CATALYST: 'CULTURE', Issue 3, Volume 75

catalyst

75

ISSUE 03: CULTURE

capitalism and cultural leash, the climate untethered catastrophe thebrown state renaissance of coal to all the the pressure plants i’ve to make it loved all worth it before

author name 2

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Contents author name

cultural leash, untethered --14 16 -- zia’s story my tongue: the --20 loss and remains tamil thai 24 -vazhthu Contents brown --26 renaissance --38 tomato day

6 7 8 10 12

18

Ed’s Letter President’s Letter News Updates Catalyst History A Short History of Fighting Islamophobia at RMIT queer quilt: communication station!

title / heading

3 --34

-- 44

22 In Defence of Bogans 32 The Pressure to Make it

All Worth it 36 Creating a Culture for

Change 42 Micro, Macro, What now?

48 Across the Meme-Scape 50 Making Your Own Zine 52 Cultural Clubs author name

contributors Editors Emily Cork Lekhika Jain Rana El-Mahmoud

Design Emily Cork Betul Kuyruk Jamie Tung

News Editor Rachael Merritt

Front Cover Ellisha Kriesl @hey.ellisha

Proofreader Isabella Krebet Film, Culture & Music Cameron Magusic Arnel Duracak

Back Cover Portia Sarris @portiasplace_

Editorial Committee Emily Cecchetto Alexander Gudic Madelane Higginson Christina Karras Isabella Krebet Sarah Krieg Cameron Magusic Elizabeth Maidment Siri Smith Emma Sullivan Gabriela C Sumampow

Social Media Done De Beer Ida Sass Andersen

Website Coordinator Jigar Manish Parekh Rishabh Satish Bhosale

Printer Printgraphics Pty Ltd 14 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley, Victoria 3149 Australia Special Thanks To Scape Swanston Primary Sponsor

Catalyst and RMIT University Student Union acknowledge the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present.

Catalyst and RMIT University Student Union also acknowledge the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where it conducts its business.

Catalyst Issue 03 2019 RMIT student magazine est. 1944

catalyst

75

Catalyst is the student magazine of the RMIT University Student Union (RUSU). The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editors, the printers or RUSU.

Issue 3

Contact rmitcatalyst@gmail.com rmitcatalyst.com RMIT Building 12, Level 3, Room 97

Culture

Model: @uhmstudio “Having more that one culture and understanding several languages are richness that allows you to understand different ways of thinking. Richness that allows you to build cultural bridges between populations and countries.�

-- Creative Director/ Founder of Kwabo Events

@kwabo_grace

Photograph

Rana El-Mahmoud @ranaephoto

5

Lekhika Jain Rana El-Mahmoud Emily Cork

6

ed’s letter

This issue explores all things ‘CULTURE’.

Whether it’s family ties and traditions, ethnic diversity or unique subcultures, this one little word covers a lot of ground.

Here in Melbourne, we’re privileged to live in one of the world’s most multicultural cities.

In fact, almost 50% of Victorians were born overseas or have a parent who was. And RMIT is no exception to this multiculturalism; giving us the opportunity to mingle with students from across the globe who have diverse backgrounds and experiences to share.

One of our favourite parts about this issue is the personal narratives and stories threaded throughout it. Hazara refugee Zia Sultani’s journey to Australia (p. 16), Sayee’s beautiful tribute to her home in Tamil Nadu (p. 24), and an annual family Tomato Day captured by Panayiotis Kasseris are just a few of the worlds you’ll be invited into.

Our writers also explore the notion of cultural identity growing up in Australia, from Isabella Krebet’s exploration of feeling “Greek enough”

catalyst

75

Photo credit: Anshul Srivastava

Oh Semester Two, how you come around so quickly…

Time to dust off those books, layer up for the icy winds of Bowen Street, and get stuck into the second half of the year. The good news is that we spent our mid-semester break putting together another issue of Catalyst just for you, we hope it’s an excellent distraction from those post-Euro trip blues!

(p. 14) to Nikki Jumao-as’ piece on the guilt of having first world opportunities that her parents didn’t (p. 32).

For those more visually minded, we can’t wait for you to devour Bonnie Jarrett’s ‘Brown Renaissance’ (p. 26).

Dearest Catalyst readers, we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed creating it. We’d love to hear what you think - don’t be shy! Reach out to us at any time, at rmitcatalyst@gmail.com.

Ciao for now,

The Eds Emily, Rana + Lekhika

Issue 3

Culture

Ella Gvildys RUSU President Kviečiame į Catalyst!

and engaging students in our three-year plan to change this culture. The vision is to creatively foster a culture of respect, and to ensure women feel safe in our community.

Let me give you a quick Union update regarding respect, reconciliation and supporting spirituality in under 300 words.

RMIT has launched its second reconciliation action plan, Dhumbah Goorowa (“commitment to share”), focused on building better relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. RMIT is passionate about creating a bright shared future including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, knowledges and cultures. I am proud to be involved in this initiative on behalf of RUSU.

(“Welcome to Catalyst!” in Lithuanian, my background.)

August 1 will be the second anniversary since the release of Change The Course, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s national report on sexual assault and harassment at Australian universities.

RUSU has been working collaboratively with RMIT and Deloitte to ensure that all 42 recommendations made to RMIT will be upheld and implemented effectively.

I’ve independently created a participatory mural project for students and staff to acknowledge gender-based sexual harm and reclaim space for women, as well as informing

I’ve also spearheaded the refresh and permanent expansion of the Bundoora Islamic prayer rooms, as well as the prayer rooms at the City Campus. It is my role to not only hear these communities’ voices, but to elevate them to achieve positive outcomes.

As always, reach out to us if you need anything!

Suraj Loomba International Officer One of the main reasons we travel or live abroad is to experience a different culture, but this can also be one of the most challenging aspects.

RMIT, being a hub for international students, is one of the most culturally diverse universities in Melbourne. It is an honour to serve as the International Officer at such a reputed institution.

RUSU President and International Officer

As the International Officer, I aim to ensure that students feel like they belong at RMIT. Through RUSU’s International Department, English conversation workshops were organised in the first semester. This helped students get accustomed to life in Australia, make friends from different countries, and become more open and comfortable with sharing their own culture.

With the aim of helping students to settle in and make new friends, even more events are being planned with help from staff.

Acceptance and inclusion should be our main priority, to create a better environment for all.

Ella Gvildys and Suraj Loomba

ne w s

8

ates d p u

National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week: 7-14 July

A celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, RMIT celebrated NAIDOC week with events and commemorations both on and off campus. To officially mark the beginning of the week, a flag raising ceremony took place at Federation Square accompanied with a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country. There was no shortage of events on both the City and Bundoora campuses, with workshops, native language exhibitions, lectures, an online film festival, NAIDOC Victoria March and a heritage trail.

