CANTA ISSUE 12, 2023

CANTA

Editorial Editorial

Kia ora beautiful people,

It is with a heavy heart and a heavy stack of mags that we say goodbye to all of you. It is so hard to believe the this our last ever mag for 2023, I think we are still in denial. Because it is our last issue and we still haven’t been cancelled by you lot, we thought we may as well cancel ourselves lol, smart move we think.

As cheesy as it sounds, we, and you, have been so incredibly lucky to have an amazing team of passionate and pretty bloody creative people. Our writers wrote to a calibre we haven’t seen before and our video, audio and digital team tripled our engagement. A special mention to this year's Designer Ella Waterreus for bringing together every mag, going into some weird fucking places in her mind to draw some pretty cracked shit, and spending well over her paid 20 hours a week to make Canta sexy. We still have no idea how she does it.

We are pretty bloody proud of some of the stuff we have accomplished this year. We started Canta’s first internship programme and got some pretty amazing interns that have been out the gate talented. We have created a completely new online space, made Canta can Canta does a staple of our reputation and sent 12 mags to the printer without getting cancelled. We also have our first ever te ao Māori feature writer starting next year, a much needed and worked for step.

Throughout the year we have had the opportunity to delve into some spicy topics, a standout… the sex issue. The work and effort from our editorial staff, photographer, designer, and amazing models that went into this issue was insane. It was our most popular mag

this year having a mere 10 copies left over from the 2000 we put out on campus.

Our writers have tackled hard topics from the realities of being transgender in Christchurch and co-governance. Have polled you on your drug use and how much you are having sex and have had several Lucky Dip dates been stood up. Successful year you could say.

We may be biased, but student media is so important. It is not often students get to truly see themselves represented and have their say so publicly. We as a mag are here to serve you and what you want to see. If you want something to change, say so! Don’t be the bro who fills out our feedback form at the end of the year saying we are illiterate and not to quit our day jobs (someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed lol).

Anyways, make the most of these last 48 pages. There is a pretty broad range of content in here from past controversial mag content, the shit pay UCSA exec get and of course the results from the Canta feedback survey… brutal.

Continue to be Canta’s biggest fans, you are the ones that are going to make sure it keeps going strong in 2024.

Laters…don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.

Your Managing Editor and Print Editor for 2023, Maddy and Hariklia.

President's Piece President's Piece

Kia ora koutou,

I cannot believe it is my last Canta president’s piece for the year, and that means my last Canta piece EVER. Definitely a bit of a bittersweet write-up for sure.

I reflect on the past two years, and I am so proud of the work the UCSA team has done for students. Just some of those achievement’s include: Achieving permanent tertiary discounts for public transport, establishing formal Pacific student representation on the UCSA, achieving pay equity for the entire Te Akatoki Māori Student exec, bringing back $2 rice, increasing our hardship grants, increasing the amount of clubs grants, purchasing a spectrometer with UC to make drug checking accessible weekly from the UCSA in 2024, and much, much more.

I’m not going to harp on, but I just wanted to recognise the UCSA team for the work they do – it can be a thankless job sometimes, but you guys are absolute stars.

I also wanted to quickly recognise Sarah Pallett, our local MP for Ilam. I am not understating it when I say she has consistently gone above and beyond whenever I have needed to advance an issue, or support students. She has gotten a great degree of flack for no good reason other than politics, so I just wanted to share a contrary voice - that she has been active in the community, active for students, and is just an all-round good person. This isn’t endorsement, but I just wanted to thank her for all the work she has done for students locally.

Speaking generally on politics, I have honestly become pretty disenchanted over the passed 3 years. It has been an exhausting time, as the fallout of Covid arrived in earnest, and global events pushed inflation and the cost of living up. All while climate disasters become all too common at home and abroad, and regressive social policy begins to infect our local discourse like an Americanised disease.

I have been increasingly dissatisfied with the National Party, who instead of presenting as a potential party to unify the country, have instead played into race-baiting, and dog-whistling to conservative

tendencies. They want to regress on housing, emissions reductions, and wages – even when they pushed forward these initiatives in a bipartisan manner earlier in this parliamentary term. It is nothing but rank politics, and it honestly makes me sick to my stomach. They certainly aren’t the party of John Key anymore.

And then you have parties like ACT who wants to gut the public service and drive unemployment up all while looking out for the most struggling class in our society – landlords and multinational corporations. And then NZ First, who have been infiltrated by the most brazen group of racists, transphobes, and antisemites. This isn’t normal and should not be being normalised. But the National Party has abandoned their principles of being a party for all NZ in dealing with these groups.

The above parties have decided to put ideology, opportunism, and brazen politics above the public good. I have been let-down by the current government. However, is it rational to move from a disappointing government to the most extreme government we’ve had in a generation? I’m just not convinced it is.

I’m not going to tell you how to vote. I just know I am not alone in being disillusioned with the current state of political discourse. However, that doesn’t mean I am any less motivated to vote. More so, it has made me more passionate, as there is a real choice at this election. And there really is so much at stake.

So, get out and vote, and good luck for your exams – and if you see me at tea party, no you didn’t…

Pierce

Tumuaki Piece Tumuaki Piece

Mauri Ora e te iwi,

We’ve come to the end of a great year, and I thought what better way to end it with acknowledging the achievements of our tauira!

You’ve heard enough from me so let’s pass the mic to hear what our tauira have achieved this year and their tips and tricks!

Starting off with Anthony Mark Albert (Te Whānau Apanui, Ngāti Porou), who is studying a Bachelor of Science in Forestry in his 2nd year. Matua Anthony has just got an Internship at Ernslaw One Forestry in Gisborne. The Forestry School had encouraged Matua to apply via email, and after a few calls and interviews, had received the email he had gotten the Internship. Matua hopes that by sharing his story he can encourage others to get involved with forestry and environmental science.

“To mitigate climate change and care for our whenua, it's important for Forestry and Environmental Science to connect with kaitiakitanga. I hope to encourage more tauira to study Forestry and Environmental Science and to go home and reconnect.” (To hear his full story check out his article on Te Akatoki’s Instagram)

Jessep (Kāi Tahu), is completing her Masters of Science in Psychology (6th Year). Lucy had the great opportunity to go to a conference held over in Canada last semester, called Healing Our Spirit Worldwide hosted in Vancouver.

Healing Our Spirit Worldwide is an Indigenous Health Conference that is hosted by different Indigenous nations every four years. This

year it was held in Vancouver, Canada. This is one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous healthcare workers in the world. It’s a chance to share stories, to exchange culture, and share successes.

Lucy heard about this conference through her supervisor, and submitted her abstract for her research to present at the conference. Lucy stated that although it may be a massive conference, it's not about academics, “it was more about strengthening relationships with other Indigenous communities because we’re all in the same waka. By putting a bunch of us in a room with experience of colonization and those effects on our health today was so empowering. It was quite intense to hear some stories and I cried like every day but it was good.” (To hear her full story check out his article on Te Akatoki’s Instagram)

To hear more of our tauira’s achievements and stories, head over to our Instagram and our Whare (129 Ilam Road) to hear some of the cool opportunities you can take on and their best advice and tips for applying!

Ngā manaakitanga, Anna

It’s all rIght to feel a bIt all over the place.

Canta news. Canta news.

Run72 raises more than $35,000 to fund free counselling for UC Students

Matteo Zhang (he/him)

Lads Without Label’s Run72 has raised more than $35,000 to fund free counseling sessions for University of Canterbury students.

Run72 is Lads Without Label’s flagship event where UC Students and members of the community run for 72hrs, ensuring that there is always at least one person running. All of this is to raise funds and awareness for men’s mental health.

Runners, including a team from Canta, lapped the course around campus for 72hrs in late September.

President of Lads Without Labels, Tom Vincent told Canta that this year's Run72 had been incredible, with all their goals surpassed.

“Lads without Labels is to break down the stigma of mental health, especially within men, in New Zealand, and especially within University of Canterbury,” he said.

The event lasts 72hrs to represent the fact that previously 72% of suicides in New Zealand are carried out by men in New Zealand.

"That has risen to 76% in the last few years, so we really want to raise awareness about that, get people talking, create a safe space and environment, and break down those barriers so that number goes down to zero,” said Vincent.

More than $35,000 had been raised with 18,000 laps run, compared to last year where Run72 raised $11,000 with 9,100 laps run

Funds raised go towards the Lads Without Labels counselling

initiative which offers an alternative free counselling option initially available to UC students.

For every $150 raised, one more student can sit down with a professional counsellor and get the help they need.

“Our goal was for $31,200, which is 4 sessions a week for a whole year, so that is 208 hours of counselling, so that is 104 people, 104 Uni students, that can get help that they need,” said Vincent.

He estimated around 2,500 people had taken part in the 72hrs of running which he said was mind blowing for the Lads without Labels team.

“We had Lincoln Uni students, we had Ara students, we had old and young, we had kids, we had all sorts of people come down,” he said.

Lads Without labels is only a young club, having only been around for four years, and they’ve been running Run72 for the last three years.

The aim is to set a motion for change by pursuing initiatives that create supportive environments, encourage uplifting kōrero and yield systematic change from the ground up.

They want both tāne and our young people to be equipped to have these conversations, get support when needed, and understand that it is okay to be vulnerable.

Vincent said that the hope was to keep growing and surpass 20,000 laps and $50,000 in Run72 2024

Law for Change aims to increase student access to legal services

Lucy Walton (she/her)

UC club, Law for Change, has been running free legal clinics in partnership with Community Law Canterbury to bring free legal advice to students on campus.

Law for Change’s Community Law Coordinator, Tayla Rakowitz, told Canta that the clinics aim to better educate students and break down barriers that have previously prevented students from accessing legal help.

“As a student, seeking legal assistance can be daunting. It can be confusing and worrying. This initiative is designed to provide a space for students to receive free legal advice in a comfortable and familiar environment.”

Cost is one of the most obvious factors that prevents students from getting the support they need. With lawyers charging anywhere from $100 upwards an hour for legal advice, this is simply not something all students can afford.

