you to pay over €800 for candy smelling perfume.

Its really fun and you’ll end up feeling super smug when you still have cash at the end of a long day trekking through malls.

Eat as a pack

One of the best parts about traveling somewhere new is chowing down on all of the exotic, sumptuous food on offer everywhere around you. However if you’re too poor to be eating out every night, swarm restaurants and food outlets as a big group and buy a couple of dishes to share. That way you’ll get to try all the yummy stuff you’re keen on at a fraction of the price. Another clever thing to do is hit up local food markets and scout out free samples. I once constructed an entire lunch from tiny bites of market goodies. Trust me, you feel like an absolute genius.

Live to the very end of your means

Nobody remembers the adventures that saw them returning home with a sensible amount of cash. Don’t let yourself miss out on the experience of a lifetime because you’ve set yourself a $200 surplus goal whilst traveling. Get stuck into everything that’s important to you overseas and come home with a wealth of wisdom and memories rather than dollars and cents. It’s the best brand of ‘rich’ you will ever be.

21

WHY NOT MY SISTERS? Interview by Laurien Barks It’s not often that you’re awestruck by another human being. I mean truly struck by awe. The kind that grabs every bit of admiration you’ve got, takes it from you, twists it around, and hands it back to you in the form of inspiration. The kind of awe that makes you put off writing an article for days, for fear that you won’t do this deserving human being and her story justice. But the kind of awe that forces you to get over your own shortcomings in order to give any scrap of help you can to this person’s bigger picture.

I met Fatima Uddin two weeks ago, and I’m still sitting here wondering how to get her story told in the best way possible.

How do you go about telling the story of someone who rendered you speechless in less than fifteen minutes? Do you research and back her up with facts? Do you find a common theme and link her story to another? Do you write with journalistic aloofness, or with your own personal emotion?

I’ve been sitting around for two weeks trying to answer my own questions, and none of my solutions sat right. Her words, emotion, and humility were what humbled and put pressure on me to get this piece ‘right’ in the first place. She didn’t over think it, so I won’t either. I guess the best way to tell a story, is simply to tell it.

Fatima was born in Pakistan 21 years ago, but moved to Afghanistan the place she would forever call home - when she was eight years old.

As a young Afghan girl, gaining an education was more of an anomaly than a right, but from early on, Fatima’s father was determined to defy the odds against her.

“My father, he said, my son can go to school, why not my daughter."

In many cities, including Fatima’s home, education is only available for males. Opportunity for female schooling is few and far between, forcing girls to either travel long distances, or give up a right that much of the world takes for granted. Fatima’s family found a way to get her to school.

“I started school, and I saw women, I saw horrible things happen. I couldn’t do anything because I was very young. I just had school.”

This was the last point in Fatima’s conversation where she had any kind of chronological structure to her expression. Something clicked, her passion took over, and the emotion behind her slightly broken (but commendably comprehensible) English voiced her purpose before her words did.

“When I came to New Zealand, horrible stuff happened in Afghanistan, horrible, horrible, and I was very upset. Even last week, a woman was beat. A man ran a car over her and then burned her body. And I told myself I have to do something for her. I told my parents many times, that when I finish my study here, I want to go back to Afghanistan and work there, I just cannot ignore stuff that’s happening there.”

Obviously upset, but composed, at this point, over and over again she looked at me earnestly and stated that she “just can’t explain,” she couldn’t find the words to describe what she’s seen. In any language.

But there was a strength behind her visibly emotive eyes that kept her voice steady, her hands moving, and her eye contact consistent.

“I decided to do Law degree. I want to do a Law degree and join the government, so here I can help women. Because I 100 per cent believe women like me who have our rights back…”

She trails off in frustration and segues to the declaration: “In New Zealand we have such talented young girls, they finish their study, they get married, they have this big opportunity…”

She stops herself again, not wanting to express her frustration or displeasure openly. From bits and pieces of the conversation to follow, I can safely conclude her sentence in my own words. “They have this big opportunity”...and they don’t utilize it.

23

photos by Canada in Afghanistan

“All the women are my sisters, it doesn’t matter what colour or religion. If they hurt, it hurts me. It shocks me how many educated people we have here who never think about that. Why? Sometimes my mum tells me I’m crazy. Maybe. Maybe I’m crazy, maybe the world is crazy.”

