debate ISSUE ISSUE 23 19 | SEPTEMBER | AUGUST 2015 2015

CREDITS EDITOR Laurien Barks laurien.barks@aut.ac.nz SUB-EDITORS Matthew Cattin Amelia Petrovich Julie Cleaver DESIGNERS Ramina Rai CONTRIBUTORS Samira Kakh, Matthew Cattin, Amelia Petrovich, Alan Young, Mahafrin Variava, Louise Wallace, Kieran Bennett, Julie Cleaver, Shivan, Ethan Sills, Ali Thair, Logan Gubb, Tyler Hinde

CONTENTS

ADVERTISING Harriet Smythe hsmythe@aut.ac.nz

Pg 3 Ed’s Letter

Pg 24 Fungal Behemoths

Pg 4 The Write Way

Pg 25 Why It Matters

lbarks@aut.ac.nz

Pg 5 Waste Not

Pg 26 It Was the Best of Thames

PRINTER Debate is lovingly printed by Soar Print

Pg 8 Tele-visibility

Pg 28 Our Great Responsibility

Pg 10 Cool Shit

Pg 30 Auckland CBD Café Circuit

Pg 12 Dis-Labelled

Pg 32 Concrete Jungle

Pg 14 The Harvard Project

Pg 34 Reviews

Pg 18 Um…Oh?

Pg 36 Kids Go Crazy

Pg 20 In Short

Pg 37 Recipe

Pg 22 3am Thoughts

Pg 38 Puzzles

Contributions can be sent to

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the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA)

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Upon arrival, we were handed a glass cleverly attached to a glorified shoelace that was meant to be hung around our necks. We quickly rushed to colour them inside out with the rose-coloured wine we saw staining the exposed braziers of the cougars, and were immensely impressed. It seemed, if you kept perfectly still, and bent your body at just the right angle, you really could manage a full wine glass and have two free hands to use however you wished (providing you didn’t move them). Bellies full of hope (and not much else) are the perfect tour guide for this event. There’s many a stall to choose from, and many a line to stand in – so a strong dose of hangry helps blind you from the award-winning scallop lines, and push you toward the “pretty okay, I guess, if you’re hungry” ones. Of course I jest. Kind of. I’m glad we were hungry enough to scope the smaller lines first. The scallops we ate from these stands were delicious, but also allowed room for improvement as time and treats stretched our stomachs alongside our selectivity. The treats seemed to get better as the day wore on (for me at least), and the concluding churro we munched by the waterside seemed to be dropped from heaven’s deep fryer, itself.

EDITOR ’S LETTER Happy Monday! Last weekend a few pals and I decided it’d be a fun time to give Whitianga’s annual Scallop Fest a whirl. None of us had ever been before, we all enjoy a good scallop, and we figured there were worse ways to spend a Saturday. So we hit the windy roads, kept the car sickness to a bare minimum (unlike previous trips where it’s seemed like one big vom contest, with me being the sole competitor), and took the Coromandel by storm. Disclaimer, we’ll probably never be back. Partially because of the unjustified dent it left in our bank accounts, and partially because we aren’t middle-aged, drunk on arrival, and willing to flop our areolas out of a sexy police costume (Get it?! A police costume at Scallop Fest!? Yeah, neither did I…). But I won’t focus on the negatives, because you know what, I really did enjoy myself. And I feel obligated as an unqualified journalist to bring you the optimistic inside scoop of the quirky wonders New Zealand never seems to run short of. Scallop Fest 2015 started off as any high-brow, small town Kiwi event should: white tents, white bait aroma, and white wine-guzzling cougars, purring a generally uncomfortable ambience into the air.

Having been to town just one weekend prior, I remember exclaiming to a friend just how impressed/surprised I was at the lack of ass groping that went on. Not an avid town-goer in the least, I’d heard many a nightmarish tale of the black hearts of clubs – infested with creepers feeding off of sexual harassment, and harnessing enough energy from rape culture to last an entire night. I must say, despite missing out, I didn’t have to wait long for another sighting of these apparently shapeshifting creatures. As we weaved in and out of the Scallop Fest crowds, an especially lively woman didn’t hesitate to smack, tap, or in my case, grab hold of each and every one of our clan’s bums. I can’t say I was excessively impressed, though I can’t say I was excessively surprised either. Even the most sober-minded citizen has trouble resisting our posse from behind. So if you’re hungry for seafood, keen on pink wine, and are in the ‘I’ve been single for so long, please someone just touch me’ phase of your life, I’d highly recommend popping into Whitianga’s annual Scallop Fest. Costumes are acceptable, the scallops are fresh, the atmosphere is unique and familiar all at once, and it’s a strangely endearing way to spend your afternoon. I know I’ve given it a hard time, and while I wouldn’t advise someone to go, I wouldn’t tell them they were making a bad call if they decided to. These things are what you make them – at the end of the day, you’ll have eaten a scallop, giggled repeatedly, and seen a breast that’s been sun-kissed several times over. And if that doesn’t summarize what each and every one of us strives for on the daily, I don’t know what does. Have a great week, Laurien 3

Librarian of the Week andrew south Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry Public Health & Psychosocial Studies

THE

WRITE Writing Topic Sentences

WAY

Samira Kakh, AUT Doctoral Candidate, School of Language and Culture A pretty awesome first sentence in each and every paragraph is essential to successful writing. That’s why, if I had a magic lamp, I would wish for a topic sentence generator. I’m telling you, a good topic sentence can

Hello, my name is Drew. Actually, it’s Andrew, but we have two Andrews here in the Library, and that used to get confusing (hence my abbreviated name). Don’t worry too much about what to call me though, I’ll happily answer to either name. I am one of the Liaison Librarians here at the Library. While I am mostly found at the North Campus Library, I also travel out to the South Campus Library regularly. But don’t pay too much attention to where I am - if you need help, then you may phone, email to make an appointment, whatever method best suits you. The key thing is that you get the assistance that you need.

revive bored readers. But what’s a topic sentence? A topic sentence, as you hear all the time, expresses the main idea of the paragraph. If you are you interested to know how to write effective topic sentences, here’s three quick tips: First, clear lovely topic sentences are actually made from recycled vague and gloomy thoughts and ideas. So, do brainstorm. Press yourself on any thoughts and ideas about the topic you are writing on and about.

So, what is a “Liaison Librarian,” what do we do? How can we assist you?

Second, bring focus and rigor to your thoughts and ideas

A Liaison Librarian essentially answers your library-related questions. More specifically we show you how to find the information that you need for your assignment/thesis/research. We teach you the tools, techniques, and skills that let you identify and locate resources as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Our goal is to make the research element of your work easy and painless.

relevant to the topic and boil them down to a few major

Each Liaison Librarian here at AUT has an area that we specialise in. I have had a great deal of experience in the areas of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Oral Health, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Podiatry, and Public Health. Additionally, I am experienced with both the APA style of referencing, and also the EndNote reference management software program.

your paragraphs.

AUT Library has a huge number of resources that can assist you, and my colleagues and I are here to help you make the best use of all of the resources that are available to you.

details about it.

If you have a question or need assistance, please email me, leave me a voice message, or drop by and see me (contact details below), I’d be happy to meet you. All the best for your stay here at AUT, Andrew South Liaison Librarian

by evaluating and organizing them. Select the ones most thoughts and ideas. Each one of those then can be a topic sentence. The other thoughts and ideas can be used as supporting sentences that eventually form your paragraphs. They may help to demonstrate or prove the main idea stated by the topic sentence. Keep checking if your topic sentences give reverence to the contents of

Third, it’s not easy to think about ideas. You may want to consult books and review articles during the brainstorming phase. Be reminded that you can only approach the issue you are writing on critically, if you know a lot of

And two more practical suggestions: 1) Try to come up with your own thoughts and ideas before heading into a library. One problem with reading is that when we read others’ ideas and arguments, we tend to see them as the only (or the best) relevant thoughts. But, going to a library after pushing some thoughts out of your mind, will make your writing original.

asouth@aut.ac.nz

2) You absolutely do need to cite the source, if the ideas

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presented by other people.