RMIT Welcome Day: Bowen Street Party - August 1

The break is over and Semester 2 has arrived! Whether you’re a mid-year newbie or a seasoned RMIT veteran, take a walk down Bowen Street and get your hands on some free goodies. Explore the campus and find out about opportunities and programs, grab a snack and enjoy music and pop-up performances. If the weather permits (after all, we’re in Melbourne), Welcome Day is a fun opportunity to meet fellow students and catch up with old friends before the reality of uni life hits.

catalyst

75

Show you understand sexual

consent: new RMIT micro-credential

Consent is fundamental to respectful relationships. RMIT recognises that conversations about sexual consent may be uncomfortable, so they have created a new micro-credential to help students understand and develop healthy and respectful relationships. ‘Consent Conversations’ enables you to gain an understanding of the circumstances where consent can and cannot be freely given, how to communicate while respecting boundaries, and strategies for intervening in situations where harassment or consent is an issue.

This micro-credential is just one of the ways RMIT is responding to the 2017 Australian Human Rights Commission survey, which found that over a quarter of RMIT students experienced sexual harassment on campus.

Make sure you take the time to complete ‘Consent Conversations’. It only takes 40 minutes and can be accessed via the RMIT Creds website or by Googling ‘RMIT Consent Conversations’.

If you need support for sexual harm, contact Safer Community on 9925 2396 or via email: safercommunity@rmit.edu.au.

Issue 3

Culture

Joanne Monisse Twitter @JoanneMonisse

9

The Mug Library – 19 July (9 am to 1pm)

Did you know RMIT has a Sustainability Space? It’s like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter; it doesn’t appear unless you need something, and the Sustainability Space’s new project, The Mug Library, might be exactly what students and staff need – a place to leave and borrow reusable mugs!

If you’re needing a coffee fix but forgot your keep-cup, or just want to help reduce waste around campus, check out and borrow a funky mug from the Mug Library at Building 10 Level 4.

Super Tight Exhibition-

September 21 RMIT Design Hub Gallery has partnered with Open House Melbourne for their next exhibition, Super Tight. This immersive exhibition explores Asian cities and considers the techniques for living closely, unpacking the issues which arise from dense urbanisation.

With more than 4.5 billion people and counting, no wonder Asia has more than half the world’s megacities. This makes Asian cities key to examining new ways for urbanisation, architecture, living and making culture. Super Tight explores what it means to live and work closely, questioning attitudes towards “tightness” by experiencing not only spatial closeness, but the sounds, smells and emotions which accompany it.

Craig Foster will deliver this year’s Higinbotham Lecture at The Capitol Theatre on the topic of ‘Sport and Human Rights: Can Sport Change the World?’.

Foster is known as the 40th Captain of the Socceroos, an SBS Football Analyst and leading human rights campaigner.

RMIT’s Law School was inspired by politicians and Chief Justice George Higinbotham’s legacy towards supporting liberal causes to create this lecture series.

It hopes to connect students and RMIT’s Law School with the broader legal and human rights community in Victoria.

RMIT Hack-a-thon – 27 - 28 July Students interested in ITS will participate and create their own learning experiences through a 24-hour hack-a-thon.

If you never heard of a hack-a-thon, it is a sprint-like event for computer programmers. This growing trend in coding competitions has made its way to RMIT. Now in its second year, RMIT’s hack-a-thon is an opportunity for RMIT students to be mentored, network and expand their skills to create, design and build something cool.

This year’s hack-a-thon theme is “connected communities, empowering students to deliver accessible solutions that provide equal learning opportunities to anyone anywhere”.

News Updates

Joanne Monisse

2019 Higinbotham Lecture with Craig Foster – September 17

10

blast from the past

Celebrating 75 years of Catalyst

The end of semester was looming, and a new uni day had started in 1945 as the halls of RMIT were once again filled with the familiar sound of footsteps and the smell of new books. But life at RMIT in 1945 was a different place to the alternative, diverse campus we know today.

At that point in time, the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were only months away and the Allies had accepted Germany’s surrender in World War II. Despite it all, usual classes at The Melbourne Technical (as RMIT was called back in the day) had resumed.

It was just 10 days later, on May 18 1945, RMIT’s new student newspaper, Catalyst, published its first issue under the title of “Catalyst College News”. You could imagine how the timing had its consequences. The post-war world was dominated by suspicion towards any alternative political views and the university’s culture was overshadowed by a fear of communism.

But Catalyst took off as RMIT’s hot new read after its second issue. It was originally a newspaper by and for Chemistry students, but the first issue had no news at all. The pages were filled with congratulatory letters and funny articles, a treat if you were in the chemistry world.

As interest grew, Catalyst became a college newspaper, soon to deal with the paranoid RMIT authorities calling for self-censorship from the editors, who were trying to prohibit Catalyst’s freedom to present a variety of religious and political views. Even the creation

catalyst

75

of a Labor Club was specifically refused and deemed as “communist backed”.

Catalyst’s editorial policy had promised to give all shades of politics equal importance, and they meant it. The words for political pieces were literally counted to ensure each view had the same number of words. The magazine wanted a platform that reflected the diversity of social, political and religious views that flourished among students Aside from the magazine antics, the student culture of 1945 was different in many ways.

Some RMIT courses were still specifically gendered for women or for men. Even cultural diversity was at a low with the White Australia Policy. Of course gender dominant courses still exist in our modern world, but if a course were to be opened to just one gender, it wouldn’t survive today’s university culture.

As RMIT culture has changed, so has the opportunity for storytelling. Freedom of opinion has changed and the post-war scepticism is a flicker of what it once was.

In the early days, Catalyst came under fire for controversial stories. Today, the stories that dive into hidden places and pull sensitive topics into question are the ones people need and want the most.

As RMIT university culture has developed, we’re surrounded by diversity in all senses of the word. We demand truth in the news we read, not just entertainment or funny articles. Students want to be kept in the loop.

University culture will continue to change as the world outside lecture halls and tutorials demands it.

Issue 3

Culture

Rosanne Maloney

11

Scan of 1968 Catalyst issue

75th year Archive Piece

Rosanne Maloney

A Short History Of Fighting Islamophobia at RMIT Introduction by Anas Sammak on behalf of the RMIT Islamic Society As Muslims, we are not only students but also Australians who play a part in society.

Islamophobia is something that affects every single Muslim and their everyday activities.

When someone’s identity is attacked, that person feels the need to shy away from that part of their identity. Muslims feel the need to do this, and isolate themselves from the outer community. We must challenge Islamophobia to allow for Muslims in the Australian community and at RMIT University to practice their faith freely and comfortably.

Islamophobia and any other form of discrimination that makes one feel isolated should be denounced. Every person should be free to think and practice what they please.