Talking and listening to Fatima, it’s evident that her ambitions aren’t on a small scale, but she contently reassures me that “If I don’t make a big change, it doesn’t matter. I want to make change.”

“My dream is to make opportunity for Afghan women. For example education, they don’t have places to go. I won’t go to the conclusion of what I want to do, it’s too big.”

IF I DON’T MAKE A BIG CHANGE,

Despite the fact that this interview was sparked by her enquiries to start a Human Rights club at AUT, at this point it was clear that Fatima’s sights were set much higher. It’s one thing to claim you’re going to try and change the world, it’s a whole other thing to lay out your plan, your ambitions, and your willingness to sacrifice everything like this young woman did.

“We have so many educated girls who aren’t working for other women. If I wasn’t here, what would happen? Last week the woman was burned and killed - this woman could be me, this woman could be my sister. If we don’t stand up, men will never change for us. If I don’t defend my own human rights, my father will never stand up for me. That’s something I strongly believe.”

IT DOESN’T MATTER. I WANT TO MAKE CHANGE.

I found myself stripped of any ability to empathize with Fatima. At times I felt a strange guilt creep up whenever I even attempted to understand the tragedy of the scenes she painted for me.

Watching women die brutal deaths, the extreme lack of freedom: “If a man told her, ‘Don’t eat,’ she would not be able to eat. I can’t explain how horrible the situation is. In Afghan, it is ‘If I feed woman, she is like my slave, she needs to bring kids and clean my house.’”

photo by Afghanistan Matters

It’s something we all know is going on in the back of our minds, but unfortunately, for many of us, that’s where the knowledge stays. Meeting someone who not only has it in the forefront of their mind, but has seen it through a child’s eyes has an immense power over a removed perspective.

“I can’t explain, it affected me so much, I couldn’t sleep for one week,” she says about a recent act of violence against a woman she admired in Afghanistan. “I’m thinking sometimes that seeing all of these things, that maybe one day I will go crazy. People tell me, they say if you keep getting effected like this, if you keep getting so upset, you are going to go crazy. Maybe. But if that’s what it takes, I’m happy to go crazy.”

“Afghan girls, I swear to God they can change the world.”

Fatima’s fight for education is about more than granting a right, it’s to arm women with the tools they need to defend their rights themselves. Throughout the entire interview, she made references to her “pen” and her “words” as her weapon of choice. Her perseverance in learning the English language, earning her law degree, starting a Human Rights club at her tertiary institution, she’s gathering forces and managing to bring the cliché “pen is mightier than the sword” back into admirable relevancy.

“They have their fists, but Afghan women, we have our minds.”

As Fatima told me about the vast number of girls who travel to school on a path that runs adjacent to fired bullets, I can’t help but feel like I’m talking to a leader that I’ll see on the news in a couple years. The sparks are there, it won’t take much of a gust to ignite them.

“Even if this cost my blood. I am sure this will. 100 per cent I am sure this will cost my blood. Because I know many women in Afghanistan who say ‘I want change’, and they get shot. For me, I have opportunity. So why not, a chance to change the world. You just go, you believe in yourself, I believe in myself. I believe I am a really strong lady. This will cost a lot of things in Afghanistan, but I think I can also change a lot of girls’ lives, I can make the opportunity for them to go to school. Even if they kill me, the world will know why they killed me…and that’s a very strong thing.”

If you would like to be a part of Fatima’s movement, come into the AUSM office to talk about the Human Right’s Club.

25

RECIPE

SPICED BEANS WITH SPINACH Extract from One-dish Dinners by Penny Oliver Full of goodness, this punchy dish features white and kidney beans spiked with chilli, spices, tomato passata, fresh herbs and spinach.

Preparation and Cooking Time: 60 minutes Serves 4

Cover beans in cold water and soak for 15 minutes, then gently simmer in salted water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain well.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

When ready to cook, heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and cook onion and garlic for 3 minutes or until soft.

1 ½ cups dried lima or any white beans of your choice 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large brown onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, grated 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 400ml tomato passata 500ml vegetable stock 1 × 400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 200g baby spinach leaves parsley or coriander sprigs to garnish thick plain yoghurt and chunky bread to serve

Add chilli, coriander, cumin and cinnamon and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, mustard, passata, stock and lima or white beans and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in kidney beans and spinach and heat through for 5 minutes.