North Campus Library

or arguments of your topic sentences were originally

Waste not Matthew Cattin | Photos by Amanda Chapman We’re an oddball generation. Caught between the necessary thriftiness of our grandparents and the wanton wastefulness of the baby boomers, we were born into a shitstorm of mixed messages. We were the kids who watched Captain Planet over a takeaway happy meal. We wore disposable nappies while digging for worms in the compost. We’ve been told all our lives to put our rubbish in the bins - as though it’s a positive solution for our crying earth - when really it’s sweeping the mess under the rug and hoping Mother Nature doesn’t see us do it. We’re consumers trying to navigate in a single use society, and corporations seem to be doing their utmost best to screw us over - hell, even our vegetables are wrapped in plastic. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem, and we absolutely should, but the trouble is, I don’t think many people are aware of the problem. We recycle what we can, dispose of what we can’t, and feel like tidy Kiwis. But should we ever see our annual waste piled in our own backyards - instead of buried in some anonymous patch of earth - I’m sure we would change our habits. Or at least take a photo for Instagram with the hashtag #mybad. I am by no means a green-fingered gift to the earth. I eat takeaway on occasion, buy my groceries shrouded in plastic and - Lord forgive me - buy bottled water when I’ve been caught short. None of it is done guilt free, mind you, I just find it so damn hard to live without waste. And then I met somebody that does. I tell ya, it is so incredibly inspiring to meet somebody who genuinely walks the walk. The obstacles are stacked against anybody willing to attempt a waste free lifestyle, so to meet somebody who succeeds so admirably is pretty special. 5

I met Amanda Chapman through a mutual friend on a tramp in the Whangarei Heads. Now, if you’ve ever done any tramping, you’ll know it’s hard to spend time in nature without making a bit of a waste trail. Muesli bars and ziplock bags are some of the worst offenders. Amanda, though, she managed to do it with incredibly minimal waste, and that there is dedication. When I got out of the bush, I checked out her blog and started fanboying hard. She’s the real deal. First chance I got, I had a chat to her on Skype to share with you the gospel truth. “I read that it takes three weeks to truly learn a new habit, so I got into it at the beginning of the year, but started properly for Plastic Free July,” she says. “I found I was a little nervous to start what I’m doing because I knew how hard it would be. I took the month as a bit of a competition, and by the end of it, that was it. I had the habit.” Living waste free sounds like a bloody grand idea on the surface, but the amount of dedication it requires is rather mind-blowing for an average consumer such as myself. It’s only when Amanda shares her food-related struggles with me that the enormity of her lifestyle sinks in. “I still struggle, mainly with food,” she says. “I buy candy in the bulk bins, but certain brands are only available in packets.” And that’s not to mention chocolate, cheese, and Amanda’s favourite food, nachos, which she can’t eat anymore because of the packaging. She’s a bloody hero. A walk through a regular supermarket will illustrate how difficult living waste free must be, and in order to eat

what most would consider a normal diet, Amanda has to put a bit more effort into her meal prep. “I’ve got a rep at work - they call me the dirty hippy,” she says. “I always come in with creations I’ve made - DIY is a big aspect of the lifestyle. I make yoghurt, cheese, I ferment stuff like kombucha, Callan (Amanda’s partner) does his own booze…”

The obstacles are stacked against anybody willing to attempt a waste free lifestyle, so to meet somebody who succeeds so admirably is pretty special. “I’ve started eating healthier too, which wasn’t planned. I can’t have processed things, so as a result I have had to eat healthier.” Being a vegetarian certainly helps too - since meat is always wrapped - but Amanda still can’t resist her bulk bin lollies. Being waste free doesn’t stop at food. Personal hygiene products are an incredibly plastic-heavy necessity (or luxury, depending on your priorities) - just think about the tubes of toothpaste, rolls of deodorant, bottles of shampoo and sanitary items you’d go through in a lifetime? I’d wager at least enough waste to fill your bathtub a few times over.

Amanda gets around this with a spot of DIY, and by only using products that are compostable or reusable. She uses baking soda and apple cider vinegar for shampoo, homemade toothpaste made of coconut oil, baking soda, and clove oil, reusable menstrual cups, compostable bamboo toothbrushes, and organic block soap. And just a disclaimer, I can personally vouch for the fact that had she not told me, I would never have known. DIY ≠ dirty hippy. Living waste free was something Amanda says crept up on her. After studying environmental science, reading a few books, and discovering the #zerowaste tag on Instagram, she says she was already living with an eye on her waste output, but a holiday on a cruise ship set her firmly on the new path. “That was the tipping point,” she says. “The waste was just phenomenal and I really struggled.” The cruise ship’s procedures around disposables made it impossible to fully enjoy the cruise, and upon coming home, Amanda went all out. Takeaway coffee cups are Amanda’s absolute pet hate, but takeaway anything is pretty much the devil’s work for anybody with an environmental conscience. “It can be a hassle, but it just takes a bit of preparation. If I go and get sushi, I’ll take my own container and my own chopsticks. I find they don't usually have soy sauce that isn’t in the plastic fish though, so if I remember, I take my own.”

Get enough stones though, and you can build a dam and make some real change. “It is hard to watch people (who are wasteful), but I don’t want to feel like I am high and mighty,” she says. “I don’t want to force my lifestyle on others, but it’s a matter of people being aware, and really it should be up to companies to be fixing this. It shouldn’t be up to us to have to take in a reusable coffee cup which will be rubbish five minutes later.” Fortunately, people like Amanda are making ripples, and as they spread, they make changes. “My friends have been really supportive and accepting. A lot of the times I’ll be out with them and they’ll be embarrassed to do stuff in front of me, and I’ll get text messages all the time telling me about things they’ve done. It makes me realise that I am making a difference.” The biggest thing you can do to help, says Amanda, is voting with your dollar - being smart about your consumption. “By buying over-packaged items, you are saying you like these items and the company will keep doing it. By buying alternative, the company selling nonpackaged items gets your support.” If you’d like to read more about Amanda’s journey, make sure you check out her blog www.wastefreeadventures. blogspot.co.nz. “It’s good to rant off - in a place that people expect to find my rants,” she says. “I have aunties complaining I post too much hippy dippy shit, so I thought I would channel it to a place people appreciate it.”

It really isn’t a lot of extra effort, and if it means eating sushi guilt free, I’m all over it. Amanda says vendors often put in a little extra food for free too, so get on board before everybody starts doing it.

She also recommends the following blogs for those who would like to learn more.

Living waste free in such a wasteful society seems to me like being a stone in a river. You’re going solo against the current, and it’s undoubtedly pretty hard work.

www.trashisfortossers.com www.therogueginger.com www.zerowastechef.com www.nzecochick.com www.thenonplasticmaori.wordpress.com 7

Televisibility By Amelia Petrovich | Illustration by Logan Gubb On Friday nights when everybody is at home and the $22.00 cask wine is flowing, my family tends to get a little opinionated about TV shows. Now, I’m not innocent of this by any means, screaming expletives at Mike Hosking on Seven Sharp, and cursing George R.R Martin every time another one of my Game of Thrones babies is wiped out. In my house, you’re allowed to be a bit aggressive on a Friday night, that’s just how things are. No one questions or even really listens to your rage at all- maybe it’s freeing or maybe it’s unhealthy, I don’t really know. But anyway, this long established indifference towards anger means that when I found myself really pondering one abrupt Friday night outburst, I was a wee bit confused. It happened during a break for whatever god-awful show we were watching (possibly it was Seven Sharp), when an ad for Mike and Molly flashed up. The show Mike and Molly follows two characters named Mike (wow) and Molly (no way) who meet at an Overeaters Anonymous group and subsequently fall in love. The show then follows the couple in their quest to lose weight and the hilarity that ensues for like, five seasons. Upon seeing this, a family member who shall remain unnamed declared, “that whole show is just like normalizing obesity”. What have been playing on my mind are the various reasons I disagree with that statement. Forget, for a second, any attachments you might have to the ‘should obesity be promoted on TV or should it be shamed’ argument, because shaming any body type anywhere is crappy and if you do it, you’re a human trash bag. That’s not the argument at hand here, what I’m talking about is media visibility, and if that automatically lends itself to normalization. This particular family member of mine seemed to think that if a show included obese characters, this indicated acceptance and normality of obesity, itself.

I can kind of understand how they figured that, what with mass media usually being composed of stuff that is acceptable for the majority of society to view, but I still reckon something needs to be said for the way characters and storylines on television are viewed. A whole heap of the humor in ‘Mike and Molly’ centers on overeating and weight, to the point where certain gags are only funny because the main characters are overweight (“lol, do you get it? It’s funny because they’re talking about food and they have an eating problem, lol”).