The clinics allow students to have a 45-minute meeting with a Community Law Canterbury solicitor. These sessions are run over Google Teams with the student given a private room in Haere-roa to ensure confidentially and privacy.

All students need to do to access this service is simply fill out a form with information on their situation.

Rakowitz said that the initiative was an important one to the club, as students are often not aware of their legal rights making them a vulnerable group.

Although the initiative has been an important step in the right direction, there is still much to be done to improve student access to legal services. But also, basic legal knowledge among students.

Rakowitz believes that students should be given the opportunity to learn basic legal knowledge. Saying that this “can be used in every aspect of life, not just when an issue or a dispute arises.”

She encouraged any student with a legal question or facing a legal issue and need of help to contact Community Law Canterbury.

Some helpful tips are to make records of email and text exchanges, create timelines and keep documents or agreements, as it is this information that allows for “in-depth, reliable and accurate advice to be given.”

Students in need of help can also contact other organisations and services such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Tenancy Services and the Ministry of Business or Innovation and Employment.

Lincoln Lawn Party axed

Georgia Walker (she/her)

Lincoln’s Lawn party ’23 – aka. Garden Party with a botched facelift – has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

The Lincoln University Students’ Association (LUSA) said in a post on Facebook that they explored various options to keep the Lawn Party ’23 viable. However, low ticket sales made the event financially unfeasible to proceed.

“We understand that many of you were excited about attending the original Garden Party and we are sincerely sorry that we couldn't make it happen this time,” they said.

The cancellation follows shortly after LUSA president Amy Wells announced in June that the annual Garden Party would be replaced with the Lawn Party, and only Lincoln University students could attend.

Lincoln agriculture business and food marketing student Rose Cottier said the Lawn Party’s cancellation didn't faze her because she never even bought a ticket.

“The reason why Garden Party is so fun is because everyone else can go… so just being Lincoln students isn't really as exciting,” she said.

UC journalism student Eve Hyslop said the Garden Party had been such a massive event before scaling it down. By excluding

UC students and turning it into Lawn Party it didn’t capture the spirit of the original event, which was all about having a big, fun celebration with friends from across the country to mark the end of the academic year

“It was so disappointing,” she said.

Back in June, Lincoln student Reece Michelle created the "Bring Back Garden Party" petition and gathered 1,357 signatures in an attempt to try and rescue the original iconic event.

Michelle said he approached both LUSA and Lincoln's ViceChancellor. They informed him that the Garden Party couldn't be held due to insufficient community support for obtaining a liquor license, which is why they replaced it with the Lawn Party.

“I think the Lawn Party being cancelled kind of proved the point that we didn’t really want it in the first place, as the Garden party was a safe environment for us to celebrate our year and put Lincoln on the map,” he said.

The LUSA said Lawn Party refunds are being processed and urges students who are “thinking about celebrating the end of lectures with a flat party… to register your party [with] Good One Party Register Christchurch.”

Blowjobs and tackies are ruining your teeth

Georgia Walker (she/her)

Oral diseases wreak havoc across the globe. These diseases have affected and continue to cause issues for nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide.

The World Health Organization has sounded this alarm in their latest ‘Global Oral Health Status Report’; you might even be included in this statistic or on the brink of adding to it.

Tooth decay, gum diseases, tooth loss, and oral cancers top the list of common oral health problems. The most unfortunate part? Most of these problems can be prevented and treated if caught early enough.

Feeling concerned? Well, Christchurch-based dental hygienist Megan Wilkinson is here to help.

Wilkinson has some hot tips for us students on how to take better care of our teeth and oral health. For some, this may mean laying off certain activities… (yes, I do mean blowjobs).

Hot tip #1: Wilkinson recommended brushing your teeth twice daily for at least 2 minutes and to “bloody floss your teeth.”

Brushing alone only cleans about 70% of your teeth, so flossing is essential. Flossing actively dislodges and removes plaque and trapped food debris between your teeth. When left unattended, this plaque can lead to cavities, gum disease, bad breath and turn into tartar

“You can’t remove tartar at home, so you’ve got to come and see me, or another dental professional, to remove it.”

If tartar is not removed, it can cause the bone around the tooth to erode, leading to wiggly teeth and, eventually, tooth loss.

Hot tip #2: Use fluoride toothpaste and spit; do not rinse. Fluoride in toothpaste provides teeth with 12-hour coverage from decay and bacteria during the day, so brushing twice

daily is essential!

Hot tip #3: Only brush before or 1-2 hours after eating or vomiting!

“When you chunder after a drink, or if you tactile chunder […] the worst thing you can actually do is brush your teeth straight away,” she said.

Wilkinson explained that consuming anything other than water introduces acid into the mouth. This includes vomiting, which regurgitates stomach acid.

When you eat or vomit, the acid stays in your mouth, causing the enamel to become softer. Thus, if you clean your teeth right away, you are basically rubbing your acid into your teeth and mechanically removing the enamel.

Wilkinson said the best thing to do in those situations is to chew sugar-free gum or use an alcohol-free mouthwash so that fluoride can help remineralise your teeth.

"But let's be realistic. We know what student life is like, even if you're wasted and you're just about to pass out. If I can ask you to do anything, [use] a bit of mouthwash, spit it out, and then go to bed," she said.

Speaking of spitting, be careful when giving blowjobs– hot tip #4!

Oral cancer can result from smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or even HPV infections. It is a significant health concern, with lip and oral cavity cancers ranking as the 16th most common types of cancer worldwide.

You can contract STIs of the mouth through oral sex as well, so be cautious about who you share a bed with and get tested if you're unsure!

Rollickinʼ Gelato Scoop Poll making the election taste good

The Rollickin’ Gelato election scoop poll is back with five new political party flavours to encourage young people to vote.

Rollickin’ gelato chefs have crafted a gelato flavour for 5 political parties, with customers voting by the scoops they order, and a scoop poll continually updating throughout the campaign period.

The scoop poll is part of an effort by Rollickin’ Gelato to educate youth to enrol, vote, learn about political parties, and how the Parliamentary system works.

Rollickin’s owner Jed Joyce told Canta that they’ve been holding the Scoop Poll since the 2017 general election and did it again in the 2020 election.

“The whole reason behind it is to encourage chat within the community about politics, healthy debate, and also getting people enrolled to vote,” he said.

Young people in the age group of 18 –25 have the lowest electoral enrolment and voter turnout statistics. Joyce says they want to help get those numbers up, so along with the Scoop Poll, Rollickin; hosts electoral commission enrolment booths outside of its Cashel Street and New Regent Street cafes.

The Scoop Poll is a politically neutral poll based only on the most popular flavour; Joyce reckons that Rollickin had the most accurate polling in the country.

“Staff throughout the day record which ones are selling, and every 24hrs we update our chalkboards in store,” he said.

Joyce’s message to university students thinking about the election coming up was to get enrolled and vote to ensure their voices were heard.

“It's so important to get enrolled and vote because your vote means the exact same as your grandparents vote, your parents vote, everyone's vote is the exact same.”

Canta had the opportunity to try each flavour on offer and have developed a comprehensive review.

Orange Choc Chippy, named after redheaded Labour leader Chris Hipkins, is a gluten free fizzing sherbet orange and dark chocolate gelato. Canta rating: 7/10, if you’ve always liked orange ice cream, you’ll love this one, not a personal fan of it but this flavour has made me put my reservations aside.

Blueberry Lux, named after National leader Chris Luxon, is a blueberry ripples and creamy cheesecake gelato with layers of extra shortbread crust. Canta rating: 9/10, the blueberry was fantastic, the cheesecake creamy, and the shortbread just the cherry on the top.

David Smore, named after ACT leader David Seymour, is a creamy chocolate gelato filled with butter biscuits and marshmallows. Canta rating: 8/10, like a chocolate version of cookies n’ cream, not a huge fan of marshmallows but the biscuits bit made it worth it.

Rawiri's Raspberry, named after Te Pāti Māori's co-leader Rawiri Waititi, is a gluten free creamy vanilla gelato with swirling raspberry jam and chocolate. Canta rating: 7/10, can’t go wrong with vanilla, one for all the raspberry jam fans out there.

Shaw the Kiwi, named after Green co-leader James Shaw, is a vegan creamy coconut gelato and with kiwifruit bits. Canta rating: 9/10, fantastic first bite with a deep coconut flavour, fizzes in your mouth with hints of kiwifruit.

Gelato flavours representing the five political parties. Photo: Supplied / Rollickin Gelato.

The Recap The Recap

Matteo Zhang (he/him)

Libyan Flooding leaves thousands dead and missing

A catastrophic flood has killed thousands and devastated the Libyan city of Derna after Storm Daniel caused dams to burst and swept people and neighbourhoods out to sea.

Libya, a country locked in political and military crisis, has limited meteorological services leaving little warning to those in the path of the flood.

The World Health Organisation has put the death toll close to 4,000, with nearly 9,000 people still listed as missing. This number is projected to increase.

The New Zealand Government has pledged $500,000 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support the response effort.

Advanced voting has opened for the 2023 General Election

Advance voting opened on the 2nd of October with the voting period lasting two weeks until election day on the 14th of October. For those voting overseas and for those using the telephone dictation services, polling has already opened on from Wednesday 27 September.

You can vote at any voting place in New Zealand, with voting booths at campuses, schools, churches, and other community centres across the country.

On election day, Saturday 14 October, voting places will be open from 9am to 7pm. Polling booths will then close and the Electoral Commission will begin counting vote, preliminary results will begin to be published that evening.

Under New Zealand’s Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, which party has enough MPs to form a government may not be immediately clear. Coalition negotiations between political parties may take several weeks before a new government is formed.

Canada accuses the Indian government of involvement in assassination

In a speech to the Canadian House of Commons Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged the involvement of Indian agents in the extra-judicial killing of a Canadian citizen.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Sikh separatist and naturalised citizen of Canada. He was a vocal advocate for the creation of Khalistana separate homeland for Sikhs, a religious minority in India. Nijjar was wanted in India for terror related offences, in June he was shot dead by two masked gunmen outside of a Sikh temple in British Columbia.