Serve in bowls with sprigs of parsley or coriander on top, and some yoghurt and chunky bread on the side.

Reproduced with permission from One-dish Dinners by Penny Oliver. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $40.00.

Copyright text © Penny Oliver, 2015. Copyright photography © Manja Wachsmuth, 2015. Available nationwide

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You’d be a damn fool not to visit the Puhoi Valley Café if you were in the neighbourhood, and to be honest, if you weren’t in the neighbourhood, you’d be a damn fool not to get in your car and get on the buzz. to boot, you could spend a day hiding away in there quite easily - and with the historic hotel just next door, you can stumble off to bed when you’ve had enough.

OUR HIDDEN GEMS

By Matthew Cattin It’s amazing the difference a few kilometres can make when you venture off State Highway 1. From the bustling open road, it takes only minutes to feel at home in the embracing valley of Puhoi. Like stepping back in time, the historic village has a humble, country “oh my god, we’re still technically in Auckland” charm to it.

Half an hour north of the city centre on the new toll road (or 40 if you take the far more scenic route through Orewa and Waiwera), lovely Puhoi has a calm vibe that will melt your city stresses, and despite its size, there is actually a fair bit to take in on a day trip.

Top of your must-see list should without a doubt be the Puhoi Pub, a quaint ol’ saloon that was established way back in 1879, making it one of New Zealand’s oldest pubs. Absolutely choca-block with character, the pub’s walls are so well covered with mementos, foreign bank notes, expired ID cards, antiques, and memoirs from the past, you’re hard-pressed to find any blank space. Your eyes could wander for hours over the mounted animals, vintage machinery, old photos and – of course – the bra studded door. Rumour has it, there is even a preserved toe to be found somewhere amongst the many trinkets and treasures. With plenty on tap, and food options

Whilst browsing your supermarket’s chiller, you may have noticed the Puhoi Valley selection of cheeses and yoghurts. If you haven’t tried it, or you’re lactose intolerant, then for god’s sake get on the bandwagon and tolerate the lactose –it is heaven in your mouth, and it’s made right there in the Hoi. You’d be a damn fool not to visit the Puhoi Valley Café if you were in the neighbourhood, and to be honest, if you weren’t in the neighbourhood, you’d be a damn fool not to get in your car and get on the buzz. They have fresh ice cream, frozen yoghurt, coffee, cheese… essentially everything you could ever need in one place. Go, eat, be merry, and soak up the residue of the Puhoi Pub. So now you are fed and watered, what next? Well, if you’re into historic buildings, you can redeem some of your food sins with a walk through the village, or alternatively, if you’re a bit of a gogetter, you could kayak out to Wenderholm (or vice versa) via the Puhoi River. Nice.

One of my besties is lucky enough to live in the Hoi, and after giving him grief for years for not having phone reception at his house, and for generally being rural, I finally visited the humble Hoi and discovered its endearing environment and people. It’s one of those good vibe spots where everybody pops in for visits unannounced and knows one another’s names. At night time, the valley shields the city’s glare and gives you a stellar view of the stars, and the only sounds you hear are the wind through the trees, the trickle of the streams, and the trot of hooves. You really do feel a hundred miles from the city, and when you’re head down, bum up at uni all semester, a day in the country might just be what you need.

Contact AUT Health, Counselling and Wellbeing for your vaccine: City 921 9992 North 921 9998 South 921 9992

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by Ali Thair

WHANAUNGATANGA: AUT’s Whanau Choir

by Ali Thair Kia ora tatou and welcome back!

The first half of semester one is over, now you can breathe! Jokes.

You probably have a mountain of assignments due the first week back because that’s how lecturers express their love.

Now, I’m sure you want to make new friends, improve your singing (there’s a Lorde in every one of us) and even more, learn a new language. Well, this all happens at the Whanau choir!

Whanau Choir: What’s it all about?

In a word: Whanaungatanga. Fellowship. Making connections with your AUT Community through the medium of singing in a choir.

The club was inspired by the Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Professor Pare Keiha, where he saw the choir serving as a platform for students and staff from all backgrounds and positions to come together and sing in a harmonious synergy. That is Whanaungatanga.

Sure, we’re all students, staff members, lecturers but before all of that, we are human.