I

feel

like

a

show

that

truly

normalized things like body type or homosexuality would be one that hardly mentioned them at all. This kind of ‘humor’ isn’t much of a surprise considering that Chuck Lorre, one of the brains behind the script for The Big Bang Theory, is the executive producer for Mike and Molly. Lorre is pretty good at undermining minority groups and calling it humor, a rough 90 percent of the gags in Big Bang revolving around suggested homosexuality (Raj and Howard), social incompetency (Sheldon), ditzy female tropes (Penny) or general ‘nerdiness’ (basically everyone). Yes these characters and jokes are visible and therefore accepted to a degree, but are we really calling something normal if we’re laughing at it too? I feel like a show that truly normalized things like body type or homosexuality would be one that hardly mentioned them at all. It’s not often that scripts poke fun at characters for being really, really straight (“yeah but what would you do if I was in there with you? ;) ”) or for having a BMI of roughly 22 or whatever, those things just exist within storylines and are relatively invisible. The cast of Friends is all skinny and white but that’s never mentioned, we only ever get close when Monica talks about how fat she used to be, with laugh tracks following of course. Therefore, a show that ‘normalized’ obesity would be one where the character’s weight and feelings about food was never mentioned, one where jokes focused on other details like their relationship, their escapades, or maybe even slick script writing and witty dialogue, who knows? Maybe the best indicator of social privilege is media invisibility. Have you ever heard news reporters specifically point out a European criminal or a male politician? They don’t need to be pointed out, they’re normal, why underscore the everyday? Of course, there is something to be said for the benefits of any kind of visibility for minority groups, and maybe me scoffing at visibility purely for the sake of humor just highlights my own unchecked privilege. But I feel like we can do better than inclusion for gags alone, and we can definitely do better than just laughing along.

9

COOL SHIT

MAKE UP BE GONE THE DARK SIDE OF

MY OWN DARLING

Auckland Live, Tim Lawson and Simon Painter present

CIRQUE

You know that feeling, late at night after a long day, when the last thing you feel like doing is getting the make-up off, then cleansing, toning, moisturising…? Well, Trilogy has a treat to make your before-bed routine easier than ever. This luxurious balm removes foundation, mascara and lipstick like nothing else, even stay-put and waterproof formulations. A rich blend of pure plant oils, certified natural Trilogy Make-Up Be Gone Cleansing Balm melts on contact with warm skin, massaging easily onto the face and dissolving away every trace of make-up, along with any impurities and the remains of the day. This balm retails at $38.90 and can be found at selected Farmers, pharmacies, department and health stores nationwide.

Take a journey through the streets of Auckland in a compelling show which is part road movie, part love song. Award winning poet and TED talking sensation, Grace Taylor, brings her unique voice to theatre in this not-to-be-missed show. Accompanied by a pumping soundtrack from Anonymouz, Grace storms the stage along with Fasitua Amosa (Auckland Daze) and rising star Gaby Solomona to celebrate the people you might otherwise pass by – a girl in blood-red jeans, a bro from the maunga, a neighbourhood mama, and K-road characters. In the beating heart of the city, everybody is someone’s darling. Debate has two double passes to My Own Darling to give away to the first two people to Facebook message their name, campus, and favourite theatrical production! facebook.com/ausmdebate

CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS AT ITS MOST THRILLING

THE DARK CIRCUS Le Noir – the Dark Side of Cirque features over 20 of the greatest acts on earth performing in a spectacular 360 degree setting. Starring many former stars of Cirque du Soleil and award winning athletes, this entertainment sensation has smashed box office records, captivating audiences and critics alike wherever it plays. Debate has two double passes to give away to the two people to Facebook message their name, campus, and best two-sentence circus-themed story!

28 OCT – 8 NOV The Civic, Auckland

facebook.com/ausmdebate

FIVE GREENIE UNI HACKS! 1. Try a downloadable PDF textbook instead of buying the book. 2. Print double sided. Or even use a smaller font, to save paper. 3. Paper recycling in WG Level 2. 4. Recycled paper notepads! Find them! They are everywhere, just give it a google. 5. Use public transport! Save yourself the stress of trying to find a carpark.

SUSTAINABILITY TIPS From the AuSM Sustainability Club Is your coffee good for the earth? Here are five tips to make sure it is! 1. Is it fair trade? Is it organic? Are you at a café? Ask them. And if theirs isn’t, ask them why not! 2. Do you have your own takeaway mug? Get one! 3. If you have to use a takeaway cup, recycle the lid. 4. Do you have a Nespresso machine at home? Ditch the regular pods, and grab some biodegradable pods. The Honest Coffee Company!

FIVE GROCERY STORE TIPS! 1. Buy local! Think how far the food you buy has to travel before it reaches your table? Wherever possible, buy local, seasonal produce that has not crossed the globe to get to you! 2. Buy recycled! It is as equally as important to buy recycled products as it is to ensure that you recycle products at the end of their life. It helps to reduce energy and waste. 3. Bring your own bag! Keep a reusable bag in your handbag at all times for those last minute grocery shops! 4. Choose biodegradable cleaning products! Shop Ecostore! Better yet, make your own! 5. Buy in bulk if you can! Rather than buying lots of smaller packaged goods.

5. Use coffee grounds for garden fertilizer! Don’t throw them away. REDUCE YOUR WASTE AT UNI! FIVE SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY HACKS!

1. Reusable water bottles!

2. Try some Lush products.

2. Reusable coffee mugs! Or dine in coffee instead of takeaway. You will most likely get 10 percent off your purchase with your own cup!

3. Get behind the brands that will give you a free product when you return empty containers for reusing.

3. Think twice before printing notes, or if you have to, double side print them!

4. Go natural for a week! See how much your skin will thank you for it.

4. Need an energy drink pick me up? Go aluminum cans or glass! As recycled plastic can only be downcycled.

5. Guys? Grow your beard out! Save water!

5. Only going up to level three or four? Take the stairs!

1. Do your research. Do they test on animals?

11

DISLABELLED

Alan Young Products speak to you through their packaging, whether it is a bottle, a box, or a paper bag. It speaks through the branding on its labels; through colours, fonts, layout, and the style of images on the label. Sometimes a product speaks quietly, with a sophisticated and refined manner; sometimes it shouts ‘Look at me! Look at me! I’m fast! I’m cheap! I’m special!’ A product’s voice might be a young girl’s giggle; a friendly nanna-like piece of advice; a working class guy’s

nod of respect ‘mate!’ or tongue-incheek scepticism, ‘Yeah, right! We’re so used to these voices around us, we sometimes hardly notice them: signs on buses; a multitude of different packs on supermarket shelves; ads in magazines, on television, before films, on websites, blogs, Facebook, Instagram, pretty much anywhere you are. Look around you now. How many signs, brands or ads can you see? Perhaps you’re nowhere near the city. Perhaps you’re on pristine beach,

white sand, deep blue ocean and not a billboard for miles. But look again. Wearing any swimwear? Is it Victoria’s Secret, or Billabong? Sunglasses? Rayban? Bollé? Or Dirty Dog? Each one speaks to you in a slightly different little voice. Hope you’re wearing some sunscreen. L’Oréal, Coppertone, or Sunbum; each has its own personality. That’s branding; that’s advertising. But what happens when you swap the elements of one product’s label

with those of another? The Label Swap project by AUT’s second year Communication Design students does just that— it takes two products and swaps the stylistic elements of each. Although each product stays in its own container, and even the words on the label stay the same, just swapping colours and typefaces, layouts and image styles, produces some interesting results. Sometimes it makes a product looks familiar but not quite right, but sometimes everything goes crazy. A familiar product is suddenly far less

familiar. Sometimes the results are bizarre, sometimes uncomfortable, and sometimes just funny. When you look at the results of the Label Swap project, imagine yourself using the product with its new label. Imagine how that energy drink or Rosé might now taste. Consider how comfortable you would feel using that facial cream, or deodorant. Ask yourself if you would still trust that laundry powder to not destroy your clothes. The project teaches design students how

important each of the stylistic elements on a label are, and how they help give a sense of what a product is or does; but even if you’re not a designer, it’s a pretty cool project just to check out. You can check it out at the Auckland Art Gallery from the 24th to the 26th of October. Pop it in your calendar; then bring along some friends and check out some of the other great exhibitions at the Art Gallery while you’re there. For further information, please contact Alan Young (alan.young@aut.ac.nz).