2007-2009: The Muslim prayer rooms In late 2007, RMIT University declared that the on-campus Muslim prayer rooms would be demolished with the promise that new prayer rooms for Muslim students would be built elsewhere on the city campus. However, shortly before the official opening of the facilities, RMIT declared that these were no longer to be Muslim prayer rooms, but multifaith rooms like many of the existing facilities.

The failure to provide Muslim prayer rooms would force hundreds of students to choose between being able to attend university and practice their faith. It is alleged that at least one Muslim woman dropped out of her course as a result of abuse after praying in an isolated hallway in the absence of

catalyst

75

adequate prayer rooms.What followed was a courageous campaign by RMITIS and antiracist activists to ensure that appropriate facilities for Muslim students were provided.

Every Friday, beginning in February 2008, lunchtime prayers were turned into an act of open protest, as hundreds of Muslim students filled Bowen Street to pray together. Rain, hail or shine, for over 18 months, Muslim students made their defiance of the insufficient spaces public, until their prayer-room was returned in September 2009.

2013: Allowing Iranian and Syrian Students to Enrol In early 2013, RMIT University began to inform Iranian and Syrian students that their applications for enrolment were being withdrawn due to “sanctions regulations”.

Not only was this a clear attack on the rights of these students to access education, but it was also unnecessary; RMIT was the only university to take this action and even government officials had acknowledged that there was no basis in the sanctions to impose these blanket bans.The Iranian club launched a publicity campaign to pressure the university to reverse this decision. Public meetings were held to discuss the implications of these bans, the Iranian club reached out to the media, and openly questioned the decision. In doing so, the Iranian club and supporters were able to put enough pressure on the university that they were forced to reverse the decision.

Issue 3

Culture

Chris Giddings

13

Briarna Da Col @briarna.photography

RMIT Says No To Islamophobia: Solidarity photo, March 2019

Solidarity with Christchurch 2019 On the 15th of March 2019, 29 year old Australian, Brenton Tarrant, massacred 51 Muslims whilst in prayer in Christchurch, New Zealand. This attack represented the decades of bigotry and islamophobia that has inspired violence and abuse directed at Muslims in our society. When tragedies like Christchurch happen, it is incredibly easy for them to become a threat hanging over the heads of other victims of racism that this is expected. But despair was not the only option. Within twenty-four hours of the Christchurch shooting, an anti-racist protest was organised for less than a week later. Activists at RMIT not only promoted this rally, but also organised a photo petition against islamophobia to occur beforehand.

The atmosphere of the rally was not one of fear or despair, but anger and defiance as Melbourne streets were flooded by thousands of activists who wanted to stand in solidarity

A Short History of Fighting Islamophobia at RMIT

with both the victims and those who face bigotry and racism everywhere. Rallies like this one across Australia were fundamental in challenging the false narrative that there was nothing we could have done to stop it.

Furthermore, it gave confidence to those who may have otherwise assumed they were alone in the face of racist violence, that there are thousands of people on their side.

Stopping racism is not something that happens automatically. It happens when we make a conscious decision to stand on the side of the oppressed, when we make our resistance impossible to ignore, and when we stand up to injustice. These courageous acts of defiance where the rights of Muslim students have been actively asserted have to be applauded. We just need to stand up and fight, and challenge inequality both on and off campus.

Chris Giddings

14

Portia Sarris @portiasplace_

cultural leash,

untethered When you are asked what your background is, what do you say?

Have you prepared an answer after all these years?

Excluding inherent conversation factors such as the social tone and familiarity and connotations associated with each given delivery of the question to you, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what that enquiry seeks.

Despite being no more unique than the next university student, especially in this broad and beautifully diverse Australian youth landscape, I feel this exploration into one’s relationship to heritage separates me from the majority.

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Isabella Krebet

15

The only family I know is Greek. They’re individuals in my life collectively grouped according to blood and blood origins, be it to the trees of Kalamata, or to ancient syssitia of Sparta. All of them grew up speaking Greek too, but I do not speak the language outside of a few profanities and plenty of food names.

The other half of my family is not present in my life, but I had a grandparent from Indonesia, and a peppering of British from earlier generations.

I’m not only Caucasian, I’m not only Asian, I’m kind of but barely Eurasian, I look white enough, but none of these descriptions assure me of who I really am.

Sometimes I conclude this allows me to embrace and be open to people of any background, belief, and culture – this is a lifelong goal of mine, as people are wonderful and fascinating (well, most of the time), but I worry I compartmentalise an unresolved intrapersonal issue:

Lacking a second language, and having a mostly neutral upbringing, though heavily influenced by the woggy ways of love, food, and hospitality, leaves me feeling conflicted about my cultural background.

What the hell am I?

“You Greek?”

“Yes, but I don’t speak it.”

“Why not, you live in Australia, working in a Greek place with Greek bosses and family! It is a great opportunity!”

Don’t get me wrong – I do have an unwavering appreciation for my mixed background and for my family and friends. It’s just that I feel a strong lack of underlying connection, sometimes with even my own cousins, when they have to translate something someone said to us, and I am saddened that I can never overcome this.

There have been conversations and subliminal digs to something of a leash: not “Greek enough”. I’ve heard it often enough for me to truly be convinced I never will be.

When I fall into a circle of self-reflection, in hopes of achieving some self-actualisation, I either conclude that I am an exotic mix that doesn’t live up to the name, or that I am putting too much emphasis on my pinch of Asian egotistically and that I should settle for the small Greek in me.

My Eurasianness was a source of pride, especially in my childhood; especially when I saw beloved characters like Domovoi Butler from the Artemis Fowl series share it with me. But how can I possibly claim, or measure to any ethnic label when I lack language and cultural connections?

Cultural Leash, Untethered

Does it matter?

What is my background, when I don’t manifest it?

When I get over my first-world problems, I am able to accept that I can’t speak Greek, that I haven’t and cannot for a long while explore Indonesia, and use this as motivation to be a good person otherwise. For better or worse, I sometimes feel untethered by my lack of cultural connection – this blessing is far from a burden, but if I can turn this absence from self-pity to reason, then maybe I will be happier. I can still be a good and content human being, with or without it, and I must convince myself this.

Maybe I will finally come up with an answer to what my background is.

Isabella Krebet

16

Zia’s Story He takes in a breath of fresh air as he steps out of the terminal. The lights are bright and after a 12-hour plane journey, he’s finally arrived. It’s 2011. Hazara refugee Zia Sultani has just arrived in Melbourne.

By fourteen, Zia had traveled alone from western Pakistan. His family sent him away from their home in Quetta for a chance at a better life in Australia.

In the years since then, Zia has learned English, completed his VCE, and is in his final year of study at RMIT. He still lives in Melbourne, has a steady job, and hangs out with his friends in his free time.

Jamie Tung

But life wasn’t always like this – Zia had to flee his home because of ethnicallymotivated violence.