“We are more than our different roles and responsibilities within AUT, staff or student, we are also individuals who are creative, have interests, hobbies, passions – the choir I hope is a place to nurture these wonderful things” says Valance, the choir co-founder.

So what’s in it for you?

The Whanau Choir will give the AUT community the chance to make new friends, learn to sing in a new language (Te Reo Maori), but more importantly- a time to have a break from studies or work, and sing together. The coolest part? The three performances the choir does at AUT. You don’t need to know how to sing, just a give-it-a-whirl attitude.

The choir master, John Tāpene knows his stuff. I was there at their last practice, every member is given their singing parts, and they have their mates to help them. When all the parts coalesce its sounds awesome. To complete a song it requires collaboration, teamwork, humility and a sense of working towards a common goal.

As Valance says “Simply, singing makes people feel happy, instilling happiness into the AUT community can only be a good thing, right?

It allows for a happy worker, happy student and this makes for a more dynamic human being in whatever you do in life. Ultimately, the choir intends to enhance people’s experiences of AUT, in a fun and positive way.

2015 performance dates: • • •

Maori New Year matariki festival at AUT- Wednesday, June 3 Autaia Maori open day- Tuesday, September 8 Pre-Christmas end of year event (WG Block)

So come along, improve your singing, make new friends, and work towards enhancing your experience at AUT! If you are interested in joining, please contact Valance Smith on

vsmit@aut.ac.nz

MVP FOR FREE The NCAA has student athletes risking their future, being taken advantage of, and working for a profit they rarely, if ever, see.

by Connor Leathley American collegiate student athletes are being exploited by their “governing body”, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (or NCAA for short). At $10.5 billion (billion!!) per year, that is a revenue that dwarfs almost every other professional union world-wide. But yet, none of this goes towards the players, the ones who actually generate this immense cash flow. To take it one step further, the NCAA even prohibits making money off one’s image, and players have been suspended for taking advantage of their status. Rather than being the gate-keeper to athletics, the NCAA are gate-keepers to amateurism.

Amateurism, according to the NCAA, “is a bedrock principle of college athletics.” And sure, playing for school pride can be a wonderful thing. But how can they justify the fact that in 39 of the 50 states, the highest-paid public official is a college coach. It could be justified if these players had the players’ best interests at heart. And yet, “legendary” coach Bob Knight was known to throw chairs, and even resort to physical violence, in an attempt to “motive” players. Coach Mike Leach was suspended after forcing a player to stay confined in a locker for three hours when it was revealed that the player could not practise due to concussions. Leach reportedly informed him that if he did come out of the closet, he would “lose his place on the team.”

With that being said, student athletes do receive some benefits that the regular student isn’t afforded, sure. The majority attend the school on the basis of an athletic scholarship, with an added benefit being that they can use the high class facitilites that the athletic department provides. They also travel around the country to compete in games.

However, the scholarship is on a year to year basis, making it dependant on performance, or availability. Scholarships have been terminated when players have been unable to suit up for games. Kyle Hardrick, a basketball player at Oklahoma, only played six minutes over two years due to knee injuries, and had his scholarship revoked. As he was then a paying student, he was unable to transfer schools, as he could not pay his fees, putting his family into debt.

Maintaining a passable grade is another important part to participating in the team activities. Yet, it was discovered last year that the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, had been holding fake ‘paper classes’, to boost the players’ grades.

The basketball and football players were “encouraged” to join the African-American studies paper. So, for example, a player that has a low grade at the beginning of the year could magically have a higher grade by the time the season rolls around, but only after participating in this created papers.

So many graduated with this created paper on their degree, rather than an actual degree that a normal student may receive.

So the student-athletes don’t get paid, and some may not even receive an education, but why does that matter right?

Even if student athletes do graduate with their potentially loaded degrees, they will still play football or basketball professionally, right? Unfortunately, only 1.7% of college football players will receive a professional pay check, and only 1.2% of college basketball players will make it to the pros. So whilst those gifted few will be able to receive wages far above the national average, the vast majority will have to join the work force like everyone else.