13

Mahafrin Variava If you’ve decided to flip through all the pages in this magazine and spend some time reading my article, then congratulations! It means you’re mighty interested in reading what I have to say and I sure as hell am interested in giving you a run down on how things went at HPAIR2015! Through doing so, I hope to target a few key issues - some highs and some lows which are reflective of New Zealand society, student life, and perhaps even life in general. I’m sure many of you know this, but the opportunities in the world are endless, and the world is indeed (as many say) our oyster. HPAIR is organised annually (since 1991) and aims to bring together the world’s brightest minds, from the best universities, to discuss international issues with a particular focus on Asia. This year, I applied and was privileged to be selected as a New Zealand delegate (representing AUT University as well as New Zealand on an international arena with four others – who are currently doing exchanges overseas).

My panel was human rights, and some of the issues we discussed were related to human trafficking, freedom of expression, and LGBTQI+ issues. For this conference, individuals had to fund their own flights, registration costs, and accommodation. Of course the accommodation was heavily subsidised, but nonetheless, delegates had to pay for it themselves. When I asked around, many delegates had been sponsored through work, their universities, or through government grants, and here’s where the first key issue came in: New Zealand did not support me and surprisingly, neither did my university. I mean, yes, we apply for them off our own accord, but does it always have to be the “financially privileged” students that attend? If we can’t afford it, does that mean we shouldn’t go? The reality is, New Zealand is becoming competitive, graduate programmes are looking for that “oomph” on our CV, so we need to do these things to put our names out there!

Which led me to ask the big question – were New Zealand youth supported enough when it came to these things specifically (i.e. interning at the UN, or travelling to conferences hosted by Ivy League schools)? My answer was no. Every cent of this trip was funded by me, myself, and I. Trust me when I say I asked my faculty for funding, I asked the Department of Internal Affairs for funding, I asked Study Link for grants, and every possible government organisation. Search result: Zilch. Zero. My faculty told me they had no money left to support this – even though it was representing AUT University through an international forum on the Human Rights Panel. But my individual lecturers supported me in writing references and ensuring that if I did apply for grants, they supported my application. The Lottery Ministers Discretionary Fund – which states that it is tailored for individuals who are looking to

travel – declined my application because they felt being on the Human Rights Panel could potentially suggest that I was “furthering a political agenda”. Ironic, because we have a Human Rights Commission in New Zealand which maintains a strong presence in our country, and to be frank, I don’t see why they’re there anymore. I also applied for every student hardship option there was, to try and get funding of some kind so I didn’t have to squeeze every drop from my savings account. Unfortunately, no funding was available either. I gather you all see the problem? I’ve lodged a complaint to the Human Rights Commission about the lack of support New Zealand students have when it comes to attending these events overseas. Why? Well, because we represent New Zealand on an international stage with many bright minds from big universities. When we return – New Zealand takes credit for the experience we’ve had and yet we get no support or any recognition for the work we do and fund ourselves!

15

Grab any opportunity you get and actively seek for them – don’t let any obstacle stop you! I did make it though. I made it with whatever funds I had left. And I don’t think that there’s any point dwelling on the financial situation and the why’s and what’s. Because I’m back and inspired as ever. The lack of support didn’t pull me down. It’s probably driven me to see a change in the system. Which leads me to my next point: Grab any opportunity you get and actively seek for them – don’t let any obstacle stop you! India showed up with 70 delegates, Australia with approximately 10, Botswana with one, Russia with around five, and Germany with about eight. New Zealand with five – and here’s the sad part about New Zealand, out of the five delegates, I was the only one who flew from New Zealand to be there. Everyone else was already overseas! I suppose that’s what I’m getting at; as youth, we need to be more proactive and find opportunities. There’s a world full of exciting events like HPAIR that can only benefit you, and despite the lack of support, YOU will be able to find your way, and things will work out, believe me! When I got there, it was a lot of networking, discussions, listening to inspirational talks, meeting important political figures, human rights activists and media master minds like CNN’s Lead Editor in Chief, Ravi Agarwal, who spoke to us about freedom of expression (in the media). Which magically brings up point number three: Make the most of your experience at HPAIR or any other conference you may go to!

There’s three words for this, participate, network and gain! Participate - and by this I don’t mean just turning up. I mean asking questions, actively getting involved in discussions and approaching people about their thoughts and opinions! Network – this is key, you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to sit with 300 people, so don’t just limit yourself to one group of people, meet everyone, get to know people, talk to them. Sometimes I felt that the delegates were the ones that gave me more insightful life experiences than speakers themselves, because you may find that not every speaker will engage you! Lastly, gain – so don’t just leave what you’ve learned behind at these conferences, bring these experiences back with you like I have and share them. What can you expect from HPAIR? Well, you can expect to make friends from all over the world and plant seeds for friendships that’ll last a lifetime. You can expect to party at night and explore the beautiful cities these conferences are held in. I rode a jeepney and that was how I truly experienced the “real” Manila. Although my experience was short, it was probably the best experience I’ve had in a long time. I feel that New Zealand needs to make a stand on the international arena and it’s happening slowly, but as youth we have the power to be the change we would like to see in the world and also be the catalysts that speed up the process of bringing New Zealand onto the international stage. As vain as it may sound, I’d like to think I may have played a small albeit very exciting part in doing so! I have to say, I will be doing it again and I invite you all to join in with me. You’re welcome to email me on mahafrin.variava@gmail.com to have a discussion about how you can be a part of this culture!

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UM...OH? Matthew Cattin Those of you old enough to remember the glory years of Debate may recall it was I who sat in the editor’s chair. It was a fabulous period of my life to look back on... drowning in love letters most days, getting elbow deep all up in the AuSM candy jar, making Mum proud every Monday... As glorious as it all sounds, there were dark times too, times I look back on now and shake my head in disbelief and wonder. Here is one of them. It was in my first few weeks on the job that I received an unanticipated visitor at the AuSM reception. Now, these visits are the absolute worst. With no idea who may be lurking out front, you have to leave the comfort of your desk to front up to some wacko or another about a mistake in the horoscopes or too much penis in the mag (as if there could ever be too much). So on this now mythical day, I trooped out to reception to find an elderly man. A little taken aback, I said hello, shook his hand, and took him into the meeting room. To this day, I have no idea exactly who this guy was. In fact I’m beginning to suspect he is a figment of my

overactive imagination, such was his bizarre inclusion in my normal work day. Either that or the ghost of an ancient fisherman (no really, read on). Perhaps 65-yearsold, Indian, and dressed to mean business, he sat down opposite me and began to speak. He first told me about a dinner he shared with his adult daughter a few weeks previously. Of course you have an adult daughter, I thought - perhaps she is the student, and she wants to write for Debate? Alas, I could not have been more wrong. He told me this daughter of his brought up the topic of homosexuality over the meal. Repulsed, he told her it could wait until he had finished eating. Um… Oh? He looked at me as though his response was perfectly reasonable, as though I would laugh merrily and slap him on the back. Instead, I knitted my eyebrows and he continued.

He then shared with me what I believed to be an ancient fable. It went a little like this… So there was this young lad, you see, from a small fishing village. And as soon as he was old enough to work, he joined a fishing crew on board a ship and set sail into the vast blue, leaving his mama, papa and young sister behind. A rowdy bunch of boisterous sailors, the crew would go from port to port trading their fish and getting their wicks dipped in prostitutes at whichever port they boarded.

PLOT TWIST - he had been banging his sister for all those years. And, my oh my, had she grown up. The years went by, and the young hero of our story became a man (puberty, friends. It happens to the best of us). By this stage, he was particularly fond of one prostitute from his old village, and would visit her every chance he got. His parents had moved on, so with no family to visit, he would find solace within the loins of this buxom young lass. But alas, one day, after rolling off his favourite young whore, he realised (somehow… I honestly forget what happened) that - PLOT TWIST - he had been banging his sister for all those years. And, my oh my, had she grown up.