India's ministry of external affairs rejected Trudeau's allegations as absurd, and has expelled a Canadian diplomat, suspended visas to Canadians, and paused trade talks.

The diplomatic rift poses a challenge for New Zealand, with both the Labour and National party seeking a Free Trade Agreement with India as central to their economic agendas should they be elected as the next government.

Ukrainian missiles strike Russian Black Sea Fleet

Ukrainian missiles have struck the Russian Black Sea fleet at its Sevastopol naval base in occupied Crimea.

Just days later, more Ukrainian missiles struck the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet with BBC reporting the attacks were timed to coincide with a meeting of naval officials.

The White House has recently agreed to supply long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine as the country prepares for a second winter at War.

New Zealand continues to provide military and financial aid to Ukraine, with 95 New Zealand soldiers providing training and logistics support from the United Kingdom on Operation Tieke.

Why I couldn’t afford to run for the UCSA General Executive

Charlotte Thornton (she/her)

For a magical, fleeting 48 hours, I ran for a General Executive role at the 2023 UCSA Election. I made a campaign poster, I attended the candidate briefing, I mentally prepared myself to barge in on a dinner at College House. I was ready.

While evaluating my possible study workload for 2024, I realised I should probably do the maths on those ‘pay days’ mentioned on the UCSA’s Instagram.

The role was advertised with a workload of approximately 10 hours per week, and annual pay was set at around $5,800. According to the UCSA Constitution, the executive’s “term of office” is from January 1st until December 31st.

If I were to work the suggested 10 hours per week, for the arranged 52 weeks per year, I would be making just over $11 hourly. The minimum hourly wage for adults is currently $22.70. I just couldn’t swing it.

I would have loved to continue my campaign. I would have loved to connect with students and advocate for them. But we’ve all got bills to pay, and our time is highly valuable.

The UCSA’s student executive are elected roles, meaning they aren’t exactly ‘employees,’ nor are they exactly ‘volunteers.’ Their yearly earnings are called an honorarium.

Jared Higby, an Associate with the law firm Tavendale and Partners, said that this type of payment isn’t especially common. He defined an honorarium as “an ex-gratia payment,” or “a discretionary payment given for work otherwise done nominally without charge.”

“I would be more inclined to say it fits better as a discretionary bonus you may give to a volunteer to show gratitude, than it does as a stipend for an elected position,” he said.

UCSA President Pierce Crowley described it as “legally paid volunteering.” His opinion on this status: “Does that sit right with me? No.”

President is a full-time position, and the Vice-Presidents and Postgrad Rep are part-time roles of “approx. 20 hours per week.” The seven General Executive members, the Equity Rep, the Pacific Rep, and the International Rep are all part-time, approximate 10-hour roles.

Rowan* was on the UCSA General Executive in 2020. They said that “every year is different,” but for them, the workload was about 10 hours a week. They felt their payment was fair, though, “the honorarium system was difficult to wrap [their] head around.” Even currently in 2023, they “still don’t totally grasp” how it worked.

“Maybe that’s on me, but it speaks to how UCSA policy is constructed in a way that makes wide-eyed students keen to affect change unable to see the forest for the trees,” said Rowan.

According to Crowley, payment for the UCSA exec runs on a “high-trust model,” with no timesheets. He said that in a given week, a General Exec member could work just two hours, followed by fifteen or sixteen hours the next. In the first few weeks of term, it can creep up to twenty-five hours per week.

Higby said that a high-trust model can leave room for error.

“I wouldn’t advise it. I have had to deal with too many issues where things weren’t documented properly because the parties trusted each other, and when it fell apart, everyone disputed what was agreed or who said or did what.”

“Always plan for the situation where things go wrong, because more often than not they will.”

For Rowan, what exactly constituted ‘working hours’ was hard to define. “The lines blur between what is work and what isn't. Being active in the UCSA as a student quickly shapes your entire student life,” they said.

Crowley says that around 2016, exec pay was slashed by an “arbitrary 20 - 30%.” In his opinion, the established pay is no longer representative of the work being done.

“It’s like it was designed for the UCSA as it was seven or eight years ago […] I would even say, when I started, it still had that air of a ‘social group.’ But that's not what it is anymore.”

“It is really, primarily, about the advocacy, but advocacy, you know, that is so time consuming and it can be quite heavy on a person.”

Advocating for students isn’t just about appearing in a few TikToks and handing out free bananas at Haere-roa. The General Exec members represent a faculty each, attending meetings, evaluating policies, working on academic appeals, and getting familiar with the struggles of university life.

“Something that I think is lost on students is how much UCSA members actually have their voices heard. I was given ample chances to go for it and speak up […] in the faculty I was in, leaders totally saw me as a valuable voice and welcomed my opinions,” said Rowan.

The General Exec make a direct impact, though they make some sacrifices along the way.

StudyLink student allowance is only given to those studying full-time. If an Exec member on student allowance gets overwhelmed with their role, they might not be able to drop courses without losing the money they need to get by. The pay they get from their UCSA work won’t exactly make up for it.

“They do such good work, they're still doing four papers a semester, and they’re foregoing their academic performance,

maybe even job opportunities, to serve students,” said Crowley. This is what I couldn’t manage. With other potential opportunities offering minimum wage, I couldn’t spare the 10 hours (or more) per week on tough work with very little pay. I was keen to advocate for students, but I had to first advocate for myself.

Within their high-trust model and elected position, the General Exec earn far less than minimum wage. But the living wage is even higher than that, $26 per hour.

A 2022 inquiry led by the Green Party found that two-thirds of university students regularly can’t afford the basics: bills, food, and medical care. The demographics most affected by the strain are disabled, Māori, and Pasifika students.

If you already have the time, the money, and the energy, running for a 10-hour Exec role can be a great addition to your university experience. But if you’re a full-time student, working twenty hours a week at Burger King and heading home to a mouldy flat at the end of the day, an Exec role might be inaccessible to you.

Crowley believes that an increase in pay would recognise the work of the Exec and allow the members to live fulfilled and stable lives.

“I do think that all the roles should be adjusted upward… and it’s those ten-hour roles that are in dire need of readjustment,” he said.

The Exec’s honorarium payments come from the Student Services Levy (SSL), a compulsory student fee. Increasing pay for the Exec may involve restructuring roles or increasing the fee. Crowley said that decisions on the topic should be “gone through with the student body.”

“I think there needs to be a conversation amongst students around the value that’s in this.”

Changes in funding are indeed very possible. In 2023, Crowley and Tumuaki Anna Pohatu attained equal pay between the UCSA General Exec and the members of Te Akatoki, UC’s Māori students’ association.

Students deserve to know where their money goes, and they deserve to be fairly recognised for their hard work.

Rowan believed that “more transparency is necessary for trust in the UCSA […] secrecy about behind-the-scenes practices, and things like pay, is naturally only going to make students even more curious, but in time, suspicious.”

“Gone are the days where students will just happily eat the sausage,” they said. “Today students are switched on and demand to know how it's made.”

Advocacy for the student body shouldn’t be done only by the most privileged. If it’s just a select few who can take on these roles, are they really representing us?

*Name has been changed for anonymity purposes.

"

Gone are the days where students will just happily eat the sausage...today students are switched on and demand to know how it's made"

THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF

2023

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2023 so far

THE LAND IS INHOSPITABLE AND SO ARE WE MITSKI

A recent entry to the “album of the year” race, Mitski returns to her roots, dropping the 80s synth aesthetics of Laurel Hell in exchange for warmer, acoustic tones in what could very well be her best album to date. Bug Like an Angel is a trademark Mitski opener. With the track starting off so stripped-back, the arrival of her harmonised vocals caught me entirely off-guard on my first listen with their rousing depth and warmth. There is a soothing tranquillity to the dejectedness she expresses on these baroque-pop ballads. She’s very lyrically succinct track-to-track, being able to say so much about love found and love lost in so few words. The Frost is a quaint wee track that I adore for this very reason. I think fans of acts like Weyes Blood, Father John Misty and even Lana Del Rey would really resonate with this 180-degree turn Mitski has made

DESIRE, I WANT TO TURN INTO YOU CAROLINE POLACHEK

Succeeding her 2019 record Pang, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You sees Caroline Polachek hone her avant-garde pop sensibilities as she propels the genre to vibrant new heights. With tightly wound percussives and ethereal vocal performances, the hyper pop soundscapes she crafts are alive and kicking.

Where Pang feels grand and airy, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You is bright and maximalist with a sunny flourish. This is best shown on singles Bunny Is A Rider and Welcome To My Island which are a must-adds to any rotation, especially with spring in the works and summer just around the corner.

One of the notable quirks to the geography of this record is Polachek’s blending of her distinctive style with sounds outside of her cultural wheelhouse. Sunset features Polachek layering her hyper pop vocals over Mariachi guitars, and Blood And Butter sees her merge her usual synth-driven sound with Scottish bagpipes.

FOOD FOR WORMS SHAME

This album marks a moment of realisation for me in the evolution of my music taste. I did not get the appeal of the post-punk sound at all before listening to Food for Worms. I tried getting into it with Fontaines DC last year to no avail but shame was the band that made it all finally click and cracked open the doors of the genre for me.

On Food for Worms, shame flutters between slower-paced indie rock cuts and highoctane post-punk anthems with grimy walls of sound. Adderall makes for one of the quieter songs on the record. Here, Charlie Steen’s vocals are drowsy and eventually melt into a flurry of sound the band constructs around him.

On the other side of the coin, The Fall of Paul is upfront in causing a ruckus, featuring filthy, distorted riffs and climactic builds.

Tim Smith (he/him)

THE RECORD BOYGENIUS

After teasing their combined might on their 2018 EP, the formidable singer-songwriter trio of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker lived up to expectations on their full-length debut. This is exactly what musical synergy sounds like.