Zia is a Hazara – he belongs to a cultural group who are ethnically different from the majority of Pakistan’s population.

Researchers believe they hail from eastern and central Asia, with their distinctive features and culture indicating roots in Mongolia and surrounds. They are also Shi’a Muslims – a direct clash with Pakistan’s largely Sunni population.

As a result, Hazaras in Pakistan often face threats and violence because of their beliefs.

catalyst

75

Issue 3

“Where I was living life was very different and hard compared to living in Australia.

My family and the whole community were not safe.”

Zia says his parents decided to send him away because of the constant danger that he was at home.

“I was involved in many incidents, therefore, I was mentally terrified of living there due to insecurity and violence.”

Pakistan’s political situation is, unfortunately, one that fosters the unstable situation that Zia describes. The man who was prime minister at the time that Zia fled is now spending ten years in jail for corruption. Multiple presidents and prime ministers have been accused and convicted of corruption, money laundering and a slate of other offenses.

These scandals have made it very difficult for the government to function effectively, leading to black markets, further corruption and a general loss of rule of law, particularly in the more remote areas of the country, like Quetta.

The instability has led to an increase in violence, too. Communities face a regular threat of suicide bombers, and ethnically different groups, like the Hazaras, are in increased danger.

Culture

Sarah Krieg

17

Zia says he didn’t even know human rights existed until he arrived here. The violence he saw and experienced in Pakistan was his version of normal, and he had to adjust to the feeling of safety.

“Personally, in my point of view, Australia is like heaven and Pakistan is the opposite.

I never knew human rights exist until I came here. Back home, you’ll get punished and killed for your religion, your values, and your culture, whereas here your values are respected and you are accepted for who you are.”

Zia’s journey to Australia brought him to live in Ballarat. He spent about a year in community housing until he found a guardian who could take him in – he calls the woman who took him in “mum”, and is considered family by her and her biological children.

After taking intensive English classes to bring himself up to standard, he finished high school in Ballarat – he could barely piece together a sentence when he arrived in Melbourne eight years ago.

When he started classes, Zia was at a co-educational high school, and came face-to-face with the concept of equality: “[In Pakistan] you get tortured and your freedom being taken away from you for being a female whereas here both male and female are given equal rights and opportunities.” He says back home, girls aren’t allowed to get an education – they just have to stay home until they get married.

“My life has completely changed; it has been a dream come true for me. Everything I dreamt of, I have gotten since I came to Australia, which I will never forget and will always be grateful for. I am living a very happy and peaceful life that I could never expect to have”.

“If I stayed in Pakistan, I would have had a very minimal opportunity in life such as education and jobs and other career opportunities. I wouldn’t be the same person I am right now if I stayed in Pakistan. I feel like I am a better person now”.

“Here you live your life not worrying about being shot in the head or being killed because of your values and beliefs, in fact, you live a very peaceful and joyful life”.

Zia’s Story

Sarah Krieg

18

queer quilt:

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Lily Longman

19

communication station!

Sit down, get comfy, get in touch, pick up the phone, let me get this off my chest.

This work explores the way queerness has shaped my experiences and perceptions in the world. These old and disconnected telephones address the feeling of finding communication difficult to grasp. I find communicating queerness can get tangled and disconnected when relaying aspects of queer culture to someone with no frame of reference. I find myself creating silence rather than discussion around issues that are most important to me. I see myself allowing people to make their own assumptions.

I created this in the midst of discovering plethora of queer textile artists, and a discovering strong connecting between textile art and queer theory. I have informed my work by artists such as Paul Yore, Alok V Menon, Caitlin Rose Sweet, LJ Roberts, Caroline Wells Chandler and Aaron Billings. These artists find ways to communicate their experience, queerness, and the issues they find most important through textiles.

This work was created over eight months, made from entirely found, second-hand, or donated materials. The quilt and cushions were all sewn together with either a little singer sewing machine or by hand. queer quilt: communication station! was included in the group show Softly Redefined at First Site Gallery RMIT in April and May 2019.

queer quilt: communication station!

Lily Longman

author name 20

My Tongue: the Loss and Remains My tongue robbed of the languages it never had but claimed rights to jealous of my eyes big, brown, long lashes – Indian eyes.

Wants to conspire with my blood: a concoction of history untranslatable on the surface only in my skin, my nose, my hair, my eyes But not in language.

But this is the same tongue that can sing the Gayathri mantra craves roti and raita to accompany rice and dahl and curry that was privileged as a child to drink “Italian cordial” on special occasions: water and a dash of wine.

The tongue unsure of its claim of Polish heritage

it’s in my grandmother’s name but it’s a dormant layer a fragment – a channel of blood weak and unknown it can’t flow on its own it dissolves into the other currents washed beneath the undertow.

catalyst

75 75

Issue 2 3

Culture Green

author name Monique Nair

21

I wonder if I can justify my Italian heritage because I can recognise a good naples sauce a real lasagne, a real risotto.

The tongue knows

(Or maybe I’m just a fraud) But my palette is Melbournian too good coffee, sushi, HSP, panini, avo acquired the taste of vegemite milo, pavlova, Tim Tams – but can never understand sausage sizzles.

Like my brain that can’t comprehend the songs that penetrate the songs my body sways to and my tongue can only stumble through.

I wonder if I can sing a little more easily in Hindi than Korean or Portuguese because my blood gave my tongue a predisposition for it But maybe it’s just practise.

Maybe my blood

my tongue

– are severed.

title / heading My Tongue: The Loss and Remains

author name Monique Nair

22

In Defence of Bogans Bogans. Chavs. Rednecks.

It’s 2019 and Taylor Swift has a new music video, about LGBT people and their “haters”. What do these haters look like? Do they wear a suit and tie like their homophobic president? Are they in the Sunday Best of the evangelical hate preacher?

Of course not. The bigots are in flannel and denim. Their placards are misspelled.

Just in case we missed the message, most have no teeth. They are stupid, uneducated, and dirty.

They are rednecks.

In Australia they would be called bogans; in Britain, chavs. Such names are not so far removed from what they mean. The rabble, the workers, the unwashed masses.

And no matter what names popular culture gives them, it is the working class who are blamed for every backwards idea around.

catalyst

75

Jamie Tung

It’s 2015 and there is a racist anti-mosque rally in Bendigo in regional Victoria. There are working class people on the side of the racists, but just as many are have joined a counter-protest against them. The Islamophobes want to claim that they speak for the working class, for “ordinary Australians”. Awkwardly for them, the idols of working class people in this country have disavowed them. Jimmy Barnes, most dramatically, told them to stop playing Cold Chisel songs at their events.

Issue 3

Culture

Natalie Acreman

23

The day has not been a clear victory for the anti-racists, and there is a stand-off outside the town hall. The anti-racists have a portable PA system, and as the rallies seem to be winding down to a natural conclusion it is pushed to the front of the crowd and pointed at the racists. And a song begins to play.