At this point in the story, I was feeling like a trapped animal, wanting to be anywhere but before his bloodshot old eyes. I had no fucking idea why this old man had given up part of his day to share with me some incestuous fable, and I was beginning to think I was never going to feel the sun warm my face again. And that’s when he started to cry. My mind began to race. How did this happen? How was it that only moments before I was sitting happily in my office? And then it dawned on me. He WAS the fisherman, or perhaps his ghost. He had come to give the students of AUT a grim warning about hooking up with whores in foreign ports in the 1600s. This was some whacked off Life of Pi shit and I was going to make a killing writing a book about his sexploits with his sister. And then there’s the daughter… Of course! That’s why he can’t talk to her! The puzzle pieces clicked together. I began to sweat. And that’s when he burst my bubble with a muchneeded explanation. He concluded our meeting by begging me not to write anything of a sexual nature, especially of a homosexual nature. Why? Because by writing about it, I would thereby endorse it, and in his mind, that would lead to incest. Yes, you read correctly. This man believed that by allowing hyper-sexuality (so… in his mind probably showing more than your ankles) and homosexuality to exist within our society, the logical and natural progression from there would be the normalisation of incest. And he was sitting there before me, silent tears sneaking down his old bigoted face, begging me to keep the mag clean. Lol. “Thank you for your time,” I said, shaking his hand and showing him the door.

19

IN SHORT

S TA R L I N G S U B M I S S I O N S Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago for 2015. Starling accepts submissions from writers under 25 years old. We will consider any kind of writing, including short fiction, poetry, creative essays, and plays, but selections will be made based solely on the quality of the work.

Louise Wallace Starling, a new online literary journal publishing the work of young New Zealand writers, is seeking submissions by October 20 for its first issue. I am the founder and editor of this journal but also a poet myself – I have published two collections of my own poems through Victoria University Press and I currently hold the Robert

The purpose is to create an opportunity for young writers, which specifically assists them to move forward in their writing career. Being published in Starling will connect them to the New Zealand writing community, and also make a great addition to their publishing CV. Each issue will open with new work from a well-established New Zealand writer, and close with an interview with someone from our literary industry – be that writer, bookseller, editor – we

are aiming to shape a well-rounded voice. We have already got some really prolific writers lined up for our guest spots – people who I would have loved to have been published alongside early on in my career. We are looking for exciting work, which may mean interesting content, or an innovative style or unique voice. We want to be surprised and engaged when we read your piece. And we really want a first issue that’s jampacked with amazing content! The deadline for submissions is 20 October 2015. The first issue will be released in January 2016. Check out www.starlingmag.com for how to submit, and follow us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the latest news – including our attendance at the Australian National Young Writers’ Festival this October in Newcastle.

MORMON MAN OUTRAGED B Y TA X I D R I V I N G A S A TA X I D R I V E R drive a car, despite not believing in them.

Kieran Bennett A Mormon man in the United States is set to engage in a fierce legal battle with employers after being forced to go against his religion and do his job as a taxi driver. The man, who did not wish to be named, was hired by Big Al’s Taxis in Arizona as a night shift driver. However he was dismayed to learn that he would in fact have to

The man reportedly arrived to work leading a horse by the reins, expecting to find a cart waiting for him. He then reportedly stormed from the premises when given a set of keys and a corolla, claiming that cars were “devils work” and that God did not intend for people to go over 20km an hour. The man is now suing Big Al’s, citing that his religious freedom was being impeded. In a statement released to media, the man said that he did not understand why he would be forced to drive a car in a place where the

main job was to drive cars. “Frankly, I find it ridiculous that they would force me to do something that is so at odds with the Lord’s word”. He then went on to say that he was offended that his religious convictions had not been taken into account when Big Al was setting up his taxi company, despite the two men having never met. “I would not be surprised if this is the beginning of the persecution of the Mormon people by the taxis, they’ve always had in in for us”. Big Al’s has not yet responded to the lawsuit, however they have reportedly continued to drive cabs, a move that has outraged Mormons everywhere.

TO N Y A B B OT F I N A L LY TA K E S T H E H I N T given the hint many years ago with a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit brought to him after he implied that women belonged in the kitchen. The noted social cue, however, seemed to have no effect as Mr Abbot only became more entrenched in government, much to the discomfort of everyone involved. Kieran Bennett After hundreds of subtle remarks, glances at a watch and discussions about just how much there was to do next year, Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbot, has taken the hint and left parliament. Sources within Australian parliament have said that Mr Abbot had been

Recently, several drastic strategies had been considered in order to get Mr Abbot to take the hint. Members of his own party had suggested mentioning to Mr Abbot how busy they were the next day, however this only prompted Mr Abbot to launch into a story about his own day, prolonging his term. Leaders from around the world also made attempts with US President, Barrack Obama, even trying to clear

away the dishes. Mr Abbot, however, insisted strenuously that he would do it later. Later was never defined by Mr Abbot. Malcom Turnball found a solution that has been labelled as ingenious. When confronted by Mr Abbot, Mr Turnball told Mr Abbot to "get the fuck out because goddamn it's been long enough and we have work in the morning". The tactic worked almost immediately with the directness and rudeness relating to Mr Abbot on a personal level. Mr Abbot has now taken up a full time job clubbing baby seals in Alaska, describing it as his true calling.

R I C H I E M CC AW E AT S B A G E L Kieran Bennett Richie ‘Jehovah’ McCaw has come under intense scrutiny for eating a bagel with cream cheese and jam this morning, instead of his usual breakfast of 14 Weetbix and milk with a side glass of raw kiwi tears. The All Blacks captain and orphan puppy healer was spotted at a café in London eating the doughy breakfast item with his signature ‘up and down’ jaw motion. A technique studied and taught across the nation. While coach, Steve Hansen, is yet to respond to media officially about the development, he is reportedly talking to trainers within the All Blacks camp in order to offset the effects of the bagel, going so far as to consider having it surgically removed. In New Zealand meanwhile, Abe’s Real Bagel stock prices have soared through the roof and several men have been arrested for having sex with bagels in public. McCaw himself has been stoically silent about the affair, which is typical of such a fucking stand up bloke like him, I mean holy shit he’s just the best. 21

3 AM THOUGHTS

A patch of grass? WOW. That leaf that just blew over? OH MY GOD. Somebody else’s shoe? HOLY SHIT THIS IS POSSIBLY THE BEST DAY EVER. I wish more people lived their lives like that, hopelessly excited about everything they see, smell and come across. Imagine a world where people smelled things with as much enthusiasm as a floppy-eared puppy! You’re wandering along the beach and you catch a whiff of somebody’s fish and chips and instead of just continuing on with your day you stop and revel in the scent of salty food. Your tongue lolls out of your head and your pulse quickens, you run around in circles and back flip a few times in sheer ecstasy, the food just smells so damn good.

3:00am, September 7th Thought: ‘The more people smell like puppies the musical’.

Amelia Petrovich Fantastic, wow, another eloquent and totally linear early morning thought from yours truly. Its almost like my brain tries to have a sensible, awake thought (“the more people smell like…”) but sleepy, crazy me crashes through and ruins everything. ‘Puppies the musical’? Jesus, okay. I’m not sure if I was aiming to propose a new theatrical concept or if I really meant ‘the more people smell like puppies the better’, but either way, I think both trains of thought have their merits.

Firstly, the idea of more people smelling like puppies do is so adorable I’d challenge any selfrespecting human not to back it as a fabulous musical. I don’t mean having the same scent as baby canines do, what I’m imagining is people literally running around sniffing the air and everything else like curious dogs. Puppies are really excitable all of the time, and that just captures my heart. If you take a puppy out for a walk, even if it’s just down to the dairy on the corner, everything they come across is an adventure.

Now you try and tell me that passion like that couldn’t form the basis of an incredible musical. I haven’t worked out all the specifics yet, but there would probably be litres of perfume spritzed throughout the theatre and an emotional farewell number at the end of Act One titled “Smell You Later”. Another aspect of this specific 3am thought could also be the assertion that a human smelling like puppies is preferable to the way they smell currently. I imagine this claim as part of the far wider, existential argument that dogs are better than basically everything else in the world, ever. Of course it would be better if more people smelled like puppies, or indeed wrote bitchin’ musicals about smelling like puppies, because puppies are and will always be better than us. It’s not a thing we can fight, only a thing we must accept and enjoy. The more people smell like puppies, the musical.

Anywhere Anytime

library.aut.ac.nz 23

They’re pungent as hell and kind of remind me of a burnt-leatherand-mould-infused mushroom soup. Interesting, but not really that appealing. I remember a particularly seedy teenage pal once trying to teach me how to search for “buzzy” mushrooms in damp bark. Depraved as it was, it was literally a search and it felt kind of productive in a weird way. There would be no searching at all for these things though; they’re bloody everywhere and did I mention they are MASSIVE?