All three girls have their fingerprints over every track as their personal artistries mesh and flourish. Not Strong Enough is a serious frontrunner for my personal song of the year. Despite what the lyrics actually say, it sounds like it was sung with a smile and has a contagious energy to it.

Tracks like Emily, I’m Sorry and Cool About It are more in line with the usual sad indie aesthetic these three front the folk scene with (particularly Phoebe, that is). Overall, the record toes the lines of indie rock and indie folk better than any solo attempt by the girls, making it a true testament to the time-old saying that there is strength in numbers.

O MONOLITH SQUID

Of all the bands to emerge from the immensely talented UK Windmill scene, art-rock outfit Squid have hurled themselves to the forefront with the release of their sophomore album. O Monolith compacts the raw chaos of their first rodeo, Bright Green Field, into a surreal yet refined collection of eight tracks. Opening with Swing (In A Dream), the band comes out the gate with a menacing blend of electronic synths and post-punk guitars.

Lead singer Ollie Judge’s vocal style is unconventional, but on this record, it seems he’s found a pocket for his eccentricity to thrive, singing with more conviction and playing off of the bizarro instrumentation of tracks like Devil’s Den and Undergrowth Siphon Song –my personal favourite – exemplifies the sonic direction the band appears to be headed in.

Beginning with a subtle swinging drum, the song gradually builds with vocoded singing, choir-like harmonies, and layered electric guitars, creating an intense and dramatic atmosphere that’ll pin you to your seat.

WHY DOES THE EARTH GIVE US PEOPLE TO LOVE? KARA JACKSON

A poet turned contemporary folk prodigy; Kara Jackson’s debut album is a sobering exploration of the double-edged sword that we call love. The deep, rich timbre of her voice shrouds each track in a mist of despondence, allowing the weight of her words to sink in. On the lead single no fun/party, Jackson deals with the winding blow of rejection over ever-so delicately plucked guitar strings. Here she closes with a message of selfreassurance, singing, “Don’t be sorry for missing the party // ‘Cause somebody’s party is missing you too.”

As she stumbles her way along the rocky pathing of the dating scene, tracks such as dickhead blues and therapy journal the questions that arise and the conclusions she draws. Another stand out is the questioning titular track why does the earth give us people to love?, which is reminiscent of King Crimson’s In The Court Of The Crimson King. Jackson’s sincerity combined with crisply recorded fingerstyle guitar gives the album a very organic, down-to-earth feel.

STRUGGLER GENESIS OWUSU

I don’t think the term “genre” has ever once crossed Genesis Owusu’s mind. The 25-yearold Aussie artist continues to foster an ever-evolving, eclectic sound on STRUGGLER that is what I can most concisely describe as funk meets dance-punk. Between breakbeats and rubbery basslines, Owusu tells an uplifting story of resilience through the character of “The Roach.”

The record starts at a fever pitch with an animated opener in Leaving The Light, featuring pop-esque electronic production. Cuts like Stay Blessed and Balthazar see Ouwusu dig deep into his post-punk bag with more choppy, agitated verses. But if funk and R&B are more your flavour, tracks like That’s Life (A Swamp) and See Ya There best highlight Owusu’s buttery vocal chops and innate feel for being one groovy dude.

Despite being so stylistically nomadic, STRUGGLER has a seamless flow start to finish and makes for one of the most exhilarating listens of the year.

When you cover taboo topics, as student magazines do, sometimes it’s going to miss the mark. And sometimes, the stuff that gets published is just plain stupid.

Uncovering the cancellations and controversies of student media is initially met with some difficulty. For starters, there’s only so much that’s actually online as up until the past 10-15 years or so, issues were only in print and Google only reveals so much. A quick search brings up a few news articles but the real juicy stuff is hidden away in a website so hated by the academic community many would immediately bypass it. A website that hasn’t changed since we were twelve years old researching on the library computers for a school report. A place of obscurity but one that is deeply rooted in familiarity and consistency… Wikipedia.

It holds the motherload of any and all student media controversies and a weird amount of other info. But nevertheless, it’s an easy starting point.

Thanks to Wikipedia, a cheeky lead from the ‘controversy’ section led me back to Macmillan Brown Library to go through the old Canta archives. In the 2008 and 2009 issues, there was a weekly column called “Trust DeborahShe’s Always Right” and by that title, you can already get a sense of where this is going. Every week some random chick named Deborah spewed her offensive opinions in approximately 200 words. Subsequently, every week the letters

Controversies anD Cancels

All the cooked shit student mags have pulled

Beccy Arnold (she/her)

to the editor section was flooded with complaints about said column.

The column began halfway through 2008, appearing with Deborahs’ hot take on ‘fat’ people who she considered to be people with a BMI over 23 (which is actually a perfectly normal BMI). She claims the “fat fucks” are “inferior in every way” and “greedy, mentally weak and stupid,” and so many other completely incorrect things that are just not worth repeating.

Trust Deborah disappeared for the next issue following eight complaints in the letter’s to the editor section and a personal apology from the editor himself, Matt Maguire.

But that wasn’t the end of the column. Instead, it reappeared in every single issue of 2009, where each issue had at least one complaint about the column as Deborah covered topics from climate change, human rights, religion, and mental illness.

The University of Auckland’s Craccum magazine has been running weekly publications since 1927. Since then, it’s major controversial moments include a highly contentious piece on a graphic guide to suicide and a 2019 issue that was censored for having a “straight up pornographic issue” according to editor at the time, Bailey Verry.

On the topic, Verry concluded that of all the bullshit Craccum has pulled over the past 100 years, “I find it hilarious that the issue with a sexy Velma is the only one in Craccum’s dubious history to ever be censored.”

In 2012, a Special General Meeting (SGM) was called by Auckland University Students Association (AUSA) to evict Thomas Dykes from his position as editor of Craccum, calling for a motion of no confidence against him. It was believed that Craccum had become offensive, overtly political, and unrepresentative of all students under Dyke’s editorship.

The final result of the vote was 144-83 against the motion with 10 abstentions, meaning Dyke’s kept his job. Ironically, the student behind the petition which sparked the SGM, Kirk Jacinto, unsuccessfully ran against Dykes for editorship the previous year. Jacinto had said before the result of the SGM was announced that he would run for the position again if Dykes was removed. You can connect the dots on that one.

Moving along to another Aucklandbased publication, AUT’s Debate Magazine has stayed relatively out of the harsh controversial limelight. Given its common name, every Google search for controversies is pretty much a dead end, only pulling up the magazine’s website and an article from Critic Te Arohi discussing their lack of a designer in 2021. After AUT’s student association failed to hire a designer, the magazine went on

hiatus for five entire weeks.

The editor Rebecca Zhong cited their lack of editorial independence from AUTSA, saying it has the potential to “stifle and restrict the unfettered fashion of a student publication.”

Up until this point, all these controversial little things were met with public outrage, but never taken to court. Until Nexus, from the University of Waikato, had a little run-in with the legal system. And by ‘little run-in,’ I mean the “worst defamation [case] in New Zealand history” at the time.

Way back in 1974, an edition of Nexus made allegations about the Head of the History Department, Professor Jensen. Allegedly, Jensen “pursued vendettas against fellow staff members, by falsely promising promotions and awarding students they were supervising lower grades in order to discredit them.” At the time, Jensen agreed not to sue.

Two years later, Nexus re-published the material with a new publisher which resulted in Jensen suing the editor, co-editor and printer, Wanganui Newspapers Ltd. The editor and coeditor retracted their statements, but the printers challenged Jensen to prove the allegations, citing “innocent dissemination.”

The judge found that the printers, who were not the official printers of Nexus but a jobbing printer, were aware of the nature of the magazine and should have vetted it properly for defamation. Jensen was awarded $30,000, equivalent to about $105,000 in 2015, across 13 claims.

Victoria University’s Salient, had threats of a defamation suit against them in 1985 following a ‘student handbook’ that was published containing sexual harassment claims against a professor. Editor Jane Hurley wrote that the claims of sexual harassment were misleading and suggested a more severe issue, clarifying that the misconduct took the form of “unwanted comments, the innuendo, the disparagement of women simply because they are women.”

The following year, Victoria University

enforced a sexual harassment policy to give students support around the issue and was in part due to Hurley’s reporting. Now that’s a slay.

Critic Te Arohi, of the University of Otago, arguably had their most controversial moment only a few years ago. In 2018, their menstruation issue featured a graphic cartoon depiction of a menstruating woman, made entirely on Microsoft Paint. The issue received international attention, with CNN calling the editor at 2am and stories published in Reuters.

Overnight, 2,000 copies were removed from stands by Campus Watch, causing an uproar. The University later apologised, saying it was a “mistake,” but if anything, their actions made the cover more popular than if they had done nothing. 2018 editor of Critic Te Arohi, Joel MacManus, revealed that the PDF version of the issue had been read over 9000 times online, 8900 more than what they would typically receive.

He cited the wise words of Hermione Granger that sums this all up quite nicely: “If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read your interview, it was banning it!”

What don't you like about Canta this year?

Nothing! It’s perfect

Not hugely involved with events

Articles that are longer than a page. I don’t bother sorry

The content, the style. Content is uninteresting and doesn't recognise that the audience is students… and the style resembles that of illiterates

That’s it wasn’t every week!

A lot of things I don’t care about which is expected with how diverse University is

Most of the long article pages are really ugly. The pages look outdated and like little effort has been put into the design and layout. It’s a lot of text for one or two pages. Maybe try sectioning it up a bit.

The graphic design, the news, the horoscopes, the comics, the “anagrammish” puzzle (it always starts with a word already so you usually can’t even make the longest word), the entire political issue was complete trite (except Tim smith’s article on the sound of war).

When the lucky dip doesn't show up

Quite serious and lots of long articles bit of a ceebs Nuffin

The website changed and new issues arent on

What do you like about Canta this year?

Best year yet

I love what you’ve done with the place

Academic staff here. This is the best Canta has been since Seb Boyle was editor during and after the earthquakes! Amazing work all round, well done. So much to read, informed articles, good researched features, lots of perspectives, more than ads and narrow opinion pieces. Stories uni students actually want to read

The videos!