“I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh…”

Suddenly, every local working class kid has pushed their way to the front of the demonstration, to face off against the racists.

They know all the words, and they scream them like it is the last song before the pub closes for the night. This is the only time in the day that it comes close to real clashes, as the racists charge the police lines trying to attack the anti-racists. They don’t get near, and the young locals don’t seem afraid. They continue shouting the lyrics as the racists stew in impotent rage. The young anti-racists are proud to have reclaimed Barnesy, a symbol of working class culture, to their side.

An older observer from the UK might see the similarities to the situation there in the 1970s, when neo-nazis had infiltrated the working class music scene and tried to claim punk.

Back then, the Rock Against Racism concerts had been organised by left-wing punks and socialist activists to counter the fascists. The concerts, alongside serious protests against the fascist marches, made the claims of the neo-nazis to speak for the workers ring hollow.

In Defence of Bogans

It’s 2016 and the teachers of West Virginia are fed up with shitty pay and horrible conditions.

This is a Red State, a state that “voted for Trump” - if you ignore that most workers in the US didn’t vote at all. This is a state that is almost entirely covered by the Appalachian mountains. If anywhere is the source of the legendary hillbilly, it is here. And yet it is here that the teachers in their own working class organisations, the teachers’ union, fights against the government by refusing en masse to go to work. They struck for their rights, and won. And when they won they sang that old working class anthem known in pubs across the English-speaking world, Country Roads.

Workers across the world have many differences, and not every worker always has the best ideas. But at times when the working class can express its own opinions, and not just those the media and politicians assign to them, those ideas are a force for good.

What is working class culture? Mainly, it is the culture of struggling against a system that doesn’t give a shit about us. Of demanding a say and a share. At its best, it is a culture of challenging sexism and racism and all oppression.

Ours is the culture of fighting back. And it is a culture the world needs now more than ever.

Natalie Acreman

24

Tamil Thai Vazhthu

(Praise for Mother Tamil) My home of Tamil Nadu is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The state lies at the southernmost tip of India, and its cultural influences from millennia ago can be seen eventoday.

We Tamilians are extremely fond of our language, Tamil. We have over 17 dialects, each so distinct they make it easy to identify which part of the state someone is from. Our language is one of the oldest in the world, with the earliest evidence of the language dating all theway back to 300 AD. We also have the honour of being the first language to be published in print in India. The immense pride we have in our beautiful language is also evident in our rich literature.

Tamil Nadu is also called the land of temples.

Our oldest and most famous temple is the Brihadishvara temple in the city of Thanjavur.

A UNESCO world heritage site, dedicated to Lord Shiva, it was built between 1003 and 1010 AD by Raja Raja Chola. This granite place of worship has the tallest vimana tower in all of South India. The temple is famed for its brass statue of Nataraja – Shiva’s form as the lord of dance. Walking along the massive corridors, supported by stone pillars, you can easily forget which century you are in. The intricate sculptures adorning every inch of the temple will give you goosebumps.

Hailing from the same city is our famous Thanjavur painting style, characterised by its use of vivid reds and deep greens, whites as bright as snow, and blues as clear as the ocean. These intricate paintings have overlays of gold foils and precious or semi-precious

catalyst

75

stones. They’re unmistakable, and unique works. In fact, museums in England and Copenhagen display large collections of our famed Thanjavur paintings.

Bharatanatyam is our traditional dance and uses intricate foot, hand, eye and facial gestures and movements to stunningly communicate myths of our Hindu gods.

Dancers wear brightly coloured sarees with a fan-like pleated piece for flow. The dancers are fully decked with beautiful jewellery that glistens in the light when they move.

We Tamilians celebrate too many festivals to keep count of. Our most important is the fourday festival of harvest called Thai Pongal to thank the sun god for a successful harvest.

The first day is called Bhogi, where we old belongings with new, clean our houses, and adorn them with flowers and oil lamps. Traditionally people used to burn the discarded items early in the morning, a habit that’s slowly dying to reduce pollution. The second day, Thai Pongal, is the most important. Pongal in Tamil means overflowing, which symbolises prosperity and abundance. When our pots of milk and rice boil over, we shout ‘pongalo pongal’, and say ‘thai pirandhal vazhi pirakkum’, marking the start of the Tamil month of Thai that will lead the way to abundant opportunities.

The third day is called Maatu Pongal, where we celebrate the hardworking animals that helped make the harvest possible. We garland our animals, and paint their horns bright colours. Our farmers consider them beloved

Issue 3

Culture

Sayee Shree Ravi Sankar 25

Lekhika Jain

family.The final day is called Kaanum Pongal.

This is when families get blessings from elders and exchange gifts. Pongal is one of the most exciting times of the year. It means new clothes, gifts, money, from my whole family, and most importantly, an abundance of food.

When not celebrating festivals, we are obsessing over our movies. It is a special experience attending the ‘first day first show’ of movies with our popular actors. Ticket queues over 50 metres long; hundreds of people gathered at theatres; police on standby; massive billboards of the stars adorned with beautiful garlands - one can hear firecrackers go off from miles away.

Honestly, we use crackers to celebrate anything. You’ll never know when you’ll be driving over one. But it’s all in good fun.

architecture. You name it and you can find two versions of it.

One cannot visit Chennai and ignore the beautiful Marina Beach. It is the longest natural urban beach at nearly 6 kilometres long. Just writing the word Marina brings back the waft of the ocean, the aroma of freshly roasted peanuts and charcoal-grilled corn. The balloon shooting games where my friends and I pretended to be army snipers.

The huge and bright merry-go-round full of laughter, including my own.

I come from Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. Nicknamed ‘the gateway to South India’, Chennai is a traditional yet cosmopolitan city. It offers an irreplaceable mixture of Tamil tradition and modernism in everything; food, music, dance, arts,

Tamil Thati Vazhthu

Sayee Shree Ravi Sankar

Bonnie Jarrett @bonnie.jpg

www.bonniejarrett.com

26

brown renaissance A friend and an artist.

We sat in a room staring at a wardrobe of lush fabrics and vibrant colours. Upset. Wishing she could frequent these garments more than an occasional wedding. Wanting to further embrace her ulture, and wondering where the representation of this type of fashion was in Melbourne.

So, we went out and shot a renaissance.

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

m

27

Brown Renaissance

Bonnie Jarrett

28

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

29

Brown Renaissance

Bonnie Jarrett

author name 30

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

author name

31

title / heading

author name

author name 32

the pressure to make it all worth it Escaping poverty Every morning, my dad turns on our TV to watch a Filipino news channel.

And every morning, without fail, I wake up seeing a place that seems worlds away from Melbourne and wonder how my life could’ve been so different if we stayed where we were.