So to sum up, these athletes risk possibly career debilitating injuries to graduate with a potentially dodgy degree, all in the name of school pride? So, if the NCAA refuses to pay players, make the entire thing non-profit. Scrap the TV deals, stop selling athletes' jerseys for profit, and stop marketing these amateur players to fill the stands. And maybe, once money is taken out of the NCAA pockets, they may see that working for free isn’t actually that great.

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by Amelia Petrovich

In the words of Jesus himself; ‘oh Lord, why?’

To me, you are an enigma. Not the poetic John Green brand of enigma, but one not unlike lint-rollers or shoehorns. I literally cannot fathom your existence, nor understand your purpose in this world.

Naturally, one might at first assume that you exist to aid the selfie movement as a whole - a most noble purpose indeed.

Selfies, to me, are synonymous with confidence and self-love, the perfect dose of diluted, acceptable narcissism. We are all of us beautiful people and self-portraiture is a fun indulgence but, pray tell, what exactly do you do to enhance this?

I recall a time not so long ago before selfie-sticks, earlier even than the age of Facebook and Instagram, when a distorted arm appearing in the corner of a composition was indicative of poor photographic practice. A perfect selfie should be a celebration of a beautiful face, not of accidental arms or appendages!

And what are you, oh selfie-stick, but yet another unwanted appendage? Garishly lurking in the bottom left corner of my friend’s display picture, soiling my newsfeed with your visual poison.

Over Christmas and New Years I watched, in horror, as those of your kind swarmed the world around me and earned the excitement and support of those I hold most dear. My dismay would abate if your presence had actually heightened the quality of the photographs I observed. But alas! Crappy phone pictures remained sub-par, blurry camera shots still appeared ill-timed.

You contribute nothing to our lives; you are the 40-year-old stay-at-home-child of the social media universe.

Dorkier than a fresh pair of yellow crocs, I do not yet know if those who utilize you are aware of just how lame they appear.

Smiling faces huddled together, staring up at the camera on the end of your gawky talon; you turn reputable human beings into something laughable.

Perhaps I am harsh in my critique. Should I instead direct my rage at the multitudes of parents and friends who thought buying you for a loved one was acceptable? Should I blame whichever godforsaken, cash-hungry organization conjured you up from the fiery pits of hell? Maybe I should. Maybe I should… but I do not.

My wrath has direction and its direction is you, o’ vile selfie-stick.

You are tacky and I hate you - leave my thoughts now and surrender those poor fools whose enthusiasm you have spurred (for they know not what they do). Perhaps if your exit from the world is hasty, we may all live to forget this dark age in the glorious history of popular culture.

photo by Nick Hubbard

ODE TO THE SELFIE STICK

CLUB CRAWL How to start a club at AUT Kia ora everyone! My name is Joshua Tupene and I am the Clubs Coordinator for AuSM@AUT. Clubs, whether they be of an academic or social focus, are a huge part of campus life. They act as an avenue for groups or individuals to make their mark on an aspect of university that lies outside curriculum-based study. In my opinion, it’s essential that students have the option to create clubs and societies, create their own opportunities to gain friends and enjoy social events, as well as increase networking branches and enjoy greater academic engagement with others in their chosen field of study. Whatever the reason, be it social, professional, academic, or just the desire to start something weird, I’m here to help you do it.

Want to start your own AuSM Club? Have a good idea?

Check out the information below and work to get it running!

STEP 1: INVENT A CLUB • What is the purpose of the club?

• Is the club necessary?

• Do similar clubs exist and are they active?

• What will be the club’s special appeal?

• Who will join and how can I reach them?

• Where will my initial and continual support come from?

• Does it provide a worthwhile service to its members?

Plan a structured program of activities and events for the coming year.

STEP 2: TALK ABOUT IT AuSM Clubs include a huge range of student interests, beliefs and hobbies. AuSM invites all students to start up new clubs or join existing ones. AuSM is here to help and has heaps of resources available.

Make an appointment to meet with the AuSM Clubs Coordinator by filling in the form below or email clubs@aut.ac.nz. You can also check out the range of clubs currently available here.

STEP 3: GRAB SOME MATES Uni is the best place to find like-minded people to connect with and create changes that you want to see. Starting or joining a club is the best way to achieve this and start paving the path of your future.

To start a club you will need at least 10 AUT Students who are interested in joining.

STEP 4: MAKE IT LEGIT AuSM is committed to assisting clubs that encourage cultural, social and sporting life at AUT. Affiliation formally recognises the clubs and gives them the opportunity to promote themselves and fully function on campus.