Love how unafraid to take risks it is, makes it feel authentic Its very cool and quite interactive and informative Political coverage + podcast!

Charlotte Thornton’s pieces this year have been absolute gold and in my opinion the most interesting things I’ve seen from Canta in my three years at UC.

Great design, artwork and articles

I like the consistency of the front covers and i feel like the content has really been stepped up this year.

Lucky dip, inclusion of Māori language, horoscopes, articles including UC’s past

Don’t get me wrong, love the journalism but the art is so sick, got most of it up in my dorm atm

A big way that Canta can get better is from your feedback, and boy did we receive it! We opened up this survey to the UC whānau, and responses came flooding in, some amazing, others brutal, but regardless, we were grateful to hear from you all. We know we aren't flawless, but commited to keeping the Canta empire forever improving and flourishing, with a lot of blood sweat and tears, good luck to the team of 2024, we hope this helps! there:/

What would you like to see more of in Canta?

More stories about specific students like flat chats

Nothing, I feel like you guys incorporate a wide range of uc and nz hot topics

Canta every week!

That flatmate thing is cool

Literally just read a single issue of salient and get all your ideas from that instead.

A weekly car review like a top gear style thing would be awesome. Going around uni and reviewing things like buildings or shops. Weekly recipes, book of the week, something about philosophy, just really trying to hook readers in. Surveys are always interesting.

More sex

PUZZLES! Oh my god more PUZZLES

Stats from polls like this

More relevant news (it’s always like 2 weeks late)

the most controversial thing you think Canta did this year?

A lot more nudity than I expected in the sex edition, felt a little awk walking that home Dildo flying over the bee hive cover

Nothing it’s so fucking bland. nothing you have done is remotely controversial or boundary pushing Probably the sex edition but still needs to be more raunchy imo I want to see gay stuff in there

The nude pictures, but it was cool Sharing some of those sex stories was rough Go a whole year without a copyeditor to proofread

Match me up with a civil engineer Exist.

Is there anything you would like to say to the 2023 Canta team?

Absolute slay, iconic

Don’t quit your day job.

Yoooooooo up the wahs! Keep up the grind

Bring back the old Canta style x

Canta is Cool!!

I think you did really well this yr, esp the news page were well written. Love the features too.

I visited UoA and their magazine is shit, you guys make the only cool magazine

BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK

You have a Sexy Managing Editor

Thank you for decorating my flat xo

Wasn't very good…

Graphic design goes hard

Eat lots of cake

Plz make sure issues are online cause I'll be graduating this year and wanna keep reading

Ur funny!! also let me go on a date

CANCEL

OR KEEP Canta Edition

Elsie Williams (she/her)

As 2023 begins to complete its final few chapters, the sickening scent begins to linger of those things that 2023 has brought or kept that just stink. It’s hard to summarize the year when it’s flown by so fast. So let me help bring to light some of the wonderful and stinky components of 2023 as we reminisce.

Fashion world tombstones

It aches me to say that Cargo pants have officially left the building. They had a good dash, and they were such fun, but now our world is infiltrated by cargo pants and there is no escape. The moment I clicked they needed to go was when my mum wanted to try a pair on, and it was officially time for mine to be handed to the opshop.

Skinny Jeans, need I say more. Give yourself some room to breathe.

Ugg boots and slippers have absolutely shot up the fashion ranks this season after a brisk winter, but are they actually cute appropriate to be strutting around uni? Don’t get me wrong I love a little library mish in my slippers, but it appears those puppies belong in the comfort of a home space after a few side eyes from students.

And the number one prize for fashion cancellations goes too….fast fashion! This sh*tty way to process clothing is dated, terrible for the environment and just straight cringe. It’s an absolute shocker that companies like Shein still have customers, and if you’re one of them, boooooo. It’s not cute to dress cheap anymore, buy from the Op Shop.

Fashion trends that deserve to be kept

I love jorts on all genders. Some people have mixed opinions on this but I believe jorts have been such a fun fashion addition especially for the ladies. That’s a keeper in my books.

Another classic from a classic brand is the Birkenstock Boston’s. Versatile for winter and summer, can be classy or cute. Can see this shoe being a timeless classic honestly.

Cowboy Boots eeeeek, biased opinion but with jorts or long jeans or even with a cute summery dress?! Such a fun wee trend that deserves to stick around.

Aspects of student life that need to graduate

It has been a monumental year. But at the same time, it’s hard to even process what has been monumental when it’s gone so fast and there’s only a few months left. But as students, we’ve been engulfed in a world of study that has no longer taken the hit from Covid, so how have we coped in the 2023 circumstances when Covid 19 hasn’t been the thing to cancel?

Something we unfortunately didn’t cancel but got wiped anyway was the beloved Mono. Thursday nights have never been the same. It was so riveting to convince your friends to drink despite their three-hour lab in the morning, to go watch a DJ that you probably don’t know any songs of. May Mono rest in peace.

Let’s just cancel vapes. Everyone’s addicted, they’re about to ban disposables but they’ll just get sold on the black market, and now people are turning to cigarettes to stop vaping. It’s gone too far! And now cigarettes are getting more alty with ‘tumblr like’ writing on them, so they look even more aesthetic. Oh, and lets also cancel people saying “nah bro I’m actually going to quit this week”. Bffr, you’re going to buy one more lychee dispo when you pick up your tui box so may as well just not announce it to everyone else to save yourself the shame.

Why is student parking so expensive when you can’t even find a park at uni ever unless you arrive at 8am? Cancel student parking. Just everything about it. It’ll save the same of driving around the arts car park about 10 times in hope you catch someone walking to their car to you can awkwardly wait to take their park. I think it’s time to bring back hoverboards.

Students were very grateful that this winter season flew by because student housing is colder and damper than ever. It’s unfortunate that wet and dark flats have become normalized in order to live cheaper, as wellness does not follow suit. A perk of flatting in Christchurch was that living was cheap but cold. Now, rent in 2024 has increased by at least $18 per flat, heading from the early $150’s to now boarding the $200 mark. Let’s hope this uphill trend of price increase ends in 2023.

Some are fresh out of high school, others may be mature students, but most people really don’t give a sh*t about what high school you went to (except for finding mutuals which is 100% valid). A chat among many is that Christchurch high schools have a hierarchy, and people from CHCH get it, and the rest just don’t care enough. High school was an interesting era, but let’s just temporarily cancel the conversation for the moment.

Honourable student things that deserve to be kept

The Club Scene! It is ironic considering what I just wrote about high school, but the UC club scene feels like fun interpersonal high school events again and it is one of UC’s coolest aspects. From flat crawls to law balls, to information nights and slightly dangerous jungle juice, the club scene provides so much opportunity for connection and growth. Honourable mention to Lads without Labels who go above and beyond to bring the community together to spread awareness and fundraise for mental health. Run72 was epic, and brought so many individuals together for a wonderful cause.

Keep the free stuff. People lurrvvvvv free stuff. Those sausages will always be a treat with a sweet little fresh up to brush off the four snags. Any food that is free will always catch the eye of a broke student, keep it up UCSA.

Subsidized dentist care is one of the UCSA’s greatest and hidden assets. The subsidized dental scheme provides $385 to students per year for dentist care at either Ilam Dental or Moriarty Dental, amazing!

Worldly fucked up shit that needs to go

The biggest weakness of our society that still needs to be cancelled is the use of slurs. It is appalling how common derogatory terms are being ripped around friend groups, and it appears that those using the bad terms hang around others who also speak in such a foul way. Don’t be that guy. It’s not funny or attractive, and people will remember the words you use. It’s going to be embarrassing to reflect on when you’re 40, so nip it in the bud now and educate yourself.

Underpaying teachers, writers, nurses, etc! The strikes that have occurred this year has been insane. Do you know some high school students have been attending school only four days a week due to teachers striking? It’s incredibly unfortunate that valuable citizens are having to risk their jobs and sacrifice their time in order to get paid what they deserve. Society needs to back those fighting for pay in order to cancel these strikes

A ‘For You’ page killer in Aoteraoa has been the infiltration of Politicians on TikTok. To see Christopher Luxon doing ASMR through the cutting of sand whilst explaining a policy was genuinely mind blowing. As Beccy Arnold (Canta Feature Writer) said in her article on the topic, “New Zealand’s political parties are putting their low-wage Gen Z interns to work and they’re all fighting each other for the attention of people aged 1825.” They need to be cancelled. It’s amusing, but definitely cancel worthy.

2023 witnessed a mixed bag of fashion trends, ranging from bidding adieu to cargo pants and skinny jeans, while questioning the appropriateness of Ugg boots at university. The student experience revealed the return of cherished traditions like the UC club scene and the allure of freebies, juxtaposed against mounting student housing costs and exorbitant parking fees. On a broader scale, the year emphasized the urgency of canceling hurtful language, advocating for equitable pay, and even scrutinizing the unexpected appearance of politicians on TikTok.

Life’s moving quickly, but we’ve got to move with it. Unload the unnecessary baggage you deem ‘cancellable’, and keep those special wee things in your life that evoke and provide richness of life. The journeys what you make it, so keep it as un-cancellable and clean as you can!

What cancelled celebrity are you? What cancelled celebrity are you?

Mostly A's Andrew Tate oof. You defi nitely occasionally kiss the mirror. You tend to voice your opinions confi dently and may not always consider others' perspectives (period). You value friends who are self-assured like you (yikes) and may prefer activities that involve physical fi tness and selfimprovement. You may also dislike women…but praying you don’t.

Mostly B's Kanye West. You probably are controversial for your open anti Taylor Swift chat. You express your opinions a lot, and especially on social media. You’ve probably been banned from Twitter before and you like to talk a lot. You appreciate creativity and artistic expression but sometimes run your mouth a little too often.

Mostly C's Trisha Paytas. You’re iconic but a little bit naughty. You enjoy chatting sh*t with friends and value social connections. But sometimes you say the wrong thing due to being a little blonde and catch yourself in a few apology moments. You fi nd happiness in engaging conversations and have a lighthearted approach to life and entertainment, but that can also be your downfall.