There, children walk the streets with nothing but a ragged oversized t-shirt on, making games out of beat up flip flops and empty food cans. People have become numb to the crime that is happening next door and the government pays no attention to the people and their needs.

There, the chronic inequities of society are clear as day and yet no one is doing anything about it.

There, the divide between the classes is embedded into its society. The divided society results in the minority of super-rich families stay clear from the masses of the super-poor.

I see all the problems and hardships and I feel guilty.

I feel guilty that my parents had to grow up in an unforgiving environment while I complain about minor inconveniences. I feel guilty for not wanting to wake up to go to school when there are children who cannot afford to even attend school. I feel guilty that I don’t need to worry about my future when there are people just like me who have not been given the same security and opportunities.

What makes me so special?

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

authorJumao-as Nikki name

33

Adapting to Australian culture

The pressure to make it all worth it

Is it bad that I am becoming more and more ‘Australian’?

I often think about how differently I was raised compared to my friends who had nonimmigrant parents. I remember always being jealous of them because their parents never made them study after school, or that their parents never got mad at them for getting a bad grade. I remember feeling the pressure of always getting the top marks and feeling like my parents only cared about me getting awards and perfect scores instead of enjoying my childhood.

Is it bad that my accent has changed to speaking without pronouncing the ‘r’? Is it bad that I have lost the ability to speak in my native tongue? Would my elders be ashamed that I have adapted into a foreign culture?

Is it bad that I will never truly understand what my parents went through to put food on our table when we were still living in the Philippines, and how I will never experience the frustration of working hard with no reward?

Is it bad that I have become accustomed to, and expect, the level of privileged lifestyle that is common in Australia?

I don’t know if I can ever find the answers to these questions. I often feel conflicted when people ask me about my heritage or my culture because I feel so disconnected; disconnected from my family traditions and from the beliefs and morals that I am supposed to have as a Filipino woman.

The title Pressure / headingto Make it All Worth it

But then I remember how much my parents have sacrificed in the hopes of giving my sister and I an easier life – a life filled with more opportunities. I realised that my parents were not making me study because they wanted a perfect child. They were making me study because they knew that education leads to a better life and they just want my sister and I to succeed in life without having to endure the same struggles they went through.

The pressure of being the best never went away, but it is no longer driven by the nagging of my parents. Instead, it has become driven by the determination of making my parents proud and reassuring them that their sacrifices were not all for nothing.

Nikki authorJumao-as name

34

intimacy

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Ellisha Kriesl

35

Photo Essay: Intimacy

Ellisha Kriesl

@hey.ellisha ellishakriesel.com

36

Jenny Qiu @whatjennysaw

creating a culture for change

This year, female Indian sprinter Dutee Chand became the first openly gay sportsperson in India. The overwhelmingly positive response to this news was a true sign that India as a country was changing.

Having grown up in a conservative village in Odisha, what surprised me the most was the support shown by the parents of Chand’s partner, who went so far as to say they supported the two women getting married. This may not sound extraordinary to people from more developed countries, but it takes more than just courage to stand up to conservative village elders, who are treated like gods in some places.

Chand’s coming out also received overwhelming support from other notable athletes from her state, including Odisha sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick, the men’s 100 metres national record holder.

Last year, the Indian Supreme Court passed a landmark decision to decriminalise homosexuality and declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. This massive step by India was what gave Chand the courage to speak publicly about her sexuality. Section

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Sayee Shree Ravi Sankar

37

377 was introduced in 1864, when India was still under British rule. This section illegalised sexual activities that were “against the order of nature”. This 2018 judgement was an effort from prominent members of India’s LGBTQI+ community who played key roles in initiating a legal petition challenging the constitutionality of this section.

Though LGBTQI+ Indians enjoyed a brief period of unconstitutionality of Section 377 between 2009 and 2013, it was brought back into force and was in effect for five more years, until this change in 2018. Our pride marches, every year the section was legal, were filled with chants for its abolishment.

According to Business Standard: “The UN’s top human rights official [UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet] cited the ‘landmark’ decision

by India’s Supreme Court decriminalising consensual gay sex and urged more countries to bring their laws and practices in line with the fundamental equality of all their people.”

Asia did not disappoint in 2019 too.

I recently traveled to Bhutan, a quaint little mountain country nestled between India and Tibet. It is almost 86 times smaller than India. You might think this small constitutional monarchy of little less than eight hundred thousand people wouldn’t be at the forefront of LGBTQI+ rights, but they have proved me wrong. In June 2019, Bhutan followed India’s decision and its lower house of Parliament voted to abolish certain sections of their criminal code that illegalised “unnatural sex”.

Although there is a reassuring history of these sections never being used, Bhutanese Finance Minister Namgay Tshering told the media that “[these sections] had become ‘a stain’ on the country’s reputation”.

Creating a Culture for Change

Despite their technological advancements and human development activities, Asian countries have always had the stigma of being conservative. So when Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage on 17 May 2019, the international response was one of both surprise and joy.

The move coincided with the worldwide celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia.

A part of the bill that would allow same-sex couples to enter into “exclusive permanent unions” and to apply to the government to have their marriages registered passed its parliamentary vote comfortably. Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who had heavily backed marriage equality during his campaign, tweeted after the vote “we took a big step towards true equality, and made Taiwan a better country”.

Of course, there is still work to be done. The last couple of years have seen many blows to LGBTQI+ populations, such as Indonesia’s 2018 anti-LGBT crackdowns with Malaysia following suit in 2019. Although not enforced yet, Brunei introduced the death penalty for homosexuals, and this sent a wave of shock across the world.

Despite this severity, we see India, Bhutan and Taiwan taking steps, how small or big, in the right direction. Every milestone is one that will influence other nations going forward.

This is how we create a positive culture that enables change.

Sayee Shree Ravi Sankar

author name 38

TOMATO DAY

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

author name Panayiotis Kasseris

39

For the last fifteen years, my family has dedicated a day in March to making enough tomato sauce to last us the entire year.

Here are some photographs from our most recent tomato day.

title / heading Tomato Day

author name Panayiotis Kasseris

40

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

41

Tomato Day

Panayiotis Kasseris

42

Micro, Macro, What now?

In the recesses of your mind, perhaps you might’ve thought, “hey, can’t culture also refer to something about bacteria or some crap?”

Well, the answer is hell yeah it can! Broadly speaking, culture refers to a way of living, as iterated by generationally repeated characteristics, patterns and traditions. There is a typical bogan culture defined by its beer, vulgarity, footy fanaticism, beer… you know the lot. In biology, culture refers to another kind of living; how we cultivate and observe organisms (relatively) big and small for scientific study.

The most common types of culture in this context would be bacterial and viral cultures.

Fascinatingly, these microbial existences have parallels to human ways of life.

Bogan culture’s sport worship, for example, could be a macro demonstration of how a Petri dish will form these clusters of growths.