Make a meeting with the Clubs Coordinator to start the process of becoming an affiliated AuSM Club.

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REVIEWS

THE MISSING '

Series directed by Tom Shankland Starring James Nesbitt, Frances O'Connor Tcheky Karyo Reviewed by Ethan Sills TV One has been on a roll lately, bringing some great, high quality British series’ to their Sunday night lineup. One of the latest has been the chilling, thought provoking and twisty crime drama: The Missing.

The series begins in 2006 when six-year-old Oliver Hughes goes missing while on holiday in a small French village. His parents, Tony and Emily, are distraught, and are thrust into the public spotlight as the local police struggle to find any leads. Fast forward eight years, and Tony is still looking while Emily is moving on with her new family, only for the two to be brought back together when fresh evidence is discovered.

With fantastic direction and clever, brilliant writing, this is smarter, better looking and more moving than your average crime drama. Told in eight episodes moving between three timelines, the series drags you in through the two slow and depressing cases into the missing Oliver. All the actors are great, notably James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor who take their characters beyond simply grieving parents, and make you grieve alongside them. The finale will likely divide viewers and it takes a long time getting there, but this wonderful one off case is well worth watching.

Down a narrow and dimly lit staircase off Queen Street, lies Tanuki’s Cave – a, quite literally, hidden gem of Auckland’s Japanese cuisine scene. Tanuki’s is a small but lively yakitori bar with a warm and intimate atmosphere that is felt the minute you are seated around the large bar that fills the room.

TANUKI'S CAVE Restaurant | Japanese 319 Queen St, Auckland Reviewed by Ava Wardecki – Locke

Tanuki’s Cave boasts an impressive Yakitori (Japanese skewer) menu with plenty of choices for absolutely every taste. From traditional chicken thigh, pork belly and vegetable skewers, to the more unusual beef tongue and chicken heart skewers – there’s something for everyone. This place is also perfect for vegetarians, with a plentiful and tasty selection of grilled vegetable and tofu skewers to choose from.

The portion sizes of yakitori at Tanuki’s are small, usually 2 skewers per serving, which makes it perfect for sharing and trying out a little bit of everything. I found that each dish was reasonably priced around $4-$6 each.

In the end, six or seven different dishes between my dinner date and myself ended up being both a satisfyingly filling and cheap meal.

I would definitely recommend the delicious corn basted in butter and soy sauce that has the most incredible flavour as well as the mushrooms or capsicums stuffed with chicken mince. The chicken skewers are a must-try and if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the beef tongue steak skewers.

Tanuki’s cave is the perfect place for a casual bite, dinner date or pre-show feed. On that note, if you are heading over to Tanuki’s for a bite before seeing a show, notify the waiter and they’ll ensure your food comes promptly to you.

Despite the fact that it is often very busy and has a small wait time, I find Tanuki’s Cave to be a reliably pleasant and student-friendly casual Japanese dining experience.

This well-choreographed, catchy and costumed-out finisher is just one of the random and hilarious moments dotted throughout this delightfully entertaining but still powerfully factual documentary.

That Sugar Film’s premise, similar to Super Size Me, sees Australian actor Damon Gameau, after years of a healthy diet, consuming 40 teaspoons of sugar every day for sixty days in order to see what effect it will have on his body. The catch is that he is only eating foods with hidden sugars; the supposedly healthy, fat free foods that are meant to be good for us but could be having serious effects on our health.

THAT SUGAR FILM Documentary directed by Damon Gamaeu Staring Stephen Fry, Damon Gameau, and Isabel Lucas Reviewed by Ethan Sills I am sure when most people think of documentaries, they think of something along the lines of David Attenborough and his centuries of observing animals, or some depressing and/or intense topical discussion stuffed with heaps of interviews. Rarely though, do I imagine people think of documentaries as fun. The closest to a ‘fun’ documentary I have ever seen would be the work of Morgan Spurlock, but even they can be a bit stuffy and fact heavy.

Cut to the end of That Sugar Film. After around ninety minutes of watching a man’s health deteriorate from the effects of sugar, out of the blue a rap video begins right before the credits.