Mostly D's Ellen DeGeneres. You’re a little bit of a show pony. You value your social status and community involvement. You may also have a strong sense of giving back and making a positive impact but sometimes you don’t take care of others around you and get too caught up in your own world.

Do you like Taylor Swifts Music?

Hell no. She just sings about her silly little boy life and it’s boring and repetitive

I’ll let her play her songs but Beyonce is way better, best video of all time

She’s cute. Her music is fun and makes me happy

Love her my bestie boo she’s so slay

Do you voice your opinion often?

I think my POV is always right so yeah, I do, and I don’t care what anyone has to say

Just on social media usually until I get banned

Sometimes by accident and it’s generally wrong and I get shit on hehe

I’m pretty good at keeping my opinion to myself as I’m pretty fi ltered

What do you value most in friendships?

I’m quite a reserved individual who keeps to myself, but I like friends who are confi dent in themselves

People who can take a joke

Someone to chat to for hours and endlessly

Social Status, on the same level as me

What ’ s your least fave show?

I don’t watch shows, I’d prefer to listen to my own voice

Keeping up with the Kardashians

Discovering David Dobrik

The Oprah Winfrey show

How do you like to relax and unwind?

Like to workout to get fi t and relieve stress

Listen and or make music with friends

Chatting/hanging out with friends

Giving back to the community

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c n e c a c l u

Cancel culture refers to when a person or organization says or does something that is deemed unacceptable by society as a whole and results in the person or organization being shunned or boycotted.

One day I saw a meme about the Chinese cultural revolution and had a thought about culture being ‘cancelled’. Obviously using ‘cancelled’ to describe cultures being wiped out is wrong as it trivialises the matter. But what I found was that colonisers or governments wiping up cultures is a practice that feels like it’s been around as long as humanity itself.

The Roman Empire was one of the biggest empires in human history. It ranged from the British Isles to the Middle East. Rome as it expanded wanted to absorb the indigenous cultures and make them as Roman as possible.

The process was called Romanisation. The term Romanisation is attributed to British historian Francis Haverfield and he described the process in which the territories conquered by Rome were being ‘civilised’. Romanisation involved the indigenous population of territories conquered by Rome adopting the use of the Latin language as well as Roman behaviour and culture.

What is interesting about Romanisation is that cultures were not completely wiped out. If people obeyed Roman authorities, they were able to keep their cultures alive for the most part, of course they were expected to speak Latin and adopt Roman behaviours. However those who resisted Roman rule were brutally pacified as in the case of the Jewish People, where millions were killed, and cities were razed as punishment for resisting.

The effects of Romanisation can be seen to this day, with countries like France, Portugal and Spain having languages based on Latin. Religion is also one of the lasting effects of Romanisation as Roman Catholism spread to be one of the most dominant religions in the world.

When it comes to more modern times, one can’t discount the ultimate destroyer of cultures. At the height of its empire, it controlled a third of the world and desire to spread its own culture and ‘civilise’ those it deemed ‘savage’. Can you guess who I am referring to here? If you guessed Britain, you would be correct.

British destruction of culture, unlike the Romans has had a much greater effect on the world as we know it. Many peoples were affected by the British and their colonial rule,

including Māori.

When Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed Māori made up 95 percent of Aotearoa’s population. Meriana Johnsen a writer for The Spinoff noted in her article In search of a place to just be Māori that only 60 years later due to increased Pakeha immigration and disease such as smallpox effecting Māori populations that would that number decrease to only 5 percent.

Policy put in place by the colonial government directly contributed to Māori cultural decline as well. Legislation like the Education Ordnance Act of 1847 made English the ‘normal’ language used in schools. Te reo Māori would later be banned in schools and those who spoke it would be punished for doing so. Later on native schools would be founded with the intention of assimilating Māori communities by using the English language.

With te reo being an important part of Māori culture, the decline in the use of te reo meant a decline in traditional Māori culture as well. In the article Remembering the Māori Language Petition and the revival of te reo Māori. Notes that in 1910, 90 percent of Māori children could speak te reo, by 1970 that number was only 5 percent. Te reo was on the verge of extinction and with it an important part of Māori culture would be gone forever. Fortunately in the case of te reo Māori, in 1987 it was made an official language with Aotearoa, and effects to preserve the language have been working towards a greater acceptance of the language.

The story of Māori culture being nearly bought to extinction by British colonial rule is not unique to Aotearoa, with the indigenous peoples of Africa, Australia, Canada, India and Ireland to name a few facing similar cultural oppression all in the name of ‘spreading civilisation’.

In the case of Rome and Britain, cultural erasure happened at the hands of colonists seeking to spread their beliefs to those they conquered whether they liked it or not. But there was a case where a culture was wiped out my its own people. That being China during the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s.

The Chinese leader at the time Mao Zedong managed to rally millions of people behind him all in the goal of preserving the power of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to do so involved purging remnants of capitalism and traditional Chinese culture.

The CCPs youth wing the Red Guards were urged on

lu e u t r

Jenkins (she/her)

by Mao and fellow party members to destroy ancient temples and religious sites all in the name of preserving communism. Mao replaced traditional Chinese culture with his own cult of personality.

A symbol of that being the sacred little red book, officially known as Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. James Fell a historian and author of the book This Day in History Sh!t Went Down noted that “He (Mao) called on his cult followers to rise up in violent class struggle”, proclaiming “to rebel is justified.” Jesus Muppet-Fucking Christ this shit sounds familiar. Anyway, instead of Twitter, he had a “Little Red Book,” a collection of his sayings for his followers to fawn over. The cultural revolution has also had a lasting effect on China to this day, with Fell calling “Mao’s big plan” a failure that resulted potentially the deaths of millions and setting China back years.

What is interesting about the Cultural Revolution is the aspects of modern ‘Cancel Culture’ manifesting itself, as members of the Red Guards were encouraged to snitch on their parents and their teachers for being ‘reactionary’ and ‘counter revolutionary’. People who were snitched on were subject to ‘struggle sessions’ where people were humiliated in public, beaten and forced to confess to their crimes. People were pitted against one another, with children turning in their parents and even spouses betraying one another.

one can be ‘cancelled’ by the government for criticising the government such as in Singapore, where there are laws protecting the judiciary from criticism.

Whilst not cancel culture in the colloquial sense, it is certainly an attempt for governments to maintain power. Professor James Ockey of the University of Canterbury believes that there is a difference between cancel culture and a government censoring it’s people saying “personally, I think it is fundamentally different when one is “cancelled” by the state for discussing topics the state wants to keep out of the public eye as opposed to being cancelled through public shaming. “

planet

people make the claim that they are being ‘cancelled’ for of

So that brings me back to the meme I saw ages ago, it’s made me think that the more things change the more they remain the same. How cultural erasure is something that humanity has been doing for nearly as long as we have been on this planet for. I find it ironic when some people make the claim that they are being ‘cancelled’ for opposing the greater use of te reo Māori by society, when they have no idea what it is like to actually have their own culture erased.

The leads us to 2023, where the term ‘cancel culture’ is thrown around by various groups of people who spread hate speech or disinformation. They accuse the government of being communist or fascist or even both at the same time… somehow? There are still places where

spread hate speech or disinformation. They accuse the

Ella

is rugby still national

When it comes to New Zealand there are a few things that seem to define our nation. Sheep, pineapple lumps, jandals, pavlova (yes, Australia, we own that, not you) are just a few things that seem to spring to mind. However, there is one sport and one team that seems to be the most Kiwana thing of all. Characterised by passing an oval-ball sideways, weird little angry huddles called “scrums” and tackling each other, all whilst wearing dapper uniforms of black…rugby. With our favourite team being none other than the legendary All Blacks.

Being a patriotic kiwi, rugby has always been a topic that has floated around the house, played on tellys in the background of family barbeques, or brought up during light day-to-day conversations. However, my obsession with the sport began during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final.

It was the All Blacks versus the Wallabies and Beauden Barret kicked, chased, and scored the most beautiful try of all time. However, with the current Rugby World Cup loss, maybe it’s time to acknowledge that the ‘glory days’ of rugby could be over. With the new talent emerging in other sports, and the rise of girl power in our Women’s rugby recently, maybe it is time to question whether our All Blacks and rugby is New Zealand’s leading sport anymore?

Rugby is a sport that has been offered all throughout my schooling experience. I remember the days of rippa rugby, which then graduated onto touch rugby, and then, ultimately, onto tackle rugby. The teams usually were in high demand, with new teams forming to cater for all the new and willing participants.

In the annual Sport New Zealand Secondary School’s Census from 2022, sport New Zealand gathered data on enrolments in sport from across 462 schools. From the results, it appears that Netball was the most popular sport to play, with a whopping 25,933 students participating in the sport. This was closely followed by basketball (25,595), rugby (24,625), volleyball (23,391), and then football (20,464).

Basketball overtook rugby, taking the place for the second most popular sport in New Zealand in 2018. What is even more worrying is when the statistics from different years are stacked up against the more recent data, it shows that there has been a decline of rugby union players with the 28,607 players in 2009 dropping to 24,731 players in 2019. It is important to mention that across most sports, there has been a national decline in enrolments, but this decline in rugby enrolments causes exponential worry for the future of our national sport.

Basketball scout and Canta writer, Tim Smith, comments on the growth of basketball in New Zealand. A large dose

of Smith’s experience within the Basketball realm comes because of working with the Canterbury Rams as the Director of Scouting, but also includes his experience of working as a Basketball Operations intern for the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL.

The Rams are a basketball team based in Christchurch who play within the NZNBL league and who recently saw success in winning the recent NBL title over the Auckland Tuatara. Smith believes that the interest in the sport is “continually growing and is driven by the youth”.