The Petri dish provides the correct conditions for our bacteria or microbe to congregate and multiply — so too may the local pub on a Tuesday night, providing a few starting bogans attract more bogans to arrive. No, another bogan can’t suddenly produce another, but you catch my drift.

Let’s explore more connections just because it’s fun. It’s often necessary to cultivate a pure, or axenic, microorganism culture, which is a population of cells or multicellular organisms growing in the absence of other species or types. An axenic culture might originate from

catalyst

75

a lone cell or a single organism, leading to cloning as a means of multiplying. A similar occurrence happened across the globe, in little pockets of human existence, where people of a certain area or culture didn’t interact with others of a different kind. This level of cultural nicheness almost cannot, or rarely exists today, since people have mixed over the centuries and become part of multiple cultures, but they had to come from somewhere! Culture often started within itself.

The most commonplace medium for these microorganism culture growths is a Petri dish, as mentioned, and this Petri dish might be lined with an agar base that the organisms will sit on. It’s their home. Your various hunting grounds of your place of residence, your work, your study place, could be considered different agar linings of Petri dishes. For some bacteria or viruses, additives must be added to the agar in order for it to survive — this echoes how people need certain foods in a certain place in their damn fridge in order for them to survive, or for a classroom at uni to be equipped to a certain standard for effective teaching and learning to be cultivated. *Ba dum tss* Though, just as there are in our mundane lives, there are nuances and gray areas. Or dark areas. Microbial dark matter (ooohhhh) are microbial organisms, mostly bacteria and archaea, that biologists are unable to grow.

It’s not hard to guess why it is named so.

The accepted gross estimate of dark matter’s

Issue 3

Culture

Isabella Krebet

43

magnitude is that less than one percent of microbial species is culturable.

This unmapped world of biology strikes me as those people you come across that maybe you struggle to understand. They have a different perspective, personality and/or lifestyle that you can’t click with.

These dark horses that you’re somehow coexisting beside, but not necessarily with. What goes through their head? What makes them tick, and where is their place in this world? Or hell, where even is yours?

Ashley Fox

But let’s not get into that right now. Bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms, in their own cultures involving means of survival and modes of operating can be related to how us humans do. We have needs for our environment, shadow their spread, and goodness knows we’re multiplying at a fast rate. Fundamentally, the Petri dish that is the world is full of its microorganisms.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons biologists nerd out when you get them talking about their research.

Micro, Macro, what now?

Isabella Krebet

44

THAILAND ANTICIPATION Thailand offers up honest representations of generous people, each living their lives, each tempting you into a glimpse of their world for a brief moment. My brief moment was a two week trip - Bangkok to Hua Hin (a beach side city housing a substantial number of wrinkly, old, British men), then Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Ashley Fox

45 DISSASSOCiATION Often when travelling there are times when you feel misaligned with the state of everything around you, like there’s a secret being whispered that you’re not allowed in on. I figure that the language of this whisper is true culture; an identity formed from custom and whose shape has shifted and contorted as dramatically as the country’s borders.

Thailand

Ashley Fox

Ashley Fox 46

RELIEF I stepped off the bus at Chiang Dao. I was thirsty, I was hot and I was a stranger. I was strange to everyone here - a white faced foreigner who didn’t know anything about this tiny town near the Burmese border. I relaxed into culture shock the way most holidaymakers relax into a heated pool at a Koh Samui villa. The feeling of absolute disconnection made me feel safe, and scared, and comfortable.

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Catalyst: The Website

Launching 23 July 2019

+ + +

NEW + IMPROVED DESIGN. UPDATED BETWEEN ISSUES. REVIEWS, FEATURES, NEWS ARTICLES AND MORE.

www.rmitcatalyst.com

48

~*across the meme-scape*~ Memes. Colloquial shape-shifters, idioms of the internet age; you bring us together, you connect us with your creative intertextuality. But you also tear us apart.

The great divide between memes from one culture to another can be deep and difficult to cross.

I had a conversation last year with a Chinese student who had been living in Melbourne for several years. I asked him what he thought the biggest divide was between local students and international students. One of the things he said was, “the memes are different”.

At first, I didn’t understand how memes could be an issue. Are memes even that important? Surely there are more integral parts of human identity that make cross cultural communication difficult.

But in today’s world, we live through the internet – the storage place and generator of millions cultural symbols. The place where a joke can grow exponentially, change forms and touch multitudes of people with speed like never before.

These are the conditions that have allowed memes to flourish. Memes have become cultural symbols that let us reflect on life and laugh. If we can’t share memes, we can’t laugh together.

Through humour, memes both play on

catalyst

75

and form the fabric of cultural memory.

Culture difference is not only the inability to speak the same language or perform the same habits or customs, but it’s also looking at a foreign meme and failing to laugh. Memes, like language, art, movies, folklore, etc are a cultural symbol. Being unversed in the cultural symbols of a place is bound to create a kind of division.

But is it even possible to acquire nativelevel proficiency in another culture’s memes? The world of memes is an everchanging landscape – trends rise, expand, blow out of proportion, transform, diverge, then in a blink of an eye there are a hundred new species of memes!

First of all, you have the boundary of language. But if you can understand a language, you just need to understand context; the shared knowledge that exists for internet users. Memes, like other cultural symbols rely on shared knowledge and cultural norms specific to place and time. We seem to take our understanding for granted when we look at a meme in our everyday life, because we often “get it” instantaneously and without much thought. But multiple levels of understanding were probably occurring in your head simultaneously. Understanding a meme in many situations can only occur if you understand the cultural information around it.

Issue 3

Culture

Monique Nair

49

This cultural information spans knowledge of celebrities, movies, music, political climate, public figures, popular advertisements, popular brands, cultural norms, sub-cultures, fandoms, and the list goes on. And then sometimes current memes play on old memes – so on top having a knowledge bank of pop-culture, you need to keep a mental library of past memes and trends because the new memes may be in dialogue with the old.

Think about all those memes that are snapshots from iconic movies or TV shows, they don’t really make sense if you haven’t seen it. Or a meme in relation to something you experienced growing up – if you don’t have that experience, the meme won’t resonate. Of course, you can probably deduce something from the image/video/text/gif itself, but it won’t have the same meaning unless you know.

It may seem like a mammoth task, but we can always learn a foreign pop-culture.

We are constantly learning and adding to our own knowledge bank so we can do the same thing for another place. And not all memes are mutually exclusive – there are many that cross borders and have their own versions across cultures. You are likely to find some overlap and middle ground. But if you’re trying to connect with someone from a different place and popculture is important to them, there’s no harm in building a little fluency in a foreign meme-scape. We can always learn.