As with any documentary, there are interviews with relevant authority figures dotted throughout, and several depressing and hard to watch moments, including a walk through an Aboriginal graveyard, and watching a Kentucky teenager get twenty six teeth removed.

But these scenes are made all the more powerful intersected by the carnival of strangeness occurring around it: you pay attention more to the moments you’re meant to because Gameau and his team have edited this perfectly to get the balance right. The humour is there to keep you captivated and ensure you actually pay attention and learn something. I for one left the cinema dramatically rethinking some of the things I eat and drink, and I am sure there will be plenty of surprising facts in here for you as well.

From Hugh Jackman telling you the history of sugar to Stephen Fry singing about fructose, there are a lot of random moments in this documentary that may make it seem incoherent, but the sheer strangeness makes you pay attention much more than just some droll voice over and threatening black and white shots of unhealthy food. Gameau and co. fill That Sugar Film with an equal balance of fun and facts to ensure you will be educated as much as entertained.

I think everyone needs to see this movie to see the serious effects of sugar and how much it can damage us, but be assured that you will laugh as much as gasp. And be prepared to hum Sugaaaaaar for the rest of the week: it’s the catchiest educational rap you’ll ever hear.

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portraits by Ali Thair

For more photos and stories, check out facebook.com/humansofaut

JOURNAL OF A PART-TIME WILD ONE

by Matthew Cattin I write this piece from my bed in a four-bunk Wanaka dorm room.

I’ve been on the road 12 days, travelling down the west coast of my home land. Much of my clothing is soggy, and I’m beginning to wonder if my car will ever be rid of its musty odour. I live almost exclusively on pasta and porridge, I’ve slept in dorm rooms, mountain huts and rained in tents, and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed myself more.

My itinerary is decided each day by the colour of the sky. A deep blue means I’m up and out the door without breakfast, off to make the most of the weather window that may at any moment close.

Grey means it’s time to move on in search of some sun.

I’ve met a lot of great people, all of them on the same buzz.

Whether driving, bussing, hitching or simply walking, they’re all quick to smile, eager to speak, happy to listen, and bright eyed.

Most are on borrowed time here, their trips book ended by flights or deadlines. Almost manic in their desire to see, touch, feel it all, their disappointment is real for the places they won’t make it to this time around.

It’s incredibly refreshing to be exposed to so many new faces, and a timely reminder that life really can be anything you wish it to be.

On the bunk below mine is an 18-year-old from Canada. She’s been here a couple of months, tenting through rain storms, tent peg pulling winds, and nights cold enough to warrant sleeping in four pairs of socks.

On the bunk opposite is a German girl who has been on the road for two years, keeping the travel alive however she can.

It’s these types that make me feel anything is possible. They remind me there is no set list for your life. It may sound cliché, but when you meet somebody travelling alone, as far away from home as can be, it jars you. Well, at least it jars little ol’ me.

I’ve done a wee bit of travel in my years, but nothing as courageous and spontaneous as flying solo around the world, fresh out of high school. The level of respect I have for those with the steel to make it happen borders on idolisation. Could I have done something so drastic? So uprooting? I like to think yes, but I’m happy with my path so far, so no regrets there.

I’ve noticed, however, that in New Zealand, there seems to be a recipe for life that we’re all expected to follow. Perhaps some of you will relate to the nagging expectations that brought you to university.

Obviously, many of you are here because it’s your passion, your dream. But for me, university seemed to be just the next logical step for my life. With no money for travelling alternatives, I guess I just shrugged my shoulders and enrolled.

I must reiterate I have no regrets in my path thus far, but what I would like to draw attention to is the fact so many feel the weight of expectations to do this, that or the other, when really, life is a blank page that only you can doodle on.

I’m still in the process of realising the world is my oyster. Tomorrow I could sell my belongings, buy a one way ticket to Mykonos and spend my days drunken and sunburnt working at an oyster farm.

Does Mykonos have oysters? Not sure, I’ll find out when I arrive.

I may never fully embrace the world as my oyster and make it to Mykonos, but for now I sit on the verge. I’m yet to shake off the weight of what is sensible and proper, i.e. a ladder-climbing job, wife and kids, and perhaps I never will. It’s so ingrained in our culture that I’m certain only the wild ones can shake society’s rules. But if I allow myself to shake them at least a few times in my time around, I think I’ll be happy to put my feet up at that.

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