Fungal Behemoths

Probably.

Amelia Petrovich | Illustration by Tyler Hinde I’m not sure if this is a public service announcement or a public safety warning, but there are some

I once had a burger with a mushroom instead of a meat pattie and I thought that was big, but these are like at least

enormous-ass mushrooms growing in the Hikuwai Plaza right now.

three times that. A small elf could sit on one. They could hold the weight of

Maybe it’s because I’m a uni student and don’t eat a lot of vegetables,

probably at least a kitten. They could strike fear into the heart of any man.

or maybe it’s because I’m a citydweller and don’t have many run-ins

I discovered these fungal behemoths when I sat unknowingly on the

with nature, but for whatever reason those mushrooms have arrested my

concrete ledge beside them one day (you know the one, just outside

attention and I can’t stop thinking about them.

UBS and by the stairs). Don’t quote me on this but I’m fairly sure it was the smell that I noticed first (though it could have been just the general, dank stench of desperation that wafts routinely through uni around exam time).

If you have a free moment sometime soon, trek outside and go have a look at the things, I’m not lying when I say they’re bloody huge.

It makes me wonder what would happen if you dared to ingest one. Would you explode? Would your eyes fill with battery acid and melt out of your head? Would you see through time?

If you didn’t, you know, just die instead. How long will these mysterious growths pepper our Plaza for? Well, frankly it’s hard to say. Maybe they will simply continue to go unnoticed- do we even have a gardener here at AUT? Maybe they’re a winter thing and will shrivel away in the sunshine (if that ever comes back again). Or maybe they were put here within the confines of our university for a reason none of us can fathom, a sign of growth, abundance, and slightly freaky shit to come. Perhaps this is bigger than you and I. Stay woke mushrooms).

(and

go

see

the

WHY IT MATTERS Julie Cleaver | Photo by Ignacio García Throughout my entire life I’ve always put a ridiculous amount of effort into things that now seem pretty much pointless. In primary school to make my presentation more visually appealing, I displayed my written information on a kneehigh sculpture made out of boxes and coloured paper. I got a good grade, but now, 12 years later, who cares? In intermediate we were given an assignment where we had to create a booklet about different countries. I worked for hours and hours to compile the most interesting and beautiful booklet in the class. Again, I got an outstanding grade, but now, does that matter? Even in high school, I got an excellence for every internal I did (minus one, stupid business…). I could have got into uni with way worse grades, so why did I bother?  No future employer is going to ask about my year four social studies grade (except maybe Fox News, as that is around about the age they generally hire). I should have just slacked off like the rest of my classmates because nothing I did matters anymore. But it does. It all matters. It matters so much, because the way you do anything is the way you do everything.

In life it is easy to see tasks in isolation. Sure making a Picasso-like structure for a primary school assignment was a bit over the top, but the skills I gained form that work spilled over into other areas of my life. And sure, getting that many excellence credits was a bit neurotic of me, but I learnt so much and had heaps of fun doing it. Everything you learn impacts who you are as a person, and hence if you do small, menial tasks with excellence, you will do big ones with excellence as well. Plus, putting energy and love into things is so much more enjoyable than just scraping through. So if you are into scrapbooking, arrange your layouts with exact precision and unique creativity. If you like to play basketball, practice shooting hoops as often as you can to get better. If you are doing a group assignment in uni worth no points, pretend it’s worth marks and aim for an A+. Put passion into every area of your life and you will learn great skills and find everything you do more enjoyable. The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

It was the best of Thames Matthew Cattin As beautiful as our country is, I’ve heard many a foreigner say New Zealand’s brightest gem is its people. Kiwis. Underdogs of the world. The delightful, quirky characters who live in holes in the ground and give you the shirts off of their broad backs. And if they aren’t too busy being humble, generous, children of the good green earth, they’re inventing something useful, or whipping up a pav. At least that’s how the legend goes… But I’m not sure I believe it - at least not in Auckland. Just another fucking born and raised Aucklander myself, I must admit I’m not its biggest fan. Sure for a nation’s largest and most heavily populated city it’s pretty bloody good, but compared to the rest of our little land, it’s rubbish, and my advice to any foreigner who will listen is to leave its limits as soon as possible. To find the true New Zealand, and furthermore, the true Kiwi, you have to escape the city limits. A few weekends ago, three chums and I tripped down to the beautiful Coromandel on a drizzly Friday evening. Fifteen or so kilometres out of Thames, however, and just after sundown, our radiator hose blew harder than a ten dollar hooker. With a split of about six inches, we weren’t going far without a proper repair, so we were forced to call ahead to Thames for a tow. We stayed the night in The Imperial Hotel. It sounds flash until I mention you have to book your room at the bar downstairs while drunk locals in fur coats sing cigarette-infused karaoke. Beautiful.

We checked out the following morning, well-rested despite the late night boom of bad karaoke rattling the thin walls. We decided to persevere with our bach trip, rather than limp home with our tails between our legs. This meant roadside car repairs, or, a chance for two new age boys to roll up their sleeves, get grease on their hands, and feel like men. We hit up the Thames Repco, found a replacement hose, popped the bonnet, and got to work. And this, friends, is when New Zealand showed its shine. Leaning against the car when we got back was an elderly Thames couple. An incredibly worrisome woman, and her quiet husband, began to share their woes. You see, they felt they were falling behind the rest of the world when it came to technology, and they wanted to buy their first computer. And what should have been an exciting event, was an absolute cluster, due to their complete lack of knowledge on the matter. As the better man in our group talked to them about their techno-woes, I laughed inside, long and hard. But then, just before they left, they insisted we take their number, in case we needed some help getting back on the road, or a place to do repairs that wasn’t on the roadside. Bless.

And just when I thought Thames couldn’t impress me more with its quirky, slightly bonkers, charm, a mechanic walked past with his family, stopping to lend some advice. His wife, however, insisted his advice would not suffice, and so off he went, home to get his tools. For the next hour, he was our roadside assistance, helping us repair the engine, checking for further damage, re-stocking our water, and providing us with some legitimately interesting conversation. This was a guy that had done it all; Formula One mechanic in Europe, cameraman, camera repairman, business tycoon. We bought him some wine and beer for his troubles, and with a handshake, he was gone, back home to watch family movies with his kids because he’s a friggin’ father of the year. I’d like to think we’d get this level of help and spontaneous compliments had we broken down in Auckland, but honestly, I don’t think we would. Everybody is so much more in a hurry, so used to passing people by, so focused on their own lives. Small towns are so often the butt of jokes, but my word, despite the fact they’re quirkier than a three dollar bill, they are the real deal. Thanks Thames. And if you’re reading this, helpful mechanic, you left your bread knife in our car.

And then, not minutes later, a few kind old dears stopped to tell young Ramina how beautiful she was. But they didn’t stop there. “And you’re so tiny!” the lady gushed, before getting into her own life story.

27

OUR GREAT RESPONSIBILITY “Someone somewhere is feeling the effects of something you have said or done and this is a great responsibility.” – Dr. Gill Hicks. Julie Cleaver Ever since humans could understand each other’s grunts and draw geometric stick figures, we have been telling stories. Stories are and have always been a part of every culture around the world - from Ancient Greek myths to Hollywood blockbusters, to both of them combined. Stories document the human experience, but more than that, stories are the human experience. That’s why good stories are told, retold, and then told again. And that’s why I am going to tell you an incredibly moving story about Dr. Gill Hicks - a woman who dedicated her life to helping others after surviving a terrorist attack. I heard Dr. Gill Hicks speak at the Human Rights Commission Diversity Forum, which was held right here at AUT, and her story moved me (and everyone around me) to tears. Gill is an Australian woman who moved to London, where she worked as an architect. A selfproclaimed work-a-holic, Gill was always “the first person to arrive and the last person to go home”. Every morning and evening she would commute to work on the London tube, among thousands of others.

Although Gill initially said hello to her fellow passengers, she quickly learned to keep her head down and shut up. People commute in silence, and the only conversations had on public transport are computer mediated. She said that even when people were standing so close she could feel their breath on her face, she still wouldn’t look at their faces, as this was the culture. That’s why she never saw the face of Jermaine, the man who detonated a bomb two seats away from her. On July 7 2005, fifty two people were killed, and over 700 were injured when four suicide bombers detonated themselves on public transport in London. The attack was so sudden, Gill said, “Imagine sitting where you are right now then suddenly being completely submerged in water.” And the attack broke the normal commuter behaviour, as after the explosion, everyone started talking to each other to check if people were okay. But Gill was not okay. Her legs were completely blown off and she was bleeding to death.