Source: RMIT Stalkerspace

Across the Meme-Scape

Monique Nair

50

Making Your Own Zine in 2019

Zines have and always will be a huge part of society/culture no matter how digital our lives become. They’ve always given an individual or groups perspective on some perceived topic, idea or event. Everything from protests to fanfiction, photography, creative writing, fandom and all manner of other content. The best part about zines is that they are so easy to create, anyone can make one no matter their skill set. All one needs is a printer and they’re good to go.

Step 1 – Choose your topic What is your zine going to be about? Choose something broad if you’re new to zines or be bold and go really, really, really specific. It’s your zine, so you have the final say on what goes into it.

Examples: Bad Photos of my dog, A collection of found poetry, etc.

Alexander Beaty

catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Alexander Beaty

51 (If that rhymed, you read it correctly)

(Pronounced: Zeen)

Step 2 – Collect, write about, illustrate or research the topic Collecting your content. You want to have a rough idea of the zine length so keep this in mind if you go a little overboard in how much content you collect. If you have too many pieces, maybe you’ll have enough to make a sequel zine later…

Step 3 - Plan Now that you’ve collected your content you need to plan out how your zine will appear on the page. You can do this part on the computer or by hand depending on which you’re most comfortable with. If by hand, ensure you have scissors and a glue stick so you can stick stuff down when you’re happy with the placement.

Try and scan or copy everything in case you make a mistake, or don’t like how it looks on the page, so you can still use it later.

• • •

• •

The zine should have: A front cover – A title and/or image of some form to represent your zine Front internal cover – You can put content here or put your details or leave it blank Internal pages of content that are in multiples of four (four A5 size pages that are created by folding an A4 sheet of paper in half.)

Back internal cover – You can put content here or put your details or leave it blank Back Cover

Making Your Own Zine in 2019

Step 4 - Printing A5 zines are most commonly printed on A4 sized paper. This may take some trial and error depending on the printer you’re using but ensure you print and copy your zine on both sides so when you fold the pages it becomes a booklet.

Step 5 – Binding Staples are a common choice but some use thread or glue depending on the aesthetic you like. Long arm staplers can be expensive, but there are multiple around RMIT.

Step 6 – SHARE This part is really up to you! You can give copies of your zine to friends, sell them, distribute them through a distributor, leave copies in public places or simply keep it for your eyes only!

If you wish to know more about zines, please visit Sticky Institute beneath Flinders Street train station. They stock an incredible range of zines of all kinds and you’ll surely find something to inspire you there. Just remember to pronounce it as ‘zeen’ or else someone will correct you, because pronouncing the word based on how it looks is such a crime.

Alexander Beaty

52

RMIT Culture Clubs Wanting to join a culture club? While we can’t promise any renditions of ‘Karma Chameleon’, if you’re looking to socialise with like-minded people or expand your horizons, RMIT has plenty of clubs from various cultural backgrounds always on the lookout for new members.

RMIT University Society of Hellenes (RUSH)

Vietnamese Student Association (RMIT VSA)

RMIT Indian Club

RMIT University Macedonian Student Society (RUMSS)

With RMIT being one of the few universities that offers Greek as a subject, the university has a strong connection to the GreekAustralian community which is what RUSH is all about; promoting both modern and traditional Greek culture to all students, regardless of backgrounds. Upcoming events include fortnightly Greek dance lessons on Friday nights, so put on your dancing shoes and join the fun throughout July and August.

For more information and ‘Tragoudi Tuesdays’ music recommendations, check out RUSH Royalidou on Facebook.

With membership being free to all RMIT students, RMIT’s Indian Club is open to anyone, regardless of their nationality, to participate and enjoy the diverse culture of the Indian subcontinent. The club seeks to connect students to make friends and support each other through hosting cultural activities. Having hosted an Indian Independence Day bash, a Diwali night and a Holi paint and glow party all within the first semester, RMIT Indian Club is a great place to socialise with fellow students.

catalyst

75

RMIT VSA is a club that aims to provide a support base for Australian-born RMIT students of Vietnamese heritage and those interested in Vietnamese culture. The club also provides opportunities for members to participate in cultural and community service activities outside of RMIT and through shared events with other VSA clubs. RMIT VSA’s 2019 social calendar has already seen the likes of an Annual Charity Movie Night and even a ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ inspired boat cruise, so check out their Facebook page for more info!

RUMSS is hoping to add to the large group of cultural clubs within RMIT and offers an environment to showcase the rich Macedonian culture to other students. Through its promotion of language and Macedonian history, the club hopes to deliver a range of events in 2019 to provide opportunities for members to meet and have fun. Engaging in end of exams drinks and other various nights out, previous members have said, “the Macedonians definitely know how to party!”

Issue 3

Culture

Phoebe Humphrey Twitter @PhoebeHumphrey_

Singapore Student Association (SSA)

RMIT’s SSA is a non-profit student association that was started by a group of RMIT Singaporean students way back in 1994. More than 20 years later, the club is continuing to bring a touch of the Singaporean way of life to Melbourne students. The club said that apart from their Hello-Kitty fanaticisms and being overly kiasu (a Hokkien term meaning fear of losing out), SSA wants to create a peaceloving environment which helps members gain lifelong friends and assimilate into Melbourne.

On top of that, become a SSA member and receive discounts from the club’s partners!

53

If you are interested in any of the clubs listed above, visit the RUSU website and explore the ‘Clubs’ section for more information.

Whether you’re looking to connect with fellow students of similar cultures, or just curious, RMIT has a wealth of culture to share!

RMIT Bangladeshi Association (RBA)

Wanting to gain knowledge on Bangladeshi traditions, culture and food? Look no further than RBA. The Association provides a platform within RMIT for Bangladeshi students to flourish and receive help and assistance. The club connects students with accommodation and academic needs, as well as encouraging more high school graduates of Bangladeshi descent to enrol in RMIT. Proposed activities include assistance with job searching and celebrations of national and international occasions related to Bangladeshi culture.

RMIT Culture Clubs

Phoebe Humphrey

Playlist 54 We’ve compiled a sweet lil mixtape just for you, one that spans across both musical genres and corners of the globe. Now you can bop through Semester 2 and spice up your music taste with some diverse new tunes at the same time. We hope at least one of these becomes your new favourite jam!

Come On Home _ Lijadu Sisters Indigenous Land _ Drmngnow Carrousel _ Eli Rose Sunrise _ Don Shiva

Salam Salam _ Third Planet

In Control _ Baker Boy Canto De Ossanha _ Jurassic 5 The Coffee Cola Song _ Francis Bebey Yo Quiero Trabajar _ La Dame Blanche Chandini Chowk _ Midival Punditz Life’s Gone Down Low _ Lijadu Sisters Dooyo _ Dur-Dur Band Balance ton quoi _ Angèle catalyst

75

Issue 3

Culture

Ho Chi Minh Postcards

Portia Sarris @portiasplace_

PUBLISHED ON ABORIGINAL LAND