Overseas opportunities for our talented players are also increasing, Smith mentions that “we’re seeing more and more kiwis get scholarship opportunities to play over in the states.” Upon asking about the possible new potential for New Zealand’s teams to reach global status, Smith replies that the “New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) is a small fish in a very big pond”. Part of being that small fish is “fostering developmental environments to help and springboard players and coaches to then play at higher levels around the world.”

Smith uses the Canterbury Rams as an example, saying that “One of our American Imports, Tevin Brown, is now playing in the top French League and kiwis, Max Darling and Walter Brown, are on development player deals in the Australian League, which does feature 20-odd kiwis”. With the rise of basketball, this might be putting Rugby’s popularity in jeopardy.

A large portion of Rugby has been dominated by men, more specifically the All Blacks. When you chat to your mates about rugby, its usually taken for granted that the rugby topic at hand is about the latest ABs game. However, there is a new flavour of rugby that seems to be making the waves recently. Our New Zealand women’s team, the Black ferns, have held world cup titles in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2017 and 2021 (played in 2022). They have one of the best winning percentages in international rugby, with victory in over 85% of their tests. The recent world cup, played on New Zealand soil, saw a sold-out Eden Park, with the crowds roaring to see the Black Ferns versus England in a fantastic, high energy final. This left New Zealand with a world cup title, and a lingering question… is Women’s Rugby perhaps our new national sport?

Previously, rugby has been largely focused on our male teams, but with the push from media in the 2021 (played in 2022) game, there were over 1.3 million kiwis who tuned into the match, and a record-breaking crowd of 42,579 people in the Eden Park crowd. These statistics are mind-blowing, but what was even more shocking was how these viewing and spectator

Ella Paterson (she/her)

still our national sport?

numbers compared to the All-Black’s media. The Black Ferns electric final gained more attention and had more viewers than the All-Blacks Rugby World cup game in 2015.

Projections by the NZR indicate that there is the potential for a 40% increase in Women’s rugby participation on 2022, which would hopefully see 35,000 women and girls playing club and school rugby this season. These exponential increases in both participation and media coverage for Women’s rugby pave a promising pathway for the future of women’s rugby. Move over AB’s, there is a new team in town!

Injuries, concussions, recovery, muscle strains and broken noses are all common occurrences within rugby. The nature of the game is high contact; tackling the opposition to the ground, lifting each other in lineouts, or locking shoulders in a scrum are all just part of the game.

Previous rugby player, Jack Churstain, makes commentary on the brutal and difficult nature of the sport. Churstain, who was on the Southland Boys First IV for two years, comments that rugby can be “intense”. Southland Boys High School is a notorious rugby school, known for producing the most All Blacks captains than any other school.

He comments that “I still deal with the repercussions of playing rugby now, I still have long-term concussion symptoms.” This can make it difficult to learn, affect vision, day-today life and take away from just enjoying life too. Churstain expresses his adoration for the game but says that “the number of freak accidents makes it hard to

justify sometimes”.

There is no denying rugby, and indeed, our All Blacks, have a

special place in every Kiwi’s heart. The buzz that comes with waiting for the game to pop up on the telly is a deeply thrilling and uniquely New Zealand experience that is truly not like anything else.

However, with the new statistics coming through showing rugby enrolments dropping, the rise in sports such as basketball, popularity of Women’s rugby rising and the insane number of injuries associated with the game, it might be time to take a step back and revaluate. Is rugby truly our national sport anymore?

Ft: Carolyn Mason - Psychology Lecturer

I started university later than most. I was pregnant at 15 with a child who was later adopted, working as a science technician at 16, married at 19, and a mother caring for a child at 22. I had a jar into which I put 1, 2, and 5 cent pieces that I laughingly called my ‘university money’. ‘Laughingly’ because I didn’t really think I would ever get to university.

My chance came when my husband lost his job and we had to decide what to do next. He wanted to study for a PhD, but PhD students didn’t get any government allowance. Undergraduate students did! So, if I studied, I would receive allowance for him and our two children. What felt like a disaster became our big opportunity.

What would you like fresher Carolyn to know?

2.

1. You have a lot to learn, which doesn’t mean you are stupid, that is exactly how it should be. The world doesn’t end when you get a grade you are ashamed of. Guess what?! You chose the right options! You can study the things you love most, prioritise your love of learning over earning money, and (accidentally) end up with a job you love and money!

What was your university experience like?

On the one hand, I loved it. I found undergraduate study much easier than working fulltime. I discovered that exploring ideas is wonderful and I felt privileged to get to spend my time in that way. On the other hand, I felt constantly torn between being a student, a wife, a mother, and a person with needs that conflict with all those roles.

I constantly criticised myself for not doing everything as well as I thought I should, and when I became mentally exhausted and “wasted time” reading novels, criticised myself some more.

Biggest fresher fail?

I failed my first year at uni – you can’t get a failure bigger than that! Well, I didn’t actually fail, I withdrew because I was going to fail, which was the right thing to do. I didn’t know how to work out what was relevant, didn’t know how to read non-fiction, didn’t know how to carry out research, and didn’t know how to write an essay. I also didn’t know how to ask for help.

Best first year memory?

I’m going to make this my second year, given that my first year of university study was a failure. I discovered philosophy – a subject I didn’t know existed - genuinely enjoyed studying, and got an A-!

Football federation president resigns amid sexual assault scandal

Luis Rubiales has resigned from his role as the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). His departure follows an incident at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final involving Spanish footballer Jennifer Hermoso.

As medals were being presented to the Spanish team, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso and kissed her on the lips without her consent. The incident was captured on video and subsequently went viral. Rubiales was criticised worldwide with many calling for his resignation, including Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Rubiales’ mother, Angeles Bejar, locked herself inside a church on a hunger strike in protest of the furor, which she called an “inhuman and bloody hunt.” She was hospitalised and later discharged.

This is not Rubiales’ first time getting into hot water. Throughout 2022, he was accused of embezzlement, espionage, and corruption.

Hermoso received support from footballers across Spain and around the world. She has filed a criminal complaint of sexual assault against Rubiales.

Fiji smash Australia breaking 69-year streak

A spectacular result from the Men’s Rugby World Cup: Fiji defeated Australia, 22-15.

Fiji played brilliantly, with Josua Tuisova and Simione Kuruvoli emerging as star players. Tuisova said, “It's history for us.”

As two-time Rugby World Cup champions, the Aussies are usually a Cup favourite. But they’ve had a terrible year, and their 2023 Cup results have been grim. Coach Eddie Jones claimed responsibility for the loss against Fiji, who last beat Australia in 1954 – 69 years ago.

Jones was previously England’s head coach and got sacked in 2022. His coaching of Australia has been unpopular, they came last in the 2023 Rugby Championships, and they’ve suffered harsh losses to South Africa, Argentina and now Fiji.

By contrast, Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui – who grew up in Australia – is being lauded for his leadership.

This marks the first time that Australia have lost to a Pacific Island team at the Cup.

Charlotte Thornton (she/her)

Ryan Fox first kiwi to become PGA champion

Ryan Fox, a professional golfer from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, has won the BMW PGA Championship. It was a bit of a chaotic run: a triple-bogey early on, followed up by a stunning eight birdies that carried him all the way to a win.

As Fox celebrated the biggest success of his career, a commentator praised his “gold-star performance.” It seems that Fox agreed – he told Sky Sport, “I played great.”

The win earned Fox $2.6 million NZD and a big career boost. All eyes will be on him to put Aotearoa New Zealand on the map at the Masters Tournament.

In the Official World Golf Ranking, Ryan Fox is #31. He is the first BMW PGA Champion from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Broncos bring down the Wahs

Our rugby league stars, the New Zealand Warriors, inspired nail-biting across the country as they headed into the preliminary NRL final against the Brisbane Broncos. In the days leading up to the match, “up the Wahs!” was heard all around Aotearoa.

Unfortunately, they weren’t on their way up – the Broncos absolutely stormed their home game, winning 42-12 and ending the Warriors’ hopes of making it to the Grand Final. It was a fantastic night for 21-year-old Bronco’s fullback Reece Walsh. He left the Broncos in 2021 to join the Warriors, then in 2022 left the Warriors to rejoin the Broncos. His impressive work in this match ensured that he’s sorely missed from the Warriors lineup.

The Broncos memorable defeat of the Wahs has won them a spot against the Panthers in the NRL Grand Final. 31

UC Medieval and Renaissance Society

Introduce yourself!

I'm Sam, the president of UCMRS. I've been a member of the club for 8 years, and involved in the exec for 6. It's acted as a gateway to my main hobby, one I didn't know existed before.

Tell us a bit about UCMRS!

The UC Medieval & Renaissance Society covers all sorts of historical re-enactment and study, focusing from the 1200s through to the 1800s. Humans have been writing down how to do things for thousands of years, and we explore this history and bring parts of it back to life. The main areas of focus of our club at the moment are:

• Historical European Martial Arts, or HEMA. This is my passion; UCMRS introduced me to it, and I'm now involved in the wider NZ HEMA community, including going to national competitions. This is the use of swords, daggers, and even wrestling with historical methods based on text and image sources.

• Traditional Archery. We have members that practice several different styles, from European to Mongolian.

• Traditional European Dance. People wrote books about these too, and they can therefore dances from hundreds of years ago can still be danced today.

• We occasionally also dabble in traditional arts & crafts (like leatherwork), and even cooking - they wrote cookbooks in the middle ages too!

What are some events you have completed this year or having coming up?

We've been running weekly sword classes (English broadsword last semester, German longsword this semester), run a regular archery range, and have weekly dance classes too.

Promote your club to a newbie, how would you sell it?

Essentially what I said before. It's a way to learn about and experience history without needing to get bogged down in books, plus it's just plain fun. If you find something you really like, we have contacts with other groups in Christchurch so you can do more of it! Let us be your gateway.

How can people get involved?

We teach historical fencing and archery on the field of Kirkwood Intermediate, 2pm Saturdays. Dance classes are 7pm Mondays. Come along to whatever you want - all you need is comfortable clothes; we'll provide equipment. Also feel free to join our Facebook (search Ordo Cygni) or our Discord (https://discord.gg/EcCg7KZZpy).