Julie and Dr. Gill Hicks The first person to reach Gill was Tracey - a woman who is now her best friend. Tracey is a paramedic who was on the ground above Gill. The police had declared the underground tube as an unstable area - no one was to go in or out. But Tracey ran in anyway, and other paramedics rushed in after her because “a women couldn’t go in there alone”. Tracey reached Gill and named her ‘priority one’, the person in the most immediate danger. She carried her above ground and handed her over to Andy, a “paramedic geek” who thought of the clever idea to pack Gill’s body in ice. Andy also poked a hole into Gill and got a young police officer to breath into her lungs through a straw (much to his distress). Gill was then put into an ambulance with a man named Brian. By this stage Gill had no pulse and was technically dead, however Brian refused to stop doing CPR on her as she was somehow talking to him. Gill died for thirty minutes, and just as the hospital was about to declare a time of death, there was a pulse. The quick thinking and hard work of those remarkable strangers saved Gill’s life, and it was that display of unconditional love that moved her deeply.

Gill’s near death experience gave her an overwhelming sense of gratitude to be alive, however it also made her mad. She was incredibly angry that such devastating acts of violence occurred to innocent people. She was infuriated by the lack of peace in the world, and that’s why she created a charity called M.A.D for Peace (make a difference). The non-for-profit is based in London and aims to motivate the public to take responsibility for bringing about a harmonious world. Gill has touched the lives of thousands all over the world through her motivational speaking, acts of service and moving story. She has won numerous awards, including South Australian of the year 2015, and on top of all this, she has also become a mother to a beautiful little girl. Gill’s optimism in the wake of trauma and respect for human life is remarkable, and I think everyone has something to learn something from her story. It demonstrates to us that humanity can be beautiful, despite what we may sometimes think. It teaches us the importance and strength of kindness, empathy and unconditional love. And most importantly, it shows us that no matter what happens in life, you are the only one in control of your own happiness. I started this article with one of Gill’s quotes and I shall end it with one too, as I believe her message is a powerful one. “We can’t control certain events or dramatic change in life – but we CAN control how we react and respond”.

29

AUCKLAND CBD CAFÉ CIRCUIT Amelia Petrovich

When you’re stranded in town five days out of seven, working your way through that uni grind, I’ve found it really pays to know what your options are. I don’t mean career options or anything that frivolous, I’m talking about life’s more serious questions like “where can I go sit to kill time during this ridiculous three hour gap?” or “where in God’s name can I find some strong caffeine?” For the café-ignorant, I understand that it’s sometimes easy to succumb to the lure of Starbucks or Gloria Jeans. I mean coffee is coffee at the end of the day, right? Surely where you slurp it doesn’t make much of a difference. You’re wrong, it absolutely does. The café you choose is the café that defines you, so let me teach you the ways of top-notch CBD slurp spots so you too can become an educated caffeine connoisseur. After all, we’re here to learn.

Revel, 146 Karangahape Road This place is like a hipster-kid Mecca with mouthwatering food to boot. I’m talking hot water bottles nailed to shelves as installation art, a cascading pillar of vintage mugs and poetry fridge magnets on the wall forming mild profanities because why not? If you’ve ever been to a café on Wellington’s Cuba Street, that’s the kind of vibe you’ll get here. Artsy, eclectic and so damn cool it’s nearly annoying. These guys also do a crazy amount of food and will cater to vegans, vegetarians, gluten free kids and also just people who are really, really hungry. I had breakfast there once and it was just muesli and fruit but it was so flipping good. I mean, it was confusing that my reaction was so passionate, but the best kind of confusing.

Coffix, 191 Karangahape Road These guys do $2.50 coffees. That’s kind of their thing. I mean all of the coffees, flat whites too, because apparently you don’t go bankrupt if you don’t charge customers for milk like I’d always assumed you did (Starbucks, I’m looking at you and your $4.80 milk-foam rip-offs). Its pretty much all they do but that’s good enough for me, definitely hit this one up if its half a week until pay day and you need that liquid energy like right now.

The Shelf, 50 High Street Half neon rave, half mad hatter’s super kawaii tea party, The Shelf is super intriguing whichever way you slice it. These guys send out the majority of their meals on cheeseboards for no real reason, but its adorable and fun and I love it anyway! You can also get a really cool hot chocolate with a chocolate stick you mix in and every pot of tea you order comes with a dinky little hourglass to tell you when it’s finished brewing. Basically this place is really sweet and I recommend you bring a group of your cutest friends down to check it out in between classes. Imperial Lane, 7 Fort Lane This place looks so adult that I almost felt like too lame of a human being to chill here, but the huge leather armchairs tucked away under the wall heaters drew me in off the street and out of the cold. Imperial Lane feels like a dark, broody Stieg Larsson novel and it intrigues me that one place can be simultaneously so industrially styled and so damn cozy. There are beautiful cabinet cakes and cheesy wheel things (every good café should have cheesy wheel things), and the guy who served me their last time

had tattoos, a big smile and great banter. If you like being warm, feeling like a complex protagonist in a thriller story and eating carbs surrounded by friendly wait staff, meander down there soon.

Remedy Coffee, 1 Wellesley Street The first place I ever drank coffee in Auckland also turned out to be the best people watching spot in possibly the whole country. Situated on the corner of Wellesley and Queen Street, approximately two jillion people will hurry past as you sip your morning coffee and peer out the window. I think I had food there once and it was cool too, I don’t really remember in truth because I was two busy gawking at a harrowed mother of three racing her grizzly kids across the road. If you do manage to tear your gaze from the bustling depictions of humanity on the street outside, you’ll find a huge bookshelf full of things to read and cozy nooks and crannies where you could easily hide away for a bit.

The Counter/Newsfeed, literally just at AUT This has nothing to do with the fact that these are our uni cafés and absolutely everything to do with the fact that they give you free marshmallows. Swallow your pride and adorn your takeaway cup with puffy sugar clouds before scuttling off to class. Who cares if you’ve got a long black in there? Go on, nobody will know.

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CONCRETE JUNGLE Shivan I was recently in the U.S., and everything I dreamed about New York was true. Like an obsessive teen, I felt my pupils dilate at every sight. Sometimes I would just grab a coffee (which, I might add, was the worst coffee ever) and watch the pedestrians. I do realize it is kind of creepy sitting there and watching people walk past, but in New York, you don’t even notice the faces; just bodies moving. New Yorkers are known for being busy, and I got lost in their busyness; watching these people that worked twice as hard as me in order to achieve something close to happiness.

Even though it was summer (35 degrees on most days), New Yorkers still didn’t compromise on fashion. I saw people mixing it up from the usual florals and colors that we are used to in summer. Grey was a big trend amongst New Yorkers. It seemed by the look of it, New Yorkers took to the street with a challenge to take winter styles and colors, and apply them in the summer.

Walking down Sixth Avenue, I was caved within New York and its concrete jungle. Head up, just staring at those concrete trees – as high as my neck could tilt, and as big as my camera frame could fit - I was deep in the jungle. Pavements guided me to somewhere I wasn’t intending on going, but still went anyway. All I saw was concrete in its most beautiful form. It was strange to see that there were no trees growing from the ground, or plants growing within the cracks of the pavements; there was no sign of life, yet strangely, life seemed to stream from New York constantly.

We styled our model in a grey trench jacket and monochromatic business pants. When wearing monochromatic on monochromatic, or grey on grey, ensure to always use different patterns to help break up the look like we did. We kept things easy and simple as New Yorkers usually would have. This shot was taken in our own concrete jungle near Silo Park. Walking around the Silos in Auckland, I really did appreciate the green grass and trees amongst the concrete.

I saw a style that no magazine or clothing brand could yet capture. There was this rawness that every New Yorker held, and it was showcased in the way they dressed. This authentic attitude of individuality that they wore on their sleeve and weren’t afraid to show. This melting pot of personalities, never cause for a clash - there was an understanding in their silence.

I tried to recreate some of that raw street style I saw in New York.

Credits Model: Sophia Doak from Vanity Models | H & M: A Young Kim | Photograph & Styling: Shivan from gathum.co.nz Clothes from: Paper Bag Princess

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WHAT'S GOOD? AMY

Directed by Asif Kapadia Documenting Amy Winehouse

wonder if there was more to it. Amy, a documentary about the singer’s life, seeks to peel back the public perception of the singer and examine how she ended up the way she did, and boy is it a kicker. The story is told mostly using home videos and archival footage of interviews and performances done by Amy. Though you hear from the people interviewed (such as Amy’s family, friends and representatives), you never see them unless they too show up in the footage: this is Amy’s story through and through, and the editing of visual and audio together packs a real punch. As I said, I knew very little of Amy before seeing this, but I was quickly drawn into her life story as the blanks around what I did know were filled in. Kapadia does an impeccable job of piecing her life together in a way that lets the truth shine through. It can be a bit heavy-handed and perhaps one-sided at times: her father is suing as he is unhappy with his negative portrayal in the doco. However, that is the story Kapadia chose to tell, and it works as an examination of that side of her story. It is one of the most moving and thought provoking cinematic

Reviewed by Ethan Sills As I imagine is the case for many people, my opinion of Amy Winehouse was very much shaped by what was reported on in the media. I knew of several of her songs, but mostly I knew her as the crazy drug addict/alcoholic singer who always seemed to be getting in trouble. It wasn’t until her death at age 27 that many of us actually began to think about that perception and

SICARIO

experiences I’ve had for a while. Amy reveals that the singer’s life was infinitely more tragic and real than the media would have us believe, and if you don’t leave the cinema moved in some way, then, not to be blunt, but you’re probably heartless. Just saying.

Emily Blunt leads as Kate Macer, a FBI agent usually tasked with rescuing hostages. After one raid results in a deadly explosion, Macer is asked to join a taskforce looking to capture the drug lords responsible. She quickly feels out of her depth dealing with the comic, but mysterious Matt Graver (Brolin) and his shadowy associate Alejandro (del Toro). Sicario kicks off right from the opening scene: an explosive, tightly filmed sequence where Kate attempts to rescue a group of hostages. It highlights all the best parts of the film, from Blunt’s fantastic performance to the amazing cinematography by Roger Deakins. The movie never stops after then, very rarely slowing down and keeping you engrossed right up to the heartbreaking final scene.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin

Reviewed by Ethan Sills The last two films by Denis Villeneuve were two very different cinematic experiences for me. Prisoners was well acted but long and really depressing, while Enemy was intriguing but bat-shit crazy and confusing. Despite being less than impressed on both occasions, I couldn’t help but wonder just what he’d do with the more traditional storyline Sicario had to offer – and, for the first time, I left the cinema impressed.

I will admit to feeling a bit let down by the third act, where we learn what has really been going on. It’s a quiet conclusion, much like the rest of the movie, but I felt like it needed a bit more oomph, and it felt unresolved in some aspects. The final act is held together mostly by del Toro’s quietly sinister Alejandro, whose quiet performance makes the climax one to remember. With a fantastic cast, tight script and amazing cinematography, Villeneuve has finally made an entertainment, thought provoking movie that mostly makes sense. It’s still depressing, but in a much more moving way than previous efforts. I can see Sicario going far in the Oscar race, and it certainly deserves whatever attention it gets.

THE WHO The show is all about change, and as such, its cast is a revolving door of great British talent. Since 2005, The Doctor has been played by Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith, who you would/will recognise from the various British shows and movies they’ve led since leaving. Companions, the usually female friends the Doctor travels with, have included Billie Piper, Catherine Tate, John Barrowman and Karen Gillan.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH DOCTOR WHO Ethan Sills I can already imagine the eyes rolling as they gaze across this article. Despite being around for longer than any of them, Doctor Who has not yet earned the mainstream credibility of any science-fiction properties such as Star Wars and Star Trek – maybe if it was called Doctor Star it would be popular? People seem to turn their noses up at the idea of an alien flying around in a phone box-shaped spaceship, fighting aliens with plungers for hands. It is admittedly a very silly concept, and the show wavers between fitting into its family friendly timeslot and appealing to the much older fans who demand more serious storytelling. I myself, thought it was just childish stupidity when I originally heard about it. However, after watching my first episodes and quickly becoming addicted a few years back, I can see that Doctor Who is just as worthy of standing up there alongside the more famous movies it helped inspire.

THE WHAT Doctor Who follows the adventures of the unnamed Doctor, a 900 plus year old Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He originally fled his people as they disapproved of using their discovery of time travel to interfere, escaping in a malfunctioning time traveling spaceship his granddaughter dubbed the TARDIS. He and his granddaughter became stuck in 1963 London, where the TARDIS camouflaged itself as a police box, which has since stuck. The Doctor then began travelling through time and space with his human friends and generally helped save the day while fighting monsters. Since returning in 2005, there has been a recurring storyline around the Time War which happened during its 26 year hiatus, which led to The Doctor becoming the only Time Lord left in the galaxy.

The show is currently led by Peter Capaldi, former star of The Thick of It, and Jenna Coleman as current companion Clara. Michelle Gomez plays the Doctor’s frenemy, The Master (known now as Missy). Other notable villains include the Daleks, Cybermen, Zygons, Weeping Angels, Silurians, Sontarans and The Silence. Alex Kingston and Jemma Redgrave recur as River Song and Kate Stewart respectively.

THE WHY I will be honest and say you probably have to be of a certain disposition to enjoy Doctor Who. It isn’t a show for everyone: it is an odd mix of horror, comedy and drama that tries to appeal to children, their parents and teenage and older fans all at the same time. The obsessive fan base can, at times, be a bit off putting, and the amount of episodes and constant change makes it hard to just dive in. However, Who is perhaps the greatest modern example of blending the divide between ‘case of the week’ and season long story arcs. It is a tour de force of serialised storytelling mixed with one-off procedural episodes that all still manage to tie together in the end. It is at times uneven, but the seasons always build up to spectacular finales that tie all the plotlines together and drive home themes that build up over the course of thirteen episodes. All four modern day Doctors are fantastic in their own ways, and each of the companions brings something new and interesting to the relationship (even Martha, and she’s just awful). The show basically reinvents itself every single season, but in a way that makes it such a fantastic bit of television.

FINAL THOUGHTS I’ll be the first to admit the show isn’t perfect. It fluctuates in quality on a weekly basis, with many episodes failing for being too childish, too complicated or too rushed to work. However, overall I have a fond appreciation of the show. A good episode of Doctor Who is usually pretty amazing, and even the only okay ones are watchable and fun thanks to the excellent cast. The special effects aren’t always the best, and some episodes and storylines want to make you quit the series all together. But overall, it’s a fun bit of light entertainment that really anyone with an open mind and a willingness to take it in its stride will be able to enjoy. Fantastic, allons-y, Geronimo: take a gamble on Who, you may just be surprised with what you see. 35

Ali Thair

VEGAN GINGER CUPCAKES Serves 12 Preparation time: 35 minutes plus cooling • • • • • • • • • • •

350 g plain flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1 level teaspoon ground ginger, extra for dusting 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon sea salt 220ml vegetable oil 200g golden syrup 60g organic soya yogurt 120ml organic soya milk 2 pieces of stem ginger, in syrup

plus

ICING • • •

200g icing sugar 55g dairy-free margarine 200g dairy-free cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a 12-hole cupcake tray with paper cases. Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the oil, golden syrup, yoghurt and milk together until well combined. Finely chop and add the stem ginger, along with 1 tablespoon of syrup from the jar. Fold in the flour mixture until smooth and combined. Divide the cake mixture between the paper cases, then place in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the icing. Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl, add the margarine, then beat until pale and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and whisk well until smooth and combined. Decorate the cooled cupcakes with the icing, dust with a little ground ginger, then tuck in.

Check our more of Jamie Oliver's delicious recipes at www.jamieoliver.com/recipes 37

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YOUR AUT OUTLOOK CALENDAR HAS GONE NEXT LEVEL! Last year we scrapped the old Webmail system and brought you Office 365 Outlook. Your Outlook calendar will now: • Automatically sync your academic timetable • Alert you when a class, room or time has been changed • Allow you to sync this information to all your devices – smart-phones, tablets and laptops If you would like to know more about your Office 365 calendar please see our knowledge base http://aut.ac/calendarSYNC or call the Student Service Desk on 921 9888, selecting option 4.

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