FLAT FAMOUS

Nikita

Nickname: Nikki D

Worst Habit: Hooking up with people she shouldn't be with...

Dustiest Moment: Throwing up in the toilet for three hours straight

May

Nickname: Mayson Derulo

Worst Habit: Leaving parties early with her boyfriend

Dustiest Moment: Can't remember any lol

Sarah

Nickname: The Vegetarian

Worst Habit: Eating meat when drunk

Dustiest Moment: Got abandoned after a party and was throwing up in her hands

BEST The andthe of TEA PARTY

BEST The andthe of WORST

WORST TEA PARTY

Honestly so rogue, but love the commitment. May get a bit hot and sweaty in the Ilam heat, but overall out the gate and off to a phenominal start.

This is a hard rating to give considering the effort that’s gone into this, but this has to be the most impractical shit. Pain in the ass for moshing. The bros must really like toast.

most Pain in the ass for moshing.

Bonus points for arts and crafts. Easy, practical, and great chat.

a snag. Not too sure if ol' tommy sauce has legs. Regardless, love the effort, kiwi ingenuity, and

commitment to the bit. Functionality gets a 1/10, but 10/10 for the chat.

Looks like the girlies have skulled a couple of blue Rovers and had a tacky before going in. The full body paint would've looked great in the early hours, but by midday, pretty crusty and itchy.

I’m ngl I have no clue what these guys are up to. A mean way to find your mates in the mosh, not sure how they drank or got their tickets out though.

The only other time I’ve ever seen a boy put this much effort into something, was trying to pick up a 10 at the bog. Great mahi from the lads on this one, have no fucking clue how they walked around though, wonder how long they lasted.

Let’s stop getting those $30, pre-made costumes from Look Sharp. A) that money = a box, B) I would rather go naked than put one of these on my rig. You look lazy and stupid. Do better...

Lucky Dip Lucky Dip

As Canta’s longest running segment we play matchmaker and pair up two lucky UC students to hopefully hit it off on a blind date and record their experiences. Sign yourself or a mate up on our website for some free Rollickin and lovin’.

Here are the raw unedited results of this week’s lucky dippers…

One Side One Side

I just wanted something funny to do with my life so I thought why not agree to do Lucky Dip? Even though I lowkey almost pulled out, I dragged my ass all the way to the Cashel Street Rollickin’, just for it to be the wrong one. Luckily enough, turns out my date was running late anyway so didn’t matter.

At first glance, I didn’t know how serious this was for her. I was just doing it for the lols. I went upstairs first, and shortly afterwards my date arrived. She looked pretty cool but was a bit shorter than what I usually go for. When I sat down, realisation started to kick in where I was and that I couldn’t date a total stranger and maybe just had to sit here and eat my free gelato awkwardly. Once she sat down, she was super chill which made me calm down immediately. We were definitely both there just for fun.

We talked about the usual things, university, friends, where we both are from and what not. We are both second years and turns out we both know a few of the same people mutually which was kinda cool. After we did the awkward ice breakers, we shuffled downstairs together to get our gelatos. She ordered salted caramel, raspberry and lemon, lime and bitters. It was a good sign she didn’t get basic flavours. I just ordered Hokey-Tokey-Pokey or something and I don’t care what anyone says, that isn’t a basic flavour I promise. We went back upstairs and talked about past relationships (both had none), and went through our likes and dislikes. We both enjoy playing social/competitive sports in our free time which was a nice cross-over.

I am a big astrology girl so naturally asked her what her star sign was. She’s a Capricorn and I am a Gemini, that’s when I knew for sure that we were just going to stay friends. Opposites definitely DO NO attract. We did get along really well so we exchanged snaps and maybe I’ll see her around one night at a flat party.

Thanks to Canta and Rollickin’ for the free gelato. I realised two things because of this date. The first, that girls are pretty cool and second, that I am definitely lactose intolerant (RIP the Bus Interchange bathrooms).

The Other Side The Other Side

It took a lot of convincing from all my mates, but when I was asked for maybe the billionth time, I finally agreed to go on a Lucky Dip date. I had been mentally preparing for this since I agreed to do it (which was two days before the date). Safe to say, I lost a lot of sleep over this. Finally, the day came and it was calming to be seated upstairs away from everyone and to be on a date with someone who didn’t look crazy.

We both turned up pretty late and she was there before me. I had seen her ahead in the line and she had looked pretty flustered. It made sense when she told me she went to the wrong Rollickin’. She said she was studying psychology and I study commerce with a psych minor so we chatted about that. We talked a bit more before getting our gelato from downstairs. She got the most basic flavour next to vanilla and I called her out for it. It was a funny joke at the time but it definitely looked sad compared to my order. After chatting some more we realised we knew a lot of the same people. This immediately freaked me out and was a huge red flag as I didn’t want my friend groups to collide. She was super funny though which made talking to her a lot easier and the whole experience a lot less stressful.

I thought she was playing footsies under the table with me but turns out she was just crossing her legs. Very awkward moment for us both if I do say so myself. After that, I knew it was definitely time to call it a night. We weren’t really connecting at a relationship level but I definitely thought she was a cool girl.

Overall, solid experience, got her details afterwards so all in all will probably just see her around as a friend. We did leave things awkwardly though with her having to sprint to the Bus Interchange because she was going to miss her bus, even though I offered her a ride home? Kind of weird but cheers Canta for the free date.

Puzzle Time P u z z l e T i m e

*some* celebs who have been cancelled...

V Find and circle each of the words from the list below. Words may appear forwards or backwards, horizontally, vertically or diagonally in the grid.

Shai LaBeouf

Kevin Spacey

Adam Levine

Donald Trump

Madeline Argy

Kris Wu

Shane Dawson

James Cordon

Armie Hammer

Tana Mongeau

Ashton Kutcher

Marilyn Manson

Mikayla Noguiera

Andrew Tate

Gina Rodriguez

Ellen Degeneres

JK Rowling

Kanye West

Jeffree Star

Olivia Wilde

Elon Musk

Will Smith

Shia LaBeouf Kevin Spacey Adam Levine Donald trump Madeline Argy Kris Wu

Shane Dawson James Corden Armie Hammer Tana Mongeau Ashton Kutcher

Marilyn Manson Mikayla Noguiera Andrew Tate Gina Rodriguez Ellen Degeneres

JK rowling Kanye west Jeffree Star Olivia Wilde Elon Musk Will Smith

How many words (at least three letters) can you make with the word...

14: Under the influence? 18: Heartless 24: You're a smooth crimial +30: Stop procrastinating it's exams

Colouring C o l o u r i n g

HOROSCOPES HOROSCOPES

Libra

Sep 23 Oct 22

In a world of cancel culture, dance to a different tune. Don't play the cancellation game – it's just bad karma! Stay principled, avoid cruelty, and remember, it's okay to disagree without being disagreeable. Cancel hypocrisy, not people!

Capricorn

Dec 22 Jan 19

Capricorn, be the advocate for acceptance. Instead of passing judgment, gather varying opinions like rare jewels. Listen to voices that differ from yours and embrace the colourful spectrum of perspectives.

Scorpio

Oct 23 Nov 21

This month, Scorpio, embrace honesty like it's your hidden weapon. Remember that telling the truth is your best defence against the cancellation crusaders. Check your facts twice; you'll be cancel-proof, equipped with facts as sharp as a scorpion's stinger!

Aquarius

Jan 20 Feb 18

Aquarius, let friend feedback replenish your thoughts! Take in their critiques, recognise their point of view, and remain as adaptable as water. Be a sponge for development and growth.

Sagittarius

Nov 22 Dec 21

Sagittarius, thick skin is the hottest accessory in a cancel culture world. Rock it proudly! Allow criticism to fly like arrows and bounce off like a fashionable shield. You're the resilience trailblazer, sweetie!

Pisces

Feb 19 March 20

Don't swim blindly this month, Pisces. Like an intuitive fish, read the room! Before you create waves, do your research and sense the vibrations!

Aries

March 21 April 19

Actions speak louder than words, so this month, think twice before tweeting that spicy take! Instead of keyboard crusading, concentrate on doing good. Remember, the word 'cancel' refers to plans, not people!

Cancer

Jun 21 Jul 22

Dear Cancer, assume every word and action could go viral. Avoid cancel culture by living like you're always on camera. Who knows, you might go viral for all the right reasons!

Taurus

Apr 20 May 20

This month, Taurus, remember, your social circle is like a buffet. Avoid cancel culture by skipping the shady dishes and sticking to the good ones. Keep things sweet!

Leo

Jul 23 Aug 22

Hey, Leo! If you fuck up, no need to roar defensively. Simply say sorry, mean it, and put in the effort to make things right. Cancel culture can't catch a lion who's willing to growl and make amends!

Gemini

May 21 Jun 20

Hey Gemini, twinning isn't always winning! This month, avoid cancellation by keeping your finger on the pop culture pulse. Remember, ignorance is only bliss until Tiktok finds out!

Virgo

Aug 23 Sep 22

Virgo, this month, practice admitting when you're wrong without raising your shields. Drop the defensiveness like it's hot. It's a soul detox and a sure-fire technique to avoid the cancellation whirlwind!

2023 Meet the Team

Meet the Team

Made by students for students

Contributors

If you wish to make a complaint or offer some feedback, please email ‘editor@canta.co.nz.’

Maddy Croad Managing Editor editor@canta.co.nz

Hariklia Nicola Print Editor print@canta.co.nz

Ella Waterreus Graphic Designer design@canta.co.nz

Tessa Birch Video Editor

Pierce Crowley UCSA President Anna Pohatu Tumuaki Carolyn Mason Psychology Lecturer

UC whānau Canta Survey 2023 UCMRS Exec

Amelia Ware Vid. & Digital Asst.

Ella Jenkins Feature Writer

Charlotte Thornton Feature Writer

Tim Smith

Ella Paterson Feature Intern

Elsie Williams Feature Intern

Sophie Kensington Video Intern

Kayla Baillie Digital Intern